Sabtu, 24 Januari 2015

MICROSOFT HOLOLENS REVIEW

Microsoft Hololens

The HoloLens that Microsoft will ship will be a Star Trek-style visor that wraps around your head but doesn't isolate you from the world, with the Intel SoC and custom Holographic Processing Unit built in. What I tried out in the labs hidden (rather cheekily) under the Microsoft visitor centre didn't look like that, but the engineers and developers who built it say the experience I had with the developer rig is essentially the same.

The HoloLens developer rig is built into a frame that slips onto your head and gets strapped into the right position; there's a sensor array over your eyes to track where you're looking and sensors on the frame to track how your head moves and the Holographic Processing Unit hangs around your neck on a strap (it's about the size and weight of a car radio). Someone needs to help you fit it and before you do that you have to get the distance between your pupils measured. And when you have it set, there's a power cord coming down from the ceiling rigged to move with you as you walk.

All of that will vanish into the final product, so what I tried is very obviously early hardware - like the custom developer kits Microsoft makes for early Xbox developers. Microsoft didn't let us photograph the developer rig, and you need a special camera to capture the HoloLens view so our images were supplied by Microsoft; they're a rather idealised version of the slightly grainier view I saw.


The HPU, as Microsoft calls it, isn't that much of a misnomer (less so than suggesting that a retina screen has the same resolution as the human retina, say). What you see isn't a holograph or a hologram; it's a projection - but it's being projected onto holographically printed lenses, which lets Microsoft produce very cheaply the extremely complex lenses that turn the projection into the 3D image you see.

The HPU turns the graphics into the right signal to project onto those lenses as well as processing information from the sensors that tell it where you're looking and how you're moving your head. It will speed up voice recognition and spatial sound processing, too.

That doesn't just let you see the digital world projected around you; it lets you see it on top of the real world. You can see the person standing next to you and talk to them, avoid walking into walls and chairs and even look at a computer screen, because HoloLens detects the edge and doesn't project over it so you don't need to keep taking it on and off as you work. You can take notes or answer email on a computer with a keyboard or a pen instead of trying to force that kind of close up work into the world of gestures and gaze.


If you wear glasses, this close-fitting headset isn't ideal. It's hard to make it fit comfortably - I found it either pushed my glasses down onto my nose or pressed them hard into my face, and I much preferred using it without my glasses on. As I'm short sighted, that made it harder to see detail. Talking to people outside Microsoft who've tried the actual HoloLens headset, it's light and comfortable to wear but the first version will probably still press on your glasses more than you'd like. And if you wear varifocals, you move your eyes automatically to look through the right part of your glasses for what you're focusing on; that can mean you look down at things that aren't in view for HoloLens (or for someone on a Skype call to your HoloLens) or look up and lose the HoloLens image.

The good news is that even if you're very sensitive to motion and prone to get VR sickness, or if you get headaches wearing 3D glasses, HoloLens is comfortable to use. I'm very prone to both of those and have problems with many other systems; after a brief moment the first two times I put it on when I could tell I was adjusting to what I was seeing, I had no problems at all with nausea, headaches or the other discomfort that can come when you trick your brain into thinking it's seeing something real.

The HoloLens projected screen moves as you move your head and you control apps either with voice commands or by using the equivalent of a mouse click - the air tap. You just hold your fist out in front of you where you can see it then raise and lower your finger. I didn't have to worry about getting it in the right place or moving it at the right speed; as long as I made sure my other fingers and thumb were out of the way, HoloLens got the gesture every time.

The most engaging was playing HoloBuilder; inspired by Minecraft and built with the help of the Minecraft team, this is a game that lets you build a digital landscape that exists in your physical space. Think the giant LEGO setup in the basement of Will Ferrell's house in The LEGO Movie, only invisible until you put HoloLens on, and built both on top of and underneath your furniture - and even extending under the floor and into the walls.


Skype call from HoloLens is a good way to try out voice and gesture commands; you can look at the person you want to call in the address book - which is a grid of faces - then air tap to call them. The video call doesn't jump around the room if you move; it sits in one place unless you look too far away and then it moves back into view, or you can pin it in place.


The person you're calling doesn't need a HoloLens; they see in Skype what you're looking at and they can draw diagrams on the video that appear in your view. So if you're helping someone change a tyre or fix their dishwasher or fit a new light switch, you don't have to explain what they need to look for or pull out or unscrew - you can take a pen and show them.

This would fantastic for teaching and training, for remote support or for getting an expert opinion; imagine a remote handyman who could give customers advice (and charge them for it) or a repair service that always turns up with the right part because you've shown them what they're fixing in advance. It would also be a really interesting way to have a meeting where you're collaborating remotely on physical objects, not just the usual documents and presentations.

Remote working is something NASA has to do, but the OnSight system the Jet Propulsion Lab is building with Microsoft made me feel like I was walking on Mars. Some years ago I visited the Supervisualisation Lab at the university of San Diego, where they have a wall of screens that can show a life-size image of Mars using the photos sent back by the Mars Rover and I could look out at Mars like looking out of a window. HoloLens meant I could step out onto the surface of Mars and walk around, bending over to look at rocks, turning round to see the view and looking up to see the sky. This is where I most wanted to have peripheral vision because with HoloLens you only see what you're looking at; as you turn your head, the Rover suddenly comes into view and it's a rather large surprise.


OnSight isn't for digital tourism, delightful as that is; there are tools to tell the Rover where to go next to take photographs and samples - and the terrain that looks flat and easy to drive over on a PC screen is revealed as a treacherous series of slopes and ditches the Rover can easily fall down when you see it in 3D, so JPL scientists can look for an easy route before they air tap to give the Rover a target to photograph or burn with its laser.

They can also collaborate; other people in the landscape show up as stylised avatars, and a handy dotted line shows you where they're looking (HoloLens knows that, so it can show you), which avoids all the creepy 'uncanny valley' problems of realistic avatars. This is something we're going to have to work out social conventions for; when you say goodbye to someone miles away on the telephone it's easy to hang up, but when you can still see their avatar just turning away and ignoring them feels slightly rude. (Equally, watching someone use HoloLens is disturbing because they're turning and crouching and reaching out for things you can't see, and it's hard not to think they look strange.)



source : http://www.techradar.com/reviews/wearables/microsoft-hololens-1281834/review
             http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us

Kamis, 22 Januari 2015

XBOX ONE - WINDOWS 10 APP

At a Windows 10 event today, Microsoft's Phil Spencer announced that Windows 10 users will soon be able to stream any Xbox One game to a Windows 10 PC or tablet.

After a one-time setup, an Xbox app on the Windows 10 device will show all the games available on the Xbox One, letting users stream those games across a local network. The demo showed a stream starting within a few seconds and using an Xbox One controller paired through the PC. Players can turn off the Xbox One from the PC when they're done.

The streaming function is part of a new integrated Xbox app that will link PC gaming to the world of Xbox Live. The app, which comes pre-loaded in every Windows 10 PC and tablet, lets users chat via voice or text across platforms between Windows 10 and Xbox platforms. Users can also keep track of friends by Gamertag across devices.

The Xbox app will let users play video clips shared by friends and easily share their own clips of any Windows game. The game recording is even enabled ahead of time, so this functionality will automatically capture the last 30 seconds before users choose to save a clip. Even titles launched before Windows 10 existed can be recorded and shared through the app.

Microsoft also vaguely teased the ability for app developers to create Windows "universal apps" that will run on the Xbox One. "We don't think we'll see millions of people using Excel on Xbox... but for developers who want to move apps over to the TV screen, this will make it very easy to do so," Microsoft's Phil Spencer said.

In concluding his portion of the presentation, Spencer promised to "treat gaming on Windows 10 with as much passion and energy as we have on the Xbox console" and told the crowd to expect more Windows 10 gaming news at March's Game Developers Conference.

In addition to Xbox Live, Windows 10 will also be equipped with the latest graphics APIs DirectX 12. This promises much higher performance than its predecessor and optimal DirectX 11. It also promises lower power consumption, so it can be applied to mobile devices. Game engine supports DirectX 12 is Unreal Engine 4 and Unity Engine.

source :
SAINT ROW : GAT OUT OF HELL

Saints Row: Gat out of Hell is a 2015 open world comedic action-adventure video game developed by Volition and High Voltage Software and published by Deep Silver. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The game is a standalone expansion to Saints Row IV, meaning players do not need a copy of Saints Row IV to play Gat out of Hell.


The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released as a digital download through PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions also see a release bundled alongside Saints Row IV: Re-Elected

Gameplay :
The player controls Johnny Gat or Kinzie Kensington in the open-world sandbox. Gat out of Hell shares many gameplay aspects with the previous installments, being primarily played as a third-person shooter in an open world city scattered with quests, secondary objectives, and various collectibles. Superhuman abilities return from Saints Row IV. Gat out of Hell introduces "angelic flight", giving wings to the player. Unlike past Saints Row games, players cannot customize the playable characters; however, by importing a Saints Row IV save, players can import their custom Boss character to replace the default Boss.


Unlike game progression in previous titles, players advance through the story by completing activities to fill a "Satan's Wrath" meter, which unlocks cutscenes and further story elements. Gat out of Hell takes place in an open-world new to the series, New Hades, made up of five islands: Shantytown, Barrens, Downtown, Forge, and the Den, all surrounding a central tower on a middle island.

Plot :
The plot revolves around the leader of the Saints being captured by Satan, intending for them to marry his daughter, Jezebel. Following them into Hell, Johnny Gat and Kinzie Kensington must reunite with deceased enemies from their past as well as former Saints in order to stop Satan and rescue the Boss.


source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_Row:_Gat_out_of_Hell
             https://www.youtube.com/user/theRadBrad


Jumat, 16 Januari 2015

H1Z1 Review

H1Z1

The H1Z1 virus devastated mankind and left nothing but death and destruction in its wake and a world nearly empty of human life where the remnants of humanity are in a fight against extinction against those infected with the virus. It’s been 15 years since H1Z1 was first encountered and what’s left of the world before is overrun with the Infected. Humanity has been reduced to hiding in the shadows, searching desperately for food and water and anything that can help to survive even for another day. But the Infected aren’t the only dangers in the world.

Everyday life in the Apocalypse means dealing with all kinds of wild animals and the brutality of other survivors, as well as finding your next meal and a safe place to sleep. It also means scavenging or crafting anything that can help you live just one more day. In H1Z1 every minute of every day is borrowed time and fearing for your life… unless you are the Danger (talking to you Walter), but life can and will go on… even in circumstances as dire as this. Humanity has not given in to the Infected. There are still pockets of humanity and the fight goes on!

Latest Features

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  • Preview created on 1/16/15
  • Last night was a bit depressing. After HiveLeader’s excellent first impressions and livestream video, I was pretty excited for H1Z1. Even knowing how Early Access goes and how alpha builds get wiped and are pretty buggy messes, I’ll admit that...
  • It's Us Against Zombies
  • Interviews created on 9/1/14
  • Senior Designer Jimmy Whisenhunt was pretty sure about what he wanted for SOE's upcoming Zombie apocalypse survival MMO, H1Z1. “It’s got to make sense,” he said, “the game design has to be accessible and logical.”
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  • When some of PlanetSide 2’s best and brightest developers stepped away from the game several months ago to work on a new secret project, you sort of knew something special had to be in the pipe. It wasn’t long before...
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  • In most MMOs, weather is just a novelty. It adds some ambiance to the world and makes a zone seem more lifelike. That’s not going to be the case with SOE’s zombie survival MMORPG H1Z1 (also known as Hizzy). I...
source : http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/1091