http://www.carbon5ive.com Clannews von Carbon5ive de-de 2009 Carbon5ive Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:48:45 -0600 Crossphyre Mark Rein, Vice President of Epic Games, announced today that the studio is working hard on a major title update for Gears of War 2 that will address several bugs, exploits while bringing new features. Straight from the horses mouth: Happy New Year! First of all I hope all of you had a safe and happy holiday season. As I mentioned before the break we’ve been working on a major title update for Gears of War 2. This update will address bugs and exploits as well as add some new achievements related to downloadable content. We don’t have an exact date for it but all indicators are it will go live within January. If that changes we’ll let you know. We’re fixing a whole bunch of online exploits. For example we’ve fixed the ability to wield an invisible shield, melee through some walls, gain infinite Lancer ammo and equip a shield and a two-handed weapon simultaneously plus many more. We’re also making several small changes to improve the overall online gameplay experience. A few of the ones that might interest you are; increased penalties for quitting matches early, adding additional spawn protection against planted grenades and chainsaw attacks, and adding the ability to see the Submission flag carrier destination by using Tac/Com. We know you folks love achievements so on the achievement side we’re adding achievement progress numbers to the War Journal, increasing the frequency of in-game Achievement progression notifications and adding some new Achievements for DLC. This is just a very small list of some of the things that will be in the next title update but one more item which has been talked about a lot in our forums deserves a special call out... About that shotgun... We fixed the client side hit detection on the shotgun so that in a high-latency (i.e. "laggy”) match, the shotgun will be more reliable. We’ve also fixed another bug whereby shotgun and boomshot rounds could strike the ground when firing from the hip. So there’s a brief status report on the next title update. At some point I expect we’ll post a more detailed list but I assure you we’re working hard to get this out the door and once it’s done we’ll start working on the next update. We’ll try to do a better job keeping you informed of our progress on future updates and we’ll try to be a little more active in the forums once this update is released. http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=31 Sun, 04 Jan 2009 10:28:03 -0600 Crossphyre As gaming continues to move into mainstream entertainment, I think you will start to see more and more quality actors lending their talents to the creation of video games. As evident in the popularity of the COD series, Treyarch was able to get Kiefer Sutherland and Gary Oldman to do the main NPC (Non-Playable Character) voices of SGT Roebuck and SGT Reznov. I think they did a great job and it definitely adds to the immersion factor. Check this video out to see exactly how it all came together. Call of Duty: World at War - Voices of War Vignette http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=30 Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:26:19 -0600 Crossphyre Well, with no real news on the gaming front, I faced the dilemma of updating the site before the holidays. I could either post another rant about how Gears 2 and Epic are true failures or maybe a holiday greeting with jolly ol St Nick. Neither one of those really struck me as much as this SNL short. So here is something to tide you over until something newsworthy graces the frontpage. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=29 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:43:39 -0600 Crossphyre You can navigate Gears 2’s multiplayer maps with your eyes closed and reign supreme over the maps in the Flashback pack—it’s time to take the battle to the next level with the Combustible Map Pack, available now on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. All three of the new maps—Flood, Gold Rush, and Fuel Station—are playable in multiplayer or with a band of comrades in Horde mode. FloodFlood is a very tight map thats made extra snug when Imulsion starts creeping up around the edges. As the playing field closes in, the firefight intensifies and combat is forced to the center of the map. Take cover, keep your eyes peeled, and remember to head for high ground. Gold RushThe Gold Rush facility processed and transferred millions of barrels of refined Imulsion before Emergence Day. Located in a desolate gorge, it now serves as a hotly contested battleground. Featuring two tiers, this map has a lot of crossfire and a level of verticality that is rare in Gears multiplayer. Fuel StationFuel Station delivers a dangerous battle around an abandoned fossil-fuel facility. The team that secures and controls the station is likely to win the match. An especially strategic location on this map is the rooftop, as there are only two points of entry—the main elevator and a staircase on the back side of the building. http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=28 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 22:09:02 -0600 Crossphyre Epic Games Senior Producer Rod Fergusson has announced more improvements in order to decrease the matchmaking waiting times that have affected Gears of War 2 since the games release. Hey all, As of Tuesday of this week (Dec 9th), we successfully completed the reconfiguration of our matchmaking servers allowing us to have more players per server. This optimization allows us to take greater advantage of our Nov 27th title update. Based on what were seeing so far, matchmaking times have improved significantly. To be realistic though, there will still be times when a particular playlist is low on available players or there isnt a party of the right size to merge with yours but overall, you should get into a match much quicker than before. Were really excited to see just how many people are playing Gears 2 multiplayer. Execution, with over 1.8 million matches so far, has finally surpassed Horde as number 1 with its 1.7 million. And were not done yet. As we get more data, were continuing to monitor and adjust the process to try and make it as streamlined as possible. Again, we want to thank everyone for their patience and were looking forward to playing with you online. Thanks, Rod. Crossphyre: Well, I dont wait forever, which is an improvement, but why address that and not the gameplay? That is the biggest flaw of this game. The glitches, lag, bugs... those should be the priority if you ask me. http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=27 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:06:18 -0600 Crossphyre Carbon5ive wants to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you all are given the opportunity to spend this holiday with family and friends. While your at it, try not to eat too much Turkey and Ham! We hope everyone takes some time to reflect on all that you have to be thankful for. Thanks again and Happy Holidays! http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=26 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:10:02 -0600 Crossphyre Let’s take a moment to look over the ranking system in Gears of War 2, to make sure everyone understands what they’re looking at when they check out other players online. Your rank in Gears of War 2 multiplayer is based on your TrueSkill rating, which calculates the relative strength of all players on Xbox LIVE. There are five ranks total, and the first rank is achieved after you play your first multiplayer match. The more Gears 2 matches you win, the higher your rank will be, and your rank will go down when you lose matches. Rank is not affected by Horde Mode and private matches. The ranks are displayed in game using the icons to the left. TrueSkill is like the chess ELO system, which tries to predict who should win the match based on the skill of the players. If you were predicted to lose and your team wins, then your TrueSkill goes up more than if you won and you were predicted to win. This holds true for the inverse scenario: If you were predicted to win and you lose, then your ranking drops more than if you were predicted to lose. Rank is not a constantly increasing value, such as is typical in role-playing games (RPGs). Your rank may plateau or even drop as it closes in on your correct and accurate skill level. It will probably take tens of Public Xbox LIVE matches for your rank to move in one direction or another, and it may even take hundreds of matches to achieve a skill with the highest rank we offer, assuming you are good enough to get there. Also, keep in mind that each rank icon represents a specific range or bucket of TrueSkill values, so while your skill is fluctuating in very small increments from match to match, your rank icon will only change when your skill moves from one bucket to the next. Therefore, your rank is not just about number of kills or experience or the amount of time played. Its an aggregated representation of your skill level based on your wins and losses during Public Xbox LIVE matches. And yes, quitting will lower your rank. http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=25 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:14:12 -0600 Crossphyre If you have played online competitive multiplayer in Gears of War 2, you know about the matchmaking issues that are currently affecting the game. After Microsoft and Epic Games announced they were aware of this problem and were working on a solution, now Senior Producer Rod Fergusson addresses the issue while providing some temporal workarounds until the dev team finds a definitive solution: Hi all, Were aware that some folks are experiencing longer-than-ideal wait times while using the skill-based Public matchmaking in Gears 2 multiplayer. Were working on some solutions but its a complicated issue as there isnt any one problem; its a combination of factors. Clearly, scale is one of them as weve had millions of successful matches played online so far, however a small percentage of players are having issues, which is unacceptable. Were working closely with Microsoft to address the matchmaking issues, I promise you that it is our #1 priority, and we hope to have an update soon. In the meantime, I would like to suggest some workarounds: If youre experiencing long delays (longer than 2 minutes) or youre seeing your matchmaking search restarting over and over again, please try a different playlist as that indicates a possible population issue with the currently selected one. The problem seems to be heightened for parties of 1 and parties of 4 so please try to invite at least one friend into your party before matchmaking. And of course the fastest way to play is to have a full 5 person party before looking for a match since you wont have to find any teammates beforehand. Fortunately our new Whats Up feature makes finding Friends whore playing Gears 2 online easier. Also, after a match, if youd like to continue to play with the 9 people you just played with, simply press Y to look at the previous match stats and press X to invite them all to your party so you can continue to play in a Private match if they accept. Private matches, while not arbitrated, gives you the flexibility to set exactly which map and mode you want to play along with customizing other aspects of the game. And as always, please ensure that your router is set correctly so that your NAT is considered Open by Xbox LIVE as Moderate and Strict NATs make Xbox LIVE matchmaking more difficult. There are many guides available online to walk you through the process of correctly configuring your router for Xbox LIVE so I wont go into the specific details here. Also, in case youre curious, a few interesting facts about Gears 2 multiplayer so far: * Almost 3 million multiplayer matches (excluding Private) have been played. * Almost 1 million screenshot photos have been uploaded to gearsofwar.com * The most popular multiplayer mode is Horde. * The most popular multiplayer map across all modes is River. * The most lethal weapon is the Gnasher shotgun with almost 29% of all kills. Again, I apologize for any issues you may be having and I hope the above workarounds give you a better experience until we are able to correct the issues were seeing. Thanks, Rod. http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=24 Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:08:23 -0600 Crossphyre Gears of War 2 picks up six months after the events of the original game,and thrusts you back into a deep and harrowing story of humankinds epic battle for survival against a nightmarish force of underground creatures known as the Locust Horde. To celebrate the release of this new Xbox 360 action blockbuster, weve got a Wingman Assault LIVE Weekend full of events. You can enter the Play Win sweepstakes for a chance at some great prizes, or show your stuff in the big Leaderboard Tournament. The Wingman Assault LIVE Weekend is sponsored by Transporter 3, in theaters on November 26. In this fast-paced action film, Frank Martin (Jason Statham) must complete the mission to save his life.Register your gamertag now and get ready for a whole weekend of fun and competition! From 12:01 A.M. (ET) on Friday, November 7 until 11:59 P.M. (ET) on Sunday November 9, youll get an entry into the sweepstakes when you play a multiplayer Gears of War 2 match.Prize InformationAfter the entry period, will conduct a prize drawing for the following nine winners from among all eligible entries: * Two Grand Prizes: A custom Gears of War 2 Xbox 360 console * Two Second Prizes: A Gears of War 2 Special Edition Zune 120 GB digital media player * Five Third Prizes: A Gears of War 2 Limited Edition gameGet more details on the Play Win Sweepstakes.NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States (includes the District of Columbia) 18+. Game ends November 9, 2008. For details including free, alternate method of entry, see the Official Rules.-Leaderboard TournamentThe Wingman Assault Leaderboard Tournament is sure to attract some of the top Gears of War 2 players in the country! To enter the tournament, register your gamertag here or by downloading the free Assault Weekend Registration Gamer Picture from Marketplace.The Tournament begins at 12:01 A.M. on November 9, 2008 (ET) and ends at 11:59 P.M. on November 9. After the tournament, the top ten scores on the Wingman Assault Leaderboard will receive some great prizes.PrizesOne Champion Prize and nine Runner-Up Prizes will be awarded.One Overall Champion Prize Package: * Zune Gears of War 2 120GB Special Edition * Gears of War 2 Xbox 360 console * 12-month Xbox LIVE Gold subscription card * 4,000 Microsoft PointsNine Runner Up Prize Packages: * Zune Gears of War 2 120GB Special Edition * 12-month Xbox LIVE Gold subscription card * 4,000 Microsoft PointsGet more details on the Leaderboard Tournament.-Game with DevelopersSome of the developers from Epic Games will be on hand to play Gears or War 2 during the Wingman Assault Weekend. Look for these gamertags on Xbox LIVE on Saturday, November 8 from 2 - 5 P.M. Eastern Time and send off a game invite: * EpicDev1 * EpicDev2 * EpicDev3 * EpicDev4 * EpicDev5 * EpicDev6 * EpicDev7 * EpicDev8- http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=23 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:32:43 -0600 Crossphyre IGN Gears of War 2 Review You are humanitys last breath of hope. Time to step up.The original Gears of War was about laying the foundation and setting the stage for a massive struggle between man and monster. It introduced us to a planet named Sera and a band of warriors who will stop at nothing to preserve their people and make their home world safe yet again. Standing in their way are the Locust, a race of subterranean aliens hell bent on bringing down the Coalition of Ordered Governments and crippling the human race.Now were entering the second chapter in the universe Epic Games created. The events of the first ended with Marcus and Dom delivering the Lightmass Bomb into The Hollow after killing General Raam. Sadly the bomb had about the same effect as sticking a bull in the ass with an ice pick. The Locust only doubled their efforts and have been sinking cities on Sera ever since. Now only one remains: the city of Jacinto whose foundation is thick enough to keep the Locust at bay. But not for long. The Locust are poised to crush Jacinto just as they have every other city. Soon humanitys struggle will be over, all hope extinguished.But not yet.Yes, Gears of War 2 is indeed more impactful than the first. Cliff Bleszinski, Rod Ferguson and company tried their best to create a deeper and more involved storyline with the second game in the series and for the most part they succeeded. In some areas flawlessly so. For example, one of my concerns when hearing of the new additions -- Tai Kaliso, Dizzy Wallin and Anthony Carmine – was that they would take focus off of the main focus of Dom and Marcus. After all, weve seen series add characters that are either focused on too heavily or are just plain uninteresting. Without spoiling anything, Epic did a wonderful job of keeping the focus where it belongs while still giving the new characters meaningful roles that not only enhance the drama but also evolve the motivations of the Locust.Theres no question that storyline plays a much more important role than it did in the first game. Characters are more emotional, more is revealed about the Locust and where they come from (as well as a look at the Locust Queen), and there are also plenty of new story threads that are opened up. Some of which are wrapped up in the end, most of which are not.The focus of the story is Doms search for his wife, Maria. Its important to note that while Marcus Fenix is still the main character of Gears of War, hearing him say some of the emotionally charged lines that come out of Doms mouth would have been just plain strange. It was a good decision to go with a character who not only has a normal speaking voice, but whose personality is more conducive to being naturally emotional. That having been said, there are plenty of moments when youll crack a wry smile at what you just heard on-screen. The writing is much improved -- as is evidenced by Prescotts introductory speech after the first chapter -- but that doesnt stop the voice actors from sounding extremely cheesy at times. Still, I bought into Doms search for his wife -- and the Gears Universe as a whole -- for the second game.But those not looking for a story intensive experience might be a bit turned off by the increased number of cutscenes and dramatic outbursts. Theres certainly more to watch than in the first game, nothing like a Metal Gear Solid title, but there are frequent breaks in the action that rely on the player investing in the characters in order to hit home. Fleshing out the Gears of War universe goes much deeper than simply expanding the scale of emotions and unearthing some back story for the Locust horde. Instead Epic took things further by expanding the all-important scope and scale of the action. Its there that Gears of War 2 separates itself from other videogames. Players are fighting in a massive planet-wide war and in Gears of War 2 you feel the importance of your actions in a big way. The battles are massive and enemies that only made brief appearances prior are now being thrown at the player in droves. Brumaks and Corpsers are dispatched with ease and even the common courtyard battles are bigger and a bit more intense than before. Some of that is to do with the new enemies – including the likes of Raams replacement, Skorge – and their number on-screen being much greater than in the first, sometimes stretching into the hundreds. http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=22 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:34:14 -0600 Crossphyre As we enter the home stretch til release of one of the most highly anticipated games of the last few years, Epic and Microsoft are launching the game in style. While a Friday release is somewhat questionable, especially a midnight release on Friday Morning considering it doesnt fall on a holiday and most gamers have school or work the following day. With that being said, almost everyone who can physically make the midnight release, plans on doing so. This Friday release comes at what will be a long weekend for most, including myself, with Veterans Day the following Tuesday. This ensures that Gears fans will get maximum time to sit on their beanbag in their underwear, eating chee-tos, and chain sodomizing for days straight. There are also a few perks for those that participate in the Midnight Mayhem events: Microsoft and Epic Games announced today that retail partners will host more than 20,000 retailers worldwide will open their doors at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 7 to celebrate the arrival of Gears of War 2. In London, Los Angeles and New York, the companies involved will run launch festivities featuring contests, special guest appearances and prizes, including Limited Edition Gears of War 2 Xbox 360 consoles, Special Edition Gears of War 2 Zune media players, DC Comics/WildStorm Productions’ comic books, art books, posters and more. As part of these Midnight Mayhem launch festivities in North America, everyone who purchases Gears of War 2at participating retailers will receive an Xbox Live token for an exclusive in-game gold-plated Hammerburst for use in multiplayer gameplay. These tokens will not be available beyond the night of launch and only while supplies last. Below is a list of marquee launch event locations and activities: London: GAME at 64-66 Clarence Street, Kingston Upon Thames, KT1 1NP "Gears of War” comic book artist Liam Sharp and Microsoft Game Studios staff will be on location to participate in the launch activities and give away "Gears of War 2” merchandise. Los Angeles: GameStop at Universal City Walk, 1000 Universal Studios Blvd, Universal City, CA 91608 Xbox LIVE’s Major Nelson will MC the event, which will feature special appearances and autograph signings by Cliff Bleszinski of Epic Games. "Gears of War 2” voice actors including John DiMaggio (Marcus Fenix), Lester "Rasta” Speight (Augustus Cole) and Carlos Ferro (Dominic Santiago) will also be in attendance. Additionally, fans will have the unique opportunity to mug with a real life "Delta Squad” – costumed characters from Nightmare Armor Studios will be patrolling the GameStop, and tons of free "Gears of War 2” merchandise will be given away throughout the evening. Please note that lineups will not begin before 11 a.m. PST. New York: Best Buy, 622 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 Epic Games’ senior producer Rod Fergusson along with Epic Games team members will interact with the crowd and autograph copies of the game in addition to free "Gears of War 2” merchandise. Bellevue: Best Buy, 457 120th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005 "Gears of War 2” co-writer Joshua Ortega and Microsoft Game Studios staff will be on location to participate in the launch activities and give away "Gears of War 2” merchandise. http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=21 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:56:46 -0500 Crossphyre If you feel that the Last Day Ad for Gears of War 2 was a different take on the game than all the other videos you have seen for GOW2, I ask you to take a glimpse back in time to the original Gears of War ad Mad World. You will see a few obvious similarities but also take note of the differences. The improvement in character emphasis as well as the graphical improvements made in the Unreal 3 Engine. It is quite a large step. The below video shows both. http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=20 Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:32:51 -0500 Crossphyre If your anticipation for Gears of War 2 hasn’t hit critical mass just yet, brace yourself—in the coming weeks, Gears 2 will be everywhere. But what about that moment of calm before the storm? It’s here in the form of "Last Day,” the haunting new Gears 2 TV spot from the makers of the Gears of War "Mad World” ad. Created entirely within Unreal Engine 3, "Last Day” features the music track "How It Ends” by indie rockers DeVotchKa. The spot is slated to run in 15 countries, including: U.S.: Nov. 2, during the NFL’s Sunday Night Football presentation of New England at Indianapolis on NBC Canada: Nov. 3, during the NFL’s Monday Night Football presentation of Pittsburgh at Washington France: Nov. 3, on Sci-Fi Channel and MTV Mexico: Nov. 3, on FX, FOX and CVM networks during prime time programming Australia: Nov. 4, during The Simpsons on FOX 8, Nov. 7, on MTV during the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards, and Nov. 10, during American Chopper on the Discovery Channel United Kingdom: Cinema spots including films such as Saw V and Max Payne; TV spots on Dec. 1, during The Simpsons on Sky One and Dec. 2, on Sky Sports 1 during Carling Cup Football http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=18 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:19:49 -0500 Crossphyre The gruesome saga continues as SAW V hits theaters in the U.S. on October 24, 2008, and weve got a new Play Win promotion leading up to the films release. Just register and play Gears of War online for your chance to win an Xbox 360 console or exclusive SAW merchandise. Get out your chainsaw for this new Play Win.The Grand Prize is a custom Gears of War 2 Xbox 360 console, sure to be prized by any collector.Before registering for the sweepstakes, make sure your Xbox LIVE account information is accurate! Potential winners will be notified by the sweepstakes administrator and have their prizes shipped using the contact info (e-mail, phone, and address) on their Xbox LIVE profile. If your contact info is not up to date you will be disqualified from winning a prize. Check your account information here.Sweepstakes RegistrationAfter you verify your account info, you need to register your gamertag to participate in the Play Win Sweepstakes. Register online here.Sweepstakes EntryAfter registering, you will automatically receive one entry into the sweepstakes when you connect to Xbox LIVE and play a multiplayer session of Gears of War between 12:01 A.M. on October 17 and 11:59 P.M. (Pacific Time) on October 19, 2008. Prize InformationAfter the sweepstakes, we will conduct a drawing for one Grand Prize Winner, one First Prize Winner, one Second Prize Winner, and five Third Prize Winners from among all eligible entries received. One Grand Prize: A custom Gears of War 2 Xbox 360 consoleOne First Prize: A prize package consisting of the following items: SAW I, SAW II, SAW III and SAW IV movies on DVD A limited edition SAW Extreme Head Knocker figurine A SAW: Clip It Talking Billy Keychain SAW V T-shirts SAW V posters, mini poster, and postcardOne Second Prize: A Gears of War 2 Special Edition Zune 120 GB digital media playerFive Third Place Prizes: A Gears of War 2 Limited Edition video gameThe Play Win promotions from Xbox.com are an easy way to jump in and interact with the Xbox LIVE community. Its easy to enter and you could win some great prizes. Look for more exciting Play Win promotions in the future! http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=17 Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:15:07 -0500 Crossphyre Gears of War 2 Fans Worldwide Preparing for the Countdown to Launch Sequel surpasses original game’s pre-sales "Gears of War 2,” the blockbuster sequel to the fastest-selling game of 2006, recently surpassed the total pre-sale orders of the original "Gears of War” and is poised to become the must-have video game this holiday season. With "Gears of War 2” now just 24 days away, there is plenty to look forward to when the game launches on November 7th. Fans should mark their calendars to participate in the following upcoming launch activities: Midnight Mayhem Events Over 20,000 retail stores worldwide will have "Gears of War 2” on sale at 12:01 a.m. on November 7th as part of the Midnight Mayhem launch program. Everyone who purchases a copy of "Gears of War 2” at participating retailers during Midnight Mayhem will receive an Xbox LIVE token for an exclusive in-game gold-plated Hammerburst Assault Rifle for use in multiplayer gameplay. Xbox LIVE Weekend, Nov. 7-10 Xbox LIVE has lined-up special programming for fans, including a "Game with Fame” where Xbox LIVE members can take on the "Gears of War 2” development team at Epic Games and win prizes. Visit www.GearsofWar.com in the coming weeks for details on how to participate. Additionally, Microsoft and Epic Games are offering exclusive Xbox LIVE content as a special gift to fans, including: http://www.carbon5ive.com/news/index.php?action=show&id=16