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Microsoft HoloLens development kit launches Q1 2016

Today Microsoft announced that the HoloLens development kit will begin shipping to developers in the first quarter of 2016. Microsoft stated that they will be taking applications as of today. If selected, a developer will be able to purchase up to two kits for $3000 each.  No consumer price was announced, but we should expect to see the consumer price below the $3000 kit price. The kits are only available to developers in the United States and Canada. No timeline was announced for other countries. The prerequisites to apply: You are a developer in the United States (including Puerto Rico) or Canada where the Development Edition will first be available. You are a Windows Insider. By participating in the Windows Insider program, you agree to provide feedback and work with us to define the future of holographic computing. Please note that the Development Edition hardware and experiences are in English only. As a developer, I believe HoloLens has a lot of potential as long as Microsoft can get developers to believe in the device. How do you feel about HoloLens? Do you see yourself getting one in the future, specifically for games? Let us know in the comments section below!

Halo 5: Guardians Forge details revealed!

What is this? Forge news for Halo 5? Awesome! But today, 343 Industries has announced some huge features regarding to Halo 5’s Forge! Being a forger myself, I just fanboyed and jumped out of my chair with all of these new features shown in the trailer here. With that, they have new tools in it and I got an epic rundown for you all. Didn’t change the list/bullet points because 343 words it best! Controller Based Editing 2.0: You wanted more ways to control the world, I mean build your spaceship to crush your enemies… Just look at the list: Improved Control Scheme – Revised controls keeps users hands in the default “home” position so there’s less reaching for buttons which speeds up the building process. Don’t worry long-time Forgers, it took the Forgers we brought in a little bit to get used to but even the most hesitant were soon up and building maps at full speed. Multi-Select/Edit – Users can select and manipulate up to 64 individual objects at one time (more if combined with Groups); movement, rotation, property editing, everything you’re able to do to a single object. Free Camera – The camera no longer snaps to objects being edited. Users can freely position the camera to find the best vantage point to edit from. To orbit around selected objects like past Forges, simply click the right-stick to “lock on” to the objects and click again to cycle between multiple zoom levels. Contextual Control Helper – This lets the user see, in real time, what each controller input does. Users can change from “basic” settings to learn the ropes, “advanced” for the power user controls, or turn the helper off once everything becomes second nature. Grid/Rotation Snaps – Switch between multiple grid/rotation snap settings quickly to help align objects perfectly with each other. The bulk of the Forge specific assets are built to a grid so they interact perfectly with each other, making building even easier. There’s even a very small grid snap that can be used to fix z-fighting without making “bumps” or very precise grid editing. Precision Editing – Precision editing returns to enable fine tuning of object placement. On top of that, there’s a power user trick we call “double analog” precision that allows for even finer manipulation. Smart Magnets – Magnets no longer snap objects while moving them around. Instead they draw connection lines between magnets that will snap when the input is released. Additionally the camera can be aimed at magnets to influence which ones will snap giving extra precision when building with magnets. Groups and Welding I sense a foreign type of tool that has been brought down from the gods to make our forging lives easier! Oh wait, there is more than this?: Grouping – Groups can be created dynamically with a single button press. Select more objects and press the button again to add to the group or press the button again to split the group up. It’s really that simple. Welding – Grouped objects can optionally be welded to their “parent” object. This allows them to all physically move around together; make a soccer ball with traffic cone spikes that rolls around, or attach a weapon pad to a larger animating object. Object Palettes Wait, how many objects are in forge now!? They look better too!? New terrain items!? TANKS IN ARENA MAPS!? *Faints* :   1600+ Objects – Take that in for a minute. Previous iterations of Forge had a couple hundred. Shaun, Randal, and Ryan on our art content team have been crazy busy building LOTS of pieces from primitive shapes, structure parts, accent pieces, detail props, and gameplay objects custom built for Forge. Mix them in with things like the weapons, turrets, and power-ups makes this Forge have pretty much the ultimate building block set you wished you had when you were eight years old. I’ve been working with our art lead Wade to try and squeeze in a few last assets before we’re done; that said we’re in pretty great shape. New Object Types – We’ve added lots of new types of object types to Forge this time; FX emitters, decals, invisible blockers (big community request), chroma screens for machinima makers, objects for building map intros/outros, and yes, even a large adorable whale toy that we love dearly. Projected Terrain Pieces – Our new terrain pieces sample textures from their position on one of our Forge maps which makes them blend in almost seamlessly with the prebuilt terrain of the level when you mix them together. Watching them move around the map for the first time generally breaks people’s brains for a few minutes because it looks like voodoo. I don’t think it’s actually voodoo but instead it’s a lot of complex graphics code which might as well be. Unconstrained Objects – We’ve maintained keeping all of the objects in Forge “map autonomous” meaning any object can be placed on any map thanks to our engines new asset management systems. Now users can experiment and try pretty much any idea on any map. For example if you wanted to you could place a Scorpion tank in the middle of Truth. This doesn’t mean you should, but you could. Object Enhancements – Lots of the returning objects have new features and improvements: Dial in the amount of extra clips with weapons. Man-Cannons and Grav Lifts launch distances and heights can be tuned in their properties and show the path where the players will go when used. Teleporters output directions can now be changed it displays which way players come out facing. We have commitment to improving everything Forge, not just the new. True Budget Now I can finally add that extra tree I always wanted in my map!:   Multi-Budget System – Multiple budgets based on real engine systems; max object counts, memory, etc. This means when placing something like a large terrain piece, its large texture will only eat into the memory budget once,

Dead Star: PS4 Exclusive Multiplayer Space Shooter

Today, Tom Ivey; the design lead of Armature Studio’s new multiplayer space shooter, Dead Star announced the reveal of this new, PlayStation exclusive game. November 2013 was the start of the new game prototype. Three Armature developers, armed with only a few computers made it their goal to build a fun, fast, arcade-style multiplayer space shooter. They wanted the combat to be engaging and exciting, by including scout ships that zip in and out of asteroid fields, raiders that appear from cloak to hit their enemies, and frigates that bombard the area with their missile fire. Keeping in mind the player’s skill and strategy choices, they chose a top-down perspective and worked to keep the controls simple and responsive. The framework of the game came together quickly in the form of a demo that was able to capture the moments specific to a multiplayer experience- the office was filled with the excited shouts and disappointed moans as they won, lost, or made the lucky shot. The gameplay was then in place to begin turning their small demo, into the game they knew it could become. While in the world of Dead Star, players will find an area called the Wastes. This is where any citizen found violating the rules of the galaxy will be banished. The Wastes is a black void of scorched metal and irradiated rock, and is a hundred light-years from any habitable space area. In the center, is the Dead Star, a large red giant corrupted by dark antimatter. In the Wastes, life is constantly a battle. There is a war between psychos and criminal, who are fighting over any bits of technology they can scrounge up in the ancient battlefields. To add to the misery,  the Dead Star is collapsing on itself, which in-turn would wipe out any existence within a dozen light-years. To open the game, your pilot has been banished to the Wastes. The primary game mode will have you fighting to control the prison. You will earn rewards and acknowledgment based on how you perform in battle. Whether you die in a haze of laser fire, or survive in a blaze of glory, earning the title of the galaxy’s greatest pilot, will be determined by your skills in combat. While expanding the Dead Star universe, the core game systems were also expanded to hold modern twists to the genre. Developers focused on three main goals for the game: Support a variety of play styles: There are many ships that offer unique abilities. These can be unlocked and upgraded within matches. Players will also find multiple combat roles, including defensive mining and base upgrading, to offensive roles such as long-range scouting and control-point capture. Create strategic variation: In Dead Star, players will not be limited to a set of maps with limited strategies. The procedural map generation system will allow maps to have randomized scenarios every match, with the ability to vote where the battle takes place. The “Whaaaat?! Factor”: Armature developers decided to do something out of the ordinary for Dead Star, In a “to-be-announced” game mode, players will be able to impact a live, ongoing match in unique and exciting ways. Armature will reveal more of Dead Star in the coming months, releasing the new features and exciting mysteries behind the new game mode, and allowing PlayStation platers to get the behind-the-scenes glimpse at Dead Star. Be sure to check out the trailer, and original story.  

Far Cry: Primal Official Announcement

Yesterday information was leaked by IGN Turkey about a new Far Cry game set during the Ice Age. Today, a trailer was released revealing that Far Cry: Primal is an official game. But instead set during the Stone Age, you play as Takkar, the last of your hunting group. You must survive the world around you where humanity is at the bottom of the food chain. With wild life ranging from mammoths to sabretooth tigers, you become the prey and must fend off and thrive on the newly blooming land filled with nature and resources left by a glacier from the last Ice Age. The land of Oros is also inhabited by enemy tribes that you must overcome to conquer as your own territory. Learning to survive and crafting deadly weapons with the resources around you is the most beneficial to success in this time period. Primal will be available for the Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC on February 23rd, 2016.

Sony reveals PlayStation Now games for October

Sony has just added the October PlayStation Now subscription games for the streaming service, Which lets you play PlayStation games on Sony phones, tablets, TVs, and PlayStation consoles such as the PS4,PS3, and PS Vita, If you have a Samsung Smart TV you can also use the service, you can get a all you can play plan for $20 a month , or you can rent games for a few hours for a lower price .  Normally it is 5 new games every month, however for October, ( Sony is calling it Shocktober) they will be adding 13 games to the PlayStation Now library. . This months PlayStation Now games include The last of Us: Left Behind BloodRayne: Betrayal All Zombies Must Die Painkiller: Hell & Damnation Deception IV: Blood Ties Slender: The Arrival Costume Quest 2 Stick It To The Man Lone Survivor: The Director’s Cut Blood Knights Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters Final Exam Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov’s Revenge Source: PlayStation