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Tabula Rasa team talks two patches ahead, sort of
Another week brings another gaggle of player questions for Critters over at the Tabula Rasa community team. Nothing of terribly much interest this week, though they're reporting that the development team is already on their second week of development on patch 1.6... which saddens my little gamer heart because we've scarcely heard any details about 1.5 yet. We know it exists, surely, but since one of the few details we have heard was later rescinded, it's hard to get terribly optimistic about the whole thing. We're not totally wise on the development process, but doesn't it seem a little premature to be working on 1.6 when players have only just came to terms with 1.4? Maybe I'm out of touch, that's always a possibility.They also go on to address some slightly mundane questions like whether there are unlimited clone credits (no), whether player attributes pass over to clones (yes), whether item rarity should be affecting the quality of tools (yes, and they're fixing it), and whether we can get some more information on the always-popular Personal Armored Units (no, but stay tuned). There seems to be a growing frustration with these community updates, to which we are certainly not immune, and it stems from the general absence of real substantive developer feedback about player concerns. We'll see what the mood is next week.
TR's hybrid high jinks prove hollow on the whole
When the Destination Games crew announced that they would be putting alien hybrids into Tabula Rasa's patch 1.4, I think it took a lot of people by surprise. Since the game launched in early November, the devs have shown a reluctance to acknowledge many of the complaints players have had with the game. One of the more persistent complaints was that there was a lack of depth in the character creation and customization options. Most character models are indistinguishable from each other to begin with, and there is no variety within a specific armor set of a certain level. My level 50 graviton is going to look just like your level 50 graviton, which lends an air of homogeneity to the whole affair. So it really came as a surprise when all of a sudden, they fulfilled part of our wish and gave us the option of making clones with hybrid DNA – taking on the physical features and stats of one of Tabula Rasa's three most prominent alien races. After having given my new Forean clone a good deal of play time, I've found myself dissatisfied. It's pretty cool being green (and getting the huge bonus to Mind!), but there are so many different things I wish they had done. %Gallery-9822%
CNN settles presidential race through Pong clone
Forget selecting your presidential candidate by analyzing their values and stances on the issues, CNN has created a new game that let's you make the most important choice in U.S. democracy the way God intended: Through a Pong clone. While it's hard to get too mad at Presidential Pong, a game that includes both "Military Veteran" and "Lincoln's Statehouse" power ups, the absence of some candidates is a bummer. It seems Kucinich and Tancredo will continue to be denied a rematch of the 1978 ping-pong battle that left one man without an index finger and one just a little bit wiser.[Big ups to our main man laserboyjc. Sorry we forgot.]
Keepin' it real fake: clash of the iPhone clones
Yes, the iPhone looks like a beautiful piece of equipment (at least from afar, which is the only way we've managed to see it), and yes, we expected a flood of Asian devices lovingly replicating its industrial design -- but even by Keepin It Real Fake standards, this is getting out of hand. To be clear, the three iPhone clones we're presenting here merely scratch the surface of the knockoff market Apple is up against west of the International Date Line, but we thought they represented a pretty solid cross section of what's going to be available. Curiously, two of the three -- the Honey VX858 from ONDA and Ainol's V2000 -- are merely media players, leaving out the "Phone" part of "iPhone" entirely. Specs on the Honey VX858 are sketchy at this point, though we know it'll feature a dual-core processor and a 2.8 inch display, suggesting that a broad range of video support is likely. The Ainol V2000 meanwhile flaunts pretty much every audio and video standard one could hope for, plus a variety of in-built game console emulators (though external controllers will obviously be a must). Last but certainly not least, the CECT P168 uses standard guts that we see on a wide variety of the latest generation of Asian clone devices, featuring a touchscreen and a row of icons across the bottom of the display. Strangely, the "P168" designation seems to be used for several models in CECT's stable, so we're not sure how someone orders this particular model. Maybe it's like a grab bag of sorts: you specify a P168, and depending on CECT's mood you could get an iPhone or an equally-convincing P990i knockoff. Anyway, your hard-earned yuan here are going to buy you a 1.3 megapixel cam, 3.5 inch QVGA display, dual SIM support, and styling only Apple could hate. So, we ask: which is your favorite?[Via PMP Today, Electronista, and Slashphone]%Gallery-3475%Read - ONDA Honey VX858Read - Ainol V2000Read - CECT P168
Wired finds bargain Nano Knockoff
For about $100 (£50), Wired has found a Nano clone that appears to offer more features than the $250 (£129) real thing. Your money buys you a 4GB player with video support, an FM tuner, and a built-in voice recorder. Wired's Charlie Sorrel describes the sales presentation as cheeky (don't you love that?) and full of lawyer-bait, quoting from the sales page: "The groundbreaking new MP4 players have a similar look and feel to a Nano, but that's where the similarity ends".
Where OS X 'Big Cat' code names REALLY come from
OK, so imagine this: You're Apple Computer, Inc. (still) and it's December 1997. You've just blocked British Mac-clone maker Shaye from licensing Mac OS 8, thereby putting it pretty much out of luck for new products; in fact, Shaye will revert to selling genuine Apple gear at the end of the year. Still, there's something kind of catchy about Shaye's branding... something vaguely feline: Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard, Lion and Lynx. Nice ring to those "big cat" names. Mrowr! Reader Andreas Tellefsen spotted this incredible coincidence on Mac-clone history site everymac.com -- it seems that almost all of the Shaye model names have mysteriously transformed into Mac OS X release codenames. 'Lynx' is even one of the two additional big cats trademarked by Apple ('Cougar' is the other). Is this an innocent case of parallel branding? A sneaky repurposing of deprecated product names? Nothing more than a tempest in a litter box? You be the judge.Update: Ola and other commenters note that the Mac OS X names also match up with the names of German tanks and AFVs, which is a wee bit more disturbing.
Bizarre defends going after Geometry Wars clones
A few days ago, we reported on Bizarre Creations efforts to remove Geometry Wars clone Grid Wars from the internet. Bizarre recently posted an extensive justification of their actions to the community at large on their official forums. Among Bizarre's more salient points: Only hardcore gamers can tell the differences between these clones and Geometry Wars. Clones weaken the brand and discourage us from releasing Geometry Wars on new platforms. Geometry Wars is a rare example of and indie-owned, wholly original intellectual property, and that deserves protection. Simplicity of design does not warrant theft. Not wanting to buy an Xbox 360 does not warrant theft. All good points, but arguments alone aren't likely to stem the tide of freely available Geometry Wars clones on the internet. At the very least, though, they might make you feel guilty for helping discourage originality in video game design. Shame on you. Shame! [Via Gamasutra]
Super Console Wars puts spin on mascot Gamepires
We've seen Mario in the Matrix, Luigi as a Braveheart, and what we thought was everything in between. Well, hold up, 'cuz now we've seen everything: classic game icons have been mashed up with Star Wars.Super Console Wars: The Gamepire Strikes Gold is that hybrid that with good and evil roles spread out onto each platform and various gaming mascots, ranging from Mario clone troopers vs. Princess Zelda to a VMU droid and GPU-enabled android (erm, peripheral).About two-thirds of the way through the 20-minute video, you're gently encouraged to wear 3D glasses to enhance your video viewing, but even without glasses, the parody stands as an amusing take-off of gaming standards, pop culture, and retro reminiscing. Obi-Wan Shinobi, indeed.[Thanks, Cradrock]See also: Super Mario Reloaded Ready for an "Oldschool Revolution"?
Mac OS X on Beige Boxes; An Excellent Essay
An excellent essay written by Codepoet at MacGeekery.com popped up on my news radar today: Should Apple Sell Mac OS X For Beige Boxes. And I'm shocked that at the time of this writing, its read count is only 56. This essay is too well-written and makes too many cogent points to have only been read 56 times. The author makes a compelling argument for why Apple shouldn't sell Mac OS X for computers other than Macs. Go read it.What, are you still here? Go read this essay!
