Author - Jerry Paxton

Alternative Soviet Medium Line to be Added to World of Tanks

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August 8, 2013 — Wargaming, the leading free-to-play MMO developer and publisher, today revealed the first details of Update 8.8 for its MMO action game, World of Tanks.

“Update 8.8 will introduce some very cool new machines into the Soviet and German lines,” said World of Tanks Producer Mike Zhivets. “Strengthened with the addition of even more medium and heavy vehicles, the game’s roster will offer players extra variety, while the rebalance within the German line will provide for a more well-rounded experience”.

The upcoming update will bring an alternative branch of Soviet medium tanks, starting at Tier 6. This new line will include the A-43 (Tier 6), the A-44 (Tier 7), the Object 416 (Tier 8), and the Object 140 that will take its place as the nation’s top medium tier option.

Fans of the German tech tree will see the debut of two new vehicles—the Tier 4 DW heavy chariot and the Tier 6 VK3002 (M) medium tank. The VK3001H heavy tank will be moved to Tier 5 and undergo rebalancing, while the VK3601H will be converted to a heavy tank and change its combat specs, as well.

Update 8.8 will also introduce two new Chinese premium machines—the Tier 8 T-34-3 medium tank and the 112 Tier 8 heavy tank, as well as a new battle arena—the wintry Tundra.

 

King Arms Blaser R93 LRS1 Review (Airsoft)

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Having looked at quite a few types of airsoft guns, the one type of gun we have yet to review is a sniper rifle. So, the folks over at AirSplat.com loaned us one of their King Arms Blaser R93 LRS1 rifles for a few weeks. The King Arms Blaser R93 LRS1 is a replica of the real steel Blaser R93 LRS1, a popular European long rifle. The LRS1 designation is the version of the long rifle designed for snipers. The replica is almost spot-on to its real steel counterpart. The sniper rifle even has the “straight-pull” action of the real rifle. How does this sniper rifle do in our testing? Read on…

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Official Specifications:

  • Velocity: 475 fps (0.2 g BB) / Range 240-250 feet
  • Barrel Length: 23.5 inches / 60 cm
  • Magazine Capacity: 50 Rounds
  • Overall Length: 45 inches

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Official Features:

  • Integrated Scope Rail
  • Adjustable Hop-Up
  • Adjustable Cheek Rest & Butt Pad
  • Completely Free-Float Barrel
  • Officially Licensed
  • Made in China

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Using a sniper rifle without a scope is a bit odd, so we made sure to mount a basic rifle scope on the gun. Again, the folks at AirSplat stepped in and loaned us one of their 3-9×40 non-illuminated rifle scopes. We want to send our thanks to them for the help with this article! So, back to the rifle…

The first challenge in using this sniper rifle is constructing it. Do yourself a favor and READ your instruction manual. I went off half-cocked, assembling the rifle as I thought it would be put together. I was wrong and ended up taking it apart and doing it the right way. Just learn from my over-eagerness and do it right the first time. 🙂

The King Arms Blaser R93 LRS1 features a nifty top rail which we mounted the scope to, then put the rifle into a bag and went out to a local field. The rifle comes with one plastic magazine which holds 50 BBs, but additional magazines are available for about $10 dollars at airsoft websites.

Initial chrono readings put the Blaser R93 LRS1 at about 480 FPS using .20g BBs. With this in mind, we trekked out to a backyard of one member of our crew located in the rural town of Norco, CA. We took the time to sight in the scope at 50 feet and then setup some targets so we could begin our “blasting”. Here are the results at various ranges and BB weights. We took a total of ten shots at each testing site – so, IF you see less than 10 marks on the target, it means I missed…

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.20G BBs @ 50′

20 at 50

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.25G BBs @ 50′

25 at 50

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.20G BBs @ 75′

20 at 75

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.25G BBs @ 75′

25 at 75

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The weather was slightly breezy but nothing too bad, and I was impressed with how well the Blaser performed in such conditions. These shots were performed in a seated position, resting the rifle on a couple of sand bags. Note that the Blaser R93 LRS1 does have a small bi-pod rail – I just didn’t have one to test it with. While shooting, I attempted to keep my sight picture as much as possible while pulling back on the straight-pull bolt. As you can see from our virtual target images above, the rifle is very reliable shooter and I can’t wait to take it back into some real games.

Overall, I would highly recommend the King Arms Blaser R93 LRS1 airsoft sniper rifle to any airsofter looking to be a competitive sniper. It has plenty of performance for fields with and without speed limits as well as an aggressive, unique look. It retails for around $230 dollars on websites like AirSplat.com

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Jason Blum and Blackout Combine Forces for The Purge Haunted Attraction

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LOS ANGELES (August 7, 2013) – Blumhouse Productions, the multi-media production company behind highly successful and terrifying movies like the Paranormal Activity franchise, Sinister, Insidious and The Purge, will once again take over the historic Variety Arts Theater in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, introducing an all-new, immersive live experience for the Halloween season.

Last year, the theater was home to The Blumhouse of Horrors, a haunted house created by producer Jason Blum’s film-production team that attracted rave reviews and capacity crowds. This year, starting Sept. 27, Blumhouse invites horror fans to experience THE PURGE: FEAR THE NIGHT, inspired by the backstory to the feature film.

In this new type of horror-theater, guests become “delegates” to the annual convention of the New Founding Fathers, the dystopian governing party of a near-future America, in which all crime is legal once a year for 12 hours.

“We had such a fantastic response last year, and we wanted to build on what we learned and take it to the next level,” Blum said. “This experience goes way beyond theater or movies or even haunted houses – it is a full night of entertainment that lets people explore all six floors of this incredible building on their own, and suffer the potentially terrifying consequences of their decisions.”

To create THE PURGE: FEAR THE NIGHT, Blum has teamed with directors Josh Randall and Kristjan Thor, founders and creators of the phenomenally successful Blackout haunted house in New York and L.A.

Once delegates are inside, the immersive horror-theater experience begins in the grand theater of the New Founding Fathers Headquarters. There, they will participate in the annual Founder’s Convention – which is held each year on Purge Night.

But the visiting delegates will quickly discover that not all Americans believe in the Purge, and that the intense opposition can have frightening, even deadly, consequences.

As they explore, delegates may find themselves complicit in the shocking acts undertaken by a warped government … directly threatened by hostile dissenters … or intrigued by the mysterious lives of elected officials. With every step, they will be drawn deeper into the New Founding Fathers Headquarters.

Politicians, patriots, dissidents and traitors will directly engage delegates, who will be encouraged to interact with their surroundings and take their own time discovering the long-hidden, carefully guarded secrets of Purge Night and the New Founding Fathers of America.

Tickets to the six-week exclusive run of THE PURGE: FEAR THE NIGHT are limited in supply to preserve the guest experience; the length of a visit to THE PURGE: FEAR THE NIGHT is up to each guest, but is expected to last between 90 minutes and 2½ hours.

Admission to THE PURGE: FEAR THE NIGHT starts at $65, and is open to anyone 18 years of age or older. Tickets will be distributed on a timed-entry basis, and are available beginning today at www.purgelive.com, where guests can also learn more about the event.

Tickets will also be available at the box office of the 89-year-old Variety Arts Theater, located at 940 S. Figueroa St., on a space-available basis. Special promotions and other information can be found on Facebook and Twitter at Facebook.com/Blumhouse and Twitter.com/Blumhouse.

NHL 14 Live the Life Mode

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August 7, 2013 – Shape your legacy on and off the ice with EA SPORTS™ NHL 14. Inspired by working with real NHL and junior hockey players, NHL 14 introduces the all-new Live the Life Mode, the next evolution of the Be a Pro Career Mode. Within the Be a Pro Career Mode, players took their created pro from the minors to NHL superstardom. Now with Live the Life, not only can gamers climb the league ranks, but they will truly live the life of a NHL pro on and off the ice.

From interactions with teammates outside of the rink, to choosing words wisely in media interviews, to their on-ice performance, gamers will be prompted to make decisions that affect their pro’s ratings and likeability with fans, teammates, family and management. As players make the right choices, their pros will be rewarded with higher ratings and endorsement offers that promise extra cash and unprecedented exposure, such as magazine covers, billboards and the esteemed cover athlete recognition on the EA SPORTS NHL videogame. Now with NHL 14, players don’t just get to skate like the pros, they get to live like one too.

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Winner of the prestigious Game Critics Award for Best Sports Game at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), NHL 14 will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system on September 10, 2013 in North America and by September 13, 2013 worldwide.

John Carmack Joins Oculus Rift as CTO

Carmack_Headshot_PRIRVINE, CALIFORNIA (August 7, 2013) – Oculus VR, Inc., developer of the highly anticipated Oculus Rift, today announced that legendary programmer John Carmack has joined the Oculus team as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and will lead development from their new office in Dallas, TX. An industry visionary and renowned technical genius, Carmack will lend his unique engineering expertise to the development of the Oculus VR platform.

“The dream of VR has been simmering in the background for decades, but now, the people and technologies are finally aligning to allow it to reach the potential we imagined.” said John Carmack, CTO of Oculus and cofounder of id Software. “I’m extremely excited to make a mark in what I truly believe will be a transformative technology.”

“To build the best virtual reality experience, we’re putting together a team of the brightest minds, and John Carmack is at the top of the list. It’s a true honor,” said Brendan Iribe, cofounder and CEO, Oculus. “A pioneer of 2D, 3D, and now VR, John continues to define the future of computer graphics and gaming. We share John’s commitment to providing the world with open platforms that inspire innovation and creation.”

An advocate of open source software, Carmack is a world renowned luminary who has altered the landscape of multiple industries. From programming several of the most groundbreaking video games, to trailblazing 3D engine licensing, Carmack’s work has been leveraged in industry defining franchises such as WolfensteinDoomQuakeHalfLifeCall of Duty® and Medal of Honor. He has pioneered adoption of many of the techniques used in real time computer graphics today, including light mapping, megatexturing, raycasting, and binary space partitioning. Carmack was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame in 2001, awarded two Emmy® awards for his work in graphics technology in 2006 and 2007, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the GDC in 2010.

“I am thrilled to work with John on building the Metaverse.” said Palmer Luckey, founder, Oculus.

“John’s early experiments with the Rift put Oculus on the map and helped create an amazing amount of momentum around virtual reality. His technical genius and passion for solving hard problems makes him the ideal CTO.”

The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset that allows users to step into the game. It provides an immersive, stereoscopic 3D experience with a huge field of view—110 degrees diagonally—and overcomes latency challenges. Development kits for the Oculus Rift, which game developers can use to create Oculus ready applications and interactive content, began shipping in March 2013. No date has been announced yet for the consumer version. To stay updated on Oculus’ progress, please visit www.oculusvr.com.

Oculus is currently recruiting the world-class engineers to help develop the Oculus virtual reality platform.  Please check the Oculus career page for information regarding open positions in Irvine, CA and Dallas, TX:http://www.oculusvr.com/careers/.

“ZOMBA” Title Dead Island: Epidemic Announced

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Larkspur, Calif. – August 7, 2013 — Deep Silver today announced Dead Island: Epidemic, a new ZOMBA (Zombie Online Multiplayer Battle Arena) game set in the ever-expanding Dead Island universe. Dead Island: Epidemic will pit three teams of players against each other in a desperate fight for survival. Dead Island: Epidemic is a Free-to-Play PC title that will feature all the trademark elements that are part of a Dead Island experience.

More details will be announced during the upcoming gamescom 2013 in Cologne and stay tuned for more on the Dead Island universe as a whole.

Sign up on www.deadislandepidemic.com to get the latest news about Dead Island: Epidemic.

For more information, visit one of the following official Dead Island sites:

Official Website: www.deadislandepidemic.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/deadislandgame
Youtube: www.youtube.com/deadislandgame
Twitter: twitter.com/deadislandgame

Precinct Cancels Kickstarter, Goes to Open-Funding System

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Jim Walls upcoming Precinct, a spiritual successor to the Police Quest game series, has canceled its Kickstarter program as its funding goals were not going to be met within the 30 day time limit. Do not fret, however, as the game is moving to a Star Citizen-style open-ended, open-funding system on their very own website. The new funding system allows for several tiers of contributions – each with their own bonuses, etc. Precinct was originally intended to launch in June of 2014. Due to the structure of Precinct’s new, tiered funding system, the developer cannot commit to a timeline for development – save for the two months it says it will need to build a prototype.

Robert Lindsley, president of Jim Walls Reloaded (the developer), said “…all backers will get access to all builds (including the full game) upon completion, regardless of how much they’ve pledged.”

This includes those people who have contributed as little as $1 dollar towards its development. So, checkout the game’s funding website for info on how to contribute – we already did!

Precinct Game Funding Website

Additionally, we have submitted several questions to the Precinct dev team for answering and will post the interview when they respond.

Korg: Duo Monotron Giveaway – Expired

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Korg has been nice enough to send us one of their Korg: Duo Monotrons to use in a giveaway for you lucky readers. This giveaway will run from now until August 23, 2013 @ 11:59pm PT. One randomly-chosen winner will get a single Korg: Duo Monotron. This giveaway is open to all residents of the contiguous United States and Canada.

There are multiple ways to enter – two of which are mandatory. Checkout the giveaway link at our Facebook page for entry instructions!

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Screening at D23 Expo

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BURBANK, Calif. – August 6, 2013 – Guests at the D23 Expo will be among the first to see the highly anticipated one-hour drama Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Sunday, August 11 at 3:00 p.m. in the D23 Expo Arena. Marvel’s Head of Television & Series executive producer Jeph Loeb will introduce the screening, taking place during the ultimate Disney fan event, August 9 – 11, at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The series begins where Marvel’s The Avengers left off. It’s just after the battle of New York, and now that the existence of Super Heroes and the incredible has become public knowledge, the world is trying to come to grips with this new reality. Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) is back in action and now has his eye on a mysterious group called The Rising Tide. In order to track this unseen, unknown enemy, he has assembled a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division). The S.H.I.E.L.D. team has a mission: To investigate the new, the strange and the unknown around the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres on ABC September 24 at 8:00 p.m., ET, but guests at the D23 Expo have the opportunity to see this dynamic show over a month before it debuts.