Have you ever stayed up really late, ingested some illicit substances, and wondered what would happen if a video game could, like, jump outside the TV screen, man? Microsoft Research is working hard to make that hazy dream a reality with Illumiroom, a project that uses a projector and a Kinect to make the wall and objects surrounding the TV into an extended display.
What really makes Illumiroom different from other projector-based displays is that it works with the image on a standard TV and with the geometry of the room surrounding it. While other systems usually require a flat surface for game image projections, Illumiroom uses a Kinect to sense the position and orientation of objects surrounding and behind the TV, like cabinets or an entertainment center. The system then alters portions of the projection that will hit those objects so they look natural and flat even on uneven surfaces. Illumiroom can also adjust for the color of those surrounding objects, saturating or desaturating the image in spots so the full image appears uniform and correct.
Avantare writes "The first sci-fi novel I read was A Wrinkle in Time; the next was Dune. Why don't more people read these extraordinarily imaginative books? Delegate Ray Canterbury, who represents Greenbrier County in southern WV, wants to help with that. Canterbury introduced House Bill 2983, which reads, 'To stimulate interest in math and science among students in the public schools of this state, the State Board of Education shall prescribe minimum standards by which samples of grade-appropriate science fiction literature are integrated into the curriculum of existing reading, literature or other required courses for middle school and high school students.' For decades, walking around with a paperback sci-fi novel in your back pocket at school was the quickest way to find yourself permanently excluded from the cool-kid clique. But what if it wasn't just the geeks who read Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke? What if science fiction was mandatory reading for all students?"
The CCP Presents Keynote at the annual EVE Online Fanfest is usually a fairly tame retrospective on how CCP has a company has done the past year and where it's going in the future, but for EVE's tenth anniversary, CCP broke out the big guns. In addition to announcing a massive new collector's edition, the studio has also revealed plans to turn real stories of events inside the sandbox into professional comic books and even a TV series.
Industry giant Dark Horse Comics, the company responsible for comics like Hellboy and Sin City, will be publishing the 54-page graphic novel this winter in both a paid-for print form and a free digital download. For the lore buffs among us, Dark Horse will also be producing a colossal 184-page glossy colour hardback book covering all of the NPC backstory and lore behind EVE Online and DUST 514. Titled EVE Source, the book will be an in-character almanac of everything in the EVE setting that isn't player-created and will even include previously unreleased concept art.
The complaints about free-to-play and Star Wars: The Old Republic have been itching at me. Although I'm sure there are legitimate issues that players have with BioWare's F2P model, but with all the vitriol, it's hard to tell the difference between which problems are caused by BioWare and which are misconceptions generated by a dissatisfied playerbase. So I aim to challenge those perceptions. One way or another, we'll find out which side is telling the truth.
For this project, I created a new Smuggler on The Ebon Hawk server. However, I made this character on a brand-new account with none of the perks of my real account. I plan to take this character all the way to level 50 without subscribing. Then, to top it off, I plan to play endgame as well, all without playing a dime. I believe it will be difficult, but I don't think it's impossible. My hypothesis: A player can get what he wants to play SWTOR effectively without paying any real money but by using the GTN and other in-game means to get items from the Cartel Market.
After 14 years -- and seven seasons -- of missions, the Planet Express crew is about to make its final delivery (again) with the news that Matt Groening's Futurama ends Sept. 4 after an improbable run of 140 episodes.
By borrowing cooling systems used in its supercomputers, IBM Research claims it can dramatically increase the overall efficiency of concentrated photovoltaic solar power from 30 to 80 percent.
Like other concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) collectors, IBM's system at its Zurich laboratory uses a mirrored parabolic dish to concentrate incoming solar radiation onto PV cells. The dish uses a tracking system to move with the sun, concentrating the collected radiation by a factor of 2,000 onto a sensor containing triple-junction PV cells. During daylight hours, each 1-sq cm PV chip generates on average between 200 and 250 watts of electrical power, harnessing up to 30 percent of the incoming solar energy.
Ordinarily, the remaining 70 percent of energy would be lost as heat. But by capturing most of that heat with water, IBM Research says it is able to reduce system heat losses to around 20 percent of the total incoming energy. This results in a bottom-line efficiency of 80 percent for its CPV collector, dubbed HCPVT for High Concentration Photovoltaic Thermal. Unlike a regular CPV system, HCPVT delivers its energy in two forms: electricity and hot water.
Nintendo has been milking its impressive stable of mega-popular franchises for so long now that we really shouldn't be surprised that today's Nintendo Direct online video presentation was devoted almost entirely to sequels, remakes, and rereleases of popular franchises. Still, it's a bit incredible how much Nintendo is leaning on established properties, rather than new game ideas, to populate the software market for the 3DS and Wii U.
It's Link to the Past, but a little shinier than you remember!
Of course, a generation of fans who grew up on these Nintendo games aren't likely to care too much. Nintendo announced a direct sequel to the SNES classic The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the 3DS today, using the same familiar overhead perspective and established Hyrulian world, while infusing it with new mechanics like the ability for Link to become a 2D drawing and scoot along walls. There are precious few additional details about the game, but I'm willing to bet a good portion of those reading this are ready to preorder for the holiday release right now just because, hey, it's a freaking Link to the Past sequel!
Many Nintendo console owners will likely have similar feelings about the new portable Yoshi's Island game Nintendo announced today. And the new 3DS Mario Party title, the new 3DS Mario Golf game, the new 3DS entry in the Mario and Luigi RPG series, the new 3DS Mario and Donkey Kong: March of the Minis game, the new 3DS Professor Layton game, the 3DS remake of Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Atlus' new 3DS Shin Megami Tensei game. Not to mention the new Wii U Pikmin game, which are now set for August 4, and the new Wario mini-game collection, Game & Wario, now set for June 23.
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The CCP Presents Keynote at the annual EVE Online Fanfest is usually a fairly tame retrospective on how CCP has a company has done the past year and where it's going in the future, but for EVE's tenth anniversary, CCP broke out the big guns. In addition to announcing a massive new collector's edition, the studio has also revealed plans to turn real stories of events inside the sandbox into professional comic books and even a TV series.
True stories of EVE Online to become comic book and TV series originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The complaints about free-to-play and Star Wars: The Old Republic have been itching at me. Although I'm sure there are legitimate issues that players have with BioWare's F2P model, but with all the vitriol, it's hard to tell the difference between which problems are caused by BioWare and which are misconceptions generated by a dissatisfied playerbase. So I aim to challenge those perceptions. One way or another, we'll find out which side is telling the truth.
IBM Research's prototype HCPVT system in Zurich.
It's Link to the Past, but a little shinier than you remember!
Of course, a generation of fans who grew up on these Nintendo games aren't likely to care too much. Nintendo announced a direct sequel to the SNES classic The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the 3DS today, using the same familiar overhead perspective and established Hyrulian world, while infusing it with new mechanics like the ability for Link to become a 2D drawing and scoot along walls. There are precious few additional details about the game, but I'm willing to bet a good portion of those reading this are ready to preorder for the holiday release right now just because, hey, it's a freaking Link to the Past sequel!
It's Link to the Past, but a little shinier than you remember!
Of course, a generation of fans who grew up on these Nintendo games aren't likely to care too much. Nintendo announced a direct sequel to the SNES classic The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the 3DS today, using the same familiar overhead perspective and established Hyrulian world, while infusing it with new mechanics like the ability for Link to become a 2D drawing and scoot along walls. There are precious few additional details about the game, but I'm willing to bet a good portion of those reading this are ready to preorder for the holiday release right now just because, hey, it's a freaking Link to the Past sequel!
