May will start in style with the one year anniversary of the official launch of Allods Online, the completely free-to-play MMORPG renowned for its highly polished world and unique Astral space exploration. In addition to the free wolf mount all players will receive on May 1, everyone can look forward to a new expansion being launched in North America and Europe on May 30.
Innova announces today that the first content update to Lineage II - Goddess of Destruction is on the way! Known as Tauti, the second chapter will bring many improvements and fresh content to the globally popular competitive game this summer.
gPotato has announced that the next major EU version of Allods Online update will include a mentoring system. The update will also feature a new zone in astral space that will be considered a "free for all" treasure hunting space.
MMORPG.com takes a look at the commerce part of Guild Wars 2. It's here that you'll buy gems with real money (or in-game gold) and buy experience boosts, cosmetic items, and more. But is it pay to win? We let you decide.
Today we offer our selection of the Best FREE MMORPG Games of April 2012 . Here you can take a look to the 10 MMORPG that most caught our attention. Feel free to leave comments or share experiences about these games! 10 Allods is a revolutionary massively multiplayer RPG. The largest game development project in [...]
Red 5 Studios has released the largest patch to the date for its MMOFPS Firefall. This beta update comes with hundreds of bug fixes, tons of changes, a completely new Trans Hub complex, and much more. Patch new features: - Refit of the Trans Hub as the central headquarters for the war against the Chosen. [...]
Gala Networks Europe and Gala-Net have announced that the MMORPG Allods Online is receiving a new content update this May. The update will introduce a host of fixes and tweaks as well as some significant new features, including a new sector of Astral space dedicated to free-for-all treasure hunting and a new mentoring system. Players [...]
Innova has announced today 'Tauti', the first content update to Lineage II – Goddess of Destruction. This second chapter of Goddess of Destruction will bring many improvements and fresh content to the game this summer, including competitive enhancements. The brand new Festival of Chaos zone will tempt and richly reward high-level players with daily ‘last [...]
Bigpoint has announced that Battlestar Galactica Online has nearly achieved ten million registered players since the game's launch. Battlestar Galactica Online is a free-to-play, browser-based space combat MMO that combines high-quality graphics with intense gameplay. To celebrate its birthday, Bigpoint is hosting a week-long party for all players. Running April 30 through May 6, Humans [...]
Barbily Games has announced the new May events for their browser MMORTS, Star Supremacy. Barbily is inviting players to create a new slogan for the game. Users will get the chance to submit their entries and be able to vote for the slogan they like, the winning slogan will be posted on the official site. [...]
Planetside 2 has revealed new information about a new Nanite Systems vehicle, the Lightning tank. This light weight 75mm tank is available to all three factions, and is designed to take advantage of a war without death, and intel shows it is quick, requires few resources to obtain and only needs a one man crew. [...]
NetDragon has launched the first expansion of the IPad version of Conquer Online, Invasion of Pirates. In the new expansion, players will have access to explosive new skills with the Pirate class. In addition to celebrate the launch, NetDragon is also giving away some real-life loot, including brand new iPads. Players who discover the hidden [...]
Splitscreen celebrates the 3rd anniversary of its browser MMO Pirate Galaxy with a huge in-game event and a new feature that introduces the Drones. "3 years ago the human space colony in the Vega system was battered by a continuous brutal onslaught from an alien race that became known as the Mantis. Brave space pirates [...]
In a 1965 paper, Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore predicted that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit would double approximately every two years. This prediction has proven to be uncannily accurate over the years and has come to be known as Moore's Law. But it's not going to hold true forever, is it? Well, it's believed that like all things good, Moore's Law too will come to an end one day. The question that remains, though, is when. Noted theoretical (and often theatrical) physicist Michio Kaku feels he has the answer.
Kaku believes the days of Moore's Law are numbered, and foresees its demise in around 10 years or so. Like many others, he feels it's becoming increasingly difficult for us to sustain this exponential growth using just traditional silicon-based computing. According to the theoretical physicist, who is a co-founder of the string field theory, even three-dimensional chips like the ones recently introduced by Intel aren't going to be of much help due to problems like leakage and heat.
"So, what's beyond silicon?" Kaku asks in a recent BigThink.com video. "There have been a number of proposals: protein computers, DNA computers, optical computers, quantum computers, molecular computers."
"If I were to put money on the table, I would say that in the next ten years we'll simply tweak Moore's Law a bit with chip-like computers in three dimensions, but beyond that we may have to go to molecular computers and perhaps late in the 21st century quantum computers."
Last month, Dell revamped its Alienware notebook range, which includes the 18.4-inch M18x R2, 17.3-inch M17x R4 and the 14-inch M14x R2. But with Dell's 2012 Alienware notebook lineup debuting a month ahead of Ivy Bridge's launch, the new notebooks only featured Sandy Bridge parts at launch. That has now changed, with Dell on Monday announcing the availability of the M18x R2, M17x R4 and M14x R2 with 3rd generation Intel Core i processors.
The entire range has been moved to Ivy Bridge, with the exception of the M14x, which still comes with a 2nd generation Core i5 if one opts for the most basic model. The various processor options available with each model are as follows:
The good news is that the prices of the various models in the 2012 Alienware notebook range remain unaffected by the introduction of Ivy Bridge chips and the M14x, M17x and M18x still start at $1,100, $1,400 and $1,700, respectively.
The Nvidia GTX 690 is real, and it's amazing -- both in specs and in price. But while the tech world swooned at the announcement of the dual-GPU behemoth, another new product outlined at the GTX 690's unveiling holds even more intriguing potential for the gaming world at large: the cloud-based "GeForce Experience," which promises to automatically optimize the graphics settings in games based on the components in your individual PC.
It's all based around an Internet connection and (presumably Nvidia-powered) GeForce Experience supercomputers, which scan your system configuration when you boot up a game. Hardware components, operating system, driver status -- it'll all make a difference. After launching a game, you'll be presented with a listing of default game settings alongside a listing of settings recommended by Nvidia for achieving the maximum eye candy possible with your PC. One simple click activates the optimal settings.
The GeForce Experience is remarkably ambitious, but it could also be remarkably handy for the everyday gamer; Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang claims that a whopping 80 percent of players never adjust game settings away from default configurations. He (perhaps unwisely) likened the GeForce Experience to console gaming -- just pop on a game and it looks as good as it possibly can. Usually, PC gamers turn their noses at any console-inspired ideas, but this one could actually end up being a major boon for hardcore fraggers who hate fiddling with resolution and graphics quality settings. (Assuming that Nvidia can actually pull it off, of course.)
Expect to see a beta on June 6th, and expect to hear data-mining privacy concerns soon thereafter.
Low-cost PC manufacturers may be nervous about the touchscreen-friendly nature of Windows 8, but top-notch boutique PC builders ain't sweating Intel's Ivy Bridge launch. Over the weekend, a bevy of the biggest boutique names out there announced that the third-gen Core procs are now gracing the internals of several desktop offerings. Maingear even went so far as to roll out a whole new PC and announced a redesign of the cases for one of its best known builds.
Maingear's flagship Shift PC was the first to sport the company's VRTX Cooling Technology -- basically, a case design that allows heat to flow up and out of the chassis, complete with vents at the top. VRTX Cooling is now coming to the micro-ATX Maingear F131 as well as the newly announced Maingear Potenza, a customizable mini-ITX-based build that starts at $899. Despite being 76 percent smaller than the Shift, the Potenza can still accommodate the GTX 680 and any other graphics cards less than 10-inches long. Going forward, all of Maingear's desktop PCs and its Alt and eX-L series notebooks will include Ivy Bridge procs.
Digital Storm's also rolling out Ivy Bridge to each and every one of its desktops. Plus, they're bringing good news for overclocking fanatics: "We've tested Ivy Bridge in every one of our systems and we've measured extraordinary overclocks at 4.8GHz at unbelievably low temperatures across the board," Rajeev Kuruppu, Digital Storm's Director of Product Development, said in the company's press release.
Puget Systems' announcement was a bit more reserved, but it, too, is bringing Ivy Bridge to all of its PCs, from the small form factor Echo all the way up to its top-of-the-line liquid-cooled Deluge. "This is a major refresh to our product line" president Jon Bach said in the company's press release.
Velocity Micro also announced Ivy Bridge availability, but only on select models; namely, the Razor Z90, the Vector Z20, and the Edge Z40.
Likewise, Alienware announced that Ivy Bridge mobile processors will start working their way into the M14x, M17x and M18x gaming laptops. Alienware's new guts include recently released Nvidia and AMD Radeon mobile GPUs, too.
AVADirect's in the on the game, too, and makes a point of saying that the company's pumped to add Intel HD 4000 graphics to its line of custom HTPCs. Of course, beefier CPUs (and their overclocking capabilities) are also available for systems with a bit more oomph.
Note: edited to add AVADirect's Ivy Bridge support.
Print media hasn't fared super well in the face of digital distribution. Turns out, a lot of people prefer live pixels to dead trees. So what's a company like Barnes & Noble -- with serious cash invested in both brick-and-mortar stores and the digital Nook ecosystem -- supposed to do in this new era of reading? The answer, apparently, lies in spinning off the Nook into an entirely new company completely -- and giving Microsoft a 17.6 percent stake in the fresh venture. B&N did just that this morning.
Microsoft's stake cost the company a cool $300 million, but gives it a foothold in a booming e-reader market that Microsoft has been largely locked out of up until this point. In fact, one of the first concrete payoffs will be in the form of a Nook app for the upcoming Windows 8 O.S. And on Barnes & Noble's end, the Nook won't die even if physical stores do. (Admittedly, that's a long way off -- we're just sayin'.)
The new company doesn't have a name yet -- in fact, it's called "Newco" throughout the B&N press release -- but it will continue to have a major presence in the brick-and-mortar stores. Newco will also work hard to expand the Nook Study line and bring more educational materials and textbooks to market.
"The shift to digital is putting the world's libraries and newsstands in the palm of every person's hand, and is the beginning of a journey that will impact how people read, interact with, and enjoy new forms of content," Microsoft's Andy Lees said in the press release.
Well, well, well, the latest version of the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiconductor Applications Forecaster (SAF) is something that PC doomsayers can shove right in their ill-informed pie holes. According to IDC, the worldwide semiconductor market grew by 3.7 percent in 2011 to $301 billion, and barring any unforeseen events, IDC expects the market to grow another 6-7 percent in 2012 with Intel leading the way. That's hardly the sign of a shrinking market, though mobile is playing a big role as well.
Interestingly, out of the 100 semiconductor companies IDC's SAF tracks, over 40 saw their revenues grow by more than 5 percent and about the same number saw revenue decline by the same amount. Intel, which is predominantly focused on PCs and servers, stole most of the spoils with some $51.8 billion in revenue in 2011, well ahead of Samsung in second place, which collected $29 billion. Texas Instruments, Toshiba, and Renesas Electronics rounded out top 5 semiconductor suppliers.
"There is a trend underway toward more integration, as companies try to position themselves for the next phase of growth and as device applications become more and more intelligent and move toward supporting high-level operating systems, connectivity, and application processing capabilities. In addition, as large companies with strong cash balances vie for competitive positions, mergers and acquisitions will be a key theme," said Mali Venkatesan, research manager, Semiconductors at IDC, who led the study and compiled the SAF results.
Venkatesan added that he still expects the current semiconductor cycle, which started in mid-2011, to "bottom out" in the current quarter before fab utilization rates pick up and spur a 6-7 percent growth in revenue this year.
Dell may be all finished with 11.6-inch gaming notebooks, at least as it pertains to the Alienware M11x, but if you're a fan of such powerful pint-sized PCs, don't feel obligated to cry yourself to sleep. The 11.6-inch form factor for gamers lives on, not only with Maingear's recently announced 'Pulse' laptop, but also via Eurocom, which is now selling its Monster 1.0 laptop starting at just $817.
That initial investment translates into an 11.6-inch Ivy Bridge-ready notebook with a fairly respectable spec sheet:
1366x768 LED-backlit screen
Intel Core i5 2410M processor
Intel Mobile HM76 Express chipset (Ivy Bridge ready)
4GB DDR3-1333MHz memory
Nvidia GeForce GT 650M (Kepler) GPU
500GB SATA hard drive (7,200 RPM, 16MB cache)
9-in-1 memory card reader
1.3MP webcam
USB 3.0 x 2; USB 2.0 x 1
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth
HDMI 1.4a (with HDCP); VGA
6-cell battery
You'll need to add an operating system (Eurocom will install Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit for $105), but even after doing so, it's still a better deal than the dead-end Alienware M11x, which starts at $900 and wields weaker graphics (GeForce GT 540M) and a lesser CPU (Core i3 2375M) with no Ivy Bridge upgrade path.
"Eurocom Monster 1.0 provides gaming on the go graphics capabilities and high performance storage in an extremely small, under 4 pounds, lightweight notebook computer. This little Monster has the power of a full sized notebook, and has up to 410 minutes of battery life, it's truly the best of both worlds," states Eurocom President, Mark Bialic.
It's also upgradeable, not just to Ivy Bridge once mobile parts start shipping, but straight away with up to 16GB of RAM and faster, more robust storage options.
If you want take home a little Monster, you can adopt one here.
Microsoft has high hopes for Windows 8, the Metro-sexual operating system slated to ship around six months from now. The elephant in the room is Windows 8's Metro user interface and whether or not consumers are ready for such a drastic change to what's been a mostly familiar layout up to this point, and it could be taken as encouraging signs (for Microsoft) that its Developer Preview, Consumer Preview, and Release Preview builds have all seen a high number of downloads. If that's the case, why are some PC makers freaking out?
It has to do with the touchscreen interface. As DigiTimes tells it, notebook vendors are "facing great pressure" to implement costly touchscreens on upcoming notebook models expected to run Windows 8, and by doing so, it could push prices right out of the mainstream sector and obliterate demand.
This is especially true for Ultrabooks, which have struggled to maintain a low price point to begin with. But with Microsoft promoting the touch-friendly interface in Windows 8, notebook and Ultrabook makers have no choice but to bite the bullet and hope for the best.
To make matters worse, notebook vendors reiterate that Intel has been unwilling to budge on CPU prices, a move that could ease the burden on PC makers and ultimately lead to lower priced Ultrabook models.
Will you be willing to pay a little extra coin for a touchscreen notebook/Ultrabook once Windows 8 ships, or are you sitting this next round out?
Intel stepped up to the plate and seemingly hit a homerun with its Ivy Bridge architecture (which, by the way, is now showing up in retail). It's the first commercial processor to boast a 22nm manufacturing process and 3D transistors, a combination that ultimately leads to better performance with less power consumption than previous generation processors. At the same time, some have reported higher temps with Ivy Bridge compared to Sandy Bridge, and it could have to do with the way Intel attached the Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS).
Overclockers.com set out to solve the mystery of why Ivy Bridge can run as much as 20C higher than Sandy Bridge. The two prevailing theories are that power density is greater on Ivy Bridge than Sandy Bridge, and that Intel is running into issues with the manufacturing process. But the real reason, according to Overclockers, has to do with Intel's decision to use TIM paste between the IHS and CPU die on Ivy Bridge instead of fluxless solder as found on Sandy Bridge.
"If you've been paying attention, we saw similar issues between the E6XXX and E4XXX processor lines," Overclockers explains. "The E6XXX used a solder attach under the IHS and were far easier to keep cool. The E4XXX used a TIM paste under the IHS and ran hot!"
Overclockers pried apart an Ivy Bridge processor to verify the existence of thermal paste, and according to the U.K.'s The Inquirer, Intel has already "admitted" that Ivy Bridge runs hotter than Sandy Bridge. Intel, however, isn't concerned.
"This is as designed and meets quality and reliability expectations for parts operating under specified conditions," Intel explained about the increased thermal density, according to The Inquirer.
Are you concerned that Ivy Bridge may run a little hotter than Sandy Bridge, or do you trust Intel's decision to use thermal paste?
Over the course of September and October, I think the rest of the 1UP team started to hate me for making them carry sketchbooks — to the Penny Arcade Expo, Tokyo Game Show, developer offices, etc. The goal was to collect as many pen and pencil sketches as we could from people in the game industry.
We left the content up to them, and said we would auction off 100% of the profits for Red Cross disaster relief — in part to help victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, covered in our feature How Japan’s Earthquake Changed its Developers. The results originally appeared in the final issue of 1UP’s print magazine, and now it’s time to put the gallery online and kick off the auction.
So click on any of the images below to see full-size versions, and if you’re interested in owning the art, click the link at the bottom of each batch to bid on the seven bundles on eBay.
Shooter Bundle
Two BioShock Infinite sketches from Irrational Games’ Ben Lo and Robb Waters, Borderlands‘ Moxxi from Gearbox’s Scott Kester, five Gears of War 3 images from Epic Games’ Chris Wells and Demond Rogers, and Halo‘s Master Chief from 343′s Frank O’Connor…
Ninja Gaiden‘s Ryu Hayabusa from Team Ninja’s Masahiro Nose, Darksiders‘ Death from Vigil’s Joe Madueira, Soul Calibur V‘s Natsu and Ivy from Project Soul’s Takuji Kawano (signed by game director Daishi Odashima and producer Hisaharu Tago), and Tekken‘s Kuma from Tekken Project’s Kazuhiro Harada…
Three Disney sketches from Junction Point’s Shawn Melchor and Scott McSorley, Crash Bandicoot holding an angry bird from Big Red Button’s Bob Rafei (who was the original Crash artist at Naughty Dog), Lumines: Electronic Symphony collage from Q Entertainment’s Takashi Ishihara, and Mario from Twisted Pixel’s Jay Stuckwisch… [Note: Crash Bandicoot is a signed digital print.]
First announced back in September last year (link), the game has finally gotten an official name, PLA, which apparently stands for “Passion Leads Army”. Developed by Giant Interactive together with the Chinese military, it is no doubt a simple twist on People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The game showed up over the past weekend at Nvidia Game Festival in China, and it is sporting awesome new graphics. The benchmark below is running on a Nvidia GTX 680.
PLA is now the first Nvidia 3D Vision Ready game developed in the world’s biggest country, and it is sporting DX11 compatibility as well. The game is set in 1973, with the city of Shanghai as the backdrop during a war. There will be 2 versions of the game, 1 especially for the military to use for training, while the other is the commercial client.
Find similar article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/04/pla-cn-official-chinese-army-game.html
Verdict: Falls shy of cutting-edge PC gaming, but a great performer and an even better investment. 8/10
CPU: Intel Core i7-2630QM (2.00GHz, 6Mb cache) RAM: 8GB DDR3 1333MHz GRAPHICS: Nvidia GTX 560M 4058MB HARD DRIVE: 2x 750GB SATA II Screen: 17.3″ 16:9 HD+ (1600×900)/Full HD (1920×1080)/Full HD 3D(1920×1080 120Hz) LED Backlight OPTICAL DRIVE: Blu-Ray/DVD +/- Rewriter Connectivity: 1 x Microphone-in jack, 1 x Headphone-out jack, 1 x USB 3.0 port(s), 3 x USB 2.0 port(s), 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for, LAN insert, 1 x HDMI, Integrated 802.11 b/g/n, 10/100/1000 Base T Weight: 4.28 kg (with 8 cell battery) EXTRAS: EAX Advanced HD 5.0, THX TruStudio, Built-in Bluetooth™ V3.0 (Optional) webcam, 2-year limited International hardware warranty OS: Windows 7 Home Premium Web: Republic Of Gamers
What a lump. The ASUS Republic Of Gamers G74sx is really leaning on the definition of 'portable'. It's leaning the definition of laptop even: this beast is hot and heavy and we wouldn't want it on our laps for long. But it is spec'd out to its rubberised edges with some cutting-edge mobile gaming hardware – the epitome of a desktop replacement system.
For around the £1500 mark you get a pokey Sandy Bridge mobile i7 processor, 8GB of DDR3 RAM and a mobile GeForce 560M graphics card with a generous 4GB of VRM. Very respectable – for a desktop, but eye-popping specifications even for a gaming laptop.
Your storage and memory needs are more than covered, though that mobile GPU doesn't quite cut it when placed under stress under the more graphically intese titles out there. While no one would expect any system to be capable of coping with The Witcher 2′s 'uber-sampling' setting, we did hope that the G74sx would hit a full 60 FPS with the graphical settings all on 'High'. It was a similar story for The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim, with judder and high frame rates only achieved with draw distances and textures pulled in from the absolute maximum.
Whatever you do play on the G74sx does tend to look beautiful though, and that's in no small part due to it's ultra-crisp backlit screen. The 17-inch display is full HD and 3D, which also makes it brilliant for watching films. That in itself is a massive selling point for this gaming laptop, but it's backed-up by a comprehensive set of multimedia features, including EAX/THX sound and Blu-Ray. As an overall package it's brimming with value, even if there are better laptops purely for gamingin a similar price range.
Find similar article at: http://www.totalpcgaming.com/hardware/laptops/asus-g74sx-rog-gaming-laptop-review/
Just last week (link), Red 5 Studios confirmed a USD 23 million and record-breaking deal with Garena for Firefall in 7 Asian countries, spanning a total of 6 years. Not much was written about the man behind the deal, Mr Tony Park, who was the main architect in making this possible. Korean game website ThisIsGame.com speaks with him, a Korean who is fluent in both English and Chinese. Please note that not all questions and answers are translated.
A: The strategic plans for China and Korea is not confirmed yet, hence we accelerated the deal for these regions once Garena showed interest in Firefall.
A: We held discussions with Garena about the many online shooters in the region, and noted popular titles such as Special Force, Point Blank, Black Shot (under Garena) and Cross Fire. Firefall will stand out because of its additional large-scale PvE content, hence it will be different from other FPS. Garena also held this difference in high regards, hence the deal was signed. We feel that Firefall will have its own player base and stand alongside other FPS in the market.
A: Other than its interest, Garena is also the publisher for League of Legends in the region. In less than a month of launch in Taiwan, the CCU went over 100,000 players, making it the number one title in the country. In the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, the game did well in player numbers as well, perhaps one of the top 2 games there.
From what we have seen, Garena’s Black Shot in Singapore and Malaysia also reached a record number of players. The company’s founder is a fan of e-Sports and competitive gaming, knowing details of Firefall since it was announced.
A: It is hard to say which company communicated about the possible deal first. It happened last June, when we visited some game companies in Taiwan and we paid a visit to Garena over there as well. It happened that Garena had interest in Firefall, but did not know which side to contact, Red 5 Studios or Webzen.
A: After meeting them in Taiwan, our teams subsequently met at PAX, ChinaJoy and the recent G*Star in Korea. Garena sent a number of their folks to G*Star to try out the game. Red 5 did not have a Business to Business counter, hence they had to queue up like the rest of the visitors to try the game out. After that, Garena and us discussed about the deal.
A: Yes, you can say that G*Star actually helped. Earlier in July, the conflict with Webzen was not resolved yet, hence Garena could only stand at the side and observe the proceedings. Then on October 21st, we set up Red 5 Singapore, and in November Garena’s CEO paid us a visit after G*Star 2011 ended. The talks to finalize the deal lasted 3 days.
A: The correct term for the rights is “other than North America and Europe”. Before acquiring back, we weren’t able to talk to potential overseas partners. That was a sensitive period in terms of the law, which was known throughout the gaming industry.
A: Yes, Webzen will be getting a share of the profits, including some of the USD 23 million which was just signed.
A: The last time I did this was a long time ago *laughs*. Perhaps that is the reason I decided to attend. But in actual fact, Garena’s CEO was there for the signing as well, I had to show my sincerity. Firefall is a very important game to us, but I did the negotiations with my business team as well, not just me alone.
A: To be honest, luck plays a part. The hard work for me is to understand our own titles and understand the companies we are dealing with. We have to know what their concerns are and provide them with answers and whatever information they need. Once done, we can all settle down and discuss a deal. Having a playable build over at the previous conventions helped the deal as well.
A: If you are not part of the development team, one of the founders or an investor in the company, it will be hard to become the company’s representative. The gaming industry is still young, hence there are not many people in the industry who have reached the retirement age yet.
A: I am currently considering a new setup in the company. From our pool of Game Masters, we will handpick a few and groom them to work in the business or product planning departments. I think this is the only way to ensure they are still in the industry after 50 years old.
To people outside, my advise given to my own staff as well is to work on on everything, no matter how easy or hard the task is. I may look like a Superman on surface, but I am a very hardworking man as well. I don’t think I am smarter than people, hence I work every of the smaller tasks to perfection.
Find similar article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2011/12/firefall-asia-man-behind-deal.html
[Game website] The Beta Weekend event will be ending in less than 12 hours, but I think I have seen enough for now. As the first public beta with many, many more players, there are obviously various technical hiccups, though none are really serious. I tried out 2 classes, Necromancer (level 10) and Engineer (level 18), and surprisingly I decided to stick with the latter. This most is mostly about how I find the game, I can’t help it if you have different opinions
Dynamic events are really fun. Without any parties, players within the same area gets the buffs other players cast and everyone who helped out gets graded from Bronze to Gold, with different rewards. Yes, even if you joined in late, you still have a chance to get a Gold grading. This is also the first time in a MMO I have seen so many players helping to revive each other, since any class, race or player can do it.
Though fun, there are still instances for single or partied players to enter, mostly during the main story quests. I am not sure how other solo players find them, but for me, they are really, really tough. Going into such instances at the recommended level usually gets me killed in no time, along with the NPC aids as well.
I seriously wish these story instances are part of the dynamic quests system as well, but since it is tied to the “My Story” records for each character, I guess something has got to be personalized. A short search led me to believe there is no option to do a skill reset (not traits), and this is something I am not really pleased about.
Through exploring, I found a cave which requires players to jump across platforms to get to the end, which most probably offers a secret reward like an unmarked skill point. Easy, you might think, but not when ravens are swooping down and threatening to knock you off and shamans transforming into beasts to crush you. And if those are not bad enough, there are really strong creatures below waiting to devour you… Argh, I think I must have tried this map around 10 times. Someone over at ArenaNet is a hardcore Tomb Raider fan.
I have 2 minds about the scaling system, part of me says it is not needed while the other part of me says it is to make sure the game is fair regardless of character level. You see, entering areas with lower level mobs will scale your level and stats down. Note the green level and stats in the screenshot below.
I have yet to try World vs World vs World (WvWvW), the PvP map, but I will keep it for the next Beta Weekend since ArenaNet said there will be a couple more before launch. All in all, there are just minor complains and personal preferences on my side, nothing major to criticize. Gameplay and the various systems in Guild Wars 2 certainly provided me with fresh air, hopefully more of you guys will join the game once it goes live
Find similar article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/04/guild-wars-2-beta-weekend-thoughts.html
Last month, Dell revamped its Alienware notebook range, which includes the 18.4-inch M18x R2, 17.3-inch M17x R4 and the 14-inch M14x R2. But with Dell's 2012 Alienware notebook lineup debuting a month ahead of Ivy Bridge's launch, the new notebooks only featured Sandy Bridge parts at launch. That has now changed, with Dell on Monday announcing the 
The 
Low-cost PC manufacturers may be 
Print media hasn't fared super well in the face of digital distribution. Turns out, a lot of people prefer live pixels to dead trees. So what's a company like Barnes & Noble -- with serious cash invested in both brick-and-mortar stores and the digital Nook ecosystem -- supposed to do in this new era of reading? The answer, apparently, lies in spinning off the Nook into an entirely new company completely -- and giving Microsoft a 17.6 percent stake in the fresh venture. B&N did just that this morning.
Well, well, well, the latest version of the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiconductor Applications Forecaster (SAF) is something that PC doomsayers can shove right in their ill-informed pie holes. According to IDC, the worldwide semiconductor market grew by 3.7 percent in 2011 to $301 billion, and barring any unforeseen events, IDC expects the market to grow another 6-7 percent in 2012 with Intel leading the way. That's hardly the sign of a shrinking market, though mobile is playing a big role as well.
Dell may be all finished with 11.6-inch gaming notebooks, at least as it pertains to the Alienware M11x, but if you're a fan of such powerful pint-sized PCs, don't feel obligated to cry yourself to sleep. The 11.6-inch form factor for gamers lives on, not only with Maingear's 
Microsoft has high hopes for Windows 8, the Metro-sexual operating system slated to ship around six months from now. The elephant in the room is Windows 8's Metro user interface and whether or not consumers are ready for such a drastic change to what's been a mostly familiar layout up to this point, and it could be taken as encouraging signs (for Microsoft) that its Developer Preview, Consumer Preview, and Release Preview builds have all seen a high number of downloads. If that's the case, why are some PC makers freaking out?
Intel stepped up to the plate and seemingly 
