If you’re new to Fortnite Battle Royale then you may be looking for some pointers to get started, or if you’re a more experienced player then perhaps you’d like to top up your existing knowledge. Either way, we’ve got advice on how to play Fortnite to get you started along with a set of Fortnite tips for all the things you should know before playing.
Fortnite map
Instead of the regular evolutions we’ve seen in previous seasons, the Fortnite map has changed completely for Chapter 2. We’ve got a new layout, new points of interest, and a whole lot of area to explore. From the Kevin-powered energy production
Fortnite Landmarks
As well as the main points of interest, which are Named Locations on the map, there are also lots of Fortnite Landmarks dotted around the place. These pop up as a notification at the top of the screen when you arrive, and so far we’ve flagged about 50 of them in our guide. If you’re specifically looking for Fortnite EGO outposts then we have a separate guide on them too.
Fortnite Missions
Epic has done away with the old Battle Pass challenges in favour of Fortnite Missions this time, which is a similar system but rather than being called Week 1, Week 2, etc. each one now has a specific theme, with eleven challenges to complete rather than the previous seven. There’s a lot of sweet rewards to earn, and we have complete guides for every single challenge this season. That’s a lot of challenges and missions!
Fortnite Achievements
New for Chapter 2, you can now earn Fortnite Achievements by completing various feats within the game. These are contained within Fortnite itself, so aren’t quite as exciting as your regular Trophies or Achievements sadly, though with 50+ of them to tick off there’s plenty to keep you busy if you want to complete the set.
Fortnite hidden letters in loading screens
When you’ve completed enough of the challenges for a given week, you’ll unlock a loading screen that contains a secret. Once you’ve spotted the Fortnite hidden letters in loading screens you can then collect them in-game, as they all count towards unlocking a mystery skin from the Alter Ego challenges.
Oculus Studios have announced Path of the Warrior at the Game Awards 2019.
Twisted Pixel, inspired by classic beat ’em ups, this VR title sees you fight enemies in first person. The game is also now available for Oculus Quest.
Here’s a brief synopsis on the game:
We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news…chaos in the streets of Rage City tonight! The myriad local gangs, once at constant war with each other have now unified under a mysterious new crime boss…Mr. S. Thugs have flooded the entire city, unleashing a wave of terror. The police are overwhelmed and the public is in imminent danger! Can anyone put a stop to the crime wave? Can anyone save Rage City?
One of the world premieres at The Game Awards this evening really took the phrase “mysterious teaser” literally.
Playerunknown Productions, the developer team behind the ever-popular PUBG, teased a new project, titled prologue. The trailer itself was brief (borderline non-existent) showing off a wooded area caught in a thunderstorm before cutting to the word prologue, before flashing playerunknown’s name and the playprologue website.
The website itself says very little as well. It states that “prologue is an exploration of new technologies and gameplay. Our aim with this game is to give players unique and memorable experiences, each and every time they play.”
A press release for prologue was also released after The Game Awards, noting that the game is a brand new I.P by PUBG developer Brendan Greene. “Our studio was founded with the goal of exploring, experimenting, and creating new technologies and gameplay experiences,” stated Greene. “With prologue, we are taking our first steps toward building new technologies and interactions that will help develop my ideas into reality.”
One thing for certain is that prologue will not be a battle royale-style game, as Greene himself admits he is excited about the prospects of not developing another title in the genre any time soon.
“I have been given a once in a lifetime chance to deliver something new on a global stage.” said Greene. “Being given a platform to build a brand-new experience outside of the Battle Royale genre is an amazing gift, and one I don’t want to squander.”
While most of the talk specifically mentions new the ‘exploration of new technologies and gameplay’, the term is too vague to really carry much meaning at this time. Outside of the teaser trailer, there is no further information about prologue. For curious players though, they can sign up to be notified for more information about prologue on the games official website.
What are your thoughts on this? Is it possible to have any thoughts on this? Leave your comments below.
When it’s time to switch from your older Android phone to a new one, you’ll want to make sure all of your data makes it way across safely. Thankfully, Google makes it extremely convenient to migrate your texts, call logs, contacts, music, and photos over to your new phone seamlessly.
How to back up data on your old Android phone
You’ll need to make sure that all the relevant data on your old phone is backed up to the cloud before you make the switch to your new phone. Google automatically backs up contacts, call logs, texts, and settings — including Do Not Disturb details — to Drive, so you’ll be able to restore all that data to your new phone just by logging in with your Google account during initial configuration.
Best of all, the data that’s automatically backed up by Google doesn’t count toward your storage quota, so you don’t have to worry about running out of storage. The feature backs up call history, app data, contacts, device and home screen settings, and text messages. So before you switch to a new phone, it makes sense to see if this data is already on the cloud.
Note: I’m using a OnePlus 7T for reference, but the steps outlined below will be the same for all Android phones running Android 7.0 Nougat and above. You can always search for backup in the settings search bar to find the option.
Open Settings from the app drawer or home screen.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Go to the System menu.
Source: Android Central
Tap Backup.
Make sure the toggle for Back up to Google Drive is set to On.
Hit Back up now to sync the latest data on the phone with Google Drive.
Source: Android Central
Pro tip: Go to contacts.google.com to see if all the contacts from your previous phone migrated to your Google account. The contacts that you see on this page will be the ones that will show up on your new phone.
Once the data is backed up, you can get started with setting up your new phone. Before we do that, however, let’s make sure your photos and videos are being backed up to Google Photos.
How to transfer photos and videos to your new Android phone
Google Photos is an outstanding service for backing up photos and videos. It seamlessly backs up data, has granular sharing controls, and uses on-device machine learning to automatically group faces. However, the best feature is the unlimited storage at high quality. You can save your photos and videos at Original quality — the quality at which they were taken — or select High quality, which retains the same level of detail while cutting down on the size.
You don’t have to worry about running out of storage if you select the High-quality option, and this particular feature makes Photos a fantastic service for storing your photos and videos. As the data is backed up to a cloud, you’ll be able to access your photos and videos from your new phone as well as on the web. If you haven’t set up Photos yet, here’s how to get started.
Open Photos from the app drawer or home screen.
Select the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) from the top left of the screen.
Tap Settings.
Source: Android Central
Select Backup & sync.
Make sure the toggle for Back up & sync is set to On.
Ensure that the Backup mode is set to High quality.
Source: Android Central
That’s all there is to it. Once your photos and videos are safely backed up to Google Photos, you can get started with setting up your new phone.
How to restore data and settings to your new Android phone
You’ve unboxed your new phone and are ready to set it up. There are a few ways to restore data from your older device, and here I’m highlighting the option that has worked best for me over the years (I switch phones once every two weeks, so I know what I’m talking about). You’ll need your old phone for this, so make sure you don’t reset the data just yet. At this point, you should switch the SIM card over to the new phone. Let’s get started.
Select your device language and hit Start on the welcome page.
Select your home Wi-Fi network and sign in.
Hit Next at the Copy apps & data screen to begin migrating data from your old phone.
Source: Android Central
At the Bring your data from… page, select A backup from an Android phone.
The next page offers instructions on how to restore data. Hit Next to start the data migration.
Hit Next once again here. I’ll have detailed instructions on how to set things up on your old phone down below.
Source: Android Central
You’ll see your phone’s model number highlighted on the Verify your phone page. Stay at this page and grab your old phone. You’ll now need to authorize data transfer from your old phone so that texts, calls, and relevant data can migrate seamlessly to the new device. Here’s what you need to do on the old phone:
Open Settings from the app drawer or home screen.
Navigate to the Google tab.
Select Set up & restore.
Source: Android Central
Choose Set up nearby device.
Hit Next at the Getting started page.
Your phone will now search for nearby devices. You can then verify the patterns on both devices to make sure the connection is established.
Source: Android Central
Hit Next to confirm the screen lock on your old phone.
Choose Copy at the Copy to your new device? page to copy data to your new phone.
You’ll see a Copying your account progress bar at this point. Once you see this, switch back to your new phone.
Source: Android Central
You’ll be able to see a sign-in window for all the Google accounts registered on your older device. Because you set up direct data transfer, you won’t need to enter two-factor authentication when signing in using this method. Don’t fret if you do not see the two-factor dialog box; that is normal behavior. Should both phones lose connectivity at any point during the restore, just start over and you’ll be able to set it up.
Sign in to your Google account.
Confirm the screen lock of your old phone to authenticate the data transfer.
You’ll now arrive at the Choose what to restore page. If you want everything from your old phone transferred to the new one, leave all the settings as is and select Restore.
Source: Android Central
If you don’t want to install all the apps, just hit the Apps setting.
Choose from the list all the apps you’d like to install on your phone.
Hit Restore to start installing data on your new phone. You should see a confirmation message of the same.
Source: Android Central
After selecting the restore options, you’ll be able to choose whether to back up data and use location automatically at the Google services page. After selecting the services, you can set up a PIN to use face unlock and fingerprint authentication.
The rest of the options after configuring biometric authentication will vary by manufacturer, and you can easily follow along with the on-screen instructions. The best part with a cloud restore is that even your home screen is preserved. That includes the background as well as the app layout, so you can get started on your new phone without any additional setup.
That’s all there is to it. Once setup is finished and you get to the home screen, you’ll see a Play Store downloader in the background that is restoring data from your old phone. This may take up to an hour based on the amount of content you installed on your old phone and your internet connection, so you can let that run while configuring the rest of the options on your new phone.
Our top equipment picks
Haven’t decided on a phone just yet? Then you’ll want to take a look at the Pixel 3a series. The Pixel 3a XL has a fantastic camera that’s on par with $1,000 flagships, and you also get robust hardware and timely updates.
The Elder Scrolls Onlinemade a showing at The Game Awards last night, celebrating the climax of their yearlong adventure Season of the Dragon. Oh, and the game is probably heading to Skyrim next year.
The cinematic shows a party of players in a harrowing battle against a rather irate dragon. It seems that they’ve managed to defeat it after a tough fight, but the dragon had a nasty surprise in store. A green crystal begins to glow with power, and it’s only through the quick actions of one of the spellcasters that the explosion is contained.
One of the other casters opens a portal so that they can escape while the one holding back the explosion starts to lose ground against the magical force. He pushes the other caster through the portal and finally loses his hold on the barrier — his companions can only look on in sorrow as the floating island explodes in a brilliant green light.
It is then that the camera pans out and reveals what looks like a Nord standing atop a snowy mountain, watching a green glow far in the distance.
When Will We See The Elder Scrolls Online: Skyrim?
The Skyrim teaser is certainly appealing to fans of The Elder Scrolls Online, and it may well attract those people who were hoping to head back to this iconic province featured in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Bethesda and Zenimax will be gathering a bunch of fans together at the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas. If you won’t be heading there yourself, you’ll be able to watch the global reveal event for Skyrim in TES: Online on January 16, 2020, at 5:00 PM Eastern on twitch.tv/bethesda.
Are you excited for The Elder Scrolls: Online finally unlocking the Skyrim province? What do you hope to see in this new content? Let us know in the comments below!
Tonight in unexpected video game announcements at this year’s The Game Awards came something new from Square Enix: another sequel to Bravely Default. Bravely Default, developed by Team Asano, was a hit on Nintendo 3DS. The studio also developed Bravely Second: End Layer, a direct sequel in 2015, which released in 2016 in North America.
Tonight’s reveal was for Bravely Default 2, a new game from the team behind Bravely Default and last year’s Octopath Traveler. The trailer also noted the return of composer Revo for its soundtrack. The new JRPG will feature a new world and new Heroes of Light, unlike the original’s sequel being a direct continuation.
Bravely Default 2 will be exclusive to Nintendo Switch, like the originals were to Nintendo platforms. The JRPG will release sometime in 2020.
Epic continues to give away free PC games every month on its Games Store, and December’s is now available. The Escapists, an indie hit from 2015, is now free in its entirety on the Store. In addition, a surprise freebie has also been revealed, with The Wolf Among Us also available for the low, low price of nothing.
While we knew The Escapists was going to be free, Epic did not say in advance that The Wolf Among Us would be joining it. The announcement coincides with the reveal of a sequel, The Wolf Among Us 2, which was un-cancelled at The Game Awards 2019.
The Escapists also received a sequel, which launched in 2017, while the original came out in 2015. The Wolf Among Us, meanwhile, was released in 2013. Both of these free games received a positive critical reception when they launched, so getting them for £0 / $0 represents quite the deal. Grab them both here until December 19.
Other than The Wolf Among Us 2, lots of news emerged at The Game Awards, including lots of new trailers and announcements. You can check out our full The Game Awards news roundup for the full picture.
Sony Interactive Entertainment have announced the release window for Ghost of Tsushimaat the Game Awards 2019.
Ghost of Tsushima launches Summer 2020 for PlayStation 4. Featured above, you can view a new trailer for the game.
Here’s a brief rundown on the game:
In 1274, the fearsome Mongol Empire invades the Japanese island of Tsushima and slaughters its legendary samurai defenders. Jin Sakai is one of the last survivors of a noble samurai clan. To combat his overwhelming foes, he must pioneer deadly new fighting techniques–the way of The Ghost–and wage an unconventional war for the people of Japan.
At long last, the seriously good looking Ori and the Will of the Wisps is coming to Xbox One, Steam, and Game Pass on March 11, 2020. A new trailer (which you can watch below) dropped at this year’s Game Awards with a new launch date (a slight delay from the previous one) and announced that it will be on all of the Xbox Family, including Xbox Game Pass and part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program.
For those who aren’t familiar with the series, Ori is a Metroidvania with an incredible art style and overall moving presentation. We played it back at E3 2017 (and then lost the footage) but it was pretty great and will definitely live up to the legacy of the previous game Ori and the Blind Forest left way back in 2015. In Will of the Wisps you continue Ori’s quest and meet a new cast of supporting characters, experience new gameplay modes such as sprint trials, and solve new puzzles, all while exploring new gorgeous “hand crafted” levels.
You can preorder Ori and the will of the Wisps as well as get more info on its collectors edition here at the Xbox store. It will feature a game disc for Xbox One, steelbook, piano collection of music, premium packing, and an artbook. As mentioned above, Ori and the Will of the Wisps will be available at launch on Xbox Game Pass.
What do you think about Ori and the Will of the Wisps? Did you get a chance to play the previous title? Does the one month release date delay concern you? How about that giant spider? Let us know in the comments below!
Anyone with an Xbox already knows this, but it bears repeating: Microsoft’s gaming console is good for so much more than just playing games. It’s also one hell of a streaming video system. That doesn’t just mean on-demand video like Netflix, either. It’s also great for live TV.
And that brings us to this weekend’s highlight: UFC 245 on ESPN+ Pay-Per-View, which will stream just fine on an Xbox. All you need is an ESPN account, and to buy the fight. (And an Xbox, which if you’re reading this we’ll assume you’ve procured by now.)
The fight, of course, has a few important details, too. The fighters? Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. The date? Saturday, December 14. Time: 10 p.m. Pacific. Location: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
That’s the really important stuff. Still need more, though? Read on for everything you need to know about watching UFC 245 on your Xbox.
This is the last UFC event of the year, and it should be one of the biggest, with Kamaru Usman taking on Colby Covington in a welterweight title fight from Las Vegas. And an Xbox is a great way to watch it.
When is UFC 245, and who’s on the card?
UFC 245 is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019, from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The Main Event features welterweights Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington in a title bout. The “Nigerian Nightmare” is 15-1-0 for his career. The American “Chaos” Covington has a similar record, with one fewer victory.
The rest of the Main Card should prove to have plenty of excitement as well. Max Holloway is facing Alexander Volkanovski in a Featherweight title bout. And Germaine de Randamie is looking to take down champion Amanda Nunes in the women’s Bantamweight title fight, while Marlon Moraes and Jose Aldo, and Petr Yan and Urijah Faber go at it in a pair of non-title Bantamweight matchups.
The early prelims get going at 6:30 p.m. Eastern and are available on UFC Fight Pass. The prelims should start around 8 p.m. and are available on ESPN2.
Scroll down and you should see a giant banner for the UFC 245 fight on Saturday.
If you don’t see the banner, scroll down further past “Live” and “Top On Demand” to the dedicated “Get Ready for UFC 245” section.
The first banner should take you directly to the fight.
If you haven’t bought the fight yet, you it’ll asked you to purchase an annual plan..
How much does UFC 245 pay-per-view cost?
UFC 245 is available exclusively on ESPN+. You’ve got a few options here, though — especially if you don’t yet have an ESPN+ subscription — so pay attention if you’re looking to save a little money.
If you’re not yet an ESPN+ subscriber, the best deal by far is to get UFC 245 and a year of ESPN+ service for just $79.99. That’ll save you 25 percent compared to if you were to get them separately.
If you’re paying for ESPN+ on a monthly basis, you can also upgrade to that $79.99 deal, which includes a year of ESPN+ as well as the UFC 245 PPV event.
If you’re a current annual ESPN+ subscriber (or just want to get the UFC 245 PPV event on its own) it’ll run you $59.99.
The UFC 245 schedule and fight card
Here’s who all you’ll get to see in UFC 245. All fights are subject to change, of course, and all times listed are Eastern.
Main Card — 10 p.m. on ESPN+
Kamaru Usman (15-1-0) vs. Colby Covington (14-1-0)
Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie
Marlon Moraes vs. Jose Aldo
Petr Yan vs. Urijah Faber
Prelims — 8 p.m. on ESPN2
Geoff Neal vs. Mike Perry
Ketlen vieira vs. Irene Aldana
Matt Brown vs Ben Saunders
Early Prelims — 6:30 p.m. on Fight Pass
Chase Hooper vs. Daniel Teymur
Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara Fance
Jessica Eye vs. Viviane Araujo
Punahele Soriano vs. Oskar Piechota
How to watch UFC 245 outside the U.S. with a VPN
Technically speaking, you can only watch UFC Pay-Per-View events from within the United States. But if you’re living outside of the U.S., a solid VPN should be able to take are of you. That’s because a VPN can make it appear that your computer is inside the United States. (Or, more accurately, it tunnels your internet traffic through a server within the U.S., which is the same sort of thing.
This is where it can get a little tricky, though. If you’re going to be watching via a phone or a computer, it’s just a matter of firing up a VPN and going from there.
If you’re trying to use a VPN with your Roku in order to watch UFC 245, you’re going to need to do it at the network level, and not just the device level. So you’re going to need to have a router that supports VPNs internally.
As far as which VPN to use to watch UFC 245? May we recommend:
ExpressVPN has all the things you want from a VPN, if you need one to watch UFC 245. It’s got multiple pricing plans. It’s got servers in 94 countries. And it has apps for all the platforms, which makes setup a breeze. Fight on!
Frostpunk is about to head even further back in-game: the Frostpunk: The Last Autumn DLC has been announced, and it’s coming to digital platforms for PC next year.
In The Last Autumn, groups of settlers have headed out to a new land as a precaution against the weather getting just a wee bit colder than usual according to a press release from the publisher. The sight of green grass and trees will be pretty unfamiliar to players of this survival game, but it’s pretty interesting to see a new setting explored. Players will be able to take advantage of new buildings, technologies, and Books of Laws that will help you shape your society.
This latest DLC will see players trying to build a generator that will keep everyone alive. The British Empire is threatened with collapse as you try to build a bastion of civilization before the oncoming frost consumes everything. The process is, of course, going about as well as one might expect — you can expect to see a challenging scenario fraught with disasters and hard decisions.
Frostpunk: The Last Autumn Release Date and Frostpunk Sale
So, when will you be able to buy Frostpunk: The Last Autumn? Well, it depends on which platform you’re playing it on. PC gamers will be able to get it on January 21, 2020, either as a standalone DLC or as part of the game’s season pass. No specific date has been announced for consoles players, other than the fact that it will be coming “later”. This will be the second of three DLCs planned for the Frostpunk Season Pass.
Additionally, the game is on sale at its best price ever — discounts go as high as 60%. If you don’t yet already own Frostpunk, PC players can buy it on Steam, the Humble Store, and GOG for as much as 60% off of its retail price of $29.99. Console players can get it for the Xbox One via the Microsoft Store or the PlayStation 4 via the PlayStation Store.
Disclosure: GOG and Humble Bundle work with TechRaptor for affiliate partnership, and TechRaptor earns a small commission off purchases made from links in this article.
What do you think of Frostpunk: The Last Autumn? Are you excited to try out a new scenario in this challenging game? Let us know in the comments below!
