Aug/100
Multi-robot command center built around Microsoft Surface (video)
While we’ve given up on ever winning an online match of StarCraft II, that doesn’t mean top-down unit control schemes are only for nerds in their mom’s basement with their cheap rush tactics and Cheeto fingers and obscene triple digit APMs (we’re not bitter or anything). In fact, we kind of like the look of this robot control interface, developed at UMass Lowell by Mark Micire as part of his PhD research. The multitouch UI puts Microsoft Surface to good use, with gestures and contextual commands that make operating an unruly group of robots look easy, and a console-inspired touch control setup for operating a single bot from a first person perspective as well. There are a couple videos after the break, the first is Mike operating an army of virtual robots, using Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio to simulate his soldiers and environment, but the second shows his first person UI guiding a real robot through a maze, in what amounts to a very, very expensive version of that Windows 95 maze screensaver.
Continue reading Multi-robot command center built around Microsoft Surface (video)
Multi-robot command center built around Microsoft Surface (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Aug 2010 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jul/100
The Best of Big Download: July 19 – 25
We are just one more day away from StarCraft II’s launch. That means you can expect to see a ton of StarCraft related features and contests planned for Big Download starting tomorrow. In the meantime, check out what we have been writing about for the past seven days.
Exclusive features
- Team Fortress 2 Engineer Achievements: Check out part five, part six and part seven of our series looking at the new achievements for the Engineer class in TF2.
- Freeware Friday: Our look at free PC games checks out the new Valve top down shooter Alien Swarm.
Downloads
- ArmA 2 Operation Arrowhead demo: Try out a portion of the recent shooter expansion pack.
- Making History 2 demo: Download this playable slice of the recent strategy game.
- Razor2: Hidden Skies demo: It’s a small part of the recent arcade shooter title.
- Dragon Age Origins 1.04 patch: Update your copy of BioWare’s RPG to the latest version
- Singularity 1.01 patch: This patch for the recent first person shooter solves a texture streaming issue.
- Darkspore teaser trailer: It’s the first glimpse of the new Maxis action-RPG based on Spore.
- StarCraft 2 Ghosts of the Past trailer: Check out some cool cut scenes from Blizzard’s upcoming RTS game.
- Kingdoms of Amular: Reckoning teaser trailer: It’s the first glimpse of Big Huge Games’ fantasy RPG.
Continue reading The Best of Big Download: July 19 – 25
The Best of Big Download: July 19 – 25 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jun/100
StarCraft 2 free for WoW players in Korea, loses 18+ rating
Blizzard is tweaking the business model for its upcoming StarCraft 2 release in Korea. IGN reports that the RTS will be free for Korean subscribers to World of Warcraft there, as Blizzard reportedly wants to bolster the MMO’s player base overseas. Other players will be able to buy the game outright for the US equivalent of about $54, or pick up $8 monthly or even $1.60 daily passes for the game, so Blizzard will still make a googoojillion dollars on the long-awaited sequel in Korea. No word on if these plans will make their way to North America, but we’d bet against it. WoW itself has had different pay models overseas for a while, but just the usual monthly price here in the US.
That money can also come from children as young as age 12 — after the game was originally rated for adults only, an edited version of the game has brought the rating back down to a 12+ age rating. The edit changes Zerg and Terran blood to black from red, and removes all profanity and smoking from the game. Blizzard is reportedly still thinking about releasing the “mature” version in Korea separately, although it’ll be after next month’s worldwide release.
Gallery: Starcraft II
StarCraft 2 free for WoW players in Korea, loses 18+ rating originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jun/100
Razer Starcraft II and Xbox 360 peripherals hands-on
Razer’s meteoric rise from second-tier mouse maker to top-shelf peripheral guru has been nothing short of incredible, and its success has enabled it to start to focus a little more on the niche groups. Such is its latest addition: a keyboard, mouse, and headset designed just for RTS gamers, and specifically for Starcraft II. We spent some time sampling their APM-enhancing abilities, and checked out the latest revision of the company’s upcoming Xbox 360 Onza controller too. It’s all after the break.
Gallery: Razer at E3 2010
Continue reading Razer Starcraft II and Xbox 360 peripherals hands-on
Razer Starcraft II and Xbox 360 peripherals hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jun/100
Razer shows off Starcraft II series of gaming peripherals
Gallery: Razer Starcraft II peripherals
Continue reading Razer shows off Starcraft II series of gaming peripherals
Razer shows off Starcraft II series of gaming peripherals originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mar/100
Razer promises Mac support for all upcoming products
Razer already provides full Mac support for a few of its gaming peripherals — including the Naga and DeathAdder — and basic support for others, but it’s now taken avantage of GDC to “reaffirm” its commitment to Mac users. That apparently means that “all upcoming” Razer products — including the company’s line of StarCraft II peripherals — will boast full Mac support out of the box, and that the company will be rolling out updates to some of its existing products “later this year,” including the Orochi, Mamba, and Imperator gaming mice. First Steam, now Razer peripherals — dare we say it’s a good time to be a Mac gamer?
Razer promises Mac support for all upcoming products originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mar/100
NVIDIA pulls 196.75 driver amid reports it’s frying graphics cards
One of the discussions that arise anytime we bring up a new graphics card from ATI or NVIDIA is about which company has the better drivers. Well, this should help sway the argument a little bit. It would seem StarCraft II Beta players were among the first to notice low frame rates while using the latest drivers from NVIDIA, and further digging has uncovered that the automated fan-controlling part of said firmware was failing to act as intended. The result? Overheated chips, diminished performance, and in some extreme cases, death (of the GPU, we think the users will be okay). The totality of it is that you should avoid the 196.75 iteration like the plague, and NVIDIA has temporarily yanked the update while investigating the reported issues. Shame that the company hasn’t got any warnings up on its site to tell those who’ve installed the update but haven’t yet nuked their graphics card to roll back their drivers, but that’s what you’ve got us for, right?
[Thanks, Shockie]
NVIDIA pulls 196.75 driver amid reports it’s frying graphics cards originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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