Rend is enjoying some strong popularity since transitioning into early access at the end of July. To handle the influx of interested adventurers, Frostkeep Studios moved a whole host of North American and European servers over to new and better hardware earlier this week. Since the studio also changed the saga restart timer from 72 hours to 24 hours, it manually reset seven of its servers to restart their sagas and get on this new timeframe. It is even granting bonus AP for any of the server ascensions that happened before Patch 2.1. Patch what, now? The studio pushed out an update this past Tuesday with a huge number of balance changes and several bug fixes. As a result of all of this, talent and skill perk points were reset and will need to be reallocated. Frostkeep also used the patch as an opportunity to warn players that abusing the outcast system is a bannable offense, especially against “new or inexperienced” players. Join the MOP Stream Team today at 2 p.m. … [Read more...] about Rend moves to new server hardware, throws out a huge balance patch
Hardware
Hardware Review: AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra Capture Card
I was given the opportunity to review both the Live Gamer 4k and the Live Gamer Ultra, and while I’m more than confident my PC can handle an interior 4k card, my consoles are too far away to use it efficiently, and I’m not willing to go out and buy near 10ft. HDMI cables (at least) just for that. If I had a different office set up, that would be a different story, and I use my capture card for my consoles very heavily. I’ve spent the past couple of weeks with the Live Gamer Ultra, and I have to say that I fell absolutely in love with it. Previously I use was using the very modest Live Gamer Extreme from the same company, and it served my purposes well. But this one is more compact, significantly stronger, and it works well with my laptop, desktop, and Colton’s desktop. So I want to start off with the card’s specs, then I’ll list mine: Live Gamer ULTRA (GC553) For Pros and Aspiring Pros: AVerMedia’s intermediate capture card, designed to … [Read more...] about Hardware Review: AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra Capture Card
H1Z1 Orders More Hardware To Deal With PS4 Overload
The H1Z1 open beta has arrived on Playstation 4 today, and many of you trying to log in may be unlucky enough to find yourself getting stopped at the door. Daybreak Game Company has announced via Twitter that 200,000+ concurrent users are trying to get online and the servers are having some trouble keeping up. As a result, more hardware is being spun up to accommodate the extra server load. Daybreak has asked that players hold on tight while the servers stabilize. (Source: H1Z1) Advertisements … [Read more...] about H1Z1 Orders More Hardware To Deal With PS4 Overload
Hardware Review: Huawei Mate 10 Pro
Straight away, I’m more than a little disappointed, but not with the phone, but with American mobile carriers. I spent about two hours on the phone with tech support, trying desperately to get a sim card (I have a spare that fits this phone) usable for the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, the mobile phone I’m reviewing right here. Apparently, several mobile carriers will not be carrying the phone, for reasons that baffle me. The official line that I’ve read is that the Chinese company makes “their own parts” and “security issues”. But doesn’t Apple make all of their own parts? A lot of accusations were made but I saw no substantiated proof. I wonder if it’s because the phone is being sold at retail for cheaper than the average, top-of-the-line mobile device (anywhere from 500-700~ now, as it’s no longer a new phone), which I suppose could mean fewer contracts. That’s what they want anyway, to trap people in contracts. But a … [Read more...] about Hardware Review: Huawei Mate 10 Pro
– Internet giant hires console gaming veteran for hardware team
While currently just a rumor, a recent executive hire triggered the speculations that Google is building its own gaming device. The new Google hire is video game industry veteran Phil Harrison, who worked on the Sony PlayStation brand across 15 years, and most recently held the position of corporate vice-president at Microsoft Xbox division. While some said Phil is hired to join Google Play, he is actually directly reporting to Rick Osterloh, the head of Google’s hardware division. A weird choice since Phil has no engineering background. Industry watchers have said there is absolutely no chance of Google developing a gaming console to rival Microsoft and Sony, and thus speculated that Phil will be the one helping to add “gaming” in Google’s hardware, including Daydream VR set, Pixel phones, and Pixel laptops. Phil’s previous roles were to orchestrate major game launches, and it might be a sign Google is taking gaming more seriously than ever beyond just … [Read more...] about – Internet giant hires console gaming veteran for hardware team