In Why I Love, PC Gamer writers pick an aspect of PC gaming that they love and write about why it's brilliant. Today, Andy endures, but ultimately enjoys, the trials of The Long Dark's wasteland.
A geomagnetic storm has rendered all technology useless and plunged the planet into a quiet apocalypse. Suddenly humanity is no longer at the top of the food chain and every day is a fight for survival. This is the harrowing premise of The Long Dark, an atmospheric survival simulator created by Canadian studio Hinterland. Your only goal is to stay alive, but this freezing, merciless landscape doesn t make it easy.
It s a bleak, hopeless game. But there s a strange serenity to be found amid the devastation. There are moments when the weather is calm and you have enough food and water that survival briefly takes a back seat. You re free to enjoy the atmosphere and beauty of your surroundings. You hear the crunch of snow under your feet and the wind blowing through the trees. You see tumbling waterfalls and silent, snow-dusted valleys. You forget about about the apocalypse, at least until a blizzard sets in or you start running out of food.
Hinterland s painterly wilderness is one of the most evocative settings on PC. Every location has its own personality. Whether it s the rugged slopes of Timberwolf Mountain, Pleasant Valley s rolling fields, or the abandoned cabins in Mystery Lake, the places you visit tell a story: of what life there was like before the cataclysm, and what has happened since. The feeling of isolation is powerful, but occasionally you ll see traces of life. Smoke curling from a chimney or freshly-cut firewood stacked on a hearth. Signs that maybe you aren t as alone as you think, which is both eerie and reassuring.
But the only people you see are dead, lying frozen in the snow. A grim reminder of how life hangs in the balance in this frigid wasteland. While exploring a cave, the warm glow of my oil lantern revealed the body of a man sitting hunched by the remains of a fire. It was a sombre scene, reminiscent of British climber David Sharp who died on Mount Everest and was found in a cave in a similar position. For all its beauty, the game also has moments of melancholy like this that bring home just how grave your situation really is.
The Long Dark also has remarkable sound design, which is a big part of why its setting is so transporting. When you re indoors by a crackling fire, listening to a blizzard wailing outside, you can almost feel the warmth of the flames. If your pack is full of firewood it rattles and clunks as you walk. Cross a wooden bridge and you hear it creak under your feet. Hike through a valley and your footfalls subtly echo. It s an incredibly rich, dynamic soundscape, and sparse use of music brings the excellent environmental audio to the fore.
A recent update improved the game s weather effects, giving Hinterland an even broader palette of moods, feelings, and colours to paint its wilderness with. Plump, gently falling snowflakes give a misty morning a sense of calm, then the wind picks up and suddenly you re trudging through a hail of ice. Sometimes the sky will be grey and overcast, then the clouds part to reveal a piercing blue sky. As the sun sets, it casts a pink glow over the forests and valleys, and on a clear night the moon shines like a spotlight surrounded by twinkling stars. The weather and light change constantly.
I love how all the environments are connected, enabling you to travel freely between them. Hiking from Mystery Lake to Timberwolf Mountain involves crossing a treacherous ravine and navigating a maze-like coal mine, and when you reach your destination you feel you ve been on a real journey. But there s no map, so you have to find your own way or, if you want to make things easier, search for maps created by the community s talented cartographers.
The next step is a story mode. I m excited about it, but I wonder if the loneliness of the sandbox will be as alluring when you encounter other survivors. There s something captivating about feeling like the last person alive, which makes this one of the most compelling post-apocalyptic games on PC. But I trust Hinterland. It knows what it s doing.
Warframe is now entering its fourth year, finding a comfortable spot amongst the top 20 most played games on Steam for at least the last year. Earning that success has taken a lot of work Warframe is almost unrecognizable as the game developer Digital Extremes started as a closed beta in 2012. After hundreds of updates, it's one of Steam's biggest free-to-play success stories.
I just started playing Warframe recently, having never seen what it used to be like, while one of our video producers Anthony played it near launch and came back this year to find that everything was not as he'd left it. We sat down to talk about how Warframe has changed since launch, and the best way a new player or long returning one can get into this free-to-play space-ninja shooter.
A good sniper can turn the tide of a game. There are lots of different styles and each one helps the team in its own way. An aggressive peek that results in an entry kill can open up a site and make it a whole lot easier to win the round. With a more passive approach you can hold down a key area on the map and make sure your team is in control. In this article I ll try my best to introduce you to a few different styles and how they function within a team. In my previous guides to roles in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive I ve covered support, entry fragger and lurker.
What is an AWPer supposed to do?
Like I mentioned above, there are a lot of different styles when it comes to AWPing. Because of that it s difficult to say what a good AWPer is supposed to do. Ultimately, your goal is to win the game. In order to do so you need to understand a few things. First of all: your weapon costs $4750. That s $2050 more than an AK-47. Let s say you have full armor, an AWP, a smoke and two flashes and you re facing a guy with an AK-47 and the same equipment. If he kills you that s $6450 plus the bonus $300 he gets for the kill. Unless one of your teammates manages to salvage your AWP for the next round, it s a disaster for your team s economy.
For the AWP to be a good investment you need to either kill the other team s AWPer or two riflers. Of course that s not always the case: you can get a one-for-one trade that opens up a bombsite and wins your team the round, but you get the point. In the long run, it s crucial that you don t throw away those precious rounds when you have the one shot-one kill beast in your hands. The AWPer should always try to stay alive for as long as possible.
It s difficult to balance prioritizing survival and having an impact on the game. Therefore the AWPer needs to carefully plan their every move. Usually it s not wise to go and peek long on Dust2 without help from a teammate. Get your support player to flash you in and make sure they re there to trade the kill and pick up your weapon if you die. An AW:er should also have a backup plan. Choose the angles you peek carefully and make sure you have a way out in case you miss your shot. You should try to know your next move before you have to relocate. Like this:
If you want success with the AWP, you need to try to find advantageous peeks. Especially if you suspect that the other team can t afford proper weapons. They might try to run you down with pistols in an attempt to do some serious damage to your economy.
Another big part of being an AWPer is to know when to actually buy the AWP. A few players, like Josh JDM64 Marzano, buy the AWP almost every single time they can. Generally that s a weakness. Sometimes it s better to buy a rifle and play the long game. With experience, however, you ll learn what s right for you.
Who should be an AWPer?
You want a player who s highly accurate and who has fast reactions. Those traits will come in handy in duels against the other team s AWPer. Many games have been won or lost depending on the outcome of such a battle.
If you ve watched aggressive AWPers like Jesper JW Wecksell or Kenny KennyS Schrub go for insane peeks from positions they shouldn t play from it s easy to think that you need to be a little crazy to be a successful sniper. On the surface it may look like they don t know what they re doing, which of course isn t the case. If you re the AWPer on your team you need to be able to weigh the risk and the potential reward.
Your sniper player should be a person who can stay calm in all situations. Being an AWPer means that you re going to be under a lot of pressure at times. One hit and you get the kill and put your team in a great position. A missed shot on the other hand can lead to your team losing the round, and in the worst case force you to go for an eco the following round.
Don t be afraid to communicate your ideas. If you think that you can kill the other team s AWPer in mid if someone flashes you in, ask for the flash. Be confident and define your own fate.
Example of pro play
Here s a clip from the ESL Pro League Season 3 final between Luminosity and G2. Marcelo coldzera David displays great awareness, precision, reactions and he has a plan. He knows what he s going to do. In other words, all the qualities you want a good AWPer to have. Now that Ladislav GuardiaN Kov cs and Olof Olofmeister Kajbjer both have been struggling with wrist injuries for a while I d say that coldzera is the best player in the world. He s had some insane performances as of late and shown a level of consistency that you d only expect from a true superstar.
coldzera positions himself below the ladder next to the bomb train. From this position he s ready to assist his teammates wherever he s needed. As it turned out, Fernando fer Alvarenga got killed by Edouard SmithZz Dubourdeaux behind the green train. At this point coldzera knew that Gabriel FalleN Toledo had control over alley and that SmithZz was likely to peek as he had to pick up the bomb.
Marcelo managed to pick up the kill, and immediately after the shot had been fired he climbed the ladder to make it harder for G2 to trade. As he climbed Adil ScreaM Benrlitom sprayed down one of coldzera s teammates. Because of that, coldzera knew exactly where ScreaM was and as a consequence went for an aggressive peek that paid off due to his pinpoint accuracy and fast reaction time.
After that kill, G2 s Richard shox Papillon found himself in a very tricky 1-on-3 situation. He had 13 seconds to retrieve the bomb, plant it and at same time stay alive. Knowing this, coldzera just stayed put in his hiding place. shox killed both FalleN and Tacio TACO Filho. After that he had no time to go for the bomb. He had to either save his weapon or pick up the last kill. Because of coldzera s smart positioning, the only way for shox to win the round was by climbing the ladder, which is practically a suicide mission. He probably should have saved his rifle instead.
So, what did coldzera do? He killed the bomb carrier, he put his team in a 3-on-1 situation by going for the aggressive peek towards the bomb train and he survived the round with his AWP. Plays like that can change the outcome of a game. Remember that an AWPer who s still alive poses a great threat and limits the options that their enemies have.
How to practice
First off all you want to be a competent rifler even if your main job is to snipe. I d recommend that you spend some time on deathmatch servers with both the AWP and assault rifles as often as you can. Get to know your weapons.
A more specific way to practice your AWP is to study the maps. Go on an empty server and try to pre-aim all the common spots as you go around corners. Remember that your scoped in movement speed is significantly slower than when you re not scoped in. Scope just as you get around the corner, or else you ll be a whole lot easier to kill. Like this:
If you learn how to do this properly you ll have a greater chance of winning those duels.
As you might already know, you can t move and shoot accurately at the same time. What does this mean? It means you ll need to learn how to come to a halt as fast as possible. Let s say you re strafing left to get around a corner. At that point you re holding A (default keys are used in this example). If you then let go of A, you ll slide for a short distance. What you want to do instead is to let go of A, press D to counter that movement and then hold both A and D to make sure you stand absolutely still. Practice this move and in time it ll become second nature to you.
Let s get back to those deathmatch sessions. There are different ways to approach your practice, but here s what s worked for me: try to practice only one aspect of your game at a time. In one session that might be shoot as quickly as you possibly can when you see an enemy . In another session it can be whatever happens I m not going to miss my shot . A third option can be that you focus on switching to your pistol as fast as possible to try to finish off enemies every time you miss a shot with the AWP. I usually focus on one thing for ten minutes, another for ten more minutes and then I ll just play for ten. That s some good all around practice in thirty minutes.
Watch the pros play
It s always a good idea to watch better players play the game and try to learn from what they re doing. Go to HLTV.org and download a few demos. Focus on their positioning and crosshair placement. Ask yourself why is this guy doing what he s doing?
When it comes to AWP:ers there are lots of good players with various styles to watch. On the more explosive side of things you have players such as JW from fnatic and Oleksandr s1mple Kostylev. s1mple is one of those rare players with extreme talent. If he can learn how to control his emotions he s bound to become a real superstar one day.
Then you have those AWP:ers who play a more passive style and who are great at holding down angles. Tyler skadoodle Latham from Cloud9 is one. Admittedly he s fallen off a bit from his old level of play. The fourth player I ll recommend is GuardiaN. Before his wrist injury he was considered a top two player in the world and for good reason. He s just a great player overall. I d say his greatest strength is his insane map knowledge. He can peek specific spots to perfection through smokes and he probably gets more wallbang kills than any other pro player in the scene.
A bonus clip
Every now and again something special happens in pro matches. The magic moments that we all love to watch. One of those moments were when Luminosity faced off against Liquid in the semifinals of the MLG Columbus major and coldzera did this:
Valve even decided to make some permanent changes to Mirage in memory of that glorious moment. Never forget.
Preordering videogames has been a thing for years, and now preordering movies based on videogames is, too. Kernel, a site that provides curated offers on anticipated movies, games and events, is offering seven different packages for the Assassin's Creed film, with prices ranging from $15 to *rubs eyes incredulously* $1200.
The $15 base package gets you a ticket, a digital copy of the script (delivered when the film comes out), and behind-the-scenes extras. For $25, you can add a t-shirt to the package, and $40 gets you all of the above plus a collectible digital watch. At the upper end of the scale, there's a $600 package featuring a Premiere Scale Statue of Aguilar, and one for $1200 that includes a full-scale replica of the crossbow used in a pivotal scene."
A few weeks before the movie's release date, the movie studio and the theaters will release showtime information. The moment that happens, we will send you a code unique for you to pick your theater and seats on our ticketing partner's website, MovieTickets.com, the FAQ explains. After that's happened, you'll be able to select your seats (assuming the theater in question supports designated seating, I suppose) and add more tickets to your purchase.
Now all they have to do is figure out how to cram some DLC in there. Alternate endings for $2 each, maybe? Remember, you read it here first. And if you think nobody's going to fall for this, think again: Kernel originally offered eight preorder tiers, but the $50 package, with a Funko Pop and 4-6 curated collectibles, is already sold out.
The Assassin's Creed film hits screens on December 21. Have a look at the first trailer here.
The best monster slaying series on PC is up to 85% off at GOG.com until June 1. And wouldn't you know it, The Witcher 3's second expansion, Blood and Wine, releases May 31 rather convenient for the thrifty witcher.
As you'd expect, the biggest discounts are on the back catalogue. The Witcher 1 and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings get the full 85% discount. So does The Witcher Adventure Game, the digital adaptation of The Witcher Board Game.
The Witcher 3 has a smaller but substantial 50% markdown. If you're binging, The Witcher 3 and its expansions together get 33% off. And finally, if you just want a good deal on either expansion, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine can be bought separately at 10% below RRP. I'll let you penny-pinchers in on a secret though Blood and Wine is actually 10p cheaper on Steam.
"Eternity 2 is not announced," Urquhart says, "[but] it seems silly for me not to acknowledge it, though. If someone asks, 'Are you working on it?', I respond, 'Well, wouldn t you work on it?'. So then they say, 'So you must be working on it', and then I m like, 'Well, yeah.'"
Urquhart also disclosed that Obsidian might return to crowdfunding for Eternity 2, at which point I winced. I feel like crowdfunding is something a ballsy start-up should wean itself off with the success of its first project. Sure, it's earned the public's trust with an excellent first outing, but it's also earned our money.
Controller support is also on the cards. Not all that exciting to your average PC player, no, but it's good to have the option, particularly as the console versions have been doing it since 2013.
Lead developer Cenx has posted a checklist of every fix Re-Logic hopes to cram into 1.3.1 before Sunday. It includes some priority items, like tooltip flickering above 60 fps, and general tidying. My personal favourite: "You can see breath bubbles while dead."
Yes, Fallout 4 is much less brown than its two modern predecessors, but let's face it: it's still pretty drab. That's to be expected given the post-apocalyptic setting , but sometimes a bit of green is nice. That's where this new Resurrection mod helps: it makes Boston look more like Cyrodiil, and it's very beautiful indeed.
The mod, which claims to bring a new summer atmosphere to Boston, is still in beta, but you can still download it right now. According to the Nexus Mod description it introduces new landscape and building textures, as well as a new "wild jungle" ambient sound. I haven't tested the mod myself, so proceed with all the usual caution.
Or if you'd rather just see how it looks without an install, take a look at the video below, which features comparisons with the vanilla Fallout 4 landscape. The video also features the Grasslands mod and a handful more, which are listed in the video description.
Valve has announced details for the Dota 2 International Compendium and Battle Pass, and judging by their scale, the company hopes to dwarf the $18,429,613 raised last year for the International prize pool. The Battle Pass can be bought into at both level 1 and level 50 for $9.99 and $26.99 respectively and all purchasers get access to the compendium, three Immortal Treasures, an exclusive seasonal terrain, access to regular quests and well, a ridiculous amount of other stuff.Among the more important of that stuff are the Weekend Battle Cups, a series of tournaments which mirror the competitive edge found in professional play. During scheduled, weekly events, participants can party up and battle through eight-team, single-elimination brackets, the lengthy notes read. Teams are placed in a skill tier against evenly-matched opponents competing in one of four geographic divisions. Winning one of these tournaments which kick off in June rewards battle points and fancy proof of your victories.No matter which of the many rewards excites you the most, there s plenty of reasons to play Dota 2 during the event: raising battle level continues to unlock more and more awards such as a terrain, new taunts and more.The full details are over on the Dota 2 website, and you re well-advised to make a pot of tea before poring through the extensive documentation. Tickets for The International 2016 went on sale early last month. The main event kicks off at Seattle's KeyArena between August 8-13.
Believe it or not, there's a small portion of Souls players who long for the days when From Software built fantasy RPGs with a first-person perspective. The King's Field series, which From developed for Sony's consoles during the '90s, doesn't seem likely to make a comeback, but playing Dark Souls in first-person can at least help you pretend you're playing a King's Field game.
Souls games weren't designed to be played from a first-person perspective, but that hasn't stopped modders making it happen. They've finally done it for Dark Souls 3 and, as the video below demonstrates, it's not perfect but it does look reasonably playable.
The mod comes courtesy of Zulliethewitch, who also built first-person mods for Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2. Naturally, the weapon animations aren't quite perfect but they look a lot better than I expected.
Check out a video below, and download the mod here (I haven't tested it personally, so proceed with caution).
