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Comment Re:Most of the classic top shelf is there (Score 1) 222

by Nolde Huruska (#37778620) Attached to: Flowchart Guides Readers Through the 100 Best SF Books
When I read that list it jumped out at me that it was predominantly, for want of a better term, "modern crap". Then it dawned on me that the presence of older, or classic, stuff in there could be explained as a result of being available as a film. Is "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?" Phillip K. Dick's best novel? I think not. Would it even be on the list if it were not for "Blade Runner?" The same goes for "Dune" and "Starship Troopers". I am shocked that Harry Harrison's “Make Room! Make Room!” is not on there but then not many recognize it was the novel that "Soylent Green" was made from, and don't get me started on the Stainless Steel Rat. "The Princess Bride" at #11? Kill me now. Where is Philip Jose' Farmer and Riverworld? Jack Chalker and Well World? Robert Silverberg's “A Time of Changes.” Harlan Ellison? Jack Williamson? E. E. “Doc” Smith? And last but not least what of Jack Vance and The Demon Princes, arguably the best space opera ever put down on paper? And they left all these off and included stuff like "Watchmen", gag me with an old copy of Thrilling Wonder Stories.
PlayStation (Games)

Long-Delayed L.A. Noire Gets Trailer, Spring 2011 Release 54

Posted by Soulskill from the dark-and-stormy-night dept.
It's been years since the announcement of L.A. Noire, an expansive murder mystery game set in 1940s Los Angeles. After several lengthy delays, Rockstar Games has now posted a trailer and confirmed that the game will release in Spring of 2011. One of the game's major undertakings is to step up the realism of the voice acting and the way characters' faces and bodies are animated, "allowing players to analyze every subtle nuance of an actor's performance in order to get to the truth." The trailer shows in-game footage (though not actual gameplay), and while it's always a good idea to take such displays with a grain of salt, the facial expressions do look pretty realistic.
First Person Shooters (Games)

Crytek Dev On Fun vs. Realism In Game Guns 324

Posted by Soulskill from the rocket-jumping-is-as-real-as-it-needs-to-be dept.
An anonymous reader tips a post from Pascal Eggert, a gun enthusiast and Crytek developer, who sheds some light on how weaponry in modern shooters is designed. Quoting: "Guns in games are like guns in movies: it is all about looks, sounds and clichés. Just like in the movies, games have established a certain perception of weapons in the mind of the public and just like in movies games get almost everything wrong. ... The fact is that we are not trying to simulate reality but are creating products to provide entertainment. ... if you want to replicate the looks of something you need to at least see it, but using it is even better. You should hold a gun in your hands, fire it and reload it to understand what does what — and at that point you will realize, there is nothing on it that does not have a function — because guns are tools for professionals. Lot of weapon designers in the game industry get that wrong. They think of guns like products for consumers or magic devices that kill people at a distance when really it's just a simple and elegant mechanism that propels little pieces of metal. Unfortunately 3D artists often only get access to the photos that Google Image Search comes up with if you enter 'future assault rifle' or, even worse, pictures from other games and movies that also got it wrong. This may explain a lot of common visual mistakes in games, especially since guns are mostly photographed from the side and egoshooters show weapons from the first person view." This article is drawn from his personal experience in the game industry. The images shown are Pascal's personal work and are not related to his work at Crytek.
PC Games (Games)

Valve Releases Updated Alien Swarm For Free With Code Base 164

Posted by Soulskill from the game-over-man-game-over dept.
baronvoncarson tips news that today Valve released an updated version of Alien Swarm, a popular Unreal Tournament 2004 total conversion mod. The creators of the mod were hired by Valve, and they've helped turn it into a stand-alone game running on the Source engine. Valve is also releasing the code base for Alien Swarm and an SDK. The game is available for free on Steam.
Image

Publishing Company Puts Warning Label on Constitution 676

Posted by samzenpus from the inappropriate-founding-fathers dept.
Wilder Publication is under fire for putting warning labels on copies of historical US documents, including the Constitution. The label warns "This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today." From the article: "The disclaimer goes on to tell parents that they 'might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.'"
Games

StarCraft II Beta To Begin This Month 182

Posted by Soulskill from the zerg-inc dept.
mrxak writes "It's official; Activision Blizzard's much-anticipated sequel to 12-year-old StarCraft is going to enter closed beta 'this month,' according to company President Mike Morhaime during an investor conference call. This comes in the wake of the SC2 beta forums showing up briefly on Battle.net. If you've got a Battle.net account, it's probably not too late to opt-in for upcoming Blizzard beta tests."
The Almighty Buck

EA Flip-Flops On Battlefield: Heroes Pricing, Fans Angry 221

Posted by Soulskill from the put-your-money-where-your-gun-is dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Ben Kuchera from Ars Technica is reporting that EA/DICE has substantially changed the game model of Battlefield: Heroes, increasing the cost of weapons in Valor Points (the in-game currency that you earn by playing) to levels that even hardcore players cannot afford, and making them available in BattleFunds (the in-game currency that you buy with real money). Other consumables in the game, such as bandages to heal the players, suffered the same fate, turning the game into a subscription or pay-to-play model if players want to remain competitive. This goes against the creators' earlier stated objectives of not providing combat advantage to paying customers. Ben Cousins, from EA/DICE, argued, 'We also frankly wanted to make buying Battlefunds more appealing. We have wages to pay here in the Heroes team and in order to keep a team large enough to make new free content like maps and other game features we need to increase the amount of BF that people buy. Battlefield Heroes is a business at the end of the day and for a company like EA who recently laid off 16% of their workforce, we need to keep an eye on the accounts and make sure we are doing our bit for the company.' The official forums discussion thread is full of angry responses from upset users, who feel this change is a betrayal of the original stated objectives of the game."

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