Steam’s Early Access program has been going for about a year and a half right now, and since then although a great many games has passed through it that otherwise would not have… it’s gotten a bit of a reputation for letting some developers get away with selling an unfinished game to customers and then never finishing the game. And that’s just the surface, the rabbit hole sometimes goes much deeper with some infamous games and even lead to them being removed from Steam entirely (*coughthewarzcough*).

Valve has always wanted to be hands-off with the entire thing, not wishing to interfere with the process but it seems that enough is enough. Valve are now setting in place some rules and guidelines for Early Access developers, and the rules at the very least are etched in stone.

First Valve defines what an Early Access game is by saying that it’s a chance to “invite customers to get involved with your game as you develop” and get feedback that will allow for the game to be developed to best fit with what the audience is looking for. But they also note that “When you launch a game in Steam Early Access, there is an expectation by customers that you will continue development to a point where you have what you consider a ‘finished’ game”.

There are three concrete rules that need to be adhered to now, that are as follows:

• Developers need to make it clear on any third-party sites they use to sell Steam keys that the game is not in a completed state. This means that they must include the Early Access branding and a link to Steam’s Early Access FAQ.
• Developers should avoid making promises about the future, such as release dates and additional content. They can talk about plans but try not to make it sound like they will definitely happen – “Customers should be buying your game based on its current state, not on promises of a future that may or may not be realized.”
• Steam Early Access titles should not be made available for purchase on Steam any later than it is made available elsewhere. The game should also be made available for a reasonable price.

There are also a set of guidelines, which are more like a checklist of mistakes past Early Access Developers have made in the past:

• Don’t launch in Early Access if you can’t afford to develop with very few or no sales.
• Make sure you set expectations properly everywhere you talk about your game.
• Don’t launch in Early Access without a playable game (tech demos don’t count as playable games)
• Don’t launch in Early Access if you are done with development.

Sometimes it takes things going wrong to finally set them right, and things must have gone wrong to make Valve go against their typical hands-off policy with regards to Steam. Here’s hoping that the new rules and guidelines will cut down on Early Access issues and those who deliberately exploit the system will now be dealt with by Valve for breaking rules that have finally been set.

Developers of long-running fantasy MMO Runescape announced that they’ve begun work on a new game, a first-person shooter called Block N Load.

As you might be able to guess from the title, the game takes place in a blocky landscape that resembles Minecraft, but there’s a reason for that. The game is a team-based shooter, 5v5 and besides the typical shooting of an FPS, Block N Load will let players build their own defensive and offensive encampments as well. Sounds interesting.

Six playable characters are available, which include a robot obsessed with weapons, a chemistry-loving female doctor and a Mexican ninja. It will not be browser-based or free-to-play, unlike the game Jagex is well known for right now.

The beta for the game will take place this Winter and can be signed up for at the special Block N Load website Jagex made for the game, while the full release will be coming to Steam in 2015.

Beta sign-up: [x]

As if Blizzard’s problems with Warlords wasn’t enough, it seems that another MMO is having DDOS problems right now. Final Fantasy XIV’s servers have been unreliable for the last few days and Square Enix are blaming it on a DDOS attack.

In a blog addressing the issue Square say that “Currently we are experiencing DDoS attacks from an anonymous third-party targeting the FINAL FANTASY XIV game servers on the NA/EU data center” with a “massive amount” of access attempts hammering the servers and making it so that it’s difficult for any actual players to log in. However players are to be reassured that all character data and personal information is safe.

Their technicians have been working to stop the attacks and return the game to normal service but the third-party is changing their strategy every few minutes making it hard to keep up with them. Square have said they are continuing to monitor the attack right now and hope to restore full service soon, although they haven’t given a timescale for when to expect the servers to be back.

Far Cry 4 released recently, and came with a day one patch to fix up a few things – most notably adding some Field-Of-Vision/FOV controls to the options menu. At least, it will have done for any owner of a legitimate copy of the game that was connected to the Internet.

This seems to have caught a good few people who managed to download copies online before launch out, as their copies would not have had the patch and some took to the social networks like Reddit and Twitter to complain about what they perceived to be an error on Ubisoft’s part. Some even complaining to Ubisoft’s official accounts themselves. Oops.

PC players! If you’re online complaining about the lack of FOV control … You pirated the game.

— Alex Hutchinson (@BangBangClick) November 18, 2014

As for the launch itself, as of right now Far Cry 4 seems to be faring better than its older brother, Assassin’s Creed: Unity, at least on the initial reception front. Having a game that seems to be mostly free of the obvious bugs that made news with AC:U helps. Three big errors have been popping up regularly though and another patch is already being worked upon to help fix those issues. They are crashes on the PC build due to peripherals, PS3 save problems for those with Far Cry 3 savefiles and an issue where some users have not received pre-order bonus items.

Doubtless illegal copies won’t be getting automatically updated with this patch either.

Although us PC gamers still have months yet to wait for a version of GTA V on our preferred console (seriously, it’s going on my Steam Wishlist asap), the next-gen/current-gen versions of GTA V are due to be released on the newest console this week. They’re enhanced just as the PC versions will be so they let us see just what can be expected from it.

The first-person view has been trailered and shown off many times through Let’s Players on Youtube, in chases, fights and even sex (that last one is bound to cause some controversy). Also re-done is the amount of traffic, the foliage and the wildlife you can expect to see, along with the songs on the radio stations. A lot of new ones have been added and thanks to Pitchfork we now know what music to expect.

Here’s the list of new tracks and the stations they’ll be played on:

Lowdown:

• Pleasure: “Bouncy Lady”
• Ohio Players: “Climax”
• Jackson Sisters: “I Believe in Miracles”
• War: “Magic Mountain”
• The Delfonics: “Funny Feeling”
• Brass Construction: “Changin'”
• Johnny Guitar Watson: “Superman Lover”
• The Chakachas: “Stories”

Space:

• Dazz Band: “Joystick”
• Imagination: “Flashback”
• Fatback Band: “Gotta Get My Hands (On Some Money)”
• Central Line: “Walking Into Sunshine”
• Cameo: “Back and Forth”
• Billy Ocean: “Nights Feel Like Getting Down”
• Parliament: “Flash Light”
• Zapp: “Do It Roger”
• Parliament: “Mothership Connection”

Blue Ark:

• I-Octane: “Topic of the Day”
• Danny Hensworth: “Mr. Money Man”
• Vybz Kartel: “Addi Truth”
• Demarco: “Loyals (Royals Remix)”
• Busy Signal: “Kingston Town” [ft. Damian Marley]
• LSP: “Money Come and Money Go”
• LSP: “Roast Fish & Cornbread”

Mirror Park:

• The Ruby Suns: “In Real Life”
• Panama: “Always”
• !!!: “One Girl One Boy”
• Yeasayer: “O.N.E.”
• Niki and the Dove: “The Drummer”
• Hot Chip: “Flutes”
• Holy Ghost!: “Hold On”
• Scenic: “Mesmerized”
• Dom: “Living in America”
• Little Dragon: “Crystalfilm”
• Twin Shadow: “Forget”
• SBTRKT: “Pharaohs” [ft. Roses Gabor]
• Toro Y Moi: “New Beat”
• Kauf: “When You’re Out”
• Neon Indian: “Polish Girl”
• Mitzi: “Truly Alive”
• Cut Copy: “Strangers in the Wind”
• Age of Consent: “Heartbreak”

Los Santos Rock Radio:

• Creedence Clearwater Revival: “Fortunate Son”
• Mountain: “Mississippi Queen”
• Alannah Miles: “Black Velvet”
• Kansas: “Carry On, Wayward Son”
• Survivor: “Burning Heart”
• ZZ Top: “Gimme All Your Lovin'”
• Broken English: “Coming on Strong”
• Boston: “Peace of Mind”
• Yes: “Roundabout”
• Harry Chapin: “Cats in the Cradle”
• Pat Benatar: “Shadows of the Night”
• Humble Pie: “30 Days in the Hole”
• Starship: “We Built This City”
• Belinda Carlisle: “Circle in the Sand”
• Kenny Loggins: “Danger Zone”

Rebel Radio:

• Homer and Jethro: “She Made Toothpicks”
• Tammy Wynette: “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”
• Marvin Jackson: “Dippin’ Snuff”
• Charlie Feathers: “Get With It”
• The Highwaymen: “Highway Man”
• Ray Price: “Crazy Arms”

West Coast Classics:

• Jayo Felony: “Sherm Sticc III”
• CPO: “Ballad of a Menace”
• Conscious Daughters: “We Roll Deep”
• South Central Cartel: “Servin’ ‘Em Heat”
• Westside Connection: “Bow Down”
• Spice 1: “The Murda Show” [ft. MC Eiht]
• Warren G: “This DJ”
• E-40: “Captain Save a Hoe”
• Lady of Rage: “Afro Puffs”
• Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: “1st of the Month”
• Eazy-E: “No More Questions”
• Luniz: “I Got 5 on It”

Punk:

• D.O.A.: “The Enemy”
• The Zeros: “Don’t Push Me Around”
• D.R.I.: “I Don’t Need Society”
• Red Kross: “Linda Blair”
• X: “Los Angeles”
• MDC: “John Wayne Was a Nazi”

Pop:

• Blow Monkeys: “Wait” [ft. Kim Myzelle]
• INXS: “New Sensation”
• Bobby Brown: “On Our Own”
• Sly Fox: “Let’s Go All the Way”
• Living in a Box: “Living in a Box”
• Taylor Dayne: “Tell It to My Heart”
• Bronski Beat: “Small Town Boy”
• Naked Eyes: “Promises, Promises”
• Simply Red: “Something Got Me Started (Steve Silk Hurley Mix)”
• Backstreet Boys: “I Want It That Way”
• Morcheeba: “Tape Loop”
• Sneaker Pimps: “6 Underground”
• Jamiroquai: “Alright”
• Moloko: “The Time Is Now”
• Robbie Williams & Kylie Minogue: “Kids”
• Cassie: “Me & You”
• Gorillaz: “Feel Good Inc.”
• Dirty Vegas: “Days Go By”
• Maroon 5: “Moves Like Jagger”
• M.I.A.: “Bad Girls”
• M83: “Midnight City”
• Lorde: “Tennis Court”
• Lady Gaga: “Applause”
• Black Eyed Peas: “Meet Me Halfway”
• Mike Posner: “Cooler Than Me”

Radio Los Santos:

• Danny Brown & Action Bronson: “Bad News”
• G-Side: “Relaxin'”
• A$AP Ferg: “Work”
• Kendrick Lamar: “Swimming Pools (Drank)”
• Danny Brown: “Kush Coma” [ft. A$AP Rocky and Zelooperz]
• Schoolboy Q: “Collard Greens” [ft. Kendrick Lamar]
• Skeme: “Millions”
• Ab-Soul: “Hunnid Stax” [ft. Schoolboy Q]
• Problem & Iamsu!: “Do It Big” [ft. Bad Lucc and Sage the Gemini]
• Chuck Inglish: “Came Thru/Easily” [ft. Ab-Soul and Mac Miller]
• Young Scooter: “Work” [ft. Gucci Mane]
• Trouble: “Everyday”
• Travi$ Scott: “Upper Echelon” [ft. T.I. and 2 Chainz]
• Ace Hood: “Bugatti” [ft. Future and Rick Ross]
• Young Scooter: “I Can’t Wait” [ft. Trinidad James]
• Freddi Gibbs & Mike Dean: “Sellin’ Dope”

Vinewood:

• Bleached: “Next Stop”
• Coliseum: “Used Blood”
• The Men: “Turn It Around”
• No Bunny: “Gone for Good”
• Soft Pack: “Answer to Yourself”
• JEFF the Brotherhood: “Sixpack”
• Mind Spiders: “Fall in Line”
• The Orwells: “Who Needs You”

Worldwide FM:

• Sinkane: “Shark Week”
• William Onyeabor: “Body & Soul”
• Four Tet: “Kool FM”
• Mount Kimbie: “Made to Stray”
• Anushka: “World in a Room”
• Smokey Robinson: “Why You Wanna See My Bad Side?”
• Randy Crawford: “Street Life”
• Flume: “What You Need”
• Earl Sweatshirt: “Hive” [ft. Casey Veggies and Vince Staples]
• Portishead: “Numb”
• Jonwayne: “Black Magic”
• Roman GianArthur: “I69”
• Lion Babe: “Treat Me Like Fire”
• Dâm-Funk: “Kill Dat”
• Jamie Lidell: “Run Away”
• Chvrches: “Recover (Cid Rim Remix)”
• Jimmy Edgar: “Let Yrself Be”
• Clap! Clap!: “Viajero”
• Maga Bo: “No Balanco De Conoa”

FlyLo FM:

• Curtis Mayfield: “Eddie You Should Know Better”
• Doris: “You Never Come Closer”
• Flying Lotus: “Meditation Meditation” [ft. Krayzie Bone]
• XXYYXX: “What We Want”
• Lapalux: “Make Money”
• Mono/Poly: “B Adams” [ft. Thundercat]
• Flying Lotus: “Osaka Trade”
• DOOM: “Masquatch”
• Flying Lotus: “Early Mountain”
• Dimlite: “Into Vogon Skulls”
• Knower: “Fuck the Makeup, Skip the Shower”
• Kaskade: “4 AM”
• AraabMuzik: “Streetz Tonight”