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Rogers' budget-friendly chatr brand launches in Canada
We knew it was coming, and now it's official: Rogers Wireless has today launched its entry-level "chatr" wireless brand for Canadians everywhere -- and by "everywhere," we mean Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa (Montreal is coming soon, as is possibly elsewhere). Two plans are available: $45 monthly for unlimited talk-and-text and $35 for unlimited talk and 50 free texts. As of now, the official website's showing four devices to choose from, available at full price only (no subsidizing). On the low end, relatively speaking, there's the Nokia 1661 candybar for $60, followed by the LG GB125R flip for $75, the Nokia 2680 portrait QWERTY slider for $95, and Samsung's Gravity landscape QWERTY slider sitting at the top of the chain for $130. Rogers -- whose name appears nowhere in Chatr's branding so far -- expects "hundreds" of chatr kiosks to be rolled out at Future Shops, Best Buys, Costcos, and other retail outlets. The brand will compete with other budget-conscious options from the likes of Wind Mobile and Mobilicity, but this one's got the advantage of Rogers' more established, wider-reaching network. According to The Globe and Mail and CBC News, Wind will be offering a whopping $150 credit for those who switch to its network from Rogers / chatr. Mobilicity's chairman John Bitove has a different strategy altogether, threatening to complain to the Competition Bureau that Rogers' possible goal here is to drive other discount phone brands out of business before dissolving chatr and leaving the market with only a higher-priced segment. And if you were wondering where Telus and Bell Mobility stand, well, both companies are reportedly expected to follow suit with entry-level brands of their own. Data plan-averse Canadians should have quite the selection from which to choose.
Ragnarok Online II scrapped, new Ragnarok Online II takes its place
It's always a difficult decision to take a game that you've put a ton of work into already and scrap it. Sometimes, no matter what developers dream up, it just turns out to be nowhere nearly as fun as originally intended. While we don't know the specifics on what precisely made Gravity Interactive change directions on Ragnarok Online II, news has come down the wire that they have nonetheless decided to heavily alter the direction they were headed in and instead deliver a true sequel to Ragnarok Online. The new version of Ragnarok Online II, now subtitled "Legend of the Second" will offer players familiar systems from the first game, only this time in an updated, immersive 3D world. Gone are the chibi graphics of the initial design in favor of more mature-looking characters. Gone too is the character-based weapon leveling system, the new leveling system, and unfamiliar races. Back in the mix are all the things that players enjoyed about the original Ragnarok Online: pets, cards, familiar classes, and more. This new version will launch into closed beta in Asia on August 31, 2010, with no specific date for the Western crossover at this time. Still, it warms our hearts when a gaming company is willing to make the hard choice and change direction -- making a game enjoyable, rather than sticking to the original plan and sacrificing fun. [Via iRo Wiki forums] [Thanks Coldbrand!]
Ragnarok merges and renews
When worlds collide, continents shift and several unsuspecting people get smooshed between it all. When servers collide, the results can be both good and bad. Ragnarok Online has just announced that they are merging a few of their premium servers into a brand-new one, bringing with them all the current residents of Chaos, Loki and Iris. While there is no definite date for this event, the official merger FAQ pinpoints it down to this week. Because of the merger, all guilds on the three previous servers will be dissolved and need to be recreated, although the Ragnarok team has created a "pre-list" for the purpose of staving off name sniping. "God items" will be broken back down into their component parts, which will require work to reconstruct them. Finally, all character names following the merge will be somewhat temporary until the GM team can figure out if there are any naming conflicts or not. While server mergers can be unsettling, Ragnarok has a bit of upbeat news for players with their "Renewal" revamp, designed to eliminate a few glaring flaws and smooth over the entire gaming experience. Finally, players are encouraged to participate in Ragnarok's Dragon Hunting event during the entire month of May.
App of the Day: Subatomic for iPhone and iPad
App of the Day is TUAW's new App Store spotlight. One great app, every single day. Subatomic is a game that's available for the iPhone and the iPad. The premise is that you push molecules of different colors around a field with gravity. Portals sit on the gamefield full of molecules, and as they slowly fade away, it's your job to pull more in and match them up. By touching near a molecule, you can push it in a certain direction with a gravity vortex (the game has a cool blurred graphical feature whenever you touch the screen). The game ramps up pretty quickly; eventually you're trying to push molecules toward multiple portals while trying to keep different-colored molecules from reaching the wrong portals. Unfortunately, the difficulty curve can be a little high. It's sometimes hard to control the incoming molecules, and when you accidentally touch a little too close, you'll find yourself flinging molecules off into the distance instead of getting them where they want to go. At a basic level, though, it's an interesting control scheme that I haven't seen before. The game contains a full tutorial as part of its 31 levels, and the music and backgrounds (some of which contain actual electron microscope imagery from real-life scientists) add to the experience. The social features of the game are managed by OpenFeint. Subatomic is US$1.99 on the App Store, and a free version (with seven levels to try) is available as well.
Joystiq Podcast theme 'Gravity' now on Rock Band Network
Announced as a Rock Band Network release during PAX East, the Joystiq Podcast opening theme, "Gravity (Don't Let Me Go)," is now available for the Xbox 360 version of the Rock Band platform for 80 ($1). As with all RBN releases, the playable song can be demoed before purchase. The RBN version of the track, an update of the show theme, was authored for the game by Rock Band-alums The Main Drag and will also appear on Jon Black's upcoming EP The Beginning (Up From The Ground Vol. 1), available April 27. Joystiq Podcast host Justin McElroy wants fans of the show and of music to download the track immediately, saying, "If you're not using your fingers to play 'Gravity (Don't Let Me Go)' on Rock Band, just cut them off and choke yourself with them." RBN currently hosts around 210 songs, which are listed here. Now go drop "Gravity" onto your console.
GDC 2010: Hands-on with Faraway
Steph Thirion's first iPhone game was Eliss, a touchscreen-based arcade game that had you combining and maneuvering planets around one another, and trying to size-match them up with black holes to earn points. As he told us (stay tuned for an exclusive interview with the indie developer), it was pretty hard -- even more so than he actually intended it to be. So, for his second iPhone game, Faraway, he's gone much simpler. Inspired by the iPhone game Canabalt, Thirion has created a one-button game in which the goal is nothing less than to explore the universe. He has it running on a Mac at the show (so he can project the video onto a bigger screen), and we got to have some hands-on time with the new game. You control a comet that flies around an inky black void speckled with dots and circles; the pixelated space aesthetic from Eliss is back. This time, however, there's only one control, and it's a tap anywhere on the screen. Doing so will cause your comet to gravitate towards the nearest static dot, which will then slingshot you around the star until you let go, and the comet flings off in a new direction. There's an arrow pointing off of the screen, and by timing slingshots correctly, you will face the comet in the direction of the arrow.
A lava lamp and a Nexus One tested under 3 Gs of force (video)
Neil Fraser, a true pioneer of science, wasn't satisfied with just wondering whether a lava lamp will work on Jupiter. He opted instead to build a freaking centrifuge in the middle of his living room, strap an innocent lava lamp and a Nexus One to one end with counterbalancing weights on the other, and spin that monster up to find out for himself. His instrument was able to generate 3 Gs of lateral force (despite the Nexus One's G-Force reporting 2.0 Gs due to a bug, now reported to Google), which is comfortably above the 2.5 G gravitational pull that one might experience on the solar system's biggest planet. So, did the goo keep its mojo under pressure? Did the Nexus One survive the ordeal intact? Click past the break to find out.
Ragnarok Online cares and wants to give you free play time for being laid off
Now that's some title, isn't it? Yet, the title doesn't lie -- Gravity Interactive does care and they do want to give their subscribers who have been laid off some free play time.If you were a subscriber on Ragnarok Online International as of June 1st and you've lost your job on or after June 1st, then you're eligible for the new "Gravity Cares" program. All you need to do is simply fill out a short form to prove that you've lost your job and then send it over to Gravity via regular mail. Once they approve the form, you'll get a free three month subscription to Ragnarok Online so you can keep playing without having to worry so much about paying while you get back on your feet.The program is certainly a nice gesture to those who have been hit by the troubled economy, and a unique offering in the MMO world. If you're eligible, go take advantage of it so you can keep playing with your friends.
Ragnarok Online II dated for 2010... finally
Gravity Interactive's first major title in the Western market, Ragnarok Online, is well known for its sugary-sweetness and unforgiving experience curve. While the title proved to be a hit for the developer in the Western and Eastern markets, it's newest brother, Ragnarok Online II, doesn't share the same story. RO II was released in 2007 to a mass-panning by the Asian market, and the game has undergone some significant revisions in that time, including a change of the engine from Unreal 2.5 to Gamebryo and an update to all of the in-game systems. However, with those systems in place, Gravity has announced that the title will be seeing a 2010 release in the Western market. Meanwhile, the Ragnarok franchise will be expanded with a social networking game as well, marking Gravity's new focus on the growing social network division of games.
Ragnarok Online creator to make new MMO in the vein of Ragnarok
At this year's G* Game Expo, in addition to the earlier sexy Blade & Soul gameplay video, it seems that the original creator of Ragnarok Online is working on a new MMO project that he describes as "in the same vein" as Ragnarok. Gamasutra is reporting that Hakkyu Kim, RO's creator, is working on two new MMOs. One a more basic MMO that features the control of a single character, and another MMO that is done in the 2D sprites/3D backgrounds style of RO, except with a focus on action. While neither of these games will be a new Ragnarok, as Gravity Interactive holds the license to the Ragnarok series, it's good to see Kim returning to his roots after his work on Granado Espada, more commonly known as Sword of the New World in the US.
AlterG's M300 treadmill: same 'anti-gravity' vibe, now 'only' $24,500
We've always heard that holiday calories "don't count," but disregarding urban legend for a minute, we'd say AlterG's timing here is nothing short of impeccable. Nearly 1.5 years after the outfit's P200 series was a-okay'd by the FCC, an all new walking machine has entered the fray. The M300 treadmill brings along the same "anti-gravity" feel (useful for rehabilitation and athletic training), but in a machine that's a third of the price and way, way sleeker. The idea here is to reduce the strain on joints and muscles as one exercises, and while that's certainly commendable, we're still thinking it'll take one or two more iterations to get one priced for the everyman. You know, unless you consider $24,500+ (or $499+ per month for the rest of your Earthly life) "affordable." [Via MedGadget]
Requiem updates to "Memento Mori"
Requiem, the free-to-play MMO that insists on making sure that all living creatures squirt out 20 gallons of blood upon their deaths, has recently updated the game with a new expansion -- Memento Mori.Memento Mori, the Latin phrase meaning "Remember you will die," is a great description for the expansion that focuses on integrating learned skills and DNA directly into the character as they level. Previously, players would have to visit a trainer to learn skills, or assemble DNA strands with a DNA scientist in order to equip DNA mutations. Now these two aspects of character development have been placed into the game as talent-esque windows, which allow you to spread your points amongst new upgrades the moment you level. It's almost like you're "remembering" your skills and DNA abilities instead of learning them. We appreciate that.
Video: Japanese astronaut surfs through space on 'flying carpet'
The Japanese can turn pretty much anything into a variety show. So it's no real surprise to hear that the Japanese public have issued a set of 16 zero-gravity challenges to be carried out by Jaxa astronaut, Koichi Wakata, during his time at the International Space Station. Tasks included folding laundry, applying eye-drops, and attempting to ride a "flying carpet;" the latter accomplished with some adhesive tape and a full-size bathroom mat. Seriously, shaka brah. Check the surf and full length videos after the break.
Tags takes organization to a new level
The idea of tagging files as an organization and project management method has been around for some time now, and we've mentioned applications in the past (FileSpot, TagBot, Punakea ... ) which touched on some useful applications for the tagging method. A truly seamless, system-wide implementation, however, has been hard to find. Back at WWDC, Gravity applications gave me a taste of a new application which takes the concept to a new level. Tags, finally released yesterday, provides a hotkey-triggered HUD which allows tagging and searching from a wide range of applications, including: Finder and Path Finder Mail Address Book iPhoto Safari Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.) Adobe Photoshop Xcode Rapidweaver Omnioutliner Pages and Keynote Quicktime The list goes on. Basically, any application which can tell AppleScript what the current context is will work with Tags. Those that don't can also have their items tagged from Finder, which is especially easy if they have a "Reveal in Finder" shortcut. Tags uses Spotlight metadata instead of the old Spotlight comments method. Files tagged with Tags are immediately indexed in Spotlight, allowing for searches and Smart Folders outside of Tags, as well as integration with other Spotlight-enabled applications. Its keyword storage method is directly compatible with Ironic Software's Deep, and the same method is planned for use in Leap, eventually. Ironic has actually just announced OpenMeta, an open source library for accessing and modifying this kind of metadata (more on that coming soon). Read on for more on the concepts behind Tags.
Searchlight goes native on the iPhone
Gravity Applications has released a native iPhone application to complement Searchlight, their remote search application based on Spotlight. Searchlight previously sported an iPhone-optimized web interface, and the native app builds on that. Some noteworthy benefits of the native app include storing logins for multiple servers, Bonjour discovery, and a speedier interface than Safari had provided. It also integrates a new feature found on the Searchlight server: the ability to send the files you locate to yourself or a third party via email. The iPhone app is basic, but it provides a solid foundation for building a richer feature set as it develops, according to developer Niclas Bahn. We discussed some cool features already existing in some of the iPhone file management apps like FileMagnet and Briefcase (iTunes links), and he was excited about implementing some innovations of his own. It will be fun to watch it develop. The Searchlight iPhone application is free, but requires Searchlight to be running on the computer you'd like search access to. Current users will want to upgrade their Searchlight server to the 2.1 release (the upgrade is free). If you weren't one of the lucky ten readers who got a free copy of Searchlight last time we mentioned it, and the $99 price tag was a bit too high, there's some good news: the price has dropped to $49USD. It may be a temporary price-drop, but it should last long enough for new users to take the demo for a spin and make an informed decision. Get it at Gravity's website, and happy searching!
T-Mobile officially announces Samsung Behold and Gravity
The long-rumored Samsung T919 Behold has finally broken cover in an official capacity for T-Mobile, offering a full-featured touchscreen handset (that isn't the G1) to take advantage of that cute little AWS 3G network they've been cooking up. Besides TouchWiz, features include a 5-megapixel cam with video capability, full HTML web browser (we should certainly hope so), and haptic feedback; look for it to launch on November 10 in your choice of two colors for $149.99 on contract, including the rather lovely "light rose." Next up, we have the Samsung Gravity -- T-Mobile's answer to the endless barrage of low-cost QWERTY texters coming from every other network -- featuring a candybar form that conceals a full keyboard on a side slide. It drops by a week later, November 17 for $49.99 on a two-year plan, in "lime" and "aqua." We think we know which one we'd rather have.
More great VC news: Mega Man 1, 2, Earthworm Jim 2 rated
The latest ESRB update confirms two wonderful things that we knew were happening at some point: first, that Mega Man and the sublime Mega Man 2 would be on the way to our Virtual Console soon; second, that Earthworm Jim would make an appearance. Even more interesting -- Earthworm Jim has been rated for a while, but the latest update includes a rating for Earthworm Jim 2 on the Wii! Strangely, the new rating is for the Wii and Genesis versions, while another rating is already on the site for the Genesis game. Now it's got two E ratings! It's extra appropriate for families.Other interesting new games found in ratings: Professor Heinz Wolff's Gravity, an Incredible Machine/Crayon Physics hybrid; Potpourii, a matching puzzle game; and Midnight Pool and Midnight Bowling from Gameloft.
Ragnarok Online DS screens revealed before the end of the world
After the announcement of a DS Ragnarok Online game over a year ago, we weren't sure if Gungho would get around to showing the game before the actual Ragnarok occurred. We haven't been plunged into an extreme winter yet, and the world has yet to be submerged with water, so we're pretty sure Gungho and developer Gravity have come out ahead.Ragnarok Online may not be an MMO like the original game, but even as a single-player RPG (with unspecified online features) it's worth keeping an eye on, mostly due to the absolutely gigantic character sprites. It also appears to have gestural attack inputs controlled by the stylus. Ragnarok Online DS comes out December 18, and we're sure more info will show up soon.
We're pulled in by Gravity
Being nice to look at is hardly essential for a puzzle game, but that's not to say we're opposed to easy-on-the-eye puzzlers such as World of Goo. Deep Silver's Gravity is another entry in the genre that is also a looker, with each of the title's 100 puzzles featuring a unique, hand-painted background (IGN has bigger screens if you want to admire them some more).As for how it plays, this debut trailer suggests that the Deep Silver team have been spending some time with Crayon Physics, or maybe even DS homebrew hit Pocket Physics. You'll hear no complaints from us if the Wii gets its own Crayon Physics!Trailer at GameTrailersScreens at IGN
A look at the geography of WoW from Interesting '08
This is just beautiful, from the title ("Brave Noob World") to the idea -- a geographical survey of Azeroth. James Wallis, the director of Hogshead Publishing, gave this presentation at an "unconference" called Interesting '08, in which he tried to do a survey of Azeroth, in the same way that Tobold did -- by walking from one end to the other. And he discovers that Azeroth is pretty small and pretty dense -- it's about 12km across, according to him (I really like his comparison image of the Death Star), and using a Female Tauren, he even comes up with the force of gravity, which is about equal to Earth -- about 1g. Which makes sense; Blizzard would want the virtual world to feel the same as our world, no matter how big it is.There's a problem with that, though -- if you have a small planet with the same gravity as a much larger planet, the only answer is that the mass of the planet is much more dense. And when you get a really small, densely packed mass, you start to mess around with the flow of time. So Wallis actually ends up explaining one of the more annoying features of Azeroth with actual science. Very nice.It's definitely a fun example of looking for more in this MMO than Blizzard probably put there, but Wallis covers it with enough zest and logic that it works, strangely. Now if he could only explain the weather...[via Massively]Update: Looks like the video got pulled. It's been stowed after the break, just in case it comes back.
