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NASA picks early winners for its ISS robot arm challenge
NASA's bid to crowdsource an arm for its Astrobee cube robot is starting to bear fruit. The agency and Freelancer.com have chosen early winners for the Astrobee Challenges Series, each of which has designed a key component for the robotic appendage. South African grad student Nino Wunderlin produced an attachment mechanism, while Filipino conceptual engineer Myrdal Manzano crafted a "smart" attachment system. Indian software engineer Amit Biswas, in turn, developed a simple deployment mechanism.
NASA wants your origami ideas for its spacecraft radiation shield
NASA needs ideas on how to design a radiation shield for deep space vehicles, and it's turning to origami artists and enthusiasts for help. If you're skilled in the art, that includes you. The space agency has teamed up with crowdsourcing website Freelancer to launch a project challenging people to create an origami design showing the most efficient way to pack a radiation shield. It's a necessary component for manned missions, since cosmic rays can damage both human bodies and electronics. Without a shield, future spacefarers will be more prone to developing cancer, degenerative tissue damage, nervous system damage, heart disease and cataracts.
NASA needs help designing a smartwatch app for ISS astronauts
NASA has launched a contest to design a smartwatch app interface for use by International Space Station (ISS) astronauts. Nobody will be entering it for the $1,500 prize money, but you'll certainly get some pride and fame out of it. The app will be no less than "the general user interface for smart watch applications" aboard the ISS, according to NASA. As such, it'll need a lot of different functions: A "Crew Timeline" app for astronauts' agendas; a "Cautions and Warnings" app; another to check the communications status with Earth; and a timer "for procedures or until next activity."
Star Citizen tops $45 million, releases Freelancer commercial
It's been a while since we've seen a new spaceship commercial for Star Citizen. Given that Cloud Imperium is pimping the Freelancer this weekend, though, it's no surprise that the space big-rig now has its own in-universe advertisement. Genre mainstay Lance Henriksen does the voiceover honors, and there's a distinctive Firefly vibe to the whole clip, right down to the twangy guitar underneath. See for yourself after the break, and don't blink or you'll miss the Mother Trucker bumper decal! You might also want to read Chris Roberts' latest thank-you letter penned in response to Star Citizen breaking the $45 million crowdfunding barrier.
CIG spotlighting Star Citizen's Freelancer this weekend
Cloud Imperium is spotlighting Star Citizen's Freelancer class hull this weekend, with a lengthy website update, one of those spiffy in-character ship brochures, and three new variants either available via a pre-release backer purchase or available to earn in the finished game. CIG has also patched Star Citizen's hangar module, so if you own one of the Freelancer variants you'll now be able to explore them to your heart's content (though you can't use them in the recently released dogfighting module just yet). The new variants include the DUR, custom fitted for exploration, the MIS, a missile boat design, and the MAX, a dedicated hauler with additional cargo space.
Ask Massively: And the money will follow
A reader named Josh recently wrote to Massively to ask about the viability of a career in games journalism. He's not a kid with stars in his eyes; he's an adult who works for an elite tech company, and his dad is a published journalist himself. He once focused his MMO hobby into a livestreaming channel and blog but shut them down because of the time involved, and now he's considering whether a career shift to doing what he loves might be worthwhile. As a 30-year old with a family of three, I have a feeling that it would be very difficult to transition into the world of technology journalism. My impression is that it is an industry that does not really pay that much, and therein lies my quandary. My question for you at Massively is whether it is really possible to pursue the field of technology/gaming journalism and still support a family? And what traits are desirable in a technology journalist? Do editors look for people who have journalism degrees and existing experience, or is it a situation where you can step up to the plate and impress someone with your existing skill? How many of you that work for Massively actually support yourselves and your families based on your journalism, and what did it take to get to that point in your careers? Unfortunately, Josh's gut feeling is correct and terribly timely.
Designing Star Citizen's MISC Freelancer
Last December, Star Citizen showed off the prototype for the MISC Freelancer ship, a transport vessel with a community-approved design. Now, virtual pilots can take a slideshow stroll through the artistic development process that has gone into taking this ship from concept to final product over the past year. Check out the early renderings and the newest images while following along with the written narrative where developers discuss everything from basic features (like cargo hold placement and weaponry) to the minute details of interior decorations (like the style of seats installed). With 33 panels of images in this Work In Progress update, it's almost like getting a personal tour of the ship.
LFM: Massively seeks a new columnist and freelancers
Yes folks, it's that time again: the time when Massively hops into the hiring channel and says, "Looking for more!" We're looking to hire fresh meat a new staff member and a set of freelancers for the site: a new multipurpose columnist and West Coast freelancers. Here's the skinny on us: Massively is Joystiq's geeky MMO cousin. We're owned by AOL; we're all paid, remote contractors; and we uphold a strict set of ethical standards you won't find among our rivals. We focus on high-quality writing with fair sourcing and a mix of news and features. We employ actual copyediting and editorial oversight, so you won't see trainwreck English in every headline. In short, we are the MMO site the other sites use as an RSS feed. These positions would be an awesome chance to break into paid gaming journalism if you happen to have just the right blend of availability, excellent writing skills, and passion for the MMO genre. If that describes you, then read on and apply!
Stick and Rudder: Ten space sims to fill your Star Citizen void
This week I'd like to throw around a few ideas for enjoying yourself in Star Citizen's absence. Yeah, there's the hangar module, and it's pretty spectacular for what it is. But after dorking around in cockpits and doing a few I'll-be-in-my-bunk Jayne Cobb impersonations as I wedge my avatar into my Aurora's sleeping compartment, I ache to spool up those engines and go somewhere. Fortunately there are a ton of worthy space sims that we can use to while away the next couple of years. Or the next couple of months, because dogfighting alpha!
Ask Massively: Grand conspiracies
Earlier this week, Massively's Mike Foster penned a Soapbox editorial that argued against obsessing over the definition of MMO to the exclusion of debating good game design. If you liked it, awesome. If you hated it, then take heart; next week, Brendan Drain will be arguing the flip-side of Mike's article. That's what our Soapbox is all about: writers talking about game-related things they're interested in or passionate about. It's a soapbox mounted by a different author every week, not a notarized declaration of the site's purpose and intent. We've intentionally collected a team with diverse opinions, and we rarely all agree on every opinion published on the site, especially the Soapbox, and that's the whole point. If we all agreed, we'd be boring. Plus I'd never get to waste an afternoon debating video games with Eliot in chat, which is tremendous fun, incidentally, and I highly recommend it. This week in Ask Massively, I want to address the conspiracy theory proposed in the wake of that Soapbox as well as a few other bits and bobs from our comments.
Massively is looking for San Francisco freelancers
If you follow Ask Massively, you're probably aware of Massively's ethics policy -- you know, the one that keeps us from accepting awesome "free" trips to check out awesome games from awesome developers in awesome cities where we do not happen to have staff. That's where freelancers come in. This round, we're looking for a freelancer in San Francisco, California, to attend events for us on occasion and write about the games previewed there. It won't be a full- or part-time staff position; you'd just be called on for these special events when they crop up. We'd like to think it'd be a nice way for a local to get some industry experience, have some fun, and make some pocket change. Here's the skinny on what we're looking for and how you can apply.
The Game Archaeologist: Steve Nichols' The Realm Online debriefing, part 2
This week we continue our interview with Steve Nichols, one of the original lead developers on The Realm Online. After his work on this pioneering title, Nichols expanded his MMO resume with projects such as the never-seen Middle-earth Online (MEO), the seminal Freelancer, the PvP-centric Shadowbane, and the cult classic Dungeon Runners. These days, Nichols is with Retired Astronaut Collective, continuing to create games for all of us nutty players to enjoy. In this riveting conclusion to our talk on The Realm Online, Nichols discusses the difficulties of the game's promotions, lessons learned from his time on the project, and the sundry secrets of hanky-panky in this early MMO.
Chris Roberts returns with open-world Star Citizen sandbox
It's a good day to be a hardcore gamer, folks, particularly if you grew up playing Wing Commander, Freelancer, or any number of similar PC-exclusive space sims. Genre heavyweight Chris Roberts has finally unveiled his new project, and it looks to be a sprawling open-world title called Star Citizen. Roberts has released an 11-minute video detailing various aspects of the ambitious game (it's been in development for a year now), which include a co-op fighter pilot campaign and a huge Freelancer-style cosmos that allows players to pursue their own goals. Wanna be a pirate? Go ahead. A trader? Sure thing. Oh, you want absurdly immersive details like full working cockpits, flightsuit wrinkles, and physics-based spaceflight too? You got 'em. "I'm building the game, and a universe, that I would like to play, so it's for gamers like myself," Roberts explains. "I wouldn't say that I'm a social, casual gamer who plays Farmville. I like sophisticated experiences." Roberts goes on to explain why he's chosen the route of PC-exclusive in an era when consoles and mobile platforms are all the rage, and he also touches on the subject of crowd-funding. His goal is a relatively modest $2 million, and he's aiming to achieve it directly on the game's own website rather than via a third-party intermediary like Kickstarter. He's also got quite a bit of in-engine footage to show already, and you can see it in the clip after the cut. Is Star Citizen an MMO, though? That's hard to say at this juncture. We know it's massive in scale, and we know it's multiplayer, but thus far we don't know much about the server setup or how many concurrent users are in the cards. [Thanks to Scott for the tip!]
Wing Commander creator returns to gaming, unveils new project next month
Chris Roberts, the brain behind Wing Commander and Freelancer, announced his return to game development yesterday with a newly launched website*. The site more than hints at an upcoming high-end space sim, giving users a 'golden ticket' to a private showing of Roberts' 'next creation,' scheduled for 10am JST (7am Pacific) on October 10 at GDC Online. Furthermore, Roberts' updated LinkedIn profile lists him as the boss of Cloud Imperium. According to the site, Cloud Imperium launched last year and is "dedicated to high end gaming and anything involving spaceships."Although Roberts forged a career in Hollywood over the last decade, producing films like The Punisher and Lord of War, his passion clearly remains in the space sims he made across the 90s. His new website's introductory message reveals he left games development because he was frustrated with its technological limits. Roberts' Wing Commander series mixed space combat with high-end cinematics starring the likes of Mark Hamill and John Rhys Davies, and (in retrospect) the disparity between the graphics and video is stark.Roberts now feels he has the tools to build a world "more satisfying and richer" than any film he could work on. While things have changed much since Roberts' last worked in the industry back in 2003, the return of the man who made one of gaming's most celebrated series is certainly worth keeping an eye on.*if you're looking for the number code to login, think upon the most important question
Some Assembly Required: A look at Vendetta Online
The setup is pretty familiar. It's an MMO, it takes place entirely in outer space, and your avatar is your spaceship. There's a lot of trading, a lot of missioning, and PvP if you want it -- possibly even if you don't. Crucially, there's freedom to go your own way and precious little hand-holding. It's clearly inspired by Elite, and there's a fair bit of the X series in there as well. Nope, I'm not talking about EVE Online but rather Vendetta Online, an indie sandbox MMORPG that actually has more in common with classic space-trading sims than it does with CCP's New Eden.
The Game Archaeologist goes to Earth & Beyond: Final memories
The question that lurks deep in the recesses of most MMO gamers' minds -- the question that they never really want to ask -- is what will happen when the lights go out? When your favorite game is finally sent to its resting place in that server farm in the sky, will we still care about it, and if so, what will we be able to take away? While most of us have yet to face this, considering the longevity of most launched MMOs, it does happen, and it will certainly happen to us sooner or later. And while you won't be able to take your max-leveled, uber-geared character out of the game and into another one, you hopefully have the memories, the friendships, the screenshots, and the bragging rights. With many canceled MMOs, the shutdown is fairly abrupt following the official announcement, although some games, like Earth & Beyond, give players enough time to say their goodbyes and get in those final experiences before everything goes dark. Like many of the games we've been exploring in The Game Archaeologist, Earth & Beyond may not have enjoyed stellar popularity, but it certainly did have a remnant of dedicated fans who have yet to let the flames of their adoration die down. Today we've got a buffet of E&B goodness: the background story from the manual, final memories from a few fans, and a photo album full of concept art and nostalgic screenshots. Sound good? Let's go!
Get paid for your time: On The Job 3.0
On The Job 3.0 was released today, and it's poised to give my long-standing favorite time-tracking app, Billings 3, a good run for its money. On The Job 3 represents a complete rewrite of the application. It's such a new and different beast from its previous incarnations that -- in the words of the developer -- it "really feels much more like a version 1.0 than a 3.0." On The Job is designed for individuals -- freelancers, contractors, etc. -- who need to track their time and expenses, send invoices for multiple jobs with multiple clients, and handle payments. It, like Billings, is especially geared toward those who want the extra features which can make them look utterly professional in their invoicing and billing. Let's start with its looks: it's just plain gorgeous. From the main UI to the popup entry forms, and from the client editor to the template editor, the minute details of the interface have been treated with great care. I'll go ahead and say that the invoice template selector is eerily similar to Billings', but I'm not sure where the credit for the first such interface belongs. Let's just say it's a good one to pick up on. The default templates are definitely competition for Billings, whose selection is already above-par for time tracking and billing apps. Editing templates in either app is far more pleasurable than the first time I ever tried to edit a template in Quickbooks. The first thing that struck me when I opened up the demo was the sheer simplicity of the interface. Everything you need is there, exactly where you want to look for it. The play/pause button for timing jobs is big but not overly obtrusive, and you can turn its default, obnoxious spinning to a pleasant throb in the preferences. That sounded dirtier than it is. There's a menubar control of the timer as well. The overall feature set is not as robust as Billings, but there's definitely something to be said for simplicity. If you don't need the additional features, such as Pro Forma invoices, full account tracking and statements, it's very possible that On The Job might be a great candidate to serve your time-tracking needs. Other features in the new version include: Invoices for a specific date range New outstanding invoices panel Custom hourly rates for specific tasks Individual timing sessions are tracked, and can be "edited in post" Expense types now include quantity and mileage Per client currency settings Automatic and fully customizable invoice number generation On The Job is selling for $39.95US. I have to mention that the "Main Street Sale" of Billings is still going, and it's at $39.99 right now. Both have free demos, so if you're a freelancer or contractor in the market for a slick way to track time and send invoices, make your own comparison. Personally, I'm torn. I'll decide in the next 20 days which, coincidentally, is the length of the On The Job demo period.
EVE Online dev blog: new missions galore
EVE Online developer CCP Molock writes in his dev blog that CCP Games has big plans for PvE content in the game, especially for mission-runners. Eight devs are currently working full-time on mission and deadspace creation. In addition, there are a number of freelancers working on new mission text. The freelance opportunities were announced in EVE's EON magazine, so it seems they found the people they needed -- particularly in light of just how much PvE content is on the way. Molock describes the process of getting everything in order for The Empyrean Age and Factional Warfare as 'dizzying', particularly in light of the 160 new Factional Warfare missions that were part of the expansion's launch. Molock states that more content is to come in subsequent Empyrean Age releases, and explains what we can expect from EVE's PvE experience in the future.
Under The Hood: Pseudo-MMOs, Part One
The world of MMO-making is more and more competitive by the hour, with many big-name developers throwing their hats into the MMO development ring as time goes on. But where does this leave us? Are all of these games requiring subscription fees? Will I be left out in the street playing Star Trek Online because I'm paying hundreds a month in fees? Not if the "pseudo-MMO" has anything to do with it.The pseudo-MMO is a game which is similar to an MMO, but lacks things that an MMO often has, such as subscription fees, a truly massive environment (as opposed to a very large environment), a centralized server, or non-instanced zones. They aren't "real" MMOs, but they come very, very close. By offering persistent worlds, large amounts of players on a server at any one time, and sometimes even single-player, these doppelgangers can capture the "feel" of an MMO without (or with, in some cases!) a subscription fee. So let's walk down the list.
