vehicle interface
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Alps Electric integrates motion sensors and eye detection into vehicle cockpit of the future (video)
Residing in hall space a fair distance away from the likes of the Toyota and Sony, the automotive division of Alps Electric was demonstrating a forward-looking vehicle interface at CEATEC 2012. Connecting together the company's existing capacitive touch technology with motion sensors and eye movement cameras, the system centers on the multimodal commander -- that mysterious-looking orb located below the gear stick. Navigation through it can be done through waving your hand over the device, swiping or rotating the orb like a dial. This can then move through weather, music and map programs, which are all integrated into the car's touchscreen, while an overhanging motion sensor will also detect where your hand is headed. An Alps spokesman said that this means the system can try to predict your intentions, adjusting the UI before you reach for the controls. We've got a hands-on video from pretty busy showroom -- and more impressions -- after the break.
Vehicle mounts to work more like mounts than vehicles
Here's an interesting mount change -- it probably won't change the way you actually use your mounts, but it is a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how vehicles are working out at Blizzard. Zarhym says that in a future patch (maybe as soon as 3.1), all "vehicle" mounts will be changed back into regular mounts. Right now, when you "summon" a flying carpet, it actually shows up as a vehicle to the game, unlike a normal mount, which is basically just an extension of your character. But after the change comes down (whenever that is), summonable vehicle mounts (which may or may not include the Chopper?) will work just like regular mounts.This won't mean much in the actual UI (though it may change where your mount is saved -- I haven't picked up a vehicle mount yet, so I'm not sure if they appear on the mounts screen or not), but what it does mean is that Blizzard is stepping back from the vehicle interface. It's been buggy from the beginning, since beta and even after release, and while it's unlikely Blizzard will remove vehicles from the game, at least for the mount/vehicles, they're planning to go with the old mount code rather than have everyone using the vehicle code for that.Interesting change. Hopefully Blizzard is also still working on tightening up the vehicle code -- it's never fun to jump into a siege tank and then discover that none of the abilities work. But for these mounts at least, they're backing off and going back to the old way. Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.
