Aftermath
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The After Math: Balsillie cashes out, Dell goes private and OUYA hits 481
We crunched the numbers just after CES, while the organizers were barely tearing down hundreds of lavishly lit booths. Now, we're going to be making it a regular thing, pulling together and musing on the week's vital statistics. This time around, we watch iPads make an impression on computer shipments, while Dell reorganizes and goes private -- with a little help from Microsoft. All that and more awaits beyond the break.
Battlefield 3 'Aftermath' DLC in December, 'End Game' in March
Battlefield 3's "Aftermath" DLC pack, leaked way back when and then finally confirmed but a day ago, will find itself in the hands of capable soldiers the world over come December, according to this Battlefield Premium hype page.The site's calendar also officially acknowledges and dates BF3's "End Game" DLC pack for March of 2013. Both packs are said to contain four new maps, new unspecified weapons, equally new and equally unspecified vehicles, and "more." While Battlefield Premium subscribers gain access to DLC content two weeks earlier than regular folk, we expect the December and March launch windows to apply to both categories of people, provided the Premium launches aren't near the tail end of either month.
Battlefield 3: Aftermath DLC adds four maps in post-earthquake Tehran
The Battlefield 3 "Aftermath" DLC is finally official. After getting leaked a few months ago, and being mentioned again last month, the add-on has now been described in more detail by EA. There will be four new maps that take place in "a post-earthquake Tehran," along with new vehicles, a new game mode, and new assignments, achievements and dog tags to earn.This promo page also hints at new weapons for Battlefield 3: Aftermath. There's no indication of what the new game mode is just yet, or when the content will drop. Currently, the release date is listed as "TBA" for both premium and standard BF3 players, but given that EA's shared this information with us, the DLC probably isn't too far off.
Blood Pact: Share the love of dead mobs with MoP AoE
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill enjoys exploding things, whether by smashing mobs to gore splats as a Diablo III barbarian or by chaining together multiple Seed explosions. A bugged Nightfall won't stop me from enjoying the new Seed of Corruption. I am completely willing to channel Drain Soul on full-health trash just so I can get a 'burned Seed and 'burned Curse combo off on the next pack. Chaining Seeds together is too much fun to pass up. With this new beta build, Mannoroth's Fury received a little nerf, and I thought about all the new AoE abilities for warlocks. Every spec has multiple AoE options now, both small-scale and large-scale. Even better, no spec feels like a mindless spamming anymore. Even affliction's constant casting of Seed requires a little setup.
60Beat GamePad controller works with iOS games through the headphone port
There have been a few game controllers released for iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone, but none that I've seen that work as elegantly as the 60beat GamePad promises it will. The GamePad offers all of the buttons you'd expect on a HD generation video game controller (with analog sticks and triggers and so on), but instead of using the iOS device's 30-pin connector, it hooks up through the headphone port, and apparently passes audio information across there somehow. Unfortunately, because that's such an interesting connection, the controller only works with two games at the moment, Bugdom and Aftermath. But the company is promising more compatibility next year, and hopefully as more developers jump on board, we'll see more widespread support. It's certainly an interesting prospect. The controller itself is $50, but as it works with more games, that price will definitely become more and more worth it. I personally have been using the OnLive wireless controller to play those games on my iPad (which still isn't available to the public, unfortunately), and I've been wishing for a controller like this, so hopefully 60beat will get the support it needs from devs.
WoW TCG: Throne of the Tides Alliance and Horde ally previews
The newest WoW TCG expansion, Aftermath: Throne of the Tides, isn't just about monsters like the naga, murlocs, and ogres. No sir, not at all. The Horde and the Alliance are both well represented in the coming card set, featuring new allies for both factions. As with all Cryptozoic card sets, the art for the cards is amazing and worth a look even if you aren't a die-hard TCG fan like so many are. New Alliance allies are hitting the TCG, including Faithseer Jasmina, a Worgen priest with the ability to keep herself alive through preventing lots of damage, making Worgen one of the hardest races to take down in the card game. The other Alliance ally previewed is Mekkatorque, King of the Gnomes, who has the ability to reconstruct lost equipment during the game into strength for himself. The new Horde allies hitting the battlefield include Alana the Woebringer, an Undead priest, and Lordann the Bloodreaver, a Blood Elf warrior. Alana the Woebringer has a dangerous ability that allows her to cut the opponent's deck in half at the start of each turn. She is a total deck destroyer, removing cards from the game until you bring her down. Lordann the Bloodreaver gets big bonuses for having your hero having lots of damage and will be especially useful with aggressive players. Aftermath: Throne of the Tides will be released on Oct. 11. Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Undead Labs learns the psychology of the apocalypse at Burning Man
In a recent dev diary, Undead Labs' Gronk gives us a first-hand perspective on a trip he made to the Nevada desert for Burning Man. Why is a vacation travel log news for MMO fans? Well, mostly because the experience was written up with post-apocalyptic survival in mind -- a topic that Undead Labs will be tackling in its upcoming zombie MMO. "At Burning Man, real-world currency is largely useless... much like it would be after a societal collapse," Gronk writes. "Would you want to trade the food you need to survive for some green paper? I sure wouldn't." Reading a personal experience like this leads us to believe that the Undead Labs zombie MMO will have a heart -- a rotting, putrid, maggot-infested heart -- but still, a heart. [Photo Credit: Wacky Archives]
WoW TCG: Throne of the Tides monster preview
The World of Warcraft Trading Card Game is getting a monstrous new expansion set on Oct. 11, bringing new creatures such as the ogres, murlocs, and naga into the game as playable characters. Aftermath: Throne of the Tides is the first set in the Aftermath series, set after the Cataclysm and Deathwing's rage-fueled destruction across Azeroth. Matt Place, the head designer of WoW TCG and lead designer on Aftermath: Throne of the Tides, wrote up a comprehensive preview of the new mechanics and many new heroes coming with the newest set. New monster heroes and allies will be given brand new rule sets that make them unique and fun, providing lots of flexibility for deck builders and new game play experiences. Monster allies, for instance, have no restrictions based on the hero that the deck is built around, giving them added flexibility. On the flipside, a monster hero deck featuring only monsters gets some cool benefits as well. Monster heroes each have a permanent power on the back of their cards. The murlocs run in packs, granting each other bonuses that the others possess. I immediately thought back to my Magic: The Gathering days with the Slivers and was instantly excited, since the Slivers were some of the coolest creations in TCG history. The murlocs sound like they are going to be a numerous force at all times, swarming your opponent and building up lots of cool bonuses.
TUAW's Daily App: Aftermath
I'll be honest -- I heard that Aftermath was a zombie game and almost gave up on it. I wouldn't be offended if you did the same, since lots of developers (especially iPhone developers) are depending a little too much on zombies for their gameplay. Yes, it's fun to fight the walking undead, but they're used over and over again because a) they're easy to program, and b) they let you make a "shooting humans" game without getting involved in the whole morality thing. But Aftermath is still worth a look. While a lot of zombie games on the store go abstract or silly, this one sticks pretty close to realistic, and it has some serious quality and interesting gameplay behind it. You're fighting zombies and moving through levels, but instead of aiming and shooting a gun, you're actually aiming a flashlight, and your gun automatically fires for you. The projected light makes the whole affair very atmospheric; the game's just dark enough that it actually feels a little spooky trying to navigate the shuffling brain-eaters to your next objective. Particularly if you're a fan of Left 4 Dead or that ilk, Aftermath is probably worth a look -- it's US$1.99 on the App Store right now. And please, developers, unless they're as inventive and well-done as this one, let's keep the zombie games to a minimum. Maybe we could fight werewolves instead? Or angry robots?
TUAW Talkcast live tonight at 10pm Eastern
Sunday night means it's time for our world famous talkcast, and tonight's going to be a good one. I'll be hosting the last pre-Christmas show, so I'm sure we'll fit in some last minute gift discussion, and we'll chat about the most popular posts of the past week, including Operation Chokehold, AT&T's thoughts on it, and the aftermath, our favorite free Mac apps of the year, and why iPhone users are delusional. And of course we'll have a nice panel of TUAWers on board -- I'm told Joachim Bean, Kent Pribbernow, and Steve Sande should be on the line to chat live. It starts at 10pm Eastern / 7pm Pacific this evening right over on Talkshoe -- it's just the thing you need to have a nice enjoyable night of Apple news discussion right before the holiday season takes over later this week. See you tonight! To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the TalkShoe 'ShoePhone' VoIP client or with the free Gizmo (now a Google product) or X-Lite SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Talk with you soon!
Industry happy with E3 2009's rebirth
Initial reaction to the rebirth of E3 has been quite positive. GI.biz spoke with representatives of several major publishers and they all seemed to have supportive things to say about the event. Take-Two CEO Ben Feder even said the company "couldn't be happier" thanks to the show's "unbelievable" energy.We can add that from company reps we talked with during the show that almost everyone seemed pleased with the format and scale. A couple folks even said that the ESA could open the tap for E3 2010 just "a little more." Next year's show is set for June 15-17, but we still have plenty more E3 stuff to post and coverage from last week's activities, so stay tuned.
Fallen Earth dev blog explains game's post-apocalyptic religious zealotry
Fallen Earth is a massively multiplayer online game currently in development where, in the wake of nuclear and viral armageddon, humanity's survivors are left to fend for themselves in the wasteland. The scenario painted by Fallen Earth's lore is that the world's established religions have largely burned away or decayed along with most of the human race. What's left are sects whose experiences and hardships in watching the world die are reflected in their belief systems, extreme views that come in various flavors of post-apocalyptic zealotry. As Fallen Earth subscribers, the players will align themselves with certain belief systems when creating their characters, affecting their outlook on the aftermath. In a WarCry exclusive, Fallen Earth writer Grace Hagood explains the game's religious and pseudo-religious elements, and some of the fanaticism embodied by these groups. She writes, "Let's face it: religion is a touchy subject. A lot of game designers would rather steer clear of including religion in their work. However, a game like Fallen Earth, set in a future based on extrapolations of current society, can't ignore the reality of religious extremism. What we can do, though, is use our particular (and sometimes peculiar) filters to present religious fanaticism in a post-apocalyptic framework."
Patch 3.0.2 primer for Warlocks part III
DestructionLong considered the most efficient raiding spec throughout the Burning Crusade, Destruction will get a run for its money with the new and improved Affliction. It also remains to be seen if Blizzard's efforts at steering the spec clear of mindless Shadow Bolt spamming will prove successful. Certainly, there's more emphasis on Fire spells this time around, which we'll see deeper into the tree. If you do spec deep Destruction, do tell me how it goes. Send me a postcard from Naxxramas.Change is felt right off on the first tier as the popular Bane is moved up here. It's exactly the same, so getting it a tier earlier is a definite buff. Improved Shadow Bolt is unchanged, but I'd hold off on putting points here. Unless you're determined to pursue a Shadow Bolt spam spec, there're a good bunch of talents deeper in the tree to spend your points on.Cataclysm swapped places with Bane but was buffed in a sense because it now just costs 3 points for a 3% cost reduction but now grants crucial +Hit. We'll need it as we level up and re-gear in Northrend. Three points here is mandatory. In more point-saving generosity, Aftermath was reduced to a 2-point talent for the same effect. Does it make the talent any better? No, it still sucks. But now it sucks for three points less.On tier two we also see Molten Core, a new talent introduced to mix things up a little for Destruction. Molten Core encourages the use of DoTs, which are likely to proc it more than Shadow Bolts. This is great talent for Destruction Warlocks looking to specialize in Fire spells, as well as low enough in the tree for other specs such as Demonology, to pick up. If we want to diversify our play style, we should put three points here.If you're only branching out to Destruction from another tree, you might be faced with the decision of choosing between tier three's Shadowburn and a 51-point talent. I'll say it right off that you should skip Shadowburn. On the other hand, if you're moving deeper into Destruction, pick it up because you'll be sure to find a use for it. Five points in the more accessible Ruin is mandatory, as well. We can skip Demonic Power, which is essentially Improved Lash of Pain and Improved Firebolt rolled together. [EDIT: Sephirah correctly reminds me that Demonic Power ups DPS directly because we're going to have our Imp attack, anyway. So, score some points for Demonic Power!]The unchanged Destructive Reach on tier four is mandatory while the other talents are completely optional. If we're looking to PvP as Destruction -- why not? -- we should pick up Intensity not just for the pushback protection but because it's a prerequisite for a stun effect. We'll save points by skipping Improved Searing Pain. No, really. We're going to skip it.Devastation was moved to tier five, swapping places with Ruin. Now it's one talent point for a 5% crit, which is one of the best single point investments we can make in any tree. We'll also want to get Improved Immolate because aside from the fact that it's been buffed from 25% to 30% for two talent points less, we'll need it to get something really cool deeper in the tree. Besides, Blizzard really wants us to use Immolate. Pyroclasm is entirely optional, even for PvP considering the only spell we'll really use that can proc it is Conflagrate.We want Emberstorm. It's that simple. 10% more damage from Fire spells and a faster Incinerate is sweet. Also on tier six is the reworked Nether Protection, which now procs off any spell. It no longer grants immunity, but a damage reduction from any school. In some ways it's a buff since it can protect against Frost or Holy, for example, but it also no longer confers immunities to Silence or other Shadow spells (which probably wasn't intended to begin with). Unless we want more mitigation in PvP, we can skip that.Tier seven is where it begins to get a bit tight. We want Conflagrate, since it's an excellent one point investment. If we're raiding, we can actually skip Soul Leech since we really should be healed, anyway. If we solo or PvP, it's a great talent to have. It also opens up opportunities for our pet on the next tier. Backlash is another PvP talent for those time when Rogues or Warriors are being mean to us, but because there's a 3% crit bonus, I'd say we pick it up. Up next is Shadow and Flame in tier eight, which we'll max out because it scales Shadow Bolt insanely and tempt us to just spam the thing. Fortunately it also affects Chaos Bolt and Incinerate, so we may steer clear of the evil path of mindless Shadow Bolt spam. Since we skipped Soul Leech, we're obviously locked out from Improved Soul Leech. But feel free to pick it up for pet loving if you have points to spare.On tier nine, I'm skipping Shadowfury only because we've been moving away from PvP-centric talents in this post. I know, I know, some of you insist that Shadowfury is awesome for PvE, so you can very well spend that talent point there. It's just one point, anyway. What I'm really interested in is Backdraft. Didn't I say Improved Immolate would lead to something cool? Well this is it. It's a mini-Bloodlust or Heroism for three spells. Because Destruction is all about cast times, 30% haste is gold.Then we get Empowered Imp on the same tier. Check out that icon. That's one badass Imp. If little Rupjub crits, I crit. Well, almost. I get 20% more crit on my next spell, which is pretty darned good. The idea is to get the Imp into the action by spending talents to make it hit hard enough. He'll crit eventually. Here's where we can revisit Improved Soul Leech to keep the little guy topped up. See, I told you to hold off on getting Improved Shadow Bolt.If you find spamming direct damage spells a little mind numbing, you can invest some points into Fire and Brimstone. Didn't I tell you that Blizzard wants us to use Immolate? Well, here you go. Immolate will hit hard with this talent. The cool -- or uncool, depending on how you look at it -- is having to watch Immolate's duration hit the 5 second mark before throwing out a Conflagrate. Yes, I know this screws our timing up, but someone's bound to make an AddOn to tell us when to cast Conflagrate. Right? Anyone? Bueller?And then there's Chaos Bolt. It's a 51-point spell on a 12 second timer. Sure, it pierces through absorption effects and all that stuff... but 12 seconds? I mean, I can't kill a Pally with it anymore and I can only cast it every 12 seconds. Well, we're getting it anyway. We've gotten this deep, right? Besides, it deals whopper damage and it's great for teaching those Shadow Cloaked Rogues a lesson. It's a pretty decent one point investment and can do wonders once we figure out how to work it into our newly confusing and complex (but fun!) rotations.Well, that's the last of our Warlock talents primer for 3.0.2. I hope that helped you decide which direction you want to take your Warlock when the realms go up. I'm leaning towards a hybrid myself, but Haunt is so deliciously sexy... << BACK Zach helps guide you through the changes in 3.0.2, so you can be enthralled in all the demonic love Blizzard's thrown together. Check out other 3.0.2 Talent Guides, too, as well as everything about the so-called Echoes of Doom.
Blood Pact: Destruction in Wrath Beta
And then there's Destruction. I'll be honest and admit I was never a huge fan of Destruction. Spamming Shadow Bolts and -- this was what made it oddest for me -- having no pet out didn't feel right at all. I believe that Warlocks are a pet class, and sacrificing our pet for more DPS throughout entire encounters was off, even if it was the infernal thing to do RP-wise. The classic 0/21/40 raiding build essentially made our demons a 6 second cast buff.Things are going to be somewhat different in Wrath of the Lich King, although Destruction is still pretty much the tree for blowing up things into oblivion. A lot of the talents incentivize mixing up spells and steer away from chain casting Shadow Bolt. A talent deep in the tree also rewards keeping a pet out. The tree is essentially a crit tree, the tree to make things go boom, although Blizzard clearly wants Destruction Warlocks to throw other things into the mix.
Obscure: The Aftermath trailer is like a B movie
We love survival horror (especially on our Wiis), but after watching this trailer, it's hard to be excited in any way for Obscure: The Aftermath. It looks like a cheesy horror film, though with none of the charm (or Bruce Campbell) that makes such movies worth watching. Not only did were we completely lost while watching this video (the plot, clearly, is also obscure), but it just looked silly. Do we have another Escape from Bug Island on our hands? Perhaps not, since the first game was supposedly enjoyable, and there's also the budget price of $30 to consider. If that's enough to convince you to at least give this game a look, it's set to release next week in North America.*Note: This video is from the PC version of the game.
