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Gunpoint dev seeks artist, composer for follow-up Heat Signature
Indie developer Tom Francis outlines his upcoming PC stealth game Heat Signature in the newly launched gameplay video above in the hopes of assembling a team to finish the project. Announced earlier this year, Heat Signature challenges players to infiltrate randomly generated space vessels while subverting heat-detecting security measures. In its current state, the game now features multiple playable classes and assigns players a randomly generated list of objectives during each session. As was the case with his previous game Gunpoint, Francis is opting to hire collaborators after Heat Signature's prototyping phase instead of setting up a dedicated studio. Artists and composers interested in a paid position on Heat Signature's development team can apply at Francis' website. [Video: Tom Francis]
Gunpoint dev working on stealth space game Heat Signature
Tom Francis, the developer behind Gunpoint, has announced one of his new projects, Heat Signature. It's a stealth game, set in space, in which you stalk randomly generated ships and board them. Stealth isn't so much about the enemy ship's line-of-sight as it is about your ship's temperature. Each randomly spawned vessel has heat sensors that can pick up on warmth within their proximity, so it's paramount you float up to ships while using your thrusters sparingly. Of course, relative size of your target also affects the difficulty of this maneuver. Once you've docked, you can walk around inside the unsuspecting space barge, avoiding or killing its guards. As Francis points out in the video, this build is still early and missing a lot of the final systems he has planned for Heat Signature. At first you'll spawn into the world as a random class of character, with a certain goal or objective that requires you to board ships and hack terminals for more information. One play session of Heat Signature may ask you to kill a target, while another may challenge you to track down and steal a rare ship. Francis doesn't say when to expect Heat Signature, but he's set up a mailing list for all those interested in being notified of important development updates (like this one). [Image: Suspicious Developments]
Researchers working on thermal cloak, Predators trill their disapproval
Slathering yourself with mud to avoid head-hunting aliens is great and all, but it ain't exactly the paragon of good personal hygiene. Fortunately, researchers have concocted a cleaner and less cakey defense against Predators that's more likely to be mom approved. Fresh on the heels of the microwave invisibility project at the University of Texas at Austin, French researchers have found a way to make a cloak that can hide a subject from thermal imaging devices. The concept uses alternating materials with varying rates of diffusion to move heat around and create a thermally invisible region. Conversely, the technique can be used to concentrate heat in one spot so it gets hot rapidly. Although it doesn't quite have the wow factor of Cornell's invisibility project, the thermal research may prove to be more practical because it also can be used to manage heat and improve cooling in components such as computer chips. Of course, the question now is, can it be used to cloak an entire tank?
BAE's infrared invisibility cloak makes tanks cold as ice, warm as cows
Warfare's constantly evolving. Daylight battles became late-night duels, and pre-noon skirmishes shifted to sundown slaughters -- some might say we're just getting lazy, but either way, thermal imaging now plays quite the vital role. Now BAE and the FMV -- Sweden's equivalent to DARPA -- have a way to mask the heat signature of heavy machinery. Adaptiv is a wall of 14 centimeter panels that monitor the ambient heat and match it, so it can't be picked out from the background radiation. The tech can also be used to replicate the profiles of other things -- you know, like a spotted calf or a Fiat 500. BAE believes the tech is scaleable for buildings and warships, the only downside being that all future commanders will have to make sure their operations are finished before dawn. Wouldn't want your soldiers to see that five o'clock (AM) shadow, now would we? [Thanks, Rob]
