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ICYMI: Pedestrian tracking bot and earthquake simulation
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Stanford engineers are using a robot to understand the way humans move through a crowded space. University of California, San Diego researchers are using the world's largest outdoor shake table to simulate earthquakes and fire to a six story building. If you can get into topics unrelated to Dallas and police shootings this weekend, German churches are using wifi to try to lure new attendees. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
'Goat Simulator' headbutting its way to PS4 and PS3 August 11th
Your wildest caprine fantasies are about to come true, PlayStation owners. How's that? On August 11th, Goat Simulator hits PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. From the sounds of it all the irreverence from the PC and Xbox One versions will be present (wild glitches, taking to the skies, head-butting all the things) as well as something developer Coffee Stain Studios calls GoatVR. It's dubbed "the most authentic simulated GoatVR experience" and it apparently doesn't require Project Morpheus. A post on the PlayStation Blog notes that the team "still needs to do that part where it connects to an actual headset" but it isn't actually required for the version present in the game. We've reached out to Coffee Stain for some clarification and to see if it's just another example of their absurdist humor; we'll update this post should we hear back.
Goat MMO Simulator boasts one level more than World of Warcraft
Few moments in MMO history have been as pivotal and groundbreaking as what we are witness to today. For we, the humble gamers of the year 2014, are about to embark on an adventure that makes every online effort to date look like E.T. for the Atari 2600. As of later this week, Goat Simulator will become an MMO (simulator). The inexplicably bizarre sandbox hit is preparing to roll out a free DLC patch that will have one more level than that "other" MMO. With 101 levels, dozens of quests, five classes (including Microwave), and "factional warfare between goats and sheep," the newly christened Goat MMO Simulator will take the zany gameplay to the nth degree. Don't believe us? We have the video proof after the jump as well as 500 incredulous comments down below (commenters, please don't let us down on this after we vouched for you here).
Goat-inspired prosthetic leg will give rock climbers better footing
For all the neural-controlled, bluetooth-enabled and sport-specific prosthetics humanity has designed over the years, one thing remains constant: most of of them are lousy for climbing rock faces. Design student Kai Lin learned this while researching artificial limbs in a prosthetic-design class at Pratt Institute -- traditional leg prosthetics don't have enough grip or articulation to facilitate effective climbing. Lin's solution to the problem is almost elegant in its simplicity. He designed a prosthetic leg inspired by one of nature's best rock climbers: the mountain goat.
TUG alpha patch allows you to hunt dumb goats
What purpose do really dumb goats serve? If they're in TUG's new 0.6.3 alpha update, it's to be hunted for their pelts and cooked over a roaring flame. In a new video, TUG shows off several of the sandbox elements that went into today's patch. Players can create and cultivate farms, or alternatively go hunting for the aforementioned "dumb goats." There is also a physics system in place for projectiles, new craftables, and the ability to have a good old-fashioned cook-out. We're not kidding around, this is one goat-tastic video. Check it out after the break!
Goat Simulator 1.1 headbutts your PC on June 3
Old dogs may be a lost cause, but old goats can definitely be taught new tricks - for proof, look no further than the 1.1 update now slated to reach Goat Simulator on June 3. Though originally scheduled to launch in May, developer Coffee Stain Studios opted to delay the release of the 1.1 patch to ensure that players would receive only the finest in barnyard shenanigans. "We realise we said we'd release the patch in May, but we really wanted to shock players and make sure the new map will be even better than the old one, so we had to push forth the release date a week or so than we originally intended," said designer Armin Ibrisagic. "With June 3rd as a release date, the new map is gonna be so awesome, and I'm not just saying that cause I'm working on the game." Alongside the new map (which Coffee Stain Studios claims is "roughly the size of the old map") the free 1.1 update also brings with it splitscreen multiplayer for up to four would-be goats, goat parkour and goats that have inexplicably learned to ride both bicycles and skateboards. New breeds of goat are also found in the update, including the Tornado Goat, Classy Goat and Shopping Goat. What's a "Shopping Goat?" We've got no idea. Just roll with it, and hope June 3 brings some sort of explanation. [Image: Coffee Stain Studios]
Goat Simulator now available for barnyard mischief on Steam
Leave it to Coffee Stain Studios to deliver totally serious news on April Fool's Day: The indie developer launches Goat Simulator on Steam today. For $9.99, PC players can raise hell as the adorably mischievous goat, scoring points by breaking items as they would in a game like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, save for the epic tricks. To whet the appetites of today's unfunny pranksters, Coffee Stain Studios did offer goofy "release day patch notes" in Goat Simulator's official Steam forums. The day-one patch "added more goats," "added more goatiness to the map," increased "goat tongue realism" by 25 percent and "probably added some bugs." The patch did not change the goat in the game to a hawk, which would have made more sense of our conversation with the developer at the Game Developer's Conference in March. [Image: Coffee Stain Studios]
The Internet has spoken, Goat Simulator now available for pre-order
As we mentioned last week, the Internet loves few things more than fuzzy creatures and wanton destruction, so it comes as little surprise to learn that Goat Simulator has received enough online affection to transform the Global Game Jam entry into a full-fledged game. "OKAY INTERNET YOU WIN, IT LOOKS LIKE GOAT SIMULATOR IS OUR NEXT IP," wrote Swedish developer Coffee Stain Studios, before delving into what is arguably a description of the game. "Goat Simulator is like an old school skating game, except instead of being a skater, you're a goat, and instead of doing tricks, you wreck stuff. It brings next-gen goat simulation to YOU. WASD to write history." Pay a visit to the newly-launched Goat Simulator website and at the bottom you'll find a pre-order form asking for $10. There's currently no word on when Goat Simulator will be released, nor any in-depth information on what the game will be like once completed, beyond the trailer's promise that your goat will be able to wield an axe with its tongue. Still, we can't see that mattering much. If the online masses want goat mischief, the online masses will get goat mischief, no matter what form it may take. [Image: Coffee Stain Studios]
Goats are jerks, Goat Simulator proves it
For millennia goats have been known as the most demonic of livestock, and as this footage from Goat Simulator demonstrates, were they not kept in pens, goats would run amok, headbutting buckets into space, climbing ladders and sprinting headlong into moving cars. Created by Swedish developer Coffee Stain Studios for Global Game Jam 2014, Goat Simulator awards players points for their antisocial barnyard behavior. While never intended for retail release, the internet has unsurprisingly fallen for this combination of fuzzy beasts and wanton destruction. "When I woke up today my video with the damn goat had 100,000 views, which is like more than all our other real game trailers the last year combined," Coffee Stain PR manager Armin Ibrisagic told Vice. Following this unexpected outpouring of support, Coffee Stain is now pondering the future of Goat Simulator. "We are discussing what more we can do with Goat Simulator now that people have shown such an interest in it, but we don't want to promise anything," Ibrisagic said, adding, "We're going to listen to people's opinions in the coming couple of days and see how it goats." [Image: Coffee Stain Studios]
Check out the gams on this Tiger Woods 14 'Night Golf' player
EA Sports tweeted the above picture of a player in the new Night Golf mode of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14, and he appears to be more creature than feature. We're no experts, but those look like goat legs. That, or it's a pair of these fancy faun-inspired heels.
The Tattered Notebook: Linda Carlson on goat herding and community management
What do goat herding and community management have to do with one another? On the surface, you'd probably think not much, but at GDC Online this week, SOE Head of Global Relations Linda "Brasse" Carlson explained the parallels between her job as Community Manager and her job as a goat herder. In the talk, though, she not only gave advice on how to run a community management team but also shared some interesting observations about some of SOE's online communities in general. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look at some of the highlights.
The Road to Mordor: The superiority of goats
I love goats. OK, pipe down there. I mean that I love the goat mounts in Lord of the Rings Online. Shush! Man, this column isn't starting well. It sounded better in my head. It's a well-known fact that LotRO lacks the mount diversity shown by most other fantasy MMOs. It's pretty much horses all the way down, and chances are it's going to stay that way thanks to the IP. Unless, of course, the devs give in to my flying eagles suggestion. There just isn't much wiggle-room in Tolkien's works for the Free People of Middle-earth to be taking a 2012 Mechanospider to work. However, the devs did shoehorn in one different flavor of mount for the Mines of Moria expansion. Goats received a room at the stable and were integral to navigating through the labyrinthine deeps. They never did match horses in terms of popularity or even variety, and I doubt that we'll be seeing War-goats for Riders of Rohan. Still, if I had my pick (and I do), I'd pick goats any day of the week. They're so much better than horses, and I'm going to tell you just why.
Cricket hires goats to eat blackberries (video)
Yes, you did read that headline right, but it's not quite what you think -- rather than a children's tale of talking crickets and cell phone-eating goats, we're talking about clearing brambles covered with tiny black fruit at the cell towers of Cricket Wireless. The carrier hired a herd of goats to munch away at some troublesome growth at Oregon transceivers just last week, in a trial for a potential contract that could fill goat bellies at dozens of blocked base stations and save thousands of dollars for the company. "I'd rather have my operations team keeping our customers' Blackberries in perfect working order so we've hired the goats to take care of the other blackberries at our cell sites," Cricket's Keith Casey told OregonLive, using a variation on the pun that's no doubt been thrown around Cricket offices for months.
Slay a festive goat to win game-time and prizes in AoC
In keeping with the macabre nature of the Conan world, you won't be helping orphans for Age of Conan's seasonal event. Nope. No delivering festive cookies to elves or spreading holiday love. Just hunting down mountain goats. Nothing says Christmas in Hyboria like a freshly slain and skinned goat carcass for that special someone. The problem in this particular case is that these "holiday" goats are in short supply -- extremely short supply in fact, as there will only be one special goat per server. All the bragging rights (and prizes) go to one lucky person per server who manages to track it down.There will be a hefty portion of luck involved in winning your server's event, but Funcom is also providing clues to the goat's whereabouts in the form of riddles on the official site. The events will take place on different days across the servers, and the goats won't be in the same place either. Now we've got to admit that we were a bit slow to catch this (we'll blame the spirit of the holidays for making us lazy) and some servers have already had their riddles posted and goats killed. However, if your server hasn't had the event yet, then it will be either be on later today, or the 29th, the 30th, or the 31st of December. Each server's winner will receive a pack of prizes (the same as the Season give-away pack) and two months of free game-time. Happy hunting!
EU says all sheep and goats must be electronically tagged by 2010
We're not exactly sure why the EU feels the need to track sheep and goats across Europe, but it just voted to make electronic tagging mandatory by the end of 2009. The move comes after a two-year delay at the insistence of the UK, and it means that all sheep and goats will be implanted with a €1 ($1.43) tag that will allow anyone with a €200 ($286) handheld reader to get a complete history of the animal. We're pretty certain that infringes on sheep / goat privacy rights -- quick, someone start a petition![Via The Register]
Nepal Airlines sacrifices two goats to fix a 757
We've definitely done some crazy things to fix our gear -- we swear our Sawtooth Power Mac G4 actually ran faster after we dumped a can of Diet Coke into it -- but we've never gone as Nepal Airlines recently did. Faced with intractable mechanical problems on one of the fleet's two 757 jets, authorities at the state-run airline apparently sacrificed two goats to the Hindu god Akash Bhairab (pictured in the airline's logo, to the right) in front of the plane, which promptly took the skies again problem-free. That's pretty much all the information anyone has, but Nepal Airlines has confirmed that "the snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights." We're not going to comment on anyone's religious beliefs here, but that had to have been the weirdest pilots' announcement of all time.
Harvest Moon: Attack of the Cows
Tired of being explolited as mascots for Marvelous Interactive's always-adorable farming sim series, the Harvest Moon cows have revolted, surrounding their cruel master to put her out to pasture once and for all. They finally secured the goats' loyalty, the final component of their master plan.That's the only possible explanation for the events transpiring in the above screenshot. Anything else, like that maybe she's feeding them or just talking to the cows, is so farfetched as to be unbelievable. Harvest Moon may be cute, but it's totally edgy.
