Polynauts Central (31/8 Archived)

Posted by Shaun McIlroy on August 31, 2012 05:17 am 884

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Todays image comes from Cobaltios, the penultimate entry in this weeks header pics contest.

Welcome to Polynauts Central. It's August 31st and here we are on the final lather. After today we can all rest easy whilst PaddyStardust takes Polynauts Central through the details of his rise and fall..

  • Please take note that if you're into comics, manga and anime and want a nice organised place to talk about those, then head on over to Crisis on Infinite Polygons Issue #3 for chaosbirdomaid's all-in-one thread.
  • If you want to talk game related art - or even art in general but be sure to head over to Paradox mes' thread The Polygon Gallery of Fine Arts and grab yourself some cheese, grapes and a glass of wine.
  • If you want to talk about, or discover new music then Shinta has a thread for you simply called Music.
  • If you want to talk about any movies or television shows with fear of spoilers then go to PrinceLUDA21's Polynauts: The Movie thread.

FROM POLYGON

1: Bethesda still working on issues with 'Skyrim's' Dawnguard DLC for PS3 by Tracey Lien

It's been a few weeks, and we wanted to make sure everyone knows where we're at with Dawnguard. Skyrim is a massive and dynamic game that requires a lot of resources, and things get much more complex when you're talking about sizable content like Dawnguard. We have tried a number of things, but none of them solve the issue enough to make Dawnguard good for everyone. The PS3 is a powerful system, and we're working hard to deliver the content you guys want. Dawnguard is obviously not the only DLC we've been working on either, so the issues of adding content get even more complicated. This is not a problem we're positive we can solve, but we are working together with Sony to try to bring you this content.

2: 'Persona 4 Arena' review: awakened potential by Phil Kollar

From the outside, it's a family that appears dysfunctional, a project that seems destined to try to please all sides and fail in the process. Against all odds, Persona 4 Arena succeeds. It pulls together the pace and strategy of a fighting game and the character depth and story of an RPG. It struggles with the presentation of these disparate elements but eventually binds them in a way that I thought impossible. Persona 4 Arena presents a middle ground between a niche RPG franchise and a niche fighting game developer that somehow has enough to please both audiences.

3: Academy of outsiders: How NYU Game Center trains the next generation of game makers by Chris Plante

"Games are experiences," says Lantz, "and they transcend any particular platform ... The important thing is to think about what you're making and not just how it's going to be awesome, but also how it fits into the world. The questions are always the same: Why are you making this? What does this game have that's different, new, personal, that's different, that holds people's time and attention? Why is it worth your time to make it, and why is it worth somebody else's time to play it and think deeply about it or fall in love with it or all the things we do with games? Whether that's a game that you play on your watch or a game that you play on your Ouya, I'm agnostic. We don't have a house style."

4: Gamestop considering an online store for vintage cartridges and discs by Griffin McElroy

In an interview with Polygon during the first-ever public Gamestop Expo in San Antonio, CEO Paul Raines explained the company sees the opportunity in classic, sought-after titles, many of which are still in the company's possession after being traded in long ago.

"We've got them," Raines explained. "We think there's a vintage sales opportunity, so we're accumulating some inventory. It's a big idea, and there's a few problems with it. The first one is sourcing the product, the condition, the refurbishment, all that stuff. But there's a customer for it. And we're working on some stuff we haven't announced yet.

5: Steam Greenlight launched today, nearly 300 titles ready for judgement by Alexa Ray Corriea

Greenlight lets game makers post assets and information about their games at any stage in the development process with the goal of convincing the Steam Community to vote for their game's publication. Greenlight works in tandem with Steam Workshop, encouraging members to leave feedback and connecting developers directly to their audience.

FROM THE POLYNAUTS FORUMS:

1: What makes a great driving game? by TCJW_designs

Hi guys! Just doing a little research for a project and wondering what you all think it is that makes a great driving/racing game?

Is it the feel of the cars, the biggest library of vehicles, accurately-rendered dust particle effects, maybe a great competitive multiplayer? What is it that makes GT and Forza that much more respected than SHIFT?

2: What Happened To the Steam Box? by AtOurGates

Back in March, when Joshua's Exclusive scoop about the Valve hardware box ran, I was, to put it lightly, thrilled out of my gourd.

The possibility is great. An "affordable" piece of hardware that runs any game I can get on Steam, bridging the gap between the glorious PC gaming master race and dirty console gaming peasants.

3: Should we Pass on Season Passes? by pitseleh0

So what do you guys think about DLC preordering? You know, what some companies call "Season Pass" or something similar, where you buy the subscription (is what they are calling it commonly but it is not really a good word for it) and get x amount of planned DLC in that package. Essentially you are prepaying for it.

Battlefield has Premium, COD has Elite, Borderlands has a Season Pass, Uncharted has Fortune Hunters Club, etc... This is a new trend to get people to buy the DLC all at once. It is a fairly good value as a $30-$50 price tag on these plans gets you DLC that would cost more than that.

So is this a good thing? A bad thing? Neutral?

4: Pullquotes: PlayMG takes aim at Nintendo and the 3DS with $169 handheld by Shaun McIlroy

There's a new contender in town, and they want your money. They're called PlayMG and they've launched their fist Android-based portable handheld system. What makes them so different to the competition though?

5: Polyknights Europe by XenoSilence

Polyknights' European players need a server, Help us decide.

In order to do so we need to know what servers you guys play on and if you are willing to relocate. Remember this is optional, if you would prefer to play with IRL friends of their server that is perfectly fine.

REMINDER: Polygon.com : Community Requests Thread by Shaun McIlroy

This is our "Official Polynauts" topic for Polygon.com requests, those which we've all made mention of in anticipation of the sites launch in 2012. I thought I'd collate them all here for the Polygon team to check back and see if the stars align with their overall plans, whatever they may be.

CONTEST #1

Don't forget Pitseleh0's contest, which began on Monday:

"We seem to be lacking on the header pic submissions. Let's get cracking people!

So I'd like to venture something if I could. Totally unofficial, but I'd like to sponsor a contest.

Shop up a header pic and submit it in the usual spot here.

The pics would be chosen daily as normal (by Shaun and Paddy) and then of the choices for all of next week (starting this Mon running until next Sat) I will choose my favorite of the 6.

That person will get a 3 Month Xbox Live code as a reward. Go get to it! Let's liven up this place!"

CONTEST #2

And remember OMGMoreJames's contest, which also began on Monday:

For the next six days all winners of COTD will be entered into a vote to take place on Sunday. That winner will be the commenter of the week.

That person will get a 3 Month Xbox Live code as a reward."

FROM THE VERGE:

"Mr. Offline" Paul Miller brings us the latest tech news in 90 Seconds on The Verge.

POLYNAUTS COMMENT OF THE DAY (30/8):

All is well in the world. Jersey Shore has been canceled

BreadKnight (3 Recommends)

Every day there will only be one comment from the previous thread. It's decided based upon the most recommends an individual receives for their comment; should two people have the same rating then both comments will be posted.

Okay, there we have another days worth of catch-ups folks. Remember to sound off in the comments below and share any awesome news you find today. As always, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @shaunmcilroy if you want to chitchat throughout the day.

NOTES:

New to the Polygon Community? Please take time to read the Community Guidelines as laid out by the editorial team here at The Verge. Particularly take note here: "Foul language: Cussing, swearing, or just plain nasty: all of the above are not cool here." That goes for NSFW material as well folks.

If you're looking the best way to filter through any current deals on games (regardless of platform) then check out The Gamers Grid created by community Polynaut, NuclearPrinny.

If you're a fan of the image up top and want to submit your own, remember to keep them coming in for this section of Polynauts Central, GIF's included, at this link. Finally, if you want to submit a header image for Crisis on Infinite Polygons you can do that on this thread.