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‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Doubles Down With Black Panther Expansion, Full Roadmap – Forbes

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Today at the Square Enix showcase, Crystal Dynamics did a whole lot more than simply announce that Hawkeye was live in Marvel’s Avengers today. They took the opportunity to try and quiet a lot of doubts that fans and critics have had about the game, showing off a full six month roadmap of content, culminating in something that’s long been rumored, a large, free Black Panther-led expansion set in Wakanda, out sometime this fall.

I actually had the chance to talk with Studio Head Scot Amos and Executive Producer Morgan Gray for about 40 minutes ahead of all this, where they laid out their changing philosophy of communication going forward, recapping where they’d fallen short and previewing what’s to come.

What was made very clear from the outset of the conversation was that yes, Crystal Dynamics is still wholly committed to the Avengers and their promised version of it with a lengthy, interconnected story threaded through a live service game with frequent updates.

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Those updates have…not been frequent so far. I confirmed that yes, the original plan was to get a whole bunch more content out a lot more quickly, but Crystal Dynamics was forced to drop everything and focus on fixing core issues with the game right at launch. Combine that with COVID and California wildfires, and we have a recipe for a whole lot of delays.

But they understand their communication has been poor, and they have not given a clear enough vision of where there is to look forward to. In their presentation they even cited one of my articles, where I called the game’s current roadmap “datamining and fan dreams.” Well, they listened. Now Avengers has a literal roadmap.

Today is meant to mark a turning point with the release of Hawkeye, Maestro and the Future Imperfect campaign, along with the release of the next-gen update for the game which should drastically increase performance, and some additional features like the ability to replay the campaign.

Going forward, in the months that follow, Avengers will start having more dedicated “events” in a way they haven’t so far. There’s something planned for the release of the Black Widow movie in May, a “Red Room” challenge which will mark the arrival of actual MCU skins in the game, another big fan request. The game will get another Villain Sector starring original campaign villain Monica, unattached from a hero release. Later, there’s a new type of mission type which is essentially unstructured patrol, where players can traipse around the Wasteland zone, free-farming at their will. Changes to gear to make it more impactful are coming. Lower level players will find they get stronger, faster (even if they’ve slowed down the XP curve). They’re introducing cool new things like an artifact that can spawn Hank Pym to shoot an energy cannon at enemies as a one-time summon.

And all of this culminates in the Black Panther expansion (yes, it’s an expansion, yes, it’s still free), which was teased during this reveal, but not a ton of details were shared. What they did tell me was that Black Panther was a fully new character, ie. he won’t just mirror Cap’s brawling moves or anything, and that Wakanda is a totally new zone with new types of areas, puzzles and more. Datamining (not Crystal Dynamics) has said that the villain for that content will be Klaw, and it’s possible King T’Challa may be voiced by none other than Kratos himself, Christopher Judge, as Avengers continues to expand its A-list voice cast.

Is it pure, unadulterated good news all around? Mmm I think there are a few caveats to explore here.

While Crystal Dynamics said that Omega-level threats are still coming, high level boss fights and its raid-like AIM Labs, even with the arrival of the roadmap, those still do not have dates. I asked them what was going on with this content, as AIM Labs has been teased since release, and here we are. It’s not precisely clear, with them saying only that they want to make sure to “get it right” precisely at launch and make sure everything is balanced and nothing break for what it deems some of the most important content they’ll be introducing.

I am wondering about how fans will receive some of the content that’s been announced as arriving in the six month window until Black Panther shows up. The Black Widow event is a reskinned HARM room. Monica may be a new type of boss fight, but she’s not exactly a high profile Marvel villain. And when AIM Labs do come, they are still teasing a boss segment as four Abomination clones, which sounds like no one’s idea of a good time.

But it’s all certainly more than the game has had so far, with yawning gaps in between content drops. And systems changes like better gear will help, and Crystal Dynamics says they’re working on something akin to a paragon system where XP will let you further upgrade your character once you hit max.

Some things weren’t mentioned at all, however. I pressed them on the absence of Spider-Man, the Sony-exclusive hero that was supposed to be out early this year, according to a long-altered timeline, and it does not appear he will make it out in the first year of release, though they said yes, he still exists And no other heroes were teased besides Black Panther, even with rumored ones like Captain Marvel, She-Hulk and Bucky Barnes buried in the files. They also couldn’t tell me if Black Panther would mark the arrival of a new enemy race, something fans have been waiting for so they can stop fighting AIM, but they wouldn’t say, though we know a Kree invasion is supposed to happen at some point.

As for the long, long term? All I could get them to say is yes, they’re working on content past the first year here. They want to express that players can feel comfortable committing to investing in Avengers, and it seems like it’s not going to pull an Anthem and just evaporate before a bunch more content comes out.

I want all this to work. I’d love nothing more to still be playing new Avengers expansions three years from now with a 20+ hero roster. But for that to happen, the next six months seem like they’re going to be key, and if Hawkeye, Black Panther and all the rest can’t pull together a larger playerbase, that won’t be good.

To quote the old looter adage, “things seem to be moving in the right direction.” I’m not sure I could say that a few weeks ago about Avengers, but I think fans who have been waiting for actual announcements and plans and new content should be satisfied by what they heard today. There are lingering questions and shifting timelines, but for now, things are in a far better place than we’ve been for a while now.

More thoughts on video:

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series, and The Earthborn Trilogy, which is also on audiobook.

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The Ultimate Recap of Sea Otter 2024 – Pinkbike.com

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Vittoria Releases New Peyote & Mezcal XC Race Tires
Maxxis Team Spec Aspen ST Tire
New DT Swiss 240 DEG Hubs
Kali Protectives’ New Full Face Helmets
Industry Nine’s SOLiX M Hubs & Wheelsets
Michelin’s Aggressive New Wild Enduro Tires
Praxis’ New Flat Pedals, Stem, & Carbon Bottle Cage
Transmission Cage Upgrades from Kogel, Ceramicspeed, and Cascade Components
Randoms Round 1 – Sea Otter 2024
Madrone Cycles’ SRAM Eagle Repair Kits & Prototype Derailleur
Vorsprung’s New Telum Coil Shock
EXT’s Vaia Inverted DH Fork & Updated Coil Shocks
Randoms Round 2: New Tools, Goggles, Grips, Racks, & More – Sea Otter 2024
What’s New in Women’s MTB Apparel at Sea Otter 2024
Even More Randoms – Sea Otter 2024
Randoms Round 3: Dario’s Treasures
What’s New for the Kids at Sea Otter 2024
Deity Releases New Stems, Grips, & Pedals
Dario’s Final Sea Otter Randoms
Brian’s Randoms from Sea Otter 2024

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With roots dating back to 1991, the Sea Otter Classic is one of the biggest biking events and tradeshows each year and brings together all sides of the biking industry from athletes to brands, spectators and consumers. Taking place in April in the sunny hills of Monterey, California, that means this event really feels like the official start to the biking season in North America. Christina Chappetta covers why it’s much different to an indoor European biking tradeshow, a World Cup racing weekend or even Crankworx mountain bike festival, in that it encompasses nearly ALL of the biking disciplines, including road cycling, enduro, downhill, dual slalom, XC, trials riding and more.

In the past fortnight, we have seen large amount of new tech releases. However, Sea Otter 2024 represents some of the first opportunities for many riders to see these things in the flesh, as well as take a deeper dive into what the product aims to do.
Welcome to a video summary from Day 2 of the Sea Otter Classic.
There are so many giveaways, interesting new products and colourful characters at Sea Otter Classic that it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. Ben Cathro takes a lap of the venue to find his favourites.



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Apple iPad Air 2024: Insider Makes Hasty U-Turn On New Feature – Forbes

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Well, that was quick. On May 18, a respected industry insider predicted a new display technology for the iPad Air that’s expected in the coming days—Apple just announced its latest special event.

The new 12.9-inch iPad Air, the report claimed, would have the same miniLED backlighting currently found on the larger iPad Pro, using the leftover inventory from the current Pro as that model switches to OLED. That was exciting news.

But now, Ross Young, the analyst who made the claim, has changed his mind. The new prediction, shared with paid subscribers only, is that the miniLED technology won’t be coming to the iPad Air, in either size.

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While it made sense that the inventory could be maximized in this way, it now “makes sense” that it won’t.

Young says that while he’d heard from supply chain sources that it would, he’d now had contact from “even more supply chain sources” that it won’t.

And the reason this change of heart now makes sense is that this miniLED technology is expensive, so it would be surprising if it made it to the iPad Air, which is more affordable than the Pro.

That’s not quite all the analyst shared. He also said that there are now reports of a new iPad coming later in the year. This is a 12.9-inch iPad, with miniLED backlighting and it could arrive between October and December this year.

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This is intriguing. What could it be? Assuming that the iPad Pro and iPad Air are released in May, it’s extremely unlikely either will be updated later in the year. And if the iPad Air isn’t pricey enough for miniLED to be included, what tablet could Apple be introducing that is the same size as the bigger Pro, with a pricey screen tech, which would sit between the Air and the Pro, it seems?

Young is highly reliable, but this seems slightly preposterous to me. The only other iPad in the range due a refresh is the regular iPad (at 12.9-inches, the iPad mini is clearly out of the picture) and that doesn’t seem likely either.

It seems to me that any regular iPad will almost certainly have the same screen size as now, 10.9 inches. The regular iPad only grew to this size screen in the current generation, and Apple almost never changes designs after one iteration.

Perhaps things will become clearer as the year goes on.

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Woman who left beaten dad on floor for 2 days was 'overwhelmed' with his care, judge told – CBC.ca

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A Calgary woman who abused her sick, 77-year-old father was “overwhelmed” at the task of caring for him, a judge heard Wednesday at a sentencing hearing. 

In January, Tara Picard, 52, pleaded guilty to charges of assault and failing to provide the necessaries of life after her father (whom CBC News is not naming) was found injured on a basement floor, where he’d been lying for two days. 

On Wednesday, prosecutor Donna Spaner and defence lawyer Shaun Leochko asked the judge to allow Picard to serve her sentence in the community under conditions as part of a conditional sentence order.

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Justice Indra Maharaj agreed to a two-year conditional sentence for Picard followed by a year of probation. 

“There is no doubt she became overwhelmed,” said Spaner in her submissions. “There is no question Ms. Picard has remorse.”

Leochko told the judge that caring for her father “was really more than [Picard] could handle.”

Maharaj heard that Picard is Indigenous and was the victim of abuse growing up. She lives in a sober dorm-style facility and is working with a mental health and addictions navigator, according to Leochko.

A ‘willingness to give back’

As part of the sentence, Picard must complete 300 hours of community service. 

Justice Maharaj commended Picard for “taking that on.”

“That shows me Ms. Picard sincerely does recognize what has happened here,” said the judge. 

“What I interpret from that is Ms. Picard’s willingness to give back to her community.”

During Picard’s plea, court heard that in November 2021, Picard and her father fought over his drinking. 

Nurses discover victim

The victim suffers from a number of medical issues, including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and alcoholism.

At the time, home-care registered nurses were assigned to help provide supplementary care.

Nurses found the victim wearing a soiled adult diaper and suffering from two black eyes with blood on his head. 

He told the nurses who discovered him that he’d been there for two days. 

Picard admitted she knew her father had fallen and she had “administered a number of physical blows.”

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