collision
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TERA invites the Berserker to visit for tea
When you heard that one of TERA's classes was to be called the "Berserker" and you either thought of either the 80's arcade cabinet classic or an obscure song from the movie Clerks, then we could be fast friends. In any case, TERA's Brian Knox and Scott James Magner sat down with ZAM to talk about this brutal class and why it might appeal to the barbarian in all of us. TERA's Berserker is a two-handed axe wielder who has his weapon constantly in motion. The relatively short range of the class means that Berserkers have to get up close and personal with any foe they're fighting, but the increased risk of such moves are paid off with some of the highest DPS of the game. Because TERA uses both collision and positioning in its combat system, it's essential for the Berserker to hit with the blade and then duck away before getting slammed in return. Get too close, and you'll end up hitting with the hilt and wondering why the monster is laughing at you. You can read the full interview at ZAM and check out a series of screenshots detailing one of the Berserker's key moves. The official TERA site also has an outline of the class, along with a video for your eyes only (it will self-destruct after viewing).
Black Prophecy technical director on game's physics
Black Prophecy from Reakktor Media is a sci-fi MMO that may ultimately be a bit more accessible to some gamers than reigning sci-fi champ EVE Online. It will be a very different sort of game than EVE, though. In fact, there is still much about Black Prophecy that has yet to be revealed, but the title's certainly got potential from what we've learned so far. While we're hoping to have more information for you about Black Prophecy in the coming months, the team at Reakktor Media is keeping fans up to date with dev diaries explaining some of the different facets of the game. The latest series of these blogs on the game's physics is being written by Black Prophecy's Technical Director Cyrus Preuss, which he continues today by focusing on the physics engine itself. His dev diary is a bit technical, but not all that difficult to follow either. Cyrus explains the concepts of the "physics loop" and the factors which ultimately define the game environment in space. (This includes collision detection, which triggers particle effects and sound effects, but there's quite a bit more to it than that.) If you're curious about this aspect of Black Prophecy's game design, have a look at Cyrus's dev diary or jump into the discussion by the fans on the game's official forums.
Sony Australia flings a PS3 into a Bravia, technophiles cringe
Dear Mr. Larson, Congratulations! With your recent purchase of our 46-inch Bravia KDL46X 3100 LCD TV, you're eligible to receive a free PlayStation 3 -- provided you haven't changed your address, and still live in Australia. Funny story: You're actually the last person that's eligible to receive the free console with the TV's purchase. "Lucky Number 25,000," we've been calling you around the office. I'm running to the stockroom right now, so I can ship your console and television to you personally, along with a very heartfelt letter of gratitude. Oh, crap. Listen, Mr. Larson -- I might have forgotten something ... important. See, to promote this offer, we may have flung the last PlayStation 3 into your Bravia television at 50 mph. By "may have flung," of course, I mean "totally did fling." If it makes you feel any better, it was a really good ad (check it out after the jump)! Very thought-provoking, and even a little cheeky. Just know that your television and video game console died for a worthwhile cause. (What? No! Of course there are no refunds. Don't be silly.) Love, Sony Australia.
Latest Ask Cryptic explains space combat tactics in Star Trek Online
A nice thing Cryptic Studios has been doing across their MMO titles in development is "Ask Cryptic", where fans of Star Trek Online (and Champions Online) pose questions to the developers and get answers. The latest (and tenth) Ask Cryptic for Star Trek Online covers a wide variety of topics. Cryptic explains a bit about space navigation in Star Trek Online, done via three levels of maps -- sector space maps (planets, solar systems, space stations, nebulas, anomalies), system maps (3D), and ground maps which include the surface of planets for away missions as well as space station interiors. They also address a strength of Star Trek Online that not all MMOs have -- entity into entity collision. What does this mean for STO players? Ramming speed! In fact, that will be one of the skills players can select. Cryptic explains the advantage to this, with one caveat: "Keep in mind, if your ship is already badly damaged, you may not want to ram into a fully intact Borg cube, for example. That would be a bad idea. On the other hand, if you know you're going to lose, you could ram into them, hit the self destruct and take them out with you."
US and Russian satellites collide in 'unprecedented' accident
A US Iridium satellite has hit a defunct Russian satellite in an unprecedented space collision. The crash occurred some 790km (491 miles) over Siberia on Tuesday, according to NASA, and produced a "massive" cloud of debris. About 600 pieces are being tracked from the debris field in hopes of understanding the risk they present to other satellites and the international space station. The Russian craft was identified as the 950kg (2,094 pound) Cosmos 2251, a communications relay station launched in 1993 and believed to have been non-operational for the last 10 years or so. The Iridium telecommunications satellite was estimated to weigh about 560kg (1,234 pounds). Unsurprisingly, its loss is expected to have "minimal impact on Iridium's service," according to a statement made by the company. When asked who was at fault, NASA responded dryly: "They ran into each other. Nothing has the right of way up there. We don't have an air traffic controller in space. There is no universal way of knowing what's coming in your direction." Gulp.
Ask A Beta Tester: Kalecgos, Wintergrasp, and how much is this going to cost me?
We're going to get right down to business this evening, folks. I was kind of heartened to see Willferal (our first questioner) ask about something that's bugged me for a while.EDIT: several commenters have taken issue with the lack of a spoiler warning on this post when it went live at 9:00 pm EST. I genuinely apologize; it should have occurred to me to write one, and it's entirely my fault that one wasn't present. So consider this fair -- if belated -- warning that there's a significant, if general, spoiler in this AABT concerning an important quest chain in Wrath, and if you're trying to avoid spoilers completely, please do NOT read AABT. This column is nothing but a pile of spoilers compressed into a spoiled package and tied with a spoilery bow.Willferal asks...I know that in Wotlk, the players are fighting Malygos. But in TBC, Kalec/Tyri are blue dragons that help us, and Kalec is especially vital in his help to kill Kiljaeden. What's their role in Wrath?I wish I knew. I never found any mention of Kalecgos while leveling, and Tyrygosa only got a brief mention at last year's BlizzCon. Tyrygosa's role in BC wasn't that extensive, but Kalecgos was all that and a box of crackers in Sunwell, so this is a little...mystifying. They both seem on passable (Tyrygosa) to good (Kalecgos) relations with the mortal races, so the involvement of their entire flight in Malygos' war would -- I hope -- concern them somewhat. I really hope Blizzard goes somewhere with this, but as of now I don't think you can expect to find anything in Northrend.
The importance of collision detection in PvP
Collision detection in an MMO is just one of those things you may take for granted. If it works, you don't really notice it. If it doesn't work, it's a fun little exploit to hide in a rock and amaze your friends! But collision detection is becoming increasingly important in upcoming MMOs such as Age of Conan and Warhammer Online because of their predominant PvP natures.So in a recent post at Relmstein's blog, he dissects the different types of collision detection, how they work and in which situations they would be most useful. These situations can range anywhere from player-to-player, player-to-fixed-object or player-to-moving-object collision. Each one requires its own type of algorithm which reacts differently when applied. Most of these detection methods would be set in place to avoid exploit, but can be tricky when it comes to things like line-of-sight.
Collision mechanics -- yay or nay?
The plight of the prot warrior and other tanks in PvP has been lamented for ages on the forums. DPSers can, of course, kill their opponents in PvP, and healers can help out their team, but the effectiveness of tanks depends entirely on a non-sentient opponent. Illidan and Archimonde apparently can't see beyond attacking the shiny person in the nice thick armor, but even the dumbest player knows not to go for the guy in plate with 15k health. Making taunt work on players is a commonly-mentioned idea, but it would take away a lot of the fun and strategy from PvP. Prius of Blade's Edge has a new idea for helping out our protection buddies in PvP. He would like WoW to implement collision mechanics in PvP. That way, a prot warrior could "tank" by physically preventing enemy players from getting to his squishies. Warhammer Online is already implementing such a system, whenever it finally comes out (probably bundled with Duke Nukem Forever.) There are a lot of problems with body collision in general, most of which are aptly summed up in this thread. Total body collision would allow WoW's infinite supply of jerks to block off access to banks, inns, dungeons and whatnot. PvE collision would turn raids into a group of tauren warriors standing around a boss while ranged DPS nukes it down. And, like everything, collision would add lag to the servers. But a pure PvP collision, done only in battlegrounds or if two players are PvP-enabled or dueling, sounds like it could be a neat mechanic. Of course, I'd feel sorry for the gnomes, but maybe they could get some ankle-biting collision abilities. Do you think PvP collision could be a viable new mechanic for WoW PVP? What problems would you forsee?
Xbox 360 survives multi-roll car crash, keeps churning
Some stories are simply too sensational to be true, thus giving us every reason we'd ever need to just blow it off, but there's one saving grace to a whacked-out story: pictures. Reportedly, an Xbox 360 owner was rammed in a hit and run style accident, where his Chevrolet S-10 "rolled over three or four times," launching the helpless console and a bevy of accessories onto the freeway. While the fellow (thankfully) survived the ordeal with little more than a "bruised elbow," his beloved console suffered quite a beating; the Xbox 360, its power brick, and several controllers were ran over by oncoming vehicles, leaving "tire marks" everywhere and "squishing" the metal supports within. After the turmoil subsided, this hardcore gamer was (understandably) more concerned with the life of his toy than whether or not his insurance policy had expired, so he rushed home to try things out. Although his trigger arm was a bit sore, the console managed to boot up, play games, and even play back a DVD, providing an assumed sigh of relief for traumatized lad. You can catch a video of the rugged console in action after the break, while hitting the read link will show you the survivor's tale and a bevy of pics.[Thanks, Arjun]
