After a day of making people look at a black hole, Epic Games has released the next iteration in the amazingly popular battle royale shooter Fortnite.
A new map, boats and bandage bazookas are just some of the 'new' things. Players can now carry an injured buddy to safety, or go fishing -- maybe both at the same time!
Hope we don't run into one another! Read the rest
The ultimate holiday decoration: the inflatable Fortnite Battle Bus!
Turn any party into a solo, duos or squads lobby. Lucky Landing and Happy Hamlet are my favorite drops. This 17.5' tall and 18' long replica of the Battle Bus will make any Fortnite player feel right at home!
Thank the bus driver, you animals!
Fortnite Battle Bus Inflatable via Amazon Read the rest
Fortnite is a highly competitive game. In order to make it more fun for more players Epic Games is introducing skill-based matchmaking.
Commence the Streamers complaining.
Read the restEpic is making a big change to the way matchmaking works in Fortnite. With the game’s next major update, v10.40, the developer will be introducing skill-based matchmaking to the battle royale. “Since battle royale launched, the matchmaking strategy for our core modes has remained mostly unchanged,” Epic explained in a blog post published today. “Over the past two years, however, the range of player skill has grown considerably.”
It’s not clear exactly how this will work, but Epic says it is “introducing improved matchmaking logic to battle royale core modes to create fairer matches.” According to the developer, this means that “you will be more likely to match with players of similar skill, and as you get better, so should your opponents.” The new matchmaking system is expected to slowly roll out across all regions.
The breakneck pace of mods, changes, and additions to Fortnite did not slow over the last few weeks! There are now drum shotguns, storms-in-a-bottle, and the wildly fun airstrike!
Call in a rain of rockets and watch people run in a panic! Read the rest
Fortnite Over Forty has become a booming little community of mature video game enthusiasts who are positive, supportive and inclusive. Mostly we play Fortnite.
A while back some friends and I were looking to play squads in Fortnite that were not populated by random children screaming terrible slurs at us. I am sure the kids are no more friendly to one another, but playing outside a group of trusted friends seems a sure path to learning the latest colloquial epithets. We gave up on random squads and posted here, on Boing Boing.
Now, almost any time I'd like to play Fortnite with some really friendly, completely supportive folks, there is probably a squad or two of players from Fortnite Over Forty online. We have a solid contingent of EU/UK players, NA-East and NA-West going. The Discord is community monitored and other than kicking out SPAMMERS, we've never had a single issue I know of. We take our aggression out on the opposing teams. Many of the parents in the group have gotten comfortable enough that we will sometimes use our children to fill squads or act as ringers. The kids are all super polite and often comically talkative.
There seems to be a solid dislike of the banana skin, however, which has me worried.
No one checks ID, if you'd like to play duos or squads with positive folks, jump on in! Read the rest
Fortnite is constantly 'changing the meta' by altering weapon characteristics, adding or simply dropping weapons from the available arsenal. The new Tactical Assault Rifle takes the game a step further away from Close-Quarters-Combat and tries to open up the mid-range.
The new Combat Shotguns, a faster firing, longer-range shotgun that can not 1-hit kill is joined by the Tactical Assault Rifle. With the introducion of the Combat Shotgun, Fortnite vaulted the extremely popular Pump Shotgun, formerly considered a must carry by most players. Similarly, the P90 heavy submachine guns have been removed.
The old 'meta' for Fortnite was to hit someone with a pump shotgun and finish them with a spray of bullets from the SMG. In CQC this combo was so hard to counter that Fortnite just eliminated this style of play.
The TAR is an accurate, fast firing and hard-hitting AR that uses SMG ammo! Players on PC, PS4 and Xbox were all loving it as we played last night. I was on my Nintendo Switch and could hardly hit a thing. I was effective with the Combat Shotgun, however. Read the rest
Apparently, the volcano on Fortnite's Murder Island has gone off! A new season of Fortnite has begun!
Perhaps bigger than any map change, and there are many, is Epic's announcement the pump shotgun has been vaulted. Long the favorite of streamers, pro-gamers, and sweaty soccer skins, the pump shotgun was one of the few ways to one-shot eliminate an opponent. A new Combat shotgun has been introduced and a new meta will appear.
I have not had a chance to play, but you can be sure my daughter has already requested vbucks for the new battlepass. Read the rest
Having won the Fortnite nationals, co-champion Jack Stuttard is asked what's next: another season? More tournaments? The online circuit?
Honestly, we don't like the game that much any more. Not gonna lie. We'll see what happens.
The host smiles and turns to co-champion Ibrahim Diaz and literally requests "a better answer here."
Well, we've decided we don't want to play competitive Fortnite, so we're going to move onto different games, do different stuff.
Imagine being at the point where competition and compulsion has taken you to the point where you could have fun for a living, but instead, with cameras and lights on you, you decline and criticize the creators over game balance issues. Quite the movie moment! Read the rest
Join the forces of what we presume is good as they face off against a guy with a glove. Fortnite Battle Royale has a new Avengers Limited Time Mode.
**Update**
I played a few rounds of Avengers mode and while it is a wonderful example of integrated VR advertising's future, it is not much fun. Players can pick up one of several Avenger's weapons and get Avenger's like attack abilities. Iron Man's gloves, Captain America's shield, Hawkeye's bow and Thor's hammer.
Unlucky players spawn on Thanos team and get to play the bad guys. If you spawn as Thanos you can really whomp folks. Read the rest
The Boom Bow is currently my favorite weapon in Fortnite Battle Royale. Firing shotgun shell laden arrows, this gold weapon hits hard and is hard to track. Read the rest
Aw! Cuddle Team Leader is cute and vicious.
This pink badass is my number one favorite skin to load up and the one I rack up my most solo wins with. Usually, I wear little red riding hood's red cape and swing a squeaky pick-ax to boot.
My kid will absolutely love this plushie, however, my Cavalier King Charles may decide to elim the doll.
Fortnite Cuddle Team Leader Plush via Amazon Read the rest
The Baller looks like crazy fun! Can't wait to give this a t new vehicle a try. Somehow I think my party will need more than one try to get properly airborne.
Can't wait to see this next-level pro-player top-tier rotation strat in the World Cup, @itsfearitself, @timthetatman, and @ninja. pic.twitter.com/xRdwSdEInL
— DrLupo (@DrLupo) March 12, 2019
Evidently, Xbox and PlayStation console players will now share a single competitive pool. PlayStation long resisted letting their units connect with players who had not offered fealty, but Fortnite is the great equalizer.
I play via Xbox.
For years, the idea of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One gamers teaming up and shooting enemies together was just a pipe dream. Walled gardens and exclusives meant picking a side and dealing with the consequences. However, thanks to the popularity of games like Fortnite, those multiplayer lobbies are now a much more accepting place. The battle royale shooter opened up last year, allowing players to find friends on other platforms and drop together. Now, Epic Games going one step further and automatically forcing PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players to fight one another every time they board the Battle Bus.
As part of Fortnite's 8.10 update, Epic has introduced crossplay matchmaking for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One player pools, as well as mobile and Nintendo Switch. Players must opt-in to play, and if they don't, they'll be limited to Creative Mode and Playgrounds. The company says it'll "unlock[..] optimization potential allowing us to run more playlists during more hours of the day."
Basically, by putting more people together, Epic says it can run more game modes because it can balance the player pools better.
And now you know Lucky Landing is my spot. Read the rest
Fortnite Battle Royale is constantly adding new items, weapons, vehicles and locations. The latest? The Sneaky Snowman.
The winter-themed map has a lot of Snowmen hanging around it. Now you can disguise yourself as one and sneak up on folks.
Snowmen can't build or use weapons, but they can throw snowballs and act as a free 100 shield. When you switch to another item, the Snowman disguise will fall.
Players who love disguising themselves as an in-game bush (aka Bushwookies) will likely have a ball! Read the rest
The Fortnite Durr Burger onesie is available for pre-order.
Epic Games has opened a merch store, they call it Retail Row.
Funk Ops is my spirit animal. Read the rest
Jimmy Kimmel can be kind of a dick. You may remember that he's had parents lie to their kids, saying that they stole and ate all their Halloween candy -- all caught on camera, of course. That gag's been running for a few years now. Well, he's got a new prank. This time he's got parents unplugging the TV when their kids are playing the video game Fortnite. As you'll see, like with the "missing" candy bit, the kids don't take too kindly to it. Read the rest
Happy Holidays on the Island! Looks like a mad army of insane snowpeople are on the loose!
...and the ominous "Ho! Ho! Ho!" Read the rest
