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Creating a new world: 38 Studios discusses the formation of Amalur's IP
As MMO fans, we're keeping a close eye on 38 Studios for its development of Project Copernicus, the MMO that will serve as the follow-up to next month's Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The risk factor of not only developing two major intertwined projects in parallel but to have the additional task of creating a brand-new IP in which to put them must be a pressing one, which is why CVG sat down with Reckoning Lead Designer Ian Frazier to talk about challenges the studio has been tackling. Frazier outlines the balance the studio's struck between its three big-name creators -- Todd McFarlane (art), R.A. Salvatore (story), and Ken Rolston (design) -- not to mention the ideas that pour in from founder Curt Schilling. Fortunately, Frazier says that these larger-than-life personalities mesh well together: "The nice thing that's worked out is, I think if we'd got three famous game designers, it would have been a disaster: big egos, they're all on the same plane, it wouldn't have worked out. What makes this work is they're all different." Even though Rolston previously worked on The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Frazier said the designer wanted to try his hand at something fresh with a better combat system. "They're all great games," Frazier said of the Elder Scrolls series, "and I think they're progressively better, but they're all the same game. It's not like they're radically changing with time." Frazier said Reckoning has been compared to a "single-player WoW" as well as Dragon Age and Fable, but he insists that the world and ideas the team's been creating will take it far past those basic comparisons. You can take your first peek into the world of Amalur with the Reckoning demo -- and let us know what you think in the comments!
Leaderboard: Champions Online's Defender vs. City of Heroes' Statesman
Both superheroes were forged in the depths of Cryptic's MMO factory and both are the "Superman" of their games, but that's where the similarities end. One is the child of an established IP, brought in to anchor the product and establish credible connections to the pen-and-paper version. The other is the ego of Jack Emmert made manifest, an indomitable presence watching over Paragon City. But what if these two heroes did an epic crossover and engaged in one massive PvP session? Let's go to the board. Champions Online's Defender is the Iron Man of his franchise, a gifted man who built a powerful suit of armor and gadgets to fight crime. With it, Defender has the powers of flight, super strength, energy blasts, and portable artillery -- not to mention being incredibly tough to take out. City of Heroes' Statesman, on the other hand, possesses innate powers of strength, invulnerability, flight, super-speed, and the ability to shoot a lightning bolt up a criminal's bum if the whim strikes him. Who would win in this theoretical battle? Hit the jump to vote, and head down to the comments to back your vote up with crazy superhero logic!
DC Universe Online lets you prove how legendary you are
The fact of the matter is that in our minds, all of our characters are legendary. That's kind of the goal of MMOs. But DC Universe Online wants to give you a chance to mark your character as something special, even above and beyond that -- and true to form, the development team is kicking off a contest, asking players to show off their character to be featured in a future issue of DC Universe Online Legends, the game's tie-in comic book. Submissions require a shot of the character's front and back, a 50-word description of what makes the character legendary, and of course your account name. The deadline for submissions is October 4th, but you can feel free to submit as many of your characters as you like. So what are you waiting for? Not only will your character be legendary in your own mind, but you'll be able to point to him or her in the comic to show everyone else.
Tiny EGO pseudo-submarine for the super rich is aptly named
Imagine you are so rich you want your own underwater pleasure vehicle, and you don't mind dropping what is likely to be a boatload of cash get it, today may be your lucky, lucky day. A company called Raonhaje has developed the EGO mini-submarine which floats atop the water, but which boasts a submersible capsule for passengers to check out what's going on beneath the surface. Sounds intriguing, right? Sure does! The relatively eco-friendly EV vehicle cruises at just less than five knots for four hours on a full charge. There are no details on price yet, but we expect it will be quite a lot. Video of the rendered model is after the break.
The Daily Grind: How well do you really know your computer?
Ask the average gamer how well they know their computer while in-game, and you'd get the impression that MMO players are technological geniuses able to assemble a working motherboard out of toothpicks and a photo of Richard Dean Anderson. When we're being put to the test, a lot of us feign knowledge that we don't actually possess, and then later ask our friend who really does know something about computers why the hard drive started acting weird when we put our magnets on the case. But here on Massively, you can be at least moderately anonymous when you admit that most of your computer knowledge comes from sticking the cordy-thing in the socket and hoping it doesn't blow up. Or that you really can assemble a working motherboard from toothpicks and MacGuyver promotional stills. So tell us, in all honesty, how much do you really know about the central tool of your hobby? Are you moderately competent, highly skilled, or unabashedly clueless? 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!
Iomega pushes ahead with USB 3.0 transition, promises to keep drives at USB 2.0 prices
Iomega's already begun its transition to SuperSpeed USB 3.0 hard drives, but it's making a bit more news on that front today -- it's announced that it plans to keep all its USB 3.0 hard drives at USB 2.0 prices. As expected, that transition begins with its eGo line of portable hard drives, which are officially set to be available this October in 500GB and 1TB capacities, each of which will include Iomega's Drop Guard Xtreme to guard against drops of up to seven feet. Those will be followed by Iomega's Prestige line of portable hard drives, which will begin their transition to USB 3.0 sometime in the first quarter of 2011. We should note, however, that plenty of retailers are already selling USB 3.0 eGo drives now, but it seems that it'll take until early October for the full line to make the jump and receive the aforementioned price-match. Head on past the break for the complete press release.
Iomega's eGo drives accelerate to USB 3.0, should soon make the jump to plaid
Yes, another manufacturer is throwing its weight behind the little, blue, but mostly the same USB 3.0 plug. Iomega has released a refreshed version of its eGo line of drives, with two models that support the new standard: the $129 500GB eGo Portable, and the $149 1TB or $229 2TB (and rather less portable) eGo Desktop. If you're not quite so forward-looking, USB 2.0 models of the Portable line are available in 320GB, 500GB, and 1TB sizes, and there are Mac-specific, FireWire 800 editions of the Portable and Desktop drives available in 1 and 2TB sizes. All, we must say, look rather dashing in their matte black finishes, and all are available now (for rather less than those MSRPs if you look around).
Guildwatch "makes a potion out the QQ"
The story here is all about sweet, sweet ego: Aliana had a sense of entitlement while raiding -- she was angry that items she would really like to have were going to someone who could only do 4k as opposed to her 9k, thanks to a lousy so-called fair DKP system. We'd like to think Grator is a true Guildwatch fan: we just sit back, listen in, and make a delicious potion "out the QQ." Lots more QQ potion in this week's Guildwatch, along with the last downings before Icecrown and recruiting notices from around the realms. If you have something to send us (and please do -- the coffers are running a little low, probably because guild business has slowed down pre-patch), throw us an email at guildwatch@wow.com. Hit the link below to read on.
Iomega's eGo USB hard drives get larger, more colorful
Iomega's eGo line of USB hard drives has seen quite a few iterations over the past few years, but it looks like the company has found room for improvement yet again, with its latest models getting a bump in capacity and a handful of new color options. Now topping out at 500GB, the drives and pack all the same ruggedness and drop-protection as before along with four new color options, although some colors are limited to certain capacities. What's more, Iomega has also announced a new 500GB BlackBelt eGo drive set for release in June, which adds a PowerGrip belt for some extra protection, plus Iomega's Drop Guard Xtreme, which promises to protect the drive from drops up to seven feet. If that''s more than you need though, you can simply pick up the basic eGo drive right now for between $85 and $135.
Samsung's Ego S9402 launching for way too much in Russia
Man, it's crazy to see what flies as a "luxury phone" these days. The altogether vanilla looking Ego S9402 fittingly feels pretty darn good about itself, and while twin SIM card slots, a Bang & Olufsen sound processor and a 2-inch QVGA AMOLED display are nice inclusions, we're still wondering what we've missed that would justify the 48,990 rubles ($1,543) price tag. Who knows, maybe it's the 5 megapixel camera, metallic casing or the Russian exclusivity. Yeah, definitely the latter.[Via UnwiredView]
Samsung Ego GT-S9402 luxury phone shames the word "luxury"
We've got a bone (or three) to pick with this one, so we'll just get right down to the beating. For starters, anyone who can't recognize the striking similarity between this handset and Vertu's Ferrari Ascent Ti is obviously wearing Samsung-tinted glasses. Aside from the complete lack of originality, the Ego GT-S9402 also lacks a 3G radio -- an omission that's simply inexcusable given the estimated €1,200 ($1,513) price tag. Oh sure, there's a measly 1GB of inbuilt storage, tri-band GSM connectivity, a 5-megapixel camera (with LED flash), an FM radio module, Bluetooth 2.0, dual SIM slots and a microSDHC expansion slot, but for over a G, we expect something more than mid-range specifications in a "liquidmetal" alloy chassis. Color us emphatically unimpressed.[Via UnwiredView]
Iomega kicks out two more eGo portable hard drives
The last Iomega eGo drives we saw were notably sleek, but the company's going back to a more bruiser image with the newest in the series -- the Encrypt and BlackBelt once again feature that rubber PowerGrip that cushions the case against impact. As you might expect, the $150 Encrypt features hardware-based 128-bit AES encryption that pops up when the drive is connected to a Windows PC to protect your 320GB of precious memories, while the $120 BlackBelt drops the fancy-pants crypto and just murders out 250GB of storage with a double-black finish and little rubber spikeys. That ought to scare the bad guys away, right? Available now, with the usual assortment of backup utilities you'll just delete anyway. [Via Electronista] Read - BlackBelt Read - Encrypt
Kent Displays develops "paper thin" electronic skin for mobiles
You probably didn't know it, but if you've purchased anything with an unconventional display in the last few years, the screen itself may have been sourced from Kent, Ohio. Kent Displays is about to break out of its own shadow with two new technologies that could be rolling off of the production line next year. First up is a simple monochrome electronic writing tablet that consists of a pressure sensitive display (think next-generation Post-it note), while the second is a particularly impressive color changing electronic skin. In essence, the latter (dubbed eGo) requires no power at all to maintain any color already rendered on the surface, meaning that ladies can instantly make their phone match their outfit without sucking the life from their mobile. For those keenly interested, hit the read link for the full background along with a video of the production facility.[Thanks, Tod]
Iomega's 320GB eGo Helium external HDD is quite sleek, silver
Iomega went out of its way to make sure you really, really understood that this here external hard drive would go nicely with your MacBook Air, but we'd prefer to see it as something that could slip right into just about any traveler's briefcase. The anodized aluminum shell measures in at just 0.63-inches thick, weighs 7-ounces and packs a 320GB 2.5-inch hard drive within. Additionally, the unit comes formatted with Apple's HFS+ file system, features the company's own Drop Guard design to protect it from falls of up to 1.3-meters (and not a nanometer more), and gets all the juice it needs from a spare (or only, in the MBA's case) USB 2.0 port. It'll be available across the globe next month for $149.99.[Via Engadget Spanish]
Ego's Bentley laptop is gonna make you so cool, we swear
You know what's cool, right? Big, luxurious, fast cars. Those are cool. And then, you know, when you put a car logo on a laptop, and maybe a bit of leather upholstery? You're bordering on seriously cool levels, people. Take it from us, we know. Ego's been making luxury laptops of questionable taste and shape for a couple years now, and seems to have finally met the "alright, I guess" mark with its Bentley laptops. Complete with cross-over hand-stitching, a seemingly transplanted car door handle, and a few crappy specs, the laptop is most certainly not worth the £10,000 ($19,943 US) asking price. They go on sale this summer.
Iomega kicks out eGo Camo Drive: completely invisible to animals, data thieves
Not sure if we missed the memo, but apparently May 7th is the unofficial day of camouflaged technology. Shortly after Mobiado revealed a rugged Camo handset for the well-to-do hunters of the world, along comes Iomega with a jungle-ready portable HDD. The $149.95 eGo Camo Drive is entirely USB powered and packs a respectable 250GB of internal storage space, a black Iomega Power Grip band, a woodland camouflage pattern and DropGuard technology to prevent disastrous consequences should you drop your drive from less than 60 inches. We always knew those gamesmen never sat in a tree stand all day without a little entertainment to keep 'em sane.
Codies share design knowhow with automotive tech firm
Worlds are colliding, as Codemasters has announced what it calls a "strategic partnership" with automotive 3D effects firm Realtime Technology to share vehicle rendering and modeling practices for upcoming projects. The partnership includes collaboration over rendering tools such as RTT DeltaGen and RealTrace, used in rendering CAD models in real time, and Codemasters' EGO game engine, seen in titles such as last year's DiRT and the upcoming Race Driver: GRID. What exactly this meeting of the minds will mean for gamers remains fuzzy, though considering Realtime Technology's considerable footprint in the automotive industry with clients such as Audi, Maserati and Rolls-Royce among many others, maybe this is all part of Codemasters' grand scheme to make racing games exciting once more.
Iomega beefs up eGo portable drive line with new capacity, Dual Interface
Iomega's svelte portable eGo hard drive lineup got quite a bit of love the first time around, and Iomega is working in new sizes and plugs at this year's Macworld. The 2.5-inch drive now comes in 160GB and 250GB sizes, priced $140 and $210, respectively, for the USB 2.0 versions, while the Dual Interface editions (which toss in FireWire 400) will run you $160 and $230, respectively. Both versions can be powered straight from the data plug. The drives are available now in Cherry Red, Jet Black, Midnight Blue and Alpine White.
Iomega unveils a fleet of new hard drives
Apple Expo kicks off today and Iomega's using the party to launch an array of new and updated Mac-centric (read: HFS+ formatted) storage solutions. The UltraMax line (pictured above) gets the most love, with three tiers of drives now available: the $599 UltraMax Desktop Pro in FireWire 800 / 400 / USB 2.0 and USB 2.0 / eSATA flavors with 1.5TB of RAID storage, the quad-interface UltraMax Desktop in $219 500GB and $319 750GB versions, and a $189 FireWire 400 / USB 2.0 500GB base model. Mac Mini users also get a new $179 750GB MiniMax drive with three USB 2.0 ports and three FireWire 400 ports built-in, while travelers score some love with the new eGo drive, which packs up 160GB ($159) or 250GB ($259) of storage in a sleek form enclosure that supports both FireWire 400 and USB 2.0. Pics of all the new gear in the gallery for those of you needing some more tasteful press photography in your lives.%Gallery-7755%
Tulip's Love Edition Ego gets ready for Valentine's Day
Yep, love is in the air folks, or that could be the smell of thousands of dollars burning a hole in your pocket. Either way, Tulip is offering up yet another completely extravagant carry-case laptop, but the Love Edition is unsurprisingly tailored specifically for next Wednesday. The curvaceous machine boasts a svelte leather wrapped enclosure, a stitched heart in the middle, a presumably pricey bow and pendent, and comes in a variety of lovely (ahem) colors to boot. Interestingly, no specifications at all are to be found, leaving us to assume that someone loaded enough to actually take interest in this piece are more interested in external pizzazz than internal ability. Moreover, we've got no pricing information whatsoever, but if this one's anything like the other Egos, you should probably be prepared to cough up quite a few bills to snag this. Click on through for a few more glamour shots.[Via Sybarites]
