GAMES
April Thrills in Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis
Summary
- Get ready for the introduction of PSE Burst Encores, coming in the April 6 update for PSO2 NGS!
- Challenge yourself by learning new Photon Arts and Compound Techniques!
- Recruit others to join your leveling party, as the maximum player level has increased to 45, by using the new Party Recruitment System!
As I’m fervently spending Seasonal Points earned during the Spring Event on Star Gem tickets so I can net an N-Bunny Suit from the latest SG Scratch Ticket collection, I can’t help but think about all the great upcoming content for Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis. This game continues to evolve, with new features, skills, quests, and more crammed into the content roadmap for 2022. April 6 is just one stop on the journey, with a list of things coming worthy of further scrutiny; a level cap increase (to 45), new Photon Arts for weapons and the introduction of Compound Techniques, new Ranks for Combat Sectors, a new DOLLS-inspired Weapon Series, some long-anticipated quality of life features, and the list goes on. If you’re already playing, read on for more information about what’s in store for you. If you’re not playing, you’ll want to be by the end of this article!
More Power
What’s better than eliminating DOLLS? Doing it faster by blasting them with even higher firepower. And if you weren’t lucky (or rich) enough to net a Relik and haven’t saved up your Photon Scales to upgrade the Potential on your Cinque weapon, you can still increase your Battle Power by gaining some levels. This shouldn’t be too hard, as there’s a new round of Limited Quests and a new rank of combat sectors, as well as a new DOLLS-inspired, 5-star Rarity Weapon Series. The Kukuhroziat (the weapons are much easier to wield than their name is to say) Weapon Series were inspired by the look of DOLLS and have a unique Weapon Potential that’ll come in handy for future game content. Oh, and did I mention there’s a color-variant form?
More Skill
Assuming you are adept at executing Photon Arts or successfully releasing Techniques, you’ll be able to dispatch DOLLS with greater finesse. ARKS instructors have been hard at work refining new Photon Arts for all weapons and creating Compound Techniques for those capable of directly wielding Photons. I’ve been making it rain on my enemies as a Gunner (i.e., using the PA Aimless Rain) for quite some time, but with Infinite Ricochet coming out, I may be spraying Photon Bullets with that soon. Or I’ll be switching to the Force class and combining elements to blast baddies with Barantsion or another Compound Technique. Though since you can wield all weapons and play as any classes on the same character, I’ll probably do both. Heck, I may even try out the Fighter class and slice and dice with Twin Daggers so I can use the Limber Figure Photon Art, because nothing says danger like a whirlwind of blades. And having an area of effect ability will be extra helpful because there are also new enemies, called Equalizer enemies. With the ability to defensively buff nearby enemies, it’s a good idea to focus fire on them – and there’s no better way to do it than with a powerful new Photon Art or Technique!
Encore!
PSE Bursts are just one of my favorite things about NGS, because nothing says enemy panic like getting beamed by a horde of enemies because you’re just destroying them too fast. If you played PSO2 then you know the true joy of hearing Cross Burst or One More, which would signal a second PSE Burst event occurring, wherein you could happily continue slaughtering enemies and reaping loot and Exp. I’m happy to say that the DOLLS of NGS are adopting this field tactic – and you’ll be up to your ears in enemies after the April 6 update. You can truly take advantage of this new development by farming PSE Bursts in the new Rank 3 Combat Sectors, which are also included in this update.
Easy Adventuring
The above are just a few pieces of new content included in this update, but there are some other changes coming too. The community has asked for an easier way to recruit party members, and Sega has delivered with the Party Recruitment system. Recruit players from the same Room by using the Communications menu to set the purpose of your party and requirements to join. Others will be able to identify that you’re recruiting by the special icon that appears above your character and then they can select the appropriate option from Nearby Characters in the Communications Menu. Not only that, but for those who just need to capture a picturesque moment while out exploring, there is now a Photo Room feature so that you can get rid of photo-bombing DOLLS and snap that perfect pic. You can even change the time of day or weather to suit your artistic vision. Perhaps most notable for content creators, this update includes a Streamer Mode, which will disable Chat while you’re sharing your screen. For Phashionistas, there’s now an option to show or hide your Innerwear. So, if you want to equip a skin-baring Basewear but have only full-coverage Innerwear, your fashion snafu won’t be noted.
There’s a bunch more included in this update, so the best way to learn more is to play Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis – for free – by visiting the Xbox store and downloading the game for PC or Xbox.
Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis
SEGA Corporation
Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis, the latest chapter in the Phantasy Star Online 2 series, is here at last!
It’s time to jump into adventures beyond imagination!
This new adventure takes place on a vast open field! Up to 32 people can enjoy the adventure in a new world with beautifully-evolved graphics!
The simple and intuitive controls developed in the series up to now have also evolved! A new dimension of battle with a variety of powerful enemies awaits! The new actions Photon Dash and Photon Glide allow you to traverse across the vast open field with ease!
Of course, the ultimate in character creation has also evolved. Create your own main character that will be unique throughout the world, and head out to a new adventure!
・The core game is Free-to-Play, but there is certain paid content that can be purchased.
・The Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis game that can be downloaded with this content is the same as that included in other editions. You do not have to download this if it is already installed.
・Proceeding with play in Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis will allow you to play Phantasy Star Online 2.
・Please log in with an administrator account to play this game.
GAMES
This Week’s Deals with Gold and Spotlight Sale
GAMES
The German Empire Marches to Italy in a Free Expansion Today
We have a new expansion for our WW1 Italian Front FPS game Isonzo releasing today! It’s the first part of our Caporetto season of free expansions, and features a whole new faction with the arrival of the German Empire on the Italian Front, and brings a new map for the Offensive game mode. There will be two more releases in the Caporetto season, each one with a new map to ultimately link together into a three map Caporetto Offensive.
The German faction comes with more than ten new weapons, as well as historically accurate uniforms and equipment. This first Caporetto map sees you taking part in the early stages of the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, with German troops assaulting Italian positions on the road to Caporetto. Historically it was a military disaster for Italy which brought down the government – but maybe things can go differently with you on the battlefield?
The update sees new uniforms and equipment from the German Empire for Isonzo’s six classes: Rifleman, Assault, Engineer, Officer, Marksman and Mountaineer. For those who aren’t familiar with the game, each class has different weapon, gear and perk options that allow you to specialize your play style within the overall focus of the class. For instance, Marksmen are always sharpshooters, but a lot depends on your loadout. You could be a long-range sniper and observer identifying and eliminating high value targets with a scoped rifle, or you could equip body armor to take and hold a front line position with deadly accurate mid-range fire. Every class has choices to make in this regard.
In Isonzo’s signature Offensive game mode, one side must attack and break through multiple defensive lines. Thick layers of barbed wire, trenches, and whatever extra defenses the enemy engineers put together will stand in the way of a successful attack. Objectives can be taking and holding key points, or planting dynamite to sabotage enemy supply stashes or heavy artillery guns.
The new Caporetto map – the first of three in the season – is a huge battlefield based on the strategically important Monte Kolovrat. There are five defensive lines, where each line has two objectives for the attackers before they can advance further. While in the historical Battle of Caporetto both German and Austro-Hungarian forces were involved, in Isonzo we’ve chosen to focus on the German contribution, so the map recreates the stunning German advance from the town of Tolmein all the way to Kolovrat Ridge. It’s a damp, overcast day when the attack begins, and the attackers must first cut their way through lines of wire to break into a devastated town – including capturing a church defended by multiple heavy machine gun positions. Fortunately, in Isonzo there are many tactical options available to deal with such strong points: artillery barrages, smokescreens, snipers, rifle grenades, even poison gas. From there, it becomes a literal uphill battle for the German attackers as they begin to climb towards the peak of Kolovrat Ridge. They’ll need to sabotage bunkers and capture command posts while navigating rocky trenches and steep forested slopes. At the penultimate fourth defensive line there is a huge siege mortar to sabotage and a cluster of houses providing cover to the Italian defenders – then it’s one last climb to reach the final objective: Hill 1114. If the Germans can take it, the Italians will finally be the ones fighting uphill as their reinforcements stream in to try and counterattack.
Of course, things are no walk in the park for the defenders either – although it’s easier to maneuver when going downhill, and it’s much simpler for officers to deploy flares to call in support, the extensive trench lines can become a liability once the Germans get a foothold, providing cover as they advance. Some of the Italian defensive positions can be exposed against the sky, making it easy for German marksmen to pick off targets. Italian engineers should make good use of their construction abilities to put down additional sandbags and lay out extra wire to prevent German assault troops sneaking through the trees to flank trenches with their grenades or light machine guns.
As we mentioned before, historically the Battle of Caporetto was a disaster for the Italians. Appalling leadership led to poorly motivated and unprepared troops falling apart in the face of the combined Austro-Hungarian and German armies using cutting edge infiltration tactics. The Italian soldiers were not allowed to retreat until too late, and in the end hundreds of thousands would surrender. After Caporetto the top Italian general was fired and replaced by someone far more competent, who managed to turn the war around for the Italians. In Isonzo, it’s a more fair fight where both sides have an equal chance of winning, if they can use all the tactical options available better than their opponents.
The release will also bring other improvements to the game, including a prestige mode and higher level cap. Additionally, for those who want more options for visual customization of their character, the Royal Units DLC is releasing alongside the free expansion and contains uniforms from the German Kingdoms of Bavaria and Württemberg. Though part of the German Empire, these states had their own distinctive uniforms which we’ve carefully recreated with the same accuracy and attention to detail as with the other uniforms in the game.
The Battle for Caporetto Begins…
Isonzo is available right now on the Microsoft Store for Xbox, and the free Caporetto expansion is out today! Plenty of time to master the art of mountain warfare before the German Empire joins the action on the Italian Front. Follow us to get the latest development news as we add the finishing touches!
We’ll see you in the trenches!
Isonzo
BlackMill Games
$29.99
World War One expands to the mountains of the Italian Front – beautiful but deadly in equal measure. Inspired by the two year struggle for control of the Isonzo river valley and the Alps during World War One, Isonzo elevates the WW1 Games Series, figuratively and literally.
From the makers of Verdun and Tannenberg…
Take part in historical offensives from the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo to the Strafexpedition. Reflecting the course of the actual battles, as the attackers advance the fighting will shift through vastly different landscapes within a single offensive: from hillside fortresses to mountain trenches and fierce urban combat on city streets. Everything is recreated based on research and field trips, from sound effects and uniforms down to the houses, vineyards and trenches you’ll be fighting over.
The new Offensive game mode puts you right in the middle of key historical offensives on the Italian Front. Lead the charge across stunning Italian landscapes as you choose your path to victory – cut paths through barbed wire, flank your enemies by following mountain trails, or man a mortar to blast a way through. Shape a dynamic battlefield by laying sandbags and wire, placing ammo crates, deploying trench periscopes or sniper shields, and more.
Call in support with a unique historically accurate flare system: flare guns can mark targets for artillery or biplane flybys, or different colored flares can be used to guide your team. Once the big guns have softened up the enemy, finish the job at close quarters with an Arditi dagger or mountaineer’s pickaxe. Man heavy machine guns, mortars and even mountain guns for more direct fire support.
Choose from six classes based on historical combat roles and build your loadout from a selection of weapons, equipment and perks linked to that class, giving flexibility and variety while staying grounded in what real soldiers might have carried. You’ll be operating wire cutters, bandaging yourself and wounded teammates, and blowing the whistle to start an assault. One shot can kill and even lighter injuries can lead to quickly bleeding out.
Being an effective soldier in Isonzo is not just about being a good marksman. Mastering the terrain is also key – the mountain can be a friend or foe. Learn how to navigate well to maintain cover and surprise your enemies or support your allies.
Finally… watch out for the dreaded poison gas. You’ve never experienced WW1 action quite like this!
Isonzo key features include:
• MOUNTAIN WARFARE: Assaulting mountain fortifications, battling through ruined towns, and fording rivers are just a few of the challenges you’ll face as you fight your way through numerous enemy positions
• TACTICAL MULTIPLAYER FPS: Choose your role and loadout carefully to survive this high altitude combat – play a sniper to pick off the enemy engineers before they can cut your wire, use rifle grenades to clear enemy machine guns, and much more
• WORLD WAR ONE GAMEPLAY: Historical Offensive game mode based on real battles and focused on the unique challenges of Alpine warfare. Fight with 30+ WW1 weapons, poisonous gas attacks, and intense artillery barrages
• BUILD FOR VICTORY: Place your own wire, sandbags, trench periscopes, and more! Whether you’re digging in or on the attack, shaping the battlefield to your advantage will be key to victory
• FACES OF WAR: Make every class your own by picking from a variety of historically class-appropriate uniforms, accessories and headgear. As a finishing touch, you can even pick your mustache from several famous period-accurate styles!
• AUTHENTIC WW1 ATMOSPHERE: Accuracy in everything from maps and weaponry to music and the uniforms – fight for the Kingdom of Italy, the German Empire or the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy
MORE GAMES IN THE AUTHENTIC WW1 GAME SERIES
Immerse yourself in more WW1 action with our other standalone titles Tannenberg and Verdun. Experience trench warfare on the Western Front in Verdun, or maneuver for control of key sectors in Tannenberg on the Eastern Front. These authentic WW1 shooters let players choose from a range of squads from across the war, as they fight for control of the ever-changing frontlines.
GAMES
Transport Fever 2: Console Edition is Bringing the Full Transport Tycoon Experience to Xbox
Today, we proudly share a sneak peek into the development of Transport Fever 2: Console Edition, and how we managed to bring the full transport tycoon experience to Xbox.
Transport Fever is a very popular and highly rated transportation tycoon franchise on PC. Its latest entry, Transport Fever 2, delivers a level of size and detail never before seen in the genre. The goal of the game is to build a successful transportation company by constructing railroads, streets, water and air lines. Starting in the 19th century, the player connects towns and industries to transport both passengers and cargo. In addition to a customizable free game mode, there is also a fully-fledged campaign mode with challenging missions set in real-world transportation history.
After the huge success of Transport Fever 2 on PC, it was only logical to bring the experience to consoles as well. Not only that, but no efforts were spared to give the console community the full experience that made the game great on PC. In order to achieve this, the engineers at Urban Games had to pull some rabbits out of their engineers’ hats.
Always providing the freshest layer of paint
One of the most cherished features of Transport Fever 2 are its highly detailed vehicles. The game comes with more than 200 lovingly hand-modeled trains, ships, and airplanes, each sporting multiple 4k textures and normal maps.
On PC, it is easily affordable to have all the models and textures in memory whenever needed, as a typical rig has 16 GB of RAM and a GPU with a dedicated extra memory. Consoles, however, are built differently. They have a unified architecture with an overall smaller amount but ultra-fast memory. The key to make it work on consoles is texture streaming, which allows to clear textures of models that are not in view anymore. Moreover, this technology is used in Transport Fever 2 to constantly load textures at the highest affordable resolution to present the stars of the show, like the classic Class A 3/5 steam locomotive, in their best coat of paint at all times.
Keeping the ground like a console pro
A trademark of Transport Fever 2 are its huge maps. During development of the game, it was always paramount to provide a real sense of scale. The engine should allow for maps where a high-speed train, such as the famous Japanese Shinkansen, can really make use of its superior speed. So, a lot of effort was put into designing a highly effective terrain rendering pipeline that can handle maps of more than 120 sq miles of size with a detail resolution of almost 1 yard. Central to this is a dynamic terrain tessellation algorithm on the CPU that, while costing a bit of extra memory, makes sure the engine can render these maps on a wide variety of PCs.
Now, enter the world of consoles with their incredibly well-designed GPUs and graphic APIs. Here, the hardware can be leveraged very well for terrain rendering by making use of the GPU tessellation feature. This feature generates the render mesh for the terrain fully on the graphics card, saving valuable processing time for the complex economy and city growth simulations. While generating more triangles, the hardware approach still costs less memory overall due to its efficiency. So vast maps can be viewed from a bird’s view high up in the sky and seamlessly zoomed in down to individual rocks on a riverbank.
Inspiring the inner architect
Finally, let’s talk about constructions, a central and defining part of the Transport Fever 2 experience. Constructions are large assemblies that consist of dozens of assets, street segments, ground decals and terrain modifications. Think of structures like airports, train stations, docks, highway crossings, and many more. Anything that is needed to build a vast transportation empire.
For a smooth construction experience, it is key that the player really feels that he has precise control over the building placement. On PC, constructions are typically built using the mouse. As the average PC user is very well adjusted to this method of input, it is sufficiently performant to calculate the entire construction each frame and place it under the cursor. However, on consoles, the best way of building constructions is to have them always kept in the center of the screen and move the camera along the map for placement. And moving the camera needs to be as smooth as silk.
So, for the console release of Transport Fever 2, the construction preview pipeline was overhauled. All dynamic calculations are now performed in the background while a static preview of the structure and its underlying ground plan are shown. Not only are constructions now completely stable in terms of FPS, but they also give feedback to the player on what environment features the construction would tear down when built.
Let’s get tycooning on console
We are very excited to bring the Transport Fever franchise to consoles for the first time ever with the release of Transport Fever 2: Console Edition on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One in February 2023, and we hope you will enjoy it as much as we did developing it.
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