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Join us for Engadget Live in San Francisco on December 5th!
Having just wrapped up Engadget Expand New York earlier this month, and with CES fast approaching, you'd think our Events team would take a breather. Fortunately for those of you in the City By the Bay, we can't stop ourselves from putting on a show! On December 5th, we're heading to Temple Nightclub in San Francisco for Engadget Live (formerly known as Engadget + gdgt Live). While we may have a new name for the event, we'll be celebrating the 5th anniversary of the first gdgt Meetup taking place right there in San Francisco. Engadget Live is a unique event that isn't a conference or tradeshow -- it's designed to bring gadget lovers and tech brands together in a fun environment where they can get to know each other a little better. Best of all, it's free! We'll also have plenty of incredible tech brands at Engadget Live ready to show you their newest products and get your feedback on the spot. Speaking of products, we'll also have tons of great swag and chances to win some amazing gear. Just look out for the flyer at the door to find out how to win. Since music is a key part of the vibe in San Francisco, our friends at Western Digital are bringing its Creative Masters friend Mikel Paris to perform throughout the night. Did we mention the event is FREE? Grab a ticket and don't be shy about passing on the good word to your friends. One more thing: If you want to be a part of the behind-the-scenes action at Engadget Live, we could use a few volunteers at the event. To learn more and to apply, head over to the volunteer form.
Verizon adds 4G LTE to nine more cities, expands coverage in Chicago, Philadelphia
Verizon Wireless customers will be able to jet on to the LTE network in nine new cities, taking advantage of lightening-fast speeds on their HTC Thunderbolts and 4G mobile hotspots. The expansion includes Mobile and Montgomery (AL); Greater Fairfield and New Haven (CT); Gainesville, Pensacola, and Tallahassee (FL); Fayetteville-Lumberton (NC); and Bryan-College Station and Temple-Killeen (TX). We also have access in Albany, though VZW has yet to confirm launching LTE in New York's capital city. The carrier has also expanded coverage in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, and Philadelphia, so if you haven't been able to connect in the past, dust off that enable-4G button and give it another shot. This week's additions bring the list of LTE cities to 55, so we're just over the 35 percent mark towards the carrier's goal of 147 cities by year's end.
Silkroad Online travels to Egypt in Heroes of Alexandria
For the players who have traveled the silk road a very long time, Joymax has good news for you! Their upcoming patch for Silkroad Online, titled Legend V: Heroes of Alexandria is coming out, offering a chance to experience life in a highly stylized version of Egypt that is open to level 100 players. Among the many treasures unearthed in the strange lands of Alexandria are never-before-seen weapons and armor, the Desert of Storms and Cloud, the Valley of the Kings, and two new dungeons called Tomb of the Pharaoh and the Temple. Of course, you can't just expect a simple tank and spank to await you in an exotic place like Alexandria. That's why Joymax has added some interesting difficulty mechanics to the new dungeons. In the Tomb of the Pharaoh, players will be able to choose from three different difficulty levels and can return up to two times per day to hunt for new Egyptian goodies. The Temple is for players at level 105 and will involve not only fighting nasty monsters, but also other competing players! Mmm, PvP raiding. For those who take up the challenge, there are also new set items which will give players a bonus when worn together -- you know, as opposed to just looking nice. In all, it sounds like a great update for players who have long traveled the dusty roads of Silkroad Online. Hopefully we'll get some One Shots of people fighting Egyptian boss mobs like you can see in the trailer we've included behind the break! (hint hint) They're pretty cool-looking in our book.
Time Warner Cable adding more HD in Central Texas
Now that U-verse is rolling into town, Time Warner Cable is looking to give current customers a few more reasons to stick around. According to a sidebar at News 8 Austin's website, the provider will be kicking out seven new additions on January 31st across Central Texas. More specifically, users in the area can expect to see National Geographic HD, The Movie Channel HD, Versus / Golf HD, Fox Business News HD, History Channel HD, Lifetime Movie Network HD and Weather Channel HD tossed in at month's end, and while Austin-area residents will see these slotted in the 1,600s, Waco, Temple and Killeen-area subscribers will need to look in the 1,000s. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Jay]
Game mechanics: Crafting deities
Hey, check this out. I was pondering something the other day as I passed a Buddhist temple in San Francisco: virtually every religion that has ever been still exists in some form or another. It's said that a god only dies when its last follower has lost faith. That got me thinking: how could this work as a play mechanic in an MMO?What if you could craft your own religion, the same way you craft a weapon, complete with the deity of your choice, and receive direct benefit from worshiping at its temple? Say, a hefty buff to carry into your next battle, or an automatic resurrection upon any of your teammates? Further, let's suppose that the only way for your god to grow in strength was for you to build temples to it, at which its adherents would pray for a predetermined duration each game session?It gets crazier: you could proselytize and convert other players to your religion, or defile the temples of your rivals and weaken their god's strength. With a minimum number of followers needed to create a new god, there would be few instances of novelty and 'throwaway', or 'gag' gods to clutter up the system; this would be a serious tactic for use by the devout! There are many ways to make this sort of thing work. What about roleplay? Would there be PvE applications as well as PvP? Is there already something like this in place for some MMO? Someone send me a sign, show me the light!
