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23 Nov 2024

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Tight practice sets the scene for Taupo racing showdown
Wrapping up day one for the NextGen NZ Championship ahead of a full-on Saturday’s racing.

Omitted All White to meet coach's challenge head on ahead of ‘big’ World Cup qualifiers
Phoenix fullback Sam Sutton has taken on board some ‘honest’ feedback, determined to win a recall ahead of crunch World Cup qualifiers.

The five districts where real estate is most overvalued
The scenery might make your eyes pop, but property values will make them water.

‘Ridiculous’: Santa’s elves told to wear seatbelt on floats at Christchurch parade
Everyone on floats will now have to wear a seatbelt at Christchurch’s 76th Santa Parade.

Te Wahi Takaro o Motupohue Adventure Park opens on Bluff Hill
There’s hope that New Zealand’s top mountainbike riders could soon be racing down these tracks.

Jenna Lynch: A year ago, Luxon promised to unite NZ. Then came the Treaty debate
ANALYSIS: Sunday marks one year since ink was spilled on the coalition deals, revealing some unexpected concessions.

Ground zero Opotiki: The town at the centre of police gang crackdown
Over the past few years, no town in New Zealand has been more associated with gang headlines than Opotiki in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Blink and you’ll miss it: After 17 wickets already, the Perth Test will only speed up from here
On a madcap day in Perth, the unexpected became the expected. Now everyone will have to recalibrate.

Steam cracks down on vague and unfulfilled DLCs and Season Passes
Steam, the world’s largest PC gaming platform, is truly a pioneer. It recently established new rules for age ratings in games and made it clear that you don’t own the games you buy. Now, the platform wants to crack down on misleading DLCs and Season Passes. Specifically, the crackdown focuses on how developers communicate upcoming content for their games and what they’re allowed to promise. Failure to honor and deliver their advertised promises could have serious consequences for the games in question. The new rules for DLCs and Season Passes Many developers on Steam already utilize the option to expand game content via DLCs and Season Passes, and those usually cost money to unlock. Sometimes, you might even buy a DLC or Season Pass ahead of a game’s release to secure future promised content. However, there are obvious risks to doing that. Some developers are deliberately vague about what exactly they’ll deliver, and others may never deliver at all. Steam wants to change this via updated official guidelines. Games with additional content must fulfill the following requirements: A complete list of all DLC included in Season Passes A basic description of the content included in each DLC An expected release date for each DLC (listed as the year, quarter, or exact date if possible) Furthermore, a Season Pass may not be released without at least one additional piece of content being made available. According to Steam, it isn’t necessary to name all of the additional content exactly. However, the spirit here is to give buyers a rough idea of what they’re getting for their money. What happens if devs don’t comply? These new guidelines are good news for players. They provide more certainty about what you’ll get before you buy, and it’s especially nice that Steam now gives you the right to be compensated for missing content or unfulfilled promises. However, non-compliance with these new guidelines can have other consequences for developers. They’re allowed to postpone the release of a DLC by up to three months, but it can only be done once. Steam can intervene in the event of further postponements: “Even if there has not yet been a customer complaint, Valve may take action if you delay a DLC more than a quarter (3 months) beyond the release window you originally promised. Actions include removing the Season Pass from sale on Steam, refunding all customers who purchased the Season Pass for the value of unreleased DLC, or allowing customers the option of refunding the entire Season Pass. For the purposes of refunds, the value of unreleased DLC will be decided in discussion with Valve. Valve may also take action if your Season Pass content is not released after one year has passed. Actions may include refunds to customers and removing the Season Pass from sale on Steam.” And if a developer ever cancels or fails to release a DLC in a Season Pass, you’ll be offered a refund for the value of that unreleased DLC. Furthermore, Steam reserves the right to decide which developers are allowed to offer DLC content on Steam. Trusted partners can continue to monetize their content, but new or smaller developers could quickly run into problems if they fail to deliver on time.

Why Kiwi America’s Cup star swapped New Zealand for Brazil for SailGP
The revered sailing trio of Peter Burling, Blair Tuke and Andy Maloney won’t be together on their return to elite competition in Dubai.

Five All Blacks with the most to prove against Italy
Openside flanker Sam Cane won’t lack motivation in his final test for the All Blacks. Who else has plenty to prove against Italy in Turin?

Shop owners disappointed over plans for dilapidated Wellington mall
Locals have accused the firm that owns the mall of “landbanking”, and say shops within the mall “probably cover their rates” while the company makes a profit.

The Stratford road cone machine built to save workers’ lives
A machine created in a Taranaki tractor company’s workshop is on its way to saving the lives of road workers around New Zealand and the world.

Iconic Dunedin building could be sold after sitting vacant
Lights! Cameras! Inaction! This council-owned heritage building could be sold six years after the closure of the theatre that occupied it.

Eye surgeon reveals catalyst for attempted murder: ‘It seemed like there was no future’
A prominent eye surgeon who attempted to murder his former landlord has revealed for the first time what led to the attack, saying he’d ‘just given up’ amid a ‘perfect storm’.

Harry Potter to debut for Wallabies as Suaalii returns
A winger who was given a famous name when it wasn’t yet famous has been selected for the Wallabies.