This is Codemaster’s newest creation springing from this year’s Game Jam Week. So what makes it special? Soap is a racing game, but no steering wheel is required. In this racing game you travers down roads, hit speed bumps, and jump ramps all with your eyes! You’re box-car racer is controlled using eye tracking technology called myGaze. By simply moving their eyes the gamer can turn their car.
Thanks to a collaboration with Special Effect, this new game opens doors for many disabled gamers. But don’t take my word for it, check out the links below to learn more. If you’d like to read more disability headlines then find more on our Newscolumn!
This World of Warcraft dungeon in the Alliance held city of Stormwind. You can queue with the Dungeon Finder tool at level 20, so it is accessible to both Horde and Alliance.Stormwind Stockade is a small instance. It took my group under 10 minutes to complete it. Mobility is key in this jailer’s paradise.
The Short Stocks
There are a few things to watch for during the instance itself. If you’re using the Dungeon Finder tool, please be aware that Stocks is notoriously popular for groups to speed run. Tanks sometimes try to pull whole halls at once in an attempt to get done rather quickly. Sometimes this works depending on gear but other times… wipes happen as we demonstrate in the video.
Strifeful Stockades
Another thing to watch out for are the rooms on each side of the hallway. Each room has enemies inside it. Some tanks clear each room while others will not. If your tank is clearing rooms, ranged and healers should keep up or will otherwise face line of sight issues. You can save steps by standing in the doorway instead of running completely in each room. If your tank is not clearing side rooms, keep your character in the middle of the hall. It is possible to aggro the room by walking close to doorways. Staying in the center will help you avoid pulling unnecessary enemies.
Stocked Stockade
Last but not least, each of the bosses rooms contain extra enemies. These can be pulled carefully and fought in the hallway without aggro’ing the boss itself. While some groups can successfully survive pulling everything at once, I don’t recommend trying it unless you’re in a fully geared premade group. Some enemies stun which will interrupt healing, so healers watch out! There are 3 bosses:
Randolph Moloch – Randolph has three abilities, but the main thing to be aware of is Vanish. Vanish causes him to temporarily disappear. When he reappears it will be in a random place in the room, and he will no longer be targeted. This makes the fight frustrating if you have issues with quickly re-targeting or are melee moving to the bosses new location.
Lord Overheat – Overheat is a fire elemental with three abilities. He will shoot fireballs, put a Damage over Time (DoT) on targets, and cast Rain of Fire. Rain of Fire is the only avoidable ability. It is an Area of Effect (AoE) spell you can step out of, although it only does 4 damage every 3 seconds and should be easily healed though. Don’t forget to loot Overheat to complete one of this dungeons quests.
Hogger – Hogger is the last boss in Stockades. None of his three abilities are avoidable, but if you’re a healer or tank be on the look out for Enrage. When Hogger enrages his overall damage and haste go up, so be sure to throw extra heals or use defensive cooldown if necessary.
Turning in Quests
Once you have finished the Stormwind Stockade, you can turn your quests in two ways. You can run back to the beginning or teleport out of the instance then teleport back in. Teleporting in puts you conveniently at the beginning of the dungeon where the quest givers are. To teleport out and back into the instance, use the dungeon icon on your minimap. Right clicking the icon opens a menu with these options.
Succeeding the Stocks
Stormwind Stockade is a great dungeon to run as you’re leveling. It’s fast and has minimal extra movement mechanics. If you’re in a very well geared group, it can even be cleared in around six minutes. It’s actually my favorite dungeon in Azeroth, But don’t take my word for it… Check it out! If you’re searching for more Warcraft Dungeon Mobility guides you can find them with us!
Today we’re here to look at Heroes of the Storm’s Alpha Cooperative mode. We’re on the map Cursed Hollow and checking out the Demon Hunter hero, Illidan Stormrage. Gameplay on all modes is playable the same way, easily through repetitive right clicking the ground, right clicking the map, right clicking enemies, or by choosing an ability followed by clicking where the ability should hit.
Mode Differences
There are a few differences in Co-Op & Practice modes. The main difference is your teammates. You are now paired up with four random players. You’re still facing Non Player Characters (NPCs) enemies, but now your teammates are human (at least by definition, hah hah). Games can last longer but are generally still only around 15 minutes. This is warning in case fatigue is an issue and pausing is no longer an option since your teammates aren’t NPCs. Games are still generally relaxed although more attention is usually needed for teammate requests and needs.
Cooperative Conclusion
Co-Op is a fun way to play with others while still avoiding the chaos of Play versus Player (PvP). You still have time to venture off to complete the maps objectives, like collecting tributes, and to take out mercenary camps without enemy NPCs crushing your lane. But don’t take my word for it, watch for updates here and on our YouTube channel! If this Accessibility First Look helped you here then check out our other First Looks!
Hello, Ability Powered Gamers! I’m back with another Heroes of the Storm Accessibility First Look! This time we are checking out the first game mode available: Practice Mode. In practice mode you play the normal game, but you only play with Non Player Characters (NPCs). Not only are you against NPCs, but they are also on your team. That’s right you can get the full Heroes of the Storm experience without having to be paired up with any other non-computer player. This makes practice mode the perfect place for anyone who is learning to play the game, a new character, or just has any anxiety about playing with other people.
Practice Makes Perfect
Another great thing practice mode has going for it is the fact that most games are over pretty quickly. It can also be paused as needed, so any one who suffers with fatigue can finish each match without worry. While in practice mode you can earn experience points and complete quests. All the maps that are in other modes are here also.
Heroes Gameplay
As far as gameplay goes, your character can be moved by clicking a few different ways. You can right click the ground, right click the minimap, or left click an ability and left click your target. Also, right clicking an enemy will cause your character to follow the bad guy if he gets out of range. This can be cancelled by right clicking a spot on the ground to run to.
Practice Mode for All
All and all Practice Mode is a relaxed form of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) action… something I never expected to exist. In short, solo (or with friends) games are fun for all. But don’t take my word for it, watch for updates here and on our YouTube channel! If this Accessibility First Look helped you here then check out our other First Looks!
Where do I even begin? Wow! Is this really just Alpha? When I started up Heroes of the Storm and checked out the accessibility options I felt like I got punk’d by Blizzard. Could there really be that many options already in game? I’m proud to announce the answer is yes!
Starting the Storm
Let’s just start at the top. Windowed mode isn’t just an option, it has choices! Fullscreen, fullscreen windowed, or windowed mode. Is it borderless? YOU decide! That’s right folks, your windowed mode is customizable however you need it! You can toggle borderless windows on or off as you wish. Windows‘ on-screen keyboard works beautifully with gameplay and even chat.
Subtitles are already in place throughout the tutorial. The text pops up at the bottom of the screen or in the chat box, so you don’t miss anything. Another accessibility feature already in place is colorblind mode. You can toggle life bars on and off to make health easy to see. The life bar “On” option has many settings to choose letting you customize when you see them.
The game has different modes which make it playable for more gamers. We’ll look at gameplay itself and all game modes in upcoming videos. But don’t take my word for it, watch for updates here and on our YouTube channel! If you find yourself seeking more Accessibility First Looks then click here!
Thanks to a collaboration with Special Effect, this new game opens doors for many disabled gamers. But don’t take my word for it, check out the links below to learn more. If you’d like to read more disability headlines then find more on our News column!