‘Gears of War 4’ writers are striving for a deeper story
Gears of War has never been known for its deep, imaginative storytelling. Each game is a popcorn-friendly thrill ride, pitting muscular soldiers against an army of bloodthirsty monsters. It’s a simple concept: Grab an assault rifle, dive behind some cover and empty your clip until it’s safe to move forward. Rinse and repeat. Gears of War 4, the first entry by a new developer called the Coalition, is trying to break that tradition. It’s still a brutal shoot-’em-up, but the characters and plot are more complex this time around. More nuanced. So much so, in fact, that for people who have cooled on the franchise, it might be enough to reel them back in.
A hint of horror
Take the world. It’s a bleak place, scarred from the weaponry that was required to wipe out the savage Locust and Lambent in the last game. Powerful storms known as “wind flares” rip across the sky, destroying nearby buildings and picking up loose debris. The government has walled off the few cities that remain, protecting what’s left of humanity and rejecting the “outsiders” who have chosen to live on their own. You play as J.D. Fenix, the son of series hero Marcus, as he uncovers a new threat called the Swarm. They’re vicious and creepy, especially at night, when much of the game takes place.
Chuck Osieja, creative director at the Coalition, said the team has been working hard to bring back the creepiness teased in the first game. “The characters are experiencing [the Swarm] for the first time, so we wanted to create a tone that was in line with that,” he said. “Before, everybody that was in the game already knew every enemy. It was never a surprise to them. They knew how to deal with them, they knew what they were named and they knew exactly what to expect from them. You as the player were the only one that didn’t know.”
With Gears of War 4, you’re uncovering the threat at the same time as J.D. and his two companions, Del and Kait. “How they react to it, and how you react to it, is part of what you experience,” Osieja added. “Creating a tone that is a bit more tense is in line with that type of experience.”
Old man Marcus
At Gamescom this week, I was shown a sequence where J.D. meets up with his father. Marcus is now an older man: He still has arms the size of a beer keg, but his beard is a silvery gray. He’s stubborn, telling the team to wait out a wind flare inside a barn. J.D. thinks it’s a bad idea, but Marcus stands firm, believing his plan is the right one. When the roof is torn to shreds, and the group is left exposed, it’s clear that Marcus — even with his decades of military experience — is far from a perfect soldier. He’s worn down from a life in the battlefield, and not as sharp as he used to be.
It’s a small but significant change in Marcus’ character. Before, he was mostly a meathead doling out shallow one-liners. Now, he’s an example of what happens to a warrior who no longer has a war to fight. “He’s had to deal with not being a soldier anymore,” Osieja explained, “and how him being a war hero has affected not only his own life but everyone around him. The government uses him, they hold him up as a hero of the Locust War, and he’s a reluctant hero. He’s got to deal with that and he’s also got to deal with his relationship with J.D., who has never dealt with war before.”
Marcus isn’t playable. He’ll join J.D. in his adventure — for how long, it isn’t clear — to show that he’s still most comfortable in times of war. “He reacts differently as an AI character,” Osieja said. “The way he observes the world and the way he reacts is different to J.D., because J.D. is a reflection of the player. When the player doesn’t know something, they instinctively ask questions — you want the main character to ask those same questions in the game so they can be answered by people inside the environment.”
Marcus is one of the characters that can play this role. “It gives him more range in what he can express and the things we can tease out of him, both in terms of his personality and the way he deals with problems,” Osieja said.
J.D. and his friends will get some character development too. The Coalition is staying tight-lipped at the moment, but each will have his own “journey” throughout the game. They’ll come together as a team and learn what it takes to be a soldier in this turbulent, war-ravaged world. Battling the Swarm and persuading the government that this new threat exists, all while evading the army, which considers them renegades — these elements have the potential to create a more compelling Gears story.
It’s a small but significant step forward for the franchise. Gears of War has a strong following because of its combat; the controls are responsive and the weapons have a satisfying heft to them. But after Gears of War: Judgment — and the departure of series creator Epic Games — many lost faith in the franchise. A better story could pull back gamers who have lost interest, while appealing to people who have skipped the series entirely. It won’t be the sole reason that people pick up the game, but it could restore the franchise to its pedigree status on Xbox (and PC) hardware, setting up future installments that the Coalition is clearly desperate to develop.
We’re live all week from Cologne, Germany, for Gamescom 2016. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.
AT&T unveils ‘overage-free’ phone plans to counter Verizon
No, the big US carriers aren’t done shadowing each other’s moves yet. AT&T has responded to Verizon’s new phone plans with Mobile Share Advantage plans that scrap overages and increase the data you can get, but carry their share of catches. Prices now start at $30 per month (plus $20 per phone) for 1GB of data with unlimited US talk and text, and you won’t wake up to a horrific bill if you underestimate your needs. As with Verizon, you’ll be throttled to 128Kbps for the remainder of the month if you hit your data cap — you can drop $20 for an extra 10GB if you can’t imagine going without streaming videos for a few days.
They’re definitely offering more data than before, and in some cases represent better deals. If you pay $100 per month for two lines, for example, you’ll get 6GB to play with instead of 5GB. However, it’s also clear that AT&T is raising the base rate in at least a few circumstances. Before, you paid a total of $45 per month for 300MB. You’re now shelling out at least $50, and that slight price hike is generally true across the board. And of course, it’s not strictly true that overages are gone… you’re just paying a flat $20 (for that 10GB boost) on your own terms instead of automatically incurring costs.
This could still be a better deal than at Verizon, depending on what you want. There’s no mention of paying extra to enable overage-free throttling on lower-priced plans, and subscribing to a 10GB or larger plan lets you use your service in Mexico with no extra fees. You need at least a 16GB plan to get that perk at Verizon, although Big Red’s feature also includes Canada. Just understand that this isn’t quite the bargain that it sounds like at first blush.
Source: AT&T Newsroom
Chrome extension restores the backspace key to its former glory
Lots of very smart people work at Google, but that doesn’t mean they’re immune from making decisions that piss people off. Consider this recent Chrome kerfuffle: some users were recently shocked to discover that, upon updating Chrome, they could no longer tap the backspace key to go back a page. Mild panic, and lots of comments, ensued. If that sounds an awful lot like you, well, you can dial down the anguish a little — Google released a Chrome extension called Go Back With Backspace that does exactly what its name implies.
“Many people lost their progress while working online by accidentally pressing backspace and leaving a page,” the extension’s description explains. “So we removed the feature from Chrome, and created this extension for those who prefer the old behavior.”
“Old behavior” is right. A little sleuthing on StackExchange has confirmed that the “backspace to go back” behavior didn’t exist in Mosaic and Netscape Navigator, two early and widely-used web browsers. If anything, looks like the behavior might have begun when Internet Explorer inherited the backspace trick from Windows Explorer in 1995, with browsers like Firefox adopting it for consistency’s sake. Anyway, there you go: if the backspace button has screwed up your workflow in the past, your life has changed for the better. And if you just wanted the backspace key to behave the way it always has, well, you’re now whole again.
Arguably the more elegant solution here would have just been to include a toggle in Chrome’s Settings page to enable or disable the behavior, but Googlers apparently weren’t fond of that possibility from the beginning.
“There will not be a flag for this,” said Peter Kastings, a senior software engineer on the Chrome UI team in late April. “We prefer that extensions, rather than options, be used to add non-default behavior in most cases.” Bummer.
Via: VentureBeat
Source: Google
World’s longest aircraft takes its first flight
That aircraft you see above may look more than a little odd, but it just made history… and it might be the future of flight. Hybrid Air Vehicles has successfully flown the Airlander 10, a long-endurance airplane/airship hybrid billed as the longest aircraft ever at 302ft end to end. It was just a short, minutes-long trip around the countryside in UK’s Bedfordshire, but it showed that the massive (if more than a little posterior-like) design is airworthy.
It’s going to take a while before you see production models of the vehicle, which was originally designed for US surveillance before it was scrapped. HAV only expects to make 10 per year by 2021. If it meets its goals, though, it could prove to be crucial to the aviation world. Ideally, Airlander 10 will stay aloft for about 5 days at a time — that’s ideal for communications, manned military recon and even long-distance passenger flights. They’re much quieter and produce less pollution than typical aircraft, so they could fly in areas and at altitudes where other flying machines would create too much of a disturbance.
Airlander 10 makes maiden voyage from Cardington Sheds in Bedfordshire. pic.twitter.com/Z4tN8Gnj5z
— BBC Three Counties (@BBC3CR) August 17, 2016
Via: BBC
Source: Hybrid Air Vehicles (Twitter 1), (2)
New algorithm finds signs of depression in your Instagram feed
While Instagram data can already be used to guess your age, a new research paper shows how it might also be used to check upon your mental health. Using a set of machine learning tools and several dozen users’ Instagram feeds, a team of researchers from Harvard and the University of Vermont have built a model that can accurately spot signs of clinical depression. By reviewing “color analysis, metadata components, and algorithmic face detection,” in each user’s feed, the model was able to correctly identify which Instagrammers showed symptoms of depression about 70 percent of the time, even before they had been clinically diagnosed.
The model had to sift through 43,950 photos from 166 different users in order to make its predictions. And, before everyone becomes an amateur Instagram psychologist, the research team notes that their model isn’t meant to be a definitive diagnosis of depression just yet. Instead, the paper notes that the model could be used for “early screening and detection of mental illness” and could one day “serve as a blueprint for effective mental health screening in an increasingly digitalized society.” In other words: if your phone’s digital assistant has access to your Instagram feed, it might one day be able to tell if you’ve been seeming blue lately.
And that “blue” could be in the literal sense — although the model took many factors into account, the study found that depressed individuals tended to gravitate towards the the blue-grey or black-and-white filters like Crema or Inkwell, while healthy folks preferred filters with warm, bright tones.
Via: PetaPixel
Source: arXiv.org
Sales of Apple Products Down 20% at Target
During the second quarter of 2016, sales of Apple iPads, iPhones, and other devices fell 20 percent at popular retailer Target. Target CEO Brian Cornell highlighted the sales drop during an earnings call where he suggested the decline was due to a lack of “newness” and “innovation” and blamed poor Apple sales for Target’s disappointing Q2 earnings results.
According to Cornell, electronics sales decreased by double digits, with Apple product sales responsible for a third of the overall drop.
“Our guests come to us looking for those products,” Cornell said on a conference call to discuss earnings. “They’re looking for the newness and the innovation. We’re putting together plans with Apple and our merchandising teams to make sure we’re ready to take advantage of that in the back half of the year.”
In the first calendar quarter of 2016, Apple reported its first year-over-year revenue decline since 2003 and its first ever drop in iPhone sales, sending its stock into a downward spiral. The negative trend continued into the second quarter with another year-over-year revenue drop, and based on Apple’s forecast for the third quarter of 2016, a third consecutive decline in revenue is expected.
Apple expects to see revenue of $45.5 billion to $47.5 billion in the third calendar quarter of 2016, up to 12 percent lower than the $51.5 billion in revenue it saw in the third calendar quarter of 2015.
Device sales could turn around for Apple following the upcoming release of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but as rumors suggest the changes being introduced in the two new devices are moderate, Apple’s downward trend could potentially continue into 2017. Apple does, however, have some impressive products on the horizon, including the 2017 iPhone, which has caused stock to rise more than 20 percent over the course of the last three months.
The 2017 iPhone will mark the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone and to celebrate, Apple is rumored to be introducing some of its most significant iPhone changes ever like a dual curved edge-to-edge OLED display with a built-in Touch ID sensor, wireless charging, a glass body, and more.
Tag: Target
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No, we don’t need a ‘flat’ Galaxy Note 7 model
Here’s the thing: we already have a ‘flat’ Galaxy Note 7.
When the Galaxy Note 7 was announced and Samsung talked about how wonderful the curved display was, Note fans were riled up about the prospect that there wasn’t a “flat” version announced alongside it. And to be fair to them, we’ve had simultaneous curved and flat variations of Samsung flagships for the past four iterations — it became an expectation.
To set the stage here, I’m hardly a fan of the Galaxy S7 edge’s curved screen design and what it does to hurt usability — no matter how cool it may look while doing it. Especially when considering that the accompanying “Edge UX” software is useless at best and completely duplicative at worst. And for that reason, I totally sympathized with the group who immediately cried foul over seeing that there was no “flat” version of the Galaxy Note 7 — not understanding the differences, it was frustrating to think that the only Note 7 you could buy was to be saddled with the same curved edges that make the phone harder to use.
While I was writing my Galaxy Note 7 review this past week, I kept thinking about how considerably different it is to use in daily life compared to the Galaxy S7 edge. Though they both ostensibly have the “same” curved screen, the experience of using each is entirely different, and the Note 7 is dramatically easier to use than the GS7 edge. You see, the Note 7’s display curves are both tighter and smaller, which means they actually offer a functional benefit without any of the massive downsides we’ve seen on previous edge screen phones.
Samsung finally struck a proper balance between form and function of the curved screen
Together with the more rounded metal frame, the Note 7’s curved display actually makes it easier to reach across the phone because it’s over two millimeters narrower than the Note 5, and because the curves are smaller there aren’t any worries about accidental palm touches on the display when you do reach across. The smaller curves also don’t get in the way of you being able to properly perform swipe-in gestures on the edges of the screen, because you don’t have to contort your thumb around the side of the phone.
All of this, and the curves actually look pretty darn cool. Particularly on the black version of the Note 7, the curves give you the feeling that the phone doesn’t even have bezels on the sides of the screen, which is really neat. Yes it makes the phone ever-so-slightly more susceptible to cracks and scratches with those exposed glass edges, but so is every other phone that has curved glass edges without a curved display underneath. And hey, we’re looking at Gorilla Glass 5 here as well.
So before you completely write off the Galaxy Note 7 just because you’re worried about the implications of having a curved display, realize that it isn’t the same type of experience you get from the Galaxy S7 edge or any other previous Samsung edge phone. With the Note 7 Samsung has really struck a great balance between form and function in the curved display, and that’s why I’ve been very happy to use it in ways that I was never confident with the Galaxy S7 edge.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
- Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
- The latest Galaxy Note 7 news!
- Here are all four Note 7 colors
- Complete Galaxy Note 7 specs
- Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!
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These Galaxy Note 7 cases are just $7 for a limited time!
If you’ve placed an order for the Galaxy Note 7 and have been looking for a case for it, you’ll want to check these out. Right now, you can score a number of Caseology’s cases for just $7 with a coupon code, which is a pretty awesome deal. Depending on which color you are interested in adding to your Note 7, or whether you want something protective or slim, there are some great options here to check out.
The deals include:
- Envoy Series – Cherry Oak – $6.99 with coupon code RI84YLRB
- Parallax Series – Black/Black – $6.99 with coupon code XODYH7UE
- Wavelength Series – Navy Blue – $6.99 with coupon code R6Z9FC55
- Skyfall Series – Silver – $6.99 with coupon code 64L79FVF
There is only a limited number of each coupon available, so if you are interested you’ll want to act quick. Be sure to use the correct coupon for the case that you are interested in when placing your order. Which one will you be picking up? Let us know in the comments!
Join the Dark Side with these awesome AMOLED-friendly wallpapers
There are a lot of wallpapers out there. Unfortunately, most of them are bright and busy.
That can be a problem. Maybe you want a simple wallpaper for their elegance. Maybe you want a dark wallpaper that lights up less of your screen. Maybe you want a clean wallpaper so it’s easier to see what’s actually on your screen instead of being overwhelmed by the wallpaper. Maybe you just like black because it goes with everything, from your shoes to your shirts to your soul. Whatever your reasons, we’ve got the ultra-dark wallpapers for you.
Stormtroooper
Most stormtrooper wallpapers are as white as the day is long, but this minimalist wall flips the script and shows what would be a terrifying sight to any self-respecting rebel scum: the mask of an Imperial Stormtrooper creeping out of the shadows to put you in its terribly aimed sights…
Stormtropper
Neptune and Triton
Space. A seemingly endless void where no one can hear you scream… But there’s still a serene peace to it. Even on a distant and bitterly cold planet like Neptune, we can find beauty and tranquility.
Neptune and Triton
Tron Light Cycle Wallpaper
Try and tell me you don’t want a light cycle. Just try. You can’t do it. They’re so cool, and whatever you thought of Tron Legacy (and the threequel that got canned), the way it did light cycles was even cooler, and such a dark wallpaper meshes well with our setups, and our souls.
Tron Light Cycle Wallpaper
Batman Beyond
Okay, I take back my earlier statement. The Stormtrooper isn’t that terrifying. If I was in a dark alley and all I saw were two glowing eyes and the bat symbol, I’d be scared witless, and I’m not even a criminal. Batman is a badass and the only line he won’t cross is releasing you to the sweet, sweet mercy of death after breaking every bone in your body. He is a symbol of justice to the masses and a symbol of terror to those who would do wrong.
Batman Beyond
Beauty and the Beast Minimalist Wallpaper by chrisaloo
Great as the film was, there’s something about musicals that can (and in many cases do) surpass the original. Musicals are where we see the awesome numbers that were cut from the film for timing. Musicals are where we can see new depth to storylines we knew and loved as a kid.
Who says princesses can’t be dark? Now excuse me, I need to go belt out ‘Home’ in a dark tower somewhere…
Beauty and the Beast Minimalist Wallpaper by chrisaloo
Netflix strikes a deal with Enseo to offer its service in hotels
Tired of relaxing in your hotel room and flipping on the TV only to realize you can’t binge watch your favorite shows without Netflix? Netflix knows the true horror of this realization.
That’s why it’s partnered with hospitality company Enseo to provide the Netflix app to any hotel in the world where the service is available.
With the agreement, any guest staying in a hotel with devices powered by Enseo will be able to either sign up for a Netflix account or log into the one they already have via the TV in their guest room. The TVs will include a Netflix icon or there wll be one on the remote control. It won’t require guests to pay additional in-room fees for using the internet, either, and when the guest checks out, their Netflix credentials will be removed from the device they’ve logged into automatically.
This is an interesting development for guests who frequently travel and find themselves without a way to access their favorite shows. Without having to pay extra to get online and without the need to lug along a laptop or way to access Netflix this can drastically improve the in-room experience. Because sometimes you’ve got to get your Hell’s Kitchen on when you’re on vacation, and cable just doesn’t show what you’re looking for when you want to watch it.
Source: BusinessWire
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