Octopus Overlords

Ubisoft has announced that it has, for the sixth time, delayed Skull & Bones, as well as canceled three more unannounced games amid "major challenges" in the industry, the underperformance of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2023, and an upcoming "restructuring."

In a press release today, Ubisoft outlined a new strategy for the remainder of its fiscal year, as well as lowered expectations for the last fiscal quarter. Ubisoft explains the move as a result of the company "facing major challenges as the industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and long-lasting titles than [sic] can reach players across the globe, across platforms and business models."

During an emergency investor call today, this news certainly worried some investors, who questioned what Ubisoft had remaining in the tank with all these delays and cancellations. They were reassured that for next fiscal year (the one that starts in April), Ubisoft has Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (which was already delayed once), Assassin's Creed: Mirage (revealed last September), and "other premium unannounced games, including a large one." Oh, and Skull & Bones...if it doesn't get delayed for a seventh time before then.

You may have noticed recently that Starfield's listed release date on Steam recently changed, from 2023—vague, but at least within a specific window—to "coming soon," which is vague and utterly without specificity. It was in fact just one of several games to have their launch dates rejiggered today: Others, visible on SteamDB, include Forspoken, Redfall , Ark 2 , and Robocop: Rogue City.

The good news is that there's nothing to worry about. Well, probably nothing, anyway. You see, back in October 2022, Valve made a change to the way it handles release dates for upcoming games. Prior to that, release dates on Steam store pages were a Wild West: Some games would list an exact date, others would have something more ballpark—a month and year, maybe—and still others would drop in joke text, like "when it's done."

"Our current hodge-podge of coming soon displays leaves a lot to be desired," Valve wrote at the time. "Some information can be missing or incomplete. Worst of all, the custom text field we used to provide has no localization support, which creates a confusing and inconsistent experience for players across the globe. One-off jokes or references don’t translate, and date descriptions vary from place to place. For instance, take the string 5/8/2023 ...is that May 8th, or August 5th? Depends on what country you live in!"

To address those shortcomings, Valve introduced five options developers could select from and switch between, with a "localized and regionally-familiar presentation" for each:
• The exact date. “Aug 24, 2023”
• Month-and-year. “August 2023”
• The quarter of the calendar year. “Q3 2023”
• The year. "2023"
• No date at all. “Coming Soon”

To handle how those dates appear in lists of upcoming games, non-specific launch targets are listed at the last possible date in their time range. So, for instance, if your game is slated for Q1 2023, it will be sorted as though the release date is March 31; if it's simply 2023, Steam will treat it as though the release date is December 31. Essentially, it's an automated placeholder date. And if there's no date at all, it'll appear after all other games that do have a specific date or launch target.

FreeCol is a turn-based strategy game based on the old game Colonization, and similar to Civilization. The objective of the game is to create an independent nation. You start with only a few colonists defying the stormy seas in their search for new land. Will you guide them on the Colonization of a New World?

Those of us of a certain age—or with a certain impeccable taste—will be interested to hear that Pharaoh: A New Era has finally gotten a release date. A remake of Sierra's 1999 city-builder Pharaoh (and its expansion Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile), the game promises a slick and prettied-up new version of the old classic when it releases on February 15.

The remake boasts over 50 playable missions, 100 hours of gameplay, and 4000 years of Egyptian history, alongside all the usual bells and whistles like 4K resolutions and a UI parseable by mortal eyes. The devs at Triskell have even taken the original soundtrack and rearranged it with "traditional oriental instruments". It's the same old Pharaoh gameplay, though: You'll have to juggle all sorts of weighty responsibilities to make sure your city doesn't crumble into the sand dunes, like "the economy, internal and external trade, culture, health, agriculture, education," plus the flooding of the Nile and the literal Plagues of Egypt.

So it can be pretty tough, which is only in keeping with the spirit of the original. When Lorna Reid dove back into the original Pharaoh for PCG, she remarked that "Quaint and lovely though it looks, when you shove the lid off the game’s sarcophagus, you’ll find it has a nastier streak than Imhotep," ready to "devour your time and stretch your patience to breaking point". Sign me up.

For those without a masochistic streak, though, there's a free build mode, and the option to turn off predators and other unpleasant things that might hamper your empire-building. A bit more relaxing, but I reckon it lacks the frisson generated by the constant threat of your city catching fire.

If the thought of either a trial by Biblical fire or a sedate, Egyptian Cities: Skylines appeals, you can keep an eye on Pharaoh: A New Era over on Steam.

Fardaza wrote: ↑Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:52 pm But...I have one question. Why have they rearranged it with "traditional oriental instruments"? Egypt is not in the Orient.

In European historiography, the meaning of "the Orient" changed in scope several times. Originally, the term referred to Egypt, the Levant, and adjoining areas as far west as Morocco.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Sat Jan 28, 2023 5:13 pm Or you could buy it on Steam right now for $42.

USG_Omucupixu [developer] 7 Feb @ 7:27am

This demo will stay up for a couple of weeks at least so no, it won't vanish after February 12th.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 4:35 pm Urban Strife has a demo up for Steam's NextFest. From a dev comment in the Steam forums, it sounds like the demo will continue to be available for a short while after NextFest ends.

USG_Omucupixu [developer] 7 Feb @ 7:27am

This demo will stay up for a couple of weeks at least so no, it won't vanish after February 12th.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 5:30 pm Since they don't even have a release window yet, I expect there is plenty of time remaining before anyone needs to concern themselves about not buying the game.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:19 am Opinion: State of Decay 2 vs Mechwarrior 5.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Sat Feb 11, 2023 5:32 pm I was obsessed with Hardwar back when it was shiny and new, a quarter century ago.

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 11, 2023 5:47 pm

Max Peck wrote: ↑Sat Feb 11, 2023 5:32 pm I was obsessed with Hardwar back when it was shiny and new, a quarter century ago.

They are reissuing it with the old graphics?

Sep 17, 2021 at 1:57am

Hello there Hardwar enthusiasts,

Great to e-meet you! My name is Jordan Freeman, and I am CEO at ZOOM-Platform.com. In a little over an hour, we, along with our partners Funbox Media, are officially and exclusively re-releasing Hardwar: www.zoom-platform.com/product/hardwar

The game is updated to run smoothly on modern PC's and has been upgraded to have full lossless CD Audio support (unlike the DotEmu version).

The English version will go live tonight. French and German versions are in-progress!

Here is the video trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3E0MOhse74

Should you have any questions or comments, please come join our Discord: discord.gg/zagEsVTCFP

I'm @zoom_Jordan there and will be available. My best and have a great weekend, my fellow operatives!

P.S. Here is the press release: icrowdnewswire.com/2021/09/17/funbox-media-and-jordan-freeman-group-announce-hardwar-a-zoom-platform-exclusive-game/

hepcat wrote: ↑Sun Feb 12, 2023 4:50 pm Was looking for a deal on Midnight Suns