General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


Old School Monday: Dream Machine 1998

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 02:13 PM PDT

It's that time of year again - the sun is out, the days are warm and we've been up to our elbows in high-performance components for weeks. That's right, it's Dream Machine season and this year's build is one slick rig. In just seven days you'll get to set your eyes on one of the sweetest, sharpest, most powerful rigs to grace our pages and in order to start off our countdown week to Dream Machine 2011 we're going to go back to where it all began: the first Maximum PC Dream Machine.

Last year we reminisced about the very first Dream Machine ever (from a 1996 issue of boot), gave homage to the evolution of the Dream Machine, and checked on our predictions. This year we'll be sharing even more behind the scenes stories by telling you the parts and pieces that didn't make it into this years build, getting the Maximum PC staff to discuss their favorite Dream Machines, and we'll make predictions for Dream Machine 2015. We'll unveil this years rig next Monday, July 11th - and we also have some video footage of the making of the Dream Machine to follow. Stay tuned for all that - but first, take a moment to remember where it began: an Intel 400MHz Pentium II, 128MB SDRAM, a 56K modem, Alps Floppy Drive and a Tyan S1836DLUAN Thunder motherboard.

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Google Realtime Search Vanishes as Twitter Deal Ends

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 01:18 PM PDT

googOver the weekend, Google's experimental Realtime Search page mysteriously vanished, and now we know why. It tuns out that the search giant's deal with social networking service Twitter expired, leaving Realtime with a real lack of data. Google says the feature will be coming back, but has not said when or in what form.

Back in 2009, Google inked a deal with Twitter to pipe all its data into Google for use in Realtime. While the direct feed has been shut off, Google has stressed that its web crawlers can still index all the public posts on Twitter. It just won't be so much real time. 

Google Realtime Search will apparently come back with a variety of data sources, but it is unclear if Twitter will be one of them. Certainly Google+ will be in the mix, but it will not be the only one. With Twitter's crazy-short search index, we'd really like to see a new deal with Google.

Intel Betting Big on Ultrabook Concept

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 11:20 AM PDT

Intel revealed a new category of laptops called Ultrabooks at the Computex trade show earlier this year. Intel's idea of an Ultrabook is a thin and light machine measuring 20mm (around 0.8 inches) at its thickest point and powered by the chip maker's 22nm Ivy Bridge processors, with a sub-$1,000 price tag. It's sort of a cross between a notebook and a tablet, and with a holiday launch rapidly approaching, Intel is looking to aggressively promote the form factor in hopes that notebook makers will jump on board.

Intel's goal is for its Ultrabook concept to snag 40 percent of the notebook market by the end of 2012, but according to DigiTimes, notebook vendors are weary of developing Ultrabook products for multiple reasons. One of these is the fact that Intel's Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) ultra-thin line in 2009 never dominated the market like Intel hoped it would. Perhaps a bigger reason, however, is the challenge of launching an Ultrabook at under $1,000 with a pricey Ivy Bridge processor inside.

To help alleviate pricing concerns among first-tier notebook vendors, Intel has committed to "providing a significant budget to support its partners launching Ultrabooks," DigiTimes says. At least one vendor is willing to give Ultrabooks a go, and that's Asus. Asus plans to launch its UX21 Ultrabook in September, which will sport an 11.6-inch screen, second generation Core i5 or i7 processor, USB 3.0, SSD, and measure 17mm thin at its thickest point.

Image Credit: Asus

Poor Yields Push Fermi Successor to Q1 2012

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 10:59 AM PDT

Remember all the hoopla leading up to Nvidia's Fermi launch? We were teased with leaked photos, benchmarks, and several delays due to reported defects. Nvidia eventually ironed out whatever bugs it needed to in order to get Fermi to market in the form of a GTX 480, a fast videocard with a group of stream processors disabled. It also ran hot and a little bit loud, ultimately leading us to declare the the GTX 580 "the real Fermi" (see our review here). We're expecting a much smoother rollout to Fermi's successor, though it appears delays are still part of the game.

According to news and rumor site Fudzilla, Nvidia's 28nm Kepler part and successor to Fermi likely won't launch until the first quarter of 2011. Fudzilla's sources say there's still a chance Kepler could arrive by the end of this year, but given the current maturity of the 28nm process, a Q1 2012 launch is much more likely.

Nvidia isn't the only one affected by poor yields. AMD faces the same dilemma, though according to Fudzilla, the chip maker is still on schedule to launch 28nm GPUs in 2011, they just won't be available in mass quantities.

Intel Releases New Open Source Packages

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 08:03 AM PDT

Intel's research division Intel Labs recently released a pair of open source software packages, including a distributed scene graph package to increase the maximum number of participants in 3D Web applications, like virtual worlds, by more than 20 times, and an advanced offline ray tracing package to help speed up rendering of photorealistic images on Intel-based systems by 100 percent.

The first is an open source solution for Scalable Virtual Environments called Distributed Scene Graph (DSG). According to Intel, DSG breaks the environment into separately executable components, and when combined with a cloud computing model, it allows applications to scale user experiences far beyond existing limits.

Intel's other gift is Embree, a collection of high-performance ray tracing kernels developed at Intel Labs. Intel says the kernels are optimized for photo-realistic rendering on the latest Intel silicon with support for SSE and AVX instruction sets. Embree is designed for Monte Carlo ray tracing algorithms where most of the rays are incoherent, Intel says.

You can learn more about DSG and Embree and download the source code for each here and here, respectively.

NBA Erases Player Images from Websites, Face Stiff Fines for Facebook

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 07:26 AM PDT

In case you're not a sports a fan, or at least not a fan of the NBA, here's the prerequisite information you need before reading ahead. The NBA and the NBA Players Association failed to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) last week to replace the one that expired, and the NBA decided to lock out its players, forcing a work stoppage. What's interesting about this, and relevant from a technology perspective, is that webmasters had to remove all images and videos of NBA players from team websites, almost as if the players no longer exist.

"We're going back to the stone ages of the Internet," one team website administer told ESPN. "It's all going to be very dumbed down."

According to ESPN, depending on you interpret "fair use," teams could get in trouble just for mentioning a player's name on an NBA-owned website, though different teams interpret this stipulation differently. Plenty of other gray areas abound, such as social networking. Yahoo News is reporting that team owners who communicate with players using social media tools like Facebook and Twitter face a million dollar fine from the league, as well as potential loss of draft picks. The ban on Facebook extends beyond team owners and also includes coaches, managers, and front office personnel. They can follow players on Twitter, but aren't allowed to send messages or retweet player updates.

If you head to NBA.com, instead of seeing the Heatles or world champion Dallas Mavericks, you'll instead see pics of Chris Mullen, Magic Johnson, Dave Bing, and other retired NBA players. And on team websites, player profile pictures have been replaced by team logos.

Welcome to the crazy world of digital media and intellectual property.

NEC and Lenovo Team Up to Launch Japan's Biggest PC Company

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 06:55 AM PDT

If PCs are dead (they're not), someone forgot to tell Japan. And NEC. And Lenovo. In a joint press release today, Lenovo and NEC announced the launch of NEC Lenovo Japan Group, a long winded name that now represents Japan's largest PC provider. Based on recent analyst figures, the group expects to control about 25 percent of Japan's PC market, poking its head into both the commercial/government sector and in consumer sales.

Lenovo says it's been engaged in "extensive talks" with NEC ever since the announcement of a possible joint venture was made back in January. Lenovo's CEO Yang Yuanqing says he "would like to stress again that we are fully committed to the Japanese market and we are determined to continue to lead the PC industry in Japan," but is also interested in "expand[ing] this strategic alliance beyond the PC business."

"With this alliance, both companies will continue to progress and be committed to Japanese PC users as well as contributing more to the growth of the PC market in Japan. We will also strengthen our efforts to achieve the No. 1 customer satisfaction for our quality, function and service. Furthermore, based on this strategic partnership, we will continue to discuss and assess new opportunities with this global partnership," stated Nobuhiro Endo, President of NEC.

Lenovo will wear the pants in this new relationship with a 51 percent stake, with NEC holding onto the remaining 49 percent.

Contrary to Hacked Fox News Twitter Feed, Obama was Not Shot and Killed

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 06:36 AM PDT

How many times have you heard that you can't believe everything you read on the Internet? That holds especially true for the past couple of months in which hackers have been on a rampage, mostly to swipe and distribute other people's personal information, but sometimes to post fake news. It happened again this morning as hackers claiming to be tied with Anonymous infiltrated Fox's political Twitter account and posted updates 'reporting' President Barack Obama had been shot and killed in Iowa.

Fox News acknowledged the incident and apologized for the "malicious and false tweets," saying it "regrets any distress the false tweets may have created." As of this writing, the tweets are still there. They went up around 2AM Pacific time falsely reporting that Obama suffered two gunshot wounds, that the shooter was unknown, and that Vice President Biden would take over. None of that actually happened, and according to the Associated Press, Obama plans to spend the Fourth of July holiday at a barbecue at the White House with military and administration personnel.

This is the latest attack in a string of hacker attacks targeting corporations and governments over the last couple of months. According to Stony Brook University's Think Magazine, a group known as "The Script Kiddies" initially claimed responsibility for the Fox News attack, but perhaps thought better of the idea and have since removed all past mentions of the incident. The group says it has ties with Anonymous.

"I wold consider us to be close in relation [to Anonymous,] two of the members of our group were members of Anonymous," a representative of The Script Kiddies told Think Magazine. "I was a member of Anonymous. We hope to be working with them soon."

It's Official: GoDaddy Partners Up for $2.25 Billion

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 06:04 AM PDT

Reports from all over the Web are saying the GoDaddy.com just changed hands for billions of dollars. According to GoDaddy's official statement, however, this isn't a sale, but a "strategic investment" and partnership with KKR, Silver Lake, and Technology Crossover Ventures, a trio of investment firms.

"I've always said we would make a move like this when the right deal with the right partners could help us do the right thing for our customers and our employees," said Go Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons. "This is it! We are partnering with KKR, Silver Lake and TCV because of their technology expertise, their understanding of Web based businesses and because their values align with ours. We believe, together, we will take the company to the next level, especially when it comes to accelerating international growth."

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but quoting "people briefed on the matter," the New York Times says the sale partnership is worth $2.25 billion. Bob Parsons, CEO and founder of GoDaddy, will retain more shares than any other individual, but it's unclear if he'll have a controlling interest after the deal is complete.

"Mr. Parsons will continue to be the largest single shareholder, even after the agreement is finalized," a GoDaddy spokesperson told Mashable. "This does not mean he has 51 percent -- it means, as an individual, he would have as much ownership as any one entity."

GoDaddy, known for its sexually suggestive ads run during the Super Bowl, is the biggest domain registrar in the U.S. and has shown strong growth the past few years. Sales jumped up 25 percent to $947 million from 2009 to 2010, and are projected to reach $1.1 billion by the end of 2011.

MMO Updates

MMO Updates


Flameseeker Chronicles: This might just work!

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 10:00 AM PDT

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OK, it's confession time. I hated the idea of 5-man dungeons in Guild Wars 2. Well, "hated" may have been too strong a word, but since I'm MMO gamer whose fun largely centers around playing with my friends and guildmates, the thought of being forced to only play with four of them was sort of a turn-off.

My mind has been changed, so let's cut right to the chase. Follow along after the jump and I'll tell you why!

Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: This might just work!

MassivelyFlameseeker Chronicles: This might just work! originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MV Guide: July 4-10, 2011

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 08:00 AM PDT

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MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel.

Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of games to take a look at. During Livestream events, you can participate in the live chat to learn about the game, ask questions, and spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, Livestream events are subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.)

Follow along after the jump to see what's scheduled for this week!

Continue reading MV Guide: July 4-10, 2011

MassivelyMV Guide: July 4-10, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What was your longest single play session?

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 06:00 AM PDT

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You probably heard tell of the Final Fantasy XI boss fight that would not end, but most of us don't have stories quite like that. We still have our marathon sessions, though, times when we log in and then find ourselves 12 hours later seriously contemplating calling out sick from work. Marathon sessions are one of those things that nearly every gamer deals with sooner or later, and while you might not understand the motivation if you don't play, anyone who knows MMOs will know the thrill of logging in and just going.

Sometimes they're sessions in which the stars align perfectly and you just seem to be getting good drops left and right. Sometimes the session is just a great party that's steamrolling difficult content. And sometimes the session is a real match of wits, you against the game, and you are determined to keep hammering at it until it gives you what you want. So what was your longest marathon session like? What got you into it, and what was the most memorable part?

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!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: What was your longest single play session? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Week in Review: Unchained

Posted: 03 Jul 2011 06:00 PM PDT

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At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. Miss a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week? You've come to the right post.

We knew Age of Conan's free-to-play conversion was coming; we just didn't know when. This week, Funcom saw fit to surprise everyone by pulling down the servers and launching AoC: Unchained. The short notice even took our veteran AoC expert by surprise, but fortunately, he works (and plays) well without sleep. AoC: Unchained delivers more than just a free-to-play option for players; it also includes a new cosmetic system, new dungeons, and casual-friendly gameplay tweaks.

Join us past the break for a glimpse into this week's other top MMO stories!

Continue reading Week in Review: Unchained

MassivelyWeek in Review: Unchained originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: EVE's Alliance Tournament IX

Posted: 03 Jul 2011 04:00 PM PDT

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With all the recent controversy in EVE Online, the annual Alliance Tournament was all too quickly forgotten. CCP did its usual fantastic job with the tournament coverage this year, with live video streams of the two qualifying weekends and a live EVE TV studio show for the finals. For those of us who missed the action, all of the match videos have now been uploaded to the CCP Games YouTube channel in HD. As we take a step back from recent events to digest CCP and the CSM's statements, now is the perfect chance to catch up on some of the year's awesome PvP tournament action.

This year's tournament winners walked away with a first place prize of 120 billion ISK and 50 blueprint runs for a unique Amarr heavy assault cruiser called the Vangel. The second place prize of 50 billion ISK was also accompanied by 50 blueprint runs for a unique Amarr assault ship called the Malice. Both ships are significantly better than their standard counterparts, but with only 50 ever to be introduced in the game, they're sure to become priceless collector's items. The third and fourth place winners received 20 billion ISK each as a consolation prize for coming so far in EVE's number one PvP tournament.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the meta-game surrounding the tournament and collect together links to videos and commentary on all the main matches in Alliance Tournament IX.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: EVE's Alliance Tournament IX

MassivelyEVE Evolved: EVE's Alliance Tournament IX originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 03 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: I want it all

Posted: 03 Jul 2011 02:00 PM PDT

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What's better than some great gear? Lots of great gear, of course! In today's One Shots submission, Massively reader Superjudge is working hard to scoop up as many shinies as possible in Guild Wars:
St. Superjudge is a Ranger after the Tyrian fashion. He is currently wearing a set of Primeval Armor paired with the cowl from the Rainment of the Lich 2010 Halloween costume, all dyed black. He is wielding a Sundering Oppressor Scythe of Fortitude.

I had been experimenting with Ranger/Dervish builds and found this to be the perfect visage of death to go along with it. In the background from left to right are the Elite Canthan, Norn, Primeval (obviously), and Monument Armor sets. I'm hoping to add a Vabbian set to the mix as well before
Guild Wars 2. That cuddly little fella all the way to the right is St. Superjudge's pet Dire Black Moa Bird, Werechicken.
This wraps up gear week, and we are all set for pet week! Large or small, deadly or purely decorative, we want to see your favorite pet companion. Just let us know your name and the name of the game and tell us a little about your pet and how you acquired it! Send it all to to oneshots@massively.com and we'll feature you and your pet on One Shots next week!

MassivelyOne Shots: I want it all originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 03 Jul 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rise and Shiny recap: Order and Chaos Online

Posted: 03 Jul 2011 12:00 PM PDT

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I'd like to start this article off by giving Gameloft, publisher of Order and Chaos Online, a lot of respect. Tons of respect. Oodles of respect. It seems to be a company that gets an idea (or borrows one) and just does it. While so many people are talking about designing and creating for the mobile gaming world, Gameloft has busily cranked out scores of high-quality titles. Yes, many of those titles bear remarkable resemblance to other non-mobile titles, but let's be really honest here: Modern MMO design is not really chock-full of original ideas. In fact, the lack of of daring design is what drove me to the indie and mobile markets. Both of those markets are new enough, or small enough, that they take chances.

Gameloft's games generally work, as well. Its shooters might be slightly on rails, and its RPGs might be pretty linear, but all of its attempts at hitting the mark add up to a lot of profit and a lot of successful shots. The company has more good games than bad. Anyway, if the major publishers aren't going to take the time to make a decent mobile port or morph of their best titles, Gameloft has shown that it is more than willing to. I generally like that.

Not surprisingly, the company did a fantastic job of making a portable, enjoyable World of Warcraft with Order and Chaos Online. Click past the cut and I'll tell you what I thought about it.

Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: Order and Chaos Online

MassivelyRise and Shiny recap: Order and Chaos Online originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 03 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMO updates

MMO updates


MapleStory Korea - More info on Legend

Posted: 03 Jul 2011 08:11 PM PDT


This post is to add more information about MapleStory Korea's upcoming big content update, Legend, which was posted a few days ago by me. As you should know, 3 new classes are coming and each adding new gameplay styles to the game. I just can't help but to wonder if the end of the Black Magician is near...


- For the Cannon Shooter, the new Pirate adventurer class, his floating pet monkey is there to assist him when casting certain skills.


- For the Mercedes class, as you might have read in my previous post, she uses dual crossbows and is the first playable non-human race in the game (Elf). Quite similar to the Aran storyline, she was frozen by the Black Magician in her own town. After awakening, she decided to join the fight against the Black Magician.


- Players can choose between the male and female elves. The town they are from is called Eyurel, which was featured in the anniversary trailer recently.


- Demon Slayer is originally part of Black Magician's army, the Black Wings. Due to unknown reasons, his brother was killed by the Dark Magician and hence he turned his back on him. Chased and attacked by the Black Magician, the Demon Slayer managed to survive and decided to rebel.


- Demon Slayer wields a one-handed axe. He does not consume MP when using skills, but rather "Demon's Strength" he absorbs after killing monsters. The release of Demon Slayer in August will also continue with the story between the Black Magician and Eldenstein. Players can customize how their Demon Slayers' facial looks as well. You can see his wings at my previous post. Demon Slayer has a skill which, by chance, has a probability to activate instant death/ kill.


- Other updates include a permanent 20% increase in movement speed for all classes, 1 single slot now able to hold 300 potions, increased drop rate and overhaul of the quests found on Victoria Island.

- If a Cannon Shooter is being trained, all other Pirate characters within the same account will be given a permanent blessing buff (provided the Cannon Shooter learns the skill). At max level, the permanent buff provides classes with +15 to all stats and 5% to HP and MP. Mercedes = Archer class, Demon Slayer = Warrior class, so all 3 will have this new system.

- All 3 new classes are unrelated to each other and apparently no ties with the Resistance.

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