Apex Legends Will Get Changes To Character Hit Boxes

Since not long after its recent launch, Apex Legends fans have been complaining that the game’s biggest player characters are much easier to hit than its smallest characters. Developer Respawn Entertainment has been listening, and on Reddit announced it would soon be making changes in the near future to rebalance several characters.

Respawn’s post on Reddit covered a new update that’s already in the game, which makes weapon changes, and explained that the studio’s approach to making those design alterations is to be cautious and make sure they’re thoroughly tested when they go live. A few changes are part of the most recent update, but the ones that address character hit boxes are being held back until later this month, when they’ve been more thoroughly vetted.

A “hit box” is the invisible area on a video game character that registers impacts; when a bullet hits a character inside the hit box, the character takes damage, but if a shot lands outside the box, the hit doesn’t count. Big characters in Apex have similarly large hit boxes–Gibraltar has the largest one, followed by Caustic and Pathfinder. That means it’s easier to hit them than smaller characters, but that’s partially by design. Respawn means for those characters’ larger surface area to be balanced by their abilities, so that all the characters in the game have roughly the same power, viability, and win rate.

Still, players have debated whether the hit boxes on the biggest characters are too big, and players testing hits have discovered that some hit boxes are a bit wonky. For instance, the robot Pathfinder’s hit box is slightly larger than his actual character model, extending down between his legs a little lower than his actual frame.

Respawn wrote that it’s making changes to those bigger characters. Caustic, Pathfinder, and Gibraltar are all getting their hit boxes sized down and better optimized to match their character models. Respawn also said it’ll make further changes if necessary, but those could include powering up those characters’ abilities, since messing with hit boxes are big adjustments that take players a long time to get used to.

Other characters are getting some minor tweaks as well. Both Wraith and Bangalore are getting their escape abilities reduced a bit. Bangalore’s passive ability which increases her run speed while under fire, is being reduced from a 40% speed increase to 30%, and the cooldown on Wraith’s Into The Void ability that makes her invulnerable is getting increased from 20 seconds to 25 seconds.

You can check out the full list of character balance changes below. One remaining question is when these changes will actually hit the game. Respawn hasn’t announced just when Season One will start for Apex, and therefore it’s not yet clear when the rebalancing update that goes with it will go live. Meanwhile, check out our character guides, which can help you make the most of all the Legends in Apex.

Major Balance Changes

  • Hit box size reductions and optimizations for Caustic, Pathfinder and Gibraltar
    • Respawn is better sizing hitboxes to character gear & model.
    • Since these adjustments have a MAJOR impact on the game, Respawn wants to make sure there aren’t any major bugs, so they didn’t want to rush them out.

    • If these adjustments prove to be insufficient, Respawn will consider additional adjustments during Season 1.

Minor balance changes

  • Caustic
    • Traps – Reduced cooldown to 25 seconds from 30 seconds
    • Traps – Increased radius and proximity radius by about 10%
    • Traps – Removed a 1 second delay on the smoke dealing damage to players
  • Pathfinder
    • Insider Knowledge – Increased the number of beacons in the world to 12 from 10
  • Lifeline
    • Care Package – Removed slight chance that level 4 armor and helmets will drop
  • Wraith
    • Into The Void – Cooldown increased from 20 -> 25 seconds
  • Bangalore
    • Double Time – Reduced move speed bonus to 30% from 40%

from GameSpot – Game News https://ift.tt/2EDQSLZ

from Blogger http://tecanmol.blogspot.com/2019/03/apex-legends-will-get-changes-to.html

Pokemon Go Bringing Rayquaza Back For New Raid Weekend Event

Niantic is bringing back a popular Legendary Pokemon for a special Pokemon Go event next weekend. Beginning March 15, Rayquaza will return to the game for a limited time, giving players their first opportunity to capture it in nearly a year.

The special Raid Weekend event kicks off at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET and runs until the same time on Monday, March 18. Throughout the weekend, the Sky High Pokemon will appear in Raid Battles. As usual, you’ll first need to team up with other players and defeat the Legendary before you can attempt to catch it.

Rayquaza isn’t the only Gen 3 Legendary to make an encore appearance in Pokemon Go recently. Latias also returned for a special Raid event at the end of February, and Niantic has teased that its twin, Latios, will likewise be the subject of its own Raid event in the future.

The latest Legendary Pokemon to appear in Go is Dialga, the cover mascot of Pokemon Diamond. It will appear in Raid Battles until March 28. Additionally, Niantic has introduced two new Shiny Pokemon–Mankey and Machop–as part of the Battle Showdown event, which will run until March 12.

This month’s Pokemon Go Community Day takes place on Saturday, March 23. The featured Pokemon will be Treecko, one of the three starters from Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. You’ll also be able to hatch Eggs at a quarter of their usual distance during the event.

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Valve Blocks Release Of Explicit Sexual Assault Game On Steam

(Content warning: sexual assault.)

Valve has announced it will block the release of a controversial game that was to be distributed through its service. In its statement regarding the decision, it said the game poses “unknown costs and risks” and that the “chosen content matter and a way of representing it” render the distribution platform unable to work with the developer.

The game, titled “Rape Day,” is a visual novel set during a zombie apocalypse in which the player character can harass other survivors, kill people, and sexually assault women. It has been listed on the Steam marketplace with an impending release date, but Valve has now removed the listing. The company issued a statement through its Valve blog explaining the decision. You can read it in full below.

“Over the past week you may have heard about a game called ‘Rape Day’ coming soon to Steam. Today we’ve decided not to distribute this game on Steam. Given our previous communication around Who Gets To Be On The Steam Store?, we think this decision warrants further explanation.

“Much of our policy around what we distribute is, and must be, reactionary—we simply have to wait and see what comes to us via Steam Direct. We then have to make a judgement call about any risk it puts to Valve, our developer partners, or our customers. After significant fact-finding and discussion, we think ‘Rape Day’ poses unknown costs and risks and therefore won’t be on Steam.

“We respect developers’ desire to express themselves, and the purpose of Steam is to help developers find an audience, but this developer has chosen content matter and a way of representing it that makes it very difficult for us to help them do that.”

The reference to its previous blog entry was one that issued fairly loose policies and a general hands-off approach from Valve regarding what the company would allow on its platform. This led to an open question about whether a game like Rape Day would be allowed to be sold. This statement blocks this particular game but does not offer clarity on what similar types of content would not be allowed in the future.

The game had been set for release in April. The developer had informed customers that the approval process was taking longer than usual due to graphic content that was illegal in some countries, but said that it had marked the game as adult and issued thorough content warnings. The studio said that if Valve did prevent release of the game, it would seek out an alternate distribution platform.

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Devil May Cry 5 Review Roundup

Devil May Cry 5, the first numbered sequel in the franchise since 2008, releases this week. The name sends a clear signal to fans: this is the true successor to Devil May Cry 4.

The most significant addition is a completely new playable character, V. While Dante and Nero are known for their acrobatic gunplay, V is a very different fighter. He summons familiars while standing back and floating around the battlefield, letting them do his fighting for him. And of course, Dante and Nero themselves are back, offering the familiar action gameplay fans have come to expect. Capcom has marketed this as a return to form, but is it?

“As you send demons flying across the screen in Devil May Cry 5, a strong sense of familiarity will hit you,” critic Matt Espineli wrote in GameSpot’s review. “It is a brilliant iteration of the series’ best qualities–but it innovates as much as it reiterates, balancing new and old with infectious confidence.”

Read below for a selection of reviews from around the industry, and check GameSpot sister site Metacritic for even more reviews.

  • Game: Devil May Cry 5
  • Developer / Publisher: Capcom
  • Release date: March 8
  • Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
  • Price: $60 / £55 / AU $100

GameSpot — 9/10

“DMC5 thrives on the stylistic and mechanical prowess of its predecessors. It sticks to tradition above all else, pursuing a few ambitious new ideas along the way, but mostly maintaining the series’ focus on intricate fighting systems and campy bravado. Rarely does the game stumble, consistently leveraging its spectacle and mechanical depth to push aside any small frustrations. All the while, the story exudes a charismatic charm that keeps you constantly intrigued as you’re refining your skills. DMC5 proves the series can still be brilliant and imaginative without compromising its longest-held traditions.” — Matt Espineli [Full review]

Guardian — 5/5

“DMC5 is a lot like Dante himself: older, grizzled, more experienced, yet still unapologetically juvenile in the best possible way. It’s bloody, spectacular and irresistible, all cheesy one-liners, guns, swords and explosions while guitars scream in the background, and it plays like a dream. Director Hideaki Itsuno and his team have delivered: Devil May Cry is back.” — Patrick Lum [Full review]

Telegraph — 5/5

“It’s stylish. It’s cool. It’s supremely fun, fluid and rewarding. Dante’s back and he’s brought some friends. And with combat flair that makes up the finest pure-action game we have seen in a long time, we hope they stick around.” — Olivia White [Full review]

GamesRadar — 4.5/5

“Capcom has done it again, re-energising a classic series like never before, and pushing the genre forward in a fresh way. It looks better than ever, plays better than ever. It’s Devil May Cry better than ever.” — Oscar Taylor-Kent [Full review]

Push Square — 9/10

“Devil May Cry 5 is quite easily one of the best action games on PS4. Flawless in the execution of its often jaw-dropping combat, it’s a masterfully crafted title that begs to be played over and over again. Stunning presentation helps sell some of the coolest cutscenes going, and the story ties the series together with style. Among a sea of uninspired open world outings, Devil May Cry 5 is an explosion of character and laser-focused excellence. Capcom is well and truly back.” — Robert Ramsey [Full review]

PC Gamer — 9/10

“I’ve been hitting demons in this game for 19 hours so far, and I can easily see myself putting in 19 more. The setting lacks the flair and imagination of the genre behemoth Bayonetta, and those boss fights make it a slightly more uneven experience, but there’s a greater variety of combat styles and a higher degree of challenge that will will keep me playing until Capcom hopefully releases another one. If you enjoy third-person brawlers DMC5 is a must, and if you’ve never tried one before, this is a great place to start. What a treat.” — Tom Senior [Full review]

Variety — No Score

“It’s fun, in the ways that the old games are fun, and, taken out of context, it makes some interesting changes to mix up how you approach its beloved Style. Devil May Cry 5 manages to shake off the rust and remind us why we liked these games before, but you have to work to ignore the fact that some of its moves are just a little bit out of date.” — Mike Epstein [Full review]

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