Tech Olive

“I am a PC, and proud of it,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer during the opening keynote of CES 2009. Ballmer talked about many things during his time on stage. He started off by talking  about the economy and how he is “optimistic” about the future. He then talked about the future of  PCs, phones, and TVs and his predictions of how these different devices will interact with people. This was a prequel to the discussion of the future of Windows, which led to the anticipated discussion of Windows 7 and its Beta release. Ballmer said that the beta would be available to the world-wide public starting Friday. Charlotte Jones, Group Product Manager of Microsoft, demonstrated the Windows 7 Beta, which, in my opinion, was nothing special.

But Steve didn’t just end there. He mentioned the release of Windows Live Essentials, which “essentially” includes Live Messenger, Live Mail, and Live Search, all in one package. Ballmer also announced that Microsoft will partner up with Dell, Verizon, and Facebook to include Windows Live software in their products.

Next, the Xbox 360 also made its appearance with Robbie Bach at its side by displaying some of its newest features like the Xbox Experience and the streaming of Movies and TV Shows through Netflix. Also, the announcement of Halo Wars and Halo 3: OBST. I also got to watch a great game of 1 vs. 100. Yes!

Steve Ballmer ended his keynote by displaying some of Microsoft’s products in research. Such products included an interactive touchpad, the infamous Microsoft Surface, and a flexible display that was 1mm thick!

Overall, the keynote was ridiculously long. The mediocre musicians at the beginning, middle, and end just made matters worse. But, I have to admit that I learned a lot tonight about Microsoft’s future. Hopefully it’s as great as they say it is.

A while back I told you guys about a newly released tech demo, a game called The Unfinished Swan. Well, I’m back once again with an update. I contacted the creator of the game, Ian Dallas, with a few questions and he was nice enough to take some time to answer them for us.

Tech Olive: There is no doubt that you have experience in game development, but is this your first project with you as the lead?
Ian Dallas: Yes, this is the first project I’ve taken any farther than a basic playable prototype.

TO: What was the inspiration behind this project, or is this something that you’ve wanted to do for a while?
ID: The original idea was to explore what it would feel like to navigate an entirely white space. It started out as a simple world that players could explore, but people tended to get frustrated and bored after about 30 seconds of wandering around. So now I’m trying to find ways of providing structure without compromising the sense of infinite possibilities you get with a white world. It’s been an interesting challenge.

TO: I know that the tech demo was released in September 2008, but when did actual planning and development of the game start?
ID: I started working on the game in February of 2008 and finished about two months later. Everything that’s on the website comes from that initial version. Then I took four months off while I tried to figure out how to create a more substantial game using those mechanics. Eventually I found a direction I liked and spent a few months building it out, which is what I submitted to the Independent Games Festival.

TO: From looking at the video, it seemed the game might have a horror, or suspense theme to it. Is The Unfinished Swan planned to have any sort of storyline, or is it more or less just a game play experiment?
ID: The game is a fairytale. My goal is to create moments of awe and wonder. Used sparingly, I think horror can be a great tool for that. There is a simple story but the narrative is just there as a framing device. In other words, the backstory and motivations of the protagonist are less important to me than setting up the environment and ambiance. The moment-to-moment gameplay is focused on exploring the peculiar world around you.

TO: Is the game still on track for a working build, come March ’09?
ID: Yes. If the game is accepted to the Independent Games Festival then I’ll be contractually obligated (and happy) to show the game in its current form at the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco.

TO: Are there any plans of entering The Unfinished Swan into any game development competitions upon it’s completion?
ID: At this point, I think I’ve already entered it into every competition I’m aware of — the IGF, IndieCade and the Sense of Wonder Night.

TO: I realize it’s a bit early in the game’s development, but do you have any distribution plans?
ID: I haven’t made any distribution plans yet.

TO: How long until you think your other projects will be shown to the world?
ID: Hard to say. The other project I’m actively working on now is of a much larger scope, so I’m probably at least a year away from announcing anything. And of course if I end up working on a commercial version of The Unfinished Swan, that’ll push everything else back a bit.

TO: Are there any details, or scraps of information you’d like to impart on the readers, to wet their appetites for your games to come?
ID: All I can say is that they’re completely different from The Unfinished Swan, and from each other. My goal is create experiences people have never had before.

Thank you for your time, Ian and good luck with the development of the game. I eagerly await the release of more details, or playable content.

According to a recent news post by Ziff Davis, they will be selling 1UP, and ending the Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) publication. Next month is to be EGM’s last issue. 1UP confirmed the news in this post.

The original post;

Since finishing up its Chapter 11 proceedings last summer, Ziff Davis has sought to devote more energy to building up the PC Mag online network. Before this, Ziff Davis’ biggest step in the streamlining process involved the shuttering of PC Mag as a print product in November. As for Hearst’s UGO, the addition of 1UP’s sites is designed to further consolidate its efforts to build up content for gamers since Hearst bought the 11-year-old male-centric entertainment company in July 2007.

Looking to conserve its resources for its PC Mag Digital business, Ziff Davis Media has sold off the 1UP Digital Network, its collection of video game sites, to Hearst Corp., which will fold it into the UGO Entertainment division, the companies said. In conjunction with the sale, the related print mag Electronic Gaming Monthly will publish its last issue this month. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

I don’t know about you guys, but this saddens me. It sucks to see these magazines go out of print. Obviously, it was only a matter of time, because of all the advantages that digital-publication offer over print, but I still enjoy sitting down and reading a physical magazine. However, an interesting fact about all this is that EGM could actually live on as a print magazine. Because if you notice, 1UP has removed all references to EGM ending their publication, even in the confirmation post they made. Is it possible that EGM will live on?

UPDATE: It seems that the sale has gone forward, EGM has indeed ended publication, with their next issue to be their last. Also Ziff Davis has cut about 30 employees. One can only assume this is a result of the sale.

Some breaking news that we just received. It seems like predictions are heavily saying that the public beta for Windows 7 will be announced at the CES event tomorrow by Steve Ballmer. You’ll be able to watch Steve Ballmer’s announcement live via 100K, 300K, or 750K streams. It’s expected to start at 6:30PST tomorrow. Don’t miss out!

Be sure to check out this page for the Windows 7 Beta download when it is released.

We will keep you updated on this story as soon as we hear anything.

Forget benchmarking utilities. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes from ZDNet put together 23 real-world scenarios to see which operating system would be the quickest to complete the tasks. He tested the 32-bit versions of Windows 7 build 6.1.7000.0.081212-1400, Windows Vista SP1, and Windows XP SP3.  He tested all three OSs on two different rigs:

• An AMD Phenom 9700 2.4GHz system with an ATI Radeon HD3850 and 4GB of RAM
• An Intel Pentium Dual Core E2200 2.2GHz with an NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS and 1GB of RAM

Windows 7 managed to outperform both Vista and XP on both. Kingsley’s scoring system was to give a 1 to the OS that finished each test first, a 2 for second place, and a 3 for third. The results were as follows (Lowest score wins obviously):

Windows 7 – 50 combined points

Windows Vista – 109 combined points

Windows XP – 117 combined points

The results are unbelievable in my opinion. Let’s hope that it’s true though. Windows 7 still has a while yet before the final release is done, and many things could change since then. More than likely those changes will be for the good.

Despite such a simple premise, Crayon Physics Deluxe really delivers. In Crayon Physics, you use both physics and the objects that you create to manipulate the world and attempt to get a little red ball to the star(s) to pass each level. There are some impressively deep levels that force you to use your imagination in ways you never quite thought you would have to.

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Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason is a new game from a Russian-based developer, Action Forms, that seems to have flown in under the radar. I didn’t even see it coming which surprised me because I have been watching release charts quite closely for the past few weeks. At any rate, it’s here.

At the start of the game, you find yourself in an arctic locale with no details as to why or even where you are. As you’re led through the snow on a sled by a pack of dogs, things start to go bad and ice starts breaking apart. You fall into an ice cave beneath the surface, separated from your sled and dogs. You have no choice but to try and work your way back to the surface. You start by entering a nearby cargo ship that seems to have gotten stuck in the ice many years ago. As you slowly work your way through the frost-licked corridors of the frozen ship, trying to get to higher ground, you come across the bodies of the crew that once manned this ship. With these bodies, you use your “Mental Echo” to relive the last few minutes of that person’s life to correct their fatal mistake and release their soul. I will admit, it sounds kinda cheesy and pretty lame, but it actually works and makes it fairly interesting to play parts of the game through different perspectives. You also begin to learn the history of the ship and what caused it to be stuck there in the first place.

Because no back story is given at the start of the game, Cryostasis relies upon flashbacks to explain and to progress the story. In most cases, I am a fan of flashbacks. It usually gives games a cool style and Cryostasis is no exception. However, at times they rely on this method a little too much and the flashbacks can get a bit tiresome, but they are usually spaced well enough that they do not get too monotonous. Rather then employing a standard health meter, or a regenerating health system, Action Forms decided to implement a system which relies upon the player’s body heat, which can be raised by finding a heat source. A choice which the game benefits from greatly, and it fits perfectly within Cryostasis’ arctic setting.

The controls are great and very simple, which leaves you time to focus on more important things, like not wetting yourself, for example. At times ammo can become sparse. When this happens you must rely on melee combat to defend yourself, which makes the game a lot more suspenseful. The way your character moves aids in the immersion. It’s hard to explain how this is really possible, but it makes the game feel very believable and fluid by the way the camera sways as you move. The sound of your foot steps and your character drawing breath also helps draw you into the game and creating the amazing atmosphere that this game is build around.

In some ways, it reminds me of F.E.A.R., although this game doesn’t scare you as often, it’s still a very fun game to play. And much like F.E.A.R., the game can be played by fans of the horror genre, or by people who don’t consider themselves fans, but do enjoy a good, creepy setting, much like myself. It does have some issues with difficulty-curves, with the enemies being a little too accurate with the rifles. But all things considered, it is still a decent game and is worth playing.

Score: 7 Olives

One of our faithful readers wanted to see a $500 gaming system. So, rising to the challenge, here is the system we would build. Lots of these parts you could get cheaper if you where willing to shop around and deal with rebates. You could end up saving close to another $100.

Rosewill R6426-P Mid Tower Case – $26
- Nothing special here, but it’s cheap.

Antec Basiq 500W Power Supply – $40
- Great price for the performance. Antec owns.

GIGABYTE MA74GM-S2 AM2+ – $55
- Supports Phenom chips, for future upgrades.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000 – $70
- 3.1Ghz Dual-core CPU.

MSI GeForce 9800GT 512MB – $125
- A great card with a large cooler.

GeIL Black Dragon 2GB DDR2 800 – $26
- Two 1GB sticks for a great price.

Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB – $42
- 7200 RPM, 8MB Cache, SATA 3.0Gb/s.

Samsung 20X SATA DVD Burner – $22
- Just your everyday standard SATA burner.

Microsoft Windows XP Home SP3 – $90
- Could get Vista Home SP1 32bit for the same price.

TOTAL: $496

This is very close to the same PC that I currently run as my primary gaming PC. Although I have twice the RAM and recently upgraded my GPU to the HD4870. Nevertheless, I can run CoD4, CoD:WaW, Crysis (On medium with about 25fps), Photoshop CS3, and have no problems playing and editing HD video.

A couple of months ago I told you guys what a budget gaming PC really is. I gave you the inside scoop on what parts to get and why. Hopefully some of you took my advice. This time, I’ve updated the list with new prices and newer parts if any.

Antec Three Hundred Mid-Tower Case – $70
- This case is still one of the best budget cases around.

Antec Basiq 500W Power Supply – $40
- This is a downgrade from the Neo Power, but it’s still capable of delivering.

Gigabyte EP45-UD3R Motherboard – $120
- This is a couple of steps up from the P35 chipset of the last budget rig. Might as well boost our overclocking abilities.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 – $180
- The Q6600 is still the best budget quad core by far.

EVGA GeForce 9800GTX – $160
- This one of the perfect video cards for the budget gamer. Video card prices are drastically dropping which is great news for the gamer on a budget.

Crucial 4GB DDR2 800 Memory – $42
- Ok, prices of RAM are getting ridiculously low, and I love it.

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE Sound Card – $28
- Don’t let the price fool you. The sound quality is great for a budget sound card like this.

Hitachi Deskstar 500GB Hard Drive – $60
- A 16MB cache and half of a TB is just enough to store everything you need.

LG 20X SATA DVD Burner – $22
- So when will Blu-Ray burners be this cheap?

Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit – $110
- I would recommend Windows XP Professional, but since this is a budget rig, $270 for XP Pro is quite expensive.

TOTAL: $832

I recently switched back to Windows XP Professional after being held hostage by Windows Vista Ultimate x64 for a couple of months. There are many things that I like about both Operating Systems, thus, making me desperately miss some features that I deeply enjoyed in Vista.

- Aero Glass
The one big thing that I LOVE about Vista is the eye candy. The look that Vista provides is very appealing and is one of the main reasons why I stuck with Vista for so long.

- Auto Re-ordering
I like to be organized and want everything alphabetized which makes for easier browsing when looking for a certain video or song. What better than to have the organization be done for you? I praise Vista for this feature.

- Image Preview
I upload a lot of photos to the internet. Vista had this cool feature that allowed you to see the photo without having to open it, similar to a thumbnail view. This was handy when I wanted to browse for photos to upload. In XP, it only shows the name of the file, which is a pain sometimes.

- Hierarchical File/Folder System
I’m talking about the Start>Programs section of Vista here. Unlike XP, where pop-up style windows appear when you hover over each subfolder, Vista implements an organized hierarchical-type approach to the Programs menu. I somehow like this a little better than XP’s Programs menu.

- Decent 64-bit Support
Unlike Windows XP 64-bit, Vista Ultimate 64-bit has pretty decent driver support for many programs. Plus, I wanted utilize all 4GB of RAM that I had. It’s a win-win situation.

So why did I switch back to Windows XP? Mainly because I was tired of tweaking and hacking Vista to make it work. After a while, I got used to all the cool features and became more frustrated with the problems I was having with the new OS. Some of my most needed programs would not function correctly and some would not even install at all.

I am finally back to the good ole days of a well coded Windows XP :)