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Wurm Online still offline, offers bounty for DDOS attacker
Wurm Online's 1.2 patch was supposed to herald a day of rejoicing for the community, but that quickly turned sour as a severe DDOS attack on its hosting forced the devs to take the game offline for over a day now. "Shortly after todays update we were the target of a DDOS attack and our hosting provider had to pull us off the grid for now," Code Club posted. "As annoying as this may be, we are taking steps to turn this to everyones advantage. I announced earlier that we were already looking at migrating the hosting of Wurm. When the attack forced us offline, we went straight ahead and pushed for this to happen as soon as possible." The team is working on switching hosting and said that service should be restored within a day. Code Club is offering a bounty of 10,000 Euro "for any tips or evidence leading to a conviction of the person responsible for this attack."
NYT: NSA embeds radio transmitters to access offline computers from miles away
Tonight's fun NSA revelation comes courtesy of the New York Times, reporting on an agency program to access and alter data on computers that aren't connected to the internet. Cherry picked from the NSA's tool kit of developments -- often used to bug equipment before it reaches the intended destination -- the technology described relies on a circuit board or USB device (called Cottonmouth I) installed on a PC that communicates wirelessly with a base station nearby. The base station itself has already been described by security expert Jacob Appelbaum; codenamed Nightstand, it's capable of hacking WiFi networks from up to eight miles away and retrieving or inserting data as necessary. The programs described are not exactly up to date, and the NYT's experts suggest recent developments are focused on making the US less dependent on physical access to do its hacking. Like the Dropoutjeep software created to attack iPhones, we're told these techniques are designed for use in places like Iran and China. Still, with an estimated 100,000 or so installations it probably wouldn't hurt to give your USB ports and internal expansion slots a once-over just in case.
SimCity to receive 'impossible' offline update, gamers roll their eyes
Remember back in March of last year when SimCity launched and, because of its online play requirement, did a faceplant? And do you also remember when the game finally found its way to OS X in August and the exact same thing happened? Of course you do, because they were both huge stories. At the time, EA/Maxis apologized profusely and while gamers blamed the online play model, the company said that adding an offline mode to SimCity was "not possible." Well those developers must have been pretty busy for the past five months, because today EA revealed that SimCity would be getting an offline option in an upcoming update. Wow. In less than half a year, the company has made the impossible a reality. It's quite obvious that the online requirement was a stand-in for DRM (essentially, just a way to ensure pirated copies of the game weren't playable), but it seems EA has finally decided it might be better to just let SimCity fans play a not-broken, standalone version of the game. Hooray! The reaction to the announcement is predictably hilarious, since approximately 0 percent of gamers believed that an offline SimCity was "impossible" to begin with. EA hasn't explained how it managed to make it happen -- likely because it was never a real obstacle at all -- but if you're somehow still interested in the game after all these shady antics, your offline dreams will be fulfilled as soon as Update 10 lands.
SimCity getting offline single player mode in next update
SimCity will receive an update that allows for offline play in the near future. Arriving as a free download with Update 10 for the game, SimCity's offline play will allow players to access all of their previously downloaded content in the new single player mode. The developer was last exploring the possibility of offline play for the game in October 2013. While EA did not reveal a full list of details for the update, it did note that single player campaign save files will be stored locally, so players will no longer be required to have an internet connection when playing the game. EA recently allowed for official mod support of the game, which the publisher cites as a major reason for SimCity's new offline mode to begin with. Now, mods can be made "to the game and its components without compromising the integrity of the Online game," an EA blog on the matter says. No release date was given for Update 10, though Maxis is in the "late phases" of wrapping up its development.
Metal Gear Rising PC owners report problems playing offline
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance made its Steam debut earlier today and players have already discovered a major flaw in the port, according to user reports on the Steam forums. "[W]henever I lauch [sic] the game while I'm connected to the internet, if my internet goes down (which is often because it's pretty bad) the game will just immediatly [sic] crash," writes Steam user "Howl," before asking other players to report any similar issues. The comments that follow are nearly unanimous: Losing your Internet connection while playing the PC version of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance causes the game come to an abrupt end. Following this discovery a fan asked Platinum Games producer JP Kellams about the issue. Kellams seemed taken by surprise. "No idea. I'll ask first thing," he replied. While this is currently the biggest flaw in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, it isn't the game's only problem. Earlier we reported on an apparent region-lock issue preventing players from gifting the game to others living in certain parts of the world. We've attempted to reach Konami for more information on what the publisher is doing to fix this oversight, though we have yet to receive a response.
New Year's Eve server connectivity issues
If you were planning to ring in the New Year by leveling up or running some LFR, you may want to think again -- realm connectivity issues have abounded over the past hour, bringing numerous realms offline. Customer Support is looking into the problem and on the official forums the Blizzard reports that "some realms have recovered." For realms that haven't recovered -- or realms that are hopping online and off -- we don't have an official ETA, but keep your eyes on this post for further updates. For the official word from Blizzard, follow @BlizzardCS on Twitter or watch the forum thread on tonight's connectivity issues.
North American, European eShops to close temporarily again [update]
Following the eShop's struggles with serving its global holiday traffic that resulted in a delay for the Western launch of Pokemon Bank, Nintendo's North American and European eShops will temporarily close again today. North American users are urged to wrap up any pressing purchases through the digital storefront before 4 p.m. EST. Nintendo of Europe's tweet states the European eShop will be closed from 10 p.m. CET to 10 a.m., which almost sounds like enough time for it to ... sleep. Oh no it's developing human-like needs Nintendo will have "more updates soon" concerning the NA eShop's status, presumably involving when users can expect it to reopen its imaginary doors. Update 2: Both the Wii U and 3DS NA eShops appear to be stable and fully accessible. A post on Nintendo's Facebook page explained that the outages were caused by an "influx" of new Nintendo Network accounts being created. Transfers of existing 3DS account information to new Nintendo Network accounts also contributed to the downtime. Update: Nintendo's Online Service Status page lists the planned network outage from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. specifically for the 3DS eShop. This is reflected in attempts to access the 3DS eShop itself, which result in an error explaining the temporary downtime. However, we're also currently experiencing problems connecting to the North American Wii U eShop. Several attempts to connect have all resulted in the initial eShop loading screen fading into a white screen that goes nowhere, though the home menu can still be accessed from this state.
Google Drive Sheets gets offline document creation and editing, speedier calculations, smoother scrolling
Google Sheets isn't quite as capable as its counterpart from Microsoft, but Mountain View's preferred spreadsheet platform just got a bit more powerful with an update today. Should you choose to opt-in to the new Sheets, you'll be able to take advantage of several new features and the new version's faster performance. Among the highlight feature additions are the ability to create and edit spreadsheets offline (assuming you've set up offline GDrive access), and a Filter Views feature that lets users customize their view of a collaborative workbook without changing the way that same spreadsheet is seen by other users. Plus, there's now inline access to improved help articles and other tweaks like the ability to assign different colors to sheet tabs. We got to spend a bit of time using the new Sheets before today, and we can say, unequivocally, that the performance improvements are as advertised. Where the old Sheets would get bogged down scrolling through massive data sets, the new version does it as smoothly and easily as when using Microsoft Excel. Furthermore, the addition of sheet tab colors turned out to be more useful than we first thought -- the differing hues made it much easier to find specific sheets within larger workbooks. Don't believe us? Opt in, friend, and see for yourself.
Amazon Prime is the first subscription video service with an offline option, on Kindle HDX
As a part of delivering its newest lineup of Kindle Fire HDX tablets with Fire OS 3.0, Amazon also added a new feature to its Prime Instant Video subscription plan that Netflix, Hulu and the rest don't have: downloads. The company told AllThingsD that this ability applies to "tens of thousands" of items from NBC, Viacom, Sony, Warner Bros. and CBS, with downloads ready for up to 30 days, and viewable for up to 48 hours after users start watching. Amazon hasn't announced any plans to bring the feature to its older slates or other platforms, nor has it shared other details about how it works. We'll have to wait and see if the competition negotiates / implements similar features soon -- that we can't even watch some OITNB or House of Cards stored on a tablet during a plane ride without going to some third party tech like PlayOn seems absolutely silly. Update: As a point of clarification, Amazon's product description reveals that offline playback for Amazon Prime videos is also possible on the newly released Kindle Fire HD. [Thanks, Quinn]
Vevo opts out of offline video on YouTube's mobile apps
When YouTube's offline viewing feature launches in November, don't expect to find Vevo on board. According to Variety, the music video service has opted out of the functionality, which will let users download videos on Youtube mobile apps for up to 48 hours of offline playback. YouTube reportedly gave Vevo and other partners a chance to opt out of the upcoming feature, so -- while Vevo is the site's biggest content supplier -- this news is hardly scandalous. It makes sense, too; the music video provider has its own apps to promote, after all.
YouTube's offline video for mobile explained
Need more clarification on how YouTube's offline video feature for mobile will work? Well, All Things D has shed a little light on the process via a memo Google sent to its YouTube partners. Turns out, offline video will be enabled by default in the YouTube app when it goes live in November, but wary partners do have the option to opt-out and can make that change right now. On the viewer end, all cached videos, accessible through the YouTube app's "on device" section, will be available for a 48-hour offline window that refreshes whenever the app reconnects to the internet. And, yes, there will be ads, but they'll be of the in-stream variety only. The new functionality doesn't apply to any movies or TV shows that Google offers for rent or sale and it's also still unclear if music videos will be whitelisted. But, hey, at least now you'll have one more way to watch this glorious weirdness when you're out of signal range.
YouTube's mobile apps will add true offline viewing in November
YouTube's Android app added the ability to watch precached videos (while still online) last summer, but Google's video streaming unit isn't stopping there. A post tonight on its Partners & Creators informed video makers that viewing of stored videos with no internet connection is coming soon. According to the blog the feature is coming to its mobile apps -- following up on the recent updates on Android and iOS -- in November, and will let viewers store videos for disconnected viewing for a "short time." We don't know if that consists of minutes, hours or days at a time but we'll keep an eye out for more details -- perhaps this is what the team that used to work on video responses has been up to.
PSA: PSN maintenance scheduled for Thursday
Heads up, PS3 and Vita owners: Sony announced that the PlayStation Network will be undergoing maintenance this Thursday, August 22, closing off access to the PlayStation Store and other online features. The outage will begin at around 12:00 Noon PT (1:00PM MT / 2:00PM CT / 3:00PM ET) and will wrap up at approximately 6:30PM PT (7:30PM MT / 8:30PM CT / 9:30PM ET). The PlayStation Store will roll out an update later tonight, giving players a couple of days to queue up their downloads for the debuting Divekick and this week's new batch of PlayStation Plus freebies. It may help to think of Thursday's outage as an opportunity to hone both your jumping and your kicking skills in Divekick's single-player mode.
Comcast tests cloud DVR app for iOS, brings live TV and recordings to mobiles
Comcast announced plans for cloud based recordings with its upcoming X2 platform rollout, but FierceCable has spotted an iOS app in iTunes that's ready for the feature. Published by Comcast Interactive Media, the Comcast Labs DVR app promises access to user's cDVR service while behind their Comcast modem. What we can see of the UI is very basic, but the setup screens promise a "revolutionary new DVR that streams live TV and shares your recording to tablets, phones and all your TVs" and download recordings to mobile devices for viewing "on the go away from home - even offline." There's no hint as to when this will be available for more people, but the evidence is clear that it will take on competition including Sling, DirecTV's Nomad and TiVo's Stream.
Channel 4 brings offline viewing to 4oD for Android and iOS
The UK's Channel 4 is no stranger to on-demand programming, and now it's bringing the convenience of offline viewing to the mobile version of 4oD. In the latest update for Android and iOS, registered users can download shows that aired during the past 30 days, all for free. From there, users have seven days to view the content before it expires. There's a subtle catch, as all programming must be downloaded over WiFi, from within the UK or the Republic of Ireland. Once downloaded, however, shows can be watched offline from anywhere. Offline viewing is currently restricted to the network's commissioned shows, but it's looking to add programming from other studios in the future. Consider this Channel 4's way of keeping up with the Joneses... or in this case, the BBC.
SkyDrive brings offline file access in Windows 8.1 update
Tired of needing the pesky internet for all your cloud-related, Microsoft-hosted files? Tire no more, as SkyDrive in Windows 8.1 adds the ability to make files available offline across your SkyDrive-enabled devices by simply clicking a button. After enabling said functionality, those files will become available across your devices even when you're away from the information superhighway (perhaps in the rural roads of Maine, per our recent experiences). We took a deep dive into Windows 8.1 in late June, exploring the SkyDrive functionality as well as a whole mess of other features -- you can find that piece right here. Windows 8.1 will arrive for the Windows 8 loyalists in the coming months (starting in August), but a preview version is available right now.
Breakfast Topic: Would you play WoW in an offline mode?
Azeroth is filled with players who rarely interact with their fellow citizens. Perfectly content to mind their own business and their own goals, they group infrequently and socialize rarely. Sometimes their introverted ways are dictated by personal scheduling or other playstyle constraints. Often, it's a matter of personal choice. So it stands to reason that some solo players might actually prefer to play the game in a setting removed from other players –- an offline mode, so to speak. Me, I would miss the living, breathing world around me if Azeroth were offline. Even when I don't choose to group up or converse with others, I enjoy seeing other players going about their own business and watching guildchat burble across my chat box. I'll occasionally refresh a character that's been stranded on a realm my friends have moved away from, but I never last long before I drift back to a realm with friends. Would you leap at the chance to play WoW in isolation with an offline mode? What if you couldn't switch back and forth, so that once you began playing offline, that character had to stay offline?
Sonic: Lost World multiplayer is offline on Wii U, online on 3DS
Sonic: Lost World's multiplayer on Wii U is local only, while the 3DS version features online, four-player versus racing, Producer Takashi Iizuka tells Nintendo World Report. Lost World on Wii U has cooperative and versus multiplayer modes, both couch-based, while Iizuka mentions only the four-player, online versus mode for 3DS. "In cooperative play, Sonic will be using the Wii U GamePad and someone can be supporting Sonic in co-op with the Wii Remote," Iizuka says. "In versus mode, one player will be playing on the TV screen and the other player will be racing using the GamePad so you don't have to have split screen. You both have your own screen and can race each other." These details build on previous Lost World multiplayer announcements from Sega, which note that the 3DS version will have "exclusive Special Stages and Color Powers unique to Nintendo 3DS."
Sony Music Unlimited for iOS gains offline mode, 320 Kbps streams
Sony Music Unlimited is still a relative newbie on the iOS scene, but users will soon find a new revision that brings high-quality streaming and offline playback to the fold. According to Sony, version 1.3 of Music Unlimited for iOS is just around the bend, which will bring the ability to download entire albums or single tracks that can later be accessed within the app's offline mode. Also new in the latest update, you'll find high-quality streaming of 320 Kbps AAC files, which can be enabled in the app's settings. Sadly, you can't download high-quality files for offline playback, but at least iOS users can take solace in parity with the Android version.
Xbox chief: we have a product for people who can't get online, it's called Xbox 360
Did you think the Xbox 360 was being kept around just for the budget market? It turns out Microsoft's got another sort of customer in mind for the revamped last-gen hardware: the crews of nuclear submarines. Xbox chief Don Mattrick, in response to the backlash over the Xbox One requiring an internet connection, said that "fortunately, we have a product for people who aren't able to get some form of connectivity, it's called Xbox 360." As an example, he referred to a crew member on a nuclear submarine, who would be better off with the 360, as it's an "offline device." The full quotes are after the break, along with the video -- oh, and Sony's message to submarine crews too.
