Borderlands 4 Reveals Familiar Faces + Halo's Stunning Unreal 5 Graphics

Which veteran characters will show in the next title?

Read time: under 4 minutes

Switching up our usual send day on account of the holidays! Hope everyone is having an amazing time with friends and family.

Today’s Insights

  • Returning faces in Borderlands 4: Which veteran characters will show in the next title?

  • Halo Studios teams up with Unreal 5 Engine: The new graphics are mind blowing.

  • Quantum leaps and bounds: Quantum teleportation works in fiber optic cable.

  • Kill It With Fire 2: A new way to tackle arachnophobia, or make it worse

THIS WEEK IN GAMING

Borderlands Favorites Making a Comeback in the Fourth Installment

Is the new Borderlands 4 game bringing back some of our most beloved characters? After first releasing a teaser trailer that only whets the appetite, Gearbox recently released a new Official trailer showing a few veteran characters. In it, we not only see four new vault hunters but Zane Flynt and Claptrap are featured, along with many more new contestants. It doesn’t appear the former vault hunter from Borderlands 3 will be a player character, but maybe we’ll get treated to more of his story. 

Zane Flynt was arguably the worst choice in Borderlands 3. Zane’s Irish accent, his story, and all his fantastic tech made him a great vault hunter. The problem was that his stats plateaued much too quickly. That is until a patch update increased his skillset and gave him much better damage and skills. 

Who else will we see returning to Borderlands 4? In previous Borderlands games, we could count on seeing at least a few familiar faces. Claptrap, Lilith, Brick, Mordecai, and Sir Hammerlock have made multiple game appearances, but we can’t be sure they will be back in the 4 installment. Fans seem to think the mechanical hand in the teaser trailer is Gaige, the Mechromancer’s hand. I don’t buy that because in the next scene, it shows a huge, mech-armed antagonist placing the mask on a psycho, but only Gearbox knows for sure.

Who do fans want to see return? Characters such as Brick and Mordecai are top of the list. These two Borderlands original vault hunters have made appearances in multiple games before, it would be a treat to see them again. Fans also hope to see Firehawk herself, Lilith, as well as more of Ava. Her story was just getting started in Borderlands 3, and fans feel there is plenty of room for her to grow into a full-fledged siren.   

We’ll have to wait until spring or summer of 2025 for Borderlands 4. Until then, if you want to keep track of the release you can put it on your wishlist on Steam, the Microsoft Store, or the PlayStation Store.

DEVELOPER INSIGHTS
Halo Gets Unreal

Halo was “first in class” in graphics when it first came out. In late 2001 Halo began to revolutionize first-person shooters. With the challenging yet easy to learn combat system and incredible story, this game brought the Xbox to the forefront of the console wars. Since then the games have been stunningly beautiful, but Halo Studios wants to get back to their roots

Future Halo projects will utilize Unreal 5 engines. While their proprietary Slipspace Engine worked well for prior games, the company wants to smooth future game development. Halo Studios is always wanting to meet and exceed player expectations, and with Unreal engines, they will do just that. Don’t worry though, because prior Halo games are still getting updates and are being supported by their Slipspace Engine. All new Halo projects will get the Unreal treatment though.

Halo’s creative team wanted to show “something old, something new, and something alien.” While trying out the new graphics, the team created a Pacific Northwest region, a “Coldlands” area, and a parasitic landscape taken over by The Flood. The environments are so crisp, so clean, and so layered, that it looks like you’re physically there. You can feel the pulsing, festering pustules of The Flood. You’d be tempted to pick a flower to smell the crisp, fragrant perfume. While it may be some time before gamers are treated to this new partnership, you can see some of the eye candy in progress right here

TECH SPOTLIGHT
Fiber Optics Test Quantum Teleportation

Existing fiber optic cables exhibit quantum teleportation. Using busy internet cables in the lab, engineers at Northwestern University demonstrated the first instance of quantum teleportation. This is great news for quantum computing applications because they could possibly use the existing infrastructure. 

Quantum teleportation uses entangled protons. Quantum teleportation is unlike typical internet communication. Classical internet information particles have to be transferred into millions of particles of light and then travel great distances to relay the info. While this is still quite fast, it’s not immediate. When protons are entangled—they can transfer information, without actually carrying it—regardless of distance, instantaneously. When information shows up on one proton, every other proton entangled together has it at the exact same time.

No one thought it was possible. Researchers thought already busy fiber optic cables were too crowded with millions of other light/information particles. Prem Kumar and team led the study and found a less congested light wavelength to insert their protons. Next, they implemented additional filters to reduce interference from typical internet traffic. Kumar stated, “We found we could perform quantum communication without interference from the classical channels that are simultaneously present.”

Future experiments to use real-world cables. This experiment used thirty kilometers of fiber optic cables in the lab, but Kumar and the team wants to try existing real-world optical cables. The plan is to use cables that travel over much longer distances, possibly over country lines. If these experiments are successful, there will be no need to construct a specialized quantum communication infrastructure. In the next decade or two, existing fiber optic cables could accommodate quantum computing.

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
Spiders! Why is it Always Spiders?

For those with severe arachnophobia, step away now. If you don’t have a natural fear of spiders, playing Kill It With Fire might unlock a new eight-legged phobia. In this game, spiders don’t only pop out of drawers and boxes, but they have invaded the multiverse! Spiders are no longer just an earth problem, and it’s up to you to wipe. Them. Out! By any means necessary. Obviously, fire is a great way to eradicate these nightmares, but you’ll also use items like clipboards, rolled newspapers, and aerosol cans. But when it comes to spiders and absolutely obliterating them, you can’t go wrong with guns, missiles, or tanks. They are spiders after all and they deserve ALL the aggression! 

A co-op, puzzle-solving, spider-smashing good time. While searching for and smushing spiders is the main plot line, you’ll have to solve fun, yet tricky puzzles to complete each level. Also, if the idea of taking on thousands of web-spinning, kamikaze spiders alone is too much, there’s a multiplayer option. Honestly, it’s probably best to have a friend to watch your back, fighting a metric ton of space spiders alone is a harrowing experience. You’ll need all the help you can get.

It’s not just warranted violence against spiders. You might think that this game would get old quickly. “All I’m doing is running around and killing spiders in extremely violent manners.” While extreme prejudice against spiders is the name of the game, KIWF 2 has an engaging, and very comedic storyline to keep you engaged and excited. This game is very well rounded… if you can get past the nightmare fuel. Kill it With Fire 2 is available on most consoles and app stores

Can you handle spiders in VR? Kill it With Fire 2 isn’t out on VR yet, but the first installment is. I only have one question… Why? Just why would anyone want a 3D world filled to the brim with spiders? I don’t know about you, but I’m seriously thinking of moving to Antarctica. It may be brutally cold, but at the moment, I don’t have to worry about any hairy, eight-legged freaks jumping out of my shoes.    

COMPANIES HIRING
5 Open Jobs on Our Job Board

 Blitz:  Get ready to shape a new platform that enhances gaming experiences through interactive mobile applications and dynamic overlays.

 Riot Games: As a Technical Producer III for the Esports Platform & Experiences team you will be the custodian of strong delivery processes for a team that uses a mix of internal development and external partners.

 Onward Play: Use your expertise to craft captivating mobile gaming experiences.

 Stardock: Establish and articulate a clear vision for the revitalization of each game in our catalog.

 Zynga: Help create and build first class experiences while creating performant animations and visual effects within Unity.

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Until next time,

John and the Leaderboard team