When Simcity was first released a lot of players asked why it was an online-only game, questioning if this was really best for the play experience. EA answered this by saying that the way the game was designed and programmed meant that it wouldn’t work in offline mode. This didn’t stop fans asking for an offline mode though, and when modders proved that EA hadn’t been truthful with their statement about the game not working offline, they were forced to admit it hadn’t been part of the ‘vision’ for Simcity. Then Maxis said back in October that offline play was being considered. Now it’s finally been officially confirmed: Simcity is getting that offline mode that many say should have been there from the beginning.

In a post on the Maxis blog general manager Patrick Buechner reveals that Update 10 will bring offline to the game, a free download that will allow players to keep access to their previously downloaded content without the need for a connection. It will allow for play solo in regions or in a new single player mode with save files being stored locally to be loaded up and continued wherever, whenever the player wants. The leaderboards and global market will still be tied to the online play though.

“We are in the late phases of wrapping up its development and while we want to get it into your hands as soon as possible, our priority is to make sure that it’s as polished as possible before we release it. So, until then… testing, testing and more testing” Buechner writes in the post.

He also promises that a follow-up blog will outline the new update in more detail soon. Let’s hope that the priority to polishing this update means that this will be well received and mercifully free of game-breaking bugs unlike a few past updates to Simcity.

The blog post mentioned in this article is here.

For five years, World Wrestling Entertainment (otherwise known as WWE) has been hard at work developing the “WWE Network” – a TV Network owned by the WWE which would host exclusive content – such as non-wrestling shows made for the network that feature its “Superstar” talent – as well as becoming the official platform by which its Pay-Per-View wrestling shows would be distributed through in the future.

Starting February 24th, 2014, residents of the United States will finally be able to enjoy the fruits of their labour, when the WWE Network launches online. For $9.99 a month, subscribers will get access to the 12 WWE pay-per-view events WWE produces annually, starting with this year’s WrestleMania – WWE’s most popular Pay-Per-View. The Network will also broadcast future episodes of NXT – its wrestling promotion that showcases fresher talent with the aim of turning one or more of them into full WWE Superstars by the end of each season – as live TV shows for the first time; and will also host brand-new shows exclusive to the network and archive footage from the yesteryears of WWE, WWF, WCW and ECW.

A screenshot of the WWE Network Playstation App. The WWE Network will hit PC, Playstation, Xbox and Roku TV Boxes (see below)

Originally, the plan for the WWE Network was for it to be an independent cable network people could sign up to and receive like their existing TV Network, but this was shot down. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon then toyed with the idea of making the network a pay-TV channel like HBO. The idea would have been that existing TV Networks could licence the WWE Network from them and then offer it as an additional channel to their own customers for an additional monthly subscription. McMahon said WWE had deals ready to go with major distributors for a network that would have generated fees of 20 cents per month, per subscriber; but this cost and the terms of the deals being offered by the distributors were “too restrictive”; and he walked away.

“I said, much to the chagrin of my staff, I’m not going to sign it.”
– Vince McMahon

Instead, the WWE looked at how Netflix was able to create an OTT service and became convinced that its own rabid fan base would embrace a similar approach. “Our fans are early adopters of new technologies,” McMahon said, adding that the service will need about a million subscribers to break even. Michelle Wilson, WWE’s chief revenue and marketing officer, added, “This gives us control of our destiny and a better user interface … We think this is the future.”

So, the new WWE Network will be an online, “Over The Top” TV Network, which will be available online in your browser, or through specially-made WWE Network apps hitting Playstation, Xbox and Roku TV boxes. United States subscribers will have access to the Network via their chosen device for free between February 24th until March 2nd as a one-week trial to celebrate the Network’s launch, which will include one live NXT Episode.

While WWE are still quiet on when other territories will receive the Network, the company has stated that they plan to expand its reach further “by year’s end”. With the United Kingdom being WWE’s second biggest-selling territory, we highly expect an announcement for a UK launch in the next few months 🙂

Oh Toshiba… anything they can do, you can do better, is it? While other companies announce laptops with 2,560 x 1,440 screens, Toshiba is one-upping everyone by showing off the Satellite P50t, a notebook computer with a 15.6-inch, 3,840 x 2,160 display. That also gives it a screen density of 282 pixels per inch – which is 294% more pixels than the standard 96DPI most Windows set-ups are catered for and thus results in some VERY small icons indeed. It’s unlikely you’ll appreciate the extra screen density for a while too given a distinct lack of Windows software or apps designed for such high resolution screens — but then this is a problem for high-res as a whole, not the laptop itself. Colours really pop however, and Toshiba have seen fit to ensure the screen is well-built enough to offer a range of viewing angles. The laptop is also planned to have a mix of Core i5/i7 processors, but nothing else is yet known specs-wise. We suppose all will be revealed when this finally goes on sale – which Toshiba tells us should be “sometime mid-year”.

The first snapshot of what Minecraft 1.8 version promises was released yesterday, bringing with it a handful of new block types among other useful updates.

The update has added three new types of stone: granite, diorite and andesite as well as polished versions of all three. All three are naturally occurring stones that appear around lava lakes as well as in extreme hill biomes. The update also includes a slime block which has a slowing effect when walked over as well as being able to break the fall of a player and being bouncy and a recipe to craft mossy stone brick from stone bricks and vines.

As well the update brings useful little updates such as:

– Doors now stack to 64

– Chests able to be locked

– Villagers now have sub-sets to their trading ‘classes’

– Optional entity parameter added the the /kill command

– Optional parameters so the /clear command will only remove a certain amount of items as opposed to all

– Many other useful map and game updates.

Snapshot patch notes are here.

Mirror’s Edge was an interesting title that didn’t quite work, so when EA’s Patrick Söderlund stepped forward in June last year and said a sequel was always going to happen, it came as a slight surprise to the rest of us. But even if Mirror’s Edge 2 is on it’s way, Rhianna Pratchett, who wrote the first one, isn’t on board. She’s a self-described “casualty of that [Mirror’s Edge] development process,” and wishes the new team all the best.

“Go with God, I say,” she Tweets. “Create cool stuff. We always need more of that.” When Pratchett came on the team, Faith was nothing more than a template; Pratchett created the character, and continued her adventures in the DC comic book version. Oddly enough, the comic was a prequel, and so is Mirror’s Edge 2, but that doesn’t seem to make a difference to EA; presumably the comic isn’t canon.

Pratchett’s sanguine about the whole thing. She knows she’s just hired help, and nobody from the studio’s talked to her in years, so she gave up on that possibility a while ago. “It was a difficult project for all,” she Tweets, “and I no longer have any contacts [at DICE].”

EA’s open-world Mirror’s Edge 2 adventure hasn’t got a release date yet, but when it does come out it will be for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.