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ICYMI: Raining tiny satellites and the laundry-folding machine
Today on In Case You Missed It: A company called FoldiMate is selling a standalone machine to sit alongside a washing and dryer and fold about 20 garments at a time for $850. Cornell University engineers are sending tiny interstellar computers to the ISS this summer, there they will act as satellites and, eventually, collect information from our nearest neighboring star system, Alpha Centauri. We also round up the week in our TL; DR segment. If you grew up playing The Sims, this piece of news might interest you. We're also very interested in the Visa payment ring the Olympic athletes can wear in Rio. As always, please share any great tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
KickSat's tiny satellites may burn up before they're released
If you backed the KickSat project in hopes of getting your own tiny satellite into orbit, you'll want to brace yourself for some bad news. The host vehicle's master clock has unexpectedly reset while in space, pushing the mini satellites' release back to May 16th -- after the main craft is likely to burn up on reentry. It's possible to force a deployment once the host's uplink radio gets enough power, but that might not happen quickly enough to avoid a calamity.
Crowd-funded KickSat to carry over 100 tiny satellites into space this Sunday
It began with a Kickstarter project in 2011. This Sunday, KickSat creator Zac Manchester will see his poker chip-size satellites take flight when they launch from Cape Canaveral to an altitude of about 200 miles. More than 100 of the Sprite free-flying spacecraft will orbit the Earth as part of a technology demonstration. Each satellite includes a gyroscope, magnetometer, a Texas Instruments microcontroller, a radio, two antennas and solar cells for power. Once the Sprites are deployed from the KickSat cube sat on April 1st, the system will transmit telemetry packets that can be picked up by basic ham radio equipment back on Earth. Update: NASA has pushed back to the launch to March 30th.
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 characters in sprite form
The existence of a third Marvel vs Capcom game is a small miracle in its own right. Today, our attention turns to a labor of love: a gallery of 2D sprites based on the Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 fighters, lovingly made by deviantART user steamboy33.We've combined two posters above, showing both the Marvel and Capcom sides of the roster, but steamboy33 has each available as an individual image on his profile page. And don't stop after the cast of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 – there are plenty of other neat sprites to check out. Marvelous!
The Daily Grind: Are tiny races persecuted?
We've seen it across the MMO spectrum: Gnomes, Hobbits, Halflings, Dwarves, Asura, Sprites, Danny DeVito -- they're all ridiculed, mocked, and often targeted by other players driven to an inexplicable rage at the mere sight of them. Small races may be fiercely loved by a segment of the playerbase, but their presence serves to infuriate even more. So what is it about short races that drives good men and women to near-madness? Is it their tenacity at overcoming odds? Their propensity for kicking shins? Or their "ooh lookit the cute widdle fella!" adorability? It's hard to say, although this writer personally loves them. So chew on that, tallies! But that's not today's question; today's question is whether or not you think short races in MMOs have become persecuted, to an extent. Are they unfairly targeted just because of what they are, and if so, does that mean we've traded real-world prejudices for virtual ones? 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!
Wakfu's beta delayed in North America, potentially for Rogue activity
Wakfu has captured more than a few eyes of late, and for understandable reason. The game features distinctive and detailed sprite graphics, a tactical battle system, and a world that reacts to your actions. Details have just been released on the game's explosive and underhanded Rogue class, specializing in disrupting enemies with a variety of elemental bomb spells while avoiding damage with quick movement. Unfortunately for players looking forward to the game's beta, it might be a bit further away than it seemed, at least in North America. The international open beta was previously announced to be starting on April 27th, but word has been released that details on open beta in North America will be announced on a later date. While the game is set for a worldwide simultaneous release, if you're here in the US, you might have to wait just a little longer to get your Wakfu on. Fortunately, some brand-new screenshots -- including a couple of roguish ones -- should help ease the pain a little. %Gallery-116491%
Nippon Ichi shows off improved Disgaea 4 art
If you're a fan of Nippon Ichi's twisted strategy RPG series, Disgaea, you've likely spent a ludicrous number of hours staring at illustrator Takehido Harada's charming 2D character art. You'll get to do so again with Disgaea 4, with the benefit of higher-resolution artwork. By the looks of things (check out Andriasang for some neat comparison and screenshots), the new sprites have lost none of their personality in the long-awaited upgrade. Disgaeaeaeaea 4 will launch on PlayStation 3 in February 2011 with a limited edition package, including a Nendoroid Petit figure, art book and soundtrack CD. It'll also retain all the original illustrations, allowing you to toggle between the old and new characters. It's nice that the old art is sticking around, but couldn't Nippon Ichi have shipped their used goods to a less fortunate soul, like IGA?
The Daily Grind: Would you like more sprite graphics?
Back in the time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, nearly all video game graphics were produced as a series of animated pixels, or "sprites" as they're more frequently known. Sprites have evolved from the basic pixel-block format seen in old Atari games to being complex collections of fluid animation, producing graceful and evocative art. Of course since each and every frame of a sprite's animation has to be hand-drawn and can often be quite involved, vector-based three-dimensional graphics have become the standard for games both online and offline. World of Warcraft and other triple-A titles are never likely to be dominated by sprite graphics, since the result is usually less character customization, more work for the art team, and only a negligible actual benefit. But what about you, the player? Do you like seeing games where the landscapes and avatars are rendered with sprites instead of polygons? Does it give you a sense of nostalgia and familiarity? Or do you dislike the style and want to see a move away from what was once the predominant graphical style? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of our 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 The Daily Grind!
Street Fighter IV characters go 2D, revisit the late '90s
If Street Fighter IV were made 10 years ago and lacked all those bulging 3D muscles and gorilla hands, it might look something like the images you see above. Shoryuken forum member Steamboy33 took it upon himself to draw up Street Fighter 3-esque versions of 11 different characters from SFIV, reappropriating sprites from previous SF games as a template. The adorable stature of these sprites almost has us wishing for a Smash Bros. meets mini-Capcom game, but let's be realistic -- no one wants to fight Seth ever again. Ever. %Gallery-21918%[Via iPlayWinner]
DS Daily: So, Chrono Trigger
By now, you've probably watched the Chrono Trigger trailer (and, if not, go see it). This morning, we wanted to ask how you felt about what looks like a straight port -- at least, as far as the graphics are concerned. We know the DS version will add new functionality, but if this trailer tells the full graphical story, it's the same ol' Chrono Trigger.Is this what you wanted?
Twilight Princess models ripped, enhanced, put in strange poses
Forum members at Facepunch Studios have ripped almost 50 3D models from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, cleaned them up, and released them for the world to play with. It didn't take long before images of Link and Ila "sittin' in a tree" appeared. Surprisingly, the images so far have been SFW. If you have your own 2D and 3D manipulation software (3D Studio Max, for example), you can grab the meshes yourself and make your own magic. Fortunately the Epona model has yet to be ripped. We can't wait to see the, uh, "creative" scenes that will bring.[Via TheLastBoss]%Gallery-2547%
First Riviera: The Promised Land video released
Back in August, Famitsu broke news of Sting's Rivieria: The Promised Land, the GBA tactical RPG, being ported to the PSP. Well now, the first video has been released, and you can see it here. Although, most of the text that accompanies the video is in Japanese, you can still get the gist of what the game is all about, just in case you haven't previously played it. While the graphics do look a bit crisper, the main "upgrade" from the GBA version is the inclusion of voice acting.On Sting's official site, they have loads of Riviera PSP content available for download. C'mon, I know you're a sucker for cutesy 2D sprites![Via DCEmu]
