Archive - 2018

F1 Esports Pro Draft Qualifiers Confirmed

2018/06/19
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News

June 19, 2018 – Formula 1®, the pinnacle of motorsport, today confirmed the 40 online racers who have qualified for the next stage of the F1 Esports Series – the Pro Draft. On Monday 9th July in London, representatives from the nine F1 teams participating in the F1 Esports Series 2018 will use the Pro Draft to select which drivers will join their own esports teams and compete as a professional in the latter part of the season.

Over the course of the four online qualifying rounds, 66,000 players battled it out to secure a place in the Pro Draft, completing 1.1 million laps. A total of 111 territories  (from A for Albania to Z for Zimbabwe) were represented, competing in F1 2017 – the official game of the FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™, on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, the Xbox One family of devices including the Xbox One X and PC – with Great Britain leading with 23% of the players, followed by USA (16%) and Germany (13%).

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport, Red Bull Racing, Hype Energy eForce India F1 Esports Team, Williams, Renault Sport Team Vitality, Haas F1 Esports Team, McLaren, Toro Rosso Esports Team and Sauber F1 Team will all be offering positions in their driver line ups as part of the series. Every team must select at least one of its drivers from the Pro Draft.

The F1 Esports Pro Draft will see the players travel from 15 countries – including the UK, Chile, Germany and Finland, amongst others – to historic Silverstone in the build up to the Formula 1 2018 Rolex British Grand Prix. There they will undergo a series of tests, assessments and interviews with the teams to demonstrate why they should be selected. The Pro Draft will be streamed online on Facebook and will also be shown live on television.

Once selected, the official esports drivers will represent their real-world teams later on in the season as they race in the three live events that will determine the 2018 F1 Esports Series Teams’ and Drivers’ World Champions. There will be a prize fund of $200,000 allocated to the teams based on their positions in the team standings.

Of the 40 players confirmed for the Pro Draft, 36 came through the Open Qualification phase – four online events on the F1 2017 game followed by four sets of races on each of the three platforms. The fastest nine players on PS4, Xbox and PC have all qualified. Two more players qualified through the Online Qualification Wildcard and are joined by Fabrizio Donoso Delgado and Sven Zürner, who both qualified through last year’s competition finishing respectively 2nd and 3rd.

The F1 Esports Series is operated in partnership with Codemasters, the developer and publisher of the official Formula 1 video game franchise and Gfinity, one of the world’s leading esports companies.

Julian Tan, Head of Digital Growth & F1 Esports at Formula 1 said:

“Last year’s series was a great success and based on the level of those who have qualified for this year’s Pro Draft, the 2018 season is shaping up to be even more exciting. The drivers will now battle it out for what is a truly incredible opportunity. With the F1 teams involved we have been able to combine the power of Esports with the magic of Formula 1, establishing an authentic series that builds on what we have on the grid. We can’t wait to watch the action unfold.”

Paul Jeal, Formula 1 Franchise Director at Codemasters said:

“We have been incredibly impressed with the speed and race craft that we have seen from our players during online qualification. We have 40 outstanding racers ready for the Pro Draft, with a near equal split on returning finalists and semi finalists from last years competition, and new drivers who are ready to experience the thrill of the live events for the first time. For our gamers to have the opportunity to join a real Formula 1 team is an incredible opportunity and we cannot wait to see them perform on the biggest stage on F1 2018.”

Mark Brittain, Chief Commercial Officer at Gfinity said:

“The online tournament has seen a record number of competitors and the competition has been incredibly competitive. We now look forward to welcoming the top players and their potential Teams to the Gfinity Esports Arena for the Pro Draft as we enter the second phase of our activation.”

For more information on the F1 Esports Series visit www.f1esports.com.

Midsummer Scream Unveils Hall of Shadows Expansion for 2018

2018/06/19
boothby
Geek News, Halloween, News

LONG BEACH, CA (June 19, 2018) – More than 20,000 fans of all things macabre are expected to make their annual pilgrimage to the Long Beach Convention Center in Southern California for the third annual Midsummer Scream, as the Hall of Shadows attraction expands to occupy 80,000 terrifying square feet of the world’s largest Halloween and horror convention.

“Hall of Shadows is a Halloween theme park set up within the convention center where brave guests can step into the darkness and find themselves surrounded by swirling fog and terrifying monsters,” explains Rick West, Creative Director, Midsummer Scream. “Here, visitors will experience over a dozen haunted attractions, live entertainment, and check out exhibitors who are right at home in this dimly-lit environment. Hall of Shadows is a virtual commercial for Halloween in Southern California, and has become a huge, unique feature of Midsummer Scream that isn’t replicated anywhere else.”

Midsummer Scream will feature vendors and exhibitors within the Hall, each one selected to be showcased in the dark due to their particular merchandise or product type. Guests will also enjoy a performance stage where they can watch horror-themed burlesque, magic, and much more throughout the weekend.

Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Fright Fest will be represented this year in the form of a terrifying scare zone that acts as the gateway to the featured haunted attractions area within the Hall of Shadows; this year marks the first time a major Southern California theme park has participated in such a way at Midsummer Scream.

Three times daily, Midsummer Scream presents the Decayed Brigade within its Hall of Shadows – a high-energy monster performance team made up of some of the best “sliders” in the world. Returning for their third year at Midsummer Scream, the Decayed Brigade is set to wow guests of all ages with their dynamic showmanship, intense physical stunts, and thrilling feats of strength and agility on a runway that stretches more than 100 feet in length among the Hall’s many haunted attractions.

All attractions within the Hall of Shadows are free with paid admission to Midsummer Scream. Those guests with Gold Bat Weekend Passes will receive one-hour early admission each day at 10 a.m. to the vendor show floor as well as Hall of Shadows. During general operating hours, Gold Bat passholders will find Front of Line access available at each haunted attraction within the Hall of Shadows.

Midsummer Scream has established itself as the premier venue for artisans and vendors to sell spooky merchandise, theme parks and film studios to tease their fans with coming attractions, cosplayers to take a walk on the dark side, makeup artists to show off their terrifying talents, professional haunters and industry experts to present world-class panel discussions, seminars, and classes. In addition to the amazing haunted attractions, displays, and exhibitors in the Hall of Shadows, Midsummer Scream features many experiences throughout the entire show, from theatrical productions to escape rooms and other alternate reality entertainment.

More detailed information regarding Hall of Shadows can be found here, on the official Midsummer Scream website at MidsummerScream.org.

Frostpunk Survivor Mode Now Live with Trailer

2018/06/19
boothby
Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

June 18, 2018 — Frostpunk – a grim mixture of city-building, survival and a leadership game – is updating today with the launch of Survivor Mode. Promised in the road map few weeks ago, and eagerly awaited by the community, Survivor Mode is the ultimate evaluation of your skills in the arctic wasteland.

A special feature for the most seasoned arctic survivalists among Frostpunk players, 11 bit studios is prepared to challenge you like never before. If you find Hard difficulty all too easy, this new mode will be the true test of your ability to survive the winter apocalypse! You can pause the game only by opening a menu – there is no active pause whatsoever! – and your progress is only saved upon exit, so all your decisions are final. The difficulty level itself is also more rough and demanding – meeting the people’s needs or balancing the delicate economy of your city will be even harder. What’s more, finishing the game in this mode will reward you with some new achievements! More can be found as explained by the devs in the new Survivor Mode Update 1.1.0 video.

Frostpunk also launches its very first discount on Steam with a 15% price drop RIGHT NOW! Frostpunk deftly mixes the city-builder and survival genres to create the first society survival game. As the ruler of the last city on Earth, it is your duty to manage both its citizens and the infrastructure. What decisions will you make to ensure society’s survival? What will you do when pushed to breaking point? Who will you become in the process?

Find the game on: Steam, GOG.com, Humble Store

More info at:

https://twitter.com/frostpunkgame

https://www.facebook.com/frostpunkgame

http://www.frostpunkgame.com/

Universal CityWalk Announces Jurassic World Screenings and Fun

2018/06/18
boothby
Geek News, Movie News, News

June 18, 2018 – Universal CityWalk becomes L.A.’s destination for all things JURASSIC, kicking off with advance screenings of Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, showing at 6 Universal Cinema theatres and in IMAX.

Screenings begin on June 21 at 7 PM.  A special double feature of Jurassic World begins at 3 PM, preceding early 6 PM screenings of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Tickets are available now.

Additional JURASSIC highlights include:

  • A life-sized Tyrannosaurus rex, towering 13’ tall by 36’ wide and weighing three tons, dominates CityWalk adjacent to the Universal Cinema for a once-in-a-lifetime photo opp through June 24.
  • Original props from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, including the iconic Gyrosphere, on display through June 24.
  • Authentic costumes worn by the film’s stars, Chris Pratt (Owen) and Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire) exclusively on display within the Universal Cinema through July 1.
  • Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom takes a bite out of Voodoo Doughnut with an all-new Raptor claw-inspired doughnut, available through July 7.
  • Fans are invited to watch the blockbuster movie, then experience “Jurassic Park—The Ride” at Universal Studios Hollywood before it goes extinct on September 3, as the theme park readies for the all-new Jurassic World ride in 2019. Guest can also interact with Blue, one of the most popular dinosaurs from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s blockbuster Jurassic World franchise, as part of the theme park’s “Raptor Encounter.”

WHEN:            Thursday, June 21 from 6-8 PM

WHERE:          Universal Cinema at Universal CityWalk

100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608

Warriors Orochi 4 Release Date

2018/06/18
boothby
Geek News, News, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 News, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

Burlingame, Calif. – June 18, 2018 – Fresh from the Electronic Entertainment Experience (E3) 2018, KOEI TECMO America revealed that Warriors Orochi 4, the latest installment in the one-versus-thousands action game series, is slated for release in North America – on October 16, 2018 for the PlayStation®4 Computer Entertainment System, Nintendo Switch™, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and digitally on Windows PC via Steam®.

Additionally, at the expo, the publisher showcased the return of a fan-favorite feature: split screen co-op. Warriors Orochi 4 boasts a remarkable 170 playable characters from the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors universes – giving players an astounding number of options to choose from when playing alone or with a friend.

This latest fusion title features the inaugural appearance of Magic abilities, allowing characters to wield phenomenally powerful and visually impressive attacks against their most challenging foes. These new-found powers come from the gods’ most divine artefacts: the Sacred Treasures. In this distorted, merged version of their worlds, all Warriors are unexpectedly gifted with a Sacred Treasure that fuels their spell-casting attacks. Alongside their legacy moves and special attacks, they can now cast ranged and targeted spells, or even combine their powers with those of an ally for truly devastating blows.

To further showcase the new possibilities that open up in Warriors Orochi 4 KOEI TECMO America released a set of screens and a new trailer, offering a deeper look into the game’s first announced new character – the father of the Greek pantheon: Zeus. Wielding the mighty Keravnos, Zeus has the power to call down thunder to devastate his enemies and he seems to partner up with familiar faces from the Warriors-verse to defeat a yet-unknown foe.

More information about the game’s release, narrative, and new mechanics will follow in the coming weeks. To keep up to date with the latest news on Warriors Orochi 4 please visit the official site at www.koeitecmoamerica.com/wo4, like us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/koeitecmous, and follow us on Twitter – @KoeiTecmoUS

Critical Role Forms Own Studio

2018/06/18
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos

Geek & Sundry’s tabletop RPG web series, Critical Role, has announced that it has moved to form a new studio. Also in the announcement, Critical Role has taken control of its own merchandising as well as created its own YouTube channel.

In the announcement video, Critical Role’s Marisha Ray announced that she has stepped down as a Creative Director at Geek and Sundry to fully-focus on this new endeavor. It is unknown at this time what the announcement exactly means for the relationship between Critical Role and Geek and Sundry, however in the announcement video Travis Willingham does mention that the show will still be found on Geek and Sundry’s Twitch and Alpha sites.

E3 2018 Photo Gallery

2018/06/18
Jerry Paxton
E3, Geek News, News, Screenshots / Photos

Of course, our coverage of the Electronic Entertainment Expo would not be complete without a huge photo gallery for you to peruse through, so here ya go! We will be releasing a ton of content – both video and article based this week, so enjoy this photo gallery for now as we ready everything else!

Gallery

Knott’s Berry Farm Ghost Town Alive 2018

2018/06/17
Jennifer Paxton
Geek News, News, Screenshots / Photos

On Sunday June 10th, we had the pleasure of attending the media event at Knotts Berry Farm for their 2nd annual Ghost Town Alive! This event sees the park’s Ghost Town filled with actors playing various themed characters as well as having tons of interaction with park guests. The main premise of Ghost Town Alive is that the Western town is celebrating its “Founders Day” and having a grand ol’ time of it. However, there is a bandit on the loose named Arkansas Jones who is looking to spoil the fun by bringing plenty of chaos. The town sheriff and deputies are on the look out for Jones, so keep a sharp eye out as you never know where he will pop up.

The actors did their best to stay in character and all seemed well-versed in their backstory and purpose for being there. They all played off each other very well. It all flowed smoothly, down to their dialect. It felt like you were in the Wild West and the kids we witnessed speaking to the various characters were having a terrific time.

I really liked how the town would release newspapers throughout the day, chronicling the events that are unfolding right in front of you. These newspapers also made for fun little souvenirs that guests could keep to commemorate their visit.

So many things happen throughout the day…. We visited the Post Office and were treated to some education as the postmaster taught us how to spell out our names using Morse code! We were subsequently interrupted by a shootout in front of the Sheriff’s office, which was a lot of fun to see. We also enjoyed watching all the guests running around Ghost Town delivering messages and packages to the various storefronts to get the next clues in their various quests. Guests would be tasked with a variety of things: Retrieving objects from other characters, exchanging things for gold at the assayer’s office, witnessing various events then reporting them to someone – just a lot of interesting things to do. It kind of reminded me of a big MMORPG.

Thankfully, on the day we attended, crowds were on the lighter side so we were able to get in the Ghost Town Grille without a wait. This might pick up more as the season goes on, so be sure to get your tickets early. Also, if you are attending this event, I would make sure you stop by the new Beach Blanket Beagle stage show. It’s a fun show at the Charles M. Shulz theatre also acts as an entertaining way for guests to escape the Southern California weather and enjoy the air conditioning.

Ghost Town Alive goes on at Knott’s Berry Farm now through September 3, 2018 on the following schedule:

  • May 26 – August 19 (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun)
  • August 24 – August 26 (Fri, Sat, Sun)
  • August 31 – September 3 (Mon, Fri, Sat, Sun)

Photo Gallery