Overwatch has received a number of updates over the holiday season, including the new Oasis map but beginning Tuesday, there is a new feature on the public test realm designed for spectators, rather than players. From the very beginning, Overwatch has been billed as a platform for esports and the update allows spectators to view floating health bars which will make it easier to track the action shot for shot.
That has always been a problem spectating Overwatch games — the action is fast, frenetic, and very hard to follow if you’re not switching between first-person views as a spectator. Luckily for esports commentators, the new floating health bars provide an easy-to-follow visual cue for anyone watching from the sidelines.
The new floating health bars show current health, shields, and armor, plus any buffs — like Lucio’s shield — so player behavior is a little easier to predict for commentators and viewers alike. For now, however, the floating health bar update is relegated to the public test realm, but according to PC Gamer, it’s likely to roll out sooner rather than later, given that it doesn’t impact game balance at all.
Oddly enough, it’s a feature that didn’t receive any of Blizzard’s trademark fanfare or even a mention in a set of patch notes. The floating health bars were just rolled out to the public testing realm in the latest patch, according to PCGamesN. That is good news for anyone eager for the new feature to roll out to the full game — if Blizzard isn’t talking about it, it’s probably just slated for inclusion as a user interface add-on rather than part of some sweeping new patch.
So keep an eye out, you might see floating health bars available in your Overwatch games relatively soon and without warning.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.