The guys over at Crytek hit home once again with a new video trailer showing off the capabilities of the latest version of their cutting-edge graphic engine, CryENGINE3. This new version revamps DirectX 11 tessellation, Multi-layer navigation mesh, improved skin and eye rendering, and much more. There really isn't too many words that can be used to describe how much of an improvement it is, so watch this video and see yourself what the future of computer graphics will look like.



source: Crydev.net

-Pr3vention

With the scare of the Stop Online Piracy Act, better known as SOPA, long behind us, the controversy over media piracy is still moving forward with plenty of steam to spare. For those who don't know what SOPA meant for us internet goers, it effectively permitted governmental agencies to immediately shutdown of any website(s) that were suspected of media piracy, whether it be music, images, software or any other form of media.

You're probably thinking "Okay, so they would have the right to shut down sites promoting theft.. where do I fit in the picture?"

The broad contents of SOPA, while it has reasonable ground for discussion (let's face it, you'd probably be upset if someone was downloading your intellectual property without paying for it), could shut down every site you've ever loved for any reason, even if that reason were strictly speculation. Gaming communities like Slaughterhouse, Youtube, Wikipedia, and even Google could be hindered by that kind of legislation.

Unfortunately, the fight is not yet over. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) will move forward in Congress by as early as the end April 2012 and it, too, threatens the very livelihood of the internet.

Don't simply take my word for it. I encourage you to do your own research about CISPA and what it means to you. If you reside in the United States and want to voice your opinion to your representatives regarding this bill, the Electronic Frontier Foundation can help you get in touch with the right people for your area.

-Pr3vention

Two weeks ago this demon class known as "the vampire" debuted on the server. Not much is known about them other than "they are OP as fuck". Rumors have been spreading like wildfire since their class has first hit the streets.


A new city/village has begun its creation and is known as Ambrosia. This is suppose to be the birthplace of their nest. We strongly advise any players within this region to be very careful. Countless deaths have been documented as originating from this sector of the map. Only the brave and bold should attempt to visit. More information will most likely surface as more proof is found.


For now, this is only rumor. The wild cries of a drunk admin in ventrillo. More to come as we find out.

A new class has been released today in our MC world. Ranger, they are quick and fast and have the ability to go invisible for a short duration of time. They are epic with a bow and have skills unmatched when dealing with closing short distances on an opponent. If you are looking for a new class to try this is one of the three that will be debut throughout the week. Visit the wiki to know more!

minecraft.bhslaughter.com/wiki

This will be a weekly post that will showcase the war events in our minecraft server. Join us on fridays to participate in the war. If you dont have minecraft, use these videos to see if our server is something you would like to participate in.

Gearbox, developers of the hugely anticipated Borderlands 2, due for release later this year, have released a statement on their website trying to appease PC gamers.

For all of its virtues and intense multilayer action, some of the biggest complaints about the original Borderlands was the fact that the PC version was nothing more than a poor console port with arbitrary restrictions and excessive limitations.

Some of the biggest issues included,

- Extremely small FOV
- Mouse smoothing & sensitivity issues
- Lack of graphics scaling for older hardware
- Lack of video options to tweak
- Excessive work required for multiplayer to work (port forwarding and more)
- Local profiles which caused your character to get deleted if you reformatted your computer
- Extremely poor menu UI made only for console players then poorly ported to PC
- Much more

Gearbox have set out to appease PC gamers with a unique love letter written by none other than everyone's favourite interplanetary ninja assassin, Claptrap.

Quote

The letter is quite lengthy, and includes a concise list of some of the things that PC players should expect when they load up Borderlands 2. Click here to have a read. Scroll to the bottom of the page for a list of changes

The GTX580 has been nVidia's poster-boy GPU for the better part of about 1 year and 6 months, and despite ATi releasing several cards within that time span, nVidia has kept a tight lip on its 6 series cards.

Alas the time has come and nVidia is now preparing to release its coveted Kepler based GTX6 series cards within the next month.

One of the largest changes includes an "Intel Turbo Boost" style system wherein the GPU is able to dynamically overclock itself based on the work that it's doing. Up until now consumer grade GPU's have been limited to only downclocking themselves to save power and reduce heat.

Mark Rein, of Epic Games, showcased an Unreal Engine 3 demo, which, last year, required 3 GTX580's to run at a decent clip. During this showcase, however, the demo ran on a single GTX680.

Some basic specs for the new system include,

- 1536 cuda cores (up from the GTX580's 512 cuda cores)
- 2GB GDDR5 VRAM as standard, however 4GB will also be an option
- Shader clock of 1.4GHz
- Core clock of 705MHz
- Effective 6GHz memory clock (2GHz quad data rate)

For more info and a look at the UE3 demo, click this sentence.

-Ramzy

Crytek may not make the "best" games in terms of story and gameplay, but they're still consistently pushing out eye popping tech demos. Sans their most recent foray into the world of console gaming (Crysis 2), CryEngine has remained the king of stress testing and visual fidelity. Even till today, 4 years after its release, the original Crysis still holds up as an extremely beautiful yet resource intensive game.

In any case, Crytek have released a preview trailer of their up coming engine update. See below.

-Ramzy

2010's pyschological thriller "Heavy Rain" garnered a lot of criticism for its "gameplay" (or lack thereof), but at the same time it also received quite a lot of praise for its graphical finesse. It sported some of the most lifelike facial animations seen in the gaming industry, and further to that, it help set the bar for just how much games could tug at our hardened heart strings.

Watching video clips from Heavy Rain today is a whole different kind of story - Facial animations are quite jerky, unrealistic, and lack real pure emotion. It's difficult to believe that Heavy Rain was only released in 2010.

One of the more negative stigmas attached to the gaming industry in general is the fact that games are incapable of invoking empathy and portraying real human emotion through all those pixels and polygons.

Quantic Dream (makers of Heavy Rain), have, once again, set out to change this perception by offering gamers a look at their new engine.

Remember, as far as Dave Cage has lead us to believe, the video is 100% real time. No pre-rendered / touched up footage.

The video is about 7 minutes, but it's well worth the watch. Give it a chance.

-Ramzy

Not too long after having released a MASSIVE update, DICE has officially confirmed 3 additional Battlefield 3 expansions using the Frostbite 2 engine that will start rolling out as early as June 2012. Sony's Playstation 3 platform has been granted an earlier release than that of PC and XBOX360.


Battlefield 3: Close Quarters
- Expected to release in June 2012.
- Infantry only, so no armored vehicles or air combat expected.
- Tight level design with a large focus on vertical gameplay.
- New weapons, assignments and unique dog tags.

Battlefield 3: Armored Kill
- Expected to release sometime this fall.
- As the name implies, this will be a huge DLC for vehicular combat.
- New driveable tanks, ATVs, and artillery confirmed.
- Contains the biggest map in Battlefield history.

Battlefield 3: End Game
- Expected to release sometime this winter.
- Details currently behind held as top-secret at DICE.

Source: GamesPress
Cross-Reference: GameInformer

-Pr3vention