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Samsung and NYX want to sell you makeup with VR tutorials
It's not just video games -- virtual reality has lots of potential to change the way we experience information. You can experience what its like to walk in space with the BBC's ISS app for Oculus, watch every NBA game this season with your VR headset or lean back and experience the globe without ever leaving your house via Discovery channel's VR travel series. The trendy new tech is unavoidable, like in a new advertising campaign featuring NYX makeup and Samsung Gear VR.
SMITE reveals Nox, Goddess of the Night, just in time for Halloween
Nox, Goddess of the Night, will soon debut in MOBA SMITE, Hi-Rez has announced. Based on the classical goddess of the same name, playable Nox is both beautiful and terrifying, a shadowy figure rarely seen, who "glides between the light just at the edge of vision." Her core mechanics revolve around the clever implementation of candles and candlelight; abilities used near Nox light up the candles she wields, reducing her mana consumption. Other powers include a mitigation shield, a damage-plus-silence raven attack, and multiple darkness-themed debuffs. Check out Nox's god reveal trailer below! [Thanks, Sorenthaz.]
EVE Evolved: Is EVE becoming a spectator sport?
This week saw another landmark event in EVE Online grab the gaming community's attention as over 3,000 players from dozens of alliances battled it out in the lowsec system of Asakai on the Caldari border. The battle reached 2,800 concurrent players at peak, falling just short of 2011's record-breaking siege of LXQ2-T which hit 3,110 simultaneous combatants at its peak. There were livestreams, tons of after-action reports, and the story of this immense battle started by one man clicking the wrong button really captured our imaginations. EVE is one of those rare cases in which a lot of people find the media that surrounds the game more fun than the game itself. News of big in-game events like scams, heists, and huge battles spreads across the internet like wildfire, even among people who hate the game or have never tried it. When news of the Asakai battle emerged, someone on Reddit suggested that people should play EVE for only a few months to get some background and then quit and just read the stories. I've seen a lot of similar comments over the years saying that EVE is more fun to watch and read about than play, and it makes me wonder if the game is becoming a bit of a spectator sport. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at why stories like the Battle of Asakai are so pervasive and explain why I think EVE should embrace its role as a spectator sport.
Nyx Mobile Twist Connect hands-on
It's not often that we write about a feature phone, but we were charmed by the Twist Connect's unique design. The dual-SIM device prides itself on its integration with Nyx Messenger, social networks like Twitter and its MP3-playing abilities. It's the music-playing features that caught our attention. The whole bottom of the phone rotates, switching from a full QWERTY keyboard, to a set of dedicated music controls. In messaging mode the keypad is angled out on a chin to make typing easier, while keeping the screen in a better position for visibility -- it wasn't the greatest display, easily getting washed out at even slight angles under the conventions center's lights. Give it a twist (hence the name) and the keyboard gets stuck to the rear, exposing a pair of stereo speakers and a set of controls to raise and lower the volume, skip tracks and, of course, play and pause your tunes. Otherwise, the bulky and plasticky handset holds little allure, but we'll cheers Nyx Mobile for their special twist on the MP3 phone. Check out the gallery below for a few pics.
Nyx Mobile Lyuba Max and Fun hands-on
When PR reps have something they think is truly special, things can get a little cloak and dagger. While we were hanging around the Nyx Mobile booth, a rep quietly sneaked up on us to offer a glimpse of two new handsets his company is working on. When we enthusiastically agreed (after our heart rate dropped), he led us aside -- away from prying eyes -- and produced a pair devices, delicately wrapped in a silk handkerchief, from his suit's inside pocket. We won't lie, things got a tad disappointing when we realized they were non-functioning mockups, but if the company can pull off these frame-less designs we'll be quite impressed. Due to begin manufacturing within the next two or three months, the Lyuba Max and Lyuba Fun aim to make bezels a thing of the past. The lack of a frame on the five-inch, 63mm-wide Max makes it even trimmer than the significantly smaller-screened Galaxy Nexus, which checks in at about 68mm wide. While we won't make too many judgments on the feel and design based on a non-functioning prototype, we actually found the Max easier to hold and reach all corners of the screen with a single hand than the Nexus or the Note. The four-inch Fun felt a good half-inch smaller than its spec sheet implied -- more akin to an iPhone in size. Both devices will come rocking Ice Cream Sandwich, but they'll be powered by some rather mid-range hardware. Both will pack a 1.2GHz processor, likely of the single-core variety, and neither is boasting impressive screen resolutions. The Max is checking in with a decidedly dated 800 x 480 LCD, while the Fun drops to a lowly HVGA panel. Check out the gallery below for some images of the mockups.
Wings Over Atreia's Aion 2.7 sneak-peek: Dev death match
You all just better be grateful that NCsoft is working out the kinks by using me as a guinea pig so you can have a smooth launch! Even if by launch I only mean the PTS, which is set to go live today with Aion's newest patch. Yes folks, I -- your intrepid Wings Over Atreia correspondent -- was invited to a media sneak-peek to check out the Crucible 3 arenas coming very soon to a live server near you. Who am I to pass up a few practice runs through the new arenas before the rest of the masses? So I touch-down mid-week for some additional Atreian coverage. And come on, no one could pass up the chance to stealth up behind a dev and unleash a flurry of dagger blows into his/her back! Unfortunately, logistical and technical difficulties stretching for days plagued this endeavor. Yours truly was especially cursed. However, just when it seemed like the event wouldn't happen, there we were, standing in Kaisinel Academy in spiffy new duds and queued to enter what is arguably the highlight of 2.7: the PvP arenas. At this point, I forgave all previous problems because I got to commence some slaughter on a few NCsoft employees. What?!? You all know you want to! I tested my dagger and sword against Scott Hannus, producer of the game guide; two members of the game guide team, Sean Orlikowski and Ryan Compton; Adam Christensen, Associate Producer; Dom Wai, Brand Manager; and two members of the community management team, Felicia Johnson (Nyx) and Curtis Grooms (Anhtoo). Oh, and I learned some pretty neat things about the upcoming patch as well. So how was the experience? And just exactly how tasty are Aion's forthcoming goodies? Whet your appetite past the cut with my impressions of the two instances and the new PvP gear as well as check out a video. Then join in on the PTS server to experience for yourself.%Gallery-136333%
New summer events on tap from Angels Online
Angels Online recently added a new server, and now the team at IGG is gearing up for a series of special summer events designed to bring players more content. First up is a leveling contest that runs from June 23rd to July 21st. The six players who attain the highest level on the new Nyx server by 1:00 a.m. EDT on the 21st will walk away with some significant rewards including a grand prize level 100 armor set and 100,000 in-game coins. IGG is also hosting a double XP event that runs from June 23rd through June 30th on the new shard. Finally, the new Summer Breeze promotion features fruit-themed outfits that "let you show off your summer style and take advantage of huge power boosts," according to an IGG press release. Angels Online is free-to-play play, and you can download the game at IGG's official website.
Somnus Sleep Shirt watches while you sleep, won't be creepy about it (video)
Monitoring sleep patterns usually involves a hydra of sensors that keep track of brain activity, muscle movements and heart rates, but a startup called Nyx Devices has developed a new night shirt that can evaluate the quality of a user's slumber by analyzing only breathing patterns. The form-fitting Somnus Sleep Shirt is embedded with two sensors that keep track of a person's overnight breathing and transmit this information to a small data recorder, which slides into the lower corner of the nightie. When a user wakes up, he or she can upload their stats to Nyx's website, where they can generate more detailed analytics and log their caffeine and alcohol intake to find out how all those martini lunches affect their snoozing. Co-inventor Matt Bianchi, a sleep neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, thinks the Somnus could help patients suffering from insomnia, who often have difficulty determining how much shuteye they actually get. It's worth noting, though, that this exclusively respiratory approach is still considered experimental and Nyx still has to conduct a few at-home tests before bringing the shirt to market next year, hopefully for less than $100. Until then, we'll just keep tossing and turning in our Spider Man jammies. Stroll past the break for an appropriately soporific video.
