achievements
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EA brings over 1,000 achievements to Steam
You can finally start unlocking those sweet, sweet achievements for EA games on Steam. The video game giant has brought over 1,000 achievements for its games on Steam, and the list includes trophies for newer titles like Battlefield V and Need for Speed.
Google Stadia achievements are live on the web, but not in the app
Google is slowly but surely expanding Stadia's feature set. The Stream Connect split-screen mode emerged with the release of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint on the service this week, and now another aspect of the service is live: achievements. You'll receive notifications on your PC or TV (if you're playing on Chromecast) when you earn them. You can check out achievement lists on the web, but not the mobile apps just yet.
'The Stanley Parable' rewards you for not playing in five years
If you played The Stanley Parable when it came out on October 17th, 2013, and haven't picked it up since, you have just unlocked a brand new achievement. Today is the first day -- five years after the launch of the game -- that the "Go Outside" achievement is attainable.
Oculus makes achievements a part of Gear VR and Rift games
Oculus is joining the ranks of Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Steam and even GameCenter. That's right: Rift and Gear VR games are adding achievements. They're live in a handful of games now including Minecraft and Hitman Go and it'll only be a matter of time before they become the rule rather than the exception. As The Verge writes, the update will be rolling out over the next few weeks, and you'll be able to opt out of sharing the meta-challenge activities if you want. You know, if you're ever embarrassed of playing the inevitable Candy Crush VR in the future.
Xbox One update boosts Party Chat and lets you buy Xbox 360 games
For Microsoft and Sony, the start of a new month means it's time to share new software updates. Sony's already had its turn, announcing that Remote Play will soon make its way to PC and Mac, and now Microsoft has confirmed it's deploying a patch with a number of frequently requested features. One of the most notable additions is improved access to Xbox 360 games. Microsoft has allowed Xbox One gamers to play older titles on their console for a few months now, but finding and launching them can be a pain. With the new update, older-generation games will be listed in a similar way to digital Xbox One titles, making them easier to buy and download to your console.
Play 'Star Wars: KotOR 2' in 5K, on your Mac
So this whole year of Star Wars thing apparently includes dormant video games too, who knew? Despite the fact that the lesser of the two Knights of the Old Republic role-playing games released all the way back in 2004, it recently got a pretty huge update. Now KotOR 2: The Sith Lords is playable on Mac and Linux, available in the Mac App Store, has achievements, widescreen support and will even run in 4K and 5K resolution. If it's a console-like experience you're chasing, the game supports controllers too, including PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One gamepads. The title's Steam page teases mod support via Steam Workshop and even a "Force special effects" option in the game's menu. To find out exactly what the latter entails, you'll likely have to download it for yourself. [Image credit: theglobalpanorama/Flickr]
Sunset Overdrive sale for Gold members, new achievements
Sunset Overdrive is on sale for Xbox Live Gold members, 40 percent off its normal tag of $60, making it a cool $36. The sale is on for "a limited time," Microsoft says in a press release. Also live today, Sunset Overdrive gets three new Buck National-themed achievements, each worth 25 points: "Hardcore!: Buck National vs The Apocalypse," "Hardcore!: Buck Strikes Back" and "Hardcore!: Buck Stops Here." Each achievement is for beating a particular score in each of those challenges – 600,000 for Apocalypse, 564,500 for Strikes Back and 703,700 on Stops Here. While we're here, a question for the room: Do you love or hate Sunset Overdrive? [Image: Microsoft Studios]
Pantheon podcast promises that the game is getting made
As part of a communications initiative for 2015, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has launched an official podcast devoted to bringing fans up to speed on the project and the game's various systems. Creative Director Chris Perkins took the mic for the first episode and reassured fans that even with a smaller team, Pantheon is still being made. "We are really developing a game, and there is going to be a game that comes out of this when all is said and done," he begins. Perkins goes on to talk about various studio promotions, the upcoming dev rountable discussion, and the philosophy behind Pantheon's achievement system. You can hear the 15-minute podcast after the break.
Age of Conan has its eye on achievements, crafting for 2015
Is Hyboria one of your planned destinations for 2015? If so, then you're in luck, as Joel Bylos has a taste of what's in store for Age of Conan this year in a new game director letter. The two big initiatives for the year revolve around the brand-new achievement and revamped crafting systems. The first iteration of achievements are coming with update 4.5 in a few weeks. These will include achievements for completing speed challenges for dungeons. Following that, players will get to dive into a richer crafting experience. Bylos hinted at a few other highlights for 2015, including the return of the world boss system and PvP festivals. "We are still nailing down our production schedule for the year," he wrote. "You can expect to hear more about the status of Palace of Cetriss and The Slithering Chaos in an upcoming letter."
Guild Wars 2 kicks off Wintersday events
The event avalanche of Guild Wars 2's Wintersday has gotten up to full speed and is currently roaring down upon the game's population. Today's update activates the previous years' Wintersday content as well as a few new additions. There's the Wondrous Workshop to explore, jumping puzzles, bell choir minigames, the Snowball Mayhem battle royale, and a quest to track down Grawnk to get a Wintersday tree for home instances. The patch also activates a couple of PvP events, new Wintersday-themed cash shop cosmetics, the daily login rewards, and the latest overhaul of the daily achievement system.
Age of Conan gives rewards for testing achievement system
Age of Conan is hopping on board this cool, hip achievement train that all of the kids are talking about these days with its Update 4.5. In November's game director letter, Joel Bylos said that the upcoming achievements will be merely "the first wave" in an ever-expanding system. In fact, if players help the team test achievements before they go live, they will be given a random pet as a thank-you. Bylos said that work is also progressing on revamping the world boss event "to provide a more entertaining experience." He also asked the community for its input on which one of two styles of lore entries that players preferred.
Age of Conan's achievement system, Pit of Trials coming soon
It's still spooky in Age of Conan, at least according to today's dev update letter. The Hyborian Halloween event will run through November 12th, but chances are you'll be more interested in Funcom's plans for the game going forward. Chief among those plans is the achievement system slated for update 4.5. Funcom says you'll collect achievements for everything from leveling to PvP stats and minigames to dungeon and raid completion. There's also a lore journal and a panorama mechanic that provides "a camera path, an achievement, and experience" each time you find one. Don't forget about the pit of trials, a level 80 arena designed with both PvEers and PvPers in mind.
Red Faction: Guerrilla opens Steamworks public beta
Red Faction: Guerrilla is the latest game to completely shed its Games for Windows Live coat, and will now begin testing full Steam support features, Nordic Games announced. The publisher invited players to participate in a public beta of the game's new Steam-based functionality, which includes matchmaking and multiplayer support via Steamworks. The game's public beta will also feature leaderboards, voice chat and achievements via Valve's PC gaming service. Those interested in participating in the beta are instructed to follow this guide, selecting Red Faction: Guerrilla in step one and using the password "nordicrfgbeta" and the beta branch "publicbeta." First launching in 2009, Red Faction: Guerrilla was part of the $4.9 million set of intellectual properties purchased by Nordic Games in THQ's liquidation auction in April 2013, seeing itself as a "middle man" for potential sequels in its new series. The publisher told Joystiq at Gamescom in August that it's "not the right time" for Red Faction: Guerrilla 2. [Image: Nordic Games]
WoW Archivist: Patch 3.0 -- Echoes of Doom
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Patch 6.0 is finally upon us. Like all pre-expansion patches, it has been both invigorating and chaotic. Almost exactly six years ago, a similar patch went live to begin a new era in WoW. Blizzard called Wrath of the Lich King's pre-expansion patch "Echoes of Doom." On October 14, 2008, this third version of the game gave us the brand-new achievement system, inscription and glyphs, 51-point talent trees, the zombie plague event, and TO THE GROUND, BABY. Read on to see what WoW was like for those turbulent few weeks before Wrath of the Lich King's launch. Dalaran, where art thou? Through all of classic and The Burning Crusade, Dalaran sat in northern Hillsbrad, but players couldn't see it. An opaque purple dome walled off the Kirin Tor from the world at large. At the time, the enormous structure was one of the most striking landmarks in Azeroth. Although a few quests hinted at what lay beneath it, players new to the WoW universe had no idea what was there. And then it was gone. All that remained was a city-sized crater. I remember making a pilgrimage to this site during the 3.0 prepatch just to see it for myself. We couldn't go to Northrend yet to see the city first-hand. We had to wait for the launch of Wrath to do that. But looking at that crater certainly fired the imagination. I couldn't wait to find out what had been lurking under that dome for the first four years of the game. I have to say, the city lived up to my high expectations.
Snap up Xbox One's October system update now
Microsoft rolled out the new October system update for the Xbox One, which we've verified is available to download now. As detailed last month, the new firmware overhauls the Snap feature, which lets you view a main and side window on screen simultaneously. Now, bringing up the Snap Center brings links to Friends, Achievements, Party, Messages and Game DVR apps, as well as a wee battery icon and clock. Also, double-tapping the Xbox button brings up a Snap quick menu, cutting down the hassle of bringing apps in and out. Snap now supports the Messages and Friends apps, with the latter spruced up including the addition of GamerScore leaderboards. The boards are based on your GamerHaul over the last 30 days, so long-term Achievement hunters just have to console themselves with their six-figure scores. Or, they could use the new captioning feature when sharing Achievements to rub it in friends' faces - you know, things like "Hah, look at 50G you're never getting, bub" or "I spent the last 42 hours getting this cheevo and I regret nothing!"
Patch 6.0.2 adds new pets for collecting
A few new pets have been added with patch 6.0.2 -- some far, far easier to come across than others. Completing all quests in the Blasted Lands will reward players with a title as well as the Iron Starlette, a miniature Iron Star of your very own. In addition, orc mobs in the Blasted Lands have a chance to drop the Time-Locked Box, which contains the often coveted but never before seen bronze whelpling. A couple of other pets are available, but whether or not they are obtainable is a good question. Those with a passion for collecting can now begin work on the achievement So. Many. Pets. -- it requires players to collect a whopping 600 unique pets, and rewards the beautiful blue Stormwing upon completion. And according to Warcraft Pets, the Sky-bo pet seems to have made its way into the Blingtron 4000 gift package -- whether or not this was intended isn't certain. Speaking of Warcraft Pets, Breanni's got some other useful information for pet collectors and Battle Pet enthusiasts. Patch 6.0.2 brought about some changes to hit and critical strike in regards to pet battles, and Breanni's got all the details on what's been changed, and how it affects pet brawling. For more about pets in 6.0.2, Warlords of Draenor, and beyond, be sure to check out Warcraft Pets, which also has a database detailing all new pets coming to the game with the expansion's release in November.
Last minute ideas for your justice points
Justice points are going away forever, perhaps as soon as next Tuesday. You can hold onto them and get the gold conversion if you want. They'll net you 47 silver per point, or 1880 gold for a full cap of 4000. It's a decent chunk of change, but there may be a few things you want to purchase with them while you still can. The most obvious one is heirlooms. PvE heirlooms will be unavailable from the justice point vendors in 6.0, and your only option to get those will be to spend Darkmoon Prize Tickets at the Darkmoon Faire or Champion's Seals at the Argent Tournament. These heirlooms will return in another form sometime in the future, just not for 6.0. The one you may have missed is the Reins of the Wooly Mammoth mount sold in Dalaran. If you're trying to pad your mount collection for the collection achievements and you still don't have this one, it's a good way to spend your points. It costs 2175 justice points, or a little over 1,000 gold after the conversion. Once 6.0 hits, this mount is going to cost 8,000 gold instead of justice points. Now is the time to get it. The last thing is useful if you didn't play much at level cap during Wrath of the Lich King. The commendation badges for the various Wrath reputations are being removed completely. They only cost a mere 16 justice points for 520 reputation points and are also sold in Dalaran. There's badges available for Wyrmrest Accord, Sons of Hodir, Kirin Tor, Argent Crusade, and Knights of the Ebon Blade. It's a quick way to get exalted with these factions. Again, there are some mounts you may be interested in from both Wyrmrest Accord and Sons of Hodir which require revered or exalted reputation. It's certainly quicker than grinding out those reputations the old fashioned way. All other items which currently cost justice points should cost gold in 6.0, so you don't have to worry about missing out on any potential transmog opportunities.
Guide to new mounts in Warlords of Draenor
As expected with the exclusion of flying in Draenor, the vast majority of new mounts being added in Warlords of Draenor are ground-only mounts. There are over 40 new mounts being added which should help you with tackling the new 250-mount achievement, Mountacular. Rare Spawns There are several rare spawns in Draenor which have a 100% chance to drop a mount. I know what you're thinking, but don't worry! Farming these mounts is much more forgiving than trying to farm something like Time-Lost Proto-Drake or Aeonaxx. .@Dolsonwow @tanjon @Thaedris MUCH nicer this time, 100% drop chance, everyone gets loot, some long and some less long respawn times - Jeremy Feasel (@Muffinus) August 28, 2014 Everyone who participates in the kill receives a mount, even if they aren't partied or on the same faction. I have to say I'm looking forward to camping for some of these with other players. It's always nice to have company, especially when we don't have to fight over the tag. Swift Breezestrider (talbuk) -- Drops from Pathrunner in Shadowmoon Valley Great Greytusk (boar) -- Drops from Gorok the Cleaver in Frostfire Ridge Mottled Meadowstomper (elekk)-- Drops from Luk'hok in Nagrand Bloodhoof Bull (clefthoof) -- Drops from Nakk the Thunderer in Nagrand Sapphire Riverbeast (riverbeast) -- Drops from Silthide in Talador Sunhide Gronnling (gronn) -- Drops from Poundfist in Gorgrond The one exception is the Garn Nightowl which drops from Nok-Karosh in Frostfire Ridge. That mount must be rolled for.
The Daily Grind: How much of a completionist are you?
MMOs are dangerous territory for the "must see, do, and experience it all" type of player. With mission checklists, achievement pages, collections, rare kill lists, armor sets, and map exploration, these types of games appeal to and encourage completionists to fulfill their destinies. So how much of a completionist are you? While I will engage in collections and achievements, they are still optional fun for me. What is mandatory are finishing up all of a zone's quests and filling out the map at a minimum. Also, if there are any options for fleshing out a character's development, I will be pushing to max out all of those fields. What about you? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Did you miss in Pandaria?: Hopling hunt
Stormstout Brewery is all about the beer, but the coolest item from this dungeon actually involves tea. Specifically, you'll need Ling-Ting's Favorite Tea, which "may cause the user to see strange things." Who is Ling-Ting? What is she into? We don't know, but we can guess. You can buy this tea from Auntie Stormstout at the beginning of the dungeon for 5 gold. I recommend buying more than one if you're going to try for this achievement during a run, since the buff only lasts 5 minutes. However, it's probably best to complete the dungeon first and go back so you aren't holding up the group. With the buff active, you can see Golden Hoplings scattered around the dungeon. Turning on nameplates allows for easier hop-spotting. Track Humanoids abilities also reveal the hoplings on your minimap. Another way to find them is to target and mark them with a macro: /target Golden Hopling /script SetRaidTarget("target",4) (Credit to Rakenaid on Wowhead.com) You need to find 30 hoplings. The final one sits underneath the mask of the defeated Yan-Zhu the Uncasked, assuming you've cleared the place. Once you find them all, you'll earn the Ling-Ting's Herbal Journey achievement, which is required for the Glory of the Pandaria Hero meta. You'll also receive the excellent Hopling pet in the mail. The only other way to get a virmen battle pet is to collect 250 pets for the Going to Need More Leashes achievement, which is much harder if you don't already have a large collection.
