Friday, February 28, 2014

Respawn confirms 'Titanfall' won't run at 1080p on Xbox One

Respawn Entertainment’s Vince Zampella has revealed that the Xbox One version of Titanfall won’t hit at resolution of 1080p, leaving questions on the actual targeted res for the upcoming shooter.



It appears that a new resolution gate debacle might have just kicked off, as a developer over at Respawn has confirmed that Titanfall will not run at full 1080p HD on the Xbox One.

In a recent Tweet, Vince Zampella responds to a very specific query regarding the game’s targeted resolution, replying in the negative when asked if Titanfall will be in full HD on Microsoft’s next-gen gaming console.
@nico_n12 @Titanfallgame no

— Vince Zampella (@VinceZampella) February 26, 2014

While the resolution drop may seem trivial to many casual gamers, in the past this topic has ignited even more fire to the console war, dividing the gaming community even further. In terms of specifics, some see the Xbox One’s marked lack of full-HD games as a detrimental factor, taking away from the system’s overall value–but it remains to be seen how the final game performs on the Xbox One.

Furthermore it’s worth noting that Titanfall‘s beta test on the Xbox One was in 792p resolution–a rather odd number–and we’re not sure what the actual retail version will target, as Respawn has kept it under wraps thus far.

Respawn has recently commemorated Titanfall’s finished form as they announced the game has gone gold, and it will be interesting to see how this news affects both gameplay and sales.

From a gameplay perspective, though, the game looks to be one of the major contenders for the Xbox One in 2014, and may outshine the competition in spite of the shockwave of negativity that accompanies this news. It is a bit disappointing that the more costly console runs games at a lower resolution, further supporting the past allegations of infamous NeoGAF users like CBOAT who proclaimed that most Xbox One games will run at 900p.

Further rumors indicate that Respawn is targeting the 900p mark for the finalized version of Titanfall , possibly adding more credence to the forum user’s claims.

To find out for sure, though, we’ll have to wait until the game hits store shelves on March 11, 2014 for Xbox One and PC.

Via Twitter



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Is Microsoft looking to take the wind out of Mantle’s sails?


A “closer to the metal” version of Direct X is in the works, and while AMD says it supports such efforts what does it mean for the future of PC Gaming?




Microsoft may be looking to capitalize on AMD’s struggle with Mantle with its next version of DirectX by integrating vendor specific extensions to allow Mantle-like low level access to the hardware.

When AMD first announced the Mantle API last year at its #gpu14 event in Hawaii, the company said it would give developers low level access to GCN hardware where ever it was present be it PC or console. Shortly after Microsoft and Sony denied this would be the case for their consoles, AMD’s PR backtracked and said Mantle would provide developers console like experience when developing code. Since then AMD’s problems with Mantle have not let up. The Mantle patch for Battlefield 4 was months late, and the other big Mantle title, Thief, won’t launch with Mantle enabled. When*Battlefield 4‘s Mantle patch finally launched the performance boosts were in the single digits and far from revolutionary.

A number of presentation abstracts from Microsoft speakers at next month’s Game Developer’s Conference have pointed towards a Direct X update in the works that would allow lower-level hardware access. Consider the synopsis of this talk hosted by Anuj Gosalia, Development Manager for Windows Graphics, titled “DirectX: Evolving Microsoft’s Graphics Platform”:


For nearly 20 years, DirectX has been the platform used by game developers to create the fastest, most visually impressive games on the planet.

However, you asked us to do more. You asked us to bring you even closer to the metal and to do so on an unparalleled assortment of hardware. You also asked us for better tools so that you can squeeze every last drop of performance out of your PC, tablet, phone and console.

Come learn our plans to deliver.


In another one, titled Direct3D Futures, Microsoft’s Max McMcullen, promises to “discuss future improvements in Direct3D that will allow developers an unprecedented level of hardware control and reduced CPU rendering overhead across a broad ecosystem of hardware.”

All this is not to say that Microsoft is interested in developing a Mantle clone with its next version of Direct X. Only AMD can develop something that has such intimate access to the GCN core since they know the hardware best. But while Microsoft won’t be offering Mantle, it is capitalizing on what Mantle can do — lower level access to hardware — and what it can’t do — entice developers and have them deliver Mantle to games on time.

In response to all of this AMD has released a defensive statement: AMD supports and celebrates a direction for game development that is aligned with AMD’s vision of lower-level, ‘closer to the metal’ graphics APIs for PC gaming.*

But not everyone is convinced that the “closer to metal” access that Mantle provides is necessary for overhead-killing performance boosts. In October, John Carmack tweeted, *“9x draw calls is credible over stock D3D, but Nvidia OpenGL extensions can give similar improvements.” He followed this up in November at an Nvidia event by saying, “Mantle only became interesting because of their dual console wins.”

While Carmack didn’t mention this, draw calls are not an accurate metric to gauge performance. Draw call requirements can differ widely from title to title depending on the payload.*

It will be interesting to see how DirectX evolves with a push in this “low level” direction. For all this talk of the evolution of DirectX, one can’t help but remember that it was almost a year ago Roy Taylor — who much to the chagrin of AMD’s PR corps has very interesting insights into the hardware arms race — said DirectX as we know it is on its way out.

There will be no DirectX 12. That was it. As far as we know there are no plans for DirectX 12,” he said to a German publication called Heise . “If this should not be, and someone wants to correct me – wonderful.”

For its part, Microsoft didn’t outright deny Taylor’s claims and only responded by saying, “We have absolutely no intention of stopping innovation with DirectX.”

Perhaps given the change and evolution Microsoft is planning for its API they will abandon the DirectX numbering convention and Taylor will be proven right after all.

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This Higurashi When They Cry itasha is just bloody, scary and disturbing

07th Expansion’s Higurashi: When They Cry visual novel and its various anime adaptations have a reputation for being violent and bloody as well as redefining the “Yandere” character type.


Recently, one very disturbing and bloody itasha has been seen in Japan and it truly reflects the bloody nature of the Higurashi series. Warning: if you are afraid of blood or could not stand such scenes, it would be wise to turn back now.

A customized Higurashi itasha has been recently spotted in Japan’s Fukui Prefecture. This Higurashi itasha is a blood-spattered tribute to the anime’s yandere heroines complete with the image of the heroine Rena Ryuuguu along with several *hacked-off limbs.


Looks like this car really puts the Ita (means pain in Japanese) in the Itasha. Personally, I would really NOT want to ride this car. Many have described the car as scary and some have said that it really looks like a crime scene. Even police officers were astonished when they first saw the itasha though they quite understood what it was.

The owner has been identified as Shiren Amakusa (アマクサ・シレン) who tweeted these images via his twitter account Oz12012bornunde*.*This itasha however would only be the second generation bloody Higurashi itasha as he has also posted several pictures of its former incarnation which was built back in 2009. It also featured yandere heroine*Rena Ryuuguu along with a cut-off lower body, Rena holding Mion Sonozaki’s decapitated head, and blood… lots of it.


Read more on itashas here on SGCafe through this link

You can also read more about Anime*here on Sgcafe!


Also join in on the community’s discussions at*http://ift.tt/1ahtbFO

Source: Otakuma



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Virtua Fighter's Pai Chan and Akira Yuuki cross over to Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax

It has previously been announced that Virtua Fighter‘s Akira Yuuki will be appearing as a boss character in Sega‘s 2D cross-over fighting game, Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax.

It has been revealed that Akira will not only be a boss character, but he will be THE boss character, in other words, he will be appearing as the final stage boss for the single player game.


What’s more is that he won’t be coming alone as his Chinese*Mizongquan fighter, Pai Chan will be coming along as a support character.


These two would certainly be a dangerous combination and will be giving characters like Shizuo (Durarara!!), Shana (Shakugan no Shana), Mikoto (A Certain series), Asuna and Kirito (Sword Art Online), Kuroyukihime (Accel World), Kirino (OreImo) and Tomoka (Ro Kyu Bu!) a whole world of hurt.


Dengeki Bunko has also announced that they will be holding The Dengeki Game Festival this March 16, 2014. More announcements for the Dengeki Bunko game will be announced including more details on Akira and Pai’s appearance in the game.

No exact release date has been set for the game’s release so far but it is scheduled for release Spring 2014 for Japanese arcades. There is still no word if this game will have a home console version.

Read more on SGCafe’s Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax coverage through this link:*http://ift.tt/19ygscV

Read more*gaming news*here on SGCafe:*http://ift.tt/16WH8ny


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Source: 4Gamer



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Samsung’s 64-bit chips will launch later this year

Samsung is set to commercially launch its first 64-bit offerings by the time Google makes a 64-bit version of Android available.



In an interview with CNET, Kyushik Hong, vice president of marketing for Samsung’s system LSI business, said that the manufacturer will be ready with its 64-bit chips as soon as there is an ecosystem for it. “Our chip will be ready whenever the operating systems and ecosystem go 64-bit. 64-bit is very important… in the sense that there’s a real demand, whether you need it or not. We are very actively working on it.”

Other major SoC manufacturers like Qualcomm and MediaTek have already launched their 64-bit offerings. While there is not much advantage to be gained from a 64-bit SoC at this moment, manufacturers are launching them anyway mostly due to OEM demands. Qualcomm even made a mention of this in its official unveiling of the Snapdragon 615, its first octa-core 64-bit offering. Intel also demoed two new 64-bit offerings, while Nvidia is set to launch its first 64-bit Tegra K1 later this year. Broadcom and LG are also in the mix.

Samsung has launched two new SoCs earlier this week at the Mobile World Congress, but none of them featured a 64-bit architecture. Hong added that there is no hurry to launch a 64-bit chip, and that Samsung will launch it well before there is a 64-bit version of Android. *”We’re pretty sure we’re not going to be the bottleneck for that (64-bit Android).”

Hong also outlined Samsung’s drive to gain a more significant market share with the Exynos line of hardware. He stated that a major hurdle in doing so is because of Samsung’s strong presence in the consumer market, which makes it difficult for Samsung’s LSI division to sell the Exynos line of hardware to manufacturers who are traditionally rivals to the South Korean manufacturer. He clarified by saying that, “There is some perception in the market, naturally, because it’s the same Samsung name, but there’s a clear division between Samsung Mobile and Samsung System LSI. Once we work with our customers, then they fully appreciate this separation between the different business units.”

With all major manufacturers actively invested in 64-bit hardware, it remains to be seen as to when Google launches a 64-bit version of Android. Latest rumors indicate that the search giant will introduce a 64-bit version of Android sometime in June along with a new Nexus 8*and a smartwatch.

Source: CNET



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New Mana Game by Square Enix Looks Action Fantastic

Square Enix finally unveils the trailer for Rise of Mana, the newest game in the Mana series that is coming soon on iOS and Android.




The Mana (Seiken Densetsu in Japan) series may not have Final Fantasy’s big and expansive international fan base, but even long before Square Enix, it has been one of Square’s longest running series. This year, another title will be added to series, as Square Enix unveils the first trailer of Seiken Densetsu: Rise of Mana.



Seiken Densetsu: Rise of Mana has been announced to be completely free to play. However knowing Square Enix, it would be highly likely that the payments would simply come in the form of in-game microtransactions. Nevertheless, the game looks quite hopeful, with all the real-time action and non-linear adventure elements that define the series itself.

There are no specific release dates revealed, but the iOS version is reported to be coming very soon, followed by the Android version sometime within this year.

Source: Square Enix*(JP)



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Collaboration spirit driving concept of co-working spaces in Indonesia

From Berlin to Beijing, from Bangalore to Bali, co-working spaces are a new trend. Here, e27 takes a look at the co-working space scenario in Indonesia Over the past few years, co-working spaces have become a global trend. From Berlin to Beijing, from Bangalore to Bali, the world is witnessing a new trend, where people Read the full article...



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India a hotbed for analytics companies!

As per an industry report, 6% of analytics firms globally are based in India or have ops there, having grown three-fold in last 1.5 yrs Analytics firms are making it big in India. Startups such as Fisheye Analytics and Little Eye Labs also managed to catch the attention of industry stalwarts such as Kantar Media Read the full article...



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Is falling in love with an operating system strange? We think not!

In latest movie ‘Her’, the lead character falls for his OS. In this world where we are perpetually attached to gadgets, is the notion weird? Falling in love with an operating system (OS) might sound strange, but ‘Her’,*the latest movie from Spike Jonze, will make you think otherwise. Anyway, to think again, it isn’t so Read the full article...



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Only 0.15% of mobile gamers make up 50% of in-game revenue!

Analytics company Swrve states that the key to attracting big spenders or “whales” is social advertising If you’re planning on getting into the mobile gaming business thinking that in-app purchases (or IAPs) are the meal ticket to riches, you may need to think twice.*According to an infograph by Swrve (via VentureBeat) that details mobile app Read the full article...



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Citylink Mall is host to S’pore’s 1st Bitcoin ATM by Bitcoin Exchange

The ATM scans a Bitcoin QR code and sends the cryptocurrency to the user’s Bitcoin wallet; more ATMs to be installed by the end of 2014 Singapore-based firm Bitcoin Exchange today launched Asia’s first public Bitcoin ATM at Citylink Mall, 1 Raffles Link in the city-state. This follows the firm’s announcement nearly a month ago Read the full article...



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WeChat makes its way to Mac OS X



WeChat is late to the game on the desktop, as Japanese rival Line already has an established desktop presence. *





Third party IM clients are the talk of the town now. Just recently*Facebook acquired WhatsApp for a resounding $19 billion, which speaks volumes of the rapid growth of such apps.

Yet another popular cross platform instant messaging app, WeChat, has just begun its expansion into the desktop segment by launching its dedicated app for Mac OS X. There is talk of WeChat being launched on Windows machines as well, which doesn’t sound farfetched given the company’s expansion plans. The app is compatible with any Macs running OS X 10.7 Lion or above.

This move by WeChat is seen as a counter action against another IM client Line, which is popular in Japan and Japan aligned countries like Taiwan. The Line client has already made its way to Windows computers and Macs, so it was only logical for WeChat to enter the fray as well.

WeChat users will be greeted to a very familiar user interface with the Mac iteration with immediate syncing of contacts and messages. Functionality wise, there’s nothing different here and you will be able to chat with all your WeChat contacts across platforms just like you would on your iPhone or Android app. WeChat has a browser version as well, but the launch of a native Mac client is very welcome.

Can we expect WhatsApp to begin such an expansion? Only time will tell.

Via: The Next Web



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Control your devices easily by putting a Ring on it!

New wearable input device Ring allows to control your gadgets via hand gestures, letting you send texts, turn on appliances, make payments It can be said for a fact that input devices have been growing sleeker and less obstrusive as technology marches on. From ball mice and full-sized mechanical keyboards to touchscreens and motion sensing, Read the full article...



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Singapore’s TheLuxeNomad relaunches site to include 24/7 booking rates

Online luxury members-only travel accommodation site TheLuxeNomad today announced its new pivot. How will it affect its initial focus? Thou shalt not live by flash sales alone, but with 24/7 booking rates alongside current operations. That’s what Singapore-based members-only hotel and villa flash sale site TheLuxeNomad.com is saying with its most recent pivot and relaunch. Read the full article...



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Warner Bros. looking to bring ‘Minecraft’ to the big screen

Markus “Notch” Persson is in talks with Warner Bros. in launching a feature film based on Minecraft.


Minecraft, one of the bestselling indie games of all time, will soon be turned into a full-length feature film by Warner Bros. Markus “Notch” Persson, the creator of the game, announced on Twitter that talks are undergoing with the studio in creating a full-length movie based on the game. Persson also said that he wanted to thwart potential leakers by leaking the news himself.

Someone is trying leak the fact that we’re working with Warner Brothers on a potential Minecraft Movie. I wanted to be the leak!

— Markus Persson (@notch) February 27, 2014

Deadline has more information regarding the movie, claiming that Warner Bros. bought the rights for the movie from Mojang AB and that it will be a live-action movie. Producer of the hugely successful The Lego Movie Roy Lee will be at the helm of this project as well. The Lego Movie is one of the biggest commercial hits of the year thus far, and has managed to accrue over $187 million in U.S. sales and an additional $93.5 million internationally. Warner Bros. is now considering a sequel to the movie that is set to debut in two years’ time.

The studio’s decision to make a feature film on Minecraft might turn out to be just as profitable, as the game*was one of the most played titles last year. With sales of over 100 million, the game was also one of the best-selling last year. 2 Player Productions even made a documentary detailing the story of Mojang, which you can view below:

Source: Twitter



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