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Tesla will let you customize your car's horn and movement sounds
Tesla isn't done with whimsical software updates just because Netflix and Cuphead have reached your car... in fact, there's a good chance people outside the car will notice. Elon Musk has revealed that Tesla cars will "soon" have the option to customize horn and low-speed movement sounds. The full selection of sounds isn't available, but Musk is teasing goat bleats, rushing wind and even the coconut horse clops from Monty Python and the Holy Grail -- just in case you want to roll up to the traffic lights Arthur-style.
The Daily Grind: Should NPCs change?
One of the aspects that I've loved about the recent books of Lord of the Rings Online's epic story is that it's provided my character with an interesting and persistent NPC fellowship. Traveling with constant companions, even if they're virtual ones, is much preferable to wandering alone, especially if said companions grow and develop over time. I was rooting for the simmering romance between Horn and Nona, if only so that they'd stop acting like high school drama students performing some weird Shakespeare play. Just kiss already, darn it! Today I'd like the Massively class to discuss change in our NPCs. Is it a welcome factor to have one of these characters grow, develop, and have their own virtual lives? Or would that be a bad idea because... reasons? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Zynga unveils Battlestone, an action RPG coming to iOS soon
Zynga's been on an interesting pivot lately. The company made a name for itself on Facebook, and most of its business is tied up in big games like Farmville and its sequel. But that audience is slowing down in growth, if not declining, which has prompted Zynga to experiment on mobile platforms like iOS. Last year, Zynga published Horn, which is a very impressive action / adventure title on iOS, and this year I expect to see more games like it as Zynga targets the "midcore" audience with nice graphics and complex gameplay. Battlestone is a great example of that. It's a newly revealed game from the House that Farmville Built, and as you can see above, it looks very impressive. It's an action RPG in the vein of Diablo, but made for mobile platforms, and with a slightly more casual look. Battlestone will let you pull one hero from multiple choices to fight through varied 3D environments, swiping and tapping across the screen to get involved in combat. It definitely sounds fun -- Battlestone should be available in the US soon, as it's already being tested in a few markets around the world. Zynga's real challenge with these will be to balance "midcore" gameplay with its preferred freemium promotional practices. The company grew very quickly thanks to its "social" gameplay, but as it has grown bigger and bigger, Zynga's depended more and more on desperately trying to make its games viral. If they can tone that down in these more complicated titles in a way that still allows them to keep things profitable, the company will be able to find a whole new audience to replace the one that's getting more and more bored with all of the "cow clicking" that Zynga originally started out with.
Horn goes on a free quest on iOS today
A free version of Phosphor Games' pretty 3D action-adventure mobile game Horn is available on iOS today. Horn Free focuses on the "Prologue" section of Horn proper, allowing players to face an endless series of Titans in the new Quest mode and unlock new sets of customizable weapons and armor.The premium version of Horn pretty much gets all the new stuff found in Horn Free: Quest mode, available as under the Challenges section for instant boss fight gratification, and new loot. This latest update also optimizes both versions of Horn for play on iPad Minis and the new iPad. We've followed up for info on whether this new content is in the Android version.
Sound Taxi composes music from London city buzz, doesn't even take a fare
What you see above isn't just another shameless car stereo project, but a black cab that turns the hustle and bustle of city noise into music. The Sound Taxi toured London last week collecting ambient sound pollution with a roof-mounted mic, recycling it through production software and then pumping out real-time mixes on its army of speakers and horns. The mobile disco was a collaboration between headphone company AiAiAi and Yuri Suzuki, with Mark McKeague providing the back-end wizardry which turned clamor into samples into tracks. If you'd like to hear the fruits of their labor, then head over to the Make The City Sound Better website (sourced below) for some uploaded examples of London street beats.
PSA: Horn sounds the alarm on iOS today
The first Zynga Partners for Mobile game has launched on iOS today. Phosphor Games' action adventure game Horn is now available on the iTunes App store, a $6.99 universal download optimized for iPad 2 and 3, and iPhone 4S.Horn focuses on a young blacksmith's apprentice named Horn who wakes to find his world is overrun with monsters – it's loosely based on the 13th-century English tale of King Horn. Phosphor Games says Horn will launch on Tegra-powered Android devices "soon."%Gallery-162401%
Horn gets a trailer, coming later this month
We already knew that the developers behind the iOS horror game Dark Meadow were working on a new title called Horn, but now here's a trailer to watch. As you can tell, it looks pretty darn good. It's not quite as scary as the first game, though there are a few spooky elements, and the graphics look terrific. The game also looks like it will have a few more story and RPG elements to play with, so it should be fun. The trailer also mentions that we won't have long to wait: Horn is due out this month. That's good news for fans of the first game who are looking to see what Phosphor has been working on. As soon as we see Horn in the App Store, we'll let you know.
Horn blows in a trailer, will toot in August
Phosphor Games, developers of The Dark Meadow, will launch Horn this August. The iOS title looks like it'll have plenty of action to immerse one to the point they miss their bus or subway stop.
Dark Meadow devs' next title is Horn
Phosphor Games' Dark Meadow made a big splash when it arrived on iOS last year, offering up a unique (and somewhat scary) experience on Apple's platform, with some excellent graphics and storytelling for a mobile title. Now that studio is following up with a second game, called Horn, as profiled recently by IGN. The game looks intriguing -- it's a third-person fantasy action game, and while it looks a little bit like Infinity Blade (not a bad thing), the world is supposed to be a little more open, with lots of area to explore, and even some puzzles to solve as you move along. Phosphor's already got a nice reputation rolling with Dark Meadow, and Horn looks like it will be good, too. Horn will presumably also be part of Zynga's partners program, of which Phosphor was reported yesterday as a founding member. What that means is unclear just yet, but the program is designed to connect Zynga's audience and other titles together, so it's possible that Horn will be promoting Zynga's titles or vice versa. We'll have to see -- Horn is due out sometime later on this year.
The Dark Meadow dev releasing action game 'Horn' with Zynga
Phosphor Games, developer of the atmospheric The Dark Meadow, will launch its new game Horn with Zynga as publisher. Horn is a third-person action game that at first glance draws some inspiration from Team Ico games, but is said to be loosely based on the "Old English tales of King Horn."Horn has been announced for iOS, but don't be surprised to see it make its way to other mobile platforms in time (it was just showcased on Google's Nexus 7 tablet today during a press conference). Play time is pegged at 10 hours, and will be paired with a soundtrack by Journey's Austin Wintory. There is currently neither a release date nor price.%Gallery-159243%
No Comment: The iPhone Megaphone
We've actually seen this megaphone idea implemented before. While it's probably easiest to just go ahead and plug your iPhone in rather than trying to mechanically amplify the sound waves with a series of cones and chambers, that hasn't stopped some designers from putting together some intriguing devices for making your iPhone louder (and clearer?). All that said, we'd like to say this "acoustic horn" manufactured out of ceramic and placed on a walnut tripod was just another jokey accessory, but given how well-designed it looks? We'll just say: No comment.
Romanians in spandex base jump the Intel theme chimes
Oh, nerds. If we weren't one of you, we wouldn't have the faintest idea why you do the things you do. But we are, so we do, even if you're from another country. In an attempt to best Finland's record for World's Largest Intel Chime (done with human cannonballs), five employees at the chipmaker's Romanian branch learned how to base jump from the top of their office onto huge airbags to "hoot" the ubiquitous tones. A charmingly-accented software validation engineer named Iulian project-managed the whole thing -- here's hoping he makes VP sooner rather than later. Slightly disturbing video of humans being dropped after the break.
Crapgadget: Delicious salmagundi of decorative inanities edition
We're always big fans of mixed-use gadgets -- but these ones kind of mutilate the principle. On hand today we've got a two pack of bedazzled necklaces -- one an MP3 player, the other a USB flash drive / watch combo. We've also unearthed a USB speaker that claims to be a whale, but more closely resembles a weird, in our opinion. Finally (and this one was worth the wait, trust us), we've got a tiny Moto Horn for your bike, which makes it "safer" to ride your bike by... making vroom vroom motorbike noises as you zoom along. Consider these our best suggestions for what to do with your disposable income, folks.Read - USB Jewel Square Necklace MP3 PlayerRead - USB Jewel Watch Necklace Flash DriveRead - USB Cetacean Whale SpeakerRead - Moto Horn
JBL rolls out new ScreenArray speakers to cinemas, mansions
If you personally own a cineplex, or just a really big home theater, you've no doubt discovered that filling large spaces with high SPLs takes a lot of power. Conventional "cones in a box" just aren't very efficient, which is why so many large venues use horn-loaded drivers; and it's also where JBL's new ScreenArray series of digital cinema loudspeakers fit in. The 4732, 3732, 3731, 4722 and 3722 models each feature the new 3-inch high-frequency compression driver that's also been goosed to blast through perforated screens with the treble intact, and they're also all available in amplified and passive flavors. Our local theater isn't exactly rolling in cash right now for this kind of purchase, but then again, there's nothing crappy sound coming from a blown driver to make us blacklist a theater once and for all.
Samsung's flower-inspired BSP6000 Bluetooth speaker hits FCC
Samsung has a history of pumping out Bluetooth speakers with unorthodox designs, so we can't say we were totally taken off guard when this one popped up in the FCC's database. That said, it's hard not to be a little shocked when checking out a speaker that looks more like a pair of black flowers than an audio maker, but that's exactly what's presented in the BSP6000. This mobile companion not only allows for BT music streaming, but it also pairs with your handset in order to initiate / answer / end calls. Predictably, Sammy threw in a standard 3.5 millimeter auxiliary jack for connecting any other music source, and we're told that it'll work with your BT phone so long as it's within a 30 foot radius. Obviously, there's no mention of a price or release date (though that would be nice of you to find out, FCC), but we'll be sure to keep an eye out for more. Shouldn't be too hard to miss.
Phat Loot Phriday: The Fleshshaper
Running Heroics? Want to stab stuff? Keep an eye out for this dagger.Name: The Fleshshaper (Wowhead, Thottbot, Wowdigger)Type: Epic One-hand DaggerDamage/Speed: 206-310 / 1.80 (143.3 DPS)Abilities: +22 Agility, +58 Stamina Improves hit rating by 27, and attack power by 76 %Gallery-33600%
Argent Knight: My new best friend needs to level
One of the cooler things out of the zombie invasion is the quest rewards. The Argent War Horn stands as one of the most "epic" of all the rewards. This trinket will summon an Argent Knight to your side. He's got some spiffy abilities and stats. Let's take a look: HP - 2442 Mana – 2434 Damage: About 100 melee and about 150 crusader strike on a level 60 mob. He also has some spells: Heal: Heals a person for around 700, often times casting when the person is at 25% or lower health. Blessing of Protection: Target becomes immune to damage. Unknown when he casts this. Crusader Strike: A powerful attack that increases holy damage done to the target. The down side to this guy is that he's only level 60. That's kind of weird given that the trinket requires level 70 to use. I wouldn't be surprised to see his level increased to 70 in some future patch. However at the same time they might leave him at 60 just in order to keep this trinket as more of a joke item, rather then making it anything useful.
Key bindings and you
Horns over at Yet Another Warlock Nerf wrote an extremely handy guide to key bindings in his l2pvp series, and it's a pretty good read. Although he writes mostly for a Warlock audience, pretty much all of his tips hit the nail right on the head, giving a practical, easy to understand guide on how to start key binding. I wanted to cover this at some point in The Art of War(craft), but with guys like Horn writing guides like these, I probably don't have to! He notes the three principles of successful key binding: Start slowly - Horn says to take your time and not rush to key bind everything you've got (that would actually be pretty unwieldy...). Key bind one or two spells first and get used to it, eventually moving on to more key bindings. Speed - He also rightly points out that key bindings should consist of key combinations that are accessible with one hand, e.g., it doesn't make sense to bind CTRL+9 unless you're some sort of long-fingered, quintuple-jointed mutant Efficiency - Bind the important spells first, and not those on long cooldowns that aren't always clutch, like Innervate. Which means I'll probably need to unbind my Mini Tyrael... He even has a great illustration of a keyboard lay-out color coded to show which keys are easier to access along with the modifier keys. There are a whole bunch more of excellent tips over at his blog so give it a read if you want to get rid of that clicking habit. What the guide seems to lack, though, is an actual step-by-step guide on how to actually bind what spells to what keys through the World of Warcraft interface. Personally, I just use Bindpad since the default Key Bindings interface gets me a little dizzy.
Horntones blasts any tune through your car horn
What better to compliment your electrophoretic bumper sticker than yet another device that enables you to adequately express your road rage in a unique and an ear-catching manner? Horntones, of course, which offers drivers the ability to blast out their favorite tune at any swerving, unnerving, or otherwise annoying motorist ahead of you -- and it's sure to have a bit more impact than the meek "honk" (or "clap") your whip emits right now. The FX-550 strangely resembles an average aftermarket satellite radio controller, and is wired directly into your vehicle's horn system in order to blast out one of eight tunes with a press of a button, while new jams (or better yet, sound clips) can be added via USB. So if you're yearning to crank out your favorite angry song with absolutely no mids or lows, essentially ensuring public humiliation while you're attempting to appear incredibly macho, you can snap this novelty up for a reported $149.99 when it lands in April.[Via Uber-Review]
