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RoombaWii: you know where this is headed
People have come up with numerous ways to control their Roombas -- USB, Bluetooth, MacBook tilt sensors, and even a MIDI keyboard -- and now that the Wiimote has been hacked to operate several non-Wii devices -- computers, home automation systems, and even an RC truck -- it's no surprise that some clever modder would make these two great tastes taste great together. And sure enough, a gentleman named Chris Hughes has just completed a script that merges Tod Kurt's Roomba control software with the recently released DarwinRemote, resulting in a little slavebot that scoots around using just a flick of your wrist. As you might expect, tilting the Wiimote forward and backward causes Roomba to move in those directions, while tilting it side to side sends the vacuum spinning either clockwise or counter-clockwise. There's a slight delay between manipulating the Wiimote and Roomba actually executing a command, though luckily Chris has kindly provided his RoombaWii script for download, so perhaps you can play around with it and reduce some of that latency. You can check out a short vid of his setup after the break, but if the term "flippin' awesome" is considered a little too racy for your office, you may have to file this one under NSFW....
AddOn Spotlight: EngBags and Advanced Bags Plus
Unlike most of the mods I've been posting, EngBags is a pretty new one to me, but I'm already in love with it. It's an all-in-one bag window that sorts your stuff for you -- trade goods go in one area of the window, quest items another, etc. Brilliant and a little bit demented. It's highly configurable, which can make it seem a bit daunting, but the default config is pretty good. I always found keeping my inventory organized a bit of a chore, and now I've got a mod to do it for me (though I do occasionally have to reassign things' categories for best effect).Advanced Bags Plus is a slightly different solution for the same problem. It replaces your five bag icons in the bag bar with a modifiable number of virtual bags for different item categories. It seems slightly easier to configure than EngBags in terms of which items should go in which categories, but it keeps multiple bag windows, which I don't like as much, having used AllInOneInventory/OneBag/Bagnon and the like pretty much since I discovered mods.Engbags at CurseAdvanced Bags Plus at Curse
Atari joystick mod brings back memories
digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/gaming_news/Xbox_360_Atari_joystick_mod'; Xbox 360 Fanboy readers sure are an industrious bunch. Do-it-yourself custom colors, d-pad stiffness mods, and now, retro joystick mods. Coming to us from reader, Clint Thompson (AKA Neon360), this mod uses the joystick of the plug-and-play Atari Flashback system. Clint plans to house the guts of the controller in the Atari shaped base of the plug-and-play system. He reports that the mod isn't perfect yet (some of the inputs are screwy) but it is working. Why go to all this trouble for a one-button joystick? According to Clint, "I did this all so I can play Galaga like I used to play it on my Atari 7800 using the standard Atari joystick. Hey, my score went from 32,000 to over 80,000 after using the stick on the first try so it's working for me!"Right on, Clint! Send us more pictures (and maybe a how-to guide) when it's finished. Anyone have another creative mod they'd like to share? Let us know.
AddOn Spotlight: EquipCompare
From the "Should-be-in-the-default-UI" department, I humbly present to you: EquipCompare. This is one of those addons that I've been using for so long, and that feels so natural, that I honestly forget it's a mod at all. What it does: every time you mouse over a piece of equipment, the mod displays a tooltip next to the item's tooltip showing what you're currently wearing in that slot. That sounds a bit complicated, but trust me, it's totally not. (In the screenshot, for instance, I'm mousing over a Twilight Cultist Robe while wearing a Robe of Volatile Power (because Golemagg just refuses to drop my Robes of Prophecy).) As soon as you start playing with it you'll wonder how you ever got along without it. It's updated for WoW 2.Download it at Curse or your favorite mods site.[Thanks, Ethan!]
A stiff and sticky D-pad mod
People will go to extreme lengths just to get a decent D-pad for their 360. It's fairly common knowledge that the D-pad is the worst feature of the otherwise outstanding 360 controller. Xbox 360 Fanboy regular, SuicideNinja, has submitted a simple, non-destructive method for improving this unfortunate problem. All that is required are the tools to crack open your control and some double-sided mounting tape. The tape is applied underneath the base of the D-pad, with only the bottom adhesive exposed. This mod focuses on making the D-pad stiffer, rather than broadening its range of movement. According to SuicideNinja, the mod is strange at first, but can improve games like Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat significantly. Any brave souls willing to try this out and give us a report? Follow the "read" link for full instructions.
DIY custom black 360 controller
360 Fanboy reader, Alcaron, sends along this do-it-yourself guide on creating a custom colored 360 controller. What makes this mod special is that it actually dyes the controller shell itself, rather than merely coating it (like spray paint). There are several advantages to this over paint. For example, the color cannot be rubbed off or flake away. The process isn't too complicated and it's fairly inexpensive, but there are noxious fumes involved, so remember to wear a mask and work in a well ventilated area. The end results speak for themselves: it roxxorz our (X)boxxorz. Follow the read link for more pictures and instructions on how to make one of these beauties for yourself.Any other fanboys out there care to share their own mods?
PS3 will see 'user-created experiences' next year, says Harrison
User-created content, which has long been a fixture in the world of PC gaming, has never managed to gain any real traction on consoles, be that due to technological constraints or a lack of online connectivity. With both of those issues out of the way in modern systems, the time is ripe for users to interact and share their creations and experiences. Sony's Phil Harrison gets behind the idea in a revealing interview with MTV's Stephen Totilo, opining* that gaming needs to move away from presenting "closed experiences." If games are to break free (God knows they want to break free), there needs to be a constant flow of communication between Sony and gamers -- more importantly, Harrison insists that said communication flows in both directions (give us money, here's your money). "Next year you're going to see user-created experiences in a number of interesting ways on PlayStation 3," goes the official and spectacularly vague PR line. A Second Life-styled virtual network has oft been rumored, but Harrison fell victim to "line distortion" before Totilo could get any concrete information about it.So, what entails a "user-created experience?" In the worst case, it's a custom wallpaper and a shared photo between friends. In the best case? Oh, it could be anything, from personalized in-game T-shirts to deadly dungeons designed to foil your friends. Be sure to ask us about it next year. * Basis for an awful pun later in the sentence.Read (and be assaulted by Flash) -- Full interview on MTV News
Ben Heckendorn updates the Atari 800 laptop mod
Will the myriad of modded consoles from Ben Heckendorn never cease? (We sure hope not.) The man who brought us the NES Micro, N64p, PPS2, Phoenix 2600, (not to mention an ongoing series of how-tos for Engadget) has finally updated his November 2005 hack of the Atari 800. That laptop, which combined a screen and the guts of the 1980s gaming system, has now been brought into the modern age (read: 2006) with a new case, a cleaner keyboard (with round keys!), and a breakout cartridge case. We particularly admire the Atari logo on the top, and Ben's usual attention to detail and a clean, efficient, design. Still, we can't wait for the day that Ben's talents get noticed by Apple, Dell, or another big-name laptop maker, so that more of the masses can be showered with his talent -- but then again, perhaps it's better that we keep him to ourselves. Check out a few more snaps on the next page, and then head over to benheck.com for his always thorough and entertaining build diary...[Thanks, technick29]
Moddin' it up: LED lights everywhere
Personally, we just can't get enough of the crazy DS mods the community keeps coming up with. This latest mod, which adds a ton of LED lights to the DS (as pictured above), is one of the better mods we've seen. Seeing as how when we catch a glimpse of a mod they're usually DS Phats, we're digging this DS Lite mod. We can understand not wanting to hack apart the already stylish DS Lite, though. Got a modded DS? Seen a cool one in your travels across the internet? Let us know! [Via DC Emu]
Sweet mod: Super NinTiVo
It's no secret that we love mods. And while our focus here is on a Nintendo system beyond the SNES, we can't help but post about this excellent hybrid between technological marvels. Dubbed the Super NinTiVo, the old SNES case has been crammed full of TiVo goodness. One problem though: the harddrive has to rest outside of the case. Regardless, it's one sweet mod.[Bonus points for including Madden '94 into the mix.]
Scrambling for new mods on raid night
Hindsight is 20/20, so if you're telling me it was a bad idea to plan an MC raid the night after the 2.0.1 patch, I now see that you were probably right. My guild is getting ready to raid tonight, and not only are we now contending with rolling restarts (they're hitting all realms to "hotfix" a critical bug), but we're scrambling to get our interfaces back to the point where we can actually use them.The problem, however, is that as of right now, Curse Gaming's website is spotty at best-- sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When it works, their 2.0 page is the place to go for the new addons, so that's probably the first place you can stop. CTRaid, fortunately, is hosted elsewhere, and they had their 2.0 release ready to go (there was a quick fix last night, but the current version works swimmingly). CastParty is hosted over at Sourceforge, so while you can download their 4.3 version, I put it in, and it is incompatible with WoW 2.0 (bummer). And for the worst news of all: Auctioneer's authors are busy with schoolwork, and so their new versions won't be coming out for... another two weeks.Unfortunately, with Benecast, CastParty and redHeart out of the 2.0.1 mix, I haven't found a clickheal mod that works. That's what we suspected when we first mentioned the addon apocalypse, but does this mean clickhealing is gone forever? Will we all have to face the music and live without the mods we've come to know and love? For the time being, seems so. If you've found an updated version of a mod you use, or are even an author of an updated mod, feel free to post in the comments and let us know where to go. Our servers' back up-- with or without mods, Domo's going down.Update: MC didn't work as planned. With new talents, messed up mods and bugged interfaces, we threw in the towel early. One the mages were really missing is Decursive. There is supposed to be an updated version out, but not confirmed if it works or not-- anyone try it?Update2: More mod updates.
Massive DIY 360 arcade controller
A man known only as Pocket Universe has created an absolute behemoth of a 360 controller (no way you're using this with one hand). Using a wired 360 controller, some (cheap) arcade style buttons, a soldering gun, and ordinary household wood, the controller is the size of an elementary school desk. Seriously, you could do homework on that thing and have extra room for your calculator and a snack. Still, we have no doubts that this device excels at Street Fighter and Pac-Man. If you have lots of spare time and the desire, nay, the need for a superior arcade experience, you can find detailed instructions right here. Anybody else out there have a homemade 360 contraption they'd like to share with the rest of the class?[Via Digg]
Noise dampening mod sounds pretty good
If you think a 4 or 5 decibel reduction in Xbox 360 noise pollution is worth voiding your precious warranty, this relatively easy mod (which involves the installation of sound dampening material around the optical drive) might be music to your tender ear drums. [Via Xboxic]
Curse Gaming site revamp
The new patch is coming this Tuesday to a realm near you, and when you run off to find updated versions of your latest addons, you may be in for a surprise -- because favorite addon site Curse Gaming has undergone a complete redesign. (If you're trying to find the addon section of the site from the main page, it's a big purple button on the right.) Their addons section looks quite a bit different and no longer sorts addons by familiar categories -- instead, there appears to be one giant list of addons, which is searchable by labels attached to the addon. For better or for worse, the new layout is going to take some getting used to -- and I can only again encourage everyone to go and download addon updates in advance of Tuesday's patch!
The coming addon apocalypse
While we've talked about this before, but with the announcement of the patch 2.0.1 rollout, it's worth a reminder. On December 5th, 2006, you'll log on to World of Warcraft and download the 2.0.1 patch -- and then all of your addons will stop working. I know what you're thinking, "But Elizabeth! There are addon issues with every patch! How will this be any different?" Well, WoW 2.0 completely changes the LUA code that current addons are written in, or, as Blizzard puts it:WoW 2.0 represents a major change in the UI code, and as such ALL AddOns will need to be updated before they will work, if for no other reason than the Lua 5.0 to Lua 5.1 changes. Some AddOns will be more seriously affected, and a few will have to be redesigned.Tobold predicts -- not inaccurately, I think -- disaster. As everyone begins to realize their addons are no longer functioning, they'll rush to Curse Gaming and WoWInterface. These sites, always sluggish on or around patch day, will all the worse for the complete failure of every addon that currently exists. Some addons will be abandoned by their authors, as the work to rewrite them would be too great. Others will be abandoned because the ability to make them functional will no longer exist. And yet others will simply take time to rewrite and not be immediately available.So what's to be done? Well, you could always stop using addons. Or take a week's vacation from the game. Or if you aren't willing to do either of those, check up on your addons in advance -- look them up and see if there's a WoW 2.0 version already available. (If you don't remember where you downloaded it from, use the search functionality on Curse Gaming or WoWInterface to find them.) If not, WoWInterface has lists of mods that are confirmed to work with the 2.0.1 patch, so perhaps you can find something you could live with (don't try to use any of these with the live game, however -- they won't work). So while everyone else you know is tearing their hair out in frustration trying to find working addons while Curse Gaming is down, you can be sitting back in your chair, sipping a martini* and raiding the night away. * No, the patch does not ship standard with martini. You're on your own Mr. Bond.
Linux box built out of an Apple Studio Display
While the vast majority of recent Mac modifications have dealt with the headless Mac Mini, the Toolman decided to go a different route with his gutted 17-inch Apple Studio Display. As with most mods, he simply had too many enticing parts lying around without a proper home, and chose to combine them using whatever it took, resulting in a Mac-ish clone at worst, and a sweet all-in-one computer at best. After heavy modifications to front button PCBs, adding a mic for VoIP usage, rewiring everything numerous times, "butchering" an i2c bus, and using a heat gun to make the pesky plastic conform to his wishes, he still had to get the thing to boot up. After initial memtest errors and a few bouts with frustration, he finally loaded Ubuntu Linux successfully from the external optical drive. He also noted that the possibility remained open to one day affix a slot-loading drive, but left it out initially due to the inability to truly find an "elegant place" to install it. Regardless, this well-constructed mod most certainly didn't come easy, and for those who'd dare give something like this a go on their own, be sure to continue on for a look at the YouTube demonstration, and hit the read link for a bevy of photos.[Via Digg]
AddOn Spotlight: Buttons, more buttons!
For me, the first real push to use addons came when I discovered I had no place to put new skills on the default toolbar. Yes, you can add several additional rows of buttons in the default UI (via interface options) but their location and size are set. I didn't like the amount of space they took up, so I looked for more flexible options. As I imagine many are struck with the same difficulty at some point in the game, today I'll go over the most popular button mods -- and maybe you, too, can twink your interface to perfection!
Leopard print 360 pad is silky smooth
Have you ever looked down at your 360 controller and thought to yourself, "Self, this controller just isn't tacky enough. I really need it to blend well with my purple velvet couch." If so, then you are in luck, because a company named Evolve is bringing animal prints to your Xbox. But wait, there's more: not only does the controller skin provide you with eye candy, it also has a soft "like fur" feel to it. If you've been wanting some cuddly time with your controllers, this is your chance. Better still, in addition to the leopard print there is also a cow skin pattern. All you need is some steer horns on your 360 and you've got a theme, partner! In all seriousness, we've seen some strange 360 modifications, but this takes the cake. Anyone out there seen any more crazy mods they'd like to share? Send us a tip and we'll post it right here.[Thanks, jake]
The Real PS3 Grill cooks food, delivers lousy gameplay
There are two schools of thought when it comes to destroying a brand-new, $500 videogame console: some scholars feel that bashing the hell out of it with a sledgehammer in front of dozens of fuming fanboys is the way to go, while other academics would rather rip out the guts and replace them with something much, much less functional. Well we've already seen the SmashMy___ gang pointlessly assassinate an innocent PlayStation 3, so now it's time to check out what cruel and unusual punishment the folks at The Real PS3 Grill have meted out to their own shiny rig. Taking a cue from online Photoshop jobs that imagined Sony's console as a very expensive George Foreman Grill (complete with a fist-pumping Ken Kutaragi), these sadistic modders decided to hollow out their fresh purchase and replace all the high-tech magic with a common tabletop griddle. Their mission statement claims that the project was carried out to garner fame and glory, and for a very brief amount of time, they will indeed be on top of the world. Soon, however, everyone will forget about this amusing distraction in favor of playing their new gaming systems, while all these guys will have are a hopelessly outdated PS2 and a couple of leftover steaks.
PSP mod shines ring of light
Modder Psyberjock has added a swanky hack to his PlayStation Portable that replaces the silver ring around the UMD tray with a circle of led lights; however, it's not for the faint of heart. If he gets enough requests, he'll post a how-to, but right now he says, "Considering the difficulty level of this mod, if you can't figure it out yourself, you'll probably just break your PSP or UMD tray."We hope he shares the love, because that's a groovy looking mod.
