DomiNations launches on the iPhone and iPad for all your world conquest needs
Developer Big Huge Games and publisher Nexon have launched the free-to-play strategy game DomiNations today for the iPhone and iPad.
Here’s what players can expect from this new far-reaching strategy game:
DomiNations is a base-building strategy game where players will choose to lead one of the world’s greatest nations including the British, Romans, Chinese, Germans, French, Japanese, and Greeks. The timeline of DomiNations unfolds across the expanse of human history, where players must research landmark technological developments, leverage unique strategic civilization abilities, and build Wonders of the World in order to pave their way to victory. With famous generals like Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, and Napoleon at the helm, players can relive history’s most famous conflicts at the tips of their fingers.
In DomiNations, players will be able to construct more than 100 unique upgradeable structures in order to expand a civilization and defend against invading armies. Players must manage their food and economy while training troops and hiring mercenaries to colonize neighboring civilizations in real-time combat to expand their influence and earn valuable loot. The robust single-player experience in DomiNations will lead players on a campaign from the Fertile Crescent to World War II and beyond. The multiplayer mode will let players wage war against opponents from around the world while also joining alliances to cooperatively crush their enemies.
The development of DomiNations, which was first announced in October, was led by Brian Reynolds and Tim Train, who helped to design the classic PC strategy games Civilization II and Alpha Centauri. The two men later co-founded Big Huge Games where they developed the Rise of Nations titles for the PC. After working at Zynga for a few years, Reynolds and Train reformed Big Huge Games to create DomiNations for Nexon.
- Free with IAP – Download now
Source: Nexon
Google publushes stats to show that Android is safe
Google announced through a white paper that Android is safe and is only getting safer. Everyone should understand that cyber threats are not gone. We witnessed Sony get hacked in 2014, which was one of the biggest eye-openers for all of us last year. I think many of us realized, if Sony can get hacked, so can we.
Google, Apple, and Microsoft understand that security is on the forefront of everyone’s concerns when it comes to digital data. We also saw Snapchat hacks last year where thousands of private photos were leaked to the web for everyone’s viewing pleasure/displeasure. Google knows security is vital to all of us, whether we have private photos to protect, banking information, private emails, etc., most of us have something we want to keep private. If our privacy were to be violated, I am sure most of us would start looking for another platform to use.
Google has analyzed billions of data points, and in the white paper they give stats on how many people are protected.
– 1 billion devices are protected by Google Play – for perspective, the US has a population of 318 million people. That would be over 3x the population of the US. The UK on the other hand has a population of 64 million people.
– Fewer than 1% of Android devices had a potentially harmful app. That means, in all likelihood, you are safe. No system is perfect, but less than 1% if pretty good. That would be an A+ grade at a university.
– The overall worldwide rate of Potentially Harmful Application (PHA) installs decreased by nearly 50% between Q1 and Q4 2014. – Google is getting better at protecting us.
I’ve used Apple devices for years before I used Android. My own experience leads me to believe Android is the most safe environment out of both platforms.
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‘Binding of Isaac: Rebirth’ reborn on 3DS, Wii U and Xbox One
Prepare your consoles for ritual sacrifice. An edited version of The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, the adorably disturbing roguelike from Super Meat Boy co-creator Edmund McMillen, is on its way to 3DS, Wii U and Xbox One. This is really happening, despite a few years of uncertainty about the game’s fate on Nintendo consoles. Back in 2012, McMillen said that Nintendo had nixed The Binding of Isaac (the version before the Rebirth expansion) on 3DS because of the game’s “questionable religious content.” It is a game about God compelling a mother to murder her own child, after all. However, Rebirth has since launched on PlayStation 4, Vita and Steam, and McMillen has remained optimistic about working with Nintendo. In July 2014, he noted that a 3DS version was still on the table.
Now, McMillen has laid out some of the edits that make the 3DS and Wii U versions possible.
“Now you know how I am about artistic integrity and trust me when I say I’d never compromise my art to make a quick buck,” he writes on his blog. “But after thinking outside the box a bit I came up with a few minor edits to the game that got more than a few suits on my side when it came to getting the green light. I’ll list out the edits below and I think you’ll agree they are so minor none of you will even notice.”
Before we dive into some of the changes, it’s worth noting that this blog post was published on April 1st. We double-checked with McMillen that this wasn’t all a cruel, cruel joke. “Something’s [sic] are true some aren’t but I’m happy with the edits we made,” he wrote back. Microsoft’s Xbox One version will be the same as the PS4 game, meaning no Nintendo-level edits, but it will “feature the green Xbox ‘X’ carved into Satan’s head (a lil’ gag to MS).”
On to the edits for 3DS and Wii U. McMillen notes three major areas that Nintendo found problematic: nudity (Isaac is a baby and is cartoonishly naked), use of the word “God” and Christian imagery. To fix the nudity issue, there’s now a fig leaf between Isaac’s legs, over what McMillen calls “questionable underage dingle dangle.” We meant it when we said this game was truly adorable and disturbing.
“God” is now “Dog” in the Wii U and 3DS versions, offering a bit of wordplay and a Son of Sam reference for good measure. As for the Christian imagery, McMillen replaced all of it with another, commonly ridiculed religion: Scientology.
“By switching out one mainstream belief system with a smaller one that’s more socially acceptable to mock in the media I turned the tides and created a game that is more socially acceptable but still brings home the strong message the game always had,” McMillen says.
There’s no release date for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth on Wii U, 3DS or Xbox One, but McMillen says it should be “soon.” Overall, he’s happy with the edited game on Nintendo consoles.
“A few easy changes to get the game into the hands of Nintendo fans around the globe!” he writes. “An easy compromise that took us longer than a year to do… but was well worth it, artistic integrity intact.”
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft, Nintendo
Source: The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Scrooge McDuck, Magica De Spell and the Beagle Boys go mobile in DuckTales: Remastered
I have very fond memories of my 8-bit gaming days on the NES. A few that stand out in my head were the Mario Bros series, Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yo! Noid, Zelda and Duck Tales. Certainly one can grab all these classics and game to their heart’s content with […]
The post Scrooge McDuck, Magica De Spell and the Beagle Boys go mobile in DuckTales: Remastered appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
HTC One M9+ leaks in Silver on Gold and all Gold
We are less than a week away until the HTC One M9+ is unveiled for real, but we aren’t sure what there is left to unveil? We have two more images for you to feast your eyes on.
As you can see, HTC will offer up the same Silver and Gold and all Gold options that are offered in the basic One M9.
I am still trying to figure out why HTC would offer this Plus version so close to the April 10 launch day of the basic M9?
source: @upleaks
Come comment on this article: HTC One M9+ leaks in Silver on Gold and all Gold
iPhone’s Force Touch Tech May Track Contact Area Instead of Pressure, New 4″ Model Unlikely in 2015
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a respectable track record at reporting on Apple’s upcoming plans, issued a note to investors on Thursday that claims the next-generation iPhone will have a FPC-made capacitive Force Touch sensor under the backlight, laminated with metal shielding. Kuo adds that the change may be significant enough for Apple to call its next iPhone the “iPhone 7″ instead of the so-called “iPhone 6s.”
The analyst claims that the hardware design of Force Touch will be different than the technology used in the Apple Watch and 12-inch Retina MacBook. Instead of directly detecting the pressure applied by fingers, the new improved Force Touch hardware will monitor the contact area where a finger presses to determine how much pressure is being applied. The sensor will use capacitive technology and thin FPC material to save space.
“We believe that iPhone’s Force Touch sensor doesn’t directly detect the pressure applied by fingers. Instead, it monitors the contact area on which the finger touches the screen to decide how big the pressure is.
There are two possible structural designs for Force Touch from a technology viewpoint. The Force Touch sensor can either be placed between the cover lens and the In-cell touch panel or under the In-cell touch panel’s backlight. In the first position, the technological challenge lies with how to produce the transparent Force Touch sensor; in the second position, the challenge is how to reduce signal interference from in-cell touch panel. Our understanding of the technology is that producing a transparent Force Touch sensor is more difficult, so the chances are the new iPhone this year will opt for the second position.”
Kuo adds that Apple is likely to change the hardware design of Force Touch again in 2016 by removing the metal shielding to achieve a thinner form factor. He notes that the changes should improve the iPhone user experience, but will likely create uncertainty for Force Touch module suppliers TPK and GIS, as well as metal shielding suppliers Minebea, Hi-P and Jabil.
Kuo claims that Apple is still targeting 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models for its next-generation iPhones, akin to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and notes that a 4-inch model is unlikely to be released this year. KGI Securities estimates iPhone shipments will total 25 to 30 million units in the third quarter, helping drive momentum for Force Touch components within the supply chain.
Some T-Mobile Galaxy S6 Edge users report screen defects
By all accounts, Samsung’s new pair of flagship Galaxy S devices are prepared to take the world by storm. With a combination of premium materials, a lightweight reduction of TouchWiz, and less bloatware than ever, the phones allegedly had over 20 million retailer pre-orders before MWC even ended. T-Mobile made news recently when it announced that pre-orders of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge were shipping early and indeed some customers already have them… along with some problems.
Several users on XDA Developers and Reddit have reported a troubling issue involving the screen of the Galaxy S6 Edge having quality control issues. Specifically, there are fine scratches all over the screen and, in the case of Erica Griffin, a crevice deep enough that it can be felt when running a fingernail across it. Some have already gone about returning the products to T-Mobile, only for the second (replacement) to have the exact same problems. User rhcpcjg has posted several pictures:
If you look at the bottom right corner, you can clearly see a circular halo-type pattern of scratches. One user suggested that a pattern-formation is not necessarily a defect, however it was refuted with another user’s claim that their scratches do not adhere to a pattern.
The second picture shows further scratching on other areas of the screen (look around the flash), once again appearing in a circular-like pattern:
The final picture contains a dead pixel, though it’s admittedly hard to see. Look at the horizontal line near the bottom of the screen (above the word “Start”), just above the center-right portion. A small black artifact is there:
It’s difficult to say just what is going on here. One XDA user has suggested that the damage might be due to mishandling with T-Mobile’s shipping couriers, such that particles of dust are trapped under the factory installed screen protector, and due to throwing or dropping packages, the dust is therefore allowed to scratch the surface. Others have suggested there are problems with the individuals assembling these units, or packaging them. Yet another idea is that T-Mobile may have installed its own screen protectors on the devices post-manufacturing by Samsung’s factories, and that might be where the culprit is coming from.
One thing seems to be generally true of these claims however – the scuffs required direct lighting (often sunlight) to view. It remains to be seen just how widespread this is, or if the standard Galaxy S6 will experience similar problems. It’s very possible that only devices in early batches are suffering from this problem, though that’s just speculation. Suffice to say however, if the S6 Edge does have quality control issues, it might serve as yet another justification for a “standard substitute.”
Have you encountered any similar issues on your Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge?
My G Flex 2 impressions: falling short of expectations
Despite the fact that the LG G Flex 2 has only been released in key markets (such as the USA), one might be forgiven for forgetting the device is technically new. Released at the end of January in LG’s home country of South Korea, it’s about two months old and yet its relevance is almost non-existent save for the novelty-seeking, tech savvy crowd who avoided importing it weeks ago. The device, by all accounts, should be a fantastic piece of kit given the outstanding hardware inside, and yet — for me at least — it fell far short of expectations.
I’ll be perfectly honest here: the original LG G Flex was my favorite phone of 2014. I had openly wished for a follow-up on many occasions, and when the first real leak showed up just prior to MWC, my heart nearly skipped a beat. Unfortunately, once I saw the device, any possible arrhythmia was instantly cured, and by the time I actually got it and started using the Korean model at the start of February, the only cardiac arrest in play was the flat-lining of my purchase’s pulse.
Let me break the bad news down, bit-by-bit, although note that these are only my post-purchase impressions. For the full review, please click here.
Blase about the battery
By-and-large, the biggest disappointment I experienced with my time using the G Flex 2 was the poor battery life. While I have read some reports that claim the lifespan is good, either my device had faults or else it depends on the network. Whereas the original G Flex had such an impressive battery life that I actually selected it as my device of 2014, the followup is an embarrassment that had me questioning its ability to get through most of the day from the second it was unplugged from A/C.
The problem was especially troublesome in that, when the screen was off, the battery drain wasn’t actually worth mentioning. Perhaps a few percentage points would decrease within the span of a few hours or, at most, overnight. The problem was, the second I started using the thing, I could see the numbers drop, something I haven’t experienced since using the Galaxy Nexus years ago. Even if I was on a WiFi connection with the cellular radio on Airplane Mode, the drain was still horrible.
Assuming my device wasn’t faulty, the question of why the battery life is so poor is a mystery. Could it be the heavy UI that LG put on Android Lollipop? Is it the screen? Could the extra 500mAh the original’s battery had really make that much of a difference? I suspect it’s actually a combination of all the above, but nonetheless, it remains shocking just how poorly the battery performed when compared to the original model.
NOTE: It’s worth pointing out that, when I tested a Hong Kong model, the battery life seemed a bit better than the Korean model I was originally working with. While the device sadly crept under 40% before the clock even hit 2pm, admittedly this was from heavy use. The drain overall was less noticeable, so either LG changed things up with a software update in the past two months, or else the Korean model itself just had poor battery life (something that might have to do with the Broadband LTE-A connection perhaps).
Suppose there is a screen
Does the original G Flex really look like that much of a monster compared to the Flex 2?
Another element of the G Flex 2 that disappointed me was the screen. Mind you, it’s not that the display wasn’t significantly better than the original. Full HD looks wonderful and the plastic panel itself did without the grainy elements the original had. The problem, for me at least, was the screen size. I fully understand that most people don’t like phablets over 5,7 inches, but the 6-inch screen on the original Flex was one of its strong points. Outside of the larger Galaxy Mega (6.3 inches), HTC One Max, or the Xperia Z Ultra, the G Flex was the only mainstream big phablet from an established player.
By reducing the screen size, the Flex 2 is lost in a sea of similarly, notwithstanding the company’s own LG G3, and quite possibly the upcoming G4 as well, though word has it that said device will feature a smaller — yet curved — display.
Crafting the creation
I also call into question the lack of a removable battery. The first device had such good battery life that it didn’t matter if we couldn’t remove it. The follow-up has atrocious battery life and yet actually has a removable back cover! Was that really necessary just to fit the SIM card and microSD? I don’t even understand why LG needed to make use of the self-healing rear given that you can just change rear covers. It seems to be little more than a marketing point.
Aesthetically speaking, the phone also proved a let down, in my opinion. Plus, the hard angular sides meant that the device was less comfortable to use or put in a pocket than the softer curves its predecessor employed.
The original G Flex had less bottom-bezel, and much more rounded corners.
Furthermore there’s the curve itself. LG had previously stated it could produce a much more dramatic one than the original had, however restrained itself from doing so. This time, the company indicated that an even slighter curve was used. I’m sorry, but what’s the point of having these niche devices if they don’t use their potential to the max? Given how early leaks of the G4 look, the Flex 2 need not have been curved (or exist) at all.
I’m not suggesting the device should have looked like a dried fruit peel, mind you, but if the entire purpose of a product’s form factor is the bent display, then bend it!
Software skin
It’s ironic that despite the heavy skinning LG layered into the G2, G Flex, and G3, I actually liked them all the more for it. The ability to customize even the on-screen navigational items was fantastic. This time, however, the only word I can use to describe the skin is “repulsive”. I can’t stand the large Lollipop “PlayStation” navigation menu buttons for starters. There is no option to alter their width or height, and even lowering the text size didn’t seem to work. They are too big, and too close together, neither of which is true of the Nexus 6 or Nexus 9.
I found this to be an almost ironic statement considering just how far LG went to (de-)Materal(ize the) Design.
Lollipop itself looks quite trendy (as to if people like the motif or not is another story) and thus to bear witness to the mess LG has made of it really disappointed me. There is an odd combination of circular and squared icons. The settings menu has been altered, the lock screen, the drop down menu (complete with the smallest “Dismiss” button I’ve ever seen and which also gets obscured more often than not). Sadly not even throwing on the Google Now launcher (or any other for that matter) can truly purify this bastard hybrid from the hell LG has wrought onto it. You can’t help but imagine Matias Duarte cringing, silently shedding tears.
The problem wasn’t made any better by the fact that the phone only has 2GB of RAM and I frequently experienced lag. This mystified me in-and-of-itself, for if there is one thing Korean phone versions are, it’s superlative. Yet, lo and behold, the 3GB variant hasn’t been released there. Given how obtuse LG’s Lollipop skin is, I really would have preferred the extra GB of RAM to smooth things over. Applications take time to open, even the Recent Apps listing took time to open and clear.
As a final gripe, I detest the fact that LG has once again opted not to include a system option to deactivate the “Knock On” feature. The double tap issue means that while carrying the device in your hand, it will randomly turn on because your movement has triggered the wake. This doesn’t help battery life either. At the very least give owners the ability to turn it off like they can the Knock Code element.
On a positive note
1. The screen is 1080p. Again I had absolutely no problem with the 720p resolution on the original device, but the higher resolution did make things look that much sharper (also a result of the decision to reduce the screen size). Especially when set to Vivid Mode and with the right background, it’s probable that, sooner or later, you might end up gawking at the beauty of the screen for such nice color saturation.
2. Compact build. Don’t get me wrong here, the 5.5-inch display was a negative for me, but that being said, the phone felt far smaller than it really was. LG did a very good job keeping the bezels thin, and in the end I often found myself looking at the thing wondering how the display size could possibly be accurate.
3. Color Choice. Interestingly enough, the Japanese version of the G Flex had a different color scheme than the rest of the world, being a dark shade of black. The international models all featured a grey finish, at least as far as I know. While I did in fact buy the red Flex 2 and ultimately didn’t care for the color choice, kudos to LG for opting to make the device in a second color, and all the more so for actually making some components match. Far too often companies will simply swap the back cover and call the product a new shade (the Galaxy S5 comes to mind save for the white and gold variants).
Wrap up
All in all, it’s just another brick in the… you get the picture.
All-in-all, I am sorely disappointed with the G Flex 2, and were it to be in a contest for “biggest disappointment of 2015″, it would be neck-and-neck with the HTC One M9 in my book. Granted some of my gripes might be of a far more personal level (the “small” size for example) and your own impressions may differ.
Regardless of my own personal points, this device has lost momentum at a momentous meter, in no small thanks to the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Samsung has knocked the ball out of the park with the premium design factor, and meanwhile this plastic-plated piece comes across as being a pricey proposition.
First-generation Moto X, E and G with LTE will be updated from KitKat to Android 5.1
The first-generation Moto X, along with the Moto E and the Moto G with LTE, won’t be getting Android 5.0 Lollipop. They will go straight to Android 5.1 instead.
Motorola’s senior director of software product management David Schuster revealed the news in a Google+ post today, along with the reasons for the decision.
British politician cured his smartphone addiction by buying a BlackBerry
The UK is gearing up for an election, and one of the two most likely candidates for the top job has thrown some unintentional shade towards BlackBerry. In an interview with Absolute Radio, Ed Miliband has revealed that he ditched his iPhone for a BlackBerry because its harder to be addicted to a device with “limited functionality.” Ouch. Miliband has previously taught at Harvard University and his time there made him a big Boston Red Sox fan. As a consequence, the one app that he can’t live without is MLB At Bat, although since MLB stopped supporting BlackBerry devices for the 2015 season, Miliband might have to learn how to sideload pretty quick.
Geoff Lloyd: “I think I read about you that you had to give up your iPhone because you were so obsessive about checking Twitter and political commentary.”
Ed Miliband: “The good thing about a BlackBerry — I’m going to insult the BlackBerry makers now — is that it’s harder to do those things and so it’s more limited functionality.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Absolute Radio (YouTube)
AIVAnet 