What does it take to be a Warfighter

Subject: General Tech | October 31, 2012 - 05:12 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: gaming, medal of honor, warfighter

Warfighter uses DICE's Frostbite 2 engine, the same as BF3, and on the PC they recommend having a 3GHz quad-core processor and at least a GTX 560 or HD 6950 to play.  TechSpot tried out 29 graphics cards paired with a Core i7-3960X to see if this is true as well as if the top end cards can handle Ultra quality settings.  At the moment it is the AMD cards which top their charts, though only by a slim margin, which could change as the game receives updates along with the graphics drivers.  Even though this game has been released on numerous platforms it seems that MoH remembered its roots and delivered a much better experience to PC gamers.

"Medal of Honor: Warfighter calls for no less than a 3GHz quad-core processor paired with a GeForce GTX 560 or Radeon HD 6950. Given those upper-end requirements, we expect the title to be fairly demanding with its visuals maxed out, and we'll be putting a ton of past and present-gen cards through their paces.

It's worth noting that unlike 2010's Medal of Honor which used separate engines for single player and multiplayer, Warfighter uses DICE's Frostbite 2 engine -- the same software that powers Battlefield 3.

We'll be testing 29 DirectX 11 graphics card configurations from AMD and Nvidia across all price ranges with their respective latest beta drivers that claim to improve performance."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Gaming

• Dead Linger Has A Playable Alpha @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Hotline Miami PC Review @ eTeknix
• Football Manager 2013 (PC) Game Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Medal of Honor: Warfighter PC @ Tweaktown
• Afraid Of The Light? Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs Trailer @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Top 5 Classic PC Games @Hi Tech Legion
• Top 5 Games that Need to be Revived @Hi Tech Legion
• Assassin's Creed III (XBOX 360) Game Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Dead or Alive 5 (PS3) @ Kitguru
• James Bond: 007 Legends (XBOX 360) Game Review @ HardwareHeaven

The darkness of Doom 3 makes more sense when you are playing a Thief full conversion

Subject: General Tech | October 24, 2012 - 03:11 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: the dark mod, gaming, Doom 3, thief, mod

The Dark Mod is a total conversion of Doom 3, but not the Doom 3 BFG Edition apparently, not that you should be to worried with the upcoming open sourcing of the Doom 3 source code.  It is not intended to be a remake of the Thief series, the world is similar but the main characters and plot do not follow the original games which will help it feel new even to those who've recently replayed the originals.  The actual mod story is fairly short but now there are community made missions available for download to extend your play.  Drop by Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN for a link to download the mod and to read the extensive change log of the new patch if you already know about this mod.

"With Dishonored reactivating long-dormant stealth glands the world over, now seems a fine time to revisit perhaps its primary ancestor, the Thief games. Doom 3 total conversion The Dark Mod is a mightily ambitious attempt to recreate Thief – its mechanics if not its actual missions – in a more modern, and very much darkness-orientated, engine. It’s just had a major update and a promising new mission added too."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Gaming

• Dishonored: A nice change of pace @ The Tech Report
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown Review - Tinfoil Hats Recommended @ Techgage
• Dishonored PC Review @ eTeknix
• SWTOR Free To Play Is Now Free To Play @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Star Citizen Whomps Its Kickstarter Goal In Five Days @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• XCOM: Diary Of Wimpy Squad @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Forza Horizon Xbox 360 @ Tweaktown

AMD and the intelligent design of gaming

Subject: General Tech | October 24, 2012 - 01:05 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: never settle, gaming evolved, gaming, amd

We don't see much of Ruby anymore the AMD Gaming Evolved screen is becoming a common sight when launching a game, much the the competitions 'The Way It's Meant To Be Played' screen has been in the past.  The DiRT series has always been a showcase for AMD, new AAA games like Deus Ex HR and Sleeping Dogs now bear AMD not NVIDIA branding as will upcoming releases like FarCry 3 and Bioshock Infinite.  The Tech Report spoke to Peter Ross, the man behind the success of this program, as well as game developers at a meeting in Markham, Ontario where they discussed the benefits of Gaming Evolved for makers and buyers of games as well as the changes which have taken place at AMD recently.  Read on to learn about the future of this program as well as the incredible Never Settle card plus games bundle that AMD is offering right now.

"The number of games bearing the AMD Gaming Evolved logo seems to be growing exponentially. Why is that? We've traveled to AMD's offices and spoken to game developers in order to find out what's been happening behind the scenes."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Boeing's CHAMP Missile Uses Radio Waves To Remotely Disable PCs @ Slashdot
• Nokia, Motorola, RIM may be sold in part amid mounting losses @ DigiTimes
• 'Looming menace' of evil browser extensions to be demo'd this week @ The Register
• CM Storm Joint Giveaway @ NikKTech

Carrier Command: Gaea Mission wasn't designed by Derek Smart, but it could have been

Subject: General Tech | October 17, 2012 - 03:11 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: gaming, battlecruiser, Carrier Command: Gaea Mission

Carrier Command: Gaea Mission puts you in control of an aircraft carrier and all of its assets, at least after an hour of gameplay The Inquirer describes as "like a demo product rather than a final game".  However if you can make it through that beginning you end up in a very tough game in which you can not only control the movements of your troops and assets from the bridge you can hop in and manually control anything in the game if you wish.  This is a completely open game and will be unforgiving to those who do not plan ahead and consider their attacks carefully.  If you are into completely open worlds and insane amounts of troop and research management this will be right up your alley, if you prefer mission based play with clear goals you might want to give this one a miss.  It has not been confirmed that you will be permanently banned for daring to ask a question in the forums.

"THE ORIGINAL CARRIER COMMAND game was released all the way back in 1988 offering gamers a comprehensive 3D futuristic aircraft carrier simulation experience.

Sadly, despite positive reviews at the time, outside of a few hardcore circles the game didn't garner mainstream success.

Years later the game has returned, with Carrier Command: Gaea Mission offering the same mix of hardcore real-time strategy and vehicle shooter elements, tasking you to take control of a powerful aircraft carrier and use it to conquer the world."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Gaming

• Steam spawns vulnerabilities, say researchers @ The Register
• Wot I Think: Of Orcs & Men @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Orcs Must Die! 2 Video Game @ Benchmark Reviews
• Dishonored @ The Inquirer
• Torchlight II PC Review @ eTeknix
• Borderlands 2 Defeat The Warrior Farming Guide @ Benchmark Reviews
• Football Manager 2013 Hands-on Preview @ Tweaktown
• Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition @ Kitguru
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 @ Kitguru
• Just Dance 4 (XBOX 360) Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Retro City Rampage @ Techgage

Corsair Raising Money For Charity With 24 Hour Gaming Marathon

Subject: General Tech | October 17, 2012 - 12:22 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: gaming, extra life 2012, donations, corsair, childrens miracle network hospital, charity

What is better than a 24 hour gaming marathon? A gaming marathon that raises money for a charity that helps kids that need medical help, of course!

Popular memory and PC chassis manufacturer Corsair has assembled a 12 man team of gamers that will be participating in the Extra Life 2012 gaming marathon. Lasting 24 hours, teams will play a game of their choice all day. Much like a traditional run/walk marathon, the teams and members are sponsored by donators. In this case, the “runners” are gamers, and 100% of the donations pledged to Team Corsair go to the member’s local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

Founded in 1912, the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in Oakland provides medical care to approximately 200,000 patients a year that otherwise could not afford treatment.

Senior PR Specialist for Corsair Robert Pearce blogged about the upcoming marathon and is the team captain for the Corsair team. He stated that he found out about the Extra Life marathon through a Reddit post and hopes to beat last year’s numbers. Specifically, Extra Life 2011 raised a total of $1.2 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospital and the Reddit team in particular managed to raise $2,740 in donations from its 10 man team gaming for 24 hours. At the time of writing, Team Corsair has 12 members, and has $2,582 in pledged donations – or 52% of their $5,000 goal.

Interestingly, Corsair will be live streaming their 24 hour long gaming session. You will be able to see your marathon gamers in action and know that your donation is going to a good cause (it’s actually for the kids heh). The Corsair live stream will begin at 8 am (PST) on October 20^th, so be sure to check that out and give the Corsair team a virtual pat on the back. If you want to sponsor the Corsair team with a donation, you can find their Extra Life 2012 team page here.

Chris Roberts doesn't need no steenking console; Star Citizen is proudly PC only

Subject: General Tech | October 10, 2012 - 02:36 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: wing commander, gaming, star citizen, sqaudron 42

As mentioned a few weeks ago the brains behind Wing Commander, Privateer and Freelancer, Chris Roberts has a surprise brewing for PC gamers and today we have a name, a date and a trailer.  Star Citizen will be a huge game with multiplayer support and what looks to  be a persistent universe where your actions and the actions of other players will have an effect on the overall scope of the game, for instance the ability to find uncharted warp gates and sell your navigational data for profit to companies and other players.  There will be a single player offline aspect as well, called Squadron 42, for those who want to muck up their universe on their very own.  You can sign up as of 10.10.12 and donate money to the cause as the game is in pre-alpha and still needs a lot of money and time to finish.  Help bring this space sim to fruition and support PC gaming at the same time.  Keep an eye on Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN as they may someday release video of what they have seen, in the mean time the trailer is below.

"I’m sitting in a room, definitely not watching Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts playing a new Wing Commander game. No, it’s the brand new, totally original Star Citizen [the single player aspect of which is called Squadron 42, for some reason - Ed], and as I watch him fly a fighter with no resemblance whatsoever to the Raptor with a Broadsword turret out of a carrier’s launchbay and into the never before seen Vega Sector, I don’t for a second pause to notice how he totally isn’t flying past one of the Kilrathi’s asymmetric Dralthi fighters. Or anything else that might require an expensive license or getting into bed with EA."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Gaming

• Crytek shows Crysis 3 multiplayer with new modes @ The Tech Report
• Torchlight II Review: Now With More Multiplayer @ Techgage
• Hands-on: Far Cry 3 (Single-Player) @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• XCOM: Diary Of A Wimpy Squad #1 – Meet The Team @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Dead or Alive 5 (PC) Game Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Borderlands 2 Xbox 360 and PC Review @ eTeknix
• The Basics of Multi-Monitor Gaming @ Techgage
• Borderlands 2 Review @ OCC
• Dishonored (PC) Video Review with Kaeyi Dream @ HardwareHeaven
• LittleBigPlanet (PS Vita) Game @ HardwareHeaven

List of Games for Linux Steam Client Leak

Subject: General Tech | October 9, 2012 - 09:26 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: valve, tux, steam, linux, gaming

A Steam client for Linux has been a long time in the making, but is definitely getting closer to release with an imminent public beta announced last month.

During the initial announcement, Valve hinted that at least one native Linux game would be available along with the new beta client. Many gamers have predicted that the game will be Valve's own zombie FPS Left 4 Dead 2. Now, thanks to a leaked list of games from Valve's CDR database, gamers can add a few more native Linux games to that list. Among the leaked native Linux games are:

• Amnesia: The Dark Descent
• Crusader Kings 2
• Cubemen
• Dungeons of Dredmor
• Dynamite Jack
• Eversion
• Galcon Fusion
• Serious Sam 3: BFE
• Solar 2
• SpaceChem
• Steel Storm: Burning Retribution
• Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP
• Trine 2
• Waveform
• World of Goo 

Unfortunately, various id software titles with Linux ports appear to be absent as well as several popular Linux-only games such as Tuxracer, Super Tuxkart, and other games popular with a certain penguin. It will be interesting to see what newer games Steam is able to bring on board after the official launch as well. I expect to see games like FTL, for example. Further, I'm curious to see how well received Steam will be versus software like the Ubuntu Software Center!

You can find a full list of games currently on Steam (for Windows) that have native Windows binaries – and will likely make it onto the native Linux Steam client – on this wiki page.

Are you excited for Linux to (finally) get a Steam client?

Help bring Nexus 2 to life and save the local galactic neighbourhood

Subject: General Tech | October 3, 2012 - 06:44 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Kickstarter, kick ass, Nexus, Nexus 2, gaming

The original Nexus: The Jupiter Incident can be hard to explain to those who believe the only RTS game style involves a base and focuses on harvesting resources in order to produce masses of cloned troops of different styles and tiers.  It is similar to Homeworld in that it involves fleet battles and races with differing technologies and spaceships but that is where the similarity ends.  There is no mothership nor do you collect resources to spawn more ships, instead you start with a set amount of ships and equipment to outfit those ships at the beginning of the mission and if you happen to lose a ship to enemy fire that ship is gone; if you are lucky you might get a replacement next mission.   The ships can be outfitted with a variety of weapons and equipment, from shield destroying beam weapons to hull destroying missiles to close support fighters, your choices are limited only by the supplies available not the amount of money or resources you collected.  The pace is much slower but then the missions are unforgiving and simply having a ship out of place could spell disaster for your entire squadron.  At $10 on Steam if this sounds even slightly interesting you should pick it up!

The reason it is worth mentioning this 8 year old game is that the Most Wanted Entertainment and most of the original dev team have launched a Kickstarter program to fund the creation of the sequel, Nexus : The Gods Awaken.  Keeping the original feel, as they put it "a game for Admirals, not Project Managers", and updating the game to modern specifications with the use of the Unreal Engine, perhaps not an exact match to the two tech demos released over the past few years, in fact perhaps even better.  Ship design is planned to be modular which will allow greater customization of your task force as well as enabling the inclusion of larger, better designed space stations and capital ships.  You will get full control over the design of your fighters, bombers and gunboats, which may make watching them die while protecting your ships a more personal experience than in the first game.  You can also expect to see familiar faces and two new alien races, not to mention the one you already went up against but only if they get enough money to get this project off the ground.

Kickstarter is quickly becoming a way for game companies to finance the creation of a game without needing a large publisher behind them and when tied with a release on Steam it also reduces the need for a distributor.  Many will loudly scream that this will lead to a fragmentation of the gaming industry as not everyone will hear about the release of a game, as well as leading to the release of games not destined to be blockbusters.  You can safely ignore them, another Halo game should come out soon and they will stop paying attention and let those who like a game for what it is and not what the advertising says get on with supporting projects like this.  If you feel the same, head to the Kickstarter site and toss them a few coins!

"The gameplay of Nexus is everything the discerning Space Admiral could desire. Alongside improvements and polish across the board to existing graphics and gameplay, there is also a wealth of new features to expand and enrich the gameplay to ever-greater heights.

The Psis are a new class of NPC, who can be added to the crew of certain ships. Each Psi has a unique power, allowing them to influence the course of battle, and turn a lost cause into a triumphant victory."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Gaming

• Borderlands 2 Gameplay Performance and IQ @ [H]ard|OCP
• Sleeping Dogs Gameplay Performance and IQ @ [H]ard|OCP
• Borderlands 2 @ LanOC Reviews
• Resident Evil 6 @ The Inquirer
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 @ The Inquirer
• Borderlands 2 PhysX Performance Review @Hi Tech Legion
• Strung out on Borderlands 2 @ The Tech Report
• F1 2012 PC Review @ eTeknix
• Make Something Unreal Live Is “Genetics and Genomics” @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Feeding The Machine: Gas Guzzlers Demo @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• FIFA 13 PlayStation 3 @ Tweaktown
• FIFA 13 (PS3) Game Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Mark of the Ninja Review (XBLA) @ Kitguru
• Resident Evil 6 Review (Xbox 360) @ Hardwareheaven