Miami, FL – February 4th, 2013, 9:00 A.M. EST— ORIGIN PC announced today its exclusive in-game technical support client, the ORIGIN Nexus. Powered by Xfire , the world’s premier online destination for millions of gamers, the ORIGIN Nexus client allows customers to contact ORIGIN PC’s award-winning support team, in or out of gameplay, for any technical support related questions.
ORIGIN Nexus also features the ability to chat with friends within the Xfire community, screen record gameplay, conveniently launch PC game favorites and much more. The ORIGIN Nexus client is an optional install, at no cost, to all current and new ORIGIN PC customers.
ORIGIN PC raised the bar for gamers when it first announced their standard Lifetime 24/7 U.S.-based support, and now extends that legacy by offering free in-game technical chat support with the new ORIGIN Nexus client.
ORIGIN Nexus Features
In-Game Technical Chat Support*
In-Game Instant Messaging With Friends
In-Game Internet Browsing
Take Screenshots and Videos of Your Gameplay
Live Broadcast Your Gameplay
“ORIGIN PC’s focus has always been to provide the best PC experience to our customers and we are proud to continue our legacy of providing the best support in the PC industry,” said Kevin Wasielewski, CEO and co-founder, ORIGIN PC. “Thanks to the great client from the Xfire team, ORIGIN Nexus makes it even more convenient for our customers to contact us without ever having to leave their game, and we’re really excited to be the first and only company to offer this new level of support in our industry.”
“This partnership is a no-brainer,” said Paul Kim, CEO, Xfire. “Origin is quickly becoming one of the premiere providers of high performance gaming systems, and establishing this relationship exemplifies our commitment to working with partners that provide hard core gamers with the best hardware, tools and content in the industry.”
*During normal office business hours from 9:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. EST
For more detailed information, screenshots, and a tutorial video regarding ORIGIN Nexus visit:http://www.originpc.com/nexus
NEW YORK — February 4, 2013 — Paradox Interactive, a publisher of games and a proponent of all religions, and Paradox Development Studio, today announced a new expansion to the world of Crusader Kings II, the critically acclaimed RPG strategy title. The forthcoming expansion, titled Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods, will add a number of widely requested features to the game, including the ability to play as a Pagan or Zoroastrian ruler, expanding empires through war, pillaging, and ruthless brutality. Players will also be able to begin their in-game reign as far back as the year 867 AD, making The Old Gods officially the Paradox title that spans the longest period in history.
In the year 867 the Old Gods were still mighty. In England, the Raven Banner flew as the Great Heathen Army pillaged its way across the land, deposing kings and establishing the Danelaw. In the East, Rurik founded the state of Russia, and in the forests and steppes of central Europe, pagan tribes were on the move…
Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods lets players step into the boots of a pagan chieftain, approaching the brutal backstabbing world of Crusader Kings through invasion, adventure, and holy war.
Features:
Religious Turmoil: Restore the Old Gods to prominence through sacrifice and divination, or force the pagans to convert through new missionary missions
Earlier start: 200 years of more gameplay with the special 867 AD bookmark
Rebels With a Cause: Rebels are no longer faceless rabble, but led by defined characters with specific agendas
Adventurers: Watch as landless younger sons and charismatic warriors raise armies
Pillage and Prosper: Loot provinces and burn cities to the ground – lest your warlike people grow angry during extended peacetime!
Heathens: Convert them or play as them and survive, reforming your faith to stand the test of time
Prepared Invasions: Declare your intent to invade a rich target, and watch adventurers and opportunists flock to your banner.
Unholy UI: A new pagan interface is available alongside all-new events, decisions, and units
Paramount and Bad Robot have released the official Super Bowl trailer for their upcoming Star Trek Into Darkness, which is scheduled for release on May 17th, 2013.
Our World of Warcraft guild is about to celebrate its six year anniversary and, as a result, just about every member who knows I do game and tech reviews wants to know about the latest gaming mice. So, as they come along into GamingShogun Headquarters, I volunteer quick to get the info to them. I approach it from the point of view of function rather than style but sometimes, like in the case of the GX Gaming Gila MMO/RTS mouse, you can’t help but notice you have a glowing-eyed demon loaded with functionality in the palm of your hand.
Official Description:
Gila is the next generation MMO/RTS professional gaming laser mouse for the GX gaming series from Genius. Comfortable to use with either hand and step-up twelve buttons design, Gila can be customized to conquer any gaming challenge and improve combat performance. Gila has a built-in over-clocking SG Core ii engine with a dpi range from 200 to 8200 so gamers can easily shift around in the battlefield. A full speed MCU with 32KB built-in memory prevents macro settings from game block and gives gamers 1-ms (8X quicker) response time. The braided cable and gold-plated USB connector provide a stable and smooth signal connection during battle combat.
A reliable eight million life clicks give MMO/RTS gamers a comfortable button feel, and the adjustable weight design includes six metal weights – each 4.5 grams, customized to improve battle performance. Gila not only allows the X/Y axis dpi to be independently adjustable, but it includes the “Angle Snapping” function that instantly raises cursor precision at high speeds, and the “Sniper” button that instantly reduces the dpi when you need it. Gila uses the Scorpion user interface so gamers can setup “Button Assignment”, “Macro Management” for up to 72 keys, “Advanced Setting” to customize mouse performance and the “Light Option” that allows for customization of up to 16 million fascinating backlight colors. MMO/RTS game oriented, comfortable design with a superb hand grip, and outstanding performance in all games, Gila is the choice of game fanatics everywhere. Become a pro gamer now!
Official Features:
Professional 12-button MMO/RTS gaming mouse
Over-clocking SGCii: 200 dpi to 8200 dpi
Scorpion gaming user interface
Up to 72 keys for user defined macros
16 million RGB backlight system in 3 areas
Adjustable metal weights 4.5g x 6 with storage case included
32K onboard memory to prevent game block
1.8 meter braided cable with gold-plated USB connector
Rubber finish grip for complete control and handling
Hands-On:
As soon as you plug this bad boy in, the front headlights start to glow and make this mouse look possessed. This might seem accurate when you consider the fact that it basically has its own brain: A full MCU with 32k of memory and its own DPI overclocking engine. These were no doubt the reason the GX Gaming Gila received the CES 2013 Innovations Award as well as a slew of other accolades from various sources. This system enables the mouse to store control macros on-board and carry the settings from computer to computer, making your experience the same no matter what computer you are playing on. It also enables slipping around macro blocking. Macro blocking is a growing occurrence when a game recognizes short scripts of repetitive actions designed to speed up gameplay (macros) when they are originating from the keyboard or the system. At this point, most detectors are not designed to detect them in a mouse CPU because mice usually don’t have them. I imagine as a result of this step up in technology, and side stepping of game developer desires to stop macros, that eventually there will be patching and built-in programming to look for these. For now, you might be able to not only take your macros with you but avoid wearing out your hands with repetitive motions in some… for a while.
I won’t say which game I checked it out on to test this because I used it solely for testing purposes and not making it a common practice. But I can tell you if I had made a practice of it, my button mashing during that game would be insanely reduced and the life of my sexy mechanical keyboard would be greatly lengthened. I think the real innovation of the Gila is its maintaining my gameplay experience, no matter which rig I am using it on. When I am on “Fat Man” (our matching gaming desktop rigs are affectionately-known as “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” because they are the bomb), I usually have my rotation for my favorite MMO built into the keyboard macro buttons. Then, when I get on the gaming laptop, “The Big Bad Wolf”, it doesn’t have any of the buttons so I have to work off my memorized rotation and powers that be help me if I am on “Little Red”, our travel laptop, with its tiny keyboard and I try to do a key rotation with my gigantic fingers. With the GX Gaming Gila MMO/RTS gaming mouse, all these playing fields will become equal and I will play the game as the pros who play it do, through programmed mouse buttons. GX Gaming has its own “Scorpion” program interface to build all your macros through the computer that is excellent and user friendly. It saves all the information on the mouse where it can be called up later. The hardest thing you’ll have to do is memorize which of the buttons you programmed to do what. The program also allows you to program the colors of the mouse lights with 16 million options. Personally, I was happy with red for the glowing front “eyes” and green for the others. That may seem dull to some but I don’t know what color you would call the red and green, maybe it was blood and seaweed, that sounds fancier.
Overclocking the mouse is as easy as hitting a single button and deciding what level you want it at. There is an indicator right there on the mouse as well as one that pops up on your computer screen so you know so easily that it is almost idiot proof (I have been around long enough to know that nothing is truly idiot proof) and it can’t get more on the fly than that.
Just in case this customization of your programs and mouse weren’t enough, there are also weights and drag strips you can put on the mouse to adjust the drag and weight to your liking with a nice carrying case for the unused weights included.
Last Call:
There is a reason CES 2013 gave this mouse its Innovations award, this is the next step in the evolution of the mouse and is a step beyond not just other mice but the games you play them on. This will make your gaming experience easier, smoother, and more universal than ever before just by having the Gila attached to your computer. I highly recommend picking up the Gila MMO/RTS gaming mouse, it will improve your game in some cases more than they want you to.
Last night I was standing in a gravel parking lot with a bunch of friends and pretended to fumble my cell phone and caused it to fly up in the air, smack hard onto the gravel and go skidding across it. One of my buddies actually yelled in horror and surprise as he went diving after it and saw it land so roughly. He picked it up, looked at it and said “Aw damn! It is one of THOSE cases.” He looked it over until he saw the Trident logo, checked and found no scratches then laughed and handed it over. He was one of just several people that night to look at the case, feel it and say “this is that case that they have all the videos of, right?” If you don’t know what I am talking about or what they are referring here’s an example:
Yep it is that case set. The Trident Kraken AMS system actually is a combination of three pieces, the Perseus rubber case and two pieces of the Kraken exoskeleton that can be actually used as the Perseus by itself, the Kraken front protector section of the exoskeleton and the entire thing put together.
The different levels of protection really come down to different levels of style because the Perseus by itself isn’t very protective, it gets a bit better with the Kraken front but it is when you add the back that it becomes an insanely tough case. I didn’t feel comfortable doing much in the way of toughness tests until all three pieces were together at which point I bounced it off walls, dropped it in gravel lots, tossed it in the air to watch it hit the hard ground, all kinds of things that should have kicked in my Apple Care Plan and had me vaguely describing to a person with an apple on their shirt what happened without adding detail. No video documentation was taken of these tests because it would probably cancel any warranty ever and I can’t afford to fork out money for a new phone if the protection had failed, which it didn’t. Nobody saw anything, understand? Nobody read this, you get me?
I found myself using the little stand on the back all the time, at dinner I set it up on the table so I can see any incoming texts or calls without picking it up or taking my attention away from others and when waiting in the car for someone to run an errand or getting ready to call it a night I prop it up, start Netflix and watch a movie. It’s handy when at the computer like right now just having it propped between the keyboard and the screen to glance down at when a message comes in.
The hip clip took a bit of getting used to since it has one spot to clip into but once you get it down having the phone on your hip and not having to dig it out of your pocket every time something comes in on it. Just pop it off the clip, take a look and then snap it right back on and away you go. If your significant other says it looks a bit geeky or techie, like mine did, embrace it I say! Or wear a long shirt and it will cover it up while keeping it handy. It has been jogging and hiking tested to stay in the clip on your hip while moving around and if it does drop no worries if you are using the full Kraken AMS setup.
The folks at Trident also sent me a bike mount for the back of phone that actually locks into the casing making it not so much an attachment as just another addition to the system. At first thought a bike mount may not seem like the most useful thing but I was surprised how many places I found to use it since it basically is a small C clamp as well as a bracket. I have an iPad holder for the windshield of my car and found multiple ways to attach my phone to it in case I don’t want to take my iPad but still want to be able to map where I am going or using it hands free to listen to music. I also have a BlueAnt Ribbon bluetooth connection so I can have the phone mounted up on the dash and use the stereo as a hands free calling system. The bracket is remarkably versatile.
To be honest it was easier and more comfortable figuring out ways to mount the phone knowing that if I dropped it or if for some reason it didn’t stay clipped down then it would survive a fall without a scratch on the case probably. I’m most excited to see what I can do with the clip when October rolls around and I find myself wanting to get video from attractions all over Southern California. I will definitely have to give another shout out to this case and it’s bracket when I figure out new ways to safely capture video with my phone.
Last Call:
This case looks good and gives me a sense of security I have never felt with my cell phone. I have never comfortably tossed it up in the air and let it bounce across a gravel lot. Gravel hurts, badly, but didn’t even put a scratch on the case. If I ever start to doubt the protection it provides I can watch the videos, I think I will pass on running over it with my car though it is a compact so probably would do even less damage to the case. Actually I will probably just watch the videos some more for the heck of it right after I am done writing this.
The folks at Kalypso could tell a strategy junkie when they saw one. Maybe it was the fact that I asked if I could take home the 7-foot tall cardboard game standee on the way out of my pre-release preview meeting (I still don’t know how I would have packed it). I actually have two addictions that this game fed into: Strategy gameplay and Prohibition-era mafia history. During a time in America when the “trench sweepers” and hand grenades of World War I were making names for themselves on the streets such as the Chicago Typewriter and The Thompson Anti-Bandit Gun, crime was realizing that if their brains matched their brawn they could build empires on the back of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. The gangsters required craftiness and innovation to survive but, most importantly, they required strategy. So, what better time and place to set a strategy game in?
Storyline:
Taking the role of a fresh-from-the-boat immigrant, with dreams of the big life, the player will work his way up the criminal hierarchy of 1920’s Atlantic City. Starting with small jobs, his character recruits a gang and expands his empire by taking territory from other gangsters. Eventually he establishes his own crime syndicate and becomes the de facto ruler of Atlantic City.
Official Features:
Historically accurate representation of Atlantic City and its landmarks
Strategic gameplay allows city overview, planning, expansion and gathering of intel
Turn-based tactical combat with a cover system and stealth action
15 unique player controlled characters each with unique personalities and backgrounds
A RPG system for development of player characters and managing their equipment
Competitive and cooperative multiplayer mode with persistent gangs
15+ hours of gameplay in a single play-through
20 unique maps visualizing the various districts of Atlantic City
Gameplay:
The first time I got to lay fingers on the triggers in this game was at the unveiling of Kalypso’s upcoming Dark game. The event was spaciously laid out with multiple terminals to try out Dark and in the corner of one room was a single booth with Omerta set up for anyone who happened to have missed it’s unveiling and wanted a look. Crammed into this booth with people standing off to the side as well watching I saw this strategy game which was not only smart in design (Kalypso and Haemimont Games also brought us the insanely good Tropico series) but themed in my favorite historical era. Understanding it would be hard to get a proper feel for the game while packed like sardines in a little booth, Kalypso sent me a build code for Omerta on Steam, which I played as far a the build would let me, then waited for the next update. Whenever development updated I played again putting anything else I had planned to do on the computer aside until I had caught up again.
Eventually this plan didn’t work so well because there are so many ways to play this game with so many different results that you would have to play through the game multiple times to even get a proper taste of its depth. The game starts off easy with training on how the menus work so you don’t feel out of sorts with them. Then after you get the idea, the game gives you jobs you can do and objectives to complete on Campaign mode but also gives you plenty of options on how you do them. Rival gang muscling in on your territory? You can get them to take a fall, parlay with them or just have a good old fashion negotiation with lead. Different choices all have different consequences, especially where you are. If you decide to do a drive-by down by the docks there is bound to be a lot less of a squawk than if you set fire to a mansion in the respectable neighborhoods. You must also decide if you want to be known as the family man who takes care of his neighborhood providing plenty of soup kitchens and taking care of the less fortunate or if you want to be known as the fella people will cross the streets to avoid stepping on the toes of. Your enterprise is crime, but not all crimes or criminals are the same.
You will at some point get “heat” on you and, while a little is fine, too much will get the boys in blue snooping about your business. If you don’t want to try and run your business wearing black and white striped pajamas, you have to take care of it. You can setup a patsy, which might not make you such a popular guy. You can pay off the cops, but the price always goes up. Or, you can even cause your troubles to go on a “permanent vacation”. All choices have consequences so you need more than just consider whether or not you want a speakeasy or a lead parade, you need to use strategy to try to determine what you will do when those succeed or fail.
General gameplay takes place at a street map level like many sim games though you can zoom in right down to street level and watch the action and character’s personalities unfold. When taking on a job you will generally find yourself in a mini map environment where individual gang member’s combat styles come into play. So for example you need to rob a bank, you put together a team from your gang you think will best be able to accomplish this and you go into a mini map of the bank with the street outside. You get a certain number of Movement and Action Points (players of games such as Jagged Alliance and UFO will be familiar with this idea) so you can move a certain number of hexes and then perform as many actions as you can before your points are exhausted and it is the end of that team member’s turn. As another example, during this bank robbery you have your drunk Irishman Doc charge in the front door and start shooting wildly (and I do mean wild, any team member in front of Doc has a roll for being hit). He can only move so many hexes forward to the entrance and then he can only take as many shots as he has Action Points available to cover. It may sound a bit complicated but it is pretty straight forward once you get to playing. The turn base goes back and forth between your team and the enemy until the job is either a failure or success. On the subject of success the developers tried to be as realistic as possible when it came to the accuracy and range of weapons as well so don’t be surprised if you miss a guy across the room with your pistol and he hits you with great accuracy with his rifle.
Campaign Mode isn’t the only way to play the game. You can also choose Sandbox mode, which is a fun, less structured game mode, letting you see how you can succeed with your own wits in one of four areas to choose from. You can work your business up down by the docks or start it in the ritzy neighborhood, the choice is yours as are pretty much all the choices afterwards. If you want to just build an empire without being told to hire this person now or open this business here this is the way to go. Also it can be nice to just see what you can do when left to your own devices.
Another way to play which I expect to be very popular in these days of heavy PvP emphasis in games is the Multiplayer avenue which gives you the choice to work with a teammate to commit a crime or work against each other to see who can rub out whose gang first. Personally I found I really liked the co-op missions, where you can come up with a strategy as a team and pull off the perfect crime but I get the feeling there are plenty of pals out there just waiting for a chance to knock each other off. Whichever this is done in the mini map mode and usually consists of a single building map.
Keeping It Fun:
When you are playing a game where crime is its own reward, some might think that making the game too serious might encourage bad behavior. Luckily the developers kept this in mind and made the game and its characters fun as well as strategic tools. A great example would be the character “Doc” who is modeled after the stereotype of a drunk Irishman who is almost always at the bar and, when he isn’t, he is thinking of beer (ed. note: Guinness please!). He is animated as shooting wildly and stumbling around during fights, making it hard not to laugh at his hi-jinks. Weapon names also have historical accuracy and usually a little tongue in cheek humor behind them too.
Another way the game tries to drift a bit toward the right side of things morally is in some of the missions, one of which is beating the snot out of clansmen running around in hoods. In missions like that you get a certain amount of satisfaction while at the same time completing game goals.
Last Call:
When I first saw rumors of this game, I was excited. When I got to see the first builds, I got completely amped. Then, getting hands on with this game, it just got better. This is an extremely solid strategy game with a great atmosphere set in an every interesting historical period. The developers went for accuracy in weapons and missions for the environment and time, while also making sure to have some fun with the characters and animations. I have played a lot of strategy games over the years and I can honestly say I think this may be one of my favorites. Omerta – City of Gangsters is a strategic offering you can’t refuse.
[easyreview title=”Omerta – City Of Gangsters Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″] Our Rating Scores Explained
So I admit the first time I stopped by Wicked Audio’s booth at CES I was lost and drawn in by the great logo and the very nice headphone can designs in the display case. The lovely ladies scanned my badge really quick as I watched a couple people play the games of chance they had set up in the booth then off I headed in another direction trying to find my appointment location, with a mental note to make it back to the booth. Well anyone who has been to CES knows you can go the entire show without hitting the same booth twice or in some cases even finding ones you mean to. So I remembered the booth fondly when they sent a post CES letter letting us know what was available for review. My ear holes still sore from an abundance of earbuds I was jazzed to give their Evac cans a try.
Description:
You’re part of an elite group and you expect more from your headphones. Wicked EVAC fulfills that expectation. With its against the grain attitude and its no limits sound quality, Wicked EVAC will be the last thing you see before you lose touch with reality and get lost in your music.
Features:
Lustrous and comfortable headphones are designed with canvas material headband, soft ear cushions, and chic appearance
Equipped with enhanced bass, noise-isolation feature, and high fidelity sound, delivering top-notch quality
Braided cord, with built-in volume control, offers convenient and flexible operation
Collapsible design makes simple to tote around on-the-go
Available in 3 trendy color combinations: Black/White, Green/Black and White/Black
Testing:
Ok you may have noticed I called the headphones “cans” a couple of times and if you are a bit younger you may not quite get what I am referring to. These kind of headphones used to be known as “cans” particularly by military operators between bases, anyone who ever saw the old television show M.A.S.H. must have seen Radar at one point on the cans trying to get a message out. That was the first thing I thought of when I got these out of the box. They have army green canvas over the top section, metal bars connecting to the ear cups which are army green with black stenciling of the Wicked logo on it. Even the idea of having threaded cable coverings date back to the time making these an awesome homage when it comes to style while maintaining new technology in function. The old cans were also notoriously heavy because of being mostly metal while these are made extremely light weight and remain comfortable for hours thanks to plastic.
The style appeals to the old school boom box generation as well which is nice because these are all about the bass. They are bass enhanced, with sound isolation so the thumping will be in your head instead of from around the room, yet they are extra thick padded to keep the comfort going. I tried them out with block rocking beats, classic rock, I tested it on pretty much all kinds of music except country so if it works for the rest I’m sure it will work for country fine too. I even watched a few YouTube videos of things happening in crowded locations and it really sounded like I was right in the middle of them. Video Games sound insane with them delivering crystal clarity and it is great to play flight sims with them on and have the old school cans on while flying old war planes.
Last Call:
These are great all around use headphones with an old school feel to them. They have style but don’t drop the ball on sound quality and bass kicking. When it comes to games instead of music the explosions are intense and really help pull you into the experience while being lightweight enough to wear for long gaming sessions. Plus they don’t make your ear holes hurt.
I went around CES Unveiled like a puppy in a room full of chew toys, taking in all the sights and sites, shaking hands and taking in spiels. It was while watching some robots running around my feet (I do love robots) that I noticed something that not just I would fancy, but maybe a couple hundred people I know. There next to a nice case with Mickey Mouse’s face on it was a stylus for the iPad, the fanciest looking stylus I had ever seen and next to it was a partially completed drawing of Mickey himself on an iPad. I startled everyone, including myself a bit, breaking the robots’ spell by starting to ask questions about the stylus which I now noticed had Mickey’s body on it. It was part of the Disney Creativity Studio, an iPad app that not only let you draw connect the dots or color in Mickey and Friends but could actually teach you how to draw them and save your work online. The folks at eKid.com were even nice enough to give me the opportunity to check it out in a robot free environment.
Disney Creativity Studio:
This app was remarkable before I got to fully utilize it and discover it’s depth. First it teaches you to connect the dots on your favorite characters which helps develop shape association with parts of the character that might not have crossed your mind. After doing this a few times it teaches you the general shapes and guide lines that will help figure out drawing the figure without dots. So for example Mickey you make a crude circle for his head then have curved lines almost like a globe’s equator and another up and down to give you placement location for the eyes when he is looking off in a direction whereas if he is looking straight on you draw a circle and cross a + right through the middle of it. This is something that they do at the Animation Academy at Disney’s California Adventure but then there is only one character at a time available and it isn’t one on one like this.
Next there are pictures of the characters fully drawn so you can practice coloring them in, in or outside the lines just like the studios do. Finally when all is well and practiced they give you a blank page and a great palette to work from making your own works of art you can save, post online or just send to someone you love. Basically this program takes you from not being able to draw a straight line (where one is needed) into being able to draw your Disney favorites like a professional. Then you can teach it in Disney’s California Adventure!
Pixel’D:
The way I see this program is Disney’s Photoshop For Beginners. It gives you plenty of backgrounds to work with, they give you plenty of clip art (if they don’t have what you want you can buy more for dirt cheap) and writing in different styles. You can make single page pixel heavy artwork or make a bunch with the same background and movement in them to create animation. I started with a Cars background, threw down the Evil Queen, re-sized her to the perfect height and named it “Marriage.” (I kid I kid, I deleted my atrocity knowing a kid could do better) There are lots of possibilities all of which have huge pixeled fun!
The Stylus With All The Style:
The piece which tie these programs and all your artistic efforts together is the Mickey Mouse stylus. Not even close to being just any stylus. this one could be argued to be the last stylus you ever need to buy. Kids may literally think it is Disney magic. There is no reason in the world to make them think different, let them have it while they can. The reality is that this is a next step in technology that people really need to get to know. You can draw with it in a thin line, click the top like you would a pen and your stylus brush turns into a crayon, click it again and it is like a paint brush, all giving distinct lines and characteristics associated with the medium, so if you do a brush stroke and lift the stylus at the end of the stroke it splashes outward like real paint would, a single stroke with a crayon will have breakups at the crayon’s imperfect waxy drawing material. You can be drawing in one color and shake the stylus three times in your hand and it starts drawing a rainbow of colors like some amazing magic marker. And if you make a mistake you flip it over and the stylus senses you have turned the “eraser” end to the paper and you erase with it. Most of the steps done with the stylus can be done in the program without it by hovering and clicking but the stylus makes it all… well magic.
Last Call:
I count myself lucky to have been distracted by shiny robots and stumbled upon a piece of Disney magic resting on a table, waiting to be moved around in broad strokes like a wizard’s wand that awakens brooms. This is the perfect addition to Disney products, teaching kids of all ages to draw their favorite friends, color them in or put them in pixelated adventures. Maybe future imagineers and animators will point to this item as the piece that decided their future.
Hamburg, February 1, 2013. As InnoGames’ pirate-action game Kartuga nears closed beta, the first detailed information about the title’s ship types are announced. Players have the choice between light, medium and large layouts – overall there are more than 40 types selectable in the game. InnoGames presents some of them in a brand new video.
Depending on the chosen categories, ship properties differ vastly from each other. Light ships are fast and agile, but have few health points. Large ships are near unsinkable, but very slow and portly. Medium ships offer a balance mix of strengths and weaknesses. Rare and high-level ships give players bonuses for various specifications – for example more powerful attacks. In addition to the many properties, the ship types also differ visually from each other. Because of this, a great optical variety on the oceans of Kartuga is guaranteed.
InnoGames plans to start the closed-beta at the end of February. Players can already preregister at www.kartuga.com.
Kartuga is an Action-MMO with RPG-elements. The 3D pirate game invites players to choose from three ship classes, and develop their unique play style by leveling up and combining various skills and equipment. At the core of the game, developed by Ticking Bomb Games, is cooperative PvP. Players challenge each other in teams of four in intense, fast-paced matches.
With more than 100 million registered players, InnoGames is one of the world’s leading developers and providers of online games. The Hamburg-based company has scored major successes with games such as Tribal Wars, Forge of Empires and Grepolis.
CD Projekt RED have released some information touting their new REDengine 3 game engine, which is said to be powering the next in The Witcher series as well as the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077. Also, click on the included image to see some of the great detail this new engine is capable of.
February 1, 2013 — The REDengine 3 is the third iteration of CD Projekt RED’s in-house technology. It is created for RPGs set in vast open-worlds with improved tools for spanning truly nonlinear stories that are based on real player choices and consequences.
“If we look at RPGs nowadays we find two approaches, one which emphasizes the story but limits the game world and one that builds a vast open-world but hampers and simplifies the story. With the REDengine 3 we combine the positive aspects of both approaches for the first time, creating an open environment with a complex, multi-thread story. Together with believable characters, a captivating tale and a world where players can roam freely without loading times, we will be able to move gaming to a new level with a realistic feel and full player immersion. When working on our previous titles, I didn’t dream that we would achieve something like this. Thanks to the support of all our fans, now we have the possibility to use REDengine 3 and create something many RPG fans dream of.” – said Adam Badowski, head of CD Projekt RED studio.
The REDengine demonstrated its capability to create great adventures for the first time in The Witcher 2 (PC). It was praised for its graphical excellence and exceptional, branching storytelling. The studio developed the technology and with optimization, REDengine 2 (internal name) brought The Witcher 2 to Xbox 360. Now CD Projekt RED aims to set their games in diversified, open-world ecosystems while maintaining a well paced and robust story.
The REDengine 3 tech is tailor-made to create nonlinear and story-driven RPGs with a system that allows to stream and handle fully explorable open-worlds. Cyberpunk 2077, the second project the studio is working on, will have prime examples demonstrating that REDengine 3 is the perfect tool for creating immense universes filled with exciting, nonlinear adventures. The advanced technology of the REDengine 3 makes RPGs comparable to top-shelf shooters, both in terms of game world presentation and the epic proportions of events that the player is drawn into. The engine is a next-gen ready solution that begins to blur the line between pre-rendered CGI movies and real time rendered graphics, bringing us closer to the most life-like world ever created in video games. All the state-of-the-art visuals form a living ecosystem allowing the player to be a part of a vivid environment. The new face and body animation systems implemented in REDengine 3 offer realistic expression of emotions, movie quality scenes and character interactions.
The technology uses high dynamic range rendering with 64-bit precision that ensures superior picture quality with more realistic and precise lighting without losses derived from reduced contrast ratio. A flexible renderer prepared for deferred or forward+ rendering pipelines has a wide array of cinematic post-processing effects, including bokeh depth-of-field, color grading and flares from many lights. A high performance terrain system allows multiple material layers to be efficiently blended and uses tessellation for the best possible detail. The technology also includes seamless blending between animations and physics along with many more features. The engine uses CD Projekt RED’s new version of its proprietary REDkit editor with tools made specifically for RPG game creation. The editor can build complex, branching quests and set them in a free roaming environment with a simplicity not achieved by similar toolsets.
