General Gaming Article

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• The Humble Bundle is Back: Deep Silver Edition
• 512GB SSD Fight: OCZ Vector 512GB vs Samsung 840 Pro 512GB
• Gigabyte GA-X79S-UP5-WIFI Review
• Asus Announces New 10-inch MeMo Pad FHD Tablet
• How to Root Android
• Intel Roundup: Core i7 4771 Processor, Cheaper 2-in-1 Ultrabooks in the Works
• CyberPowerPC Unveils Power Mega III Graphics Workstation Series
• Razer Redesigns Naga MMO Gaming Mouse for Improved Ergonomics, Adds Mechanical Switches
• Sony and Panasonic Working Together to Improve Optical Disc Capacity to at Least 300GB
• By the Numbers, Android is King of the Tablet Market

The Humble Bundle is Back: Deep Silver Edition Posted: 30 Jul 2013 04:27 PM PDT Donate what you want for great games that include Saints Row: The Third and more The pay-what-you-want Humble Bundle deal is back and this time around some of developer Deep Silver's great games are up to bat. If you're unfamiliar with the program, the Humble Bundle allows you to donate your cash to either the game developer, charity (Childs Play and American Red Cross), or both. If you donate any amount above one dollar, you'll receive Deep Silver's Saints Row: The Third, Saints Row 2, Risen 2: Dark Waters, and Sacred 2 Gold. Donating above the average donation (currently at $4.74) gets you all the previously mentioned games along with Dead Island GOTY Edition, and Saints Row: The Third Full Package (which includes all of the game's DLC). The top donation tier is for those who are willing to give $25 or more which gets you everything plus the recently-released Dead Island Riptide.

512GB SSD Fight: OCZ Vector 512GB vs Samsung 840 Pro 512GB Posted: 30 Jul 2013 02:24 PM PDT The ultimate battle for solid-state supremacy The Samsung 840 Pro was our top SSD until the OCZ Vector came along several months later and was able to run neck-and-neck with the Sammy through our benchmark gauntlet. As it currently stands, the 256GB versions of these drives both wear a 9/Kick Ass bandolier around their midsections, but there's still another contest that has yet to be decided. So this month, we gathered the 512GB versions of both drives and set them loose in the blood-splattered arena known as the Lab. OCZ Vector 512GB The OCZ Vector surprised all of us with its speed and consistency when we first tested it in November of last year. Though it didn't quite eclipse the overall performance of the Samsung 840 Pro, it was an extremely close fight, which was a significant achievement for OCZ given Samsung's prodigious size and resources and OCZ's comparatively tiny stature. The OCZ Vector is so close to the Samsung 840 Pro that in the real world it's mostly a tie. Unlike OCZ's Vertex 4 drive, which used the Indilinx Everest 2 controller with Marvell silicon and OCZ and Indilinx firmware, the Vector uses a new controller named Barefoot 3 that is 100 percent OCZ's creation, both in terms of silicon and firmware. Controller aside, the Vector uses the same zippy 25nm IMTF MLC NAND found in the Vertex 4 but with all-new firmware. The 512GB Vector sports a slice-of-turkey-thin 7mm metal chassis with a pretty blue and black motif, and like all modern SSDs it rides the SATA 6Gb/s interface. The complete package includes an OCZ sticker, a 3.5-inch bay adapter, and a lengthy 5-year warranty. OCZ also makes its OCZ Toolbox software available for download; we'll cover that a bit more down below. During testing, the 512GB Vector delivered the same scintillating performance we saw from the 256GB version, again allowing it to run nose-to-nose with the Samsung 840 Pro all the way around our test track. Though it took top honors in two of our nine tests, it was beaten by the Samsung 840 Pro in the other seven, making the Samsung drive the overall winner in what was a very close contest. In our sequential speed tests, both drives were pushing right around 500MB/s in both directions, which is running right up to the edge of the SATA 6Gb/s interface, so you'd be hard-pressed to find anything faster using current technology. In our 4K random-write test with a 32- command queue, both drives topped 80,000 IOPS but the Vector came up a bit short compared to the 840 Pro, yet tied with the 480GB Corsair Neutron GTX. In our new Sony Vegas test, the SSDs are told to write a humongous 200GB AVI file, so it's a test of straight-line speed, and in this test the Vector placed respectably but was again outpaced by the 840 Pro by a very close 18 seconds. Overall, it was a great showing by the Vector but it clearly has as small speed disadvantage. The other area that's lacking is its OCZ Toolbox software, which covers the basics like secure erase and firmware updates, but is ugly and lacks many of the features of Samsung's software, making it one more area where OCZ needs to catch up. The Vector is still a fantastic SSD, but as a comprehensive package it's not quite able to overcome the 840 Pro's speed, software, and slight price advantage. OCZ Vector 512GB SSD Speeds Fast in every test; 5-year warranty; looks snazzy. SSD Prices Not quite as fast as the Samsung; software could be improved. $540, www.ocztechnology.com Samsung 840 Pro 512GB When the all-new Samsung 840 Pro debuted a few months back, we were excited to see if Samsung could maintain its mojo—after all, the 830 Series was at the time our Best of the Best in the SSD category. We need not have worried about mojo depletion, as the 840 Pro was not just faster than the 830 Series drives, it was faster than any other SSD we had tested at that time, and in its maiden voyage in the Lab it broke seven out of nine benchmark records. This month, the 512GB version has arrived to preserve the brand's honor. We even heard it whisper to the Vector, "Prepare to die" when the two drives met on the test bench. Samsung's 840 Pro is about as fast as we can expect an SSD to be, given current technology. Like its 256GB stable mate, the 512GB Sammy Pro (476GB formatted) sports 21nm Toshiba MLC Toggle NAND instead of the less-expensive TLC NAND found in the non-Pro version of the drive. The drive comes with a 5-year warranty but does not ship with a 3.5-inch bay adapter, as it's clearly being marketed toward mobile users looking for a speed bump rather than desktop power-junkies like us. The Pro includes Samsung's Magician software, data migration software, and an aesthetic that matches the non-Pro series, which we think is a shame. During testing, the 840 Pro demonstrated why it's on our Best of the Best list with a commanding performance. Even though it had the Vector and the Corsair Neutron GTX 480GB breathing down its SATA connector the whole time, it was still able to outpace both of them comfortably in the majority of our tests. Most interesting is the fact that the 840 Pro was able to beat the other drives in both sequential and random-write tests, which is impressive. Its most notable win was in Iometer, where the drive hit almost 90K IOPS, which is ridiculously fast. The only test where the 840 Pro lost to the Vector was in 4K incompressible write requests via AS SSD, which is even more of a torture test than Iometer, but the Samsung's score of 16,984 IOPS is still second-fastest for its class. Finally, there's the SSD Magician software that comes with the drive, which is head-and-shoulders better than any other SSD software on the market. It shows you more information than you'd ever hope to find, like how much data has been written to the drive, AHCI status, and more. Samsung 840 Pro 512GB David Fastest SSD available; superb software package; 5-year warranty. Sammy Boring looks; no 3.5-inch bay adapter. $520, www.samsung.com Benchmarks   OCZ Vector Samsung 840 Pro Corsair Neutron GTX Samsung 840 Controller Barefoot 3 Samsung MDX LAMD LAMD Capacity 512GB 512GB 480GB 500GB CrystalDiskMark Avg. Sustained Read (MB/s) 502 534 441 464 Avg. Sustained Write (MB/s) 499 514 478 333 AS SSD 4KB Read (IOPS) 7,129 8,064 6,762 6,921 4KB Write (IOPS) 18,506 16,984 16,475 15,955 ATTO 64KB File Read (MB/s) 511 524 345 335 64KB File Write (MB/s) 480 497 478 531 Iometer         4KB Random Write 32QD (IOPS) 83,531 89,297 85,375 70,654 PCMark Vantage x64 75,863 75,205 67,426 52,557 Sony Vegas Pro 9 Write (sec) 314 294 286 327 Best scores are bolded. All tests were run on an Intel Core i5 3470 test bench with 8GB of RAM, an Intel 520 Series SSD, Gigabyte Z77X-UP4 motherboard, and a Cooler Master 450W PSU.

Gigabyte GA-X79S-UP5-WIFI Review Posted: 30 Jul 2013 01:23 PM PDT Don't let the X79 moniker fool you When vendors previewed the first X79 motherboards in 2011, we were floored by the boatload of SATA ports. Rather than the wimpy six SATA ports (only two of which were SATA 6Gb/s) Intel chipsets usually gave us, the X79 was a he-man's chipset with a heaping serving of 12 ports. The GA-X79S-UP5-WIFI has the most ports we've seen on an LGA2011 board. But when we received production boards months later, the storage ports had been neutered to the same number as Z68! The reason? Incompatibility with some older SATA devices. Sigh. That's where Gigabyte's X79S-UP5-WIFI comes in. Rather than using the X79 chipset to power this brutish board, Gigabyte picked Intel's C606 chipset (but still calls it X79 for recognition purposes). The C606 can support dual-processor motherboards (on boards with two sockets), but the main distinction is the bundled Intel SAS support. No less than 14 ports pack the front of the board. Two are SATA 6Gb/s, four are 3Gb/s, and eight are SAS, or Serial Attached SCSCI. Before storage-freaks faint, SAS means they technically don't support optical drives. And SAS is still touchy. The manual says single disks are supported but we had issues. The 128GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD that we use for storage I/O testing would hang, but a 4TB Hitachi hard drive worked fine on SAS. Also keep in mind that SAS support is 3Gb/s, so if you had dreams of an eight-SSD RAID 0 config rocking your world at 6Gb/s per device, you're out of luck. The Gigabyte beta BIOS we used adds the ability to push SAS speeds higher, but we ran into instability at the non-spec speeds. Remember, it's beta functionality. And disappointingly, running two OCZ Vertex 4 drives in RAID 0 on SAS gave us the same performance as the 840 Pro on SATA 6Gb/s. If all this has you feeling let-down, there are still several pluses to the board. In performance, it hangs right there with the competition. We set up a matching configuration on an Asus X79 Sabertooth for comparison, and as expected, the performance was damned close. Close enough that we'd say performance should not be a factor in your purchase choice, based on what we saw. In the physical layout, there are no major problems and the decision to stick with three-way SLI/CrossFireX support makes the board less cramped than those that opt for four-way GPU support. One issue for some might be the relocation of the EPS12V/ATX12V connector about four inches to the right. That could be troublesome for folks who don't have the cable length to make the run. We successfully ran the board fully loaded with both 64GB of DDR3/1333 and 32GB of DDR3/1866, alternately, with no issues. The board supports ECC RAM with Xeons, but we were unable to test it with our pedestrian Core i7 part. SLI also gave us no issues and disk and USB 3.0 I/O worked as expected. One thing to note: The default installer disc doesn't seem to like Windows 8, so you should manually load the latest files from the website. We wish that Gigabyte would put a bit more polish on its OS utilities. Its arch-nemesis, Asus, seems to own the market on refined and responsive utils. The 3D Power Gigabyte tool, for example, is advanced but feels sluggish, as does the mouse control in the UEFI. Fan control on Asus boards is also far superior these days. While the very old X79 Sabertooth still fetches $360 on the street, the X79S-UP5-WIFI with its dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11a/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 card can be had for $280. Be that as it may, we'd still probably recommend going with a regular X79 mobo because of the X79S-UP5-WIFI's oddities and the debatable value of its extra features. $309, www.gigabyte.com

Asus Announces New 10-inch MeMo Pad FHD Tablet Posted: 30 Jul 2013 12:59 PM PDT Intel's Atom CPU meets up with Android Asus has announced a new Intel-powered 10-inch Android tablet with its MeMo Pad FHD 10 slate. The new tab features a hyper-threaded 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2560 SoC, which according to Intel is specifically optimized for Google's Android OS.  The new MeMo Pad rocks a 1920x1200 IPS display that Asus says is supposed give the tablet a 178-degree viewing angle and accurate, vibrant colors. The tablet comes in either 16GB or 32GB configurations and comes with a rear 5-megapixel camera, 1.2 megapixel front facing camera, 2GB of RAM, and a microSD card slot that allows up to 32GB of additional storage.  Asus will be launching the MeMo Pad with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and the tablet will be available in three colors including Royal Blue, Silk White, and Vivid Pink. Currently there is no word on price, or release date.

How to Root Android Posted: 30 Jul 2013 11:08 AM PDT Learn how to root your Nexus Android, HTC One, and Samsung Galaxy S4 Android offers a wide variety of advanced customization options, but that's only scratching the surface of everything you can do with Google's open source operating system. With root access you can get down to the system level and tweak things to your liking, even going so far as completely replacing the OS.  This is not an operation for the faint of heart, though. Rooting your device will probably void the warranty and could potentially leave your device in a nonfunctional state. Take extreme care before proceeding. If you need help deciding what to do, let's go over the benefits of rooting. Benefits of rooting android Gaining root access on Android is basically running your phone or tablet as an administrator. Android is based on Linux, but it does not include the superuser support a desktop OS running the Linux kernel might. If you want to make changes to the fundamentals of the system or install unapproved components, root access is needed.  There is a whole subset of root-only apps in Google Play that allow some really interesting advanced options. Everything from UI tweaks to ad blocking, to system partition file explorers are possible with a quick app install as long as you have root.  With root access you can also make complete backups of your device so it can be restored in the event of a mishap, or so you can restore application data to a new phone or tablet.  Another reason many users decide to get root is that it opens the door to installing custom operating systems, or ROMs. Installing a ROM is a bit more involved than simply gaining root access, but rooting is the first step. ROMs like CyanogenMod and Paranoid Android offer extra features and a cleaned up collection of apps.  Installing a third-party ROM will also allow you to break free of the sluggish update cycle likely imposed upon you by the carrier (Nexus devices being the exception). As soon as a new version of Android is out, ROM makers start building on it. You're looking at a few weeks for a beta build, and just a bit longer for stable ones.  How To Root Android The rooting process will vary from one device to the next, but the first step is usually to either unlock, or bypass the bootloader. A bootloader is a piece of software that loads before anything else on the device. It verifies the authenticity of all the software running on the phone. So if you want to install something like a root package, that needs to be blocked.  Let's go over the Nexus devices first, as they offer a good and straightforward introduction to rooting. Before you get started with any root procedure, backup EVERYTHING. Unlocking bootloaders wipes everything on the device as a security measure.  Nexus device: 1 - Download and install the Android SDK from Google and install the USB drivers package and Android tools.  2 - If it is not present, download the fastboot.exe file (available on various places online, like here) and place it in the SDK/Tools (or Platform-Tools) folder. This will be the same folder with adb.exe in it.  3 - On your phone or tablet, go into the settings and open the About Phone/Tablet menu. Tap the Build Number seven times. This will enable Developer Options in the main settings menu. 4 - Turn on USB Debugging in the Developer Options, and plug the device into your PC via the USB cable. 5 - Back on the PC, go to the folder where you placed the fastboot.exe file and open a command prompt window there. We're going to use a tool called Android Debug Bridge (ADB). This is a way to issue commands to a device from your PC.  6 - In the command prompt, type adb devices, then hit enter. The window should show a device ID. 7 - Type adb reboot bootloader in the command prompt and hit enter. Your device will reboot into bootloader mode. 8 - Now type fastboot oem unlock and hit enter. The device will pop up a warning as seen below. Select yes, but be aware this is the step that wipes the phone or tablet. 9 - On your PC download the TWRP recovery or ClockWorkMod (varies by device) and SuperSU root package. The versions change as new OS updates come out, but a quick search on XDA will get you the most recent version. Put the recovery file  in the folder with ADB. Get your device back into Android and transfer the SuperSU zip to the internal storage. 10 - With your phone or tablet in bootloader mode again, type the following into the command prompt: fastboot flash recovery twrp.img, then hit enter. Substitute the MWN file name if you used that. This installs a new recovery over your old one so you can flash unsigned zip files.  11 - Finally, disconnect the device from your PC and use the volume rocker to navigate through the list of options in the bootloader. Choose the Recovery option and select it using the power button. Once in the recovery, find the option to Install a zip from the SD card, then select the SuperSU zip. And that's it. You're rooted.  A word about the toolkits: This is a separate program that can be used to automate the process above. It's best that you know how to use ADB anyway, so we recommend that route. Sometimes things go wrong, and ADB might be the best way to fix it. However, you are welcome to try the Nexus Root Toolkit from WugFresh. It's the best one by far.  Just plug in the device, click Unlock, wait, click Root, wait some more, and you're done. If something goes wrong, it's not easy to figure out exactly what it was.  Click the next page to learn how to root the HTC One, the Samsung Galaxy S4, and what to do once you have rooted your phone.     How to root the HTC One The new HTC flagship device is pretty hot right now, and it serves as an interesting middle ground between a Nexus-style root, and the more hackery ones. Like the Nexus, we need to unlock the bootloader, but it's encrypted on this phone. To unlock, you need to register as an HTC developer on the HTC Dev site (it's free).  Just like above, you'll need the Android SDK, USB drivers, and fastboot drivers. Installing the HTC Sync Manager will get you the drivers you need, but the HTC Dev site will provide you with Fastboot and a few other files. Backup the phone, as unlocking the bootloader will reset everything.  1 - Go to the HTC Dev site and follow the instructions to get into bootloader mode. You will disconnect the device from PC, turn it off, press and hold Volume Down and the Power button to access the Bootloader. 2 - Use the volume keys to select fastboot mode, and select it with power. When the device does its thing, connect it to the PC again.  3 - On your PC, go to the folder with all the ADB and Fastboot files and open a command prompt. Type fastboot devices and hit enter. The HTC One should show up as a device ID.  4 - Enter fastboot oem get_identifier_token. This will spit out a big block of text, which you will then copy and paste into the HTC Dev site when it asks for it. Wait a bit, and HTC will send you the unlock token. Place it in the Fastboot folder. 5 - With the HTC One still in Fastboot mode, type fastboot flash unlocktoken Unlock_code.bin. Now you're unlocked, so it's time to root. Reboot the phone normally and download the SuperUser zip file from Koush. Transfer it to the device. 6 - Download TWRP recovery for the HTC One and place it in the directory with your Fastboot and ADB files.  7 - Open another command prompt and get your device back into Fastboot mode just like above. Type fastboot flash recovery twrp.img and hit enter.  8 - Turn off the HTC One and turn it on in Bootloader mode by holding the Volume Down + Power button. Select Recovery and wait for the device to load.  9 - In Recovery, go to install and select the SuperUser zip. The zip will flash, and that's it. You're rooted.  How to root the Samsung Galaxy S4 The Galaxy S4 is an interesting device as it's simultaneously easier and more difficult to root. Unlike the HTC and Nexus devices, Samsung doesn't offer an official bootloader unlock system for the carrier-locked phones. These are the overwhelming majority of GS4s, so that's what we're going over here.  Some carriers have more bootloader security than others, and just like the previously detailed phones, we need to get around that. Instead of using ADB, we need a tool called ODIN, which allows efficient communication with Samsung devices over a PC connection.  1 - Install ODIN and run it. Click on the PDA button. 2 - ODIN will ask you to select the root file, which it came with. 3 - On your phone, power it completely off, then hold power and volume up to enter download mode.  4 - Connect the Galaxy S4 to the PC and click the Start button in ODIN.  5 - ODIN will churn for a moment and tell if your phone is supported for automatic root. Most are, and it will push the file over. Once you've seen the SuperUser Android logo, you've got root installed.  6 - Reboot the phone, and you're (hopefully) done.  Note: None of this replaced the recovery or unlocked the bootloader. The device is still more restricted than other rooted Android phones. A different method that replaces the recovery will give you more control and helps get around some of the roadblocks that stop ODIN from running the process automatically.  The process is the same as above, except you will point ODIN toward ClockWorkMod recovery, which you can find over here. Then use ClockWorkMod to flash the SuperUser zip (reboot with power, volume down, and home pressed). Depending on your model, you may need to use the Loki tool instead of ODIN. A quick search on XDA will tell you which version of the device needs which tool.  Samsung changes the security settings frequently, but as long as you know which version of the phone you have, you can probably gain root. Just remember: i9500 is the international variant, and i9505 is the Snapdragon US version. Carrier locked models have their own models sometimes, like the SCH-i545 for Verizon. There are a few versions of GS4 software that don't have active roots yet, so you may have to be patient. For other devices, you're going to be doing the same basic things outlined above, or some variation of them. Check XDA for the most up-to-date root files for your device, and get ADB ready. Most devices don't have encrypted bootloaders, so it's easy to get a custom recovery installed. From there, it's clear sailing.  What To Do With Root So now that you're rooted, what can you do with it? Before you do anything else, do a full device backup. You will probably have a custom recovery after rooting, but if not, you can flash one manually with ROM Manager in the Play Store (it's easy if you have root access). Boot into recovery, and find the backup option. In some recoveries, it's called Nandroid. This is essentially a full backup that makes an image of the device. That way, if you break anything the phone can be restored to a working state. These backups can be big, so you might want to store it elsewhere.  Making use of root-only apps is one of the main goals of this endeavor, so dive in. Root Explorer is one of the first apps you'll want to grab. This is a no-frills file manager that lets you manage permissions and access files in the system directory.  Quick Boot is a very useful app that can replicate some of those ADB commands we were using up above. This root app can reboot the phone, boot into recovery, bootloader, and power off in one step. This one is essential.  OTA RootKeeper is always a good idea. This app backs up your root files so that an OTA update can't wipe them out. Just back up, and restore after the update through the app. Should work on most devices.  Greenify lets you designate apps that you don't much care for, but don't want to uninstall to be silenced. If, for example, you don't want Facebook running in the background because it's a buggy, terrible app that often wastes battery (it is), then you can add it to Greenify. Greenify will wait a minute after you leave the app, then force it into hibernation mode. It won't be allowed to carry out any operations until you open it, but you can still use it when you want. This is a great app, but use it wisely.  You should also grab Helium or Titanium Backup to save your app data and sync it to other devices. This lets you transfer saved games and settings between old and new phones/tablets. Helium is a bit more streamlined and user-friendly, but Titanium is more powerful. Helium also works without root, but its functionality is better with it. Finally, pick up Cerberus. This is a security app that can track, lock, and wipe your phone if it is stolen. It can even take pictures with the camera and email them to you in hopes of catching the thief in the act. This app has a root capability allowing it to be installed to the system partition so it can survive device resets. The standard functions work on non-rooted devices, though. ROMs Okay, this is the ultimate endgame in rooting. If you want to completely change how your device works, installing a custom ROM is how you do it. There are several big names in Android ROMs, and that's probably where you should start. CynaogenMod supports a huge number of devices, and its very stable. Recent developments include a secure messaging platform and inproved data security. Visit the CM site for instructions on flashing this ROM. Paranoid Android is also quite popular, and it includes some unique features like Halo floating app multitasking. This ROM has a very fast update cycle, but it's a bit more buggy than CyanogenMod. This ROM is more distributed, so there's not a main site. The developers run a Google+ page, linked above. Keep up with news there, and grab the latest builds on XDA or in ROM Manager. In general, all the ROMs you want to install can be flashed through recovery. Just transfer the zip file over, then use recovery to install it just like we installed root up above.  For a slightly easier time, grab ROM Manager from Google Play. It can do much more than install a custom recovery. This app lists a ton of ROMs and can download them, then install in one step. You should only do this if you're familiar with ADB, though. Rom Manager won't give you any feedback if something goes wrong, and that might mean a real pain to fix your device.  Conclusion You can get more out of your Android device by rooting, but it's not for everyone. There is always risk in doing this. It's possible the device could be damaged beyond repair, or that you'll simply want to take advantage of the warranty in the future only to find you've voided it by rooting.  Undertake this at your own peril, but there's a massive community or experienced modders on sites like XDA and RootzWiki to help you if you get stuck. Best of luck!

Intel Roundup: Core i7 4771 Processor, Cheaper 2-in-1 Ultrabooks in the Works Posted: 30 Jul 2013 09:55 AM PDT A new flagship Haswell chip is in the works We're still waiting on Intel to deliver enthusiast-grade processors such as Ivy Bridge-E, but in the meantime, the Santa Clara chip maker is busy fleshing out its Haswell processor family, including a new flagship part. In the coming weeks, Intel will reportedly launch a Core i7 4771 processor, a quad-core part clocked at 3.5GHz and Turbo clockspeed of 3.9Ghz. In other words, it won't be much faster than the current flagship CPU, the Core i7 4770. Compared to the 4770, the 4771 is 100MHz faster, though both share the same Turbo frequency. Both also run the same integrated HD 4600 graphics and 84W max TDP. The only other difference between the two is that the 4771 ups the multiplier to 35 (up from 34), Fudzilla reports. In other news, Intel is said to be working with its supply chain partners to help reduce the costs of its 2-in-1 Ultrabook devices. Intel is holding a one-day event to discuss designs for 2-in-1 devices that can switch between a laptop and a tablet, along with how to reduce the power consumption of processors and trim the weight. As it stands, most companies can deliver 2-in-1 devices starting at $399, though Intel would like to see that price drop to $299. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

CyberPowerPC Unveils Power Mega III Graphics Workstation Series Posted: 30 Jul 2013 08:30 AM PDT Workstation performance in a sexy chassis Boutique builder CyberPowerPC today announced its Power Mega III Series, a family of Intel 4th generation Haswell or Xeon-based professional workstation PCs with Nvidia Quadro K Series or AMD FirePro graphics. The choices don't end there. CyberPowerPC is serving up its Power Mega III line in half a dozen starting configurations, each of which can be custom configured. Those who need a ton of processing power can opt for single- or dual-configuration Xeon setups. According to CyberPowerPC, the Power Mega III Series is easily adept at tackling professional applications and tasks like 3D rendering/modeling, sciences and medical imaging, engineering and earth sciences, matte painting, compositing, and CAD/CAM. Pricing starts at $1,099, though that gets you a pedestrian version of the new workstation. It includes a Thermaltake Urban S21 mid-tower case (not pictured above), Intel Core i7 4770K processor, Gigabyte Z87-HD3 motherboard, 8GB of DDR3-1600 RAM, Nvidia Quadro K600 graphics card, 1TB hard drive, 24X DVD burner, 500W PSU, and Windows 8 Professional 64-bit. If you have more coin to spend, a top-end configuration starts at around $4,269 and includes an NZXT H630 chassis (pictured), a pair of Intel Xeon E5-2630 six-core processors, Asus Z9PE-D8 WS motherboard, 32GB of DDR3-1333 ECC RAM, Nvidia Quadro K4000 graphics card, 128GB solid state drive, 3TB hard drive, 14X Blu-ray burner, 750W PSU, and Windows 8 Professional 64-bit. The Power Mega III Series is available now. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Razer Redesigns Naga MMO Gaming Mouse for Improved Ergonomics, Adds Mechanical Switches Posted: 30 Jul 2013 08:07 AM PDT Best selling MMO gaming mouse just got better Razer isn't the least bit bashful to point out that its Naga mouse is the best selling MMO gaming rodent of all time, but rather than rest on its laurels, the peripheral maker decided to the tweak the design. The newest version of the Naga mouse now sports mechanical switches for increased tactility, speed, and actuation assurance, while each button on the thumb grid stands out more pronounced than previous generation models to allow for blind-finding, Razer says. The form factor is a little different, too. The revised Naga has a broader shape to accommodate more hand types. The fourth and fifth finger rest now has a gentler down-slope for better grip and less fatigue, and the scroll wheel gains a tilt function that wasn't present on the previous iteration. "When we launched the original Razer Naga gaming mouse several years ago, we had no idea that it would rise to become the best-selling MMO gaming mouse the world has ever seen, helping launch a slew of other MMO mice," said Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. "In fact, we expect the copycats to be the first in line to order the new Razer Naga. This new iteration is no different – mechanical thumb grid buttons for better game control, improved ergonomics that were already widely accepted as the benchmark for this type of mouse within the editorial community and intuitive software that makes MMO gaming more efficient." Razer's also introducing in-game MMO configuration software with the Naga so that owners can setup key binds, macros, and other preferences from within any games they play. The software uses a non-intrusive overlay so gamers needn't exit to the desktop. Other features include 19 MMO optimized programmable buttons, a 12-button mechanical thumb grid, 8200 dpi 4G laser sensor, green LED backlight, 1,000Hz Ultrapolling, up to 200 inches per second / 50g max acceleration, and zero-acoustic Ultraslick mouse feet. Finally, Razer is launching a left-handed addition of the new Naga. The company claims it's producing the mouse at a fiscal loss, but decided to forge ahead anyway due to popular community demand. The new Naga is available now for $80 MSRP. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Sony and Panasonic Working Together to Improve Optical Disc Capacity to at Least 300GB Posted: 30 Jul 2013 07:30 AM PDT Long live the optical disc Cloud computing has slow rolled its way into our everyday lives, and these days we rely on the cloud for more services than ever. The cloud changed the way we buy games (Steam, for example) and watch movies and TV shows (hello Netflix and Hulu), but is the death of the optical disc drive nigh? Not as far as Sony and Panasonic are concerned. Rather than write optical's obituary, the two firms are working together to create optical discs with recording capacity of at least 300GB by the end of 2015. In a joint press release, Sony and Panasonic lauded the "excellent properties" of optical discs to protect them against the environment, such as dust-resistance and water-resistance. Optical discs are also good at withstanding changes in temperature and humidity when stored, all of which are traits that make them viable options for long-term storage. Both companies have been independently working to advance optical technology. Sony in September of last year commercialized a file-based optical disc archive system capable of holding a dozen discs within a compact cartridge as a single, high-capacity storage solution. Panasonic, meanwhile, launched its LB-DM9 series of optical disc storage devices that use a dedicated magazine of just 20.8mm thickness to house twelve 100GB optical discs. Image Credit: Flickr (yoppy) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

By the Numbers, Android is King of the Tablet Market Posted: 30 Jul 2013 07:00 AM PDT Android dominates tablet market Apple's iPad used to own the tablet market, and perhaps by some counts, it still does. The number crunchers at Strategy Analytics, however, have Android sitting on top, and by a pretty wide margin to boot. According to Strategy Analytics, Android secured a 67 percent global share of the tablet market in the first quarter of 2013, a quarter which overall tablet shipments reached 57.1 million units. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, Android's share of the tablet market grew 15.6 percent. Much of Android's growth came at the expense of Apple's iPad, which saw its share erode from 47.2 percent in Q2 2012 to 28.3 percent in Q2 2013. Strategy Analytics didn't offer a whole lot of analysis as to why Android is surging at the expense of the iPad, but we imagine it's because there are now a number of affordable name-brand slates to choose from, tablets like the Memo Pad HD from Asus that sell for a mere $150. Even the iPad mini can't touch that price tag. What about Microsoft? The share of Windows-based tablets grew from 0.5 percent a year ago to 4.5 percent currently. And with the recent price cut to Microsoft's Surface RT line, Microsoft's share could spike next quarter. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

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MMO Updates

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• Shroud of the Avatar unleashes its content creation kit
• Darkfall gains two new warships and a new class today
• Razer unveils redesigned Naga MMO mouse
• Chat up the NPCs with The Repopulation's new Inquiry System
• Massively Speaking 257: Bubble hearth
• Guild Wars 2 celebrates the Queen's Jubilee
• The Daily Grind: What does it take to keep your interest?
• ANet's Stein talks Guild Wars 2 design team goals and roles
• Not So Massively: Dota 2's 5 million players, Path of Exile's death penalty, and Blizzard as an 'indie'
• PlanetSide 2's Player Studio functionality now live
• Camelot Unchained hires more staff, lays out roadmap
• Age of Wushu Changing Skies trailer features new weather systems, lots of kung fu
• Chaos Theory: The joys of build-swapping in The Secret World
• TESO Ask Us Anything talks roleplay, add-on support
• Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Daniel Stahl, part two
• Massive update coming to AIKA Online in August

Shroud of the Avatar unleashes its content creation kit Posted: 30 Jul 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, Dungeons, Crowdfunding, Player-Generated Content, Shroud of the Avatar Richard Garriott's Portalarium may have successfully kickstarted its Shroud of the Avatar project back in April, but that doesn't mean the team is done with the rewards. In last night's dev update, Executive Producer Dallas Snell introduced the Dungeon Kit: a Unity-based content creation tool that is now available to all Developer-Level ($400+ pledge tier) backers. This tool not only lets you build assets for SotA, but it also allows you to build assets for any Unity-based game that you may be working on. Snell reports that this may be the first time that something like this has been made available to other game devs or publishers before the game is even released. Be sure to check out the full update for much more on getting started with the kit, getting started with Unity, and some interesting factoids on how surveyed devs will be using the Dungeon Kit. Shroud of the Avatar unleashes its content creation kit originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Jul 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Kickstarter Update #35

Darkfall gains two new warships and a new class today Posted: 30 Jul 2013 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Classes, Game Mechanics, Patches, PvP, News Items, Sandbox Bug fixing updates are all well and good (not to mention necessary), but you can't help but love a patch that adds more content as well! And today's Darkfall Unholy Wars patch does both. Besides some HUD and general fixes, Aventurine has added two new ships and a new class to the sandbox. The Junk and Barque are both fairly slow warships, lined with cannons -- 12 side and one rear on the former and nine side and two on each the front and rear on the latter. To craft either, a player needs a shipbuilding mastery of 50. The new class is the Slayer, a melee warrior with skills like Battle Rage and Vampiric Strike. Changes were also made to the village capturing and stealing mechanics to help the villages fall more in line with their envisioned purpose of being PvP hotspots. Full details on these and the other changes can be found in the patch notes. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!] Darkfall gains two new warships and a new class today originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Jul 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Patch notes, Village changes

Razer unveils redesigned Naga MMO mouse Posted: 30 Jul 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Launches, MMO Industry, News Items, MMOFPS, MMORTS, Miscellaneous, MOBA, MMORPG Razer has just revealed the newest edition of its MMO-centric Naga gaming mouse. Changes to the peripheral range from big to small: the 12-key thumb grid is receiving mechanical keys that are easier to access and a slight redesign, the mouse wheel now features tilt-clicking, and the interchangeable body pieces of the Naga 2013 have been replaced by a one-size-fits-all design. Also new with this edition of the Naga is an in-game configuration tool that allows users to set keybindings to the device directly from the game of their choosing. The tech specs look like this: 19 programmable buttons, 8200 DPI 4G sensor, green LED backlighting, 7-foot braided cable, and 1000Hz ultrapolling. Perhaps most interesting: Razer is releasing both right-handed and left-handed versions of the new Naga. Our own Eliot Lefebvre is taking a run with the updated mouse and will be reporting his findings here once he's put it through its paces. [Source: Razer press release] Razer unveils redesigned Naga MMO mouse originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Jul 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Chat up the NPCs with The Repopulation's new Inquiry System Posted: 30 Jul 2013 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Lore, News Items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, The Repopulation Ever wondered what other information a NPC might be hiding behind the usual quest dialogue or vendor window? What secrets is that random NPC out in the world privy to? You can find out in The Repopulation. Lead developer Joshua Halls presents an overview of the sci-fi sandbox's new Inquiry System that allows players to glean additional information from NPCs throughout the world. The system works like this: You simply click the NPC to make an inquiry. After any quest dialogues and vending is taken care of, the inquiry chat bubble will appear. Players can then ask about directions to someone or something or try to illicit hidden information using diplomacy skill. Want more information about a particular NPC, such as personality traits and profession? Ask his NPC friends around town! If you are interested in learning more of the world backstory or obtaining hidden missions, you can weasel that knowledge out of NPCs as well. The Inquiry system will also be dynamic, with NPC moods and world events affecting what may become available during an inquiry. Chat up the NPCs with The Repopulation's new Inquiry System originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Jul 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Inquiry System

Massively Speaking 257: Bubble hearth Posted: 30 Jul 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Podcasts, MMO Industry, News Items, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous Meet Justin, the original MMO hipster. He was playing massively multiplayer online games back when the rest of the world was gaming on the Atari 2600. Meet Bree, the original MMO poser. She claims that she grew up playing Star Wars Galaxies and Ultima Online, but she was really just into Second Life and Habbo Hotel. Together they form VOLFORCE, defender of the inner solar system! It's truth, justice, and the Massively way! Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air! Get the podcast: [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. [iTunes] Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. [Stitcher] Follow the podcast on Stitcher Radio. Listen here on the page: Read below the cut for the full show notes. Continue reading Massively Speaking 257: Bubble hearth Massively Speaking 257: Bubble hearth originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Jul 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Guild Wars 2 celebrates the Queen's Jubilee Posted: 30 Jul 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Events (In-Game), Patches, Previews, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play Citizens! Queen Jennah, ruler of the human kingdom of Kryta, is preparing to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of her reign in ArenaNet's latest living story update for Guild Wars 2. All of Tyria is invited except bad guys, presumably, but we're beginning to notice a pattern in these little celebrations and won't be shocked if some show up to crash the party anyway. If you're not bent on the subjugation or destruction of the entire world (or can at least keep quiet about it for the first act or so), you're welcome to hitch a ride in one of the nifty hot air balloons Her Majesty has provided to take guests to the brand-new Crown Pavilion in the human home city of Divinity's Reach. Fighting stuff is de rigueur for any Tyrian social event, and players can earn rewards through single combat in the Queen's Gauntlet, where the value of the rewards increases as challengers take more risks and fulfill special conditions. The crown is also employing a new technology known as watchwork; players will be able to gather it themselves for use in crafting new recipes and purchasing the new Sovereign weapon set. Completing the meta-achievement for the event will earn you a sweet miniature replica of one of Jennah's intimidating Watchknights. They're pretty creepy-looking, but they seem a lot less prone to putting their feet in their mouths than Logan Thackeray is. Continue reading Guild Wars 2 celebrates the Queen's Jubilee Guild Wars 2 celebrates the Queen's Jubilee originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Jul 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What does it take to keep your interest? Posted: 30 Jul 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous Every MMO wants you to play forever. The longer you play, the longer you give the company money, which is sort of how companies operate. The troublesome element is that developing features that will keep one person playing for a long period of time might very well mean ignoring other groups of players. There are only so many hours in the day and only so many developers working on new features, after all. So today we're coming at this from the obvious angle -- what does it take to keep your interest? Is it a question of update speed, whether you prefer rapid updates like Guild Wars 2 or big expansions a la World of Warcraft? Is it a question of fundamental mechanics, such that you prefer a wide-open sandbox like EVE Online or a directed experience in Star Wars: The Old Republic? Is it a matter of feel and lore that keeps you invested in Star Trek Online or Final Fantasy XIV? What does it take to keep your interest? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind! The Daily Grind: What does it take to keep your interest? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Jul 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

ANet's Stein talks Guild Wars 2 design team goals and roles Posted: 29 Jul 2013 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, News Items, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play ArenaNet lead writer Bobby Stein is featured in an interview at Guild Wars 2 Hub. Stein talks about how his role has evolved since the game's launch, the challenges inherent in GW2's new two-week content cadence, and a host of other design-related topics. Stein also offers some frank analysis with regard to GW2's lofty pre-launch goals. "You can't pour your blood, sweat, and tears into something for more than five years and not see a million things that you'd do differently, if given the chance," he explains. ANet's Stein talks Guild Wars 2 design team goals and roles originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: GW2 Hub

Not So Massively: Dota 2's 5 million players, Path of Exile's death penalty, and Blizzard as an 'indie' Posted: 29 Jul 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Video, Business Models, Game Mechanics, Lore, New Titles, Patches, PvP, Endgame, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, Casual, Dev Diaries, Miscellaneous, Not So Massively, Sandbox, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen Star Citizen revealed details of the Hurston Dynamics corporation and jump-hub star system Terra in two new Galactic Guide lore articles this week. Diablo III developer Blizzard Entertainment regained its status as an independent development studio after CEO Bobby Kotick bought $8.2 billion US worth of shares back from parent company Vivendi. Path of Exile developer Grinding Gear Games announced plans to cut its XP death penalty by 50% in the next patch but pushed back new skills and performance improvements until the next update. Meanwhile, League of Legends announced that its new website will be released soon following promising results from beta testers. The new site includes a community portal and a heavier focus on images and videos. Heroes of Newerth discussed its new design strategy of making every player feel different and announced plans to revamp Blitz, Ravener, and Lord Salforis in Patch 3.2. Dota 2 showed that its recent launch may have been a big success as it passed the 5 million unique player mark. And Prime World officially entered open beta this week and released an extensive guide for new players. Continue reading Not So Massively: Dota 2's 5 million players, Path of Exile's death penalty, and Blizzard as an 'indie' Not So Massively: Dota 2's 5 million players, Path of Exile's death penalty, and Blizzard as an 'indie' originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

PlanetSide 2's Player Studio functionality now live Posted: 29 Jul 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2, Player-Generated Content We told you last week about PlanetSide 2's foray into the player-generated content realm courtesy of SOE's Player Studio initiative. Today we're happy to tell you that the update is live! US-based players may "download sample geometry, learn how virtual items are constructed, and try designing items." SOE says that players can even pen an item name, description, and rationale for fitting their creations into the lore of the neverending war on Auraxis. Approved items will be placed in the PS2 marketplace alongside SOE-created items. A portion of the proceeds will be shared with the player content author. PlanetSide 2's Player Studio functionality now live originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

Camelot Unchained hires more staff, lays out roadmap Posted: 29 Jul 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO Industry, PvP, Races, Camelot Unchained Camelot Unchained has emerged from its slumber to deliver a doozy of an update. For starters, City State Entertainment has hired three new full-time staff members for its upcoming MMO: a producer, gameplay engineer, and community manager. CEO Mark Jacobs also vowed to deliver regular roadmaps to the community regarding the current progress and upcoming goals of the team. The first such update mentions initial passes to server loops and the patching system, not to mention work on overhauling the website. The team's also beginning work on the next race: "We have two possibilities right now (both are Arthurians) and one of them is definitely a little easier than the other but we'll see. One draws heavily on a Scottish legend while the other, well, it's different and also not so different at the same time." Finally, Jacobs posted concept art for the Hamadryads after giving his team some guidance where to go with this race. "First, I told them to think of the Hamadryads in a different way than is usually seen for this type of creature," he said. "Secondly, I told them to study both Guild War 2's Sylvari and the Dark Age of Camelot's Sylvan and make sure that our Hamadryads weren't clones, or even close to, those races." Camelot Unchained hires more staff, lays out roadmap originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Afternoon update

Age of Wushu Changing Skies trailer features new weather systems, lots of kung fu Posted: 29 Jul 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Age of Wushu Age of Wushu's Chinese server is getting a content update on August 8th. You don't have to wait that long to see it, though, thanks to a new trailer posted at MMO Culture. The patch, loosely translated as Changing Skies, will add new weather and day/night cycle systems. There will also be sandstorms that reveal secret locations, changing environmental sounds, and the new character selection screen shown above. Thus far Snail Games has not indicated when the new content will be exported to Age of Wushu's American or European servers. Click past the cut to watch the trailer. Continue reading Age of Wushu Changing Skies trailer features new weather systems, lots of kung fu Age of Wushu Changing Skies trailer features new weather systems, lots of kung fu originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: MMO Culture

Chaos Theory: The joys of build-swapping in The Secret World Posted: 29 Jul 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Video, Classes, Game Mechanics, Opinion, The Secret World, Guides, Livestream, Chaos Theory, Buy-to-Play Unless you've only ever played sandboxes, chances are you're used to wielding just one or two types of weapons in your games because access to others is restricted. As such, forethought often goes into what you play. Whether you decide on your death delivery system based on how cool it looks, playstyle (melee or ranged), or roleplay reasons, you're stuck with it unless you roll another alt. So it's understandable if you settle into a familiar routine of keeping to just two select weapons when playing The Secret World. However, if that's the case, then you are missing out on one of the key aspects that make TSW unique. Previously, we covered how to improve your DPS build, but we focused mainly on gear and stats, only touching on swapping out abilities. This time, we're going to zero in on the ability to swap between weapons and abilities on the fly and how it can really enhance your experience. Continue reading Chaos Theory: The joys of build-swapping in The Secret World Chaos Theory: The joys of build-swapping in The Secret World originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

TESO Ask Us Anything talks roleplay, add-on support Posted: 29 Jul 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, News Items, Roleplaying, The Elder Scrolls Online, MMORPG ZeniMax Online's latest The Elder Scrolls Online dev blog contains a few tiny tidbits for lovers of roleplaying. In the Ask Us Anything post, ZeniMax confirmed that the US and EU will have separate servers (though players can choose where they want to play), animated emotes are already in the game (with custom emotes possible via "/emote"), and that characters will have the option of walking instead of running. More specific to role-play lovers: ZeniMax has no plans to give players a place to write their own backstory, but noted that TESO's add-on system will be flexible enough that the community should be able to come up with something. Players will also have access to privacy settings including an invisible mode that shows them as being offline. Finally, the studio hinted at what types of weather players should expect to see while hanging out in Tamriel: From snowstorms in Skyrim to rain showers over the moors of Glenumbra, you'll experience lots of weather as you explore -- through the day and night -- in ESO." TESO Ask Us Anything talks roleplay, add-on support originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Ask Us Anything: Roleplaying

Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Daniel Stahl, part two Posted: 29 Jul 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Expansions, Interviews, Endgame, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Captain's Log I recently had the opportunity to travel to Northern California and stop by and spend some time with the Star Trek Online team at Cryptic Studios. This week I continue my series of interviews with the team with part two of my conversation with Star Trek Online Executive Producer Daniel Stahl. Take a leap past the break and read more about what Stahl had to say about the new trait system, what a new level cap raise might entail, and his own involvement with writing new story content for the Klingon faction! Continue reading Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Daniel Stahl, part two Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Daniel Stahl, part two originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Massive update coming to AIKA Online in August Posted: 29 Jul 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play Is your summer filled with the same old, same old? It's not for AIKA Online fans as August will see a big update hit the game. Called Zereca's Plot: Land of Wailing, this giant patch includes plenty of new content and features, including a level cap increase to 90 (with accompanying new equipment, of course), new skills, a new dungeon, and more. A new skill will be unlocked for each job class when player hits level 85, but to get the new Heavenly Set equipment, players will have to utilize the new Disassembly System and acquire the materials by taking apart level 80 unique equipment. The new Hell Mode dungeon -- Kynari Aviary -- is located in the new Land of Wailing map, where monsters range in level from 90-95. Players can enter Kynari Aviary daily for a chance to challenge the powerful boss Seridunn. Prans also get some update love: Not only do they get skill improvements, but with the Property Change feature, they also have wider customization options. [Source: Redbana press release] Massive update coming to AIKA Online in August originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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