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EVE Evolved: Setting the universe on fire
This week CCP Games announced the name and focus of EVE Online's upcoming summer expansion. The Inferno expansion aims to re-invigorate PvP with some long overdue gameplay changes. CONCORD-sanctioned wars will be iterated on for the first time in half a decade, and faction warfare will hopefully be getting the updates it should have received in 2008. Following on from the success of the Crucible expansion with its hundreds of small features and gameplay changes, Inferno will also contain dozens of small gameplay changes, usability fixes, and minor improvements. We'll hear more about DUST 514 in the coming months as CCP reveals more concrete details of the game's link to EVE Online and the motivations behind planet-bound wars. Incarna fans will apparently also see some movement, with Team Avatar focusing on avatar-based updates for this release. While Inferno is a rather uninspired name and coincidentally would make three of the last four expansions start with the word "in," the expansion's content is genuinely exciting. Fundamental changes are coming to EVE's PvP mechanics for the first time in several years. CCP hasn't revealed the exact changes, but that hasn't stopped players from speculating on what might be heading their way. In this week's EVE Evolved, I speculate on the changes coming in the upcoming Inferno expansion and what changes I think might be coming to EVE's PvP.
No comment: iPhone fan attachment blows (air)
If you're looking for a way to beat the heat where you live, you have many options. If every last one of those options is unavailable for some reason, you can always give this iPhone dock accessory from Cellularfactory a try. Dubbed the "Newest Cool Dock Fan Gadgets Cooler," this dock attachment is essentially a tiny propeller blade, powered by the iPhone's internal battery, that's supposed to cool you off somehow. It's very reminiscent of those tiny USB-powered fans, but I've never been able to figure out if those are actually meant to be useful or just a gag gift. Like those, this iPhone-powered fan doesn't look big enough to manage much more airflow than you'd get by just breathing on yourself. And unlike the iFan, which was a one-shot fan attachment meant to charge your iPhone off the wind, this fan attachment will probably drain your battery flat in no time. I'm trying to sympathize with you Northern Hemisphere folks and your brutal heatwave, I really am... but I'm sitting in New Zealand, in the middle of a once-in-50-years snowstorm event. I just ate a banana that tasted like it came straight out of the refrigerator, except it was sitting on my dining room table all night instead. So needless to say, I'm well outside the target demographic for this accessory. Maybe the bitter cold has made me just as bitter, but I'm still giving this iPhone fan a (frozen) solid No Comment.
Amazon handheld gaming sale begs you to go outside and play
Amazon wants you to get out of the house. We know it's hot enough to fry bacon on the asphalt outside, but you're permanently indenting your desk chair and the cat thinks your pajama pants are a scratching post. Reddit will survive without you for a day, we promise. Fine -- you can take your 3DS. And here, have some amazing deals on portable games too; just get out. Amazon's Summer Road Trip Handheld Gaming Event features some sweet deals on PSP, DS and 3DS titles, with some games 50 percent off. For example, on 3DS, Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition is $30 and BlazBlue Continuum Shift 2 is $20; on PSP, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is $15, and for DS, Professor Layton and the Curious Village is $14 and Disney Jonas is only $10 (oh yes). We don't know when this sale will end, so jump on it now. Please. Your skin is turning transparent.
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite summer zone?
I've not always been the biggest fan of summer in general. The smells aren't as strong as spring or autumn, the days are too hot, the sweat is annoying, and wasps seem to think that they can set up shop everywhere. But still, it's nice to have long sunny days and the opportunity to wear hot pants whenever I feel like it. Er, whenever you feel like it. Sanctum in RIFT feels like a wonderful "summer" zone to me, kind of like a resort town that happens to train and equip armies of mercenaries as a side project. I love looking down at the sparkling ocean, listening to the cries of the gulls, and feeling my stress wash away. Level? Who needs to level? Bring me another Mai Tai, garçon! So in the spirit of summer, today we'd like to get your thoughts on your favorite summer zones in MMOs. Which zones exude the languid tone of vacation to you? If you had to retire on a virtual beach somewhere, where would it be? And how would you deal with the raving hordes of cannibal chimps? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
More app sales for Mac and iOS over the Independence Day weekend
July 4th is the weekend for fireworks, BBQs, and good times in the United States of America -- not to mention some excellent app sales. Here's a few more: MacGameStore has a big Independence Day sales weekend going on, featuring Mac versions of Civ IV for $14.95, Spore for $9.99, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for $39.95. MacPhun's dropped four apps down to the low price of free for the weekend: Silent Film Director, Cartoonatic, Doodle Cam, and ArtCamera. G5 Entertainment is dropping Romance of Rome, Virtual City, and Supermarket Management down to $.99 on the iPhone, and $2.99 on the iPad. Supermarket Mania 2 is also on sale, for $2.99 on iPhone and $4.99 on the tablet. Flickr HD, one of our Daily Apps, has a dramatic sale this weekend: $0.99 (regularly $4.99). Rockin Ted is another free app to check out. Finally, Steam is having a huge Summer Camp sale this weekend, with dozens of rotating titles going on sale every day. There are a lot of games in there, and a lot of great deals -- keep an eye out for the "SteamPlay" icon, as all of those games work on both Mac and PC. I'm pretty sure most of the sales going up this weekend are out at this point, but we'll keep an eye out for any more going on. We also occasionally tweet out app sales and updates on our Twitter account, so follow us over there if you want up-to-the-minute deals on Mac and iOS software!
The Daily Grind: Does summer vacation affect your playtime?
Massively readers, being people of excellent taste in entertainment, know there's a lot of fun to be had sitting down and logging in to their favorite MMOs for a few hours of fun. The problem with kicking back and relaxing like this for any period of time is that eventually real life is going to rear its head and you're going to have to step away. (This is a good thing, mind you.) The summer months are here for much of the world, and that affects MMO playtime in one way or another for many gamers. Are you one of those gamers? Maybe school and studying have kept you busy and now you're free as a bird with more time to play. Maybe you're a parent, and now that the kids are out of school, they're keeping you hopping. Do you have a job that changes according to the weather or seasons? How do the summer months affect your gaming time? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Guild Counsel: Surviving the summer doldrums
Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, and as we all know, it marks the unofficial start of summer. That means lots of grilling, extra sunblock, school vacation... and the summertime blues in our favorite MMOs. Summer is always a difficult time for MMOs, and for guilds in particular. Expansions tend to arrive in the fall and winter, meaning that content begins to grow stale by summer. Members aren't on as often; instead, they are busy with children out of school, summer trips, and shockingly, a desire to soak up some sun and nice weather. For a guild leader, this is one of the most difficult times of the year, and many guilds fail to make it through the summer. But there are some ways to get through the doldrums, and the experience can even be a great opportunity to strengthen your guild in the long run. Read on for some helpful summertime tips in this week's Guild Counsel!
Roku brings casual gaming to its internet TV platform starting with Angry Birds this summer
Roku's line of boxes have come a long way from being used only to stream Netflix, and now the company has announced a plan to take its talents to casual gaming. Naturally, the first app out of the gate this summer will be the wildly popular and increasingly ubiquitous Angry Birds. There's not a lot of details available yet and while we're told the gaming experience will be available on a new player launching this summer, whether or not the existing Roku hardware will get any gaming action remains to be seen. Roku CEO Anthony Wood is very excited about the company's gaming prospects saying "Just as we were the first to enable Netflix to stream instantly to the TV, we intend to be the catalyst for transforming the way people play casual games-starting with Angry Birds-on the biggest screen in the home". While we wouldn't bet against the upstart media streamer maker, it may be a bit tougher to compete with Xbox 360, PS3 and whatever Nintendo has up its sleeve on their native turf. Update: Thanks to Dan Rayburn, Anthony Wood has confirmed Angry Birds will not run on existing players. In the inaugural post on the Roku Blog, he mentioned "some of the new games will require more horsepower".
ArenaNet announces summer convention schedule
Guild Wars 2 fans, are you trying to decide which conventions you want to make it out to this summer? Well, ArenaNet's latest blog entry may just make your decision a little bit easier, as it outlines which shows the studio will be making appearances at and what to expect from each. First up on the list (from July 21-24) is "the granddaddy of all pop-cultural conventions," San Diego Comic-Con. ANet will be sending out "an elite team of artists and devs... to meet fans and do signings." The next outing (August 17-21) sends ANet to the magical land of Cologne, Germany for Gamescom, which will include a playable demo of Guild Wars 2 as well as "a bunch of new surprises that [the devs] can't talk about yet." Attendees are also encouraged to deck themselves out in their best Guild Wars-related finery for ANet's costume contest. Then it's back to ANet's home turf of Seattle, Washington (August 26-28), where the "entire studio will descend upon PAX Prime." The studio says to "expect big surprises, cool swag, interesting panels, and a ton of Guild Wars 2 demo stations." And lastly, not letting the cessation of summer stop the runaway train that is ArenaNet, from October 21-25 the studio will be dropping in on gay Paris for Paris Games Week, "where [the devs will] bring [their] hands-on demo for [their] French fans." Do note that E3 is not included in this smorgasbord of conventions, with ANet citing its desire "to focus on shows that allow [it] to share Guild Wars 2 directly with gamers." For the full details and any future updates to the schedule, head on over to the official post on the ArenaNet blog.
Officers' Quarters: Firelands will not save your guild
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook, available now from No Starch Press. I try to be a glass-half-full sort of guy, especially when I write these columns. (I don't always succeed, but I try.) In my opinion, leaders should be optimists who prepare for the worst. Today, however, I have a rather pessimistic message for you: Firelands will not save your raiding guild. What I'm seeing with my own guild and what I'm hearing from all of you, week after week, is that guilds are struggling right now. With Cataclysm offering no new way to advance characters, long-time players are tiring of WoW's endless gear treadmill. Slots are becoming tougher and tougher to fill as players grow bored or frustrated with tier 11. Officers are burning out at a blistering pace. The playerbase, in general, is poised for something truly new -- not just a rehash of old raids. Firelands is our best hope -- but I'm sorry to say, it won't be enough.
Sony's Howard Stringer confirms Honeycomb tablet in US by summer (update)
Ready to taste a sweet Honeycomb tablet with a Sony twist? You'd better be -- Japan's Nikkei is quoting Sony chief executive, Sir Howard Stringer, saying that the company's first Android 3.0 tablet will be on sale by the end of summer. Better yet, it'll pop for retail in the US first, according to the report. This lines up nicely with the reported September launch of a PlayStation Certified Tegra 2 "S1" tablet featuring a 9.4-inch display and unique "wrap" design that we first told you about back in February. Or will it be the S2 clamshell? Who knows, Howard isn't saying. The new tablet tattle was apparently uttered at the same event where Howard spilled the beans about Apple's plan to use Sony sensors. Come on Howie, quit the teasing and just come out with it you saucy Welsh minx. Update: Sony told Japanese site AV Watch that it will release the tablet before the end of this year. It's unclear if the comment relates to the domestic Japanese model or if it's meant to temper expectations after the company's rogue CEO spoke out of turn. Regardless, it's coming.
Wings Over Atreia: Heat wave
Just when summer gave way to autumn in the northern hemisphere, spring slipped away from Atreia and has been replaced by a sizzling summer. Commemorating the release of Aion's most recent expansion this month, NCsoft has launched a live player event called Scorching Heat, which heralds the onset of summer on the lands of Atreia and offers Daeva a plethora of goodies throughout the month-long event simply for being logged into the game. From Wednesday, September 15th until Wednesday, October 13th, Daevas can acquire summer-themed rewards such as bathing suits, diving gear, candy that transforms them into a giant Inquin, sunglasses, and beach hats, as well as items that are useful within the game such as platinum, gold, and silver coins. Even more significantly, unlike past events in which rewards were one-per-account or soulbound, this event awards items that can be openly traded. Whether you are a fluff-lover or not, this fact alone is money in (or out of) the bank; fortunes are being made or lost on swimwear in the open market, as those who don't care so much about the fluff charge obscene amounts of kinah to sell it to those who do. However, just as some features to this new event have Deavas smiling into their ice-cold mela juice, others have them cursing. For instance, excessive server lag can be attributed directly to this event, as players remain logged in whether they are playing the game or not. So overall, are Daevas enjoying the scorching heat? Or just getting burned? Swim past the cut and check out the ins and outs of Aion's latest live event.
The Daily Grind: Does summertime affect your playing time?
The weather has warmed up, the kids are home from school for the summer, and Steam is urging us to stay out of the big blue room. Summer is here -- for part of the world, anyway. Does summer vacation affect your play time? Do you save it for the evening after a day of enjoying the warm weather, or finally enjoy some gaming time uninterrupted by pesky classes and homework? On the other hand, maybe the summer months cut down on your playtime in other ways. Maybe you've done your time in school and gone on to have your own kids. Are your summers taken up with providing transportation, snacks, and entertainment money? Hit the button and let us know!
Researchers develop air conditioning that's 90 percent more efficient, bone chilling
Everybody loves maxing out in the sweet chill of their air conditioning in the hot summer months, but it's inefficient, expensive, and extremely unfriendly to the environment. The good news today, however, is that researchers have developed an air conditioning system that could be up to 90 percent more efficient than standard setups. How so, you ask? The new tech, called DEVap, uses liquid desiccants to make dry air using heat and evaporative coolers take dry air and make cold air, making it far easier to cool already dry climates. Additionally, DEVap uses salt solutions in place of environmentally naughty refrigerants, CFCs, and HCFCs -- the main contributors to global warming. The tech is still in the lab, so until then you'll just have to keep fanning yourself off (or having your friend do that for you).
Summer HDTV suggestions
Hopefully you're recovered from any Memorial Day barbecue related shenanigans because warm weather is here and your presence is needed -- inside watching TV. Heat and sunlight are the enemy, and there's plenty of programing to keep us where the air conditioning blows from now until the fall. Check GeekTonic for a list of summer TV programming, while our friends at TV Squad have tossed in a list of premieres, finales and specials for all of June -- our most anticipated shows are after the break, let us know what you'll be watching in the comments.
Rumor: Cloud-based iTunes delayed until summer
Ever since Apple bought music-streaming service Lala, rumors of a cloud-based solution for iTunes have been floating around. And unfortunately, we don't have any official news on that yet (I know I'd use it -- I already share my library to all of my computers in-house anyway), but we do have more rumors. "Music industry sources" have informed CNET that there is a cloud service in the works, but that it's been delayed until the summer at least. There's no information about why, but apparently the delay came from Apple -- the company told music industry executives that the service wouldn't be ready until the third quarter of this year. I'll wait -- having an iTunes service that could send my music library to any computer I own (or even my iPhone or iPad -- drool) would be awesome, but of course there must be lots and lots of technical and bandwidth issues to work out at least. So if you are expecting to see a cloud-based service from Apple in the future, you can at least stop frantically refreshing the iTunes page until sometime this summer.
Nintendo report hints at new Wii titles, Other M release
Nintendo is one of a few companies to release its earnings report earlier this week, and a supplemental report released today has some surprises and new information for Wii owners. Not only does it finally list a target date for Metroid: Other M (you can expect it as soon as summer of this year if all goes according to plan), but there are two brand new names in the list as well: Xenoblade and The Last Story. Xenoblade is listed for a Spring 2010 release, so we should be hearing about that one soon, and The Last Story is listed for sometime this year, with both slated for release on the Wii in Japan. There's reason to believe these are just new names, as both Monado: Beginning of the World and Cosmic Walker are missing from the report, and Monado was being developed by Monolith Soft, known most notably for another Xeno- title you may have heard of. But Monado is still listed for a release in the US this year, so who knows? Other than that, the report lists some titles we expected to see soon: A new Kirby Super Star title, Super Mario Galaxy 2, the Wii's Legend of Zelda, Golden Sun for DS, and a few other releases scheduled in 2010. Full list of Japanese Wii releases is after the break.
Tokyo robosuit could make you the sack lifting champion
In Japan, the ultimate merit of a robotic suit is measured in sacks of rice. We've seen it before with the HAL-5. The latest suit created by students at Tokyo's University of Science provides enough assistance to the wearer's back to lift an additional 15 to 20 kilograms (that's 33 to 44 pounds) -- in other words, another two bags of rice for five in total. The university's previous robosuit was heavier and more bulky by comparison, in that it provided assistance to both the wearers back and arms (though clearly some support is provided based on the image above). The suit will ultimately benefit factory workers or those with physical limitations when it goes into production sometime in 2010. Outstanding. Surprisingly, nobody from the university seems willing to talk about that kid with sawblade arms in the corner.
Share your Second Life summer look for a chance at L$10,000
Today seems to be a day of contests! First we have the DDO stress test contest that's going to be occuring tonight, and now we have another one for Second Life! A contest of summer style, no less! Who's up for some virtual modeling?It's the summer, and Linden Lab is interested in seeing everyone's summer attire -- like swimwear, bright colors, and the things you generally wear on the beach. So interested, in fact, that they're willing to lay L$10,000 on the whole deal via an Xstreet shopping spree.
Breakfast Topic: Back from school
We're in the dog days of summer at this point -- the sun is high and hot, the beaches and swimming pools are full, and if you're a kid, the days are long and lazy. Which is probably why we've got all the kids in game lately -- as donnyman notes, when school lets out and summer is underway, the population of Azeroth seems to get much bigger during the day. Some might say that's a good thing: more people playing means more PuGs and more AH buying and selling, while others might say they don't really want more of the younger audience in the game.I haven't had too much experience with this lately, as most of my gametime is in the evenings and on weekends, so I already see most of the school folks as I play. But I do remember the yearly migration of kids to video games -- I worked at Gamestop for about a year and a half after college, and sure enough, whenever school let out, we had more kids in the store talking about how they'd spent all day yesterday playing online.So is it a problem for you, or have you even noticed the influx of summer visitors at all? We have to be careful not to generalize here, as while some younger folks can cause issues (either by acting like kids, or just by filling up the instance queues), there are certainly others who act very mature for their age. Some of them, especially with parental supervision, can actually make model players. So the question here is: how have you experienced the sudden rash of schoolkids?
