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Orbiting fuel stations proposed for trips to the Moon, Mars, and beyond
A US government panel, summoned by el presidente to review the future of human space travel, has expressed strong support for introducing fuel depots into Earth's orbit. Refueling between stops is expected to cut down significantly on the weight of spacecraft and, accordingly, eliminate the need to engineer ever more powerful rockets to launch missions. It would then be up to private companies to compete -- and NASA already knows a thing or two about privatizing space missions -- by reducing costs and developing more efficient methods. While by no means the only potion NASA has bubbling, if the panel concludes in favor of orbiting gas stations, they will form the backbone of all future extraterrestrial exploration. So we're just letting you know in advance -- we're nice like that.
EATR robots are coming, this isn't funny anymore
Oh sure, we joke about rogue AI all the time, and we're aware that we'll probably pollute ourselves to death well before the robots get us, but who really thinks flesh-eating machines are a good idea? The (patently evil) scientists behind the EATR project -- no fair, they're making their own jokes now too -- have reached a new milestone in the development of the reconnaissance bot, successfully coupling a steam generator with a compact biomass furnace. It is now therefore possible for an autonomous machine to forage for and refuel itself with biomatter, otherwise known as soft, pulsating, yummy humans. They call it fuel versatility, as gasoline, diesel, and solar power may also be used if available, yet we'll offer no prizes for predicting which energy source these chainsaw-equipped robots will prefer. [Via Switched]
Fuel demo available to download today
Codemasters' ambitious open-world racer Fuel gets a demo today, available on Xbox Live, PSN, and the PC (via the Fuel site). According to Videogamer, the demo will feature the Ocean Rush career event, a traditional race featuring seven different drivers, and Blitz, a time-based event featuring checkpoints.Even more surprising is the demo's inclusion of some sweet multiplayer action for console owners. On the Xbox 360 and PS3, gamers will be able to race online for two weeks, with the demo allowing up to 16 players into a limited portion of the Tsunami Reef area in Free Ride mode. Or, if you're feeling like you need a bit more competition in your life, know that up to six racers can compete in the Ocean Rush career event race. You can bet we'll be downloading the demo, mostly to see how far the game has come along since our play session earlier this year. What about you?
VG247: Console versions of Fuel delayed a week
According to VG247, Codemasters has confirmed that its upcoming open-world racer, Fuel, has been delayed a week -- putting the game out on June 5 in the UK -- for the Xbox 360 and PS3, while the PC version is set to release soon after. It should be noted that VG247 is a UK website, so it's unclear if this delay also applies to North America. For what it's worth, GameStop lists the title for June 2, while Amazon maintains it will release on May 26. Our request for comment from Codemasters has gone unanswered as of press time, but we'll be sure to update this post when we have new information.Still, even if the title is delayed, it's only a week outside of the originally intended May release window. Surely we can keep our post-apocalyptic racing urge in check until then.
Fuel sets Guinness record as biggest console game ever
Codemasters' Fuel is big, and while some may argue that size doesn't matter, they're probably just jealous of the open-world racer's immense girth. In fact, the upcoming off-road racing game was recently crowned by Guinness World Records for having the largest playable environment in a console game ever with 5,560 square miles of accessible in-game terrain. To help us wrap our heads around how big that is, the Codies say that's larger than Hong Kong, Singapore, St Lucia and the Isle of Man put together. Let's just hope developer Asobo (pictured) remembers to fill all that space with enough to do, else it's going to be a very long and boring ride. Are we there yet? %Gallery-45506%
Case-Mate's Fuel holsters keep extra battery juice on tap
The two unavoidable truths of your phone are that you've got to carry it and you've got to charge it, so why not unite those concepts in blissful matrimony? Case-Mate's new Fuel line of holsters have batteries on board that can keep your phone charged simply by snapping it in place as you would with any other belt-clip holder, so it's a nice value-add without much downside -- and there's a power toggle on the Fuel to prevent it from doing it's thing if you want to save the juice for later. Models are available for the BlackBerry Bold and iPhone 3G currently, providing up to a claimed 7 or 9 extra hours of talk time, respectively. They're $80 a pop, but then again, that's no more than a Mophie Juice Pack Air -- so if you need insane stamina, pick your poison.
Trophies: FUEL
1 Platinum2 Gold9 Silver34 Bronze Difficulty: Moderate Online Trophies? Yes Time to Completion: 30 hoursDLC Trophies? No View Trophy List Read More About the Game %Gallery-45506%
Fill 'er up with new Fuel trailer and screens
We've got a handful of new screens and a trailer for Codemasters' upcoming post-apocalyptic, open-world racer, FUEL. Based on the screens and trailer, we can expect two things for the future of planet Earth. One, the grim, barren landscape will make for some bitchin' races (no gasoline shortages in this future, folks). Two, something will make everything really blurry around the edges. Our money is on excessive radiation. Oh, and let's not forget giant, floating arrows. Those are there, too.%Gallery-45506%
Fuel: post-apocalyptic 'GPS' navigation included
After the coming apocalypse, when the world devolves into an open-world racecourse, we'd be seemingly lost without the Garmins and TomToms of the bygone era. Fear not, though, for it seems a result of the globe-altering warming featured in Codemaster's Fuel is the appearance of giant, airborne ... pointers -- conveniently "pointing" out the path to the finish line. (All that's left, you see, is the finish line.) We suppose then, these guiding arrows are a fair trade for the vicious tornadoes and blinding sandstorms that also -- naturally -- plague this fascinating vision of the future.
Joystiq hands-on: FUEL
click to enlarge As the newest racing franchise from Codemasters, FUEL has a lot to live up to. Namely the pedigree of the publisher's two other racers this generation, the stellar DiRT and GRID. Its premise is grandiose: allow players to race on order of 5,000 square miles of open world in a variety of vehicles, rancing from dune buggies and roadsters to dirt bikes and monster trucks. It's obvious from playing the game that its developer, Asobo Studio, has the big picture covered; everything else is all over the map.%Gallery-45506%
Codemasters drops release windows for Dirt 2, Overlord II, Fuel, others
Codemasters is avoiding the holiday rush by releasing several of its titles this year during the sleepy summer months (and for this, we thank them). The Overlord sequel, FUEL, and a little game that caught our eye, Jumpgate Evolution, all drop during low-pressure sales months. Codies will release DiRT 2 much closer to the holiday insanity: DiRT 2 - September (X360, PS3, Wii, PC, DS, PSP) FUEL - May (X360, PS3, PC) Overlord II - June (X360, PS3, PC) Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising - Summer (X360, "PlayStation system," PC) Jumpgate Evolution - June (PC) The original DiRT was a gem for race fans and FUEL looks interesting, but whether Overlord II receives the polish the first one was lacking is the real question (and hope). Check out the Overlord II trailer after the break.
Fuel turbos to retail May 2009 (plus: first in-game trailer)
Codemasters has just revealed that Fuel -- an open-world, off-road racer that claims to make Burnout Paradise seem like a postage stamp in scale -- will begin cruising the countryside sometime this May.To promote this momentous announcement, a freshly greased Fuel trailer has made its way online, showcasing some in-game footage. If the trailer's first thirty seconds are anything to go (anywhere) by, then Fuel's open world element just might be enough to differentiate it among the competition and demand our attention.
Korean tech makes hydrogen up to 30 times cheaper to produce -- clean energy solved?
With oil prices in free-fall and the world's economies in the toilet, short-sighted governments and C02-denying GM execs will undoubtedly defer priority given to clean energies in the next round of fiscal budgets. Too bad, because Korea's S&P Energy Research Institute has just issued a press release about a new discovery it claims puts the era of clean energy within reach. Dr. Sen Kim claims to have achieved the separation of Hydrogen using just 0.1kwh of energy compared to the traditional 4 - 4.5kwh required using the ol' electrolytic method. Dr. Kim postulates that "manufacturing the H2 by our method will lower the cost of H2 as much as 20 - 30 times" compared to electrolytic H2. That makes SPERI's method suitable for H2 fuel production from say, an in-home hydrogen fueling station. So is this the solution to all of our clean energy concerns? Perhaps, but we've heard these economical hydrogen-generation claims before. Let's wait for the claim to be more thoroughly vetted by bigger brains than our own before getting too hopeful.
Producer: Paradise City a 'postage stamp' compared to Fuel's size
Four-letter racing game news now, with developer Asobo talking up the tech it's concocted for its open-world racer, Fuel. The in-game map, a blend of satellite information and procedurally generated data which stretches across 5,000 virtual square miles, would reportedly be a couch potato's worst nightmare if assembled via traditional means. "In the context of that map, which is one small corner of it, when the guys showed us this technology, if you were to build it in a traditional manner it would fill about four Blu-rays," Fuel producer David Brickley tells VideoGamer.com. "A gargantuan amount of data, just enormous."That last word is what we'd normally use to describe, say, Burnout's Paradise City, but Brickley seems to imply that we need a change of perspective: "I did a little Power Point internally to do it and it zoomed them [Fuel and Paradise City] in to each other. It's like a little postage stamp because I think it does like four kilometres or something." Well, Criterion, it seems come 2009, you'll be licked in terms of sheer size. But will there be a restart option?
Codies pumps Fuel for French revolution in racing
Replacing political and social unrest with "go-anywhere" driving, Codemasters has partnered with French dev Asobo Studios to publish the company's open world-style racer, Fuel, for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC sometime next year. Asobo's track record isn't likely to relieve you of your socks anytime soon, however. The studio's recent efforts include video game adaptations of Ratatouille, Wall-E and The Mummy, so we're not expecting another GRiD or DiRT just yet.On top of dynamic weather and dozens of drivable vehicles, Codies boasts that Fuel will feature the "largest environment ever created" in a racing game, and that the game's absurd 5,000 square miles of weather-ravaged terrain will "revolutionize" the genre. There is that old saying about size not mattering as much as how you use it, though clearly this is not the approach being used here.
Google.org invests $2.75M in Aptera Motors
Google.org, the search kingpin's philanthropic wing, has just added another notch to its eco-friendly belt with a recent (and sizable) investment in Aptera Motors -- makers of that absurdly futuristic gas-sipper we've been following. Along with ActaCell (an electric car battery maker), Aptera received a $2.75 million infusion via Google.org's RechargeIT investment program. Hopefully, some of the cash will be put to use bringing Aptera's Typ-1 vehicle to market, where its $30,000 estimated price tag and outrageous 230+ MPG fuel economy will be a welcome relief from rising fuel costs and concerns... and our lack of a fresh ride.[Via SMASHgods; Thanks, Jason]
New Fallen Earth vehicles revealed
The latest update to the Fallen Earth website is all about vehicles; it features pictures of five never-before-seen cars and bikes from the game, four of which are actual in-game models.The article describes what players can use vehicles for. They can, of course, be used for rapid transportation. But they can also be used for item storage -- a portable vault, if you will. Unfortunately, vehicles with more storage capacity will use more fuel, which can be quite costly. Vehicles can also be used in combat, although apparently repairing them will also be very expensive. Visit the site for more details.Fallen Earth is a post-apocalyptic MMORPG developed by a studio also called Fallen Earth, which is associated with North Carolina-based Icarus Studios. We've been following the game for a while, but most of what we've seen so far has been info pages just like this one. [Via MMORPG]
Mercedes-Benz aiming to ditch petroleum by 2015?
While Audi is over there planning to produce an electric car within the next decade, Mercedes-Benz is hoping to be completely petro free within seven years. At least that's the word according to a recent report in The Sun. Dr. Herbert Kohler, who is responsible for Mercedes' advanced engineering, has reportedly suggested that "by 2015 motorists will have switched almost completely to alternative fuel cars." In order to make sure it's not left out, the automaker already has an electric car in the works for 2010 as well as plans to use its DiesOtto engine which will give motorists the ability to use biofuels should they choose. Still, aiming to phase petroleum completely out of its lineup by 2015 sounds overly ambitious from here, but we certainly won't complain if it achieves said goal.[Via AutoblogGreen, thanks Dan]
Army generators turn garbage into energy, energy into freedom
Leave it to the Army to start putting garbage to good use. According to reports, a base in Baghdad known as Camp Victory has been getting some of its electricity from generators that turn waste products into sweet, succulent fuel. The device, dubbed the Tactical Garbage to Energy Refinery (or TGER, for short) can take food slop, plastic, paper, styrofoam, annoying kids, moist towelettes, or smaller, non-functioning versions of itself and mash them down to synthetic gas and hydrous ethanol. Of course the concept isn't without its shortcomings, as it pumps a hefty load of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere -- but for a place that's short of fuel and high on trash, it's a dream come true.[Via Wired; Image courtesy US Army]
Scientists create mutant bugs that produce crude oil, unleash swarm of merciless killers
Like the beginning of every great science fiction movie, experts claim that they've discovered a cure for our fuel-dependency woes that only requires an army of genetically modified bacteria... that eat wheat straw and excrete crude oil. You read that right: scientists have created bugs which are able to snack on woodchips or sugar cane and produce waste in the form of easily malleable oil. Not only are the buggers capable of creating a byproduct which can quickly be refined into fuel for vehicles, but scientists say the process is carbon-negative -- it outputs less carbon than is required to produce it. Director of the project -- dubbed LS9 -- Greg Pal says that barrel prices could run as low as $50, and that the company plans to have a commercial facility producing the crude in 2011. And as for the potential threat of world-destroying attack from the mutant feeders? Says Pal, "We're putting these bacteria in a very isolated container: their entire universe is in that tank. When we're done with them, they're destroyed." Sure buddy -- but we're going to re-watch Them! just in case.
