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Storyboard: Trigger-happy
Graham Chapman passed away on October 4th, 1989, leaving behind a legacy of work that included the groundbreaking Monty Python oeuvre. To avoid having his funeral service become a media circus, the five surviving members of the comedy troupe held a separate service on December 4th, two months later, memorializing their friend and fellow creator. John Cleese delivered a eulogy for Chapman, and after claiming how many people would be sad for the loss of such a creative and talented soul, said the following: "Good riddance to him, the freeloading bastard; I hope he fries." To some people, this might seem like the epitome of disrespect. To others, it's the finest possible testament to the life of a man who loved making jokes and pushing boundaries on acceptable topics. The problem is that in a roleplaying environment you can wind up pushing the boundaries without realizing it, making someone uncomfortable or broaching subjects that someone feels are beyond the pale. And you have to deal with these situations quickly before OOC inevitably creeps into what's going on.
Insert Coin: A look back at ten top projects from 2011
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60Beat GamePad controller works with iOS games through the headphone port
There have been a few game controllers released for iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone, but none that I've seen that work as elegantly as the 60beat GamePad promises it will. The GamePad offers all of the buttons you'd expect on a HD generation video game controller (with analog sticks and triggers and so on), but instead of using the iOS device's 30-pin connector, it hooks up through the headphone port, and apparently passes audio information across there somehow. Unfortunately, because that's such an interesting connection, the controller only works with two games at the moment, Bugdom and Aftermath. But the company is promising more compatibility next year, and hopefully as more developers jump on board, we'll see more widespread support. It's certainly an interesting prospect. The controller itself is $50, but as it works with more games, that price will definitely become more and more worth it. I personally have been using the OnLive wireless controller to play those games on my iPad (which still isn't available to the public, unfortunately), and I've been wishing for a controller like this, so hopefully 60beat will get the support it needs from devs.
Final Fantasy XI developers answer more player questions
Let's face it, sometimes Final Fantasy XI players can be all "???" about the game. And that's not apropos of nothing, since the most recent developer dispatch talks about the multi-function "???" used for both Notorious Monster spawns and event triggers. While players had asked to see a change to distinct symbols such as a "!!!" for events, the technical effort required to make the switch wouldn't be worth the relatively minor functional update. The same rule goes for the /names command, which players would like to see toggle for NPCs or PCs selectively. The latest answers aren't all bad news, however, with one of the more interesting factoids being the roundabout announcement of official forums for the game. There's also news about updates to General Rughadjeen in response to his strange behavior following Protect V or Shell V, a problem originating from the fact that the spells didn't exist when Besieged was created. Final Fantasy XI players are encouraged to read the full list of answers.
Say it with style... say it with DrumPants
Enter the percussive world of odbol, AKA Tyler Freeman, AKA the man behind DrumPants. Imagine a pair of slacks, now picture those slacks being laced with Piezo transducer triggers which receive audio that becomes MIDI data (similar to how traditional drum triggers function). Now, imagine those triggers being hooked into a brain of some type, say... a drum machine. Are you getting the picture yet? DrumPants! Yes, now tapping on your legs will produce more than just the dull "thwack" of struck flesh -- it will create a symphony of percussion rivaled only by Neil Peart (and maybe Jon Theodore). Actually, odbol's design isn't really that revolutionary, since it's kind of like sticking regular triggers in your pockets, and frankly, as much as we'd like to be complimentary to the little dude, he ain't that great of a drummer. Still, kudos for the effort, and when he comes up with the sub-derma triggers, we're all ears. Check the video after the break to see Tyler rocking the trap kit.[Via Fresh Creation]
5 Quicksilver triggers from 43 Folders
I will not rest until every OS X user has downloaded and installed Quicksilver. Sadly, Quicksilver is a bit like a mule with a spinning wheel; no one knows how he got it, and he doesn't know what to do with it.If you would like some real world examples of Quicksilver's trigger feature (remember the trigger tutorial we wrote about earlier) then 43 Folders has the post for you.
Quicksilver trigger tutorial
Here at the TUAW compound Quicksilver has a permanent place on our altar of 'Good Apps.' We like it, heck, we love it! However, it isn't the most intuitive of programs.Quicksilver has a raft of features that most people don't even know about, and triggers are one such feature (at least I didn't know about them). Luckily a great tutorial about using triggers has been written, so you'll be up to speed in no time.What are triggers? You can assign specific key sequences, amongst other things, to 'trigger' an event on your Mac (launching a program, starting or stopping iTunes).
