Earlier this week, the district court of the Western District of Washington favoured Valve Corporation in its 2023 lawsuit against Leigh Rothschild and his associated companies, on all counts, including breach of contract and the violation of Washington's Patent Troll Prevention and Consumer Protection Acts. Rothschild is an inventor with a huge array of patents to his name, granted and pended, covering an extremely broad range of fields. He also owns or leads a host of companies that manage the business side of patents. In this particular legal case, Valve alleged that Rothschild himself, Rothschild Broadcast Distribution Systems LLC, Display Technologies LLC, Patent Asset Management LLC, Meyler Legal LLC, and Samuel Meyler were guilty of "bad-faith assertions of patent infringement", amongst other things. The patent in question is US8856221B2, a 'system and method for storing broadcast content in a cloud-based computing environment'. Rothschild Broadcast Distribution Systems (RBDS) owns the rights to that patent, and in 2016, Valve obtained a "perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully paid-up, worldwide license" for it and others in Rothschild's portfolio.

> FINAL FANTASY VII - 2013 Edition owners can redeem the new version at no extra cost. > The world has fallen under the dominion of the Shinra Electric Power Company, a sinister corporation that has monopolized the planet's very life force as Mako energy. In the urban megalopolis of Midgar, an anti-Shinra rebel group calling themselves Avalanche have stepped up their campaign of resistance. Cloud Strife, a former member of Shinra's elite SOLDIER unit now turned mercenary, lends his aid to the rebels, unaware that he will be drawn into an epic battle for the fate of the planet, while having to come to terms with his own lost past. This new release is an upgraded version of FINAL FANTASY VII – 2013 Edition with additional features (there are no changes or additions to the story). > > ...

I had previously stopped playing this game as, simply put, my level of English wasn't high enough to understand the story and the language, but now that I've resumed playing this game and gotten past A Realm Reborn... I'm having so much fun ✨ So yeah, here you find my adventures as well as my analysis of Heavensward and why A Realm Reborn wasn't as amazing as it could have been. Also, please, no spoilers in comments, I'm still playing the lv 60 quests in Heavensward!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/40095706 > No Half-life 3 rule...

My peanuts Rimworld with mods that add more crops

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/10227076 > What games from the Steam Winter Sale have you gotten? > > Might get the, erm, Japanese Stonks simulator on this list LMAO

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/33388377 >does anyone have any insight on this?

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7679868 > >I have a love-hate relationship with MOBAs, but Deadlock—after its new Old Gods, New Blood update—has dragged me back to the genre kicking and screaming. I've got over 2,400 hours in Dota 2 from my misspent uni years, and I'm currently sitting on 183 hours with Valve's latest and counting. > > >I'm having a good time, and by "good time", I mean I am magnetically attracted to this dopamine machine and cannot pull away, even while I learn about all the fun new slurs I can be called by strangers online. But that comes with the territory. I'm deep in the paint enough that I've been viciously consuming voicelines, lore, and worldbuilding when I'm not playing. > > >And yet, I can't shake off this sense of malaise—a feeling of "what if", and I think it's that worldbuilding to blame. Not because it's bad, but because it's very, very good. > > >Deadlock might be one of my favourite videogame settings in a while. It's placed within a fantastical 1950s America where magic is not only real, but it's become a heck of a lot more real within the past few decades. > > >An event, called the Maelstrom, opened a bunch of Astral Gates across the world—including one right above New York, dubbed the Cursed Apple. The reason it's a MOBA is because there are two patrons trying to manifest fully in this magic-flooded planet, and you've gotta stop them. > > >Valve's character artists and writers have taken this concept and run with it. In no particular order, here are some of my favourite facts about this setting: > > - There's a governmental agency that invades people's dreams called the Sandmen. > - The Vatican has supersoldier exterminators. > - 'Hell', actually another realm called Ixia, has been permanently connected to the Earth, and also South Ixia is a member of the United States. > - Ixians have been a part of human society for so long that the game's newest character has a conversation about identity and diaspora with the New York-born Ixian Infernus. > - There's an entire Vampire: The Masquerade-style society of vampires with their own baronies. > - There's a thieves guild of time-jumpers called Paradox whose literal goal is to just put priceless items on display at pop-up museums. > - The souls of the dead power machines of war. > - New York has a Municipal Coven of witches. > - There's a Lovecraftian entity who got so bored he decided to join the service industry. > - The Djinn want part of Wyoming. This is an actual plot point. > - Jacob Lash is an asshole. > > >This is a game, need I remind you, which has an incomplete roster—some of whose models are also deeply unfinished (my poor Vyper), but when Valve's polish does apply, it's been cooking up some of its best designs ever, and the map is getting downright pretty, too. I whisper a quiet "hell yeah" to myself whenever I romp through The Hidden King's subwoofer-drowned base. > > >Which is why I'm a little sad, because, well—it's a MOBA. As we all know, introducing your friend to a MOBA (and worse, getting them into one) is a sin that will mean your soul will never see the light of heaven. But it's also, by its very nature, a pretty constraining setting. > > >It's three lanes and a single map—we might get a little more from Valve in the form of animated shorts and comics a la TF2 (indeed, there's already a visual novel in the works) but that's it. Deadlock's setting is worthy of its own singleplayer game—be that an RPG or a first-person shooter. > > >Heck, there's enough juice here where I'd subscribe to a Deadlock MMO, or merrily run my own Deadlock TTRPG campaign (maybe I still could, with Blades in the Dark's new sci-fi supplement? Oh man, don't give me ideas). > > >I wanna meet other agents of the OSIC. I wanna run errands for the Municipal Coven. I wanna see what Ixia and the rest of the Baroness look like. I want to chase a time thief through a Paradox exhibit. I wanna get caught in a turf war between the vampire baronies. I want a terrifying boss fight with a Venator that has express permission from the Pope to stake me. > > >… Ah, crap. This is what League of Legends players feel like waiting on that Riot MMO, huh. > > >These are, to be clear, pie-in-the-sky dreams: But they're the kind of games I think about through the tiny windows of the game that Deadlock actually is—Deadlock has an ocean-deep skill ceiling and incredible complexity, true. But it's also an infinitesimal slice of a much more interesting world I wish we could see more of. > > >Which, hey—it's a good problem for Valve to have, right? I salute you, artists and writers under Gabe Newell's employ: You have cooked hard enough to leave me hungry for more.

cross-posted from: https://ttrpg.network/post/27970929 > Recently the server staff received an e-mail telling them to moderate the Discord server and the server chat on what they deem to be "appropriate." > > Below is a message from owner of the server. > > > Free Speech Under Attack > > > > Dear friends, I don't often post announcements of this sort, but I feel it's very important for you all to know what's currently going on. > > > > From the very start, over 15 years ago, one of the key founding principles of MinecraftOnline has been [free speech](https://minecraftonline.com/wiki/Free_Speech). What started out as an uncontroversal, common sense policy, has proved to be a cornerstone of this increasingly unique community. As time has passed and Western society has wavered back and forth in its political leanings, free speech has repeatedly come under attack for political reasons. It has now become common to see arrests for posts on social media in countries such as Britain and Germany, in the name of political control, which have overtaken the numbers even of traditionally totalitarian countries such as China and Russia - a truly dystopian nightmare for freedom of expression and personal liberty. > > > > Throughout this decade and a half of change, MinecraftOnline has held steadfast to its libertarian principles, and remained an oasis of freedom and openness in an increasingly closed and controlled internet. That is, until now. > > > > Microsoft, through their subsidiary Mojang, have issued an ultimatum to MinecraftOnline. We have been told to do away with our free speech policy (which long pre-dates Microsoft's acquisition of Mojang), within 7 days, or face a a permanent block. If that happens, nobody will be able to play on MinecraftOnline again, and the 15-year history of this beloved server will come to a sudden and bitter end. The full email we have received today, signed facelessly only as "Mojang Enforcement", is included below. > > > > The email makes extremely vague claims about "harmful interactions" and "harmful comments", and we are asking Microsoft to clarify what specific interactions and comments they consider harmful. In the meantime, please spread the word, share this info on social media. Defend free speech. > > > > -SlowRiot

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/55502160 > https://www.gamedate.org/

Just finished 12 Minutes and Indika with my wife. Enjoyed the tight 5-ish hour gameplay with decent not-too-challenging puzzles and great story. Basically 5-hour date night that’s more engaging than a movie. Any other games that you can recommend in this category?

In KARANTIIN you can use anything you find. Manage your inventory, monitor your vital stats (food, thirst, health, bleeding, radiation,infection), search for supplies, and fight to stay alive. The game features an open world and two additional game modes. Trailer https://youtu.be/jxZk2k4XDLw

* 2017 - **LawBreakers** by Boss Key Productions, Nexon * 2018 - **Metal Gear Survive** by Konami Digital Entertainment, Konami * 2018 - **Artifact** by Valve * 2019 - **Crackdown 3** by Sumo Digital, Microsoft Studios * 2020 - **Cruicible** by Relentless Studios, Amazon Game Studios * 2020 - **Hyper Scape** by Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft * 2020 - **Marvel's Avengers** by Crystal Dynamics, Square Enix * 2021 - **Grand Theft Auto The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition** by Grove Street Games, Rockstar Games * 2022 - **Babylon's Fall** by PlatinumGames, Square Enix * 2023 - **Redfall** by Arkane Austin, Bethesda Softworks * 2023 - **The Day Before** by Fntastic, Mytona * 2024 - **Skull and Bones** by Ubisoft Singapore, Ubisoft * 2024 - **Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League** by Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Games * 2024 - **Concord** by Firewalk Studios, Sony Interactive Entertainment * 2025 - **MindsEye** by Build a Rocket Boy, IO Interactive Partners * 2026 - **Highguard** by Wildlight Entertainment What constitutes to a game to be a big failure? There is no strict answer to this, as we can look it from mulitple perspectives. There is this overhyped expectation vs reality failure, promises not being fullfilled. But are these games really a failure? I mean Anthem sold more than 5 million units. Fallout 76 and No Mans' Sky was a failure on launch, but they redeamed and are successfull now. Similarly Battlefield 2042 and Call of Duty Black Ops 7 are failure compared to the previous entries in the series, but are still one of the top selling and played games of the year. For some Halo Infinite would be a failure, but I don't think it's that bad to be on this list. It's just disappointing like the newest Call of Duty entry. Also there are failures, which I personally do not see it as such, but they are failures from development cost. Shenmue on the original Dreamcast is cited often as such.

A couple of years ago, the TF2 community came together with the #SaveTF2 movement, which managed to get a reaction from Valve but little more than that. The game has gotten some bug fixes, VScript support and 64-bit builds, but there's been **no** action taken against the true problem -- the bot crisis. This timeless masterpiece has been plagued by cheater bots in its casual matchmaking mode for over 5 years, making it frustratingly hard to play, without resorting to community servers. VAC is a complete joke and the lack of response from Valve is deplorable, for a game that is otherwise well known for making great games. For the past few weeks, lots of content creators have been posting calls to action, investigations (such as the great [two](https://youtu.be/2stmQfv93oQ) [parter](https://youtu.be/nnuxHZm73PU) from Zesty) and opinions, all culminating in a main effort: the save.tf petition. At the moment, it's approaching 200k signatures! If you appreciate the game, help us out by signing the petition :D

Anyone running a 13x or 14x should test their PC using Intel’s stress test utility, especially if you have had crashes. It’s permanent damage and they will replace your processor. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005567/processors.html Also update your BIOS if you have those chips. There is a software fix for if you haven’t been affected yet

The folk tale that inspired Dreams on a Pillow tells of a mother who rushes into her home to retrieve her baby before fleeing, only to realise that she has escaped with a pillow instead. In the game, she spends her days trying to make her way to Lebanon after the massacre at Tantura, and the nights dreaming of the Palestine she knew as a child. Putting the pillow down lets her move through the game’s scenarios more freely, but invites nightmares and hallucinations. Abueideh estimates that it will take two years to complete; heartbreakingly, the crowdfunding page contains an assurance that “a clear plan for the completion of the game has been put in place to ensure continuity in the case of Rasheed’s disappearance, injury or demise at the hand of the continuously expanding Israeli aggression in the West Bank”. In the city of Nablus in the West Bank, Rasheed Abueideh owns a nut roastery, where he works to provide for his family. He is also an award-winning game developer. A decade ago, as the 2014 Gaza war raged, he created a harrowing video game called Lilya and the Shadows of War, about a man trying to find safety for his daughter and himself – but as missiles fall around them, it quickly becomes clear that there is no safety. When the game was released in 2016, it was initially rejected by Apple on the grounds of inappropriate content, a decision reversed after a week of outcry. Despite the acclaim and attention that Lilya received, however, Abueideh has not been able to raise funding for his next game through conventional means. The game he envisions, Dreams on a Pillow, is about the 1948 Nakba, told through a folk tale about a mother in the Arab-Israeli war, in which more than half the Palestinian population was displaced. He tells me that his game has been rejected almost 300 times, by publishers and providers of cultural grants, for being too controversial, too much of a risk. “Talking about the Palestinian story was always forbidden,” he says. “Crowdfunding was our only option, but even that would not work for me because all the major crowdfunding platforms do not recognise Palestine,” says Abueideh. The team turned to LaunchGood, a Muslim-focused platform, where it met its funding goal on 7 January.

Original (pay-walled): https://www.wsj.com/tech/google-loses-antitrust-case-brought-by-epic-games-651f5987

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/37932218 >Yesterday I played the demo of the new game Dispatch and it is all beautifully written, but at some point, while presenting the team in-game, there was a casual funny line, pronounced by a voice off-screen, so without graphical support and I just burst out laughing (I was alone at home, so not pressed by social influence of any kind). > > When I stopped, I realized how uncommon this has become lately. > As a kid, I found LucasArts games extremely funny and I laughed more than occasionally, but this aspect of video game entertainment has been dying out. > > When was the last time you actually laughed out loud while playing a game for something that was actually designed as funny (no Fortnite or CoD shenanigans stories please)?