DCEmu Featured News Articles

As promised, Nokia and Intel have revealed the pre-alpha version of MeeGo for handsets today, supporting the Intel-powered Aava reference phone and the Nokia N900. What most interesting at this early stage is the UI, which appears to have taken a big Nokia-influenced step away from the Intel-designed MeeGo netbook and tablet UI -- and we're definitely detecting some hints of Android and webOS here and there. Seriously, just check out that task switching interface. Of course, MeeGo is open-source, so we're sure Nokia has some deeper UI customizations in store -- like homescreen widgets, which are notably missing here.

On a deeper level, this build of MeeGo includes the base MeeGo APIs, including Qt and the MeeGo touch frameworks, the Firefox-based browser, a photo viewer, and some basic UI elements like the status bar, app launcher, and virtual keyboard. There are pre-built images for the Atom-based Aava handsets available now, but N900 owners will have to do a little building until someone makes an image available. Be warned, though: there's a long enough list of known bugs, and while that's totally fine for pre-alpha code, it might not be too fine for your device. That's not going to stop us from installing this thing, but you be careful, alright? And let us know how it goes. Video of the UI after the break.

P.S. Given that the N8 is destined to be the last Symbian N Series device, we can't help but feel it's being overshadowed by MeeGo before it's even out. Can we pre-pour one out? Is that a thing? It is now.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/30/m...st-appearance/ ...

Regular Hackaday reader [Osgeld] is at it again with this USB conversion for an NES controller. This is a ubiquitous hack that we started seeing very early on, sometimes involving an adapter kit, and other times including things like a thumb drive and USB hub. But this time around is truly a bare-bones version. He’s using an Arduino but it’s really just an AVR ATmega168 running the bootloader. We’d wager this can be done with an ATmega8 just as easily. Grab a couple of diodes (we never seem to have the 3.6v zener diodes around when we need them), a couple caps and resistors, a crystal and you’re in business. The hack wires each button to a pin and implements a keyboard HID that can be mapped for any purpose you desire.

http://hackaday.com/2010/06/30/nes-c...o-usb-gamepad/ ...

We know that the iPad is selling like hotcakes, but how satisfied are the people who buy it? Over at Technologizer, we conducted a survey of 6,000 iPad early adopters. There are a few places where they were critical — the majority, for instance, aren't happy with Apple's App Store approval process. Overall, however, they're overwhelmingly upbeat.

http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/0...d-Satisfaction ...

Technical data revealed on retailer site Play.com appears to confirm that the Xbox 360 Kinect system can only support two players at a time in-game.

The data represents the most detailed information so far released, with the most controversial being the specification of Kinect's skeletal tracking system. The system is listed as being able to track 20 joints per active player and to map them to Xbox Live Avatars.

Although up to six people can be tracked at a time only two active players can actually take part in a game at once.

Although Microsoft has been inconsistent in defining the upper limit for the number of players using the system, it has previously been implied that up to four could take part at once.

Other notable specifications, as examined by Eurogamer's Digital Foundry, include the 320x240 resolution of the camera - reduced from the 640x480 resolution of the original PrimeSense technology that Kinect is derived from.

The 20 joints limit has also been reduced from the Project Natal demos that used 48 points at gamescom in 2009. However, Digital Foundry suggests this has resulted in only a negligible change in performance.

Although the Play.com data appears to be from official sources Microsoft has yet to release any advanced technical data on the system, while questions continue to linger over Kinect's ability to track players while seated.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...wo-player-only ...

UK retailer ShopTo has claimed Microsoft's motion sensor Kinect will carry an RRP of £129.99, and be released on Friday, 19th November.

ShopTo pre-orders are open now with the price trimmed slightly to £124.86.

No other major UK retailer - Play, Amazon, GAME, HMV - has a price or date listed for Kinect.

ShopTo hasn't responded to our request for comment.

Microsoft has yet to announced an official price for Kinect, despite the company's own shop listing a $149 tag.

Kinect will be released on 4th November in the US and the rest of the world thereafter.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/sh...t-at-GBP129-99 ...

Retailer Play.com has published new specifications for the final Kinect hardware.

While the information is unconfirmed via official channels, Play said that the details are direct from the manufacturer, while specs collected by Digital Foundry but not published to date tie in extremely closely with the new data. The smart money is on this being the real deal.

Perhaps the most interesting information we can glean from this is in how the final production Kinect camera differs from the reference technology designed by Microsoft partner PrimeSense.

The Israeli company, who we interviewed back in April, provided the basic design that Microsoft adapted to create the-then Project Natal. Its camera features much the same viewing characteristics as the final Kinect in terms of field of view, but its depth map is much more detailed: 640x480's worth of resolution up against Microsoft's 320x240.

If the depth map has been scaled back, so has definition of skeletal tracking. The new spec suggests 20 points that make up the human skeleton while our demo of Natal back at gamescom last year revealed that 48 points were used.

Having played the same game in both iterations of the hardware, it has to be said that aside from small "jumps" in the fidelity of the 1:1 skeletal tracking, the overall experience is fairly close despite the spec cut-backs.

Probably the biggest concern is the low-resolution depth map, but again, the cut-back does make sense.

In our gamescom demo, presumably using something closer to the original reference design, Kudo Tsunoda expressed reservations that hand and finger tracking would work consistently with the camera simply because human beings come in all different sorts of shapes and sizes. There would be no way to ensure accurate tracking of a child's fingers, for example.

Therefore, for the sake of reliability, the emphasis would shift to tracking the whole body and at that point the need for the VGA depth map was less apparent, although clearly tracking more subtle movements does become more challenging. The lower-resolution depth map also reduces the amount of data being beamed across USB, and decreases processing overhead too.

The other major difference in the final spec compared to the reference is the inclusion of a motorised tilt function in Kinect, which was never part of the original PrimeSense design. This is powered via a bespoke port on the new Xbox 360S, or via a bundled PSU for the older console.

The purpose of the tilt is fairly straightforward: it allows for a more flexible placement of the camera, allowing it to fit more comfortably in more environments. During gameplay it's never been observed to move dynamically, and it is understood that skeletal tracking functions within the 360 APIs are no longer active when the camera motor is in use.

Here's Play.com's data in full.

Sensor

Colour and depth-sensing lenses
Voice microphone array
Tilt motor for sensor adjustment
Field of View

Horizontal field of view: 57 degrees
Vertical field of view: 43 degrees
Physical tilt range: ± 27 degrees
Depth sensor range: 1.2m - 3.5m
Data Streams

320x240 16-bit depth at 30FPS
640x480 32-bit colour at 30FPS
16-bit audio @ 16 kHz
Skeletal Tracking System

Tracks up to 6 people, including 2 active players
Tracks 20 joints per active player
Ability to map active players to Xbox LIVE Avatars
Audio System

Xbox LIVE party chat and in-game voice chat (requires Xbox LIVE Gold Membership)
Echo cancellation system enhances voice input
Speech recognition in multiple languages

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/di...pec-blog-entry ...

Square Enix has announced that the PC Collector’s Edition version of MMO Final Fantasy XIV will be released in Europe on September 22nd. The standard SKU will hit retail on September 30th.
The PS3 version of the game will not be released until March 2011, with pricing to be announced at a later date.
The PC Collector’s Edition includes a behind-the-scenes DVD, a special branded security token, a FFXIV branded tumbler, map, a travel journal including concept art, the Onion Helm in-game item, a 30-day free trial period for the game and a pass that allows a guest to play for free for a limited time.
The monthly subscription fee will be £8.99 (€12.99) with additional characters available for £2.10 (€3.00) a month. A maximum of eight characters can be registered on any one account.
Each account is eligible for one free retainer (a non-playable character that maintains item sales and storage when users are logged out) with each additional retainer costing £0.70 (€1.00).

A beta version of the PC game will go live some time in early July. It will become available to pre-order with key retailers at some point today. Those who pre-order will receive another in-game freebie – a pair of Garlond Goggles that increases the speed at which characters progress.
Those who register their FFXIII Campaign Codes will receive the Asuran Armguards DLC, an extra that improves the effectiveness of tools.
“This September, players around the world will join together to explore the fascinating and exciting realm of Eorzea,” the game’s executive producer Hiromichi Tanaka stated.
“We’re presenting players with a new style of online gameplay, that we know will please avid fans of online games, but welcome more casual gamers as well with the variety of gameplay and story-driven content.”
The specs for the PC version are as follows: Windows XP/Vista/7, Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz or AMD Athlon X2 2GHz, 2GB of RAM, 15GB HDD space, NVIDIA GeForce 9600 512MB or ATI Radeon HD 2900 512MB and DirectX 9.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/39797/Final-Fantasy-XIV-dated ...

Mortal Kombat 2011 has "the most robust online fighting game system ever imagined," modestly claims the game's lead designer, John Edwards.

Speaking in a recent interview, Edwards revealed that the NetherRealm Studios team is considering new characters, Fatalities and fighting styles for the new game's recently outed DLC.

"We have a really robust online system. I can't go into too many details but it's going to be pretty much the most robust online fighting game system ever imagined. Just look forward to it," he told GamingUnion.

"We're planning on having DLC for a lot of things. Maybe new characters, new Fatalities, it's pretty much open for anything. We have support on the back end for backgrounds, new attacks, tweaks to fighting styles, all that"

Bold promises indeed. So far, all we know about the new MK's online offerings is that it'll include a mode in which up to four players can battle tag-team, and another in which two players can team up in 'Arcade Mode'.

Warner Bros. announced the new Mortal Kombat game for release next year earlier this month, alongside a pretty brutal Mortal Kombat trailer.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

Xbox director of product management Aaron Greenberg has clarified his earlier statements on the future of Lionhead Studios' Milo & Kate, to indicate that the game is merely not due for release this year.

"Project Milo absolutely continues in development at Lionhead Studios, it is just not a product we plan to bring to market this holiday," said Greenberg on Twitter.

Speaking on Australian television, Greenberg was previously asked why Milo and Kate was not featured at E3 2010, despite being so prominent at E3 2009.

"The Milo Project is something that Lionhead Studios in their labs had developed. Last year we unveiled the Project Natal technology, we showed a bunch of technology demos as part of that," said Greenberg at the time.

"And obviously [Milo] is a technology demo that continues to exist, but right now it’s not a game that we’re planning to bring to market," he added.

Clarification that the concept will still result in a retail product has also come from Lionhead Studios' Sam Van Tilburgh. As reported by website Joystiq, Van Tilburgh Twittered a imagine of the project's development team.

Although the exact status of the project remains unclear, Van Tilburgh indicated that, "There's about 50 people on the 'Project Milo Team'".

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-milo-and-kate ...