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Behind-the-scenes 'Final Hours of Titanfall' app now available
The Final Hours of Titanfall, an in-depth look at the development of Respawn Entertainment's first game, is now available to download on iPad, Windows Surface as well as PC and Mac via Origin for $1.99. Versions of the app are also planned for Android and iPhone, and both a text-only version for Kindle as well as an audiobook version are being considered. Created over a four-year span by Geoff Keighley, the app is a 25,000-word deep-dive on Titanfall's development and the legal issues that Respawn co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella settled with Activision in May 2012 pryor to West's departure from the developer in March 2013. Keighley conducted interviews with over 80 people to chronicle Respawn's beginnings, which cover the "toxic mix of office politics and creative struggles the build the next great videogame franchise." It also features concept art and videos from the early days of the game's development. This isn't Keighley's first foray into longform app development, as the behind-the-scenes "Final Hours" series includes an episodic webseries on Square Enix's Tomb Raider reboot, an app for Portal 2 and one detailing the creation of Mass Effect 3. [Image: EA Games]
Respawn to increase frequency of Titanfall updates
Respawn plans to improve its "update tempo" for future improvements to Titanfall, upping the frequency of announcements related to updates as well as the patches themselves. Game Director Steve Fukuda broke down the developer's update plans in a recent blog, noting that one part of the game's updates will "tend the garden and keep the weeds out," such as last week's changes to the game's Gooser Challenge. Fukuda also discussed both convenience and infrastructural features, the former making "life more pleasant" for players in the game. Future convenience feature additions to Titanfall include the ability to rename custom loadouts and set custom loadouts specific to each of the game's mode. Infrastructural additions include items like the private online match mode that arrived last week. "Whenever possible, we want to get these kinds of features out early in beta form, in order to get your feedback and arrive at the best possible result through multiple iterations," Fukuda wrote of the infrastructural features. He added that "tangible" content for Titanfall is on the way, including new maps, game modes, a new burn card set and "Nose Art" insignias for those that want to customize their titans. [Image: EA Games]
Titanfall Mythbusters: A falling titan can destroy an evac ship
Titanfall isn't just the name of Respawn's popular online shooter, it's also one of the most satisfying attacks in said game. Drop a titan on a pilot and the pilot becomes bloody goo. Drop one on another titan, and that titan becomes burning scrap. But what if you were to drop a titan on an enemy evac ship? That idea is put to the test at the 1:52 mark of the above clip. While you can destroy an evac ship with a falling titan, it's not as simple as it sounds. They key problem is that a titan will fall right through an evac ship as if it weren't there. However, on certain maps, when the evac ship arrives to pick up its would-be passengers, it may fly low enough to make itself vulnerable. In such a situation, if you drop a titan right next to the ship, the splash damage from the giant robot's earthshaking impact will blow the transport to pieces, along with anyone who happens to be comfortably relaxing inside. Difficult? Yes. Totally worth it? Clearly. [Image: Respawn Entertainment]
Titanfall reclaims UK No. 1 after landing on Xbox 360
Titanfall became the second game to return to the top of the UK charts in 2014, after forcing FIFA 14, the first game, to eject and drop into third. Respawn's mech-crammed shooter saw a 220 percent boost in sales following its arrival on Xbox 360, and that was enough to see it keep Lego: The Hobbit just beneath the summit in second place. It's a sign of a quieter April that retailer promotions helped South Park: The Stick of Truth rise up to fourth. That said, last week wasn't quiet enough to take Kinect: Sports Rivals into the top ten, and Rare's motion-controlled latest had to settle for 14th place. Football Manager 2014 placed 18th thanks to its spring transfer onto Vita, and the coaching sim is just ahead of The Elder Scrolls Online in 19th, which saw a sizable drop after debuting the week before in the No. 2 spot.
Joystiq weekly wrap-up: Fire-breathing lizards, big bad wolves and giant robots
Welcome to the first edition of the Joystiq Weekly Wrap-up, where we present some of the best stories and biggest news from our beloved sister-publication. After the break you'll find, among other things, Pokémon, the Big Bad Wolf and the final word on Titanfall's ongoing multiplayer examination. Our brothers and sisters in arms are on the ground in Boston this weekend for PAX East too, and you can find all of that coverage right here. Pour a frosty beverage and join us for the week's gaming news, won't you?
Titanfall free updates bringing 2v2 Last Titan Standing, Titan burn cards
Titanfall developer Respawn announced at their PAX East panel today that they'll be bringing new modes, among various other tweaks, to their heartwarming game about soldiers and the robots they so dearly love. One such mode will be a 2v2 variant of Last Titan Standing, where all players begin with their walking deathmachines. Considering how well that went for us, maybe we'll stay away. But then, we're masochists, so ... Respawn said that they'll also be introducing new ways to make the titular Titans more tantalizing: Titan-themed burn cards and Titan insignias are on the to-do list, as is a new matchmaking system that will let players use hashtags to filter through private games until they find one they like. Lastly, Respawn will also be introducing "rifts," which will introduce various tweaks to already-existing modes. All these micro-updates will be free, while Titanfall's first map pack DLC, Expedition, will cost $10. [Image: EA]
Titanfall's first DLC map pack, Expedition, due in May
Titanfall pilots that are a bit fatigued from stomping around the same set of maps, take note - the game's first round of DLC maps is due in May under the title of "Expedition." Polygon reports that the three-pack of maps will include "Swampland," a stretch of alien ruins that offers trees for wallrunning, "Runoff," a map that incorporates water, and "War Games," a map that's hosted within the game's training simulator. "Expedition" is the first of three $10 map packs that are included in Titanfall's season pass, which was announced in March alongside its $25 price tag. The pass provides a $5 discount from what the combined price of the three map packs would be if bought separately. [Image: Respawn Entertainment]
Joystiq Weekly: PAX East, The Last Of Us: Remastered, Super Smash Bros. and more
This week's reveal of Charizard in Super Smash Bros.' roster is a bit of a blow to our argument that Squirtle is the best starter from Pokemon Red/Blue. Yes, both pocket monsters were in the Pokemon Trainer's arsenal in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but Charizard flying solo is a whole different level of awesome, one that's left us Squirtle enthusiasts drowning in envy. Playground rivalries aside, there's a lot more going on this week beyond Pokefeuds. Sony admitted that The Last Of Us is coming to the PS4, Borderlands fans are finally going to be able to play as Claptrap in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and we've got a faint glimmer of hope for the Xbox One to eventually be backwards compatible. This is also the weekend of PAX East, which you can treat as a source of news or, if you're attending, a giant game of "Where's Waldo?" Track down Joystiq's away team and say hi! Provided you can catch them between appointments, panels and the lone meal of their day, that is.
Titanfall won't come to Xbox 360 Games On Demand
Titanfall publisher EA has nixed potential plans to bring the robot-infested shooter to the Xbox 360 as a digital download. A new entry on EA's help site explains the decision: "After extensive testing, we felt that [a digital release] simply did not represent the true Titanfall experience and it was decided not to release a Games on Demand version. We hope players understand this decision was all about quality and making sure you get the best Titanfall experience." While this is disappointing news for anyone counting down the ongoing death of physical media, we will remind would-be mech pilots that the disc-based version of the game has been performing admirably in our ongoing State of Service tests. Our latest report notes minor, isolated issues in the PC version, but otherwise all of the game's servers appear to be chugging along nicely. [Image: EA]
Titanfall State of Service: Final Verdict
This is State of Service, an ongoing review of the online service of a recently launched game. See our scored review of Titanfall here. Friday, April 11 | Final Verdict Overall State of Service: Good Summary: Stable server performance. Isolated issues on PC. In its first month of availability, neither the Xbox One or PC versions of Titanfall have run into debilitating or pervasive problems. Apart from a few brief outages, Titanfall's performance has been stable, with developer Respawn deploying a handful of updates, including a special matchmaking pool for cheaters and improved matchmaking in general. Yesterday, Respawn also added the ability to play private matches and issued a number of balance tweaks and bug fixes. Joystiq staffers have encountered no serious problems with either the PC or Xbox One versions during Titanfall's launch month. Some users have reported technical problems on PC, though these seem to be isolated and most have workaround solutions. We've spent some time with the Xbox 360 version since its launch on Tuesday and, while it's visually less impressive and its frame rate isn't as solid, online play appears on par with what we've experienced on PC and Xbox One. In short, the online-only warfare of Titanfall seems to be running as intended, and we're comfortable declaring that its overall State of Service is Good. The quality of online play has been consistent, and Respawn seems committed to delivering updates and listening to its community.
Xbox One Titanfall bundle now costs £349, the same as a PS4 in the UK
Next-gen console price wars have officially hit the UK, and they're getting serious. Going one better than their US counterparts, British retailers have slashed the cost of the Xbox One Titanfall edition by £50, with both Amazon and Asda currently offering the bundle for £349. For those keeping track, that means you'll get an Xbox One and its most popular game for the same price as a standard PlayStation 4. Microsoft originally charged £429 at launch, but dropped its recommended retail price to £399 around three months later. The PS4 may still have an slight lead over its rival in terms of sales, but with recent price reductions and the appearance of weaponised mechs, Microsoft will hope it can begin to reverse that trend.
Amazon UK, Asda selling Xbox One at PS4 price of £350
Amazon's UK arm and high street retailer Asda are currently offering the Titanfall Xbox One bundle at £349, the same price tag Sony UK puts on the PS4. The Xbox One originally launched at £430 in the country before Microsoft reduced its "estimated retail price" to £399 earlier this year. Amazon and Asda's pricing constitutes an almost 20 percent reduction from the Xbox One's launch price, a situation mirrored this time last year by the Wii U following its sales struggles. Last we heard, the Xbox One sold 3 million units by the close of 2013 following its launch in November; there's been no update on that figure since the turn of the year. Meanwhile, the Xbox One's regular price remains $499 in the US, although Microsoft is still selling it at $449 on its online store for a limited time. [Image: Microsoft]
Titanfall update with private matches arriving 'later today' [Update: Details added]
Titanfall will receive an update "later today," Respawn Entertainment tweeted this morning. While it didn't offer a full list of details for the update, nor the platforms it will land on, the update will introduce private match support. "Update coming later today with private matches, gooser update, etc. We'll post lots of info on it as it rolls out," the tweet reads. Respawn Co-Founder Vince Zampella said in March that private matches were one of the gameplay elements the developer planned to add after Titanfall's launch, one of the "things that we want in the game that we didn't get to ship in the final game." The update will also tweak the Gooser Challenge in the game, which the developer also indicated was coming as of late March. The challenge previously required players to kill 50 ejecting pilots, which will be reduced to just five, according to the prior developer blog on the matter. "We went a bit too far with this challenge, especially considering the unique conditions that have to be met in order to have the opportunity to get a kill on an ejecting Pilot," Respawn wrote at the time. Update: Respawn posted a whole mess of details to its official site for today's patch, which spans all platforms. To name a few, the update will introduce a public test of its private match mode, which supports two to 12 players, a fix for the wall hack exploit on PC, a change to the party colors in the game's mini-map as well as a shortcut to the Xbox One's party app, accessible from all menus. [Image: Respawn Entertainment]
Titanfall averages 46.5 frames-per-second on Xbox 360, Digital Foundry reports
The recently released Xbox 360 version of Respawn Entertainment's mech-dropping first-person shooter Titanfall maintains an average unlocked framerate of 46.5 frames-per-second, gaming performance analysis site Digital Foundry reports. Digital Foundry finds that the Xbox 360 version of Titanfall runs at a 1040x600 native resolution, compared to the Xbox One's 1408x792 resolution. The Xbox 360 version boasts an unlocked framerate of up to 60 frames-per-second, along with an option to lock the framerate at 30 FPS to eliminate screen tearing and input lag. Presentation-wise, Digital Foundry notes that the Xbox 360 version of Titanfall has "a necessary reduction in texture detail compared to the other versions, but nothing that overtly compromises the look of the game." The testing results are consistent with pre-release claims from porting studio Bluepoint Games, which promised a framerate above 30 frames-per-second in the final Xbox 360 version of Titanfall. [Video: Digital Foundry / Respawn Entertainment]
This is what Titanfall looks like on Xbox 360
Titanfall doesn't officially release for Xbox 360 until tomorrow, but somehow a few gamers have gotten it early and, what's more, they've decided to show it off. The good news is that the game appears to play exactly the same on the Xbox 360 as it does its current-gen counterpart -- just as developer Bluepoint Games promised. The graphical fidelity isn't as easy to judge, however. Two of the videos below (spotted by NeoGAF) aren't what we'd call great representations of the title: one is a Twitch stream and another looks like it was shot with a cheap handheld camera. A third is a full direct-feed Attrition match on Boneyard. In the Twitch stream, the game is a bit laggy and the frame rate dips quite a bit in spots, but that could be a result of the game running on pre-release servers. We spoke with the user and he said that since that stream he's had a much better experience with very low ping.
Here's how Titanfall's Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions differ
We've long known that Titanfall was coming to the Xbox 360 in addition to the Xbox One but, aside from that sliver of info, there hasn't been much to go on -- unless you count release delays, that is. Now we're learning that on paper, at least, it won't stray too far from the Xbox One version's shadow when it comes out next week. The last-gen version has all of the maps, modes and features of the Respawn-developed game, but naturally some concessions have been made to accommodate the 360's nine-year-old hardware. As developer Bluepoint Games' senior producer Daryl Allison writes, the game can't hit the same frame rates as its sibling, but it runs "above 30 fps" -- around half the speed you'd get on the Xbox One. Update: We still haven't seen the actual game on Xbox 360, but copies are apparently out there already. One YouTuber posted a video of the intro sequence including the BluePoint Games logo, but that's all you'll get since the servers aren't available yet -- check out the so-close-but-yet-so-far tease after the break.
Titanfall runs 'above 30fps' on Xbox 360, is 'the true experience,' according to dev
Bluepoint Games had its work cut out for it when the studio agreed to port the Xbox One's flagship shooter Titanfall to the Xbox 360, but to hear senior producer Daryl Allison tell it, the jump was a success. "Titanfall on the Xbox 360 is the true experience: all the maps, modes, pilots, titans, weapons, burn cards, you name it, found in the Xbox One and PC versions," Allison recently wrote on the Titanfall website. "The game looks great, sounds great, and above all it plays great. There are of course some technical differences that are due to the technical limitations of the hardware – for example, the game runs above 30fps - but rest assured, the intense 6v6 wall-running, titan dropping action is all there." Allison then defends the decision to delay the Xbox 360 version of Titanfall by saying that the game was just not ready for release alongside its PC and Xbox One brethren. "We wanted Xbox 360 gamers playing Titanfall at the same time as everyone else, but it needed more time," Allison wrote. "EA and Respawn made the right call and the extra time has paid off. Titanfall on the Xbox 360 is definitely a game that Bluepoint Games is proud of, and we're excited for you to get your hands on it." The Xbox 360 version of Titanfall is currently slated to be released on April 8. [Image: EA]
Titanfall now features improved matchmaking
Following last week's Improved Matchmaking Beta, developer Respawn has issued an update for mechanized shooter Titanfall that improves matchmaking in both the "Attrition" and "Hardpoint" game types. This update has been designed to counter one of Titanfall's most glaring flaws: its seemingly random method of matching would-be titan pilots in multiplayer. Titanfall itself has received glowing praise, but few would argue that the original matchmaking system made any sort of sense. Though this update will not affect matchmaking in the Campaign portion of Titanfall, Respawn claims that further matchmaking updates are on the way, just as soon as the studio can properly test their changes. Titanfall's matchmaking update is available to all players at no charge and should be installed the next time you fire up your giant robot of choice. [Image: EA]
Titanfall State of Service: Week Three
This is State of Service, an ongoing review of the online service of a recently launched game. See our scored review of Titanfall here. Tuesday, April 1 | T-minus 9 days until final verdict Current State of Service: Good Summary: PC version experiencing limited issues. Matchmaking update in the works. Anti-cheating system enabled on PC. Apart from a brief server outage last Tuesday, and an issue with Australian servers in particular, Titanfall appears to be humming along on both PC and Xbox One. Servers for both versions went down during the afternoon on March 25, apparently as the result of broader problems with Xbox Live. Servers were back online that evening. Meanwhile, Australian players encountered an issue in which servers would return a ping of -1, making them unusable. The problem was "sporadic," and it was corrected as of March 31, according to official Titanfall Twitter account. Joystiq staff members have been playing both versions with no significant problems to report. In other service news, Respawn is working on an update to Titanfall's matchmaking to keep weaker teams from being consistently dominated by stronger teams. Furthermore, the PC version has been updated to combat cheating. Cheaters detected by the game are subsequently only allowed to play with other cheaters, where they will enjoy what Respawn calls "the Wimbledon of aimbot contests." If you encounter any problems with Titanfall, let us know in the comments or on Joystiq's Twitter or Facebook accounts (use the hashtag #sos and don't forget to specify your platform!).
Twitch Xbox One numbers: 108K broadcasters in the first week
Sony and Twitch trotted out plenty of numbers since the PS4 launched with the streaming service, so it's not surprising to see Microsoft start talking about 23 million minutes broadcast since last month's launch, or how 30 percent of all Twitch broadcasts came from Xbox One on launch day. However, there is a catty little aside that's worth a bit of scrutiny. "In its first week, 108,000 unique Twitch users tried their hand at broadcasting from Xbox One," reads Microsoft's blurb, "accounting for 22 percent of Twitch's unique broadcasters in the same period of time. To put that in perspective, according to Twitch, it took another console a month to achieve what the Twitch app on Xbox One did within its first week." We'd point out how that perhaps doesn't account for the differences in install bases between launch and four months on, but the truth is we have no idea whatsoever what this "another console" is that Microsoft's referring to. Oh, well. Instead, we'll round up the rest of the stats: 2.7 million minutes of Xbox One Twitchery were broadcast on launch day, and the average Xbox One cast on the streaming service is 28 minutes long. Also, the most broadcast Xbox One game? No surprises there. [Image: Twitch]
