Ahead of Diablo Immortal’s PC and mobile launch on June 2nd, Blizzard Entertainment outlines a number of accessibility features in the game.
Diablo Immortal is a spin-off of the quintessential dungeon crawler series from Blizzard. Developed not only for PC but iOS and Android, the team is including a number of features to enable more players to take a trip to hell.
In an accessibility blog post, Blizzard announces that controller support is available at launch. “You will be able to play Diablo Immortal with controllers on both mobile devices and on PC,” the team confirms. With controller support, Diablo Immortal also features button remapping, a feature that can go a long way for accessibility. “Many controls — including skills, accessing chat, and more — can be remapped from the controller tab of the settings menu.”
Additionally, the Diablo Immortal accessibility supports the ability to resize chat text. This includes the ability to scale up the size of text up to 200 percent. Up to three text size options are available for the chat interface. Voice chat transcription is also available. For those with vision impairments, Diablo Immortal includes text-to-speech options. This can narrate chat messages.
Finally, for graphics, Blizzard adds a World Brightness option in the Display tab. This can help brighten up the game and its environment. While not available at launch, the team states its commitment to add higher contrast and colour blindness options to the game as well.
Admittedly, hearing the term “mobile MMORPG” (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) doesn’t exactly appeal to me right away.
In general, I don’t like mobile gaming, and MMOs — outside of Final Fantasy XIV — are absolutely not my cup of tea.
Having said all of that, Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds — a new mobile MMO from Netmarble — is pretty solid. Co-developed by Ni no Kuni maker Level-5, the game puts you in the shoes of a beta tester who’s thrown into a virtual world. I’ve only played a few hours of the original Ni no Kuni way back in 2013, so I can’t speak to what connections — if any — Cross Worlds has to that or its sequel. (I also think Cross World‘s premise is a little odd considering you’d assume this was just a regular colourful fantasy world, but I digress.)
Looking past all of the frivolous story beats, the game has a lot of charm. Immediately, I was impressed by the lush, console-quality visuals. The painterly aesthetic absolutely pops, especially on my iPhone 13 Pro, and the animations are lively and fluid. On top of that, Joe Hisaishi, the composer of the previous Ni no Kuni games and numerous Studio Ghibli films, has scored Cross Worlds. I’ve been going on a Ghibli rewatch ahead of Hisaishi’s Toronto concert, and his splendid music adds even more to Cross Worlds‘ lovely presentation.
But Cross Worlds also has one of the oddest design choices I’ve seen in a while: it can be played almost entirely by itself. To be sure, it’s not uncommon for MMOs and mobile games to have some sort of automation, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that Cross Worlds automatically does nearly everything for you. After creating my character, the magical spear-wielding Witch, and personalizing her using the game’s serviceable customization options, I was thrown into a quick tutorial. This opening stretch was the most hands-on I got. (For what it’s worth, the other four classes seem decent so far: the Rogue (an archer who can cast buffs), Destroyer (a hammer-equipped tank), Engineer (boasts guns, machines and healing spells) and Swordsman (exactly what he sounds like).
A Witch.
Upon completing this intro, I was thrown into the game’s overworld, which was initially nice to soak in thanks to the wonderful visuals and music. But that was short-lived, as the game almost immediately started taking my character, on auto-pilot, to the next story mission, featuring a strange British accented pig-like floating creature named Cluu. As I let this go on, I was taken into a battle where my character… did basically everything for me, outside of dodging enemy attacks. Throughout all of this, the only interaction I had was tapping the screen to skip dialogue options and accept my reward for completing the quest.
Of course, you can turn all of this off, so there’s some level of input on your part. And I can even see how automation might be useful for some looking to avoid the notorious “MMO grind,” especially since the game bafflingly doesn’t have controller support at the time of writing. That said, it was weird for it to be on by default. Moreover, it honestly made me a little less enthusiastic about playing. After all, if the game can do virtually everything for me, then what’s the point?
Following this mission, I decided to play manually, which fared okay. In combat, your character has a standard combo attack and six special skills that operate on a cooldown. For my Witch, these included a mix of fire-based ranged spells and close-quarters spear jabs, which look delightfully flashy. You can also roll out of the way of attacks, but I didn’t find myself needing to do that. (Naturally, the game can’t be very difficult — at least this early on — and require you to dodge if the automated combat can’t actually do that itself). In the end, it’s all pretty standard stuff for an RPG on mobile, but it works reasonably well.
But where I’m relatively lukewarm on the combat, I’m quite impressed with Cross World‘s breadth of content. There’s a slew of quests in here, each offering its own rewards through which you can purchase and upgrade gear. There are also recruitable ‘Familiar’ creatures that can help you in battle, adding a Pokémon-esque monster-catching element. And best of all, the game has a robust social offering. On top of the expected co-op and PvP (player vs. player) options, there’s a neat “kingdom” mechanic, through which you can team up with others to rebuild destroyed territory. In a way, it sort of reminds me of the novel asynchronous multiplayer elements of Death Stranding, wherein you pooled resources together with other players to construct a new world, except in Cross World you actually see other people. As you build the kingdom, you all get access to shops, special battles and other rewards, making it well worth your while. I’m generally someone who likes to run through MMOs as solo as possible, but I certainly appreciate that this content is here.
In the end, I haven’t spent a significant amount of time with Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds, but it so far hasn’t quite dug its hooks into me. But I admit that this is more down to my personal tastes of not normally being into this sort of game, rather than anything overtly wrong with it. I also can’t speak to how intrusive the in-app purchases might be, although the knowledge that Netmarble has gross blockchain and NFTs planned for the game is genuinely offputting.
For now, though, Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds is worth trying out, especially if you’re a mobile gamer. After all, being free-to-play removes the subscription barrier that many MMOs have. If nothing else, it sure looks and sound pretty.
Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds can be downloaded on Android, iOS and PC.
Ni no Kuno: Cross Worlds, a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), is now available on Android, iOS and PC in North America.
The game is the latest entry in the Ni no Kuni JRPG series, and it was developed by Netmarble and original Ni no Kuni maker Level-5. On top of that, Joe Hisaishi, who scored the two Ni no Kuni games as well as many Studio Ghibli films, serves as Cross Worlds’ composer.
In the game, you can choose between five playable classes: the Swordsman, Witch, Rogue, Engineer and Destroyer. All of them offer customizable appearances and unique mounts like cats and gliders. Mysterious creatures known as ‘Familiar’ can also be collected and called to battle.
Outside of traditional MMO-style combat, players can join Kingdoms to work together with other players for mutual rewards. Cross-play is also supported between mobile and PC.
Like most free-to-play games, Cross Worlds features in-app purchases for in-game currencies. It’s unclear how much grinding it requires to earn these resources through gameplay. We’ll have more on Cross Worlds in the coming days.
Barcelona, Spain – June 7, 2018: Logo of Apple Inc. on a Apple store. Apple is the multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California and sells consumer electronics products.
Alongside iOS 15.5‘s release, Apple launched a set of rules that change how auto-renewing subscriptions work in the App Store.
According to the new rules, instead of asking users to agree to a price increase, developers can now hike up the cost of an app without the subscriber’s consent. However, this shift is helpful for developers since it likely won’t result in as many users unsubscribing when they up the subscription cost of an app, and it’s arguably pretty awful for consumers.
Apple says that this change saves users from their subscriptions being automatically cancelled when they miss the opt-in notification tied to a price increase. While true, I’d rather miss a notification and automatically be unsubscribed from an app than shell out additional money I don’t want to spend — there are a lot of App Store subscriptions I’d cancel if I were aware of a price increase. You could also argue that some app developers will likely take advantage of this feature to suck more profit from subscribers.
However, there are still additional rules on Apple’s end. For example, the increase can’t exceed $5 or 50 percent of the current subscription cost or $50 and 50 percent of the annual subscription cost. So at the very least, app developers can’t outright price gouge their subscribers with increases.
This shift in App Store policy will result in me watching my subscriptions far more closely as I subscribe to several apps through Apple’s App Store. Most apps will send out emails to users regarding price hikes, so I’ll be keeping a closer eye on my email inbox moving forward.
However, there are still several new features, including the Podcasts app feature and home automation fixes:
“iOS 15.5 includes the following improvements and bug fixes: – Wallet now enables Apple Cash customers to send and request money from their Apple Cash card – Apple Podcasts includes a new setting to limit episodes stored on your iPhone and automatically delete older ones – Fixes an issue where home automations, triggered by people arriving or leaving, may fail Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222“
It’s important to note that the Apple Cash feature that allows users to send and request money from their Apple card is not available in Canada, given the tech giant’s credit card still hasn’t been launched here.
To download the update, head to ‘General,’ ‘Settings,’ ‘Software Update,’ and ‘Download and Install.’
Along with iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4, Apple also dropped macOS Monterey 12.4, bringing Universal Control out of beta, watchOS 8.6, tvOS 15.5 and HomePod software 15.5. All of these updates seem to be tied to stability and bug fixes.
Electronic Arts has announced a partnership with Middle-earth Enterprises on a new free-to-play The Lord of the Rings mobile game.
No reveal trailer was actually shown for the title, titled The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth, but EA says it’s a “collectible role-playing game” featuring “high-fidelity graphics, cinematic animations, and stylized art.” EA also promises that the game will feature “storylines, locations, characters, and lore” from J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary works, rather than the Peter Jackson films, although specific details weren’t provided.
EA Capital Games, the California-based studio behind the massively popular Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes mobile game, is developing Heroes of Middle-earth. A launch date for Heroes of Middle-earth wasn’t confirmed, but EA says a limited, regional beta testwill begin this summer.
Heroes of Middle-earth marks EA’s return to the world of Middle-earth after a number of years. Around the time that Jackson’s films were in theatres, EA published several related games, including 2002’s well-regarded The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers tie-in and 2009’s The Lord of the Rings: Conquest. Warner Bros., which produced the Jackson films, would later gain the license to publish Middle-earth games, which include last generation’s popular Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War.
AirTag users have begun to report a new phenomenon commonly referred to as “phantom” AirTag alerts. While a permanent solution to the issue has not been sound, Apple is aware of the problem and is providing a potential fix.
Apple’s AirTags have an alert system built into iOS to notify users when someone else’s AirTag is nearby. This is in place as a way for Apple to provide anti-stalking measures, maintaining safety and privacy. However, some users claim iOS is alerting them when an AirTag is not in their path.
Reports first began surfacing from the Wall Street Journal. “In recent weeks, some iPhone users have begun receiving alerts, often in the middle of the night.” The Find My app provides a notification saying “AirTag detected near you” with a proximity map of its location. However, “ phantom AirTag alerts share a similar pattern: straight red lines radiating out from the user’s location,” the report claims. If these patterns were true, the AirTag would be in motion, crossing otherwise unreachable zones.
It’s still unknown how many users are being affected by this bug. However, Apple has confirmed that the company knows the AirTag alert issue is affecting users and is looking into it. A spokesperson of Apple provided a statement and outlined a temporary solution.
“Such alerts could have resulted from an iPhone receiving area Wi-Fi signals that temporarily confused its location services,” the report reads. For anyone being affected by the bug, Apple suggests navigating to ‘Settings’ then ‘Privacy,” and finally ‘Location Services.’ Once in the menu, toggle the switch off and on while on Wi-Fi. Apple also states that AirTags in more populated areas could trigger these alerts.
While far from a permanent solution, this may alleviate unwanted notifications caused by the Find My app on iOS. Apple has been refining the AirTag user experience, offering many anti-stalking measures. While effective in various ways, the Find My app needs more attention as it does appear to be the root of the issue.
It looks like Apple Music is replacing some apps (even third-party ones) on the iPhone’s Dock after it’s installed.
As first reported by MacRumors, several reports of the issue have appeared on Twitter and Reddit. In one instance, Twitter user Kevin Archer says that Apple Music is only replacing non-Apple apps. Still, TechCrunchsays that’s not the case and that Apple Music takes over Apple’s own camera app and Safari in the dock.
Seems like if you download the Apple Music app from App Store, it will automatically appear on your device (iPhone) dock, more than this, it will change any other 3d party app with the Music app. If on your dock, you only have Apple apps it won't do anything. pic.twitter.com/c0pkO9G2pq
Other reports state that Apple Music is automatically being set as the iPhone’s default music streaming platform when it’s installed, even if another app has already been set. The issue seems to affect iOS devices running 15.4.1 and earlier versions of iOS 15.
Though it would make sense to assume that this isn’t a bug and is an intentional move on Apple’s part, likely, that isn’t the case given the microscope the company is currently under regarding favouring its own apps.
I just verified this on iOS 15.4.1. With Spotify installed and on the dock, installing Apple Music removed Spotify from the dock and put Apple Music there – without asking. Happens without Apple Music being run, so clearly Apple has rigged their OPERATING SYSTEM to do this!
That said, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney claims that when he installed Apple Music, Spotify was removed from the dock, stating that Apple has “rigged” iOS to favour its own apps in the Dock despite the random nature of the glitch.
Apple will likely solve this issue relatively quickly.
Diablo: Immortal will release on Android, iOS and PC on June 2nd, Blizzard has announced.
Immortal is a free-to-play spin on the classic Diablo action-RPG dungeon-crawling that will feature optional in-game purchases. On PC, the game will be in open beta to start, although this will be the complete, fully-featured version. Online multiplayer, including cross-play and cross-progression between mobile and PC, will also be supported.
Notably, the game was originally unveiled way back at BlizzCon 2018 for mobile, with Blizzard saying at the time that there were “no plans” to bring it to PC. Given that Diablo has historically been a PC franchise, this announcement was met with significant backlash.
In a blog post announcing the release date, Blizzard admitted that “the decision to develop Diablo Immortal for PC was one that the team went back and forth on for a large part” of development:
“On one hand, we felt that we wouldn’t be doing the title justice by releasing a game originally designed for mobile on PC; on the other hand, we wanted to make sure the game reached as many players as possible—especially our most dedicated PC fans. In the end, the deciding factor was that we knew many of you would attempt to play this game through an emulator, thus leading us towards building a better experience.”
While it remains to be seen how the game will fare on PC, it should be noted that the mobile versions have garnered a generally positive response so far from outlets in previews from the likes of IGNand Android Central.
News of Immortal‘s release date comes from Blizzard parent company Activision Blizzard’s latest earnings release. Overall, the company missed its sales targets due, in part, to weaker sales of last year’s Call of Duty: Vanguard. Since July, the company has been embroiled in a slew of lawsuits and controversies pertaining to an alleged toxic work culture. Microsoft is also currently in the midst of acquiring the publisher, following regulatory approval.
Shifting directions from previous years, it appears Apple’s iPhone 14 is poised to be a step under the iPhone 14 Pro in a few key ways.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and his ‘Power on’ newsletter, only Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro models will feature a new 48-megapixel wide camera and more powerful A16 chip. iPhone 14 devices, on the other hand, will include the same 12-megapixel wide shooter and A15 chip as the iPhone 13 series.
This isn’t the first time this rumour has appeared either. A few weeks ago, often-reliable KGI Securities Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple’s non-pro iPhone 14 models will likely still be powered by the iPhone 13’s A15 chip due to the ongoing global chip shortage.
Gurman goes on to say that the iPhone 14 Max will feature a 6.7-inch display, bringing a ‘Max’ sized iPhone to Apple’s lower-end flagship. Further, the report states that the iPhone 14 series will look very similar to the iPhone 13 series with one notable design shift. According to Gurman, Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro devices will feature a pill-shaped cutout for Face ID and a circular cutout for the camera, borrowing a key feature from Samsung’s Galaxy S series line and ditching the notch entirely.
Finally, Bloomberg reports that previously rumoured satellite connectivity features that allow iPhone users to report emergencies and send texts when no cellular service is available could finally make its way to Apple’s iPhone 14 series.
Apple’s iPhone 14 devices will likely be revealed this coming Fall. As usual, expect a flurry of rumours surrounding the smartphone to appear over the course of the coming summer.
