DCEmu Featured News Articles

Suped-up golfing sim Let's Golf 3D headlines this Thursday's eShop update.

Ancient NES title Baseball also becomes available via the Nintendo online store.

Let's Golf 3D is the latest in Gameloft's mobile franchise. It takes a light-hearted approach to the sport, offering Aztec jungle and penguin-filled courses, along with time-rewinding tactics and a friendly silver-haired old buffer playing in a kilt.

Still, it's new. Reanimated 1983 veteran Baseball is not.


Baseball.
Brought back from the dead as a standard 2D re-release, the Nintendo Entertainment System title looks its age.

Baseball was already made available via WiiWare, and was re-released on the Game Boy, Game Boy Advance (via the e-Reader) and twice via arcade machines before that. This is the Game Boy version.

Keeping this week's sport theme, bizarre title Go Series Portable Shrine Wars allows gamers the experience of carrying a huge portable shrine on their shoulders.

At summer festivals in Japan dozens of people carry these shrines, named Mikoshi, and attempt to barge opponents into dropping their own. A bit like jousting, players can either charge opponents, or alternatively try and take them down by flinging members of their own team at them.

This week's full run-down lies below.

Nintendo eShop releases - 28/07/11

Let's Golf! 3D (Nintendo) - 3DS, €6
Baseball (Nintendo) - 3DS, €3
Artillery: Knights vs. Orcs (Kritzelkratz 3000) - DSiWare, €5 or 500 DSi Points
GO Series Portable Shrine Wars (Gamebridge) - DSiWare, €2 or 200 DSi Points
Successfully Learning German Year 5 (Tivola) - DSiWare, €5 or 500 DSi Points

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...pdate-28-07-11 ...

via http://www.gp32x.com/board/index.php...dpost&p=954515

Hi there,

so far I only posted this on the official boards, but seeing many devs are still exclusively active here, you may find this interesting, too.

PNDTools (in the lack of a better name)
is a simple and easy-to-understand GUI for opening, browsing, editing and creating PND files and
NEW NEW NEW
you can also view, edit and create PXML files with it (WIP, please send me feedback, see below).

What does it do?

• It can open a PND and display its contents in a tree structure
• You can then extract data from the PND or add new stuff
• It extracts the PXML and icon data
• You can create a new PND from scratch or modify an existing one and save the result again as a PND
• GUI for viewing and editing the PXML file (beta)
• It has options

What does it currently not do? (aka things on the todo-list)

• Parsing of the PXML file and validation check
• It does not work with PNDs using the ISO filesystem (and I don't see a good reason for why it needs to do so as SquashFS is the superior FS imo)
• It only extracts PNG icon data (although probably 99% of the icons are PNG)
• PXML "wizard" for creating a quick-and-dirty PXML suitable for most cases with an easier (non-tree based) GUI
• better PXML element interface (buttons instead of a drop-down)
• context menu for adding PXML elements
• options for chosing the default PND extraction path (use program's folder, use user specified folder, ask every time for location)
• Linux version (I am trying to set-up Lazarus, but I can't get the Virtual Tree View component to compile :S )
• keeping the cmd open after executing chmod or squashtools

What will it (probably) never do?

• Have a browsing interface as good as 7-zip's and the same functionality

This is a beta release, so a lot of bugs are to be expected and the program has a few known "quirks":

• Currently it calls chmod 755 on all the PND data to ensure all necessary files are given the "executable" flag, this works, but obviously is not the "nice" way to do it
• It only loads PNG icons from a PND
• You will need to place it somewhere it has direct write access or execute the Program as administrator
• It needs half of the cygwin dlls and the cygwin chmod because Windows does not know the "executable" file-flag (well it does, but modifying it is complicated and calling chmod was easier to do for now)
• Only for Windows atm!
• Drag&Drop is always recursive
• You cannot replace files in a PND, trying to do so will simply result in no change. Delete the old files and add the new ones as a temporary work-around (this is also why moving nodes sometimes does not seem to work)
• When creating a PXML file you have to create the HF5 compatibility elements (title and description) first (second respective entry in the drop-down) and then the grouped HF6 elements

Download it here (Windows only, ZIP, 2MB)
To "install" just extract the contents of the archive anywhere (the program will have write access, see above).
Current version: 0.3.5beta, built 22.07.2011
This is the beta version (PXMLTools branch), but core functionality is not affected, it just adds the WIP PXML editor.
Source: Public GIT --- ZIP (last-update 05.06.2011, master)

Media:

---The main interface---|---PXML Editor---

How it works:
When creating a PND no actual data is handled until you press the "Create PND" button, after which it will copy all data to a folder called "temp" and then call chmod and mksquashfs on that.
When opening a PND it will extract (unsquashfs) the contents to a folder called "temp2" and add that folder to the tree-view, also it extracts the PXML and icon to a folder called "meta".
If you want to access the data contained in the PND you can simply copy it from those folders.
The folders are located next to the program exe and will be wiped before each respective operation.
It is safe to remove those folders if you want to clear temporary data.

Please try it, but be careful when doing so - I am not to be held responsible when data is lost or damaged, make back-ups.

---

The PXML editor is not very user-friendly at the moment, but I wanted to focus on getting all the functionality in there and the next step will be creating a proper interface (especially for adding elements). I plan to make most of it context sensitive.
For the moment just open an existing PXML file or create a new one from scratch, select elements to add from the drop-down box (those saying package will be added to the package element, those saying application...) and click "add".
Multiple application elements are supported as well as every other part of the specification (HF6) - to add elements to a specific application element, just select it or a child node of it.
In order to add multiple categories and sub-categories you will have to create the category first, select it (which should happen automatically) and then add the sub-category.

To edit an element just select it from the tree-view, all attributes will be displayed on the right. ...

BioWare hopes massively multiplayer online game Star Wars: The Old Republic will last for decades.

The game has 19 major worlds, senior creative director James Ohlen said during a Comic-Con panel reported by the wonderfully-named Darth Hater.

"Well, I can say that we have 19 major worlds," he said. "Then we have an indeterminate number of minor worlds. And our goal, obviously this being an online game, that we're hoping is going to last for decades, we're going to be, obviously, adding more to the galaxy map as the game progresses.

"We want to add dozens of worlds. Hundreds of worlds eventually. In 2025, we'll hopefully have 500 worlds."

Each of the six Star Wars: The Old Republic classes packs 200 hours of gameplay - excluding crafting, raiding and "the multiplayer" - according to EA.

EA Games boss Frank Gibeau described the in-development MMO as "gigantic", although he wishes the game hadn't cost quite so much money to make.

Last week publisher EA confirmed a 2011 release date for The Old Republic.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...st-for-decades ...

A Chinese couple sold their three children for cash to play video games, according to a local report.

Sanxiang City News newspaper (translated by ABC News, via VideoGamer.com) said the parents, both under 21, sold their children for money to fund playing online games at internet cafes.

In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan sold their second child, a baby girl, for less than $500. They reportedly spent the money shortly after.

They then sold their first child, a boy, for about $4600. They sold their third child, also a boy, for the same amount.

They were reported to the police when the man's mother found out what they had done. "We don't want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money," they said. They claim they didn't know they were breaking the law.

The games played by the couple were not disclosed, or the type of games they were.

China has a troubled history with online gaming.

A year ago China's Ministry of Culture issued new regulations banning children from using virtual currency to buy items in games.

The new rules also included restrictions on "unwholesome and corrupting content" and kids' gaming time.

The controls are made possible by a requirement that online game players register with their real names.

Minors will be banned from buying or selling items with virtual currencies, although the purchase of "products or services" will be allowed.

Game companies will be required to develop "techniques" limiting children's gaming time in order to prevent addiction, an issue which has been in the headlines in China since a series of deaths among "internet-addicted youths" in 2009. But the techniques, or the amount of gaming time, aren't specified.

The Ministry also requires companies to develop means to keep children from playing "inappropriate games", forbidding online games from including content that involves pornography, cults, superstition, gambling and violence.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-to-play-games ...

Iconic villain Ganondorf will not be in Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the series' head honcho has revealed.

Instead the game features a new enemy, the return of a familiar instrument and a plot placing the game as a prequel to all previous Zelda titles so far, series director Eiji Aonuma told Nintendo Power (via Nintendo Charged).

The game's new big bad is pale-faced David Bowie lookalike Lord Ghirahim - the purple eyeshadowed wizard seen leering at Link in recent trailers.

Ghirahim was created to contrast with Ganon's "very masculine, powerful, evil" image. Aonuma wanted something different for Skyward Sword's anatagonist, "someone who is a little bit mysterious and kind of makes people think, 'well, I don’t really know what to make of this somewhat terrifying character.'"

There are changes, too, for Skyward Sword's Zelda. This time around she's a "great childhood friend" of Link's, and "in no way a princess in the traditional sense". Later in the story things take a darker turn. As "the gravity of the situation increases" Zelda must face a "tremendous fate placed on her shoulders". Does her royal destiny catch up with her?

Skyward Sword is set before Ocarina of Time and will chronicle how the series' iconic Master Sword was made. "In most Zelda games, the Master Sword has been something that Link seeks out, finds, and uses to destroy Ganon," Aonuma comments. This time around players see Link forging the weapon throughout the game.

Players will wield the Master Sword via accurate movements with the Wii's MotionPlus controller. The past year has seen Aonuma's team honing "incredibly satisying sword combat".

MotionPlus will also be used to play Zelda's harp - the same one her alter ego Sheik wielded in Ocarina of Time. Aonuma previously teased a "key" musical instrument for Skyward Sword, similar to the ocarina in Ocarina of Time. MotionPlus strumming will be required.

The Wii Remote additionally controls the large birds Link rides - the game's main airborne method of transportation. There'll be more in-transit events as well, similar to the pirate platforms in seafaring adventure Wind Waker.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Nintendo's last planned title for the Wii, is finally due for launch this Christmas.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-skyward-sword ...

Microsoft's 343 Industries has been working on Halo 4 for two years.

In a panel discussion at Comic-Con reported by GameSpot, Halo franchise boss Frank O'Connor said it was a relief to announce the 2012 Xbox 360 exclusive at E3 last month because the team has been working on it in "relative secrecy for a couple of years".

Halo's Covenant-beating hero will appear "changed" in Halo 4. And there's a story behind his new look – yet to be revealed.

Some time has passed since the events of Halo 3, when the Chief finished the fight. Halo 4 opens with him floating through space towards an alien planet. "A lot of things have changed in that intervening period," O'Connor has teased.

Halo 4, out late 2012, follows 343 Industries' upcoming original Halo re-make - Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary - out 15th November.

Anniversary includes a similar mechanic to Halo 3: ODST's terminals and data pads. The mechanic will provide insight into Halo 4 and extra backstory, with nutty AI Guilty Spark the subject.

Meanwhile, the panel discussed the upcoming Halo novels. Halo: Grasslands, due out in October, is set between Halo 3 and Halo 4, a time when Master Chief is adrift in space.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-for-two-years ...

We know the US Army has already experimented with vibrating clothing, and soon it could be our turn. The trendy figure-hugger above is rigged with haptic actuators across the arms and torso, which respond when the wearer's body 'touches' virtual objects created via Microsoft's Kinect platform. The outfit's designers at the University of Aachen spent just a few hundred dollars on components, aside from the cost of the Kinect, so this might well have commercial potential. Click the source link if you're really keen to see a concept video -- although it doesn't consist of much beyond a German dude doing the Hey Macarena in his socks.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/25/k...eight-differe/ ...

Here's a weird one. Earlier today, we heard (and confirmed) reports that the Cosmo Black Nintendo 3DS was unavailable for purchase directly through Amazon. We followed up with the company to get to the bottom of things, and were fed this explanation from a company spokesperson:
"We received customer feedback that there may be an inventory issue with the Cosmo Black Nintendo 3DS. The integrity of the product is not under review. Customers are still able to purchase the Amazon.com offer of the Aqua Blue Nintendo 3DS, however the Amazon.com offer of [the] black Nintendo 3DS has been removed until the inventory issue is resolved. There is no problem with the Cosmo Black Nintendo 3DS units themselves. This is an internal inventory problem that was brought to our attention from customer feedback and we are looking into it and will resolve as soon as possible."
Turns out, "as soon as possible" meant "three minutes later." As of this very moment in time, the handheld is available and in stock over at the world's most recognized e-tailer, with the outfit confirming to us that sales "have been reinstated." At any rate, we suppose this serves to clarify one thing while bringing about a totally separate question -- there's nothing physically wrong with the 3DS so far as Amazon's concerned, but how on Earth is its inventory team reacting that quickly?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/25/a...-to-inventory/ ...

Less than ten days after iOS 4.3.4 parachuted in to fix that nasty PDF exploit, Apple's gone and dropped another. So what'll Cupertino's latest fix today? Build 8L1 -- or 8E600 on 4.2.10 if you're rocking CDMA -- apparently nixes a vulnerability with "certificate validation," or you know, Apple's just really fond of keeping all you hackers on your toes. Either way, time to fire up iTunes, unless of course, you're already living in the future.

Update: Turns out you can still (tether) jailbreak with redSn0w. Peep the more coverage link below.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/25/a...oser-to-ios-5/ ...