When Mario’s 35th anniversary comes to a close next week, the online services for Super Mario Maker on the Wii U also end – meaning players will no longer be able to upload their own courses.
As you might recall, Super Mario Maker’s Bookmark website was closing on 31st March as well. It seems Nintendo has instead pulled the plug on the web service ahead of schedule.
Super Mario Maker fan and Nintendo Life reader Nintendo_Thumb notes how the “website went down 4 days early” and has been down since at least 26th March. The website says the “service is currently unavailable” and now shows a 503 error.
Nintendo Life
So, if you were hoping to visit the site one last time before it was terminated, it seems you might be out of luck. Here’s the full list of Super Mario Maker services impacted:
Services that will end (Super Mario Maker – Wii U)
The ability to upload courses in Super Mario Maker for Wii U
The Super Mario Maker Bookmark website Due to this, the following features within the software’s Course World will also become unavailable:
Updating the ranking of liked courses
Looking up your bookmarked courses
And just to make it clear, Super Mario Maker 2 will not be impacted in any way by this, and will still be operating as normal after this date. Are you sad to see the original Super Mario Maker wrap up? Tell us down below.
“Shack-and-slash” dungeon crawler Boyfriend Dungeon will be available for Xbox One and PC via the Microsoft Store, as well as via Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC, alongside its previously announced Switch and Steam versions when it launches later in 2021, developer Kitfox Games announced.
“Why should other consoles get all the fun of kissing weapons?!?? Xbox fans deserve swords to smooch too,” said director and designer Tanya X. Short in a press release. “We’re in the midst of finishing up the game and announcing voice actors, and now seemed like as good a time as any to also say we’re partnering with Microsoft to bring Xbox fans that premiere shack-and-slash content.”
Here is an overview of the game, via Kitfox Games:
About
Plunder the dunj as you fend off dangerous monsters and take your weapons on romantic dates. Woo your weapons in this flirty, playful, and welcoming world filled with mastery in the procedurally generated dungeon. Serving up a dose of summer-time fling nostalgia, take your dates out as you uncover their stories and level them up. Embark on blossoming relationships with your weapon cuties as you capture their hearts in friendship and in love. In this light-hearted, fantastical shack-and-slash filled with adventure, improve your skills and fend off the monsters together because the couple that slays together, stays together.
Key Features
Date up to seven weapons, from dancing swords to heart-piercing daggers.
Generated action-combat dunj and challenges! Stay sharp!
Various combat styles. For example, hit hard and dodge quickly with the dagger, or take on crowds with Lasersaber.
Each weapon type feels and plays differently.
Inclusive, tasteful approach to gender and sexuality, including male, female, and non-binary romance.
Let’s get to the point: take your weapon-babes on romantic outings, such as to the club or the beach.
Watch a new trailer below.
Update: This post originally listed an Xbox Series version in addition to Xbox One, but when contacted by Gematsu, developer Kitfox Games was not able to confirm whether it will release a native Xbox Series version of Boyfriend Dungeon.
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Another Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character hopeful has been deconfirmed. Earlier this week, when a long-rumored and heavily-requested DLC character was seemingly deconfirmed, it caught Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite users by surprise. A few days later, another character has been more or less deconfirmed, though this one probably won’t catch many by surprise given how new the character is.
Alongside Ghost of Tsushima,Final Fantasy 7 Remake, DOOM Eternal, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and a couple of other games, Hades was on the 2020 GOTY list of many, and rightfully so. A big part of the game’s appeal is its characters and story. And at the center of the latter is Zagreus, the game’s protagonist. That said, while it’s easy enough to envision a future where Zagreus is in a four-way battle for his life against Kirby, Falco, and Steve, it doesn’t sound like it will happen in time for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
When asked if he’d be game to see Zagreus added, writer and designer Greg Kasavin was, unsurprisingly, down for the crossover. That said, in the same breath he always casts doubt on it happening, at least anytime soon.
“On a personal level, I think that would be amazing,” said Kasavin. “Smash does such a great job of adapting characters so faithfully, sometimes even more faithfully from the games where those characters come from. I’m a big NEO-GEO fighting game fan and they brought in Terry Bogard… so yes, I think they would do an incredible job of it but it’s one of those things since I’m sure they have a very long list!”
As you can see, Kasavin doesn’t outright confirm we won’t see the Hades character come to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but he heavily implies as much. And as alluded to, this makes sense given that Hades just released last year. Further, while the game was award-winning and popular, the character himself is far from iconic or on the level of others waiting to be added.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available via the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite. For more coverage on the best-selling and critically-acclaimed platform fighter, click here.
Katana Zero was one of the indie hits of 2019 and since then the game’s developer Askiisoft has been working on the free DLC.
Last February, it was revealed how the content would be three times the size of what was originally planned, and now, in a new update over on the company’s website, it’s been revealed it’s “6x” the originally planned size. Here’s what you can expect from this much content:
“That’s a bit over half the size of the main game. This means more levels, mechanics, enemies, bosses, and intertwined story elements. It’s less like a DLC and more like Katana 1.5.”
Despite the scale, it’s will still be “on the house” (in other words, free). Although development has slowed down over the past year, it’s now returning to normal.
As for when it’ll arrive, the creator – Justin Stander – hasn’t really thought about this just yet, but one thing that has been confirmed is that it won’t be expanding anymore:
“The short answer is – I don’t know yet. There’s a ton of content finished, but this is a large project and I’m aspiring to the same level of quality and attention of the base game. I’m also still doing all the programming and design myself – this is my passion project after all. But don’t fret! The game is progressing at a healthy pace, and the whole dev team is working full steam on production. The DLC won’t be expanding anymore either – the plan is set and now we’re focused on finishing it.”
When Katana Zero originally arrived on the Switch in April 2019, we praised its tough hair-raising action sequences, gripping narrative and impeccable sense of style. Learn more about it in our review.
Are you excited for the release of this DLC? Have you even played this game yet? Leave a comment down below.
Software security firm Zimperium says that a sophisticated new malicious Android app, posing as a System Update application, can create havoc with your phone-and with your life. The app can turn control of your Android phone over to bad actors who will be able to steal messages, data, images, take photos, go through your browser history, record phone calls and audio, view your WhatsApp messages and much more. This is indeed a serious exploit.
Do not sideload this app on your Android phone!
The System Update app has never been in the Google Play Store, a fact confirmed by Google. zLabs researchers discovered the app and after conducting an investigation, it was discovered that it was a sophisticated spyware campaign with complex capabilities. Now we know exactly what you’re thinking. How long will it take Pizza Hut to deliver a green pepper, onions and pineapple pizza? The second thought on your mind is that if the app has never been listed in the Google Play Store, how did it get installed on your Android phone? The answer is simple, actually. It was installed by sideloading a malicious app from a third-party app store.
The notification on the phone in this picture is from the spyware, not the app
Once the app is installed, “the device gets registered with the Firebase Command and Control (C&C) with details such as the presence or absence of WhatsApp, battery percentage, storage stats, the token received from the Firebase messaging service, and the type of internet connection.” The spyware is triggered when multiple conditions take effect such as the addition of a new contact, the receipt of a new SMS, or the installation of a new app. The spyware is always looking for something to, well, spy on. If it detects that a phone call is taking place it will record the conversation, add the updated call log, and store the information to a command and control (C&C) server as an encrypted ZIP file. To make sure that there are no traces of what happened, the spyware deletes the files as soon as it receives a thumbs up from the server stating that the files have been received.
The data is then placed into several folders in the spyware’s private storage. One characteristic of the spyware is that it always wants fresh data. For example, if the malicious software is set to collect a new photo after 40 minutes, that is exactly what will happen. Location data is collected via GPS or through the network depending on which one has more recent data. If the current data is more than five minutes old, the location data is collected and stored once again.
The spyware will create a fake notification if the infected device’s screen is off when a command is received using the Firebase messaging service. of the things that this spyware does includes stealing thumbnails of images and video.
There is no doubt that this is a dangerous app. Perhaps the best thing you can do is stay away from sideloading an app called “Software Update.” Or you might want to consider staying away from third party app stores altogether. After all, check this list of things that this malicious app can do:
Steal instant messenger messages;
Steal instant messenger database files (if root is available);
Inspect the default browser’s bookmarks and searches;
Inspect bookmark and search history from browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Samsung Internet Browser;
Search for files with certain extensions such as.pdf, .doc, .docx, and .xls, .xlsx;
Inspect data from the clipboard;
Inspect the content of notifications;
Record audio and phone calls;
Take pictures on a timed basis through the front or back cameras;
Rocket League’s next season, Season 3 (actually the 17th season, but it’s the third since the game went free-to-play) kicks off on April 7. In May, Psyonix will bring in Formula One and NASCAR as licensing partners, with cars to match the redesigned stadium players get a week from Wednesday.
Off the bat, the Season 3 Rocket Pass will offer a new vehicle, Tyranno, a muscle car chassis that uses the Dominus hitbox (as many vehicles in Rocket League do). A full reveal of the Season 3 pass is coming next week, Psyonix said.
The new arena is a redesigned DFH Stadium, called DFH Stadium (Circuit), which now includes a track “and all the pageantry found trackside during a championship Sunday.” Players will find DFH Stadium (Circuit) in the casual and competitive playlists, and is available for private matches and in freeplay once Season 3 gets going.
A game update on Tuesday, April 6 at 4 p.m. PDT will get Rocket League ready for Season 3; Season 2’s competitive rewards will be granted shortly after Season 3 goes live, and the new Competitive Season and its rewards begin then, too.
A sophisticated hacking campaign that was previously witnessed targeting security flaws in Android, Windows and iOS devices is actually the work of “Western government operatives” conducting a “counterterrorism operation,” according to a new report from MIT Technology Review.
The campaign in question, which has garnered more and more attention from media outlets over the last few weeks, was first written about in January by Google’s threat research team Project Zero. At the time, all that was publicly known was that someone had been up to some very tricky business: a “highly sophisticated” group, likely staffed by “teams of experts,” was responsible for targeting numerous zero-day vulnerabilities (the grand total would later turn out to be 11) in various prominent operating systems, researchers wrote.
This hacking campaign, which ended up going on for about nine months, used the so-called “watering hole” method—in which a threat actor injects malicious code into a website to effectively “booby trap” it (visitors to the site will subsequently become infected with malware, which allows the hacker to target and escalate compromise of specific targets).
From all of these descriptors, signs naturally pointed to the involvement of some sort of high-level nation-state hackers—though few would’ve guessed that the culprits were, in fact, our friends! Nevertheless, that would appear to be the case. It is unclear what government is actually responsible for the attacks, who its targets were, or what the so-called “counterterrorism” operation related to all of this entailed. MIT has not divulged how they came into this information.
One thing is certain: Google’s discovery and subsequent public disclosure of the exploits (as well as the company’s decision to patch the vulnerabilities) has apparently derailed whatever government operation was occurring. MIT writes that, by going public, the tech company effectively shut down a “live counterterrorism” cyber mission, also adding that it “is not clear whether Google gave advance notice to government officials that they would be publicizing and shutting down” the attacks. This has apparently “caused internal division at Google and raised questions inside the intelligence communities of the United States and its allies.”
G/O Media may get a commission
There are a whole lot of questions here, obviously. First off, what government was doing this? What was the “terror” threat they were investigating? Which websites were used in the pursuit of said terrorists? Given the sensitive political nature of these kinds of operations, it’s unlikely that we’re going to get any answers to those questions—at least not right away. But since there’s so little information available, it’s also pretty difficult to understand whether Project Zero was justified in outing the operation or not, or what was even going on here.
Google apparently knows who the hackers are, and MIT reports that the incident has spurred a debate at the company over whether counterterrorism operations like this should be considered “out of bounds” for public disclosure, or whether it was well within their purview to disclose the vulnerabilities to “protect users and make the internet more secure.”
Valheim’s first big content update will expand your options when building the ultimate Viking purgatory residence, adding new features and objects for developing your bases in the open-world survival game. It’s called Hearth and Home, and it’s specifically aimed at base improvements, as well as adjustments to food that should make survival in the wilds of Valheim a little more practical.
Since Valheim has racked up some six million players, developer Iron Gate Studio has said it’s mostly focused on bug fixes, and the massive influx of players has been more than the developer anticipated. But right now, there are four big updates planned for the game, with Hearth and Home being the first. Here’s everything we know about it so far.
Valheim Hearth And Home Release Date
Back in February, Iron Gate released a that are coming to the game as it continues in Early Access. That roadmap includes several updates for 2021, the first being Hearth and Home. The roadmap doesn’t include firm dates, but given that Hearth and Home was the first on the list, we can probably expect it sooner rather than later.
The question is how much bug-fixing work Iron Gate feels the need to do. Like the rest of the games industry, the team is also working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which might contribute to the time it takes for the new update to get out. That said, Iron Gate had ambitious plans for Valheim in early access, with multiple updates slated for this year, so it seems likely we won’t have to wait long for Hearth and Home to come to the game.
What Hearth And Home Entails
Valheim’s first update is focused on base-building. While players have already created some huge and impressive Viking strongholds, but Iron Gate is looking to expand on all those capabilities in a number of ways. We don’t have exact details about what the update will entail, but the developer has said the major push is to add more crafting assets for houses. That means you can likely expect more building materials, more kinds of walls, doors, floors, roofs, and more decorations for inside your buildings. Iron Gate also told that the intention is to add “more stuff to do in and around your house,” which will be a nice addition given that right now, you can really only sit, sleep, or craft in your base.
Iron Gate has also said that Hearth and Home will focus on food. Expect food to be rebalanced and more food to be added, which should give more solid combinations to keep you alive in the field and give you specific buffs, like stamina regeneration. There could also be new cooking stations to go with the new materials. Again, Iron Gate hasn’t given us much in the way of details, but we know the update will give you more things for your home, so expecting to do more cooking for more specific buffs seems reasonable.
What’s After Hearth And Home?
Valheim’s roadmap is very thin on details, but we can get a sense of what else is slated for 2021 based on the names of each expansion. Here they are, in order:
Update 1: Hearth and Home
Update 2: Cult of the Wolf
Update 3: Ships and the Sea
Update 4: New Biome — Mistlands
Updates 1, 3, and 4 are pretty clear, at least thematically, so we can expect more to do on the oceans (and probably more scary monsters to face) and a new biome to explore, with all the resources, crafting upgrades, and enemies that entails. Update 2 is the one that leaves the most to speculation–Cult of the Wolf could pertain to things like Wolf armor, or it could lean into the taming system that already lets you turn wolves into your pets and combat companions.
In addition to those four major updates, the roadmap includes some other improvements that could come to the game “if Odin wills it.” These are:
Multiplayer interactions
Combat improvements
Moon phases
Tarpits
Vendor inventory expansion
Svartalfr brigands
More unique locations
Sandbox mode
Munin (which is Odin’s other raven)
With more than six million players having bought into Valheim, one assumes most of these upgrades are probably on the table.
We’ll continue to update this article as more information about Hearth and Home becomes available. With so many Vikings flooding into Valheim, though, it seems likely there won’t be long to wait for the first early access expansion.
Astria Ascending, a gorgeous fantasy Japanese role-playing game from Artisan Studios, was announced Friday during the ID@Xbox showcase. The beautifully drawn game with turn-based combat is scheduled to be released in 2021, Artisan said in a news release.
While Astria Ascending is being developed by Artisan, which is based in Quebec, Canada, and Montpellier, France, it features an array of contributions from reputable names in the JRPG genre — most notably, a score by Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy 12,Vagrant Story) and writing from Kazushige Nojima (Final Fantasy 10,Final Fantasy 7 Remake). Along with the game’s reveal trailer, publisher Dear Villagers posted a video interview with Nojima and Sakimoto on its YouTube channel on Friday:
Astria Ascending boasts an expansive fantasy environment in a hand-drawn 2D art style. The announcement trailer is lore-heavy and goes over the basics of the world. Players will get to explore a land called Orcanon, where various mythical races and cultures live in harmony. The world will offer a “fully animated 2D landscape with five cities and a dynamic weather system,” according to Artisan.
Players will take control of the Demigods, whose mission is to fight the Moises — floating ghostlike sphere creatures that threaten the balance of the world. In the game, you’ll “pick from eight customizable player characters spanning a range of fantastical races and skills” as you assemble a team of heroes.
“In Astria Ascending we wanted to explore how people cope in extraordinary times,” said Julien Bourgeois, game director at Artisan Studios, in the news release. “Each hero has their own perspective, but it’s the relationships they form with one another that truly brings the story to life.”
Astria Ascending is in development on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Newly announced Astria Ascending sure looks pretty, but that doesn’t mean its world doesn’t need saving. As you do when your fantasy land is being threatened by big bads, Astria developers Artisan Studio have assembled a squad of heroes. Their upcoming turn-based RPG features development talent of Final Fantasy fame to help bring its world together. You can catch more of Astria Ascending down here in its new announcement trailer.
