We’re talking with Six Ages developer David Dunham at 3PM EDT
Have you played King of Dragon Pass? It’s a 1999 barbarian tribe management game from developer A Sharp that found a new audience when it was ported to iOS in 2011. That success drove A Sharp (headed up by developer David Dunham) to begin development of a new, similarly-styled RPG called Six Ages, which launched this week on iOS.
Since King of Dragon Pass showed off one of the most unique ways to do systemic narrative in game design, we’re excited that Dunham will be joining us at 3PM EDT on the Gamasutra Twitch channel to discuss the process of making Six Ages. If you’ve got questions about making strategy-driven storytelling experiences, be sure to join us and ask your questions!
And while you’re at it, you can follow the Gamasutra Twitch channel for more developer interviews, editor roundtables, and gameplay commentary.
New Preview Beta & Delta 1806 System Update – 6/21/18
Starting at 2:00 p.m. PDT today, members of the Xbox One Preview Beta and a subset of the Delta Ring will begin receiving the latest Xbox One system update (1806.180618-2044). We are adding more Delta users with this release as we are targeting the upgrade process and will move the remaining set of Delta users in over the next few days as we flight new builds to test the upgrade process. Read on for more about the fixes and known issues in the latest 1806 system update.
New Features:
FastStart
Xbox One Insiders we have added the FastStart technology in the build and we would love your help testing the install performance of various games listed below. In addition we have posted a support article on FastStart here for reference :https://support.xbox.com/en-US/games/game-titles/fast-start-games :
ARCADE GAME SERIES: PAC-MAN
Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Don Bradman Cricket 17
NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja Storm
Destroy All Humans!
PAC-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION
Dovetail Games Euro Fishing
ScreamRide
Dead Space 2
Rivals of Aether
Devil May Cry HD Collection
Minecraft: Story Mode – Season Two – Episode 1
Casey Powell Lacrosse 16
Spelunky
Fuzion Frenzy
The Flame in the Flood
Don’t Starve Together: Console Edition
Viva Pinata
Magic Duels
Toy Story 3
Game of Thrones – Episode 1: Iron from Ice
Ys Origin
The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season
Tropico 5 – Penultimate Edition
Tales from the Borderlands – Episode 1: Zer0 Sum
Neverwinter
A Quest and Survey is provided for feedback!
NOTE: If you do not see that the title is FastStart enabled for these titles, it may either your console is not set to English or that the publisher manages separate versions of the title and we don’t yet have enough data for the one for your region.
Fixes:
Audio:
Fixes are in the build to resolve audio dropouts that users have been experiencing. This fix focuses on Video app audio dropouts that have impacted apps such as Amazon, Netflix streaming and Games such as Minecraft. Atmos HDMI users who own Denon AVRs have been experiencing these drops should not see this behavior anymore.
Friends
We have resolved the issues in which some users noticed that the online status of Friends was not updating correctly.
Game Clips:
The Trim feature used the Y button to allow the user to save their trimmed clip and issues resulted with this input. There are times that the Y button is not available and thus the search functionality is invoked by mistake. We have changed the key mapping as well as the icon mapping on the page to show the X button.
Groups:
Users should no longer see the Groups tab in My games & apps may not show after sign in. You should no longer see “This group does not exist” on Home on first sign-in for your existing Groups.
Fixed an issue in which some changes were not be reflected when editing Groups between multiple consoles after coming out of connected standby.
Fixed the issue to enable using special characters in Group names (e.g. &,”).
My Games and Apps
Fixed an issue that some users where experiencing with game installations and DLC failing randomly.
Fine tuned the Toast notifications when installing a title that supports Fast Start
Looking for Groups
Fixed an issue in which some users would not see any Groups returned when querying for a certain title.
Localization
Various localization fixes across the console.
Store App
A new version of the store app is available that resolves the crash to home that some users were experiencing.
Some users experienced a “Try that again” in the Store app and that is fixed.
System Performance
Misc. performance fixes in the platform.
YouTube
The issue with some users are encountering an issue with the Youtube app stuttering is being resolved by YouTube with an app update.
Known Issues:
Groups
Some users may encounter an issue where their Pins are not displaying artwork or are seeing a while tile instead of their profile color
o Workaround: Please perform the following steps to fix the issue
Open My Games & Apps
Navigate to Groups tab
Scroll to the bottom of the page
Select Delete all groups
Select Delete local groups
You may see issues with Groups if you frequently switch between your non-Preview console and your Preview console. Workaround: Reset your Groups locally on the Preview console through “My games & apps” > Groups, then using the “Reset groups” button at the bottom of the page to resync from the service.
Profile Color
Sometimes users may encounter an incorrect Profile color when powering on the console.
Networking
Work continues on the stability of the Wi-Fi connectivity. If you see any issues please report the problem for investigation by performing a Full system software via the dashboard as opposed to just pressing the Xbox Power button.
7.18: == * Aeon Disk: Cooldown increased from 90 to 115 * Echo Sabre: Strength bonus increased from 10 to 12 * Echo Sabre: Damage bonus reduced from 15 to 12 * Echo Sabre: Slow duration increased from 0.7 to 0.8 * Hand of Midas: Cooldown reduced from 95 to 90 * Orb of Venom: Damage per second reduced from 5 to 3 on ranged heroes * Maelstrom: Chain Lightning damage reduced from 170 to 160
* Abaddon: Base movement speed increased from 305 to 310
* Alchemist: Greevil’s Greed Gold Bonus Cap increased from 16/20/24/28 to 20/24/28/32 * Alchemist: Greevil’s Greed Stack Duration increased from 30 to 40
* Ancient Apparition: Ice Blast duration increased from 8/9/10 to 9/10/11
* Bane: Fiend’s Grip cooldown increased from 100 to 120/110/100
* Beastmaster: Wild Axes manacost increased from 80 to 80/85/90/95 * Beastmaster: Primal Roar cooldown increased from 80/75/70 to 90/80/70 * Beastmaster: Level 10 Talent reduced from +25 Movement Speed to +20 * Beastmaster: Level 15 Talent reduced from +7 Armor to +6 * Beastmaster: Level 20 Talent reduced from +100 Wild Axes Damage to +80
* Bloodseeker: Level 10 Talent reduced from +8 Armor to +6 * Bloodseeker: Level 15 Talent reduced from +300 Health to +275
* Centaur Warrunner: Base strength increased by 2
* Chen: Holy Persuasion cast range reduced from 900 to 600 * Chen: Holy Persuasion send back delay rescaled from 6/5/4/3 to 6 * Chen: Holy Persuasion cooldown increased from 10 to 32/24/18/10
* Clinkz: Strafe cooldown reduced from 45/35/25/15 to 30/25/20/15 * Clinkz: Strafe manacost reduced from 90 to 75/80/85/90
* Clockwerk: Power Cogs burn/damage reduced from 80/120/160/200 to 50/100/150/200
* Crystal Maiden: Crystal Nova damage increased from 100/150/200/250 to 130/170/210/260 * Crystal Maiden: Arcane Aura self mana regen increased from 1.6/2.4/3.2/4 to 1.8/2.6/3.4/4.2
* Dark Willow: Bramble Maze total damage increased from 100/150/200/250 to 140/180/220/260 * Dark Willow: Cursed Crown manacost reduced from 100/120/140/160 to 80/100/120/140
* Dazzle: Base damage spread reduced from 41-59 to 47-53 * Dazzle: Poison Touch damage rescaled from 10/24/38/52 to 16/28/40/52
* Death Prophet: Base armor reduced by 1
* Doom: Base movement speed reduced from 285 to 280
* Dragon Knight: Level 15 Talent reduced from +35 Damage to +30
* Earthshaker: Base HP regen increased from 2 to 2.5 * Earthshaker: Base movement speed increased from 305 to 310 * Earthshaker: Enchant Totem Scepter cast range increased from 900 to 1100 * Earthshaker: Echo Slam Echo damage increased from 60/85/110 to 70/90/110 * Earthshaker: Echo Slam waves are no longer disjointable
* Earth Spirit: Strength gain increased from 3.2 to 3.5
* Ember Spirit: Fire Remnant charge restore time increased from 35 to 38
* Enchantress: Attack range increased from 550 to 575 * Enchantress: Untouchable attack slow increased from -20/60/100/140 to -20/70/120/170 * Enchantress: Impetus damage increased from 14/18/22% to 16/20/24%
* Enigma: Midnight Pulse damage increased from 3/3.75/4.5/5.25% to 3.75/4. 25/4.75/5.2 5% * Enigma: Midnight Pulse duration rescaled from 11 to 9/10/11/12 * Enigma: Midnight Pulse cooldown rescaled from 35 to 50/45/40/35 * Enigma: Midnight Pulse manacost rescaled from 95/110/125/140 to 75/95/115/135 * Enigma: Level 15 Talent increased from +120 Gold/Min to +150 * Enigma: Level 20 Talent increased from +400 Health to +500 Health * Enigma: Level 25 Talent increased from +4 Malefice Instance to +5
* Invoker: Level 10 Talent increased from +0.5s Tornado Lift Time to +1.25s * Invoker: Level 15 Talent changed from +2.5s Cold Snap Duration to -12s Cold Snap Cooldown
* Io: Relocate now has channel time instead of a cast delay
* Legion Commander: Duel bonus damage increased from 10/14/18 to 10/18/26
* Leshrac: Split Earth cast range reduced from 750 to 650
* Lich: Sacrifice 25 manacost removed * Lich: Ice Armor increased from 3/5/7/9 to 4/6/8/10 * Lich: Chain Frost cast point reduced from 0.4 to 0.3
* Lycan: Base armor reduced by 2 * Lycan: Base damage reduced by 3
* Meepo: Base armor increased by 2
* Mirana: Level 10 Talent reduced from +20 Damage to +15 * Mirana: Level 25 Talent reduced from -75s Moonlight Shadow Cooldown to -70s
* Morphling: Waveform cooldown increased from 11 to 14/13/12/11
* Naga Siren: Rip Tide damage reduced from 120/160/200/240 to 80/130/180/230 * Naga Siren: Ensnare cooldown increased from 12 to 14
* Nature’s Prophet: Agility gain increased from 1.9 to 2.4
* Necrophos: Death Pulse damage increased from 80/120/160/200 to 100/140/180/220 * Necrophos: Death Pulse unit kill regen duration increased from 6 to 7
* Night Stalker: Void now deals half damage during day * Night Stalker: Base movement speed reduced from 290 to 285
* Nyx Assassin: Vendetta manacost decreased from 160/210/260 to 140/200/260
* Oracle: Intelligence growth increased from 3.2 to 3.5
* Phantom Lancer: Base strength reduced by 3
* Pudge: Meat Hook cast range increased from 1000/1100/1200/1300 to 1300 * Pudge: Flesh Heap magic resistance increased from 6/8/10/12% to 8/10/12/14%
* Riki: Base damage increased by 3 * Riki: Blink Strike damage rescaled from 55/70/85/100 to 100 * Riki: Blink Strike cast range rescaled from 800 to 500/600/700/800 * Riki: Smoke Screen AoE increased from 250/275/300/325 to 325 * Riki: Smoke Screen cooldown increased from 11 to 17/15/13/11
* Sand King: Burrowstrike cooldown increased from 11 to 14/13/12/11
* Shadow Shaman: Mass Serpent Ward damage increased from 40/70/100 to 50/75/100
* Skywrath Mage: Arcane Bolt manacost increased from 70 to 90
* Slark: Level 10 Talent reduced from +10 Agility to +8
* Sniper: Headshot physical damage no longer ignores Spell Immmune units * Sniper: Headshot damage increased from 15/40/65/90 to 20/50/80/110
* Sven: Great Cleave damage increased from 30/42/54/66 to 40/50/60/70
* Templar Assassin: Psionic Traps bounty increased from 1 to 25
* Terrorblade: Agility gain increased from 3.7 to 4.2
* Tidehunter: Gush armor reduction increased from 3/4/5/6 to 4/5/6/7 * Tidehunter: Ravage duration increased from 2/2.4/2.8 to 2.4/2.6/2.8 * Tidehunter: Level 20 Talent increased from -4 Gush Armor to -5 * Tidehunter: Level 20 Talent increased from +24 Kraken Shell Damage Block to +30
* Timbersaw: Whirling Death stat loss percentage increased from 13% to 15%
* Tiny: Strength growth increased from 3.3 to 3.6 * Tiny: Tree Grab unit attack damage bonus increased from 10/20/30/40% to 25/30/35/40% * Tiny: Tree Grab building attack damage rescaled from 90/120/150/180% to 80/120/160/200% * Tiny: Toss damage increased from 75/150/225/300 to 90/160/230/300
* Ursa: Overpower attack count increased from 3/4/5/6 to 4/5/6/7 * Ursa: Level 20 Talent increased from +12 Fury Swipes Damage to +16
* Vengeful Spirit: Wave of Terror damage rescaled from 45/70/95/120 to 60/80/100/120 * Vengeful Spirit: Magic Missile stun duration rescaled from 1.2/1.4/1.6/1.8 to 1.5/1.6/1.7/1.8
* Warlock: Shadow Word manacost increased from 90/110/130/150 to 120/130/140/150 * Warlock: Shadow Word cast range reduced from 525/600/675/750 to 450/550/650/750
* Weaver: Agility gain increased from 2.8 to 3.1 * Weaver: Shukuchi damage increased from 80/110/140/170 to 100/125/150/175
* Windranger: Intelligence reduced by 2 * Windranger: Powershot reduced from 180/270/360/450 to 150/250/350/450
* Witch Doctor: Voodoo Restoration activation cost increased from 20/30/40/50 to 35/40/45/50
* Wraith King: Mortal Strike skeletons magic resistance increased from 30% to 50% * Wraith King: Vampiric Aura increased from 15/20/25/30% to 18/22/26/30%
Renamed a lot of internal IDs to be more consitent with the game
Squashed bugs!
FIXED BUGS IN 1.13-PRE5
MC-103516 – Spider and chicken jockeys only spawn the additional mob
MC-118372 – Faulty netty-4.1.9.Final release causes players to be kicked from the server
MC-124545 – Malformed JSON as ‘name’ value for ‘show_entity’ hoverEvent causes crash
MC-124546 – /datapack disable only works in the overworld
MC-125729 – Moving frosted ice preempts melting even under correct conditions
MC-126136 – Inverted tab-suggestions for argument values in entity selectors are suggested even if the typed prefix doesn’t include an exclamation mark
MC-126144 – Cods suffocate when touching a solid block from below
MC-126373 – Density of nether and overworld ore veins significantly lower in 18w versions
MC-126906 – Buckets cannot be emptied against blocks with the state waterlogged
MC-126915 – Dispenser with empty bucket removes waterlogged blocks instead of drying them out.
MC-129527 – Drowned overlay turns dark blue when wearing enchanted armor
MC-130480 – Input range entry and limits are reversed in error messages
MC-130547 – Objective minecraft.used only ticks up when placing a block from a stack of 2 or more items
MC-131094 – Projectiles ignore collisions for ~1 block after spawned
MC-131599 – Opening player inventory with visible recipe book after using beacon causes crash
MC-132002 – Ender dragon respawns when upgrading from 1.12 to 1.13-pre3
MC-132064 – Swimming state does not end when teleporting / jumping out of water
To get pre-releases, open your launcher and go to the “launch options” tab. Check the box saying “Enable snapshots” and save. To switch between the snapshot and normal version, you can find a new dropdown menu next to the “Play” button. Back up your world first or run the game on in a different folder (In the “launch options” page).
Please report any and all bugs you find in Minecraft to bugs.mojang.com.
Pre-releases can corrupt your world, please backup and/or run them in a different folder from your main worlds.
Share your thoughts on how 1.13 is shaping up in the comments below!
Resident Evil 2 Remake Is Terrifying In Fresh New Ways, But It's Familiar
The highly-anticipated Resident Evil 2 remake rides a thin line between new and old. It instantly pulls you in with familiar characters and locales, but finds new ways to make you feel uneasy with its new interpretation of classic events from the original. If you played the game back in 1998, you'll likely to feel a nostalgic wave of emotion when you first pick it up; there's a lot here that has been painstakingly recreated. Whether or not you played Resident Evil 2 back when it released, the upcoming remake is shaping up to be a satisfying jaunt through a horror classic well worth looking out for.
My time with the demo began in the main hall of the Raccoon City Police Department as Leon S. Kennedy--who's just as strong willed and naive as we remember. He's no longer the invincible superhero that latter entries transformed him into; he's desperate and vulnerable. These qualities should come as no surprise to fans of the original version, but the remake really leans into them, making your time spent as the rookie cop all the more tense and dire. And with higher-quality voice performances, Leon's circumstances feel grounded and believable.
It helps that the Resident Evil 4-style, third-person over-the-shoulder camera provides a far more intimate view than the original's fixed camera angles. The remake faithfully recreates the original RPD's narrow halls and pathways; its floor layout is nearly identical. The third-person perspective plays well with the labyrinthian police department, making exploration feel unsettling and claustrophobic; gone are the door-opening loading screens.
All throughout my plodding trek across the RPD, I rarely felt safe. An area would be recreated exactly as I remembered it, but then the game would completely mess with my expectations. For example, in the southwest corridor, I expected to fight the infamous Licker, but in its place was the body of an RPD officer whose mouth has been cut into a Glasgow smile. Despite having played the original countless times, new details like this ensured that I was always on my toes.
The feeling of desperation intensifies when you run into your first zombie. The empowering over-the-shoulder shooting featured in latter games has changed. When you aim, the cardinal markers on your reticle slowly move until they're closed in on the center, allowing you to fire a more precise shot. But when you move, the reticle resets and must take time to close in again. Shots take time to line up; you can't just instantly fire from the hip and expect to hit your target. It's a small change, but it completely alters your sense of control. Every bullet counts when you're cornered by a pack of zombies, forcing you to pick your shots wisely.
There's a deeper focus on exploration in the remake. Scattered throughout the environment are doors to unlock and puzzles to solve. Thanks to the more seamless navigation, the game feels more akin to Metroid. You're constantly investigating new pathways, gaining new items that might help you open up the way to your objective. There's more freedom overall to explore and discover secrets at your own pace and in varying orders--which is a welcome change of pace from the more constricted adventure game-like progression of the original.
I walked away pleasantly surprised from my time with Resident Evil 2 remake. As a massive fan of the original, I had reservations going into the demo. But after playing it, I can't wait to jump back in. There's something so special about the way it takes advantage of your knowledge of Resident Evil 2, pleasing you with its faithful renditions of well-known locations, while at the same time terrifying you with everything it does differently. This persisted all throughout my experience with the game, and I can't wait to see all the changes it makes once it finally releases early next year.
4MLinux: More Than Just Another Lightweight Distro
I don’t want to get up on yet another “Here’s another lightweight Linux distribution to revive your aging hardware” soapbox. So many distributions make that promise, and most of them do an outstanding job of fulfilling their mission statement. Also, many of those distributions are fairly similar: They offer a small footprint, work with 32-bit systems, and install a minimal amount of software dedicated to the task of helping you get your work done as best a lightweight operating system can do.
But then there’s 4MLinux. This particular take on the lightweight Linux distribution is a different beast altogether. First and foremost, 4MLinux doesn’t include a package manager. That’s right, the only way you can install packages on this distribution is to do so from source (unless you install the limited number of packages from within the Extensions menu (more on that in a bit). That, of course, can lead to a dependency nightmare. But if you really give it some thought, that could be a serious plus, especially if you’re looking for a distribution that could be considered an ideal desktop for end users with specific use cases. If those users only need to work with a web browser, 4MLinux allows that while preventing users from installing other applications.
What’s in a name?
The name 4MLinux comes from a strong focus on the following “Ms”:
Maintenance — 4M can be used as a system rescue Live CD.
Multimedia — 4M offers full support for a large number of image, audio and video formats.
Miniserver — 4M includes DNS, FTP, HTTP, MySQL, NFS, Proxy, SMTP, SSH, and Telnet servers.
Mystery — 4M includes a collection of classic Linux games.
It is the inclusion of servers that makes 4MLinux stand out above the lightweight competition. On top of that, the distribution goes out of its way to make the managing of these servers pretty simple (more on that in a bit).
Let’s install 4MLinux and see take a look at what it has to offer.
Installation
The installation of 4MLinux is a bit more complicated than many other distributions in its class. When you boot the live CD/USB, you must first create a partition it can be installed on. To do that, click the start button > Maintenance > Partitions > GParted. I installed 4MLinux as a VirtualBox VM. In order to do that, I had to first create a partition table on the virtual drive. Do this by clicking Device > Create Partitions Table (Figure 1).
Once the partition table has been created, click the New button and create a partition that can house 4MLinux (Figure 2).
With the partition created, go to Start > 4MLinux > Installer. This will open a terminal window. When prompted, hit the Enter key on your keyboard and then select the partition to use for the installation (Figure 3).
You will then need to answer two questions:
After you type “y” to start the installation, 4MLinux will install (a process that takes less than 5 minutes). When you see “Done” presented, close the window and reboot the system. Upon reboot, you will be prompted (in a text-only window) to create a root password (Figure 4).
Creating a standard user
Naturally, you don’t want to run 4MLinux as a standard user. Of course, you won’t find a GUI tool for this, so open the terminal window and issue the command adduser USERNAME (Where USERNAME is the name of the user). After typing (and verifying) a password for the new user, you can log out and log back in as that user.
The Desktop
4MLinux employs Joe’s Window Manager (JWM). It’s actually quite a lovely little desktop, one that includes all the features you’d want for easy interaction. There’s a panel, a start menu, launchers, desktop icons, a dock, a system tray, a mouse menu (Figure 5), and, for good measure, Conky (the lightweight, themeable system monitor).
Applications
Out of the box, you won’t find much in the way of productivity tools. And even though there isn’t a package manager, you can install a few tools, by way of the Start > Extensions menu. Click on that menu and you’ll see entries like LibreOffice, AbiWord, GIMP, Gnumeric (Figure 6), Thunderbird, Firefox, Opera, Skype, Dropbox, FileZilla, VLC, Audacious, VirtualBox, Wine, Java, and more.
Click on one of those entries and a terminal window will open, asking if you want to continue. Type y and hit Enter. The package will be downloaded and installed. Once installed, the package is started from the same Extensions menu entry used for installation.
Miniserver
Let’s talk about that Miniserver menu entry. If you open that menu, you’ll find entries for StartAll, StopAll, Settings, Tests, and MiscTools. If you click the StartAll entry, all of the included servers will start. Once they’ve started, click on Miniserver > Settings > LAMP. This will open up the default web browser (Chromium) to a page allowing you to select from LAMP Admin, Webmin, or Help. Out of the box, Webmin is not ready to be used. Before you can log into that powerful tool, you must first open up a terminal window and issue the command webmin. This will download and install Webmin on the machine. You’ll have to answer a few questions (Figure 7) and create a password for the Webmin admin user.
Once you’ve installed Webmin, you can click Start > Miniserver > Settings > LAMP and, when presented with the available links, click the Webmin entry. You’ll be required to log in with the user admin and the password you created during the Webmin installation. You can now administer your LAMP server (and quite a bit more) from within an all-too familiar web GUI.
Is 4MLinux for You?
4MLinux is a very intriguing distribution that’s really hard to classify. It offers the best of a few worlds and misses out on the best of others (such as a traditional package manager). It’s one of those distributions that might never wind up your go-to, but it is certainly one you need to experience first hand. And, who knows, you might find this unique flavor of Linux just right for you.
Learn more about Linux through the free “Introduction to Linux” course from The Linux Foundation and edX.
Review: Olloclip for iPhone X — the best budget lens system
Olloclip released an updated version of their popular mobile lenses, tailor-made for the iPhone X. Included is a wide angle lens, a fisheye lens, and a macro lens —and we’ve been testing it out for a few weeks.
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Olloclip’s lenses have really come a long way since they originally launched, now coming in a neatly integrated package that seems to have considered every use case.
While it took a bit longer than many hoped before coming to the iPhone X, the result is an impressively useful toolset of glass, metal, and plastic.
Overview
Eager iPhone X owners will receive a total of three lenses with the Olloclip box set, including a super-wide angle lens, a 15x macro lens, and an all-encompassing fisheye. The macro lens actually resides behind the fisheye lens, which needs to be unscrewed before use.
Each of the two primary lenses – the wide angle and fisheye – are attached to a removable plate that fits into the mounting clip. This clip is used to go over the top-right corner of the iPhone X, covering the camera module along the back, as well as the True Depth camera system up front.
Each individual lens can be used in one of three ways. It can be used on the rear wide-angle lens, on the rear telelens, and on the front-facing selfie camera. Between three different lenses and three different orientations, it can be quite difficult to keep straight.
After using the Olloclip lenses on our iPhone X for a while, we noticed a few issues with the design. For starters, the shape of the mounting clip can be a bit confusing to align correctly. There is, in fact, a “front” and a “back” though they can be nearly indistinguishable when trying to quickly put into place. Additionally, a few times we thought it was in place, though it actually wasn’t. We tried to grab the lens and it slipped off. Considering the Olloclip lenses don’t work with a case, it is scary that we nearly dropped our device doing this. Clearly it is good practice to not grab the lens at all, but even more so if it isn’t locked in place.
A bigger issue though is when attached, Face ID is unable to function. As we mentioned, when in place, the mounting clip will cover the True Depth camera system in near totality. It is necessary when actually using the lens on the front facing camera, but when trying to unlock your phone, it is impossible. It got quite frustrating in our use not being able to get into our phones with the ease we’ve been accustomed to.
Build quality
We’ve used many Olloclip lenses over the years, and the build quality here is consistent with what we’ve come to expect from the brand. It fits squarely in the middle between the more premium offers and the dirt-cheap junk found in bulk on Amazon.
The lenses themselves are made out of a lightweight metal and glass, though they get affixed to a plastic mount. This plastic mounting clip is the weakest-feeling portion of the whole kit, and the way it expands to clip onto the keychain or the phone feels a bit sloppy. We do worry about this holding up over time, but luckily this would be the easiest (and cheapest) to replace if need be.
Photo quality
Any mobile lens needs to be able to shoot some pretty stellar photos to warrant their inclusion in our pocket. After shooting dozens and dozens of photos, we were solidly happy with two out of the three lenses.
Of the three, the macro was the one we used least, but it yielded some really impressive photos. We shot quite a few images that really stood out to us and were crystal clear. Olloclip’s macro lens is also 15x which is a bit more magnification than we typically see.
Most people will get spend the majority of time shooting on the super-wide angle lens. It is by far the most practical lens of the three, fitting into most situations. It can make the wide-angle lens even wider, or it can help the 2x tele lens fit more into frame. Not only does the wide angle let you get more coverage, it does so with very little distortion.
When we come to the fisheye lens, it certainly had the instantly recognizable curvature you’d expect. However, it adds some crazy clipping/vignetting on each of the corners. To use one of these images, it would need to be cropped quite substantially or used with blacked out areas.
Premium options
Olloclip is hands-down preferred over the bulk of mobile lenses out there. It is portable, fits exactly over the camera housing, and has many options between the multiple lenses and orientations.
It isn’t, however, the most premium lens system in town. Our two favorites hail from Moment and Sandmarc. Both of these manufacturers produce high quality, premium lenses that cost significantly more than Olloclip.
Fortunately, Olloclip has other benefits instead of just price. The integrated and portable package is much easier to carrier around, and no extra case is required to use. Moment and Sandmarc require a specially made case to attach the lenses the phone.
Without a doubt Moment and Sandmarc put out superior glass, but most people won’t have the need for such high-end lenses. With lenses, you can often get 90 percent of the way there for a fraction of the price. But to go from where Olloclip is, to the last 10 percent, takes a lot more time, effort, and money to do correctly.
To get 90 percent of the way for 1/3 the price, seems like a fair trade-offf.
Get shooting
Olloclip is a decent package for any photographer, experienced or novice, who wants to shoot better photos on their phone. Compared to others, there is a lot to take in. A portable keychain, multiple lenses, several orientations.
Photo quality was more than sufficient, letting us get a lot of great shots without much fuss. Adding a wide-angle lens to your mobile arsenal is a great move whether shooting landscapes, indoors, or taking selfies with a group.
There are certainly downsides such as Face ID being blocked, the questionable long-term integrity of the clip, and awkward mount design, but that can all be largely overlooked in the short term for the practicality and usefulness of these lenses.
If Face ID’s occlusion isn’t a deal-breaker for you, then the Olloclip for iPhone X gets a
Rating 3.5 out of 5
Where to buy
Those interested can pick up each individual lens by themselves, or as a whole set. Both the fisheye/macro lens and the super-wide angle can be had for $59.99 each, or the whole box set can be found for $99.99 either on Amazon, or direct from Olloclip.
Does Battle Royale have a long-term future on mobile?
By Collin MacGregor29 Jun 2018
The video game industry is constantly chasing the hottest and most lucrative trends. From military shooters to virtual reality, there is always a new concept asserting its dominance – this is as true for consoles and PC as it is mobile, although our app stores have yet to shake from the over-arching grip of Free-to-Play.
It’s hard to ignore the battle royale genre’s hold on the wider gaming scene as massive franchises attempt to be the next multiplayer hit. The mobile market is also chasing this latest craze: a boon of battle royale games that range in quality and name recognition have cropped up over the past few months. But despite the massive popularity of this genre, one has to wonder if this is just a fad or is this multiplayer-focused experience destined to become a mobile staple?
King of the Fort
The current king of this genre is Epic Games’ smash hit, Fortnite. What separates this one from other BR games is a unique building mechanic that allows players to rapidly assemble cover, structures, and traps. This elevates firefights and allows for a player’s creativity to shine through. Unlike other titles such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), Fortnite thrives on its speed and accessibility, something that causes the mobile port to suffer more compared to the PC/console iteration.
This isn’t to say that the mobile version of Fortnite is unplayable or even bad – it’s actually quite fun – but this iteration is absent a sense of momentum. Since playing on a phone lacks the fluidity of a controller or keyboard, many engagements are supremely awkward. Instead of seeing who can quickly construct cover and outmanoeuvre their opponents, players often just use the environment to block incoming bullets. Even with the auto-build function, it takes a lot of practice to learn how to quickly produce anything outside of a basic wall or ramp.
What you’re left with is an odd version of Fortnite that closely resembles the PC version but lacks the kinetic energy that helped it climb to the top of the charts in the first place. Shooting others is still satisfying and the large arsenal of weapons always keep battles feeling fresh. There is still a plethora of unique gadgets that shake up combat and Epic has done a great job with keeping the mobile version updated with the latest changes. However, due to the limitations of playing on a phone or tablet, Fortnite simply cannot deliver the same quality gameplay on a mobile device.
Player Unknown
In contrast, PUBG’s mobile version fairs far better due to the title’s core pacing and mechanics. Gameplay in this title has always been much slower (A legacy of its heritage as an ArmA mod, perhaps -ED), with most matches encouraging methodical approaches to gunfights. Taking your time to line up the perfect shot or reposition into cover is par for the course. This allows PUBG‘s mobile design to flourish since these principles work perfectly with this version’s condensed control scheme.
Even though both mobile versions of these hit multiplayer titles have issues, they prove that the battle royale genre is perfect for this platform. Like the best mobile titles, both games offer quick, entertaining sessions that still possess challenge. There are no time gates or any of the usual cynical trappings of mobile free-to-play. The formula of forcing 100 players into a shrinking safe area still crafts memorable moments that very few mobile titles can replicate.
Regardless of what sacrifices these titles have had to make during their transition, the core foundation is still solid. These are complete games and it’s remarkable how little was lost during their transition to mobile. Because of this, players can continue to grow and flesh out their understanding of the mechanics. For people like myself who are coming from PC, it’s great to take my previous experiences and apply them in-game.
Royale with Cheese
This transition from PC to mobile is a double-edged sword. While bringing Fortnite to phones offers a ton of positives, it’s important to remember that this title was not designed for handheld devices. There’s a lot to keep track of, which can severely hinder the controls. The UIs for PUBG and Fortnite are quite cluttered due to the myriad of mechanics that users need to keep track of.
Mundane tasks such as sprinting, crouching, or jumping are relegated to button prompts or specific commands. This not only floods the screen with icons but can create an awkward experience for those with bigger fingers. Nothing is more disheartening than having your perfect sniper position given away because you accidentally grazed the fire button. Yes, it’s possible to customize the screen, but that only mitigates the poor UI instead of fixing it.
But battle royale games never-the-less posses a very compelling gameplay loop that’s easy to learn, but hard to master: drop into a location, scramble for loot, and try to claw your way to the top Being able to pick up Fortnite or PUBG and play a quick round on the go is what will give this genre its’ sustainability. There are no bases to manage or mechanics one has to worry about when the game is closed. Even when this latest craze has died down on PC, I predict the mobile versions will continue to thrive.
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