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Greatest MMO features never copied

2008-04-16T23:50:13Z

An interesting thread popped up over on the Fires of Heaven message boards about the greatest MMO features that never got copied. The list includes some very cool stuff -- such as vendors storing items sold to them, allowing other players to buy the items back -- as well as the deity / alignment system from EverQuest, Final Fantasy XI's all-jobs-on-one-character mechanic and auction house system, World of Warcraft's User Interface mod-ability, and a whole lot more.

What are your thoughts on this? What are some of the features you've noticed from MMOs in the past that were extremely cool in your eyes, but haven't been adopted by the genre as a whole?

PC gaming flashback - 1998: A golden year

2008-04-09T04:24:12Z

Growling Dog Games Blog has posted an interesting feature on the glut of classic PC games released way back in 1998, excerpt below:

"Some years seem to be totally bereft of good games whereas some are absolutely chock full of AAA-grade gaming goodness. 1998 definitely fits into the latter category. In that year game developers the world over appeared to have a collective bout of divine inspiration. The end result? A miraculous 12 month period that produced some of the greatest PC games ever made…"
Read full article

Stage6.com to shut down on February 28

2008-02-25T21:31:51Z

Stage6.com, the divx video website known for providing the best quality videos streaming, will shut down February 28 as announced by Tom (aka Spinner), a Stage6 user and an employee of DivX, Inc.

Here's his message to the community :

I’m Tom (aka Spinner), a Stage6 user and an employee of DivX, Inc., the company behind the service. I’m writing this message today to inform you that we plan to shut down Stage6 on February 28, 2008. Upload functionality has already been turned off, and you’ll be able to view and download videos until Thursday.

I know this news will come as a shock and disappointment to many Stage6 users, and I’d like to take a few moments to explain the reasons behind our decision.

We created Stage6 with the mission of empowering content creators and viewers to discover a new kind of video experience. Stage6 began as an experiment, and we always knew there was a chance that it might not succeed.

In many ways, though, the service did succeed, beyond even our own initial expectations. Stage6 became very popular very quickly. We helped gain exposure for some talented filmmakers who brought great videos to the attention of an engaged community. We helped prove that it’s possible to distribute true high definition video on the Internet. And we helped broaden the Internet video experience by offering content that is compatible with DVD players, mobile devices and other products beyond the PC.

So why are we shutting the service down? Well, the short answer is that the continued operation of Stage6 is a very expensive enterprise that requires an enormous amount of attention and resources that we are not in a position to continue to provide. There are a lot of other details involved, but at the end of the day it’s really as simple as that.

Now, why didn’t we think of that before we decided to create Stage6 in the first place, you may ask? That’s a good question. When we first created Stage6, there was a clear need for a service that would offer a true high quality video experience online because other video destinations on the Internet simply weren’t providing that to users. A gap existed, and Stage6 arrived to fill it.

As Stage6 grew quickly and dramatically (accompanied by an explosion of other sites delivering high quality video), it became clear that operating the service as a part of the larger DivX business no longer made sense. We couldn’t continue to run Stage6 and focus on our broader strategy to make it possible for anyone to enjoy high quality video on any device. So, in July of last year we announced that we were kicking off an effort to explore strategic alternatives for Stage6, which is a fancy way of saying we decided we would either have to sell it, spin it out into a private company or shut it down.

I won’t (and can’t, really) go into too much detail on those first two options other than to say that we tried really hard to find a way to keep Stage6 alive, either as its own private entity or by selling it to another company. Ultimately neither of those two scenarios was possible, and we made the hard decision to turn the lights off and cease operation of the service.

So that’s where we are today. After February 28, Stage6 will cease to exist as an online destination. But the larger DivX universe will continue to thrive. Every day new DivX Certified devices arrive on the market making it easy to move video beyond the PC. Products powered by DivX Connected, our new initiative that lets users stream video, photos, music and Internet services from the PC to the TV, are hitting retail outlets. We remain committed to empowering content creators to deliver high quality video to a wide audience, and we’ll continue to offer services that will make it easy to find videos online in the DivX format.

It’s been a wild ride, and none of it would have been possible without the support of our users. Thank you for making Stage6 everything that it was.

--Tom

Sad news for all the gaming videos makers and viewers. :(

China hunting down undesirable online games

2008-01-20T17:28:20Z

Brazil recently suffered a massive ban on Counter-Strike and EverQuest, but news of country-wide online game hate doesn't stop there. Chinese authorities recently announced that they are stepping up the crackdown against what they deem as undesirable online games. One of the officials, Kou Xiaowei of the General Administration of Press and Publication, said that many people regard online games as "spiritual opium."

So far, the operation against online games had 563 illegal Internet cafes closed, and Chinese authorities managed to confiscate 1,407 computers, closed about 5,000 Internet accounts, and had seven people arrested. "If we don't make adjustments, the industry will suffer sooner or later," Xiaowei said.

NASA looking to develop educational MMORPG

2008-01-18T06:16:39Z

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is currently undertaking a project called Learning Technology with the goal of developing new and innovative ways to educate people on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Currently, NASA LT is is exploring the possibility of developing an educational Massively Multiplayer Online Game. This project definitely has a lot of potential as pointed out by the project's official site:

Virtual worlds with scientifically accurate simulations could permit learners to tinker with chemical reactions in living cells, practice operating, and repairing expensive equipment, and experience microgravity, making it easier to grasp complex concepts and transfer this understanding quickly to practical problems.

NASA also added that another major advantage an MMORPG has is its ability to develop the skill sets employers are looking for. These include strategic thinking, interpretative analysis, problem solving, plan formulation and execution, team-building and cooperation, as well as adaptation to rapid change.

Currently, NASA has given word that it is in a position to develop an educational online game. However, until they do so, we now a have new excuse the next time someone tells us we're wasting time playing World of Warcraft or the MMORPG of choice: "I'm developing future job skills that will make me more successful in life."

2008: The Year of the Mac Gamer?

2008-01-16T07:39:53Z

Could 2008 truly be the breakout year for Macintosh gaming? Blizzard has been supporting the Mac OS for as long as we can remember -- always ensuring their games are compatible with the Mac and releasing patches in conjunction with their Windows-based updates. EVE Online began to support Mac OS in November of last year, and EA even announced that they're bringing titles to the Macintosh, starting with hits like Need for Speed Carbon, Battlefield 2142 and Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars in July. In August they added Madden NFL 08 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 to the list.

Even bigger news, though, is from today; one of last year's biggest hits -- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will be coming to Mac OS. That's not all though... one of the most anticipated games this decade, from iconic game designer Will Wright, Spore, will find its home on the Mac as well.

Spore's Mac version will be launching later this year, simultaneously with the PC version. While Aspyr Media is publishing CoD4 on Mac, Spore will be brought onboard using a special software layer created by Toronto-based TransGaming Technologies -- the same technology EA used to port over all of their top games last year.

So what are your thoughts? Will 2008 be the Year of the Mac?

Study Shows Playing Violent Games May Damage Brain

2008-01-04T04:43:19Z

a new study by the Department of Psychiatry of Taipei Veterans General Hospital is helping established the theory that playing of violent video games actually decreased blood flow to the brain.

The details are as below:

Department of Psychiatry of Taipei Veterans General Hospital Doctor Chou Yuan-hua showed that prolonged playing of violent video games may actually damage the brain.

The experiment took in 30 people, each one aged 25. The sample population then underwent physical examinations to monitor the blood circulation before and after playing a video game for 30 minutes.

Results showed that playing games actually decreased blood flow to the brain. Those who were exposed to violent games saw an even bigger drop in blood circulation. These have also been proven by previous studies.

Chou pointed out that the decrease in blood to the brain could potentially damage two parts of the internal organ: the frontal lobe of the brain and the anterior cingulate gyrus. The doctor also mentioned that based on previous clinical experiences, individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia or depression have lower blood flow in their frontal lobes and anterior cingulate gyruses.

So does this mean that we have to give up our hobby of gaming? Well, far from it. While no conclusions have been made about this decrease in blood flow, the study should serve as a reminder for all you game-loving folks out there: playing for extended periods of time on a regular basis is not healthy.

“How To Make A Game With ‘PvP Done Right’”

2007-12-12T07:42:56Z

Scott Jennings, known many moons ago as Lum the Mad, has a relatively popular blog called Broken Toys. On it, Scott -- who is now a game designer -- writes about pretty much anything on his mind. Today I came across a very long and insightful writeup that he's put together on How To Make A Game With 'PvP Done Right.'

In it Scott touches on subjects like what to expect if you decide to add PvP into your game as an 'afterthought.' "If you go the path of designing a combat system that works well against AI monsters and raiding, and then retrofit it to a PvP environment, at least establish a framework so that what works against a monster doesn’t necessarily work against a player. However, if you go down that dark pathway, be prepared to hear a lot of complaining from your newly disenfranchised players that you just nerfed into goo. Another problem with “hey, let’s throw in a dueling system” PvP is that, by definition, that system will have little context."

He also feels that PvP must "screw someone over" but mentions that new players should be exempt from this -- mostly so that once the game has aged, they aren't discouraged from continuing on due to constant "ganking" from higher level players: "Part of opting into PvP (and oh, yes, we shall return to that point in a moment as well) should entail the understanding that not only can you lose, you will lose something dear to you. Whether that is as simple as time, or as permanent as item loss or even permadeath (if you’re particularly insane), consequences are part and parcel of meaningful PvP."

It's a fairly long editorial, but it's also a great read and a chance to peer into the mind of a game designer that just may be working on the next MMO you play. Head over to Broken Toys and check it out.

So then, after you're done reading, share your thoughts on what makes a game's PvP system "right" -- I'd love to hear them!

$500 Gaming PC Upgrade

2007-11-06T01:29:22Z

Looking to upgrade your PC after the news of NVIDIA's 8800 GT? Firing Squad has a great article on upgrading your PC for $500. Not only does it include the new 8800 GT card, but also a new motherboard, CPU and some RAM.

Firing Squad used both Newegg and Zipzoomfly to get prices for this upgrade plan, even going as far as listing alternatives if you either don't like the primary hardware suggestion, or it's not available at the time you decide to upgrade.

Head over to the $500 Gaming PC Upgrade to read the entire article.

Play games while giving your loved one a massage!

2007-10-10T03:07:00Z

The... inventive... folks over at Massage Me have come up with the cure for those gamers who spend more time playing than spending time with their significant other. Well, ok - I wouldn't go that far - but this is a very unique creation to say the least.

So what is Massage Me? Aside from something that looks like it was ripped out of a 1970's sci-fi TV show, it's a vest that works as a combination massage device and game controller. Yup, you heard it right; while you're playing games with that controller, whoever is wearing the vest gets a massage thanks to... well, I'll just let the quote describe it.

Using the Massage me device requires two people, one who wears the device to receive the massage and one who manipulates the device to give the massage. Because giving a massage can be a boring and rather tedious task, the interface simultaneously acts a game controller which motivates the masseur by involving him in game play.

Pressure sensors embedded in the wearable interface sense the massage movements which are interpreted and passed on as control signals to play existing games. Otherwise wasted button-pushing energy is transformed into a massage and the addicted game player becomes an inexhaustible masseur.

They've even created instructional videos on how to use the device. Head over to Massage Me to learn more.

Thanks to Wired GameLife for the initial article. Now to figure out what category to put this in... I guess Hardware?

New NVIDIA ForceWare 163.69 WHQL Drivers Released

2007-09-20T14:34:07Z

NVIDIA has released brand new ForceWare 163.69 WHQL drivers for Windows Vista 32-bit and Windows Vista 64-bit. These drivers fix some issues, improve compatibility for some of the latest games and also improve performance and stability of SLI-based systems.

WHQL Certified driver for GeForce 6, 7, and 8 series GPUs.
Improved compatibility and performance for NVIDIA SLI™ technology on DirectX 9, DirectX 10, and OpenGL applications.
Improved compatibility for The Way It’s Meant To Be Played™ game titles: BioShock, Crysis, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Hellgate: London, and World in Conflict.
Added HD video post-processing for H.264, VC-1 and MPEG-2 HD content on the GeForce 8500 and 8600 series GPUs.
Numerous game and application compatibility fixes. Please read the release notes for more information on product support, feature limitations, driver fixes and known compatibility issues.

You can download the ForceWare 163.69 WHQL on the NVIDIA website; if you're a laptop user, you can download them on LaptopVideo2Go.

Concerning Windows XP, the latest stable version of ForceWare drivers is the ForceWare 162.18 WHQL release.

HD DVD grows up, gets 51GB version

2007-09-11T02:31:24Z

Screendigest is reporting that the DVD forum, the international DVD standards authority, has approved a new single-sided triple-layer HD DVD disc that can hold 51 GB worth of data. This new introduction to the HD DVD technology will allow access to previously exclusively Bluray titles, as this new disc will be able to hold more data than Bluray discs.

There's also a single-sided triple-layer HD DVD/DVD hybrid disc awaiting approval that will have a DVD layer playable on legacy DVD devices.

To read more, head over to Screendigest's article.

NVIDIA Forceware TRU Driver Performance Reviews

2007-05-24T21:54:30Z

The people over at TweaksRUs keep bringing us the latest and best tested information about NVidia and ATI drivers. Below is a section of their latest update, comparing a wide variety of available drivers.

For a long time it looked like we'd seen the last Windows XP driver. Nvidia's tumultuous love affair with Vista continued unabated, while old reliable XP sat neglected in the corner. Like all new toys, the shine finally seems to have worn off, and we've finally started seeing new XP drivers. Apparently somebody at Nvidia turned over two pages at once, and skipped a year's worth of driver numbers! Either way, it's been my dubious pleasure to put all of these drivers through their paces...

I have to admit that I normally approach any massive leap in driver numbers with extreme caution. At best they're usually alphas (that's very experimental, for the uninitiated) and at worst they're a recipe for disaster. The leap from the 90/100 series drivers to Forceware 150 series was originally cause for unbridled scepticism. (Treatment usually reserved for “picsha of teh nu Geefors 9900xtx” articles). Like most people, I didn't expect much when I tried them, and made damn sure I took an Acronis image first. I can happily say I was delighted to be proved wrong. Once again, Nvidia has done them unthinkable and squeezed even better image quality and performance from their drivers!

For all there's a massive numerical gap between 94.22 and 165.01, you're not actually missing much. Most of the fixes seem geared towards the 8 series, but there's a few new optimisations that'll be available in programs like Rivatuner. The main differences are in terms of image quality and performance, the basic features are more or less unchanged.

As usual, a word about the tests. Most of the drivers tested are technically 8800 drivers, but we've used a modified inf to make them compatible with the full back-catalogue of graphics cards.

Vista users might want to stop reading here, as I've still not been bored enough to install it, so I won't comment about performance there. (There you go, you can use the time you've saved to reinstall XP!). I'm also still too poor to afford an 8800, so I can't comment on performance there either.

There's also reason for haters of the new style Nvidia Control Panel to rejoice. They've not abandoned it, but it's been redesigned in more of a tree style. This has made it far more accessible, and it now prompts you to choose whether it runs in simple or advanced mode the first time you open it. Presumably the last design team have gone back to making toys for Fisher Price...

Tweaked ATI Graphics Drivers: 7.4 Pure Edition

2007-05-03T01:22:04Z

TwealsRUs have once again posted a tweaked and optimized driver release for the ATI based graphics cards. Read about the latest imrovements below:

XG WarCat 7.4 Pure Edition brings some changes around, regarding the WarCat driver series. This version is the last of the current WarCat driver series. By saying the last, we don't mean the end of the WarCat drivers. This driver is based on the best WarCat versions until now.

The next WarCat driver will be a leap forward, regarding previous version of Catalyst and WarCat drivers.

-Next Gen WarCat driver will not be just optimised, but built from scratch and again based on the Catalyst drivers.

Read more...

ATI Catalyst Drivers v7.4 Released

2007-04-21T00:26:44Z

AMD/ATI have released a new version of their graphics drivers -- the catalyst package -- for download. You may find the download here!