Image: Epic Games Epic Games has heard the feedback loud and clear, and this afternoon the Fortnite developer announced a series of sweeping changes to its newly introduced B.R.U.T.E. mech suit that has had game’s community in open revolt for the last few weeks. The changes have mostly gone into effect immediately, with Epic saying players will not need to update the game at all. In a post titled “B.R.U.T.E. balance adjustments,” Epic details the substantial nerfs coming to the item, including a reduction in the number of rockets it can fire, the rate it fires those rockets, and number of other powerful advantages the suit offered players. The mech suit first arrived in early August with the launch of Fortnite’s tenth season. Unfortunately, it’s caused nothing but turmoil both in the broader community and the game’s high-profile competitive scene, which received worldwide attention following the successful Fortnite World Cup in New York City in late July. With a new tournament series, the Fortnite Champion Series, currently taking place between now and late September, Epic seems to be eager to iron out the issues with the B.R.U.T.E. just as the collective outrage from players seemed to reach its apex. Here are the big changes Epic says are live now:
Decreased the maximum amount of rockets fired by the B.R.U.T.E. in a single charge from 10 to 6. Decreased the rate at which the rockets are fired from the B.R.U.T.E. by 56%. Decreased the radius of the B.R.U.T.E.’s rocket explosion by 42%. Increased the dash cooldown from 3 seconds to 5 seconds. Decreased the velocity gained from boosting while in air by 33%. The B.R.U.T.E. no longer grants materials to the driver and passenger when stomping or dashing through the environment. (This won’t be arriving right away, Epic says, but after these other changes are in effect.) Decreased the material cost of using the gunner’s overshield from 200 to 75. Increased the Health of the B.R.U.T.E from 1000 to 1250.
Epic gives a little line or two of reasoning for almost all of these changes, and each makes a fair amount of sense. The developer is effectively acknowledging that it did in fact release a game-breaking, overpowered element into play right at the launch of a new competitive e-sports tournament circuit. With these changes, including the reasonable health buff to the mech suit, the item should be slower to operate, less fruitful as a farming vehicle, and less lethal against enemy players. The Fortnite community was up in arms over the B.R.U.T.E. In addition to all of this, Epic is reducing the spawn rate of the B.R.U.T.E. in all storm circles in normal game modes, while keeping the rate the same in competitive modes, a change it made earlier this month to prevent the mech suit and the controversy surrounding it from entirely consuming the Fortnite Champion Series’ first event last weekend. Epic is also disabling its newly introduced Junk Rift item from the Arena playlist and this upcoming weekend’s Champion Series event until it can fix an audio issue due to be addressed in an upcoming update. The changes to the B.R.U.T.E. are largely in line with what the community was hoping for (although some are still clamoring for its removal), and Epic seems to have listened in this regard while maintaining its position that the mech suit should stay in the game. (The company’s thinking is that the suit offers a fun and fresh way to play Fortnite while helping lower the skill gap is less competitive situations.) This particular controversy, while nothing new for Fortnite’s ongoing tension between its casual mainstream design and its competitive ambitions, was perhaps the most contentious in the game’s two-year history. Numerous streamers, pro players, and even e-sports organizations were openly pleading with the company to reconsider the mech suit’s capabilities, with many calling openly for its outright removal. While that doesn’t seem to be happening, it’s quite likely these changes will make the device a non-factor in both tournament and casual play for the foreseeable future. The Fortnite community seems pleased.
Finally…the mechs have been nerfed.Good riddance.— Jack “CouRage” Dunlop (@CouRageJD) August 22, 2019
Thank you. Keep this up. https://t.co/abvM4ivNiH— FaZe EwOk (@Ewok) August 22, 2019
pic.twitter.com/WBnJWjB2Wf— timthetatman (@timthetatman) August 22, 2019
The Google Play Store is getting a fresh new look, which, like most of Google’s redesigns of late, nixes the colorful green header in favor of a brighter and whiter style. (The Gmail app similarly lost its red header earlier this year as part of the same Material Design revamp.) Bright and white Like the iOS App Store — which got a similar redesign two years ago — the new Play Store now has separate tabs for apps, games, books, and another for movies and TV shows. The tab bar will appear on the bottom for phones and in a sidebar on tablets and Chrome OS devices. Google will also only show icons in the Play Store with rounded rectangles, just like iOS, which gives the whole storefront a more cohesive and consistent look.
Say to fresh updates on the Play Store. See what’s changed: https://t.co/QNAcoScN3o pic.twitter.com/0DlEZ1TBN0— Google Play (@GooglePlay) August 21, 2019
The new Play Store will recommend apps specifically for the user under a “Recommended for you” section (not to be confused with the paid advertisement recommendations that it’ll also offer under the similar-sounding “Suggested for you” label). According to Google, and confirmed by various Reddit users, the new Play Store should be rolling out now. It doesn’t seem like there’s a dark mode for the bright new design, so you might want to bring a pair of shades just in case.
The OnePlus TV is coming next month, founder Pete Lau revealed today — just one year after the phonemaker first announced it would build a TV set. While Lau’s blog post doesn’t confirm any juicy technical details, such as whether they’ll run Android TV and range between 43 and 75 inches diagonally — as filings with the Bluetooth SIG revealed earlier this month — he does say the TV will first be available exclusively in India, and it sure sounds like it could take some time to hit other parts of the world. “We are also working hard to launch OnePlus TV in North America, Europe and China regions as soon as we establish partnerships with most of local and regional content providers,” he writes. Based on previous filings, the OnePlus TV for India is likely to have a 43-inch panel, while we can probably expect a 75-inch model in the US and China. While OnePlus has the reputation of a startup and building TVs might seem…ambitious…it’s worth remembering that OnePlus is an arm of the same BBK Electronics that also owns Oppo and Vivo.
The Microsoft Project 2019 A to Z bundle is a set of online courses that are on sale for $29.99, a savings of $167
We all claim to be proficient in Microsoft’s big-name programs, but it’s actually some of its lesser-known programs that can catch a recruiter’s eye. For example, Microsoft Project. A tool within the Microsoft Suite, this well-regarded project management tool allows you to streamline project, resource, and portfolio management. With the tool handy, you’ll be able to help your team stay on track and be productive, as well as use its advanced analytics functions to best understand your business’s needs and important decisions. Read more…
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