So, it comes…

To help you get prepared for the upcoming Warlords of Draenor Patch 6.0.2 release, we’ve uploaded the patch data to the background downloader. By downloading the patch in advance, you’ll be ready to get in-game and start playing as soon as the expansion goes live!

 

If you have issues during this process, you can find help to resolve them on the support site here.

 

You can adjust your download settings within the Battle.net desktop app by clicking on the Battle.net symbol and selecting “Settings” from the menu. Under Game Install/Update you’ll be able to adjust your download options for each of your games and enable or disable the background download, adjust the rate for your download, or pause it if you have a restriction on daily downloads.

Now I need to get my Paladins arse in gear huh?

Before Twitter implemented features that allow images linked in a Tweet to be shown directly on Twitter as part of that Tweet, the role of attaching pictures to Tweets was one mainly followed by the third party service, Twitpic. Though largely redundant since, Twitpic still retained a following with its own subset of loyal users; and some would argue there was a small feeling of comfort in knowing that despite all, the service was still around.

Sadly, that’s all about to change.

Due to a legal demand from Twitter, Twitpic has found itself forced to close its service on September 25th. The exact reason, according to founder Noah Everett, falls over a dispute regarding the company’s five-year old trademark:

A few weeks ago Twitter contacted our legal demanding that we abandon our trademark application or risk losing access to their API. This came as a shock to us since Twitpic has been around since early 2008, and our trademark application has been in the USPTO since 2009.

So why not take up the battle, you may ask? Surely if they’ve owned and use the trademark for five years, Twitpic should have a case regarding their legal right to use “Twitpic” as a name? Unfortunately, Mr. Everett believes the legal costs for such a defence are such that the company can’t afford to pay, so closing is the only option.

Twitpic will be building a photo/video exporting feature to help users past and present reclaim their pictures and videos for a short while before the service shuts up shop for good, though it was not ready at the time of writing.

When Nintendo came out with the Circle Pad Pro accessory for the original Nintendo 3DS – which added a second Circle Pad and extra buttons to the 3DS which allowed for even more control; and which Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate made good use of – many asked why a second Circle Pad could not have been a standard feature of the 3DS. When the 3DS XL was released and also lacked the second pad, the complaints became even more vocal.

Colour choices at launch for the New 3DS and New 3DS XL

Today in Japan, Nintendo have not only finally heeded the call, but have gone even further. The company announced all new models of their popular hand-held game consoles, the Nintendo 3DS and the 3DS XL (called the 3DS LL in Japan), which along with extra controls, make a number of other additions and improvements over the previous models.

If you actually care that the new models are a few mm bigger in most directions, you probably have an Apple device and/or no shame
(click pictures to enlarge)

The real big news of the announcement, however, comes in the form of a small toy.

If you’re wondering why this pic shows just the Amiibo logo instead of an actual Amiibo, blame Nintendo.

With the new consoles including an NFC Reader, the new 3DS and 3DS XL will come with built-in support for Amiibo, Nintendo’s upcoming range of NFC-enabled figurines. Previously thought to be exclusive to the Wii U, the new addition enables future 3DS games to also offer the ability to allow select Nintendo characters to be stored and shared across compatible games or to use the toys for special in-game functions; and use of the feature in the 3DS version of Super Smash Bros. is already confirmed – what it consists of is yet to be announced, but if one is to make a guess, imagine something like the sticker mode in Brawl, but with an actual physical toy to enhance and make your own character with.

Those colourful SNES-like buttons.

As to the controls, the new 3DS and 3DS XL will add a splash of colour to the A/B/X/Y button. The new 3DS gets the more significant facelift with fully-coloured buttons, while the XL simply gets coloured button labels. The colours are the same as those originally used on the Japanese SNES controller, in a nice homage to Nintendo history.

…But that’s not what you care about, is it? The bigger news is both devices finally feature a second Circle Pad – well, kind of. Dubbed the “C-Stick” by Nintendo in another homage (this time to the yellow analogue stick of Nintendo’s own GameCube controller), the new stick is much smaller than the main Circle Pad – in fact, it’s roughly the same size as one of the four A/B/X/Y buttons. This isn’t accidental – according to Nintendo’s own Satoru Iwata, while the new control will function like a stick, it’s also designed to be used as though it were a button itself. Iwata also claims the new C-Stick “is easy to use”; with Nintendo releasing a picture showing that the size and positioning of the button should make it easy to control with the same thumb used to press the lettered buttons – it remains to be seen if this turns out to be the case. The new C-stick will be used in Dragon Quest X: Online, Final Fantasy Explorers, and Monster Hunter 4G to control the in-game camera function, and in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS to unleash Smash Attacks.

The back of the New 3DS XL. Notice anything different?

The new 3DS models will also include ZL and ZR buttons on the back beside the existing L/R buttons, thus making the Circle Pad Pro accessory entirely redundant. Because there is no longer space for the game card, the game card slot is now found on new 3DS and XL’s bottom-left side, which seems poorly thought out – surely it’ll be right underneath your left palm thus making it easy to accidentally push the card in and eject it? The space at the top previously occupied by the game card slot now houses the charging port, which has been moved from its original off-centre position.

Battery life comparisons (given in minimum to maximum expected time between charges) for the New 3DS XL (left image) and New 3DS (right image) compared to their predecessors
(click to enlarge)

Nintendo claim that the new 3DS and XL models also make small improvements on the battery life, with their rated maximum life up half an hour on the XL to 7 hours; and up a whole hour on the regular 3DS to 6 hours. Part of the reason for these gains are due to a new adaptive brightness feature, where the screen will automatically brighten or darken depending on the currently displayed picture, which is also aimed to improve colour quality. Another big reason for the small improvement is a new, more efficient processor – which also grants the new models a small speed boost to make downloads and loading times quicker – though exact specs are not yet known. Speaking of downloads, you’ll also now be able to use Micro SD cards with both new 3DS models, with a new slot located under the bottom covering.

The new Nintendo 3DS models also have an improved 3D function. With the original 3DS and XL, if you viewed the 3D effect from the side and didn’t stay in the “sweet spot,” the graphics became all blurred. However, the New 3DS has improved 3D, enabling players to continue to see the 3D effect even if viewed from an angle. Using the device’s cameras and gyroscopes, the new 3DS and 3DS XL actually track your face to work out the angle the screen is being viewed from – and will adjust the 3D effect to what’s best for your view. Clever!

Though the international launches of the new 3DS and 3DS XL models is still to be announced, both will be out October 11 in Japan. The New Nintendo 3DS is priced at 16,000 yen (approx. £92.75 at time of posting) and the New Nintendo 3DS XL is priced at 18,800 yen (approx. £109 at time of posting) – given the usual mark-ups, however, I’m personally predicting prices of £129 and £159 when they hit the UK. Sorry, that’s business.

So, the World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor live event just finished and we have the release date for Warlords of Draenor now…

13th November 2014!

The release date was dropped at the end of the reveal of the new game cinematic leading into Warlords of Draenor.

The trailer shows Grommash Hellscream stepping up to drink the deamons blood from Gul’Dan, however, unlike the events of The Burning Crusade, this time Garrosh (Grommash’s son) has forewarned Grommash of the treachery and Grommash throws away the deamon blood.   Mannanoth then appears for destroy them all for their failure, but Garrosh has bought future weapons and helps Grommash kill mannanoth, forever changing the future of Draenor and Azeroth!

you can watch the full new cinematic below:

The other new thing Chris Metzen from Blizzard showed off during the event, was the new 5 part Lore animated shorts, Lords of War!  Chapter 1, Kargath Bladefist and the birth of the Shattered Hand clan.

The mostly stylised motion comic design is very appealing and really conveys the story of this early boss in Burning Crusade (One I very much enjoyed taking down and getting his fist as a weapon 😀 )

These lore animated shorts will be released on a weekly basis, so stay turned for more of those

You can watch the first episode of Lords of War below:

See you all in Draenor!

(Thanks to Gamespot for the videos and the live stream!)

Electronic Arts has announced a new subscription service that gives Xbox One owners access to some of its biggest games for a small monthly fee. Called EA Access, the service is launching to select users in beta today, with a starting price of $4.99 (£3.99) per month or $29.99 (£19.99) per year. The company says EA Access will “launch for everyone on Xbox One soon.” Paying for the subscription will get you access to what EA calls its Vault, a collection of games you’ll have unlimited access to as long as you’re subscribed. During the beta, that will include a sampling of four titles — FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2, and Battlefield 4 — though the company says more games will be added “soon.”

The service will also get you early access to some of EA’s upcoming titles. Subscribers will be able to play trials for upcoming games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and this year’s EA Sports titles “up to five days” ahead of their launch date. Additionally, EA says subscribers will save 10 percent when buying EA games through the Xbox One game store. “This is something we’ve never done before and we’re excited to share it with you,” the company says. EA calls the service a “partnership” with Microsoft, and there’s no word on whether it will be available on other platforms as well.