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Moon footage is out of this world
Just as with Dementium: The Ward, Renegade Kid is all about letting us see every aspect of their games, and when we're getting a peek at something that looks as awesome as Moon, we appreciate it. Creative Director Jools Watsham updated his blog at IGN with a short video that features some low quality footage of the game, and even through a pokey webcam, it looks incredible. He pauses on the screenshot to the right, so we've included it for comparison. Check out the video after the break to see the gorgeous base in full motion!%Gallery-20245%
Full Earthrise over the moon captured from space in HD
Late last year, we sat in awe peeping the pictures of Earth captured by the KAGUYA satellite, but we're fairly certain we've spotted Engadget HQ in the latest grabs. All kidding aside, the latest HD Earthrise movie is even more desirable than the last due to this one being a "full" Earthrise, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency isn't hesitating to pat itself on the back for snagging such an accomplishment. Check out the read link for more pictures, video and an explanation of how the whole thing went down.
Renegade Kid says Moon will rock harder than Dementium
You all know we dug Dementiunm. It was a fine title and a decent FPS on a handheld that is seriously lacking in that department. Now, Renegade Kid is preparing their second FPS for Nintendo's handheld in Moon. What should we expect?Well, Renegade Kid's owner and creative director, Jools Watsham, spoke with Joystiq about the new project and reassured us it's going to be something we'll want to play. It's a pretty interesting read, if we may say so. Head on over and check it out already!%Gallery-20245%
Joystiq interview: Renegade Kid versus the Moon
When independent developer Renegade Kid first announced its follow up title to last year's Dementium: the Ward, few details were offered as to what it was exactly that the studio was up to. Titled simply Moon, the game was said to again be played from the first-person, but beyond the vantage and supposed setting, we were left wondering. It didn't take us long to tire of the guessing game however, so we arranged to speak with Renegade Kid's owner and creative director Jools Watsham to find out more about the company's latest offspring, how it differs from Dementium, and why the studio opted to go with a different publisher, in this case Mastiff, rather than Dementium publisher Gamecock. Read on to see what he had to say.%Gallery-20326%
Renegade Kid calls Moon 'more ambitious' than Dementium
Dementium: The Ward, developer Renegade Kid's debut release for the Nintendo DS, certainly pushed the frontier of what we expect from handheld gaming, but it was far from perfect. Company co-owner Jools Watsham conceded as much to us during a recent interview, but added that Renegade Kid's next project, the recently announced DS title Moon, will be even "more ambitious" than the studio's freshman effort."We're being much more ambitious with the environments, particle effects, enemies and cinematic cut-scenes," commented Watsham. "Even though we pushed the DS with Demenitum, we were still being slightly cautious due to our time frame and growing experience with the platform. This time around with Moon, we are being a little less cautious while still be expressive and ambitious."He also took a moment to reflect back on Dementium, noting that the survival horror title's save system was a particular sticking point among those who played the game. "Most people hated the save system in Dementium... Moon is structured very differently than Dementium. The game is presented in episodes, and within each episode there are checkpoints that save your progress."For more from Renegade Kid's Watsham on Moon, including Moon's possible future for the Wii and why the company's decision to go with publisher Mastiff instead of Dementium pub Gamecock is really much ado about nothing, check out our full interview on Monday and the first screens from the game below.%Gallery-20326%
Moon interview sheds some light on past mistakes
First, Renegade Kid did horror. Next up is science fiction for the burgeoning studio, with Moon, a first-person adventure with a trailer featuring a distinct John Carpenter vibe. Jools Watsham, director and producer on Moon, recently spoke with IGN regarding their plans for this title. While most of the interview covers the basics of the game, there are some interesting moments focused on Dementium's flaws and how they're trying to deal with those issues with the development of Moon. Dementium fans will be happy to hear that the save system is being addressed, and it sounds as though the similarity of the level designs from is also much on their minds. From the sound of it, we may be treated to an even better experience this time around -- which would truly be something to see.%Gallery-20245%
NASA's Chariot lunar vehicle gets demoed on video
We've already gotten a pretty good idea of what NASA's new Chariot lunar vehicle was capable of, but now thanks to NewScientist (and NASA itself) we've got a glimpse of the behemoth in action -- on Earth, of course. As you can see for yourself after the break, the rig certainly looks to be quite capable of tearing it up on the lunar surface, with it boasting a plough to smooth things out for a moon base (or other potential lunar installations). What's more, while they're apparently not quite ready to be demoed just yet, NASA also has plans to outfit it with a drill and a back hoe, but apparently not a laser cannon -- at least none that they're tellin' us about.[Via Slashdot]
They're magically delicious!
Very early in patch 2.4's progressive development on the PTR, the ability to send raid icons over chat was implemented. The syntax is pretty simple, you place the name of the icon in those funny looking brackets, like so: {circle}, {star}, etc.Personally, I'm not too terribly excited, it's not something you'll be typing on the fly, probably. I can't really see a Mage or Warlock(or anybody) taking the extra time to type that out properly when something goes wrong(ie death), as simple as it seems to do so. However, this could be a good tool for raid leaders, not so much the raiders. A raid leader could include these in a tanking/crowd control assignment macro. "/ra Matthew, tank {skull}. Christian, sheep {square}." That sort of thing.Regardless of how often this will actually be used, it's a nice little feature, and I'm sure post-2.4 mods and addons will make good use of them, even if the players themselves don't.
Moon on collision course with DS [Update: First trailer]
Renegade Kid, they of Dementium: The Ward fame, have whipped the covers off of their next DS project. Moon is a series of minigames centered entirely around revealing one's backside in an assortment of hilarious scenarios is the new name for the game formerly known as "Project M," and will take the form of a first-person, sci-fi, action-adventure set in 2058.Featuring isolated lunar bases and mysterious alien hatches, publisher Mastiff describes the experience as "dark, twisted, heart-pounding, frequently violent and always disturbing." We like! Incidentally, Moon will be built on the same engine that powered Dementium. That's good news, because for all of its flaws, Dementium was one heck of a technical achievement.Update: The first Moon trailer just touched down in our inboxes. We've embedded it for your viewing pleasure above.[Via press release]
Renegade Kid's Project M revealed as DS action title 'Moon'
From the fetid halls of Dementium to the vacuous surface of the moon, developer Renegade Kid has proven that it isn't shy about taking its first two projects into uncharted territories. Publisher Mastiff has revealed that the dev's second project, previously known as "Project M," is in fact a futuristic action title for the Nintendo DS simply called Moon.While we'll continue to wait for a simulation of that timeless Saturday night ritual of flashing our bare posteriors to cars on the freeway, Moon instead will take us to the lunar surface in 2058 for a first-person adventure that according to Mastiff's hilariously titled "Head Woof" Bill Swartz is "frequently violent" and "always disturbing." We'll have to take his word for it, as neither screens nor a release date have been released, leaving us to replay Dementium and squint at the screen while mentally replacing crazed mental patients with equally crazed aliens -- we should do all of our previews this way.
In space no one can hear you scream... but they can "hear you now"
Did you know that NASA was building a base of operations in the south pole of the Moon? Did you know colonists would be living and working there? Did you know that plans are in motion to establish a satellite phone network which would allow said colonists to communicate with one another? Well, it's all true... and more! According to a report, NASA and the British National Space Centre (BNSC) are preparing a trial phone network to be deployed on the Moon. The system, called MoonLite, will be comparable to the satellite phone networks of the 80's and 90's here on Earth, and will be used to facilitate communication between occupants on the base and robots and workers which are out and about. The satellites will handle data as well as voice communication, with 3kbps downstream and 2kbps up -- though we're told Verizon will control the entire system, with plans to bottleneck speed at will.[Via PHONE Magazine]
Around Azeroth: Bad moon rising
Reader Elyasa of Auchindoun (the European server, not the unpopular Outland instances) snapped this foreboding shot in the Black Temple. Her raiding guild, Shine, was heading for Supremus when she looked up and saw this omen in the sky. She didn't mention how the boss fight went, but from the looks of it, the dragons didn't go hungry that night... Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!%Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Spectral howl
Reader Pelouze of Durotan likes to explore the far reaches of Nagrand. Often found on his Spectral Tiger, he couldn't help but take this snapshot of his trusty mount howling at one of the many moons to be found in the kaleidescope skies of the Outland.Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!%Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Star-gazing
While I imagine most of us run around our little parts of the world (of Warcraft) without paying much attention to the details of our environment, this shot from reader Mikhall reminds us that sometimes all we have to do is look up to appreciate the beauty of Azeroth. The night sky over Auberdine (above) is black and vast, but the sky in Arathi Highlands is a brilliant blue, the sky in the Draenei starting zones around the Exodar turn pale purple in the evening, and the sky over Shattrath City is grey (or grey-green), In fact, every sky across Azeroth is a bit different -- but have you ever bothered looking?Taken a screenshot that highlights the ordinary in an extraordinary way? We'd like to see it on Around Azeroth! All you have to do is e-mail aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your screenshot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could find your pictures and story featured next!%Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Ship + moon = ??
Reader Arsenie sends along this shot of the full moon along-side a pirate ship off the coast of Tanaris. What's unusual about the image, besides a nice composition (hey, are you sure we're not playing Pirates of the Burning Sea?) is the fact that these ships are way, way, way out at sea. Arsenie tells us that on the map they look like islands and that it took two corpse runs (fatigue is a killer) to get this shot!Have you managed to visit a unique spot that no one else has seen? Gone through trials and tribulations to find that perfect screenshot? We'd like to see it on Around Azeroth! All you have to do is e-mail aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your screenshot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could find your pictures and story featured next!%Gallery-1816%
KAGUYA satellite captures HD Earthrise
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) KAGUYA satellite that we talked about before has now turned its HDTV eye back towards the big blue marble that is Earth. The HD eye in the sky has recast one of the most famous photos ever, the "Earthrise" captured during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. If you liked the initial footage from this satellite, you know the drill: click the read link to check out HD still frames and ED-like 480 x 720-pixel versions of the HD "Earthrise" and "Earthset" captures. Okay, JAXA, we'll accept the missing audio track, but make with the full-HD movies of this footage![Via spaceref.com]
Japan's KAGUYA spacecraft performs first lunar HDTV transmission
DirecTV's "Starship" has the right name, but it can't hold a candle to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) KAGUYA satellite which has beamed back the first ever HDTV images from the moon. Form its orbit about 100km above the moon's surface, the spacecraft trained its HDTV camera on the moon and sent the images back for all to see. There were only two "scenes" put in the can, both taken from the area around "Oceanus Procellarum." Click through to see (the very crispy, we think) stills from the captures as well as a short video clip. Alas, the video offered up by JAXA is a decidedly non-HD 480x270 pixels. Taking a lesson from Alien's "In space, no one can hear you scream" PSA, there's also no audio, so feel free to add your own soundtrack as you watch (some version of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" is the obvious choice).
Let's promote our game by hanging out with an old dude
When Nintendo sent us an email this weekend, we had some trouble making it out. We found images of Mario and Buzz Aldrin hanging out in a zero gravity environment, but we failed to see just how this coming together of the two celebrates the release of the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy. Seriously, it was just a press release of a couple of images depicting the two hanging out.As responsible bloggers, we felt obligated to present them. But, we're sure that after this little photo shoot, the inside of that Mario suit must smell something awful. And, we hope the person inside remembered the cardinal rule of being around Buzz: don't ever say he faked the moon landing.See what we mean past the post break.
Lunar Lander Challenge set to kick off with $2M at stake
It looks like New Mexico's the place to be for anyone looking to catch a glimpse of a possible future mission to the moon, with the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge set to get underway tomorrow at the Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo. As an added incentive for competitors, NASA is ponying up $2M in prizes, although they'll have their work cut out for them if they want to take that home. Specifically, they need to show off a rocket-propelled vehicle and payload that "takes off vertically, climbs to a defined altitude, flies for a pre-determined amount of time, and then land vertically on a target that is a fixed distance from the launch pad." Then they have to do that all over again within a predetermined period of time. To open things up a bit, there's also two difficulty levels but, as with all challenges of this sort, no one takes home a prize unless they fully meet all the requirements.[Via Physorg, photo courtesy of X-Prize Foundation/Paragon Labs]
Scientists show off self-sufficient space habitat design
While there's no shortage of habitat designs out there for potential lunar or Martian missions, a team of Australian scientists seem to think theirs has what it takes to stand out, with it promising to be 90 to 95 percent self-sufficient. According to Cosmos Magazine, the habitat, dubbed Luna Gaia, employs a so-called "closed-loop life support system," which recycles "almost all material within the system" with minimal input from outside sources. Key to that is the Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (or MELIiSSA), which uses microbes to purify water, recycle carbon dioxide and, yes, "derive edible material from waste products. " Apparently, that would allow the system to support a team of 12 astronauts for up to three years, with them relying on a largely vegetarian diet. While the system is still 20 or 30 years from becoming feasible, the researchers say it also has some potential applications here on Earth in the nearer term, including more sustainable farming techniques and improved recycling processes.[Via Slashdot]
