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A new electrolyte mixture may prevent EV batteries from catching fire
Your next EV or phone might be less likely to catch fire thanks to extra-salty batteries.
Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 4 lets you do more while it's closed
Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Z Flip 4, and the upgrades extend beyond speed and battery life.
ICYMI: Robot news round-up, 3D hand scanner and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-439685{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-439685, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-439685{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-439685").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: iRobot sold its line of military robots to a US-based firm to focus on Roomba and a new chameleon robot changes color to blend in; a student built a 3D scanner with cameras and Raspberry Pi that is much cheaper than any other scanner; and a new pedestrian detection software from the University of California, San Diego, is nearly as fast as the human brain.
ANNE passes its Kickstarter goal with more than a week to go
ANNE, the 2D nostalgia-laden platformer from developer Mo, hit its $70,000 Kickstarter goal, and from today it still has nine days left to earn more money. In a multilingual thank you update, Mo said words couldn't express his gratitude, so he created the happy robot image above. "For sure the money is what will allow me to get the job done, but knowing that there are people like you out there that believe in my game, in me, just this is worth more than money," Mo said. The first stretch goal for ANNE is $80,000 and it would add Mac and Linux versions of the game to Mo's development schedule. At $90,000, ANNE would have achievements and a Gender Swap mode, and later stretch goals (up to $150,000), add Ouya, PSN, Vita and Wii U versions. ANNE is a combination of ideas from some of Mo's favorite 16-bit games, including Mega Man, Contra, Gradius and Super Metroid. That last one was a big inspiration, Mo told Joystiq in April. "I remember at the beginning, you had this amazing ship," he said. "A crazy sprite landing slowly and then, the next thing you know, you're just on foot. And I was just, 'What a tease.' What if you could actually go in [the ship] and fly? What would that look like, and how fun would that be? So basically, it's picking up from just questioning myself and just trying to see what, you know, what am I really looking for as a player right now?"
Mortal Online announces a new expansion called Awakening
Mortal Online has already launched one expansion, but the game's second expansion in its two years of operation will soon join the first. Awakening has just been announced and is set to bring a variety of improvements to the game. The centerpiece is the introduction of Tindrem, the eponymous Tindremic capital and the home of the Emperor. The sprawling city encompasses several districts, but there's more to the city than the orderly facade it presents to travelers. The expansion will provide more than simply a new city, however. It offers improved artificial intelligence and a better user interface to players, along with new dungeons in which players can test their skills against improved enemy intelligence. There's also a new set of special Trade Brokers in the cities, dyes for clothing and armor, and several other improvements that should be cheered by every Mortal Online player. [Thanks to James for the tip!]
Mortal Online introduces political map, Chronicles of Nave
Mortal Online players are going to have to wait a little bit longer for the game's The Dawn expansion, but in the meantime, Star Vault is busily working on the game's newly added territory control system. The newest addition to the system is a political map and a feature the team calls Chronicles of Nave. The political map allows players to track which territories are under whose control in real time, so they always know where the fights are raging. The Chronicles of Nave, on the other hand, is a ladder ranking system, which ranks players and guilds according to a variety of statistics. The current system displays players' stats and builds, though there is an option to turn this feature off in case a player would rather keep his build a secret. Both of these features are still in beta, so players can expect them to be updated with expanded functionality. For the full details, check out the forum post over at the Mortal Online official forums.
The Dawn a bit further off for Mortal Online
When Mortal Online first announced its far-reaching expansion, Dawn, it was a little hard to believe. (The day the news first came out didn't help matters, certainly, as it was announced on April 1st.) But it's a very real thing, and players of the game have no doubt been hotly anticipating its release. Unfortunately, as it turns out, the release date of Dawn has now been pushed back to the end of the month at the earliest and the beginning of June at the latest. So what's behind the delay? The newsletter explains that there was a server issue which required some reworking, with the caveat that the required updates have ensured Dawn will be even better. Mortal Online players can assuage the wait at least a bit by reading the extensive article by Black Opal detailing several of the expansion's features, including explanations of the new gathering system, Task system, and new styles for housing and buildings.
Mortal Online launches Facebook integration complete with discounts
Facebook integration isn't exactly a new thing for MMOs these days, but it's not often that you can use it to outright pay less money for a subscription. But that's what Mortal Online is experimenting with, offering players of the game a discount based upon their friend counts. Of course, there's a slight catch -- said friends can't themselves be players. The integrated application will also announce your major achievements to your friends, making it a clear method for players to show off the game they're enjoying and give it a bit of advertising to boot. The discounts, naturally, are a nice incentive. A maximum of 1.25 EUR will be deducted from the subscription price if you have 750 non-playing friends, but even five non-playing friends will net you a 0.25 EUR reduction. The discount begins to apply 12 days after you link your account, meaning that new players to the game can enjoy the discount right from the start. It's money off and a chance to show off what you've accomplished, and that should be enough to win over almost any Mortal Online player with a Facebook account.
Mortal Online launch day roundup
Ever since Star Vault initially announced Mortal Online back in 2008, we've been curiously awaiting the launch of the game. With the promise of lush graphics wrapped around a heavily sandboxed PvP game, it's looked like the niche game that many players have been hungering for. Now, after a handful of setbacks and decisions to hold the release date, players will have the chance to start playing Mortal Online in earnest -- and we've got a launch-day roundup that's chock full of some of the highlights from the last two years for you! Quick Mortal Online preview The game appears to hail from the open world school of design, offering open looting; real-time, Elder Scrolls-esque combat; and level-free advancement (it's still a class-based game). Mortal Online presentation puts all you want to know in one place The Mortal Online team decided to create a PowerPoint presentation (available here -- the .rar file is 100mbs and includes some videos) to explain to the world what their game is. As it turns out, the presentation begins with a list of what their game isn't. The short version is that they're trying to make a very different MMO experience.
Mortal Online announces June 9th launch date
Mortal Online has seen its share of ups and downs this spring as Starvault worked through a rocky beta period, ultimately deciding to delay launch as they ironed out some major bugs. Fans of the game were left wondering what was going to happen, even as many of them applauded Starvault's decision to hold off the launch date until Mortal Online was in better shape. It looks like the team at Starvault thinks it's finally good to go: Mortal Online is scheduled for launch June 9th. According to the latest newsletter, they've solved the infamous desync issue (one of the most prominent issues during testing) with the help of a new engine build. Open beta testing is now over in preparation for launch, but you still have until Monday, May 17th to take advantage of the open beta discount. You can check out all the details in today's Mortal Online newsletter.
Mortal Online busting out tremendous banhammer on hackers
Hackers beware. The team at Star Vault have their eyes on you, and it's time to stop any and all shenanigans you've got going on in Mortal Online. Or else, you say? Or else the banhammer awaits you -- and according to their most recent update, it means an instant, permanent ban that could leave you staring at the login screen in frustration. According to a post by Maerlyn on the Mortal Online forums, there is currently no set date on when software monitoring will come into play, or even what method they'll use to monitor for third-party applications or changes in the game files that are being reported. A follow-up posting by Tazaterra in the same thread indicates that anyone who has modified game files needs to stop at this time. With the game still being tweaked pending release, we're glad to see the team at Star Vault is taking a proactive stance on this before the floodgates officially open. In a game where PvP is everything, players need to know that anyone using exploits, hacks, bots or the like to tip the game balance will be dealt with swiftly and before it causes game imbalances. [via TTH]
One Shots: Don't go AFK in good gear
In some games, character physics can be a real pain in the butt. In old EverQuest, people stood in doorways, stopping others from getting in or out. In City of Heroes, NPCs walking by on the sidewalk can shove you out of the way -- no matter how super-strong you happen to be! Today's One Shots from Mortal Online may not immediately look like too much, but once you read the story that goes with it, you'll see why we mention crazy things that happen due to game physics. Xaan writes in to give us the scoop: "It was in the middle of the night (Starvault had recently added an amazingly realistic day/night system to Mortal Online) so me and a bunch of other players were socializing in the NPC shore city of Meduli. There was this guy who seemed to be AFK, so we dragged (or rather pushed) him outside of town and out of guard range and started killing him for his armor. Unfortunately, some of his friends came to his rescue and as a result we had this awesome night fight in the middle of the desert. Simply epic." From big to small games, we love to see all your MMO screenshots! If you'd like to take part, then send those in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description. We'll post them out here for everyone to check out and give you the credit. %Gallery-85937%
Mortal Online to launch this month
If you've been watching the development of Mortal Online, you may know that open beta has started at the beginning of February, and the guys at Star Vault have been hard at work improving and polishing the game. Players watching the progression of the game have been pretty curious to know when launch is. Well, we have our answer, and if you're in a hurry for launch to arrive you are going to be pretty happy. Word came to the Mortal Online site yesterday that the game will launch in March of this year. That gives Star Vault just over two weeks to finish all of the final touches, a situation that might make those familiar with the game so far a bit nervous about what to expect at launch. No worries, say the guys manning the controls:"The largest part of problems in the game right now is directly related to the desync between client and server. We are confident that with the next patch on Monday most, if not all of those problems will be solved." More details are in the official announcement, and there's a brand-new game trailer for you to look at after the jump!
One Shots: Famous last words
When it comes to sandboxy PvP games, people have been checking out the Mortal Online open beta. With a wide-open world where anything could happen, and often does, it's undoubtedly going to draw players. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the game is quite lovely to look at, such as today's Mortal Online One Shots from Xaan. He writes in to relate his recent experience in the beta: This picture shows my character, Xaan, overlooking the main district in the NPC shore city - Meduli. I had just killed someone's deer and in order to avoid someone calling the guards on me, I went into this butchery building where I found some stairs leading up to a balcony from which I took this shot. Right after I took the shot, I heard someone taking out a sword from behind me. I turned around and I saw this guy with some metal armor, pointing his sword at me. I waved at him, and he said, "you killed my Gazelle." With that, he finished our friendly conversation and cut my head off. If you're taking part in a beta you think is pretty cool (make sure the NDA is down) why not send us a screenshot? We'd love to see it. Just send it in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description. We'll post it out here for everyone to check out and give you the credit. %Gallery-85937%
Mortal Online's open beta starts February 1st
The upcoming sandbox MMO from Star Vault, Mortal Online, is finally entering its awaited open beta on February 1st. While the game has been in testing for quite some time, getting beta access meant pre-ordering a copy of the game, which turned several people off from the idea. But not only is the game going to become easier to take part in testing starting on Monday, there are two carrots thrown in to help entice players. First off, any existing beta characters will not be wiped upon the commencement of open beta. That means anyone already playing, whether in the closed beta or as part of the game's recent stress test, will get to keep their character that they've worked on. Second, while in open beta the game's price will be dropped by five euros (about $7), which means that if you like the game, it's even easier to decide to make it a full-time home. Downsides? Only one - as community manager Maerlyn points out, the testing will be based on a single server cluster in Stockholm, so their may be server caps or slight connection issues depending on distance. But that's hardly enough to take away from the good news. If you've been waiting for Mortal Online, your day is almost here. [ Thanks to Bartillo and David for the tip! ]
Mortal Online gearing up for stress test
The last bit of news we heard about the upcoming Mortal Online was the sad news that the launch had been pushed back to early this year. Luckily, today's news is significantly happier for fans of the game, even if you're not currently in the beta. The official word from community manager Maerlyn is that they're beginning a limited open beta early next week: specifically, a stress test of the game's servers. They want to get as many people online as humanly possible, and that means anyone with an account set up can log in -- beta tester or not. Maerlyn emphasizes that the event is not meant as an "entertainment" event, although it still promises to be fun -- most likely meaning that those of you hoping to run around unrestrained will be slightly curtailed. The stress test will follow the deployment of a brand new patch to the game, although the content and updates of that patch are as of yet undisclosed. Still, any Mortal Online fans looking forward to the open beta -- or to the release of the game -- should be more than a little excited. Keep a close watch on the official forums for the announcement of exact dates and times. [ Thanks to George for the tip! ]
Mortal Online devs appearing on MO-Radio
MO-Radio, the fan run Mortal Online radio show, has boasted some familiar names as guests on their Tuesday Night Talk Show for the past few months. Quite a few members of the Star Vault development team have visited, including concept artist Hannu Kokkonen, programmer Max Lindgren, and sound design dev Henrik Ekholm as well as a few others. The weekly show topics have covered some great details of Mortal Online design, and it's great to see the dev team being so involved with a fan endeavor. Their latest guest is Andreas Springare (level design). He will be appearing on tomorrow's show, titled "It's not the next level, it's the fourth wall!" While the show airs for the first time tomorrow, reruns will air three times on Wednesday for anyone who missed it. Take a look at the official show site for a full schedule, and on the Mortal Online forums for an overview of Tuesday Night Talk Show.
Mortal Online reveals beta signups, new video, and well rendered buffalo
So you guys flooded our in-boxes with requests for us to cover Mortal Online's beta registration opening up. So, without further ado, Mortal Online's beta registration is open. Also, they have some new in-game footage on their front page.What? You were expecting something more? A few paragraphs at least? Ok, ok, you twisted our arms enough. Mortal Online is the new PvP MMO that everyone's squeeing about -- one that's set up to attempt to out Darkfall, well, Darkfall.Sporting game systems very closely related to Darkfall's, such as skill based progression and action based combat, Mortal Online is a PvP, action based, first person MMO being run on the Unreal Engine. From what we've been able to see from the in-game footage, MO will be a bit slower combat-wise when compared to Darkfall, but will feature more interactivity between the user and the environment through well placed camera angles and the ability to see your own body.The video shows horse riding, dungeon crawling with a torch in one hand and sword in the other, mounted combat, and even a peek at siege weaponry through the use of a ballista. If it sounds like something you're interested in, jump on over to their main webpage or download the official video through their torrent.[Thanks, Jonathan, Daniel, Amisch, and Brian!]
Star Vault announces new MMO: Mortal Online
Swedish developer Star Vault has officially introduced the world to its first game, an MMO by the name of Mortal Online. The game's official site has launched, and visitors are treated to the above trailer upon arrival -- and as far as first impressions go, we'll say that the graphics certainly do look good (a disclaimer at the start even promises that what we're seeing is real in-game footage). Higher quality versions of the teaser can be found here.Of course, it takes more than just pretty graphics to have a successful MMO, and from looking at some of the proposed features of Mortal Online it would appear that the developers are well aware of this. The game will be played in first-person, and one of the primary focuses will be hardcore PvP, with a real-time combat system. Couple this with the fact that there will be no leveling at all, and you start to realize that we're looking at a very different game here.
Family gets Ben Ownby a Wii
Ben Ownby, the recent victim in the kidnapping that shook the residents of Missouri, USA has had a few days to return back to his normal life. Not for trying on his parents' part, however, as they recently got Ben a Nintendo Wii during a small welcome-home party for the 13 year old that saw numerous relatives chip-in together for Nintendo's console. How did he receive it? Mostly with shock and excitement, as one might imagine. Upon hooking it up in his basement, he asked if "anybody [was] up for bowling?"Here's to hoping something as small as a video game system can help Ben get back to life as he knew it before the kidnapping.
