Apex Hacker Speaks, State of Unreal, Marathon Drama, + More! - GameLinked Mar 21, 2024

[JakobRush]

 

NEWS SOURCES:

 

DESTROYER(2009) OF TOURNAMENTS

Apex Hacker speaks

https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/20/apex-legends-hacker-said-he-hacked-tournament-games-for-fun/

Context:

●       Pro ImperialHal given aimbot https://twitter.com/ImperialHal/status/1769525888721313920 

●       Pro Genburten given bunch of hacks https://clips.twitch.tv/ClumsyBeautifulWheelMau5-TepauaQqEqJZh95Y  

“the hacker Destroyer2009 took credit for the hacks, saying that he did it “just for fun,” and with the goal of forcing the Apex Legends’ developers to fix the vulnerability he exploited.” https://lmg.gg/MTN9S (TechCrunch)

“Destroyer2009 declined to provide details of how he allegedly pulled off hacking the two players midgame or which specific vulnerabilities he exploited.”

https://lmg.gg/0lABd (TechCrunch)

“the vulnerability “has nothing to do with the server and I’ve never touched anything outside of the Apex process,” and that he did not hack the two players’ computers directly.” https://lmg.gg/orIWP (TechCrunch)

Did not report the bug to Respawn because “neither the company nor the game’s publisher, Electronic Arts, offer a bug bounty program” https://lmg.gg/ip9Ua

 

“he targeted those specific players, who go by Geburten and ImperialHal, because “they’re just nice guys.”” https://lmg.gg/H07dn

““Free attention and views for them,” he added.”

https://lmg.gg/UixgJ

 

 

UNREAL STUFF

State of Unreal Livestream

https://www.eurogamer.net/state-of-unreal-everything-announced-for-unreal-engine-fortnite

https://youtu.be/Z_DssjLeGa0

Talisman demo, realistic environments in Fortnite https://youtu.be/Z_DssjLeGa0?t=4277

Maybe this clip is better https://youtu.be/Z_DssjLeGa0?t=4409

MetaHumans in UEFN https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/20/24106494/fortnite-unreal-editor-uefn-metahumans-fps

Footage https://youtu.be/Z_DssjLeGa0?t=4430

You can now make your own Lego islands in Fortnite https://www.polygon.com/24106710/lego-fortnite-creator-islands-ugc-strategy

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra

https://www.techradar.com/gaming/marvel-1943-rise-of-hydra-story-trailer-offers-an-impressive-first-look-at-the-captain-america-and-black-panther-video-game

Press release https://www.marvel.com/articles/games/marvel-1943-rise-of-hydra-reveals-new-story-trailer

Story trailer https://youtu.be/Lb2wwEx6DVw

Gabriel’s trumpet https://youtu.be/Lb2wwEx6DVw?t=138

 

NOT THE HEROES WE DESERVE

Bungie replaces Marathon Director…9 months ago

https://www.ign.com/articles/bungie-shakes-up-marathon-leadership-removes-chris-barrett-as-game-director

Replaced by former Valorant director Joe Ziegler, who confirmed the news just after IGN asked Bungie for comment on previous director Christopher Barret’s status https://twitter.com/Ziegler_Dev/status/1770144111518941682

Timeline would put changes just weeks after Barrett premiered Marathon in a showcase in May 2023 https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/24/bungie-unveils-marathon/

Players fear it’s now a hero shooter https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/03/20/players-fear-bungies-marathon-may-be-a-hero-shooter-now/?sh=70223fb63bf7

Per IGN “The game's direction has shifted somewhat under Ziegler's new leadership, one source says, including moving away from custom player characters in favor of a selectable cast of heroes.”

While the staff fear layoffs

Per IGN “One person with knowledge of budgets at Bungie told me that "nothing adds up" and "something will need to happen to curb costs unless The Final Shape does so well to cover the gap and people can move to Marathon."”

 

 

QUICK BITS

 

THE MAYONAISE ESCALATOR

Stardew Valley breaks Steam record after massive 1.6 patch

https://www.eurogamer.net/stardew-valley-breaks-steam-record-as-players-flock-back-following-new-update

Fixes long issue with combat https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/along-with-fixing-a-glitch-thats-been-bugging-players-for-8-years-stardew-valleys-16-update-will-also-fix-a-glitch-thats-been-bugging-eric-barone-for-8-years/

Spouses now have a 7 day “honeymoon” period to stop them from getting so depressed after marrying you that they lie in bed all day https://twitter.com/ConcernedApe/status/1768685328746135664

And you can chug a jar of mayonnaise https://www.gamesradar.com/at-long-last-stardew-valleys-16-update-lets-you-chug-a-jar-of-mayonnaise/

 

WORLD’S MOST CASUAL REBELLION

Ubisoft’s unveils NEO AI NPC prototype at GDC

Ubisoft’s blog post https://news.ubisoft.com/en-gb/article/5qXdxhshJBXoanFZApdG3L/how-ubisofts-new-generative-ai-prototype-changes-the-narrative-for-npcs

GamesIndustry.Biz discusses some of what they saw behind closed doors https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ubisoft-debuts-neo-npc-ai-prototypes-at-gdc

Personalities created by a writer https://lmg.gg/hGBJP (Ubisoft)

“As a writer, seeing my characters come to life and actually converse with me for the first time has been one of the most fulfilling and touching moments of my career.” https://lmg.gg/hUi2H (GamesIndustry.Biz)

One of the characters in question:  https://youtu.be/1od2pIs9220?t=56

 

MMO NO

Riot has “reset” its LoL MMO, it’s “going dark for a long time”

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/riot-has-reset-its-league-of-legends-mmo-and-will-be-going-dark-for-a-long-time/

Big Twitter thread https://twitter.com/MarcMerrill/status/1770479145744810425

https://www.pcgamesn.com/league-of-legends/mmo-delayed

 

YO HO AND A BATTLE FOR RUM

Blizzard secretly made a battle royale inside World of Warcraft

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/blizzard-secretly-made-a-battle-royale-game-inside-world-of-warcraft-to-break-the-rules-its-had-for-20-years/

https://www.gamesradar.com/nobody-saw-world-of-warcrafts-new-update-coming-a-60-player-pirate-mmo-battle-royale-with-its-own-servers-and-optional-pvp/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwo7HZisQSA

 

FRAMED FOR MURDER

Dragon’s Dogma 2 has reviewed well, but has performance issues. Players plan NPC purge to rectify

https://www.mmorpg.com/reviews/dragons-dogma-2-a-masterclass-in-exploration-and-adventure-2000130869

Has frame rate issues https://www.ign.com/articles/capcom-is-aware-of-dragons-dogma-2-frame-rate-issues-on-pc-looking-into-fixes

Capcom quote from IGN article “In certain situations where numerous characters appear simultaneously, the CPU usage can be very high and may affect the frame rate,"

Reddit plans mass murder of “inconsequential NPCs” https://www.reddit.com/r/DragonsDogma/comments/1bjn8tw/idea_a_community_made_list_of_inconsequential/