Random: Mario And Friends Cause Metrolink Mayhem In Manchester
We can only imagine what Mancunians such as Liam Gallagher or Professor Brian Cox might have thought after the mayhem caused in Manchester, UK the other day by Mario and friends. These mischievous cosplayers renamed many of the city centre’s tram stops with a video game twist.
Commuters were left in shock at Shudehill when greeted by the gory Nurse from Silent Hill getting off the tram.
Of course, this mischief was all in aid of promoting something. In this case, it was to draw attention to the upcoming Play Expo event which takes place at Manchester Central on 4th May – 5th May.
To celebrate the imminent arrival of the expo, the entire Metrolink network was renamed by the costumed mischief makers. Other stops given the video game treatment included Market Street which became Hyrule Castle from The Legend of Zelda and Exchange Square which was renamed Raccoon City from Resident Evil.
It’s a fun little publicity stunt for sure, no doubt Manchester residents had a good chuckle. Play Expo will feature almost 1000 free to play gaming screens with a huge range of games to play from retro favourites like Pac-Man and Mario right the way up to current blockbusters like Fortnite and Minecraft.
If you’d like to find out more or buy tickets you can do so by visiting https://www.playexpomanchester.com. Let us know what you think of all this malarky with a comment below.
Cloud Foundry’s Eirini and the Commitment to Interoperability
A major theme at Cloud Foundry Summit North America last week in Philadelphia was interoperability and its importance to Cloud Foundry — as the core functional tests validating Cloud Foundry Application Runtime releases for Project Eirini begin.
Speaking to this during a podcast, hosted by The New Stack’s Alex Williams, founder and editor-in-chief, were:
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 04-17-2019, 02:12 AM - Forum: Windows
- No Replies
April 2019 Xbox Update begins rolling out
Now that we are officially in Spring, it is time to start cleaning out your game backlog. Even with so much gaming to do, we have some new features to share coming to Xbox One. The April 2019 Xbox Update includes new ways to engage with Xbox Game Pass, use the virtual keyboard, and manage your digital library. Here’s a rundown of what’s new:
Streamlined Xbox Game Pass Quests Xbox Game Pass Quests are better than ever! As this feature rolls out, you will be able to access quests progress directly from the dash and browse all quests from My Profile. Start earning rewards for playing great games, jump in and try out Xbox Game Pass quests!
Mini Virtual Keyboard We understand that navigating a virtual keyboard can be a challenge whether you’re writing an LFG post for Apex Legends or inputting a 5×5 code for a new game. In order to improve this experience, we are releasing a new mini virtual keyboard option for Xbox One. This new virtual keyboard takes up less screen space, streamlining the typing experience. If you prefer or require the bigger keyboard for accessibility, it is still available and can be enabled in Settings -> Ease of Access -> Magnifier -> Larger Keyboard.
Restart added to Power Center Based on user feedback, we have added a new option to restart the console to the Power Center. You can now access this feature quickly by holding down the Xbox button on the controller to bring up the Power Center instead of having to navigate to it within the System tab.
Improved Uninstall When you try to install a new game or app today, we send you to your collection to choose what to remove if your hard drive is full. As of the April 2019 Xbox Update, we will now suggest titles that will free up enough space for your install. To make things even easier it will automatically kickoff the install once the space is freed up!
You can also get to the new Drive Manager page via Settings > System > Storage to easily manage your existing content and uninstall multiple titles at once.
Programmable OneGuide Button on Xbox Media Remote The Xbox Media Remote is updated to allow the OneGuide button to be reprogrammed to launch a media app instead of OneGuide. This is a great shortcut to jump into your favorite media app and start watching.
These updates are available based on the input from our Xbox Insiders who have helped shape these features. Thank you to all of you for your valuable input and continued participation. If you’d like to help define the future of Xbox and get access to early features, download the Xbox Insider Hub app on your Xbox One or Windows 10 PC today and share your ideas at the Xbox Ideas Hub. You can also visit the Xbox Insider Blog here for the latest release notes and to learn more. Enjoy the April Update and happy gaming!
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 04-17-2019, 02:12 AM - Forum: Windows
- No Replies
Artificial intelligence takes on ocean trash
Inspiration sometimes arrives in strange ways. Here is the story of how a dirty disposable diaper led to the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) solution to help rid the world’s coasts of massive amounts of waste and garbage.
It starts in 2005: Camden Howitt is surfing off Puerto Escondido on Mexico’s wild west coast when, suddenly, a floating diaper smacks him in the face. He paddles back to shore in disgust, only to stumble upon a discarded toilet seat lying on the sand.
When Howitt returns home to New Zealand half a world away, his heart sinks when he sees how much trash and other refuse is also washing up on its geographically isolated, and once pristine, 15,000-kilometer (9,300-mile) coastline.
Many people might merely shrug at such a seemingly intractable global problem and see it as just too hard to fix. But not Howitt. His mission became clear: He would dedicate his life to protecting paradise.
Camden Howitt, Co-Founder of Sustainable Coastlines.
Co-Founder Sam Judd came up with the idea of forming a non-profit organization while surfing in the Galápagos Islands in 2008. A year later, the two created Sustainable Coastlines in New Zealand to educate, motivate, and empower individuals and communities to clean up and restore their coastal environments and waterways.
It was the start of an obsession, and one that has just attracted a grant from AI for Earth: Microsoft’s US$50 million, five-year commitment to put AI in the hands of those working to protect our planet across four key areas – agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, and water.
Microsoft President, Brad Smith (middle), during his visit to New Zealand with Camden Howitt (right) and Sustainable Coastlines development lead Dr Sandy Britain (left).
“This kind of initiative is exactly what our planet needs – something simple, but effective, that can easily be adopted at grass-roots level to make a difference, empowering every community to keep their environment clean and make the world a better place for future generations,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said on visit to New Zealand in March.
At Lyall Bay, near the capital Wellington, Smith braved a blustery day to see the organization’s litter-busting technology in action. He helped collect garbage from the beach, then logged and categorized it in the Sustainable Coastlines’ uniquely comprehensive database.
Since it started, Sustainable Coastlines and its growing legions of volunteers have removed enough trash from shorelines around New Zealand and the Pacific to fill the equivalent of nearly 45 shipping containers. They have picked up tens of millions of individual items, 77% of which are single-use plastic.
It’s an impressive achievement, but the problem of ocean garbage is getting worse and is a global scourge that has no boundaries. Howitt ’s vision now is “to combine my deep love for the outdoors with a passion for designing systemic tools for large-scale change.” To get there, Sustainable Coastlines has teamed up with Microsoft and its innovative technology partner, Enlighten Designs.
To find out more, I recently visited Sustainable Coastlines’ headquarters in the nation’s most populous city, Auckland.
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern (middle), at the opening of The Flagship Education Centre, with Sam Judd (left) and Camden Howitt (right).
Howitt looks more or less how you might expect a passionate, ocean-loving environmentalist to look. His beard is long and rugged, his tan is deep, and his determination is strong. Before long he is proudly showing me around the building, The Flagship Education Center, which was opened by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in October last year.
His organization is determined to be sustainable in practice as well as in name. The building captures and recycles its own water. Membrane roofing both insulates and breaks down airborne pollutants into non-toxic by-products. All gray and black water is treated and composted on site. Its offices are powered by state-of-the-art solar panels and batteries that contribute excess power to the city’s standard electricity grid.
Later, Howitt opens up about the scale of the environmental challenges and myths confronting his homeland of long beaches and hundreds of islands at the western edge of the South Pacific. Over the years, a carefully constructed clean-and-green brand has made foreign tourism a massive money-spinner for New Zealand’s economy. And, many Kiwis honestly regard themselves as “tidy” citizens.
Yet the World Bank ranks New Zealand as the planet’s tenth-largest per capita producer of urban waste, well ahead of the United States at 19th. “That’s a top ten that no one wants to be in,” Howitt says. “As New Zealand’s population rockets and we consume like there’s no tomorrow, we could easily rise in that ranking.”
He hopes new technologies and solutions can help reverse this disturbing trend.
Enlighten Designs has built a platform that employs intelligent digital storytelling and visualization tools as part of Microsoft’s Cognitive Services suite. And, together with Microsoft, it is also developing a national litter database that will not only track the impact of clean-up efforts on waste but also generate accurate, scientifically valid data and insights.
Review: This War of Mine: Stories – Father’s Promise
By Matt Skidmore16 Apr 2019
I can still remember playing games such as Commando and Operation Wolf at my local arcade. Back then my only concern was that I had enough coins left for another go; It was a time when we blasted our way through waves of enemies without a second thought. This War of Mine was released on mobile devices back in 2015 (following a steam release the year before). It received pretty much universal acclaim for its brave attempt to shift the focus of war from frontline combat to the day-to-day struggle for survival of everyday citizens.
It draws on the experiences of normal people who were forced to question their values and morals in order to eke out a living in a war-ravaged city. Twenty years before the game’s release the Bosnian War raged and the people of Sarajevo were in the midst of the longest capital city siege in modern warfare. It was this bloody siege that inspired Polish game developers 11 Bit Studios to make This War of Mine.
The original game is one of survival, in which the player leads a group of citizens in their struggle for existence. There are different scenarios, but in essence, gameplay involves savaging for food and supplies and crafting new workstations and equipment. All of this whilst avoiding the attention of soldiers and other hostile groups. The aim is to ensure that your people survive long enough to witness the announcement of the ceasefire so that they can rebuild both their city and their lives.
On some platforms, the Father’s Promise storyline was offered as additional DLC to the original game, but on mobile devices it is being sold as a standalone game. The game’s cheap price point, the short length and simplified options make it a great way to sample the This War of Mine experience without the need to invest in the full game. Father’s Promise takes a much more personal approach than the original game, focusing on the relationship between a father and his young daughter. It is a game where the story is all-important so I will have to tread lightly for fear of giving too much away.
Suffice to say, Adam has lost his wife and now his sole purpose is to care for his desperately sick daughter, Amelia. Recently widowed, tired and hungry, Adam’s situation is a desperate one. He cannot even trust his brother, who simply sees Amelia as a ticket to escape from the city. The brother’s plan is to make for a humanitarian checkpoint that has been established to allow the sick and the young to escape from the conflict. However, despite his brother’s protestations, Adam thinks that it is currently too dangerous for his sick daughter to make such a journey.
There is no disputing that the original game was bleak, but at least you had a group of like-minded people to rely on. Adam only has his traumatized and uncommunicative daughter for company and thus the feeling of solitude and desolation is brought to the fore. Adam has to split his time between gathering food and equipment and taking care of Amelia. She is in desperate need of medical help, but in a country devastated by war, drug supplies are not easy to get hold of, not even on the black market.
By day, Adam crafts equipment and gathers supplies, but he is forced to cast his net ever wider. He has to leave Amelia alone for longer and longer periods of time, putting her at greater risk. By night Adam ignores his growing exhaustion to stand guard over his daughter. He stoically ignores his own ever-growing hunger in order to ensure that Amelia is fed. As Adam staggers ever slower from place to place there is the looming feeling that sooner rather than later something has to give and that an event even more awful is about to happen.
The focus on the story means that the actual gameplay takes a back seat. With only a single character to worry about there is a lot less asked of the player. Controls couldn’t be simpler, with points of interest being depicted with icons. Tap one and Adam will make his way to the point and interact. This may result in him tuning a radio, removing rubble or cooking dinner. To make his life a bit easier Adam can build tools, a shovel, for instance, makes removing rubble a much easier task. When Adam is really tired he slows down, which can make getting around a tad frustrating. There are a few stealthy elements, but nothing too challenging; the developers have a narrative to tell and they want you to reach the end. The story itself is quite short but certainly doesn’t pull any punches, maybe it is a little too emotionally exploitative, but I guess that is just a matter of taste.
Despite having been initially released as DLC, Father’s Promise still works remarkably well as a standalone game. The music is haunting and dramatic, often accompanied by the background sounds of gunfire and explosions. The gloomy monochrome images of ruined apartments and debris-strewn streets set the bleakest of tones. Adam and the other characters are tiny, in stark contrast to looming landscapes that he has to explore. It really brings to light the enormity of the odds that are stacked against him.
It is extremely tough to take such an emotionally charged story and turn it into a game without trivialising the subject matter. This is especially true when that subject matter is based on events that are still so recent and raw. Shifting the focus from group survival to one man’s efforts to protect his daughter makes for an even more personal and harrowing experience. Father’s Promise highlights both the terrible and the inspiring sides of human nature. Initially, it seems that everyone that Adam meets has their price and is intent on looking after number one. However, despite the suffering and devastation Adam still fights selflessly for his daughter. It will not take you that long to reach the end, nor will it prove too taxing but it will certainly leave a lasting impression.
Hot on the heels of their 2019 GDC presentation, Unity 2019.1 was released today. The 2019.1 release saw several of the key pieces of technology announced back in 2018.1 finally come of age, losing their preview tag and now considered appropriate for use in production environments. These technologies include:
Light Weight Render Pipeline (LWRP)
Burst Compiler
Shader Graph
Unfortunately the HDRP isn’t quite ready for production use, but it did receive several new features in this release as well. Additionally there were several new or improved packaged in both experimental and preview formats including GPU lightmapping, new DOTS based rigging, DOTS based physics, DOTS based audio and much more.
Oh… and the Linux editor is now out of experimental and is now considered preview.
You can learn a great deal more about this release on the Unity Blog, or read the full release notes available here. Or you can watch our hands-on video available below. Unity 2019.1 is available for download right now via the Unity Hub. The Linux preview is available for download here in AppImage format.
Looks Like There’s A New LEGO Star Wars Game On The Way
A promotional image for LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Fans of animated plastic bricks and intergalactic battles, rejoice! It would appear that a brand new LEGO Star Wars video game is in the works.
This weekend played host to Star Wars Celebration – which you can likely guess is a fan gathering that celebrates all things Star Wars – and during the event, Skywalker Sound’s Matt Wood seemed to let slip that a new project was on the way. To make things clear, Skywalker Sound is an audio division of Lucasfilm which is in charge of all sound elements in the Star Wars movies.
He actually notes that an awful lot of Star Wars projects are on the way, but this LEGO tease naturally has us intrigued. You can hear his comments for yourself below.
The game hasn’t been addressed in an official capacity from LEGO publisher Warner Bros., but the folks over at Eurogamer have shared a little more potential info. According to Eurogamer’s sources, this next game will be “more than just an adaptation of the saga’s remaining two episodes”, following on from 2016’s LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and while those two episodes will be included, the game will apparently “tell the story of the entire saga”.
Teasingly, Eurogamer says that it has been described as the “ultimate” LEGO Star Wars game. Naturally, we’ll keep an eye out for any official confirmation for the game going forward; it’ll be interesting to see whether or not this ends up on Switch.
Would you be up for a new LEGO Star Wars game? Does it sound like an exciting prospect to you? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 04-16-2019, 10:37 AM - Forum: Lounge
- No Replies
Game Of Thrones Season 8 Episode 2 Teaser Reveals What's Coming Next
HBO has released a teaser for next week's Game of Thrones episode--and it looks dramatic. In the teaser, we hear Daenerys talking about wanting to do terrible things to Jaime.
"When I was a child, my brother would tell me a bedtime story about the man who murdered our father -- about all the things we would do to that man," she says to a council. It appears they are deciding Jaime. He also pushed Bran Stark out of a window and he might finally have to pay for that act as well. Jaime looks frightened as he stands before the group.
After that, the teaser moves to Daenerys talking with Sansa about Cersei and how she's led them astray and betrayed their trust. We also learn in the teaser that the White Walkers are closing in, and they don't have much time to prepare.
