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Dethleffs' camping trailer uses EV tech to reduce towing strain
German automaker Dethleffs introduced the E.Home last year, an all-electric motorhome wrapped in solar panels. The company recently gave its cozy Coco camper-trailer the EV treatment as part of a new concept, adding an electric drive to reduce towing demands. This is powered by an 80-kWh battery in the caravan's floor, which is recharged by rooftop solar panels, effectively turning the trailer into a mobile -- and quiet -- power station once it's set up at camp.
Chinese World of Warcraft fan has created a flying machine
Where are you going to find Khorium in the real world? Or Felsteel? Those substances are relatively rare even in World of Warcraft; you have to assume that they're even harder to find in the real world. But an enterprising fan apparently located them, as evidenced by the fact that he built himself a Turbo-Charged Flying Machine in real-life for the rest of the world to look at in admiration. Before you ask, no, it obviously does not fly. It's also designed to fit a small Goblin doll rather than allowing anyone who walks past it on the street to slide into the cockpit. It's still an awesome feat of engineering, and you can check out pictures of the finished project and the manufacturing process over on NGA.
Sonic Adventure 2 cutscene recreation is no faker
YouTube animator Cameron Turner gives a brief but promising glimpse at what a Sonic Adventure 2 remake might look like in the fan-made scene recreation above, putting a new spin on a memorable clash between Sonic and Shadow. The recreation improves on the original scene in practically every way, adding more dynamic action and fixing its infamous overlapping dialogue. Honestly, the animation here is better than what the voice acting deserI'LL MAKE YOU EAT THOSE WORDS! [Video: Cameron Turner]
Korg's 'faithful recreation' of the ARP Odyssey analog synth is coming this September
Well folks, it looks like 2014 will see yet another synthesizer reboot. Korg announced that it's currently working on a "faithful recreation" of the legendary ARP Odyssey analog synth that made its debut back in 1972. The name may not ring a bell, but it's responsible for tones you've likely heard from artists Devo, John Foxx, Genesis and Deep Purple (as seen above) -- just to name a few. For September's release, Korg enlisted the original Odyessey's lead designer David Friend to lend a hand with the construction. Unfortunately details are sparse, but the outfit did reveal a new version of its popular MS-20 last January, along with other analog releases in recent years. Needless to say, the bar has been set pretty high for this next installment. [Photo credit: Fin Costello/Redferns]
'Mine of Steel' trailer blends Superman with Minecraft
This trailer for the upcoming Man of Steel movie was recreated with a Minecraft-like twist by Steelehouse Productions. We prefer the cinematic experience of this animated trailer to the recreation of the first five minutes of Star Wars, which was created using Minecraft itself.
The Soapbox: Can we reward fun over persistence?
MMOs are games of repetition. Advancing past a certain point is always a matter of doing the same thing over and over, whether it's repeating raids in World of Warcraft, playing the market in EVE Online, or taking part in the same event to clear daily achievements in Guild Wars 2. Whether or not you enjoy these repeat performances can make the difference between the grind from hell and a pleasant upward climb, but it's still a game of repetition. It's not exactly the ideal state of being. Nearly every new game seems to recognize this and advertise itself as free from grinding, which at best is true in a very narrow sense. You won't be grinding daily quests, but you'll be grinding events or PvP maps or dungeons. So why don't we have a game out there that rewards fun instead of persistence? Is it possible to create a game that's free of repetition and focused on enjoyable experiences?
Licensed Portal 2 turret replica to arrive later this year, leave ammo at home
If an enthusiast-built Portal 2 turret piques your interest, Gaming Heads' Valve-licensed miniature replica may very well force your wallet open. Modeled using Portal 2's in-game assets and cast in "high quality poly-stone," these mini-turrets aim to intimidate intruders with a motion activated light-up eye. In addition to the stoic and silent basic model, the company's offering an exclusive edition, which plays sounds and voice samples from the game. Only 1,100 of these hand-painted facsimiles will be produced (350 with sound, 750 without), but the company notes that other figures based on the adorable death machines are in the works. Pre-orders have already begun, so collectors will want to act fast -- provided they're ready to pony up $300-325, of course.
The world of World of Warcraft recreated in Minecraft
Minecraft players are well-known for their insane, over-the-top LEGO building projects, but one may have all the rest beat. A player named Rumsey is in the process of recreating the entire world of Azeroth from World of Warcraft inside the game, and while it's not completed quite yet, it's already incredibly impressive. Rumsey says that he had to cheat a little: Instead of placing every single block by hand, he wrote a piece of software that helps to automate the process of making full-scale version of the world. He's recently completed one continent -- Kalimdor -- and has plans to do the others as well as all of WoW's dungeons. He says that the only problem he's run into is Minecraft's height limit of 128 blocks, so he's had to employ mods to get around that. When the project is complete, Rumsey has hopes that it will be hosted online for tourists to visit this much blockier version of their favorite WoW stomping grounds.
Geeks lose minds, recreate first level of Super Mario Land with 18 million Minecraft blocks
There's homage and there's homage. And then there's three guys spending over 500 hours to recreate the first two minutes and twenty seconds of Super Mario Land using more than 18 million Minecraft blocks. The movie, made by carpenter James Wright, Joe Ciappa and a gamer known as Tempusmori, had the guys running the classic monochrome platformer in an emulator and replicating it pixel-for-wool-block-pixel inside a giant Minecraft Game Boy. The team spent approximately four weeks, working six to seven hours a day with no days off, to create the shots, which were then dropped into a video editor and slowed so each frame displayed for one sixth of a second. Take a gander at the final product and the making-of video after the break for your daily dose of mind blowing.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations trailer goes Lego
Elderly Ezio and his templar pals get real, real adorable when they're re-created with Legos, as seen in this miniaturized version of the AC: Revelations trailer from E3. The production values aren't quite as impressive as before, but it's got plenty of heart.
Portal turret replica has real laser, insatiable bloodlust
You might not remember Ryan Palser by name, but you'll surely recall the good gent's homemade Fallout 3 plasma rifle. He has since stepped his game up to bigger and badder video game weapon replicas, and has just completed the construction of the first of his forthcoming army of Portal laser turrets. Thankfully, Ryan has been sporting enough to build the older version of these human eviscerators (not the upgraded Portal 2 turrets, phew!), giving us at least a small chance of survival -- provided we have the right gear, of course. See the laser-equipped, GLaDOS-approved, 38-inch tall turret next to its maker after the break, or hit up the source link for some gorgeous photos of its construction.
Garmin launches OpenCaching community, pushes caching closer to the mainstream
What's that? You've never heard of caching? For shame! In all seriousness, we're surmising that quite a few of you out there may have overlooked this up-and-coming jewel of recreation, but Garmin's doing its darnedest to change that. The GPS maker has just opened up a new online community at OpenCaching.com, hailed "a completely free online community for creating, sharing and finding geocaches around the world." For those out of the loop, caching is akin to a sophisticated game of hide-and-seek, where individuals download GPX files and then head out on adventures that'll lead them to various surprises and / or treasures. A two-month old honey bun, an original script from Step Brothers, or maybe even a sealed bag of Deutsche Marks from last century -- you know, things of that sort. The site even lets users rank the 'Awesomeness' in addition to size, terrain and difficulty, and while it's obviously hosted by Garmin, it's platform agnostic in nature. Head on over if you're looking to blaze a few trails over the holiday break.
Back to the Second Life Lost island
Reader Campetin was nice enough to send along some new movies of the Lost island recreated in Second Life. For some reason, we MMO fans are also big Lost fans -- maybe it has something to do with something that compels us to wander around places we don't understand (those 815ers should just raid the black smoke!), but whatever it is, a few folks in Second Life liked the show enough to completely recreate the island in a sim. This is actually the second iteration of the island, as the first was lost (how ironic), but this second one promises to be even busier: you can watch orientation films, chat with fans, or even push the button. But we need the rest of the island on there, if only so we can find out what the hell is up with that freaky statue.
Dinosaur theme park coming to Dubai
In the 90's, you might have been convinced by certain bestsellers and major motion pictures that if someone created a theme park full of man-made dinosaurs, you'd probably get eaten. What no one could have predicted back then was that you wouldn't be getting eaten by a dinosaur... you'd be getting eaten by a robot dinosaur. At least that's likely what you can expect when Dubai's $1 billion "Restless Planet" park opens in late 2008, a 500,000 square foot recreation of our planet at a time when dinosaurs roamed -- replete with giant, animatronic / robotic versions of over 40 extinct species. According to the park's managing director Mustafa Galadari, "The Restless Planet provides a visual, audio and tactile experience allowing visitors to experience some of the exciting things that have gone on in the Earth's history," adding that the effect will be, "Extremely realistic and scary – but at the same time, educational." The dinos will contain embedded potentiometers and motion sensors (amongst others), apparently allowing the reptilian re-creations to follow visitors with their eyes, track specific colors of clothing, regulate their own movements, and even lunge at viewers... then eat them. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Aquada maker unveils Quadski ATV / jet ski combo
You've already got both a car and an SUV that can magically transform into watercraft at the touch of a button, but what to do about your spoiled kids who want to go from land to sea without changing vehicles? Luckily for you, Aquada and Humdinga (that name still kills us) manufacturer Gibbs Technologies has just revealed a prototype product that's sure to be hit with the younger crowd at your summer house: the Quadski dual-purpose ATV / jet ski. Equally at home in sand or surf, the Quadski can hit a claimed 50 miles-per-hour traveling on either surface, thanks to a 140-horsepower engine and a propulsion system protected by no less than 60 patents. The switch from ATV to jet ski supposedly takes a mere five seconds, and a full tank of gas will give you either a 372-mile range on land or two hours to tool around in the water -- but don't go getting the kids too hyped up, because there's no word on when/if the Quadski will see mass production.[Via Gizmag, thanks Madeleine]
