A few days ago Twitch released two blog posts detailing changes they were going to be making to the storage and moderation of VODs in their system. The storage was to be limited in time and the moderation that much harsher on third-party music (and oddly in-game music according to the original post).

A recent AMA with Twitch’s CEO had him admitting that maybe there should have been a little more warning before these two practices were implemented on the streaming site, as well as clarifying that in-game music should NOT be subject to the new third-party rules (as long as it wasn’t something like the radio from GTA or Saints Row at least). Now, a new post has gone up detailing that feedback has made a difference.

The post says that the limit on highlights, previously to be restricted to just two hours, will be lifted. Highlights can once again be of any length, much to the relief of the speedrun livestreaming community on Twitch. The other change will be welcomed by all though: a simple method to appeal any strikes the new Audio Recognition system might put against you that you think are unfair or wrong.

“We’re deploying an “appeal” button for VODs that have been flagged… by the new Audio Recognition system. We recognize that the system is not yet perfect. We want to make this system as fair and unobtrusive as possible, and we greatly appreciate your help.” wrote Matthew DiPietro, VP of Marketing & Communication.

The post also says we can expect more changes, more clarity and generally more improvements to the new updates to Twitch in the coming weeks. Sounds promising.

Twitch blog “Two Important Updates. More to Come”: [x]

Seems that EA aren’t done making improvements and tweaks to Battlefield 4, and not just in the usual “we’re adding new things to make the game better” way of most games. They’re still making changes to core elements of the game. What’s even more unusual about this one is that they’re actually changing something so it’s more like one of the previous games in the same franchise, in this case Battlefield 3.

Part of the September patch is that soldier movements will once again act as they did during the third Battlefield game. The move shouldn’t compromise visual fidelity though and has been done to enable players to escape undesired firefights if they should wish to. They’re part of an effort to make shootouts of a more consistent timeframe, reducing visual recoils with an improved tickrate to better keep track of movements. DICE hope that this will enable players to react quicker to attacks, making for a better game all around.

Other things coming with the September patch include working to make deaths from behind cover a bad memory, a series of buffs and nerfs to vehicles and the general tweaks and tidy ups.

Battlefield 4 is currently due to have a week-long free trail starting from August 14th and the core game and last DLC are all on sale right now.

Eugen Systems are known for RTS games, the most recent they worked on being Wargame: Red Dragon. Now it seems that they wish to revisit 0ne of their older games, Act of War by releasing a sequel called Act of Aggression. Which could be exciting for those of us who grew up with the traditional base-builder RTS games of the 90s, as Act of War was of this ilk and so will its sequel.

The teaser trailer below shows off what the game will offer, vehicles, base building, tracking down and securing deposits of various resources across the land, setting up facilities to ensure smooth running for your forces and of course, seeking the enemy encampments and then rushing them with your forces to cause them to hurt. In short, all the things that used to make RTS a genre of careful building and planning back in the 90s. A genre I very much enjoyed back then.

Needless to say, I’m looking forward to this one.

The latest edition of Japan’s most popular gaming magazine, CoroCoro, has revealed three new Mega Evolutions of existing Pokémon which are apparently going to feature in the upcoming Pokémon titles, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Revealed in pictures and short descriptions in the magazine are Mega formes of Altaria, Lopunny and Salamance. According to translators, Mega Altaria will be a Dragon/Fairy with the Pixilate ability, while the decidedly odd-looking Mega Salamance does not have any typing mentioned, but will receive the Aerilate ability. Finally, Mega Lopunny completes its translation from cute bunny rabbit to serious bunny brawler, becoming a Normal/Fighting type with the Scrappy ability and also being able to now learn the move Hi Jump Kick.

      
Click images to enlarge. Images Courtesy Serebii.net

Also revealed in the magazine was more information about contests, which are already known to be returning in OR/AS. During a contest, it appears dressing up certain Pokémon in particular clothing will allow them access to unique moves specifically for use in a contest, Pikachu was confirmed to have four unique costume moves – a Rock Star costume grants it the move Meteor Mash, while a costume referred to as “Pikachu Ph.D” gives it Electric Terrain. Pikachu Pop Star knows Draining Kiss, Pikachu Belle knows Icicle Crash and Pikachu Libre knows Flying Press.

The special clothes will be made available by meeting up with a Contest Idol in the game called Lucia, though she may not be the only source of such clothing. It appears the clothing items now are more complete costumes, rather than the individual props as featured in Gen IV’s Super Contests and Gen V’s musicals – though whether such props still exist is unconfirmed. Also still unconfirmed are exactly how contests will work in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, as while signs point towards a system akin to the Gen IV Super Contests, no screenshots or information about a contest in-play have yet been shared. Surely though, it’s just a matter of time.

Now the last week or so I’ve been play (and streaming) World of Warcraft, but there is another MMO that I routinely play and that’s Star Trek Online

Following last week’s Star Trek Las Vegas Convention, publisher Perfect World Entertainment and developer Cryptic Studios have revealed the second expansion for Star Trek Online titled Delta Rising. With the upcoming expansion, players venture to the far reaches of the galaxy to the Delta Quadrant.

The expansion is set 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Voyager in which players are tasked with exploring the Delta Quadrant after discovering a portal in a Dyson Sphere. It has also been revealed that Garrett Wang will reprise his role as the Voyager series character Harry Kim. In regards to gameplay features, the expansion will raise the player level cap to 60, which in turn will unlock a new tier of ships, gears, and officers to earn after reaching level 50

Newly added in this expansion will be the Talaxians…

And Ocompa seen strongly in Voyager from the start

Along with the return of Garrett Wang as Harry Kim and new enemies in the form of Kazon and other Delta Quadrant aliens from the series!

View the official blog post for complete details on the Delta Rising expansion. Star Trek Online: Delta Rising will be available this fall for PC.