October 8, 2024
TOP STORY: Alien Sequel Announced on Isolation’s 10th Anniversary
Written by Alleine Dragonfyre | Reported by Asclepius
↓LISTEN HERE OR TUNE IN EVERY TOP OF THE HOUR↓
In this edition of NEWS ON THE HOUR:
Local Stars Reach and Shroud of the Avatar News & Player Events
Alien Sequel Announced on Isolation’s 10th Anniversary
Epic Games Store Expands to iOS and Android
New Fallout: Nuevo México Trailer Released Today
Ubisoft Stock Jumps Amid TENCENT Buyout Rumors
Star Citizen Demands Unpaid Extra Work Before Event
Stay tuned for the next edition of NEWS ON THE HOUR, which will contain a special report covering some interesting 2024 Halloween Events across the Multiverse this year!
On Avatars Radio this week:
Monday at 5 pm PST is Radio Oz with Asclepius!
Friday at 6 pm PST is Phase Shift, an electronic dance music show with Alleine Dragonyfre.
On Sunday, October 6th and 20th, at 4 pm PST, Dark Lord Celith Wraine takes to the airwaves with his Faster! Louder! Psychedelic Eclectic Rock Mix.
Here’s our live show schedule.
STARS REACH NEWS
Dave Georgeson, Game Director at Playable Worlds, recently wrote an article on StarsReach.com explaining how character advancement works in Stars Reach. Players gain experience by doing actions that help themselves or others or by taking risks. For example, as a Ranger, you earn XP when others use the camps you set up. Weaponsmiths gain XP when players use the weapons they craft. Medics earn XP by healing others. Combat skills improve when you cause damage or when your traps work.
To advance in a skill tree, you use a specific tool linked to that skill. If you want to get better at mining, you use an extractor. You can't equip all tools at once, so you choose which skills to focus on. Tools come in different qualities, affecting their abilities.
You can learn every skill in the game but can only keep a certain number active at a time. Unused skills become "out of practice" but can be relearned more easily later. As you progress, you unlock bonuses and new abilities called "Specials." These Specials are crafted into your tools, and you can enable two at a time. This system ties into the game's economy since players craft all items. Playable Worlds’ CEO, Raph Koster, explained in the official Stars Reach Discord, “Pretty sure I have mentioned before that, for example, we don't let you just accrue all the recipes. You have a limited recipe inventory, so as you advance, you will have to choose which recipes to give up to make room; think of it as being just like your deck in a CCG or your loadout. This is one of the ways in which we prevent vertically integrated monopolies which ran rampant in Star Wars Galaxies.”
Stars Reach is currently in pre-Alpha development. The team is building skill trees and abilities, and players will soon be able to test them. If you would like to be a tester or to join the conversation in the official Discord server, visit StarsReach.com right now!
NEWS IN NOVIA
A monthly fishing contest, organized by the town of Rajazel, runs from September 27, 2024, to October 30, 2024. Players must catch a trophy fish in towns registered for the contest. First-place winners receive gold trophies and Cotos, with different prizes for saltwater, PVP, and lava categories. Only the longest fish counts for a win, and players can only win one prize. The next contest, R131, starts November 1, 2024, featuring Fetid waters. Prize donations are welcome for future contests.
An exploration team has discovered a mine on a small island in the archipelago. During exploration, something went wrong, and only one team member escaped but suffers from amnesia. The mine will reopen if 10 adventurers volunteer by December 10, 2024, at 10:00 pm CET. The goal is to collect bounty slips, solve riddles, and catch trophy fish. Participants bring their finds to the safe zone, and the top three will win trophies and prizes, including crowns and gems. All who enter and catch a trophy fish will also get a prize, while supplies last. Visit the forums for location and details. Prize donations are welcome.
Have fun with this Fall-themed Contest! Now until October 31 collect pumpkin trophies made by Flair Minamoto. The largest pumpkin wins a prize; the second largest gets one too. There's a special prize for collecting specific pumpkins. Also, gather outfit pieces crafted by Viviane Loch—hat, robe, boots, and cloak. The first to turn in all four wins a prize. Submit items by mail or at Wolves Den, outside the open-air market. All participants get a trophy.
The Lightbringer Isle Auction occurs monthly on the last Sunday of each month at 9 am Pacific. Sellers can submit items to Hemnu Lightbringer via Discord, the Auction House, or mail, including a starting bid and optional reserve price. Items must be delivered by the preceding Friday, with a 10% sales commission applied. Payments are made to sellers within 48 hours of the auction. Buyers face penalties for non-payment. All participants must maintain respect and fairness, with no price debates.
Download the free MMORPG Shroud of the Avatar
MULTIVERSE NEWS
Sega and Creative Assembly have announced they are making a sequel to Alien: Isolation. The news came on the 10th anniversary of the original game. Alistair Hope, the game's creative director, shared that the sequel is in early development. Alien: Isolation, released in 2014, follows Amanda Ripley as she faces a deadly alien on a space station. Fans have been asking for a sequel for years. The announcement was made on social media, but no further details were given. The Alien franchise is popular again with recent movies and a TV show titled Alien: Earth, coming soon. Creative Assembly looks forward to sharing more when they're ready.
Epic Games is expanding its store to iOS and Android devices. Starting in the fourth quarter, it will offer free games to attract users, just like on PC. Steve Allison, the store's general manager, announced they expect between 10 and 50 third-party games by the holiday season, including Ark: Ultimate Mobile Edition. Epic offers developers a 12% revenue share, lower than Apple and Google's cut, and waives its fee for six months if games are exclusive. The mobile store launched in August with Epic's own games like Fortnite. This move follows new European Union laws requiring Apple to allow other app stores for iPhone and iPad users. Epic is also introducing self-publishing tools for developers.
A new trailer is out for Fallout: Nuevo México, a mod for Fallout: New Vegas. This mod changes the game, much like Fallout: London did for Fallout 4. The video, shared on YouTube, shows Mexico City after a nuclear war. The city lies in ruins, and factions are battling to survive. The trailer is in Spanish but has English subtitles. It features a woman who leads a drug cartel and speaks about her disdain for those from the north. The mod is being developed by a team led by Zapshock and isn't connected to Bethesda. There's no release date yet, and it will be available only on PC.
Ubisoft, the French game maker known for "Assassin's Creed," is facing challenges. Sales of "Star Wars Outlaws" were lower than expected, and "Assassin's Creed Shadows" has been delayed until 2025. Reports say Tencent and the Guillemot family, who founded Ubisoft, might buy the company and take it private to stabilize it. Ubisoft said it regularly reviews its options but didn't confirm any talks. The company is focusing on open-world and live-service games. Earlier this year, Ubisoft had layoffs and changed its subscription service. After this news, Ubisoft stock market shares jumped over 30%.
Cloud Imperium Games, the developer of Star Citizen, is requiring its staff to work every day for the next two weeks. This push is to prepare for CitizenCon on October 19 in Manchester, England. Internal emails urge employees to "double down," meaning mandatory weekend work. In return, they are promised time off later—but only after their game Squadron 42 is released. Squadron 42 has been in development since 2012 with no set release date. If employees leave before its release, they lose that time off. This unpaid overtime raises concerns, especially since overtime laws differ in the U.S. and U.K. Despite raising over $700 million from players, the company has faced layoffs and legal issues.
WARNING:
Some games
are 18+ Adult/NSFW
