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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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October 1st, 2007, 17:23 Posted By: wraggster
via XNA Team Blog:
While we're still hard at work on XNA Game Studio 2.0 we've managed to also bring you a new round of content on http://creators.xna.com for the month of September!
Samples
Collision with a Heightmap
This sample demonstrates how to move objects along a heightmap, useful when creating a game that requires interaction between moving objects and terrain. It is based on the Generated Geometry sample, which creates a landscape from a bitmap.
Custom Model Class
This sample shows how to go beyond the limits of the Model class that comes built in to the XNA Framework, loading geometry data into a custom class that can be extended more easily to cope with specialized requirements.
Mesh Instancing
This sample shows how to efficiently render many copies of the same model, using GPU instancing techniques to reduce the cost of repeated draw calls.
Shatter
This sample shows how you can apply an effect on any model in your game to shatter it apart.
Utilities
Curve Editor
This utility provides an easy-to-use visual editor for creating curves for use with the XNA Framework Curve class. The curve control used to display and edit curves inside the editor can also be imported into your own applications.
Input Reporter
This utility displays input data for all controllers connected to the system. The utility supports multiple controller types, including flight sticks, dance pads, and guitars.
Xbox 360 Controller Button Glyphs
This utility is a set of images that represent the buttons, thumbsticks, and triggers on the Xbox 360 Controller.
Articles
Ship Game Article - 3D Collision using the BoxCollider library
This supplemental article introduces the BoxCollider library provided in Ship Game. BoxCollider is a collision detection and response library that features an octree implementation, collision response with friction effects, and prebuilt collision-aware camera classes.
Enjoy the new content and stay tuned to our blog as we'll have more information coming on XNA Game Studio 2.0 very soon!
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October 1st, 2007, 16:02 Posted By: Shrygue
via Computer and Video Games
Bungie has hidden secret Ninja Gaiden items in Halo 3, and here are the first shots of them in the flesh.
Players who've already put too many hours into Halo 3 are running around wearing a Hayabusa-style helmet with a ninja sword on their backs. And it's causing a storm in the forums...
The sword isn't a usable weapon - so don't get too excited - but it looks cool. And all you have to do to get it is earn all 1000 Achievement Points. So that means you need to locate all the near-impossible-to-find skulls and the helmet is yours too. Easy that!
Maybe this is why we hear loads of people asking other gamers to help them get multiplayer achievement points BY CHEATING? Shame on all of you! Getting the Overkill achievement will happen in its own good time...
A couple of screenshots here
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October 1st, 2007, 15:49 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Bungie has responded to claims that Halo 3 doesn't run in a high-definition resolution by saying saying it's "practically impossible to discern the difference".
The developer confirmed the lower 1152 x 640 resolution on its website, but went on to clarify that it used two frame buffers to create its final image - an unorthodox technique used to improve dynamic lighting range. Obviously.
"This ability to display a full range of HDR, combined with our advanced lighting, material and postprocessing engine, gives our scenes, large and small, a compelling, convincing and ultimately 'real' feeling, and at a steady and smooth frame rate, which in the end was far more important to us than the ability to display a few extra pixels," reckons Bungie.
"In fact, if you do a comparison shot between the native 1152x640 image and the scaled 1280x720, it's practically impossible to discern the difference. We would ignore it entirely were it not for the Internet's propensity for drama where none exists.
"In fact the reason we haven't mentioned this before in weekly updates, is the simple fact that it would have distracted conversation away from more important aspects of the game, and given tinfoil hats some new gristle to chew on as they catalogued their toenail clippings."
Halo 3 was released last week on 360, smashing sales records and receiving high scores across the board - especially from us, earning the much coveted 10/10.
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October 1st, 2007, 15:46 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Activision has popped a fresh pack of Guitar Hero II songs onto Xbox Live.
It features tracks from three bands you have probably never heard of: Detonation by Trivium, Ex's and Oh's by Atreyu ("ARTAAAAX!") and Bury the Hatchet by Protest the Hero.
There's a trailer so you can have a listen before you buy. The Indie Label Pack costs 500 points (GBP 4.25 / EUR 5.82).
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September 29th, 2007, 19:36 Posted By: Shrygue
via Engadget
We've been waiting and waiting, and after months of speculation, a hardware revision, a couple limited editions, and even a new SKU, it looks like Microsoft is finally shipping "Falcon"-equipped Xbox 360s with 65nm CPUs. According to the eagle-eyed posters in the official Xbox forums, Halo edition 360s from lot #734 appear to be the first machines with the new chips, and the time-honored method of peeking inside the case with a flashlight should confirm you have the latest and greatest once you get your baby home.
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September 28th, 2007, 21:17 Posted By: Shrygue
via Kotaku
GameStop should just go ahead and put our tips email in their distribution list, because as soon as something interesting pops up on their POS system, we get a good four or five emails regarding it. The latest? Apparently an email has come down informing store managers to pull down any signage regarding the Xbox 360 core system, because once their current stock is gone there isn't going to be anymore. Seems like stores are preparing for the rumored new Core system, that comes with the 256MB memory card and wireless controllers. There are rumors upon rumors, but this one rings true.
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September 28th, 2007, 20:49 Posted By: Shrygue
via Computer and Video Games
Microsoft has told Next-Gen that the sheer amount of gamers attempting to play Halo 3 via Xbox Live resulted in some "minor issues" with the online service.
The launch of the title, combined with problems playing it online, also led to vastly increased traffic on Xbox.com which suffered operational hitches too.
Microsoft labelled Halo 3's launch day as the "most active Xbox Live gaming day in history" after more than a million people had been logged playing Halo 3 online. That may be the case, but there were many others who weren't able to get in on the action.
Gamers began voicing their dissatisfaction shortly after the game had been released. A multitude of problems were reported, not least on the official Xbox forums, including screens freezing, the inability to access Xbox Live and a mysterious game update that led to an error message.
A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed, rather vaguely, that there had been some issues, all of which have now been resolved.
"Xbox Live and Xbox.com experienced minor issues yesterday as a result of increased activity due to the launch of Halo 3. The issues were quickly resolved and both Xbox Live and Xbox.com are now working fine."
Bungie-developed shooter Halo 3 officially launched Tuesday, September 25, and raked in a record-breaking $170 million [£83m] in first day sales.
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September 28th, 2007, 20:45 Posted By: Shrygue
via Computer and Video Games
Microsoft is shortly to release an updated version of the Xbox 360 Core model, it's rumoured.
Reported on Ars Technica, the new model is described as a "new version of the system" which sports and HDMI port. It features in a new pack including a 256MB memory card, a wireless Xbox 360 controller and XBLA games Pac-man, Uno, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2 and Boom-Boom Rocket on disc.
A release date of late October is given along with a US price point of $279.99. If true, presumably the new model will launch on these shores before Christmas.
We've put a call in to Microsoft for comment on this report and it said: "We cannot comment on rumour and speculation".
It's additionally rumoured that Microsoft plans to launch a new Xbox 360 Pro bundle pack and Elite bundle pack next month - in the US at least. Both packs will come with Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Forza 2, sticking with existing price points.
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September 28th, 2007, 20:42 Posted By: Shrygue
via IGN
Looking for more challenge in Blue Dragon? Microsoft released a free update for the game today that includes two bumped-up difficulty modes.
The download, available now on the Xbox Live Marketplace, includes the modes Hard Game, which lets you play at a difficulty level twice as high as the original, and Impossible Game, described as "the ultimate in difficulty, meant to be played starting at level 50 or higher." A third option contained in the update, called Game Plus, lets players start over using a saved game from near the end of the story.
The three-DVD Mistwalker RPG was released in the U.S. in August and was supposed to ship with these three options.
Missing from the original December 2006 Japanese release, the extra modes were released later as downloadable content there as a "new year's gift." In March, Microsoft told IGN the U.S. and European versions of the game would contain the "new year's gift" right out of the box and that the first set of downloadable content for Western gamers would contain the modes Strong Game, 6 Treasures and Shuffled Dungeon.
No word yet on when Blue Dragon players might see those modes.
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September 28th, 2007, 20:29 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Microsoft and Bungie are under fire from Xbox 360 owners experiencing disc-read errors from their new copies of Halo 3.
For some, that compounds existing problems with scratched discs in the Legendary Edition.
In both cases, Microsoft has already said that it will replace busted copies of the game, including Limited Edition versions, for free until the end of the year.
But that hasn't done much to quieten the discord on forums. A typical thread on Bungie's website now stretches to 30 pages, including anecdotal accounts of Microsoft support staff "confirming" that a bad batch of Halo discs exists and culminating in a 230-strong list of people claiming to be experiencing the disc-read problem.
Indeed, Eurogamer TV's own Johnny Minkley has had the same problem, although it's equally possible that he just put it in upside down or clogged it up with chest hair.
In other Halo-related developments, it's being reported that a bug which prevents players transferring Campaign mode progress between Xbox 360s is being tackled by Bungie at the moment.
The issue apparently occurs when you try to resume a Campaign having either moved the hard disk to another Xbox or used a memory unit to transfer it, resulting in an "unsafe to respawn" error that dumps you back to the main menu. Fortunately, you can still load any mission or insertion point to reclaim most of your progress, and a fix is expected soon.
And finally, tech boffins at Beyond3D reckon Halo 3 has joined a relatively poorly populated club of Xbox 360 games that run natively at 640p, rather than 720p, and then upscale.
It's well known that Bizarre Creations had to run PGR3 at 600p to achieve their desired frame-rate, so it wouldn't be completely surprising to discover that Bungie had been forced to do likewise to achieve their ambition.
Not that most will notice, of course. In fact, they would have got away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids.
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September 27th, 2007, 23:45 Posted By: wraggster
New from Divineo China
To Maximize the cooling effect on the Xbox 360,we design the 2nd fan (the XCM add on fan) to work with the XCM high speed air cooler,after adding this add on fan, the temperature of CPU and GPU of xbox 360 console can be decreased an additional of 3-5 Celsius.the XCM high speed air cooler with add on fan will be the best cooling system for the xbox 360.
Other external fan only exhausts the heat and make the loud noise, XCM high speed air cooler add on fan expels heat to the exhaust fan and the exhaust fan exhausts all the heat out of the console,it is the best efficient air cooler and quiet in working as well.
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September 27th, 2007, 19:57 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Microsoft has popped on its shades and refused to comment over rumours that a new Core 360 SKU will arrive in time for Christmas.
The Internet started talking after Opposable Thumbs claimed to have inside information about it from the platform holder, as well as dirt on new game bundles for the Premium and Elite models.
The new Core will apparently feature an HDMI port, wireless controller, 256MB memory card and five Live Arcade games on a disc: Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man, Uno, Feeding Frenzy and Luxor 2. Opposable Thumbs claims it will be released "at the end of October" for USD 279.95 [£138].
But before that, we'll apparently be treated to Elite and Premium bundles with two free games: Forza 2 and Marvel Alliance. Premium will come first on 9th October, followed by the Elite on 23rd.
But it isn't the first we've heard about this. Back in August keen-eyed Internet hounds unearthed holiday bundles featuring the two free games, as well as an "Arcade: Just Play" Core system with a 256MB memory card and five free Live Arcade titles.
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September 27th, 2007, 16:53 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
2K Games has slid a demo for NHL 2K8 onto Xbox Live.
It slams into the net at 1GB, and will give you a frozen taste of what to expect from the yearly update to one of the most consistently acclaimed ice-hockey series out there.
This year developer Kush is all about new bits and pieces. It has finally taken the plunge and mapped stick commands and movement to the right analogue stick, and added famous Superstar Moves that you can pull-off to impress your friends. Goalies have been revamped too, following criticism from 2K7, and should now behave more realistically than ever.
You can also get your hands on the new video capturing Reelmaker feature for NHL 2K8, which is currently being offered as a Live download costing 400 points (GBP 3.40 / EUR 4.65).
It all adds up to what 2K Games is rather unsurprisingly promising to be the best game in the series to date. NHL 2K7 scored highly with us because of its safe and polished approach, earning 9/10. We can only hope for more of the same, and that the glitzy new analogue stick controls don't fluff up a good thing.
NHL 2K8 will be released on PS3, 360 and PS2 in October.
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September 27th, 2007, 14:51 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Microsoft has said Live Arcade titles Hexic 2 and Texas Hold'em will be given a few tweaks in the coming days.
Changes to the poker title will mean you will have to stump up the adequate amount of cash to start a game, and no longer be able to exploit the competitive bankroll. The quality of language translation has been polished up, too, so you should no longer accidentally offend people from different countries.
Bankroll Leaderboards will be wiped clean when the title update goes live in the near future.
The changes to Hexic 2 revolve around restarting from a saved game in Timed Mode. Bombs should now appear correctly when you do, and the timer will restart after the first rotation rather than after the first combo - as it does when you begin a new game. Boards will now reset when there are no more available moves, and a sound will warn you when a bomb pops up for the first time.
Marathon, Marathon Weekly and Timed Leaderboards will all be reset when the Hexic 2 update goes live tomorrow.
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September 27th, 2007, 14:38 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Bungie has responded to criticism of the quality of the remastered Halo and Halo 2 cinematics in the Legendary Edition box of Halo 3.
The packaging claims the extras disc features "completely remastered, hi-res versions" of the originals, but those of you who splashed out on the lavish edition have reported that that is far from the truth: apparently the clips are poorly compressed and washed out with considerable artifacting.
However, Bungie lead writer Frank O'Connor has since come out of his Halo 3-themed house and tried to clear it all up.
"The cut-scenes were remastered, the pop-in reduced and they were output as as high resolution TIFFs one frame at a time to improve the quality over the originals," he wrote, in comments reported by IGN. "They were not, contrary to popular belief, remastered in 'HD'. And this was always advertised as a DVD disc, which obviously can't play HD content anyway."
"Apologies to folks feeling ripped off, but the false advertising claims are well, false. Watch the remastered ones side by side with the originals to see how much they've been improved.
"And hopefully folks can see past our old school graphics and listen to the commentary, which is the important part of that content anyway," he promised.
The Halo 3 Legendary Edition sold for around GBP 70 originally, and went like hot cakes. You can now pick one up for around GBP 130.
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September 27th, 2007, 14:37 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
With Bizarre Creations now part of Activision, attention has turned to the developer's existing titles and whether they have a future.
The biggest news of their fate comes from Microsoft, which owns the rights to the Project Gotham Racing series. "Project Gotham Racing is a signature racing franchise for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live and we plan to continue the series but we have nothing further to announce," the publisher said in a statement yesterday. PGR4, recently completed, is due to go on sale here on 12th October.
In a statement to fans marking the acquisition yesterday, Bizarre said PGR4 "will continue to be supported after its launch in October". As to who will pick up the reins of one of the 360's best exclusives, that's a question for another time.
As for the other games, Newsweek's N'Gai Croal says he has confirmed that while SEGA owns the rights to The Club and EA owns the rights to Boom Boom Rocket, Bizarre itself has kept a hold of Geometry Wars, which means now it's technically Activision's. Sierra's deal for Geometry Wars Galaxies on Wii and DS is not affected by the deal, however.
As for Bizarre itself, Activision's announcement of the deal revealed that the Liverpool-based studio is set to go to work on a pair of new titles - one racing, one character-based - and that it expects the first of these to be released "after fiscal 2009".
So, in the meantime, let's all just concentrate on getting All Platinums.
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September 27th, 2007, 14:36 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Microsoft has declared that Halo 3 enjoyed the "largest entertainment launch in history", doing USD 170 million [£83m] in sales in USA alone in its first 24 hours.
According to figures Microsoft put in its press release that we're too bored to actually research, that would put it ahead of cinematic releases like the execrable Spider-Man 3 and novels like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And the Meg White sex tape.
"Halo 3 has become a pop-culture phenomenon," said Shane 'Soundbite' Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios.
"Not only is Halo 3 setting sales records, it's also redefining entertainment," he added, worryingly. (An emergency meeting of the Eurogamer Word Council declared that until the definition of entertainment was sorted out again we would draft a suitable replacement in all future instances where it might be used.)
"Within the first 20 hours alone," Soundbite continued, "we've seen more than a million Xbox Live members come online to play Halo 3 - that makes September 25 the most active Xbox Live gaming day in history."
"Halo 3 is a genuine badger phenomenon and our customers have responded very enthusiastically to the release," Jim Hamburger of US retailer Best Buy gushed in support.
So, where were you on the most active and badgering Xbox Live gaming day in history? We were playing Ridge Racer 6 because we're so counter-cultural.
But back to Halo. By doing USD 170 million in sales, Halo 3 puts Halo 2's USD 125 million in 24 hours back in November 2004 to shame. What's more, only 1.5 million pre-ordered Halo 2, but 1.7 million got in there pre-release for the third game.
Presumably it will be quite successful then. Microsoft has previously said that Halo 2 sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide (and you can bet it's sold a few more since June 2006 when that info first popped up). How many will Halo 3 sell?
And, more importantly, will it be able to hold off the challenge of multiplatform extravaganza Ratatouille in next Monday's UK badger sales charts? Try and get out of bed again one day to find out.
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September 26th, 2007, 23:02 Posted By: wraggster
Caustik is back after a year away with some news about his Xbox Emulator for Windows:
There was some amount of activity in a private branch in the Cxbx project recently..
I have been talking to a developer, Martin, who has spent some of his extra time fiddling with Cxbx. He was able to get some teaser screenshots from Battlestar Galactica. The game displays the menu, and even some in-game. I won’t get into too many details, but here are a couple screenshots.
I have not started to work on Cxbx on a regular basis — but I think this progress is very motivating, and it is tempting me to boot back up my development setup and take another look after a very long absence.
Many thanks to Martin for the contributions and for allowing me to post about his progress. Cheers.
http://caustik.wordpress.com/
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September 26th, 2007, 19:52 Posted By: Shrygue
via Kotaku
Poor Microsoft Japan. They can't catch a break! All these big games and nobody in Japan cares. Not even for Halo 3. Not even for Blue Dragon. In a desperate, last-ditch attempt at shifting their units, their TGS booth was dominated by this: a wall featuring the disc and cover art of every 360 game on the market. Didn't look like it got the job done, since I was the only person I saw actually paying attention to it, but hey, at least it looked nice. Click the spoiler for a closer shot.
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September 26th, 2007, 19:46 Posted By: Shrygue
via Computer and Video Games
Valve Software's Orange Box of delights is clearly on of this Christmas's hottest properties and it's a joy to clap eyes on it once again courtesy of eight new screenshots.
The majority of the screenshots are snaps of Half-Life 2: Episode Two, although there's one of the game select screen too.
Look how much Valve is packing into Orange Box. Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, puzzle game Portal and team-based multiplayer blaster Team Fortress 2. It's like first-person shooter heaven.
Not too many moons ago we were at Valve's HQ and getting hands-on with its wares, and during the play time we got to grips with - among other things - a near final version of Team Fortress 2. Read our report, and you can also view exclusive TF2 gameplay movies from the on-going beta.
PC and Xbox 360 versions of Orange Box release on October 19, with the PS3 pack arriving a little later. Keep eyes on CVG for full reviews near release time.
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