Episode 9

All Things Geekery Podcast – S3E14 – A Cyberpunked Classical

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In this episode, we are first going to talk about the very recent re-release of Wow Classic and how it has reunited the Warcraft community. We will then discuss the resurgence of players that have returned back to a blocky game we’ve all loved and played. Next, we will talk about the released information that hit about Destiny 2’s new “battle pass” type system which will be coming with Shadowkeep. Finally, we are going to talk about the most recent trailer for Star Wars episode 9 and also the deep dive video for Cyberpunk 2077.

Click to Listen: S314 – A Cyberpunked Classical

Show Notes

WoW Classic – 

  • The re-release of the game that has dominated the MMO landscape for almost 15 years
  • Everyone has been able to Experience what happened when Wow first released.
  • This time the setting is different – We now have instant updates on people’s progress, superior communication(Discord), and gaming communities that didn’t exist 15 years ago(Twitch. Mixer, Facebook…etc)
  • Brand new ways of playing are being done just due to support from communities made possible by modern entertainment avenues(Example – Streamer loot)
  • It will be interesting to see how the drop of goes but even with that said we are about to get Battlegrounds added – Blizzard is having an update schedule similar to what took place or original WoW release

Minecraft – 

  • A resurgence in Minecraft has taken ahold – why is this?
    • People like us have stopped playing long ago as many updates have taken place completely changing some aspect of Minecraft
    • Also, Shaders and Texture packs almost make it like a completely different game
    • Some Fornite streamers have actually gained popularity because of Minecraft 
    • It is a game of Endless play and Endless Customization 
    • Bring in friends and the fun goes up exponentially 

Destiny 2 Battle Pass (Season Pass)

Destiny franchise director Luke Smith, Bungie revealed how seasons will work in Destiny 2’s third year; including Shadowkeep and New Light this fall.

Each season has a free or paid version (“10 bucks” each, according to Smith), similar to battle passes in games like Fortnite or Dauntless. The first season of Year 3, Season of the Undying, comes bundled with Shadowkeep (players can purchase it separately as well).

ROTATING ACTIVITIES

The new season will focus on changing Destiny 2’s world every three months. In Season of the Undying, players will open a Vex gate, creating a new activity and rewards. Three months later, players will close the gate, end the activities, and set Season of the Dawn in motion. Including Season of the Undying and Season of Dawn, Year 3 will contain four seasons.

Bungie believes that removing activities each season is the only way to make the game feel like it’s evolving. “We believe that Destiny will grow even better when the world state can change and that the best Destiny stories are the ones where ‘you had to be their when…,’” Smith said.

But weapons and rewards for the seasons won’t be gone forever. While Smith didn’t elaborate on how players should expect weapons they’ve missed to return within about six months. However, Smith was clear that there will be periods where players have no current means of acquiring some past items.

ARTIFACTS

On top of seasons rotating activities, the new seasonal Artifact will create individual player growth each season. Artifacts are free for all players, and Guardians can level them up during the season. Each level comes with uncapped bonus power that extends across a player’s account.

Players will also unlock new and powerful mods through the Artifact. After they unlock a mod, Guardians can slot them into weapons and armor for the remainder of the season. The goal is for the mods to change the way players interact with the world and create unique effects against everyday enemies and bosses.

At the end of each season, the seasonal mods and bonus power will reset. Players will earn a new Artifact for the next season, and start the process over again.

SEASON PASS

The Season Pass is a new idea to Destiny, but similar to battle passes in other games where players can earn rewards on a free and premium track depending on whether they own the season or not. Each season comes with 100 ranks, and the experienced players earn at max level counts toward their pass.

Free players can earn some powerful items and rewards through the season pass, but the real goodies come with the $10 price tag. Bungie laid out the rewards players can expect in Season of the Undying’s season pass as an example.

Season Pass owners get access to a new seasonal activity, the Vex Offensive, which includes:

  • Four Legendary Weapon drops
  • Additional weekly and daily bounties
  • Additional weekly challenges with powerful rewards

A new weapon quest for an Exotic Bow, Leviathan’s Breath

  • Exclusive to Season Pass owners

A new Exotic Hand Cannon, Eriana’s Vow

  • Awarded on Rank 35 of the free track
  • Awarded on Rank 1 of the premium track

Three seasonal Legendary armor sets (one for each class)

  • Collect a complete set during the first 25 ranks of the free track
  • On the premium track, you get all three sets on Rank 1
  • These also drop within the Vex Offensive seasonal activity
  • If you want versions with higher stat tiers, you’ll need to play Vex Offensive to earn them

Some additional premium track rewards:

  • Three universal ornament armor sets (one for each class)
  • An Exotic weapon ornament for Eriana’s Vow
  • Two Legendary weapon ornaments
  • A new finisher
  • An Exotic emote
  • An Exotic ship

Star Wars Episode 9 – Newest Trailer

    • Call back to every other previous Skywalker Movie – Showing the History of the Skywalker line
    • This is it….the end of the skywalker story in more ways than one
    • How will they send off Leia?  How much will Luke’s force ghost appear?
    • What an ending with Rey as a Dark Side user.  Is it a Clone? Is that Rey? Force Vision?

Cyberpunk 2077 DeadDive Video

  • The first thing to notice is the reduction in gaming quality – Maybe what to expect from console play?
  • The choice options will be immense – How you complete your mission is up to you
  • Although you can pick different play styles you can be classless in how you pick skills
  • Playable areas shaping up to be huge
  • Gunplay looks questionable – we shall see how it feels
  • We need to know more about Johnny Silverhand!
  • Launch date: April, 16th 2020

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Thanks for listening, and we can’t wait to hear from you!

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Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker

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The first trailer for Star Wars: Episode IX — which we now know is titled The Rise of Skywalker is finally here! This is the final film in the Skywalker saga which was unveiled at the Star Wars Celebration on Friday 4/12.

Episode IX will pick up years after the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and the remaining rebels of the Resistance have not only survived the onslaught from the First Order, but have reinforced their ranks. They’ll once again take on Kylo Ren’s First Order, but they may also face an old enemy based off the new teaser we got to see. This new trailer shows us wreckage from the Death Star and everyone got a surprise with the ominous laugh of Emperor Palpatine!

Another surprise was Luke Skywalker’s voiceover in the teaser which says “No One’s Ever Really Gone” — perhaps this was a warning, or this may have been to comfort Rey with something she was going through at the time. From the trailer, this movie seems to be about the new generation and what path is ahead of them. Are they getting ready to face the greatest evil the universe has ever seen? Are they ready, and will they be prepared for casualties, loss, emotions, and a final stand?

Will We See Luke Once More?

We all saw Luke pass at the end of The Last Jedi, but death in the Star Wars universe isn’t always the final end.  With this new trailer, we don’t see Luke, but we did get to hear him speaking. What did Luke mean when he said “No One’s Ever Really Gone” and will we get to see a Skywalker force ghost appearance in the new film? One can hope for sure, but it does bring up a lot of questions as to what Luke knew before he passed and what about Rey? Could the title Rise of the Skywalker actually be referring to Rey? Was Kylo Ren lying about Rey’s parents; if he was lying, it could mean Rey is part of the actual Skywalker family.

Has Emperor Palpatine Returned?

The only thing we have to go on here is the evil laugh we heard at the end of the trailer, which leaves almost unlimited room for speculation. As we all know Emperor Palpatine was killed at the end of Return of the Jedi, or was he? We never actually saw a dead body after Vader thew him down the reactor in the Death Star. Even if they did show us a body, I don’t think that truly means he was dead. All the films have established that anyone powerful enough in the Force could come back as a force ghost to speak with the living.

This has been seen throughout the Star Wars films with multiple Jedi who have returned to speak to Luke throughout the series to pass on wisdom, or offer some type of guidance. Could we now see Luke doing the same to Rey as Yoda once did for Luke?

What about Kylo’s Helmet?

While we don’t see Kylo wearing his helm in the trailer, we do see the helmet being fixed by someone. It’s clearly not Kylo himself repairing the helm due to the fuzzy hand we see. Who is this strange figure that seems to be caring for Kylo’s helm?

Wreckage Of A Death Star?

During the trailer we see our heroes come upon a huge chunk of what looks to be a destroyed Death Star in the ocean of a strange planet.

The Death Star.

There were two Death Stars that we know about from the films, and even more from all of the books. One was blown up in deep space, and the other was destroyed near the forest moon of Endor. Could this be a third Death Star that we never saw in the films….or from what I personally think….this is actually wreckage on Endor itself. We’ve never actually seen Endor in the movies, so we don’t have a way to visually compare the planet from the trailer to the canonical Endor. We also know that The Force Awakens almost featured a scene where Rey traveled to Endor to learn about Jedi history but that never made it to the final film.

We will have to wait until Christmas to finally see what surprises the Star Wars universe holds for the Skywalkers…..and their final story in the film series.