Power users needn't worry, the desktop is alive and thriving!
These days you can't flip on the Internet without being bombarded by tablet and smartphone announcements. Hey, we love mobile just as much as the next geek, but we're also stoked when major players take time to shower some love on the desktop, which is what Intel did at the Game Developer Conference (GDC) today. One thing Intel unveiled today is an 8-core Haswell-E CPU.
Intel didn't go into detailed specifics on many of its announcements, though here's what we know about its Haswell-E launch. It will feature Intel's first 8-core desktop processor and it will be supported by the chip maker's X99 chipset, which is the first desktop platform to support DDR4 memory. Look for Haswell-E to make a grand entrance in the second half of the year.
Arriving beforehand -- around the middle of the year -- will be an unlocked 4th Generation Intel Core processor line codenamed "Devil's Canyon." If you're into overclocking, these will be the Haswell parts you want to buy. In addition to an unlocked multiplier, they'll also sport an improved thermal interface material (TIM) for better cooling and updated packaging materials. These will be supported by Intel's 9 Series chipset.
Around the same time, Intel will launch an Anniversary Edition Pentium processor. It too will be unlocked and work in both Intel 8 and 9 Series chipsets, and will also have Intel Quick Sync Video technology.
Finally, Intel is planning to launch an unlocked 5th Generation Core processor with Iris Pro graphics built on a 14nm manufacturing process. It will be the first time Iris will appear on desktop socketed unlocked processors. Intel didn't say when it's planning to release this part.
All of these launches are an attempt by Intel to reinvent and reinvigorate the desktop PC market. In addition to new hardware, Intel teased its new Ready Mode technology, which will make your PC turn on instantly and always be connected while sipping on power.
The Oculus VR development team has announced at GDC the Rift Development Kit 2. The upgraded device implements features from the Crystal Cove prototype, which was unveiled at CES this year, such as the low persistence OLED display rather than the original's LED display.
According to the development team, the low persistence OLED display for the DK2 eliminates motion blur and judder, two factors that attributes for simulator sickness when using virtual reality technology. The resolution is 960x1080 per eye with a 100-degree field of vision. There is also a built-in latency tester that will provide real-time, microsecond precision measurements to help optimize the VR experience.
The DK2 features out-of-the-box engine integration for Unity 4, Unreal Engine 4, and the Unreal Development Kit as well. In addition, an external infrared camera is included for positional tracking. As for the external control box, that has been done away with and the DK2 can be connected directly to the PC via USB and HDMI.
The Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 can be pre-ordered now for $350 and will be shipped in July.
A surprise announcement at the 2014 Game Developers Conference (GDC)
Have you dreamed about making an epic game if only you had access to the right tools? You're in luck. It just so happens that Epic Games is offering anyone and everyone an opportunity to tap into its next generation Unreal Engine 4 for $19 per month. In addition to the monthly subscription fee, you also agree to fork over 5 percent of gross revenue resulting from any commercial products you build using UE4.
"This is our complete engine, with everything Epic provides to leading game developers, priced accessibly for teams of all sizes, budgets and aspirations," said Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games.
Subscribers gain access to all of UE4's leading-edge tools, features, Unreal Editor in ready-to-run form, and complete C++ source code hosted on GitHub. The whole kit and caboodle, in other words, all wrapped in a convenient and affordable subscription plan. And for those who'd rather not share a 5 percent royalty, Epic Games says it will also license UE4 via custom-negotiated terms.
"This is the complete technology we at Epic use when building our own games, forged by years of experience shipping games like Gears of War for Xbox and Infinity Blade for iOS, and now reinvented for a new generation," Sweeney added in a blog post.
To help developers dive in, Epic Games is shipping a bunch of ready-made content, samples, and game templates, all of which you can find in the Marketplace in the Unreal Editor. Everything in there is free for the time being, though over time, Sweeney says it will grow into a complete ecosystem for sharing community-created content, both free and paid.
IDC reports a slight drop in overall monitor shipments
It appears PC users are mostly content with their current monitors, hence why PC display shipments came in at just under 35 million units in the fourth quarter of 2013, representing a drop of 0.4 percent compared to the previous quarter, according to data released by IDC. That's also representative of a 3.8 percent decline over the same quarter a year ago, though HP and Dell must have missed the memo because both recorded gains in the monitor segment.
Dell retained its spot at the top with a worldwide market share of 14.2 percent on shipments of 5 million monitors, while HP crept up into second place with an impressive quarter-over-quarter increase of 26.7 percent. Samsung, LG, and Lenovo all saw monitor shipments move in a negative direction.
"Dell and HP both saw increases in unit shipments for the worldwide PC monitor market for the second time in a down year," said Jennifer Song, Research Analyst, Worldwide Trackers at IDC. "At a regional level, EMEA experienced the largest positive growth during the fourth quarter, with Italy and Spain posting the biggest gains."
It will be interesting to see if Dell and HP can maintain their momentum. Looking ahead, IDC is forecasting a 9 percent decline in worldwide shipments to 31.7 million units in the first quarter of 2014.
Perhaps it should be called the world wild web to more accurately reflect a landscape fraught with danger, at least if you're taking an alarmist point of view. Sometimes it's hard not to. To wit, security outfit ESET said its research team, in collaboration with CERT-Bund, the Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing and other leading agencies, uncovered a massive cybercriminal campaign in which a backdoor Trojan was able to hijack more than 25,000 UNIX servers around the world.
The infected systems are being used for all kinds of nefarious purposes. They're sending up to 35 million spam messages per day, stealing users login credentials, and redirecting web traffic to back alleys and other places innocent users typically try to steer clear from.
Security experts have given the attack a name: Operation Windigo. At present, Windigo is responsible for redirecting half a million visitors to malicious content each day. The relentless assault is coming from servers located in the U.S. Germany, France, and the U.K., ESET says.
Over 60 percent of the world's websites run on Linux, and with that being the case, ESET is urging system administrators to actively check their systems for malware. To help do that, ESET published a detailed technical report with guidance on how to determine if a system is infected, as well as instructions on how to remove the malicious code.
With huge events like Dreamhack and powerhouse eSports teams like Ninjas in Pyjamas, the Swedes are no strangers to computers and video games. 21-year-old Johan Nyman created this month'sRig of the Month with version three of the Cold Winter HTPC.
It's made from scratch with 8mm-thick acrylic and a steel backing. Nyman says he used a heat gun to bend the case's unique contours before stuffing it with mITX internals. It has AMD's A10 7850K APU on a mITX motherboard with a SFX PSU keeping things powered. He topped it all off with a front-mounted LCD to monitor temperatures, memory usage, and media information.
It's gone through over 3 years of work and more than a few iterations, surviving vandalism at Dreamhack, and full-time use as Nyman's main computer. Check out the complete build log for all the intricate details.
If you're a case modder with something that deserves the Rig of the Month title, let us know by dropping us an email at mpcrigofthemonth@gmail.com. Make sure to include your name, a 300-word description of why your PC is amazing along with specs (and how it was modified), and no fewer than three high-resolution JPEGs of the build. Please try and use a high-quality camera with good lighting and make sure to bust out your photography skills! We will not accept any blurry, low-res camera-phone grade images because we'd like readers to see your awesome rig in the best light possible! Here are some specific case-shooting photography tips:
Try to avoid using flash and opt for existing natural light. In addition, use things like white curtains to diffuse the bright sun.
Make sure your case is in focus! Nothing ruins a picture of a nice-looking case than a blurry shot.
Clean your case before you shoot it. No one wants to see all that nasty dust all over the place!
Experimenting with shooting from multiple angles.
Select the right backdrop. Your system could look cooler with a nice/clean background as opposed to on your messy floor with cables strewn about.
When shooting, use a tripod or if you can't get one, shoot from a stable surface such as a box or even a pillow.
If your camera has exposure compensation, try playing around with under-exposing or over exposing until you get the effects you want.
In addition to requiring pretty photos, we'll be judging the rigs based on creativity and craftsmanship.
G.Skill is a company that's frequently involved in the overclocking scene, and to take things a step further this year, the memory and storage maker announced that it's giving away $10,000 to the winner of the G.Skill OC World Cup 2014 overclocking contest. According to G.Skill, this is the largest single cash prize in competitive overclocking history. Second and third place finishers will receive memory kits.
The event is open to anyone and everyone around the world, though you'll have to be on top of your game. Online qualifiers will be held at HWBOT from March 24 to April 27. It will feature three benchmarks: highest memory frequency, SuperPI 32M, and 3DMark Fire Strike. Those who finish in the top 6 will be invited to attend the live finals at Computex 2014.
"OC World Cup 2014 will be a great opportunity for extreme overclockers to showcase their skills to the world and a chance to take home the largest single cash prize in OC history, so overclockers better step up their game for a shot to win USD $10,000!," said Frank Hung, Product Marketing at G.Skill.
You can find more information, including specifics on each of the three qualifying events, on a special page on HWBOT's website.
Poor Larry, his computer is so old, it needs a stamp to send email. He's always the last to join your raids because it takes him half a day just to boot, but he marches crawls on, totally unaware that PC part prices have come down significantly when he first built his rig. End Larry's ignorance and his suffering by directing him to today's top deal for an AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera processor for $170 with free shipping (normally $200 - use coupon code: [EMCPGWB22]). This chip brings 8 cores clocked at 4GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) to the CPU party, along with 8MB of L3 cache and an unlocked multiplier.
Ready for Star Wars: The Old Republic's next expansion? Ready or not, it's called Galactic Strongholds, and it's coming some time in August of 2014. If you're a subscriber you'll get early access beginning on June 24th, and you'll also get a handful of exclusives including a Nar Shaddaa Sky Palace Stronghold.
Expansion features include customizable player housing known as strongholds, the ability to live on multiple planets, and guild flagships.
BioWare says that housing decor will be available in a number of ways. "Many decorations will be available on existing vendors throughout the game as new rewards for Reputations, PvP, Crew Skills, and more," according to the SWTOR website. "While some of these decorations will be available for credits and other currencies, many will require components created by crafters. Decorations can also be obtained as loot drops from Flashpoints and Operations. Finally, a variety of unique decorations can be purchased with Cartel Coins on the Cartel Market. "
DC Universe Online celebrated its third birthday in January, and unlike many of its contemporaries, SOE's superhero action MMO is still growing.
This is according to creative director Jens Andersen, who recently told IGN that porting the game to the PlayStation 4 served as an impetus for improving the overall product. "We're in our third year and our player base is still growing; it's been really wonderful," Andersen said. "I think the PS4 was a tremendous help, but the other platforms have remained solid as well. We treated PS4 as a relaunch and addressed countless points of feedback from our existing players. This helped with retention of players on all platforms."
Andersen also seems to be all in with DCUO for the long haul. "I love working on this game and cannot imagine myself stepping away from it anytime soon. We are all very proud of the work we do here and look forward to a bright and continued future."
Carbine Studios has fired the starting pistol for WildStar's pre-orders, meaning that you can go ahead and secure a copy of the game right now.
Players may purchase the game through the official website or through a third-party retailers including GameStop, Amazon, and Best Buy. WildStar comes in two editions: standard for $60 and digital deluxe for $75.
Carbine is giving players good incentive to snap up a copy of the game now, as the pre-order bonuses include early game access, a rocket house, a mini-ship housing decoration, a 10-slot inventory bag, and character/guild name reservations. Pre-order customers will get to start playing the live game on May 31st.
Age of Wushu's latest expansion is on the way, and Snail has updated its website with a lengthy blurb focused on Tempest of Strife's Xu Family Manor sect. Sects are basically the martial arts sandbox MMO's answer to traditional genre classes, and Xu Family characters boast heroic alignment, melee attacks, and a signature move called the Black Ink Ruler skill.
AoW's Xu Family teaser video is embedded for your viewing pleasure just after the break.
EQN Landmark's latest roundtable video, hosted by SOE senior brand manager Omeed Dariani and senior producer Terry Michaels, is all about in-game weather. With the new technology behind the game, Michaels explains, SOE can make weather a major gameplay factor.
Dariani says that the Landmark community responded with a resounding desire for immersion and for weather to be "a real part of the world." That said, Michaels explains that weather is not on the immediate roadmap for the next few months. It's a core system, he explains, "but it's not something that needs to come in before groups or guilds."
Michaels also suggests that Jeremy Soule's music score will change based on seasonal or weather variations. Click past the cut to see the full discussion via SOE's latest roundtable video.
Sony announced its new virtual reality headset at GDC this week. The device is called Project Morpheus, and it seeks to turn your PlayStation 4 experience into something far more immersive than the typical couch and controller session.
Shortly thereafter, CCP announced that its New Eden-based EVE Valkyrie action title is coming to both the PS4 and Project Morpheus. Valkyrie was specifically designed for VR devices, and was previously announced for the PC and the Oculus Rift.
There's a lot that I dearly love about The Secret World, but the length of combat is not included in that. Even standard mobs take far too long to down, and when you get up to bosses you could be spamming your attack skills so many times that you'll wear your fingertips to mere nubs. Contrary to what I've heard said in its defense, the length of these fights isn't an indication of higher challenge but of higher tedium. Still an awesome game, though.
Time-to-kill (TTK) isn't something we think about a lot when developers tune it right, but when we find ourselves matched against foes that take longer than they should to kill, it can get under the skin in a hurry. On the flip side are games where you're mowing down mobs too fast so that they aren't a worry at all, and that can lead to disastisfaction as well.
So what's your ideal time-to-kill? How long should it take you to down a standard mob at an equal level?
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!
We're finally here: my top 10 MMO theme tracks. I anticipate that out of all of the weeks, this will be the most controversial, since not only am I proclaiming the 10 best, but you'll realize which of your favorite games I've left out of the top 40 entirely.
A final reminder as to my self-imposed rules for this list: I limited myself to just one theme from a particular title, even if there were multiple themes in a game. Entries had to be a main theme or the closest equivalent of that; they had to be from MMOs, not from MOBAs; and I had to divorce my weighting of the track itself from the popularity of and my experience with that game. So there were no points added or subtracted based on my love of the game. I'm counting down the best music, period.
If you missed earlier parts of this series, check out themes #40-31, #30-21, and #20-11. Otherwise, hit that continue button and get listening already!
Visionary Realms is hoping that players will step up to contribute more than just money to Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. The studio announced today that it is structuring its website so that it can be used for crowd development going forward.
The studio said that it wants to involve the community in the design and development of Pantheon with these tools. Fans can use the website to contribute to the wiki, talk with the developers, vote on Think Tank issues, create guilds, write blogs, and be a part of weekly roundtable discussions.
Are you ready to continue the adventures of John Diablo as he fights the nefarious forces of Reaper McSoul? Probably not, as that's not even close to the plot of the Diablo III expansion Reaper of Souls. A new gameplay trailer for the expansion has just been released and is available past the break, showing off the new regions, new abilities, and the new class. The expansion launches next week, so you don't have to wait long to try all of this out for yourself.
The game's real-money auction house has also finally breathed its last today, with the service currently shut down in the Americas. This goes hand-in-hand with the features of Reaper of Souls that are designed to keep loot drops more relevant and interesting for players. If the trailer is any indication, there are still plenty of demons to be slain -- you just won't be dropping real money to do any of that.
2014 is finally coming out roaring, as numerous titles are either preparing for launch or major updates. The Massively podcast crew has assembled to look all serious, do pre-flight countdowns, and guide listeners to the stars. What will soar this year and what will crash and burn? Find out our opinions in this episode!
Get all of our opinions and analysis on the most important stories of the past week right here on Massively Speaking, the industry's leading MMO podcast. And if you have a comment, question, or topic for the podcasters, send 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:
Final Fantasy XIV's second major patch is bringing plenty of things for people to fight and kill. But what about players who would rather gather and craft? They haven't been forgotten in the slightest. The latest development blog shows off what the Disciples of the Hand and Disciples of the Land are getting up to, starting with the inclusion of new crafting stations for housing. Crafters below level 40 can earn bonus CP from these stations, making it that much easier to produce high-quality items as you level.
A plethora of new crafting recipes have also been added, including new crafting books that the most experienced crafters will be able to decipher and use. New main-hand tools will also be available in exchange for crafted goods and gathered materials, while gatherers will have access to new resources. Fishers aren't left out, either -- there's new sea life to be caught, fish so rare and unexpected that they were thought to be only legend. So if you don't want to start the next patch off with some fighting, you can take the time and just craft your days away.
RIFT subreddit moderator Seatin has posted to YouTube complete videos of all four of RIFT's upcoming 2.7 souls and how they perform in combat. To recap, the update will deliver:
The Arbiter, an elemental tanking soul for the Mage,
The Physician, a primary healing soul for the Rogue,
The Oracle, a buffing and debuffing soul for the Cleric, and
Carbine's sci-fantasy WildStar MMO has a new website. It's still the same URL, mind you, but the layout has changed dramatically while preserving the game's zany space western aesthetic. The front page is subdivided into sections covering each of the game's major features, including info on paths, housing, and more!
My limited experience with TCGs remained limited until the most unlikely of CCGs grabbed my attention. As someone who generally loathes the Warcraft IP (yeah, yeah), I would have never in a thousand years expected that the one CCG that would hook me would be Hearthstone, the Warcraft themed card game developed by Blizzard.
The Latest EverQuest Next: Landmark Round Table video has been released. In it, Terry Michaels and Omeed Dariani discuss poll results about how much of an impact weather should have on the game. According to the poll, players were very supportive of a dynamic weather system designed to provide immersion. Though not on the immediate radar according to the road map, it is on the long range plan.
During this week's GDC, Sony revealed "Project Morpheus", the virtual reality headset that will be compatible with the PlayStation 4. Part of the announcement included the news that EVE: Valkyrie is on the short list of games that will utilize the headset's capabilities from launch.
Sony Online Entertainment and the PlanetSide 2 team have released a terrific new video that shines the spotlight on the Player Studio and the amazing creations made. With Player Studio, items created are sold via the Marketplace with profits going (minus a small fee) directly to the creators. Check it out and some of the awesome stats provided.
Obsidian Entertainment has announced that it has entered into a publishing partnership with Paradox Interactive to bring Pillars of Eternity to RPG fans later in 2014. Paradox will take of distribution and marketing aspects of the game while leaving complete creative control with Obsidian.
The official Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn site has been updated with a brand new post to show off some of the upcoming changes to Crafting and Gathering. Among things players can expect are new recipes, new tools and facilities, new gathering spots and the opportunity to literally reel in a big one as a fisherman.
Blizzard has released a brand new video for Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. The expansion will hit live service on March 25th and this video gets players excited about what Act V and the expansion will bring to the game: Adventure Mode, Bounties, the Crusader, a new story for Act V and more. Included in the video is a momentary peek at the final face off against Malthael, the Angel of Death himself.
Rift player "SeatinManofLegends" has posted four new videos on his YouTube channel that show off ten plus minutes of footage for each of the new souls that will be forthcoming in the near future. You can check out the Physician, Arbiter, Oracle and Liberator.
I've got to be totally honest, I didn't get Demon or Dark Souls. They seem to be part of that exclusive group of love 'em or hate 'em games that just don't do indifference. To some the Souls' series are frustration and pain ploughed onto a disc, and to others it's somewhere nearer fantasy perfection.
April 4th is shaping up to be an epic day, if you go by early reviews that is. It looks like Captain America: The Winter Soldier could end up being one of the best Marvel movies yet.... But you probably are here for news about that other big thing coming out on April 4th.
Power users needn't worry, the desktop is alive and thriving!
The kit will cost $350
A surprise announcement at the 2014 Game Developers Conference (GDC)
IDC reports a slight drop in overall monitor shipments
Compromised servers attack over 500,000 PCs daily
Live finals held during Computex 2014
Ready for 
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 
