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Hawking, Musk and others call for a ban on autonomous weapons
If you don't like the thought of autonomous robots brandishing weapons, you're far from alone. A slew of researchers and tech dignitaries (including Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking and Steve Wozniak) have backed an open letter calling for a ban on any robotic weapon where there's no human input involved. They're concerned that there could be an "AI arms race" which makes it all too easy to not only build robotic armies, but conduct particularly heinous acts like assassinations, authoritarian oppression, terrorism and genocide. Moreover, these killing machines could give artificial intelligence a bad name. You don't want people to dismiss the potentially life-saving benefits of robotic technology just because it's associated with death and destruction, after all.
Man 3D prints dart gun to protest weapon blueprint law
In the wake of recent shootings, many Americans think the US needs at least slightly stricter gun laws. However, when it comes to 3D-printed weapons, one maker begs to differ. Peter Alaric built a 3D-printed dart gun to make a point about proposed State Department laws banning weapon blueprints on the internet. Calling President Obama "our Fuehrer," he said "this gesture of protest further proves the obvious futility of attempting to regulate speech and ban simple mechanical objects." His creation fires 40mm blowgun darts via a piston and rubber bands, and can even hold accessories like laser sights.
Russia's reportedly built a missile-killing 'microwave gun'
Kremlin-owned United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation has reportedly constructed and begun testing on a "microwave gun" capable of knocking both UAVs and missiles out of the air from six miles away. What's more, the gun is also supposedly capable of disrupting the radio electronic equipment of low-flying planes. A company spokesman told Sputnik News, "The new system is equipped with a high-power relativistic generator and reflector antenna, management and control system, and a transmission system, which is fixed on the chassis of BUK surface-to-air missile systems. It can also be attached to a specialized targeting platform that will enable 360-degree coverage. UIMC is expected to demonstrate the new weapon during this week's Defense Ministry's Army-2015 expo.
US Air Force and DARPA team up on hypersonic weapons
"What do we want to do with this technology? We want to weaponize it." The US Air Force told Military.com it's planning to build on the X-51A WaveRider's "scramjet" (supersonic ramjet) trials to develop hypersonic weapons that compress air by sheer velocity. During tests in 2013, the WaveRider set a record by flying at Mach 5.1 (3,400mph) for over three minutes after it was dropped from a B-2H bomber and accelerated by a rocket. While those trials were just a proof-of-concept, the Air Force has teamed up with DARPA take the technology to the next level.
Weaponizing code: America's quest to control the exploit market
When the US Bureau of Industry and Security published how it plans to implement the sections on hacking technologies in a global weapons trade pact called the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) last week, it ignited an online firestorm of meltdowns, freakouts, and vicious infighting within the most respected circles of hacking and computer security. That's because the new rules change the classification of intrusion software and Internet Protocol (IP) network communications surveillance -- setting in motion a legal machine that might see penetration-testing tools, exploits and zero-days criminalized. Some suggest the new classifications also seem designed to give the US a market advantage over the buying, selling, import and export of certain tools used in cyberwar -- a currently black market, in which the US government is already the biggest player.
Arms control and free speech go to court over 3D-printed guns
Cody Wilson fundamentally altered the way we produce and distribute firearms in 2013 when his company, Defense Distributed (DD), first published the plans for a 3D-printed pistol, dubbed The Liberator, on its website. The State Department didn't take too kindly to this revelation and sent DD a letter demanding the instructions be removed as they violated a number of US Arms Export control laws. Now, two years later, Defense Distributed and the State Department are going to court over the matter in a lawsuit that potentially holds far-reaching implications for both the First and Second Amendments.
DARPA's steerable bullet proves it can hit moving targets
DARPA announced that its self-steering bullet program, dubbed the Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO), passed another developmental milestone in late February. Per an administration release, and the video below, experienced and novice shooters alike were able to strike moving targets. And, in the case of expert shooters, able to hit actively evading targets as well.
The US Army's testing clip-on ray gun attachments for its rifles
The energy-blasting G.I. Joe future that we've all been waiting for is steadily getting closer. Not only is the US Army outfitting trucks with increasingly powerful laser systems, it is also looking to provide similar capabilities to its dismounted troops as well. Dubbed "Burke Pulser" attachments after their creator Army Armament Research electronics engineer James E. Burke, these devices utilize a piezoelectric generator and two protruding antennas to generate powerful bursts of electrical. The entire unit fits onto the end of the Army's M4 carbine just as a standard-issue flash suppressor does.
Russia's new combat robot shoots guns and drives ATVs... slowly
When someone describes a machine as a "combat robot," you'd probably imagine something akin to the Terminator or perhaps even Boston Dynamics' BigDog. Maybe that's why Russian president Vladimir Putin didn't look impressed when he was presented his country's newest combat robot prototype -- because instead of coming face-to-face with a RoboCop, he ended up meeting a frail-looking fella slouching on an ATV. Putin recently visited the Central Scientific Research Institute of Precision Engineering Tochmash in Moscow (think Russian DARPA), where he watched the curious robot gingerly drive on a track like a sweet grandmother with bad eyesight.
Try these 100 weapon transmogs for a new look
If you're on the hunt for the perfect weapon to compliment your transmog, The Lazy Peon has you covered with this video. In it, he shows off 100 different weapons from all angles to help you pin down the perfect look. (It's certainly easier than browsing through lists of swords on Wowhead.) Every weapon shown is currently obtainable, and you'll find out where to get it, what it costs, and its drop rate, too. This video does require a bit of an attention span, though -- as you might guess, showing that many weapons with that much info takes up a hefty amount of time, and the video clocks in at nearly 19 minutes. Still, if you want to get a good look at all of the best weapon options, this is probably easier (and perhaps even faster) than searching for images of each weapon -- though for those of you who prefer your information text based, there's a list below the video. Happy transmogging!
Bungie gives Destiny players the gift of Legendary weapons
The holidays have come and gone, but Destiny players get a little more to celebrate this week. Bungie promised players a "small but Legendary" gift, and true to form, players have been receiving a single free Legendary weapon by the mail. It's not the same as what you'd get from a vendor, and it's not an engram; it's a random weapon that could be almost anything. For some players, it's going to be a nice new weapon with just the right perks. That's the gift that keeps on giving. (Specifically, it keeps giving ammunition to enemies at high velocity whether they wanted it or not.) For others, it's going to be another copy of the same weapon you already have or an even worse one. That's how random works. Regardless, if you play the game, go in and check your mail. It's not a fresh pair of socks, at least.
US Navy puts its first laser weapon into service
It's official: the US Navy has entered the future. Vice Admiral John Miller tells Bloomberg that the USS Ponce, an amphibious transport, has been using the Navy's Laser Weapon System (LaWS) in the Persian Gulf since late August. The high-tech arsenal is no threat to larger vessels, but it's potentially ideal for defending against Iran's fleet of smaller ships. The Ponce can use non-lethal laser flashes to spook enemies or thwart their sensors, and it can destroy small craft (including airborne drones) if they don't heed warnings. It'll take some time before laser weapons are a common sight on the high seas, since the Navy wants to know how it fares in real-world conditions; dust, heat and other Gulf conditions could lead to failures. If it pans out, however, there's a real chance that the days of conventional small deck guns are numbered. [Image credit: John F. Williams/US Navy, Flickr]
Norrathian Notebook: Landmark's latest patch packs an armored punch
Wowsers! While we knew that September was a month of bug squashing and that meatier content updates would return to Landmark, this latest one seems extra juicy. It could just be that everything feels like a feast after a famine, but I think it's more than that -- and not just because it took multiple posts to announce the changes. Besides being tantalized with a bunch of new goodies right now, I get the impression that we are in for regular doses of content, content, and more content as the dev team revs up for open beta. And these changes are also glimpses into the ongoing development of EverQuest Next. Who doesn't love that? As it is, I am pretty excited to delve into this content update, Armor? Appearance slots? Additional weapon abilities? Ability to template the movers, flingers, and stuff? Lava?! Heck, yah -- serve it up.
Armor and new weapon abilities are just the beginning of Landmark's latest update
It's back to bigger updates for Landmark! After a September spent dedicated to mostly bug fixing, more content has finally arrived in today's update. Much more. From a third weapon ability to armor to new building textures, there's plenty for players to sink their teeth into. Changes were also made to the Heroic Movement system, the UI got tweaked a bit more, and an appearance slot was added. Combat enthusiasts will have a third ability for each weapon (accessed by pressing E) to get accustomed to in addition to facing the choice of which type of first-generation armor they want to wear: tank, DPS, or mixed. The Heroic Movement changes will also have an impact on combat; each ability is now assigned to a pair of boots, relegating players to only one heroic Movement at a time. On top of that, there is a slew of a new textures players get to use while building, including various stones, metal, and lava. Yes, that's right -- lava! Although not occurring naturally in game yet (and therefore not harvestable), players can use this oozy orange liquid by utilizing stone resources.
Destiny balances weapons, shuts down another loot cave
Bungie updated Destiny to balance some of its weapons and fix a few bugs today. For starters, the developer swatted a bug where the Valkyrie-O5X ship appeared to be the same as the Aurora Lance and fixed issues related to quick weapon swapping. The base damage of scout rifles were increased six percent, whereas the damage of all auto rifles as well as the Vex Mythoclast was decreased two percent and 34 percent, respectively. The developer also shut down another loot cave, one located in the rocket yard area of the game. The hot new treasure farming spot, a room where Fallen enemies consistently spawned, surfaced after Bungie closed the first loot cave. "The Fallen have also retreated from their hold over the Rocket Yard to discuss a new takeover plan," Bungie wrote in its update notes. For now, Destiny looters will have to take the stairs, if you catch our drift. [Image: Activision]
Take a look inside the cockpit of DARPA's self-driving tank
You've seen what DARPA's slimmer, lighter tanks of the future could look like and how they could evade RPGs -- now, you'll also see what's inside the high-tech war vehicle. As you'd expect, DARPA plans to design an advanced cockpit to go with the advanced tank, with a huge HD display and lots of automated elements. Automation's key to making the design work, since the Ground-X Vehicle Technology project aims to (1) reduce the number of people needed to operate a tank, (2) lower the pilot's workload and (3) make it easy to operate even for those with minimal training.
How 'feel' trumps realism in H1Z1's weapon design
H1Z1 Senior Game Designer Jimmy Whisenhunt has penned another dev blog about SOE's inbound survival sandbox, this one aimed at weapon design, starting with the modeling and rigging process. Animation design in particular, he says, is critical. "A huge part of the tuning process that is commonly overlooked in FPS game development is how a weapon reacts to in-game actions," Whisenhunt explains. "Design and Animation have to be in lock-step for a successful feel in combat; we need to have the same vision to ensure a solid experience for the player." He also discusses recoil and shooting mechanics and how "feel" can trump realism. "We've mentioned in the past that we want to avoid tuning and creating things simply because they 'that's the way it is in real life,' which means I get to take to take a realistic ballistic and weapon recoil feel and make it feel satisfying and fun. Typically the gravity of projectiles in real life doesn't fit the intended play experience we seek out. After all, the weapon feel and functionality has to fit our world design as well as Zombie and Player combat." The full dev blog is on the official site. We took a look at H1Z1's art and lighting effects last week.
Destiny launches a day one patch
If you've played MMOs for any length of time, you've probably acquired a fear of the phrase "day one patch," as it's rarely an indication that everything will be smooth sailing. Destiny has just launched (as the most pre-ordered new IP ever, according to Activision), and it's already gotten its first patch out now, with sweeping changes to several key areas of the game's systems. Subclass locking is gone from builds and the unlocking order for subclasses has been adjusted; in addition, several classes and subclasses have seen their abilities and mechanics adjusted. The patch also ushers in balance changes for most styles of weapon: assault rifles, pulse rifles, shotguns, scout rifles, hand cannons, HMGs, the list goes on. Some PvP mechanics and several maps have also been adjusted, which might lead to some rude awakenings for players jumping into the game expecting to know everything from beta. Check out the full patch notes for a breakdown of all the changes.
Roberts discusses Star Citizen's inventory system, balancing, and factions
Star Citizen fans can get some answers from Chris Roberts, assuming that the questions they have match up with the five questions featured in the latest video. There's nothing fancy about this one, just Roberts sitting down and answering top fan questions about the game as collected from the game's Reddit directory. Roberts starts off by discussing inventory and how it will be influenced by player outfits, along with the different inventories for ships, player characters, and the like. He also talks about balancing with weapons and items in the present and in the future, the interplay of organization membership with enemy NPC factions, ship durability, and the details on the Caterpillar. If you want to hear about all of that, jump on past the break to watch the full video; it's only eight minutes long, but it contains plenty of information for fans to consider and discuss in depth.
Pre-order Lords of the Fallen for bonus weapons, story DLC
Square Enix announced a "Day One Edition" for Lords of the Fallen, the third-person action RPG developed by Deck 13 Interactive and CI Games. The limited edition version grants pre-order buyers exclusive story DLC as well as extra weapons and the game's official soundtrack. Those pre-ordering the game through GameStop will receive a free upgrade to the Day One Edition while supplies last. While there's no clear indication that the special edition of the game is limited to GameStop customers, the game's official pre-order page sure makes it seem that way at the moment. The Lords of the Fallen limited edition includes the Monk's Decipher DLC and Demonic Weapons Pack. The latter features three items: The Margyr daggers, a Thehk hammer and the Ihir sword. The game was first shown off at Gamescom 2013 this past August and is scheduled to arrive on October 28 for PS4, Xbox One and PC courtesy of Bandai Namco. It can't seem to escape comparisons to From Software's Dark Souls series; at least that was a main takeaway from our time with the game at E3. [Image: Bandai Namco]
