Minecraft for Xbox 360 Sweeps Through The Home
The Xbox 360 was beginning to feel a little dry in our house with most people instead opting for a tablet device however it appears to have gained a new lease of life recently through a single game – Minecraft. After trying out the demo for a short while we decided to use our Live points to buy the full game
Ok, Minecraft for the 360 may not yet have all the features of the PC version but it plays surprisingly well and has managed to get everyone involved in the sandbox environment, from those that like bashing monsters to those that like crafting buildings, and it works particularly well with the Xbox controller.
Friends can pop over to our world and see what we have been up to and it has even led to the addition of a new Xbox controller so three of us can play at the same time. The most frustrating thing so far, apart from those creepers of course, is the way the character viewpoint changes at the slightest press of the joystick. In a hairy situation when you are aiming for a sword or a bow to fend off an oncoming attack the viewpoint changes and that brief moment of confusion is often enough to end the current life. But hey, you pick yourself up, grab some wood, and start over.
A new update is planned shortly, for the Xbox 360, with a bunch of new features so it will be interesting to see what the developers have in store for us.
For more about Minecraft head over to Mojang and 4J Studios.
Nintendo 3DS Wi-Fi Connection Issue Resolved
When trying to connect a Nintendo 3DS to a wireless hub, in this case the BT Home Hub 3, a number of issues were experienced including:
- Home Hub SSID not listed consistently
- Restarting the Home Hub helps the 3DS find the SSID but the connection drops
- Blank item listed under “Search for an Access Point”
What was really frustrating is that the 3DS seemed to pick up many other access points, with varied security settings, just fine. Powering off the Home Hub and restarting after a few minutes sometimes listed the SSID and allowed a connection but it would soon be forgotten and that connection would fail. Typing in the SSID and connection settings manually did not help either.
After some experimenting it seemed that the Home Hub SSID may have been the issue. The SSID was the default one shipped with the unit (BTHub3-XXXX) and includes a hyphen. Removing this hyphen appears to have resolved the connection issue. Putting the hyphen back in and the connection issues return.
If this tip helps, or doesn’t, in your particular circumstance please let me know through comments below.
Event: 3D Printshow 2012
Accessible to consumers and industry alike 3D printing can make the difference between flat sheet of printed paper and a 3D scale model you can touch and feel.
The 3D Printshow is being held between 19th and 21st October 2012 at The Brewery, East London.
On display during the show will be a 3D art gallery, and a full body scanner that can produce a 3D printed miniature version. This year over 30 exhibitors will be showing the latest development in 3D technology including Makerbot, 3D Systems, Autodesk, 3D Print UK, and Europac 3D.
For more information about the show visit the 3D Printshow 2012 website.
UCam247 Launches “Fuss Free” Security Camera
A new zero configuration internet security camera has been announced by UCam247.
"Most IP camera makers make bold claims about how easy their cameras are to setup and use and all too often these words ring hollow. At UCam247 we wanted the words ‘frustration free’ to really mean just that and our cameras are proof of our endeavours, enabling users to monitor whatever matters to them from the comfort of their smartphone in a truly plug-and-play way," says Ms Bindu Gor, Sales and Marketing Director at UCam247.
The new camera is aimed to be as fuss-free as possible requiring no configuration although the option is there should you want to play under the hood. The UCam247 simply needs to be taken out of the box, plugged in, and connected to a network (wired or wireless). Downloadable apps are also available for users of iPhone and Android.
UCam247 say that the camera is “equipped with a long range Wi-Fi, infra-red night vision, motion sensor, built-in micro SD video recorder, and email alerts”.
For more information about the UCam247 head over to the UCam247 website.
Doctor Who, Pondering The Identity Of River Song
There are a number of theories about who River Song, one of the Doctor’s most recent on/off companions, really is in the latest season of Doctor Who and much of it seems tied, loosely or not, to episodes from previous seasons. The story of River Song also seems inexplicably linked to the increasingly curious and bizarre life and history of the Doctor’s other female companion Amy Pond.
So, who really is River Song?
We know River Song was a Doctor who becomes a Professor of Archaeology and at some point is also convicted of murder and sentenced to spend time in a secure facility (though it doesn’t seem that secure!).
The Doctor meets her for the first (and for her the last) time in the David Tennant two parter Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead where she describes him as looking younger than she knows him. Since then she has appeared in the two parters The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone, The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang, and The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon.
River seems to know all about the Doctor and she is particularly adept at flying the TARDIS – she also whispered something to the Doctor to convince him (successfully) of her significance to him – and this has been taken to be the Doctors real name. The most recent episode also had the interesting line "The only water in the forest is a river" – does this allude to River Song or is it a red herring?
So, here are some of the likely theories as to who River might be (in no particular order):
- River is Amy’s Daughter (which ironically makes Amy the Doctor’s Mother-in-Law as he and River were *married* at some point)
- Amy is River’s Daughter – something does appear to be going on between Amy and River but this outcome would probably be one of the more unlikely theories
- River is the Tardis – though this has been made more unlikely by the introduction of Idris in the most recent episode
- River is *a* Tardis – perhaps from another Timelord – the Master perhaps?
- River is the Tardis’ Daughter – as Idris has already show that the Tardis can take on a human form this isn’t an impossibility
- River is Captain Jack/Face of Boe’s Daughter – although this is unlikely as the franchises are keeping each other at arms length these days
- River is a Time Lord (Lordess?) – Time Lords do seem to be popping up here and there
- River is the little girl we saw regenerating – but why didn’t she regenerate in the library?
- River is Amy – are they intertwined?
- River is a regenerated Jenny – the Doctor’s *Daughter* from an earlier season though this the most unlikely as it would be, quite frankly, extremely weird
- River is the Master’s wife Lucy Saxon and the person for who she is sentenced to the storm cage for murdering "A very good man. Best man I’ve ever known." was the Master.
So, is the identity of River Song tied to one of those listed above or have we missed the mark completely? Or, are there any other theories we might have missed?
Space Ships Inspired By Blake’s 7 Liberator?
The space ship from the 70s science fiction series Blake’s 7, the DSV Liberator, has a lot to answer for – it’s iconic shape for one, and Zen, the ships “Knowledge must be gathered, it cannot be given”, wise old computer, for another.
The shape of the Liberator made such a mark in science fiction history that it is hard to look at another three finned space ship without thinking immediately of the Liberator.
Here are some space ships that have some passing resemblance to the much loved DSV Liberator – what do you think?
Patrol Ship from Saturn 3
Crusade Interstellar Alliance Victory Class
Babylon 5: Drazi Sunhawk
Star Trek Son’a Solidarity Collector Ship
Gunstar from The Last Starfighter – Like the Liberator but with an extra fin
Serenity Firefly – Like the Liberator but with one fin missing
There are more that could have made it into the list but it might have needed more than a stretch of the imagination (and some of these predate even the Liberator), for example Thunderbird 3, what do you think – did we miss any?
Remembering A Possible Blake’s 7 Video Game: B7 Liberation
A number of years ago I got involved with an interesting project, lead by Johnny Wood, to bring a computer game, inspired by Blake’s 7, to life.
The project had two key areas – a space exploration/shooter mode and a second stage where you chose characters to teleport down an explore the surface of various planets and space stations.
The project moved along at a good rate but never got finished – although a couple of demos were released.
Johnny posted up a clip of a CGI section by Kerry Bates, another member of the team, that would likely have appeared in the game. Check out the video below – wasn’t the DSV Liberator one of the coolest space ships ever?
If I can dig out one of the demo releases, I will post it up here.
Warcraft Retro Gaming Sets the Stage for Popular Games Today
Millions of people around the world know the word Warcraft but associate it only with the MMO sensation World of Warcraft. Many of these gamers don’t realize that before there was a full world of Warcraft there were just a few Orcs and Humans. The original game was actually titled Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. The game was simple enough for a real time strategy game. One player controlled the Orcs and another controlled the Humans. Each would compete to control more resources and lands.
This was one of the first computer war games where you could play your friend over the modem or a LAN line. Internet gaming wasn’t anywhere close to being the sensation it is now so if you wanted to game on a computer you had to resort to playing with a friend you already knew. This made things harder since computers didn’t have nearly as much customization as they do now. Also with the speed modems ran at you spent a lot of time disconnecting in the middle of a game.
If you were one of the lucky few to own a computer good enough to run this game at supreme speed, both graphically and connectivity, you still were subject to the random disconnects many gamers faced. While Warcraft was simple in nature it was completely addicting. Many would spend hours trying to learn the quickest way to build as fast as possible to completely pummel your foe. If both gamers were equally fast at their building then it could come down to whose unit attacked first.
Warcraft was one of the first games to allow players to work with shortcuts on their keyboard. Pressing a key would open a build menu that would allow for the player to quickly access a unit or building that they could place on the map. A player who wanted to build a farm, for example, could press T then F to quickly build a farm. Players could alternatively use their mouse to just click what they wanted to build but this would take more time.
Speed was an essential part of playing Warcraft. If you were too slow, even the computer would stomp you pretty fast. You had to not only learn to build fast, but also to build efficiently. If your units were under attack you had to be building replacements for the ones that would die. Multitasking and speed put together really made you into a great Warcraft player. While the game didn’t have as many buildings or units as other real time strategies, it did offer a level of competition other games of the time didn’t.
If you’re a World of Warcraft player and have never tried the original Warcraft game, you don’t know what you’re missing. While the games series moved from RTS to MMO the fan base didn’t really change much. The multiplayer feature of this game was really the corner stone to its glory. The competition the game brought on was unlike any other RTS of its time.
Nintendo Wii BBC iPlayer Channel Error Code: 375006
Trying to watch catch up television programmes, on the BBC iPlayer via the Nintendo Wii, recently we have been bugged by an ongoing problem. Certain programs bring up an error saying
An error has occurred. Please try again. Error Code: 375006
To try again press ‘Back’
No matter how many times we press back the programme just doesn’t play – however it plays just fine on a laptop using the web based BBC iPlayer. Some of the measures we have taken, unsuccessfully, to try and deal with the error include:
- Continually pressing Back
- Power down the Nintendo Wii
- Perform a wireless connection test
- Reconnect the wireless access point
- Clear all wireless settings and reconnect the wireless access point
Trying to track down the problem we found some guidance from the BBC iPlayer help section which says “We are aware some users are seeing error codes 375006 and 375003 when accessing BBC iPlayer on their Wii. The problem has been identified and should be addressed when v1.1 is realised.”
There is no news as yet as to when the v1.1 will be released but we will report back when it finally emerges.
A Look At RuneScape Classic
RuneScape Classic is known as the first version of RuneScape, RuneScape as we know it is usually referred to as RuneScape 2 to many older, and experienced players, whereas others may not of even heard of RuneScape Classic!
RuneScape 2 as we know it, was released in early 2004 and gained popularity very quickly, RuneScape Classic at the time was just referred to as RuneScape, until the release of the newer version. Many players migrated over to the newer version, with only a small population still playing the older one, eventually Jagex decided to discontinue it to all new players, and decided to only let the players who were originally playing RuneScape Classic play it if they wish.
RuneScape Classic was released in early 2001 and is still maintained on the official website. In Mid-November 2009, Jagex decided to make RuneScape Classic public again, to all RuneScape members. Any RuneScape member logging in during the 2 week event will be able to play the game after the event period is over. (Note: The amount of time that Jagex is releasing RuneScape Classic after the two week period for all members who have logged into the game during the 2 weeks, has not yet been determined).
Why did players switch to RuneScape 2 from RuneScape Classic?
RuneScape 2 provided a better playing experience, many were drawn by its much better graphics, which are more 3D, have better colour and contrast, and have a lot more quality, whereas RuneScape Classic had a very low grade graphics quality. Others were drawn by the new skills that were given, and the items, for example, RuneScape Classic only had regular trees, with an update with members only having other trees, although when RuneScape Classic was released, both members, and non-members, were given both regular, and other types of trees, such as Willow, Oak, and Yew.
In Conclusion, RuneScape Classic was just the beginning of RuneScape as we know it, it paved the way for great updates, and a great playing experience to be given to RuneScape. Perhaps one day soon RuneScape 3 will become available – I don’t know about you, but that sounds like something waiting for!
Play RuneScape Classic.
