HardwareFreaks

Tag: Valheim

  • Valheim will get a 50% price hike when it hits 1.0, and no changes to the ocean biome

    Featured image Valheim will get a 50 price hike when it hits 10 and no changes to the ocean biome

    After more than five years of grinding, crafting, and surviving the frosty wilds of the frozen lands, Valheim is finally reaching a major milestone: version 1.0. Mark your calendars, because the game is set to launch on September 9th!

    This landmark release isn’t just about hitting a new number; it comes bundled with some exciting additions and necessary tweaks. Prepare for a change in economics: the game will see a price adjustment, moving from $20 to $30, reflecting the ongoing development and community investment.

    Adding fresh ice-themed content is another highlight. Players can look forward to exploring the newly introduced Deep North biome, promising new challenges and breathtaking vistas for those who venture north.

    While the game promises exciting expansions, some questions linger about the future roadmap. Iron Gate has released an FAQ attempting to address community concerns, though it leaves some major content updates delightfully ambiguous. The developers are assuring the community they will continue focusing on bugfixes and quality of life improvements, even if the exact timeline for future content remains a mystery.

    One particular point of contention among devoted players revolves around expansions like the ocean biome. Despite its presence on the original roadmap, some felt the FAQ ruled out this update in the 1.0 launch. For those who have spent countless hours boating across vast distances just for an empty ocean, this decision certainly sparked some spirited discussion.

    For players focused on technical performance, the 1.0 update brings optimizations designed to smooth out the experience. While large builds won’t be radically transformed, the changes focus on reducing microstutters experienced when loading zones and implementing faster saving mechanisms—making the gameplay flow a little smoother.

    Furthermore, the introduction of Steam achievements is on the horizon. Be prepared for new ways to commemorate your epic achievements, though some players might find themselves redoing tasks they’ve already completed (like slaying Eikthyr) in pursuit of those new accolades.

    If you are looking to jump into this epic world right now, there is a chance to snag the game during current sales events. While the price is set to increase after the launch, it remains a compelling opportunity for any aspiring Viking survivalist to start their journey today.

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    Credit: PC Gamer

  • Private and community servers for Minecraft and COD are illegal and amount to piracy, ESA tells California Senate — Stop Killing Games-backed bill fails to pass committee

    Featured image Private and community servers for Minecraft and COD are illegal and amount to piracy ESA tells California Senate Stop Killing Gamesbac

    The debate over digital game ownership has reached a fascinating, yet frustrating, impasse, pitting industry associations against community efforts in a clash over what constitutes piracy in the age of private servers.

    The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) recently took a strong stance, informing a California Senate committee that private and community servers are illegal piracy. This claim immediately drew attention, especially considering that the game in question, Minecraft, offers its own free multiplayer server downloads directly from the official website.

    This assertion was made while opposing AB 1921, California’s proposed “Stop Killing Games” bill, which aims to mandate that publishers provide players with a playable version, patch, or refund if they shut down a game. The ESA’s vice president of state government affairs, Jennifer Gibbons, argued that community servers lack the necessary affiliation with the publisher and do not adhere to the same safety and trust standards as official systems.

    The core legal challenge rests on whether running a private server infringes upon intellectual property rights. While the ESA views these setups as piracy, industry practices suggest a more nuanced reality. Publishers like Mojang provide dedicated Minecraft servers, including the necessary files for free multiplayer access. Furthermore, other major titles, such as Palworld, Valheim, ARK: Survival Ascended, and Counter-Strike 2, all release official dedicated-server software, allowing players to run their own match servers on private systems.

    This technical distinction suggests that running a publisher’s own server binary is a licensed activity, not an unauthorized copy. The ESA referenced historical piracy claims, pointing to reports like the U.S. Trade Representative’s Notorious Markets reports which focused on servers used to bypass subscription models in games like World of Warcraft. These cases involved reverse engineering systems where publishers had not released their own dedicated server backends.

    The proposed AB 1921 bill offers a different remedy entirely. Instead of penalizing community efforts, the legislation empowers publishers to comply by releasing official server tools or providing refunds—a solution that aligns with how Mojang already manages its multiplayer environment.

    In essence, the argument is that holding communities accountable for operating systems outside of publisher-approved frameworks overlooks the established licensing pathways. The industry response suggests that while private servers raise concerns about safety and standards, they do not necessarily constitute piracy when official tools exist for players to operate within the published rules.

    Credit: Tom’s Hardware