Additional Rock Band Tracks.

As it was stated before release, Harmonix will have downloadable content for Rock Band, starting as soon as release.
looks like they have kept that promise! (WOOT!)

Individual tracks will be sold for 99 cents to $2.99 (USD), with bundle packs of themed 3-packs for $5.49. 
(all and all it’s cheaper then Guitar Hero)

and what about the new tracks?  Check this out:
(NOTE:
  Tracks with an Asterisk ( * ) are covered and not masters. 
  Let’s just hope the cover quality is better then GH’s 80’s edition. )

Launch Week:

Metallica Pack:
“Ride the Lightning”
“Blackened”
“And Justice for All”

The Police Pack:
“Can’t Stand Losing You”
“Synchronicity II”
“Roxanne”

Queens of the Stone Age Pack:
“3’s and 7’s”
“Little Sister”
“Sick Sick Sick”

Individual Tracks
“Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival (*)
“Juke Box Hero” by Foreigner (*)
“Bang a Gong (Get It On)” by T-Rex (*)
“My Sharona” by The Knack (*)
“Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways (*)
“Joker & The Thief” by Wolfmother

Week of November 27, 2007:

David Bowie Pack:
“Moonage Daydream”
“Heroes” (cover)
“Queen Bitch” (cover)

Week of December 4, 2007:

Black Sabbath Pack
“N.I.B.” (*)
“Sweet Leaf” (*)
“War Pigs” (*)

Week of December 11, 2007:

Punk Pack:
“Rockaway Beach” by The Ramones
“I Fought the Law” by The Clash
“Ever Fallen In Love” by The Buzzcocks (*)

Week of December 18, 2007:

Individual Tracks:
“My Iron Lung” by Radiohead
“Buddy Holly” by Weezer
“Brass in Pocket” by The Pretenders (*)

New Nvidia chips coming to notebooks

The video game industry is one truly huge juggernaut that does not seem to show any signs of slowing down anytime soon. With games that usher in a new era of cinematic realism, it goes without saying that these titles require unprecedented computing and graphical power. NVIDIA has heard this clarion call for many years now, and has decided that high quality gaming should not be confined to just desktop units but the same experience ought to be made available to those who live out of a suitcase, in particular gamers who tend to spend more time with their notebooks than desktops. This need will be filled with NVIDIA’s latest GeForce 8800M notebook GPUs that will soon be made available for order from notebook manufacturers.

The new NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX and GeForce 8800M GTS graphics cards not only fit into your notebook snugly, they also managed to score the highest on industry-standard benchmarks for GPUs in their class and are the perfect complement for the new generation of DirectX 10 games for the gamer on the go. According to Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games, creators of the game Unreal Tournament 3 and the Unreal Engine 3 game engine, “I am absolutely amazed by the sheer performance of the new GeForce 8800M GTX-powered notebooks. These next-gen machines run Unreal Tournament 3 fantastically even at HD resolutions of 1,920 x 1,200. I’m ordering one!”

Notebooks that carry these new GPUs from NVIDIA will soon be available for order, with makers such as Alienware, Eurocom, Gateway, and Sager in North America; AIRIS, Chiligreen, Cizmo, Cybersystem, Ergo, Nexoc, Novatech, Plaisio, Rock, and XXODD in Europe; MouseComputer in Japan; and Pioneer Computers in Australia all ready to meet the challenge of including gaming power into a portable package. Needless to say, they won’t be exactly cheap to begin with, but then again there’s a price to pay for everything.

Press Release

HellGate: 0.5 Patch list.

General:
• All players now have 24 character slots.
• Fixed a known issue with the inventory user interface that caused the client to lock up.
• Fixed a bug which caused the Mini-game to sometimes become stuck.
• Added a /help command to provide assistance using available / commands.
• Some new posters have been added to stations, so check them out!

Connection Issues:
• Fixed known issues which sometimes caused players to be disconnected and receive an erroneous network error message.
• Fixed an issue where some home routers would disconnect a user due to an inactive connection.
• Fixed known bugs which sometimes disconnected players during multiplayer quests.
• Fixed problems with NetLimiter 1.30 and some older versions of Norton Antivirus and McAfee Antivirus which would make the user entirely unable to connect to the game.

Chat:
• Made several chat interface improvements and the text entry more intuitive.
• Chat window is now open by default in multiplayer.
• Fixed chat window closing when traveling between zones.
• Fixed several cases where the chat window would obstruct other UI components.
• Chat context (such as Party and Guild) is now more clearly defined in the text entry window, including a color-coded border.
• Chat window is now more transparent.
• Added /g command. This is equivalent to /gchat command (guild chat).
• Whisper text now shows up on all chat tabs.
• Whisper messages and admin announcements auto-open the chat panel.
• Auto-switch to the appropriate tab (such as Party and Guild) if you type text to that channel and are not in a tab that shows the text.
• PageUp/PageDown cycle through chat tabs when text entry is active.
• Chat panel now auto-opens if you type text and press Enter while the panel is closed.
• Chat text entry deactivates after entering text.
• Chat panel no longer closes if you press Enter on a blank line.
• Additional miscellaneous bug fixes.

Items:
• Fixed known bugs that caused players to sometimes lose items.
• Fixed a bug with the Nanoforge that caused it to inaccurately modify the stats of higher-quality items.
• Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Unique items to drop without special properties. Old unique items that did not have special properties are not changed by this patch. We are looking into whether we can fix the old items, but we don’t currently have a solution.

Quests:
• Fixed various known issues which prevented players from being able to continue interrupted side-quests.
• Quest items should no longer remain in the player inventory after the associated quest has been completed. Players with old quest items (such as Train Parts) associated with quests they’ve already completed or no longer have should find these items removed upon logging in.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented players from receiving credit for killing the “5 Lies” in The Hellgate quest. Players should now be able to properly advance in this quest.
• In order to obtain the Fawkes Force Five item, the player must have completed Stopping Some Guy quest and not have the ‘Blueprints of Fawkes Force Five’ or ‘Fawkes Force Five’ in their inventory or stash. If they completed the quest and don’t have the Blueprints or Fawkes Force Five, then it rewards them with a completed Fawkes Force Five.

Engineers:
• Fixed known bugs which prevented Engineer Drones from saving properly.

PvP:
• Fixed an incorrect modifier causing Special Effect Attack Strengths in PvP situations to be much higher than intended.

World Movement:
• Fixed known issues which occasionally prevented characters from being able to load or switch instances.
• Fixed several issues with players getting stuck in the world.
• Fixed a bug causing players to become stuck at St. Pauls in Nightmare difficulty.
• Portals to party members should now automatically close if the associated party member leaves the game.

Mass Effect – First Impressions

Ok….some of you are wondering, if you haven’t gotten it yet or getting it today what is the deal and does it live up to the hype…

My answer is so far, yes and so far  I don’t know…

If you were a big fan of KOTOR this is a no brainer…either run and get this game or if you were like me, you got it last night (BTW I was one of 5 people who went at midnight in my area to get this game)

The I don’t know part is for those who are looking for either this to be a run n gun experience (it’s not) or something out of Oblivion (it’s better) or things I can’t name right here.

For the most part in the 1/2 an hour of time I got to play it before sleep kicked in, I saw a lot.

Before that tho, 20 mins took me to set up my character because if this the epic game that bioware is making this, you want to have a character you can stand to look at.

My character wound up looking like a mardern day version of Eartha Kitt (in her 20’s or 30’s) with a nice short cut…hehehe

Ok…so what did you see in a 1/2 an hr?

Ok….in a brief sum.

1. You learn a bit about your own character based on whatever background set you pick

2. You learn that your crew are working with aliens that everyone has mixed feelings about especially since one is on board the ship.

3. I pissed off said alien race on my ship because he likes working ‘alone’ and I don’t think I can trust them.

4. I may have pissed off a doc on my ship because she has a nasty ‘tude also and my character doesn’t take any crap….lol

5. I got one of my ‘Ensign Jenkins’ (hereafter known as EJs)  killed because I sent him forward to take out an emplacement and he accidentally blew up a power cell (dummy!)

6. I got a cool peice of armor…hehehe

The combat is a bit of a mixed bag because sometimes it seems as even tho you are shooting at something it doesn’t quite ‘die’ the way you want it but this is definently preferred over turn based combat.

If you have seen the pix and the videos, the graphics are very well done and if they get around to doing another KOTOR then this right here may be a sneak peek as to where this is going.

Also another thing you want to be aware of….check your graphics settings as your are setting up the game…I got a little concerned as I played about a ‘grainy’ quality my picture had and I thought it was the TV….it’s not…in the settings, they have a reading for “film grain” so that way the game almost looks like you are playing a movie.

Back to the convos….it’s everything that they advertised as far as how fluid it it and each and every choice you make as far as how you want to take definently makes a difference. Sometimes you have to make a choice to glean info from someone vs brushing them off because they are getting a little too familiar. I did find in one instance so far that if you kind of continue along the exact same line of questioning, that you get the same response.

I think this will be the game that knocks Oblivion off of the throne as the top RPG on the 360 but only time will tell and some downloadable content can’t hurt either!

Otherwise so far, within the very tiny portion of the game that I have played…it is indeed impressive.
    By:   Ðreddheaddedpoe†®

Rock Band Licensed Track List Videos

Here are the videos of confirmed licensed tracks in EA’s Rock Band.

• Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter”
• Aerosmith “Train Kept A Rollin”
• The Who “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
• Boston “Foreplay/Long Time”
• Mountain “Mississippi Queen”
• The Police “Next to You”
• David Bowie “Suffragette City”
• Black Sabbath “Paranoid”
• Blue Oyster Cult “Don’t Fear the Reaper”
• The Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop”
• Deep Purple “Highway Star”
• KISS “Detroit Rock City”
• Molly Hatchet “Flirtin’ With Disaster”
• The Outlaws “Green Grass & High Tides”
• Sweet “Ballroom Blitz”
• Rush “Tom Sawyer”
• Bon Jovi “Wanted Dead or Alive”
• The Clash “Should I Stay or Should I Go”
• Faith No More “Epic”
• R.E.M. “Orange Crush”
• Iron Maiden “Run to the Hills”
• Foo Fighters “Learn to Fly”
• Metallica “Enter Sandman”
• Nirvana “In Bloom”
• Stone Temple Pilots “Vasoline”
• Weezer “Say It Ain’t So”
• Smashing Pumpkins “Cherub Rock”
• Radiohead “Creep”
• Beastie Boys “Sabotage”
• Hole “Celebrity Skin”
• Garbage “I Think I’m Paranoid”
• Soundgarden “Black Hole Sun”
• The Hives “Main Offender”
• Queens of the Stone Age “Go With the Flow”
• The Strokes “Reptilia”
• Jet “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”
• OK Go “Here It Goes Again”
• Nine Inch Nails “The Hand That Feeds”
• Pixies “Wave of Mutilation”
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Maps”
• Red Hot Chili Peppers “Dani California”
• Coheed & Cambria “Welcome Home”
• Fallout Boy “Dead on Arrival”
• The Killers “When You Were Young”
• New Pornographers “Electric Version”
• Bang Camaro “Pleasure (Pleasure)”

This should be better, embeding each video was way too demanding.

PS3 Theme Extractor Tutorial

Have you ever downloaded a ps3 theme, .p3t file, that you would like to customize? Some have icons you love but would like to use them with a different background. Well Anoop has saved the day. He has released P3T Unpacker v0.3

This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t). By default, it will extract the contents of the theme file to the directory ‘extracted’ in the current directory.

IMPORTANT: You need to have the binary ‘p3tcompiler.exe’ in the same directory as this program, even when it is being run from Linux. This requirement will probably be removed soon.

This program is still in alpha stage and probably has dozens of bugs. If you find any, please let me know!

Here’s a quick tutorial:

• Download p3textractor.zip from codelogic.googlepages.com/PS3ThemeExtractor.
• Extract the folder \p3textractor
• Copy p3tcompiler.exe from PS3_Custom_Theme_v101-E.zip into the \p3textractor folder, which you may have already if you create your own themes.
• As an example lets use the official Pixels theme – place Pixels.p3t into \p3textractor
  
• Start a DOS window. Start – Run – CMD.
• Find your \p3textractor folder and type in >p3textractor Pixels.p3t

  • C:\p3textractor>p3textractor Pixels.p3t

    Writing file: ‘extracted/preview.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_user_1124.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_setting_1200.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_photo_1276.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_music_1352.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_video_1428.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_game_1504.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_network_1580.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_friend_1656.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_tv_1732.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_newuser_1808.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_update_1884.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_game_setting_1960.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_bdvd_setting_2036.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_music_setting_2112.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_chat_setting_2188.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_system_setting_2264.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_theme_setting_2340.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_datetime_setting_2416.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_accessory_2492.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_printer_setting_2568.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_display_setting_2644.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_sound_setting_2720.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_security_setting_2796.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_remoteplay_setting_2872.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_network_setting_2948.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_setting_item_3024.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_mediaserver_search_3100.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_ms_3176.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_sd_3252.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_cf_3328.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_usb_3404.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_pspms_3480.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_usbcamera_3556.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_usbaad_3632.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_gamedata_3708.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_savedata_3784.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_vmc_3860.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_newvmc_3936.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_onlinemanual_4012.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_remoteplay_4088.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_browser_4164.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_download_4240.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_accountmanage_4316.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_blocklist_4392.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_addfriend_4468.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_playermet_4544.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_chat_4620.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_chatroom_4696.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_mbox_4772.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_mbox_received_4848.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_mbox_sent_4924.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/icon_mbox_create_5000.gim’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/hd.jpg’
    Writing file: ‘extracted/sd.jpg’

    magic: “P3TF”
    version: 272
    tree_offset: 64
    tree_size: 5252
    idtable_offset: 5328
    idtable_size: 1090
    stringtable_offset: 6432
    stringtable_size: 292
    intarray_offset: 6736
    intarray_size: 0
    floatarray_offset: 6736
    floatarray_size: 0
    filetable_offset: 6736
    filetable_size: 658208

• There should now be a folder \p3textractor\extracted which is Pixels.p3t extracted
• Now you can use the icons or backgrounds in Pixels.p3t for any theme that you create.
• Here’s a quick tutorial on creating ps3 themes using the images you just extracted.

Posted by ken_vs_ryu at 8:21 AM    

Create your own PS3 game?

Everyone knows about the Playstation Eye, a video camera for the PS3 which allows gamers to place themselves inside certain games designed to interface with it. The Playstation R&D team has decided to take the concept a few steps further with the development of Playstation Eye Tech and Tech Lander … applications which allows users to scan any image – from real models to drawn sketches, and then bring them to life in a game application that rivals the old Atari 2600 gaming interface.

Focusing on simple games like Lunar Lander and Tank Battle, design engineers have successfully used the Playstation Eye to scan simple sketches of vehicles and landscapes, and even complex three dimensional images such as tank models and then animated them to be controlled within the game created on the spot. The application, though primitive, has promise to allow users to create their very own arcade style video gaming concepts without having to invest in development that often rivals the budgets of many Hollywood Blockbusters.

There’s no word on when the Playstation Eye Tech or Tech Lander application will be available for purchase, but for even the modest gaming fan, the ability to create their own video games in the Playstation universe would certainly take the PS3 experience to another level.

Video here and here.

Source: Game Trailers via TechEBlog
Photo Credit: IGN.COM

New! COWBELL HERO!!!!

Those crazy Japanese are at it again!

Worlds largest Arcade machine…

Now isn’t this an absolute monstrosity – you actually need stepladders to be able to stand on it just to get your game on! Talk about a really huge arcade cabinet to enjoy all your classic arcade titles. Hopefully each game will still cost a quarter and not correspond with the relative size of the machine in terms of pricing. For those who are into statistics, this largest arcade cabinet in the world stands over 13 feet tall and boasts a 70″ display (ouch!). No idea on how much it’ll cost though.

Source: Technabob
—————————————–
PogoWolf:   Leaves me wondering.. hmmm.. why?

Watch TV on your Nintendo DS

Seeking to make the Nintendo DS more than just a personal gaming platform, Nintendo has released the 1Seg TV Tuner which can not only allow gamers to watch their favorite shows, but also to bookmark where they are and review images from the program later like a picture book.

The 1Seg Tuner plugs into the game cartridge slot and enables gamers to watch VHF and UHF TV signals. In addition, the there an accelerometer built in which changes the aspect ratio automagically when the DS is rotated, giving the users options on how to watch their favorite shows. Also, users can also jot down notes as they watch. So, If students are watching a documentary, cooking show, or just about anything else, they can make note of interesting and important facts, web addresses, etc. to access later.

Viewers can also create a full screen or letterbox variant should they prefer a widescreen image.
Accessories include a special high gain antenna mount for areas with difficult reception.

Compatible with Nintendo DS™, Nintendo DS™ Lite, the 1Seg Tuner will sell for about $90 US and is available in Japan starting Black Friday, Nov 23, 2007.

Here’s a video of it in action:

Source: Engadget