Published by EnragedGnome July 11th, 2007
in technical, Vista and XBOX 360.
Kimona has updated an earlier announcement to include new information about the second title update.
TITLE UPDATE #2 CONTENTS:
Vista Only:
1) Fixed some user interface issues on the dedicated server administrator console.
2) Fixed some user interface issues on the Live menus.
3) Silver players will now show up on the recently played player list of Gold players.
4) Fixed a hard lock that could occur under certain conditions when accepting a game invite.
Vista and 360:
1) Implemented improvements to matchmaking. We expect a 200-300% improvement in wait times. We’ve also added clearer status messaging.
2) Improved sync times. When a new player joins a game, the synching wait will be reduced.
3) Made changes to improve party system. Parties should be split less now, and when splitting is absolutely necessary, we attempt to regroup the party later.
4) Changed some of the achievement descriptions to make goals clearer.
5) Improved bot AI.
This is an overview of the changes. We’ll post a full list when the update is closer to release.
The update is currently undergoing the Microsoft certification process which typically takes 2-3 weeks to complete. Hopefully that means we’ll have a full list of improvements and changes in the very near future.
As promised, the second update is much meatier and should help alleviate many gamer’s frustrations. A 200-300% improvement in wait times? That’s pretty impressive. The party-splitting issue was a topic of hot debate just after release, but many players later agreed that the problem was not as bad as initially perceived. Hopefully this update will settle that issue as well.
If you don’t see everything you wanted on this list, don’t fret just yet. This is only an overview of changes for the second update. I expect to see at least one more patch coming down the line in the relatively near future. How else does FASA plan on giving the victors their spoils? Perhaps they will bundle the new bot names in with other fixes.
Tags: kimona, update
Published by EnragedGnome May 15th, 2007
in Microsoft.
An update went live for the Halo 3 Multiplayer beta a few minutes ago. This is what we saw during the downtime.
The prompt reads:
The Halo 3 Public Beta is either currently unavailable, or has expired. Look out for the official retail release of Halo 3 this fall! If you want to shoot stuff and blast your buddies right now, why not try Shadowrun for Xbox 360 and Windows Vista? Find out more at www.shadowrun.com
Looks like Microsoft wants to steer some of those Halo fanboys towards Shadowrun. Does this mean a Shadowrun demo will hit the Marketplace before the Halo 3 beta ends? Let’s hope so.
Tags: Bungie, demo, halo 3, microsoft
Published by EnragedGnome May 9th, 2007
in FASA.
Shadowrun has gone Gold! You can pick it up in the U.S. come May 29th. Our friends across the pond will find it showing up on store shelves on June 1st.
Lots of coverage on the web. Here are some links:
Worthplaying
GamingNexus
Eurogamer
1Pstart
XBOX360fanboy
GamingTalkHQ
I can’t wait to experience Shadowrun in one of seven different languages. I hear Chinese is pretty cool; maybe it will bring that Firefly vibe to the game.
Tags: gold, release date, Shadowrun
Published by EnragedGnome May 4th, 2007
in preview and beta.
The crew from Escape Station, a site dedicated to providing fun online gaming competitions for people 25 and older, decided to give their take on the Shadowrun beta. Looks like they really enjoyed themselves.
FirstMateBean, one of Escape Station’s founders, asked yours truly to collate a few of his thoughts on Shadowrun for the piece. Here’s what I gave him:
Hands down, the hours I’ve spent playing Shadowrun have been the most fun I have had on Live! When I first signed up for the beta, I did not expect to like the game. What I had seen up to that point was a game with Ex-Box quality graphics and gimmicky features that would probably be poorly implemented. I never thought I could have been so wrong. Every element of Shadowrun just feels right. The guns, the powers, the physics — they all feel just how I expect them to feel. More importantly, they are fun. Every game of Shadowrun is laced with moments where my heart is pounding and adrenaline is pouring into my system. Every match is filled with spectacular last second “clutch” saves, intense action, and “ZOMG! That was amazing!” moments. No game has been able to fill that place in my heart since Halo 1.
My favorite aspect of Shadowrun would have to be teamwork. While individual skill is important, a team that works well together can best a more skilled team that doesn’t. Shadowrun really shines when two equally skilled teams meet up in a battle for supremacy. The beta tournament and our previous matches against the Developers gave my team and I lots of chances to experience this first-hand. Some really epic battles took place that will be talked about among friends for a long time to come.
Tags: beta, enragedgnome, escape station, firstmatebean, preview
Published by EnragedGnome May 4th, 2007
in videos and preview.
More gameplay footage brought to you by G4TV and Xplay! This build appears to be more recent than the showing in London. It looks like the some of the effects visuals have been spruced up even more. There is now a visual indicator for when your shots hit an enemy. Lots of screen time for some new environments in there as well.
I know most games don’t usually improve much graphically from beta to release, but this game is breaking all the rules. I can’t believe how good Shadowrun looks right now, and it can only get better before launch.
Tags: g4tv, gameplay, video, xplay
Published by EnragedGnome May 3rd, 2007
in videos, interviews and preview.
A couple of months ago, part of the Shadowrun team traveled through several major cities during their European Press Tour. Kimona sent word that new gameplay footage from the London stop on the tour has surfaced.
Go check out the video at Eurogamer.net — the Shadowrun part doesn’t start until 12:20. It’s well-worth the wait in my opinion.
This video is representative of what the game looked like in late February, and I must say it is very impressive. Inside you’ll find a closer look at some new environments, a short interview with Mitch Gitelman, and lots of drool-inducing gameplay.
Tags: eurogamer, european tour, kimona, video
Published by EnragedGnome May 3rd, 2007
in FASA and interviews.
Derek Carrol, Game Designer at FASA Studio, looks at Shadowrun’s development process, specifically the early prototyping phase.
Proving the gameplay on-screen in a borrowed engine (can you guess which one?) allowed us to go crazy with new ideas, many of which we ditched in favor of even better ones.
It’s a pretty interesting read, but the screenshots of the prototype build are by far the coolest aspect of this article. I guess you really could call Shadowrun a mod of Halo 1, at least the prototype build. (good call rapture!)
Tags: Derek Carrol, Halo, prototype
Published by EnragedGnome May 3rd, 2007
in preview.
Xbox.com’s Ryan Treit posted an article regarding his Shadowrun beta experience. Inside he focuses on some of Shadowrun’s finer points, including the party system, tactics, and some of the just plain cool things you can do in the game.
Shadowrun for Xbox 360 is the fastest shooter I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing that still requires thoughtful strategy to succeed, and for that I love it.
Looks like another glowing review!
Tags: Ryan Treit, Treit and True, Xbox.com
Published by EnragedGnome May 2nd, 2007
in preview.
An astute Shadowrun beta tester, S8 Biggs, found a (near complete) listing of Shadowrun’s achievements. Note that these may be subject to change, although it seems unlikely.
Click the jump to check them out. You will need to sign into Xbox.com in order to view the list.
UPDATE: Xbox360Achievements.org has updated their database to include Shadowrun.
Tags: achievements, s8 biggs
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