General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


Everything Cool Asus Showed at CES

Posted: 09 Jan 2016 12:22 AM PST

CES is becoming more of an automotive show than anything else. Every year there's more car companies and more car demos. This year was no exception. The PC industry really needs to have its own show. Thankfully, there are still plenty of nuggets to be found, and Asus showed off some goodies this year.

ROG XG2 external graphics docking station
External graphics is getting serious.
External graphics is getting serious.

Asus won't be left out in the external graphics department with its new XG2 docking station. The XG2 is similar to Razer's new Core in that both are USB Type-C docking stations. Whereas the Core uses Thunderbolt 3 over USB Type-C, Asus tells us that it's using something else entirely—something proprietary. The XG2, says Asus, doesn't rely on Thunderbolt 3, which would require encoding and decoding of the graphics card's signal. While Thunderbolt 3's 40Gb/s speed is fast, Asus tells us the XG2 is using raw PCIe signally. We'll have to wait to get both units in for some benchmarking to see which one performs best.

ROG Claymore mechanical keyboard
Smart keyboard design.
Smart keyboard design.

Asus unveiled its Claymore mechanical keyboard, which offers the full range of Cherry MX key switches. The keyboard also interfaces with Asus's ROG software to customize its RGB lighting. Standard affair so far, except the specialty is that you can swap locations of the side num-pad. Don't like it on the right? Move it to the left. Or, you don't have to use it at all to reduce the keyboard's desktop footprint.

ROG Maximus VIII Formula
RGB motherboards. It had to happen.
RGB motherboards. It had to happen.

Asus's new Maximus VIII Formula defining feature set is its monochrome design with full RGB lighting. Sometimes going with your favorite motherboard means you'll have to be specific about how your want to customize the color of your build. Not so with the Maximus VIII Formula. Asus removed all permanent color components from the board and made it completely black. In place of fixed colors, the new Maximus VIII Formula integrates full RGB lighting around various parts of the mobo.

The Maximus VIII Formula is a socket 1151 with support for 4 DDR4 DIMMs. One interesting feature is a dedicated LED light strip header on the bottom-left of the board. The board ships with an extension cable that you connect your light strips to, and depending on the strips, allows you full customization and syncing with the board's lighting.

XG-D2008 10GbE switch
The XG-D2008 10GbE switch is very thin.
The XG-D2008 10GbE switch is very thin.

Asus is getting into the 10GbE business with its new XG-D2008 switch. The box is very thin and small compared to other switches with the same number of ports. Two of the ports on the XG-D2008 are 10GbE, while the rest are 1GbE. The two ports are for connecting your primary system and one other 10GbE device, such as a NAS. No word on pricing for this slick switch. We're waiting on Asus to deliver its new router with full-on 10GbE support. That'll be slick.

ROG Spatha gaming mouse with changeable switches
Swapple switches in a mouse.
Swapple switches in a mouse.

The new ROG Spatha mouse offers some real customizability with switches that are completely removable and changeable. The company says this will allow for greater control over how the mouse feels and responds. To our knowledge, this is the first feature of this kind to be offered in a mouse.

Spatha breakout.
Spatha breakout.

We can see where this might go, with Asus's future gaming motherboards that'll offer removable Cherry MX switches—free idea for keyboard companies! The mouse has 12 programmable buttons and offers a 2GHz polling rate. No details on DPI but it's fully configurable, too. ROG RGB lighting is naturally included.

The Coolest Stuff We Saw At CES 2016

Posted: 08 Jan 2016 09:02 PM PST

MMORPG News

MMORPG News


Life is Feudal: MMO Version to Begin Beta Testing in March

Posted: 09 Jan 2016 06:13 AM PST

In a new interview, Bitbox CEO Vladimir Piskunov has revealed that the MMO version of Life is Feudal is on track to begin closed beta testing in March. Alpha backers from the first round of testing will be invited back in for the first wave of CBT slated to last approximately (if all goes well) for two weeks.

SMITE: World Championship - Day Two Recap and Results

Posted: 09 Jan 2016 12:54 AM PST

The final match of the day will pit two EU teams against each other, Epsilon, who went 27-1 during the SPL Fall Split, and Fnatic, who are the longest tenured team in the Smite Pro Leagues. These two teams are long-time scrim partners, and know each other exceedingly well. Having said that, I am sure they both have saved some pocket strats for just such an occasion as this, and we will see those tricks of the trade shortly.

General: Baldur's Gate: EE - Story Teases Upcoming Expansion

Posted: 08 Jan 2016 02:21 PM PST

A new short fiction story based on the Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition universe has been published on Dragonmag.com that foreshadows the upcoming Siege of Dragonspear expansion. While developer, Beamdog, is not ready to release all of the details we do know that the expansion will come complete with new zones, items, enemies, quests, 4 new characters and the shaman class. The expansion will reportedly be released later in 2016 for PC, Android and iOS.

Blade & Soul: Launch Guide Published, Client Download Now Available

Posted: 08 Jan 2016 02:26 PM PST

The Blade & Soul site has been updated with a terrific new launch guide to get players ready to roll when servers go live for Founders on January 15th and for the wider public the next week. Founders will also be able to reserve character names beginning Monday, January 11th and through January 15th.

General: Greed Monger Back In Production

Posted: 08 Jan 2016 12:17 PM PST

Massively is reporting that Greed Monger's original lead programmer, James Proctor, has revived the Greed Monger site and announced that the game is back in development. According to a post on the forums, systems are in development for PvE encounters and a 'beta land rush'. The site itself is largely empty, though there are new forums for interested parties to check out.

General: Oculus Rift is Overpriced and In Trouble

Posted: 07 Jan 2016 03:44 PM PST

Oculus made a splash by opening up pre-orders this week and unveiling their retail price at $599, substantially more than Palmer Luckey's September "in the ballpark" of $350 quote. While many gamers are gleeful that virtual reality will soon be arriving in their very own living rooms, our RPG columnist is concerned. Is $600 just too much?

Marvel Heroes 2015: Dave Brevik Leaves Gazillion Entertainment

Posted: 08 Jan 2016 09:39 AM PST

VentureBeat.com is reporting that CEO and Gazillion Entertainment company founder David Brevik has resigned. According to the interview, acting CEO Dave Dohrmann has indicated that the split was an amicable one.

Crowfall: Site Updated with Ranger Preview

Posted: 08 Jan 2016 08:23 AM PST

The Crowfall site has been updated with a brand new archetype preview, this time featuring the Ranger. Rangers are given the ability to hide, set traps and are a blend of melee and ranged gameplay.

Albion Online: Becoming Invincible

Posted: 08 Jan 2016 08:18 AM PST

The Albion Online team is starting a new series spotlighting the various builds that players may wish to explore in the game. In this week's installment, the "iron-clad tank" is profiled with a look at gear, bonuses, weapon choices and more.

Crowfall: Women in Gaming - Artcraft's Valerie Massey

Posted: 07 Jan 2016 03:34 PM PST

Women are becoming an increasingly significant sector in games development, taking part in every aspect of bringing games to life. As one of the often lesser-known sectors of the industry, we wanted to shine the spotlight on some incredible leaders, none finer than Artcraft Entertainment's Valerie Massey.

SMITE: World Championship - Day One Recap and Results

Posted: 08 Jan 2016 05:24 AM PST

Today was Day One here in Atlanta for the Smite World Championship, otherwise known as the Placement round. Two teams were eliminated today, leaving eight teams to move on. Cloud 9 (NA) and Paradigm (EU) have byes in the first round, so there are eight games to be played, and teams need to lose two to be eliminated.

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