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Roccat introduces Power-Grid, a PC game controller iPhone
I first saw Roccat's Power-Grid, announced today, back at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The German-based PC accessory company first showed me its top-of-the-line keyboards and mice (customizable, wonderfully designed), and then asked if I wanted to see something really special. They swore me to secrecy, and then pulled out the Power-Grid setup. It's an iPhone app that works with a special bit of software on your PC, which turns your iOS device into a remote control. Power-Grid goes way beyond controlling audio and document sharing. It's completely customizable and ties into everything Roccat's software can access. That means that you could build a touchscreen keyboard on the iPhone's screen. Any game shortcuts, launch buttons, or anything else you've got programmed there (World of Warcraft ability key shortcuts?) becomes available from a touch of your iPhone's screen. The app also has an "Incoming Center," which lets you take messages, voice chat with other users, or use Facebook and Skype. This is designed for PC gamers. If you're in a game and don't want to tab to a browser for Facebook or pick up a Skype call, just use your phone and keep playing on your PC. This functionality will grow over time, as well. Once you've created a set of keyboard shortcuts that you really like, you can share it as a "grid" with other users. Useful grids will be available for download and use. Roccat plans to make the app free to download, but will eventually monetize by adding extra features, like the option to have more than one swipeable grid (like flipping through icons on an iOS home screen, only with the icons affecting features on your actual PC), or more options for use, like monitoring your PC's temperatures, fan speeds, or uptime on the iOS device's screen. Unfortunately, I didn't actually get to see it in action back at CES. The connection requires a Wi-Fi network, and as you might imagine, the crowded show floor made it hard to find a good one. But Roccat did show the app off at CeBit, and the company is taking beta signups for the program right now. Initially, the app will be iOS only, but Android versions are planned. The Power-Grid is definitely an intriguing idea, and Roccat, though not well known in the US, has a long history of well-made, customizable PC gaming controllers and software. If you use a PC for gaming a lot, and wouldn't mind making some more direct use of your iOS device's screen space while playing, keep an eye out for this one. We'll definitely let you know when the app goes live, and we're able to try it out directly.
Audi A3 with MMI Touch gesture-based entertainment system hands-on (video)
CeBIT isn't an auto show in the traditional sense, but we are in Germany after all, so we weren't terribly surprised to see Audi roll up with a brand new car. The latest A3 made its worldwide debut today, bringing with it that wheel-based menu navigation interface we saw in its prototype phase. The touchpad sits atop the jog-wheel and shrinks things down considerably compared to the original version found in the 7-series. To keep things nice and safe, Audi devised a system that recognizes letters you draw with your finger, enabling drivers keep their eyes on the road while selecting music, making calls or setting a destination in the GPS. Also, as is apparently the norm these days, there's Facebook and Twitter integration -- the car can even read updates as you drive. If you know, you can't wait until you're parked.As you might have gathered, the A3 is a connected vehicle, with a SIM slot or Bluetooth connection providing the car's link to the outside world. It offers another curious addition, too: a "Phone Box" signal boosting system. Details are sparse, but we do know there's an external antenna that relays the signal back to the handset. That particular feature is compatible with any phone you care to toss inside, and requires a wired connection only for charging (the box itself is amplified, so anything that sits within the enclosure will reap those boosting benefits). We managed to get the first hands-on demo with the car, and you can see all those new toys in the video and galleries below.
Neonode zForce uses infrared LEDs to measure pressure, replace capacitive touch (hands-on)
Smartphone fanatics may recall the Neonode N2 -- a rather unique recall-plagued feature phone that ultimately resulted in the demise of the company's handset arm. Neonode is still a major player in the portable device market, but may be more familiar to OEMs that employ its infrared LED-based touch technology, rather than consumers that utilize it in e-readers, with tablets soon joining the mix. zForce offers several advantages over its capacitive-based counterparts -- it's incredibly responsive and accurate, and can now measure the intensity (or pressure) of your touch, and not just position. There's also a built-in proximity sensor that can be added to any device for a few pennies, which is considerably less than traditional offerings. However, because Neonode uses an array of infrared LEDs and photodiodes, a raised bezel is required to accommodate the additional hardware, making it impossible to integrate a flush display.We went hands-on with an updated smartphone-sized embed of the company's zForce technology that not only works with any object, such as a finger, pen or a paint brush, but also recognizes both the pressure of your implement and also its size, so a larger paint brush has broader strokes than a smaller one, for example. Because the device can operate at 500Hz all the way up to 1,000Hz (refreshing 1,000 times per second), it appears to be incredibly responsive, with an almost unnoticeable delay between the time you touch the pad and when your input is displayed on the screen. A second demo unit, called Stargate, offers dual-layer touch with support for 3D control -- you can literally reach inside the unit to manipulate an object. There's no word on when this latest tech will make its way into devices, or how exactly we'll see it used, but you really need to see it in action to get a feel for how it works -- jump past the break for our video hands-on.%Gallery-149305%
Daily iPad App: Ziggurat adds new controls to the shooter tradition
Ziggurat is a fascinating little iPhone game. It's technically a shooter, but the controls are unlike any shooter I've ever seen. The idea is that the human race is almost over, and one lone figher stands atop a pyramid, under attack from robots on all sides. Playing as this solitary fighter, you must destory the incoming robots. The game offers two methods of firing the weapon: "Precision Mode" and "Slingshot Mode." Precision Mode has you drag a finger across the bottom of the screen to calculate the firing angle, and then tap to charge and fire. In Slingshot Mode, which is easier but less interesting, you simply drag off of the middle of the screen to both aim and charge, as if using an imaginary slingshot on top of the ziggurat. The enemies vary in size and movement styles, keeping things interesting. Given that every game eventually ends in failure, there's a surprising amount of variety here. The graphics are in a well-done pixel style, and the chiptune music sets a post-apocalyptic mood (with a frightening 8-bit scream when the last human gives up the ghost). Ziggurat's an interesting bite of a game on the App Store. It's worth the 99 cents just to see how it all works. I don't know that these weird controls would work on any other game for as long, but all of the polish and extra style go a long way in this case.
Mutant Blobs Attack! dev on finding the right balance with Vita
Ryan MacLean is the CEO of Toronto-based DrinkBox Studios, which is composed of developers who know how to make games for a console launch. Working at Pseudo Interactive, MacLean's team released Cel Damage in time for the original Xbox launch, and Full Auto 2: Battlelines within a month of the PlayStation 3's debut. When Pseudo Interactive shuttered in mid-2008, a number employees established DrinkBox Studios, which has since completed contract work for nearly every system on the market. At a recent Los Angeles event for DrinkBox's latest title, Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!, MacLean told me that of all the systems he's worked on for launch, the PlayStation Vita was the "easiest" to develop for. DrinkBox was first introduced to the Vita in October 2010 (before it was officially announced to the public), and the studio wanted its first game on the system, Mutant Blobs Attack!, to "take advantage of the Vita's input capabilities." But just like any developer taking on a new set of hardware, they had to focus on controls that worked. %Gallery-147487%
OnLive's mobile app hits and misses (with launch compatibility list)
OnLive CEO Steve Perlman promises a lot from his company's new cloud gaming apps for Android and iOS devices, but how does the app actually work? I've been able to play with the iPad version for the past few days, and using just the touchscreen it's far from perfect. While yes, the system does stream full live game audio and video to your device (which is impressive in itself), the controls are, frankly, a mess. OnLive's virtual controllers are just as janky as you'd imagine. In complex console games where you're using both joysticks and all of the buttons, it's playable but far from ideal. The wireless controller, on the other hand, really shows off what's possible with a service like this. Read on for impressions of using OnLive's new accessory with the iPad, as well as a full list of game compatibility on the service at launch. %Gallery-141268%
Chrono Trigger screenshots out, with touch controls and redone menus
Square Enix's Members site has posted a few screenshots of the long-awaited release of Chrono Trigger on iOS, and truth be told, they're a little disappointing. Don't worry -- the game is still there, and as one of the best console RPGs of all time, I'm still excited to play through it again on iOS. But those touch controls, like a lot of Square's games remade for this platform, look pretty tacked on. The original menus for the game were so gorgeous, I'm sorry to see they didn't make the jump to the touch-based version. I guess that's all right for this title -- better to just have it out, at this point, and maybe these touch-based menus, ugly as they are, make the game play that much better. But hopefully we're seeing the end of ports like this, where classic games just get an overlaid virtual joystick and big clear buttons for their menu options. It'd be nice to have a really great old RPG remade into a port where someone has actually thought about how to do the interface justice. Chrono Trigger is due out sometime "before the end of December," with price yet unknown. [via Joystiq]
Blizzard talks console controls for Diablo 3
Blizzard's Diablo 3 developers are on the main stage at BlizzCon 2011 right now, and game director Jay Wilson spoke a little bit about the potential console version of the game. Nothing has changed -- there is no officially announced console version. But Wilson did confirm that Blizzard has hired a team to work on it, and that the company has been iterating on console controls. "The movement actually feels better on the controller," Wilson said, in response to a fan's question. "Targeting is the issue." Most of the schemes the team has come up for choosing what to attack and loot require a reticule, "which we really don't want to do," Wilson said. "Monster distribution and AI also feels a little bit different than it does on the PC version." And Blizzard won't even say that there's a console version coming "because we don't want to announce something until we're sure." Obviously the team is working on it, and obviously Diablo 3 on a console would be extremely popular -- the first game did officially come to the original PlayStation all those years ago. But as Wilson says, the team wants to assure that "if it goes on a console, it doesn't compromise the PC game in any way, and it feels like it was built for the console."
Knowles Electronics Mems Joystick for Samsung Galaxy Tab, Nintendo 3DS hands-on (video)
With gaming on tablets, the visual experience is often top-notch, but the controls are unfamiliar at best -- even inadequate at times. But adding a traditional joystick is impractical, especially when aesthetics is a key selling point for manufacturers. Chicago-based Knowles Electronics has a fairly practical solution, however, and hopes that some manufacturers will adopt its Mems Joystick. At just 1.6mm tall, the joystick is slim enough for a device to maintain a svelte profile, and the 40 microamps it consumes during normal operation is relatively negligible, according to company reps. Tablets are just the start -- Knowles built a series of prototypes to demonstrate a variety of potential applications. We took the joystick for a spin on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Motorola Atrix, Nintendo 3DS and a pair of laptops. All of the joystick prototypes connected using Bluetooth or USB, and were designed specifically for this CEATEC demonstration -- sadly they won't be available for purchase, though manufacturers could implement the controller into similar products. It took only a few seconds to get accustomed to the pair of joysticks mounted to the back of the Tab. Controlling gameplay felt natural, and we definitely preferred playing with a clear view of the display. We also navigated through Google Maps, and scrolled a web page -- both experiences felt superior to moving around the touchscreen. The 3DS joystick functioned similarly to the native controller included with that device, though Knowles reps noted that it's significantly smaller, and uses less power -- and without compromise, it seems. Jump past the break for a walkthrough of the devices we saw today, but try not to fall in love -- you won't be able to use the Joystick anytime soon, if manufacturers decide to implement them at all.%Gallery-135902%
Turn your iPhone into an NES-style controller for free
Back in April we told you about Joypad, the US$1.99 app that lets you use your iPod touch or iPhone as a classic joystick controller for game emulators on your Mac. It works by connecting to your computer via Bluetooth once users have also downloaded the Joypad Connect software for their Mac or PC. Joypad has caught on among gamers and now the app is a free download. The free app comes with Game Boy Advance, NES, SNES, Genesis and N64 gamepad skins. Users can buy additional skins for $0.99 each, including Game Boy, Game Boy Advanced, Famicom, and others. Developers can also download the Joypad SDK, which will allow them to enable their iOS games to work with the app (Unity support is coming). Current iOS games that offer JoyPad support include Meganoid, Stardash, Arcade Jumper, Super Drill Panic, Ghost Ninja: Zombie Beatdown, Ninja USA, Vertex Blaster, Super Mega Worm, Lars, Plum Crazy, Emerald Mine and Space Falcon Reloaded Free. A few Mac games, like Mos Speedrun (which also supports the iCade) are also supported. Joypad is a free download on the App Store. [via MacNN]
TUAW's Daily iPhone App: Two Worlds II Castle Defense
Two Worlds is an RPG series for consoles that's had a few releases already, but this game for iOS only uses the same setting and assets as those titles. As you can tell from the title itself, it plays very differently from the third-person RPG. It's a castle defense game of a sort, but rather than building towers, you build out your army and forces, tasking your little soldiers with fighting incoming waves of bad guys. The game plays sort of like the very popular Battleheart, though instead of directly controlling your troops, you're only placing them on the field in various spots available. You might put two melee fighters up front, for example, a priest behind them, and then two archers in the back to pump out ranged damage. As you fight, you win gold, and then can spend that gold to build more troops, upgrade the ones you've got, or even cast spells to heal your troops or attack the enemies. The game is simple but really fun, and the polish is actually really impressive. Controls are not explained well, but the icons are clear enough that after a few rounds with the title, you will know what does what. And pitting two powered up soldiers and a hardcore fire mage against a wave of incoming baddies is very rewarding, once you've gotten to that point. A recent upgrade added a few much needed tweaks, including Game Center integration and some various difficulty levels, and it also dropped the price of the game to just US $4.99. And that's not a bad price at all -- it's a little more expensive than most iOS games, but this is a quality experience. There is a lite version, though, if you doubt the price, but for castle defense fans, those who enjoy the Two Worlds series, or just anyone who enjoys a good fantasy-based tower defense game, this one's definitely worth checking out.
Obsidian plans Dungeon Siege 3 update with better PC controls
Players of the PC version of Dungeon Siege 3 were disappointed with the keyboard-and-mouse controls used in the game, generally deciding that using an Xbox 360 controller was the way to go. If you're one of those folks, lead designer Nathaniel Chapman says there's good news: Obsidian plans to release an update that will improve the traditional PC controls. According to Chapman, better PC controls for the game is "one thing I would have liked to have spent more time on, and we are actually spending time on now." Chapman also hinted that Obsidian would like to have made "a more fleshed out tutorial system" and "more unique armor variants" for the game's four playable characters. But those will have to wait for future versions of the game: "It's always good sequel or DLC material," he said.
'Invisible' touchscreen prototype tested with iPhone
The video on the next page features a prototype for an "invisible" iPhone created by researchers at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Germany. Basically, the idea is that with your iPhone in your pocket, you can hold your hand out and move your finger around on it as if you were holding your phone, and those movements will be picked up by a motion sensor elsewhere, and then sent back to your handset. In other words, just by moving a finger around on your empty hand, the plan is that you can answer and control your iPhone. Unfortunately, the current implementation requires a camera to be mounted above you, and sends the signals back via Wi-Fi through another device as well, so it's not exactly easily usable (or cheap, probably). But the eventual idea is that the depth camera observing your actions would be wearable, so whenever you're in a situation where it would be more work to actually get out your phone, the camera would allow you to control things with just a few motions. Seems interesting -- if the researchers working on the project can pull it off without you looking like a nut, poking at your hand.
Star Fox 64 3D will use 3DS gyroscope to fly the Arwing
According to the notes of a financial results briefing presented today by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, the upcoming remake of Star Fox 64 for the 3DS will make use of the console's gyroscope, allowing players to tilt the handheld to control Fox's Arwing as it explores 3D space. It sounds neat, but there's one big drawback: tilting the 3DS while playing totally kills the 3D effect. We didn't get to use the gyro controls when we played the game last year at E3 but, of course, back then the official features weren't yet announced. Star Fox 64 3D is due out in Japan on July 14, so soon after that we'll be able to see just how precisely we can fly by tilting the 3DS around. Spoiler: there will no doubt be barrel rolls involved.
Apple patents idea for smart bezel touch area
Here's an intriguing patent highlighted by the patent-following folks at Patently Apple -- it's an idea Apple has registered for a "smart bezel," which would be a part of the touchscreen that worked as a separate display only when you're using that part. In other words, if you just needed to adjust the volume or answer a call on your iPhone, only that part of the display would light up and become useable. This could enable things like developers hooking into an "official" gaming controls layout, or just certain tools in parts of the screen layout, like music controls or phone controls in certain states. The patent also mentions using other parts of the device for a touch interface, which would clear up some space on the main display for more information, allowing you to see it unblocked by your dirty fingers. There's also a hint at a back-panel touchscreen, where your fingers on the back of the iPad, for example, could make some gestures and control things on the main screen as well. This technology isn't unheard of -- the Xperia Play mobile phone has touch panels on the lower section of the device, and rear touch panels have been seen in various concepts before. It looks like Apple is messing around with all kinds of touch interfaces. As always, these are only patent filings, not actual implementations, so we'll have to wait and see which of these concepts from Cupertino makes it off the drawing board.
Apple Fools: Gameloft's Pet Pal will let you control your pet via iPhone
Wow, this is incredible! iOS developer Gameloft is releasing a new app called Pet Pal, which uses sound wave technology to actually control your pets via the iPhone! The sound frequencies emitted from the iPhone activate certain centers of a cat or dog's brain, harmlessly commanding it to bend to your will. We've seen some pretty amazing things from the iPhone before, but this truly is magical and revolutionary. Think of the medical applications! This is the future we're seeing here, people, live in action! What's that? Friday is April 1st, you say? Oh right. Never mind then. If you want, you can watch the video, which features some cute pets and a monkey, after the break.
Xperia Play ad rags on iPhone gaming
Sony has released a few tongue-in-cheek internet ads for its new Xperia Play smartphone (basically, the PSP phone everyone's been waiting for). In one of the ads, which you can see embedded after the break, performer/Daily Show correspondent/biggest fan of Flight of the Conchords Kristen Schaal goes after "another smartphone" and its gaming capabilities -- namely the iPhone and its button-free touchscreen. The actual criticisms are pretty vague, to be honest -- there are hints that touchscreen controls don't work so well and even some intimation that the iPhone's screen is somehow too small to see some of the gameplay. In general, everything lands more on the jokey side than any actual pair ups. But that's almost certainly an iPhone she's holding, and this is the most direct attack we've seen from Sony's side going after Apple and its mobile gaming market growth. The Xperia Play has lots of other things to deal with before taking on the iPhone (it's had a pretty disastrous pre-launch so far), but this is an interesting shot across the bow.
Sony Ericsson details Xperia Play development: buttons easy, touchpad just a little trickier
In a post on Sony Ericsson's Developer Blog coinciding with the official launch of the Xperia Play at MWC earlier this month, the company clued in developers on how to take advantage of the game-specific controls they'll be dealing with on that glorious slide-out board. In short, it's insanely straightforward for the most part: the hard buttons just generate standard key codes, which explains why existing games worked so well with the unit we'd previewed. The only tricky part comes into play with the center-mounted touchpad, which can't be accessed through the standard Android SDK -- for that, you'll need to turn over to the NDK, the native-code escape hatch that Android devs use when they need higher performance and want to get closer to the hardware. SE's published a 16-page guide on getting to the touchpad through the NDK, and it seems straightforward enough -- and plenty of game developers are well acquainted with the NDK already, anyway -- so we're guessing it won't be much of a hurdle. Getting devs to support an input method that's only available initially on a single commercial device might be a bigger hurdle... but we digress.
Visceral Games hears disabled gamer, adding customizable controls to Dead Space 2
Spooky cathedrals, fun technology and lots of slimy necromorphs to dismember at will -- is there anything else you could possibly want in Dead Space 2? Well, Gareth Garratt, a gamer living with cerebral palsy, would like to see customizable controls implemented in the game. Garratt is trying to play the horror sequel on PC, partly by pushing a mouse with his chin, and is unhappy that he can't assign the "walk forward" command to a mouse button. Plenty of games allow for customizable controls, he says, so why can't Dead Space 2? Over 20,000 fellow players agree, and they've signed an online Internet petition asking video game publishers to make sure that all games offer customization for their controls. Here's the good news: Dead Space 2 dev Visceral Games has already heard them loud and clear. Executive Producer Steve Papoutsis tells Joystiq that a patch for the PC version of the game enabling full control remapping is on the way, and that "a number of folks on our team are so passionate about getting this fix done that they are currently working hard" on it. Papoutsis says the patch will fix a few other issues with the PC version, and that a release date will be announced "when the patch is fully tested." You can read his remarks in full after the break.
Sony announces CECH-ZRC1 Bluetooth / IR remote to bridge the home theater divide
Okay, we'll admit it. While mesmerized by the bling of Sony's purty silver satin PS3, the company's simultaneous announcement of its new BD Remote Control almost slipped past our gadget radar. Dubbed the CECH-ZRC1, thankfully in this new model Sony finally appears interested in settling the beef between the Bluetooth signal requirements of its gaming system and the IR needs of its other home theater products. Yes, this edition can support both control formats, and it's also grown a few new buttons that allow users to skip 30 seconds forward or 15 seconds back. Thanks to the use of AAA batteries, it's even had a bit of a tummy tuck. Currently the controller is scheduled to start selling in Japan at the end of March for roughly $44 -- only in black. While a US version may show up too at some point, if you're okay with introducing a non-Sony infidel into your HT family, Snakebyte's new PlayStation 3 remote will essentially do the same thing for the same price.
