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Cryptic Studios' Andy Velasquez talks Neverwinter
Would-be citizens of Neverwinter are certainly waiting anxiously for Cryptic Studios' upcoming venture into the Jewel of the North, which we received favorably at PAX East last month. Well, unfortunately we're going to have to wait a bit longer, but in the mean time, MMORPG.com has a new interview with Neverwinter's Lead Producer, Andy Velasquez, to shine some light on the most civilized city in Faerun. Velasquez answers questions on a number of topics, including the decision to use 4th edition rules, the amount of content that will be available at launch, and the difference between a raid and a Dungeon Delve. It's definitely worth a read for anyone interested in the upcoming title, so if you're one of those people, head on over to the full interview and give it a look.
ViewSonic's ViewPhone 4e hands-on (video)
The ViewSonic ViewPhone 4e -- the downmarket sibling of the ViewPhone 4s -- launched at MWC today and unlike the 4s, the 4e was essentially feature complete. This dual SIM set will ship with Android 2.3.x Gingerbread, a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 display, a 3-megapixel camera, and an FM radio. We had a chance to see it in both yellow and a truly garish pink hue and the housings are impressively solid and while they may not come in our favorite colors, they're at least fun. While not as tack sharp as the ViewPhone 4s' IPS display, the 4e looked just fine and the quick UI tour didn't show any obvious slowdowns or stuttering from its 650Mhz CPU. We're expecting this to launch in Europe before June for about $350.Zach Honig contributed to this report.
ViewSonic goes dual-SIM with ViewPhone 4s, 4e and 5e, all packing Android Ice Cream Sandwich
When you're ready, here's yet another load of pre-MWC goodness. This year ViewSonic decided that merely slapping Ice Cream Sandwich on its new ViewPhones isn't good enough, so instead, the company's just-announced 4s, 4e and 5e also come with an extra SIM slot. Starting from the left we have the ViewPhone 4s featuring an impressive 3.5-inch 960 x 640 Super Clear IPS LCD (which, should be very similar to Apple's Retina Display from LG -- rather ironic given the phone's name), along with a five-megapixel camera, a VGA front-facing imager and a 1GHz chip. Pictured in the middle is a similar-looking ViewPhone 4e but packing a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 LCD, a slower processor at 650MHz only, a three-megapixel camera and one extra touch button than its sibling; all of this made with budget in mind, obviously, though somehow ViewSonic's very proud of its 10.3mm thickness.If 3.5-inch displays aren't your cup of tea then you'll have to jump straight to the 5-inch ViewPhone 5e, but so far all we've been told is its 800 × 480 screen resolution. Could there be more in this dual-SIM beast? Stay tuned to our MWC coverage and you'll know as soon as we do.
What MMOs can learn from D&D Fourth Edition
Gamasutra is running a great article right now in the wake of the Dungeons and Dragons Fourth release, looking at what videogames can learn from the newest iteration of the tabletop classic. In a way, the possibility of games being informed by 4E is just the latest in the back-and-forth theft that has gone on between pen and paper gaming and the digital form.The article waxes at length about some of the new mechanics in the game, including class powers, skill challenges, and the streamlined way that Wizards of the Coast has defined party roles. One of the most successful elements of Fourth Edition is the new way that encounters can be created -- something that should be kept in mind in every videogame as well, whether MMO or not: "Since most monsters are on-screen only long enough to take a few swings at the players and then die, that's what they should be designed to do. Unless it's the big boss, just give each monster two or three interesting attacks at most. Leave the non-combat design to the individual DM's world. Fourth edition really focuses on designing content to do what it needs to, and nothing else. Develop a clear vision for each piece of content, then cut away everything that doesn't serve that goal."
