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A recent update to Blizzard’s Battle.net launcher seems to hint that talk at last year’s Blizzcon of tweaking the older Warcraft games to work better on newer computers might actually finally be about to offer up the games in question.
Added into the launcher are a bunch of icons, backgrounds and logos for Warcraft III, currently locked but looking pretty much ready for use. It was mentioned at Blizzcon 2013 that Blizzard had a small team working on updates to help the games run on present day Windows. Currently while it is possible to get Warcraft III and the previous two games to run on a modern computer, there is a lot of fiddling around with settings and tweaking to get it to run properly. There’s also a lack of support for the native resolutions too.
It is currently unknown when Warcraft III will become available through the launcher, and in what form. Just the game, tweaked to enable smooth running without the faff or will there be some TLC applied in the form of HD graphics and some extra content? Blizzcon 2014 is drawing closer so expect to hear something about it there.
The developers of Firefall, an FPS-MMO have recently been joining in the fun with players as they set themselves against them in what is called the “Chosen Offensive” event. This involves them attacking the most popular outposts in all Accord-owned territories and last week they players won. So the developers are going all out for the final event.
The developers will be out in force in the form of powerful Chosen bosses, and slaying them will net rewards for the players. Players logged in for an hour receive a bunch of in-game titles as well as 7 days of VIP, and everyone who takes part will receive a Chosen glider and an Earthbreaker Hologram pet.
You can also earn the follow in relation to your war efforts:
Piranha Games’ latest games project had a decent build-up to its reveal. It first teased the game with a site, containing space-themed images and a countdown timer. Transverse was then revealed, an ambitious MMO that would rely not on NPCs as shopkeepers and quest givers, but rather have a game universe filled with players and see what narratives and gameplay emerged from it.
However they have announced today that due to a lack of momentum, the original plan which was to crowdfund the game will not happen and they are going to take the game back to the drawing board to think of another way to fund it. The game required a budget of $1 million just to get the basic structure set up, and so Piranha have conceded defeat.
The news was broken on the website for Transverse, in which creative director and co-founder of the company Bryan Ekman addressed the fans of the game.
“It’s a bittersweet day.” said the blogpost. “Thank you for taking a chance and showing us that you are interested in seeing our vision come to life. …We are going to shut down our funding today, ahead of the 30 day deadline and begin the process of refunding as promised.”
Every three weeks or so Hi-Rez gives us the gift of a new god. They come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes they are completely and utterly broken, be it glitches or just being over powered.
This patch Hi-Rez have brought us Sylvanus, Keeper of the Wild. Sylvanus is a guardian and his kit is very clearly designed to be a support. Overall he feels like he is lacking in damage but what he lacks in that department he makes up for in control and team fight elements. On paper he seems like he will be strong through the entire game, really coming into his own during team fights where he can pull, root and knock targets up in a vicious CC chain that is inherent within his kit.Even his passive is designed around control, potentially rooting someone who attacks him!
Below you will find his kit and the entire Esports team’s thoughts on the new god’s abilities, also why not check out our video on Sylvanus;
Nature’s Protection – Passive
Enemies that successfully land a basic attack on Sylvanus have a 25% chance to be rooted for 1s. This may only happen once every 12s.
Clumzydeath: Even with the internal cooldown of 12s. this is an incredible powerful and awkward passive. He has little to no control over when the root will take place but on the other hand, neither does his opponent. It is great for dissuading trades and forces dominance with just his sheer presence in a fight. The medium length cooldown means that it can be “activated” more than once in prolonged engagements and at least once in a flurry of blows, in lane.
Darkseeker: With this much control and power available to Sylvanus, even in just his basic set, we could very well be looking at the most ridiculous support class Smite has ever created! His abilities inherently carry some form of damage or control, and the passive ability just makes him sound (On paper at the very least) like a total monster!
Digmbot: This passive is ridiculous. You can wade into a team fight with it knowing that SOMEONE is going to get rooted just for attacking you. Its just straight up evil. You can make it work for you even more by pulling someone in with his 3, forcing them to either attack you, or absorb massive damage from your team as they try to retreat. All in all, I think this might be one of the most team focused passives in the game, and its a real doozy. Just fighting against it a few times, I’ve been wrecked by being rooted and then pounced on by two other players.
Novindus: This passive seems very strong, in application it allows you to body block for your team mates to attempt to trigger the root and from personal experience once they are rooted they quickly suffer the wrath of the rest of your kit as you can then pull him and hold him in place even on low health for your team to secure the kill and get out safely, on the other end of the scale this passive is also great for escaping as once they are rooted you can turn, apply more CC and give yourself even more time to escape without being punished by movement penalties and diminishing returns because they are already CCd.
Verdant Growth
Sylvanus throws a seed to a target location. If it hits an enemy they will take 80/100/120/140/160 + 35% of your magical power as damage and become rooted for 2s. If the seed lands on the ground, after 10s it will grow into a flower providing 6/10/14/18/20 MP5 to nearby allies. The pod can be destroyed by basic attacks, exploding and releasing poisonous spores that reduce protections of nearby enemies by 5/10/15/20/25 for 5s. Cooldown 12s. Cost 60/65/70/75/80.
Clumzydeath: Well that’s a lot of text to read! This ability is in theory great for supporting before the game even starts by placing seeds in other lanes however that means little to no ward coverage and 0 damage potential until level 2 is reached. On the other hand once the game gets rolling the mp5 is extremely useful and the root of 2 SECONDS, is insane.
Darkseeker: MP5 regen with an AoE or straight up magic damage, with spores that reduce protections!? Sounds to me like a perfect balance between screwing over your enemies and buffing allies! Used wisely, this could really help set up massive team assaults or give a large amount of aid to solo laners or Junglers!
Digmbot: So, this one is a bit tricky. Throwing down MP5 regeneration is awesome. And the protection strip when someone destroys it is also awesome. But where this ability shines for me is that you can also use if offensively. An area root? Yeah, I’m all for that. Used tactically, this is a really evil way to lock down enemies while your jungle or ADC closes in for a kill.
Novindus: This is the diamond in the rough, Sylvanus’ kit is really strong but this is where it really shines. His kit comes with a huge amount of control but the truly supporting element is this ability, the power to strip protections away and root or to give protections and mana regeneration to team mates is REALLY strong.
Wisps
Sylvanus releases wisps that seek out nearby allies and enemies. Allies are healed 25/35/45/55/65 +15% of your magical power every 1s for 5s and have their protections increased by 5/10/15/20/25 for 5s while enemies take 10,15,20,25,30 +10% of your magical power every 1s for 5s as damage over time. Cooldown 18/17/16/15/14s. Cost 60/65/70/75/80.
Clumzydeath: Having any sort of heal as a support can mean the difference between winning or losing, mostly because trading in the duo lane is paramount. With a decent range, this ability can not only hit the full minion wave, but potentially your hunter and the enemy gods as well. Between this and his grab, being close to the minion wave strongly dissuades your opponents from getting too close. In team fights, its a one button wonder, applying heals and dots to all around him, what’s not to like?
Darkseeker: Healing and damage and protection buffs! Simultaneously? In one ability? Who would say no to that! Nov’s pretty justified in his opinion here don’t get me wrong, the damage is very low and the heal is more of a nice trick, but with the right builds and good positioning, this could be a nasty way to reverse any fight thats going awry!
Digmbot: Novindus is being a goober on this one. You can toss down a heal over time AND damage over time simultaneously? Thats fantastic. The damage might not be that great, but the heal is well worth it. Granted, the heal itself isn’t a ton, but sometimes 25 HP can make all the difference. Yet again, we see Sylvanus stripping protection in addition to buffing allies. Where I see this ability shining is when you start comboing it with Sylvanus’ 1, or with other gods that have tons of CC. Not a single target move, but in a group, the utility of this one is massive.
Novindus: In all honesty this is the only part of the kit that feels underwhelming, the tick heal is nice but the damage is very low. The main factor that makes this ability viable, useful and strong is the large amount of additional protection that it grants, this on a support means close to 40 or 50 protections being given to team mates just with one ability and a core item.
Nature’s Grasp
Sylvanus’s treant launches his rooty hand out in front of him. The hand stops at the first enemy god hit, stunning them for 1s and pulling them back towards Sylvanus. Cooldown 30/27/24/21/18s. Cost 70/75/80/85/90.
Clumzydeath: Not the easiest of abilities to land, but at the same time, it sets Sylvanus up to unleash verdant fury. Once the pull is landed, the easy root is inevitable, from there the ulti can be used for a ridiculous amount of crowd control. Yes the cooldown is long, especially in the early-mid game when it is not leveled but once it is used, successfully, the damage potential is insane.
Darkseeker: This move will require a lot of training to get the hang of, especially with the speed of the ability and the limited hitbox. That said, a well placed shot with this can pull a vital enemy hero right into the middle of your group, introducing them to a whole new definition of pain.
Digmbot: I hate this move. In theory, its awesome. Grab an enemy. Pull them in. Knock them up with the ult. Stun them with the 1, rip damage and more protections off them with the 3, and watch them get burned down by your team. Thats the theory. In practice, this grab moves to slow, the hitbox is either too small or just bugged, and it just doesn’t feel right. If they tweak it a little, it will be devastating. Even now, when you connect and drag an enemy into the middle of a team fight, its a great feeling.
Novindus: When they said they would be taking Arachne’s ultimate and putting it on another god I did not expect it to be so soon are so downright scary, giving a support the ability to grab a target out of a team fight is stupidly strong.
Wrath of Terra
Sylvanus’s treant slams his large trunks into the ground causing large thorny roots to break out of the ground around him. Enemies hit are knocked up and take 60/70/80/90/100 +25% of your magical power every 1s for 5s as damage. Cooldown 90s. Cost 100.
Clumzydeath: A knock up with a dot… not the most exciting of ultis, it is yet another AoE CC maneuver, similar to that of Geb. With the rest of the crowd control abilities that Sylvanus has at his disposal, it is a natural fit yet to me it feels lackluster with the similar ultimates that other gods possess. While I might feel another more creative option could have been explored, that does not mean that the ability is by any means bad. As mentioned the CC-combinations that are available can be amazing in teamfights and the dot is especially frustrating to deal with in combination with the wisps dot effect as well.
Darkseeker: The damage is a little lack-lustre I’ll grant, but just like Digmbot says, Momentum = cancelled. Nil, Zilch! Another example of the utter brutality that is is Sylvanus’ control!
Digmbot: People might not realize how evil this ult is. Yes, enemies that are hit by it are knocked up. But, in contrast to some other knock ups in the game, they are knocked STRAIGHT UP. Momentum is cancelled. This thing stops everyone hit by it in their tracks. Who cares if the damage on it is garbage. You knock up the entire enemy team in a team fight, and your own allies are going to react like sharks smelling blood in the water. Sylvanus’ ult is the capstone on one evil skill set.
Novindus: For those of you who have played support before you will recognize the origins of this kit, it feels like a mixture of Chaac and Geb’s ultimates and maybe a splash of Zhong Kui, the knock up is huge as just like a stun it allows them to be CC chained and to continue to be damaged but unlike a stun you cannot cleanse a knock up in the middle of it and the damage is not small, bring this to the field with a fully support kit that has a lot of CC and combo potential and it makes Sylvanus a truly terrifying force.
Thats it for our opinions on Sylvanus. What do you think about this new god? Let us know in the comments below!
One of the thornier issues that have recently been causing waves in the online video review industry has been the question of paid-for and sponsored content. Content creators and livestreamers often need these sorts of deals to continue to operate their businesses, but understandably the viewers are worried about if being paid by the same companies making the games means that the reviews could be biased in favour of the games’ companies.
Twitch has obviously seen these issues raging recently because they’ve taken the decision to lay down some guidelines so that viewers can be better informed if a stream has been ‘paid for’ by someone other than the viewers tuning in. They announced the new measures in a blog post, calling the sponsored streams “influencer campaigns”.
It explains that thanks to a lack of clear-cut practices in how to declare paid-for content, it has led to such things becoming a “dark corner of the industry” with viewers not knowing whose opinions to trust and the content creators themselves becoming conflicted over whether they should accept deals or not even if they need the money.
“Gamers can tend to look skeptically on the video ecosystem because they don’t know what is paid-for content and what is not,” reads Twitch’s blog. “It also opens influencers to potential criticism.”
This is not just a Twitch issue, although there are rules stating that paid-for content needs to be declared somewhere the viewing public can see; ‘somewhere they can see’ is a very vague term and can often lead to the Youtube description version of ‘small print’ being used (i.e. it’s hidden at the bottom of a description box and there only). There are no clear guidelines for how exactly sponsored content is declared.
Because of this, Twitch have set the following guidelines in place for influencer campaigns in future:
Twitch will clearly identify all sponsored content.
Twitch will never require positive sentiment from an influencer, and it will never suppress negative impressions.
If a sponsored video is on the front page, it will say “sponsored channel.”
Tweets and newsletters that feature or promote sponsored content will feature “brought to you by” language.
These rules apply only to campaigns that go through Twitch. Broadcasters are still free to make their own deals and probably will continue to do so.
It isn’t going to change too much in the question of whether it’s a conflict of interest for a content creator or streamer to take money to promote a game, but at least it’s a start.
Twitch blog “Transparency in Sponsored Content and Promotion”: [x]
