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Xbox News is a site that brings you the very latest Original Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One news, the latest games and releases, Part of the
DCEmu Homebrew & Gaming Network.
THE LATEST NEWS BELOW
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March 20th, 2011, 02:30 Posted By: wraggster
A zoetrope is a device that contains a disk full with a series of images that make up and animation. A couple of different methods can be used to trick the eye into seeing a single animated image. In the past this was done by placing the images inside of a cylinder with slits at regular distances. When spun quickly, the slits appear to be stationary, with the images creating the animation. But the same effect can be accomplished using a strobe light.
The disk you see above uses the strobe method, but it’s design and construction is what caught our eye. The animated shapes were captured with a Kinect and isolated using Processing. [Greg Borenstein] takes a depth movie recorded while someone danced in front of a Kinect. He ran it through a Processing sketch and was able to isolate a set of slides that where then turned into the objects seen above using a laser cutter.
You can watch a video of this particular zoetrope after the break. But we’ve also embedded the Pixal 3D zoetrope clip which, although unrelated to this hack, is extremely interesting. Don’t have a laser cutter to try this out yourself? You could always build a zoetrope that uses a printed disk.
http://hackaday.com/2011/03/19/build...-laser-cutter/
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March 20th, 2011, 02:17 Posted By: wraggster
Facebook resource management sim FarmVille is one of the world's most popular online video games. Xbox 360's Live set-up is is one of the world's most popular online video game networks. Surely then, putting the two together makes perfect sense? Not so, says the game's developer Zynga.
During a chat with IndustryGamers, Zynga's chief game designer Brian Reynolds explained that Xbox Live was just too small a pond for the developer to bother with.
"The thing that seems to make social gaming and networking magical is the fact that all my friends are potentially there and they might see the things that I'm posting or doing or expressing," he said.
"[Xbox Live's] too small a demographic. Think about, of my friends, how many of them own an Xbox 360? Well, I'm a game developer and I even come from a triple-A space so we might even be in the double digits... 20 or maybe even 30 per cent of my friends might have an Xbox 360, but effectively 100 per cent of them have Facebook and effectively 100 per cent of them have a mobile phone. Of them, probably 90 per cent have a smartphone.
"So when you think about the social potential of a platform... if we made a game on Xbox Live, I think - forgetting about the fact that I might have an artificially high percentage of friends that do it because of what my profession is - the number of anyone's friends that's going to be able to participate in the social experience is going to be a very small number so the amount of social capital that there is isn't going to be very high."
Some figures to help put Reynolds' comments into perspective. As of February 2010, Xbox Live had 23 million members, while in January this year Facebook boasted 600 million. FarmVille had 62 million active users as of September last year.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-for-farmville
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March 18th, 2011, 23:03 Posted By: wraggster
As Kinect hacks go, this one's not going to bowl you over with its technical complexity, but the effect of what it does is quite dramatic. One of Microsoft's sensor-rich, camera-laden Xbox accessories has been repurposed to communicate with a Pufferfish spherical projection display -- via the magic of WPF andopenni -- with its motion tracking algorithms serving to control the image on the giant ball. Naturally, the first thing the tweakers behind this mod thought up was a Tolkien-inspired eye that follows people around the room. Sadly, the single Kinect box isn't enough to provide 360-degree coverage, but it's probably just a matter of time until they splice an array of them together and creep us out completely. Video after the break.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/18/k...ully-creepy-a/
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March 18th, 2011, 00:05 Posted By: wraggster
A clever new Kinect hack has adapted Microsoft's hands-free gaming peripheral to help blind people navigate.
As spotted by SlashGear, the mod is called NAVI (Navigational Aids for the Visually Impaired) and is the work of University of Konstanz graduate students Michael Zöllner and Stephan Huber.
The duo have connected a Kinect unit to a helmet which is then plugged into a laptop carried in a backpack, linked to a Bluetooth headset and a vibrotactile Ardunio-controlled belt.
Thanks to the Kinect camera's infra-red tech, this set-up then offers both a verbal and tactile warning when the user approaches an obstacle in their path. On top of that, it can also offer directions and read signs thanks to ARToolKit identifiers stuck on walls. Take a look at the clip below to see the rather wonderful innovation in action.
Kinect, eh? Is there anything it can't do?
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...eople-navigate
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March 16th, 2011, 02:58 Posted By: wraggster
News via http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/...ykCJuhhhfR.php
fbBuild v0.12 has been released, which will allow to create a freeBOOT-style NAND image and reboot JTAG-able 360s into the latest 12625 dashboard! The original release was for Jasper consoles only, but there are already patched versions working with other motherboards too.
[QUOTE]
Introduction:
It's super Awesome
Jasper Consoles Only.
<3 iKaris work.
What's New:
- critical bug fix relating to some 16M jaspers (fixjaspa)
- minor updates and fixes
Current Limitations:
- security files besides KV must be provided in encrypted form
- STAY THE HELL OFF LIVE! Nuff said, we're not you're mum.
- There is no LIVE idiots, so don't try.
How To Use:
- See individual folders for lists of files to provide
- if desired provide replacement cpu and 1bl keys in text files
- open a command window in the fbBuild directory
- on the command line type, for example:
example - if you provided keys in appropriate text files
fbbuild.exe -c jasper -d mydata jasper.bin
fbbuild.exe -c jasper256 -d mydata jasper.bin
fbbuild.exe -c jasper512 -d mydata jasper.bin
-c jasper = use jasper bl and patch set
-d mydata = a folder is present called "mydata" with per machine
files
myfalconout.bin = the file that will be produced
- type fbbuild.exe -? for command line info
Note:
KV hash has been removed.
KV swapping is possible but what's the point using it for LIVE it won't work.
Credits:
Without ikari this would not have been possible, thanks
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March 16th, 2011, 02:40 Posted By: wraggster
The London Hackspace crew was having a tough time getting their Kinect demos running at Makefair 2011. While at the pub they had the idea of combining forces with Brightarcs Tesla coils and produced The Evil Genius Simulator!
After getting the go ahead from Brightarcs and the input specs of the coils they came up with an application in Openframeworks which uses skeletal tracking data to determine hand position. The hand position is scaled between two manually set calibration bars (seen in the video, below). The scaled positions then speeds or slows down a 50Hz WAV file to produce the 50-200Hz sin wave required by each coil. It only took an hour but the results are brilliant, video after the jump.
There are all these previously featured stories on the Kinect and we’ve seen Tesla coils that respond to music, coils that make music, and even MIDI controlled coils, nice to see it all combined.
http://hackaday.com/2011/03/15/the-e...d-tesla-coils/
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March 16th, 2011, 01:36 Posted By: wraggster
The Kinect hacks keep rollin', and we just keep on lovin' every one of 'em -- despite most being decidedly non-practical. This one actually is, created by Sebastian Pirch at 3rD-EYE, a media production company. He's made a free-space 3D modeling tool using a Kinect camera to track his hands, which he uses to create points in space and draft a model. To provide greater control he then made two Arduino-powered gloves that detect finger touches -- basically DIY Peregrines. Using different connections of finger-presses he can move the entire model, move single points, create new points, create new polygons, and basically do everything he needs to do to create a mesh, which can then be imported into 3ds Max for further refinement. He even manages to make it all look fun, thus besting Lockheed Martin's similar system that's powered by zombies.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/15/k...ee-space-vide/
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March 16th, 2011, 00:53 Posted By: wraggster
Reports suggest that Microsoft has stopped introducing new versions of the Zune media player, although it will continue to use the software technology in its other hardware devices.
According to an unnamed sourced speaking to Bloomberg, Microsoft will now concentrate on using Zune software on its Windows Phone 7 line and on the Xbox 360, as the Zune hardware is gradually phased out.
Never released outside of North America, the Zune project was headed by former Xbox frontman J Allard. The first product was released to market in 2006, but never broke into the list of the top five-selling media players - where Apple then held a 77 per cent market dominance.
Responding to Bloomberg's article Microsoft refused to confirm or deny the story: "We have nothing to announce about another Zune device - but most recently have introduced Zune HD to Canada via the Zune Originals store and remain committed to supporting our devices in North America.
"We are thrilled by the consumer excitement for Zune across many new platforms, including Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360. Our long-term strategy focuses on the strength of the entire Zune ecosystem across Microsoft platforms," added the company.
Bloomberg's source suggests that Zune hardware will continue to be sold in the short term, but that no new versions are expected following 2009's Zune HD.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-zune-hardware
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March 13th, 2011, 23:12 Posted By: wraggster
News via http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/...ppIwNqDzKE.php
cOz released a new version of Dash Launch for JTAG 360s.
What's new/fixed:
* reworked hooking to be a bit more dynamic and simpler to update
* ini parser fixed, glitch when comment line last line with no blank line after (thanks Toddler!)
* disables updaters (DA2 and other disks; safety)
* minor tweaks to boot time delays, further improves on previous autologin issue
Known Bugs:
* Thanks to excellent testers, none were corned by the time of this writing. If you find any during use, find the release thread at xbox-scene and please report them there.
* in freestyle 1.7 and earlier, there was a minor glitch that caused console crashing for some people under rare circumstances, if you haven't updated to RC1.8 or newer please do so.
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March 13th, 2011, 23:02 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft's Kinect has become quite the hacking hotbed -- the fields of medicine, music, and evenshadow puppeteering have all benefitted from the peripheral's incredible versatility. And now, to the delight of home automation nerds everywhere, an enterprising young hacker has rigged a Kinect to automate the lighting in his home. By positioning the camera bar in a corner to track his movements, connecting it to the automation controller, and coding on / off commands, he's able to control the lights throughout his geektastic domicile. The automation logic then turns on the lights when entering the room, localizes them according to location, and turns them off upon leaving. One less thing to worry about -- here's hoping a method for spotting our perpetually misplaced keys is in version 2.0. Vid's after the break.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/11/k...ighting-for-y/
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March 13th, 2011, 22:13 Posted By: wraggster
Battlefield 3 developer DICE has fired off a few rounds at its competitors, accusing other military shooters of recycling the same old formula.
"Our competitors are getting lazy," DICE general manager Karl-Magnus Troedsson told Official PlayStation Magazine.
"They're using the same engine, the same recipe for building a game. At some point you need to take that leap. I haven't seen them take that leap since a long time ago.
"We are doing that now," he insisted. "They had better watch out. We are coming for them."
Who on earth could he be referring to? It's a wild shot in the dark, but considering all of publisher EA's recent bluster about going head to head with Call of Duty, one obvious target springs to mind.
"Our competitors keep building very, very high tempo games," he added. "We want to tell a story with more drama curves. It's not about pumping round after round for six hours."
Cast your eyes over Al Bickham's recent hands-on preview for more on how DICE's game is shaping up.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...mpetition-lazy
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March 13th, 2011, 13:37 Posted By: LyonHrt
Ahh sunday afternoons, is usually a combination of something starwarsy, or gaming, or both.
So to keep inline with that, i bring you an R2-D2 Xbox 360...
This is a one of a kind star wars r2d2 xbox 360 with projector and aux inputs by Mark Bongo (at time of writting has already used up his bandwidth..whoops)
You can see a video of this in action after the break:
Source instructables
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March 12th, 2011, 23:04 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft sold 535,000 Xbox 360 consoles during February 2011, according to data from the NPD Group.
Total retail spend on Xbox 360 hardware, software and peripherals during the month was $475 million, said Microsoft.
"February was the biggest non-holiday month of console sales in the US in the history of the Xbox," said the company said in a statement to IndustryGamers. "For the second month in a row, Xbox 360 was the number one console, maintaining its lead in the US as the top selling console in 2011."
Earlier today The Guinness World Records declared Xbox 360 peripheral Kinect the fast-selling consumer gadget ever, revealing it has sold over ten million units - and ten million standalone games - since launch last year.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...es-in-february
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March 12th, 2011, 22:59 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft has denied that it was scammed out of an estimated $1.2 million in Microsoft points, following hackers' discovery of an algorithm to generate new XBLA codes.
A spokesperson told Gamasutra that "the figure is nowhere near the amount that has been reported", but declined to reveal the actual numbers.
The firm was also investigating accounts it believed had taken advantage of the temporary backdoor. For those users found to have transgressed, "we... will take the appropriate enforcement on an individual basis."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...down-xbla-scam
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March 12th, 2011, 22:52 Posted By: wraggster
On last week's Mailbox we featured Mark Montgomery, who contacted Xbox World 360 to highlight the problems faced by colour blind gamers.
This week Niall McLarney e-mailed in to say he thinks the party chat feature on Xbox Live may have had a negative impact on the overall Xbox Live experience.
Don't forget, to be in with a chance of having your letter featured on CVG's Mailbox, drop us a line.
"Hello, anybody there?" (No answer.)
Hello? Has anybody got a mic? This is a team deathmatch, communication would help..." This is Xbox Live for most games played online.
I miss the days of Gears Of War and Saints Row where kids would talk about 'your mom' and all the wannabe gangsters on Saints Row. It's a lonely affair online now as most people are in Party Chat.
Don't get me wrong, I like Party Chat as you can talk to one or more person, and I know a lot of people in team-based games are in Party Chat as they're in clans - but there's no banter or abuse in between games any more, which I miss.
I doubt I'm the only one but not everybody is in a party on Black Ops and if you're not in a party chat you find yourself running around on a battlefield talking to yourself.
I know Xbox Live has moved on - and some say forward - but I feel the total online experience has suffered because of this... but I suppose I'll just have to get over it.
XBW says: Don't knock Party Chat, Niall - it's a priceless refuge we've turned to many an evening to chat to sociable players and avoid racists and homophobes.
A bit of banter every now and then is fine, of course, but unfortunately not enough people know where the line is.
Although certain team modes may suffer, the Party Chat option is a very good thing for gaming - and if you endeavour to find a squad of like-minded gamers with whom you can organize deathmatch sessions, you may well come to agree.
CVG says: We understand what you're getting at Niall but you may be on your own on this one.
The number of racist, homophobic, sexist mouth-breathers on Xbox Live heavily outweigh those willing to interact, co-ordinate and play without being offensive. Which is very unfortunate.
Fortunately it's easy to switch between party and public chat, so just when we've regained our faith in humanity and our fellow gamers we can jump into the public chat, have it utterly shattered and head back to our comfort zone.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS
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March 12th, 2011, 22:48 Posted By: wraggster
Analyst reckons Microsoft's machine will outsell Nintendo's for the year ending March 2011 in the US
Back in September 2010 Microsoft made the bold claim that "there's been a mid-generation leadership change" in the hardware market. Now it looks like it might just have been right.
Speaking in an investor note, Cowen and Company analyst Doug Creutz has predicted that if current sales trends persist, Xbox 360 is poised to outsell the Nintendo Wii for the 12 months ending March 31st 2011.
Microsoft announced last night that it sold 535,000 consoles in the US last month – a record-breaking number for a non-holiday month.
It would be the first time the Wii have been trumped over an annual basis in the US since the machine launched.
“This illustrates the significant shift that has gone on over the last year in the console space,” Creutz explained. “The Wii was outselling the 360 and PS3 combined on a trailing 12 months basis as recently as January 2010, and was outselling the 360 alone by two-to-one in December 2009 and 1.5:1 in October 2010.
“Over the last three years, total US Xbox 360/PS3/Wii hardware unit sales have remained relatively consistent in the 17-19m unit range (18.2m as of February), so this does represent a share shift as opposed to just a decline for the Wii.
“We believe the significant shift in hardware sales towards HD consoles is a positive ongoing development for the US publishers, who earn the majority of their sales on the Xbox 360/PS3.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/43472/Xbox...o-overtake-Wii
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March 12th, 2011, 22:41 Posted By: wraggster
Analyst reckons Microsoft's machine will outsell Nintendo's for the year ending March 2011 in the US
Back in September 2010 Microsoft made the bold claim that "there's been a mid-generation leadership change" in the hardware market. Now it looks like it might just have been right.
Speaking in an investor note, Cowen and Company analyst Doug Creutz has predicted that if current sales trends persist, Xbox 360 is poised to outsell the Nintendo Wii for the 12 months ending March 31st 2011.
Microsoft announced last night that it sold 535,000 consoles in the US last month – a record-breaking number for a non-holiday month.
It would be the first time the Wii have been trumped over an annual basis in the US since the machine launched.
“This illustrates the significant shift that has gone on over the last year in the console space,” Creutz explained. “The Wii was outselling the 360 and PS3 combined on a trailing 12 months basis as recently as January 2010, and was outselling the 360 alone by two-to-one in December 2009 and 1.5:1 in October 2010.
“Over the last three years, total US Xbox 360/PS3/Wii hardware unit sales have remained relatively consistent in the 17-19m unit range (18.2m as of February), so this does represent a share shift as opposed to just a decline for the Wii.
“We believe the significant shift in hardware sales towards HD consoles is a positive ongoing development for the US publishers, who earn the majority of their sales on the Xbox 360/PS3.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/43472/Xbox...o-overtake-Wii
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March 12th, 2011, 00:43 Posted By: wraggster
[John B] is a software engineer and had some spare time on his hands, so he started messing around with his Kinect which had been sitting unused for awhile. He wanted to see what he could create if he was able to get Kinect data into a virtual environment that supported real-world physics. The first idea that popped into his head was to interface the Kinect with Garry’s Mod.
If you are not familiar with Garry’s Mod, it is a sandbox environment built on top of Valve’s Source engine. The environment supports real-world physics, but beyond that, it pretty much lets you do or build anything you want. [John] found that there was no good way to get Kinect data into the software, so he built his own.
He used OpenNI to gather skeletal coordinate data from Kinect, which was then passed to some custom code that packages those coordinates inside UDP packets. Those packets are then sent to a custom Lua script that is interpreted by Garry’s Mod.
The result is just plain awesome as you can see in the video below. Instead of simply playing some random game with the Kinect, you get to design the entire experience from the ground up. The project is still in its infancy, but it’s pretty certain that we’ll see some cool stuff in short order. All of the code is available on github, so give it a shot and share your videos with us.
http://hackaday.com/2011/03/10/kinec...f-virtual-fun/
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Grab two games for the price of one. Activision packs two of their family friendly and exciting games into a magnificent package. And this weekly special isn't just here to bring fun into the household, but to lend a helping hand to everyone affected by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. For every game sold, $5 will be donated to the Red Cross Japan. 
