In its ever persistent push toward trying to force its consumers in to a Windows 10 "upgrade" Microsoft has now decided that they will not add updates for previous versions of Windows to allow support for next-generation CPUs. Their reason for that decision is that it's just too much work.
This means that PC users that run Windows 7 or 8.1 will need to upgrade to be able to use the newest processors from AMD or Intel. Next-gen CPUs like Intel's Kaby Lake, and AMD's Bristol Ridge or others like Qualcomm's newest mobile processor will be shut out of anything south of Windows 10. No other operating system will be supported.
Even some of the current generation CPUs will lose their support. Intel's Skylake for instance. Microsoft will guarantee support for its business consumers until July of 2017. Then it's Windows 10 or you're out of luck. Thankfully though, loss of CPU support doesn't mean that the latest security and OS updates won't continue. But after that 18 month period that Microsoft is allowing, those updates will only be the most critical ones needed.
Epic Games has a new multiplayer shooter coming this year. An announcement trailer dropped back in early December, which I'll link below, and you can finally sign up to get a chance to check the game out for yourself. But what is Paragon? Let's find out.
We all know the classic story of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, after all it is the basis for countlessreinterpretationsin all sorts of media, but did you know that it all started with an NES game in 1988? When Japanese film company Toho, best known for its kaiju movies, created the game, they knew that it was too bad to sell by its own merit, so they decided to create an elaborate backstory in an effort to sell the title to unsuspecting victims.
In 1987 Toho commissioned a book based on the games story, but they couldn’t let just anyone write it. Secrecy was paramount and so we meet Robert Louis Stevenson, the supposed “author” of what should become a stable of English literature. But who is Robert Louis Stevenson? If we take a closer look at his name, it becomes apparent: Robert Louis Stevenson is an anagram for Subservient Lone Torso and he was the first Cyborg in human history. Toho created him with the sole intention of writing a novelization of the game, never expecting that he would retain fragments of his former self which would manifest in his writing. We don’t know for sure who the human part of this Robert Louis Stevenson was, some say it was the torso of the recently deceased Liberace, some think it was Andy Warhol’s, but his tale of two souls in one body would act as reminder of the dangers of cybernetic engineering for generations.
And this is how we ended up with two very different works of fiction. One about a guy taking a slow stroll through a city filled with maniacs and demons, one about the struggle with dissociative identity disorder. While the novelization was a huge success, the game never made an impact and so it is no surprise that all reinterpretations were based on the book. This is going to change soon however, thanks to a certain James Rolfe, better known as The Angry Video Game Nerd. Not only was he responsible for uncovering this relic of awfulness, he is also currently working on the first movie based on the original version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, more than 25 years after it was released and we have the trailer for it:
Disclaimer: Everything I wrote is of course true, minus the movie thing. It’s a stand-alone trailer, no movie coming. Sorry everybody.
In case you are wondering why there is so little happening on Twinstiq right now... what are you doing? There are tons of great games available. Go play them! Unless you're at work, in which case: ever heard of sick leave? You clearly aren't working if you are reading this anyway, so everyone profits. Read more
On November 16th, Microsoft added the ability to remap the buttons on your standard wireless controller for your XBox One. Those who want to change their button mapping can either launch the Xbox Accessories app or enter their Xbox One settings. If you don't have the app already, the link above will provide all the information you need to get it.
Remapping through the accessories app works by either swapping buttons or changing individual buttons through drop down menus. Looks altogether pretty simple.Those settings will only save on your console however, as the standard controllers don't have any on-board storage. So if you map your controls at home then take your controller to a friend's place, don't expect them to still be mapped the way you want. And sadly as of yet there is no PC support for said remapping, but it's on the way according to Microsoft.
On November 9th, the good folks at Psyonix released the new Mutator Mashup mode for everyone's favorite competitive vehicular soccer game, Rocket League. The additions include changes to gravity, ball size and speed, the levels of bounciness, and even automatically filling boost guages.
Along with the new game modes come 20 new unlockables in the form of flags and antennas including Fallout Boy, just in time for Fallout 4. Also involved are a few various fixes and changes, I'll link the full patch notes here.
Game play is still still as fun as ever, but quite a bit different in the mashups. For instance Beach Ball mode, makes the ball around a third the size of the goal itself which is pretty damn big. This is accompanied by and slower ball speed, which can throw off your timing like nobody's business. You wouldn't think it'd be difficult to hit a ball the size of a single car garage, but until you adjust yourself to the different physics the game puts in place it's pretty easy to sail right by it.
As always, click any image to see it full size.
In contrast Pinball mode, makes the ball considerably smaller than the original ball size and is super bouncy and super fast. This equates to something like playing paddle ball on the hood of your car while driving 80mph. Because of the balls size it's pretty hard to hit and the slightest touch will send it careening in another direction. I could only really get one good shot of the ball to get an idea of the size and it was at the start of the match.
A little tough to see, but it's in there.
In Moonball mode, the ball is bigger than normal and your boost guage fills automatically. Gravity is also very low, like crazy low. Jump once while you're moving and you'll probably fly across the arena. Which makes things pretty fun with your quickly filling boost guage.
There's also the Cubic mode, which presents normal physics but the ball of course will bounce all over the place from its lack of spherical form and your boost guage will automatically fill slowly. This creates some pretty uniqe challenges. Like wtf do I do when it's coming at the goal? This is also one of the original game modes from Super Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars. Pretty cool I say.
ZOMGsquareballWTF
And Finally there's Timewarp mode. The physics are all normal, the ball is the normal size etc. but every few seconds the game goes in to slow motion. This is something akin to playing with induced lag on bad hardware. It's not my personal favorite but like Cubic mode it was an original mode from Super Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars, which makes it cool.
So far it seems you can only choose to join the Mashup playlist to find matches with ever changing random settings, and it's only 3v3 so far. So no choosing your favorite mode yet, at least not online anyway. However you can choose a custom mode in private match and exhibition settings. It's a lot of fun added to what's already an incredibly fun game. And a major plus to all this is that the new game modes and new collectibles are completely free. No DLC to purchase, just a 665mb patch to download and you're ready to roll, so to speak.
Just a few days ago at the time of this article's writing, Larian Studios released the enhanced version of what is in my mind one of the best turn based rpgs of it's kind: Divinity Original Sin. This new and enhanced version comes with something like 1300 changes including controller support, better graphics, better optimization, 360 degree camera control, full voice over for all characters, even split screen co-op. Of course there are many more than I want to list so I'll link the full changelog here in case you're interested in seeing everything. Even better, Larian gave us lucky folks this enhanced version for free as long we already owned the previous Original Sin title. Mac and Linux users will unfortunately have to wait a bit longer but it's coming so don't fret.
Way back in 1989 on December 22nd in movie theaters Back to the Future 2, was released and we got to see Marty and the Doc go forward in the future to October 21st, 2015. Today IS October 21st, 2015 and that means It's Back to the Future day. How cool is that? From this point forward all the Back to the Future films will have taken place in the past. Boom... mind blown.
The fine folks at Psyonix have celebrated this wondrous occasion with the release of the Back to the Future, car pack for their popular title Rocket League. In the form of pure awesome this pack contains access to Doc. Brown's, DeLorean Time Machine. It'll cos you two bucks, but come on people it's the DeLorean Time Machine!
You get the DeLorean, the Outatime Boost Trail, and the DeLorean Time Machine wheels and tires. You'll be locked in to these options when you use the car, and you can only change the colors in the primary paint options, no graphics or secondary paint.
Here are some screens of the venerable Time Machine in action, as always click images to see them full size.
