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Crytek is closing studios and paying employees late again
Crytek, the developer behind the technically impressive CryEngine toolset, and most recently Robinson: The Journey, is laying off employees and closing studios. Workers' paychecks have reportedly been extremely slow to arrive as well. No, you aren't imagining things -- the company faced similar circumstances a few years ago. But the bloodletting appears much worse this time out: All of the company's studios will be shuttered but two.
Hyperloop deal would link three European capitals
One of the companies vying to make Elon Musk's transportation dream a reality has signed a deal with the government of Slovakia to explore building a three-country Hyperloop. Crowdsourced engineering project Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) will look into a route that links three European capitals. From Vienna, Austria to Bratislava, Slovakia, and from Bratislava to Budapest, Hungary.
Steve Jobs statue unveiled in Budapest
Tech Crunch reports that a life-size statue of Steve Jobs has been unveiled in Budapest, Hungary. The statue captures Jobs with an iPhone in one hand and gesturing with the other as he strides across an imaginary keynote stage. It was commissioned by Gabor Bojar, the founder and chairman of Hungarian software development house Graphisoft. The bronze statue was sculpted by Hungarian sculptor Erno Toth and stands near the entrance to Graphisoft's headquarters. Bojar commissioned the statue as a tribute to Jobs, who helped the architectural software firm when it was starting up in the early 80s. Bojar was quoted as saying, "Apple's support included cash and computers at a time when GRAPHISOFT was a small company with limited resources, working within the economic and political confines of what was, at the time, communist Hungary." The product that Graphisoft developed -- ArchiCAD -- is used by many architectural firms and is in its fifteenth version. It would be even more of a tribute to Jobs if the architects of the new Apple headquarters in Cupertino used ArchiCAD to design the huge, spaceship-like main building and campus.
Hungarian software company casts Jobs in bronze to remember him
A Hungarian software company named Graphisoft has decided to erect a bronze bust of Steve Jobs in the country's capital of Budapest to celebrate the life and times of Apple's founder. Graphisoft's founder first met Jobs back in 1984, and Jobs has since offered lots of advice, insight, and even financial help to Graphisoft, even while Hungary was under communist rule. The statue will depict Jobs standing and making a presentation, with one arm stretched out and some sort of iPhone-like remote in his other hand. The statue, which will stand 7 feet tall and have a plaque in the shape of an iPad on it, will be placed in an area called Graphisoft Park, where a number of other commercial technical firms are also located. The plaque will also bear a quote from Jobs himself: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do." Touching. We didn't really expect to ever see a Jobs statue in Budapest, but clearly Jobs touched quite a few lives all over the world.
Report: Crytek Budapest facing layoffs, Codename: Kingdoms still on and Kinect-compatible
According to reports from Gamasutra and Eurogamer, Crysis developer Crytek is planning on laying off a number of employees at its Budapest studio. The team at Crytek Budapest was knee-deep in developing the Xbox 360-exclusive fantasy title Kingdoms (which both reports also mention will be Kinect-compatible) -- however, the project has now been placed in the charge of Crytek's Frankfurt studio. The reports claim that Crytek Budapest will now focus on tablet-based games, and will see its staff size cut from 80 down to 30-35 as a result. Crytek managing director Avni Yerli did not directly confirm the layoffs, but did respond to the reports, saying, "We can confirm that our Budapest studio is getting a new direction and focus." The reports claim that whatever changes might go down will happen in the next few weeks, so we're sure to know more soon.
The Game Archaeologist and the Forbidden RuneScape: The R-Team
The Game Archaeologist is a lazy adventurer-slash-professor who dons his trademark cap for a weekly expedition through some of the most famous MMOs of the past few decades. Each month he chooses a different title to examine its highlights, talk with its developers, and invite its fans to share their experiences. They come from all over the world just for one shot to be the elite of the elite. After a rigorous selection process, the survivors undergo months of hardcore training. Fingers aching from the strain and eyes itchy with sleep deprivation, these ripped warriors emerge to battle evil wherever it rears its ugly head. Budapest, probably. Or Easter Island. They loot with wild abandon, they craft with purpose, and they aren't afraid to jam on the caps lock button to make their voices heard. So if you need their help -- and if you can afford them -- maybe you can hire the R-Team. As we continue our month-long RuneScape safari, it's high past time that we hear from the R-Team members themselves. Four past and present RuneScape players graciously laid out the case as to why this MMO rocks socks off. To make a good thing even better, Jagex sent in five new screenshots for your enjoyment. So what are you waiting for? Hit that jump like you mean it!
Bacarobo 'stupid robot' contest is back, and it's hilarious (video)
Our love of tech, gadgets, and anything, really, with blinking lights means that while we certainly value usability and quality in our consumer electronics, there will always be a place in our hearts for the utterly useless. And we're definitely not alone here, as the popularity of the annual Bacarobo (stupid robot) contest will tell you. This year's event was held in Budapest, Hungary, and featured a number of the silliest robots you've never seen before -- all designed to get a laugh. The contest is judged in true hackneyed Gong Show-esque fashion with an applause meter, and the winner received a €2,000 ($2,700 USD) prize. And that's nothing to laugh at! But enough chatter: peep the video after the break to see for yourself.
70-gigapixel panorama of Budapest becomes world's largest digital photograph
It's just been a few months since a 45-gigapixel panorama of Dubai claimed the title of world's largest digital photograph, but it's now already been well and truly ousted -- the new king in town is this 70-gigapixel, 360-degree panorama of Budapest. As with other multi-gigapixel images, this one was no easy feat, and involved two 25-megapixel Sony A900 cameras fitted with 400mm Minolta lenses and 1.4X teleconverters, a robotic camera mount from 360world that got the shooting done over the course of two days, and two solid days of post-processing that resulted in a single 200GB file -- not to mention a 15-meter-long printed copy of the photograph for good measure. Of course, what's most impressive is the photo itself. Hit up the source link below and start zooming in.
Lonely Planet giving away free iPhone guides in honor of Eyjafjallajökull messing with Europe
Did Eyjafjallajökull mess your week up? The answer is probably "no" if you're asking who Eyjafjallajökull is. For those of us who did have our week interrupted by that big exploding volcano in Iceland, Lonely Planet is offering thirteen of its City Guides for free in the App Store (and okay, they're free to all, no proof of volcano-interruption required). The aptly-named "Volcano Relief Sale" is being held in hopes of helping travelers stuck in unfamiliar places find "access to practical information as well as suggestions on what to do whilst stranded," according to Tom Hall, Lonely Planet Travel Editor. "That's why we're giving away iPhone city guides to major affected destinations." Those destinations include: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Istanbul, London, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, and Vienna. I've been to all but two of those destinations, and if you're stuck in any of them, you really should be thanking Eyjafjallajökull (and now, Lonely Planet). The thirteen City Guides are normally priced between $10 and $15, so this is quite a bargain. But act fast, the City Guides will only be available for free until April 22 -- hopefully a date which will also see many more planes back in the air. [via Macworld] [Image by NASA Goddard Photo and Video]
Antenna Hugria launches high-def packs in Hungary, Olympics are a go
Although Hungarians have tasted HD in their homeland before, we're pretty sure having a full platter is much preferred. National broadcaster Antenna Hugária has just announced that it will be launching HDTV services via its Antenna Digital cable platform at the close of this month. Reportedly, the service will be available initially in Budapest and surrounding locales, though we aren't told if plans are in place to spread it elsewhere. Two new packages are slated to become available, the first of which includes National Geographic HD, Eurosport HD and m2; as for the second, you'll find HBO HD. Better still, those who subscribe to m2 HD will already have a ticket to the televised version of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (in HD, of course). Prospective consumers will be asked to upgrade to an HD-capable set-top-box as well as hand over HU 990 per month ($6.16) for the first HD tier and HU 799 per month ($5.50) for HBO HD.
