Xbox Series X: compatibility with 4K, HDR and 120 fps

     At up to 120 fps, up to 4k definition, and the addition of HDR, the Xbox Series X backward compatibility will give gamers enhanced access to a catalog of thousands of titles.

Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox will launch with support for “thousand of games” from the original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One

     We already knew that Xbox One X would put the floor on backward compatibility with support for Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One titles.

     In addition to providing access to a catalog of thousands of titles at launch, we now know that this feature should provide an enhanced gaming experience.

     First, the backward compatibility system for the future Xbox Series X would double the frame rate of games: games running at 30 frames per second would increase to 60 fps, and games programmed to run at 60 fps would increase to 120 fps.

     On the other hand, on the visual side, in addition to the shift from definition to 4K, Microsoft's console would be able to introduce support for HDR colors, even in the old titles of the first Xbox, which obviously didn't take this kind of function into account at the time.

     All of this would be possible because of the hardware power of the console, and a backward compatibility system that can take advantage of "all the power of the CPU, GPU, and SSD," said Jason Ronald, one of the developers of the Xbox X Series, on the Xbox blog.

     He adds that in addition to this visual comfort, the integrated NVMe SSD will offer a "significant" reduction in loading times for older titles.

     This means you'll be able to get the most out of your console right out of the box, no matter how many native titles are available. The launch is expected to take place before the end of this year.

Sources: Xbox Blog via Polygon

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Making money in your sleep is possible on Twitch

Making money in your sleep is possible on Twitch

     Filming everyday life in its most banal form has just reached a whole new level.

     After video games, meals and unwrapping packages, some streamers have pushed the IRL ("in real life") life even further by filming themselves sleeping on twitch. A dream come true, envied by others.

     On the Twitch video game platform, the well-known Amouranth, real name Kaitlyn Siragusa, broadcast her six-hour night live, encouraging fans to donate and subscribe to her account.

     With every 20 or so additional subscriptions, her alarm went back an hour, according to Korii.

     For a small donation, usually between $2 and $5, Matthew "Mizkif" Rinaudo allowed his followers to submit videos or other personal content while he slept.

     In the space of six hours, the geek raised more than $5,600. Kacey "Kaceytron" Caviness, meanwhile, offered those who watched her in Morpheus' arms the opportunity to disrupt her sleep by sending messages to a bot that read them aloud for a few dollars.

     "I think it gets more exciting for the viewers in the morning when they try to wake me up," the streamer told Wired.

Sense of closeness

     Those streamers didn't make it up. If the trend has been confirmed lately, it's not new.

     In 2017, Paul "Ice" Poseidon had already made a name for himself by earning some $5,000 from eight hours of sleep.

     Even back then, he allowed his audience to send him the sounds of guns, door knocking, dubstep or bagpipes. Less than three years after this experience, the video posted on YouTube had more than 3.7 million views.

     The resurgence of sleep streams is now accompanied by a much broader trend: the public is now looking for bits of intimacy and closeness to the person filming their real life. Twitch, originally dedicated to video games, is changing.

     The "just chatting" category is gaining in popularity, until it recently climbed to second place in the most-watched programs, behind League of Legends, no less.

     Proof that Internet users have a thirst for social interaction, even digital, and even if it means watching someone sleep to feel less lonely.

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Call of Duty: Warzone, the "Battle Royale" of Modern Warfare

Call of Duty: Warzone, the "Battle Royale" of Modern Warfare

     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's "Battle Royale" mode, called Warzone, is now available for free starting Tuesday, March 10th.  


     Not only will it be added to Modern Warfare, but it will also be available for free download for those who don't have the latest Call of Duty.  

     In a trailer put online by Activision, we also discovered that several news items that had been "leaked" in recent weeks were true.

 

     Available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, Call of Duty: Warzone keeps reminding us that it is still in beta stage. An admission of caution barely masked, for a game that already holds great promises.

     The permissive Call of Duty style Royal Battle
We can already hear the detractors of the Battle Royale complaining about the lack of ambition of Activision with Warzone. 

     It's true: the free-to-play born from Modern Warfare is comfortably installed in a slipper already pre-warmed by PUBG, Fortnite and Apex Legends. 

     But that doesn't stop him from adding a few twists here and there to make the experience more exciting.

     Let's recall the principle. On a huge map (an enlarged version of Verdansk, on which scenery elements from almost all Modern Warfare maps have been integrated), 150 players divided into squads of 3 have landed. 


     Their objective? To equip as quickly as possible and survive as long as possible while the "ring" (here symbolized by a poisonous gas) gradually closes.

     To this outdated formula, Call of Duty: Warzone adds a few well-smelling elements. The first being money.

     Everywhere on the map, there are chests containing weapons, armor or elimination sets, but most importantly: Pez. 

     Thanks to these green bills (actually they are rather blue), it is possible to buy more devastating elimination series, but also a healing kit to get back on your feet in case of elimination by an opponent. 


    Even better: you can also buy back the lives of your teammates if they've been knocked out.

     Which brings us to the other big novelty of this Warzone: the Gulag. 

     On your first death of the game, you will be captured and taken to the Gulag (no more and no less than the Gulag Shower card available in Skirmish mode) and will have to fight for your life. 

     At the end of a short queue, during which you can throw stones at other unfortunate people who are dueling, it will be your turn to prove your worth. 


     As in Skirmish mode, you appear with a random weapon and must defeat your opponent. If you succeed, you will be sent back to the battlefield where you will be able to find your teammates to continue the game.

     Between that, the ability to redeem the lives of his friends and of course the ability to relieve his companions wounded in battle, Call of Duty: Warzone is a particularly permissive Royal Battle.

An unusual rhythm for Call of Duty

     There is a highly unusual dynamic in Warzone for anyone who has spent hundreds of hours on Call of Duty: Modern  Warfare (or any other part of the saga). 


     Where traditional multiplayer modes are ultra nervous, and where the winner of a duel is most often the player who has seen his opponent first, the resulting Battle Royale calls for moderation and caution.

     Not that it's unpleasant, but you have to admit that the rhythm of the game is taking quite a beating.

     Despite the 150 players on the map, it can sometimes take up to ten minutes without encountering another group. That's enough to increase the pressure even more," Battle Royale fans will tell me. 

     And they would be right; especially since Activision also wanted to include another twist to motivate the troops: contracts.

     Occasionally, in the vaults, you may find contracts. 

     These are time-limited missions that will require you to secure a building, in this case, to eliminate a particular target or to find four safes in the time allotted. 

     If you succeed, you'll be able to rob the mall and get the killstreaks of your dreams.

The good surprise of the Pillage mode

     We weren't expecting this, but the Plunder mode that comes with this Battle Royale is probably the best idea of Call of Duty: Warzone.

     Here, the goal is not to be the last squad alive but to collect the biggest booty (1 million dollars). 


     To do so, it will be necessary to loot all buildings, fulfill contracts and - of course - hunt down the other squads that landed in Verdansk.

      Unlike the Battle Royale mode, Plunder has no reappearance limit. 

     The problem is that once you're shot down, you lose not only your equipment but also your wool stocking. Therefore Warzone has two methods to secure your loot.

     The first will remind Division players of some of the stressful times they've been under. 

     On the map will appear places to call a helicopter, which will come quickly to extract all the money you have collected so far. 

     The catch is that all the other players will be notified of your maneuver - and therefore your position. 


     To be honest, we would have preferred the helicopter to have appeared later to increase the players' heart rate even more. In this case, it only takes about 15 seconds.

     The second method is much quieter, and this time inspired by Metal Gear Solid V. 

     Very rarely will you find a drop balloon in the vaults - reminiscent of MGS's Fulton balloons?

     You can deploy it wherever you want, and you can extract a part of your booty to secure it.

     In the end, looting is a much more stressful mode than Battle Royale. 

Who would have thought that Activision would capture so well the profound nature of the human being, who obviously cares more about the money he has accumulated than about his life?

Is Warzone indispensable?

     Many might over-enthusiastic predict the impending death of one Apex Legends in the light of the release of Call of Duty: Warzone. 

     Their words should be tempered, as it transpires so much from this Royal Battle that it has been tinkered with from an engine that never had the vocation to propel such a game mode.

     After several games, and not without a certain amount of fun, Warzone still gives the impression of playing a nice mod rather than a full-fledged game. 


     In reality: an improved version of the co-op missions already available on Modern Warfare - and clearly one of the less exciting elements of Infinity Ward's FPS.

     Some parts of the map look too empty, and the original punch of Modern Warfare weapons doesn't fit well with such armor-induced enemy resistance. 

     Sometimes, all this sounds a bit wrong, and you can feel that the varnish applied by the developers on this game mode isn't dry yet.

     This is especially true for the in-game scoring system. 

     As in Apex, Warzone allows us to "ping" all the elements of the scenery to indicate, for example, a weapon cache, or the presence of an enemy. 

     But often, the cursor has a hard time understanding where it should be placed, or if it should indicate a place or a threat. 

     This is because, in terms of key mapping, it's hard to understand the logic of Infinity Ward: press Alt-left once (default) to place a cursor, and twice to indicate a threat.

     In other words, in the heat of the moment, we've seen that it's more convenient than pressing twice on a button that's right under the palm of your hand.

     But, as we wrote in the preamble of this test, Call of Duty: Warzone is still in its beta phase, and there is still plenty of room for improvement. 

     Especially since the foundations are solid, and the fun is there. Besides, it is still surprising that Activision hasn't flooded its free game with microtransactions and other monetized cosmetic elements. 

     For now, Warzone's progress is linked to that of Modern Warfare, which also shares its shop and season pass.

Call of Duty: Warzone

     While it may come as a surprise that Activision is releasing a Battle Royale in the middle of the Modern Warfare lifecycle, it should not be forgotten that we are talking about a stand-alone free-to-play game.

     In other words: it's here to stay, so you can bet that the next game in the license will escape the presence of a Battle Royale.

     So it is by considering it as a game in its own right that we enjoyed playing Call of Duty: Warzone. 

     The map is huge, the bugs few (for a beta) and the tension palpable. 

     One only regrets that the engine used here is not of better will to propel a game mode that gives pride of place to open spaces and vehicles.

     How long Warzone lasts will depend on how many players try it. But judging by the name on the cover, Call of Duty: Warzone should have a bright future.

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GeForce NOW: All about Nvidia's Cloud Gaming service

GeForce NOW: six questions to understand everything about Nvidia's cloud gaming service

     GeForce NOW, Nvidia's streaming gaming offer is available, we give an update on this service which is opposed to Stadia or French Shadow.

     
     Nvidia comes to compete with Shadow and Google Stadia by launching its Cloud Gaming offer, GeForce NOW. It does not look like any service that currently exists, so it seemed important to us to gather all the questions about it and to provide some answers.

Is Nvidia GeForce NOW new?

     No, not really. Historically, GeForce NOW (GFN) was a cloud gaming service that was only available from Nvidia's Shield family of products. 

     In order to access it, you had to pay a subscription fee of about 10 euros, which then gave you access to a catalog of specific games, some free and some paid for.


    It was also possible to connect your Steam and Uplay accounts to GFN to enjoy some of your games compatible with the service.

     In 2017, change of strategy and operating model. GFN becomes autonomous and goes into the closed beta phase. 

     It is no longer a question of offering basic securities and others to buy in an online shop. Only those you own on Steam, Uplay and so on and compatible with GFN will be playable.

     First deployed in the US, the beta phase will not arrive until 2018 in France. To access it, you had to register on a waiting list and wait for Nvidia to validate or not your profile.

    Nvidia GeForce NOW, how much does it cost?

     Today, Nvidia launches two offers. One free and one paid. The first one allows you to play your games remotely, in Full HD, during sessions that do not exceed one hour. 

    After this time, you are disconnected and must place yourself in a waiting list to continue your game.

     The fee-based offer is launched at 5.49 euros per month, with no obligation. This price is valid for one year only. When you subscribe, your first three months of service are free.

     You can then play your games in continuous 6-hour sessions, you have priority in the queues and can enjoy ray tracing on compatible titles.

Nvidia GeForce NOW, what do I need to enjoy it?

     An internet connection of 15 Mbps minimum, even if Nvidia recommends 25 Mbps. Wired (Ethernet) is to be favored over Wi-Fi, but if you have no choice, prefer a 5 GHz network for more stability.

     In terms of hardware, a PC running Windows 7, a Mac running macOS 10, an Android 5.0 smartphone or a Shield TV (2015, 2017 or 2019) is the minimum.

     Then download the client or app to the device, enter your username and password and you're done. You don't download anything to your device. As for Stadia, you simply stream the video stream of the games launched on the Nvidia servers.

Nvidia GeForce NOW, which game clients are compatible?

     To date, Nvidia has partnerships with Steam, Origin, Uplay, and Battle.net. More than 400 games from these portals are compatible with GeForce NOW. 

     The complete list can be found on Nvidia's dedicated website. You must have them upstream to be able to find them on your GeForce NOW account, synchronized with these clients.

     For the moment, GOG Galaxy is not supported by the Nvidia platform, just like the Epic Store. 

     However, Nvidia offers a few Free-to-Play games taken from the catalogs of its partners, including Fortnite.

     Please note that Nvidia announces that it is possible to temporarily install (for the time of a game session) more than 1000 games recognized as compatible by GFN. 

     However, it is impossible to keep them permanently: you will have to reinstall them in order to play them again once your session is over. 

    Nvidia GeForce NOW, can I play it anywhere?

     For the moment, no. The GeForce NOW network is built around multiple data centers. There are 9 of them in the United States and 6 in Europe (only the West is covered) that belong to Nvidia.

     In South Korea, it is the operator LGU+ that lends its infrastructure, and SoftBank in Japan. In Russia, a dedicated structure called GFN.ru is responsible for operating the service. 

     In all, Nvidia announces that 30 countries can access GFN. Outside of these geographical areas, GeForce NOW is inaccessible.

Nvidia GeForce NOW, what are the short term prospects?

     Nvidia hopes to be able to offer its service on Chromebooks this year. 

     The problem is that there is a very wide variety of machines running under Chrome OS and as many configurations. 

     We must be able to ensure compatibility with the largest number even if we stream only one video stream. In France, the interest of such compatibility may seem rather limited because Chromebooks are not legion. 

     But in the United States, the land of the high-speed proliferation of Chromebook, the stakes are high for Nvidia. 


     Currently, the base of beta testers consists of 300,000 users. 

     Nvidia has automatically converted their beta account into a Free offer. In the medium term, the company hopes to double the stake. 

     At its peak, the service should be able to accommodate 1 billion players... it is, in any case, the dream of Nvidia's CEO! 

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Nvidia finally launches GeForce NOW, its Cloud Gaming offer, free... or for a fee.

Nvidia finally launches GeForce NOW, its cloud gaming offer, free... or for a fee

     After two years of beta, Nvidia launches GeForce Now, its cloud gaming service. There are two ways to discover it: one free and minimalist, the other paid and a little more attractive.

     Finally here, and for everyone! GeForce Now (GFN) is now available to millions of gamers around the world, after being in a restricted beta for over two years.

     Unlike Google Stadia, Nvidia's cloud gaming solution doesn't offer you a specific game catalog but access to over 400 titles from Steam, Uplay, Origin, and Battle.net (not GOG), all optimized for GFN. It is also possible to install some titles from your Steam library. However, you will need to reinstall them each time you log in.

     Finally, free-to-play, such as Fortnite or DoTA 2, are natively supported. The complete list is available on Nvidia's GeForce Now website.

     Anyway, GeForce Now will initially offer two packages, one free and one paid for. 

     It has a call price of 5.49 euros per month, without commitment and valid only during the first 12 months of the service's existence.

Nvidia may subsequently develop other formulas to meet potential growing demand from users.

Tail in the cloud gaming

The free/Free version entitles you to:

• Classic computing power (1080p - GeForce non RTX).
• No ray tracing.
• Gaming sessions are limited to one hour...
• A more or less long wait to (re)connect.

     The (limited) Founders offer, at 5.49 euro/month, gives you access to :

•      The computing power of GeForce RTX-like graphics cards.     

     Ray tracing rendering technology for games that support it is on the menu.

•      Full HD (1080p) video streaming at 60 frames per second, provided you have a good Internet connection.
• A priority channel in the queues. 
•      Game sessions of up to six consecutive hours. 
• 90 days of free subscription.

     Note that all players participating in the beta will have their account converted to Free mode. It is up to them to subscribe to the subscription offer proposed as of February 4th by Nvidia.

     Free or paid, we can see that Nvidia limits the game time on GeForce Now. The free offer will certainly be frustrating, while the six hours of the paid version should give you more time to enjoy your games.

     But limited time is not the only thing that can get in the way, queues could be problematic if they are too long. Especially since Nvidia couldn't explain why they were necessary. 

The only answer we got was:

     "It's a free service. Don't forget that. For the most passionate or impatient, there is the paid offer where the waiting time will be almost nil".

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Warcraft 3: Reforged, Blizzard takes the shot and pays players back

Warcraft 3: Reforged, Blizzard takes the shot and pays players back

     
    It took only a few days for Warcraft 3: Reforged to go from being the "most anticipated game of January 2020" to the less enviable status of "the most poorly rated game by users in Metacritic's history". 

     An outcry such as Activision Blizzard couldn't standstill. This probably explains why automatic refunds have been in place for a few hours now for users who wish to do so. 

     After the fiasco of the launch of its title, the publisher proposes an automatic refund of the game and undertakes to quickly correct the main bugs.

     Rarely has a game been so rejected by the players. With a player rating of 0.5/10 on Metacritic, that's not much to say... 

     Unfortunately, that's the fate of Warcraft 3: Reforged (W3R), which has been caught in a vortex of (often justified) criticism since its release last week. 

     These include disappointing graphics, sound problems, inability to create clans, and incompatibility with the original game's Mods.

     In short, nothing's going right anymore and Blizzard has decided to react. The most striking reaction is to propose the automatic refund of the game by going on a dedicated page of its site.

     However, the publisher does not indicate whether the refund applies to all players or whether there are any special conditions that must be met. 

     Thus, some players indicate on the Reddit site that the operation was successful, while others mention a refusal with the message "the product is not eligible".

A quick fix of the main bugs

     Blizzard has also posted an announcement on the Blizzard website forum to try to reassure players. 

     The publisher begins by stating that Warcraft 3: Reforged is an integral part of its DNA and that it intends to support it over the long term.

     Blizzard says that a patch will be released within the week to fix a number of issues: bugs in the sound and animations of the portraits, as well as in the colors and shadows of the classic mode.

     For the poor quality of the cinematic scenes, the justification is perplexing: staying true to the original Warcraft III by not improving the rendering of the scenes too much. 


     The editor also gives some elements about a future update that will introduce online features such as clan and rating creation. However, Blizzard has not given any users any hope.
Source: Blizzard

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