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The Utopia expansion is the first major addition to Paradox’s awesome space Grand Strategy game is going to hit our digital shelves on the 6th of April. As is tradition for Paradox, the DLC will be accompanied by a free patch that will also include some pretty hefty changes in its own right. Paradox have previously released some smallish DLC, including the awesome Leviathans, that added ancient space horrors and orders to the game.

Lets start with the Utopia expansion. One of the more talked about features is the ability to build vast orbital habitats and structures, including Dyson spheres. This will hopefully go some way to mitigating the expansion problems pacifist empires face when boxed in and will give more scope to building “tall” crowded empires, as opposed to vast sprawling ones.

The Utopia expansion will also improve the slavery feature. No more will your slaves be condemned to simply work the mines, now you can be far more… Inventive. You can chose the kind of enslavement for a population; you can turn them into domestic servants, battle thralls, or into livestock to produce food to fill the bellies of your people. It will also add in a number of new purge options. You can choose to simply wipe a peoples off the map if you so wish, but now you can also force unwanted pops from your border or place them into labor camps or turn them into burgers… Paradox really went in for the whole cannibalism thing this time.

The real star of the Utopia expansion is the Ascension perks. These are special traits that your empire can acquire that will help you with different play-styles and goals. These perks will really help define the feel of your empire and will give you access to three new “paths” in the end-game. Will you shed your weak flesh and become truly cyborg? Perhaps you wish to master your mind and develop your species latent psionic abilities? Or will you bend your own flesh to your will, twisting and warping evolution to suit your needs or desires?

Have you ever wanted to be the all consuming horror of the universe? Well Utopia will also let you do that. You can turn your species into a hive-mind. Your species will be one, posses a single unshakable will, there will be no dissent or unrest. The down side? Other species really don’t trust you and your pops can only survive on hive-mind worlds. That and if you have any non-hivemind pops in your empire then your species will… well… Eat them alive…. So much cannibalism Paradox.

The Banks expansion will be released alongside this DLC, providing a number of features for everyone who owns Stellaris, regardless of whether they own Utopia or not.

The tradition trees are similar to the Ascension perks in that they offer ways for you to customize your empire to your liking and play-style, they’ll help you research tech faster or build a better navy, it should help give individual empires more character.

Ethics are also getting a major rework. In the past ethics drift was pretty random and led to some somewhat odd results. Now it is tied to an “attraction” value that dictates how likely a population is to adopt a specific ethic. If you fight a lot of wars then your people are naturally going to become more militaristic. This is great because it also ties heavily into the new faction system. New factions will form around ethics and lobby your government to pass policies that suit their world-view. If you fail to satisfy these demands, it will lead to unrest that could result in rebellion.

You will also have new ways to approach the species in your empire. You’ll be able to define specific rights, give them automatic citizenship, military citizenship define whether they are allowed to migrate around your empire or join the military. You can even say how many children you will allow them to have.

All these changes will allow players to build the harmonious Utopia of the future. I mean, it will also let them build dystopian nightmares, but whatever works… Right?

Utopia releases on the 6th of April and will cost $19.99.

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You'll find me wandering around the Science sections mostly, excitedly waving my arms around while jumping up and down about the latest science and tech news. I am also occasionally found in the gaming section, trying to convince everyone else that linux is the future of the computer gaming.

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New PS5 Patch Introduces Rare 40FPS Mode for Avatar Game

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7 hours ago

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April 23, 2024

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Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has received an exciting update that introduces a new graphical mode, elevating the game’s visual experience. With a smooth frame rate of 40 frames per second and enhanced resolutions, players can now immerse themselves in even more stunning and detailed environments. Now downloadable on PS5 with the latest patch 3.2, this mode is compatible with 4K TVs that can handle up to 120 Hz. Before this update, Avatar PS5 only offered quality and performance modes. However, with this new option, players can now enjoy the benefits of both modes after downloading the 2.4GB update.

Throughout the PS5 era, 40fps modes have been a rarity, much to the disappointment of the hardcore community. Insomniac Games first introduced them in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and later added the feature to Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. They also included it in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Other PS5 titles, such as Hogwarts Legacy, Lies of P, and God of War Ragnarok, also offer 40fps modes.

In addition to that, Patch 3.2 for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora brings along the following:

Worldwide:

  • Research Station Alpha now features a convenient Fast Travel option
  • The issue of controller re-mapping and resetting on game restart has been resolved
  • Addressed multiple instances of crashes
  • I corrected a few spelling errors
  • Addressed the issue of voice lines overlapping during dialogue

Primary Objectives & Optional Objectives:

  • [Main Quest: Shadows of the Past] This main quest is an intriguing journey into the depths of history. Addressed a bug that previously hindered quest progression in co-op mode

More bug fixes have been implemented.

  • [Available on all platforms] The rescued human characters no longer return to the Resistance HQ wearing masks
  • Available on all platforms. There is a noticeable improvement in the visibility of NPCs when they are at the edge of the Player’s vision

 

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Exciting news for gamers! The highly anticipated PS5 game Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be joining EA Play on Thursday

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Published

13 hours ago

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April 23, 2024

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Update: It seems that the PS Store may have acted prematurely, as it has now been officially confirmed that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be added to EA Play on Thursday, April 25th, 2024. Once the active members are in, they’ll have the opportunity to download and play the complete game.

Original Story: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, released in 2023, has been added to the EA Play subscription service. This exciting action-adventure game is now available for download and play at no additional cost for active members. While EA has yet to provide any official updates, you can head over to the PS Store and find it listed as “included with EA Play.”

Adding to the mix is the recent announcement of a forthcoming price hike for the subscription, affecting both monthly and yearly payment plans. Starting on May 10th, 2024, the monthly subscription fee will be increased from £3.99 / $4.99 to £5.99 / $5.99. For those who choose the 12-month commitment, the price will be £34.99 / $39.99, which is a £15 / $10 increase.

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In April 2023, the highly anticipated Star Wars Jedi: Survivor made its debut on the PS5. After thoroughly evaluating the game, we are pleased to announce that it has earned an impressive 9/10 rating in our review. We praised the game for its ability to build upon the first installment’s foundations and improve upon every aspect. “The combat is highly enjoyable and provides a plethora of options, while the exploration reaches new heights. The incorporation of Metroidvania elements adds an extra layer of depth, resulting in captivating puzzles and rewarding experiences.”

Click the link to access a comprehensive list of all EA Play games available on PS5 and PS4. Are you planning to give Star Wars Jedi: Survivor a try on the service? We would greatly appreciate your feedback in the comments section.

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Rest assured, the highly anticipated PS5 exclusive, Stellar Blade, will be available in its original, uncensored form across all regions

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2 days ago

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April 22, 2024

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Fear not; for those worried about potential censorship issues with the PS5-exclusive Stellar Blade, set to release on April 26th, Sony has got you covered. ShiftUp, the developer, proudly assures players that the game will maintain its uncensored content across all regions, including Japan.

We have to admit, we didn’t anticipate this as a potential issue or a potential selling point. The main character, Eve, and her revealing costumes have been heavily showcased in the game’s pre-release marketing. Nevertheless, it is pleasing to witness ShiftUp’s evident enthusiasm as their vision prepares to reach the hands of a vast number of players.

Regarding Stellar Blade, Yoko Taro believes it surpasses NieR: Automata, and we were pleased to learn that the game will be considerate of your PS5 storage capacity. The demo is now available for you to try, and it has nearly doubled the daily active users of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. This is quite impressive, especially considering it is the game’s first console showing.

Will you be there to experience Stellar Blade on its release day? It’s certainly a relief to witness the game remaining uncensored until the last moment. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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