#but replace 'game-breaking bug' with 'bug/exploit' in general

[the-breloominati]

"game-breaking bug" honey game-breaking bug (bad) or game-breaking bug (fun)

[terryblount]

Fallout: New California Version 2.2.2 available for download, fixes numerous bugs, full patch notes

The team behind Fallout: New California, a massive mod that adds an all new story with hours of voiced dialogue, a new world, and multiple branching narrative paths, has released a new version of it. Fallout: New California is described as an unofficial prequel to New Vegas, and its latest version fixes numerous bugs.

For instance, patch 2.2.2 removes blocking condition from CH1 ALPHA terminal that was preventing force field power down option from showing, fixes a faction problem with switching sides from pipe works to Upper apartments, fixes the zombie firemen and their OP loot by removing them and more.

In Fallout: New California you play as the kid from Vault 18 and you’ll face the New California Republic under president Wendell Peterson, the New Reno Mob’s Bishop Family, the remnant Shi Clans, The Enclave Leonidas Squadron, the Super Mutant Army, and the bloodthirsty Raider Alliance. Through them all you’ll choose your path from SPECIAL dialog options, acquired PERKs, and travel with 8 possible companions depending on your choices.

Here are the key features of Fallout New California:

An Alternate Start in Vault 18 with a New Player Character and Main Quest.

A New Intro Video to really give it that “New Game” feeling.

An Ornate Main Quest Line with Compelling Side Quests rich in Fallout & Character Lore.

Hours of Voice Acting recorded at pro-quality in Radian-Helix Media’s Tucson, Az Studio.

A Very Large Worldspace in California – The Black Bear Mountain National Forest.

An Epic War between The Super Mutants, The Raider Alliance, The Enclave, and The New California Republic.

A Pirate Radio Station DETH 981 with 2 New DJs and Quest + Crafting + Perk Unlocking Segments.

A News Radio Station called NCRPR – New California Republic Radio – with quest updates in the News.

6 Potential Human Companions and 2 Robot Companions available depending on player choices.

Do note that the following patch notes may contain spoilers, therefore we strongly suggest avoiding them if you haven’t completed the mod yet. Those interested can download this new version of Fallout New California from here.

Fallout New California Version 2.2.2 Release Notes

Fixed – If you choose to infiltrate the Raiders in a mob playthrough, Kieva and Duville will approach you at the end. Even if you accept Duville’s offer, Kieva will talk to you and you’ll take her ending instead of the mob ending.

Fixed – If you criticise the overseer, your next conversation option is labelled “[star athlete]” regardless of having the perk.

Fixed – “cash is king” doesn’t end at the bridge if left unfinished.

Change – Redirect gear that went to Mojave Express, to the Great Kahn Hideout or Tops Presidential Suite.

Fixed – Removed blocking condition from CH1 ALPHA terminal that was preventing force field power down option from showing.

Change – Marius’s first greeting now works after MQ02 up to MQ05 start.

Fixed – Bug in Chevy’s Dagger 8 force greet when player is Enclave enemy, has Vault18 killer perk but doesn’t have redeemer or turncoat and fails to launch stage 70.

Fixed – Bug in Navmesh in Vsec jail preventing johnny pathing to the door smash marker.

Fixed – Problem with CHA option for Bragg “I made my own uniform”. Player was not getting BSIII perk if they came back to Bragg instead of running away, so the Red, White, and Blood quest would never start and they would be Enclave enemy at end game.

Fixed – Bug with ‘The Masters Revenge” where it would not complete when walking to the vat.

Fixed – Shi bank keeps notifying when in the Mojave.

Fixed – Player house note/vendor dialog fixed.

Fixed – “Shi’s Lost My Money?!” now fails if the player is an enemy to the bankers or any of them are dead.

Fixed – For non Revan NCR player, Wave2 raiders at main gate were not hostile.

Fixed – Shooting the Shi Bankers will fail NCR questline/launch Wildcard.

Fixed – If you killed Aurelius by releasing the barrels, Ben’s MV quest would not advance.

Fixed – ‘Skilled’ trait exploit at character revision and perk remove/add bug at first level up.

Fixed – Quadruple doors in PBZantBarracks.

Change – ‘NCR Dollars Only’ signs at UC vendors

Added – Nerd in Jail gets their weapons/ammo back when joining Bragg.

Fixed – Two scripts were still using vanilla NCR money (from Silverman and Merc Hire)

Fixed – Endurance 10 is now immune to Serpent’s Milk effects to fit the narrative.

Fixed – Set Dr. Kyoto’s bed as un-usable by vault NPCs.

Fixed – Deputy Mayor of Odyssey biped slot conflict with outfit and glasses.

Fixed – Stage missing in MV Kira’s Sneak option success in Silver Rush.

Fixed – Shi Bank ‘robbed’ notification turn off at FNC end.

Fixed – Crash in Fort Daggerpoint Vehicle Storage.

Fixed – ‘Carrion’ quest wasn’t detecting questline failure and Tanok was still trying to force greet.

Change – Rearranged Supermutant invasion in Athens South Ranch.

Change – Rearranged Supermutant invasion in Black Horse Ranch.

Change – Rearranged Supermutant invasion in Xiabula.

Change – Set all Supermutants to neutral karma.

Fixed – Replaced script on VCG01VigorTesterTrigger so other mods that compile all scripts don’t break the transition to New Vegas.

Fixed – Bug where Vargas has the wrong greeting for MQ05 when you rescued her from the mine and is following you when MQ04 ends.

Fixed – ‘Free Kira’- bug when Revanchist is successful.

Fixed – Portal marker in Mission Palms Home07.

Fixed �� Remove robot perks when they are scrapped at the mine.

Fixed – Fire robots at the FNV transition if they are never repaired in Athens Tec.

Fixed – Hole in 00BrazilVault18Entrance01Destroyed.

Added – Notes to give hints for player gear location after FNV transition.

Fixes – updates to ‘No System is Safe’ quest.

Fixed – No door in UC hanger

Fixed – UC hanger size to support a realistic door size

Fixed – Looking into the void via the back window of El Rey motel

Fixed – Car being clipped into El Rey Motel

Fixed – TV having no backside in Ranch house

Fixed – Wooden shacks luring players into exploring, while walking into an invisible wall

Fixed – Giant ants spawning behind invisible wall, meaning they can not be looted by the player

Fixed – No doors in Train Hanger outpost building.

Added – Reward for ranshanked ranch house.

Added – Stool and wooden desk to northern watchtower for immersion

Added – Map marker to Western Union City Houses (the big one with the well).

Added – NCR flag to giant ant outpost to lure the player for a future ant queen hunting quest

Fixed – Remove floating chair just outside of Overseer’s office.

Fixed – Stops the player from looking directly into the V O I D in the Overseer’s office.

Fixed – Makes Aaron Ginn’s terminal actually be on and locked with actual stuff on it.

Fixed – A gap between the door and the wall on both sides in Aaron Ginn’s office.

Fixed – Replaced two Tabitha radios with the Generic Ham Radio in two houses.

Fixed – Facegen Head flag for PBHelmetNCRTrooperGogglesNoPlay and 21 other head-gears.

Fixed – Removed Faction warning script from armors – Gaius, Ben’s, and Sylvia.

Fixed – Adjustment of room marker for Overseer office.

Fixed – Daggerpoint airport area:

-Fixed gaps between fort daggerpoint barracks walls

-Fixed airport door going to an old train tunnel

-Fixed train tunnel door going to an actual train tunnel

-Fixed the zombie firemen and their OP loot by removing them.

-Fixed the end of the train tunnel going to the void.

-Fixed some clipping rocks airport fuel station

-Fixed airfield hangar sizes

-Fixed some black holes in the airfield hangars

-Fixed daggerpoint airtower being empty

-Fixed dead people leaving behind some of their furniture in daggerpoint

-Fixed looking into void in some ruins

-Fixed some floating debris

-Fixed some doors opening into rubble

-Fixed Daggerpoint Commons having Pearl’s locker items (thanks to matthewrb)

-Fixed some buildings having a wall for a door

-Fixed some spots where players could fall into inescapable pits

-Fixed Rivet City doors being operable on the upper levels of Fort Daggerpoint

-Fixed some holes in the ground

-Added some small rewards for exploring

Fixed – some copy edit issues:

-Fixed a few problems with Jenn’s Dialogue

-Fixed a problem with DuVille’s Dialogue

-Fixed a problem with the ALPHA terminal using special characters

Fixed – Some linkage problems in the Annai PQ chat dialog.

Fixed – If player is enclave, Chevy’s forcegreet was always the Kill/Go to Jail topic.

Fixed – OOC timing with Diesel/Bragg and Diesel in the pipe works.

Fixed – Faction problem with switching sides from pipe works to Upper apartments.

Fixed – All failure stages with ‘Hell to Pay’ are consistent now.

Fixed – Some copy edits between Jenn/Yetti

Fixed – some copy edits with Jenn first greeting.

Change – Closed off Charisma option for Nerd Enclave

Fallout: New California Version 2.2.2 available for download, fixes numerous bugs, full patch notes published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[shirlleycoyle]

New Documentary ‘Playing Hard’ Shows That Making Games Can Be Hell

Two months before the release of Ubisoft’s historical online fighting game For Honor, producer Stéphane Cardin left the project without warning.

Cardin, burned out, fled to a cabin in the woods for what the new documentary Playing Hard—which chronicles the four year development of For Honor, from pitch to launch, and is available to stream on Netflix— generously called “an intensive therapy retreat.”

“On a four-to-five year project, the project is your backdrop, but it becomes your life, your whole way of life,” Cardin says over footage of him staring, exhausted, into a fire. “At a certain point, you lose your bearings.”

In a later scene, back at the office, Cardin faces the For Honor team and explains what happened. “My command center just shut down,” he says. “I woke up and I was not able to think. And I went and said, ‘Go and get help.’ So, I just want to share that with you, just telling you that it’s part of life. I don’t recommend you pass through the hell I pass through.”

It’s a brief but powerful moment in Playing Hard, a drama-packed and necessary look at the toll that making a video game takes on those who do the work. But while the film succeeds in showing the ravages of burn out on even company higher-ups like Cardin, it does a poor job of highlighting rank-and-file employees who no doubt faced the brunt of it.

Working on video games, especially big budget titles such as For Honor, can be stressful, even life-destroying work. After years of workers and their families suffering to make games that millions of people enjoy, employees are finally starting to talk about the benefits of unionizing and a reasonable work-life balance.

A hallmark of exploitative labor in the gaming industry is “crunch.” Crunch refers to a standard and expected period of overtime that typically comes in the last few months of a game’s development. BioWare employees worked overtime to finish Anthem in its final months and corporate called it “Bioware Magic.” To finish Gears of War 4, quality assurance employees—the people who test the game for bugs, a notoriously overworked and underpaid position—worked 12-hour days, sometimes through weekends, for a month.

Crunch isn’t specifically mentioned in Playing Hard, but the signs are on full display: long hours, wavering mental health, and physical deterioration.

The film focuses on big personalities—all higher-ups like Cardin—and it’s mostly For Honor creative director Jason VandenBerghe’s show. The bearded, walking-cane wielding creator is a cracking buzz of pure energy at the start of the development cycle and, later, a pit of depression.

It’s VandenBerghe’s passion that convinces publisher Ubisoft to take a chance on For Honor and let VandenBerghe create a game that he claimed to want to play since he was a child. By the end of For Honor’s development, though, VandenBerghe is depressed and overworked. In one scene, he comes home to briefly speak with his wife and down protein shakes. “That’s lunch,” he says as he wipes the remnants of a Boost drink from his lips.

Cardin and VandenBerghe’s plight is illuminating, relatable to anyone who’s felt overworked, and hard to watch. But it’s a narrow focus on a privileged few within a large, multi-billion dollar company. Hundreds of people worked on From Honor and burn out hit more than just its leadership team. I want to hear the stories of the coders and the quality assurance team.

Throughout Playing Hard, Cardin complains about losing workers. Employees fled the project, never to be replaced, and the team had to cut features in the runup to launch. But the audience never sees those employees. By focusing exclusively on Ubisoft leadership, Playing Hard misses the stories of the rank-and-file employees who worked on the game, and thus missed the bigger picture.

After watching Cardin tell his crew he didn’t wish hell on them after returning from his woodland retreat, I wondered what would have happened if someone on the quality assurance team raised their hand and requested a stress break in a cabin late in a major title’s development cycle. Would they be allowed to go, or simply be out of a job?

According to Ubisoft, any employee can take these liberties when they’re stressed.

“Our culture has been evolving with learnings from all projects and teams,” an Ubisoft spokesperson told me in an email. “Ubisoft Montreal’s HR policies with regards to health, either physical or mental, apply to all employees. We take mental health issues very seriously and offer support through a partner company and insurance plan.”

If any Ubisoft employees would like to weigh in on this perspective, please send me a direct message on Twitter.

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New Documentary ‘Playing Hard’ Shows That Making Games Can Be Hell syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/