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The Order: 1886‑producenten: "PS4 var sista riktiga generationsklivet"
När Ready at Dawn släppte {The Order: 1886} för drygt ett decennium sedan visade det sig vara ett ganska kontroversiellt spel, en titel med mycket höga ambitioner som kanske inte riktigt lyckades uppfylla alla mål som på förhand utlovats. Resultatet blev en lansering där spelare var osäkra på vad de skulle tycka, med vitt skilda åsikter och recensioner.
Sedan dess har synen på The Order: 1886 mjuknat, och spelet har blivit något av en kultfavorit bland dem som spelade det och minns det. I takt med att uppfattningarna förändrats fick vi nyligen möjlighet att prata med Andrea Pessino, som var exekutiv producent för The Order: 1886 under hans tid på Ready at Dawn, för att höra tankarna om spelet över tio år senare:
"Well, it's been interesting in the past 11 years now - which since we met actually is kind of crazy - that a lot of things have changed, you know, even in the reception of the game. It was definitely a controversial title when it came out and the criticism was also kind of a product of its time in many ways. There were certainly... I'm the first one to admit, there were aspects of the game that deserved the criticism. It was a bit of a struggle, a lot of the development we prioritised certain things and the audiovisual part clearly was the target. We built the technology completely from scratch for this title and it was a huge endeavour."
Pessino berörde också hur generationsskiftet med Playstation 4 påverkade produktionen av The Order: 1886, och menade att den eran var det sista riktigt stora tekniska språnget för spelhårdvara:
"I think that sometimes when you go a little too far in terms of the way you plan and you prioritise games that are very much, you know, we were very much at the crossing point of a generation. The Playstation 4 represented a real opportunity to explore new technical limits. It was the last... I believe it was the last real generational leap that could happen in the world of video games. These days it's much more, you know, proportional. I don't expect to see really big jumps anymore, because the hardware has really unified a lot, has become a lot more homogeneous."
Han avslutade med att tala mer om The Order: 1886 och uttryckte en önskan om att spel i framtiden ska ta fler kreativa risker:
"So it's been really interesting to see how there's been a bit of a cult following that has built around this game. I think a lot of people appreciated some of the things that we tried to do, and particularly what our artists and designers tried to do that were very unique and continue to be very unique. I think these days games are starting to look a little bit too similar. I miss a little bit the time where you could take those risks and try to explore different, particularly in our case, it was particularly an artistic and audiovisual experiment. But it's encouraging to see that the general attitude towards it has changed somewhat from the controversial release time. And I think there is a more healthy discussion about the merits and the non-merits of this game."
Du kan se hela vår intressanta intervjun med Pessino nedan, där vi också pratar om vad som väntar för {God of War}, läget för virtual reality inom spelbranschen, vad han planerar härnäst på sitt nya företag och mer därtill.
tbzikra.com
Today I learned the real reason why Geralt calls all of his horses Roach
Witcher fans have long speculated as to why our beloved Geralt decides to name every single one of his horses Roach—it's not exactly a term of endearment after all. Every mare Geralt rides on the path has borne this mysterious moniker, and until late last year, all us English-speaking folks could do was speculate as to why.
Well, turns out the answer lies in the most recent novel of The Witcher series, Crossroads of Ravens. Originally released in Polish in 2024, the novel was translated into English late last year, and reviewed for PC Gamer by our very own Jody Macgregor. Being a big fan of The Witcher who's played all the games and read all the other books, I finally found time to sit down with it, too.
Despite being the latest instalment, Crossroads of Ravens is actually the earliest chronologically, recounting a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Geralt first setting out on the path from Kaer Morhen. The novel follows his monster-slaying adventures in the Kingdom of Kaedwen, but also has him wrangling with what it means to a Witcher, both in terms of the prejudice society harbors for them, and what their mutations mean for them as humans.
Personally, I really enjoyed it. Sure, it's a bit of a non-ish book in terms of significant events, but there are lots of fun encounters and bits of backstory that any Witcher fan will appreciate, perhaps the most notable being: the origin of Roach's name. Obviously, this will contain very minor spoilers for events in the novel, so if you plan to read it yourself, it's worth leaving.
A brief summary of events: Geralt is hanging out by a river striking up a conversation with a restaurant owner about crayfish, when a mamutak (a giant ostrich-like bird monster) attacks said crayfish-fishermen. Geralt decapitates the beast, but in the tumult, someone nicks his horse.
After agreeing to sell the bird monster's corpse to the gastronome, he sets off to meet the town's burgomeister. Of course, he refuses to pay Geralt for the kill, but he does point him in the direction of his kinsman, who breeds horses, so Geralt can find a new mare. However, the horse trader has different ideas about what makes an appropriate mount for a Witcher:
"But what is this, a witcher on a mare, not a stallion? It’s somehow dishonourable. What do you say? That’s your least concern? Ha, the customer is always right, he wants a mare, he gets a mare. But with horses, ha, ha, m’lord witcher, it’s like it is with fish. I’m offering these jennets like lusty pike, and you’ve chosen a little roach. What are you laughing about? Did I say something comical?"
So, there you have it. Geralt loved the horse breeder calling his chosen mare "Roach" so much he's named every one of his horses that since, after the fish of the same name. I find it funny that even though the games have come to dominate The Witcher as a franchise, Andrzej Sapkowski can still drop lore bombs like this that impact pretty much everything that came after.
That's why I thought I'd share this fun tidbit for fans of the games who have no interest in reading the books—although you should, because they're really great. They can be a lot to take in, so lucky for you we've got a reading guide to help you get started.
The Witcher 4: What we know about Ciri's story
Witcher 3 mods: Good hunting
The Witcher books: Where to start
Witcher 3 console commands: Cheat death
The Witcher season 4: Hemsworth's debut
Wegen Wechselwunsch: Waldhof stellt Lohkemper bis Saisonende frei
Paukenschlag beim SV Waldhof Mannheim! Stürmer Felix Lohkemper ist bis zum Saisonende vom Trainings- und Spielbetrieb freigestellt worden. Hintergrund ist ein Wechselwunsch des Angreifers.
Stürmer will nach Sandhausen
Mit 16 Toren ist Lohkemper in dieser Saison der Top-Torjäger der Buwe. In den beiden noch ausstehenden Ligaspielen gegen Regensburg und Ingolstadt sowie im Pokalfinale gegen den VfR Mannheim werden die Waldhöfer jedoch freiwillig auf den Stürmer verzichten. Wie es in einer Mitteilung heißt, hätten sich beide Seiten nach Gesprächen in den vergangenen Tagen darauf verständigt, "dass der Spieler bis zum Saisonende nicht mehr am Trainings- und Spielbetrieb der Profimannschaft teilnehmen wird".
Der Grund: "Felix Lohkemper hat den Verein darüber informiert, dass er im Sommer zum SV Sandhausen wechseln möchte." Sport-Geschäftsführer Gerhard Zuber erklärt: "Wir respektieren Felix’ Wunsch nach einer neuen Herausforderung. Für uns steht in der aktuellen Saisonphase der mannschaftliche Zusammenhalt im Fokus. Daher haben wir uns darauf verständigt, die Situation frühzeitig zu klären." Wohl auch, um Unruhe zu vermeiden. Schließlich sind die Mannheimer seit sechs Spielen sieglos.
Vertrag läuft noch bis 2027
Bereits zuletzt hatte sich Lohkemper in Interviews kritisch geäußert und interne Unstimmigkeiten angedeutet. Nach dem 2:2 gegen Schweinfurt etwa sagte der Stürmer: "Nach außen hin ist Ruhe, aber intern haben wir schon Probleme. Darauf gehe ich jetzt nicht ein, aber da ist nicht alles so, wie es vielleicht scheint."
Ein Abschied Lohkempers stand bereits im letzten Sommer im Raum, ehe er seinen Vertrag doch verlängerte – und das gleich um zwei Jahre. Entsprechend wird der SV Sandhausen eine Ablöse auf den Tisch legen müssen. Lohkemper kam im Sommer 2024 aus Nürnberg zum SVW und bestritt insgesamt 64 Partien für die Kurpfälzer – dabei erzielte er 32 Tore und bereitete fünf weitere Treffer vor. Weitere werden nicht hinzukommen.
Pave Leo XIV markerer sitt første jubileum som de underprivilegertes stemme og motstander av nykolonialisme
Han er kanskje ikke lenger en skikkelse som avgjør den vestlige verdens skjebne, men paven, den romersk-katolske kirkens øverste autoritet på jorden, er fortsatt et fyrtårn for mer enn en milliard katolikker over hele verden. Denne uken markerer pave Leo XIV sitt første jubileum i embetet, og han gjør det med et travelt program bak seg, etter å ha benyttet enhver anledning til å ta til orde mot de problemene som for tiden rammer menneskeheten.
Selv om Hans Hellighet i de første månedene holdt seg unna de mest kontroversielle sakene, begynte han i september å kritisere Trumps harde innvandringspolitikk, noe som fremprovoserte en negativ reaksjon fra konservative amerikanske katolikker. Samtidig ble han stadig mer populær blant de mer ydmyke klassene i Latin-Amerika, der paven for øvrig i en årrekke tjenestegjorde som misjonær i Peru. Som Reuters skriver i en artikkel i dag, advarte paven under sin ti dager lange reise til Afrika i april om at innfallene til verdens rikeste truer freden, fordømte "nykoloniale" verdensmakters brudd på folkeretten og sa at verden "ødelegges av en håndfull tyranner".
I juni neste år skal paven for første gang i Spanias historie tale til deputertkongressen i Madrid, og det er ventet at han vil komme inn på noen av de andre punktene på programmet for besøket, deriblant besøk til migrantmottak, veldedige organisasjoner, hjemløse og fanger.
Innvandringsspørsmålet ser ut til å være Leo XIVs korstog (om jeg får lov til å bruke dette uttrykket), og 4. juli skal han besøke øya Lampedusa, et av de mest omstridte innfallsportene for ulovlig innvandring til Europa fra Nord-Afrika.
Selv om det ennå ikke er bekreftet av Vatikanet, er det ventet at pave Leo XIVs første encyklika vil bli publisert innen utgangen av denne måneden.