Hack attacks present a warning shot to games companies, retailers and hackers
From Nintendo to Bethesda and BioWare to Epic, LulzSec hit some of the biggest names in our industry.
Not only were websites and forums brought to their knees, but the games themselves and the players within them, too. Popular online titles such as Minecraft and EVE Online were taken down in an instant. Millions of usernames and passwords snatched at the click of a keyboard button. Even the FBI could not avoid LulzSec’s virtual destruction.
We’re not denying the frustrating and time-wasting implications of LulzSec’s nuisance pranks, but considering the group’s self-proclaimed intentions were jovial – or even in some instances, dare we say it, helpful – attacks from other more malevolent hackers could have been much, much worse.
Would another less forgiving group have warned the NHS of weaknesses in their computer network? Would they have chosen to hand back the details of 200,000 Brink players to Bethesda, rather than upload them or even sell them online?
What if hackers had targeted a retail website? Millions of customers use the likes of Amazon.co.uk to buy games, consoles and other products, which means millions are potentially liable to having their accounts and payment details stolen.


The shocking truth is that hackers have been intelligent enough to breach these kinds of security systems for years – and now companies need to act to ensure their security systems are watertight.
Another problem is that LulzSec – along with the PSN breach earlier this year and George ‘GeoHot’ Hotz’ antics before that – have proven to the world that hacking some of the biggest games companies in the world is possible. They’ve shown how easy it is.
Hundreds of hackers and wannabe internet pranksters will no doubt have been following LulzSec’s actions closely, and some may have been inspired by their attacks to orchestrate security breaches of their own.
Thankfully, in all three major cases this year there have been consequences. Hotz received a permanent injunction from Sony after running illegal homebrew programs on the PS3, three anonymous hackers allegedly responsible for the PSN outage were arrested, and LulzSec suspect Ryan Cleary was slapped with an internet ban.
But are these punishments enough? Hotz is apparently now working for Facebook. Should companies be forgiving of individuals, aggressively oppose them or ignore them? Just how tight should a website or game server be? Will we ever be able to prevent all kinds of hacks?
LulzSec may have retired after its 50-day hacking blitz, but there are lessons we can all take from its spate of web-based security attacks. Other industries should take note of the problems games companies have faced over the past couple of months, while publishers should be better aware of external breaches.
Companies shouldn’t just sit by and watch their contemporaries and rivals fall victim to hacks. When hackers came for Nintendo’s website, and no other companies spoke out, then surely there will be no one to stand up for them when the inevitable happens. These kinds of attacks are crying out for united action.
Like viruses, hackers will always find new ways to penetrate the systems and services they want to access, whatever the motivation.
But there are no excuses. It’s your job to be aware of the possibilities and understand how to prevent them which will determine the safety of your customers’ and clients’ data going into 2012 and beyond. They will expect nothing less – and you shouldn’t, either.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/45136/OPIN...t-from-LulzSec ...

Format holder still uncertain as to the the need for 3D display on 360
Microsoft has questioned whether stereoscopic 3D gaming is something that players really want.
While Sony has offered PS3 players a variety of 720p stereoscopic 3D-compatible games for use on 3D TVs, Microsoft hasn’t pushed the technology as much for Xbox 360.
Gamers can currently play 360 titles such as Black Ops and Avatar in 3D, but not in a full stereoscopic mode. Both PS3 and 360 3D games require gamers to wear 3D glasses.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/3...really-want-3D ...

Had an extremely busy end to last week and didnt get anymore of the old sites back online but today sees the reopening of our Xbox 360 Site at http://xbox360.dcemu.co.uk/, the site like all our sites has every xbox360 news item from the moment the console was announced and all the hacking, homebrew and gaming releases over the years. ...

via http://www.aep-emu.de/PNphpBB2-file-...c-t-17139.html

FreeSynd is an open source project that aims to provide a free Syndicate clone (released under the GPL).


Quote:
FreeSynd 0.5 : Release Notes
----------------------------

Description
-----------
This is a prelimary release for testing and development purposes.

Changes
-------
* Correct positioning by Z axis for all objects
* Bug, too small space allocated for enhance/info cost values, destructor for Mission class was not able to deallocate briefing string
* Vehicles have people set inside
* Only driver is able to drive vehicle
* If vehicle is destroyed people leave it
* People are armed, but enemy agents are not armed correctly
* In missions, at start, where weapons are on floor, weapons should be visible now
* Small doors will open and close
* Vehicles will not move if they are destroyed
* Project is now buld with autoconf/automake
* Map menu is now completly functional
* Neon signs are correctly setup on mission load
* Correct animations for people/vehicles on damage recieved
* Instant damage, damage types
* Energy shield will not protect from Hit, Explosion
* Use of freesynd.ini file to specify application configuration
* Use of language files
* Added minimap to briefmenu
* Fixed, selection for agents killed during gameplay is not possible now
* Added information about killed during mission to Debrief menu
* When agent is killed during mission he will be removed from agents list
* Added description to mission brief in 3 more languages
* Z checking for inRange checking
* Trees animations : normal, burning, damaged now in use

Fixed Bugs
----------
* 3005295 : The tax rate for the region cannot be altered by player
* 3031032 : Rewrite animation generation procedures
* 3272545 : Team button not selected when clicking on inventory item

Features added
----------
* 3043686 : Game time
* 3072653 : Use libsyndicate data info
* 3086469 : Tax influence on countries status
* 3081550 : Minimap basic
* 3086471 : Implements Reseach functionnality
* 3086955 : Possibility to load/save game

Known issues with this release
------------------------------
* Agent AI is not operational.
* The minimap is not complete.
* PathFinding requires improvement
* Mission debriefing is not operational
* No animation for windows
* Map drawing is buggy

http://freesynd.sourceforge.net/ ...

via http://www.aep-emu.de/PNphpBB2-file-...c-t-17137.html

D2X-XL is an OpenGL-port of Descent II.
Supported platforms are Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.


Quote:
updates since last AEP reported release 1.15.232

v1.14.236

Fixed: Various bugs and flaws in hitbox based collision detection and handling were removed


v1.15.235

Improved: Static objects cannot be penetrated during collisions anymore

Improved: The ´spaniard´ cheat will not destroy geometry objects (i.e. objects with AI ´static´ and strength 0)

Improved: Geometry objects do not count towards the robot tally


v1.15.234

Improved: Static objects will now have somewhat better collision handling

Improved: Static objects will not fire back when being shot at

Improved: Static objects will be treated like geometry when being shot at

Improved: Static objects will not cast shadows


v1.15.233

Fixed: The program could hang or crash when trying to read broken mission info

Fixed: No lightmaps were computed by the non-OpenMP program version when multi threading was enabled (via d2x.ini)

Fixed: Objects with a strength of 0 caused program crashes; such objects are now handled as indestructible


For the complete changelog, please visit the official site

http://www.descent2.de/ ...

via http://www.aep-emu.de/PNphpBB2-file-...c-t-17136.html

PrBoom-plus is a Doom source port based on PrBoom.


Quote:
2.5.1.2.test @ 2011-Jun-24 22:06 - win32 build, sources
[-]Fixed buggy songs that forget to terminate notes held over loop point. SDL_mixer does this as well. Fix tested against Doom2 map14 and FreeDoom2 map01, for fluidsynth, portmidi, and opl players.

http://prboom-plus.sourceforge.net/ ...

News via http://gbatemp.net/t299213-super-mar...tor-2-0-beta-2

Mega-Mario has released version 2.0 Beta 2 of his editor for Super Mario 64 DS.

This editor is compatible with both US, the EU, and JP ROMs, and currently has level editing as it's main feature. With the ability to edit warps, camera placement, objects, and even multiplayer levels this editor is certainly not slim on features. Model editing is included, but experimental, and more features are planned for the future.

http://kuribo64.cjb.net/board/thread.php?id=12 ...

via http://www.aep-emu.de/PNphpBB2-file-...c-t-17129.html

corsix-th is reimplementation of the game engine from Theme Hospital.


Quote:
Changelog
Known Issues

If the X-Ray Viewer is inaccessible in the Operating Theatre the whole room will be unusable.

There are still many features which are not yet implemented including trash, earthquakes, epidemics and awards.

The graph window doesn´t show any graphs.

Handyman priorities are not yet fully implemented.
Gameplay

Added: Staff severance pay.

Added: Patients may die if they don´t get treated in time.

Added: Doctors slowly gain skill when working.

Added: Extra objects and the number of trainees influence speed of training in the training room.

Added: Even with no research new machines will eventually become available.

Added: Some patients have started littering your hospital with soda cans! Make sure you have enough handymen to keep your hospital clean.

Added: Modern heating systems aren´t as reliable as they used to be. Prepare for breakdowns now and then.

New disease: Alien DNA! Note that there are still a few glitches to fix concerning this new disease.

Change: Vending maintenance costs have increased throughout the world and as a result Sodas now cost $20, up from $15.

Change: Heating costs are calculated on a per day basis, rather than per month.

Change: Machine and drug improvements are now made evenly across all eligible objects rather than maxing one at a time.

Change: Humanoids never meander outside anymore.

Fix: Handymen no longer crash the game when trying to water an unreachable plant.

Fix: Staff resting in the staff room should keep their sofa until fully rested if there´s nothing else to do.

Fix: The player can´t hire new staff or pay bonuses without a positive balance.
User Interface

Added: The graph window, no graphs yet though.

Added: Right click menu in the queue dialog.

Added: Confirmation dialog when about to fire a member of staff.

Fix: If there is only one person who is in an emergency, use the singular form in the sentence.

Fix: The pickup item button in the edit room dialog is now fully functional.

Fix: The pointer should no longer jump around in Linux when using SDL.
Graphics

Added: The scanner uses more than one animation.

Fix: Some objects were cut in half after a relocation.
Translations

Change: If the specified language is not found, try to revert to English.

Fix: Competitor names are now translatable.


http://code.google.com/p/corsix-th/ ...

Newly released for Dingoo

This is the initial release of Comic Book Viewer for Small Screens (CBZViewSS).
It's capable of viewing CBZ comic books with JPEG files (quite known format) on Dingux-based devices (320x240)
See readme for details

http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/...,0,0,0,113,513 ...