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Here's a look at ESO's first major content update
Ready for Elder Scrolls Online's first major content update? Me too, but since it's not out yet, we'll have to make do with this video preview. It's a four-minute clip detailing the Craglorn adventure zone, which is aimed at high-level players and features new quests, incentives to explore, main story updates, dungeons, and quite a bit more. Click past the cut to see for yourself!
Funcom gutting Age of Conan's crafting system, starting over
Age of Conan's latest development update is here, and producer Craig "Silirrion" Morrison has quite a lot to say about the game's forthcoming crafting revamp. And when we say revamp, we mean revamp. "When we sat down and looked at the system and how we could add depth and improve engagement, it became clear that it was better to start over," Morrison says. He isn't kidding either, as the new system does away with awkward quest blocks to progression and instead ties your advancement directly to making items and using the relevant skills. Harvesting nodes will also spawn with more variety (and at more locations), and the much-reviled random NPC attacks that used to happen while harvesting are finally being dropped. Still want more details? Well, material quality will matter, there will be some sort of refining process, and there's an entirely new system for the actual production of an item. There's a lot more to Age of Conan's new crafting system, of course, but we're out of space, so you'll need to head to the official site to check it out.
GM teams with Future Lab on interactive Windows of Opportunity, MI:4 tech lives on
Wishing your vehicle had a better-integrated entertainment system than the iPad you're forced to futz with in the backseat? If GM has its way, you may be in luck. The auto manufacturer has joined forces with the Future Lab at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Israel to transform boring rear windows into interactive touchscreens. Since there are no plans to work the tech into production models right now, R&D gave the students a blank... er, clear canvas on which to create solutions.The results include apps that allow an animated character to respond to scenery outside the window and finger drawing on window steam. Two other applications enable a look into users' windows worldwide and a music stream-and-share with your mates on the road. "Traditionally, the use of interactive displays in cars has been limited to the driver and front passenger, but we see an opportunity to provide a technology interface designed specifically for rear seat passengers," said Tom Seder, GM R&D lab group manager. Check out the apps in action or the particulars in the PR after the break.
Vanguard content update to feature new dungeon, golden path, and more
Holy smokes, it's a Vanguard content update! No, really. Sony Online Entertainment has just delighted fans of its long-neglected fantasy themepark with a post on the official boards that outlines some nifty changes coming in the near future. In addition to a new thirteen-boss dungeon called the City of Brass, the devs are also cranking out overland raid bosses, removing the game's corpse recovery mechanics, and easing the leveling experience. There's also a blurb about increased drop rates and a "golden path" via the game's riftways that will guide players to the ideal adventuring areas for their level. There's no date on all the goodies as of yet, but the post says that SOE is "getting close" to migrating the patch to Vanguard's test server. Head to the official forums to see for yourself.
Deeprun Pest Control rocks Kharanos this holiday season
Fresh from the forums, a note of a nice holiday event planned by the players of Deeprun Pest Control on the European Aggramar server. They're planning a costume party, a gift giveaway (for the whole server!) and even invite the Horde to come join the festivities on level 1 alts. Now, I'm an infamous Scrooge... ask anyone who knows me, or even people who don't... and even I think this sounds like fun, so kudos to the folks at DPC for putting it together.Remember, Kharanos, Aggramar EU server, 21:00 hours server time (thats 9 pm for those of us like me who have to stop and count backwards when presented with a logical time system) the festivities begin. I don't know about you, but I'm inspired to blatantly steal this idea and am feverishly working on a plan to convince people on my server to go along with it.
Rock Band finally gone gold
So Guitar Hero III has been out for about a week and you've played it from start to finish numerous times. With no signs of any downloadable content in the near future (what's up with that?) where can you turn for more rhythm based rock gameplay? Well, fear not for the holy grail of rhythm games, Rock Band, finally went gold today. The game has been shipped off to manufacturers ready for the November 20th release date (December 18th for the PS2 version with PS3 compatible guitars). That's fifteen days to go - we're counting the hours, are you?
John Woo directing Ninja Gold film in conjunction with Warren Spector's game
John Woo will direct and produce the film-half of Ninja Gold, a multiformat project co-created with celebrated game creator Warren Spector. According to Woo's production partner Terrence Chang, the concept is based on ongoing factual accounts of the Yakuza and Russian mob stealing gold from South Africa. "The idea actually started with John Woo," Spector told Reuters, "He wanted to do something involving traditional ninjas in a modern-day setting, and the idea just resonated with me."The two components, the game and film, will be developed somewhat independently, while retaining similar elements that will provide a narrative link. In a departure from the norm, neither will be entirely based on the other -- think: convergence, like, totally. Though Spector has been credited as an executive producer of the film, he implied that Woo will be commanding the movie with little help from the game developers. Chang added that the film will be more reality-based (so no signature-Woo bullet ballets?), borrowing lightly from the fantastic elements of the game. Chang hopes that a script can be completed soon, so that production can begin next year. No timetable has been given for the game's development.As for Woo's other game-related project, Stranglehold, Chang suggested that a film adaptation was a strong possibility. "We would definitely bring Stranglehold to the big screen," Chang said. "We would like game titles to have all kinds of possibility. Having a movie made from them is certainly a major consideration for deciding on a title."
Hitachi unveils Wooo DZ-GX5300 DVD camcorder
Adding yet another item to what's likely one of the oddest titled product lines to ever grace the consumer electronics universe, Hitachi has now introduced the Wooo DZ-GX5300 DVD camcorder. This handheld unit rocks a compact, lightweight design and records SD video onto 8-centimeter (single-layer only) DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, and DVD+RW discs; additionally, the 3.3-megapixel 3CCD can snap stills and store them on the recordable disc or an SD card for easy transferring, and you can keep track of the action on the 2.7-inch swingout LCD. Users who like grabbing frames from full motion video will find lots to love here, and it sports a built-in capture function that grabs one second of time from a clip and automatically stores it separately without any fuss or post-processing. With an estimated run time of approximately 105 minutes, the newest Wooo should land later this month for a currently undisclosed price.[Via Impress]
Nintendo: sunlight is no big deal
Do you remember our earlier story where a NYC Event attendee claimed that sunlight interfered with the console? Turns out, sunlight isn't that big of a deal. 1UP recently asked Nintendo about the issue and received the following statement from a company representative, who was not named:"Our testing thus far shows no great risk of light interference when playing a game that relies on the pointer and sensor bar."Still worried? Reassured by the comfortable embrace of mother Nintendo? [Thanks Erich!]
John Woo's Stranglehold hands-on
Take the gun out of your mouth folks. John Woo's Stranglehold looks like more than just a shot-to-sh-t cash-in on the Hong Kong action auteur's single-syllable last name. Senior Game Designer Patrick Curry (a loyal Joystiq reader) pulled me out of the crowd for a little quality time with Midway's homage to Woo's bullet ballets and I came away impressed. This 360 game is from the same team that did Psi-Ops: Mindgate Conspiracy, an awesome Xbox title that was on everybody's "best game that no one played" list. After commiserating with the staff over the inexplicable disappointing sales of that game, I picked up the controller to try out its "spiritual" next-gen sequel. Stranglehold plays like Max Payne with, better graphics, more style and more ridiculously cool slow-mo moves. Midway's pitch focused on the destructable environment, which allowed me to blow up everything from wall tiles to frozen pigs. Combined with an array of Woo-ish bullet-time maneuvers, the level I saw did a good job of recreating the vibe from the tea house shoot-out scene in Hard-boiled. I asked executive producer Brian Eddy for the honest truth about Woo's involvement and was told he really did write the script. He also personally nixed blown off limbs, which sadly aren't his stylistic bag. Fortunately, he does prefer that perforated enemies stack up a la The Killer rather than disappear, so the team is working on that feature. They're also adding melee moves beyond the standard pistol whip present in the current build. Employing a common E3 tactic, Midway is keeping multiplayer details close to the shoulder holster, but I was assured that bullet-time will be implemented in an innovative way. Oh, and no warehouse levels.
