Tech,Space,Gaming, and Science Fiction News to wet your whistle
'Arena of Valor' is a completely different game on Switch
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
Arena of Valor is arguably the most popular video game in the world, clocking more than 200 million players -- before it debuted in North America in December. Compare that to other online blockbusters like League of Legends (103 million players as of 2016), Overwatch (40 million players as of May) and Fortnite (125 million players as of June), and Arena of Valor's reach is clear.
One reason it's been able to amass such a large following is its delivery method: Arena of Valor -- known as Honor of Kings in China -- is a mobile game, playable on the most prevalent handheld devices the world over. Developer Tencent is looking to expand that market even further in September with the launch of Arena of Valor on the Switch, Nintendo's portable living room console.
However, the Arena of Valor that lands on Switch will be a separate version of the game entirely. Developers are taking advantage of the Switch's processing power, and they've upgraded the graphics and animations in the new version, touching up lighting effects, smoothing out rough lines and adding elements like fluttering butterflies to the maps. More importantly, the heroes on Switch have slightly different stats than the mobile version, as developers have worked to balance the game as it plays out on the big screen and with actual controllers.
This all means Switch players will not be able to battle their friends on mobile devices; they're playing two different versions of the same game. Tencent has created a clear division between the Switch and mobile editions -- it's even established discrete development teams for each one, developers told Engadget.
Tencent is the massive Chinese conglomerate that owns League of Legends studio Riot and historically has a larger global market share than Facebook. Tencent has money to burn and video games -- notably, esports -- are just one potential area of investment.
The Switch version of Arena of Valor is facing an open runway. Though the mobile edition is already an established esports title, the Switch version could become a professionally competitive game if its ranked scene takes off, developers said. Basically, they're open to all possibilities.
If Arena of Valor is going to take the Switch esports scene by storm, it would benefit from a built-in chat service, enabling teammates to strategize in real-time. Tencent is working on this feature, according to developers, though it's focused on polishing the core game for launch at the moment.
Follow all the latest news live from Gamescom here!
By Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter . When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here . After six summers of researching, testing, and recommending window air conditioners, we've learned that quiet and affordable ACs make most people the happiest—and we think the LG LW8016ER will fit the bill in most rooms. This 8,000 Btu unit cools as efficiently and effectively as any model with an equal Btu rating, and runs at a lower volume and deeper pitch than others at this price. Little extra features like a fresh-air vent, two-axis fan blades, and a removable drain plug help set it apart, too. The LG LW8016ER is a top choice for an office or den, and some people will find it quiet enough for a bedroom, too. If our main pic...
Pre-loaded cartridges of cannabis concentrate are currently among the most popular means of consumption, and for good reason. They're discreet to use and easy to handle, a far cry from the dark days of 2016 when we had to dribble hash oil or load wax into narrow-mouthed vape pens by hand. But, frustratingly, an ever increasing number of oil cartridge manufacturers employ one-off design standards so that their products won't work with those of their competitors, thereby locking customers into proprietary ecosystems. We've already seen this with nicotine vaporizers -- which has a seen a massive rise in "pod systems" in the last few years, each outfitted with a unique canister and battery built to be incompatible with those of their competition. Is it too late for the burgeoning cannabis industry to set a universal standard for their product designs? ...
Ever since cloning produced Dolly the sheep , scientists have copied a slew of mammals ranging from dogs to ponies. Primates, however, have been elusive -- until now. Chinese researchers have successfully cloned a macaque monkey fetus twice, producing sister monkeys Hua Hua and Zhong Zhong using the same basic method used to create Dolly. The team removed the nucleus from monkey eggs and replaced it with DNA from the fetus, implanting the resulting eggs in female monkeys for them to give birth. The process wasn't easy. It took 127 eggs and 79 embryos to get these results, and it still required a fetus to work (Dolly was cloned from an adult). Still, it reflects progress in cloning science. The team managed the feat by injecting both a form of mRNA and an inhibitor, the combination of which improved the development of blastocysts (the structures that form the embryo) and the pregnancy rate for transplanted embryos. Both baby macaques are healthy, the researchers said, and genet...
Comments
Post a Comment