Month: August 2022

apex legends continues to hold its players’ attention even after several years on the market, and next week, the battle royale shooter will bring things back to where they started with a new season that revisits the game’s original map. This year, the game already added two new characters (plus two more in the new mobile version), brought upgrades for next-gen consoles, rotated in a well-received Control game mode, and, according to EA’s earnings call this week, notched double-digit income growth again for the last quarter. On the other hand, player complaints over glitches, ranked mode scoring, matchmaking, and practically any other small detail continue to mount.

The last season was particularly troubled, with problems that affected one of the game’s best features — its responsive controls — and enough bugginess that it even popped up during a professional apex legends tournament last month.

I can’t judge the game’s stability until we start playing it, but on a call with reporters, the team confirmed it’s listening to players of all levels about how to adjust gameplay. Design director Evan Nikolich called it ranked “a work in progress,” saying we should expect to see more changes in the full patch notes as the developers try to emphasize being a good team player. Other long-awaited features, like gifting and cross progression, are still coming, but there’s no word yet on when they will be available. When it goes live, players can expect cross progression that allows you to change platforms so PC players can grind out daily challenges on the go on a Switch, for example.

Other changes that will be noticeable to longtime players include a revamped progression system that allows you to rerun the zero to 500-level grind and earn more packs. Players can repeat the process up to four times, earning new badges and unlocking more rewards. If you’re starting from zero, the process would yield enough packs to guarantee receiving an in-game “heirloom” item at some point, but if you’re already at a maximum level, it won’t be enough by itself.

In the actual game, there are almost too many changes to note. The controversial gold knockdown shield that allowed downed players to self-revive, and occasionally win the game without even reviving, has had that feature eliminated. Many professional and high-level players had complained it was unfair, but the team says they’re making changes based on what they see in all levels of the game. Now, that same item has the features that were attached to the gold backpack, allowing players to revive teammates with extra shields and health, while the gold backpack now has a “deep pockets” perk that allows it to hold extra healing items.

Many of the game’s guns that have been present since launch are changing, as the Wingman pistol suddenly takes sniper ammo, and the Spitfire machine gun uses light ammunition instead of heavy. We’re not getting a new weapon to go with this season of apex legendsbut the radical shifts in how they work may be enough to make up for that — the only question is if everything will remain balanced or if an all-sniper / shotgun loadout will rule.

Image: Respawn Entertainment

That brings us to the new character, Vantage, and the old map, Kings Canyon. A recent ranked season split on the OG Apex map revealed how much players have grown since the game launched — on a map that didn’t quite fit how things are played now. For the hunted season, the reforged Kings Canyon is looking a lot different. It’s bigger, many chokepoints have been widened, the iconic Skulltown section is back as a new area dubbed “Relic,” and there are other map changes intended to help fights proceed more quickly instead of the extended engagements that usually drew a third-party’s attention before one team could defeat another. The loot on the map is now positioned differently, and a new skybox is supposed to make things brighter compared to its original dinginess that could wear on you after a while.

Vantage is yet another legend with reconnaissance capabilities, armed with a sniper rifle for her ultimate. She can zoom in on enemies with her lens to see the team size, shield rarity, and Legend names, as well as get additional bullet drop calculations while using sniper sights. She can position her cute winged companion, a bat named Echo (who cannot be damaged or killed), and then launch it with a double jump to quickly reposition.

Her sniper rifle’s ultimate is the first one in the game that works without being fully charged. For her de ella, the charge builds over time, adding extra ammunition for Sniper’s Mark shots. The scope can reveal enemies and successfully highlight the enemy squad for 10 seconds with a diamond marker, with 100 damage per hit and extra damage received from Vantage’s team.

Adding yet another legend with tracking abilities feels a bit risky. Ace Overwatch ran into issues eleven too many characters could stun each other, apex legends is turning into a game where no one can hide. However, of the problems we’ve seen in Apex this year, the new legends have been fairly well-balanced, even if player stats suggest the new additions aren’t getting a lot of use. Player protests like “No Apex August” don’t appear to have caught on, and the gameplay is as addictive as ever. But for the new season, I’m just hoping everything works like it should.

While Trainers in Japan are participating in Pokemon Go Festival: Sapporo this weekend, you can join in from home by completing a Global Challenge.

Should the Global Challenges prove successful, you and other Trainers will receive upgraded bonuses during the upcoming Bug Out event happening August 10-16.

Plus, additional bonuses will be unlocked for Galarian Zigzagoon Community Day on Saturday, August 13.

The Global Challenge will kick off alongside Pokemon Go Fest: Sapporo on Friday, August 5, and completing it will also unlock 2× Stardust for catching Pokemon during the remainder of the Global Challenge period, ending on Sunday, August 7.

There will also be a special Collection Challenge. From Friday, August 5 to Sunday, August 7, a selection of Pokemon appearing at Pokemon Go Fest: Sapporo will appear in the wild.

So, keep an eye out for Paras, Bellsprout, Hoppip, Sunkern, Sunshine Form Cherrim, and Cottonee during the event. Catch them all and you will complete this Collection Challenge.

Later this month is the Pokemon Go Fest finale. Taking place on Saturday, August 27, the grand finale will feature four Legendary Beasts: Nihilego, Pheromosa, Buzzwole, and Xurkitree.

Hot on the heels of Google and iFixit launching a parts store about a month ago, Samsung and iFixit’s self-repair program is now live, too. iFixit hosts an official Samsung parts store that Samsung says sells parts “at the same pricing offered to our affiliated repair providers.” The repair site now has a series of official repair guides written in the usual excellent style, and Samsung will start selling parts and iFixit tools in its retail locations.

The official repair program is a good start, but it’s nowhere near comprehensive. Currently, the parts store ships to the US, and only the S21, S20, and Tab S7 series of devices are covered. With three sizes of each phone, that’s support for seven models total. Samsung releases around 40 devices per year, so there’s a long list of devices left unsupported. That list also doesn’t include the latest flagship models, like the currently-in-production S22 phone and the S8 tablet.

The store’s official guides and parts only cover the back glass, charging port, and a combination “display assembly” that requires you to buy “the phone screen, metal frame, bezel, and battery” in one package. A comprehensive list would look like iFixit’s unofficial iPhone store, which has around 30 individual parts. iFixit has 17 guides for something like the S21, but only three of them are flagged as “official.”

Still, getting companies to care about repairability at all is a major accomplishment. Samsung and iFixit have had a rocky relationship since Samsung abandoned plans for a partnership in 2017, so it’s nice to see the company coming around on the right-to-repair movement. Apple also recently launched a repair program, but again, the details leave a lot to be desired—the system relies on a customer renting an 80-pound repair kit just to open a phone.

iFixit and Samsung both mention plans to expand the program in the future with “more devices and repair options.” Some parts, like the battery/display kit, even come with a return label to ship your old parts back to Samsung for proper recycling.