Trending Topics - Week 24, 2023

It looks like Bethesda's first new IP in over a decade on the "world's strongest console" will only run at 30 FPS with a 4K resolution. Bethesda's franchises have traditionally been 30 FPS on consoles, but with Starfield not having to worry about porting to other consoles due to it being an Xbox console exclusive, and most games released nowadays have a performance mode option, many were surprised that the game wouldn't have a 60 FPS mode. Todd Howard said the following in an interview with IGN:

I think it'll come as no surprise, given our previous games, what we go for. Always these huge, open worlds, fully dynamic, hyper detail, where anything can happen, and we do want to do that. It's 4K in the X. It's 1440 on the S. We do lock it at 30, because we want that fidelity, we want all that stuff. We don't want to sacrifice any of it. Fortunately in this one, we've got it running great. It's often running way above that. Sometimes it's 60, but on the consoles, we do lock it because we prefer the consistency, where you're not even thinking about it.

Todd Howard (IGN Interview) June 11th, 2023.

Surprisingly, Todd Howard mentions that it's often running way above 30, even hitting 60 FPS at some points. So why couldn't they lower the resolution and add a 60 FPS performance mode like most other studios in the industry?

It's disappointing to say the least, but with Bethesda being one of the few video game publishers that have allowed mods on consoles, it'll be interesting to see how it performs if someone ever adds a 60 FPS mod to the game.

A new version of Dolphin has been released for Xbox Series X|S owners bringing a refreshed in-game pause menu, improvements to the UI, and a brand new theme system.

• New in-game pause menu, including a savestates tab and a netplay tab.
• New and improved frontend, including a new tabs system to organize your games by Wii, GameCube and WADS/ELFs
• New themes system! See below for more information! Includes two new default themes by TXF and UR 0WN DAD!
• Selecting 'None' in the Controllers window now disconnects the controller.
• A small refactor and a bunch of miscellaneous bug fixes.
• Updated to 5.0-19590

The developer behind this update has done wonders for the emulation community on Xbox Series X|S by not only porting Dolphin to UWP but also Xenia and most recently PCSX2. Hopefully, the updates continue as it helps preserve so many classic games we grew up on by bringing them to the latest platforms.

There are quite a few UWP apps that are available for Xbox Series X|S, so check out our list. For more information on this update, you can visit the release page on GitHub. Also, check out our UWP Apps page for all the emulators available and downloads for Xbox Series X|S.

After the backlash during Redfall's launch period, you would imagine constant updates would be pumped out every other day. But instead, the studio opted to take cues from their vampire creations and took a breather in cobwebbed coffins. Well, they've woken from their slumber as a huge bug-smashing patch has now been released.

Gameplay

• Increased enemy encounter spawn rates across the open world
• Improved ADS (aim down sight) visibility when looking through sniper rifle scopes
• Breakable glass will now shatter on first impact from all guns
• When using additional ammo storage skills, ammo collected above the standard weapon capacity will now persist between gameplay sessions
• Players can move without interruption when performing melee attacks against enemies
• Bribón no longer idles in place after performing the Siren ability
• Devinder's Translocate ability is now more reliable when used in the Black Sun boss arena
• Updated various mission descriptions and mission summary texts across all languages
• Nests now unlock at the correct time when playing in New Game Plus (after completing *A Voice in the Dark*, and start *Giving You Tomorrow* | or in the reverse order)
• Added medical supplies to the path leading up to the Bloody Tom boss arena
• General mission fixes and improvements

Combat

• Fixed multiple instances of enemies appearing unresponsive in combat
• Improved Vampire melee attacks to increase chances of hitting players in motion
• Cultist and Bellwether enemies received general improvements to their combat behaviors, including faster reaction times
• The Rook is now more relentless and will now hunt down all living party members. Kill or be killed
• Rook Storm lightning bolts will no longer hit players through rooftops and most other unexpected situations

AI/NPC

• General improvements to human enemy navigation, including animation timing and responsiveness
• Dormant Vampires are now more susceptible to waking up from player-generated noise
• Enemies are now drawn towards the greatest threat during combat. This could be a player, Bribón, or an opposing enemy faction
• Improved enemy pathing options across open world areas in both districts
• Added mouth blood to additional Vampire facial variations

Environment

• Players have higher chances of encountering additional and varied enemies while exploring the open world
• Enemies are no longer able to shoot through certain walls in the Fire Station
• Vampire Nest exit door will now appear correctly in the Shipyard heart instance
• Improved many instances of visual issues at a distance, including materials and model adjustments
• Mission Briefing sequences are brighter
• Improved lighting and audio processing in many interior spaces in both districts
• Skybox updates to prevent extreme star flickering
• General improvements to collision detection and asset placement throughout both districts

Performance & Stability

• Fixed an issue that was preventing certain decal streaming textures to fully load in, causing them to appear blurry
• Resolved several situations where players could experience an infinite loading screen
• Improved framerate performance in Bloody Tom and Miss Whisper psychic spaces and boss arenas
• Players can now proceed past the Accessibility Menu on a new, unlinked bethesda.netaccount
• Improved lighting performance in psychic spaces
• Blood pool reflections no longer excessively flicker
• Optimized VFX particle counts, emitters, and spawn rates for the following effects:
• Shield and Inspiration enemy trait effects
• Environmental fire and smoke effects in the Bladewell Campgrounds
• Hero ability effects, including Layla's Umbrella and Jacob's Heart Stopper
• Bloody Tom's slam effect, and Miss Whisper's death effects
• Floating dust particle effects
• Grave Lock effects
• Psychic Echoes
• Nest area-of-influence effects
• Effects when placing Underboss skulls on vampire god pedestals
• Blood tree disintegration effects
• Optimized memory usage when using Jacob's Raven ability
• Black Sun's clothing no longer renders animated blue materials
• General improvements to stability

Multiplayer

• Increased the chances of players encountering enemies with special traits in multiplayer sessions
• General improvements to stability and functionality in Multiplayer Lobbies

Accessibility

• Left and right movement keys can now be successfully remapped to Left and Right Arrow keys to improve left-handed movement control experience
• Players with existing game saves will need to reset their Mouse and Keyboard bindings to Default in the settings menu before attempting to remap movement keys to the arrow keys
• Screen Narration supports additional paths for critical player communication:
• Invites and Friend requests
• Joining a multiplayer Lobby
• Clients leaving a multiplayer Lobby
• "Invalid Username or Password" error
• Additional bethesda.netmenu screens
• Updated states of disabled UI elements once players Ready Up in a multiplayer Lobby
• "Let Games Read to Me" option on first launch for Xbox Series consoles is now enabled
• Adjusted the timing of several subtitles to ensure they display in the correct order
• Screen Narration settings will now persist between game sessions
• Added missing audio cues for Friends List section headers, and the Play Game button
• Adjusted text size scaling for Bethesda icons
• Contrast improvements for Ping text, multiplayer progression text headers, and Hero names
• Controls will no longer lock while the Text-To-Speech field is open
• Resolved instances where certain UI elements would lose cursor focus
• Added error messages and warning pop-ups for the following situations:
• Controller disconnections while on the Initial Input Screen
• Clients de-selecting Ready after the Host launches the game
• Players cancelling Friend requests
• Added missing subtitles to Archive entries for the Giving You Tomorrow mission briefing
• "Optional Details" is no longer a required field when reporting another player

User Interface

• Tutorial blades are now more responsive when multiple are stacked on top of one another
• Settings will revert correctly during active gameplay when Cancelling in the Confirm Changes message prompt
• Enemies will no longer lose nameplates and health bar information when cancelling fast travel
• Weapons loadouts will no longer swap into weapon inventory when starting new game sessions in quick succession
• Safehouse keys have been added to the Key Ring
• The Rook Storm meter now appears more consistently in game, and in the Map
• General improvements to Menu navigation and feedback

I'm sure the players who purchased Redfall are more than happy the game is finally getting some much-needed improvements. But after my own playthrough experience left much to desire, I'm not sure bug fixes are enough to get me interested in another vampire hunt.

In this latest update some changes have been made to the user interface along with upgrading to latest revision of Xenia Canary.

Highlights

• Clean up the frontend UI
• Updated to the latest revision

We are always testing games on our YouTube Channel and listing the results on our guide page. For more information on this update, you can visit the release page on GitHub. Also, check out our UWP Apps page for all the emulators available and downloads for Xbox Series X|S.

Tango Gameworks is continuing the support of its original rhythm combat game Hi-Fi Rush which dropped at the beginning of the year. Announced recently is a new update that will be released next month that brings what's being called two Arcade Challenge modes.

Once the story mode is complete both of these new modes will unlock that can be played to earn additional rewards such as in-game t-shirts, poses, stickers, and special attacks.

BPM RUSH!

BPM RUSH! tasks players to battle waves of enemies to music with a steadily increasing BPM, or beats per minute. As you defeat each wave and tackle toughened-up new foes, the BPM will speed up to the next level, up to a whopping 200 BPM in the final stages!

Parker Wilhelm (Website) June 13, 2023

Power Up! Tower Up!

In Power Up! Tower Up!, players take on a twist on the Rhythm Tower mode that players unlock after their first playthrough. You’ll be climbing up floors and defeating waves of enemies, but this time you’ll be powering up a downgraded Chai with randomized Upgrades!

Parker Wilhelm (Website) June 13, 2023

Make sure to complete Hi-Fi Rush's story by next month as this free arcade mode update will be released on July 5th for Xbox Series X|S and PC.

Also known as Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, it's a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance handheld console. This classic role-playing game will be available to everyone with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership as part of the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch Online library, as of June 22.

This Fire Emblem game from 2003 will be a welcome addition to the service, but it's a bit disappointing that after all this time it's just one game from the series on Game Boy Advance coming to the service. My personal favorite Fire Emblem game from the GBA, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, is still not available but luckily I still own my copy. There's also the Japanese only released Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. It'd be a cool addition for those who never got an official way to play the title in North America.

Are you excited about Fire Emblem coming to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership? I can't say I would pay for a premium membership to play an incomplete collection of games. I have hoped Nintendo would just put the games digitally on the store for purchase like the Wii days but it looks like that'll never happen sadly.