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The Stomping Land is switching to Unreal Engine 4
Dino-delay or evolutionary upgrade? The situation might be both for The Stomping Land, which has been on the down low while its developer works to bring it to a new game engine after the old engine lost studio support. "It has been quiet in The Stomping Land community but that is certainly not the case behind the scenes!" Developer Alex "Jig" Fundora told Kotaku. "The game is being moved to Unreal Engine 4 to take advantage of technical and creative opportunities, and while the game was so early in development, I didn't want to keep working for years with a game engine (UDK) that had officially lost support by Epic. The move has put a bit of more work on my plate, but the already discovered opportunities using UE4 are exciting, and I'm confident fans will be satisfied with the long-run decision." The dinosaur-themed survival sandbox went into early access this past May 30th.
Meet Durango, Nexon's dino survival MMO
Pop quiz, hotshot! Which of these things do not go together: dinosaurs, wooly mammoths, hot air balloons, chainsaws, survival gameplay. It's actually a trick question, because in Durango, Nexon's newest MMO, they all do. Nexon recently revealed the survival-based dino-tastic MMO with a teaser site. From the looks of it, players will be put into a mish-mash prehistoric isometric setting and challenged to survive by making tools, constructing traps, fighting dinos, and building up a safe home. The title is being made by the folks who did Vindictus. In an interesting twist, Durango will be heading primarily (from the looks of it) to mobile platforms, including iOS, Android, and Nvidia Shield. You can check out the teaser trailer after the jump.
The Stomping Land's dinosaur survival MMO is coming to Steam this month
The Stomping Land, a survival MMO with a generous heaping of dinosaurs, is set to arrive on Steam Early Access on May 23rd for backers and May 30th for everyone else. The cost will be $24.99 for non-backers. The MMO was successfully funded through Kickstarter last year and is being developed by Alex Fundora. The Stomping Land challenges players to survive as a human in harsh environments that include rather ravenous dinos. Hunger and thirst are issues that must be dealt with, and these are made all the more challenging by a lack of internal inventory (everything must be carried in hand or stored on the map). The game encourages players to form tribes for survival and allows them to capture, tame, and even ride dinosaurs. The Early Access version will launch with one island, and you can check out the trailer for the release after the break.
Wizard101 invites us to the dinosaur world of Azteca
While KingsIsle has been heavily focused on Pirate101's recent launch, the studio wanted to send a strong message that it's still fully behind Wizard101 and has a dedicated team working hard to keep improving and expanding the game. In fact, the Wizard101 team is larger now than it was at launch and has a huge announcement to share. So what's the big exciting news of the day? Producer Leah Ruben was bursting at the seams to tell us in three words: "Dinosaurs are awesome!" Actually, the big news is that Wizard101 is preparing to release its ninth new world since launch, a dinosaur world named Azteca. Azteca not only will challenge players to progress through 13 areas but is going to raise the level cap. And the biggest surprise of all? It's going on test servers this week for players to try out. Keep on reading to find out what Azteca is going to do for the landscape of Wizard101!
WobbleWorks: flapping ears and robotic dinosaur dreams
Artisan's Asylum's 30,000-odd square feet were largely uninhabited when we arrived early Wednesday afternoon. No shocker there, really -- the space's president and co-founder Gui Cavalcanti warned us in advance that it wouldn't begin filling up until later that evening, seeing as how a big portion of renters hold down nine-to-fives. They occupy desk jobs during daytime hours in order to support their after-work passions, stopping by the space in the evening hours to produce works that might some day rise above the category of hobby. The duo behind WobbleWorks are strange cases, however, not simply due to the moving rabbit and dog ears they donned during our interview -- their paying gigs hardly qualify them for the straight-laced, button-down world we've come to associate with the term "day job." In 2011, Max Bogue and Peter Dilworth founded the small toy company aiming to help fund their true passion: robotic dinosaurs.
Pleo bares it all for FCC approval
Poor Pleo. Everyone fell in love with the little green dino at first sight, but no one actually bought the thing. Undaunted, the adorable fleshy robot made a triumphant return at this year's CES as Pleo RB (that's "Reborn"), with the help of adopted manufacturer Innvo Labs. The newly invigorated 'bot brings voice recognition, more sensors, and RFID-based command learning technology to the table. With all its new gear in place, Pleo was poked, prodded, and peeled by the FCC, revealing, among other things, that new RFID reader in its chin. The results are gruesome and not recommended for faint of heart robot dinosaur lovers. You've been warned. %Gallery-123937%
Pleo RB cuddles up to CES, we go hands-on and talk to Innvo about future Pleos
The folks behind the Pleo robot dinosaur didn't have much but promises and a giant, not-for-sale version of the bot at last year's CES, but Innvo Labs has come through this year. They have a number of their new Pleo RB dinos on hand, and we got a chance to both check them out and talk to Innvo COO Derek Dotson about what the future might hold for the robot dinosaur that refused to die. As for the current Pleo RB, while it may look relatively unchanged from before, it does boast some fairly impressive improvements, including voice recognition (with any language), more touch sensors, the ability to sense temperatures, RFID-based "learning stone technology" for feeding and other advanced commands, and time of day awareness. As you might be able to surmise, the combination of those latter two means that the Pleo will get slow and lethargic if you don't take care of it, but Innvo assures us that it won't actually die (just make you incredibly sad). It sounds like we could be seeing some even bigger changes in future generations of Pleo, though. Innvo tells us that they've basically pushed the current design to the limit, and they seem to be keeping all options on the table for future models. We asked about different versions, internet-connectedness, and even a Roomba-like ability to recharge itself, and Dotson said that Innvo considering all of those, but that it doesn't want to rush and do anything that would dilute the Pleo brand. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look at the Pleo RB, and head on past the break for a video. %Gallery-113464%
Pleo RB robosaur now on sale for $469, Christmas now cleared to take place
Worried that your holiday celebrations just wouldn't be able to take place without an autonomous robotic dinosaur roaming the halls and frightening the grandparents? Fret no more. With under a fortnight to go, Innvo Labs has managed to put the revitalized Pleo RB (Pleo Reborn, if you must know) on sale, with a stiff $469 getting you a newborn dinosaur with a Li-Polymer battery, a charging cradle and a training leaf. Yeah, a training leaf. Unfortunately, the MSRP here is a fair bit higher than the $350 that Ugobe charged for the original, but at least the price premium does include a tougher hide, a newfangled RFID sensing system and a stronger, longer-lasting battery. And really, who could say no to a smile like that?
Video: Samsung's Soulful dinosaur takes tour around England
Remember that not-entirely-innocent looking prehistoric creature that won your heart immediately upon viewing Samsung's optical illusion promotional vid? Apparently quite a few folks demanded to see more of the Soul dinosaur, so Sammy hoisted him up onto a truck and proceeded to drive around a few English towns. Catch the sub-2 minute journey (reactions included) just after the break.[Thanks, Claudio]
Stone Age 2 knuckle-drags to closed beta
We talked about Aeria Games' Stone Age 2 before, with its interesting pet system, access to pet information via cell phone, and possibility of viewing in-game events through fixed video cameras, and now it's time to see if any of those things made the cut. SA2 has hit closed beta, and our sister site Big Download is hosting the client!To get into the beta, point your browser to the game site to register, then hie thee to the host page to get the client. C'mon, who wouldn't love a cute, cuddly-wuddly li'l dino following them around? Well, except people made of meat, which we all are ... hmm. Note to self: first train dino to become a vegetarian.
Mattel's D-Rex wants a piece of Pleo, your leg
If you're content with letting time pass you by, you may not realize that this year's holiday shopping season is but ten months away, and apparently, Mattel thinks it's got the whole hottest toy thing figured out already. Granted, we'd place our bets on that wildly animated Elmo Live fellow (and yeah, Kota is a legitimate dark horse), but the $150 D-Rex dinosaur is still pretty slick. Aimed at kids ages six and (way) up, the interactive dino reportedly features 100 different roars, "lifelike" skin (saywha?) and the ability to respond to a variety of commands or simply take a chunk out of your ankle if he prefers. Looks like Pleo's got its work cut out, eh?[Thanks, Braden R.]
Pleo goes under the knife in astonishingly long video
Yeah, we gave you a plethora of hatching photos to ooh and ahh over when we received our first Pleo, but considering our inexplicable fear of needles and prehistoric blood, we never considered taking things any further. Apparently, the folks over at Pleo Dreams completely disregarded our recommendation to not de-skin the dinosaur, and proceeded to remove every square centimeter of Pleo's covering on video. Believe it or not, things get pretty interesting once the garb comes off, but you'll have to endure a near-24 minute clip in order to say you saw the entire procedure from start to finish. You ready? It's waiting after the break.
Ugobe readies Pleo for pre-order, kicks out feature spot
Sure, you've probably seen way more Wowwee robot action in the past few weeks than you ever thought your retinas could stand, but since you persevered, why not give this not-exactly-related family member a few ticks of your time too? Ugobe's Pleo has been a long time coming, and while we've seen a small clip of the dino in action before, now the two-week old Camarasaurus has its very own advertising spot. The video showcases the wee creature's ability to "sense," feel emotions, walk, interact with its environment, and "learn" over time. Furthermore, it looks like the company's previous estimates of a March launch date could be on target after all, as the website now states that pre-order information will be available in four short days. So if you're even pondering picking up an intelligent pet from the Jurassic period that doesn't even need those uber-expensive booster shots, click on through for the marketing hoopla. [Thanks, Eric C.]
Unload on dinos in Jurassic Rage
Far Cry got a dinosaur mod a few years ago, now Unreal Tournament 2004 gamers have an impending dino crisis on their hands. Jurassic Rage is a new team deathmatch mod that features an objective-based co-op mode, RPG-style character attributes, and a certification system to enhance your player proficiencies. There are a few dinosaur models at the mod's official site, but right now it's all about the weapons. Beretta PX4 Storms, Mac 10s, and 18-inch machetes highlight the growing arsenal you will use to take down the opposing team and some hungry prehistoric predators.Jurassic Rage will also be ported to Unreal Tournament 2007, although there are no release dates mentioned for either version.
Dinosaurs battle it out on the DS
Majesco's Dino Master charges players with playing God, much like the way John Hammond did when creating his Jurassic Park. Upon digging for, and finding, dinosaur fossils, the player will use them to clone a certifiable cornucopia of carnivorous and omnivorous beasts and, like any other person who would manage to accomplish a feat often dreamed of in Sci-Fi films, pit them in combat to the death. The game will feature over 100 real species of dinosaur, multiplayer for up to 2 players via wireless link-up, and over 35 fighting techniques to discover.[Thanks Sense!]
