Blurring the line between video games and reality is certainly nothing new, with the Roomba Pacman and the 6-string Guitar Controller, so it might not come as such a surprise that someone has brought this racing game to life.

German designer Malte Jehmlich and company created this real-life rendition of Wipeout with just a webcam, an R/C car and a race-track made of cardboard.

The speed mimics the PlayStation original due to the scale speed of the 1/28 model R/C car. Controlling of the game is done through an arcade racing cabinet that comes complete with a stearing wheel and an on screen display that is wirelessly connected to an Arduino board. The idea started out as a 2 month hobby project and it is now being worked towards an advanced version. The designers are planning to build sensors right into the track to allow for force feedback and powerups.

Sounds like an amazing plan. I wonder it could be expanded to create a new form of gaming or will it stay as a novelty item? Even if it did stay as a novelty, I would love to try playing it!

Watch the video and see for yourself this twist of a racing game.

Watch the RACER DEMO video game mashup in Vimeo

Update: Latest Cinematic Trailer just released on Jul 21, 2010 by Blizzard:

For some, July 27, 2010 is the most important day in the calendar; for the last few years and maybe more.

For others – that means those of you who has been too busy working to remember 1998 when StarCraft was released, this article is full of videos that will take you back to those days when we used to rule the galaxy with our buddies, and all we do is go Zerg or Protoss hunting. Ah, those were the days!

Even as I am writing this, people who bought the digital version of the game are already downloading it, waiting for the game to be officially released on July 27 in order to be able to install it. These people want to be ahead of the digital queue! This digital queue is much better than the one you see at an Apple product launch or the one when Star Wars Episode I just got released. For one thing, you don’t have to sleep overnight on site to be the first. All you gotta do is wait. The bad thing is – the waiting can kill you …

So while waiting, why not take a peek at the game requirements provided by Blizzard, to release some tension, and also to watch and re-watch some videos to get us in the mood:

This is the StarCraft II Official Cinematic Trailer from 3 years ago, for those of you who has not seen it yet:

7 mins of gameplay footage from StarCraft2 single player campaign:

Starcraft II Beta Tournament: David Kim vs Tyler on Lost Temple Part 1 and 2:

Game Requirements:

Windows Specs:

Windows Minimum Game Requirements*:

Operating System: Windows® XP SP3 |Windows Vista® SP1 |Windows® 7 (All having the latest Service Packs) with DirectX® 9.0c
Processor: 2.6 GHz Pentium® IV or equivalent AMD Athlon® processor
Graphics: 128 MB PCIe NVIDIA® GeForce® 6600 GT |ATI Radeon® 9800 PRO video card or better
Hard Drive: 12 GB available HD space
Memory: 1 GB RAM (XP) OR 1.5 GB (Windows Vista® |Windows® 7 users)
DVD-ROM drive
Broadband connection
1024X720 minimum display resolution

Windows Recommended Game Requirements*:

Operating System: Windows Vista® SP1 |Windows® 7 (With the latest Service Packs)
Processor: Dual Core 2.4Ghz Processor
Graphics: 512 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 GTX |ATI Radeon® HD 3870 or better
Memory: 2 GB RAM

Macintosh Specs:

Mac Minimum Game Requirements*:
Operating System: Mac® OS X 10.5.8, 10.6.2 or newer
Processor: Intel® Processor
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT |ATI Radeon® X1600 or better
Hard Drive: 12 GB available HD space
Memory: 2 GB Ram
DVD-ROM drive
Broadband connection
1024X720 minimum display resolution

Mac Recommended Game Requirements*:

Operating System: Intel® Core 2 Duo processor
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT |ATI Radeon® HD 4670 or better
Memory: 4 GB system RAM

*Note: Subject to changes by Blizzard by the time the game is released. It is correct as of Jul 16, 2010.

The Official StarCraft II in-game demo from 3 years ago. If you have seen this in 2007, you will want to see it again to compare how different the game is now compared to then:

Hell, It’s About Time!

Calling all you Star Wars fans out there!

You all know that Star Wars has given the world much needed inspiration not just in entertainment, but also all sorts of technology including robotics, laser and even toy technology.

You will be pleased to know that Hasbro is organizing a Toy & Games Carnival this weekend on 29-30 may 2010, to be held at Cineleisure Mall:
Time: 12 – 9pm
Place: Centre Atrium, Cineleisure, The Curve

There will be Starship Battle Games, Lightsabre Wielding Competition and more, with over RM10,000 worth of prizes and giveaways!

Download Flyer
Download Itinery

Check out Hasbro’s 70% Toy Sale – Star Wars, Transformers & Marvel Comics…

May the force be with you!

A few months ago, Ubisoft, embarked on a quest to develop a new proprietary digital rights management system designed to protect their intellectual property from the rampant piracy activities that traditionally plague the PC gaming market. The new system will be unlike anything ever tested before and they claim it will bring about a new era in DRM.

Piracy has always been the bane of computer software. Ever since the early days when software is distributed in the form of diskettes, there have been many schemes devised to try and defeat the pirates. It started off with cards that you have to consult in order to get the correct password to input into the game/software when you start it and evolved into CD-checking mechanisms that will only allow a game to run if the proper legitimate disc is detected in the CD-ROM drive.

Every step of the way, pirates have cracked all these schemes, sometimes with embarrassing speed. It seems that nothing could really work.

That’s when Ubisoft decided that based on the proliferation of high speed Internet, a new DRM should be developed to take advantage of this fact. They released the first ever game, Assassin’s Creed II, to feature their new overhauled DRM protection scheme which requires players to stay connected on the Internet in order to play the game.

The system is little more than a challenge-response protection, albeit with an online component which makes it harder for pirates to crack. The way this works is, at key points of the game, it will send out a challenge to a Ubisoft server which then replies with a key. If this key passes the game’s check, you are allowed to continue. Otherwise, the screen will blank out and you can’t play the game.

When pirates discovered how the system worked, they quickly got around to creating a Server Emulator designed to intercept requests made by the game and redirect it to a ‘dummy’ server installed on the computer. However, without the proper challenge-response keys, the game remains uncracked.

The next stage was to get the keys. The pirates enlisted help from people who bought original copies of the game to run a little app that monitors the challenge-response requests to and from the game and capture the matching keys. Eventually, legitimate users of Assassin’s Creed II users managed to capture some 1700 keys necessary for the game to be completed in a few weeks.

Even more damning, a month after the debut of this new ‘persistent online DRM’, SKIDROW, a popular cracking group, has finally cracked the game and disabled the entire copy protection mechanism allowing you to play the game without having to mess around with a server emulator and getting the proper keys to unlock the game.

The ball is back into Ubisoft’s court as to how they will proceed with this now neutered system. However the victims are still legitimate owners of the  game who are forced to jump through hoops in order to play their games while pirates continue to enjoy their games without having obtrusive and obnoxious DRM forced down their throats. Admittedly, intellectual property owners reserve a right to protect their properties, but it seems that there is no easy way to do it without inconveniencing legitimate owners of the game. The game of cat and mouse continues…

This particular problem is quite nasty. It only happened to me recently and here are some tips to overcome it, although it cannot be 100% solved.

Your computer may be suffering from this malaise without you being aware of it.

Recently I noticed that my computer has slowed down considerably. The problem was particularly acute when I was playing a certain Facebook Flash game in Google Chrome. Blaming the problem on an unoptimized Flash game running on Google Chrome, I did not bother fixing it until it got more severe. Okay – until a cute female friend asked for my help…. that’s when I decided that it’s really a problem worth looking into

The Cause

So I ran the game in Firefox and Internet Explorer and found out that the problem is not any fault of Google’s. Investigating further, I finally followed the trail to some sites where people congregated and compared notes on Adobe Flash 9 and 10, like this one here.

And I found out that there are so many tormented souls like me out there!

Others have noticed this sluggishness running Youtube videos. These people have 3 GHz cpus and 4 GB memory but they have the same problem. Youtube is known to work fine in mobile devices running Firefox in only 256MB of available memory space – try googling Nokia N900 – so it cannot be due to people’s computer being old and unable to deal with Adobe’s Flash requirements.

Many have speculated that Adobe Flash’s resource hogging is due to Adobe Flash being a poorly written program, with unoptimized code. Some even say that this is a new version of the Microsoft-Intel conspiracy theory where these giant corporations worked together, to get us to fork out more of our hard-earned money so that we have to buy more computers and help the IT industry prosper.

The Fix:

1. Uninstall Adobe Flash

Really important! You can skip step 2 but not this!

2. Get the beta version, Adobe Flash 10.1 Beta.

If you don’t want to run this beta version, then reinstall the current version at http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/. Just remember NOT to get the free McAfee security app.

After the uninstalling and reinstalling, I find that my Facebook game is more responsive now – my friend says hers is playable now and my Facebook gaming life has improved – I get to spend as little time on it as possible

I won’t say that it’s 100% solved – I still notice that Adobe Flash leaks memory frequently in Firefox and Google Chrome. To resolve this, feel free to restart the slow responding browser or wait for my next article on how to identify and close the memory leak.

Hopefully, this short guide here can solve your problem. If not, then your problem may be a different one or is more severe than this and I can’t really help you but direct you to this article and see for yourself that you are not alone in this.

Happy gaming!

Nevertheless, before the actual tournament kicks off in June this year, you will be pleased to know that we can experience the interactive adaptation of this awaited tournament two months before the World Cup kicks off in South Africa on the 11^th of June.

The Game

I am talking about none other than Electronic Arts’ famed football series, the 2010 FIFA World Cup game that would be available on Sony’s PS3 and PSP, the Xbox 360, Nintendo’s Wii (in addition to mobile and computer platforms as well).

Date of release is currently set on the 27 April 2010. But keep your fingers crossed for an earlier release as demand mounts!

What’s New?

Improvements this time include enhancements on location information (for example players would tire faster when the pitch is at higher altitude as well as teams perform better on home soil), as well as an increase in the number of nations taking part in the game (199 in total from qualification matches).

Several other visual (red female fans in the crowd, players on the bench, improved lighting, fan emotions display etc) and game-play (read improved players, more variety of skills and tactics, quick free kick taking abilities, etc) enhancements can also be anticipated, so brace yourself for an all-new, outstanding version of EA Sports’ 2010 FIFA World Cup game that would serve as an excellent appetizer before the real tournament gets underway!

I have read/write access to the entire system memory, and HV level access to the processor. In other words, I have hacked the PS3. The rest is just software. And reversing. I have a lot of reversing ahead of me, as I now have dumps of LV0 and LV1. I've also dumped the NAND without removing it or a modchip.

3 years, 2 months, 11 days...thats a pretty secure system

The reaction from the hacker community is first that of disbelief, as there have been many such claims in the past that turned out to be scams. But Geohot’s reputation as an iPhone hacker made the news very believable although some remain skeptical until hard proof comes out of a successful hack.

The hacker remains cautious not to reveal too much info to Sony although he did state that the theory is unpatchable. If you own a PS3, I suggest not updating it any further in case the hack won’t work with newer firmware. A few other hackers close to Geohot have confirmed his hack on the website leading even more credence to the news.

Geohot’s objective of hacking the PS3 is to unsigned code which makes it possible for the homebrew community to have full access to Sony’s hardware. A side-effect to this would be that it would now be possible to run pirated games on the PS3, provided you have the money to invest in a Blu-ray burner and on the Blu-ray discs, both of which are prohibitively priced at the moment.

Some have expressed hope in having the hack allow running ISO games directly from the PS3′s hard drive, eliminating the need to purchase any expensive equipment. For all intents and purposes, the hack that Geohot will release will not feature any of these illegal copy-protection circumventions, although enterprising Chinese hackers will surely come in to fill this massive void.

Finally, the hack was accomplished without using any modchips. However Geohot did not mention whether the complicated setup he has on his PS3 is necessary to execute the hack, or is merely there to help him find the vulnerability that allowed for the hack to happen.

Better still. A video game.
A chance for Avatar fans to personally participate in the magical wonders and adventures of planet Pandora. Developed by french company Ubisoft, the game, also titled Avatar, has been released on Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, iPhone, PSP and PC.

Breathtaking scenery

The game is set on the same moon as featured in the movie, with the same beautiful but hostile environment and the same inhabitants. It starts off with the player controlling Abel Ryder, a newly recruited RDA soldier assigned on a mission to locate a traitor within the team. But soon after, he is forced to choose either to continue fighting against the indigenous Na’vi tribe for the highly priced mineral called Unobtanium, or to transfer consciousness into a Na’vi avatar and defend Pandora from her human invaders.

View playing as RDA soldier

According to most reviews, the player would gain an upper hand playing the role of an RDA soldier due to the multitude of advanced military weapons and vehicles available. You will be spoilt for choice with the wide selection of rifles, guns, grenade launchers, flame throwers and also have access to AMP suits, ATVs and missile-equipped aircraft. If you are on a trigger-happy, destructive streak, the RDA will be the undisputed option.

View playing as Na’vi

On the other hand, playing a Na’vi will leave you with primitive weapons such as bow and arrows, knives, clubs, staffs, and a relatively progressive machine gun. Also, close range combat adopted by the Na’vi can be a wee bit disorienting. The cool thing however, is their ability to instantly heal and teleport within short distances. The environment is also not as hostile to a Na’vi as it is to an RDA, thus making it easier for the former to navigate through the dense terrain.

Conquest Mode

Multi-player Mode

Whether playing for the RDA or Na’vi, the goal and tasks remain the same.  Both sides are able to unlock new skills and level up as they successfully accomplish specific missions. Conquest, a strategy mini-game inspired by Risk is also implemented within the game. Conquest mode lets the player accumulate points to enhance their skills by capturing new territories. There is also a multi-player mode available, enabling head-to-head team battles once having completed the main game twice.

What makes Avatar stand out from the other video games is its 3D capabilities. Hardcore gamers who appreciate equally hardcore graphics now have a valid excuse to invest in a 3D enabled monitor, or maybe they should consider waiting for leading television manufacturers like Sony and Samsung to launch the 3D TV by end of 2010. Avatar in 2D already boasts stunning and impressive effects, what more in 3D!

The decision to ban dedicated offline server caused a huge community uproar, with many people arranging for boycott of the game, canceling pre-orders and making their vocal dissent felt on forums. Infinity Ward responded by deleting and removing all negative comments on the game.

The following are the major changes brought as a result of switching to Steam and disabling private dedicated servers:

• VAC instead of Punk Buster
• IW.net matchmaking instead of server browsing
• Players of similar ranks will now be playing each other
• DLC will cost money on the PC
• Mods are probably unlikely
• The game will be fully integrated in to Steam (even retail copies it seems)

On top of that, the price of the game has been raised to be $10 more expensive on the PC, making it the same price as console games. Furthermore, the effort to ban dedicated server is obviously a power play designed to fight piracy of the game. Previously, pirated games can still play multiplayer with other players via LAN and cracking the copy protection of the game. However with Steam integrated into the game, players can only play multiplayer if they own original copies of the game, regardless of whether they are doing it online or offline. Furthermore, the game requires an active connection to the Internet in order to play (it uses the connection to verify you are running a legit copy of the game).

These changes, in trying to fight piracy, hurt most of the hardcore gamers who purchase the game expecting it to work offline for their competitive clan’s matchmaking capabilities. As a result of these changes, most websites that review the game saw an interesting trend: the official reviewer’s score is often high, but the user-generated scores range from the low 2′s to 0 on a scale of 1 to 10.  As a result, although IGN PC game gave the game a near-perfect score, 314 users gave the game an average of only 2.0. Is this justified? Well, as a way of expressing the community’s rage, perhaps things are not as black and white as it seems.

Nevertheless, a week after the game was released, TeknoGods have released a crack that allows players to play Co-op using the game’s dedicated server. You see, all the required information to host your own games are available in the game, but Infinity Ward has simply disabled them. Their tool allow you to host your game and other players can connect to it, although because of the way the tool works, you still need to be connected online and have a valid Steam account (which can be created for free) to play.

True multiplayer is still missing, however. Currently the trick is to put a space in your in-game nickname to get Multiplayer working without getting kicked by Steam, but Valve is expected to close this loophole quickly. As it is, the tool works only for Co-op, with true multiplayer dedicated hosting still being worked on. But given the progress of the crack, it’s only a matter of time before Infinity Ward’s terrible decision is rendered useless by the dedicated programmers hell bent on making sure their game does exactly what they expect from it.

I for one, will be waiting for the game to be patched to support Garena.

HD Quality Games

The problem is mainly due to the claim that OnLive is able to deliver ‘HD quality’ games in real time over the Internet. Many write this off as impossible due to the size of the video stream that has to be pushed though the Internet. It is a complex problem because traditionally, video streaming sites build up a ‘buffer’ of video before they start playing them, so that any hiccups on the Internet such as lost or dropped packets can be smoothed over with the buffer. With video games, no such buffer exists as everything on screen is a result of the user interaction.

Video Compression

The first method to try and tackle this problem is using video compression, which essentially squeezes the information so that it can transfer faster. The problem with this approach is that video games is one of the types of content to compress due to the fast-changing camera angles, explosions and other effects which makes it difficult to compress very well. Common techniques that work well for film, such as analyzing the differences between frames then only sending the information of changes between the frames cannot be adapted for video games.

Latency

The second problem is latency, or lag. Interestingly, even if you have the fastest connection on the planet, there are still some inescapable physical limitations which will increase the lag of the signals (the game video stream, the time between when you click on the mouse and that information reaching the server, etc). First is of course distance; the further you are from the server, the longer the information has to travel and the higher the lag. Furthermore, the signal processing inside the modem is finite and measurable. Then there is lag from having to compress and decompress the video, and finally, as the information travel from the server to you and visa versa, it will be routed through switches which also introduce some lag.

Chaotic Internet

Another problem is the inherent nature of a chaotic internet. Packets of information arrive to your computer in a disorderly manner, sometimes later than another, sometimes out of order and this disorganization mean that there can be a time when the game absolutely needs the information in order to display the next frame, which simply isn’t available. The way OnLive plans to solve the problem is to provide an adaptive compressive technology which changes the compression algorithm depending on network conditions. The technology provides some great streams that look great in motion, but might not look as nice when paused. However, some people would want to pause their games, for instances like taking a picture of a great achievement or reviewing sometimes. Therefore, when the server compresses the video stream, it is actually doing two different types of compression, one is the adaptive compression and the other does a high quality compression for each frame which is then simultaneously recorded if you need to recall it.

The technology is great because it allows you to play great new games without having to own very powerful gaming PCs, as all you need is an OnLive microconsole. With the trend of computers getting smaller and less powerful like netbooks, OnLive is a great service.