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Five iOS apps to help you say goodbye to summer, hello to fall
For many people here in the US, summer is quickly coming to a close. School is back in session, summer vacations are done and the temperatures are getting a bit cooler. It can be hard to leave behind the fun of summer, so we've put together a list that'll help you say goodbye to the warm, sunny weather and hello to fall. Foliage Leaf Peepr (Free) Fall means foliage and Yankee Magazine's Leaf Peepr is one of the best iPhone apps for tracking foliage changes, especially in the Northeast.The Leaf Peepr app helps fall foliage fans find the best and brightest colors in their area. Users can also make foliage reports (called Peeps) by posting photos, writing comments and rating the foliage status for their location. Ski Safari (US$0.99) For some people, fall is the season between water skiing and snow skiing. Yes, we realize Ski Safari is not a ski simulation, but the iPhone and iPad game will entertain you with its winter-themed fun until the real snow starts hitting the ground. Lego Halloween Creationary (Free) Besides foliage, Fall also means apples, pumpkins and Halloween. Get ready for some spooky fun with this build-and-guess game from Lego. Each round starts with creepy Lego object and you have to guess what's being built. The faster you guess, the more points your earn. Photo Wall Pro ($2.99) Now that summer is over, you likely have a phone filled with photos. Don't let those precious memories just sit there; make them into a collage with an app like Photo Wall Pro. The collage maker allows you to send your creation off as a postcard or share it with family and friends. NFL Fantasy Football (Free) Last, but far from least, is football, which kicked off earlier this week. If you haven't started yet, now is the time to download this Fantasy Football app from the NFL and start managing your virtual team. [Image from flickr/muffinman71xx]
Microsoft to use SpeedTree for multiple projects in 2008
The next time you're frolicking through a dense forest in your favorite video game, be sure to bark out your gratitude to the widely used SpeedTree program and its painstaking planting, positioning and watering of all the nearby faux foliage. Microsoft Games Studios clearly appreciates this in-game gardening, having just entered into a new agreement with Interactive Data Visualization Inc. for the use of SpeedTree RT, a cross-platform real-time tree-generating program. A variant of the software was previously employed in both Project Gotham Racing 3 and Project Gotham Racing 4.The agreement will see SpeedTree RT, which has already been incorporated into the Unreal Engine, used for multiple unannounced projects on the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows platforms. We can't venture any guesses as to what these titles may be, but we feel safe in our assumption that none of them will be set in Antarctica. [Via GameDaily]Read -- Press Release (PDF)
Crysis direct-feed GDC trailer: it's hot
Folks expecting a prettier version of Far Cry with CryTek's new Cry Engine 2 can now gape in awe at what's possible with Crysis, the company's next-gen shooter for EA. No more off-screen video recordings for us!If nothing's changed about the FPS gameplay presented, we can look forward to some of the most realistically rendered in-game foliage ever, as well as a buggy boss who will most likely make another appearance at E3. Who wouldn't want to get Lost in that kind of tropical environment?[Thanks, Phil and alvin; smaller HD versions in WMV and QT over here]See also: Crysis for EA: good for Crytek? Behold: CryTek's Crysis Windows Vista delayed until 2007... taking Halo 2 with it? Rumor: game based on TV's Lost this fall for consoles
