Feb 19

Stars Reach - sean.weeden

I’m Kurt Larson; I do the audio on Stars Reach. Since we’re trying to communicate our vision to the players, I thought I’d try to give some insight into how we are approaching audio on the project.

I have responsibility for our audio, but the creative-approval team also includes Raph and our head of game design, Dave Georgeson. We talk about high-level goals, and I implement and find the devils in the details. I am in my 32nd year of working on game audio, so of course I bring my own philosophies to bear. I’ll share some of them here for those interested in how our project is being made.

CONTEXT

One of the first questions I ask when interviewing with a new team for a possible job is “What do you want audio to do for your project?”. I generally don’t expect a really in-depth answer because most game developers have never had to articulate that before. But I learn a lot from what I hear. The answers I hear the most are:

“Well, what do you think it should do?”
“I guess… um, tell the player about what is happening; to convey information.”
“Wow, I really don’t know, but we need someone to handle audio because we can’t keep doing it ourselves; we have other things we need to be doing.”

From that I learn something about what the team needs and wants. On the times I have been hired, I keep asking that question of various people until I have a sense of what they expect. Usually most teams just really need someone who isn’t actually supposed to be doing something else to plug in all the audio assets. But I can usually develop a sense of what the major stakeholders want to accomplish in an artistic, player-experience sense. I also believe one of my jobs is to tell the team what their audio should be doing in each instance. In our case, combining what Raph and Dave have expressed with my own love of the game, I have arrived at this: That the purposes of game audio are:

To provide an additional layer of pleasure and gratification for the player which is vastly cheaper to create than graphics.
To add a sentient, emotional voice to the game which is always speaking, gently and quietly, about the meaning of their context and their experience.
To make what you see feel real. Art and graphics make it look ‘real’, within the realism of the established art style. Audio ensures a strong connection between the player and that fiction which they inhabit.

To convey information and context.

MANIFESTO

OUR AUDIO WILL BE:

Pleasurable: Like color, animation, and gameplay itself, audio can and should be a direct source of enjoyment for the player; bypassing the cognitive process and gratifying the brain at a sensory level. If a game is a joy to hear, the player is more likely to play more often and for longer. This contributes to player retention and thereby the overall success of the product.
Blended and harmonious: Every sound needs to fit into every context in which it may find itself. (And every context needs to accommodate any of its sounds) Sounds heard well in isolation may not sound well together. Attention must be paid to the higher-end noise content; not only transients but sustained noise components, like water falling, “Energy” sounds, etc. Too many sounds competing for the higher-frequency segments of the listening experience can create aural discomfort.
Interactive and adaptable: Star’s Reach is the most proc-gen, open-ended, vast-possibilities, combinatorial-explosion project on which I have ever worked, and the audio will need to make full use of everything I have learned about these things. Almost all sounds should draw from multiple granular randomized layers. The background ambience and music must adapt intimately and intelligently to the changing conditions of the world through which the player moves. The un-scripted nature of our players’ intended experience mandates that our audio leans more towards procedurally-generated philosophy than to a more scripted, film-like approach.

With those general ideas here to set the context, in the next post I will look at the details; breaking down different layers of audio design in a game and how each relates to Stars Reach.

Our Kickstarter is launching on February 25th! Head over to the Coming Soon page and sign up for notifications!

Feb 19

Marvel Rivals Version 20250221 Patch Notes

Marvel Rivals - Marvel Rivals

Hey, Rivals!

The moment we've all been waiting for is finally here! The Fantastic Four are finally all uniting for the first time in Marvel Rivals, ready to take on Dracula's dark army. Here are the details of this exciting update!

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1. New Content

1.1 All Platforms

Heroes and Costumes

The Thing and Human Torch are ready to rock out and flame on!
New Costumes: The Thing - Trench Coat and First Family, along with Human Torch - Negative Zone Gladiator and First Family!

Maps and Modes
Enter the new Convergence map - Empire of Eternal Night: Central Park.
New: An extra 0.5 seconds of grace time will be added at the end of the overtime in all modes, optimizing situations where games may end abruptly (like when players cannot be detected due to certain hero abilities or when accidentally drift slightly outside the valid range).
New: In Quick Mode, matchmaking for substitutes will no longer occur when a quick match is about to end.
Optimization: Improved loading speed at the start of matches.

Season Battle Pass and Season Story Events
The season event Midnight Features II is here!
The first round of the season 1.5 Twitch Drops event is live! Players can earn the "Two-in-One" spray and Hela's "Great Galaxy" emote. Also, stay tuned for a second round, expected to arrive mid-season 1.5, featuring a brand-new costume reward! (Keep an eye on official announcements for exact times!)
Players who purchase the Luxury Battle Pass and redeem all its rewards can now convert any leftover Chrono Tokens for Units at a specific ratio.

Ranked
New: Season 1 has been split into S1.0 and S1.5, with S1.0 concluding on February 21, 2025, at 8:00 AM (UTC+0). Rewards including the costume and Crest of Honors will be distributed accordingly. In S1.5, players will retain their ranks from the end of S1.0.
New: S1.5 Gold Rank costume rewards include Invisible Woman - Blood Shield and Human Torch - Blood Blaze.
New: Crest of Honor rewards for S1.5 will feature distinct designs for Grandmaster, Celestial, Eternity, and Top 500.
New: A "Hide Own Name (Competitive)" feature is now available for players at Diamond III and above. Once activated, your true identity will be under wraps during the loading screen, hero selection, and the start of the match. Other players won't be able to see your name right away! After a short period in the battle, your real name will pop back up.

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General
Career System: Season statistics will now distinguish between S1.0 and S1.5, with the added ability to filter Tournament data only.
Account Deletion: A new account deletion option has been added under Settings - Other, allowing players to initiate the account deletion process.
Inactivity Detection: AFK timers will pause during the wait to respawn.
Reticle Customization: All changes will now automatically upload to server storage, preventing loss due to local issues.
Graphics and Settings: Optimized the brightness of some scene floors when "Reflection Quality" is set to "Off."
Discord Binding Interface: Adjusted to generate an invitation code only upon clicking "Generate."

1.2 PC

Graphics and Settings
NVIDIA DLSS 4 is available now, featuring DLSS Multi Frame Generation for GeForce RTX 50 Series GPU. DLSS Multi Frame Generation generates up to three additional frames per traditionally rendered frame, providing even faster performance for gamers.
AMD Radeon Anti-Lag 2 is available now, reducing the system latency (the time between user inputs and visual responses). It works best in GPU-limited scenarios. (Anti-Lag 2 Requires AMD Radeon RX 5000 Series or newer GPU)
Fixed AMD FSR3 Frame Generation frame pacing for smoother experience.

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2. Fixes and Optimizations

2.1 All Platforms

General
Fixed an issue where some UI prompts in the team voice system would occasionally delay or disappear.
Resolved a rare issue where players couldn't operate after reporting a player.
Corrected a variety of language and text issues.

Maps and Modes
Fixed terrain issues that could cause characters to become stuck or clip through odd locations.
Resolved various issues including floating broken objects, collision errors, etc.
Addressed several sound issues on maps.
Corrected a rare bug in Doom Match, that displayed multiple players in first place.
Rectified an issue in Conquest mode where, after reconnecting to a match, indicators, such as KO Streaks would not be displayed.

Heroes
Fixed various hero SFX issues.
Resolved a series of quirky pairing performance issues between various heroes.
Spider-Man's Wall Crawl Woes: Fixed an issue where Spider-Man sometimes couldn't use his abilities while falling from the top of a wall. The web-slinger can now strike without a hitch—no more sticky situations!
Hulk's Banner Backtrack: Resolved a glitch where Hulk couldn't be detected by vehicles or mission areas during his transformation back to Bruce Banner. The big guy's identity shift is now seamless!
Doctor Strange's Portal Precision: Fixed a bug where Doctor Strange's portals could get destroyed if they intersected with broken Recursive Destruction objects during the rewind phase in Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown. The Sorcerer Supreme's portals are now as reliable as his magic!
Iron Fist's Jumping Jack: Addressed an exploit that allowed Iron Fist to perform rapid consecutive jumps under specific conditions. The martial artist's acrobatics are now finely tuned!
Loki's Revival Riddle: Fixed an issue where Loki would incorrectly indicate he was out of Adam Warlock's revival range while transforming within Adam Warlock's ultimate range.
Mister Fantastic's Elasticity Error: Fixed an unexpected interaction where Mister Fantastic's ultimate bounce range preview was affected by Cloak's Phased state. The stretchy hero's powers are now back on track!
Captain America's Unbound Shield: Corrected an issue where during Captain America's ultimate, he couldn't be stunned by Spider-Man's ultimate.
Squirrel Girl's Sonic Surprise: Resolved a sound issue where Squirrel Girl's hit sound effect was occasionally too sharp. Her acorns now land with a perfect pop!
Venom's Damage Dilemma: Fixed a problem where Venom's ultimate sometimes failed to deal damage. The symbiote's ferocity is now fully unleashed!
Mister Fantastic's Elastic Aim Adjustment: Fixed an issue where Mister Fantastic's arm orientation sometimes didn't align with the targeting reticle when using his abilities. Now, the stretchy hero can hit the mark with precision—no more twisted arms!
Magneto's Magnetic Misfire: Addressed an issue where Magneto's ultimate could pass through characters without dealing damage due to discrepancies between collision models and visual effects. The collision body is now properly optimized to better suit the visual presentation.
Portal Peril Prevention: Fixed an issue where if certain heroes were eliminated by terrain after using their abilities to pass through Doctor Strange's portals, it would sometimes not count as a KO for the Sorcerer Supreme. Now, every portal pitfall will be counted!
Doctor Strange's Visual Vanishing Act: Fixed a problem where other players sometimes couldn't see Doctor Strange's ultimate effect. The Eye of Agamotto will now dazzle everyone on the battlefield!
Doctor Strange's Control Conundrum: Resolved an issue where Doctor Strange's ultimate control effect could be overridden by Luna Snow's or Scarlet Witch's control effects, prematurely ending his control. The Sorcerer Supreme's spells now hold strong—no more magic mix-ups!
Cloak & Dagger's Ice Imprisonment: Resolved an issue where, while using their ultimate, if being frozen by Luna Snow, Cloak & Dagger would remain frozen even after taking damage. They can now break free from Luna's icy grips!
Peni Parker's Cyber Conundrum: Fixed a quirky situation where if Peni Parker was defeated while using Cyber-Bond and resurrected by Rocket Raccoon's beacon, she would be stuck in her Cyber-Bond animation. She will now be revived without any lingering effects!
Mister Fantastic's Stretch Cancel: Fixed a glitch where Mister Fantastic's Stretch Punch could be interrupted by Distended Grip during its wind-up phase, yet still erroneously deal damage. Now, the stretchy hero's attacks are consistent—no more bouncing back from unfair hits!
Loki's Ultimate Illusion Fix: Resolved an issue where, after transforming into another hero and using their ultimate, the ultimate's effects could remain in the scene if Loki was defeated during the process. We've ensured that his tricks vanish appropriately—no more ghostly ultimates haunting the battlefield!
Rocket's Revival Resurgence: Fixed an issue where heroes revived by Rocket Raccoon's B.R.B. occasionally became unable to move. Now, everyone can get back into the action without a hitch—no more stuck-in-place moments after a heroic comeback!
Moon Knight's Bounce Damage Fix: Resolved an issue where Moon Knight's bounce attack would occasionally fail to deal damage. Now, his strikes hit true.
Winter Soldier's Targeting Trouble: Addressed an issue where Winter Soldier's ultimate sometimes visually appeared to hit targets but would actually miss. The sharpshooter's aim is now spot on!

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We will continue to vigilantly monitor game bug issues and fix them as fast as we can. We also always have new content cooking! Be sure to follow our socials for all the latest news!

Feb 19

Join the Sixth Guardian Hope Fundraiser for Worldwide Cancer Research!

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Siege - UbiWayfarer

JOIN THE SIXTH GUARDIAN HOPE FUNDRAISER FOR WORLDWIDE CANCER RESEARCH!

The Siege team is excited to continue the Sixth Guardian Program in Y10S1 with a brand new bundle chosen by YOU, the Siege community.

This season, Sixth Guardian is partnering once more with Worldwide Cancer Research, an organization funding visionary, game-changing cancer research around the world to start new cures. The “Sixth Guardian Hope” bundle will release on March 6th and features a full Azami set, as chosen by the Siege community in an online poll. One hundred percent of net proceeds (no less than $6 USD per bundle) will go to Worldwide Cancer Research to specifically contribute toward funding for cutting-edge breast cancer research.

Starting on March 8th, we invite all Rainbow Six Siege creators and community members to join the movement by streaming or creating social media content over the weekend. We’ve put together a Creator Kit package available via the Ubisoft Creators Program for the occasion which includes stream overlays and assets. You can also download the kit here.

SIXTH GUARDIAN HOPE BUNDLE

This exclusive bundle includes a cosmetics set for Azami, and features her signature sleek suit accented with pink, the universal color for breast cancer. Specifically, the set includes:

“Sixth Guardian Hope” Uniform
“Sixth Guardian Hope” Headgear
“Sixth Guardian Hope” Background Card
“Sixth Guardian Hope” Charm

The bundle will be available for a limited time.

ABOUT WORLDWIDE CANCER RESEARCH

Worldwide Cancer Research focuses on funding discovery research, the critical first stage of the research journey that uncovers knowledge that can lead to new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. Bright ideas come from anywhere, which is why they fund projects anywhere in the world. And they fund research into any type of cancer, because there are over 200 types that all need different cures.

Since 1979, Worldwide Cancer Research has invested over £200 million in more than 2,000 research projects in 35 countries worldwide, leading to some remarkable breakthroughs. But with cancer rates increasing, and global discovery research funding decreasing, it is imperative to push forward faster and fund more new projects every year.

This simply won't be possible without the continued support of incredible community of Curestarters - people who turn their compassion into action by supporting Worldwide Cancer Research’s work - for themselves, for their loved ones, and for the millions of people around the world affected by cancer. Becoming a Curestarter is a positive way to be part of something bigger and to contribute to vital research that will save lives.

Many of you have already become Curestarters by supporting the previous “Sixth Guardian Health” bundle. We invite you to support “Sixth Guardian Hope” and recruit others to become Curestarters to help fund visionary, game-changing research around the world, and take us one step closer to a day when no life is cut short by cancer.

Learn more about Worldwide Cancer Research here.

WHAT RESEARCH WILL YOUR DONATIONS SUPPORT?

All net proceeds from your donations will go to Worldwide Cancer Research, with no less than $6 USD per bundle going to the charity.

SMART BOMBS: A NEW APPROACH

Once cancer has spread, or metastasized, it often becomes incurable. A pioneering new team of researchers led by Professor Roberta Tasso at the University of Genoa in Italy have an ambitious plan: to find new ways to deliver drugs directly to hard-to-treat breast cancer tumors. By using nanoparticles that occur naturally in our bodies as 'smart bombs', the team hope to be able to knock out tumors even after cancer has spread.

A MESSAGE FROM THE RESEARCHER

"I am truly delighted and honored that my project has been selected for the fundraising campaign in partnership with Ubisoft and the Rainbow Six Siege community.

This project, while challenging, offers great potential to advance cancer treatment, and it is thanks to your support that we are able to push boundaries in such a high-impact area of research. We are incredibly grateful for your belief in our work, which we hope will have a tangible impact on cancer therapy in the future."

- Professor Roberta Tasso

Together, the Siege community has already raised nearly $100k USD for Worldwide Cancer Research by supporting the “Sixth Guardian Health” bundle for Twitch. Let’s continue to push past that and help our partners support ground-breaking efforts in breast cancer research.

If you’d like to support Worldwide Cancer Research further, you can make direct donations here.

A MESSAGE FROM WORLDWIDE CANCER RESEARCH

Years of collaborative and pioneering research have led to incredible breakthroughs in how we prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. But it is still one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and too many people still have to say goodbye to a loved one too soon. In 2022 there were an estimated 9.7 million deaths worldwide from cancer, and currently, this number is predicted to almost double by 2050.
But cutting-edge science gives us hope for the future. By funding more discovery research into any type of cancer, anywhere in the world, Worldwide Cancer Research believes that we can be ready to face the cancer challenges of tomorrow.

"Our vision is to see a day when no life is cut short by cancer. For me, this sums up what most of us fear about cancer. The fear of losing time or a life that we really should have had. This includes the way cancer turns lives completely upside down."

- Dr Helen Rippon, Worldwide Cancer Research Chief Executive

ABOUT THE SIXTH GUARDIAN PROGRAM

Since the program’s launch in 2020, together with our community, we have raised over $600,000 USD! We’d like to extend our thanks once again to our past Sixth Guardian Partners: AbleGamers, Stack Up, Indspire, ILGA World, and Ecologi.

Together with our partners, we hope to unite the Rainbow Six Siege community and make positive changes outside of our game.