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Compulsive gamers have 'hyper connectivity' between brain networks
We all know that there are some pretty damn intense young gamers out there, thanks to hugely popular games like CS:GO and League of Legends - but just how different are their brains?
According to brain scans from around 200 adolescent boys, evidence popped up that the brains of compulsive video gamers are very different. Chronic gaming is associated with hyperconnectivity between several pairs of brain networks, reports PsyPost. PsyPost said: "Some of the changes are predicted to help game players respond to new information".
Some of the other changes "are associated with distractibility and poor impulse control", thanks to research done by University of Utah School of Medicine, and Chung-Ang University in South Korea, was published online in Addiction Biology on Dec. 22, 2015. The study said that obsessed gamers are so consumed with gaming that they subsitute eating and sleeping in order to play.
Continue reading: Compulsive gamers have 'hyper connectivity' between brain networks (full post)
Christopher Nolan's next movie will take place during World War II
Christopher Nolan is known for The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception and Interstellar - fictional stories, and for the first time in his career, he will be directing a movie on something that actually happened - the miracle of Dunkirk during World War II.
Variety reports that Nolan's new project will be about the miracle of Dunkirk, where 195,000 British soldiers and 145,000 French and Belgium soldiers were saved after they were trapped by Germans. Nolan's movie will focus on Operation Dynamo, and at the gritty details of how one of the most notable evacuations in history happened.
Nolan will reportedly be securing Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance - with Dunkirk being show on 65mm large format, and 65mm IMAX format.
Continue reading: Christopher Nolan's next movie will take place during World War II (full post)
Google's next-gen Google Glass eyepiece slides through the FCC
I was a big fan of the original Google Glass, but the new Enterprise Edition version of the headset is looking much more appealing - with a new image shown off thanks to a filing with the FCC.
The work-focused eyepiece looks muhc better, with an improved design - including a larger prism to look through, and a nifty hinge that can be folded up. It looks like there's a spot for a magnetic battery attachment, and inside we should see an Atom processor from Intel.
We don't know when Google will unveil the new Glass headset, but 9to5Google reports that the Mountain View-based search giant will only distribute its new Glass headset to Glass for Work companies, which sucks - because I wanted one.
Continue reading: Google's next-gen Google Glass eyepiece slides through the FCC (full post)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance teased with SVOGI effects, looks incredible
Crytek has been in the headlines for their work in VR, but Warhorse Studios used Kickstarter to get their CRYENGINE-powered Kingdom Come: Deliverance off the ground - with the developer showing off some new graphical prowess.
Warhorse Studios has shown off Kingdom Come: Deliverance with SVOGI, with the video above showing you the difference between the SVOGI being enabled, and disabled in the game. Crytek's implementation of SVOGI is quite good, with the developer providing some details on the voxel-based global illumination technology:
Overview
Continue reading: Kingdom Come: Deliverance teased with SVOGI effects, looks incredible (full post)
Raven's Cry dev: 'anything above 30FPS does not matter'
I wish I didn't have to write stories like this, but unfortunately, it just happens. Reality Pump Studios, the developer handling Vendetta: The Curse of Raven's Cry, says that anything above 30FPS doesn't add to the gaming experience.
On the Steam forums, a fan asked if the studio would be optimizing its game to add SLI support - to which they replied: "On the one hand it is quite understandable, that a customer who spent 600+ bugs on a high-end card (e.g 980Ti) expects that a game runs faster than on a 2 years old (e.g.780 GTX) - on the other hand ... if you put two or four engines in a car it will be probably not run faster than with one powerful engine. It will for sure be more heavy and bigger, consume more fuel and be very expensive. Please notice, that the developers of the well known Benchmarks receive any support, money and any hardware they want from the video card manufactors ... we received the last free video card 5 years ago, never ever any money and have to purchase video cards like an end-user without any discount in retail".
It makes sense, as small studios don't receive much help in the way of hardware - but the next bit is the nail in the coffin for me. Raidor continued, adding: "And I may add something: it was not our intention to create a graphic benchmark. VCR is a complex RPG with unique characters and story driven. Our focus is on interesting quest chains (which are very difficult to create) and not on frames per second. Beside this I thing that anything above 30 FPS does not matter for the gaming experience. And on my PC i7, GF 780GTX the game runs with 4K never below 30 FPS. No idea what it does on a GF980ti â€" I heard it is sometimes slower".
Continue reading: Raven's Cry dev: 'anything above 30FPS does not matter' (full post)
It's possible to beat Fallout 4 without killing, but game breaks
Someone out there has managed to beat Fallout 4 without killing a single person, even the key characters that seemingly must be taken out in the name of the story. This is the first example of pacifism in a post-apocalyptic world that's ended peacefully.
Kyle Hinkley didn't want to give into the usual temptations and violence inherent in video-games, or at least he wanted to show you that in some open-world games there are truly a great number of different ways to play. Fallout 4 was even touted by Todd Howard as being a game that's inherently violent and one where you're expected to kill. Especially in the hardest mode, Survival.
And to prove that it's possible, Hinkley documented the entire thing to show that he did indeed get zero kills. There were some tricky situations that needed to be played a few times, to figure out the best non-violent solution, but every plot decision can apparently be made without violence. You can watch the whole attempt at his YouTube channel.
Continue reading: It's possible to beat Fallout 4 without killing, but game breaks (full post)
Mass Effect Andromeda may be delayed into 2017 following dev departure
The highly anticipated new Mass Effect game may be delayed following possible internal strife at BioWare.
EA's upcoming Mass Effect: Andromeda is a fresh start for the franchise, and aims to completely reinvent the renown sci-fi saga for the current age of gaming. Shepard's mythos has been told, and now BioWare is spinning up something new for a targeted release in 2016. Although gamers are generally enthusiastic about the new game, the lack of solid information or visuals has tingled our collective warning bells, and many have suspected the game won't be ready in late 2016.
The possibility of a delay was reinforced by the departure of key BioWare dev talent. Senior Development Director Chris Wynn recently announced that he'll be leaving the Mass Effect: Andromeda team for unspecified reasons. "It is with a heavy heart today to say that I am moving on from BioWare and Mass Effect: Andromeda, and returning to the USA," Wynn wrote on Twitter.
Continue reading: Mass Effect Andromeda may be delayed into 2017 following dev departure (full post)
Real-life laser-based Lightsaber is as dangerous as it sounds, bright
Someone has created a working lightsaber using laser-light as it's basis. Well, it's not quite a light-saber, but just a really bright and powerful 7W blue-diode laser that doesn't really resemble a lightsaber at all. But he's calling it one, so there's that I suppose.
In reality the individual in the video, styropyro, actually built his own laser using a rather 7W Nichia made GaN diode that runs at a maximum of 4.6A. His design uses a wavelength that just happens to be highly visible to the human eye. This laser definitely can cut, though slowly, through a variety of materials. Just don't expect it to be able to lop off limbs.
The great thing is that all of the parts used to make this pseudo-saber are actually publicly available in most regions. You can theoretically make a very powerful laser all on your own, well beyond the 7W power-envelope of the one in the video. But just be very safe if you do, and always wear eye-protection when playing with lasers.
Continue reading: Real-life laser-based Lightsaber is as dangerous as it sounds, bright (full post)
New York City starts installing free gigabit Wi-Fi hubs
The Big Apple will soon have 24/7 access to free gigabit-speed Wi-Fi.
To the elation of New Yorkers everywhere, New York City is already starting to install its massive five borough Wi-Fi array which will provide free access to high-speed internet connections.
The Wi-Fi hubs--also called LinkNYC access points--will replace traditional payphone booths throughout the city. Apart from free broadband Wi-Fi on tap, the hubs will also feature USB charging stations, touchscreen panels for web browsing, devices to make free phone calls to anywhere in the U.S., a touchscreen tablet to access city services, and two 55-inch advertisement displays. The city plans to rake in more than $500 million a year in advertising revenue alone using those huge panel screens, which will cycle different adverts.
Continue reading: New York City starts installing free gigabit Wi-Fi hubs (full post)
BlackBerry Priv price slashed by 38% in Canada, more regions to follow
BlackBerry recently indicated it would be dropping the price of its Priv debut Android smartphone and now Canada is the first to see it in action. Carrier Sasktel is currently selling it for $249.99 CAD ($180 USD) with a two-year contract, a 38% cut over the previous $400 CAD (about $290 USD).
You don't have to live in Saskatchewan to buy it as the phone can be purchased online, although currently it's out of stock on the website. We've contacted Sasktel for comment on whether stock will be replenished soon and will update this story if we hear back.
The price cut is expected to hit other regions, although when we can't say.
Continue reading: BlackBerry Priv price slashed by 38% in Canada, more regions to follow (full post)
ArcaSpace creates first real-life hoverboard, on sale for $20,000
In a milestone that pushes humanity one step closer to science fiction, ArcaSpace has created the world's first real hoverboard.
Unlike hoverboard "impostors" like the uni-wheeled gyro skateboard or Lexus' SLIDE board, the ArcaBoard actually levitates up to a height of one foot over surfaces. Although the ArcaBoard is an authentic hoverboard, it's very much unlike Marty McFly's 80's kistch sci-fi wonder: as the tech is still in its early stages, the board is quite bulky, weighing it at 180lbs. With that kind of heft, it's more like a floating coffee table rather than a svelte aerodynamic street-hopper.
The ArcaBoard's hovering action is powered by a massive array of 36 high-powered electric fans that generate up to 272 horsepower and 430 lbs of thrust. The board can also hit a top speed of 12.5 miles-per-hour. Sadly the levitating fun will be short-lived as the fan system drains the board's batteries in six minutes flat. Additionally, it takes about six hours or so to get the board charged again, but ArcaSpace also sells a quick-charging ArcaDock for $4,500 that will have you up and levitating again in half an hour.
Continue reading: ArcaSpace creates first real-life hoverboard, on sale for $20,000 (full post)
Samsung's new ultrabooks are tiny, powered by Skylake
Documents and marketing materials from South Korea have revealed Samsung's upcoming line of ultrabooks, each of which should please anyone who appreciates a compact computer.
The NT900X line is, as expected, powered by Intel Skylake CPUs and Windows 10, and offers 13.3'' and 15'' models. The former pack 30 Whr batteries and micro HDMI ports; the latter pack 39 Whr batteries and full HDMI ports in addition to mini Ethernet ports. Six of the seven models features a 1920x1080 display, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, two USB 3.0 ports, and an SDXC card reader.
The outlier is the NT900X3K-K36, which features a 13.3'' 3200x1800 pixel display, Intel Core i3-5005U processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of solid state storage. Measuring half an inch thick and weighing 2.4lbs, it includes a metal chassis, foldable screen, and a 44 Whr battery.
Continue reading: Samsung's new ultrabooks are tiny, powered by Skylake (full post)
Brutal Doom performance massively improved in v20b, benchmark shows
More than 20 years later and the original Doom is still putting hardware to the test, thanks to the Brutal Doom mod which adds "advanced and unique features such as extra hitboxes for heads and legs, and more gore, fire, and smoke particles than any modern AAA game".
The new elements have rendered the game a slideshow in many circumstances, until now: v20b boasts massive performance improvements thanks to some clever optimization. See for yourself in the video above.
Head here if you'd like to get started playing Brutal Doom. v20b will launch alongside Starter Pack maps and gameplay improvements December 31.
Continue reading: Brutal Doom performance massively improved in v20b, benchmark shows (full post)
Rocket League reaches a massive 9 million players worldwide
Over the holidays the makers of Rocket League, Psyonix, revealed that they have nearly 9 million registered players worldwide across the PS4 and the PC. That's quite the amazing feat for a game that was just released in July of this year.
And Psyonix isn't quite done yet, either. In the coming year they plan on bringing on a number of new and exciting things into the fray. We can expect support on as grand a scale as they've had with a ton of new content to keep those 9 million coming back. There'll be new modes, new DLC, new arenas and of course plenty of new themed vehicles as time goes by.
That 9 million isn't a concurrent player number though, as that might just break the multiplayer infrastructure they have in place. But even having 9 million interested and playing throughout a month is no laughing matter. For perspective, on PC alone you can find 25K people playing at the moment with an average of 19.5K per day. That means you won't be waiting around for competition.
Continue reading: Rocket League reaches a massive 9 million players worldwide (full post)
Surface Phone sort of mentionedby Microsoft Chief of Marketing
The idea of a first party Surface Phone device in the same vein as the other Surface devices from Microsoft has long been hinted at, though nothing has ever materialized short of a few very interesting artistic renderings.
During a recent webcast for Windows Weekly, the Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Capossela, joined Mary Jo Foley, Paul Thurrot and Leo Laporte to talk about the future of the world of Window Phone and discuss the direction that they Microsoft can, at the very least, publicly discuss.
The landscape has been rather sparse, and news even more sparse, so Mary Jo Foley very pointedly asked Capossela to "give me something to hope for in the new year as a Windows Phone fan, Chris, because I'm abandoning hope." A strong statement to be sure, but one that expresses a lack of innovation on the mobile front, even with the impending rollout of Windows 10 for mobile for more devices.
Continue reading: Surface Phone sort of mentionedby Microsoft Chief of Marketing (full post)
The first image from the Assassin's Creed movie has been released
The first shot of Michael Fassbender in the upcoming Assassin's Creed movie has been released by Entertainment Weekly, with Fassbender playing Callum Lynch.
Lynch is a character who doesn't appear in any of the Assassin's Creed games, but he acts like a kind of "cypher for all the time-traveling, first-person action in the games", reports EW. Fassbender however, didn't play any of the Assassin's Creed games before taking the role, only playing the games after he signed the dotted line.
Fassbender is currently in Spain filming the movie, where he said to EW: "I've played it since [being offered the job] mainly to get an idea of the physicality of the character. We're striving to find something special. We believe the whole concept around it is special and want to service that the best we can. The fans are really passionate: very specific and they expect accuracy and historical detail. We're really trying to capitalize and feed on and enjoy the fun element. We're working hard to make this something special".
Continue reading: The first image from the Assassin's Creed movie has been released (full post)
The Force Awakens becomes the fastest movie to hit $1 billion
Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues to break records, with its latest record-breaking achievement being the fastest movie to make $1 billion at the box office.
It only took 12 days for The Force Awakens to make its $1 billion, thanks to the holiday weekend seeing the latest Star Wars movie making $153.5 million domestically, and $133.3 million overseas. This brings The Force Awakens to around $1.09 billion in 12 days, making its second weekend bigger than all of the other biggest openings of all time, except nine of them. That's a huge achievement in itself, too.
Jurassic World was the previous movie to have the record, as it reached $1 billion in 13 days. I think we're going to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens break Avatar's box office haul of $2.78 billion - with The Force Awakens, in my opinion, to make between $3 billion and $3.2 billion. The next big movie to compete against it at the box office will be next year's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (which is the most expensive movie of all time, according to reports), which arrives on March 23.
Continue reading: The Force Awakens becomes the fastest movie to hit $1 billion (full post)
North Korea's version of Linux watermarks files on USB sticks and more
North Korea may have successfully landed a man on the Sun, but it looks like the country is a bit paranoid when it comes to its own Linux distribution, Red Star OS.
Red Star OS has been pulled apart by researchers, showing just how closed off it really is. The Linux distribution watermarks files on USB sticks, so that Pyongyang can track contraband material, and the OS also doesn't like modifications. Red Star OS will reboot the PC immediately if it discovers changes to system files, too.
The built-in antivirus software and web browser both direct themselves to internal servers, with the encryption on Red Star OS custom-developed - most likely to keep the prying eyes of the NSA and GCHQ away. The walls that North Korea has built up within Red Star OS is to keep its citizens unaware of the world around them, so if they did modify the OS, they'd be tracked down immediately - and probably sent off to live on the Sun.
Continue reading: North Korea's version of Linux watermarks files on USB sticks and more (full post)
Boy opens PS4 on XMAS, finds a block of wood with a dick on it instead
It's Christmas morning, and you see a box under the tree wrapped immaculately. You grab it, and feel the weight - you guesstimate that this could be what you've asked Santa for: a PS4. You open the box, and yes! It's a PS4! You tear the box that the PS4 comes in apart, and to your utter disappointment, inside there is just a block of wood - but with an upside, there's a dick drawn on the box.
Yeah, that was 9-year-old Scott Lundy's XMAS morning in a nutshell. Boston's Fox 25 reports that Lundy shouted "YES THIS IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER DAD CAN WE SET THIS UP NOW?" But after opening the box for the PS4, the 9-year-old discovered that there was just a block of wood shaped like a PS4 inside, and his parents Kristin and Brian saw that there was a dick drawn on the box, with the message "From cock and balls with love".
Scott's step-mother, Kristin, said: "He's crying and he's upset and he's in the playroom by himself and he just wants to be alone so at that point. I was crushed". The Lundy's returned the package back to Saugus Target, where they had purchased it from, with the company giving them a $100 gift card and a free copy of The Uncharted Collection. Kristin posted on Facebook not long after, saying "This has ruined his belief in Santa".
Continue reading: Boy opens PS4 on XMAS, finds a block of wood with a dick on it instead (full post)
Steam's best selling games of 2015? CS:GO, GTA V and Fallout 4
There were some huge game releases this year, with the likes of Fallout 4, Halo 5: Guardians, Grand Theft Auto V (on the PC at least), Rocket League, and so many more. But which one sold the most on Steam? CS:GO.
Yeah, Valve's competitive first-person shooter CounterStrike: Global Offensive racked up 5.6 million sales between April and December, with the runner up being Grand Theft Auto V with just under 3.6 million copies. Coming in third place was Fallout 4 with 2.4 million, and ARK: Survival Evolved taking out fourth place with 2.1 million.
Rocket League did surprisingly well, taking out fifth place with 1.9 million sales while Garry's Mod continues to sell well with 1.7 million copies sold.
Continue reading: Steam's best selling games of 2015? CS:GO, GTA V and Fallout 4 (full post)






