Technologies

Warframe Has Come to Starfinder in a New Tabletop Module, and It’s Awesome

Operation: Orias makes a solid attempt at bringing the online shooter experience to your gaming table, and it’s available now.

I’ve been playing tabletop roleplaying games for nearly 30 years, and if there’s one constant throughout that time, it’s a ceaseless effort to bring concepts from books, movies and games to the table. It makes sense. The original TTRPGs were heavily influenced by the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien and so many other writers of the era, but this is also true of sci-fi games. Today, the folks behind the popular free game Warframe have announced a partnership with Starfinder to release an adventure that brings the two games together called Operation: Orias.

Before fans of either franchise start dreaming of a world where you’ll be able to wield your favorite Frames to spectacularly devastating effect across the Desna’s Path galaxy, Operation: Orias takes place quite far away from the Starfinder story as you know it today. Instead, this module takes place in the Origin System, and the Protoframes you have access to in this adventure won’t play exactly the same as the online game. That said, if you’re a fan of either or both games you are in for an absolute treat.

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Without spoiling too much about the adventure itself, Operation: Orias gives a game master everything they need to send four players as the Hex syndicate against familiar adversaries like Infested, Corpus and Grineer in a four- to six-hour adventure. While this leans heavily on Warframe: 1999 for the details, in a brief interview with Pathfinder Creative Director Luis Loza, it became clear a lot of work went into balancing the frenetic Warframe experience in TTRPG form. When asked about this effort, Loza highlighted efforts to account for the speed and constant action of a video game.

«I tried to make sure that I was able to translate as much of the intense feel of the game as possible with abilities that sold the idea of speed and intensity, even when moving at the turn-based pace of a TTRPG,» Loza said. «Characters have the ability to leap great distances in a single movement and offensive abilities that help them attack multiple enemies en masse. The enemies are also a bit on the weaker side, so players can take them out quickly, which helps get the power from the video game across.»

Starfinder x Warframe: Operation Orias is available now at Paizo for $9 if you want the PDF version, or $13 for the full color 20-page booklet. If you’ve never played Starfinder before or if it’s been a minute, you will need the Second Edition Core Rulebook to play this adventure, which will run you an additional $20 for the PDF version or $70 for the print version. For you dice goblins out there, the Warframe store has a beautiful seven-piece dice set with a matching dark blue tray themed for this adventure, which you can preorder for $40. And for those who love playing online, this whole experience can be enjoyed via the Roll20 system with ease.

Technologies

Live-Action ‘Call of Duty’ Movie Reportedly Being Co-Written by Taylor Sheridan

The Yellowstone co-creator will reportedly team up with Peter Berg on the Paramount film.

Yellowstone, Landman and, now, Call of Duty. Taylor Sheridan, co-creator of the aforementioned hit shows, will co-write Paramount and Activision’s upcoming live-action video game adaptation, according to a report from Variety on Thursday.

Peter Berg will also co-write and direct the movie, which was announced last month. Berg previously directed films including 2018’s Mile 22, 2012’s Battleship and 2013’s Lone Survivor, while Sheridan’s movie credits include 2016’s Hell or High Water and 2017’s Wind River. Berg, Sheridan and David Glasser will produce the Call of Duty film.

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Call of Duty is a first-person shooter military video game series that debuted in 2003. CNET senior writer David Lumb calls it «arguably the biggest shooter franchise in gaming, with millions of players picking up every year’s new entry to the series.»

Lumb said the franchise is known for its bombastic single-player campaigns, which feature globe-spanning plots that rival those of the Mission Impossible films. «A Call of Duty movie has a lot of material to draw from,» Lumb said.

He also noted that Berg’s direction of Lone Survivor would fit the grim military heroism of Call of Duty, while Taylor Sheridan’s spate of neo-Western films and shows could lend a frontier adventurism to the film.

«Their collective works seemingly harmonize with the jingoistic pro-military tune of Activision’s shooter franchise — which is probably a good thing for Call of Duty fans,» Lumb concluded.

A release announcing Paramount and Activision’s film deal teased that it’ll be «designed to thrill its massive global fan base by delivering on the hallmarks of what fans love about the iconic series, while boldly expanding the franchise to entirely new audiences.» It didn’t include cast or plot information.

The update follows recent news that Sheridan is leaving Paramount for NBCUniversal. Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

US Government Urges Total Ban of Our Most Popular Wi-Fi Router

Technologies

Animal Crossing Update Adds Lego Furniture, With a Switch 2 Version Arriving the Same Day

Fans of Animal Crossing will have a reason to go back to their island.

Animal Crossing fans just received a big surprise, and it’s not just a new content update. A Switch 2 version is on its way.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons will receive its first big update in three years, according to a post from Nintendo on Thursday. The update, labeled 3.0, will roll out on Jan. 15, the same day the Switch 2 version of the game will be available for purchase.

Released for the original Switch back in 2020, New Horizons was the first Animal Crossing game to come to a Nintendo console since 2008’s Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Nintendo Wii.

Nintendo regularly updated New Horizons for two years after its release, but stopped at update 2.0.6 released in November 2022. Two updates were added earlier in the year to prepare the game for playability on the Switch 2.

Animal Crossing 3.0 Update

In the 3.0 update coming on Jan. 15, a new hotel is opening. Players can help bring in guests to stay at the hotel by decorating guest rooms and dressing up mannequins to sell resort clothing.

For those who haven’t touched New Horizons in years, a Reset Service will be available. Players can have their island cleaned up, and items can be stored away or trashed for those who want a clean slate.

Players with a Nintendo Switch Online membership will have access to up to three islands, where they can explore and do as they please. These new areas are available on Slumber Island. It’s up to the player to decide how the island will look, what items or plants are on it and even which characters will be found on the island. Players can also invite friends to build it together.

New Horizons will feature special collaborations and Nintendo retro gear. Lego items will be available in the update for players to decorate their homes with or clothing to dress up their villagers with. Retro Nintendo consoles, such as the NES and Game Boy, can also be used as decorative items.

If the player has a Switch Online subscription, some classic titles such as Ice Climbers and Dr. Mario can be played via these in-game devices. There are also special items based on The Legend of Zelda and Splatoon series when players tap their amiibo from those games onto the Switch while playing.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Switch 2

Switch 2 owners can get in on the digital life game with Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. Not only will this new version come with updated graphics, including 4K resolution in TV mode, but it will also add special features that can only be done on the newest console.

One of the features is mouse controls for the Joy-Con 2. Players will be able to use the controller as a mouse to decorate indoors, create custom designs and write handwritten messages for the bulletin board.

Residents in the game can now be found by saying their name into the Switch 2’s built-in microphone while using the megaphone in the game. Multiplayer has also improved dramatically, with 12-player sessions available for those playing on the new edition, and CameraPlay is supported to allow players to see one another.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch 2 will be available for purchase on Jan. 15 for $65. Owners of the original Switch version of New Horizons can upgrade to the Switch 2 version for $5.