Siren
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Arlo unveils a home security system with Apple HomeKit support
Arlo is already known for its 4K security camera and doorbell, but for CES 2019, the company has launched a complete security system. The key component is a new multi-purpose sensor that can detect window and door breaches, motion, smoke, carbon monoxide, water leaks and more. The other pieces are a siren, remote control and hub that works with Arlo's various cameras, along with Zigbee and Z-Wave devices.
What we saw at GDC 2018!
All good things must come to an end, and today we say goodbye to GDC 2018. As usual, the Game Developers Conference didn't disappoint. During our time here in San Francisco, we found a slew of indie titles that were incredibly fun to play and gorgeous to look at, including Black Future 88, Children of Morta and Guacamelee! 2. Oh and how can we forget Scissors the that than, the weird first-person action game that makes you use physical giant scissors as the controller. We also got to check out Oculus Go, the $200 standalone headset that's expected to launch in May -- it's sleek, lightweight and comfortable.
With 'Siren,' Unreal Engine blurs the line between CGI and reality
Epic Games has been obsessed with real-time motion capture for years, but the company is now trying to take its experiments with the technology one step further. Enter "Siren," a digital personality that it created alongside a few prominent firms in the gaming industry: Vicon, Cubic Motion, 3Lateral and Tencent (which just became a major investor in Ubisoft). The crazy thing about Siren is that she comes to life using live mocap tech, powered by software from Vicon, that can make her body and finger movements be captured and live-streamed into an Unreal Engine project.
Hack sets off all of Dallas' emergency sirens
Some hacks are clearly worse than others, but Dallas can at least lay claim to facing one of the loudest hacks to date. The city reports that attackers managed to set off all 156 of its emergency sirens for roughly an hour and a half between late Friday and early Saturday -- no mean feat when siren hacks usually trigger just one or two devices. Workers had to disable the sirens entirely to stop the incessant noise, and they only expect the emergency system to return to normal later on April 9th.
Netatmo adds a connected smoke alarm to its smart home range
Netatmo is known for connected home products like the Presence AI-assisted security camera that can tell crooks from coyotes, but for CES, it's expanding into a new niche: built-in products. On top of a new smoke alarm and siren, the company has teamed up with French companies Velux and Legrand on AI-equipped in-wall smart switches, power outlets, skylights and blinds.
'Siren' dating app wants to keep women safe from creeps
While Tinder solves a few of the problems women face with online dating -- like being smothered with lascivious messages from anyone and everyone -- there's still an issue of privacy that it fails to address. That risk of not being nearly as anonymous while looking for a mate as one would hope is what inspired Seattle's Susie Lee to create Siren. What sets it apart from every other dating app is that it keeps a woman's picture private until she deems it appropriate to share with a possible suitor. As Seattle Times notes, a lady can peruse the profiles of men at their leisure and if, say, she's into a guy's answer to questions like what their three magic-lamp wishes are, she can then show him her picture. The idea is to give ladies the control here and base matches on real-world personality, not a dry series of surveys akin to eHarmony.
Sony says Siren listing was 'mistake,' should have referred to Rime
Horror fans excited by the possibility of a new game in the Siren series are getting some metaphorical coal in their equally-metaphorical stocking early; IGN reports that the Romanian PlayStation 4 press release which seemed to have leaked a PS4-bound Siren game was actually referring to the working title for Rime by Tequila Works. "The listing for Siren was a mistake, it should have listed Rime," Sony told IGN. Not much is known about Rime at this time - oh hey, that rhymes! - other than it will feature open-world exploration of an ancient civilization's ruins. While that's probably not what Siren hopefuls had in mind, the Rime trailer shows some strange and spooky creatures moving about, so ... silver lining and all that.
New Siren game listed among upcoming PS4 releases in Romania
A Sony-issued Romanian PlayStation 4 press release has outed a previously unannounced entry in the Siren series, hinting at the possibility of a PS4 sequel. Listed among known upcoming games like InFamous: Second Son and The Order: 1886, the PlayStation 4's Siren would follow up on 2008's episodic survival horror miniseries Siren: Blood Curse on the PlayStation 3. While it ranks as a cult favorite stateside, the Siren franchise has traditionally seen greater exposure in Europe and Japan. Both regions hosted retail releases for Blood Curse, which launched exclusively as a digital download in the United States. In addition, the PlayStation 2 sequel Forbidden Siren 2 never saw a North American release, though an English-language localization hit Europe and Australia in 2006. No further details regarding a possible Siren sequel have been announced.
PS2 horror classic Siren scares up a PSN launch on Tuesday
Classic PS2 horror game Siren is making a comeback on PSN this Tuesday, January 15. Ten years after its launch, Siren revisits the village of Hanuda and its occult natives to reclaim its title of "Japanese Modern Horror," as former executive producer Takafumi Fujisawa describes it.
Borderlands 2 brings the best of all worlds to Pandora, devs say [Update]
Borderlands 2 is a hybridized beast of mechanics, play styles and audience potentials, all wrapped up in one cel-shaded package (now with green!). The sequel builds upon feedback from 2009's Borderlands, tweaking many aspects of single-player mode, streamlining co-op skill sets and building new character designs, writer Anthony Burch and concept designer Scott Kester from Gearbox told Joystiq.One of the most prevalent changes players will notice in Borderlands 2 is the skill-tree functionality in co-op mode. Instead of simply beating down enemies separately but at the same time, as often happened in Borderlands, there will be more synergy between each character's abilities, Kester and Burch said.For example, the Siren's phaselock abilities have been fine-tuned to include the "sweet release" kill skill, which insta-heals every member of her party if she kills an enemy frozen in phaselock. Additionally, the Assassin can execute enemies in the Siren's phaselock relatively easily with his melee or sniping moves, and the Commando will be able to throw down a bubble shield to protect the entire team. The Gunzerker is nuanced as well, including a skill that ramps up the power in the last shot of his gun's magazine, and if an enemy is killed with an excess amount of force, the extra points are converted to health. He can also dual-wield any weapon, which is awesome for everyone. Except the guys he's shooting at.
Borderlands 2 Gunzerker profiled, Siren gameplay will be 'very, very different'
We saw the new Gunzerker class in the Borderlands 2 teaser trailer released way back in August, and Gearbox has shared a little more information about just how the gun-wielding brute will work. The class is a dual-wielder of weapons, but can only bring out two guns for a limited amount of time, which means you'll have to make tough decisions about which guns to pull out and when. Combine an electric machine gun with a flaming shotgun to drop shields and do flame damage? Sure, why not! There are three skill trees in the class: One has skills like "Yippe Ki Yay," which extend your berzerk mode when you make a kill. The second is more of a tank tree, with abilities that boost your heath and offer a taunt to drive enemies to attack you (instead of weaker teammates). Finally, there's a tree called "Gun Lust" that seems targeted more towards solo play, with vampiric attacks and special skills available, like one that grants more damage to the last bullet in a clip, or another that provides extra shots with no ammo cost. Gearbox has also confirmed that the Siren class will return to the game, but says it won't necessarily be a phasewalker like last time. Instead, the gameplay will be "very, very different and very, very new," according to lead writer Anthony Burch. That sounds ... ominous, no? Maybe she'll take a tip from the Dragonborn and have some singing attacks.
Phone glitch lets Kansas residents set off tornado alarms by misdialing
Sounds like fun, no? Find the super-secret phone number that triggers a citywide tornado alarm, dial it up, and watch as Hutchinson, Kansas goes berserk. That's essentially what happened this past week, when an AT&T "software glitch" caused the security systems surrounding the tornado lines to vanish. When the system operates correctly, these sensitive phone numbers can only receive calls from three specific phones; if and when those phones call, alarms are set off to warn residents of impending danger. Due to this here "glitch," all phone numbers were able to dial in, which led to a smattering of false alarms when locals misdialed and accidentally rang the tornado hotlines. Thankfully for everyone involved, the issues have since been fixed, but there's been no word on whether these folks were simply trying to guess Dorothy's unlisted digits.
The Digital Continuum: Vacationing in Vana'diel part 2
Since my static group is only around level 10 -- and it only took me around five hours to hit that mark thanks to Fields of Valor tasks and a smoothed leveling curve -- I decided to switch from Warrior to Monk for a little while. br> Never underestimate the power of having one character who can switch between all available classes, at least after earning the advanced ones at your discretion.
Siren server breaks 2,000 Aht Urhgan defenses on Final Fantasy XI
The city of Al Zahbi, the jewel of the East, is besieged on all sides. Her enemies build their reinforcements, storm through the outlying regions, and then beset their rage upon the walls of the city itself. But there is one hardened group of adventurers who will not let them pass -- who will not let the city fall. The Siren server.Congratulations to the Siren server of Final Fantasy XI for having over 2,000 successful defenses of Al Zahbi without losing the city once! Yes, that's right, Siren is undefeated when it comes to stopping the hordes of beastmen from tearing the city apart. In fact, out of all of FFXI's 32 servers, they are the only undefeated server.This also means that Siren has never lost the city in over three years of gameplay. Al Zahbi was released in the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion pack, which arrived to all territories in 2006. So cheers to you, Siren, for three years and 2,000 defenses of Al Zahbi. Keep that Astral Candescence safe!
Siren: Blood Curse gets price drop, Home Space this week
PlayStation Home is getting its biggest update yet. In addition to the previously revealed StageSet add-on for Home, a brand new Space for Siren: Blood Curse will be available for American audiences. There are a few minigames for users to partake in, like the five-player cooperative "Ward of Despair" that tasks players with completing objectives without a Shibito grabbing any of them. Success will grant each five-man team some Home rewards.Those of you who don't have the game yet will want to jump on Home next week, on May 12th at 4PM, to participate in the "HorrorBowl" bowling tournament. Everyone that shows up will be given a chance to win a free voucher for the first four episodes of the PSN-exclusive horror game.Finally, those of who've been waiting for a price drop will be glad to know that Siren: Blood Curse is now available for $29.99. (Four episode packs are available for $10.99 each.)%Gallery-22445%
Samsung SPH-W7100 with 100 decibel siren: proof the terrorists have won
Scared? So scared that you need to carry a 100dB alarm with a direct link to local emergency services? Good, the SPH-W7100 is for you and your milquetoastian kin. In addition to emitting an alarm blast equivalent to your MP3 player's earbuds set at full volume, the SPH-W7100 features an SOS function that alerts local authorities to your position via GPS. The phone is being marketed at women and children in Korea for its launch next month. And having gained FCC approval back in December, Samsung might be prepared to prey upon your fears Stateside in time. Too bad you've lost all ability to hope.
Import Deal: Siren on Blu-ray for $25
Have you tried Siren: Blood Curse? The survival horror game is a PlayStation Network title here in the States, but over in Asia, it can be found on Blu-ray. You can download the series for $40 here, or you can buy an import copy of the Blu-ray for only $25 (plus shipping). Now, you may be saying "I don't speak Japanese!" No worries. The Asian version of the game includes English voice acting and subtitles. Intrigued?[Via CAG]%Gallery-22445%
iriver's 7-inch Framee-L digiframe handles multimedia just fine
It's darn tough to pump out a digiframe that's not immediately forgettable these days, but if anybody can do it, iriver can. The subtly beautiful 7-inch Framee-L features a 720 x 480 resolution display, 1GB of inbuilt memory, an SD / MMC card slot, USB port and an alarm feature for waking you in the mornings (or nights, if you roll like that). Furthermore, you'll find a capable multimedia player that can handle photo slideshows, all sorts of audio files and even MPEG-4 AVC / H.264, AVI and Motion JPEG video formats. It'll hit Japan just before Santa takes flight for ¥17,800 ($196).[Via SlashGear]
Sony asks for feedback on Siren delivery
Here at Joystiq HQ, we've already accepted that we're headed towards a disc-less future. We know that, one day, our shelves will be completely free of game Amarays, leaving plenty of room for our plastic faux guitars, tubas and glockenspiels. After embracing that forward-thinking approach with Siren Blood Curse, SCEE has been asking fans if they'd like to see another game in the series and, if so, how'd they'd like to see it delivered. Between you and us, Sony, if you really want to stay ahead of the curve? Telepathy. Just think about it.... Get it? Think about it?
SCEE survey wants to know how to release future Siren games
A survey sent out by SCEE today indicates that they are weighing up peoples' interest in the Siren franchise. The survey asks questions about Siren Blood Curse and asks people to rate various aspects out of 10. It also asks you whether you'd be willing to buy more games in the franchise in the future and how you'd like to receive them (either in one bunch, like Blood Curse or episodically.)Did you receive this survey? Even if you didn't, what are your thoughts on the game? Would you like to see more? As far as downloadable titles go, we thought it was a fairly entertaining survival horror experience. We just wish it wasnt pegged as "episodic" when it was all released on the same day. And still having to download each episode individually? Rubbish.
