30 June 2003
Reported, written and edited by David Duberman
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Editor's note: Spectrum will take a break next week for the Independence Day holiday. Have a spectacular Fourth, and we'll be back the following week.
-David Duberman
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Apple last
week introduced Safari 1.0, based on KHTML from KDE's Konqueror open source
project. Apple also released a software development kit that allows developers
to embed the Safari HTML rendering engine directly into their applications.
Features
include built-in Google search; SnapBack to instantly return to search results;
a new way to name, organize and present bookmarks; tabbed browsing; and
automatic "pop-up" ad blocking.
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Today
Electric Rain last week launched Flash Illuminations, an experimental showcase
project designed to demonstrate the use of Flash MX and Swift 3D to create 3D
applications. The new site, at http://www.swift3d.com/illuminations/,
is intended to teach new users the power of adding 3D to Flash projects and
inspire current users to take their 3D work into emerging arenas such as
gaming, tours, education and e-commerce.
Swift 3D
is a standalone application for designers to build and export 3D animations to
the Flash (SWF) file format, as well as other major vector and raster formats.
Flash Illuminations highlights new Swift 3D vector-rendering capabilities,
photo-realistic raster rendering, SmartLayer Technology, and modeling and
animation enhancements.
Electric
Rain is providing free Flash MX and Swift 3D tutorials along with the
downloadable source code (FLA files) for each of the four projects.
Other
Swift 3D showcase sites include:
Swift 3D
Extreme - http://www.swift3d.com/extreme
Swift 3D
DevLab - http://devlab.swift3d.com
Tokyo Plastic
- http://www.tokyoPlastic.com
2Advanced,
Perspectives - http://www.2advanced.com/perspectives/
Second
Story, A Chinese Home - http://www.pem.org/yinyutang/
Swift 3D
User Showcase http://www.erain.com/community/examples/designer_showcase/
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Just out
from Anark Corporation is its Client 2 software for Mac OS X. Mac users can use
it to view Anark content created with Anark Studio 2, the newest version of its
multimedia authoring software. Available for download at on the Anark Website (
http://www.anark.com/developers/
) the new client supports Apple's new Safari Web browser as well as Netscape
and Mozilla browsers.
Anark
Client 2 for Mac OS X is one of several enhancements included in the new Anark
Studio 2, along with video export and the ability to save as a screensaver.
Anark
Studio 2, priced at $995 USD, is slated for availability in Q3 of 2003.
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Digital
Element, an Oakland-based software developer and publishing firm specializing
in art tools, last week released Aurora 2 for Photoshop ($179 and up). Features
include:
Beginning
users can use presets and the variation wizard to effects quickly. Advanced
users can use over 120 controls for translucency and reflection colors, cloud
shaping, cloud overtones, etc.
New
features include moon with settings for a textured moon surface and moon
phases, as well as 3D shapeable "puffy" Nimbus clouds, and underwater
scenes. The improved user interface includes zoom, preview, and graphic UI for
sun and moon placement, and improved cloud placement.
Other
features include scene variation, which lets users vary individual elements
randomly, and a fractal-generated 3D world that supports sky dome pictures,
support for high resolutions such as 10,000 x 10,000 pixels, and contiguous
panoramic views.
A limited
demo and product information are available at http://www.digi-element.com.
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Alias/Wavefront
says it is exceeding business expectations for its Maya software product line
since expanding into the volume software market in April 2002. Over the past 12
months, Alias/Wavefront has added many new customers including Lionhead in the
United Kingdom, Sparx in France, and InterPlay and Pixel Magic in the United
States.
Maya is a
3D software application used in industries ranging from special effects and
film production, to game development, Web graphics development and design
visualization.
Said Doug
Walker, president, Alias/Wavefront, "Today, 65 percent of all Maya
software licenses currently being sold are going to users who already own other
3D packages, but are adopting Maya. Twenty-five percent are being sold to
existing customers and 10 percent are new entrants to the 3D market."
The
campaign began with the launch of a limited, free, non-commercial version of
Maya Complete, entitled Maya Personal Learning Edition. There have been almost
half a million registrations of the Maya Personal Learning Edition since its
launch in January 2002.
Alias/Wavefront
also released over 20 new self-paced Learning Tools over the past year, aimed
at teaching 3D concepts and techniques to beginner, intermediate and advanced
users. The Learning Tools consist of books, CDs and DVDs, covering a variety of
Maya and StudioTools topics.
Other recent
highlights for Alias/Wavefront include receipt of an Academy Award as the
company was recognized with an Oscar statuette, from the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences on March 1st of this year, for its development of
Maya software. Since 1930, only 40 Scientific and Technical achievements have
been recognized with this level of award -- Maya is the first 3D software
package to be bestowed with an Oscar.
In May
2003, Maya 5 started shipping. For more information on Maya 5 along with a list
of new features and functionality, visit: http://www.aliaswavefront.com/en/press/maya/releases.shtml
Other
company milestones over the past 12 months include:
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Just out
from dvGarage is 3D Toolkit 2.5, a new 3D training product designed to bring 3D
production to 2D artists. The $99 product includes four hours of video
training, 28 tutorials and a full, working version of Electric Image Universe
(3D Toolkit version), a 3D application.
"We
believe 3D is really the next media frontier," explains Alex Lindsay,
dvGarage founder and former member of Industrial Light and Magic's Rebel Unit.
The
step-by-step tutorials walk beginners through the basics of 3D and introduce
advanced users to the tools in Universe.
The 3D
Toolkit is available for Mac OS9, OSX, and Windows 2000/XP.
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Boulder,
Colo.-based @Last Software last week released version 3.0 of its 3D program,
SketchUp, which the company describes as "design software for anyone who
loves to sketch on napkins."
New
features include:
SketchUp
for Windows and Macintosh OS X is available in English, French, German,
Swedish, and Japanese versions.
Visit http://www.sketchup.com/ to download a free
trial of SketchUp and to purchase ($495) or upgrade to 3.0 ($95).
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Citing
Intel's successful classification of integrated graphics parts based on
"good enough" graphics for office computing, Dr. Jon Peddie of Jon
Peddie Research, a Tiburon, Calif.-based multimedia and graphics market
research firm, says there is a need to re-classify the PC in a way that will
help consumers understand what kind of computer they are buying and what the
capabilities of that computer are.
Peddie
recommends that the PC industry create two classes of entry-level PCs:
corporate entry-level PCs for business, and entry-level entertainment PCs
(EEPCs) for gaming, DVD, video editing, and music. For gamers, the difference
between the two means "good enough" for office computing or great for
game play. Better yet, the step up to hot gameplay graphics and can cost the
consumer as little as $50 more, a price most would be happy to pay to be sure
and get a machine that matches their expectations
The
confusion started when the PC industry established a "Value PC"
segment comprising PCs that typically sell for less than $1,000 and use
integrated graphics parts to keep the manufacturing cost down. These parts are
either integrated graphics controllers (IGCs) or integrated graphics processors
(IGPs), an entirely new category of chipset. The integrated graphics
controllers (IGCs) offered by Intel, VIA and XGI (formerly SIS) cannot run
newer Microsoft DirectX8 level graphics-rich games and other multimedia
applications. The new category of high performance integrated parts using
integrated graphics processors (IGPs), on the other hand, can run applications
based on DirectX8.
But pity
the consumer who enters a retail outlet, sees an active demo of a high-end PC
running a fantastic game or multimedia applications such as a DVD movie, music
mixing, photo editing, etc. but recoils at the system price – typically $1,500.
Not wanting to lose a sale, eager salespeople direct the buyer to a
lower-priced value PC but neglect to reveal that those low-end machines with an
IGC are not designed to play the kind of games or multimedia applications that
consumer saw demonstrated on the high-end system. Many times the salesperson
isn't aware of the difference either. But, once consumers bring the IGC-based
system home, they're liable to be frustrated and typically the retail outlet
typically has to take back the system from the disappointed customer. The
solution is to define the Value PC segment as containing chipsets designed for
the corporate user or for entertainment applications.
Peddie
says that by creating these new classifications, IGP suppliers such as ATI and
Nvidia will get a higher ASP (average selling price), the box builders get
more, and the retailer gets more. And best of all, the consumer's expectations
are met by an affordable system designed to play today's and tomorrow's games.
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Southern
Methodist University (SMU) has selected Discreet 3ds max modeling, animation
and rendering software as the primary 3D software package by for its new
"Guildhall" program, reportedly the first game-development-education
program in North America to be launched by a research university and developed
with industry professionals. The Guildhall is a joint initiative between
academia and the game industry to create an "experiential" learning
environment for students aspiring to create the next top-selling 3D game
titles.
SMU will
install up to 100 seats of 3ds max in its facility in Dallas, Texas, over the
next six months. The certificate program in digital game development is an
18-month (six-term) curriculum designed for digital game development. At the
completion of the program, graduates receive a certificate with a specialization
in art creation, level design, or software development.
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Just out
from Sony Computer Entertainment America is Arc the Lad: Twilight of the
Spirits for PlayStation2. The fantasy role-playing game (RPG) unfolds thousands
of years after the last installment in the series with a new storyline, a
turn-based battle system, and a variety of new characters with unique
abilities.
Arc the
Lad: Twilight of the Spirits introduces gamers to a world of betrayal and
self-destruction with strategic combat and quests. The game, with a reported
60+ hours of gameplay, lets players join brothers Darc and Kharg on their
journey to capture the Great Spirit Stones and restore peace to a chaotic
world. Utilizing 14 playable characters, each with special abilities, weapons and
combination attacks, players will engage in tactical fighting sequences.
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Underdog
publisher GarageGames has begun shipping the company's first two titles,
Gadgets (formerly Chain Reaction) and Marble Blaster, to retailers throughout
North America. The Windows versions of the games are being published and
distributed by eGames through a licensing agreement with GarageGames.
"GarageGames'
core business model is to publish independent games online and build community
behind them," said Jay Moore, company evangelist.
Marble
Blaster is an arcade-style action game in which players race against time as
they navigate their marbles through moving platforms and dangerous hazards,
collecting treasure along the way.
Gadgets is
a 3D puzzle game where players create contraptions to solve each level. The
objective of each contraption is to blast Monster onto his landing pad.
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Midway's
Sports Asylum action-sports brand recently released Freestyle MetalX, a
freestyle motocross game for PlayStation2, with Xbox and GameCube versions to
follow. Features include a stunt system, expansive worlds, eight levels and
multiple sub-games, plus side events where players can earn money in career
mode by executing maneuvers such as Bus Jumping, Wall of Death, Longest
Wheelie, and more.
In
addition, Freestyle MetalX is customizable, allowing gamers to choose from 16
riders, options of motocross gear and bike models. Gamers can create their own
motocross arenas with a level editor and take on sub-games like riding off a
cliff and turning into a human dart aimed at a giant dartboard.
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New from
Activision is Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix for Xbox. Developed by
Gratuitous Games based on the original from Raven Software, the game places
players into the role of John Mullins, a Special Forces officer and military
consultant working for a secret anti-terrorist agency known as "The
Shop." Gamers engage in firefights throughout 55 missions located in
hotspots such as the deep jungles of Columbia, the frozen wastelands of
Kamchatka and the streets of Hong Kong. Missions include a range of objectives
from stealth infiltration and intelligence gathering, to search and destroy -
each granting players access to 25 real-world weapons including the MK 23 US
SOCOM, M4 with M203 grenade launcher, MSG90A1 military sniper rifle, MM-1 40mm
grenade launcher and OICW next generation weapon system.
In
addition to the intense single-player campaign, the title includes multi-player
action via System Link and Xbox Live support. Gamers can choose from 20 multi-player
maps and six game types, including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Demolition,
Infiltration, Elimination and Capture The Flag against up to 12 players. New to
the Xbox, Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix also includes a random mission
generator for both single and multi-player modes.
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Coming in
Q4 '03 from Vivendi Universal Games is Metal Arms: Glitch in the System for
PlayStation2, previously announced for Xbox and GameCube.
The
third-person shooter takes place on a distant planet inhabited exclusively by
robots. Glitch, the game's hero, must save the inhabitants of Iron Star from
the clutches of General Corrosive and his minions. As his adventure unfolds,
players will explore regions of the robot planet, drive an array of vehicles,
solve puzzles, learn to possess enemy 'bots and gain weapon upgrades to ensure
the survival of the Droid Race.
Developed
by Swingin Ape Studios, the game combines action, several varied gameplay
types, and a unique robotic look. The publisher also promises witty writing and
story elements courtesy of a team of television and cartoon series writers.
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Just out
from publisher Agetec Inc. is Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color for
PlayStation2. The 3D adventure game features a graphics tool that lets players
draw and animate their own cast of characters. These characters are interactive
within the game and become integral parts of the player's success in completing
the adventure.
The player
takes on the role of a "Doodler" who befriends two children, Zoe and
her brother Taro, who are searching for their father. As a Doodler, the player
is granted the ability to draw characters (called Doodles) in a sketchbook that
stores them until they are needed in arena matches. Along the way, the player
collects new parts and colors for the sketchbook that enables him to draw
larger, more complex Doodles. In the arena matches, the townspeople try their
luck against all comers. Winners of the matches are awarded with new colors
and/or parts to add to their existing characters or to create new Doodles.
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Interplay
and BattleBorne Entertainment last week announced their collaboration on the
development and distribution of Airborne: Liberation, a third-person
action-combat game for current-generation consoles set in the battlefields of
World War II.
The game
transports the player to the European theater of operations during World War II
as allied airborne forces prepare for the invasion of Hitler's "Fortress
Europe" on June 6, 1944. Assuming the role of Pvt Patrick Harper, the
player is dropped into Normandy in the pre-dawn hours of the D-Day invasion to
fight his way through war-torn Europe from D-Day, to Market Garden, the siege
of Bastogne, and the final assault into Hitler's Germany. The player can choose
to fight as a member of the 101st "Screaming Eagles" Division, the
82nd Airborne, or the British Red Devils.
Utilizing
both individual player- and squad-based combat, the game's features include
detailed environments, special-effects visual and sound effects, and authentic
uniforms, weapons, vehicles and environments. Two-player coop allows a player
to fight side-by-side with a friend on the same screen.
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Mythic
Entertainment, developer and publisher of Dark Age of Camelot, last week
released Dark Age of Camelot: Foundations, a downloadable free expansion that
adds player and guild housing to the massively multiplayer online role-playing game.
Players
and guilds can pick the neighborhood they want to live in, choose a lot, and
then select a house style that fits their taste - and budget. They then can
decorate, and redecorate, the house's interior and exterior.
Also, the
outside garden and yard of houses can be decorated by the player. Objects
available for decoration include hedges, flower gardens and stone walls for the
garden; and pictures, torches, stuffed animals and furniture for the interior.
Other new
features let players use their homes as private, outdoor markets to sell items
to other players by hiring a "consignment merchant" to stand outside
their house and hawk their wares, even when the player is offline. Also,
crafters can open their own home business by purchasing crafting tools to put
in their house. Up to four storage vaults that store up to 100 items each can
be placed in a house's basement; a tenfold increase of available storage space.
Initially,
36,000 housing lots will go up for auction on Mythic's U.S. servers. Lots will
be sold through a reverse-auction process, which counters the first-come
first-serve land grab problems of housing systems in other online games. The
price of lots will initially be very high, but step down at steady increments
until they reach a set minimum price or the lot is purchased. This process
allows prices to fluctuate according to location and market demand.
Lots are
grouped in a series of villages of about ten lots each, with paths connecting
villages to one another. There are rivers, lakes, woods, and hills in the
peaceful housing zones, which will lead to some lots - such as lakefronts -
that will command higher prices than others.
http://www.camelotherald.com/housing
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Premier
Press, a division of Thomson Corporation-owned Course Technology, a developer
of computer-education products and services, will hold the third Xtreme Game
Developers Xpo at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA, September
6-7, 2003.
The $299
technical conference lecture series consists of game-programming lectures and
hands-on tutorials in C/C++ Game Programming, General Game Development
Techniques, Microsoft's DirectX 9 and DirectX Game Programming, OpenGL Game
Programming, Network Game Programming, 3D Game Programming, and Java Game
Programming including Java3D. In addition, the event will have a small virtual
job fair and a LAN gaming network.
Andre
LaMothe, the inventor of the virtual reality game CyberGate, says he created
the XGDX to provide a less-expensive option to GDC.
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Microsoft
will host Meltdown 2003 at the Westin Seattle, July 16-17, 2003. The first 250
people to register and attend will receive an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 Graphics
Card.
The
company describes the event as two days of content for game programmers,
QA/compatibility technicians, technical artists, publishers, hardware
manufacturers and business developers. Tracks include graphics development,
publishing/business development, quality assurance, game testing and a track
for hardcore game programmers.
Also
offered will be hands-on workshops in intermediate and advanced High-Level
Shader Language, taught by members of the Microsoft DirectX graphics
development team.
http://www.microsoft.com/corpevents/meltdown2003/
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- David Duberman
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©Copyright 2003 Motion Blur Media. All rights reserved. No reproduction in any for-profit or revenue-generating venue in any form without written permission from the publisher.