Create
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Create moving into stores on November 16
Taking to the US PlayStation blog, EA Bright Light producer Justin Manning revealed the imminent release date for his studio's next game release, Create: November 16 (aka: next Tuesday!). We've also confirmed that Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii iterations of the game will arrive on the same day next week. Given the game's user created level sharing ability via PSN and PlayStation Move functionality, perhaps Create can fill the hole left in your heart by the LittleBigPlanet 2 delay? M ... maybe?
Create demands your most convoluted contraptions
It's not just about getting from point A to B in EA Bright Light's Create -- it's all about the score multiplier. The most recent trailer shows off elaborate, Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions resulting in far higher scores than a simple solution would ... if you can piece them together, that is.
Bright Light teases unannounced XBLA/PSN game from Spare Parts team, explains internal dev culture
Bright Light, EA's Guildford-based (UK) studio, is hard at work on at least four titles: Create, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Episode 1, Spare Parts and a fourth, "secret [downloadable] project." At an EA press event last week, we spoke with Bright Light senior international PR manager Deborah Coster, who teased the "secret project" and explained the studio's dedication to fostering creativity and its at least partial focus on smaller, polished titles. "The team's actually been doing the equivalent of 'iron man development,' so they're making two games," Coster told Joystiq. "And they've been making a secret game, which we haven't announced yet, but they've been making it at the same time as Spare Parts. So they've been basically doing week one: Spare Parts; week two: secret game; week three: Spare Parts; week four: secret game -- literally back-to-back." Coster confirmed our suspicion that the Spare Parts/secret project team is focusing solely on digitally distributed titles. "Yeah, this is a group that's been looking at 'What can we do digitally? We don't really wanna be making packaged goods, so what can we do?' And XBLA and PSN: the numbers are getting bigger and bigger and bigger," Coster reasoned.
GE's 'Create by Jason Wu' digital cameras get 2GB model, no more enthralling
Look out, Wu fans -- Mr. Jason is at it again. But if you were expecting an entirely refreshed lineup of branded cameras from General Imaging, you'll be sorely disappointed here. In fact, the only thing Wu's bringing to the masses here in September is a more affordable lineup, with the 'Create by Jason Wu' collection now being available in a 2GB model (as opposed to 4GB). Thankfully, the inbuilt USB plug remains, and the barrier to entry has been ratcheted down to $129.99 (a $50 savings over the big brother, if you must know). After all -- when you've got style, who needs capacity?
Preview: Create
Though the target audience for EA's just-announced puzzle/creation game, Create, would seem to skew younger, my take on it from a recent press event was that gamers of all types could find something to like. And don't write it off as "My First LittleBigPlanet" just yet. Create features entertaining puzzles powered by a robust customization engine. Create's title screen is its opening level. I spent nearly a half hour on this stage (it actually looks like a theater), learning the ins and outs of the extensive customization tools while a producer tinkered with the big 'Create' letters -- reminiscent of Mario's interactive face at the opening of Mario 64. The actual game is a lot like World of Goo in that you build the components of a stage rather than play through them. The levels are designed on a 2D plane and task you with various objectives (get a coin to a particular part of the map, for example). To complete these objectives, you have a mixed bag of objects with which to assemble a Rube Goldberg-like contraption that sprawls across the level. Once you've completed your creation (or exhausted the level's item constraints), you press "Play" and watch what happens. %Gallery-98649%
EA's customizable puzzler 'Create' coming this November
EA's hoping you'll take off that silly santa hat and don a thinking cap this holiday, when you play "Create," a new game from its UK-based Bright Light studio. "Create uses families' imaginations to develop new ways to play together that are both fun and challenging," said Harvey Elliot, VP and general manager of Bright Light. So, the game's about ... inventing stuff? Not quite. The actual nuts and bolts of gameplay are about completing "level-based challenges" and solving Rube Goldberg-esque puzzles in ... creative ways. The more you complete, the more objects and tools unlock to customize the environment. The game is set to launch on PC, Mac, Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Create will support the PlayStation Move, though no indication is given that the Xbox version will employ Kinect. Based on the first trailer (see it after the break), the game seems comparable to LittleBigPlanet -- though it's lacking that adorable little sack guy -- and The Incredible Machine. Create will arrive at retail sometime this November. %Gallery-98649%
GE's 'Create by Jason Wu' camera collection unveiled, we go hands on
Keep it simple, stupid. There's no better way to describe the "Create by Jason Wu" collection unveiled at PMA by General Imaging (a.k.a. GE). The fashion designer's point and shoot could not be easier: you can shoot, choose flash, and view galleries. That's it -- and in fact, if you need a cue, the shooter reminds you to "hold still" while taking a shot. You're definitely picking this up for style over substance, but still it's pleasantly light and captures surprisingly decent images. As for the nitty-gritty specs, we're looking at 12 megapixels, 3x optical zoom, and a 2.7-inch LCD. The battery charges via wall adapter or the retractible USB plug, which is also how you movie images to your computer of choice. Color options? White, black, gold, red, yellow, blue, green for a metal finish; and white, black and grey for leather. A 4GB version is $180, and 8GB is $230 -- no memory cards accepted here, folks. Look for the camera to debut, of all places, via Home Shopping Network on March 16th. Press release after the break, shots below -- and while you're looking, we've also got an eyeful of the rest of GE's point-and-shoot PMA collection. %Gallery-86219% %Gallery-86220%
Death Knight creation bug solution
There is a bug currently affecting the creation of Death Knights after you have installed Wrath of the Lich King.If you get an error when creating the Death Knight, and you have met the requirements of having a level 55 character on the server in which you're creating the Death Knight, just make a new level 1 character first.After that character is created, you can then create your Death Knight without any more problems.I have to wonder how the bug came to be, and why they weren't able to fix it. We probably won't know either of those answers. But at least we have a quick and dirty fix.Happy Northrending!
No online Create mode for LittleBigPlanet at launch
Unfortunately, we're starting Monday morning off with some slightly disheartening news. It has been revealed by the LittleBigPlanet community manager on the official US forums that four-player online co-op in the Create will not be available at the launch of the game. Instead it will be added in the "first major update after the game is released. Obviously there's no indication of when we'll be seeing that first update, but apparently Media Molecule is now hard at work on post-launch content, with emphasis squarely on four-player online creation.You'll still be able to create levels with three of your buddies at launch, they just have to be in the same room as you. Four-player online co-op will obviously be available out of the box too. There's still plenty to do (and be excited for) in the game, which should keep us busy until Media Molecule release the online Create patch.
Mac 101: Create Custom Email Stationery
Have you used Mail's stationery and thought that it was too limiting or did not appeal to your tastes? With a simple save button, you can create your own stationery to be exactly the way you want it. Just create a new Mail message, filling in the body as you see fit -- use special formatting, colors, even filler text. When you have completed your stationery template, click File > Save As Stationery. A dialog box will prompt you to name your new creation. Enter a descriptive title and click "Save." Your new stationery will appear under "Custom" whenever you click the "Show Stationery" button in a new mail message. Clicking your template name will automatically recreate your template in the body of the new message. This is handy for businesses or individuals who need to have custom formatted emails, and need them to be uniform each time they send them.Like this tip? Want more? Just visit TUAW's Mac 101 section.
Cincinnati's CET moving to 24-hour HD broadcast
CET, the PBS station serving Cincinnati, Ohio, is getting set to switch over to a 24-hour HD broadcast. Currently, WCET-TV broadcasts some "prepackaged HD shows from PBS," but starting on December 17th at noon, it will boast high-definition content around the clock. Additionally, it's making CrEaTe -- "an American Public Television channel [currently] accessible only by Time Warner Cable (partly owned by Time Warner, parent company of AOL, which owns Engadget) viewers" -- available to anyone who can receive the HD signal. Beginning next Monday, programs will be simulcast in analog on channel 48, in HD on channel 48.1 (OTA), on channel 948 on Time Warner Cable and on channel 916 for those with Insight Cable. As for satellite viewers? They'll have to "contact their provider to arrange for the CET digital signal."
iRobot announces winner of Create Challenge contest
While it's not quite on the level of NASA's or DARPA's ongoing challenges, iRobot's Create Challenge contest nonetheless looks to have at least given some incentive to a few homebrew enthusiasts / would-be mad scientists, one of whom has now taken home a cool $5,000 for his troubles. Snagging that cash was Danh Trinh of Towson, Md, who's "Personal Home Robot" won over the judges with its ability to water plants, control lights, play music, and remind owners to take their medication, among other less-than-strenuous activities. Helping it manage all that is iRobot's DIY-friendly Create platform which, as you can see above, went under a pretty extensive transformation on its way to first place. Be sure to hit up the Instructables link below for the complete rundown.Read - iRobot, "iRobot Selects Create Challenge Contest Winner"Read - Instructables, "iRobot Create Personal Home Robot"
Create 14.0
Stone Design has released Create 14.0 today. Create is billed as three apps in one: a page layout app, an Illustration app, and a HTML coding app all rolled together. The 14th version has been updated to be in line with Leopards look and feel and adds some new features like a new XHTML engine, speedier response, and new text behaviors. Read about all the new features here.Create 14.0 is a free upgrade for registered users, and costs $149 on its own.
Japanese hardware sales, Feb. 19 - Feb. 25: text adventure edition
You wake up disoriented, in a dark room. You have no idea where you are.>lookIt's a dark room. You can't see anything. We know you're disoriented, but do try to keep up.>look exitsFine. Okay. You stumble around the room until you find a wall. Keeping one hand on the wall, you walk the perimeter of the room, looking for doors. You find a door on the east side of the room. You also find a key hanging from a hook on the wall. And by "find" we mean "get poked by." We hope you find some Neosporin on this adventure.>advise readers to click post break
iRobot releases "Create" specs, pricing
Until now all we've seen of iRobot "Create" is a bunch of FCC docs that illustrate the concept of a vacuum-less Roomba spin-off. As of tonight, iRobot has started selling the Create with a 1-2 day shipping period at prices starting from $129.99 going up to $999.99 for a 10-pack of the little fellas. Riding the wave of the open source / hacking communities, iRobot hopes that owners of the Create will do what they did with the Roomba and use their imagination to come up with innovative and zany uses for the technology. For a little taste of "the zany," check out the bionic hamster ball navigation system add-on that the iRobot engineers cooked up. Some of the features of the Create are 30 built-in sensors, a 25-pin expansion port for connecting a command module and other electronics, and a spacious cargo bay with plenty of holes for mounting hardware. iRobot is so eager to get people out there Creat-ing clever uses for their device that they're offering a free 30-day trial period, so what're you waiting for?[Via MAKE]
SIXAXIS + model airplane = killer flight sim
While we've seen some crafty folks turn a Wiimote into a mouse (twice), the engineering minds over at Zedomax apparently figured they'd offer Sony an alternative to that sure-to-be-sued motion-tracking gizmo it has "patented." Of course, maybe the project was just to show off a good bit of snazzy soldering skills and a horrendously slipshod computer rig, but it's impressive nonetheless. Although it can't take flight like the FlyTech Dragonfly, this SIXAXIS airplane can control the motions of a flight simulator (or other joystick-enabled programs) by actually maneuvering the model in the manner you'd like your on-screen, pixelated counterpart to fly. Moreover, the propeller even kicks it into high gear to simulate the thrill of the flight in the comfort (and safety) of your own room. While the list of hardware (and background knowledge) necessary to create this thing is far too long to cover here, you can get your feet wet with a Cubloc controller, an accelerometer, and about 40 hours (or more) of unused vacation. But if you're ready to take the leap into the modding elite, there's no better place to start than the read link below (and the vid after the break).
iRobot Create: Roomba hacking for the everyman
As much fun as vacuums can be, it looks like iRobot has sensed the true spirit behind its Roomba fanbase: hacking. Now they've gone ahead and built the iRobot Create kit to give hackers a better platform to work with. According to the FCC docs which have revealed this little number, the main differences are a lack of vacuum -- no more clean floors for you -- and a nifty "cargo bay connector" which can support a Command Module which bristles with ports and allows user-added motors, sensors and the like. Otherwise, most functions are quite similar to that of the third generation Roomba, with support for Virtual Walls, the Homebase (which it can hone in on via IR) and the Remote Control. As for software support, iRobot provides a few tips in the manual, like how to make the bot sing, along with some demo programs to get you started, but otherwise you're on your own -- though we're sure you won't have a hard time stumbling across existing Roomba hacker clubs online. Naturally, since iRobot hasn't even announced this kit yet, we're not sure about price and availability, and it would've been nice if they'd spruced up the bot's functionality just a wee bit, but we suppose giving hackers the Command Module and letting them run free might be the best tactic in the end. Make sure you keep reading for some more pics and shots from the manual.
Get a head start and design your own Mii
Nintendo's quirky little "Mii" service may or may not incite a tingling sensation in your gamer glands, but chances are that you'll be making a little digital avatar of yourself before long. At the Nintendo press event, the lengthy creation of an avatar of Samuel L. Jackson was shown, which paged through just about every menu in the software. A programming demon of a fanboy (thanks, Yann!) decided to faithfully and painstakingly recreate the entire process in a flash-based applet, and thus you now have the ability to create your future Mii from the comfort of Nintendo Wii Fanboy. How convenient!We were able to recreate reasonable facsimiles of ourselves, but only after quite a bit of playing around. Does this feature need more options? We say yes ... unlockables through gamer achievements, anyone?[via Joystiq]
Sandvox 1.0.2 with new features, demo screencast, intro pricing ends soon
Karelia Software has updated Sandvox, their feature-packed WYSIWYG web design app, to version 1.0.2, bringing a few new features to the table such as a much-requested Format menu. Of course, other bug fixes and the like are included, so check out the release notes for the full details.In addition to a one-hundredth of a point update, Karelia Software has also created a demo screencast for Sandvox which takes (potential) users through the site creation process and demos the many features Sandvox has to offer, such as adding weblogs and photo albums, as well as the Pro feature lineup. Along with the screencast, Karelia Software has also updated their online documentation with "How do I?", troubleshooting and reference sections. Last on the Sandvox update is the impending doom of their introductory pricing offer. Presently, a single regular Sandvox license goes for $39 USD, while the Pro version is $69 USD - but only until Friday, June 16th. I couldn't track down what these prices will bump up to, but I'm sure they'll make these look like a good deal. Get it while it's hot.
