be quiet! Shadow Rock 2 Review
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Gunpoint Creator Tom Francis Unveils His New Game, Heat Signature
Tom Francis, the developer behind the stealth puzzle platformer Gunpoint, has finally unveiled one of the new projects he's working on, called Heat Signature. Heat Signature is "a game about sneaking aboard randomly generated spaceships." You control a little ship with no weapons, trying to avoid detection by larger, randomly generated ships. As the name of the game suggests, those NPC ships contain heat sensors, so you need to stay cool enough to avoid them by using your engines sparingly when near. If you're able to get close to the ship, you can latch onto its airlock, breach it, climb aboard, and then subdue the captain to disable the ship.
Tom plans on having professions and assignments randomly assigned every time you start a new game, which will increase the replayability even further. Examples he provides are: "'You are an assassin. Your target is Tom Francis.' or 'You are a shipjacker. Steal the Dreadnaught Incisor.'" In order to locate your target, when you board a ship you can hack its server and gather information about your target's location or the types of ships that are likely to contain such data. He also plans on adding "ship systems like guns and thrusters [that] will be in specific rooms of the ship," which you'll be able to sabotage or control if you can get to them, even to the point of being able to fly the enemy ship.
Heat Signature is being made with Game Maker, just as Gunpoint was, so expect another PC-only release. No release date or pricing has been stated.
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BioWare Releasing Dragon Age: Inquisition Character Kits, Starting with Morrigan
Jessica Merizan is a popular cosplayer and costume designer, but she also happens to be Lead Community Manager at BioWare Edmonton-Montreal. On behalf of BioWare, Jessica posted a blog entry today announcing something quite unique - Dragon Age: Inquisition Character Kits. "We want to give fan artists–cosplayers, illustrators, painters, writers, cake decorators, everyone–access to detailed, descriptive, high resolution character designs before the game is released. These will be distributed so you can have them available online or print them out and keep in your garage, workshop, sewing room, or creative space to reference."
Alongside the announcement is the release of the first character, Morrigan. Those familiar with the series will remember her as a playable character in Dragon Age: Origins, and she will be returning to the series in Dragon Age: Inquisition in a non-playable role. The character kit is of Morrigan in her ball gown and comes with a PDF that even includes RGB values for the color palette used so artists and designers can be as exact as possible.
New Character Kits will be released "in the coming weeks and months," but no set timeline has been disclosed. Dragon Age: Inquisition is set to release for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in Q3 2014.
Source: BioWare Blog
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Google Offers Cast SDK for Chromecast
Google is making the Cast Software Development Kit (SDK) available to developers to allow integration with the streaming device in more software applications. Google is hoping that this will help to expand the pool of apps that currently work with the device to bring more of your favorite media to your television. Chromecast Product Manager Ambarish Kenghe said, "Just be on the lookout for the cast button in your favorite apps and websites across Android, iOS and Chrome."
Source: Google
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HighPoint Offering new PCIe Thunderbolt Expansion Options
HighPoint has announced a pair of new solutions to provide systems with a Thunderbolt connection with powerful expansion capabilities. Systems will be able to connect full size PCIe cards to portable systems that normally wouldn't be able to take advantage of the cards. The NA211TB can house up to three Thunderbolt Aware PCIe cards and connect them to your Macbook or other system through a single cable. Example uses of the aluminum housed expansion station include adding storage or video capture cards. The NA211TB and NA211TB-LD are both available immediately.
Source: Press Release
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Gmail Incorporates Additional Calendar Holidays
In a minor update to the popular Gmail service, Google has integrated additional country holiday calendars into Google Calendar. Users of Gmail are now able to choose from over 30 different countries, not including the ones already available, and add the holidays for the additional countries within Google Calendar. The update also ensures that holidays further in the future are displayed, allowing users that rely on the calendar feature plenty of time to make adequate travel preparations. The additional country holiday calendars will roll out over the next couple of days to all Gmail users, according to Ronnie Falcon, an Associate Product Manager Intern at Google.
Source: Official Gmail Blog
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Paick Launches Sleek Portable Power Bank
Paick International has introduced a new portable battery to its current line of power banks, known as Sleek. The new device offers a whopping 6000mAh battery that charges devices via an attached micro USB cable that also works as a carrying handle. The battery can be charged over 500 times and takes a total of eight hours to completely charge to maximum capacity. Sleek also features a glossy coating that is UV processed and scratch resistant, adding to the quality of the device. Additionally, the Paick Sleek resembles a smartphone in regards to its dimensions, and only weighs five ounces.
Sleek is available for immediate purchase from Amazon, and is priced at $49.99 MSRP.
Source: Press Release
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'Edison' Supercomputer to be Dedicated Soon
Supercomputers are cool, so when there is news about one, it is fun to share it. The National Energy Researcher Scientific Computer (NERSC) Center at Berkeley Lab will soon be dedicating its new, flagship supercomputer named 'Edison.' The ceremony is to be held during the celebration of NERSC 40th anniversary.
Edison is a Cray XC30 computer and unlike several other, recently built supercomputers, it will not feature any accelerators, such as GPUs. This is for the specific reason of allowing researchers to just move their code from the older Cray XE6, Grace Hopper supercomputer to Edison, without having to rewrite it. Even without any accelerators though, Edison has a theoretical peak of 2.4 petaflops, or quadrillion floating-point operations per second. So Edison can serve researchers performing data analysis and simulation and modeling, it has been designed with a large number of processors for running simulations as well as lots of memory at each node to store large amounts of data. It has also been optimized to move data rapidly between nodes and storage, which is important as NERSC can see as much as a petabyte of data coming in each month.
As well as being NERSC's new flagship, Edison is also its first supercomputer to rely on free cooling. This cooling method does not use mechanical chillers but instead cools water in outdoor cooling towers, and then cools the air that pass through the supercomputer, as opposed to directly pulling the heat away. This is a more energy efficient method than those typical of most systems.
Source: National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center
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Using Drone-Sourced Mapping of the Entire Planet, ReROLL Promises to be the Ultimate Open-World ...
Last last year, Ubisoft's Julien Cuny and Louis-Pierre Pharand left Ubisoft Montreal to found their own independent studio called PIXYUL. Julien was Head of Content for Assassin's Creed, while Louis-Pierre was Creative Director and Head of UbiWorkshop. Today, PIXYUL announced its first game, the highly ambitious ReROLL.
According to PIXYUL, ReROLL is a "Crowdfunded Persistent Online Open World Survival Action RPG" – or as the announcement trailer puts it, "The Ultimate Open World Playground." What sets ReROLL apart from other games is that its environment is going to be sculpted based on real-world data. PIXYUL plans on drone-sourcing and mapping the entire planet, one square kilometer at a time. The drones are equipped with digital HD cameras and their data will be processed with 3D software to render into in-game terrain. If that sounds overly ambitious, it is. And that's why it won't be happening all at once and will be combined with procedural generation for certain parts of the world, such as the major oceans and restricted areas that will never be accessible to drones.
PIXYUL plans on starting with what its referring to as BRICK 1, though what region that entails hasn't been decided yet. What we do know is that BRICK 1 will not be in the United States because commercial drone use is not yet legal and won't be until sometime in 2015 when the FAA plans on establishing rules.
While the first stage of the game may be rather small in area, there are still two aspects of the game that are quite intriguing. The first is a system PIXYUL is calling Reality System Sync (RSS), which not only synchronizes the in-game time with the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), but also pulls actual weather and temperature data and "injects" it into the game. For example, if your character decided to visit New York City right now, you'd be struggling to survive in the middle of a snow storm. I know because I have to shovel after writing this.
The second unique feature of the game is tied to the RSS. Because the in-game time is a direct 1:1 relation to real-world time, time is actually "a very important resource in the game." Even when you're not connected, your character remains "active" in the world. PIXYUL will be creating an Activity Tracker that you can access from a browser or smartphone, allowing you "to manage your character's schedule like you would manage your own agenda." As previously stated, ReROLL is a survival game, so a key strategy for survival will be "making sure your character is doing relevant things when you're not playing in front of your computer."
BRICK 1 is planned for mid-2015, but game packages are currently available for purchase on the official site, which will grant you lifetime access to ReROLL, starting with BRICK 1 when it's ready. Game packages range in price from $19.99 all the way up to $274.99. The way it works is that you are essentially buying a character (or multiple) to play as in the game world, each of which come with their own unique skills and starting gear. Depending on the amount of money you spend, you also get extra bonuses from "Gamers Angel Status" tiers. It's essentially PIXYUL's own version of crowd-funding, though the studio hasn't ruled out a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign in the future.
While buying different characters with different skills and gear may sound like a Pay2Win situation, PIXYUL ensures that that's not the case. For one, the game is not a free-to-play game. In addition, the game will feature no PvP, so there is technically no such thing as an "unfair advantage" – this is not like Rust or DayZ where you have to worry about other player characters. Lastly, and perhaps the most important part, is that nothing will be locked in the game – "You can start with a Basic Character and learn any skills and become whoever you want."
ReROLL is certainly an ambitious project and for all intents and purposes is just a pipe dream right now, but if PIXYUL can pull it off, it sounds like it could be a hell of a game. Be sure to watch the announcement video below to learn a little bit more and even see some early game footage.
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27 Million Gamers Daily on League of Legends
Those reading this probably play League of Legends or know someone that does, which would not be surprising. Riot Games reports that its free-to-play League of Legends video game has an estimated 27 million gamers daily. That is not a typo.
The surge in numbers is double that of the 12 million user base reported back in October 2012. The community is roughly the equivalent of the entire population of Nepal, the 45th largest country in the world. The company also states that the game has a peak of 7.5 million concurrent users. These players have helped League of Legends earn over $624 million to become the second-largest game of its kind in 2013 (according to SuperData).
Its popularity has even led the U.S. government to recognize League of Legends players as professional athletes. And with popular streaming services like Twitch.TV, it is possible to watch them play in eSport tournaments such as the LCS, which is currently going on until April. If you're interested in learning more about the game, watching professional matches is a good place to start.
Source: Digital Trends
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AV-Test Announces Top Android Security Suites
AV-Test, an independent information technology security institute, has released its new test results for 30 Android 4.3 security suites. The institute tests various security suites for protection, performance, and usability and ranks the different suites accordingly. Multiple security applications scored perfect in both protection and usability, and include Avira: Free Android Security 3.0, Bitdefender: Mobile Security 2.6, G Data: Internet Security 25.0, Kingsoft: Mobile Security 3.3, KSMobile: Clean Master 4.0, KSMobile: CM Security 1.0, McAfee: Mobile Security 3.1, Qihoo: 360 Mobile Security 1.5, Trend Micro: Mobile Security 3.5, and TrustGo: Mobile Security 1.3.
Although many companies, such as Google, argue the need for security software on Android, security vendors are continually improving protection capabilities and marketing their applications to users.
Source: CNET
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PS4 Update Adds Support for Sony Wireless Headsets
A new system update will be available to download tonight for PlayStation 4 owners, labeled as firmware version 1.60. The update brings support for Sony’s wireless headsets, such as the Pulse and Pulse Elite, as well as to the newly announced Gold Wireless Headset that launches early next month. The Sony Gold Wireless Headset offers custom audio modes for specific PlayStation games, customizable faceplates, and a microphone that features noise cancelling technology. Just like the Pulse headsets from Sony, the Gold Wireless Headset offers 7.1 virtual surround sound. The wireless headsets that are being supported on the PlayStation 4 due to the new firmware update connect via USB and plug directly into the console.
No other information has been provided surrounding the PlayStation 4 version 1.60 update, such as if the console will now play CDs or allow for 3D Blu-ray playback.
Source: CNET
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Possibly Improving Solar Cells with New Theory
To convert sunlight into electricity is not necessarily hard to do, but doing it efficiently can be very difficult. This is why researchers have been working to understand all of the mechanics involved in photovoltaics, especially those of organic semiconductors. Researchers at the University of Houston and University of Montreal have recently devised a new theory for what happens within organic solar cells, and it could potentially lead to breaking the SQ limit.
This new theory considers the quantum mechanical effects associated with the vibrational motion of molecule chains in a polymer and the electronic structure of the material. The vibrational-electron coupling could lead to some interesting effects, and if properly understood could even be exploited to optimize a solar cell's efficiency. It may even enable the SQ or Shockley-Queisser limit to be broken, and it is the theoretical limit on the efficiency of semiconductor-based solar cells.
The researchers next plan on working with those more familiar with producing polymers and solar cells, to put the theory to the test.
Source: University of Houston
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Thanks to Greenlight Success of Ikaruga, Developer Treasure May Make an Original Game for Steam
Steam Greenlight has been highly controversial since launch, certainly not helped by the fact that some developers have resorted to bribery just to get votes. But to developer Treasure, Steam Greenlight has been a blessing in more way than one. Late last year, Treasure's Ikaruga was greenlit a mere two weeks after appearing on Steam Greenlight.
Ikaruga is an old school arcade shoot'em-up, originally released in Japan arcades in 2001. The Steam edition of Ikaruga won't simply be a straight port though, with Treasure adding HD support, new game modes, and several Steam features. While that is all well and good, Treasure doesn't plan on stopping there. Speaking to Famitsu, Treasure president Masato Maegawa stated that the company not only plans on releasing ports of its other games, but that the studio is thinking about making "a new original title for the platform, Steam." Ikaruga getting greenlit essentially showed the small indie developer that there was a market on PC for its games. This was a game voted in by fans simply because of word of mouth and because of that, PC gamers may soon get to enjoy more of Treasure's games.
Chalk one up for Steam Greenlight!
Source: Siliconera
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OCZ Provides Warranty Information Following Acquisition by Toshiba
Toshiba's acquisition of OCZ Technology went through recently, which leaves the latter operating pretty much as it is, just with the new OCZ Storage Solutions name. The acquisition is good news as it helps keep one of the more popular SSD companies around, but you may be wondering what exactly that means for all its existing products, especially the warranties. Luckily information has come out on that matter, and the news is mostly good. All of OCZ's latest SSDs will continue with normal warranty support, so that means all the Vertex products (including the new 460 series), RevoDrives (but not the Hybrid), and Vector series are covered. However, the Agility series will only be covered until January 22, 2015. That means some warranties for the Agility 3 and 4 (like what I'm using) are going to be shortened a little.
Now to the bad news: all SSD series not listed above are not covered by a warranty. Also any non-SSD product made by OCZ won't be covered anymore, so that means power supplies, RAM, flash drives, and any peripherals. Speaking of power supplies, OCZ has found a buyer and will be announcing details in the next couple of weeks.
So there you have it. If you have an OCZ product still covered by warranty, it's business as usual. If you have one that will no longer carry a warranty and something happens to the product within reason, OCZ will try to replace it with the same model or a similar one (or even reimburse you the current market value).
Source: AnandTech and OCZ
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