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Everspace Encounters DLC Announced with Teaser Trailer

Hamburg, October 5, 2017 – Hamburg-based indie developer ROCKFISH Games announce the DLC EVERSPACE™ – Encounters for PC and Xbox. The major expansion will add over 10 hours of extra gameplay to the core game, and be released on Steam and GOG.com end of October, this year. As the project has to be migrated to UE4.17 to support Xbox One X, it will hit the Xbox One family in early February, 2018, together with a free update of the core game, supporting 4K and improved graphics at 1080p on Xbox One X.

The expansion will feature a new player ship, the Colonial Sentinel, a medium fighter class ship, which will impress with some serious electronic warfare capabilities and a special shield, featuring twice as much capacity as the standard model. Space pilots will also be able to use a plethora of new weapons, devices and consumables to fool, distract, and defeat enemies in new ways.

All-new factory space stations add further gameplay mechanics to the game experience, by offering special on-the-fly services, like refining and converting resources, upgrading ship capabilities or minor repair jobs. Furthermore, daring space pilots will even be able to pay the Okkar Homeworld a visit. Along their journey, they will also encounter new types of enemies and new story characters, who will offer individual questlines.

Thanks to the roguelike core game loop in EVERSPACE, all pilots will bump into them sooner or later, without having to finish the main story, first. Those who already beat the game entirely, will find a fresh motivation to get back into the game and find out about what these characters are up to and unveil further secrets in the galaxy.

Dual Universe Pre-Alpha Teaser Trailer

Paris, France, October 4, 2017 — Independent game developer Novaquark announced today that Dual Universe has reached its public Pre-Alpha stage and that the game’s first live public playable build was available on September 30th. Access was granted to about 2,500 Kickstarter and crowdfunding backers that have pledged at Gold Founder level and above, prior September 7th.

Thanks to the support of its community, Dual Universe became the 3rd most funded video game on Kickstarter last year, with a total of subsequent crowdfunding reaching $1M pledged by 10,000 backers. Dual Universe is delivering the premises and foundations of the next generation of MMO gaming. The game’s incredible vision is illustrated in the new Pre-Alpha video teaser released today.

“Following up our recent global $7.4M mark in fundraising, this public Pre-Alpha milestone is very important to us and our community. Our proprietary CSSC (Continuous Single-Shard Cluster) and voxel engine technologies are now benchmarked for the first time with real players and not just bots.” explained Jean-Christophe Baillie, CEO at Novaquark.

He went on: “It is truly amazing to think that when you see a moon in the sky, it’s actually there, you can fly to it with a proper spaceship. And you could carve out half of it, given enough time, as the world is entirely editable. Everyone will see it. This kind of giant continuous world experience has never been seen before in gaming. We can’t wait to see what people are going to build over the next weeks.”

Check out Dual Universe Pre-Alpha Video Here

At the heart of Dual Universe is a truly innovative proprietary technology, which was developed to lay the foundations of the game. The CSSC (Continuous Single-Shard Cluster) manages one single universe with potentially millions of people interacting in it at the same time. Inside the CSSC is also a multi-scale voxel engine that enables players to physically modify the world; dig a hole, carve up a mountain or build anything they want, from space ships to orbital stations.

Novaquark is building a virtual world environment where they hope millions of people will be able to live exciting collective adventures within a vibrant and emergent universe where everything is possible. The company aims at creating a new form of entertainment, where participants are free to create their own stories and environment, economy, political systems, warfare, etc. The vision for Dual Universe is to create the first virtual online civilization, a vision close to Ernest Cline’s Oasis in Ready Player One.

Starpoint Gemini Warlords: Cycle of Warfare Launch

Haarlem, the Netherlands, September 28, 2017 – Publisher Iceberg Interactive and developer LGM Games are proud to announce new content for their acclaimed space sim Starpoint Gemini Warlords, titled ‘Cycle of Warfare’. Cycle of Warfare is the biggest content expansion ever developed by the studio and will be available on October 5th 2017 through Steam and other major digital retailers, with an SRP of $9.99.

About Cycle of Warfare
The Cycle of Warfare DLC brings several features that dramatically expand the game with over 100 hours of additional conquest and scenario gameplay. In this new expansion, players will be able to start their conquest over the Gemini system as one of three established factions, each with their own rivals and advantages: Iolian Pact, Korkyra, and Outerlands.

In addition, two new challenge scenarios are included. Play as the A’shriari, the unforgiving alien race bent on humanity’s extinction, or choose the life of an ambitious privateer and lead your clan to wealth and glory. Both challenges modify the game’s rules in different ways, moving away from empire management towards riskier gameplay.

The A’shriari are convinced that the only way to complete victory is a brutal scorched-earth military strategy. In the A’shriari scenario players will be able to:

  • Fly and command capital ships of an exclusive new alien ship line, from gunships to carriers;
  • Vanquish all human life from the Gemini system by shutting down all of the infrastructure;
  • Fire a massive weapon directly from their mothership, burning planets and vaporizing all means of sustaining life.

These conquest scenarios can be easily modified in-game to allow the players to customize their own starting advantage as they see fit.
Owners of the base game will also discover new content such as encounters with rare enemy alien ships that will drop epic equipment.
Key features:

  • Five new playable factions: Iolian Pact, Korkyra, Outerlands, A’shriari, and privateers
  • Three new conquest scenarios
  • Two new challenge scenarios
  • New ship line, a new weapon and new ability (as the A’shriari)

Warframe Plains of Eidolon Accolades Trailer

LONDON, ON – October 5, 2017 – Independent game developer and publisher Digital Extremes is ready to open the flood gates of its cooperative online action game, Warframe®, to a whole new wave of players. With Plains of Eidolon‘s release hitting PC and Steam next week, Digital Extremes’ new Open Zone design offers a vast new geography packed with exploratory daytime activities and towering night-time battles unlike anything Warframe players have seen before. The Plains of Eidolon expansion will launch on PC first, on PlayStation®4 and Xbox One this November, and is free to play.

In Plains of Eidolon, players will discover a brand new experience vastly different from the maze-like tilesets they’ve known. For the first time in Warframe, players will see exquisitely lit vistas with an ongoing day/night cycle that creates an alluring continual emotional experience of dawn, day, dusk, and night. In the day-time, Tenno (players’ in-game name) will have the freedom to seek missions from colorful vendors in the makeshift colony of Cetus, including as many as 50 other players with which to socialize. Players will cajole and converse with an eclectic collection of vendors like mining experts, fish mongers, beast masters, mask makers, and weapon smiths, the latter of which enables players to create a series of modular weapons, customized to their tastes like never before.

Outside of town, solo or in squads of up to four, players can freely explore the Plains. Filled with stunning lush hillsides, busy lakes and rivers inhabited by schools of underwater creatures, and hidden cave systems, Tenno can entertain themselves with mini-games such as spearfishing and mining to gather resources, or engage in heroic land and air battles — using the reworked Sky Archwing — against an ever-belligerent Grineer presence.

Best of all, daytime activities are available to all players of any experience level! But once night falls, enemies scatter and hide as the plains are haunted by mammoth Sentients. Summoned by a mysterious force, the towering Spectral Sentients known as Eidolon ascend from the waters and threaten all living things in their paths. What do they search for every night? What will it take for your team to defeat them?

Additional key features include:

  • Debut of the Deadly Warrior: Witness the introduction of the 34th Warframe, Gara, who manipulates glass to fracture the resolve of her enemies. Gara’s unique Abilities comprise Shattered Lash, which thrusts forward a deadly glass blade, or performs a 180-degree sweep, damaging anyone in its path; Splinter Storm, which surrounds her target with swirling shards of glass; Spectrorage, which creates a ring of mirrors around a target area, and Mass Vitrify: an Ability that expands a ring of molten glass slowly crystallizing enemies who enter.
  • New Weapons: Gara wields a new arsenal of powerful weapons, including:
    • Astilla: The deadly Astilla shoots slugs that explode on impact, dispersing lethal glass shards in all directions
    • Volnus: The heavy Volnus deals a large amount of damage and can beat enemies to a pulp, providing you have the strength to wield it
    • Fusilai: The stealthy glass shurikens pierce through flesh and armor, taking down enemies unheard
  • New Reinforcements:
    • Argonak: Pick off targets by highlighting distant enemies using this Grineer rifle’s advanced laser sighting system. Deadly in both single fire and automatic modes
    • Krohkur: This hooked blade rewards critical hits to those skilled enough to strike with finesse
    • Dual Krohkur: Battlefield butchery becomes all too easy with a Korhkur blade in each hand
  • Fashionista: Indulge your Fashion Frame sensibilities with the Virago Helmet and Gara’s new signature Hyalus Syandana. All of Gara’s components can currently be found in-game while her Blueprint will arrive in a Quest later this month
  • Focus 2.0: Experience the reintroduction of the Operator-Warrior Focus Rework 2.0. This new system changes the Skill Tree to be more combat-focused, enabling you to equip your Operator with distinct Weapons and Armor found deep in the Caves of the Plains
  • And More!
    • Players can acquire the Mag Deluxe Skin, Deluxe Tonfa, and Deluxe Syandana or purchase them in the in-game market
    • Resource collecting and, new to Plains of Eidolon, ‘Stone Fish’ Collecting
    • Collect new ship decorations and a new Grineer weapon
    • New Mods and Stances

Visit the official Warframe website at www.warframe.com and download the game now for free. Join the community and the fun on PC, Xbox One or PS4. To keep up with the latest updates from the development team, be sure to follow Warframe on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

John Carpenter’s Tales for a HalloweeNight Volume 3 Out this Week

(Hollywood, CA-October 3rd 2017) Award winning comic publisher Storm King Comics announced its convention plans for this year’s New York Comic Con. Their latest Halloween anthology release John Carpenter’s Tales for a HalloweeNight Volume 3 hits stores this week and Storm King will have their NYCC exclusive edition on hand with a cover by legendary comic artist Cat Staggs (Wonder Woman, Crosswind) available at booth 2304. The publisher’s full line of comics and graphic novels will be available as well as exclusive New York Comic Con 2017 Storm King Comics buttons. Each $1 button purchase gets you entered into a MYSTERY BOX raffle. 4 buttons to choose from and each MYSTERY BOX includes over $50 of goods, some signed by the creators. Make sure and download the New York Comic Con app as well to get the beacon password to get a FREE minicomic from the anthology entitled Everlasting Peace created by Sandy King (writer) and Jan Duursema (artist). Grab all the good stuff at the booth and check out the signing schedule for creators that will be on hand to make your NYCC souvenir a once and a lifetime event.

Unfamiliar with the new book? Check out the trailer:

Mortal Kombat 25th Anniversary NYCC Events

October 4, 2017 – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and NetherRealm Studios are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the world-renowned Mortal Kombat franchise this October with a variety of events and in-game activities.

Celebrate 25 Years of Mortal Kombat Panel – New York Comic Con

  • Sunday, Oct. 8, 1:30-2:30 pm, Javits Center, Room 1A24
    • Show attendees are invited to join a panel that includes the original team that developed the first Mortal Kombat game: Ed Boon, John Tobias, Dan Forden and John Vogel. Moderated by Geoff Keighley, they will discuss the early days of the franchise, the evolution of the brand, and the series’ lasting impact on the games industry and pop culture.

Raiden Now Available for Injustice 2

Just in time for Mortal Kombat’s 25th anniversary, Raiden, the eternal God of Thunder is the newest addition to the Injustice 2 character roster. Players who purchased the Injustice 2 Ultimate Edition, Injustice 2 Digital Deluxe Edition, Injustice 2 Ultimate Pack or Fighter Pack #2 can play now as Mortal Kombat’s protector of Earthrealm or as Black Lightning, a brand new Premiere Skin that accompanies the Raiden DLC.

NetherRealm Studios’ Mobile Games Mortal Kombat 25th Anniversary In-Game Content

  • On October 5, Injustice 2, Mortal Kombat X, Injustice: Gods Among Us and WWE Immortals for mobile devices will receive Mortal Kombat anniversary in-game content introducing new and exciting characters for players to collect.
  • Injustice 2 for mobile adds Mortal Kombat’s God of Thunder Raiden, allowing players to battle the deity in Challenge Mode. Raiden can be won in premium chests or purchased directly in a special offer.
  • Mortal Kombat X for mobile adds Shao Kahn the Konqueror in full Diamond tier regalia. Players can also step up and battle against two new versions of Goro, the four-armed undefeated champion for 500 years. In addition, fans can gear up for intense raid-style combat in the all new Relic Hunt feature.
  • Injustice: Gods Among Us for mobile adds the dangerous assassin Scorpion to its line-up.
  • WWE Immortals pays homage to Mortal Kombat as WWE Superstar Xavier Woods suits up as classic Mortal Kombat character Raiden.

Mortal Kombat X 25th Anniversary Living Towers

Mortal Kombat X is unveiling new Living Tower challenges through Oct. 9 that are themed to previous Mortal Kombat releases: Mortal Kombat 1-4, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks and Mortal Kombat (2011).

Please feel free to share the news with your readers, and let us know how else we can assist you in your coverage.

AVerMedia Launches Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus Capture Card

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Oct. 3, 2017 – AVerMedia Technologies, Inc., the preeminent name in digital multimedia technology, today unveiled the next evolution of the company’s series of premium capture cards, the Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus (LGP2 Plus). This latest addition to AVerMedia’s robust and diverse family of products is the ultimate tool for content creators, allowing them to enjoy their UHD 4Kp60 gameplay without a hint of lag while recording and streaming at 1080p60. The LGP2 Plus is available for purchase through Amazon.

“We appreciate the relentless passion of the streaming and gaming community. They’ve been instrumental in pushing us to design the new Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus for them,” said Betina Huang, Marketing Manager of AVerMedia Technologies, Inc. “From the 4K capabilities to low latency streaming, the LGP2 Plus will let them do things we never thought were possible.”

Featuring wide connectivity, hardware compression capability, and a revamped RECentral intuitive user interface (v4.0), the LGP2 Plus is the first capture card to offer 4Kp60 gameplay while recording at 1080p60 footage without a high-spec PC. Thanks to the portable nature of the device, it can even record gameplay, commentary audio, and party chats directly to a MicroSD card, making it an essential tool for streamers and gamers to capture and share epic moments no matter where they are. UVC Plug and Play also means the LGP2 Plus is compatible with any platform, making it an accessible card by removing the need to install any drivers. Additionally, the card offers MP4 and MOV recording for easy editing and efficient uploading across a variety of services.

ATARI Announces Blade Runner 2049 Speakerhat

NEW YORK, NY (OCTOBER 3, 2017– Atari® — one of the world’s most iconic consumer brands and interactive entertainment producers — today announced that the first wave of its all-new Atari Speakerhats, powered by Audiowear, the technology company creating next-generation individual and social audio experiences, are on sale now at AtariLife.com. The Officially Licensed BLADE RUNNER 2049 Limited-Edition Atari Speakerhat lands just in time for the hotly-anticipated sequel to director Ridley Scott’s visionary sci-fi movie, hitting theaters on October 6, 2017.

The Speakerhat is a baseball-style cap with high-fidelity stereo speakers and microphone that can connect instantly to any Bluetooth-supported device, enabling phone calls, audio/music, and voice control. Powered by Audiowear, Atari Speakerhats have been precision-designed and engineered to the highest audio standards to deliver a unique and powerful experience to a range of active consumers, including gamers and streamers, outdoor and fitness enthusiasts, skaters, musicians, sports fans, tech early-adopters and many others.

“Atari continues to prove its staying-power and relevance as a true pop-culture lifestyle brand,” said Atari Connect COO, Michael Arzt. “With the recent reveal of our Ataribox project and now with Atari Speakerhats and the AtariLife.com website, we are building toward a full offering of connected personal devices and lifestyle products that will deliver entertainment, technology, social connectivity and fashion to a whole new generation of Atari fans, while also honoring the decades of affection and devotion from our most loyal ones.”

The Atari Speakerhat launch collection is available to order now exclusively at AtariLife.com in the following styles:
  • The Officially Licensed “BLADE RUNNER 2049 Limited Edition Atari Speakerhat” looks like it exists in Los Angeles, 2049; with a neon teal Atari “Kanji” logo to cut through the dense LA fog, it’s reminiscent of the film’s iconic Atari billboard canyon. These officially-licensed Speakerhats ship in a distinctive gift box with exclusive BLADE RUNNER 2049 and Atari stickers that will appeal to fans and collectors alike. Once these special Speakerhats are gone, they are gone! ($139.99 USD).
  • The “Fuji Blackout Atari Speakerhat” is a low-profile brushed-cotton cap that’s black as night. A curved visor with Audiowear tech adds maximum stealth for a classic urban style. ($129.99 USD).
  • The “Atari Snapback Speakerhat” is the original Snapback with Hi-Fi playback! Available in bold royal blue with white Atari logo or rich black with white logo. This classic pro-style wool cap with flat visor and Audiowear tech is for all the new players and OG Atari fans. ($129.99 USD).

Launching first with the Atari Speakerhat collection, AtariLife.com will ultimately become the fans’ portal to a variety of Atari-branded pop-culture and lifestyle products such as high-tech wearables, connected hardware, fashion apparel and accessories based on popular Atari IP, as well as various audio and gaming gadgets. To learn more about Atari Speakerhats and future Atari connected-lifestyle products, visit AtariLife.com.

To stay up-to-date on all things Atari and pop-culture, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AtariLife, and follow us on Twitter @AtariLife and Instagram.

Comet TV Announces October Programming

COMET TV has unveiled some highlights of its October programming, including the Underground Horror film series, with classic monsters, ghouls and more sure to give you enough scares for Halloween! They also have the Robocop trilogy and Andromeda, the Kevin Sorbo series from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.

Checkout their Lineup Below:

ROBOCOP TRILOGY – Robocop (1987) Robocop 2 (1990) Robocop 3 (1993)

Friday, October 6

  • Starting at 8P/7C

Sunday, October 8

  • Starting at 2P/1C

Saturday, October 21

  • Starting at 10P/9C

Thursday, October 26

  • Starting at 4P/3C

NEW ON COMET IN OCTOBER

Andromeda

Classic Space Opera is coming to COMET! Based on materials from sci-fi legend Gene Roddenberry, Andromeda stars all action hero Kevin Sorbo as the Captain of the Andromeda Ascendant, a highly advanced ship whose crew is charged with restoring power and stability to the Systems Commonwealth. But, to succeed the Andromeda crew must battle one of sci-fi’s weirdest looking bad guys….the sinister Magog!

Weekdays at 2P/1C and 10P/9C

Stargate: Atlantis

If you thought gate-hopping action was fun in the Milky Way, just wait until you see what it’s like in the Pegasus Galaxy. Stargate: Atlantis sees a team of international scientists unlocking the secrets of a legendary ancient city, discovering a whole new stargate network in a whole new galaxy, and bringing them face to face with the Wraith, a powerful enemy who are best summed up with the term ‘Evil Space Vampires’!

Weekdays at 3P/2C and 11P/10C

Underground Horror

October, demons, blood guts and gore, that’s what the month will bring to viewers. Join COMET TV for a horror retrospective of some of the most ingenious films, sure to scare the most die-hard fans of the genre. From classics to contemporary, COMET TV has them all.

Airing daily throughout October, check schedule at CometTV.com/underground-horror

October Friday Night Movies

  • Friday Primetime Movie 8P/7C
  • Saturday Encore Presentation 8P/7C

Robocop (1987)

  • Friday, October 6 at 8P/7C

Real Genius (1985)

  • Friday, October 13 at 8P/7C

Lord of Illusions (1995)

  • Friday, October 20 at 8P/7C

The Silence of The Lambs (1991)

  • Friday, October 27 at 8P/7C

UCI Esports Kicks Off Season with Festival

Irvine, Calif., Sept. 29, 2017 – The University of California, Irvine esports program kicks off its fall 2017 season with a festival at the UCI student center today and the introduction of two landmark programs, the UCI Esports Inclusivity Game Plan 2017-2018 and the Orange County High School Esports League, created by the Samueli Foundation in consultation with UCI Esports.

The festival looks back on the first successful year of UCI’s full-fledged esports organization centered on scholarship-supported student players, a high-tech gaming arena located at the UCI Student Center, and the introduction of a new team competing in the popular first-person shooting title, Overwatch.

“We are very proud of what we accomplished in our first year,” said Mark Deppe, UCI Esports acting director. “We built a successful, well-regarded program around the four pillars of competition, academics & research, community, and entertainment. We look forward to growing in each of those areas and striving to be the best collegiate esports program on the planet.”

Looking forward to the fall 2017 season and beyond, the today’s festival will include the introduction of two new initiatives, one centered on bringing people of all backgrounds into competitive gaming and another to launch and esports league in Orange County high schools.

Constance Steinkuehler, professor of informatics, will officially announce the UCI Esports Inclusivity Game Plan 2017-2018, a strategy to increase inclusion and diversity in campus computer gaming activities.

“UCI has a longstanding commitment to inclusivity in collegiate sports programs and all aspects of student life, and our esports program is no exception,” said Steinkuehler. “With this Inclusivity Game Plan we aim to tackle the challenge of inclusion in esports head on to ensure that it is open and welcoming to all who want to participate.”

In winter 2018, the Samueli Foundation is launching the Orange County High School Esports League. In an effort to explore science, technology, engineering and math as well as esports, the foundation is working in consultation with UCI, the Orange County Department of Education, UCI’s Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Science, the Samueli School of Engineering, and Connected Learning Lab. Local high schools will compete throughout the year with a live finals event.

“We are excited to be launching a high school esports league in Orange County. It is more than simply gaming, it is about how esports can engage, excite and energize students to further their education and careers in STEM,” said Gerald Solomon, executive director of the Samueli Foundation. “We will be contracting with UCI to help guide us through not only the competition process, but also funding their noted researchers to examine and report on the evidence that supports the connection between esports and STEM learning.”

For more information about UCI Esports, visit http://esports.uci.edu/.