Month: September 2019

What started as an April Fool’s joke has become a reality, as turn-based strategy game Sid Meier’s Civilization VI sees a battle royale mode called Red Death added to its September update. The update also features a smorgasbord of new content, and it’s free for PC owners who own the base game.

Red Death tasks you with besting up to 12 other players as you race to secure the only spot on the last ship ditching the planet. It’s not the complete Civ VI experience, as it only features eight apocalypse-themed factions with a variety of in-game advantages. Publisher 2K Games shared a detailed promotional video, below, outlining everything available in Red Death. There’s no confirmation on whether the mode will appear on other platforms.

A press release elaborated on Red Death’s origin. Multiplayer engineering lead Bradley Olson implemented the battle royale mode in an April 1 build of Civ VI. Not a single developer on the team noticed. After Olson pointed out the mode’s stealthy addition at a design meeting, a play session was set up so everyone could try it out. Not long after, with the art team developing assets and the design team expanding the scope, Red Death was born as Civ VI’s first battle royale mode.

Civ VI’s September update is available to download now and with it comes an assortment of new features, balance tweaks, and fixes. Lead producer Dennis Shirk shared what’s new and what’s changed in a YouTube video. Some of these include strengthening coastal cities, adding six new maps, giving Great Admirals new bonuses, and more. You can check out the full patch notes below.

Civilization VI September update patch notes

Features

• [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Red Death Multiplayer Scenario
  • General notes
    • If you still have a Civilian unit, then you are still in the game. Once your last Civilian is killed, you will have been eliminated. Be the last remaining player with a Civilian to win.
    • The Red Death is the radioactive mass that is consuming the planet. A Safe Zone ring will appear on the map. Periodically this ring will shrink. Keep your units inside the ring to avoid the Red Death.
    • On the top-left on the in-game screen is the Red Death tracker. The left portion tells the player how many turns until the ring shrinks, and the right-hand portion tells the player how much damage units will take if they end their turn inside the Red Death.
      • Red Death damage increases as the game progresses.
      • When the ring shrinks, the Red Death will advance each turn until it reaches the ring. This gives units caught outside of the ring some time to reach the safe zone.
      • Units cannot heal in the Red Death.
    • You can gain new units and supplies in the following ways:
      • Find and clear City Ruins to gain equipment. These appear as war-torn cities with stacks of crates and flares around them. A Ruined City can grant experience points, an Infantry, a Machine Gunner, an AT crew, or another Civilian.
      • Clearing a Raider Camp grants either a Helicopter Gunship, an AT Crew, or a Thermonuclear device (once you receive one, any of your combat units can use it).
      • Once the “Red Death” ring starts to advance, Supply Drops can appear near the ring edge (also has a notification so you can find them). These lucrative drops can grant either a Tank, a Mobile Artillery, or a Thermonuclear device.
    • Oceans and Lakes are corrosive and will damage your units each turn as you cross, so be quick!
    • Global heal rate increased from normal for fast-paced gameplay.
    • Units have unique promotion trees. Promoting units heals only 25 HP.
    • Raiders are random opponents that wander the map, making opportunity attacks on players from their camps. Raider units take no damage from the Red Death.
    • A typical match will take anywhere from 15-50 minutes depending on the number of players, and skill of play.
  • Factions:
    • Cultists: “Observing The End,” All units have +3 sight.
    • Doomsday Preppers: “Always Prepare for The Worst,” All units have +100% experience bonus.
    • Borderlords: “Living On The Edge,” +10 Combat Strength when 3 hexes or closer to the Safe Zone border.
    • Jocks: “Witness Perfection,” +5 Combat Strength.
    • Mad Scientists: “This Will Only Hurt A Bit,” All units heal 2x faster.
    • Mutants: “Radiant Personalities,” -50 Red Death damage. “Radioactive Movement,” +3 Movement for all units in the Red Death.
    • Pirates: “Water Logged,” All units take 50% less water damage and ignore additional movement cost from embarking and disembarking.
    • Wanderers: “See You Later,” Infantry and Machine Gunners, as well as Civilians in formation with them, have faster Movement on Woods, Rainforest, and Hill terrain.
  • UI:
    • Quick-join matchmaking added to front-end menu
    • “How to Play” section added to front-end menu.
    • Safe Zone displayed as a blue area on the map and mini map. Red Death displayed as a red area on the map and mini map.
    • Changed mini map tooltips to be more useful for the scenario. Tooltip displays whether tiles are in the Safe Zone or the Red Death.
    • Added mini map icons for the City Ruins, Supply Drops, and Raider Camps.
  • New Maps
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Mirror Map: Randomly generated, balanced four-player map ideal for competitive multiplayer matches. Has option to mirror start positions as well.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Terra: A continents map where all major civilizations start on the largest continent.
    • Primordial: A map from an early time with unpredictable continents and islands. More volatile conditions exist with extra coastal lowlands and volcanoes. Try it on Disaster 4!
    • Tilted Axis: A polar projection of a continents map.
    • Splintered Fractal: A highly random map that will often form thin, snaky continents and islands.
    • Continents and Islands: Continents with more islands.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Add Lakes map to all rulesets
      • Add more small lakes to the Lakes map.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Move Seven Seas and Small Continents to all rule sets (before it was Gathering Storm only).

Balance/Polish

• Civs
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Exploitive Agenda: Adjusted some of the parameters on the Exploitative Agenda to make it care more about how many tiles are improved. Also bumped up the threshold for “sparsely improved”.
  • Maori Civ Ability: Change the production from Unimproved Rainforest and Woods. Before it read “Unimproved Woods and Rainforest are +1 Production, becoming +2 once the Conservation civic is unlocked.” Now it reads “Unimproved Woods and Rainforest are +1 Production. Additional +1 Production from Mercantilism and +2 Production from Conservation.
  • [XP1, XP2] Georgia Civ Ability Addition: +50% Production towards defensive buildings.
• Governments
  • Added an extra policy card slot for each of the Tier 4 Governments: 3 Military for Corporate Libertarianism (was 2), 3 Diplomatic for Digital Democracy (was 2), 3 Economic for Synthetic Technocracy (was 2).
• Great People
  • Great Admirals
    • Themistocles: Instantly creates a Quadrireme unit. +20% Production towards units of the Naval Ranged promotion class.
    • Leif Erikson: +1 Sight Range for all naval units. Allows all naval units to move over ocean tiles without the required technology.
    • Rajendra Chola: +3 Combat Strength for all naval units.
    • Zheng He: Grants a free Trader unit in this city and increases Trade Route capacity by 1. Foreign Trade Routes to this city provides +2 Gold to both cities.
    • Francis Drake: Instantly creates a Privateer with 1 promotion level. Military units get +50% rewards for plundering sea Trade Routes.
    • Ferdinand Magellan: Grants 1 free copy of the Luxury resource on this tile to your Capital city. Gain 300 gold (on Standard speed).
    • Ching Shih: Gain 500 Gold (on Standard speed). Military units get +60% rewards for plundering sea Trade Routes.
    • Horatio Nelson: Instantly builds a Lighthouse and Shipyard in this district. +50% flanking bonus for all naval units.
    • Chester Nimitz: Instantly creates a Submarine unit with 1 promotion level. Grants 1 Oil per turn. +20% Production towards units of the Naval Raider promotion class.
    • Grace Hopper: Unlocks 2 random technologies.
  • Improvements, Buildings, and Wonders
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Mausoleum at Halicarnassus: +1 Science, +1 Faith, and +1 Culture on all Coast tiles for this city. Great Engineers have an additional charge. Must be built adjacent to a Harbor district.
    • Lighthouse: Now also provides +2 Housing if Harbor is adjacent to City Center.
    • Fishery: Now also provides 0.5 Housing.
    • Shipyard: Now also provides +1 Production to all unimproved coastal tiles in this city.
    • Camp: Now provides +2 Gold. Synthetic Materials also provides additional gold.
    • Plantation: Feudalism now increases Plantation yield by +1 Food.
    • Fishing Boats: Colonialism increases Fishing Boats yield by +1 Production.
  • Districts
    • Campuses now also receive a major adjacency for Reefs.
  • Map Gen
    • Increase the Water Luxuries on Splintered Fractal.
    • Reefs are no longer placed adjacent to Rivers.
  • Rock Bands
    • Promotions
      • Album Cover Art: Performs as if 1 level more experienced on Wonder tiles (Reduced from 2 levels).
      • Indie: Performing a concert causes that city to lose 40 loyalty (Reduced from 50 loyalty).
      • Music Festival: Can now also perform concerts on National Wonders.
      • Pop Star: Earn Gold equal to 25% of the Tourism generated (Was 50% Gold).
      • Space Rock: Performs at Spaceports and Campuses for +500 Tourism and 1 level more experienced (Can play at Campuses w/ no Uni for 500 or with Uni for 1000) (Was 1000 tourism at Spaceports and 1 Level).
      • Surf Band: Performs at Seaside Resorts and Harbors for +500 Tourism and 1 level more experienced (Can play at Harbors w/ no Shipyard for 500 or with Shipyard for 1000) (Was 500 tourism at Seaside Resorts and 1 Level).
    • World Congress
      • Nobel Prize in Physics: (Gold tier gets the Silver tier as well which is the same for all scored competitions)
        • Gold Tier: 1 Tech boost, Increases the accumulation of resources in cities with a University by 1 (Updated).
        • Silver Tier: 1 Tech boost, Increases the accumulation of resources in cities with a Research Lab by 1 (Updated).
        • Bronze Tier: 1 Tech boost (same).
      • Diplomacy
        • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Protectorate War no longer triggers a Betrayal Emergency.
      • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Unit Abilities UI Exposures
        • Multiple Leader and Civ assigned unit modifiers have been converted to unit abilities so they can be tracked in the UI.
        • Units with Anti-Air strength now have unit ability text describing its function.
        • Added abilities and text descriptions for Ranged and Bombard unit buffs/debuffs.
        • Unit modifiers granted by retiring Great Generals and Great Admirals are now applied as unit abilities so they can be displayed in the unit abilities UI list.
      • Natural Disasters
        • Reduce the likelihood of most damage effects from Hurricanes by a third.
        • The Veterancy Military Policy (unlocked by Military Training a Classical Civic) now includes Harbors and Harbor buildings.

UI – All Game Versions

• Front End
  • Change “Additional Content” to be a sub-menu that hosts “MODS, Hall of Fame, and Credits”. This reduces the main menu from 10 items (information overload) to 8 items.
  • New Map Type UI when starting a new game that features filtering and icon visualizations for the different maps. Only on “Create Game” and “Advanced Setup” menus in single player.
  • Single Player “Jersey” Support: Setup/Advanced Setup now allows the player to select their civilization color (jersey).
  • Leader list is now alphabetical, rather than grouped by release.
• End Game
  • Add quick fade up of leader portrait (without a movie it looked jarring to snap from hide to show).
  • Fix ESC restarting end game movie.
• Pantheon Chooser
  • Selected pantheon can now be cleared by clicking the button in the top panel.
  • Chooser now plays its slide animation when opening.
  • Adjusted button working/style to match other Chooser screens.
  • The Religion keybinding will now properly open/close the Pantheon Chooser.
• Misc
  • Government Screen: Government card policy slot icons will squish together if they overflow the Government card to avoid overlap.
  • Pagination for Gossip Report added.
  • Added hotkey for the Power Lens.
  • Add a confirmation dialog box for when you are going to remove a feature by settling.

AI

• Domination
  • Improve ability to use GDR’s (or other mixed melee/range) to take cities.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Allow units to move out of threatened areas when endangered, even on neutral territory. This manifested in AI units staying still and fortified while being attacked by ranged or air until they were dead.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Some bias adjustments to improve attacks on enemy cities.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Improve range/bombard garrisoning and improve melee garrison logic to attack when it is safe.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Don’t try to assemble city attacks for target cities that have an unclear or hidden path. Improve ability to protect embarked units.
• World Congress
  • Favor Trades: Adjust some favor trade values to make deals more viable.
  • Normalize evaluation of emergency projects (Send Aid was especially overvalued).
  • Mercenary Companies: AI no longer always chooses choice B, “Faith.”
• Great Works
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Rework of how AI arranges and places Great Works to maximize culture generation. Corrected an issue that could cause the AI to “throw away” a Great Work.
• Misc
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Ensure AI finds rally points that are on the map.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Try to improve culture civ’s race for Theater Squares.

Performance

• Significant optimization and improvements to Volcano VFX.
• [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Perf optimizations to both Shaka and Mansu Musa.
• [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Reduced memory usage.
• [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Additional graphics performance improvements.

Bugs

• Production Overflow
  • Add the concept of ‘salvage’ production to the Build Queue. Previously, when salvaging production from a lost Wonder build, the production was added directly back to the build queue. This caused problems of not knowing where the extra overflow came from as well as causing build production to happen when the player’s turn was not active.
    • e. Player A and B are making the same Wonder. Player A takes their turn, then Player B takes their turn and finishes the Wonder. The salvage production would be added to Player A’s build queue immediately, possibly causing something to complete if the player had multiple things in their build queue.
  • Now, when the salvage production is given to player A, it is stored and then applied to player A’s production overflow when player A becomes turn active again. This also fixes the issue of losing legitimate overflow, where we force clear production overflow on turn end to prevent a user from ‘banking’ overflow by force-ending their turn when a city has no production.
  • Fixed an issue where production on a unit could be transferred to something else by removing that unit from the production queue.
• UI
  • When purchasing something in a city, make sure that if it was already in the build queue, it goes through the motions of removing the item in the build queue as if it were complete, so that if it was the first item, the next item in the build queue starts building properly.
  • The user was able to open but was unable to close the World Congress screen while the game is paused in multiplayer.
  • Fixed multiple Gossip reports issues.
  • Fix usable scroll area and logo clipping for various resolutions.
  • Remove the rank border designating a score tier while participating in a non-scored Emergency during gameplay.
  • A misleading “Location Pin” icon was present for Projects, Competitions, and Emergencies when the player views the Active Effects menu in the World Congress.
  • The “previous results” icon was appearing in low resolution when voting on a Resolution that has appeared before in the World Congress.
  • The target civ icon was appearing low resolution when viewing a Military Emergency.
  • The Alliance Points appeared with a zero denominator when viewed after an Alliance expires during expansion gameplay.
  • Climate Screen – Use the territory name as a fallback for continent name for climate events which will usually give us names for bodies of water.
  • Production/Gold/Faith production buttons will now be highlighted properly based on which production panel is currently selected.
• Gameplay
  • Fixed a bug where pillaged districts in a conquered city would cost the full production price to repair. Now they cost 25% as intended.
  • Fixed a bug where pillaged districts would not regain applied bonuses upon repair.
  • Changed Mapuche’s Toqui experience bonus ability to be permanent on units so that it remains even after the governor is removed from the city.
  • Pillaged dams no longer prevent flooding.
  • The Swap Units operation was ignoring the ZoC state of the units, giving you the possibility of an extra move for a unit in the ZoC.
  • Fixed an issue that was preventing units that have the appropriate ability from attacking twice in a single turn.
  • Don’t apply Grievances if a player conquers a City-State you have never met.
  • Prevent Laurier from taking the Exploitative random agenda
  • Eject rock bands from a player’s territory when they adopt the Music Censorship policy.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Tomyris’ heal after kill ability was incorrectly being applied multiple times.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Polish Hussar pushback ability was not working correctly.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Air units can no longer attack plots marked as impassable.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Fixed an issue with military buildings not applying their XP bonus correctly.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Fixed incorrect modifier being applied by Royal Navy Dockyard.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Fix the Colossal Heads not providing faith with every 2 adjacent woods.
• Unit Abilities
  • Fixed missing text description for Drone unit bonus ability. Changed Drone unit Civilopedia description text to be more accurate.
  • Fixed missing unit ability description for Observation Balloon range bonus. Changed Observation Balloon Civilopedia description to be more accurate.
  • Fixed text description for Supply Convoy movement bonus ability.
• Misc
  • Mountain Tunnels, Qhapaq Nan, and Ski Resorts (improvements on Mountains) can no longer be destroyed (or pillaged) by natural disasters.
  • Transfer canal navigation properties on city capture.
• Crash
  • Multiple crash fixes as seen in the public bug collector.
  • Fix a crash in the Australia scenario that could occur after a random event.

Art

• Adding a low-quality version of the volcano that gets used if the VFX quality setting is low.
• Apply FOW blending in river overlay pass.
• the game camera on the Ski Resort will now shake the snow. Why? Just ‘cuz.
• Adjusted volcano visuals to feel more volumetric and rolling/boiling.

Modding

• [ALL GAME VERSIONS] World Builder
  • Added first pass at hand-drawn river flooding.
    • Edge case notes:
      • Only works for floodplains at least 3-long.
      • Only works for hand-created maps, not adjusted map-script created maps.
      • There are a couple places where a user may place a floodplain where it will never flood (like sharing a plain with another river branch, for example).
    • Use our own custom overlay type for Continent mode with more vibrant colors.
    • Normalize order of tool hotkeys and added them to the tooltips for user discoverability.
    • Integrate World Builder properly into the main menu flow instead of hanging off a weird button in the mods screen.
    • Fix several usability issues in Map Editor.
    • Add tooltips to the placement and plot mode buttons.
    • Stop the placement panel from eating the mouse around it.
    • Expose wonder distance check to Lua and wire up specific error message.
    • Fix many bugs related to changing terrain type and having resources/features/improvements go away when they’re no longer compatible.
    • Show different continents in different colors when in Continent mode.
    • Only show spawn location icons in Advanced Mode.
    • Hide the tools palette when the Player Editor or Map Editor are up. This is necessary for 1024×768 screens.
    • Don’t show labels options in World Builder that don’t work.
    • Allow brush usage in Continent mode.
    • Fix some flipped tests that were locking out improvements unnecessarily.
    • Fixed text for rivers and cliffs to distinguish between placing and removing.
    • Split feature and Natural Wonder placement modes.
    • Fixup Natural Wonder undo when dealing with multi-tile features, especially ones that also modify the terrain as well. i.e. Lake NWs changing the terrain to coast.
    • Advanced Mode
      • Don’t show spurious “Wonder” district in Player Editor anymore.
      • Add labels to all the items in the General tab of the player editor.
      • Don’t create any units alongside a barbarian camp in the WB editor.
      • We don’t support Garrison strength editing so don’t even show it.
      • Districts are now placeable through the Plot Editor Districts can now be pillaged by the Placement Tool or Plot Editor.
      • Delete units when a player is edited.
      • Fix case where capital city would have no name if you changed a civ’s leader to not match (Should help with mod civs too).
      • Fixed issues with the Plot Editor Improvement Pillaged checkbox. Fixed null error which prevented the Placement tool from placing improvements. Pillaged checkbox for Improvements now works with the Placement tool.
    • Tiled Map Importer
      • Fix additional crashes seen in the wild when importing maps from Tiled editor.
    • Misc
      • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Removed constraint on map start positions that only allowed 1 entry for map/plot, as it was too restrictive for modders.
      • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Looking up localized text in mods will now fall-back to other languages before failing.

Concerning expectations, what first comes to find when you think of a “whodunit” is probably a classic tale of a bunch of rich people gathering for some unknown or nefarious purpose at a mansion before one of them gets murdered. Though murder-mysteries are still around, few movies have been able to deconstruct the genre or make a parody of it that also works as an actual mystery. Clue did it in 1985, and now writer and director Rian Johnson follows in those footsteps with Knives Out.

Here, it begins with a death. Only this isn’t really a murder, but the apparent suicide of wealthy crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) the morning after his 85th birthday party. Though it should be an open-and-shut case, famed southern detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) suspects foul play. Even though there is no physical evidence of someone being with Harlan when he died, the fact that he slit his throat is unusual. Then again, nothing about the Thrombeys is usual.

Starting from the opening scene, which begins with a wide shot of a creepy and huge mansion, accompanied by Nathan Johnson’s excellent ethereal orchestral score, Rian Johnson gives the movie a grand and classic feel that pays homage to Agatha Christie mysteries and Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, while giving the film a good dose of broad comedy.

Blanc mostly sits in the background and observes as two police detectives (the wonderful and hilarious duo of LaKeith Stanfield and surprising stand-out Noah Segan, who deserve their own spin-off) investigate this increasingly suspicious family. Johnson uses this structure to introduce the audience to the whole cast, which is an impressive list of names. The family consists of a variety of well-defined characters, including a neo-nazi social media troll, the head of a Goop-like self-help company, and of course the black sheep of the family, here in the form of the vulgar Ransom (Chris Evans), who everyone heard fighting with Harlan the night of his death.

The interrogation is an absurd and hilarious way to not only get to know these characters, but the way they feel about each other. One character will begin to tell what happened the night of the party, only for the film to immediately cut to another person contradicting everything the first said. This is paired with flashbacks that showcase cinematographer Steve Yedlin’s excellent camerawork, which uses whip pans and tracking shots to tell us everything we need to know about the party and what the guests did.

It’s as Blanc begins to piece together the events of the night that he takes a liking to Harlan’s longtime caregiver, Marta (Ana de Armas). Despite the fact that she’s devastated by what she’s seen, Blanc decides to enlist her to be the Watson to his Sherlock because of her inherent kindness and her physical inability to lie. It’s here that the whodunit evolves into something more.

Despite not being advertised as a main character, Marta is the heart and soul of the movie, and this is de Armas’s best performance yet. She’s able to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders as the one person who was closest to Harlan, not to mention the sadness of having been the one to discover the body. But she also excels at comedy, especially when it comes to her physical reaction to lying.

In a film with such a large ensemble, some are bound to make bigger impressions than others. Though the casting is pitch-perfect and there is no weak link, there are definite standouts. Noah Segan steals every scene he’s in, dishing out irreverent and hilarious one-liners. Daniel Craig gives a fantastic performance that should make everyone excited for his post-Bond career. His Poirot-inspired detective with a thick Kentucky accent and a liking for metaphors about donuts is very over the top, but Craig’s delivery of quick and witty lines with extreme gravitas makes it believable. Chris Evans delivers a very different performance than Captain America, but fans of Scott Pilgrim will eat up his role as a douchey rich guy with utter disdain for his equally douchey family.

Despite how you may think this story will end, by the end, that will all go out the window. Knives Out employs certain tropes of the genre, but it does it by chewing them up, spitting them out, and rearranging them to create something new. Nothing is as it seems–this is more Columbo than Clue. And though the film has a very old school feel to it, Rian Johnson isn’t above making current references like a joke about Hamilton or a nod to Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver.

In taking the genre into modern times, Knives Out also has some important things to say about current politics. Just like with the tropes of the genre, Rian Johnson looks at the politics of classic whodunits–affluent people being suspicious of the maid or butler murdering them–and updates them to become irrational fears of rich people who think that immigrants are coming to the country to take over jobs and destroy some notion of an ancestral home or a non-existent birthright. The Thrombeys can tell Marta that she is like part of the family as many times as they want, and they may promise that they’ll take care of her now that her employer is dead, but they can’t even remember where she’s originally from, and are willing to turn against her as soon as it becomes convenient for them.

Taking a well-established–if old-fashioned–genre and updating it to resonate with modern audiences is no small feat. Making a 130-minute movie feel like 1-hour is even harder. But when it comes to making a movie that’s entertaining, thoughtful, sharply written, and undeniably creative, Rian Johnson is guilty as charged.

Nintendo has released a new update for Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Following the recent Switch firmware update, which resolved an issue preventing certain players from booting the title up, this patch introduces a more challenging difficulty mode, along with the game’s second wave of Expansion Pass content.

First, the update adds the new Maddening difficultly setting for players looking for even more of a challenge. If you’re able to clear Maddening mode without beginning a New Game+, Nintendo teases that the game’s title screen will change. Additionally, Nintendo has increased the bonus Renown for starting New Game+ and implemented protagonist Byleth’s new male English voiceovers, following abuse allegations that surfaced regarding the previous voice actor.

The update also brings a new assortment of content for Expansion Pass holders. First, you’ll find the following handful of helpful supplies waiting for you in Byleth’s personal quarters:

• Sacred Galewind Shoes (Movement +1)
• Sacred Floral Robe (HP +7)
• Sacred Snowmelt Drop (Strength +3)
• Sacred Moonstone (Speed +3)

Expansion Pass holders also have access to new “loungewear” outfits for Byleth and other characters, as well as glasses for Byleth. Rounding out the Expansion Pass content is a handful of new auxiliary battles, which may give you special rewards such as status-up items and more Gold. Finally, the update fixes an assortment of bugs and other issues in the game. You can check out the full patch notes, taken from Nintendo’s support website, below.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses launched on Switch this past July and has been a big commercial success, recording the highest first-month sales in the series’ history in the US. The game was also received very warmly by critics. GameSpot awarded it a 9/10 in our Fire Emblem: Three Houses review and wrote, “Fire Emblem: Three Houses asks a lot of you. Every piece, from battle to friendships to training your units, must be managed both individually and as part of a whole. It can be intimidating, but when it all clicks together, it really clicks.”

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Patch Notes

• New and Updated Features
  • Added Maddening mode to the New Game difficulty options. Note that if you clear Maddening mode without selecting New Game +, the title screen will change.
  • Increased the bonus Renown for selecting New Game + at the start of the game.
    • In addition to the usual difficulty bonus, 10,000 Pts. will now be added each time you clear a path.
    • The max threshold for bonus Renown is now 50,000 Pts.
    • If you already started playing using New Game + before applying the DLC data, 10,000 Pts. per cleared path will be added to each save slot the first time it is loaded.
    • Up to Ver.1.0.1, only the type of path cleared was saved but not the number of clears for the same path, which will now be saved applying the DLC Ver.1.0.2.
  • Added Goddess Tower to the Event Gallery in Extras. Use the ZL/ZR Buttons to select the Goddess Tower page, then choose a character event to replay.
    • The Event Gallery is unlocked once you’ve cleared the game.
  • Implemented new English voice for Byleth (male).
  • New Expansion Pass Content:
    • A new set of items
      • You can receive this set of items as DLC Supplies from the bed in Byleth’s Personal Quarters. Each save file can receive these supplies: Sacred Galewind Shoes (Movement +1), Sacred Floral Robe (HP +7), Sacred Snowmelt Drop (Strength +3), Sacred Moonstone (Speed +3).
    • Additional auxiliary battles
      • There are five additional auxiliary battles in the Expansion Pass: Battle at Lake Teutates, Battle in the Forest, Battle at Gronder Field, Battle at the Sealed Forest, and Battle at Conand Tower.
      • Depending on your progress, one of them will be listed in the battle-selection screen.
      • These additional auxiliary battles will be marked with the yellow “!” icon in the battle-selection screen. As a bonus, these battles may give you status-up items, such as Ailell Pomegranate, and an increased Gold reward in addition to the Bullions.
      • All maps will consume one activity point to start.
    • A new song (Corridor of the Tempest)
      • You can access the new song (Corridor of the Tempest) from the System menu while you are in an auxiliary battle. You can also listen to it in the Music Library.
    • New attire/accessory (House Loungewear / Glasses for Byleth)
      • The new attire (House Loungewear) is for the protagonist and students. Swap outfits in Byleth’s Personal Quarters from the Journal. These outfits are only wearable inside the monastery, or for specific unit classes during battle (this varies by character).
      • The new attire cannot be sent along with a traveler.
      • The new accessory (Glasses) can also be put on in Byleth’s Personal Quarters. They can be combined with any other attire. The glasses can be worn in the monastery and during battle.
    • A confirmation message is now displayed when you abandon an item during battle.
• General
  • Fixed the bug that caused the game to freeze when Fortify was used while equipped with a certain skill.
  • Addressed the incorrect character design in event still images.
  • Fixed the bug that incorrectly displayed a Caspar line as Linhardt’s during the White Heron Cup.
  • Fixed the bug that displayed a “TBD” message when mastering combat.
  • Fixed the bug in the cut-in sequence for a CRITICAL attack.
  • Fixed the bug that prevented Rescue magic from working properly to move an ally to a space near the user.
  • Fixed the bug that accidentally let the player enter the closed-off desk corridor in the Cardinals’ Room.
  • Some text has been revised.
  • The gameplay has been improved by addressing a few additional bugs.

Get your first look at Shinra’s agents, the Turks; powerful summons, Ifrit and Shiva; and much more in this trailer from Tokyo Game Show 2019.

While big movie releases are increasingly spread out across the whole year, the summer is still seen as a season of expensive Hollywood blockbusters. Sure, 2018 might have had Avengers: Endgame released as early as April, but the vast majority of the big franchise tentpole films still arrived in the summer months, squeezing out almost everything that wasn’t a superhero epic, animated sequel, or action spin-off.

Fall is very different. There are still some blockbusters to come in 2019–Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker being the most obvious example–but for the most part, the fall movie schedule features a mix of acclaimed films likely to pick up Oscar buzz, horror films designed to pull the Halloween crowd, and movies that simply couldn’t fit into the summer schedule.

That’s not say the next three months is all serious, intelligent adult dramas. There are plenty of sequels–those venerable action franchises Rambo and Terminator both have new movies, Zombieland finally gets its belated follow-up, and Disney’s Frozen II is sure to be one of the year’s biggest movies. DC’s latest film arrives too, and although Joker is very different to the studio’s other recent superhero releases, it’s still one of the fall’s absolute must-sees. There’s also the highly anticipated new film from Martin Scorsese, Brad Pitt in space, Tom Hanks as Mr Rogers, and Will Smith fighting a younger version of himself.

In all, it’s set to be a busy few months, with notable new movies releasing every week. So to help you decide what to look forward to–and what you might want to avoid–here’s our guide to the fall’s biggest movies…

1. Hustlers

Release date: September 13

Not to be confused with the recently released–and similarly plotted–comedy flop The Hustle, Hustlers is a satirical crime thriller in which a group of strippers decide to con dozens of wealthy businessmen out of their fortunes. It’s based on a true story, and is directed by acclaimed playwright Lorene Scafaria, who made her directing debut with 2012’s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. The cast includes Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, plus cameos from rappers Cardi B and Lizzo. The movie picked up rave reviews from its recent premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, with critics in particular praising Lopez’s performance.

2. Rambo V: Last Blood

Release date: September 20

Sylvester Stallone has already said goodbye to one of his most iconic characters, when Rocky Balboa made his last appearance in Creed II, and he’s now set to do the same with his other great action hero–John Rambo. Rambo V: Last Blood is the fifth movie in the long-running action series, and it sees the soldier-turned-mercenary take on Mexican drug cartels in order to rescue the kidnapped daughter of one of his friends. Long-time fans of the series know what to expect–ie. lots of shooting, stabbing, and blowing-things-up–and the trailers released so far suggest that Last Blood will absolute deliver.

3. Ad Astra

Release date: September 20

Director James Gray is best known for dark, intense dramas such as The Immigrant and We Own The Night, but with Ad Astra, he makes the jump into big budget sci-fi territory. Brad Pitt stars as an engineer who heads into the outer reaches of space to find out what happened to his father–who made a mysterious one-way trip to Neptune many years earlier. The cast also includes Tommy Lee Jones and Preacher star Ruth Negga, and festival reviews suggest a cerebral space adventure in the vein of Interstellar and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Original sci-fi films are often a hard sell at the box office, but Pitt’s box office power should attract plenty of attention.

4. Abominable

Release date: September 27

This latest release from Dreamworks Animation focuses on a young Yeti, who befriends a teenage girl named Yi living in Shanghai. Yi and her pals must try to reunite the Yeti with his family, while staying one step ahead of an evil zoologist who is determined to capture mythical hairy beast. Agents of SHIELD star Chloe Bennet voices Yi, with Eddie Izzard and Sarah Paulson in villainous roles. In typical Hollywood style, Abominable is actually the second animated Yeti movie to arrive in the space of a year, with the moderately-successful Smallfoot releasing last October, but this still looks like good fun.

5. Joker

Release Date: October 4

The Joker might be one of the best known comic book villains of all time, but it’s safe to say there’s never been a comic book movie quite like this one. Joaquin Phoenix takes on the role of Arthur Fleck in this origin movie, that shows how a disturbed, struggling comedian rose to become Gotham’s most notorious insane criminal mastermind. Directed by The Hangover’s Todd Phillips, the movie has won massive acclaim when it premiered at the Venice FIlm Festival last month, and against the odds, won the prestigious Golden bear at the festival. In his review for GameSpot, Michael Rougeau said Joker was “wonderfully fresh, dangerously exciting, undeniably entertaining, and rock-solid in its artistry. It might make you uncomfortable, and it will no doubt stay with you long after the curtains close; great movies often do.”

6. Zombieland: Double-Tap

Release date: October 11

Although the zombie comedy Zombieland was a critical and commercial success, it’s taken nearly a decade for the sequel to happen. Since then lead actors Jesse Eisenberg and in particular Oscar-winning Emma Stone have become major stars, while the movie’s writers–Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese–have scored major success with the Deadpool movies. But all are returning for the sequel, as are director Ruben Fleischer (Venom) and co-stars Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin. The hilarious trailer suggests the movie will be every bit as funny, gory, silly, and heartfelt as the original.

7. Gemini Man

Release date: October 11

Sometimes one Will Smith is not enough. The sci-fi thriller Gemini Man sees the Fresh Prince play a veteran assassin who is his hunted by a younger clone. The movie was in development for many years, but advances in de-aging technology have now made it a possibility, as 50-year-old Smith fights a version of himself who looks just like the youthful star of ’90s films such as Bad Boys and Independence Day. Gemini Man is directed by Ang Lee, who is known for dramas such as Brokeback Mountain, but also proved he can deliver the action goods with the martial arts classic Crouching TIger Hidden Dragon and the 2003 version of Hulk.

8. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Release date: October 11

Disney’s hit 2014 movie Maleficent might have been based on Sleeping Beauty, but it predated the studio’s current series of live-action adaptations of its animated classics. But following the huge success of Aladdin and The Lion King this year, the Maleficent sequel arrives in October. Angelina Jolie returns as the evil fairy of the title, with Elle Fanning also back as Princess Aurora. Michelle Pfeiffer, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ed Skrein, and Sam Riley co-star, and the director is Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales).

9. The Addams Family

Release date: October 11

The spooky family were last seen in a pair of live-action movies in the 1990s and return for this new animated film. An impressive voicecast includes Oscar Isaac as Gomez and Charlize Theron as Morticia, plus Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard as Pugsley, Chloe Grace Moretz as Wednesday, Nick Kroll as Uncle Fester, and Allison Janney as villainous Margaux Needler. The movie seems to be aimed at a younger audience than the ’90s movies, but it should make for suitably spooky Halloween viewing for families.

10. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot

Release date: October 15

In more recent years, Kevin Smith has been branching out beyond the comedies that made him famous, but he returns this fall to the characters for which he’s best known with the sequel to 2000’s Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. The plot sees the iconic stoner heroes–played by Smith and Jason Mewes–heading to Hollywood in an attempt to stop a reboot of that earlier movie happening. The movie features appearances from lots of actors who have appeared in Smith’s previous films, including Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Shannon Elizabeth, and Rosario Dawson, plus a cameo from Chris Hemsworth. Expect exactly the same brand of foul-mouthed pop-culture referencing comedy that has won Smith such a fan following over the years.

11. Jojo Rabbit

Release date: October 18

Thor Ragnarok director Taiki Waititi is one of the busiest filmmakers in Hollywood–he’s lined up to make the next Thor movie, is attached to a new animated Flash Gordon movie, and will hopefully eventually get to make the long-delayed live-action Akira adaptation. But before we get to all that, we have Jojo Rabbit. It’s an unusual World War II satire, in which a German boy called Jojo discovers that his mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in his attic.The cast includes Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, and Rebel Wilson, but the strangest bit of casting is Waititi himself, who is playing Jojo’s imaginary friend–a clownish version of Adolf Hitler.

12. Terminator: Dark Fate

Release date: November 1

After the commercial and critical failure of 2015’s Terminator Genisys, few fans expected to get a new Terminator movie quite so soon after. But Terminator: Dark Fate has got a few things going for it. Original star Linda Hamilton returns as Sarah Connor, one of the most iconic action heroines of all time, while Arnold Schwarzenegger co-stars and series creator James Cameron is back as a producer. It’s directed by Deadpool’s Tim Miller and is a direct sequel to Cameron’s 1991 classic T2: Judgement Day, ignoring the three movies in-between.

13. The Irishman

Release date: November 1

If you needed proof that Netflix is one of the biggest players in cinema right now, just consider the fact they’ve spent a reported $175 million on the new Martin Scorsese movie. The legendary director of such classic as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas will make his streaming debut with the epic crime saga The Irishman, which stars Robert De Niro as Frank Sheeran, labor union leader and mob hitman. The cast also includes Joe Pesci and Al Pacino (remarkably, this is the first Scorsese movie Pacino has appeared in), and the film will make extensive–and expensive–use of the de-aging VFX seen most recently on Sam Jackson in Captain Marvel. It’s getting a limited theatrical release before it hits Netflix on November 27, but however you choose to watch it, The Irishman is unquestionably one of 2019’s most anticipated movies.

14. Doctor Sleep

Release date: November 8

With movies like Gerard’s Game and Oculus under his belt, Mike Flanagan was already one of horror’s best young filmmakers when he co-wrote and directed last year’s highly acclaimed Netflix hit The Haunting of Hill House. The success of Hill House has raised his profile even further, and expectations are high for his next movie, Doctor Sleep. It’s an adaptation of Stephen King’s 2013 sequel to his classic The Shining, and stars Ewan McGregor as the adult version of the earlier novel’s young, psychic protagonist Danny Torrance. In this new story, Torrance meets a young girl with similar powers to his and must protect her from a sinister cult who are targeting children with similar gifts.

15. Last Christmas

Release date: November 8

Director Paul Fieg made a brief detour from the comedies he’s best known for with last year’s thriller A Simple Favor, but he returns to more familiar territory in November. Last Christmas is–of course–a London-set festive romantic comedy featuring the music of George Michael. It stars Emilia Clarke, in her first post-Game of Thrones role, Crazy Rich Asians’ Henry Golding, and Emma Thompson, who also co-wrote the movie. Expect lots of seasonal fuzziness and big box office.

16. Ford v. Ferrari

Release date: November 15

From Amadeus to Frost/Nixon, there have been some great movies made from real-life rivalries. Ford v. Ferrari is the latest addition–as the title suggests, it focuses on the rivalry between the two famous car manufacturers for dominance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race that took place in France in 1966. Christian Bale plays British driver Ken Miles and Matt Damon is Ford’s pioneering car designer Carroll Shelby, who set about building an entirely new car that might challenge the might of Ferrari. It’s directed by James Mangold, who is best known for Logan and The Wolverine, as well as the western 3:1- To Yuma and Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line.

17. Charlie’s Angels

Release date: November 15

The iconic female crime-fighters were last seen in a pair of movies in the early 2000s, and are back in this latest film version. It’s the second directing credit for Pitch Perfect and Power Rangers star Elizabeth Banks, with Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska as the Angels this time round. The trio are brought into Charlie Townsend’s crime-fighting agency, which is now a global spy network, by Bosley, played by Banks. Patrick Stewart and Dimjou Hounsou also appear as other spy bosses using the Bosley alias. Interestingly, the movie isn’t a remake, but a continuation of the story that started with the original ’70s TV show and continued with the 2000s movies.

18. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Release date: November 22

The 2017 Mister Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor stands as one of the most successful docs ever made, and it will soon be joined by a live-action movie about the iconic TV host and family entertainer (with a title also taken from the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood theme song). Fred Rogers is played by Tom Hanks–and frankly, it’s hard to think of anyone else in the role–and the plot centers upon a cynical journalist whose life is changed when he’s assigned to profile Rogers. The script for this movie sat around unmade for many years, but renewed interest in Mr Rogers has finally meant it reaches the screen in November.

19. Frozen II

Release date: November 24

The long-awaited sequel to Disney’s 2013 blockbuster animated movie Frozen continues the icy adventures of Elsa and Anna. All of the key cast members are returning, including Kristen Bell as Anna and Idina Menzel as Elsa, plus Jonathan Groff as Kristoff and Josh Gad as Olaf. The recent first trailer didn’t exactly reveal much about the plot, but it was certainly dramatic, with Elsa trying to cross a stormy sea using her icy magical powers, Anna looking concerned about a hall of weird icy diamonds, Kristoff riding his horse, and the three walking through a spooky forest. All will be revealed in November.

20. Knives Out

Release date: November 27

Rian Johnson might be best known these days for directing The Last Jedi, but prior to that Star Wars blockbuster, he was the acclaimed filmmaker behind movies such as the teen noir Brick and gripping sci-fi Looper. Knives Out sees Johnson return to his offbeat thriller roots–it’s a ridiculous star-studded murder mystery, with a cast that includes Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lakeith Stanfield, Michael Shannon, and Toni Collette.

Here’s everything you’ll get with Control’s free and paid DLC. And with the latest performance patch this is the perfect time to dive in.

The Nintendo Switch is technically a portable console. It can be pulled out of the dock, taken with you to the bathroom–or anywhere else–and played in handheld mode. But it’s not the most comfortable portable experience. Even Nintendo seems to agree, with a smaller, handheld-only version of the Switch releasing on September 20. Considering how often my hands cramp or fall asleep while holding my launch Switch, this is a godsend, as I’ve grown tired of shaking the feeling back into them.

However, there is a solution to that tingling hands problem that makes the original Switch model more comfortable to play in handheld mode: a grip case. These work much in the same way as protective cases do, except they add a little something to grab on to, turning them into something that feels a lot more like a controller. Handheld mode is my preferred method of playing the Switch, and after using a grip case I knew I could never go back to playing without one.

Now, while there are a couple of grips we absolutely love, not all of the ones we tested were winners. RDS Industries’ Goplay Grip put my hands in an awkward position for most games, while the Orzly Comfort Grip didn’t provide enough of a handle to hold comfortably. Most grips fell somewhere between these two.

But there are a few standouts, and you can read on for an overview of the best Switch grip cases we’ve tried and can vouch for. Note that all pricing indicated below is subject to change–Amazon slashes prices all the time, so you may see a discount when clicking through. Of course, we’ll keep this article updated if we try out any new Switch grips worth buying.

Skull & Co Grip Case

$19 | $40 with carrying case

The Good:

• Extremely comfortable, ergonomic design
• Interchangeable grips to help you find the best fit for your hands
• Easily removable

The Bad:

• Not very dock friendly
• Right-stick positioning feels a little awkward

The Skull & Co grip case is exactly what I was looking for for my Switch. It’s a slip-on case just like the one you’d put on your phone, except it also turns your Switch into something that feels a bit more like a proper controller–a much more ergonomic handheld device. The case comes with three pairs of interchangeable grips so you can decide which shape best fits your hands. The Snap Grip is the smallest of the three options, equipped with rounded edges. The Plus Grip is a bigger version of the Snap Grip that protrudes much further out. Lastly, we have the Trigger Grip, which is my personal favourite as it feels the most like a normal controller and fits my hands perfectly. It also has a little hooked peak for your middle finger to rest in, which makes your Switch very easy to hold onto, even with one hand. The Skull & Co grip case is a huge improvement over the flat and gripless Switch, especially for Super Mario Maker 2, which previously gave me constant cramps while making levels.

In addition to the handles, the Skull & Co grip case covers everything but the front of the Switch. This means the shoulder buttons are covered as well, requiring you to press on the case’s button covers to press the L, R, ZL, and ZR buttons. However, the distance between the button cover and the button itself is so small that it doesn’t feel much different from just pulling the trigger.

I don’t want to play my Switch in handheld mode without this grip case. However, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. I found the shape made it slightly more difficult to position my thumb and use the right analog stick. It’s not an insurmountable issue, but I did feel a little soreness in my joint while playing certain games that rely on the right stick a lot.

Skull & Co claims this grip case is “dock friendly” and doesn’t need to be removed for TV mode. However, there tends to be a slight bend in some people’s docks, causing it to have a slightly smaller opening. The slight difference is enough to keep this case from being completely dock-friendly. While I was able to force my Switch into the dock and get it to output to the TV, it took a considerable amount of time and the Switch would sometimes undock itself. I can’t recommend this grip case enough when it comes to playing in handheld, but if you want to output to your TV, be sure to take it off before sliding it into your dock. | Mat Paget

$19 at Amazon $40 with carrying case

Satisfye Grip

$26 | $48 with carrying case

The Good:

• Comfortable, ergonomic design prevents cramping
• Doubles as a sturdy stand with room for charging cable
• Bonus thumb tabs for extra grip and customization

The Bad:

• Doesn’t fit in many carrying cases

For a long time, I shied away from taking my Switch out of its dock, and that’s largely because I’ve always found playing Switch handheld to be incredibly uncomfortable. The long, slender tablet forces your wrists into a cramped, unnatural position, and it weighs just enough that I always find myself gripping it too hard to keep from dropping it. I’ve spent a few months with the Satisfye grip, and I can honestly say I’ll never go back to playing the Switch without it.

First of all, the Satisfye grip is extremely lightweight–it doesn’t make the console feel any heavier when I hold it (in fact, because it makes holding the Switch so much easier, it almost feels lighter). The Switch slides into the grip easily but firmly, and it hasn’t left any scuff marks on my Joy-Cons, as some Amazon reviewers have mentioned. The bottom of the grip has two hooks for additional console support, and they also allow the Switch to stand securely upright on its own with enough room for the charging cable to run underneath.

While the change in hand positioning takes some getting used to, the grip features a more ergonomic design that fills your palms and keeps your thumbs in their natural resting positions. There’s a nice little spot on top of both handles for your index fingers to rest when you’re not using the triggers. The handles are also rubberized on the back, which helps you grip them even better. Plus, it’s way easier to use the buttons, as your thumbs have more space and support to move around. Additionally, the Satisfye grip comes with four bonus thumb tabs. I don’t personally use them, but they’re intended to add extra grip to the analog sticks.

At this point, I’ve traveled cross-country multiple times with the Satisfye grip, and even though I store my Switch in a protective case when I travel, the grip was easily transported in my backpack without any damage. (Note: Satisfye also offers a bundle with the grip, protective case, and USB charging cable for $48.) Now, it feels weird when I play without the Satisfye grip, and I’d recommend it to anyone who currently finds handheld play a bit uncomfortable. | Jenae Sitzes

$26 at Amazon $48 with carrying case

You can now pet dogs in Red Dead Online, thanks to a recent update that added a considerable amount of features, but almost certainly all less important than this one.

Observant Red Dead Redemption 2 fans might be asking themselves “wasn’t there already dog-petting in the game?” That’s correct, but only for the single-player story mode. The new feature was spotted and shared on social media by the now-infamous Can You Pet the Dog Twitter account, which catalogs video games that let you show your love for our four-legged friends.

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