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Gearbox Software co-founder Landon Montgomery has died

Sarjyo Mukherjee
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Gearbox Software co-founder Landon Montgomery has died

2001 Half Life development administrator Landon Montgomery has passed away, Gearbox confirmed on their official account. Montgomery was known for being one of the Co-Founders of Gearbox Software, the company which developed Half Life in 2001.

“We are heartbroken after learning today of the passing of one of our co-founders, Landon Montgomery, In our earliest years, Landon played a big role in helping to set our path. We will always be thankful and remember him for being a part of our lives. During this trying time, our thoughts, support, and affection are with those who were closest to him.” read the official tweet from Gearbox.

Landon in his lifetime has worked on the likes of Halo, Halo: Combat Evolved, Half Life(2001), Half-Life: Blue Shift. Half-Life: Opposing Force, Borderlands(2009) and a wide range of Brothers In Arms Game along with James Bond’s 007: Nightfire(2002).

Our condolences are with his family and close ones.

Once labelled a mental disorder, WHO now recommends playing games amid coronavirus outbreak

Sarjyo Mukherjee
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12
Once labelled a mental disorder, WHO now recommends playing games amid coronavirus outbreak

Disregarding it as a mental disorder, WHO now recommends playing games.

With 210000 reported cases of coronavirus and 9000 lives lost, we are witnessing the greatest pandemic of this century. Almost the entire world is under lockdown while the panic and fear continue to grow among the public.

As hospitals try their best to help the patients while governments are establishing strict lockdown regulations to keep the virus contained and prevent further contamination. In this event of complete self-quarantine, World Health Organization has recommended measures to keep ourselves occupied at home.

FIRST, EAT A HEALTHY AND NUTRITIOUS DIET, WHICH HELPS YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM TO FUNCTION PROPERLY. SECOND, LIMIT YOUR ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION, AND AVOID SUGARY DRINKS. THIRD, DON’T SMOKE. SMOKING CAN INCREASE YOUR RISK OF DEVELOPING THE SEVERE DISEASE IF YOU BECOME INFECTED WITH COVID-19. FOURTH, EXERCISE. WHO RECOMMENDS 30 MINUTES OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY A DAY FOR ADULTS, AND ONE HOUR A DAY FOR CHILDREN. IF YOUR LOCAL OR NATIONAL GUIDELINES ALLOW IT, GO OUTSIDE FOR A WALK, A RUN OR A RIDE, AND KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE FROM OTHERS. IF YOU CAN’T LEAVE THE HOUSE, FIND AN EXERCISE VIDEO ONLINE, DANCE TO MUSIC, DO SOME YOGA, OR WALK UP AND DOWN THE STAIRS.

IF YOU’RE WORKING AT HOME, MAKE SURE YOU DON’T SIT IN THE SAME POSITION FOR LONG PERIODS. GET UP AND TAKE A 3-MINUTE BREAK EVERY 30 MINUTES.

WE WILL BE PROVIDING MORE ADVICE ON HOW TO STAY HEALTHY AT HOME IN THE COMING DAYS AND WEEKS.

FIFTH, LOOK AFTER YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. IT’S NORMAL TO FEEL STRESSED, CONFUSED AND SCARED DURING A CRISIS. TALKING TO PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND TRUST CAN HELP.

SUPPORTING OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY CAN HELP YOU AS MUCH AS IT DOES THEM. CHECK-IN ON NEIGHBORS, FAMILY, AND FRIENDS. COMPASSION IS MEDICINE.

LISTEN TO MUSIC, READ A BOOK OR PLAY A GAME.

AND TRY NOT TO READ OR WATCH TOO MUCH NEWS IF IT MAKES YOU ANXIOUS. GET YOUR INFORMATION FROM RELIABLE SOURCES ONCE OR TWICE A DAY.

SAID WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL IN THE MEDIA BRIEFING.

WHO DG in his statement has recommended playing games to keep ourselves occupied during this period, which will definitely encourage parents to allow their kids to be on the computer for longer durations and keep their minds away from going out.

The statement also sheds light on the fact that they are working on communication channels with Facebook to prevent the spreading of fake news and provide the community with accurate information, which will clear the air about several false rumors spreading about the coronavirus.

ESL One Los Angeles Dota 2 Major transition to online following coronavirus outbreak

Varun Gavankar
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ESL One Los Angeles Dota 2 Major transition to online following coronavirus outbreak

COVID-19 outbreak has taken quite a lot from everyone and yet it is not showing any signs of slowing down, many countries around the world are under lockdown as a prevention measure for the same.

ESL One Los Angeles, Initially to be commencing March 15 onwards but was postponed in perpetuity after the US government imposed a travel ban on Europe due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Without being able to foresee when all of this is coming under control to a conclusion, ESL and Valve have decided to turn ESL One Los Angeles 2020 and ESL Birmingham 2020 into online tournaments.

“After carefully reviewing all possibilities for ESL One Los Angeles and Birmingham 2020 powered by Intel with VALVE, we have come to the conclusion that both tournaments will not proceed as initially planned this year and will both be transformed into online tournaments,” ESL added on its official website. “The safety and well-being of players, fans, and staff is our utmost priority.”

Also, ESL One Los Angeles to follow a revised format. Five online regional leagues, and a total of 34 participating teams. Teams who qualified for ESL One Los Angeles will most likely to get a direct invite to the event.

There’s no word if the ESL One Los Angeles event has retained its charm of calling it a “Major” and the event will kick off on March 28th with $375,000 on the line.

ESL One Birmingham will boast the same prize pool as its sister event that is of $375,000 and to follow the same revamped format. As said, the event will run fully-online in May through June.

Tickets of ESL One Los Angeles to receive a full refund and also tickets purchased on-site event in Birmingham to get the same. Although, ESL has insisted further to hold onto their ESL One Birmingham tickets as they will be valid for the next iteration of the Birmingham event.

Valve is yet to make an official announcement about how it plans to overcome the already disrupted Dota Pro Circuit 2019-20 as we are nearing The International 10.

Coronavirus: Sony is slowing down PlayStation Network downloads in Europe

Prateek Jain
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Coronavirus: Sony is slowing down PlayStation Network downloads in Europe

Sony plans to put a cap on max download speed on PSN in Europe following the Government’s advisory asking digital media providers to slow down speeds to tackle network jams and ease load on ISPs.

Image result for play station network

In a blogpost on PlayStation.com, Sony president and CEO Jim Ruan said:

“We believe it is important to do our part to address internet stability concerns as an unprecedented number of people are practicing social distancing and are becoming more reliant on internet access.”

“Players may experience somewhat slower or delayed game downloads but will still enjoy robust gameplay.”

Sony is taking these measures “in an effort to preserve access for everyone” Ruan said while ending his post.

Sony isn’t the only company limiting speeds,  Microsoft is also working to maintain Xbox Live during the coronavirus pandemic and might also announce a cap on download speeds. While several other media providers like Netflix, Disney+, YouTube,  Amazon Prime, etc have already limited video quality to 480p.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, more people are stuck at home consuming digital media such as games, movies, series, etc which have almost overloaded the entire networking system resulting in forced slowdowns or networks going down for hours in many parts of Europe.  

[source blog.us.playstation.com]

PUBG Mobile Pro League SA 2020 Scrims announced

Varun Parashar
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PUBG Mobile Pro League SA 2020 Scrims announced

It seems like, after the announcement of a nationwide lockdown, the adjourned event of PMPL SA 2020 is heading towards an unknown end. Meanwhile, to keep the viewers and fans entertained, Tencent has announced daily scrims for all teams competing in PMPL SA 2020.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-JvpcqnORp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The Scrims begin today onwards at 5.30 pm every day. Each match will have a prize pool of $1000 and will also provide a platform for viewers to watch their favourite teams compete.

A total of 4 matches will be played on the following maps respectively:

  • Match 1: Erangel
  • Match 2: Miramar
  • Match 3: Sanhok
  • Match 4: Erangel

The same 20 teams from PMPL SA will be participating in these scrims. The team which comes first in every match walks away with a prize amount of 700$. The second and third place teams get 200$ and 100$ respectively.

The scrims will be live-streamed daily 5.30 pm onwards and fans can catch all the action live:

Click Here

What Source 2 Engine Could Mean for CSGO

Anuj Rautela
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0
What Source 2 Engine Could Mean for CSGO

So the main questions which arise here, will all the existing games get ported to Source 2? Definitely Yes! Also, the chances that they release a new counter strike game for source 2 is none to zero. We can clearly see that CS: GO is still going on strong right now, and still continues to grow at a healthy rate as Valve has done a very good job at nurturing and supporting the game.

Initial FPS games such as Source and 1.6 were toe to toe, so before releasing CS GO there was a big question whether the players will be willing to try out the new game and leave the old game behind. This could have led to a reduced fanbase in CS GO due to the players playing different games at once. Luckily, the big names in the FPS e-sports jumped into the game to help it grow. Valve was always listening to the community and made regular changes to the game based on the feedback given by the fans and their players. CS GO definitely aged well but “why would Valve risk split the community between massively successful Global Offensive and a new one?”

From past experiences, we can say that gameplay changes can be easily added to Global Offensive which has been repeated with the frequent release of new weapons and adjustments to the ones already there. If Valves come out with a new game, all the skins and items will have to be ported over to the new one which will destroy Global Offensive’s existing economy, so chances of this happening are pretty much zero. The skins of weapons add to a huge amount of revenue made by Valves, moreover, these skins make Global Offensive stand out from other FPS games in several different ways. Thanks to item purchases and in-game tradings, players have something else to show off apart from their skills in the game. If Valves come out with a new game, all the skins and items will have to be ported over to the new one or scrapped which will destroy Global Offensive’s existing economy, so chances of this happening are pretty much zero. The items/ skins in CSGO are just like collector’s items and that’s the reason why these skins are worth so much. We can all agree to the fact that these skins have greatly helped in increasing CS GO’s lifespan. Because of these reasons, we feel that Global Offensive will get ported to Source 2, and that too for free.

Source 2 engine might soon be hitting CSGO

Once Global Offensive gets shifted to Source 2, it is expected to have better & smoother gameplay and performance by cutting out the performance-sapping overhead that plagues existing setups. We will also see improvements in the graphics as well. Counter-Strike Global Offensive is one of the largest esports game right now. Let’s hope that when the game gets shifted to the Source 2 engine, it will retain its original gameplay and mechanics alongside improving the graphics and frame-rate. Do share your thoughts about the changes that can come once the game goes live on the Source 2 engine by commenting down below!

Valorant will ban cheaters computers from running the game

Anuj Rautela
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4
Valorant will ban cheaters computers from running the game

Riot’s Project A: Valorant may not have a set release date yet but the game is expected to arrive in the winter of 2020 for free download on PC’s. As per the latest news the game will be released with its own ani-cheat system which will monitor the player activities during the game and ban suspects.

Valorant will temporarily ban cheaters computers from running the game
by u/thataw in VALORANT

This AI-based anti-cheat system will look at all the aspects, from investigation stages till the final decision whether the suspect is to be permanently banned or not. The cheats that are mostly used in FPS games such as wallhacks and aimbots have already been gone through and are already on the radar of this AI anti-cheat system. For determining the suspects, the player’s activities such as the frequency of the headshots and the ability to “predict” what’s happening outside the field of their vision will be closely looked at.

Opinion: Characters in VALORANT are like the ones in PALADIN? Let’s go through them

Any player who is found cheating or using hacks will be severely punished. However, these punishments are yet to be defined by Riot Games. Also what’s interesting is that this system will not only ban the player using cheats or hacks but will also temporarily prevent/prohibit that particular computer system from running the game again, to prevent the users from creating a new account and playing the game back again. Seems like Riot’s Valorant has everything planned for the players who use unfair means to get ahead in the game over the players who play the game fair and square. What’s your take on this? Let us know by commenting down below!

Team Liquid’s Apex Legends player Casper tests positive for coronavirus

Souhit Dey
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1
Team Liquid’s Apex Legends player Casper tests positive for coronavirus

COVID-19 poses a massive threat as it quickly spreads and infects masses all around the world. The growing pandemic is by far the deadliest outbreak in recent times. A lot of people have been infected and forced into self isolation due to the rampaging virus, celebrities and high society individuals haven’t been spared either.

https://twitter.com/Liquid_Casper/status/1242557670244016128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1242557670244016128&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ftwitter.com%252FLiquid_Casper%252Fstatus%252F1242557670244016128%26widget%3DTweet

The most recent victim to COVID-19 is Team Liquid’s Apex Legends player Casper. He announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus through one of his recent tweets. The tweet read, “COVID test came back positive. The nurses aren’t very concerned for someone my age. It’s pretty much just like a cold. Said it should be about eight to 12 more days till I should start feeling a lot better. Now to sit in my room for two weeks straight. Thanks everyone for the support.” It is reported that Casper played the second Apex Legends Global Online Tournament with his teammates despite his ailments and growing symptoms, as requests for substitutes from his team were denied. The fact is obvious that he couldn’t perform his best at the tournament and his team only managed a 7th place finish which left him even more heartbroken. He said it was very hard playing with a temperature past 100 degrees and he felt that his team was down a man. Many Apex pros and fans came forward to console Casper and wished him for his speedy recovery.

Paris police arrest man wearing 12 inch hidden blades

Souhit Dey
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0
Paris police arrest man wearing 12 inch hidden blades

At some point in our childhood, most of us were drawn by the iconic hidden blades in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series. The hidden blades are mechanical blades which are worn around the forearm and can be ejected and contracted back into its compartment with just a flick of the wrist.

A 27-year-old Paris resident, Thomas G who is reported to be a fan of cosplay took things to the next level when he took his 12 inch hidden blades out in the public. Sporting a black mask, sunglasses, military-style backpack and a black hoodie, Thomas decided to roam the streets near Saint-Lazare station. He also had his 12-inch self made hidden blades with him which were attached to his forearm using elastic tape. It was reported that he tried to resist arrest while he was being apprehended by running away but the authorities managed to subdue him in time before he escaped. Currently, Thomas is under police custody and his self made hidden blades and remaining gear have been confiscated.

This incident happened shortly before the 27th Yellow Vest protest in Paris. Following the incident, Rebecca Rambar posted a picture of the man’s blades on twitter saying: “#France: The questioning of a protestor on the sidelines of the 27th Gillet Jaune protest.

“The individual had concealed two blades that he had attached to his forearm.

“He is currently in custody in #Paris after his arrest by the police.”

League of Legend’s LPL Team Rogue Warriors remove jungler WeiYan due to match fixing allegations

Anuj Rautela
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4
League of Legend’s LPL Team Rogue Warriors remove jungler WeiYan due to match fixing allegations

One of the teams from League of Legend’s LPL recently dropped their primary jungler from the team. This team is none other than Rouge Warriors which have an average win rate of 59.7 % having 36W and 41L out of the 77 total games played by them so far in League of Legends. RW has released jungler Wang “WeiYan” Xiang after the allegations of match-fixing surfaced against the player, according to a translated post (via Weibo) from the team.

Rogue Warriors stated that team’s former jungler was indulged in several activities during LPL 2020 competitions which completely violated team’s rules & regulations. We can conclude that RW’s games during this split had a negative effect on the team overall due to their jungler “WeiYan”. They also stated that they will further conduct deep probes internally and strict action will be taken against anyone who directly or indirectly participated in violations.

Also, an anonymous Weibo account posted screenshots where WeiYan was discussing of match-fixing games against Victory Five & Dominus Esports – however, the team ended up winning against Victory Five during week 3 of 2020 LPL Spring Split.

WeiYan made it into the team after replacing Chen “Haro” Wen-Lin (21 years old), who had a 2.3 KDA and 73.8 % kill participation in teamfights. Rogue Warriors are currently sitting in the lower half of the points table winning only three of their last eight games played. We feel like the losses need to be investigated to see if WeiYan had a major role to play in those losses or not!

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