Matrix Games and Slitherine have released a trailer for their upcoming Pandora: First Contact, which is being called a spiritual successor to Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri. Check it out below!
Author - Jerry Paxton
Buena Park, Calif. (November 2013) – Knott’s Berry Farm is proud to announce two major projects for 2014 that continue reinvestment in the park’s rich history and heritage. Camp Snoopy celebrates its 30th Anniversary with the revitalization of the entire land of High Sierra fun. The classic Calico Mine Ride, Knott’s first major attraction and theme park industry icon, will undergo an all-encompassing refurbishment complete with new state-of-the-art animatronic figures and enhanced scenery. Camp Snoopy’s area beautification and the revitalized Calico Mine Ride are slated to open early summer of 2014.
“Camp Snoopy and Calico Mine Ride have delighted guests for decades and are classics that families come back time and again to experience together” said Raffi Kaprelyan, Knott’s Berry Farm’s vice president and general manager. “The revitalization of these areas will once again demonstrate our commitment to Knott’s heritage and will preserve these experiences for a new generation of guests to enjoy.”
Camp Snoopy, home of the beloved PEANUTS Gang, has welcomed the young and the young at heart since its grand opening on July 1, 1983. In honor of the land’s 30th anniversary, the High Sierra mountains camp theming will be enhanced throughout. Thirty years ago the five-acre nature wonderland was created by the Knott family to be a carefree place where nature, adventure and imagination come to life, and in 2014 it will undergo a number of exciting updates including new rides and restoration of the entire area with the original inspiration in mind.
Additionally in 2014, Knott’s beloved Calico Mine Ride will undergo complete refurbishment.
The Calico Mine Ride, Knott’s first major ride, opened in Ghost Town in November 1960 and was quickly recognized as one of the world’s most immersive “dark rides.” The beloved attraction designed by industry pioneer- Bud Hurlbut, carries riders aboard ore cars, on a realistic adventure through dimly lit tunnels of a working gold mine. The winding journey takes passengers to underground lakes, waterfalls, caverns filled with thousands of mysterious formations, chambers filled with steaming, bubbling pots and geysers. At several points in the trip, riders find themselves along the rim of a sixty five foot deep and ninety foot wide scene filled with dozens of animated miners trying to strike it rich.
The Calico Mine Train attraction stands 7 stories tall. Every year over 1 million guests take part in the eight minute journey. The mountain required over 275 tons of steel to complete and was the first attraction with a “hidden” themed queue that snakes upward to the loading station, out of sight of onlookers. The design preserves the impressive forced perspective of the mountain range, based on the sites in the authentic ghost town at Calico in California’s Mojave Desert.
In January 2014 the attraction will close for a comprehensive restoration by Knott’s Berry Farm’s design and production team. The project will be another partnership with Garner Holt Productions, Inc., (GHP) the team that brought award winning new enhancements to the Timber Mountain Log Ride in 2013 with lifelike animatronics and stunning show scenes.
“It is our company’s top priority to preserve and enhance the original story of a working gold mine deep in the heart of the Old West” said Garner Holt, GHP’s founder and president. “The Calico Mine Ride will be filled with lifelike sounds and motion, while maintaining the uniquely authentic feel of the attraction as designed by Knott’s and industry legend Bud Hurlbut.” The renovation of the iconic attraction includes the addition of over 50 new state-of-the-art animatronic figures, all new audio and theme lighting system, and special effects that will capture the imagination of would-be miners as they journey deep into the winding caverns of the attraction.
In 1954, Knott’s Berry Farm founder, Walter Knott, delivered an open letter to his employees in which he wrote “You know, we never fully enjoy the things we have until we share them with those we love.” Next summer, Knott’s invites the world to come back to Camp Snoopy and Ghost Town to enjoy these new adventures together.
For more information on Knott’s Berry Farm including admission, park hours and events visit www.knotts.com or download the Knott’s Berry Farm app for your smart phone.
Kirkland, WA (November 19, 2013) Harebrained Schemes’ magic-and-cyberpunk mashup Shadowrun Returns was the first $1m+ Kickstarter-funded videogame to be released, premiering as a #1 seller on Steam earlier this year. The game, which appeared on 5 “Most Anticipated Games of 2013” lists, was also a featured Game of the Week on the Apple and Google Play App Stores.
This January, Harebrained Schemes will follow-up their success with the release of Shadowrun: Dragonfall, a major expansion for Shadowrun Returns on Windows, OSX, and Linux that features a robust full-length campaign set in the city of Berlin. The title will be available for purchase on Steam and a DRM-free version will be available on GOG.com. iPad and Android tablet versions will follow.
Along with the new campaign, Shadowrun: Dragonfall contains a multitude of new features and enhancements and will sell for $14.99. A copy of Shadowrun Returns is required to play. At the same time, Harebrained Schemes will also release the Shadowrun Campaign Pack – the original game and the Dragonfall expansion in one package for only $24.99, providing new players a great way to enter the world of Shadowrun.
“I’m delighted that our Kickstarter Backers chose Berlin as the location for our next big expansion.” said Jordan Weisman, founder of Harebrained Schemes. “It’s the perfect setting to show off all the new gameplay and features we’ve added in this expansion. Our design team has done a fantastic job of building on the work we started withShadowrun Returns. I couldn’t be happier.”
MAN MEETS MAGIC & MACHINE. The year is 2054. Magic has returned to the world, awakening powerful creatures of myth and legend. Unchecked advances in technology have blurred the line between man and machine. Great dragons play humanity for pawns, while ruthless corporations bleed the world dry. In this new reality of elves and trolls, corporate arcologies and terrifying new magics, anything is possible… for a price. And when the powerful and the desperate need a job done, they turn to shadowrunners: mercenaries, living on the fringes of society, surviving day-by-day on skill and instinct alone.
BERLIN. The Flux-State: a stable anarchy enforced by an ever-shifting coalition of megacorps, political factions, and savvy power players. A place where almost anything goes, and the right connections can be the difference between success and starvation. Dangerous jobs abound and there’s no better place to earn a quick payday – provided you live long enough to spend it. For you and your team of battle-scarred runners, it’s just another day in the Free City of Berlin.
But a new threat is rising, one that could mean untold chaos and devastation. The only clue: whispers of the DRAGONFALL, a long-forgotten event from the earliest days of the Awakened world. As you find yourself drawn into a maze of veiled dangers and strange machinations, you will come face-to-face with a grim spectre of the past… and alter the course of Berlin’s future.
SHADOWRUN: DRAGONFALL FEATURES
- Experience a New Full-Length Campaign: Return to the “Tech meets Magic” future of Shadowrun as you and your team of runners get drawn into a treacherous conspiracy. Operating out of an offbeat central hub neighborhood, you’ll choose which missions to accept and how you’ll approach them while navigating the dark underbelly of “the Flux”.
- An Exciting New Locale: Shadowrun: Dragonfall transports runners to the Free City of Berlin, a thrilling Shadowrun setting full of gorgeous new hi-res environments, a diverse new cast of characters, and a new soundtrack by the composer of the original Sega Genesis Shadowrun game, Sam Powell.
- Command Your Team: Lead a small team of shadowrunners, each with their own outlook and backstory. Each member of your team is designed to play an interesting role during missions and has a unique set of skills, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.
- New Weapons, Cyberware, Enemies & More: Try your hand at the long-range sniper rifle, devastating grenade launcher, or stun-inducing taser. Chrome yourself out in the latest cyberware, and take on deadly new enemies – including new magical creatures like gargoyles and fire drakes. Dragonfall brings a host of new items, characters, portraits, and improvements to the Shadowrun Returns experience.
- Save Anywhere: You can save your progress at any time during the game. This functionality is also being added to the original Shadowrun Returns “Dead Man’s Switch” campaign.
- New Game Editor Features: A wide range of enhancements to the game editor for community content creators – including a scripting system to better control lighting, tracking mission objectives in the main game UI, placing exploding barrels, and allowing players to input keypad passwords and custom text strings in conversations. In addition, content creators will be able to use all of the new Berlin environment art, items and characters in their own stories along with assets from the original Shadowrun Returnscampaign.
Camas, WA, USA – November 19, 2013 – With the psychological horror game Alone, Greenwood Games hoped to develop the first title exclusively for the Oculus Rift through crowd-funding. Unfortunately, the financing goal of US-$ 25.000 was not reached. The group of supporters for the horror game project was too small.
Whether or not Greenwood Games will still be able to complete Alone is not clear at this time – what is certain is that the team in its current form will be dissolved. Dan Wallace and Bryan Cohen are currently weighing several options as to how Alone can nevertheless still be completed. Among possibilities under discussion are continuing to develop Alone in their free time and a second Kickstarter campaign as soon as the Oculus Rift VR goggles are available for purchase in order to benefit from the larger group of potential players once the 3D goggles are more widespread. However, another option is not to develop Alone further in its current form. Instead, they could focus on the game within the game, the co-op title The Witching Hour, and develop that into a platform-independent standalone title.
“This Kickstarter campaign created a fantastic community for us, which helped us a lot with their feedback and ideas. Even though we did not ultimately reach our financing goal, we would still like to thank every one of them individually for their support. It really means a lot to us, and we would never have gotten this far without their help,” says Dan Wallace, co-founder of Greenwood Games. “Since we still haven’t made a final decision on the future of Alone, we will keep everyone who is interested up-to-date via Facebook, Twitter, and our newsletter at greenwoodgames.com.”
Focus Home Interactive and Eugen Systems have released some new screenshots from their upcoming Wargame Red Dragon, which is now in development for the Windows PC platform.
Screenshots
ESS has a long history of making ballistic eye-wear for military and law enforcement use. The Profile series is an especially well-known model. However, like most tactical goggles, fogging can be an issue. I have used some really high-end goggles that still fogged up on me – especially during night games. That was just airsoft – I can only imagine the terror of having your goggles fog up on you in an actual combat situation! To combat this, ESS has created the Profile TurboFan goggles which utilize a built-in fan system to keep airflow going even when things get intense.
Utilizing a PowerPod battery and control system, everything you need to operate the fan is found on the side of the headband. The small PowerPod holds one AA battery and features a push button control to cycle the fan through both of its speeds. At its highest speed, the fan is turning at 13,000 RPMs – quite the number for something that is supposed to reside so close to one’s eyes. However, the build quality in these goggles is simply exceptional, and they are well worth their $180 dollar price point.
When at its highest speed, the wearer can hear the whir of the fan but the noise can’t be picked up outside of about four feet away from the goggles. So, you won’t have to worry too much about the noise giving away your position. If it’s still a concern, the lower fan speed does a fine job of clearing fog and is far less audible.
In terms of field of view, the ESS Profile TurboFan goggles do a fine job of allowing you an unobstructed view. The wearer’s peripheral vision is still a bit obscured, but not enough to cause any real problems. In addition, the sides of the frames where the headband connects stick out wider than usual so that they are easier to wrap around a helmet. On the airsoft field, I wear a MICH 2002 clone and these goggles have no trouble at all in fitting around them.
Included accessories include one clear lens and one smokey lens (the goggles allow for fairly quick lens changes) as well as soft storage case, flannel lens sleeve, carrying pouch, and an ESS sticker. Also of note is that ESS includes a AA battery with purchase. On its lowest setting, the goggles are rated at 150 straight hours of usage – quite the staggering number for such a powerful, little fan.
Using the fan out on the airsoft field, my fogging issues were simply non-existent. Even on the lowest setting, I had no issues with fog at all – even during my night games. These goggles not only talk the talk but they also walk the walk which is far more important – especially when paying a good sum of cash for a product.
If you are a casual airsoft player, looking to stop your goggles from fogging up mid-game or a MilSim airsofter looking to use the real deal out on the field, the ESS Profile TurboFan Ballistic Goggles will serve you well. Comfortable and powerful, they are not cheap at about $180 dollars – however, they are definitely worth their value. You can purchase these awesome ballistic goggles over at the ESS official website or most online/tactical e-tailers.
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New York – November 18, 2013 – Pyle Audio®, manufacturers of outdoor recreational sports gear and home, car and pro audio equipment, introduce the PHBT5 Bluetooth-connected wireless headphones. The Bluetooth-capable PHBT5 delivers stellar battery life, as well as the convenience of hands-free calling via a built-in noise cancelling microphone. Without sacrificing its original sleek and stylish design, the PHBT5 offers outstanding audio quality and crystal clear sound. For the ultimate convenience the PHBT5 allows for full control of volume, track change and microphone built right on the ear cup of the headphones. Pyle’s PHBT5 headphones are now available for $39.99 on Amazon.com andPyle.com.
Pyle’s innovative PHBT5 headphones are equipped with an integrated rechargeable battery, providing up to 10 hours of continuous active audio or 200 hours in standby. Convenience also takes center stage, offering the user a satisfying audio experience along with the ability to pause music automatically when an incoming call is received. When the battery needs to be recharged, Pyle includes a micro-USB charging cable for easy connection to your PC or wall outlet.
“Longer battery life, crystal clear sound and user-friendly operation are the hallmarks of the new Pyle PGBT5,” says Pyle Audio’s President Abe Brach. “These second-generation headphones are designed for the discriminating user who demands superior quality and convenient operation.”
For Bluetooth-connected headphones buyers, the PHBT5 is the perfect solution. It’s compact design, user-friendly operation, excellent audio and compatibility with any iPhone, iPad, or Android device, easily satisfies the needs of the traveler, athlete or audiobook listener.
Pyle’s PHBT5 headphones are now available for $39.99 on Amazon.com and Pyle.com.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Techland have released a new trailer for their upcoming zombie game, Dying Light, showing off the game’s next-gen lighting system.
Trailer
Digital Tribes Games has released a new, behind-the-scenes video form their Dementium II HD. Gamers are able to Pre-Order Dementium II HD right now on Steam and receive a 35% discount off the launch price of $14.99. The PC version will launch on December 17, 2013 with the Mac version of the game expected early January 2014 along with some demented DLC.
Video
Zepp Labs sensors will be available in Apple Stores starting tomorrow for all you athletes out there. You can analyze your golf or baseball swings, take it on runs, and a bunch of other applications. Check out the video below to see the Zepp Labs folks going into a local Apple Store.