After a very very long wait finally Forza 3 arrived! The first panoramic view of a 1-series BMW in Forza 3:

Finally a game where I can drive that car!

Source: http://www.forzaclans.com

Apparently DiRT 2 is coming with several funny features – one of which is that you can decorate your cars interior – like: you can hang your avatar on the rear-view-mirror… great idea!

In the newest Firmware update of the Playstation 3 there’s support for “Trophies” – which plain and simple are a copy of the Achievements available on the 360.

Create your own Achievements with the Achievement Generator.

Source: http://achievements.schrankmonster.de

The thing with the current XBOX 360 dashboard is that there’s obviously more unused space than there is really used space… there are now and for some time rumors that the user interface will be revamped completely…

Now there are people who know how to do it and they just made a mockup of what a dashboard with more used space would look like:

What do you think of it?

Source: http://news.filefront.com/dreaming-of-a-new-xbox-360-dashboard/

Besides my own project called “Forzaclans.com” (which is on hold right now) there are several other cool projects available for the forza community. One of which is the International Forza Club Association.

Source 1: www.forzaclans.com
Source 2: http://www.ifcaracing.com/

Major Nelson announced this weeks Xbox Live Arcade game: N+. Because this game evolved from a former Flash game you can also get the “original version”:

“play as a ninja trapped in a world of well-meaning, inadvertantly homicidal robots. version 1.4 includes tons of levels (500), organized neatly into 100 unlockable episodes, and features 50 levels made by fans of N!”

Source 1: http://www.harveycartel.org/metanet/downloads.html
Source 2: http://majornelson.com/archive/2008/02/18/this-week-on-arcade-n.aspx

It has been the most awaited game of the year – Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed”. The official plot deals about a member of the legendary assassins, an organization of … eh, yeah… assassins. Your mission as player is to kill nine different persons because they destabilize the peace of the hole Middle East with their actions. So far, so political correct.

I say this is bullshit.

The historical assassins had been a bunch of fanatical and ideological blinded killers who dreamt of establishing a strict theocracy (think of Iran). This sounds very familiar with what islamic terrorists are doing these days, doesn’t it?

Just imagine a few changes:

- change of time: not the Middle Ages, but the present

- change of scenery: not Akkon or Jerusalem, but Bagdad or New York

- change of armament: not the dagger and poison, but AK-47 and explosive belts

- change of mission: not a hidden single killing, but casualties as many as possible

The rest remains the same.

What about escaping after the kill? Not historical. Assassins didn’t run away – they accepted their death and now you know where the modern suicide assassin is descendent from.

This is of course only a game, but with an interesting setup.

Jens Heymann

Die Koch Media GmbH sucht ab sofort Studenten und interessierte für Testvorführungen neuer Video- und Computerspiele:

“Wenn Sie bereit wären, natürlich gegen eine kleine Gegenleistung, die Entwicklung eines neuen Spiels (plattformunabhängig) zu verfolgen und zu beeinflußen und dies auch mehrmals in den kommenden Monaten machen würden, melden Sie sich bitte unter der Telefon-Nummer: 089-24245196.”

Source: http://www.kochmedia.de

There was this update. My 360 died right after it. Well: Coincidence?

The support / repair experience is quite good so far – besides the fact that I have to get a coffin by myself and that they won’t add the lost Xbox Live Subscription Time to my account….

Now this is my second 360 that craps out. If you want to know what happened in 2006 to my first 360 go here.

Source: http://www.schrankmonster.de/PermaLink,guid,944f2bb2-696b-48fb-b06a-d8734f5a6f44.aspx

Look what I got here:

Painted from scratch just with the original game as a guideline. I’ll put some of these up in the auction house soon. So keep an eye out for them… Any sort of comment is appreciated.

New York this time… hmmm looks sweet…

… it seems that there people at the Nürburgring do have a problem with tree decimation… the over one year old Project Gotham Racing 3 Nürburgring had significantly more trees…

This is the Forza Motorsport 2 Nürburgring:

(Forza Motorsport 2)

… remember when I had the exact same location pictured before in Project Gotham Racing 3:

(Project Gotham Racing 3)

I asked for it and they did it. Once again.

I’m just speechless.

I did not write about that one time when Sony made the mistake to use a Project Gotham Racing 3 Screenshot in their advertisements for Gran Tourismo:HD (the PGR3 thing is a racing game by Microsoft exclusively for the 360 and GT:HD is the Sony exclusive racing game). They pulled it just hours after it went up and we all had a good laugh.

Oh… it looked like that:

Just today the car maker KIA decided to start his PS3 related marketing campaign. And guess what? Someone did it again. They used a PGR3 screenshot in a Playstation 3 advertisement.

Have a look:

There we have it: Two advertisements for the Playstation 3 doing all the same: Advertising the fact that you’ll better buy a 360. Priceless.

Do it again Sony, Kia, or whoever would like to make my day…

Just about a month and Forza Motorsport 2 hits the shelves. I cannot wait!

This is the tv-commercial:

Source: http://www.forzamotorsport.net/

I wrote about geomerics approach on realtime radiosity lighting less than a year ago. They now have something to show and be proud of: Enlighten is there and they are working on porting it to the 360 and PS3.

Watch what’s possible:

Source 1: real time radiosity lighting
Source 2: http://www.geomerics.com

Some people are already playing:

Go to amazon now and place your order!

Hmm… Once upon a time there was a guy with an idea. The idea simply breaks down to this:

“Sell full price games to people and get an extra revenue out of in-game advertising.”

So here we are: I just found pacific city in crackdown literally plastered with Dodge advertising. Once day it was Dell… if you’re playing in the UK you’ll probably get army ads… how sick is that.

The first game that got this kind of in-game advertising was Testdrive Unlimited. The advertising was only available in the US of A and when you bought the game there it wasn’t full-price but $20 less than a full price title – because of that in-game ads. As an european player you didn’t see any ads and you had to pay the full price.

To be clear: I don’t think in-game advertising sucks. I just think that if you’re gaining revenue from in-game advertising you should share it with the players who actually bought the game. (e.g. lower the game price).

In the case of crackdown there’s no lower price. And that sucks.

Great that is – one of my 360 favourites just got updated and now you can have force feedback through the wireless wheel and a hardcore mode that injects realistic driving physics…

“We’re delighted to offer you this place where you can learn and share experiences with the XNA family of products. Whether you’re using XNA Game Studio Express or the native DirectX tools and APIs, this is the place to come to!…”

I really do love the pivot function of my display…

Source: http://www.xna.com

I just realised that I got my copy of Crackdown more than 5 days earlier than I was supposed to be. Crackdown is available in stores starting Feb. 20. Oh and it’s a great great game. GTA is nothing compared to this one…

Those who are also getting crackdown may want to consider visiting http://crackdown.wikispaces.com/. You can find some great maps there that come in handy when you’re on the orb hunt.

And for those who want to try co-op: add me to your friendslist (gamertag is “bietiekay”) and we’ll do a co-op mission or two.

Thanks for linking to me. And you kotaku readers: grab the RSS feed and keep on reading this blog!

Apparently there is a contest scheduled for January 2007 in which people are asked to build their dream games. The XBOX LIVE arcade logo in the background suggests that maybe the contest winning games will get a certification and XBOX LIVE arcade release…

Source: http://www.dreambuildplay.com/index.html

This actually is a short recording of the first game I deployed to my 360. It’s the “Spacewar” Starterkit for the XBOX 360. It compiled flawlessly and I deployed it:

Download video.

On the 360 the things look like this:

So I just got me a 1-year membership of the XNA Creators Club, which means: I can now develop and run applications such as games on my 360…

Is any of my readers going to get a membership too?

The long awaited XNA Game Studio and it’s XBOX 360 game launcher counterpart is available for download. Hobbyist game developers rejoice!

“XNA Game Studio Express enables hobbyists, academics, and small, independent game developers to easily create video games for Windows and the Xbox 360 console using new, optimized cross-platform gaming libraries based on .NET. This official release enables the creation of games for Windows XP SP2-based PCs. Combined with an active membership in the XNA Creators Club (available from Xbox Live Marketplace), you can also create, debug, and play games on your Xbox 360 console.”

Oh. You have to have Windows XP SP2 at the moment to run XNA Game Studio Express:

“Only supported on Microsoft® Windows® XP SP2 (all editions) at this time. Windows Vista support will be available in an update to version 1.0 next year.”

Source: XNA Game Studio Express Download

PMS GibGirl aka Evil Angela sent this picture of her back over Xbox Live today:

Yes boys and girls, this is an Atari logo tattoed on her back. In fact it’s looking great Find more pictures here.

Source 1: XboxLive
Source 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/evil_angela/

Apparently the Gears of War Soundtrack by Megadeth is downloadable for free. Get the song and the lyrics here.

Source: http://www.megadeth.com/

It’s exactly one year since the XBOX 360 launched and I got mine from amazon. And since it’s birthday-party time, I bought another accessory:

8 kilograms of pure joy and racing fun. It’s the “XBOX 360 Wireless Racing Wheel“.

I just had time to drive for about 15 minutes with the wheel and all I can say is: PERFECT!. It’s one of the best wheels I’ve ever used and the force feedback is the best I ever had on a console and on PC. Currently only Project Gotham Racing 3 (comes with the wheel) and the upcoming Forza 2 support the wheel (…and one or two other games that don’t count), but well: Forza 2 and GTR (should also support the wheel, not announced yet) will be my favourite games in 2007…

If you’re playing racing games on the 360, I encourage you to get one of those wheels!!

Source: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x/xbox360wirelessracingwheel/

Yes, you can have your Halo 3 in 3 flavours:

Regular: which is actually one DVD with the game…

Collectors: no info available at the moment…

Legendary: the game + Halo Spartan Mjolnir Mark VI Helmet Replica!

Source: http://www.ebgames.com/gs/halo3/

There was a Kameo Skin contest and the winners are finally announced. You can see my favourite ones below:

Thanks to XboxWorld for the pictures…

Source: Read more of – Kameo Skins, die Gewinner

“Most broadband routers use Network Address Translation (NAT). Windows Internet Connection Sharing also uses NAT.

For most devices that use NAT, port forwarding is not required to connect to Xbox Live. This is especially true if you use an Xbox Live certified device. Port forwarding should only be needed if you use a proxy server or a true firewall device instead of, or in addition to a NAT. Sometimes, you may have to configure port settings on a non Xbox Live certified router or gateway.
If there is a firewall device between the Xbox console and the network device, you may have to configure the firewall to enable communication on specific network ports. If the NAT status in the Network Status area of the Dashboard is “moderate” or “strict,” you may have to configure port settings.”

The following ports must be available for Xbox Live to operate correctly:

• UDP 88
• UDP 3074
• TCP 3074

Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/908874/en-us

“This material represents thousands of man-hours of work, and was presented during last month’s Gamefest 2006 conference (when we announced XNA Game Studio Express).

Good news: These content files represent a colossal amount of up-to-date knowledge, delivered right to your computer. Your brain might explode from the information overload, but you’ll die happy. (FYI: Most of the content is PPT slide decks and audio recordings. You’ll have to page the deck yourself as you listen. There are also a few movie demos and a couple of white papers)

Bad news: These are big honking files. Some exceeding 500Mb. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”

Gamefest 2006: Graphics Track

• Introduction to Direct3D 10: Coming to a PC Near You
• Using Direct3D 10: Getting the Most from Your Direct3D 10 Engine
• Effects 10: Driving the New Effects System
• Exploiting Direct3D 10: Advanced Techniques Using Direct3D 10
• Advanced Lighting and More from Microsoft Research
• Xbox 360 Direct3D and GPU Performance Update
• HLSL Shader Compiler Update for Xbox 360 and Windows
• Under the Hood: Revving Up Shader Performance
• Seven Ways to Skin a Mesh: Character Skinning Revisited for Modern GPUs
• HDR the Bungie Way
• Cross-Platform Graphics Engine Development

Gamefest 2006: Windows and Xbox 360 System Programming Track

• Designing Multi-Core Games: How to Walk and Chew Bubblegum at the Same Time
• Multi-Core Memory Coherence: The Hidden Perils of Sharing Data
• Sublime C++ for Games
• Games as Malware: Why Security is Your Problem Too
• Hardening the Box: The Xbox 360 and Windows Vista Security Models
• Supercharging I/O: Hard Disk, DVD, and Memory Unit
• Memory Management Internals: Allocation Strategies for High Performance
• Power Debugging: Nasty Bugs and How to Find Them
• Taming the CLR: How To Write Really Fast Managed Code
• Windows Performance Topics for Games
• Xbox 360 CPU Performance Update
• Developing Games for Windows and Xbox 360: Stories from the Trenches

Gamefest 2006: Developer Tools: XNA and Visual Studio Track

• Working Smarter and Building Faster with Visual C++ 2005
• Managing Content Builds with XNA Build
• An Introduction to Agile Development
• Creating Games with the XNA Framework
• A Closer Look at the XNA Framework Content Pipeline
• Managing Content Builds with XNA Build

Gamefest 2006: Visual Arts Track

• Dynamic Animation in Next-Generation Games
• Exporting SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT into a Real-Time Engine
• Procedural Texturing Using ProFX: 2K Textures in 2KB
• How’d They Do That? Graphics Samples Explained
• Creating Captivating Visual Content for DirectX 10
• Shaders and Shader Tools for Artists
• Pushing the Pipeline: Creating a Next-Generation Art Pipeline in Less Than Six Months
• Photorealistic Lighting Solutions for Next- Generation Games using Turtle 3
• Strategies for Coping with the Demand of High Def Art

Gamefest 2006: Cross-Platform Xbox Live Track

• Live Anywhere: Bringing the Live Experience to Windows
• Session Enhancements: Host Migration, Improved TrueSkill™ and More
• The New Xbox Live Server Platform: Opening up the Network
• Community Extensions: Further Options to Customize Your Game’s User Experience
• Achievements and Stats: Adding to the “Just Five More Minutes” Factor

Gamefest 2006: Casual Games Track

• Developing Games for Xbox Live Arcade
• Developing Web-Based Games for MSN Games
• Preparing Casual Games for Windows Vista
• Developing Casual Games for MSN Messenger
• Future Platforms and Opportunities for Casual Games

Gamefest 2006: Audio Track

• Full Service Audio: A Comprehensive Guide to Tools, Libraries, and Services for Audio on Xbox 360 and Windows Vista
• The Fundamentals of Audio Rendering on Xbox 360 and Windows Vista
• XMA Implementation and Aesthetics (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Compression)
• Using the Top Rear Left-of-Center Low Frequency Speaker: How Multi-channel Audio Works on Xbox 360 and Windows Vista
• Distributed Composing: Managing Audio Collaboration and Cross-Platform Deployment for XACT Projects
• An Analytical Study of Audio Implementations for Existing Windows and Xbox 360 Titles

Gamefest 2006: Game Middleware Track

• Adding Camera-Based Gesture and Face Tracking to Games
• Making Your Game Sound More Cinematic
• Extensible .NET Tools for Game Development – Guidelines and Lessons Learned
• An Overview of Voice Recognition Implementation
• Meshing AGEIA and Granny
• Combining Different Middleware Solutions to Create a Customized Platform
• The Convergence of AI, Physics and Animation
• The Dos and Absolutely-Do-Nots of XLSP: A Middleware Perspective
• Advanced Tools and Techniques for Shipping Your Game On-Time
• Creating a DirectX 10 Shader Authoring Sandbox Using SOFTIMAGE|XSI
• The State of the (Audio) Nation: A Conversation with Leading Audio Content Middleware Solutions

Gamefest 2006: Producer and Business Development Track

• Games for Windows Vista: Nail the Essentials, Showcase the Innovations
• Marketplace: Future of Digital Distribution
• Making your Windows Titles Come ALIVE Anywhere!
• Expanding Your Audience Through Accessibility
• Rise Above: Improving Your Game’s Chances for Success by Focusing on What Players Want

Gamefest 2006: Quality Assurance and Certification Track

• Introduction to Windows Error Reporting as a Service
• Games for Windows Vista Compatibility: The Essentials
• Microsoft Games Testing Organization: Testing Evolved

Source 1: http://www.microsoftgamefest.com/
Source 2: http://letskilldave.com/archive/2006/09/11/Gamefes…

Even more great news from Microsoft:

“XNA Game Studio Express is a new offering, targeted at students and hobbyists for game development. XNA Game Studio is based on Visual C# Express 2005 and lets developers target both Windows and Xbox 360. XNA Game Studio Express contains the following:

• The XNA Framework, a set of managed code development libraries which will allow game developers to be more productive when creating games for Windows and the Xbox 360.
• The XNA Framework Content Pipeline which is a set of tools that allow developers to more easily incorporate 3D content into their games.
• XNA Game Studio Express also contains a full set of documentation, how-to’s and starter-kits that demonstrate how best to utilize the content pipeline and XNA Framework. “

Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/directx/xna/faq/

and another panoramic view straigt out of Project Gotham Racing 3 (ignore the red Enzo please)…

Gamers rejoice! Today there were some really great updates in the XBOX 360 queue. The most interesting one is the update for Project Gotham Racing 3 – one of the launch titles of the 360. You finally can export the pictures you took in “Photo Mode” to your computer. Just select the picture and send it to your “Your Photos”-Webpage and grab them from there.

I straight went onto the track with the Sagaris to take some test pictures:

yes, HDR…

yes, panoramic view…

I just can say: WOW! That’s what I was looking for when I used the “Photo Mode” over half a year ago for the first time…Oh…I forgot to mention that they are also doing a competition…if you want to take part…here’s the info you need.

Source 1: http://projectgothamracing3.com/photos/PhotoGallery
Source 2: http://www.bizarreonline.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=216755

Here we are – the newest episode of XBox3000 TV (german).

Download WMV (1100 MB)
Download iPod kompatibles MP4 (480 MB)

Nat