Tactical RPG Broken Lines has a release window. The game, which aims to examine the horrors of war through an RPG lens, is coming to PC and Nintendo Switch in early 2020.
Broken Lines places you in the collective shoes of a squadron of soldiers in an alternate-history World War II. The squadron’s plane is shot down and they find themselves deep behind enemy lines. They must battle through a bleak, horrific war-torn landscape in order to defeat their personal demons, keep themselves alive, and finally find their way back home. You can check out the trailer for Broken Lines right here:
Gameplay-wise, Broken Lines espouses the WeGo tactical style. You might recognize this kind of gameplay from games like Frozen Synapse. Both sides issue commands for their squad, and those commands are then executed simultaneously. You can’t input any commands after you’ve given your orders, so you’ll need to make sure everything you’ve ordered your squad to do is exactly what you want.
Broken Lines will feature destructible cover, as well as realistic ballistics and a camouflage system, to better inform your tactical choices. It’ll have a roguelike campaign in which certain things change each time you play. There’s also a morality system; if you don’t issue the right orders, or if your soldiers deem you to be incompetent, then they might desert your squad. Sounds like this’ll be a must-play for fans of XCOM and Frozen Synapse.
You can wishlist Broken Lines on Steam right now. There’s no word yet on a definitive release date, and the game doesn’t currently have a Switch store page live. We’ll bring you more information about this one as we get it. Until then, prepare yourself for what seems like it’s going to be an emotional journey.
Will you be checking out Broken Lines when it launches? Which platform are you thinking of getting the game on? Let us know in the comments below!
The classic tabletop roleplaying game, which spun off from (and greatly expanded upon) the core ruleset of the 3.5 edition of Dungeons & Dragons back in 2009, features a veritable library of supplemental materials, including stacks of sourcebooks, guides, and various forms of fiction. Now in its second edition (note: this Humble Bundle features only 1st edition content), the game tasks players and GM’s with weaving incredible fantasy stories in a mostly-traditional sword-and-sorcery setting. Now they’ve partnered up with Humble Bundle — a charity organization that offers up amazing deals on all kinds of geekery (not just RPGs) through donations that go toward benefiting charities — for a one-of-a-kind deal.
Eager to dip a toe into the realm of Golarion, but don’t know where to start? The current Bundle features (at the highest donation tier of $15) over 40 pdf’s of Pathfinder comics published by Dynamite and, crucially, pdf’s of 17 rulebooks from the first edition of the game. Here are just some of the highlights from each donation tier:
At the $1 or more tier:
The Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook – which is a hulking tome that includes everything you need to jump into the game.
The Pathfinder RPG Bestiary – collecting many of the frightening, odd, and dangerous beasts you’ll encounter in your adventures.
At the $8 or more tier:
The Pathfinder GameMastery Guide – offering up useful advice, tips, and traps for the GameMaster of the group.
The Advanced Players Guide – which expands upon the core races and classes, and offers up new ones for players to explore.
At the $15 or more tier:
Ultimate Campaign – a guide on what to have your players do between dungeon delves.
Ultimate Magic – a guide to enhanced and expanded spell lists.
But again, that’s just a small sampling of the score of content in this bundle. And though it does not include anything from the new 2nd edition, it’s such a glut of content that it’s truly hard to ignore. And besides all that, all charity proceeds go to an interesting cause, Rancho Obi-Wan, a “publicly supported, nonprofit, private museum located in Petaluma, California housing the world’s largest Star Wars memorabilia collection as certified by Guinness World Records in 2014.”
If you’ve got a few spare dollars lying around, want to check out Pathfinder, and want to support the preservation of all things Star Wars… this is truly the Humble Bundle to check out. Head over to Humble RPG Bundle to learn more, see all the content available, and donate today.
Disclosure: Humble Bundle works with TechRaptor for affiliate partnership, and TechRaptor earns a small commission off purchases made from some links in this article.
What do you think of the Pathfinder RPG? Are you excited to dive in on this deal? Let us know in the comments below.
Valve has announced the release window, first details, and the first trailer for Half-Life: Alyx.
The new virtual reality-focused game is coming to Windows PC (via Steam) in March 2020, for $59.99. Featured above, you can view the announcement trailer for the game.
Players will be able to play the game with the Valve Index, the HTC Vive, the Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality devices. Pre-orders are now live with a 10% discount.
Here’s a rundown on the game:
Half-Life: Alyx is Valve’s VR return to the Half-Life series. It’s the story of an impossible fight against a vicious alien race known as the Combine, set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2.
Playing as Alyx Vance, you are humanity’s only chance for survival. The Combine’s control of the planet since the Black Mesa incident has only strengthened as they corral the remaining population in cities. Among them are some of Earth’s greatest scientists: you and your father, Dr. Eli Vance.
As founders of a fledgling resistance, you’ve continued your clandestine scientific activity—performing critical research, and building invaluable tools for the few humans brave enough to defy the Combine.
Every day, you learn more about your enemy, and every day you work toward finding a weakness.
Valve’s return to the Half-Life universe that started it all was built from the ground up for virtual reality. VR was built to enable the gameplay that sits at the heart of Half-Life.
Immerse yourself in deep environmental interactions, puzzle solving, world exploration, and visceral combat.
Lean to aim around a broken wall and under a Barnacle to make an impossible shot. Rummage through shelves to find a healing syringe and some shotgun shells. Manipulate tools to hack alien interfaces. Toss a bottle through a window to distract an enemy. Rip a Headcrab off your face and throw it at a Combine soldier.
Customers who have purchased Valve Index hardware by the end of 2019 will have access to unique bonuses starting early next year:
Explore environments from Half-Life: Alyx in your SteamVR Home space.
Alternate gun skins to embellish Alyx’s arsenal.
Special Half-Life: Alyx-themed content for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2.
Community-Built Environments – A set of Source 2 tools for building new environments will ship with the game, enabling any player to build and contribute new environments for the community to enjoy. Hammer, Valve’s level authoring tool, has been updated with all of the game’s virtual reality gameplay tools and components.
When Valve announced that it’d be returning to the Half-Life series with a new virtual reality-only installment earlier this week, the first question on every VR aficionado’s was “do I need Valve’s official headset to play?” The short answer is “no”—Half-Life: Alyx will be playable on multiple headsets and, perhaps more importantly, with various virtual reality playstyles when it releases next year.
On Valve’s official website for Half-Life: Alyx, the company lists the compatible headsets:
Valve also specifies that Half-Life: Alyx will support roomscale, sitting, or standing VR, multiple options for player movement, and will not require finger tracking controllers.
For folks who have invested in Index hardware (a full kit costs $999.00 USD), there will be special perks. For one, anyone who purchases the Index headset or even just the Index’s finger-tracking controllers ($279.00, compatible with Vive headsets) will receive Half-Life: Alyx for free. Anyone who buys Index hardware by the year’s end will also get some in-game gun skins and special Half-Life: Alyx content for SteamVR and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
You’ve downloaded Minecraft Earth, but now you’re wondering: “How do I delete my data?” Well, you’ve come to the right place.
For the most part, deleting data has been an issue for early adopters. They signed up for the beta under one platform but wanted to switch to another one. Unfortunately, at the moment, you actually can’t technically delete your Minecraft Earth data.
But there is allegedly a workaround that accomplishes the same goal.
How to Delete My Minecraft Earth Data
You might have noticed there is a link specifically meant to delete your data. This can be found in the Minecraft Earth portion of the Mojang website. Unfortunately, the link doesn’t work at this time (whoops).
That may change over time and could just be a temporary issue, so be sure to head over and give it a shot anyway. Right now, it’s the only official channel that lets you officially wipe your data.
If the link above doesn’t work for you, there is another option to try.
Create a New Microsoft Account
Your Minecraft Earth data is tied directly to your Microsoft account, so the workaround is to create a whole new Microsoft account. Delete the app from your phone, re-install, and then enter your secondary account info when prompted to hookup to your Microsoft account.
Creating a new account can be pretty annoying, though, since you probably have a number of games and achievements directly tied to your current account. That’s not considering you’ll need to switch between the two when you play Minecraft Earth— or any other Microsoft connected game.
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Have you found another way to delete your Minecraft Earth data? Let us know your method, and we’ll give it a shot!
Be sure to also check out the rest of our Minecraft Earth guides here if you need help finding iron, coal, or rare cows!
Half-Life: Alyx mods are coming. Alongside the announcement of the new VR title, Valve has confirmed that the game will feature full Steam Workshop support and a level editor to build your own environments. These features will launch with the Half-Life: Alyx release date in March 2020.
“A set of Source 2 tools for building new levels will be available for the game, enabling any player to build and contribute new environments for the community to enjoy,” the developers say on the official site. “Hammer, Valve’s level authoring tool, has been updated with all of the game’s virtual reality gameplay tools and components.”
If you missed the announcement itself, here’s the short version: Half-Life: Alyx casts you as the titular heroine, and is set between the events of Half-Life 1 and 2. It’s a full-length, $59.99 VR title, and can be played using any Steam VR-compatible headset – though it will be free if you’ve purchased Valve Index hardware.
Here’s a screen of that hammer editor in action. (Click to enlarge.)
You can also rewatch the trailer below.
Half-Life: Alyx will launch March 2020.
Against all odds, there’s a new Half-Life on the way – though you may have to invest in some new hardware to enjoy it.
The crazy creative minds behind Dark Cloud and White Knight Chronicles are bringing one of the newer games Westward for the first time — SNACK WORLD: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold will be available in the West starting on the 14th of February 2020.
If you’re unfamiliar with LEVEL-5, they’re a developer that comes up with some pretty cool RPGs. One of their most notable Western releases was the Dark Cloud games, a pair of titles that had you dungeon crawling, crafting odd items, and rebuilding a broken world. The latter part is quite literal, especially when it comes to the first game — you would collect up various villagers and their homes and reassemble towns that had been shattered by an evil magic.
Now, that same company is bringing SNACK WORLD: The Dungeon Crawl – GOLD to the West for the very first time in early 2020.
What is SNACK WORLD: The Dungeon Crawl – GOLD All About?
Simply put, SNACK WORLD: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold has you delving into procedurally-generated dungeons and kicking butt while on a grand quest. That alone isn’t particularly exceptional — there are plenty of games in this genre, after all — but what’s notable is that the developers who are making the game are pretty darn good at this kind of thing.
Have a gander at the Announcement Trailer for the game’s Western release to get a feel for the setting:
As a press release notes, the titular Snack World is under threat as the evil Sultan Vinegar seeks to revive the terrifying Deodragon Smörg Åsbord. You’ll join the treasure hunters Chup, Mayonna, and their friends as you try to restore order to the land of Tutti-Frutti.
You’ll prep for your adventure by shopping at convenience stores to optimize your gear before each run. These deadly dungeons will feature plenty of enemies, tough bosses, and, of course, a boatload of treasure. You’ll also be able to use snacks to summon allies to help you in battle. If that’s not working, you can always change your equipment on the fly!
SNACK WORLD: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold seems like a pretty neat game, and you’ll be able to get your hands on it when it launches for the Nintendo Switch on February 14, 2020, at the price of $49.99 or your regional equivalent. In the meantime, you can check out the game’s eShop page.
What do you think of SNACK WORLD: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold? What is your favorite game by LEVEL-5? Let us know in the comments below!
The Sea of Thieves: The Seabound Soul update is here and it’s brought a boatload of new content into Rare’s adventure on the high seas!
Starting things off, a brand-new Tall Tale has made its way into the game! The titular The Seabound Soul Tall Tale kicks off with finding the related book on the wreck of the Blackwyche at Shipwreck Bay. From there, you’ll begin an adventure hunting for a spooky ghost as noted on the update page:
Prepare to meet the spectre of Sir Arthur Pendragon and embark upon the first chapter in a story of fire and woe. Be sure to lend the expired explorer a helping hand, but keep your wits about you…
That’s far from all that’s making its way into the game with this update, though!
The Ashen Tomes of the Sea of Thieves: The Seabound Soul Update
New to the game are votages from Stitcher Jim for higher-level players. These lead to tough battles against Ashen Lords, powerful skeleton leaders who like to make things a little bit burny.
Players might be lucky enough to find an Ashen Chest aboard a Skeleton Ship, but the odds are that you’ll encounter one under the protection of Ashen Guardians. Combined with Ashen Keys earned from a separate voyage, you can find one of five Ashen Tomes that will unlock some sweet new goodies for you and your ship!
Goodness Gracious
The final major item of note in the Sea of Thieves: The Seabound Soul is fire.
It might seem unimpressive at first, but a scientifically-minded person will observe that fire, when combined with wood, can produce disastrous results. One would also point out that for the most part, your ship is made of wood.
Fires can catch and spread on ships, causing devastating damage to your poor little boat. What’s worse is that players can now effectively throw fire with the addition of firebombs. You’ll be able to find these in barrels around the game world.
But hey, let’s say that literally no one uses firebombs ever. Even if that were out of the picture, your ship still has a chance of catching alight thanks to gunpowder explosions, volcanic rocks, lightning, and even cooking. Keep your water buckets close lest a ferocious flame sinks your ship!
What do you think of the new content in Sea of Thieves: The Seabound Soul? Are you worried about the destructive power of fire? Let us know in the comments below!
Epic Games released the Fortnite week seven challenges this week, bringing us closer to the end of the 10 weeks of challenges available this season. Since we don’t know if more challenges will become available with the extension of season one, completing these challenges will be helpful for reaching that coveted tier 100 before the season concludes.
Here’s how to complete the challenges: Dance in front of the pipe man, hay man, and timber tent.
Fortnite Trick Shot challenges list
The battle royale challenges this week are themed just like they were in previous weeks this season. The week seven challenges are known collectively as the Trick Shot challenges and deal with players performing various tricks around the map. There are a total of 10 challenges this week, which is slightly less than previous weeks.
You can find the full list of the Trick Shot challenges below:
Get two eliminations while at 50 health or less
Consume three foraged apples at the orchard location
Get three eliminations at Weeping Woods or a landmark
Dance in front of a pipe man, hay man, and timber tent
Gain health with a small fry, flopper, and a slurp fish
Get two eliminations with a pistol
Deal 500 damage with shotguns
Save yourself from fall damage by landing in a hideout
Heal yourself within 10 seconds of taking damage from an opponent
Search for the hidden letter “T” in the Trick Shot loading screen
There are a lot of great and varied challenges this week, but we are going to focus in this guide on the dancing challenge. Here’s how to get your groove on in front of a Fortnite pipe man, hay man, and timber tent.
Fortnite week 7 dance challenge tips
First and foremost, there are some tips that you should know prior to completing this challenge. For one, you don’t have to dance in front of all three locations in the same match, so feel free to take your time if you need to.
That said, we recommend that you do this challenge in the Team Rumble mode like usual, if you are looking to complete it as fast as possible and claim your reward. You can also divide up the duties between you and your friends by turning on the Party Assist feature.
As for the dancing itself, this must be at the location that is mentioned in the challenge. The good thing is that you can use any dance emote to actually complete the objective so long as you are in the right spot.
Fortnite dance locations
There are three locations that you must show off your best dance moves: the pipe man, hay man, and timber tent. The strangely named spots are spread widely across the new chapter two island. As such, we are going to go over them in the order of the challenge itself but you can complete in any order you like. Here are the three locations you need to head to.
Fortnite pipe man location
For this first spot, you are going to need to head near Misty Meadows. The southernmost named location is just north of the pipe man that we need for this challenge.
The pipe man can be found just south of the large snow-capped mountain that is southeast of Misty Meadows. The exact location for the pipe man on the grid-based map for the island is in the F8 square.
What you are looking for is a large pipe man as seen in our screenshot above, who is literally made of pipes and is hanging on the edge of the cliff. Dance in front of this strange object and you will complete part one.
Fortnite hay man location
The second location known as the hay man is a fair distance from the previous location on the other side of the map. You will find the hay man in the Frenzy Farm location, just southwest of the large mansion in the middle of the named area.
You can find the large person made out of hay in E4 square on the grid-based map of the island. Dance in front of it to complete the second objective for this challenge.
Fortnite timber tent location
The third and final location, the timber tent, can be found in between the named locations of Sweaty Sands and Holly Hedges. It is directly south of the former and north of the latter.
The timber tent is quite literally a tent that is made out of large pieces of lumber. Its exact location is found in the B4 square on the grid map. Dance in front of it to complete this challenge.
Fortnite dance challenge reward
As with almost every challenge this season, your reward for completing the dance challenge is 52,000 experience.
