Getting out of the garage and into VR with ‘Dungeons and Dragons’
When I was a kid, my best friend’s garage was a magical place. My friends and I would gather around a dirty table on cold winter nights, huddled between unused sports equipment and the family’s spare TV, to kill monsters with dice. It was where we played Dungeons & Dragons. Then I grew up; my friends grew up. We all got jobs and moved away. Now all the old building does is hold cars.
Over the years, our group has tried to recreate our adventures over the phone, through online chat programs and even over Skype, but nothing ever felt right. Tabletop gaming is a social activity that demands a sense of presence, which makes playing Dungeons & Dragons across state lines really hard. Recently, a company called AltspaceVR invited me to try an option I hadn’t considered before: Playing D&D in virtual reality. Believe it or not, it might actually work.
The NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet K1 is back and now costs only $199
Just in time for the holiday season NVIDIA has brought back its beloved SHIELD Tablet K1.
NVIDIA has brought back the SHIELD Tablet K1 by popular demand and will be selling it for a new low price of only $199. This tablet is a must buy for gamers because of its high-speed NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor which features an assembled 192-core NVIDIA Kepler architecture GPU. The power outperforms just about every other tablet on the market in GPU performance benchmarks despite its affordable offering. You’ll also get a crisp 8-inch display at full-HD resolution and dual front-firing speakers that provide incredible sound. With the near stock-android experience, owners will be at the front of the line to receive the latest updates from Google. NVIDIA has listed the Marshmallow update to be made available in the “coming months.”
The $199 tablet has Wi-Fi connectivity and includes 16GB of internal storage space which can be expanded to an additional 128GB via a built-in micro-SD card slot. NVIDIA also offers a wide range of accessories to go along with your tablet at an additional cost. Hurry before stock runs out!
Come comment on this article: The NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet K1 is back and now costs only $199
‘Need for Speed’ balances opponents and adds neon later this month
Need for Speed is one of this fall’s best games (it really does deserve your attention) and it’s about to receive some changes. First up are tweaks to the game’s computer-controlled opponents. Developer Ghost Games says it’s working to make the rubberband AI, what keeps the other racers close by you regardless of how much of a lead you’ve built, “more balanced.” If you’re a fan of the current system, hopefully this new addition will be an option rather than a requirement. The game’s visual customizations are getting some newfound love as well: a look at neon lighting kits, functional mirrors, more pre-made vinyl sets (additional features for that, too) and a better color picking system. Ghost is increasing the level cap and adding a smattering of new achievements, too.
Via: Eurogamer
Source: Need for Speed
NVIDIA’s new Shield Tablet is just like the old one, but cheaper
NVIDIA’s first Shield tablet was a device that got almost everything right: The 8-inch slate had a crisp display flanked by twin speakers, a surprisingly precise built-in stylus and a powerful 192-core Kepler K1 processor. At the time, it was easily the best Android gaming device on the market, and a pretty darn good media tablet to boot — but NVIDIA quietly put the Shield to pasture earlier this year. Is the company preparing to launch a new, more powerful Shield tablet? Nope: It’s putting the same slate back on the market, albeit with a lower, $199 price tag and fewer bells and whistles.
Microsoft uses ‘Minecraft’ to teach your kid how to code
You can get kids to do a lot if you promise them Minecraft… just ask parents who’ve watched their children race through chores to get some building time. And Microsoft knows this, too. It just released a tutorial for Code.org that uses Minecraft to teach the basics of computer programming. Instead of pointing and clicking to smash your way through the landscape, you construct a string of commands using code-like snippets such as “turn left” and “destroy block.” This hopefully shows your young ones how programming can be both fun and relevant — it’s not just some boring thing you do to make money. Many students will try this when the next Hour of Code kicks off on December 7th, but you can visit the website today if your kids can’t wait to give it a shot.
Via: GeekWire
Source: Code.org, Microsoft in Education Blog
Twitch private messages make their way to mobile
Twitch introduced its private messaging, dubbed Whisper, almost six months ago and now the system is rolling out to mobile. Like normal, a small number of Android users will get the functionality first and Twitch says that once its gathered enough feedback for a full deployment, the feature will hit iOS. If you get the notification to update the app, you’re in; otherwise there’s nothing else you have to do. The live-streaming service announced some big changes to its video-on-demand section at TwitchCon this year and those are starting to come to fruition, as well. Support for thumbnail editing is live for everyone. Sadly, you can’t upload your own images though. Instead, Twitch will auto-generate a quartet of thumbnails for any past broadcasts — generous! Twitch says that further customization options are coming down the pike. Should you need something to hold you over until then, well, there are always Bob Ross Mondays.
Source: Twitch blog (1), (2)
Xbox One update brings back Xbox 360’s universal controller settings
You don’t need to drop $150 on the Xbox One Elite controller to get access to one of its most prominent features: remapping the gamepad’s buttons. Tucked away inside the Xbox One’s new Windows 10-flavored menus is the app for changing what buttons do what on your standard Xbox One controller as well. Perhaps most notably? You can permanently invert the Y-axis (controlled with the right analog stick by default) to make aiming and moving the camera in third-person and first-person games, respectively, more to your liking. That feature is something that the Xbox 360 had at launch with its “game defaults” options that appeared during initial setup for the system. In terms of how the app works from the Elite to the vanilla controller, it’s pretty similar aside from not being able to adjust thumbstick and trigger sensitivity. You’ll find the new addition under Settings > Ease of Access > Button Mapping.
Source: Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb
The first big ‘Halo 5’ update brings 16-player vehicle battles
Whatever you think of Halo 5‘s solo component, 343 Industries is determined to keep you interested in the multiplayer part. As part of a first content drop due next week (Battle of Shadow and Light), the studio is introducing 16-player Big Team Battles where vehicles play a big role. If your favorite memories of Halo involve epic Warthog duels, you’ll likely get a kick out of the new mode and its four accompanying maps. You’ll also find dozens of armor, weapon and vehicle sets (such as the Tundra Mantis, below). It should all be good news if you’re a fan of the Halo series, although the real question is whether or not 343 will keep this up. Hopefully, you won’t run out of things to do in the Xbox One’s flagship title several months down the road.
Source: Halo Waypoint
Watch people play ‘Desert Bus’ for days in the name of charity
Penn & Teller’s Desert Bus mini game is legendary for its tongue-in-cheek monotony (you drive 8 hours to score a single point), but it’s also a force for good: the Desert Bus for Hope campaign has raised $2.4 million for the Child’s Play hospital charity over the years. Well, the volunteer group is at it again with the just-launched Desert Bus 9… and this may be one of its most ambitious fundraising efforts yet. The team is planning to stream live gameplay from the notorious Sega Genesis title for as long as donations allow, which could be quite a while when last year’s effort lasted for 158 hours — that’s nearly a full week. If you like the idea of an epic video game endurance test helping a noble cause, tune in below and consider sending some cash to Desert Bus for Hope at the source link.
Source: Desertbus.org
‘Everest VR’ will take gamers up a CGI mountain next year
Along with a “mobile supercomputer,” NVIDIA dropped off this teaser for Everest VR at its event earlier this week. Made by Sólfar Studios and RVX, it used NVIDIA’s GPU to mash up over 300,000 high res pictures of the mountain range to create a 3D mesh and textures that is claimed to be the “definitive” CGI model of Everest. Some of Sólfar’s personnel come from CCP where they worked on EVE Online, but this new company is all about creating purely VR experiences, like Everest for PCs and Godling for Playstation VR. I’m not going to climb Everest to find out exactly how realistic the simulation is, but everyone can form their own opinion when the full experience is available next year.
Source: NVIDIA Blog, Sólfar Studios
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