The Holds of Skyrim

Xbox One designers discuss the console’s architecture

In the wake of Microsoft’s Xbox One announcement, a group of technical specialists, hosted by Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb, dissected the hardware and software capabilities of the upcoming console. As reported earlier and courtesy of Gamasutra, the panel included: Todd Holmdahl – Corp. Vice President, IEB Hardware, Nick Baker – Distinguished Engineer, Console Architecture, Boyd Multerer – Director of Development Dan Greenawalt – Creative Director Turn 10 Studios The main emphasis was on Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service which will offset the processing load of the console’s five billion local transistors. “There are a growing number of transistors in the cloud that you can move the loads onto,” says Boyd Multerer. “So over time, your box gets more powerful. We move loads into the cloud to free up resources on the box.” There will be over 300,000 Microsoft servers dedicated to the Xbox One in the Microsort data centers, with room to expand on that. The cloud also allows developers to offset computations for certain rendering, engine physics and AI. The Kinect 2.0 sensor, which will come packaged with the main console and is apparently integral to functionality – to the point the console will not work without it being attached, has been overhauled and will accommodate up to six bodies instead of the previous two. It will also include face recognition and be able to monitor biometrics including heartbeat as well as “tell when the player is lying.” Are we sure we’re ready for Microsoft to be able to grill us that hard? Software will include the Xbox OS as well as a Windows kernel, with a third system in place to allow instant switching between these. This will also be made possible with the 8GB of RAM. Not stopping there, the panel went into the idea of “dynamic” achievements touched on in the press conference. This would focus on player base interests, with an “arrow to the knee” achievement for Skyrim given as an example. Holmdahl also went on to talk about inviting app devlopers to use the Xbox One platform. The broadcast will be available for replay later on here.

Xbox One can update Achievements in response to player behavior

The Xbox Oneandapos;s connection to the cloud can alter a gameandapos;s Achievements in response to player behavior, Microsoft has revealed at its ongoing unveiling event in Redmond. Dan Greenawalt, Creative Director at Forza developer Turn 10 Studios, cited the "I took an arrow to the knee" meme as an example of how game makers might hinge their extrinsic rewards on post-launch reactions. The meme began with The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, in which droves of melancholic guards told the same story about an old injury. To extrapolate from Greenawaltandapos;s comment, it seems Microsoft is keen to further distance itself from the idea of the game as a static disc. Xbox 360 games had their Achievement lists extended with significant title updates and downloadable expansions, but the Xbox One is expected to update the rewards list more fluidly. Game creators may use Achievements to encourage comical or topical behavior, or use them to educate players if theyandapos;re missing certain features or secrets.Xbox One can update Achievements in response to player behavior originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Moneysaver: Wii U Lowest Price, Skyrim Legendary, $10 MS Credit

Overloaded by Xbox One news? Come in, relax, and save some money.Read more...

Frontiers is a Game Worth Exploring | Gamer's News Network

Games inspire many other games and whose to say anything against it? The team (team is loosely used as it is one man and a composer) at AAD Productions are making Frontiers and they took much from Daggerfall in The Elder Scrolls franchise and aims to provide a simplistic approach to frontier survival with a twist of a first person perspective and role playing game. To be honest this reminds me much of Elder Scrolls, but also of the recent game Dont Starve where youre thrown into the open and forced to hunt and gather resources in order to survive. From the looks of the recent trailer for youll be doing just that and so much more. In Frontiers youll even have to assemble your fireplace to cook your own food.

Video: Gathering & Exploring in ‘The Elder Scrolls Online’

As gaming clichés go, the ‘heroic hobbyist’ is certainly amongst the silliest, and therefore the most common. For no matter how dire an emergency may seem, this virtuous vagabond continues to chop wood, brew ales and corral cattle even as the world around them fizzles to a cinder. Enemy at the gates? – no matter, there’s baking points to bolster. Goblins eating the township? – add it to the to-do-list. With the latest in the acclaimed series of Elder Scrolls games heading online later this year, the developers at ZeniMax Studios are hard at work divvying up Dovakhin’s duties amongst millions of potential players for The Elder Scrolls Online. Set some thousand years before the events of Skyrim (read our review), the story behind The Elder Scrolls Online finds Daedric lord Molag Bal stirring up a tri-party tussle for the crown of Cyrodiil. ...Click to continue reading Video: Gathering and Exploring in ‘The Elder Scrolls Online’Click to continue reading Video: Gathering and Exploring in ‘The Elder Scrolls Online’

UK Chart: Metro: Last Light surfaces top but fails to outsell predecessor

Dead Island: Riptide falls to second, and FIFA 13 climbs back up to third. 4A Gamesandapos; Metro: Last Light has emerged top of the UK charts after its first weekend on sale, although the well-received sequel failed to match the numbers shifted by its predecessor in 2010. The original Metro 2033 was released in March 2010, and debuted fifth in the UK charts at the time. Deep Silver purchased the rights to Metro: Last Light in January, and the publisher also notches up a second place finish with open-world zombie mulcher Dead Island: Riptide. FIFA 13 climbs back up to third place, and 3DS-exclusive Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity enters the chart in fourth. Call of Duty: Black Ops II is fifth, Tomb Raider sixth, and the retail release of Telltale Gamesandapos; serial adventure The Walking Dead is seventh. The top 10 is rounded out by DC brawler Injustice: Gods Among Us in eighth, which pushed Assassinandapos;s Creed III into ninth by less than 200 sales, and BioShock Infinite in tenth. Elsewhere in the chart, poorly reviewed movie-tie in Star Trek drops to 32nd from last weekandapos;s 24th place finish, and Medal of Honor: Warfighter re-enters the chart at 37th. The Top 20 UK chart for the week ending May 18: 1. Metro: Last Light 2. Dead Island: Riptide 3. FIFA 13 4. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity 5. Call of Duty: Black Ops II 6. Tomb Raider 7. The Walking Dead 8. Injustice: Gods Among Us 9. Assassinandapos;s Creed III 10. BioShock Infinite 11. Far Cry 3 12. Luigiandapos;s Mansion 2 13. Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins 14. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes 15. God of War: Ascension 16. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 17. Grand Theft Auto IV 18. Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City 19. Skylanders Giants 20: Dragonandapos;s Dogma: Dark Arisen [ Watch Video ] Comment on this videoWatch this video in High Def Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "UK Chart: Metro: Last Light surfaces top but fails to outsell predecessor" was posted by Martin Gaston on Mon, 20 May 2013 01:52:44 -0700

UK Charts see Metro: Last Light ascend to the top spot

Metro: Last Light has entered the UK charts at first place, marking another recent success story for publishers Koch Media and Deep Silver. The full chart follows below, but Metro: Last Light’s high entry follows a string of mixed, but largely positive reviews. You can get our full score round up here, and you can also check out my own appraisal of the shooter here. Koch’s other release Dead Island Riptide has fallen to second place as a result, and MCV reports that although Metro: Last light has debuted at first, its first-week sales still pale in comparison to Metro 2033′s when it launched in 2010 – despite debuting at 5th at the time. Here’s the latest chart in full: 1. Metro: Last Light (Koch Media) 2. Dead Island: Riptide (Koch Media) 3. FIFA 13 (EA) 4. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Infinity (Nintendo) 5. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Activision) 6. Tomb Raider (Square Enix) 7. The Walking Dead (Telltale Games) 8. Injustice: Gods Among Us (Warner Bros) 9. Assassin’s Creed III (Ubisoft) 10. BioShock Infinite (2K Games) 11. Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft) 12. Luigi’s Mansion 2 (Nintendo) 13. LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins (Nintendo) 14. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Warner Bros) 15. God of War: Ascension (Sony) 16. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda) 17. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar) 18. Grand Theft Auto Episodes Liberty City (Rockstar) 19. Skylanders Giants (Activision) 20. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen (Capcom)

It's Like Elder Scrolls, Only Made By Two Guys

This is Frontiers, a game designed and being developed by two men. Something that blows your mind when you see footage of the game in action.Read more...

Dinora: A Mini Version of Terraria is Born

Hardcore Gamer: In a sense, Dinora is a cheaper, Skyrim-esque version of Terraria and filled with a lot more than Terraria offered in their games, and much of that feels great for something that literally costs $1.

Top Five Skyrim Mods of the Week - Hyper Atomic Chicken Cannon

No smoke with your fire? There is now! This week Cam and Seb take a look at fire smoke, Project ENB, and place an absolutely enormous chicken on their head. Get the full article at GameSpot "Top Five Skyrim Mods of the Week - Hyper Atomic Chicken Cannon" was posted by Seb Ford and Cameron Robinson on Sat, 18 May 2013 09:00:00 -0700

Creation Kit Tutorial

Bethesda has been gracious enough to give us a "beginners" Creation Kit tutorial video. It just might be enough for some to get a good start using this behemoth of a game editor! [youtube:38pof8kz]gDKivlGmia4[/youtube:38pof8kz]

A Simple Skyrim Mod Rating System!

We are pleased to announce that we have finished implementing our new (for lack of a better name) mod rating system! Over the past year, we have done a lot of research trying to determine the ideal rating system. We conducted polls in many different communities, talked with site admins and modders and mod users, and a lot more. And while such things are highly subjective, we learned a lot about how to make a decent system. 1. People *want* some way to know what others have thought about something before they download it. 2. Simple numerical rating systems are far too easily skewed. A 1-10 vote can too easily give a very low rating with one single low vote. 3. Mod authors prefer something that is designed to be more positive. 4. Trolls suck! THoS has a simple answer to all of that: if you have downloaded a mod, you ca...