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Virgin Orbit gets stripped for parts as the company shuts down
A bankruptcy auction brought in $36 million across multiple sales.
Vast and SpaceX plan to launch the first commercial space station in 2025
Vast is teaming with SpaceX to launch what could be the first commercial space station.
Fast travel, and why it's hard to find in MMO games
Rock Paper Shotgun has an interesting piece up looking at travel in massively multiplayer games, and while the analysis is really about travel in all MMOs, of course World of Warcraft gets placed front and center -- with the notable exceptions of Mages and Warlock summons, it's a game that squarely places you in its vast world, and asks you to make some solid decisions about where you want to be. While travel has certainly gotten easier (and will continue to do so), it's still an important part of the world -- sometimes, when you're in a backwater zone and your hearthstone is down and there's no summons available to you, you've just got to get on a griffon and put the time in to fly around.Why is that? Why can't we just teleport around at will to places we've been before (a la Fallout 3 or Fable 2, if you've ever played those games)? Why does Blizzard make us traverse the wide world? RPS lands on two solutions: either they just want you to play the game more (certainly possible, especially since big worlds with long travel times and subscription fees are a trademark of the MMO genre), or they're just being jerks about it. But their panelists, and Blizzard, have offered one more suggestion: they want this world to feel vast, and one way to do that is to make you move around it rather than warp anywhere you want at a moment's notice.Then again, that's some deep psychology, and sometimes you just want to get in an instance with your friends and fight (hence the recent changes to summoning anywhere, queueing from anywhere, and so on). Travel definitely serves a purpose in MMOs, but the genre has shown in the past few years that while instant travel all the time might shrink the world a little too much, sometimes you just need to get to where you want to be.[via Slashdot]
PlayStation 2 modchip on a memory card now on sale
It's not like folks haven't been tinkering with something like this, but it's quite refreshing to see an actual product emerge that promises to deliver on the claims we've been hearing about. Apparently, the Memor 32 memory card enables PlayStation 2 owners across the globe to effectively chip their console without requiring a single power tool. The unit promises to allow gamers to load / unload save games (not to mention backups, homebrews, etc.) to and from their PC, and there's even a built-in USB connector to make things even simpler for you. 'Course, we'd still like to see one of these in action before lauding it too enthusiastically, but if you're willing to take a chance, MrModChips will gladly take your £33.49 ($70).[Via PS2News]
Video of the Vast memory card PS2 modchip working
We were skeptical of Vast's claims to have developed a PS2 modchip that works simply by plugging in a memory card when we first heard about it earlier this week, but the company sent MaxConsole a video of the chip in action and it looks pretty convincing. The demo PS2 first fails to boot a backup disc, but then the demonstrator inserts the Vast card and the disc starts right up. Impressive, but we're still a little wary, especially since the demo PS2 in the video is totally opened up. Let's see this on a fresh console straight from the box, shall we? Check the full video after the break.
'Vast' memory card claims tool-less unlock for PlayStation 2
From the "too good to be true" department comes the "Vast" advanced memory card, capable of providing PlayStation 2 owners with the same functionality found in modified consoles. This means everything from playing imported titles to other nefarious and totally discouraged deeds.MaxConsole claims to be in contact with the developer of this new memory card that is being prepared "to be launched within the next two weeks." While we have our doubts, it should be noted that an exploit of this nature has popped up before, known as Independence. That exploit, however, was nixed with the Slim line of PlayStation 2's.Prove us wrong, Vast ... and would you mind doing it before Arcana Heart is released? Thanks![via Engadget]
'Vast' memory card promises tool-less PS2 unlocking
One of the main impediments keeping many people from modding their own consoles is their lack of handiness with a soldering gun -- not to mention the whole voided warranty thing -- but now a new product is said to be on the horizon that moots both these points in a single blow, the 'Vast' advanced custom memory card for PlayStation 2. According to MaxConsole, which claims to have a dialog going with the developers, Vast "essentially exploits a flaw in the PS2 memory card system" to give you the same functionality derived from a hard-wired mod chip sans the need for a single power tool. The only real "proof" we have of this product so far is the above screenshot, which MaxConsole tells us was captured from the card's proprietary operating system; if this is all on the level, we should know more before the scheduled launch, which is said to be a mere two weeks away.
US Air Force getting Matrix-style camera to see bullets in slo-mo
Apparently, the US military forces have hired some seriously good R&D help, as we've seen the Navy's 8-Megajoule railgun, the Army's war-tested iRobots, and now the Air Force has something of their own to boast about. Nova Sensors of Solvang, California has designed the Variable Acuity Superpixel Technology (VAST) system, which is reportedly capable of tracking "anything slower than a bullet," but the shifty part is that this camera can home in on speeding shells as well, hopefully lending a hand in protecting soldiers in the years to come. The machine focuses on heat bursts emitted in the infrared range by moving bullets in order to detect an incoming projectile; ideally, it would be connected to "active armor" that could move, expand, or otherwise protect an individual or a entire platoon if a stray (or purposeful) bullet was headed their way. The system includes software that "mimics the fovea in human and animal eyes," and essentially provides high-resolution focal points of the incoming shells while making everything else low-resolution in order to showcase what's really important life-threatening. While we're fairly certain these guys won't be coming out with a commercial rendition suitable to block those laser-guided office missiles that nail you in the kneecap every morning, be sure to click on through for a short demonstration of VAST in action.
