Author - Jerry Paxton

Journeys through the Radiant Citadel to Bring New D&D Adventures

2022/03/22

Following in the footsteps of anthologies like Candlekeep Mysteries and Tales from the Yawning Portal, Wizards of the Coast is excited to announce Journeys through the Radiant Citadel. This new D&D book provides adventures set in a variety of all-new locations Dungeon Masters can add to ongoing games, stream as one-shot sessions, or use as the basis for entire campaigns. Each adventure is connected to the Radiant Citadel, a mysterious city at the heart of the Ethereal Plane. Co-led by Ajit George (writer on Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft) and F. Wesley Schneider (Senior Game Designer on the D&D Team at Wizards), this collection features adventures by writers drawing inspiration from their connections to various real-world cultures and mythologies. Journeys through the Radiant Citadel will be available everywhere on June 21, 2022.

“This book is stunning in its scope and ambition. It blows open the D&D multiverse with a fresh set of exciting adventures that serve as gateways to new lands, monsters, characters, and more,” said George, who is the Director of Operations of the Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project in addition to his RPG work. “Talented writers from around the globe came together to make something truly special. There’s never been anything like this in D&D before.”

Each of the thirteen adventures in Journeys through the Radiant Citadel highlights a different location, introducing new characters, monsters, and more. The tome also contains a gazetteer for the Radiant Citadel itself, as well as for two additional lands. All these adventures can easily be added to both homebrew worlds and existing D&D settings.

The adventures in this 224-page anthology range in level and tone. The 1st-level adventure, “Salted Legacy,” presents a comedic mystery set in a bustling night market; “Written in Blood,” the 3rd-level adventure, sends characters to investigate a farm with a terrifying haunting; and the 11th-level adventure, “Shadow of the Sun,” encourages adventurers to choose allegiances while navigating the escalating tensions of an angel-ruled city.

Along with these, the thirteen adventures in Journeys through the Radiant Citadel are …

Salted Legacy
Written In Blood
The Fiend of Hollow Mine
Wages of Vice
Sins of Our Elders
Gold for Fools and Princes
Trail of Destruction
In the Mists of Manivarsha
Between Tangled Roots
Shadow of the Sun
The Nightsea’s Succor
Buried Dynasty
Orchids of the Invisible Mountain

Journeys through the Radiant Citadel is a collaboration between the D&D team and a talented collection of artists, storytellers, games designers, and other creatives. It includes contributions by Justice Ramin Arman, Dominique Dickey, Ajit A. George, Basheer Ghouse, Alastor Guzman, D. Fox Harrell, T.K. Johnson, Felice Tzehuei Kuan, Surena Marie, Mimi Mondal, Mario Ortegón, Miyuki Jane Pinckard, Pam Punzalan, Erin Roberts, Terry H. Romero, Stephanie Yoon, and many more.

More information on Journeys through the Radiant Citadel will be revealed soon. Check in on youtube.com/DNDWizards to watch interviews with the writers and co-leads as the book’s release approaches.

Journeys through the Radiant Citadel will be available digitally and in North American stores on June 21 with a cover designed by Evyn Fong, while a limited number of copies with an alternative cover designed by Sija Hong will be available only through game stores.

Go to dungeonsanddragons.com now to see the beautiful cover illustrations and preorder at your preferred retailer.

Atari VCS Videogame Computer System OS Gets Big Update

2022/03/21

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Tech News

Atari is excited to announce today that it has released the latest update to the Atari VCS Videogame Computer System, continuing its commitment to steadily adding new and highly-requested features and Quality-of-Life (QoL) improvements to the living room mini-PC.

Available to download now for all users, the new update adds online leaderboards, public “Friends” profiles, helpful dashboard notifications, expanded support for game developers, and several other system optimization features.

Highlights of the latest Atari VCS OS update include:

Leaderboards: Track and compare scores across your favorite Atari titles with new online leaderboards! See how you stack up against the rest of the VCS community or simply use your rank to brag. The first titles to benefit from the Leaderboard feature are Atari’s Recharged series (Black Widow, Asteroids, Breakout), with more to come in the future. The Atari VCS now supports daily, weekly, and monthly leaderboards across regions and globally.
Public “Friends” Profiles: Enhancements to the friends system, including expanded public profiles, that make it easier to discover and connect with other players.
DIY Developer Private Beta: With this update, every VCS can be turned into a dev kit. This change makes it easier for developers to create content for the Atari VCS, creates a pathway for homebrew developers to create games and apps for themselves, and eventually share that content with other VCS users. (Atari will work with a small group of independent developers to gather feedback before rolling it out to the full community.)
Stella/Atari 2600 Integration: The popular Atari 2600 emulator system, Stella, is now fully integrated with the Atari VCS operating system. The integration of Stella makes bringing classic and new third-party Atari 2600 titles to the VCS Storefront easy; VCS owners can expect 2600 titles to join the expanded collection of retro titles.
And More: Dashboard notifications, USB camera support, and new Customer Support Tools.

The Atari VCS lineup of Videogame Computer Systems, bundles, and accessories are available now for purchase online and in-stores at Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon, and the Official Atari VCS website in the United States and Canada.

TERA Celebrates 4th Anniversary

2022/03/21

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Xbox One News

KRAFTON, Inc. announces that game developer Bluehole Studio has rolled out a massive update for TERA in celebration of the game’s fourth anniversary on PlayStation and Xbox. The update includes a new Battle Pass season, a new dungeon, an expanded character growth system, a series of anniversary events and more.

TERA is the first non-targeting combat system in the MMORPG genre. Players can choose from seven races and 13 classes for a whole new style of combat and engage in exciting battles against powerful monsters. See below for a breakdown of major additions and changes that will go live in TERA with the anniversary update.

Battle Pass Season 5 – A new Battle Pass season will arrive alongside the anniversary update with Battle Pass Season 5: Black Tiger. This Battle Pass will feature the beauty of Korea and will be available from March 31 through July 7. The season pass will consist of three forms of missions – daily missions, challenge missions and hidden missions. Clearing each mission earns unique rewards such as vehicles and costumes.
New Dungeon – The anniversary update introduces the Corrupted Skynest (Hard) dungeon where Kelsaik awaits after being revived by Argon Kelbas. This is a higher-level dungeon compared to last season’s Corrupted Skynest and will offer players a more challenging level of difficulty.

Expanded Character Growth System – In addition to the four existing types of stigmas, three special stigmas have been added for players to use to effectively defeat monsters that are susceptible to their stigma item.

Anniversary Events – A series of events are lined up in celebration of the anniversary.
- To start, the Lv. 65 Boosting Event will help new players jump into the action faster and allow existing players to quickly grow their characters’ level.
- Players who log in through April 3 will also receive one Lv. 65 scroll per account to enjoy gameplay at the highest-level character of the game.
- The Stormcry Gear Giveaway and Manglemire Dungeon Event, available from March 31, are two additional events that will allow players fun opportunities to obtain the best gear and receive support to upgrade their gear.
- Finally, various in-game events to help enhance stigma and a 20 percent discount on the four types of TERA Coin will be offered to provide a richer gameplay experience.

For more information about TERA and its anniversary update, please visit https://tera-console.com/home

CD PROJEKT RED Working on Next The Witcher Game and Cyberpunk 2077 Expansion

2022/03/21

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, Industry News, News

CD PROJEKT RED today revealed that the next installment in The Witcher series of video games is currently in development with Unreal Engine 5, kicking off a new saga for the franchise and a new technology partnership with Epic Games.

Today’s announcement marks the first official confirmation of a new game in The Witcher series since the release of CD PROJEKT RED’s previous single-player, AAA RPG in the franchise — The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — which won a total of 250 Game of the Year awards and was later expanded upon with the Hearts of Stone and Blood & Wine add-ons.

The teaser image for the new game features a medallion, accompanied by the phrase A New Saga Begins. Beyond this initial confirmation of a new saga in The Witcher franchise, no further details — such as a development time frame or release date — were provided.

CD PROJEKT RED also announced that they will be moving to Unreal Engine 5 as part of the multi-year strategic partnership with Epic Games. Since The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, released in 2011, CD PROJEKT RED has used their proprietary REDengine technology to build their games. This new relationship with Epic covers not only licensing, but technical development of Unreal Engine 5, as well as potential future versions of Unreal Engine, where relevant. Developers from CD PROJEKT RED will collaborate with those from Epicwith the primary goal being to help tailor the engine for open-world experiences, beginning with the development of the next game in The Witcher franchise.

Speaking on the use of Unreal Engine 5 for this, and future games, CTO of CD PROJEKT RED, Paweł Zawodny stated:

“One of the core aspects of our internal RED 2.0 Transformation is a much stronger focus on technology, and our cooperation with Epic Games is based on this principle. From the outset, we did not consider a typical licensing arrangement; both we and Epic see this as a long-term, fulfilling tech partnership. It is vital for CD PROJEKT RED to have the technical direction of our next game decided from the earliest possible phase as; in the past, we spent a lot of resources and energy to evolve and adapt REDengine with every subsequent game release. This cooperation is so exciting, because it will elevate development predictability and efficiency, while simultaneously granting us access to cutting-edge game development tools. I can’t wait for the great games we’re going to create using Unreal Engine 5!”

Tim Sweeney, Founder and CEO of Epic Games, remarked about the partnership:

“Epic has been building Unreal Engine 5 to enable teams to create dynamic open worlds at an unprecedented scale and level of fidelity. We are deeply honored by the opportunity to partner with CD PROJEKT RED to push the limits of interactive storytelling and gameplay together, and this effort will benefit the developer community for years to come.”

Simultaneously with these announcements, CD PROJEKT RED also provided confirmation that REDengine, the technology which powers Cyberpunk 2077, is still being used for the development of the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 expansion.

Starship Troopers – Terran Command Delayed Until June

2022/03/21

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Windows PC News

Slitherine Games and The Aristocrats have today announced that Starship Troopers – Terran Command will be delayed from its original March 31st release date. The new and definitive launch date will be June 16, 2022.

The official message from Slitherine Games and The The Artistocrats is as follows:

Today we are making an important announcement related to the release date: Starship Troopers – Terran Command won’t be releasing on March 31st as previously announced.

The new and definitive launch date will be June 16, 2022.

We know many will find this announcement disappointing and we apologize. We truly feel that a few extra months of further polish and bug fixing will make a significant difference.

We intend to deliver a finished and polished game, and it is very important for us that you are able to fully enjoy the game from day 1, without any issue spoiling your fun or without having to wait for future patches or hotfixes.

The game is now content complete and all remaining development time will be entirely focused on refining what already exists. We can’t wait to reveal more, and we plan to show you a lot in the months leading up to the launch in June.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong Gameplay Reveal Trailer

2022/03/18

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

The release of Narrative RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong is just over two months away. Now players can finally learn about the unprecedented crisis lashing the Boston vampire community. NACON, Big Bad Wolf Studio and Hazel Iversen, Prince of the Boston Camarilla, have released a brand-new gameplay video that takes place when the critical emergency starts to unfold.

Mysterious assassins have attacked the Boston Camarilla – a secret society comprising most of the vampires in the city. Galeb Bazory, Emem Louis and Leysha are tasked by Hazel Iversen with learning the identity of the attackers as well as the motives underlying the large-scale attack. The orders are simple: infiltrate, investigate and get answers, using supernatural powers if necessary.

As in a game involving investigation, the player visits various locations in search of precious clues, solves puzzles and interacts with a wide range of characters in order to advance within the game. But just like in a Narrative RPG, a genre pioneered by Big Bad Wolf in The Council, Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong introduces a variety of gameplay mechanics.

Each of the three heroes has a character sheet that the player can fully customise. You can be an expert in speech and persuasion and dominate others, or you can develop your technology skills so you can hack computers and locks. The heroes also have vampire powers of their own: the Disciplines. For example, Leysha can Obfuscate to conceal her presence, Emem uses Celerity to reach otherwise inaccessible locations and Galeb makes others his puppet using Domination.

Some particularly twisted NPCs trigger Confrontations, combat in the form of dialogue in which the player has to find the right arguments and use Skills and Disciplines to convince the other person to reveal their secrets.

Intensively using vampire powers carries a high price: hunger for blood. If one of your heroes is short of blood, their inner beast takes control, directly affecting your possible actions. To prevent this from happening, you can prey upon one of the humans, feeding upon their blood. But make sure you do this out of sight, to maintain the Masquerade, the vampire law that hides the existence of the creatures of the night from humans.
In some situations, scripted action phases are triggered during which you have to keep your head and make the right choices despite the time pressure. Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong is a story-based game with multiple story branches, in which certain choices permanently affect the fate of your heroes and the Boston vampire community!

Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong will be available on
PC (Epic Games Store) and consoles on May 19, 2022.

Progressive IMS Outdoors Announces Let’s Hit The Road Sweepstakes

2022/03/18

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News

Progressive IMS Outdoors, the nation’s leading powersports tour connecting enthusiasts with industry-leading brands, today announced Let’s Hit The Road, a sweepstakes designed to celebrate the tour’s return to an outdoor series in its sophomore season.

One lucky winner will be the recipient of the grand prize package that includes four tickets to spend a weekend at Progressive IMS Outdoors in a city of their choice, in addition to highly sought-after tech and gear products that complement the powersports lifestyle, collectively valuing over $3,000. The sweepstakes is made possible by sponsors Bell Helmets, Brake Free Tech, Dunlop, EyeLights, Heroic Racing, Scott USA, and Spectro Oils.

Entries for the Let’s Hit The Road sweepstakes opens on Friday, March 18 and the winner will be selected and notified on Thursday, March 24, when 2022 tour ticket sales go live. Register here for a chance to win the grand prize detailed below:

Grand Prize Package:

Four tickets to a 2022 Progressive IMS Outdoors event
Four Progressive IMS Outdoors souvenir tees
Camping spot for up to three nights at Progressive IMS Outdoors
Event food and beverage vouchers
Scott USA Goggles and prize pack
Heroic Racing Hoodie
Brake Free Light
EyeRide Head Up Display
A set of Dunlop motorcycle tires
Bell Helmets – Race Star DLX Matte Carbon helmet
Spectro Oils prize pack

Visit www.continuetheride.com/sweepstakes to enter today for a chance to win the grand prize and secure your 2022 Progressive IMS Outdoors ticket at www.motorcycleshows.com when sales go live on March 24. The official 2022 tour dates and locations can be found below, including the Atlanta venue reveal.

Colorado

June 17-19, 2022

The Ranch Events Complex, Loveland, CO

Chicago

June 24-26, 2022

Goebbert’s Farm, Pingree Grove, IL

Pennsylvania

September 16-18, 2022

Carlisle Fairgrounds, Carlisle, PA

New York

September 23-25, 2022

Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY

Atlanta

September 30-October 2, 2022

Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, GA

Northern California

October 21-23, 2022

San Mateo County Event Center, San Mateo, CA

Arizona

October 28-30, 2022

Westworld of Scottsdale, Scottsdale, AZ

Southern California

November 4-6, 2022

OC Fair & Event Center, Costa Mesa, CA

Connect with IMS (#RidersUnite and #IMSOutdoors):

DCS: AH-64D Official Launch Trailer

2022/03/18

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

Eagle Dynamics SA is delighted to announce the release of our most eagerly anticipated module to date – DCS: AH-64D. Available in Early Access and playable in DCS 2.7 Open Beta, the AH-64D is the initial ED version of the iconic AH-64D; the dominant attack helicopter of the past 30 years.

The AH-64D was first introduced in 1993, and the DCS version is a 2005 to 2010 late-Block II version that served as the backbone of the U.S. Army attack helicopter during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The “Delta” supports single player and multiplayer multi-crew with the co-pilot/gunner (CP/G) in the front seat and the pilot in the back.

Equipped with FLIR and day TV cameras, NVGs, a 30mm chain gun, Hellfire missiles, and 2.75″ rockets, the AH-64D has proved its punch and durability under fire against a wide array of threats and targets.

Stellaris: Overlord Expansion Announced with Trailer

2022/03/18

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

Paradox Interactive, a developer and publisher of games that are empirically superior, today revealed Overlord, an upcoming expansion for Stellaris. Overlord will grant players access to new features centered around more intricate management of their intergalactic empires, from specialized vassals to powerful new megastructures. Players can use these new features to bring order and glory to the galaxy – or bring it to its knees. Overlord will be available for Stellaris players on all PC platforms soon, and will launch alongside the free 3.4 “Cepheus” update to Stellaris with new content and adjustments for all players, as part of the continued effort by the Custodian team to provide continuous improvements to Stellaris.

Overlord Announcement Trailer

In Overlord, ambitious leaders will unlock a new level of empire management and realize their grand designs for the universe. Specialized vassal roles will allow players to either elevate the planets within their realms to new heights of glory, or keep them in line and under control. New enclaves will present unique opportunities and challenges, and a selection of new megastructures will offer ways to project power further and faster. Five new Origins, new music, and more will be included when Overlord launches later this year.

“The stories our players have told through the last six years of Stellaris never fail to amaze us,” said Stephen Muray, Game Director of Stellaris at Paradox Development Studio. “We’ve seen empires rise and fall, unite and destroy, and clash overtly or covertly with their galactic neighbors. With Overlord, we want to give players more options and opportunities to realize their own ‘space operas,’ build a universe full of grand houses or squabbling vassals, and see how long they can hold power over what they’ve created. Look for more details on what it means to be a galactic Overlord very soon!”

For more details on Overlord, visit the Stellaris forums at https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/forums/stellaris.900/. For more information about Stellaris, visit http://stellaris.com/.

V Rising Closed Beta Trailer

2022/03/18

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

V Rising, the upcoming open-world vampire survival game from Stunlock Studios, is entering Closed Beta on March 23th. The first test session will run for one week, giving invited players a chance to build castles, hunt for blood, and explore the gothic world of Vardoran ahead of the game’s Early Access launch. The Closed Beta will allow for solo or co-op playthroughs as you fight against bandits, mystical creatures, and the light-wielding Church of Luminance in thrilling skillshot-based combat. On PvP servers, the addition of player versus player conflicts will add an extra deadly challenge to the equation.

Be sure to sign up to the V Rising Beta: https://playvrising.com/signup
Read more about the Closed Beta: https://blog.stunlock.com/v-rising-closed-beta/