nVidia GeForce 6800 tweak

Modders, take note: Someone's figured out how to unlock all 16 pixel pipelines in nVidia's GeForce 6800 (the default is 12). Check out the story and reax at Slashdot.

What Cell means for 3D

You may have heard the buzz about Cell, the processor that will form the heart of the Playstation 3 console, but there's more to the story than just better gameplay.

Cell, which is being developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM, has eight processing cores around a 64-bit Power PC processor. The technology can support multiple operating systems, can process instructions in parallel, and is fast, with projected speeds of 4.5 GHz. It is made for 3D and video apps, but potentially has video-intensive industrial applications, which explains IBM's participation in the development process. The advanced capabilities of Cell and its strong backing in the consumer electronics, gaming, and corporate fields will lead to a new generation of hardwarem, applications, and software development tools. IBM has plans to release the full specs for Cell to stimulate Open Source development efforts for the chip, according to Slashdot.

An extensive report on Cell is available from Nicholas Blachford's website.

Game studios get ready for mobile 3D

Wired's Lore Sjöberg reports marketing droids are frothing at the mouth at the possibility of next-generation mobile phones with 3D capabilities. In a year, they say, 3D phone penetration will hit critical mass, and developers will be ready with titles, according to the article.

Sjöberg also notes multiplayer, real-time 3D games like Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon might be in the works on mobile phones. Gameloft is a company supposedly exploring this avenue. Stay tuned ...

The Politics of 3D, Part II

Yesterday's item about the BBC's 3D weathermap offending scots and color-sensitive viewers all over Britain has parallels in the gaming world. The Taipei Times (via AFP) reports that American gaming studios trying to break into the Chinese market have to be sensitive to a host of concerns, mainly related to nationalistic issues. A soccer game that featured a team from Taiwan was nixed, as was "Command and Conquer," which portrays China as one of the enemy countries. Censorship is not codified in China, but officials can ban something arbitrarily if they don't like it, says the article.

China is not the only country to regulate game titles or content. Germany bans games that are too violent or show Nazi symbols, the article reports.

The politics of 3D imagery

Don't think 3D is a controversial subject? Well, you obviously haven't heard about the hoo-ha surrounding the BBC's 3D weather maps. An Scottish Nationalist Party parliamentarian complains that the perspective of the map, from the south of the United Kingdom, where most of the population is concentrated, minimizes weather patterns in the north, where Scotland is located. "People in my constituency depend on reliable weather forecasting for a range of crucial outdoor activities - including fishing and crofting - but this new map leaves them with almost zero visibility for weather in the isles," the BBC quotes the MP, Angus MacNeil, as saying.

The BBC admits that of the 250 comments from the public on the first day of the new weather map, only eight supported the new 3D map. Besides offended Scots, other viewers complained about the color scheme and the attempt to copy the "juvenile" formats of commercial broadcasters.

Just goes to show you, 3D is more than making pretty pictures. Images have the power to offend and irritate, just as they have the ability to illuminate.

News: 40 XBox 360 Titles by Xmas

More XBox 360 hype ... the cat's out of the bag regarding what we can expect to see for the initial roster of games by various studios. Most seem to be 3D, and some are obviously network-playable. This isn't the whole list, but it's an impressive start:

Quake 4 (!)
Madden NFL 06
Need for Speed Most Wanted
FIFA 06
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06
The Godfather: The Game
NBA Live 06
Blue Dragon
Call of Duty 2
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Dead or Alive 4
The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
Full Auto
Gears of War
Kameo: Elements of Power
Lost Odyssey
Ninety-Nine Nights
The Outfit
Perfect Dark: Zero
Project Gotham Racing 3
Saint's Row
Test Drive Unlimited

Two other tidbits I have seen: Old Xbox games will be playable on the new console, and HDTV games will be viewable on normal sets (in normal resolution).

News: Sony fights XBox 360 hype with Playstation 3 details

Even though Sony's Playstation 3 won't be released until 2006, the company is releasing details of the system in an apparent attempt to counter the Microsoft publicity blitz surrounding the soon-to-be-released XBox 360.

Sony's new PlayStation console will use Blu-ray optical disc to store games and display high-definition movies. For the PS3, reality is the name of the game, judging by the demos and tech specs released by the company, detailed by The Register in Britain:

"The PS3's CPU is backed by Nvidia's graphics chip, dubbed in this application the RSX, for 'reality simulator'. RSX connects directly to the CPU, with which it shares access to the PS3's 512MB of system RAM. The memory is split into two banks: 256MB of XDR clocked at 3.2GHz for the CPU's usage and 256MB of 700MHz GDDR 3 SDRAM for the RSX. RSX was said to be twice as powerful as two Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra chips, a claim also made for Nvidia' next-generation GPU, the 'G70'. That suggests that G70 and RSX are essentially the same beast. Either way, RSX will support HDTV-resolution graphics up to 1080p. The CPU will handle the audio processing, in Dolby 5.1 with DTS."

I suspect that the PS3's heavy-duty hardware and graphics will impact Internet play -- will there be broadband "plus" requirements to play over the 'Net?

Additionally, the PS3 will have a tough job keeping up with Microsoft, which is releasing the XBox 360 in time for this year's Christmas shopping season.

News: Microsoft struggles to patch Halo holes

Modding and 3D gaming go together like chocolate and peanut butter, even for proprietary gaming environments. Microsoft has found this out the hard way, as gamers have successfully hacked Halo and the online XBox Live service, reports Kevin Poulsen of Wired News.

According to the article, the modders and hackers have joined in online communities such as High Impact Halo to share exploits. The hacks are apparently designed to give players or teams an edge in online play. Poulsen says one trick involves temporarily bringing down an opponent's cable modem, and using the reconnect time to capture the flag while the opponent is unable to respond. Another gives players the ability to perform 3D tricks such as flying or reaching through walls, or creating a doppleganger to confuse or draw out the enemy.

Microsoft, which is interested in protecting its Halo franchise in anticipation of an updated version for the new XBox 360 and a possible movie, has responded by uploading security patches and banning thousands of players from XBox Live, according to Poulsen.

News: Hacking Google Maps

Developers have figured out a clever hack using Google Maps and other online services, reports Wired News. HousingMaps combines real-estate listings from craigslist with photographs from Google Maps to create a simulated flight over neighborhoods in certain urban areas that include highlighted properties and their prices.

The article reports that even though Google has not offered developer tools or licensing agreements, people such as Paul Rademacher, the 3D graphic artist behind HousingMaps, have made their own interfaces to the Google data using common Internet technologies such as JavaScript.

The article reports similar hacks that, for instance, overlay traffic information on maps generated by Google Maps.

News: Game Developers Fear Hollywoodization

Despite the big bucks and big audiences rolling into the videogame world, some developers are not happy with the way things are going in their industry, reports CNet.com.

The objections cited in the article are as follows:

* Games are dominated by huge budgets, huge productions, and sequelitis, just like the Hollywood movie machine.
* Another Hollywood similarity: Games are generally created around a limited number of themes: Sports, FPS, strategy, RPG.
* The industry is dominated by a few major players. There are no "small" hardware manufacturers left, and the indie developers are being squeezed by big design studios.
* Games are seldom made by small, dedicated teams anymore, which some people believe stifles creativity.

CNet gets a different opinion from a senior Microsoft Xbox executive, J. Allard, who notes that developers have access to Microsoft and open-source tools that take away a lot of the nuts-and-blots drudgery of design, and allow them to focus on creative aspects. Also, the executive points out that Hollywood has been into big-budget productions for decades, yet still indie films like "Clerks" manage breakout successes.

Sample Compendium Graf

From Mediabistro's Daily News Feed:

First lady Laura Bush took over the podium from her husband at Saturday night's annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner and knocked 'em dead, keeping Washington's most powerful politicos in stitches as she worked the ballroom like a seasoned stand-up comic, reports WAPO. LAT: The administration is putting Laura Bush front and center on the public stage. USAT: "George, if you really want to end tyranny in this world, you're going to have to stay up later," she joked. Ad Age: Jon Fine reports from the White House Correspondents Dinner. NYDN: Laura a "desperate housewife."

This could be rewritten:

First lady Laura Bush took over the podium from her husband at Saturday night's annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner and knocked 'em dead, keeping Washington's most powerful politicos in stitches, reports the Washington Post, USA Today, and NY Daily News. According to the LA Times, the administration is putting Laura Bush front and center on the public stage.