Charles and Dan break down the best and worst of PAX AUS 2017 in this special episode of Game Club.
There’s more good than bad at the highlight of the nerd’s year down under. But it’s worth talking about who’s doing things well in this space and who needs to lift their game.
Your first day of PAX Aus is over and the next has begun.
In this issue, you’ll discover the hot new trends to look out for on the show floor, or if you can’t make it down to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre I’ve got you covered.
Monster Hunter World
First of course was to check out the new offering from Capcom on the Playstation 4. I was a little worried with the jump from Nintendo to Playstation (partly because I don’t own a Playstation) as Monster Hunter to me has always been cute and cartoony.
Going for realistic graphics hasn’t hurt the game the way I thought it would. The mechanics are solid and from the demo level played it’s got all the hunting and collecting you’ve come to expect from a MH game.
Some fun little additions include the ‘fireflies’ that help you see out materials and monster tracks. While I wasn’t able to get into the game much further, it felt great to be actually looking for monster tracks, droppings and leavings to find my prey.
Level Up Dice
Remember when dice were just plain coloured plastic? Once upon a time the early dice with more sides than 6 came with a crayon to draw on your own numbers. Level Up dice show us just how far we’ve come from those days.
The first thing that stands out are the mdifferent metal dice on offer. Each one has their number etched to different depths to make sure they’re still random. ‘Caged’ dice don’t look like the should work at all, but after a few rolls it’s the pent-ultimate status symbol at the table.
Of course, the one that has to be felt to be believed is the ‘Table Destroyer’. Made from tungsten which is known as being one of the toughest things found in nature. It is a super dense and almost impossible to melt. Perfect for those rolls that pit you against a red dragon.
Steven ‘Bajo’ O’Donnell from Good Game
Our second big interview for the day was with the Good Game Spawn Point host. Taking time out of his new Twitch stream schedule we talked for 20min about the changing nature of media and the lovely Bajonians.
If you’re excited to see what Bajo has been up to since Good Game ended the video will be up on the website within the next few days.
DESTINY 2 ‘SUPPAWTS’ AUSTRALIAN WORKING DOG RESCUE INT AT PAX AUS, TO RAISE AWARENESS ‘FOR THE PUPPIES’
Tomorrow, Activision is bringing the iconic line from the Destiny 2 live action trailer ‘For The Puppies’ to life by helping raise awareness for non profit charity, Australian Working Dog Rescue Int (AWDRI).
As part of the partnership, Activision and AWDRI will be bringing real-life puppies toPAX AUS, Australia’s largest gaming expo, taking place from 27-29th October at the Melbourne Convention Centre.
Whilst players in Destiny 2 are on a mission to save earth in the game, AWDRI are on a mission to save the puppies. Staffed by volunteers, the AWDRI find new homes for working dog breeds to rescue them from being euthanased in council pounds and shelters.
At the event, volunteers will be driving awareness and handing out limited edition Destiny 2 dog biscuits available exclusively at PAX in exchange for a gold coin donation to help raise charity funds.
Among the attending pups will be Scarlett (iconic Red Dog lookalike!), their two best performance dogs and Nimble – a star in her own right and an Ambassadog for AWDRI. Nimble has starred in a short film, graced the front cover of Woman’s Day and is even a world record holder in the dog high jump and current Australian record holder for a distance catch with a frisbee.
To find out more information on how to support AWDRI you can visit their website www.workingdogrescue.com.au or visit the Facebook page @awdri.com.au.
To see the full PAX schedule for a rundown of events, visit: http://aus.paxsite.com/schedule
Prime time Aussie and NZ servers to go live on November 1, 6pm – 12am AEDT
Following the growth of the local World of Tanks community, Wargaming has confirmed they are launching a local server for Australian and New Zealand players on November 1, 2017.
The locally hosted server is a game changer for the widely popular, 15 vs 15 tank combat PC title, World of Tanks, which will see faster ping rates and greater connectivity.
Travis Plane, Wargaming Australia New Zealand Country Manager, hopes the launch of the prime time server will increase game play amongst current players, and bring back lapsed players of the team-based massively multiplayer online action game.
“Tankers can now storm the battlefield, roll in guns blazing and ambush their opponents’ quicker, making team combat more intense, fun and enjoyable.
“A local server is the number one request from our community and we are finally rolling them out on November 1, from 6pm – 12am AEDT. It’s a long time coming but we hope that our players and the community can see that we’re truly committed to investing in Australia and New Zealand.
“As our player numbers grow and the matchmaking continues to improve, we plan to widen these hours and are aiming for a full-time local server in 2018,” said Travis.
Jungwon Hahn, Wargaming Asia-Pacific General Manager, said Wargaming is intently focused on player happiness.
“The World of Tanks PC community is growing year on year, with over 130 million players worldwide. Some of our most passionate tankers are based in Australia and New Zealand and it’s exciting to be finally giving our community what they’ve been asking for,” said Jungwon.
To celebrate the launch of the local Australian server, Wargaming are hosting Australian and New Zealand player gatherings in Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne.
The Auckland player party will be held on Friday 20 October, the Melbourne player party on Thursday 26 October and the Sydney player party, on Wednesday 1 November.
For more information about Wargaming, World of Tanks, or to download the game, visit http://asia.wargaming.net/
On Saturday 4th November I’ll be kicking off a marathon 24 hours of gaming. Laura Verrier, Keagan Watkins, Tyler Jefferson and I will be playing games in the name of charity.
Specifically to support those living with Multiple Sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition of the central nervous system, interfering with nerve impulses within the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.
MS affects over 23,000 in Australia and more than two million diagnosed worldwide. Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20-40, but it can affect younger and older people too. Roughly three times as many women have MS as men.
Funds raised during the 1UP Gaming Marathon will be going to MS Australia. As we get closer to the date I will be throwing donation incentives up but I urge you to commit to action now.
We will be playing an assortment of tabletop and video games over the 24 hours and I will gladly take suggestions if they’re accompanied with a donation.
Due to a miscommunication Tyler and I accidently created separate teams and a rivalry was born.
I’ve assured him that raising money for the charity comes first and my drive to win comes second… however that’s because I don’t want him to get his hopes up. It’s evident that you’re a better quality of person than the kind of riff-raff that donates on his page.
In fact, I’ve put our donation goal at $1 above his and will continue to update it as he also contributes to this worthy cause.
I know that each of you taking the time to read this will do what they can to help support this cause. Any support you can provide is valuable including donations, sharing, and words of encouragement.
We will be providing updates as we get closer to the event itself and part of the event will be livestreamed/recorded so you can take part and provide challenges.
The PAX AUS schedule for 2017 is now available online, details of each panel, tournaments and all the events within events are up for viewing.
Click here, you can browse or search the schedule to find items of interest. There’s an update on previous years that shows a handy notification where you can see what other events are in conflict when the item you’re viewing.
As usual Non-Fiction Gaming will be on the show floor interviewing people and maybe even recording a special episode of Game Club. I (Dan) will be teaching Dungeons & Dragons in the PAX AUS Diversity lounge over the event too.
If you want the PAX AUS schedule on the go, there’s a Guidebook App for Android and one for iTunes.
PAX AUS will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre over 27-29 October.
