building
Latest
EQN Landmark livestream highlights new building mats, hints at co-op harvesting
In a fortuitous bit of timing, last night's EverQuest Next Landmark livestream highlighted some of the very changes that players saw right after the latest alpha patch went live. Besides a notable list of bug fixes, the patch introduced a separate loot chat tab, eight new prop recipes, and 12 new building materials, including various sandstones, stucco, plaster, and even sand. On top of that, players who have fallen victim to the clever traps of others will be glad to know that the evac to safety feature is now fully operational. During the stream, Senior Producer Terry Michaels also mentioned upcoming features currently in development, such as cooperative harvesting, attached claims, caves, permissions, and groups. The show then wrapped up with the announcement that these official streams, newly christened Landmark Live, will be a weekly occurrence from here on out. Watch the full livestream below, and read up on the latest alpha additions in the patch notes.
Trion officially reveals Trove: Endless adventures through endless worlds
Even with its recent "regroup and reorganize" strategy, there's no doubt that Trion Worlds is an ambitious company that enjoys having its fingers in many pies. But what about that yummy voxel Minecraft pie? So tempting... so trendy... so full of antioxidants. Well, Trion's baking one of those up too, and it's called Trove. So what is Trove, exactly? It's something radically different for Trion, though it's plainly drawing upon lessons learned from the studio's other titles. Trove is a multiplayer universe of worlds where creation, destruction, and adventure go hand-in-hand. It's a sandbox, an RPG, a toolset, a public space, a private space, a free-to-play experience, and according to CEO Scott Hartsman, a passion. We spoke with Hartsman to get a handle on what Trove will bring to MMOs and how it's looking to differentiate itself from the rest of the pack. So take one last look at the cute bug above and prepare yourself for an endless adventure through endless worlds.
Google scraps London HQ design in favor of something 'even better'
Just when it looked like Google was ready to break ground on its new UK headquarters in London, the company has decided it wants to start all over again. According to Building Design, Google has told the building's architects to go back to the drawing board and called for a new design to be drawn up within its original floor plan. Previous council-approved designs for the £650 million Kings Cross HQ incorporated a roof-top running track, swimming pool and connected cycling ramps, but the development apparently wasn't ambitious enough. Google says it has a "great plan for the building" but wants "to challenge ourselves to do something even better" -- perhaps borrowing inspiration from its mysterious floating barges.
EverQuest Next Landmark to focus on public building with possible private mode
EverQuest Next Landmark's building projects will mostly take place in public although there might be a "black box" mode for private endeavors, SOE discussed in a new roundtable discussion. The developers explained that this issue wasn't something that's ever come up in other games, since Landmark is so different. Thirty-seven percent of players polled said they would like to build their creations in public, which the team found encouraging. There was concern about griefing, which the devs said shouldn't be an issue. When you stake a claim in the world, you're the only person who can build on it unless you give friends or the entire public permission to change that area. The playerbase also expressed concern about how to keep their player studio projects a secret so that other players can't rip off their ideas. SOE will look into giving such players a way to develop in private, although Landmark will remain focused on public building. However, there will be no offline mode for building because SOE believes that it defeats the social aspect of the game. Landmark's beta will begin this winter, with dates to be announced "in the next month or so," according to Dave Georgeson. You can watch the full discussion after the break.
Doris Sung explains the tech behind her breathing, eco-friendly architecture (video)
Doris Sung has spent the past few years designing "breathing" architecture that adapts to environmental conditions. Thanks to an overview of her work at The Creators Project, we now have a simple explanation of how Sung creates these responsive structures. Her walls and windows are based on multi-layer metal "skins" that curl when certain layers react to heat -- the brighter the sun shines, the wider the skins open to let colder air through. Special software shapes each panel to maximize the cooling effect, even for very curvy surfaces. Sung's approach hasn't seen much real-world use so far, but she hopes for energy-efficient buildings that need very little air conditioning to remain comfortable.
The Tattered Notebook: EverQuest Next Round Table roundup
Back when EverQuest Next and EverQuest Landmark were announced, SOE President John Smedley made it clear that the two games were henceforth in "open development." That meant that the company would be soliciting feedback and opinions from players about myriad design decisions for the two games. Since then, EQ Next devs have thrown out new questions each week for players to vote on and discuss. Utilizing polls and forum discussions in a special section of the main site labeled Round Table, important topics like bearded female dwarves and armor appearance customization are delved into and player desires and feedback are gathered. After collecting the data, the devs respond, sometimes in video form. Today, The Tattered Notebook is going to round up all those roundtables, giving you a summary of which way the community is leaning on these different topics as well as the dev input. I'll even throw in snippets of their opinions as well! Of course, if you haven't added your thoughts to the mix and you'd like to, you still have time to do so as all the polls are still active.
Greed Monger video demonstrates house building [Updated]
In a game focused on building things, you'd expect housing to involve a bit more than just dropping a generic prefab on a plot of land. If you envision the builder carefully piecing elements together to create a unique dwelling instead, you've hit Greed Monger's take on housing on the head. A new video highlighting the house building tool of the crafting-centric game follows the construction of a large building piece by piece and gives an example of the possibilities. You can see the process in action in the video after the cut. And if that still isn't enough, Greed Monger also announced that the tool would be available for folks to try out sometime in the coming days has now released the tool for players to check it out for themselves -- as long as they find a way to acquire lumber, that is. [Updated to add release of the building tool.]
Pathfinder to feature hands-on construction, building, planning
Many modern-day MMOs have relegated crafting to an automated afterthought. Not Pathfinder Online, though. No sirree, GoblinWorks' crowdfunding sandbox will feature plenty of hands-on construction, according to the firm's latest blog post. "While it may be easier to wave your hand and decree that your minions build whatever you want, we think it's a little more interesting if players have to think hard, plan ahead, and cooperate to get the most out of their settlements," writes developer Rich Baker. How is it all going to work? That's a pretty lengthy discussion, which you'll find on the official Pathfinder dev blog. You'll also find a brief work-in-progress video clip that shows the progression of a market settlement. We've embedded that for you after the break.
Camelot Unchained reveals building system demo
With just a little over one week and $600k left in the Kickstarter campaign, City State Entertainment's Camelot Unchained is consistently pumping out the updates for all fans of the project. Today's update goes into detail on the game's building system, including a video demo with programmer Tim Mills showing a quick prototype of what you can expect in the game. Mark Jacobs also teases tomorrow's tonight's update where he'll reveal the main lore of Camelot Unchained, including some early concept art and another video.
Building the perfect fortress in Camelot Unchained [Updated]
The Camelot Unchained team has just released a new video dev blog for Kickstarter backers outlining some fairly ambitious plans for mining and construction in the upcoming PvE-free sandbox. The system will involve combinations of custom and prefab cells in which players so inclined can build up the empires and trading posts and fortifications of their dreams. And in a nod to games like Minecraft, the construction mechanics are built on a foundation of supplies procured through co-op mining gameplay. Ahead of the reveal, we asked City State Entertainment's Mark Jacobs a few questions about the systems he's proposing, from the influence of Mojang's popular sandbox to whether mining will become my new part-time job. Read on for the complete interview! [Update: As of Monday, CSE has also released the document form of the housing plans.]
Storyboard: Profession discussion - the Builder
Human beings like to make stuff. It's in our nature, presumably because the humans who liked making things were able to create important inventions like clothing and weapons and homes and portable DVD players. That stuff gives you an edge over the guy hunting with a rock and a decent pitching arm. A lot of jobs and hobbies alike revolve around making things or changing existing made things into new made things. The Builder isn't just someone who enjoys making things but someone who lives by making things. Our previous professions have all focused around providing something, but the Builder is the person responsible for making those things. This is a profession that's all about creating, something near and dear to most roleplayers to begin with. But it's also a profession that has a bit more to it than simply being the guy down the road who puts cabinets together at a discount.
Camelot Unchained on building community
Creating an atmosphere and incentives for players to rely on and help each other out is paramount to building a strong community, says Mark Jacobs in his latest Camelot Unchained dev blog. "Part of our job as the designers and developers of CU is to put systems in place to create interdependency that encourages players to work together so that they not only have the most fun but also enjoy the quickest ways to success within the game," Jacobs writes. His post explains how the team is using both crafting and housing as ways to bind players together organically rather than force them to group due to sheer necessity. Even if players don't want to engage in these systems, Jacobs envisions a connection between such straight-up warriors and the crafters/builders as all can benefit from helping each other out.
NVIDIA plans construction of a new, very polygonal HQ
Well, someone had to offer a counterpart to the giant donut. NVIDIA has decided that its ongoing success in 3D graphics and mobile processors merits a suitably geometric new headquarters, so it's upping the stakes among oddly-shaped offices: it's planning to construct a triangular pair of buildings a stone's throw away from its existing Santa Clara campus. Like its upcoming parallel at the Fruit Company, the NVIDIA facility will focus on both eco-friendly design and wide open spaces that, officially, are meant to reflect the company's loves of art, collaboration and science. Of course, the Tegra creator is quick to admit that it really needs the buildings to accommodate its growing staff count -- and we imagine that "make it look cool" was also part of the proposal. NVIDIA hasn't said just when the new headquarters will be ready, although it will have to make up for lost time if it wants to have Silicon Valley's star attraction.
Samsung expands Silicon Valley crib with 1.1 million square foot R&D center
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the most extravagant flashy lifestyle, the deluxe villa, the fly palace of Samsung Semiconductor Inc. It only exists as a pile of architects' drawings right now, and probably looks nothing like the Minecraft wonderment shown above, but when it's finished the 10-story San Jose structure will boast the following: A new sales and R&D center, built in the stead of some existing Samsung offices, with floor space totaling 1.1 million square feet. A layout that seeks to "encourage interaction among staff" and "foster connections with the community," while ultimately improving Sammy's "soft capabilities" A parking garage and an "amenity pavilion" (whatever that is, we just know we can't afford one) So, that's pretty much it in terms of detail. But to put all this into perspective, we're talking about an HQ that will be slightly bigger than Apple's recent 3,600-worker expansion in Austin, Texas -- or around a third the size of an infinite loop. [Image credit: MinecraftModsDL.com]
Time names Guild Wars 2 the top video game of 2012
What's the best video game of 2012? If you're Time magazine or are looking at the headline of this article, chances are you probably know the answer. Time's website counted down the year's top 10 video games, putting Guild Wars 2 at the top of the list. The author seems taken with the game's dynamic event system: "All those events and hundreds more play out in real-time -- with, as Bono would say, or without you -- lending Guild Wars 2 the feel of a living world, and the sort of compulsive anywhere-you-go playability other MMOs only dream of." Torchlight II also made it into the list at the number 10 spot, with the author saying that it delivered the same action-RPG rush of Diablo III at a third of the price.
Daily iPhone App: Bad Hotel combines hotel building with music
Bad Hotel is a great game that you may have missed on the App Store earlier this year. I certainly missed it, though since it arrived (back around August), I believe, it's come up a few times in various game design and game reviewer circles. It's a weird mix of music and gameplay that is definitely easy to recommend, but hard to actually describe. The best way for you to see how the game works is just to go play it, so throw 99 cents down and go grab this one for yourself. Still here because you don't want to spend a buck without knowing what it's for? Fine then. Bad Hotel is probably best described as a weird sort of tower defense game, where you drag and drop various sacrificial additions onto a hotel tower, trying to defend it from incoming attackers (mostly birds, though I hear things get mixed up later on). But that core mechanic isn't the only thing happening. Bad Hotel is also a sort of musical instrument. Each room you drag onto the hotel pulses with a musical noise, and as you put more and more rooms out (and more rooms get destroyed by attackers), the music changes and warps as you play. It's really fascinating -- it's hard to explain just why this mechanic is attached to the music so strongly (you don't get points for matching up with the music or hitting anything in time, as in a normal music game), but again, the best way to see how well it all works is just to play it and explore for yourself. A recent update for the game opened up all of the levels completely, so now anyone jumping in to play has more options than ever for what they want to see. Bad Hotel is definitely a weird title, but a great one. If, like me, you missed it during the release, don't make the same mistake now.
Apple's 'spaceship' campus might be delayed until 2016
Apple was moving right along on its plans to build a "spaceship"-like campus on the ground in Cupertino by 2015, but according to a new report to the city council, the project has been delayed by at least a year. Apple was hoping to break ground on the new site this year, but the company is still working on an environmental impact report that's not expected to be finished until June 2013, and that report is required for Cupertino's council to approve the building. There aren't any big changes to the plan itself though a few revisions have been made, including a new scheme to develop the area without trucking dirt around, as well as a tweak that will move a big auditorium further away from campus center. The biggest issue is city council approval. And the council says that even if it approves the plans as they are, local residents might have other legal challenges that could delay the process even further. At any rate, Apple may not get to start building the spaceship campus until 2014, which means employees likely couldn't sit down at their new desks until a few years later. That's probably still fine with the company, though given how quickly things are moving in this industry, it's hard to tell just what Apple will be like when that date rolls around.
Torchlight II might take some inspiration from Minecraft down the road
You like Torchlight II, right? Pummeling your way through waves of baddies, reducing those baddies to nothing more than piles of gold and items -- it's exhilarating, isn't it? But what if you could do more? Maybe like building a little house or planting a field of wheat? Max Schaefer, designer extraordinaire, hinted in a recent interview that that's the sort of future addition he'd like for Torchlight II. He said that his personal hope for the game would be "to get the building and resource aspects of Minecraft and put them into an ARPG, just so it's a little more than just wandering from one monster to the next and hitting them." Schaefer is a fan of this idea as a way to lend a sense of permanence to the game and a way for players to add to their game world. However, he's not the only person at Runic Games, which means his idea is just one of many possibilities for the future of Torchlight II. "We're a long way from exhausting the possibilities," he added. To hear about power creep, player mods, and how awesome a Minecraft-Torchlight II fusion would be, hit up the full interview.
Google draws 25 million new building footprints in Maps, shapes up your neighborhood
The fine, well labeled lines of Google Maps may show a clean layout of your neighborhood, but without buildings, it looks too much like a two-dimensional spread of undeveloped tract housing. Google's finally filling in the gaps, outlining 25 million building footprints in cities all across the United States. Residents of Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Detroit and other cities can now see the familiar outlines of their local stomping ground on the services' mobile and desktop maps. Most of these buildings were algorithmically generated from aerial photographs,locals can pen in their own content by using Google Map Maker to add new buildings or tag their favorite local eatery. The tweak sounds minor, but it certainly makes the standard map's criss-cross of roads look more familiar. Check out the official Google Lat Long blog below for more details.
Free for All: Xulu Universe is more than Second Life-lite
Xulu Universe is a new world built with far-reaching horizons. In reality, those horizons are within reach for anyone who wants to take the time to travel. If you see it, you can go to it. Xulu Universe is also a world of endless building opportunities as in Second Life, although comparing it to Second Life wouldn't quite be accurate. Where Second Life is a sandbox with no set boundaries, Xulu Universe is more of a standardized experience. Sure, there are plans to allow players to add unique touches to creations, but initially, creators will have access to a limited toolset. Don't let that fool you; the tools are quite robust and easy to use. Last week I joined Xulu Entertainment's co-founders, CEO Nanci Solomon and CTO Joe Santos, for a tour around the new building MMO. We drove, flew, ran, shot, stacked, and jumped through the physics-based world thanks to a new peer-to-peer-styled server plan. What does all of this mean? Click past the cut and I'll do my best to explain what Xulu Universe is all about. %Gallery-164207%
