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The Game Archaeologist: Is Turbine working on Asheron's Call 3?
If you look at the list of major MMO studios, it seems as though many of them have something new in the works or recently launched a title. Sequels and sandboxes are the trendy topics of the time, garnering attention and enthusiasm from the community. And then there's Turbine. As a fan of the "powered by fans" studio and an avid player of Lord of the Rings Online, I have always kept my eye on these Bostonians. While Turbine helped lead the charge on free-to-play adaptations and has kept DDO and LotRO hopping with expansions, its last major MMO launch was 2008. The only known new game that's in the works over there is the Infinite Crisis MOBA. Or is it? What if there's another project that's being kept on the down-low, one that could be a comeback attempt to propel Turbine back into the community spotlight? What if Turbine is working on Asheron's Call 3? I have scant proof that this is so but plenty of suspicion and speculation as to why it may be the case. Plus, the possibility stirs the imagination.
Check out the touch controls in this Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation trailer
This trailer for Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation shows off some of the game's touch controls, which allow players to pick-pocket and perform chain kills with the swipe of a finger. Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation is coming to Vita on October 30.
Official Assassin's Creed 3 site begins snowy countdown [update]
The official Assassin's Creed 3 website has begun a rather short and mysterious countdown, set to expire in a little under two days, which also happens to be when the 2012 Game Developers Conference begins.The countdown hovers in front of a snow-covered field, potentially of the "battle" variety, which is stylistically consistent with the terrain and locations seen in the purported screenshots that leaked yesterday. By the time the clock reaches zero, we expect this field to be filled with soldiers in formation, lead by a cowled assassin riding a moose, armed with a smaller, wrist-mounted moose.Update: The countdown has finished, revealing a new trailer and a Wii U version, among other tidbits! [Thanks, Brian!]
Vudu on the LG BD390 will bitstream Dolby Digital Plus
We just heard back from Vudu and there's good news. Unlike any other implementation before it, Vudu on the LG BD390 will bitstream Dolby Digital Plus via the HDMI 1.3 port to your AVR. In addition, if you prefer LPCM the BD390 can decode the Dolby Digital Plus track in the Vudu stream as well. This is much better than the LG HDTVs or even the Vudu box itself, which were only capable of re-encoding the stream down to old school Dolby Digital before delivering it to the receiver. We were also directed to this FAQ on Vudu's site which includes all the bit rates for various quality video; interestingly it looks like you need between 4.5 and 9 Mbps of throughput to enjoy moves in HDX quality.
HD 101: What is ATSC, PSIP, QAM, and 8-VSB?
Once you buy an HDTV it doesn't take long before you get confused by all the acronyms. We love us some HD, but the days of simply bringing a new set home and plugging into a coax cable are long over -- at least for most. It is pretty obvious by the latest surveys that most people don't understand exactly what it takes to enjoy HD on their HDTV, but even if you do, you may not understand what most of it means. Now while this isn't the typical make sure you have your HDTV configured to watch HD post, it will help you understand the different ways HD is delivered.
DivX fills in the gaps and adds MKV support to Windows 7
Windows 7 comes with many new under the hood enhancements that address some sore spots for Media Center fans, but we don't think any hurt as much as the lack of native codec support. The most popular file format online today is without a doubt MKV, but many don't understand that it isn't a codec at all, but instead a container. In fact it's a container that can hold just about any combination of video and audio, but most notably H.264 video and AC3 audio. Now the kicker in Windows 7 is that although it natively supports H.264 and AC3, it still can't play MKV files. Up until now enthusiasts have been installing the Haali splitter on the Windows 7 Beta, which has kinda worked. We say kinda, because for whatever reason the Haali Media Splitter exposes the H.264 stream in an MKV file as AVC1 and not H.264. What this means is that Windows doesn't realize it can decode the content natively and when you try to play one of these files on an Extender -- for example -- the video is unnecessarily transcoded. So now that you understand the problem, it appears DivX has the solution. The latest DivX Tech Preview features a Media Foundation -- the replacement for DirectShow in 7 -- component that will demux MKV files and allow the video and audio streams to be decoded with native Windows 7 codecs. Well, that's the theory anyways, we'll be following the comments closely to see how this turns out in practice.
Hi-Def disc audio demystified
We gave this a go some time ago, but compared to the job Hi-Def Digest did, ours is pathetic. Not only do they go into detail about what every audio format available for both HD disc formats is all about, but they go on to give examples of discs that include them, and to top it all off, how to enjoy them. It's more complicated than you think because not every player or connection method supports every audio format. To be honest it's far more complicated than it should be and we wonder how anyone could make heads or tails of this mess without being very dedicated. Lucky for us, Joshua Zyber is up to the challenge and his article should help clear things up for just about everyone.
Samsung's YM-P1 20GB PMP available for pre-order
It's hitting our shores a little later than expected, but you can finally queue up for the US version of Samsung's hot little YM-PD1 personal media player (pictured), the YM-P1 (the absence of the "D" refers to the lack of a DMB over-the-air DTV receiver). Since we've been following this model for some time, you'll no doubt recall that it features a 4-inch widescreen TFT display, sports in-line recording to a 20GB hard drive, and supports a gaggle of formats including MP3, WMA, OGG, AC3, MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, AVI, WMV, JPEG, and BMP. You can also jack up the memory a bit via the SDIO slot, listen to and record FM radio, and even play some videogames (although the controls don't look all that well-suited for serious gaming). SamsungHQ spotted the P1 available for pre-order on Datavision's website at $370 (where "Our prices are too low to advertise!"), although there is no mention of when the devices will actually be shipping, so don't toss your Archos aside just yet.
