Respawn entertainment the name behind Apex Legends is handing out permanent hardware id ban to users who are caught cheating. According to a post on Reddit, many cheaters on cheat forums are crying foul over getting HWID bans and claiming that the cheat sites lied about cheat being safe to use and undetected by anti-cheat.
With Apex Legends claiming the number 1 spot of ever so popular battle royale mode, there in an influx of new players due to which the cheating problem grew and before it could get out of hand Respawn implemented a neat solution of banning the HWID and all accounts related to that HWID getting banned within 30 minutes. Although there maybe ways to spoof hardware id, but theyโre irrelevant as the procedure of changing hardware id is difficult and anyone without proper knowledge wonโt be able to do it.
This is a bold move on Respawnโs part to tackle the cheating problem, which remains a source of headache for other game developers (i.e. Epic and Pubg Corp.). The way Respawn handled this is commendable and a welcome move that others might follow soon.
Brendan โPlayerUnknownโ Greene has announced that he will no longer be developing the signature game, PlayerUnknownโs Battlegrounds, and now look at research and game development projects for PUBG Corp.
On his Twitter, Brendan announced that he will no longer be in charge of developing PUBG but will still remain as a consulting director to the division. The PUBG division will be led by his colleagues who have worked on the project for three years.
The team will begin operations from Amsterdam and will take charge of โexploring, experimenting, and creating new technologies, tools, pipelines, and gameplay.โ
PUBG burst into explosion in 2017, coming first to PC and making inroads in the Android Market in 2018 with PUBG Mobile. The game may have been at the top for a long time but there is no denying that despite the impact the game has had on the Battle Royale genre, it has definitely seen a drop in the playerbase of the game.
Mousesports have announced a new roster for 2019 after a poor showing at the Europe Minor for IEM Katowice where they failed to qualify despite being the overwhelming favourites.
The new trio of รzgรผr “woxic” Eker, Finn “karrigan” Andersen and David “frozen” ฤerลanskรฝ will join Robin “ropz” Kool and Chris “chrisJ” de Jong as the German Organisation looks to have the perfect mix of new talents and stalwarts of the game.
We want to go back to a team that is highly motivated and eager to play for this organization. Together we want to leave our mark in this very important period with two huge events in our home country
CEO Stefan Wendt.
Interestingly, this is Karriganโs 4th stint with Mouz after representing them in both CS 1.6 as well and CSGO, and after a brief spell with American org Envy, he could not turn down such an opportunity.
The lineup consists of a very good mix of young and experienced players, most important is the chemistry between players, which is really good
karrigan said in a statement.
With good chemistry, hardworking players and right mentality you can go very far, which is our main goal during 2019.
The first days with these guys have been awesome, I hope that it will show in the coming months how we improve as a team.
The most exciting addition though will be 16 year old prodigy frozen, who has had a meteoric rise through FPL. This will be a gamble though, as he is yet to be tested on the biggest of stages. The main awper will be 20 year old woxic who had a reasonably good stint at Hellraisers.
Mousesports will kick off their new beginning at ECS Season 7 Europe next week, with their first LAN being at ESL Pro League Season 9 next month.
The finals of the COBX Masters India Closed Qualifiers was between Global Esports and MammothGaming. In the finals, Global Esports beat Mammoth Gaming in the finals of the COBX Masters India Closed Qualifiers 2-0 in the Best of 3 Series. Global Esports won 16-11 on Dust 2 and 16-9 on Inferno. Global Esports picked up the victories despite having 2 Polish players who played with a huge ping disadvantage with pings over 120ms.
Map Vetos:
Mammoth Gaming banned Cache
Global Esports banned Mirage
Mammoth Gaming picked Dust 2
Global Esports picked Inferno
Mammoth Gaming banned Train
Global Esports banned Nuke
Overpass was left over
The first map kicked off on Dust 2, MammothGamingโs pick. GlobalEsports started the first half with a pistol round victory with an easy 3v5 B-site retake and the following anti-eco round. Mammoth gaming fought back with a victory in the 3rd round powered by an early round pick by HuNtr with the AWP from T-spawn, catching t1to on the cross and a quick entry by aStaRRR on the B-Site. The terrorists executed a near perfect round by losing only one player in their execution. The first half was filled with neck to neck to rounds and ended with a score line of 7-8 in the favor of Mammoth Gaming
In the second half, Mammoth gaming came out with an excellent read in the pistol round and took the round. They also won the following anti-eco and first buy round. However, the momentum was short-lived as Global Esports came back to win the map fueled by a force buy a victory and did not drop a single round after that, closing the map out with a scoreline of 16-11.
The second map Inferno, Global Esports started off on the CT-side with a pistol round and anti-eco round victory. They succumbed to Mammoth Gaming on the first buy round and the score was tied at 3-3. However, Global Esports were quick to show their strength and took the first half in their favor with a 9-6 scoreline.
In the second half, Global Esports came out with a flawless execution to the B-Site without losing a single player in the process. Global Esports were also able to tackle the subsequent force buy from Mammoth Esports, carrying to AK-47โs and one MAC-10 into the next eco round with a score line of 11-6. Mammoth Gaming were almost able to pull back the eco round with an AK-47 stolen from Antidote early on in the round but failed to convert the gun into a round victory. Global Esports continued their domination in the game and kamil k denied the Counter-Terrorists a round in the second half by pulling out an ACE from his pocket, pushing Global Esports to 14-6. However, HuNtR had different plans as he got back to back quad kills and put the score line at 14-9. GlobalEsports came back into the game and closed it out 16-9 in the favor of Global Esports.
A report from reuters has revealed that popular Twitch streamers Ninja and Shroud, who have 11 million and 6 million followers respectively, were paid huge sums of money to play the game when it was first launched. While the source did not reveal how much Shroud was paid, he did reveal that Ninja was paid a million dollars by EA to play it instead of Fortnite.
Had an amazing time playing #ApexLegends yesterday and am looking forward to playing a bunch more. Check out one of my favorite games from yesterdays stream! #Apexhttps://t.co/ZaNFQNHH70
There was an indication that the streamers were hired as influencers for the game, after they began tweeting with the hashtag โApexPartnerโ and #Ad leading up to its release.
Aright broys the corp is allowing me to reveal some of the super secret stuff from Thursday's super secret LA trip. This Monday weโll be stomping in an all new Battle Royale by @Respawn. Maybe these guys will be there too. That is all. #ApexPartnerpic.twitter.com/AgO9ra0LVE
They did a fairly comprehensive job at pulling together all of the relevant game influencers in this genre
Kevin Knocke, a vice president at esports infrastructure firm ReKTGlobal.
This was a really well coordinated poaching of the top influencers the likes of which has not been seen so far in esports.
The deal raises a question of ethics in this practice, as there was little to no indication of the streamers being paid to play the game and instead creating a facade that they actually enjoyed the game which is why they were streaming it.
If anything, the deal points out the lengths to which developers are going to make sure they get the largest market share in the battle Royale space. The video game industry is just getting bigger, and companies are willing to place bigger bets than the slowly declined TV market.
Police Commissioner Manoj Agrawal, who had banned the game in the city in a March 6 notification, said it is a bailable offence and that they were arrested in public places, The Indian Express reported. โPeople have been booked but there is nothing like an arrest in it,โ Agarwal said. โIn the procedure, they will be shown as immediately bailed out by police. The case will go to the courts and there will be a trial for not following the notification issued.โ
Rohit Raval, Rajkot Special Operations Group police inspector, said their phones had been seized as part of the investigation. โOur team caught these youth red-handed,โ Raval said. โThis game is highly addictive and the accused were so engrossed in playing them that they could not even notice our team approaching them.โ
PlayerUknownโs Battlegrounds, popularly called PUBG, is a multiplayer mobile app and video game that was launched in 2017. In the game, up to a hundred players can arrive on an island by way of parachutes and hunt for weaponry to kill others, while avoiding getting killed at the same time. Players can choose one out of four maps to play in. Playing a full round, on an average, takes less than thirty minutes.
PUBG has won multiple awards since its launch and has developed a huge user base in India and other parts of the world.
Earlier today morning, a huge gameplay update was shipped to the game which impacts the loss bonus reset and reverses the changes made to the AUG and increased the number of bullets in the M4A1-S. The update also adds a new Prisma case, some map related changes and a few miscellaneous changes.
Adjusted round loss bonuses with the goal of reducing a negative feedback loop following streaks of losses.
With 0 Losses: $1400
With 1 Loss: $1900
With 2 Losses: $2400
With 3 Losses: $2900
With 4+ Losses: $3400
Previously, a win would reset the round loss bonus. Now, a win reduces the loss counter by one.
Teams still begin the half with a loss count of 1.
This is enabled by default and can be controlled using the mp_consecutive_loss_aversion server setting.
The round loss bonus is still limited to mp_consecutive_loss_max multiplied by cash_team_winner_bonus_consecutive_rounds.
Added flashbang assists for players who successfully flash an enemy which then gets killed by another player. Players who threw the flashbang will get an assist callout in the death notice. However, if another player inflicted >40 damage to the victim for the assist, the flashbang assist player will not get the callout.
AUG
Now that players have had an opportunity to learn to love the AUG, returning the weapon to its original price of $3300.
M4A1-S
The M4A1-S now holds 25 bullets in the magazine, and has 75 in reserve.
Shotguns
Price reduction for some shotguns: Nova ($1050), Sawed-Off ($1100), Mag7 ($1300).
Nova penetration increased to 1.
Sawed-Off range increased to 1400.
Single shell shotguns in the middle of their reload sequence will no longer automatically continue to reload after a player holsters and deploys them.
Fixed a bug that prevented C4 or enemies seen through open doors from showing up on the radar.
Fixed a rare bug where a C4 bomb reset trigger could reset the bomb to a position that was not on the ground.
[PRISMA CASE]
Today we're shipping the Prisma Case, featuring 17 community-designed weapon finishes and 6 finishes new to the Horizon knives, alongside a number of economy and gameplay changes and features. Full Release Notes can be found here: https://t.co/c904iGyHkRpic.twitter.com/TMUEHXLI3k
Introducing the Prisma Case, featuring 17 community-designed weapon finishes, and the Horizon Knives in Chroma finishes as rare special items.
[MISC]
New Loadout Shuffle feature is available in the inventory. Choose to shuffle any number of your weapons or music kits and a random one will be equipped each map.
Several fixes for the โClean Namesโ communication setting.
Renamed workshop workbench setting to โSide Viewโ.
Removed visual artifacts on a few image assets.
[MAPS]
Canals:
reduced number of routes around bombsite B
moved bombsite B inside the palace
added a door from center stairs to courtyard platform
made it possible to jump up to B bridge from scaffold
new radar map style
Vertigo:
Thank you to all the diligent players that continued testing Bombsite B
Blocked runboost from T spawn to Bombsite B (will still be possible in B site configuration)
Obstructed boost from top of floodlight in back of A
Changed layout of back of A site, made entrance onto site a regular doorway, added half-wall in front of scaffolding
Added usable door in mid towards bombsite B
Simplified collision model of support jack
Fixed unintended boost on scaffolding on A ramp
Made boostable concrete mold by A site slightly larger
Improved clipping inside elevator shaft
Community maps:
Updated radar for Abbey and Biome
Valve has once again brought about changes to the loss bonus. This time, the loss bonus is not rest on winning a round, it subtracts one from the โloss counterโ. Losing a round increases the “loss counter” by one and goes on till the maximum round bonus loss of 3400$ which comes after losing 4+ rounds in the game. This change makes it easier for comebacks as teams no longer get thrown back to the first win round bonus after winning one round after losing several.
Another long wanted change is the AUG nerf which was expected post IEM Katowice 2019. The price change of the AUG has been reverted and is now back at $3300 from $3150. The hardly used M4A1-S has been buffed by increasing the magazin size to 25 from 20 and increasing the reserve ammo to 75 bullets.
Furthermore, the shotguns have received a price cut to $1050 and $1100 and $1300 for the Nova, Sawed-Off and MAG-7 respectively.
The flashbang assist feature which was noticed in the HLTV Game Log which now appears in death notices if the kill wasnโt assisted by dealing over 40 damage.
The update has also added a new case collection called the Prisma Case which contains 17 community designed cases and added Chroma knife finishes to the Horizon Case knives.
The new map changes come to Vertigo and Canals, changing the layout of the bomb sites on both the maps.
Although mousesports did not announce officially, it is reported that mousesports could bring back chrisJ and sign additional three players alongside Ropz and hence, suNny could end up on the mousesports bench along with Martin โSTYKOโ Styk and Tomรกลก ‘oskar’ ล ลฅastnรฝ.
As the talks didn’t end on a good note, suNny initiated talks with ENCE eSports. SuNny has played for the Finnish organization in 2016 prior to joining the European star team, mousesports. However, it is still unclear about the progress between the organization & the player and who would depart the Finnish lineup.
In 2015, Team SoloMid (TSM) began it’s venture in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive by signing a full Danish roster which comprised of present Astralis’ core. Later, the organization signed a North-American lineup which moved to Misfits in early 2017 and TSM haulted their CS:GO division. According to a report from DeKay, USA based organization is close to signing Uruguay lineup and negotiating with BIG for Owen “smooya” Butterfield’s transfer.
Smooya is the only player under contract while the rest of four are free agents. Although, it is still unclear whether the organization and the players have reached to an agreement.
If the reports turn out to be true, TSM’s roster would be:
BenQ ZOWIE, in collaboration with Forerun Computers, opens Indiaโs first ZOWIE Experience zone in Cochin. ZOWIE Experience zone is a part of the retail gaming outlet launched by Forerun Computers on 13th March 2019.
ZOWIE Experience Zone will serve as an innovative tool to satisfy the growing e-sports market to make the gaming experience more accessible and personalized.
The popularity of ZOWIE products has been consistently growing and with this, we take one more step forward in ensuring to deliver world class customer brand experience. E-sports enthusiasts can now experience the products first before making the purchasing decision without having to depend on a third party product review experience. We are committed to introducing more experiential zones to help users and enthusiasts interact with our evocative range of offerings across India
Mr. Rajeev Singh, Managing Director of BenQ India
At the retail store, ZOWIE Experience zone will display XL series monitors including XL2546, XL2720 & XL2411P. ZOWIE XL-series monitors are equipped with up to 240Hz static refresh rate and native 1 ms response time. Also, ZOWIEโs newly launched RL2455S console E-Sports monitor which features static 75hz refresh rate, native 1ms response time will be available for experience.
BenQ ZOWIE eSports monitors are armed with features what a gamer or a professional gamer would want. Exclusive Dynamic Accuracy (DyACTM) is one of the most important features that maintain remarkable clarity during in-game movements allowing for a smoother experience. Color Vibrance is an adjustable feature which adds flexibility to easily tune preferred color tone and to distinct small targets from the background, making the trace easy and precise. The monitors are also fitted with Black eQualizer for visual clarity in dark scenes without overexposing bright area that helps the gamer to acquire targets easily and offer to view comfort in gameplay.
ZOWIE will also display its full range of gaming gears, which consists of mouse, mousepads, Celeritas II keyboard, CAMADE and Vital. Mouse includes most popular EC, FK and ZA series along with EC1-B & EC2-B CSGO Edition. EC-B (CSGO Edition) mouse are exclusively designed for right-handed users. It offers users a bigger room for wrist movements. The shape of the right side of mouse is well rounded. It allows the userโs fingertips to hold/cover the mouse to move smoothly. EC-B Series with 3360 sensor comes in two sizes to fulfil different needs. Mousepads will include G-SR, P-SR, G-TF-X and P-TF-X. ZOWIEโs latest launch G-SR-SE (Red) will also be available for experience.
ZOWIE CELERITAS II features an optimal and more precise pre-travel, which is the distance the key has to travel before an action is performed. It introduces the optical switches, which allows players to avoid double key presses.
In addition, ZOWIE will also be displaying CAMADE and VITAL. CAMADE is a solution for inconveniences with the mouse cable such as space constraints or cable entanglement. Moreover, VITAL Audio System for e-Sports is a combination of three goals โ ease of use, personalization and consistent sound quality โ that aim to simplify and streamline sound card use.
Now one can try out and purchase ZOWIE products faster and easier than ever at ZOWIE XL-Zone from 13th March โ19 onwards. The Experience Zone is located at the A1, A2, Divyam Bldg., Ernakulam, Cochin โ 682 020 and opened between 10 am โ 7 pm daily (except Sundays). For more details contact: +919599002285.
Forerun Computers is a Cochin- based IT business partner in India. It has expanded its business across various gulf countries. Forerun is a regional distributer and is spread among 14 districts in Kerala consisting of 11 branches.
