fable: combat multiplier

my girlfriend's combat multiplier at 50. gamer chicks rock. Matt @ 2:49 PM   [0 COMMENTS]   [PERMALINK]

 
new serenity poster
United International Pictures has released a new poster for the upcoming movie, Serenity. Matt @ 11:38 PM   [0 COMMENTS]   [PERMALINK]

 
usb flash drive starts car
via slashdot, mazda has produced a concept car that instead of a key, you start it with a usb flash drive. niiice. apparently you can also use the drive to transfer driving directions or music to your car's hard drive. yeah. here's the link. Matt @ 10:27 PM   [0 COMMENTS]   [PERMALINK]

 
spam: its whats for breakfast
now this is how you deal with spammers:

I have been going to whois.net and getting their personal info and subbing them to their own newsletters, of course I am clicking the box that subs them to 'outside offers' too.

hahaha. check out the post at gamingandtech. Matt @ 9:19 PM   [0 COMMENTS]   [PERMALINK]

 
HuxleyWatch
so because i find that i'm often doing research for the upcoming xbox 360 and pc game huxley, i've decided to just go ahead and build a new site for it: huxleywatch.blogspot.com. from now on, any information i find regarding huxley, i will post there, so feel free to check it out and leave some feedback. i will, however, still be maintaining this site, so now you'll get two tylers for the price of, well, nothing i guess. it doesn't get better than that. anyway, see you on the flipside. Matt @ 9:51 PM   [0 COMMENTS]   [PERMALINK]

 
lego serenity
check out this serenity ship built from legos. its apparently built to one half scale [for minifigs], and it even lights up in the back like a firefly class ship. if you check out the construction link, you'll see his photo detailed narrative of the construction phase. he's even got some nice wallpapers here. my favorite is the one with the reavers. pretty sweet, dude. pretty sweet. Matt @ 8:50 AM   [0 COMMENTS]   [PERMALINK]

 
huxley: what i know
named best online game at this year's e3 by hardcore gamer magazine, huxley looks to be one of the most promising games coming out for the xbox 360. i realize that's saying quite alot given the sheer volume of games being produced for the new console, however, i am in love with where this game seems to be headed. i posted on this game once before, but have decided to compile all the information i've got so far into one place for easy reference [in no particular order].

1. release date. slated for between summer and fall of 2006.

8/25/05: according to this interview at rpgvault, webzen is going for a simultaneous worldwide launch, which means that when it hits the market we can all ramp up together instead of the asian market having a full two years of play before americans see it, as it was with final fantasy xi.

2. mmo/fps. an almost untapped genre, huxley will be both massively multiplayer and a first-person shooter. this means hundreds or thousands of players in the same world at the same time killing each other. ign says up to 5000. EDIT: the game's site says up to 100 per battlezone which likely means 100 per map, but i would imagine that will vary between now and then, plus that doesn't necessarily refer to non-battle areas, which could see greater occupancies than 100. even if it does, playing halo with 16 guys can be crazy enough at times. i have no problem settling for 100 guys at a time. i look forward to it.

3. environments. dark and dystopian are the perfect words to describe the environments. its a grim future which looks like an american-chinese fusion of sorts containing both new and degenerate technologies. very post-apocalyptic. the graphics are truly pristine.

4. persistent world. not a disconnected set of maps. you can traverse from one area to another, or from a non-battle area to a battle area via portals that in game appear as tunnelled alleyways.

5. races and character development. there are three races [all of whom want to eliminate each other] and so far it appears that you can be at least two of them. the races are Sapiens [humans], Alternatives [which are some evolved mutation of humans but look a lot bigger and stronger] and some hybrid of the two, which is uncertain whether you can be them or not.

You can learn new skills, obtain exotic weapons, and adopt different gameplay styles.

there are also various roles available allowing players to be commanders who leads squads into battle or operators who drive the vehicles as well as just the average soldier. there are also other non-player creatures in the game which utilize a strong artificial intelligence to make them formidable obstacles along with the other real world players.

8/23/2005: in this interview with gamecloud, kijong kang said this regarding character development:

Gamers can choose to play either a Sapien or Alternative. After choosing the side, race and gender you can customize the character’s facial structure, hair style and color, etc., in addition to several kinds of gear like helmets, armors, gauntlets, etc.

in the same article, it indicates that the third race, called Hybrids, is strictly and NPC race at war with the other two.

6. storyline. the opposed races are living in a world where fossil fuels have been exhausted, and they are all now fighting over a new energy source called Lunarites which was developed by a scientist named Huxley [reference to Aldous Huxley, the author of the book Brave New World, from which the game draws its inspiration]. you pick which race you are, build your character, and start fighting for your race.

8/23/2005: from gamecloud interview with kijong kang:

There are also secret religious groups and other terrorist groups that will attack players in various places.

7. battles. large-scale, fast-paced, ground and air vehicles, large variety of weapons, large maps, and it uses a customized unreal 3 engine. also:

Battles won't just be a test of reflexes, as you'll need to cooperate with your teammates and use tactics and strategy to survive.

8/23/05: from this e3 review on gamespy:

Quests in the game will take the form of battlefields with a variety of objectives familiar to any regular FPS multiplayer gamer including capture-the-flag, team deathmatches, fortress assaults and more. There will also be team matches in which the players must battle their way through "dungeons" consisting of wave after wave of computer controlled monsters. In fact, one of the most intriguing elements of our demonstration was a mission in which two teams of Sapiens and Alternatives were battling each other and got attacked by computer controlled monsters. Whether they choose to temporarily ally with one another or continue sniping at each other as the monsters attack should make for some interesting conflicts.

8/24/05: this screenshot seems to be the reference to the dungeon and having to fight monsters that just keep coming wave after wave.

8/23/05: from this gamepro interview with webzen:

When in battle it is possible to form a squad. Squad battles will be very tactical--for example, higher ranking officers may issue orders or assign targets to the junior officers.

8. vehicles. there are at least a few vehicles with one reference to a helicopter. i've only seen the armored personnel carrier, but it looks tight. apparently you have to level up before you can obtain the vehicles, which i like a lot. and there is a mass transit system within the world that low-level players can use to traverse from one place to the next.

8/24/05: apc. i believe this pic is the armored personnel carrier, and if so, it appears to hold at least 5 guys, since the 5 guys appear to have all stepped out of it. not sure if that includes the driver or if the driver's still inside, but at least 5 seems to make sense.

8/24/05: apc. the e3 demo shows 7 guys exiting the apc. here's a screenshot [sorry about the blur, it was fast action on screen]. another thing worth noting is that you can enter and exit the apc from both the right side and the back simultaneously.

8/24/05: i noticed from the e3 demo that there's some sort of 4-wheeled one-man motorcycle that you can drive. here's a screenshot i capped from the demo.

9. gameplay components:

single-player story driven mission, various types of PvP missions, Al squad lead type missions, etc. Players will choose the mission according to their goals-going for ‘level up’ or following ‘stories’.

10. weapons and upgrades. no specifics yet.

Players can get various kinds of weapons from stores and other places. Also, they can get new weapons while fighting. They can store their weapons in the personal inventory and select them according to the kind of battle or mission.

8/23/2005: from this e3 review on gamespy:

a players statistics, rank, and the amount of money will determine what kind of weapons, armor, ammo, and vehicle they're able to buy.

11. cross-platform. webzen [the producers of huxley] are hoping to utilize microsoft's xna technologies to bring the game to both pc and xbox 360 allowing both to play in the same world.

12. non-battle maps and communities. there are areas within the game world that are not battle areas, but more socializing areas. this is probably where they will have weapon or inventory stores and/or marketplace-type areas.

When not battling, you can relax, socialize, and go about your business in a huge virtual city.

8/23/2005: from this e3 review on gamespy:

The Sapients and Alternatives each have an enormous capital city where same faction players can interact with one another, buy and sell objects, hook up with teammates, and select one of the many available quests to go on.

8/23/05: from this gamepro interview with webzen in may of 2005:

Huxley will progressively support guild and clan systems similar to what's seen in RPGs.

GP: Will there be guilds and other features that promote online communities in-game?

Webzen: Yes, there is no question about that. Huxley will have unique community features to make gamers feel like they are really "role-playing" in a tightly weaved community. You will see what I mean when you play it.

GP: Will areas be instanced (such as GuildWars) or be one continuous world?

Webzen: Both will exist. Certain battle zones will be instanced while others are not. We're using streaming loading technology to minimize or eliminate loading time, and will implement a combination of both types of worlds without sacrificing MMO or FPS elements.

13. voice. i assume that since this game is xbox live, that it will have voice functionality, but to what extent or how its employed i do not know. on webzen's page it says:

Players can communicate and socialize with each other in a virtual online city, as well as participating in battles with the intuitive PVP (player vs. player) System.

14. missions. from this gamecloud interview:

Gamecloud - What will the game's missions be like?

Kijong Kang - We have continued missions that you would find in typical single-player FPS games and other kinds of various missions that involve PVP, partnering with NPCs, etc. As players progress through the game’s story, they will participate in a number of different battles. They can also use lots of diverse transportation to move to the battle grounds, such as cars or helicopters.

There are missions in the game where the two sides will fight each other. Players will also band together to fight their common enemy, the Hybrids (NPCs). Battles along the story line will be on small and massive scales. Here two sides continuously battles for the energy source called ‘Lunarites’, each side will be engaged in battle to occupy more resources.

Other than PvP battle missions, MMORPG-like ‘Quests’ also exists in Huxley. The quests will be similar to the missions seen in single player FPS games with structured battle. In quests, players will fight with super A.I. enemies or users on the opposing side.

15. shoulder emblems. in several shots now i've seen shoulder emblems, both on sapiens and on alternatives. the one on the sapien i would describe as a weird little monkey face in a circle. the one on the alternative i would describe as a skull with either a large lower jaw or something attached to the underside of the skull. i can't see how these would be part of the uniforms, therefore i think that they are some sort of identifiable emblem, either personal, clan, or guild.

links.
a. webzen's huxley site
b. gamespot e3 2005 preview 5/18/05
c. vid links on ign
d. screenshots on ign
e. gamecloud interview with kijong kang
f. e3 review on gamespy
g. gamepro interview with webzen in may of 2005
h. the official huxley site

summary. this game is going to be bad ass. Matt @ 9:13 PM   [0 COMMENTS]   [PERMALINK]

 
stargate sg1: the alliance
so the stargate game that was coming out for xbox, pc, and the ps2 which was then cancelled for "quality concerns / breech of contract / no you suck more" type issues between JoWood and Perception, has now been taken up by Namco who will publish the game for Perception. somewhat of a controversial game already [to those following its progress], i'm hoping "stargate sg1: the alliance" just doesn't suck. the whole world of stargate kicks ass, and it would be a shame if this game fell short of all that. that said, the game looks fairly faithful to the world of stargate. the sound effects in the trailer are definitely right on. from the gate's whoosh to the staff weapons, and i'm pretty sure that the dialogue i heard is actually voiced by the actors on the show, so that's pretty cool. i heard teal'c, oneill, and carter talking [though i didn't hear teal'c say "indeed" so i was rather disappointed about that, though i will probably recover]. in general it appears to be an action shooter, with at least some portions of the game in the form of first person. somebody was wielding a ribbon device and a p90 at the same time, so that's kindof interesting if you can wield all the goa'uld devices as well that of the tauri [us]. and there's an unlinked reference to a vehicles section on the game's site indicating that you'll be able to drive something. could be ha'tak vessel or cargo ship, but that's pure conjecture. anyway, namco has posted a page on their site here for the game and its progress, the official game site is here, and here's a direct link to the game's trailer. Matt @ 9:29 AM   [0 COMMENTS]   [PERMALINK]