Machinima has launched its “Enormous” live action pilot, based on the Image Comics comic book of the same name, where gigantic beasts have thrust mankind on to the brink of extinction. Enjoy!
Author - Jerry Paxton
SAN FRANCISCO (March 19, 2014) – At the 2014 Game Developers Conference, Epic Games opened Unreal Engine 4 to the world, releasing all of its leading-edge tools, features and complete C++ source code to the development community through a new subscription model. Developers can sign up for UE4 for PC, Mac, iOS and Android by paying $19 per month, plus 5% of gross revenue resulting from any commercial products built using UE4.
“This is our complete engine, with everything Epic provides to leading game developers, priced accessibly for teams of all sizes, budgets and aspirations,” said Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games.
With the release of UE4, Epic is moving to a community-centric model built around forums, a Wiki and AnswerHub Q&A, with GitHub hosting the complete C++ source so developers can utilize its robust collaboration functionality for experimentation and sharing.
“This is smart. It’s an enlightened way for developers to create great games and easily bring them to Steam,” said Gabe Newell of Valve.
“Now is a great time to be an independent developer,” said Sweeney. “There are amazing platforms and distribution opportunities available, and with this release we hope the Unreal Engine can help developers build cool new things.”
Further Details
- Unreal Engine 4 engine and game code are developed in C++, using Microsoft Visual Studio (a free version is available), and Apple’s Xcode.
- Unreal Engine 4 provides a rich suite of tools for content developers including the Blueprint visual scripting system, giving designers and artists unprecedented power to construct gameplay logic without programming; a visual material editor; the Persona animation system; and Matinee timeline-based machinima and cinematics system.
- In addition to the new subscription model, Unreal Engine 4 can be licensed via custom-negotiated terms, for companies that wish to form a closer support relationship with Epic, or to reduce or eliminate the 5% royalty in exchange for up-front payment.
Visit www.unrealengine.com
Oculus has unveiled the Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 – featuring the awesome “Crystal Cove” tech seen at CES in January with enhanced software. The company claims that while this isn’t identical to the retail product, all software and features of the Dev Kit 2 will be compatible with the retail unit. Pre-orders start now!
Video
March 19, 2014 — Wargaming today announced the start of Closed Beta registration for its mobile free-to-play MMO action title World of Tanks Blitz. Gamers can now apply to be part of this next phase of testing and contribute their feedback about the game.
“World of Tanks Blitz Closed Beta will get us one step closer to building an online gaming universe, persistently available on a variety of platforms,” said Andrei Ryabovol, Director of Global Operations at Wargaming. “We think that’s a great goal, and we’ll be working on ways to make the tank combat experience on tablets and smartphones even more engaging, based on the feedback we receive.”
The World of Tanks Blitz Closed Beta will be available on most iPad tablets. Android and iOS smartphone compatibility will be added in the upcoming months. Built specifically for mobile devices, the game will offer seven-on-seven action in dynamic PvP combat sessions. Closed Beta participants will be able to choose from an impressive roster of over 100 iconic military machines from USA, Germany, and USSR. The array of vehicles in World of Tanks Blitz will include light, medium, and heavy tanks, as well as tank destroyers.
To apply for World of Tanks Blitz Closed Beta, please visit:
- www.worldoftanks.eu/entry_
form/wot_blitz (Europe) - www.worldoftanks.com/entry_
form/wot_blitz (North America)
2K and Irrational Games have released three new screenshots from their upcoming Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode Two, which is due out on March 25th, 2014.
Screenshots
PORTLAND, Ore. – March 18, 2014 – All the magic and excitement of the past, present, and future of Disney entertainment will come together once again under one roof when D23: The Official Disney Fan Club presents theD23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center the weekend of Aug. 14–16, 2015. Each of Disney’s wonderful worlds will unite to celebrate what’s new and what’s on the horizon from theme parks, television, music, games, and films, including Pixar, the Muppets, Star Wars, and Marvel.
“The D23 Expo is the ultimate Disney fan event, created to honor and celebrate your love of all things Disney,” Disney Chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger told shareholders and D23 Members at the Company’s Annual Meeting today in Portland, Oregon. “And we hope to see you there.”
The fourth event promises to be the biggest ever, following the success of D23 Expo 2013, which drew more than 65,000 Disney fans for three star-studded days and nights. Fans were treated to appearances by such superstars as Angelina Jolie, Chris Evans, Billy Crystal, Natalie Portman, and Tom Hiddleston; watched performances by Idina Menzel, and R5 featuring Ross Lynch; enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime concert from Disney Legends Alan Menken and Richard M. Sherman; explored the inner workings of Walt Disney Imagineering; looked back at Disney’s rich history through extraordinary panels, presentations, and exhibits; and discovered the newest entertainment, technology, and products from The Walt Disney Company.
Highlights planned for D23 Expo 2015 include the 2015 Disney Legends Ceremony, which honors the talented men and women who have made significant contributions to the Disney legacy; Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives, a collection of one-of-a-kind assets, props, and costumes curated by the Walt Disney Archives; and the Collectors Forum, where Disney fans can buy, sell, and trade Disney collectibles, memorabilia, and merchandise. Once again the event will feature a massive show floor full of special opportunities to see what’s on the horizon for Disney around the world—and guests may run into their favorite Disney stars, characters, Imagineers, animators, and filmmakers. Plus, the event will once again feature StagePass, the popular ticket distribution system that allows attendees to obtain a guaranteed seat for some of the Expo’s most popular presentations.
Advance tickets for D23 Expo 2015 will go on sale at D23Expo.com beginning August 14, 2014. D23 Members will receive special pricing on both one- and three-day tickets to the event, which is open to the general public. D23 Gold and Silver Members will also be entitled to early admission to the Expo show floor. D23 Charter Members will enjoy access to the Expo’s Charter Member Lounge. Members will also have an opportunity to purchase the Sorcerer Package, which provides a host of special benefits and amenities.
March 18, 2014 — Today, Ubisoft releases a brand new trailer for the upcoming 2D RPG, Child of Light. Inspired by watercolor artwork from the Golden Age of Illustration, Child of Light takes players on an extraordinary journey through the mystical world of Lemuria. Check out the trailer for a behind-the-scenes look at the inspiration for the art of Child of Light.
Child of Light will be available to download for $14.99 on PC, Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U on April 30th and is rated E10 for “Everyone 10+.”
For more information on Child of Light, please visit: http://www.childoflight.ubi.
For the latest on all of Ubisoft’s games, please visit: www.ubiblog.com
March 18, 2014 — Wargaming today shared additional information regarding the Wargaming.net Grand Finals, taking place April 4–6 at the Multikino Zlote Tarasy in Warsaw, Poland, including details on the $300,000 prize pool up for grabs by the competitors.
“Events like this help build the popularity of cybersports by not only providing players with incentive to participate but also quality entertainment for the spectators,” said Jonghyuk Baak, Global eSports Director at Wargaming. “We want to thank all of the players, teams, and partners involved in the Grand Finals for their generosity in assisting us in organizing a world class event that will turn Warsaw into the eSports capital of the world this April.”
The seeding ceremony will be held on March 24, 2014 at ESL studio in Cologne, Germany. To maximize geographic separation, 14 teams will be drawn into two groups using a “controlled random” system. On March 25, ESL will broadcast the video on the Wargaming.net League EU twitch channel at 19:00 CET. Then, the video will be uploaded on YouTube, news portals, and to social networks.
Following the festive Opening Ceremony, set to take place at 12:00 CET on April 4, these 14 best performing tank squads from all over the globe will play a series of matches, spread over three days. Except for the first day, tournaments will start at 9:00 CET and end at around 19:00 CET, with the Winners Ceremony slated to take place at 19:00 CET on April 6. All games will be streamed live on the Wargaming.net League Twitch channels:
- http://www.twitch.tv/wgleu (Europe, North America)
- http://www.twitch.tv/
wargamingasia (Asia) - http://www.twitch.tv/
wargaming_kr (South Korea) - http://www.twitch.tv/eslpl_wot (Poland)
The international eSports celebration will be free to the public, with a variety of prizes for spectators including stage giveaways, invite and bonus codes for World of Tanks, as well as exclusive goodie bags for the most avid spectators. Live stream viewers will be able to win invite and bonus codes as well, during the many hours of match streaming.
The World of Tanks player community will be able to partake in a creative “Cheerleading Madness Contest” by creating a short video that shows their support for one of the eSports teams participating in the Grand Finals.
The sponsors of the tournament are Razer, PayPal, Alienware and the City of Warsaw.
“PayPal is proud to be associated with World of Tanks, Wargaming.net League Grand Finals and Wargaming in general to help them reach out to millions of consumers globally,” said Gaël Jouaillec, Head of Digital Goods at PayPal. “Supporting the Grand Finals in this amazing town of Warsaw demonstrates our willingness to be close to gamers thanks to our fundamental ability of making payments simple, easy and secure. May the best team win!”
“eSports are among fastest-growing trends in gaming, and Poland boasts one of Europe’s largest World of Tanks communities, with lots of players from Warsaw,” said vice president of Warsaw Michal Olszewski. “We are delighted to host this year’s Grand Finals and show our city to the international guests.”
For more information on the Wargaming.net League Grand Finals, please visit:
London, UK – 18th March 2014 – Firefly Studios has just announced that their popular MMORTS Stronghold Kingdoms has attracted more than three million players since launch. For more than two years Kingdoms has ranked in the top 10 most popular free-to-play games on Steam and in the top 50 games overall by current player count:
http://store.steampowered.com/
With more than 3000 games available on Steam, the enduring popularity of Stronghold Kingdoms is a remarkable achievement for the independent developer. Supporting Firefly Studios’ transition to digital self-publishing, the free-to-play model of Stronghold Kingdoms has allowed the company to stay healthy and keep growing. With the help of Steam Kingdoms has become one of the most actively played games on the platform, with more daily concurrent users than other MMOs with the backing of heavyweight IPs such as Marvel Heroes and Star Trek Online.
Stronghold Kingdoms has also thrived thanks to its passionate players, all of whom have input on the game’s monthly content updates. This worldwide audience hails from over 100 different countries, with more than 200,000 monthly active users sharing 22 game worlds. They have played a pivotal role in the continued growth of the game, with hundreds of thousands of players signing up to play Stronghold Kingdoms as a direct result of friend invites.
Stronghold Kingdoms allows players to enjoy classic Stronghold gameplay in a highly interactive and competitive MMORTS environment. Set across a number of different medieval countries, players build their thriving empires on game worlds that feature actual villages, towns and cities. Last month Firefly added a ‘Europe’ world, where more than 30,000 players are currently forming alliances and fighting for control of 33 countries in one huge game world.
Stronghold Kingdoms can be downloaded and played for free at www.strongholdkingdoms.com
The folks at AirSplat and Tac City North in Irwindale, CA allowed us access to their indoor CQB field to review the new AREA Amoeba S-Class M4 CCR airsoft gun. Being one of ARES new, pistol style M4 airsoft guns, the Amoeba CCR is, as you would guess, pretty compact. In fact, it only has a 4 inch barrel on it! Featuring all-black styling and nylon polymer receivers, the airsoft gun is also exceptionally light weight. Unlike the Amoeba CCP, this model has a folding rear stock, which allows you to wield it around like a sub-machine gun. Furthering this end, ARES includes a short vertical foregrip to enhance your control of its small frame.
The battery compartment is actually located inside the top rail on the upper receiver. However, take note as we were only able to fit an 8.4v stick type battery inside of it. There may be some 7.6v LiPo batteries that fit, but none of ours did during our testing. With an 8.6v battery connected to it, we received chronograph values of about 280 FPS on average. The chronograph readings you are seeing in the video are literally the first time the gun had been fired out of the box. So, that’s why it takes a few shots for it to loosen up to spec. In burst fire, we read a chronograph value of 857 rounds per minute, which is fine for a stock gun. I would not recommend running anything higher than a 9.6v battery in the gun.
*The ARES Amoeba, seen below the Magpul PTS Masada
In actual play, I loved how easy it was to maneuver through the tight corners of Tac City North’s indoor arena. After returning from a few games with it, I was nothing but grins, and am very interested in obtaining one for my own airsoft gun collection. In outdoor play, I would not recommend using the Amoeba unless it were your backup gun. To that end, I would probably recommend the Amoeba CCP variant, as it has much more of a pistol form factor. Retailing at a reasonable $199.99 the ARES Amoeba S-Class M4 CCR airsoft gun won’t break your budget either and uses standard M4 style magazines.
Video Review
*Please note, this is the first video review ever for this player – welcome aboard, Henry!
[ezcol_1half]Pros
- Small form factor
- STANAG type M4/M16 magazines
- Good FPS for CQB fields
[/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]Cons
- Uses an increasingly rare short stick type battery
[/ezcol_1half_end]
Overall, the ARES Amoeba S-Class M4 CCR airsoft gun is an excellent, budget-friendly choice for your indoor, CQB style airsoft games. It performs well, is easy to operate, and is a heck of a lot of fun to shoot. The ARES Amoeba S-Class M4 CCR airsoft gun retails for $199.99 and is available now. It also comes in three varieties based on your needs – a pistol type, collapsible stock, and fixed stock type. Just be sure you have a battery that will fit its small battery compartment.
[easyreview title=”ARES Amoeba S-Class M4 CCR Airsoft Gun Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]
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