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EVE Evolved: Third-party development
When EVE Online was first released in 2003, it was a primitive beast from a small indie studio operating out of a tiny office in Reykjavik, Iceland. Although EVE has been expanded over the years, not all of that development has come from creator CCP Games. EVE players routinely step in to fill gaps in the game's functionality through the development of third-party applications, websites and tools. Early apps like the EVEMon skill planner were very limited in what information they could access about a player's character, but with the introduction of the EVE API system, a huge wealth of information became available. Since then, we've seen a resurgence of third-party app and tool development, producing impressive apps like Capsuleer and Aura for the iPhone. We've also seen some incredibly useful websites like the ICSC jump planner suite, gambling site SOMER.blink and the Dotlan EVE maps with regularly updating statistics. Most app developers work on the projects in their spare time, and until now they've relied on donations or advertising revenue to keep up with server costs or keep development worth the time invested. As EVE is CCP's intellectual property, it's illegal for anyone to make money from it without the company's permission. This week, CCP released the first draft of a contract that would allow developers to monetise their apps, but the proposal was not received well by the EVE community. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at third-party app development and what's wrong with the proposed deal.
AT&T sideloading officially a go, designed to allow Amazon Appstore downloads (update)
It's the end of an era, folks. See that block of text up there? That's AT&T's promise not to keep you from installing whatever Android apps you choose. Starting with the Samsung Infuse 4G, you can expect the carrier's new Google-powered phones to have that all-important "Unknown sources" box available to toggle at will. As we heard in March, the measure was designed to let third-party markets like the Amazon Appstore function properly, but don't let that keep you from having a little fun -- we're sure your own repurposed creations are just as good. Of course, none of this helps your existing AT&T droid one bit... unless it's also true that the Aria, Captivate and Inspire 4G will also have sideloading enabled ASAP. We can hope. Update: Wired spoke to AT&T and confirmed that existing Android devices will be updated to support third-party apps: "Over the next few weeks, we will also roll out this capability to existing devices in our base for which an upgrade is possible," a spokesman reportedly said.
Iwata: Nintendo to plan first-party game launches around third-party publishers
Nintendo clearly understands the importance of the international economy's fragile supply and demand formula, as evidenced in statements made during a recent investor call. Italian plumbers and pocket monsters are, in the case of Nintendo games, highly sought after properties that are somewhat constrained in supply. The result of this, of course, is high demand for Nintendo's games -- such high demand, in most cases, that third-party game sales on Nintendo's consoles are outstripped by first-party. Nintendo, however, hopes to appear mindful of stepping on toes. When asked about potential release dates for 3DS versions of Super Mario and Mario Kart, Nintendo head Satoru Iwata noted, "We want the other companies to be successful." He continued, "In order to accomplish this goal, we would like to decide on the dates after we know the release plans of other companies' games so that we are able to consider how we can maximize the sales of our titles without affecting the sales of other companies in the short term." It's also possible that Iwata is just blowing smoke to avoid answering specific questions about release dates for major franchises, though our mothers always told us not to expect the worst in people.
US Army developing Android-based smartphone framework and apps
The US Army is calling upon Android app developers to help make military life a little less stressful -- and, perhaps, a lot safer. Under a new Army framework known as the Mobile/Handheld Computing Environment (CE), third-party developers will be able to create and submit tactical Android apps, using the military's CE Product Developer's Kit. The framework, originally prototyped by the folks over at MITRE, represents the latest phase in the Army's ongoing campaign to incorporate smartphone technology on the battlefield. Any app operating under the CE system will be interoperable across all command systems, and, as you'd expect, will be tightly secured. The kit won't be released to developers until July, but the Army has already begun tinkering with its baseline suite of Mission Command apps, which includes tools designed to facilitate mapping, blue force tracking, and Tactical Ground Reporting. On the hardware side of the equation, the Army is planning to deploy a new handheld known as the Joint Battle Command-Platform, or JBC-P. The two-pound JBC-P is essentially a military-friendly smartphone designed to run on a variety of existing radio networks, while supporting the full suite of forthcoming apps. The JBC-P will be tested this October, and will likely be issued on a wider basis in 2013.
Tesla Model S will support third-party apps and text-to-voice, red lights will never be the same
Now that pretty much every gizmo from your smartphone to TV has apps available for it, what's the next logical frontier? Of course, your car! Yesterday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told Cleantech Forum attendees in San Francisco that the upcoming Model S would indeed come with support for third-party applications to run on that monster 17-inch infotainment console. We're happy to see the company encouraging developers to put that Tegra chip to good use, though we can't help but worry about the myriad distractions that could come along with it. Of course, we're still in the dark about what OS is powering the whole shebang, but we're sure there will be a port of Angry Birds before you can come to a complete stop.
Seagate reveals 9mm 2.5-inch GoFlex external HDD, third-party GoFlex certification process
CES is just kicking off in earnest tonight in Vegas, and Seagate's wasting no time in dishing out a smattering of new releases. Up first is the outfit's slimmest external drive yet: the new, ultrathin GoFlex HDD, which holds a 2.5-inch drive within, but measures just 9mm thick -- that's 38 percent slimmer than the existing GoFlex drive. At least initially, it'll only be offered in a 320GB model, and the USB 3.0 port ensures that it'll run laps around your older USB 2.0 model. Mum's the word on pricing, but you can expect it to ship out this spring. Moving on, there's a new raft of GoFlex for Mac external drives, which arrive HFS+ formatted and ready to play nice with Time Machine. Each one ships with FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 adapters, but allow for USB 3.0 or eSATA to be used with Windows PCs. The GoFlex for Mac houses a 2.5-inch HDD and will sell for $199.99 (1TB) / $249.99 (1.5TB), while the limited edition of that very product will only be available in a 1TB ($199.99) version. There's also a GoFlex Pro for Mac, housing a 7200RPM 2.5-inch HDD and costing $149.99 (500GB) or $179.99 (750GB). Wrapping up this collection, there's a GoFlex for Mac drive that'll go for $219.99 (2TB) or $279.99 (2TB). Lastly, and potentially more importantly, Seagate is finally opening up the GoFlex standard that it has been pushing so vigorously of late. As of now, the only products that support the GoFlex platform -- which allows various connectors to be attached to your existing HDDs -- are Seagate-branded. But today, Seagate's revealing a Certified GoFlex Storage System that'll enable third-party vendors to make wares that are also welcome in the family. Here at CES, the company is planning to showcase a line of prototype concept devices, and while we've yet to see what exactly those are, we are told that the certification also endorses the soon to be established SATA-IO Universal Storage Module (USM) specification. Better still, a number of other companies (Antec, GIEC, Hi-Sense, Ionics and Thermaltake) are planning to showcase GoFlex-approved gear here at the show, including a TV, a laptop, desktop PC, "plug computer," DVR and docking station. Needless to say, the possibilities here are near-endless, and we're definitely looking forward to see just how many odd places a GoFlex adapter ends up. Update: We just got a look at what the SATA-IO USM modules slots might look built into the likes of a ThermalTake case -- spot them immediately below! %Gallery-112190%%Gallery-112580%
Windows Phone 7 will work with third party browsers, so long as they're based on IE? (video)
Internet Explorer not stirring your cup of Windows Phone 7 tea correctly? Well, you now have an alternative in the form of a new browser that's arrived in the Marketplace: Browser+. It does seem to have been built on IE code rather than its own framework, so don't get your hopes up for Chrome to Phone on WP7 any time soon. Anyhow, the new app's been given a test drive by a couple of sites, who note it integrates a view of your current tabs and a Google search box right into the general web view, providing a slightly more accessible interface than the default option, while also throwing in a private surfing mode for the paranoid among us. A few crashes and bugs have been spotted in Browser+ so far, but hey, it's cheap and it at least gives us hope for a less monotheistic browsing experience. See it in video action after the break.
European Union closes Apple investigation
I think we can call this one "saved by a policy change." Earlier this month, Apple changed its rules and is now allowing developers to use third-party tools for creating apps for iOS devices. In a statement released this weekend, the EU said it welcomed Apple's changed policies, and that the investigation would be closed. Apple also loosened policies on cross-border warranty repair of computers and iOS products. Previously, people who bought a product in one EU country and tried to have it fixed under warranty in another EU country encountered red tape or a refusal to fix the product, but apparently that issue's been fixed as well. This recent change is on top of Apple settling a case with the US Department of Justice that dealt with agreements between major tech firms about not poaching employees. The settlement involved other companies including Pixar, Google, and Intel. Apple is clearly getting a bit more liberal in the way it runs the business. There's nothing like a little competition and litigation to get things moving.
PSA: Sony says counterfeit PS3 controllers could explode
We're not sure why anyone would buy a knock-off DualShock 3 or SIXAXIS gamepad, considering the trouble Sony's taken to make sure they don't work, but the PlayStation 3 manufacturer has another reason you might want to steer clear of counterfeit pads -- they could be tiny Li-ion bombs poised to explode. Talk about force feedback! Yes, the company that brought us exploding laptop batteries says that third-party products "which are practically identical in appearance to genuine PlayStation®3 wireless controllers" may burst into flame, and as you might expect, Sony suggests that you run out to your nearest retailer and purchase the real deal instead.
Coming soon: StarCraft 2 controlled with your iPhone
I like this idea a lot -- developer Daniel Hellerman is working on an app for the App Store that will interface with a Windows client to control Blizzard's StarCraft 2 real-time strategy game. The RTS Gameboard for StarCraft 2 is an app, downloadable starting in September on the App Store (assuming it's approved by Apple), that will purportedly let you control your units and buildings through the iPad and iPhone's touchscreen interface. The app promises "mini-map control, detailed unit statistics, and easy touch access to the games most important hotkeys and macros." Sounds good, right? Too good to be true, probably -- unfortunately, the app only works with a Windows client running on the game's PC, so this won't work if you've been playing StarCraft 2 on your Mac (although Boot Camp should work ok, assuming the app does what it is supposed to). And then there's Blizzard Entertainment -- while it's definitely interested in Apple's iOS platform, it's not quite so hot on allowing third-party programs that access and control its games. If Blizzard follows past precedent, the odds of this reaching the App Store (especially in a paid form) are slim to none. But we'll see -- while we'd much rather have Blizzard release a port of the original StarCraft on the iPad, a half-step like this might be fun, too. Hellerman says the app is due out by September, so we'll see if he can beat all of the obstacles that seem to be in his way. [via Mashable]
EVE Evolved: Heroes of EVE
In last week's EVE Evolved, I looked at a few of EVE Online's most famous outlaws. In the game's open-ended sandbox, players are free to turn to a life of crime. Around every corner, you'll find another thief making off with someone's loot, or a pirate waiting for an unsuspecting victim to pass by. Worse still are the many scam artists and market manipulators you'll find in trade hubs like Jita, making a dishonest living at the expense of other players. But it's not all doom and gloom, and not all players are the dark, nefarious types EVE is famous for. For every low-life scammer trying to steal your hard-earned ISK, there are helpful individuals working to counteract scamming. For every war-mongering pirate preying on new players, there are hundreds of people willing to teach new players to defend themselves and stay safe. Despite all the talk of EVE's anti-social element, you'll also find a rich and diverse community, built around forums, chat channels and dozens of blogs. Programmers even spend their free time to provide the community with free tools to aid play. These are all people I would call heroes of EVE, either because they work to prevent the wrong-doings of outlaws, or because they selflessly enrich the EVE community. In this opinion piece, I look at a few of the people and groups I consider to be true heroes of EVE. Who are your heroes?
Disney wants to take Epic Mickey to 'Nintendo levels' on the Wii
Gamasutra got a chance to speak with the executive VP and GM of Disney Interactive Studios, Graham Hopper, who says that Disney is swinging for the stands on their future game releases. The games division is learning from "pure" gaming studios and their success, and while Hopper admits that the company hasn't always treated their properties correctly on the gaming side, starting with Disney's Epic Mickey, it wants to "give their projects the time and appropriate resources to be successful." In other words, let them stand on their own as games, rather than squeeze them up against a movie's release date. And Hopper hopes for quite the payoff, too -- while third-party titles on the Wii have been hit or miss (mostly miss), Hopper expects Epic Mickey's success to go "to Nintendo levels." He does say that they don't want to turn Mickey into Mario by "simply using him as an icon or an avatar in a game," but Disney's goal in the future will be to make sure that each of their properties' appearances are worth it. Hopper says if they port a film to five different gaming platforms, customers should expect "not the same story five times over, but five different stories, each uniquely suited for the platform they're on." A good plan to have, but much easier said than done.
Bach: 70-80% of publishers working on Natal-based games
In an interview with Financial Post, Microsoft president of entertainment and devices Robbie Bach said "something like 70% or 80% of the publishers in the world" are already working on Natal-based games. The interview followed Microsoft's CES 2010 keynote during which Bach announced the hands-free controller for the Xbox 360 would launch during the 2010 holiday season. Bach also respectfully outlined what he believes is the major difference between Microsoft and Nintendo's respective business models: third-party success. "Our model is certainly about third-party publishers making money. We design our system for third-party publishers," he told the Canadian news outlet. "[Nintendo makes] most of their money through first-party games that Nintendo produces. That's absolutely their business model. And it's a great business model, it's just different, but it makes it hard for third-party publishers." As for upcoming Natal-based games, Bach said Microsoft's first-party developers are focused on the hardware to help lead other developers down an "innovative" path. "We want to have a few titles from Microsoft that show the way and then we want the breadth and power of the ecosystem from our partners to bring lots of new ideas, new innovations, new concepts to the marketplace." Microsoft's Project Natal appears to be a direct response to a mainstream audience that has turned to Nintendo's hardware when spending disposable income. Considering the Xbox 360 and PS3 have effectively cracked the third-party code, Microsoft's focus continues to be set on capturing a demographic that may feel intimidated by the hardware and its core (read: jerkface) players.
Capcom: Wii is 'a tough market to crack'
Capcom spoke to Gamasutra recently about the difficulty in taking advantage of the Wii's huge user base -- it and other third-party developers have struggled for a long time to sell games to the casual folks who bought Nintendo's console, and Capcom's senior director of communications Chris Kramer says it hasn't gotten any easier. "If you're not Nintendo," he says frankly, "it does seem harder to make money on the Wii today compared to the PS3 and the Xbox 360." So what's the solution? Fewer titles, higher quality. Kramer promises that Capcom will release fewer titles on the Wii in 2010, and that the few that do hit store shelves "will be much larger, event-size games." And he expects that other major developers will follow suit: You'll see "fewer games from the major third parties, like EA, Activision, and Ubisoft." If third parties don't see sales on the console, says Kramer, they'll stop developing for it.
Datel sues Microsoft, wants its Xbox 360 market back
Seems like we just can't go a week without some corporate power plays or mudslinging making our pages. Back in October, Datel promised it would "remedy" the situation created by Microsoft's forthcoming (now present) Dashboard update locking out its higher capacity memory modules. The accessory company was the first (and only) third-party supplier of memory cards for the Xbox 360, but it seems that MS took a dislike to the MicroSD-expandable Max Memory units and has since taken the unusual step of downgrading the console to being able to read only chips up to 512MB, essentially taking Datel's 2GB+ wares out of commission. Yeah, classy. Datel's retaliation is in the finest Anglo-Saxon legal tradition, namely to assert antitrust concerns and to claim its right to act as a competitor to Microsoft in the memory market for Redmond's own console. It all sounds rather silly to us too, and could probably have been avoided by a rational compromise, but what's the fun in that?
Nintendo's Fils-Aime: 'effectively marketed' third-party titles can sell on Wii
Despite slow to non-existent sales for several high-profile third-party Nintendo Wii titles, the company's US head, Reggie Fils-Aime, still believes that third-party publishers on Nintendo's console can be successful. Speaking with Kotaku, Fils-Aime says he's "extremely disappointed" with the lack of major third party games on the Wii. He even goes so far as to say he's spoken (presumably quite sternly) with "every publisher who makes content that is not available on my platform" about the subject. When questioned as to why major titles like Grand Theft Auto IV and Assassin's Creed 2 aren't headed to his company's console, he explains it as a measure of long lead times rather than technological inability. "Typically decisions are being made two years prior ... and so the decisions two years ago were that those types of games would not be effective on the platform." And though the subject isn't directly broached, Fils-Aime remains steadfast that third-party titles can be successful on the Wii ... with the right marketing. "High-quality, effectively marketed against our installed base, will sell. Period. End of story." It would appear then that Boom Blox, The Conduit, No More Heroes, and a mess of other third-party titles, had some truly ineffective marketing by Reggie's standards.
Microsoft online store now featuring third party hardware and software
Disappointed that you can't make it to Scottsdale for the opening of the big Microsoft retail store? Since you've given up on real life in lieu of a completely wired existence anyways, perhaps a more meaningful experience would be to mosey over to the company's online shop and check out all the new PCs and third party software that's been added to the catalog. No longer just the fine purveyors of Office products and "Bill Gates is my homeboy" t-shirts, this is your newest online destination for Sony netbooks and Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing software -- as well as that operating system you've been longing to get your hands on. One thing they don't have? Manic Panic hair dye. Well, not yet anyways. [Via CNET]
Scribblenauts achieves noteworthy 194K sales in September
In its first two weeks on the market in North America, Scribblenauts sold 194,000 units, making it the third highest-selling DS title in September, behind Mario & Luigi and Kingdom Hearts sequels. That's 105,000 more copies than Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars moved in its first month. We asked 5TH Cell creative director Jeremiah Slaczka if it met his expectations. "I didn't have any expectations," he told Joystiq. "I just hoped it'd do well. It's awesome for a completely new, original 3rd party IP on DS to do so well." Does this strong debut mean a sequel is guaranteed? "Way too early to tell that," Slaczka said. "We've only seen 2.5 weeks of sales." He told us that Drawn to Life, which went on to break a million worldwide, only sold 40,000 copies in its first month, with one more week of sales in that month.
Upcoming Xbox 360 update locking out 'unauthorized' Memory Units
Don't worry, folks -- Microsoft knows you really hate those subversive little devils making third-party Memory Units, what with their 2GB and 4GB offerings for the Xbox 360. In an effort to stamp out these Doris Dogooders from your Xbox Live Experience™, Microsoft's Major Nelson announced on his blog yesterday that "When Preview Program members start receiving the Xbox 360 system update next week, one of the changes is that unauthorized Memory Units will no longer work." In plain English, this means that any third-party Memory Unit you might have been using will be rendered useless. Mr. Hryb suggests moving any saves on said devices get moved to an authorized one, unless losing access to "stored profile or saves games" simply ain't no thang for you.
Palm complains about Apple to USB governing body, while Pre / iTunes sync "fix" is explained
You should be refilling that popcorn bucket right about now. While we thought the next round of the Pre / iTunes syncing fiasco would probably be something simple like Apple releasing another quick patch, Palm has stepped it up a notch by complaining to the USB Implementers Forum over what it sees is "improper use of the Vendor ID number" by the gang at Cupertino. What the company means is that when an ID is applied for, a form is signed that states:"Unauthorized use of assigned or unassigned USB Vendor ID Numbers and associated Product ID Numbers are strictly prohibited." The implication here is that Palm believes Apple is violating this stature by disallowing certain Vendor IDs -- namely, Palm's -- from using iTunes. So how'd Palm manage to "fix" that syncing hole Apple managed to fill? From the looks of it, by misrepresenting its own Vendor ID, so that the Pre now shows up as a iPod / mass storage device made by Apple (ID 0x05ac) as opposed to one by Palm (ID 0x083) -- hence the complaint. Of course, lying about your own ID would seem to break with the aforementioned rule, too, so what we're left here is some muddled grey area and Palm apparently being okay with fudging some data to correct what it sees is an injustice. If anyone's curious, DVD Jon points out that the root USB Node is still identified as "Pre," so we very likely could see another round of these shenanigans in the not-too-distant future.Finally, now's as good of a time as any to take a look at some of the peripheral casualties from this war of attrition. In an essay on his personal site that's been circulating the interwebs, Marc Deslauriers outlines the pangs he and the Linux community have felt over the years trying to use iPods on the open source platform, surmising that Apple is intentionally and repeatedly seeking ways to block non-iTunes programs from syncing in any way with its devices. This story is far from over, and as ugly as it looks now, it's probably only gonna get worse.[Via Digg and Pre Central]Read - Marc Deslauriers, "Goodbye Apple"Read - Palm's lodges complaint with USB IFRead - USB Vendor ID applicationRead - Palm Pre USB hack confirmed
