General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Valve Tips Hat to Modders, Makes Available Steam Controller CAD Files

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 10:28 AM PDT

Build a better controller

Steam Controller CAD

Think you can design a better Steam Controller than the one that Valve worked on for so long? Now's your chance to prove it—Valve has made available the Steam Controller's CAD geometry in a handy ZIP archive.

"We are releasing the mechanical CAD geometry for the Steam Controller and are eager to see the accessories and variations that come from your creativity. We are making available, under Creative Commons licensing, the geometry of all externally visible parts. This allows you to create and share to your heart's content, but you'll need to get in touch with Valve if you want to sell your creations," Valve says.

While Valve is eager to see what modders come up with, take note that it doesn't want anyone selling their designs or creations unless they first obtain permission. It's not clear what the criteria is for Valve to give permission or if it would charge a royalty.

There are several eDrawing viewer files contained in the archive. To help get the creative juices flowing, Valve came up with a couple of variants of the battery door that lets you carry your USB wireless receiver with you. The only caveat is that you might need to adjust the geometry for your particular printer.

This is an interesting thing Valve is doing. If you recall, the reason why Valve delayed the launch of official Steam Machines is because it wanted more time to fine tune its Steam Controller, or at least that was the excuse it used. Now after all that time, Valve is turning to tinkers to build a better one.

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Logitech's G900 Chaos Spectrum Wireless Mouse Kicks Lag to the Curb

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 10:04 AM PDT

Wireless without the lag

Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum

Logitech has a new flagship mouse that it considers its best gaming rodent ever. It's the G900 Chaos Spectrum, a "professional-grade wireless gaming mouse" that supposedly delivers lag-free performance when it's not physically tethered to a PC (you can go wired if you prefer).

For some people, that claim is going to be the main selling point. All other things being equal, most people would probably choose a wireless mouse over a wired one simply for the convenience, but gamers have long contended that it comes at the price of performance, and specifically lag. Logitech says this one doesn't.

There's an interesting and in-depth write-up by Wes Fenlon at PC Gamer on how Logitech designed the G900 Chaos Spectrum with an eye towards a no-compromise wireless experience.

"My goal was to make a mouse that would bust all the myths about wireless, to the point where there was no reason to not use a wireless mouse," product manager Chris Pate told Fenlon. "I'm not trying to sell this to professional gamers. What I'm trying to do is make a product that is a wireless gaming mouse that has no credible complaints about it. That competitive professional gamers can use in first person shooters and win."

Check out the full article linked above if you're at all skeptical about Logitech's claim, as there's quite a bit of laboratory testing and data to digest.

Beyond the wireless aspect, the G900 Chaos Spectrum is an ambidextrous rodent outfitted with a PMW3366 optical gaming sensor. Logitech considers it the best sensor in the business, noting that it has zero smooth of filtering across its entire DPI range (200 to 12,000 DPI).

If you're not into the ambidextrous angle, you can adjust the rodent to your liking using the included magnetic button covers. In doing so, you can transform the mouse into a right-handed or left-handed peripheral.

Other features include 11 programmable buttons, adjustable RGB lighting, mechanical mouse buttons, and up to 24 hours of wireless gaming with default lighting (up to 32 hours with the lighting disabled).

The Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum will be available next month for $150.

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Oculus Rift Pre-Orders Start Shipping Out to Customers

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 09:22 AM PDT

Let the revolution begin

Oculus Rift Retail Box

Oculus excited the tech industry ever since it introduced its Rift headset to Kickstarter over three and a half years ago. It went on to collect over $2.4 million in funding from over 9,500 backers before ultimately being bought by Facebook, which contrary to early fears didn't drive the project into the ground. Instead, Facebook's resources helped move the project along and after what seems like an eternity since it was first introduced, the consumer version of Rift has begun shipping out to buyers.

Oculus boss Brenden Iribe stated as much on Twitter saying, "The first Oculus Rift has shipped, deliveries begin Monday March 28, 2016." It was accompanied by a picture of the Rift in its retail packaging (see above).

This is a big moment for virtual reality. The term itself has been around for decades and there have been several attempts at creating immersive experiences that might disrupt the industry. However, this is the first time that VR has had the opportunity to truly capture a mainstream audience.

There will inevitably be some growing pains along the way, and the VR solutions a decade from now could be decidedly different from the ones being introduced today. But if VR sticks and ultimately thrives, this will be one of the moments that history reflects back on as the start of it all.

After being hyped for years, Rift went up for pre-order in early January for $599, which includes the headset with built-in headphones and microphone, an external tracking camera, the new Oculus remote, and an Xbox One controller all stuffed inside a carrying case. The price was a bit more than many were expecting (or hoping), though given the estimated volume, it's not egregious.

HTC's Vive headset will be the Rift's biggest competitor, at least in the immediate future. It has the backing of Valve and seems to impress everyone who tries it out. Pre-orders for the Vive kicked off February 29 for $799, which is $200 more than Rift, but it comes with room sensors and a pair of controllers. The first batch of Vive pre-orders are scheduled to ship in April.

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Newegg Daily Deals: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Classified, Intel Core i7-5930K, and More!

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 05:00 AM PDT

EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti

Top Deal:

This is the year that virtual reality makes a major splash in the consumer market. The question is, are you ready? Two of the most anticipated solutions—Oculus Rift and HTC Vive—both require a relatively powerful PC. If you're looking for an excuse to upgrade your graphics card, this is it. And if you want go above and beyond what's required, then check out today's top deal for an EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Classified Gaming w/ACX 2.0+, Whisper Silent Cooling w/ Free Installed Backplate Graphics Card for $640 with free shipping (normally $679; additional $20 Mail-in rebate; Free Game: The Division with purchase, limited offer). Not only is it fast, but it has a generous 6GB of GDDR5 memory.

Other Deals:

Intel Core i7-5930K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 2011-v3 140W Desktop Processor for $560 with free shipping (normally $580 - use coupon code: [EMCEHGT32])

Samsung 950 Pro M.2 512GB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive for $295 with free shipping (normally $323 - use coupon code: [ESCEHGT59])

Asus PB258Q Black 25-inch 5ms WQHD Frameless HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor for $265 with $1 shipping (normally $336)

Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 2.5-inch 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive for $40 with free shipping (normally $44 - use coupon code: [ESCEHGT24])

Razer Mamba Tournament Edition Review

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 12:00 AM PDT

Call it a DeathAdder with an improved sensor

AT a Glance

(+) Captain America: Sweet design; excellent sensor; better value than the Mamba Wireless.
(-) Captain Obvious: Flimsy scroll wheel.

The Razer Mamba Tournament Edition (TE) is the wired variant of Razer's flagship Mamba Wireless gaming mouse. It makes a few subtle compromises but in turn offers a heavy discount for gamers on a tighter budget.

The Mamba Tournament Edition uses a carbon-copy design of its wireless variant. Its highly arched back and long base make it ideal for palm grip users. Since palm grip requires the user to keep a majority of their palm on the mouse to maintain control, Razer applied a layer of grippy finish to the exterior. Unfortunately, because the Mamba TE has the same shape as the Mamba Wireless, it still leaves left-handed gamers out in the cold.

Gamers who lift their mice a lot will love the light weight of the Mamba TE. Razer quotes the weight of the mouse at 133g with cable, but the mouse itself is just around 115g. For those who prefer to keep their mice planted on the table, the large Teflon feet help make gliding as smooth as butter.

Although we were worried that Razer would replace the 5G sensor with a lesser variant, our fears were allayed when we saw that it's featured on The Mamba TE. Its performance is still outstanding; tracking is smooth without any unwarranted snaps or jumps. Once calibrated to the specific tracking surface, the lift distance can be configured between 1mm to 10mm.

It's difficult to spot just exactly where the compromises were made with the Tournament Edition, but the most noticeable reduction in quality is in the scroll wheel. The Mamba TE's wheel is much wobblier than the wireless version and quite a bit louder as well. While it still gets the job done, it feels flimsy and unreliable.

There are no complaints when it comes to the other buttons, though. The left and right mouse buttons are very tactile and perk right back up after depression. The large side buttons are easy to reach and feel great as well. Button clicks are a bit loud, however, so make sure you are sitting away from your sleeping roommate when gaming.

The Razer Synapse software comes with a plethora of features crammed in a lightweight package with an intuitive interface. In addition to the basic DPI adjustment and programmable macros, its handiest function is its ability to create a custom install of the driver through the use of the "Tournament Driver" function. This custom install will have all your settings saved and can be installed on any Windows or Mac OS. The user settings are also stored online in the Razer Cloud service for easy access.

Razer installed Chroma lighting strips on both shoulders of the mouse and underneath the logo. Lighting can be configured to display seven effects including breathing, pulsing, and wave. Just in case your guests have to be reminded that your mouse can outshine theirs.

The Razer Mamba TE has an asking price of $90, which is a solid $60 saving compared to the flagship Mamba Wireless. It doesn't come with all the premium bells and whistles, but it's an excellent no-frills mouse with a great sensor. For gamers looking to step up from a basic gaming mouse, there's almost no better entry point than the Razer Mamba Tournament Edition.
Posted by Shri Krishna

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