firehose

For the purposes of this answer, I will deliberately restrict the terms to discussing Mushroom World, as a comprehensive answer on the entire Mushroom Universe would require covering 20 to 22 (depending on how you count) Super Mario Galaxies.

Zaiff Urgulbunger writes "According to the BBC, 'Cult classic sci-fi series Blake's 7 is to be remade for the Syfy network, it has been announced. FremantleMedia International said 13 hour-long episodes will be written by Heroes writer Joe Pokaski.' Here's hoping the special effects budget will be higher than for the original series! Also, I'm hoping that the Liberator is of similar design and includes Zen — the ships computer."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

By Samit Sarkar on Apr 09, 2013 at 2:36p

Star Command developer War Balloon Games is submitting the iOS version of the Kickstarter-funded spaceship management title to Apple this week, the studio said today in a lengthy, candid Kickstarter update.

Once the iOS version is submitted, War Balloon will continue working on the Android version, which it estimates will launch approximately one month after the iOS release.

"We don't think everyone could wait a whole month for side-by-side release," the studio explained.

In a recent interview with Polygon, co-founder Jordan Coombs was reluctant to give specific release dates until they were set in stone, since Star Command is coming in so much later than the developers originally anticipated.

After the Android version is done, War Balloon will shift to the Windows PC version, which will become the game's "beta platform" because it allows the studio to essentially do public beta testing. Its first priority with that platform will likely be a sandbox mode.

The three-person development team also emphasized how much work has gone into Star Command in nearly two years, and said that while the finished game represents "probably 30 percent of [the studio's] original vision," the team is "VERY proud of Star Command."

The developers added, "We do feel like we got to the core of the idea — managing your ship, hiring your crew, making life or death decisions, meeting strange aliens and exploring the galaxy. There are many things we would like to still do, and we will get to those in future updates."

"we are VERY proud of Star Command"

War Balloon also apologized for skipping out on some elements it wanted to deliver, elements that backers may have been expecting.

"We have done our best to keep the integrity of our original pitch while being as responsible as possible with what we have capability of actually creating," the studio said.

In addition, the team said it regrets announcing release windows and then missing them, and promised that it never gave a date simply with the intent of "[making] people go away." And War Balloon offered two other apologies: one for being less communicative with updates than it should have been, and another for anything its members said that may have offended or irked fans — indiscretions the developers chalked up to pressure and a lack of a PR firm to filter them.

• Source
• Star Command on Kickstarter

“An Instagram user who said he helped apprehend the suspect posted a photo of a man face down on the ground with a backpack. He said the suspect had stabbed five people, including two girls in the cheek. “Everyone ran the other way …,” he said. “Me and this kid got em.” #copsaretooslow”

- Lone Star College stabbing: At least 14 wounded, suspect in custody | The Lookout - Yahoo! News

The Doctor isn’t in the business of fighting gods. He confronts what more primitive people think of as gods, and he reveals the rational truth lurking underneath. Admittedly, that’s rational in Time Lord terms rather than human, so “rational” can stretch to include otherworldly monsters like soul vampires. As he suggests in his big, climactic monologue, the Doctor’s knowledge is vast, but it’s finite. While he’s met some god-like beings in his time, most of them turn out to be rather less omnipotent than they claim to be. As the Doctor tells Merry, the creature inside the box might be capable of devouring her soul, but it didn’t create her, and it can’t claim any special cosmic right to that prize. In all his lives, the Doctor has reveled in tearing down false deities, and while it’s unquestionably noble and heroic to ...

Read more

The beloved American author and humorist Mark Twain famously requested that his autobiography be released 100 years after his death, so that his biting posthumous observations wouldn’t afflict any of his thin-skinned contemporaries. Unfortunately, this embargo didn’t cover brainless takes on his large body of work, and over the years there have been plenty of terrible adaptations. The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer and Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn have been especially abused. And in 1989, nearly 80 years after his death, Mark Twain undoubtedly rolled over in his grave when his greatest characters were brought to the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Tom Sawyer, the book, is the quintessential boyhood romp. Like most young boys, Tom is constantly getting into trouble, falling in and out of love, and camping out in the woods with his best bud after faking his own death just to scare the pants off his Aunt Polly ...

Read more

Over a four-decade career, Nick Cave has taken on a lot of roles besides the frontman of The Bad Seeds. He’s scored films and plays, written novels and screenplays, and taken on film roles. He’s also had a variety of bands, from The Birthday Party in the early ’70s and ’80s to his dirty-blues alter ego Grinderman, a side project with his Bad Seeds partner Warren Ellis. (Not to be confused with the other famous Warren Ellis, the comics writer behind Transmetropolitan.) After alternating Grinderman and Bad Seeds albums, Cave went to southern France with The Bad Seeds to record their first album since 2008: the lyrical, understated Push The Sky Away, on which he channels Leonard Cohen’s baritone-tinged introspection. The A.V. Club recently sat down with Cave to talk about the creation of that album, the apocalyptic nature of text-speak, and why writing novels is ...

Read more

 Remember two weeks ago when we noted that the latest installment of the XKCD webcomic, “Time,” was a still image that updated every half-hour, slowly telling an animated story?

Fourteen days after posting, the comic is still regularly updating. It’s closing in on 500 frames of animation at this point, with a story about two characters building an epic-scale sand castle, and taking periodic breaks to swim, attack their own work with a trebuchet, and debate tactics for improving their work. AVC commenter Oves pointed us at this nifty “visualization” of the comic, which brings all the panels together into an animation that users can speed up or slow down in order to read the text or fast-forward to the newest bits.

Meanwhile, XKCD creator Randall Munroe has continued to post new comics; “Time” just keeps quietly slippin’ into the future all on its own.

Read more

herspanic:

she is so lucky but why does she cry 

UBM Tech has decided to end print publication of Game Developer magazine with its July 2013 issue. The company also notes it will be ceasing distribution of digital issues. So, in short, Game Developer magazine is done after 19 years.

Legacy content will shift over to 'Game Developer on Gamasutra' and will be accessible for free.

The layoffs at UBM appear to go beyond Game Developer magazine, with UBM-owned Gamasutra news editor Frank Cifaldi writing on Twitter, " I didn't work for Game Developer, but I got hit by the same restructuring, so I'm no longer at Gamasutra."

We've reached out for more details and an official statement on what's going on.

Update: UBM Tech, which makes most of its bank from running the Game Developer Conference, announced today's editorial closures are part of a "strategic shift in the company's focus toward a unique business model." Gamasutra is cited as having over 1 million uniques monthly, with 3.5 million page views per month. Beyond that, it sounds like UBM is going for no mags, fewer websites and more GDCs.

"As a result of these investments, certain legacy areas of the business that no longer resonate with the market or meet the needs of the communities will be eliminated. UBM Tech will cease to provide print publications as of July 1, 2013," the company wrote in a public statement. "InformationWeek will continue online, where it's strong brand and loyal audiences will benefit from the new community model for greater engagement. UBM Tech will discontinue the Test and Measurement World and Advanced Trading brands and will close four smaller conferences and events."

Update 2: "None of the conferences affected are game related," a UBM Tech spokesperson informs Joystiq.

Game Developer magazine shutters, layoffs at Gamasutra [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Apr 2013 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

princeowl:

When she was just a girl
She expected the world
But it flew away from her reach
So she ran away in her sleep
Dreamed of para- para- paradise
Para- para- paradise
Para- para- paradise
Every time she closed her eyes
Whoa-oh-oh oh-oooh oh-oh-oh

The Play Store has never been the most attractive item in Google's Android app portfolio, but it's getting a major makeover today. As previously leaked, the redesign does away with the dark theme in favor of a colorful new interface that uses Google Now-style cards metaphor to display a stream of recommendations. Images are bigger, icons are clearer, and from what we've seen it looks to be a big improvement that falls in line with Google's new-found focus on design. That said, we'll have to wait for it to roll out completely before passing further judgement — some users on Android 2.2 and above should start seeing it from today, but Google says it'll take a few weeks to reach everyone.

• Source Android Official Blog
• Related Items announcement card store android ui app launch redesign rollout google play play store Google

There’s something ingenious about a comics convention having a signature beer. If a wedding reception or cocktail party can have a signature drink then, hey, why not?

Last year, Denver Comic Con teamed with Breckendridge Brewery to create Fantastic Pour, an American-style wheat beer that was served during the event and at several area establishments. This year, the two collaborated on a Belgian Wit brewed with Buddha’s hand fruit, and then launched a contest for fans to come up with a name to rival last year’s.

The winner, the Denver Post reports, is “The Caped Brewsader,” submitted by Nathan Bowker. For his effort, he wins a year’s supply of beer,  four collector-edition Denver Comic Con Brewsader pint glasses, a Breckenridge beer-tap handle of the Brewsader, and some other swag.Bowker’s entry somehow beat out Joshua Bray’s “Kal Ale” — yes, that’s a Superman reference — which rightfully won the fan vote, and “Fin Fang Foam,” which should have won everything. Seriously: Fin Fang Foam!Ben Templesmith will design the label, pint glass and tap-handle art for The Caped Brewsader. Denver Comic Con will be held May 31-June 2.

An exploit shared on a Russian gaming forum has allowed users to bypass protections on Ubisoft's uPlay games distribution platform, offering access to the company's complete line-up of PC titles, including those that are yet to be released. According to Gameranx, the software tool is able to fool Ubisoft's uPlay into recognizing a user is authorized to play games they do not already own, which has enabled some users to download copies of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon for free and without DRM, even though the game is due for release on May 1st.

---

Users have been able to download 'Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon,' which has yet to be released

Copies of the game have been shared to Bittorrent tracking sites and video walkthroughs of the game have been uploaded to YouTube and other video-sharing websites. While Ubisoft has been working to limit the damage, forum members (which we have not linked, for safety reasons) indicate that the hole in Ubisoft's games management tool has been open for a number of weeks, silently allowing users to download any number of the company's PC titles.

The security issue comes at a time when games publishers are debating whether to employ inside games in an effort to reduce piracy. The leak of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon'will do little to reverse the decisions of those already considering such a move, frustrating those that download their games via legitimate sources. We have contacted Ubisoft for comment on whether the issue has now been resolved and will update should we receive a response.

• Source Gameranx
• Image Credit Calaggie (Flickr)
• Related Items gaming hack piracy tool ubisoft far cry 3 uplay blood dragon

He was a T-bird.

Stop what you are doing and watch the most amazing Hollywood pile-on we've ever seen. Joel Schumacher, Chris O'Donnell and the rest of the cast and crew from Batman and Robin sit down to autopsy the worst Batman movie created, and they are brutally honest — emphasis on the "brutal." Words like overhyped, rushed, and "toyetic" fall from the moviemakers mouths. We've never seen anything like it.

Read more...

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate 2.5D Metroidvania hitting 3DS, PS Vita

Warner Bros. has two new Batman games on the way, the first being a prequel, Batman: Arkham Origins, starring Deathstroke as the primary antagonist and coming to Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. No one cares about that, though, because it’s developed by WB Montreal instead of Rocksteady (original Batman: Arkham series studio), and it’s not the second title…

Which is a 3DS/PS Vita spin-off titled Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, a 2.5D Metroidvania-style game coming from Armature Studio, the development house formed by Retro/Metroid Prime veterans several years ago. Normally a portable spin-off Batman game wouldn’t excite me too much, but doesn’t the combination of all those words in the previous sentence just sound baller?

All we know about the latter game is it’s a “completely separate experience that takes place after the events of Arkham Origins,” according to Game Informer. The console and portable editions release on October 25. 

BUY Various Batman games, upcoming games

acciowine:

daunicornslayer:

bubonickitten:

likeelectricthroughtheground:

dandelionchild:

senseret:

manhatingmermaid:

hELP

omfg

PERFECTION

i’m cry

miracles

Best thing ever. 

I was not expecting Britney Spears.

Bat

Skeletons in an office, Paul Delvaux

Scamworld, the amorphous coalition of Internet Marketers peddling meaningless business advice for outrageous amounts of money on the web, isn’t limited to Rush Limbaugh-endorsed multi-level marketers, or so-called gurus who bamboozle paraplegics out of life savings. It has also entered mixed martial arts training.

Meet Lloyd Irvin.

He’s the king of Scamworld MMA. Since January, he’s taken a search engine optimization campaign — designed, with the help of some of the biggest names in Scamworld, to rope in new "MMA Millionaires" — and redirected it toward a new purpose: disassociating himself from rape charges.

---

The campaign began in January, when he purchased lloydirvinrape.com (which advertised his free women’s self defense class). Due to the negative publicity this move generated, he pulled the page and issued a public apology almost immediately. That particular URL is still inactive, but as MMA site Bloody Elbow reports, the SEO scheme itself continues.

Somewhere along the line, Irvin got mixed up with some of Scamworld's biggest names

Known internationally within the MMA community, Irvin is supposedly the first African American in the world to receive a 1st degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In nearly 20 years of competition, he’s won national judo prizes, competed for Brazilian team championships, and generally established a reputation as a heavyweight badass: with his bare hands, he supposedly disarmed and chased away two gunmen who attempted to rob his family’s home.

Irvin used that badass rep to build Team Lloyd Irvin, an MMA coaching school and affiliate program in Camp Springs, Maryland. Team Lloyd Irvin has helped to train a host of successful fighters over the years. As Irvin built that school, he also branched into Internet Marketing, associating himself with some of the biggest names in Scamworld. These include Ken McCarthy ("The System"), Dan Kennedy ("Think To Grow Rich"), and James Malinchak ("Millionaire Secrets Revealed").

Irvin used their tactics to turn Team Lloyd Irvin into a hybrid MMA / Internet Marketing organization. For example, his Mixed Martial Arts Millionaires training program claims that he can teach you to attract "50 to 100 new students per month" in the lucrative field of MMA training. According to one testimonial on the site, you "literally robbed yourself of well over $100,000 in the next year alone" if you missed this money-making seminar.

Irvin avoided prosecution in a 1989 rape case

On New Year’s Eve, two of Irvin’s male students were charged with raping one of his female students. Irvin wasn’t involved in the incident but the charges made headlines in local media. The MMA community took notice. By January 10, Brent Brookhouse at Bloody Elbow (part of SB Nation, itself a sister site of The Verge) was publicly asking questions about a 1989 case involving a 21-year-old Lloyd Irvin charged with participating in a brutal gang rape.

Irvin avoided prosecution in the 1989 case. A local news article at the time said "Irvin was saved by the fact that the jury believed he was impotent when it was his turn" to rape the victim; Irvin testified that he "wanted to have intercourse with her but couldn’t."

Irvin purchased lloydirvinrape.com on January 10.

After Brookhouse reported the URL purchase, Irvin issued a public apology.

"Why did I buy and put up the website url that I purchased and put rape prevention seminar information on it shortly after all the news broke regarding New Years Eve?" he asked rhetorically in a mixedmartialarts.com post. His answer, verbatim:

For this I can do nothing other than apologize 100%. I was wrong. The timing was horrible and I completely dropped the ball. The long and short of it was this... The reason I purchased the url was singular. I didn’t like the tone and tenor of things online (but still felt I could not speak publicly about anything) and I simply didn’t want someone else in control of the name my Son and I share in association with the current or 1989 situation. Beyond that my intention was honorable but the execution and timing were awful As everyone can see, the moment I realized this,, it was taken down...

February was particularly bad for Irvin. Schools that once praised him and his MMA Millionaires scheme cut ties with the man and his organizations. Well known MMA fighters accused Irvin of participating in "cultish" behavior. More groups severed ties, and then a student mass exodus ensued after one of his former female students said Irvin would "instruct her to do sexually inappropriate things with him .... [re-affirming] his instructions with things like ‘I thought you said you wanted to be a world champion, and you said you would do anything I tell you to do without hesitation.’"

Jordon Schultz, one of Irvin’s "internet assassins," also jumped ship, revealing what anyone in Scamworld might’ve already gleaned: the decision to train with Irvin was, for some, just as much about learning scammy Internet Marketing strategies as it was martial arts training.

Schools that once praised Irvin cut ties with him and his organizations

Last month, Irvin’s bad publicity declined in frequency, but his SEO campaign picked up. Today on Bloody Elbow, Brookhouse reports that Irvin continued with his Lloyd Irvin Rape domain purchases as late as March 10, two months after he acknowledged that doing so was "worng." These include lloydirvinrape.org (as well as the corresponding .net and .us domains) and a host of other URLs that could be captured by a "Lloyd Irvin Rape" web search.

In addition, he’s now trying to redefine himself as a champion of women’s self-defense. Irvin is hosting free rape prevention seminars and pushing them with the same SEO tactics in an attempt to game web search results. This is in addition to the usual random press releases, odd blogs, SEO-optimized paragraph-free word vomit like "Muay Thai Shin Guards Lloyd Irvin often get tired...."

Irvin’s desperately trying every trick he’s learned from his Internet Marketing mentors. But one wonders how he can hold onto his MMA marketing organization when a rape case involving three of his students is only getting started, and his past just won’t seem to escape him. As a former Irvin affiliate stated: "When you take the time to think about it, this culture defeats the purpose of having a business network in the first place. How can you freely share ideas and opinions when humiliation tactics and fear are used to suppress any notion of discontent?"

If Irvin intends to keep fighting for his reputation, he’ll need to answer that question and many, many more.

• Related Items lloyd irvin scamworld mma internet marketing martial arts