Xbox One Storage Upgrade

So many games, too little storage

With Forza Horizon 3 coming out I was trying to figure out how to make room on my Xbox for the download. No matter what I could not delete some games off my two existing 500GB hard drives. I went to a store and found the Western Digital MyBooks on sale. It was a weird sale because the 2TB drive was $20 more than the 4TB and the 3TB was $10 more than the 4TB, so I got the 4TB MyBook. I have it installed and already I love it. I't a lot of storage for all my games and best of all it's fast. I timed starting up GTA V on the internal drive and it took 1:45 from selection to in story mode; the MyBook took 1:30 for GTA V startup. I didn't test other games yet but I do know that the timing does scale. A game that takes 20 seconds to startup is more like to see a 3 second decrease for 17 seconds. In games that have load times you will notice a difference in those times but not during game play. For large open-world games you will notice that your game won't stutter as much while it tries loading up the world.

The MyBook looks really good sitting next to a black Xbox like mine as they match. It is heavy and big when talking about hard drives so I do not recommend putting it atop your Xbox. It was very easy to startup as you plug it in and you follow the steps on your Xbox. The USB 3.1 cable included is long enough to just about fully circle your Xbox so you've got lots to place it close. The power cord is more than long enough for really any setup in my opinion as you should be using a power bar and they usually are placed close to our electronics.

In conclusion the WD MyBook 4TB drive is a great expansion drive for your Xbox One and I would recommend it for anyone needing more storage or improve load times. My one complaint about the drive is the piano finish. The finish collects dust and finger prints like crazy, but it just looks and not functionality.

Recording videos

I'm quickly going to write about what I use to record my Youtube videos. I use very basic and inexpensive equipment compared to people that do it professionally.

For playing games I have an Xbox One and the first iteration of the controller. I also use my PC and Corsair K95 Mechanical keyboard with Cherry browns supplemented with a Mad Catz MMO TE mouse or an Xbox 360 controller.

My PC is custom built. It features an i7 4770k, 16GB of DDR3 Corsair RAM, and an ASUS Maximus VII Hero motherboard. Graphics are powered by a Gigabyte G1 Gaming 970.

For recording my Xbox One I use the Xbox app on my Windows 10 PC. I then stream my Xbox to the PC and by having a Gigabit switch that both are connected to I can stream in the Xbox's native quality. I then set Shadowplay to record the desktop and it will record everything except the dropdown menu that appears for streaming which is a lifesaver. For recording PC games I also use Shadowplay. My only wish is that Shadowplay would recognize Windows store apps as fullscreen games. This works extremely well for me, however once in a while streaming my Xbox does cause a sound or graphical glitch.

To record audio during gameplay I use garageband on my Macbook Pro with a Samson Meteorite microphone. I started off using my keyboard to match the audio to video but then used the 1-2-3 method after trying to match 2 videos. To record a voiceover I use the iMovie built in feature after editing my video in iMovie. However I have acquired Autodesk Smoke and hope to be using that in the coming days once I learn the advanced UI.

I hope this gives a little insight into my setup and how I work. It's getting easier and cheaper to get into videos which is one reason I've been into it more recently. I hope to improve my setup as well as video quality as time goes on.

E3: Ubisoft Conference

Queen music is playing to open the conference. Lots of singing and dancing until Aisha Tyler comes onto stage. It was to bring in Just Dance 2017 and how it's coming to all platforms.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands trailer is shown and it looks really pretty. It also looks like a couple of Ubisoft games put together. It takes place in Bolivia which gives a Far Cry feel to the landscape. Gameplay is shown and the combat looks like Division. The technology and out of character cameras looks like they are from Watch Dogs. The game looks absolutely amazing!! I can't wait for this game.

South Park has an interesting open sequence. They then bring on gameplay and it's weird. I'm really not into this game at all. And the name is a terrible play-on words. And the crude humor was actually kinda funny. If you pre-order the game you get the stick of truth for free today.

The Division comes out to show upcoming DLC Underground. To celebrate the Ubisoft 30th anniversary being a part of Ubisoft club gets you three new outfits in Division. A trailer for some brand new DLC also debuts. It will be the Survival expansion and it says coming soon.

Ubisoft has Occulus on stage to talk about VR games. The game Eagle Flight is debuted with live Occulus gameplay.

Star Trek from Ubisoft is announced and we get a trailer. The game will feature VR in a multiplayer co-op experience. The game looks really good and like a true VR game. The only thing is the always online part. I do hope they have a portion where you don't need a VR headset because I don't have one but would love to play this.

For Honor shows off a trailer and it's combat heavy in a few certain eras of time. After about two minutes the video they showed got extremely boring and dull. Boss fights were no different from the rest except it was one on one. It releases February 14, 2017.

Grow Home comes on stage. It was really good for a little experimental game Ubisoft did.  Bud gets his sequel as Grow Up. The games end goal is to go to the moon and it comes out in August.

The creative directors of Trials and Far Cry come out to show off a new collaboration. Trials and Far Cry: Blood Dragon collide to bring you Trials of the Blood Dragon. It's an action packed trials game with over the top graphics and commentary. Out now on all platforms.

There was information about the Assassins Creed movie. I don't know what to think of it but I am really interested so I will probably end up going to see it.

Dedsec takes over the show to introduce Watch Dogs 2. San Francisco looks really good but we'll see what they look like when the game looks like. The car hacking actually looks really easy to control. The new UI also looks really good and much better than the original. I'm so happy because the driving looks to be so much better and cars have actual physics. It's really nice to have music during missions when not in cars because you put on headphones. The new parkour looks really good too. And now Watch Dogs gets a film too.

And now a new IP. It's open world multiplayer. The trailer features a whole bunch of winter extreme freestyle athletes. Steep will be a game to do all types of extreme sports on a mountain. They even have gameplay to show. It's really cool that you can be doing one sport while your friend does another one right beside you. Creating challenges is really cool and snow deformation is insanely gorgeous.Beta signup is right now and the game releases in December.

Ubiosoft was by far my favorite conference and it has the most amount of games I'm looking forward too. Look for first impressions and reviews from me as some of the games come out.

E3: Microsoft press conference

The conference starts with a video of what looks like the Xbox console. And Xbox One S is introduced! Its 40% smaller, Up to 2 TB hard drive, and an integrated power supply. HDR gaming, An IR blaster and the ability to watch 4K are also added. The new controller has textured grips, Bluetooth and longer range are featured. Starting at $299. Expect more information and maybe even a review from me in the future.

Rod Ferguson comes out for Gears of War 4 news and also introduces the new Xbox play anywhere program. A feature I know I'll be taking advantage of and be reviewing in depth later on. Gears of War 4 launching in October and will be cross-platform multiplayer. The voice of Kait, Laura Bailey, joins Ferguson to show of gameplay and co-op. And a brand new Elite controller styled with Gears of War lore.

Next up is Killer Instinct. You can play for free this weekend.

A beautiful landscape comes on. And a beautiful Lamborghini appears, It's Forza!! This Forza looks like it will have focus on off-road as well. Drifting super cars through the water? This game is going to be amazing!! Four people join the presenter on stage and each one is on a different system and controllers. Each one is also driving a different style of cars. Speed, drift, off-road and a buggy! Multiplayer starts seamlessly and suddenly they're all in the same world. There's going to be some sweet races you can do!

And a player introduction to Re-core starts and it looks really good. The mechanics look really good.

Final Fantasy 15 comes on stage. They show off some new game demonstration and how the battle mechanics work when all three factions collide.

The Division is on to announce their new DLC, Underground, which will be released first on Xbox. Battlefield 1 will also be out first on Xbox.

This summer Xbox gets a new major update. You can now listen to your own music as you play games, Language is now unlocked from the region, and Cortana comes to Xbox. Clubs will be the biggest new feature. It's communities that allow you to connect with people that like the same things that you do. Looking for group will be coming too and it's a place to find people that want to be in a group and play the way you do. Arena will be a place to compete against others on Xbox.

Minecraft comes on to talk about unison across platforms. The friendly update is coming out and introduces Realms to Windows 10 and all mobile devices through Xbox Live. You can also get a Xbox achievements on all platforms. And now for a shocker. Texture packs and mods will be coming to Windows 10 and mobile platforms. I feel like they will be very limited.

And Microsoft announces design labs. It allows you to customize your controller to any way you like. I'm glad I waited to get a new one as I will be getting one of these.

ID@Xbox comes on now with inside being shown off. Limbo will be free on Xbox soon. A montage of indie games comes on and in surprise Stardew Valley appears. I'm excited for quite a few of these. A game called We Happy Few premiers and it looks like a Bioshock style world where you're running away after wanting to get out of a drug induced happiness.

CD Pojeckt Red comes out to announce a new card game. Gwent will be a fully multiplayer and single-player experience that has been rethought. It keeps it's main components and the added parts are new cards and factions.

Tekken 7 comes out to talk about being available in 2017.

Dead Rising 4 trailer is shown. It looks like a re-make of the first one. Then Scalebound gameplay is shown. It actually didn't appeal to me.

A new trailer for Sea of Thieves is revealed. They took a bunch of Youtubers and had them play the game without tutorials. They were put into three crews and had to captain a ship. My complaint about this game already is it looks like you have to be in multiplayer and need a crew to captain your ship. But it does look really good.

The new State of Decay was shown in trailer form and multiplayer looks to be a big part of it. A trailer for Halo Wars 2 came out and it has a beta period June 13 -20.

The conference ends with a teaser of a brand new system. It will be called the Scorpio and has an 8-core processor and 6 teraflops of video processing power.  Holiday 2017 will be when the console comes out and all games will still be playable on the original Xbox One. If they can pull it off it will be good but they could also mess it up for those of us with original Xbox Ones.

My one complaint about the conference was the trailers weren't always full screen. They missed out on Crackdown which I have a feeling will be coming out with Scorpio. What games are you all looking forward to and will anyone be getting the Xbox One S?

E3: Bethesda press conference

Bethesda starts off by showing off Dishonored 2 and the release date of November 11, 2016.

Then a DOS screen appears and Quake shows up out of no where. Quake Champions is revealed and with unlocked frame-rates and fast fighters in an arena-type combat multiplayer game. Quakecon will be in Dallas in August where more details about tournaments will be announced.

They went over all that happened last year at E3 in their showcase. Then over to Elder Scrolls Legends. They have a new cut scene for for the campaign mode. They made a bunch of changes to the card game and are offering a beta by going to Bethesda.net and signing up. PC and IPad will get this as well as all mobile platforms.

Fallout 4 DLC info is up next. First Contraptions that adds a whole bunch of mechanical stuff to make a Rube Goldberg machine coming next week. Also some racks to show off your accessories. Next month the DLC Vault-Tec will arrive where you can build your own vaults. Then in the August Nuka World comes out and it looks like a Disney Land type place. Fallout shelter is also coming out with a large update but will also be available on PC.

Skyrim starts playing and the comparisons start. PS3 to PS4 Then Xbox 360 to Xbox One. Everything got a remaster and mods will now be available on consoles.

The developers of Dishonored are now on but talking about a new game. They were working on Dishonored 2 at the same time. It's a futuristic game that looks bright but suddenly takes a turn.
The game is Prey and yes Bethesda bought the rights for this game and made it new instead of a sequel. Things have gone wrong on a space station when you become hunted by aliens. More details to come at Quakecon.

Doom news at E3 is mainly about free updates for snap map. It's starting to be full dev kit for people to modify in the game engine. New free multiplayer modes incoming and Unto the Evil will be the first premium DLC coming out in July. You can play Doom for free this week only.

Elder Scrolls Online will be available in Japan now. On Tuesday the Dark Brotherhood expansion will be coming out. It's right out of Oblivion. There's a trailer to go with the announcement. One Tamriel will make it so that there will be no level and guild barriers to explore the world and available this fall.

Bethesda VR is going to make VR available for most games. You can play Doom and Fallout 4 VR at E3 and in 2017 it will be coming to the Vive headsets.

Dishonored 2 gameplay is shown and it looks incredible. The first few minutes were full of showing off the new scenery and mechanics. The end was full gameplay of a mission showing off Emily's abilities.

Which games are you excited for by Bethesda?

E3: EA press conference

Titanfall 2 up first! PS4 players are now welcome! Teleportation is a thing and I'm not sure how I feel about that. The grappling hook is the coolest thing in the trailer. Single Player will be in the second game. October 28, 2016

Madden 17 is another football game with better graphics and updated rosters. New commentary team, taking your team all the way and new franchise game play will be added as well. $1 Million dollars for you if you can be the best at Madden 17.

Mass Effect: Andromeda up now! They will be using the FrostBite engine. I am thoroughly intrigued of what the game will be like but yet again it's all just teasers and not as lot of details.

FIFA 17 is also coming out and is going to be using the FrostBite engine. In September FIFA gets a mode called "The Journey" where you follow Alex Hunter on his journey to the Premier leagues. Premier managers will be in the game now. Playing soccer myself I notice the moves and actions of the players are a lot better this year.

EA originals is being launched. It's all about bringing unique and different games to a larger market and helping indie developers get off the ground. Fe will be the first EA Originals game. A 20 person studio will develop the game all about the world around us and how it's all connected. The game has a wacky art style but looks like it will be a good casual game.

Lots of Star Wars games coming out. Looks like every studio will be working on one. Dice and Motive working on a New BattleFront. 2018 Visceral will have an original narrative. Respawn Entertainment will be a third-person action-adventure game.

BattleField 1 is up. This game looks amazing!! Weather will be changing in match. You can take control of some major vehicles released in WW1. Open Beta starts later this summer. I have a feeling this will be my game of the year as it not only looks amazing but a lot of technical and changing elements of the gameplay. I'm looking forward to this game the most.

Watch Dogs 2 Reveal

My reactions during the reveal!

With one minute to go I was getting super excited! Ubisoft always does better on the second game. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 Go Time!!

Johnathan Morin talks about being inspired to be different with their games. It took them 5 years to create the game. Watch Dogs was a new IP and they took our feedback after launch to create Watch Dogs 2. I really hope driving improved in the second. San Fransisco will be the new setting for Watch Dogs 2. And now for the announcement trailer. Graphics look good but let's hope it's not just pre-rendered cut scenes. Looks like Dedsec will be a very large part of the game. The city is supposed to react with itself, like NPC's fighting, calling the cops or getting in accidents. It looks like you can hack into large corporations. New protagonist!! Marcus Halloway! Looks like Marcus will be a member of Dedsec. Marcus brings new weapons he will be a parkour master. Almost everything electronic can be hacked meaning a lot more to explore. Hacking is more useful when it comes to vehicles as you can drive anything that has a drivetrain, although yes the muscle car in the trailer doesn't have a computer. And Marcus's toys look so cool, especially 3D printers, as well as the taser is new and really cool to play a non-kill run. Mass hack looks so cool being able to hack all electronics in an area! The UI got a massive overhaul and it looks good! I'm so happy they did improve the vehicles. Also the new multiplayer looks kinda cool too, coop is a good thing. I hope this coop is where you can just go around admiring San Fransisco too. The world looks not only massive but also extremely open-ended.

A release date of November 15 of 2016. That's this year so look forward to much more and possibly gameplay at E3 in a matter of days! Are you guys excited for a second Watch Dogs?

Computex 2016: ASUS ROG Delivers

Republic of Gamers Products Go Big

ROG announced a few new laptops at Comutex, one of which is liquid cooled. The GX 800 is an iteration to the GX 700, making it the most powerful gaming laptop on the market, and even more-so when docked to the liquid cooler. The GX 800 will feature a K-series CPU,  two Nvidia graphics cards SLI'd, and a full-blown RGB mechanical keyboard. ASUS is staying tight lipped as of right now but hoping to see updates in the near future.

Shown off was the already announced G701 and G752 with 17" screens, But the new GL502 stole the show. This laptop is a thinner and lighter little brother of the 700 series. It features a 15.6" display powered by a GTX 980M GPU capable of G-Sync. The processor is an i7working with up to 32GB DDR4 RAM and an optional SSD.  USB-C will be included with a red-and-black themed chiclet style keyboard.

What could make these laptops better? Well the XG Station 2 will do it by housing an external graphics card that you can connect to your laptop. It's compatible with any of the latest graphic cards and can be plugged and unplugged without restarting the laptop. Thunderbolt 3 connectors are used to connect the laptop to the station. The station includes it's own power supply, 4 USB 3.0 ports and LAN socket to improve your gaming.

Now to use all that power you need a monitor that can actually use it. VR is a good option but for those that want the conventional screen the Swift PG248Q gaming Monitor has you covered. This monitor is a 1080p LED-Backlit 24" display supporting Nvidia's G-Sync. The monitor can be overclocked to 180ms with a 1ms grey-to-grey response time. It features a slim bezel for surround displays and software for gaming like a timer and crosshair.

But of course there's no point in having a fast response time if your keyboard can't handle it. The new Claymore RGB claymore features Cherry MX switches and N-Key rollover. The LED's can be synched with all other ROG Aura components and can be used to monitor fan speed and CPU temperature.  With that keyboard you will need a mouse to go with it. The new Spatha is an 8200DPI laser mouse perfect for MMO's. It includes 12 programmable buttons with 6 thumb buttons. Three zones of RGB make the mouse shine and can be either wireless or wired. While wired the mouse is capable of a polling rate of 2000Hz.

Don't want a laptop but want a pre-built machine? ASUS showed off two new high-end desktops for you. The G31 Edition 10 was shown to celebrate Republic of Gamers 10th anniversary. This one is the smaller of the two desktops but doesn't lack in power at all. With 2 GTX 1080 in SLI 4K UHD gaming is always on demand. It also features a Hi-Fi audio port to bring you the best sound possible. For the more serious the GT51CA is the machine to get. Powered by an i7-6700k that can be overclocked to 4.6 GHz with just a touch of a button and the RAM of your choice you'll never be bottle-necked in rendering again. 2 GTX1080 in SLI will keep your games running smooth in 4K UHD for many hours. Four zones of RGB color make this computer your own when paired with the ROG band that opens a secret hard drive. This machine also includes an audiophile-grad ESS DAC with an amp to keep your games immersive.

And why have good audio jacks if you don't have the headphones to use it. The Centurion 7.1-channel headset is hard to beat. It's true 7.1 surround sound being delivered by 10 individual neodymium-magnet drivers and a Hi-Fi-grade ESS headphone amplifier. It comes with two interchangeable ear cups and a USB audio station that looks amazing. It does include a mic that is noise-cancelling that can be controlled with the audio station. Unfortunately no RGB for this guy.

For those DIY of you out there two new motherboards were announced and they look good. The Strix X99 Gaming board is your standard board with premium components and Aura RGB lighting. Its an all black board with silver accents and orange branding with RGB.  The Rampage V Edition 10 blew away the other motherboards this year. This board is only for the extreme; which is why it has a LGA 2011 v3 for the Haswell-E X-series processors. Because of the processor the board supports 8 DIMMS for up to 128GB of RAM plus overclocking is fully unlocked. It includes all the ROG regulars; 5-way optimization, Fan Xpert 4, and premium components to squeeze every last bit of performance out. The board features 4 PCI-e 3 x16 slots one x4 slot and a x1 slot. It also features an M.2 slot, NVMe U.2 slot and 10 SATA ports. The board features a built in I/O shield, Aura lighting and many customizable RGB zones on the board itself. The PCIe slots are reinforced to reduce sagging and breaking and also is lit up with RGB LEDs.

Are you guys excited for any of these products coming out?

Computex: ASUS's big day

ASUS Stole The Show Today

ASUS announced the "Macbook Killer" to start off the show, the Zenbook 3. The Zenbook 3 is top take the name of world's most prestigious laptop; having an aero-space grade aluminium alloy casing. The Zenbook 3 weighs 2 pounds and has a thickness of 11.9mm as compared to the MacBook's 13.1mm. It features screen-to-body ratio of 82% leaving a 12.5" screen coated in gorilla glass. Like Apple it features a glass covered touchpad but opts for a full-size keyboard with a finger-print reader for Windows Hello. You get a choice of three different colors; Royal Blue, Quartz Grey and, yes a stab at Apple, Rose Gold. You can configure the internals up to a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB PCIe SSD. Unfortunately it looks to only have the one thunderbolt 3/USB-C connector like the MacBook though but it's price for the most powerful Zenbook 3 comes in lower than the MacBook Pro.

The Zenfone 3 was released with three different models; the standard, Deluxe and Ultra. The standard model will be a your average everyday smart phone featuring 5.5" LCD screen, 16-megapixel rear camera, 8-megapixel front camera, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage will SD expandable storage and USB-C 2.0 charger. The color options will be gold, blue, black and white. The Deluxe model features unibody aluminium construction, 5.7" OLED 1080p screen, 23-megapixel rear camera, 6GB RAM, same storage as the standard and a USB-C 3.0 charger. The color options will be grey, silver and gold. The Ultra model is constructed just like the Deluxe only with a 6.8" LCD 1080p screen. It has 4GB RAM, same camera and storage as the Deluxe and a USB-C 3.0 with DisplayPort support. The color options are grey, silver and pink.

ASUS announced their new Transformer 3 and Transformer 3 Pro. Both will feature a 12.6" 2880x1920 screen, Harmon Kardon speakers and either Icicle Gold or Glacier Grey color options. Both will include USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 connectors, USB 3.0, HDMI ports and compatibility with the ROG XG station 2. Yes these 2-in-1's will be able to harness the power of a desktop computer that is VR ready! The Pro version will feature an Intel i7 processor, 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD. This device is a 2-in-1 meant to rival Microsoft's Surface Pro 4.  There will also be a mini version of the pro as well.

These three products were the largest announcements ASUS had to make but there were some smaller ones as well. Like a robot, yes it was larger but not overly computer or phone related, and details on pricing in the US. I will be writing another post about all the ROG goodness that ASUS has to offer as well. Are any of you going to pick up any of the three products?

Nvidia 10 Series Launch Recap

10: Gaming Perfected launch

In just a few short hours the Nvidia 1080 and 1070 will be officially launched.  These two cards blow all existing cards out of the water. The new 1080 is supposed to be better then two 980's SLI'd, and this card even knocks the Titan X out of the running. So now you may be asking how that's even possible? Well a lot of time and money can do a lot of things, making a powerful graphics card is no exception.

Both cards use Nvidia's new pascal architecture. Pascal is to offer 3X the performance from the last generation chips. This is helped by supporting DirectX 12. But don't worry lower versions are compatible. Pascal is also the first chipset to be made

Spec:	1080	1070	Titan X	980 TI	980	970
CUDA cores	2560	1920	3072	2816	2048	1664
Base Clock (MHz)	1607	1506	1000	1000	1126	1050
Boost Clock (MHz)	1733	1683	1075	1075	1216	1178
Memory Speed (Gbps)	10	8	7	7	7	7
Standard Memory Config	8GB GDDR5X	8GB GDDR5	12GB GDDR5	6GB GDDR5	4GB GDDR5	4GB GDDR5
Memory Interface Width	256-bit	256-bit	384-bit	384-bit	256-bit	256-bit
Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec)	320	256	336.5	336.5	224	224
Max Resolution	7680x4320@60Hz	7680x4320@60Hz	5120x3200	5120x3200	5120x3200	5120x3200
Height	4.376"	4.376"	4.376"	4.376"	4.376"	4.376"
Length	10.5"	10.5"	10.5"	10.5"	10.5"	10.5"
Width	2-slot	2-slot	2-slot	2-slot	2-slot	2-slot
Max Temp (C)	94	94	91	92	98	98
Power (W)	180	150	250	250	165	145
Connectors	8-pin	8-pin	6-pin+8-pin	6-pin+8-pin	2x6-pin	2x6-pin

As I look through these specs I notice one huge difference; the power consumption. Nvidia has not just made a powerful graphics card they made one that's very power efficient. It's also very weird to see only one 8-pin connector as well but it is proof to the efficiency of these cards.

Something that is going around is that you can no longer 3-way and 4-way SLI your cards. This is false, Nvidia just is not officially supporting it. If you want to do more than 2-way SLI you will have to apply for a key to unlock the feature and you very well can 3-way and 4-way SLI.

April Rocket League Updates

Rocket League Updates

This week Rocket League updated on all platforms. I decided to check out their website to see what was updated and to check what is coming up. Xbox got a new Deadmau5 topper and antenna. PC, Xbox and PS4 got a lot of new flags and antennas as well that are mainly countries but all a few game cross-overs as well. A new game-mode called Hoops was added. The overtime timer now counts how long overtime has run for. The free time score countdown clock has now been removed. The new map cosmic has been added to Rocket Labs. Equipping an NBA flag will record how many baskets you have made in Hoops. We can now save replays mid-game and then rename them afterwards. Xbox also got a whole slew of new online features including 4 Rocket Lab Maps. But there was a lot more excitement surrounding Rocket League in April.

During the Microsoft press conference it was announced that Rocket League will be the first game to provide cross-platform play. Xbox-One and PC cross-platform play is to be inbound pretty soon here as they said spring 2016 it will be coming. I'm hoping that when cross-platform play comes to PC and Xbox-One that there will be more information about the possibility of PS4 and Xbox-One cross-Network play. Hopefully Rocket League can be used as an example of friends playing together no matter what the platform This will hopefully end the struggle of coordinating which console to buy between friends. 

To celebrate the kick-off of NBA playoffs Rocket League announced new NBA Flag Pack. This DLC will be $1.99 USD. Seems a little expensive for a bunch of flags but remember this is officially licensed and does include all 30 NBA teams. If you don't want to pick up all the flags everyone will be getting the NBA logo flag along with an all new game mode. This new game mode is called Hoops. A new hardwood stadium has been created and has hoops coming out from the wall. When the game starts the ball bounces and your goal is to hit it into the hoops. The hoops are up in the air and there is a wall that comes down from them. Your battle-car can go through these walls but the ball can not however. It felt like a little bit more of a challenge trying to get the ball in the air but yet was still doable due to the smaller stadium. My brother and I played a couple rounds and had a lot of fun with it and thought they did a very good job of the new Hoops mode.

Goat Simulator added Rocket League mode into the game during their Payday DLC earlier in the year. Euro Truck Simulator also jumped in and added the iconic battle-car onto your dash and the ball can now be hung from your mirror to enjoy while you drive around Europe. Rocket League added some Goat Simulator lore of their own with two new antennas. The Majestic Goatenna and the G2 Robot antenna are now out for you to collect. Euro Truck Simulator also got some love with the added Euro Truck Simulator Rig antenna for you to collect. Geralt of Rivia's iconic Witcher Medallion made it's way into the game as well in the form of an antenna. When you get this item be sure to check out that amazing lens flare. Rocket League has an invasion of Worms going as well. You can get a brand new Worm topper, a grenade antenna and a flag advertising there upcoming game for Worms, Worms: W.M.D.

Dying Light: The Following Enhanced Edition got a little bit of Rocket League when they added a paint scheme to the buggies. The scheme is Rocket League signature colors, of course blue and orange, and the logo on the doors and back rack. The announcement also went on to say that Dying-Light inspired items will be coming to Rocket League this summer. Can't wait to see what they come up with.

May 2016 Upcoming Games

For Xbox One we have a few confirmed games coming out:

Battleborn - May 3, Official website
SUPERHOT - May 3, Official website
Coffin Dodgers - May 6, Official website
DOOM - May 13, Official website
Homefront: The Revolution - May 17, Official website
Overwatch - May 24, Official website
TMNT: Mutants in Manhatten - May 24, Official website
Tropico 5 Penultimate Edition - May 24, Official website
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter - May 27, Official website
One Piece: Burning Blood - May 31, Official website
Dead Island: Definitive Edition - May 31, Official website

For Xbox 360 there's only one game confirmed:

TMNT: Mutants in Manhatten - May 24, Official website

PS3 only has one as well:

TMNT: Mutants in Manhatten - May 24, Official website

PS4 has the most games confirmed for a console:

Battleborn - May 3, Official website

Shadow Complex Remastered - May 3, Official website

Neverending Nightmares - May 3, Official website

Push Me Pull You - May 3, Official website

Table Top Racing - May 3, Official website

Coffin Dodgers - May 3, Official website

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - May 10, Official website

DOOM - May 13, Official website

Shadow of the Beast - May 17, Playstation store link

Homefront: The Revolution - May 17, Official website

Valkyria Chronicles Remastered - May 17, Official website

Overwatch - May 24, Official website

TMNT: Mutants in Manhatten - May 24, Official website

Dungeons 2 - May 24, Official website

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter - May 27, Official website

One Piece: Burning Blood - May 31, Official website

Dead Island: Definitive Edition - May 31, Official website
Daydreamer: Awakened Edition - May 31, Official website

Wii U has two confirmed games:

Touch Selections - May 5

The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 - May 10, Official website

Now for the massive amounts of PC games: (Steam)

Positron - May 2

Dr. SpaceZoo - May 2

Airline Director 2 - May 2

Astral Domine - May 2

Battleborn - May 3

Fragments of Him - May 3

Liveza: Death of the Earth - May 3

Cyber City 2157: The Visual Novel - May 4

Fantasy Tales Online - May 5

Kathy Rain - May 5

Prog. 1 - May 5

Earn to Die 2 - May 5

Midvinter - May 5

HACK_IT - May 5

Parkitect - May 5

Wars of Napoleon - May 5

The Temporal Invasion - May 5

Castle Heist: Chapter 1 - May 5

Hyposphere - May 5

The Beggar's Ride - May 5

I and Me - May 5

Magic Quest - May 5

Color Chaos - May 6

Imhotep, Pyramid Builder - May 6

Yon Paradox - May 6

Spunk and Moxie - May 6

Mystery Castle - May 6

Stellaris - May 9

TransOcean 2: Rivals - May 10

Desire - May 10

StarBreak - May 10

Dungeon Rushers - May 11

Meld - May 11

Rocket Fist - May 12

BattleSouls - May 12

RefRain - Prism Memories - May 12

TYhe house in Fata Morgana - May 13

Elite vs. Freedom - May 13

Innoquous 5 - May 13

Moonstone Tower - May 13

Crush Crush - May 13

Murasaki - May 13

Trawl - May 13

DOOM - May 13

Homefront: The Revolution - May 17

The Song of Seven: Chapter One - May 17

LightWalk - May 18

Sengoku Jidal: Shadows of the Shogun - May 19

Koihime Enbu - May 19

Systematic Immunity - May 20

GiAnt - May 20

Age of Barbarian: Extended Cut - May 20

Tales From the Void - May 20

Overwatch - May 24

Total War: WARHAMMER - May 24

TMNT: Mutants in Manhatten - May 24

Dovetail Games Flight School - May 24

Airport Madness 3D - May 25

Excubitor - May 26

Robot Arena 3 - May 26

Red Haze - May 27

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter - May 27

Portal Stories: VR - May 27

Feudalism - May 27

Death Road to Canada - May 27

Hyper Bounce Blast - May 27

Demetrios - The BIG Cynical Adventure - May 31

The Elder Scrolls Online: Dark Brotherhood - May 31

Torgar's Quest - May 31

May 2016 Games With Gold Announced

4 more games for you to enjoy

Games with Gold just announced their May lineup and two more backwards compatible games. For Xbox 360 and Xbox One backwards compatibility we have Grid 2 starting on May 1 and ending on May 15. I personally love racing games so I am getting extremely excited for this one. On May 16 Peggle becomes available for free on Xbox 360 and Xbox One backwards compatibility. The sale will end on May 31 so be sure to get this wacky peg game before then. For Xbox One only on May 1 we have Defense Grid 2. I would love to make a tower defense game so I'm looking forward to trying out another example of how great they can be. Also can't wait to compete against my friends in a genre I usually just play casually. This deal lasts all of May so be sure to check in sometime. Costume Quest 2 for Xbox One will also be available for free on May 16 until June 15. This wacky cartoon style Quest game will have you battling it out to finish the game to the Max.

Do any of you use Games with Gold every time a new game is available? Or are you like me where you purchase every game but are selective in which ones you install and actually play? Something I just noticed is that Peggle is the odd one out being the only game that isn't the second iteration. The theme for this month seems to be grid themed as every game involves some sort of grid mechanic. Hope you all of fun with the games this month.

Minecraft updates

All versions have got fantastic updates.

Mojang's first update was to their own site. It became more modern by plain white with black text. The posts also became easier to find with a recent post navigation as well as a new post tag navigation menu.  This made it really easy to find older posts about all the new updates coming up on all platforms. The help page also got a really cool server status part that allows you to see what's working. https://mojang.com/ to see the new site. https://beta.minecraft.net/en/ is the beta site for everything Minecraft. It's a simple design that takes advantage of the new HTML5  and CSS standards. This also helps with security and load times on slower connections. A welcome improvement from the sites that are 6 or more years older.

In December it was announced that Minecraft is coming to the WiiU. It was released on December 17 with off-tv play and 8-player multiplayer. Since release there hasn't been anything new with the version. The WiiU version included all of the Xbox One DLC besides the halo mashup with the purchase. Anyone got this version? Let me know in the comments how it works, especially the off-tv function.

The Xbox One and PS4 got major updates bringing the consoles to the same version of the PC. The major additions were the End creatures and the guardians. Rabbits, guardians, and endermites are new mobs for you to fear or breed. Lots of new decoration blocks were also added with the new Acacia and Dark Spruce trees as well. A lot of new biomes were added as 20 new technical biomes were introduced.  Luck of the sea, lure and depth Strider are three new enchantments for you to enjoy. While fishing you'll notice that bubble particles now float around your bobber and your catches might be a little more junk then usual. Lapis Lazuli got a new use as its consumed to enchant now, and next time you build a nether portal why not try something a little different for shape and size. Melons are now able to be found and the tutorial world got a makeover. Let me know in the comments about what you guys think of the console version now being the same as the PC. Also do you think 1.9 will come to the console soon after the PC?

On February 18 pocket edition and Windows 10 Beta got a large update. The main graphic changes were making the mobile games look like the Windows 10 game on startup. This is the redstone update giving you all the redstone features you can think of. They added some exclusive things to this version by having smoke appear when you break a loaded minecart and a new way of dying armour with cauldrons. The cauldrons can also be used to store potions and maps are created with 9 paper needing a compass only if you want your position changed. Witches have been added to annoy you with their strength now. Lots of mob changes have also happened in this update that correspond with the new PC update coming up. Are you guys enjoying Minecraft in C coding language?

The PC is about to get a very large update that has been dubbed the Combat update. This update is said to be coming out on February 25. In this update the end got a huge overhaul, the biggest being the option to resurrect the ender dragon. There's a new mob in the end that you can find on the endless islands and even ender cities and a new tree variant. Attributes and attack strength have been added for you to play around with. In this update you can now dual-wield weapons. This can be two weapons or a weapon and one of the new shields. There's also new variations of arrows for you to find out which works the best for you. You will be able to fly with the new chest piece called the Elytra. They added 13 new blocks to decorate your creations with and a few new items to accomplish all the new features. Yet again they have made skeletons harder but hopefully these new shields will help with them. There's also new statistics to look at, status effects and spectators will generate chunks if the gamerule is enabled. One thing that has not been said is if the modding API is the same as 1.8 and for every modder out there we hope it stays the same. Are you guys excited for the PC update and how many of you are using mods instead of vanilla only?

--Shutout

Windows 10 Games Incoming

Not without backlash though...

Quantum Break pre-orders were announced recently and they came with some pretty cool announcements. Anyone that pre-orders on the Xbox One will get the game on the Windows 10 Xbox app. The only problem is that Quantum Break will only be available on the app and not Steam. This means you will have to launch the app to play the game and download it. Honestly in my opinion the only thing I've actually had problems with on the app is the party functions. This will be nice for all of you Xbox gamers who like getting achievements and you'll be able to see the Xbox overlay, plus the Steam overlay if you have it set right.

Not only will you be allowed to share achievements between your Xbox and PC, you will also be able to share your saves between the two. This is Microsoft's attempt at being your in home entertainment system for your couch and computer. Microsoft isn't the first company to use these tactics. Steam had announced their Steam Machines and the Steam Link last year and just starting to take off now. Steam Link and Xbox streaming are very similar, the actual game is stored on one system and is streamed through your internet to another system. The system that the game is stored on is the one that has their hardware tied up in the game.

The new thing that both companies introduced is buying the game once and having it on multiple machines. Steam does use your Steam library to allow you to play the games you own on your Steam Machine. Xbox will use compatible games in your Xbox library to play them on your PC. Yes the similarity is two platforms for one purchase. A difference between the two is that Steam lets you play any PC release that either supports Linux or the SteamOS (which is a Linux version). However these games usually have all the settings you usually get on a PC release. Xbox will be keeping the cross-platform to their Xbox One exclusives. There's no official word yet on what hardware support will be for these games yet.

I've seen a lot of people thinking that this is signalling the end of consoles. In my own opinion it signals the start of games becoming universal. I know that custom PCs will always have the better graphics and more settings, but it'll be nice to switch from the computer to the couch seamlessly. Developers will be impacted in a positive way as they'll be able to code one game for the different platforms instead of having to need twice as many resources. However this makes me curious if Microsoft isn't developing a new console that has regular PC parts in it or if they're working on an upgraded Xbox One that plays nicer with cross-platform.

Only time will tell about what Microsoft will actually do with these cross-platform titles though. So what do you guys think. Will Microsoft give better settings on the PC version of Quantum Break? Are you pre-ordering the game and playing it on both platforms? Also let me know in the comments of what your thoughts on this announcement are.

--Shutout

Counting Cars

For car Enthusiasts without money; it's more than a game.

355, 356, 357, 358, 359... It felt impossible to find that one last car. I kept a watchful eyes over the nameplates and I felt like the last car was going to be a DLC car that never drives around. It would mean i could buy that last car and take a photo of it myself, but the immersion of driving around looking for every car in the game. For me it was pride of "winning" a huge game of hide and seek. And I finally found that last car, 360.

For those of you who are still asking what game I'm talking about, it's Forza: Horizon 2. They have this unique aspect to the game called the Horizon Promo. It starts off with the organizer  wanting specific vehicle pictures for money. But after getting the achievement for taking 100 unique car photos it becomes hunt for every car in the game. The hardest part is that the traffic counts as a unique vehicle.

My favorite part of the mechanic was how it let you take an action shot of every car in the game. I have an entire USB drive full of those amazing cars. To the average person this is sheer nonsense. But to the car enthusiast it's a dream come true. Cars are expensive, and if they weren't we'd own them all. A $60 game full of amazing cars is amazing to start when it's as good as Forza but when it adds a mechanic to enjoy those cars even more, is like heaven.

Car love to try out new cars and customize them. But what we like just as much is getting to make them look pretty too. And that new paint job needs a backdrop to go with it. That's why the location of Horizon 2 makes the photo gallery perfect. The lush green background makes the perfect backdrop. Now if only purchasing a car in game let you purchase one in real life.

--Shutout

COOKIES!!!

JavaScript and Cookies. What could go wrong?

It was three years ago, I had walked into the computer lab and i could hear furious clicking. I then hear the weird and unusual words "Dude, your grandmas just turned into aliens. Those cookies are made in outer space now!". Yes to all of you that haven't guessed it I'm talking about Cookie Clicker.

Yes that game that consumed so many people's live and had friends battling it out to see who could make the most cookies. Parents and teachers getting annoyed at the constant clicking every time you got the golden cookie. Well that game got an update to V.2 and it's just as time consuming if not more.

It's got improvements under the hood optimizing it and making it faster on slower connections. It also got a new lick of paint to be freshened up. The biggest surprise to me was defiantly the sound effects though. They weren't actually overly obnoxious but a little annoying when in a clicking frenzy. The milk for the achievements is still there and if you go on right now he's got a very Valentine's Day theme going on.

The largest difference is the new Legacy mode. After you have so many cookies you can ascend, get prestige points and heavenly chips. This go towards permanent upgrades that you can use. I'll leave you to explore them yourselves. It's really cool to see what the creator has done in the two year hiatus. My guess is he was in school and got too busy so he had to wait until school calmed down. And yes I am talking from experience.

For those of you who want to go check it out here's the link: Cookie Clicker. If you guys enjoy it don't forget to let him know if you enjoyed it. I do give caution as it's highly addictive and will consume a large amount of your time. As it is during the writing of this article I have collected enough cookies for me to ascend again. This game is a showcase of how cool JavaScript can be.

--Shutout

GTA Online Update

GTA Online gets the Valentines update.

Today GTA Online got a new update. It's called the Be My Valentine update.

I get home from school and drop my bags in my room. Grab my Xbox controller and turn on the TV. I look at the community and see the update from Rockstar: "Be My Valentine Now Live". I go to join GTA Online and i get "Timed out loading session". After many failed attempts I finally try a solo session. Finally time to see this new update!

So first up I just have to check out the new cars. First up I found the returning Albany Roosevelt. This classic car returns from the Valentine's Day Massacre Special. The car sells for $750,000 and has all the customizations it used to. The next car was the new Albany Roosevelt Valor and it sells for a hefty $982,000. There's a lot of customization for you to make it your own afterwards. 

It's now time to go for a drive. First stop is AmmuNation on Spanish ave. I walk in and there it is. The Gusanburg Sweeper. This retro style mob-boss like gun is a blast to have. It's got a large capacity clip to start and you can make that clip even larger with an upgrade. And it also comes in your standard GTA gun colors.

Next stop is the Suburban on the other end of Alta pl. This is where the meat of the update is. 20 off shoulder shirts, 17 bustiers, 23 dresses, 12 high heels, 3 necklaces, 15 stockings, 17 panties, 6 valentines formal outfits and 6 valentines underwear outfits were added today for the ladies.

Next up was my male character and the clothes he can get. 14 boxers, 12 pants, 11 suit jackets, 11 vests, 12 shoes, 12 fedoras, 6 valentines formal outfits and 6 valentines underwear outfits were added today for the gentlemen.

Next was the Vespucci mask shop were there were 7 new masks to check out. And now to wait until Friday to play the all new adversary mode "Til Death Do Us Part". I will be loading that up on friday at a friends place in the city and will be back to let you all know how that is going. This update has a lot of clothing so if you're into that kind of stuff go check it out!

I decided i would really get into the holiday spirit and got my characters into red and black lingerie. I then went with their primary vehicles and customized the vehicle to match. My female character is on Xbox One and the male is on my PC. I have however imported my female character in on PC so my brother and i can play together. It was actually really fun getting into this update and playing with my brother and other friends as we had a risque party at my house in game.

--Shutout

New Samsung Phones

New Samsung phones with better specs incoming!

I use an IPhone as my daily driver because it's what I'm used to and I like the link between it and my laptop/IPad. My next favorite phone definitely has to be the Samsung. When the 6 edge came out I was curious about how annoyed people would get by accidentally using the edge features. After using a friends for a couple of days I realized Samsung made the features right so it didn't annoy you by doing things you didn't want it to. Although that very well could have been my friend's settings as I didn't want to play with them too much.

On  February 21, 2016 Samsung has confirmed the S7 will be announced and shown to the public. There's a lot of rumors going around about the hardware and specs on it so I am going to go through them and the possibilities. However the look has reportedly not changed except maybe a new size of screen.

These new phones are to look a lot like their S6 predecessor. The rumor as of right now is that there will be a 5.5 inch S7 Edge and a 5.1 inch S7 Flat. Screen resolution is said to stay the same at 1440 x 2560. This resolution always surprises so many people because they see that their 27" has 1080 x 1920 and wonder how their phone has higher numbers. Those numbers are pixels per inch is the difference. take an inch of your screen and an inch of your phone and you have a direct comparison.

The battery of these new phones is the biggest of rumors. These phones are to have the largest battery in a Samsung phone. According to an FCC filing by Samsung these new phones are to have a 3600mAh battery. This is a large improvement over the Note 5's 3000mAh battery (mAh stands for miliAmps per hour). I know there are complaints about battery life in the Samsung S6 so this should help keep heavy users with a phone all day.

Storage in these phones are rumored to have expandable storage with the return of MiroSD card slots. Me always having an IPhone have never been able to have expandable storage. I also use my phone as just a phone so I've never needed. On that note a friend of mine is always running out of space on his phone downloading the latest emulator or the next big mobile game. This is where I can see that expandable storage being used by a lot of people. Also business people that write documents on their phone will more than likely enjoy having an easy way of transferring those documents.

Samsung has decided to keep the 3.5mm audio jack, please everyone keep it as well, and the micro-USB port looks like it could stay too. With USB-C being so new I think it would be better to keep the micro-USB. There's been a lot of cheap USB-C cables on the market recently claiming to be of high quality. These cheap cables have fried laptops and test equipment because of backwards wiring. So also please be careful when buying any type of cable and check out reviews if you're unsure.

The camera is rumored to be a downgrade which doesn't make much sense other than that it would get rid of the camera bump. The processor is up in the air whether it will be Snapdragon 820 or Samsung's own Exynos 8 Octa 8890. Samsung has used different chips in different regions depending on the cellular service provided though. There's also talks that Samsung will follow Apple with touch sensitivity. There is also the possibility of Samsung going back to water resistant phones as well.

Now remember that these are all rumors. They are however feasible rumors. Larger batteries have been asked for for many years and Samsung may be the first to deliver. I can't wait for the event on February 21 to see what all is on these new phones. Don't forget to check back here where I will cover the event and the new phones.

--Shutout

New blog site for the show!

Welcome to the blog to match the channel!

Hey guys, shutout here! I'm starting this blog to bring you more consistent news of the stories that matter to me. This blog is going to supplement the videos on my YouTube channel by bringing more in depth stories and even some I just don't have time to do on the channel.

And about that time, I don't have a lot of it at times. I'm a full time student in a computer systems course. I know a lot about computers and learning even more everyday. Technology is a passion of mine and I would like to bring that passion to you all as well.

This will also be easier on me because of my terrible internet. I live far away from the city and my internet doesn't always work. I'm not able to upload from data but i will be able to put a blog post when a major story appears. This will also help when something that comes up that should be talked about that day before it becomes irrelevant.

I hope you guys enjoy my opinions and thoughts on the posts I make and let me know what you think of the layout. Check back soon to see my first post about the upcoming Samsung event!

--Shutout