In a Rust development update, Facepunch Studios' Garry Newman wrote that "Sales have been strong. Stronger than strong. We really have been knocked on our arses by sales. Our plan was to release the alpha on to Steam in a low-key way and slowly build up steam until the game was in a decent state. But our player counts have exploded our wildest dreams."
Between this, DayZ, and Starbound, it feels like the Steam Early Access floodgates have opened. I'm still not sure how I feel about that. Some of Facepunch's priorities right now are improved server and client performance, better support for Mac and Linux users, possibly removing zombies before players become too attached to them, and stopping cheaters.
And then there's discussion of adding defensive options. Just last night I was playing Rust with Conrad -- you truly do want friends in a game like this -- and we got to talking about how much we'd love to have traps to take on home invaders. "We want to find solutions that allow the defending players to find innovative solutions to attacks," said Newman. "Ideally solutions that don’t involve putting a million doors in your house, or building a maze around it."
Even in its bare-bones state, Rust is without a doubt one of the more interesting games I've played in years. Now, is it fun? I'm not so sure. It can be, but it can also be deeply frustrating.
Status Report #001 [Rust]
Back in 2012 we first heard about the vision of Oculus Rift: to make virtual reality a relevant conversation again by bringing the technology up to today's standards, with low-latency head tracking for optimal immersion. Since then, it has made quite a splash for those fortunate enough to try it, and although it is still a niche piece of hardware, others have taken notice of the hype.
One such entity that has taken notice is GameFace Labs, which showed off its own VR headset at CES. This is not a straight copy of the more famous virtual reality hardware; GameFace and Oculus Rift have a few notable differences. On the plus side, GameFace is completely wireless, allowing players to stand and turn freely in their environments. As a minus, it is running on Android and is therefore limited in its processing power compared to a PC.
Engadget has a good hands-on preview of the headset from CES 2014, describing the differences between it and Oculus Rift. On the official GameFace website, GameFace Labs extols the virtues of being Android-based, and enumerates developers committed to the project, which include indie darlings Mojang and Halfbrick, among others.
GameFace Mark IV: The other VR headset at CES 2014 (hands-on) [Engadget]
Blizzard has announced that it is delaying the Hearthstone beta, but they've also dropped the last major beta update, meaning the game could be coming sooner than later. The patch is mostly a balancing act, nerfing the Mage and buffing a few cards like Unleash the Hounds. Blizzard notes that it's basically crunch time now, and any updates will be minor ones involving cards.
Hopefully the game will launch soon and more people can get into it. It's a pretty fantastic card game, and I know some people are reserved due to the beta status -- even if there won't be any data wipes.
Hearthstone Update: Upcoming Changes 1/13 [Battle.net]
