Summer is coming....Game releases lessen

Everyone knows the biggest time of the year for video games is the holidays. So what does that mean for the upcoming summer? I my self have noticed that the game releases have lessened since summer is coming up. The only games I really care about that are coming out during the summer are only a few, but they seem promising to me. Duke Nukem Forever is one, Dungeon Siege III is another, but I am getting very excited for the release of Deus Ex 3 (looks promising). Other then those three, there really is not much more releasing this summer.

Till then I have been enjoying L.A. Noire on the Xbox360. Rockstar has done a good job with this game and it is very addictive. I only played about 2 hours of it so far, and it is a little slow on the pacing, but it is a game worth not passing up. When I am done, I plan to have a full review of the game posted up on my blog. I also want to dedicate a full review for Portal 2. Another fine game worth checking out if this summer seems boring to you. I also picked up Darkspore, it is fun but haven't been that impressed by it yet.

The Fall is filled with amazing games this time around, but I am looking forward to the summer. It provides me time to catch up on games I haven't finished or played yet. Bring on the HEAT.....

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Stulz Cosmotec - 3D Animation

Dopo qualche settimana di lavoro abbiamo terminato le tre animazioni realizzate per Stulz, leader indiscusso nella realizzazione di componenti di raffreddamento per server room e data center.


Per la realizzazione della animazioni sono stati renderizzati con 3ds Max ben 8158 render, compositati tra loro in After Effects e rielaborati con altre grafiche esterne.

1 – PRODIGY

Prodigy è la linea di prodotti per il raffreddamento di alto livello. È disponibile per case universali così come per case standalone. La potenza di raffreddamento è notevole e consente di effettuare una refrigerazione a corridoi caldi/freddi o direttamente all’interno del rack.
Prodigy consente l’integrazione con altri scambiatori di calore ed ha una modularità infinita, senza perdita di resa all’interno del volume da refrigerare.

2 – KRYOS

Kryos è un raffreddatore più semplice ed economico rispetto alla linea di prodotti Prodigy. La sua funzionalità non consiste nel raffreddare l’aria ma ne convogliarla verso l’interno. Grazie alla sua caratteristica progettuale, è possibile montare due dispositivi: uno per convogliare l’aria fredda dall’esterno all’interno del cabinet e l’altro per prelevare l’aria calda ed espellerla.
Il costo del dispositivo è estremamente contenuto, ma le caratteristiche di filtraggio sono evolute con supporto per filtri IP54 e IP55 in grado di bloccare pulviscolo, particelle grossolane e umidità.

3 – TOP²

TOP² è un sistema di raffreddamento per cabine elettriche di grande portata. Al suo interno TOP² nasconde un sistema di raffreddamento a doppio circuito in grado di garantire una corretta e costante refrigerazione dell’ambiente di lavoro anche in situazioni estreme.
È presente un sistema per il recupero dell’umidità dovuta allo scambio termico e la sua successiva espulsione sotto forma di vapore.

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Game Mini Review

Like I said, I was going to post mini reviews of games I played recently in the last month or so. The three games I play and beat in the last month or more are: Bulletstorm, Crysis 2, and Hot Springs Story.

First up is Bulletstorm that came out back in February 2011. I enjoyed this game and it's unique style of scoring you on how you kill enemies in the game. Whether it is sticking them on a wall or shooting them in the nutz, you get points on many different ways of ending your foes life. These points then can be used to buy more ammo and upgrade the 10 or so weapons in the game. My favorite being the pistol that shot little rockets. Shooting a foe in the ass with this rocket was funny to watch. Bulletstorm was unique to me and I enjoyed the singleplayer very much. But it wasn't perfect....sometimes it was just easier to kill your foes the same way then try the many different options. This kind of made the game a bit repetitive. Along with the lacking multiplayer and the ending setting up for a sequel, Bulletstorm didn't blow me away. But it is worth a shot. I applaud the developers for trying something new instead of making another CoD clone. I give Bulletstorm a 3 out of 5 for really trying something new but not quite hitting the mark.

Hot Springs Story: This game is from the makers of Game Dev Story, one of my favorite games on the Iphone thus far. This time instead of making a game company, you are tasked with making the greatest Hot Springs Inn in Japan. This game can get addictive like GDS was, but it also has more depth. Compared to GDS, Hot Springs Story has more to do while you build the best Inn through out Japan. While your guests are enjoying them selves, you can go off and build onto your Inn or add more decorations that will make your guests happy. You can add restaurants and spas or even an arcade room. What ever it is your guests want, you will get the chance to build and make them happy. Because making them happy means they will vote for you in a publication that ranks the best Inns through out Japan. It is a neat way to keep you striving for the best Inn in the country. For me I didn't get as addicted to Hot Springs Story as I did Game Dev Story, but that doesn't mean this game stinks any less. I just prefer the game development simulation over Hot Springs. It is worth a shot trying this game out whether you liked Game Dev Story or not(Lite version is free on Itunes). I give Hot Springs Story a 4.5 out of 5 because it is still a fine game on the Iphone even though it wasn't my cup of tea like Game Dev Story was.

Crysis 2 came out last month (March 2011) and I beat it rather fast. It takes place three years after the first game, and you play as a new hero called Alcatraz. One of the issues I had with this game is some of the plot holes it had in the story. Not once did they reference the first game, and nothing is said about what happened to Nomad (the hero from the first game or Psycho from the expansion). The aliens look different as well and there is no reason on why they are different in the sequel. When playing I was confused for the beginning of the game because I was hoping for answers. The one character who makes an appearance is Prophet and plays a major role in the game. Other then that I feel Crysis 2 was more of a stand alone game then a sequel. The gameplay is similar from the first but they adjust a few things. Like Jumping high or anything that deals with strength is automatic now instead of choosing from an option like the first. Speed doesn't drain as fast and is now set to a button instead of an option wheel. Cloak is also set as a button and armor is now a choice to turn on or off unlike the first which was on by default. These are some of the differences and I like it a lot better then before. It makes it easier to figure out what you need in a situation instead of trying to fumble with an option wheel. They did add options to upgrade your suit, but I never saw the benefits and half the time I forgot to even buy them. To me they felt useless and was just another ploy to feel like they upgraded the game. Another thing that annoyed me with Crysis 2 was the graphics. You look up at the builds and it looks awesome, almost like you are in New York City, but then you look down and the ground looks like crap. Kind of half-assed if you ask me. The water looks like crap too, something I thought was amazing in Crysis and the sequel looks worse. Don't get me wrong, Crysis 2 does look pretty, but it also looks like it was built for a console and not the PC. As much as I liked the game, I was not impressed with the sequel and thus I have to give it a 3 out of 5. Should have converted PC to console, not console to PC. Shame on you Crytek.

0 = Total Garbage (Don't waste your time)
1 = Crap (Maybe rent, maybe not)
2 = Ok (Rental only)
3 = Good (Buy it, rent if low on cash)
4 = Great (Buy this game)
5 = Amazing (Don't even think about it, just get it)

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Haven't Posted In A While....

It has been almost a month since my last post. I kind of got burnt out trying to come up with things to post about. I got stuck in this review every game I play mode, and that really did me in. For now on I plan to do a group of mini reviews about the games I played and beat during a month. I am not a game news site, so I shouldn't have gotten so worked up about reviewing the games that just came out. This is not a job, it is for fun and I lost track of that.

As a mini update on the games I have been playing. For a while now I got on this kick to play Borderlands on the PC. A friend of mine and my self have been playing this almost every weekend. When I am not playing with him I have found my self re-addicted to Borderlands. I don't know what it is about this game but I can't stop playing it. Though, this coming Tuesday I will put it aside for Portal 2 that is coming out April 19. I loved the first one, and the sequel is looking very good. I am also very interested in the co-op mode. I just need to find someone to play with me.

I haven't touched my Xbox360 in more then a month now, besides watching netflix or movies from Zune on it. Now that my cousin has given up on Xbox360, I have been playing StarCraft 2 with him since he replaced his Xbox for a PC. The PC makes it a bit harder to find games we can play, but really I can't complain all that much. Skype helps with the communication and joining games are pretty easy for the PC these days. I do plan on firing up my Xbox360 soon, Mortal Kombat is coming out and I want it.

On DC Universe Online, well that ended quickly for me. Good idea, but it felt like it wasn't finished. My cousin decided to stop playing and that was the final nail in the coffin for me. Kind of disappointed that I can't find a good MMORPG to get into like Star Wars Galaxies and World of Warcraft (I still kind of play WOW but not that much). I am looking into a game that just came out called Rift. It looks interesting but I am still debating. What I worry the most is, will Rift be another WOW clone like so many before. When will someone take a chance and come up with something unique like Star Wars Galaxies was? Here's to BioWare, hoping The Old Republic can break the WOW Clone Mold.

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Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 Presentazione OneTeam

Come previsto, durante l’incontro del 23 Marzo, la nuova versione 2012 di Autodesk 3ds Max ha destato grande stupore appagando tutte le aspettative riposte in questa nuova release del software.

La presentazione, a cura di Dionissios Tsangaropoulos (Evangelist Autodesk), presso la sede di TechData, ha lasciato tutti gli spettatori basiti di fronte alla velocità di render e alla semplicità di utilizzo del nuovo iRay. Va detto però che Dionissios ha effettuato la presentazione con una workstation dotata di doppia GPU Nvidia con tecnologia Fermi, e che questa configurazione hardware permette boost notevoli in fase di rendering.

Dionissios ha mostrato alcune fasi pre-render della sua famosa scena, realizzata presso Delta Tracing, con la poltrona verde nella cucina. Sono rimasto colpito dal numero ridotto di parametri necessari per impostare il nuovo iRay, nulla a che vedere con MentalRay o, peggio ancora, con VRay. Ma la cosa che mi ha colpito di più sono state le prestazioni, hardware a parte, della viewport di 3dsMax, rese in questa versione 2012 davvero fluide e interattive. Già dalla versione 2010 si era visto un incremento delle prestazioni per quanto riguarda le fasi di lavoro all’interno delle finestre, ma la versione 2012 con le sue rappresentazioni fedeli degli shader, dell’illuminazione, dell’antialiasing, della global illumination, delle coordinate UV e soprattutto con la velocità di gestione di milioni di poligoni, mi ha davvero sorpreso.

iRay, se devo essere sincero, mi sembra la caratteristica principale di lancio: tutti ne parlano in rete, ma nessuno ne valuta veramente le caratteristiche da un punto di vista di utilizzo con hardware di fascia medio-professionale (situazione oggi molto comune, vista la “mietitura” della crisi). iRay è una bomba è vero, ma solo se supportato da un hardware idoneo. I tempi di rendering sono sorprendenti, con un rapporto 1:10 rispetto a MentalRay, ma questo perché l’elaborazione viene fatta dalle GPU, basate su CUDA, caratterizzate dal costo elevato. Indubbiamente è possibile renderizzare con una GeForce spinta da gamer, ma le prestazioni ottimali (così come la stabilità) si ottengono con le Quadro: schede che partono da 1000 € e che non tutti i piccoli studi possono permettersi.

Lo stesso VRay RT dovrebbe, nella nuova versione, elaborare la scena interamente con le GPU, così come farà Maxwell Fire e come sta facendo, già da un anno, Arion. Nessuna novità rilevante quindi su questo fronte, ma sicuramente un buon punto di partenza per 3ds Max e un bello smacco per la concorrenza, ormai costretta ad inventarsi qualcosa di nuovo.

Chi mi conosce sa che per me la cosa più importante per la resa fotorealistica di un modello 3D sono le mappe UV: il collegamento tra il modello 2D e quello 3D costituisce un “ponte” assolutamente non trascurabile. Per questo sono molto interessato alle nuove caratteristiche introdotte al modificatore UVW Unwrap di cui, durante la presentazione, più orientata all’architettura, non se ne è parlato molto. A breve riceverò la mia copia di 3dsMax 2012 e farò un nuovo post (con immagini mie e non recuperate dalla rete come in questo caso).

In coda alla presentazione abbiamo parlato per 30 minuti circa io e Corrado Martinotti, portando casi pratici di utilizzo professionale di 3ds Max: abbiamo mostrato render statici e animazioni di lavori realizzati nell’ultimo periodo.

Al termine, un ricco buffet offerto dall’organizzatore dell’evento, OneTeam, Partner Gold di Autodesk.

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PlaySys diventa ufficialmente un marchio registrato

È arrivato, dopo 3 anni dall’esecuzione delle varie pratiche, l’attestato di possesso del marchio PlaySys!

Il logo per ora non porterà la tradizionale dicitura ®, che sarà comunque associata al marchio e che andrà a sostituire il ©, utilizzato fino ad oggi.

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