Nvidia and Intel have been at the crux of a graphics war for quite awhile now and it is seeming to heat up even further. The guys in green have announced their purchase of ray-tracing firm, Rayscale.

This acquisition may help Nvidia develop new ways to draw 3D images. The currently used method, rasterization is getting more and more complicated to process while ray-tracing, a method championed by Intel is yet to be attractive enough to be used by developers. Ray-tracing is thought to be too CPU-itensive to be used, though Intel claim that modern day processors have enough power to make it happen (Nvidia heavily dispute this).

According to VentureBeat:

As its name implies, it involves shooting a ray from a single point in a 3-D scene. If the ray hits an object, it assumes that whatever is behind the object is obscured and therefore doesn’t have to be drawn. Ray-tracing is better suited for the CPU (Nvidia disputes this) and so Intel is naturally a big proponent of it. The technique used to take too much horsepower, but now Intel contends that modern CPUs have the oomph to do it. Intel has shown Quake IV running on an eight-core CPU using ray-tracing techniques.

Rasterization, meanwhile, is getting more complicated. The graphics processor, such as those made by Nvidia, makes a “pass” at drawing a scene by rasterizing, or layering image effect such as colors, shadows, and lighting upon a scene. It does this repeatedly until the 3-D scene looks just right.

For the end consumer, this definitely means a better picture and hopefully  at a better price.

The rumors on this one have been floating around way before BioShock even hit the PC or Xbox 360. Now that it’s officially been confirmed around 8 months after winning a string of Game of the Year awards, we wonder what new content they’d be adding to make it worth a purchase (apart from the fact that you might not have a gaming PC or an Xbox 360)? According to the crew at CVG:

Details are thin on the ground at the moment (i.e. there are none), but the next issue of UK PlayStation mag PSM3 - which is on UK newsstands June 5 - promises a lengthy preview of the PS3 version along with a depth charge of screenshots.

New content or otherwise, this is one game you can’t afford to miss regardless on what system you play it on and the more people who have access to it, the better.

Id have announced Doom 4. In the most subtle way possible.

While most studios would scream on the top of their voices and set fire to most of the internet with a rousing press conference, the confirmation of a fourth Doom game has been made via a help-wanted ad, with the company looking to hire some talent to make that fourth jaunt into the bowels of Hell possible.

Though the formats have not been divulged, you can bet your very last paise for a PC release.

Source: IGN.

Mass Effect was buggy but stunning game on the Xbox 360, it’s one of those titles that would feel right at home on the PC given BioWare’s undoubted expertise. However no one counted on them and EA (BioWare’s publisher) to mess things up this bad.

The PC version will require you to authenticate it every 10 days as long as you want to play it. Yes you read right. This is what they had to say:

According to Derek French, Mass Effect, scheduled to arrive on the PC this 28th, will employ the same SecuROM online activation system that was initially put into Bioshock, allowing the buyer to activate his copy of Mass Effect for 3 times before politely asking to him / her to go to hell, that is, contact the customer service “helpline” to get it reactivated. And while the game itself wouldn’t require the DVD to be physically present in the drive, it goes one step further and phones home every 10 days and re-authenticates just to make sure legit customers are not the worst form of criminal scum publishers swear we are.

BioShock had a similar copy protection system and buying an original copy turned out being a pain for most. Is this the beginning of the end for PC gaming? Or would you prefer your games playing you instead of vice-versa?

Via: The Angry Pixel

PC gaming has been down in the dump for a while now, piracy, expensive hardware and many such facotrs have led to a decline in the PC gaming market. The president of Crytek, a compnay built on PC gaming has made a strong statement in an interview with PCPlay, read the interview below:

PC Play: Crysis is out now for quite some time, it received sky-high scores, which could be considered an instant success. How do you and the team feel after you finally launched possibly one of the most anticipated titles of the past year, on any platform?

Cevat Yerli: I feel very proud of the team and they do too, they deserved it. Crysis is a very complete development of what we imagined and that’s the core premise of being proud, it resonated very well critically and we hope it will do commercially too now.

PC Play: How do you estimate the current state of the PC gaming industry? Some say that it’s only a matter of time when it’s going to finally die-off, the others say that “the big one” is only getting its comeback pace.
Considering Crysis is a PC-exclusive title, what do you think of its market reception and its future? Skeptics would say that it’s pretty risky going PC-exclusive with such a high-profile title.

Cevat Yerli: It is certainly. We are suffering currently from the huge piracy that is encompassing Crysis. We seem to lead the charts in piracy by a large margin, a chart leading that is not desirable. I believe that’s the core problem of PC Gaming, piracy. To the degree PC Gamers that pirate games inherently destroy the platform. Similar games on consoles sell factors of 4-5 more. It was a big lesson for us and I believe we wont have PC exclusives as we did with Crysis in future. We are going to support PC, but not exclusive anymore.

This is bad news for PC gaming, but lets hope that things can change int he future and PC gaming can be revived.

Fallout 3 is an upcoming title from the creators of Oblivion, the game is looking pretty good, especially in screenshots. IGN posted a small preview of the game, here are some of the key features:

“We learned last year that character creation was tied into your character’s birth in Vault 101, but we finally got to see what Bethesda was talking about. You’ll literally emerge from your mother’s womb and open your eyes to see a doctor and your father (voiced by Liam Neeson) looking down on you. Don’t worry: Bethesda doesn’t get graphic in this sequence; all you see in blackness before your eyes focus, but you can very clearly hear the doctor and your father discuss your birth. And like with any new baby, one of the first things they say is, “It’s a boy/girl!” That’s because this is the very first selection that you make when creating a character, and which option you choose will determine the gender pronoun used throughout the game (One fun little bit of trivia is that if you press the A button during this sequence you’ll trigger a baby cry).”

“Then good ol’ dad decides to bring in the growth projector to predict what you’ll look like when you’re older. This is when you get to actually choose your character’s look, picking from either preset selections or creating a custom look by mixing and matching different attributes. There are plenty of options to choose from, some quite colorful, like the “gunslinger” option for facial hair. When you’re done, you’ll finally get a look at dad as he comes into the light, and you’ll discover that his character is procedurally generated to look similar to whatever you come up with. Then the camera fades out, and the next thing you know it’s one year later.”

Keep checking this space for more on this game.

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition is a new version of the same game for both Xbox 360 and Windows. This is essentially the same game with a few perks. The game will be priced at a modest $30 and will be releasing on 27th May. The game will be releasing on the Xbox 360 as well as for the PC. The original game received a mediocre response by gamers and critics alike, and the game was launched on the PS3 recently. This decision by Capcom to release yet another version of the game isn’t going well with the gaming community. The main features of the game are:



New modes for single-player campaign

1) Score Attack – Each enemy and destructible object has points assigned to them, with the player being awarded different points depending on how they defeat the enemy.

2) Trial Battle Mode – Take on each of the game’s Bosses, one after another

3) Off limit Mode – Go wild with over-the-top super-charged weapons with unlimited ammunition and increased speed of movement

4) New online modes

5) Cross-platform Battles – Xbox 360 owners can join forces or play against PC gamers

I dont see the point of this game, but I guess it will sell a few copies. You can read a preview here.

 

Every Gamer wants to develop games, this fascination to create your own game has haunted gamers for years, but we all know developing a game takes a lot of effort, skill and temperament. you can either hone your skills and work hard or click here to visit the FPS creator website and make your own game. Just like all the great things in life, this program isn’t free, you have to shell out money, but from the looks of it, this is money well spent. some of the best selling games like Counter Strike and Portal were created by student, you never know, one of you may hold the key to the next big franchise. The program works best with Windows Vista and DX 10 with a 8 series GFX card, but if you scroll deep down you can find a XP version as well.  

The highly acclaimed Xbox 360 title Mass Effect is coming to PC in May, this shouldn’t be a surprise as many Microsoft Titles are ported to Windows. Mass Effect is an RPG developed by Bioware exclusively for the Xbox 360, the game got rave reviews and won many awards last year. There was a lot of controversy that followed Mass Effect, a small segment in the game 

lets you have sex with a blue alien (weird I know), many claimed the game to be too vulgar for children. There isn’t a lot of information regarding the title on the PC, but May isn’t far away, lets hope we get our hands on some more info soon. 

The sex scene controversy has gained more  mileage than the game, many closet perverts were making female characters, so that it becomes a lesbian sex scene, is it really worth all the hype, check out the video below and find out.

He may look like any other ordinary 20-something dude, a young lad of few words, minding his own business and participating in the circle of life, but meet his alter ego, the gun-wielding, silent assassin aka Rey from clan A-T-E. For the uninitiated, Clan A-T-E (Accuracy-Teamwork-Experience) is India’s number one Counter Strike team and have represented India on a number of occasions in CS tournaments all over the world. Clan ATE is the India’s most successful CS team and have defeated a number of international teams. Today I (Darks3id, the guy who has been posting on watgame) interview one of the key members of clan A-T-E and an old pal Amar Ratnam aka Rey

Q : Before we begin, why don’t you introduce yourself.

Rey: Hi I am Amar Ratnam aka Rey, 20 years old and I play for A-T-E.

Q: Amar, tell me what does it take to be a part of the best CS clan in the country

Rey : Well you need to practice a lot but the most important thing is passion & dedication.

Q: Well you make it sound very simple but there are numerous clans in India, clans that practice for hours daily, what makes A-T-E so consistent and better than others?

Rey: Well our experience & passion towards the game, the entire team is driven by a passion to get better every day, we know that competition is getting better day by day, so we strive hard to stay ahead. We have also played a lot with some really good clans internationally, so we have more experience with international players.


Q: Lets get some intimate details, game related:

How many hours do you practice in a day?

How do you practice?

Your role in the Team?

Rey: I practice for about 4-6 hours a day, I play with bots as well as online in public servers. I watch a lot of CS demos, watching demos is quite helpful, you learn a lot. As a team we practice 2-3 times a week for about 4 hours. As for my role in the team, I act as the team manager.

Q What role do you play as a Team manager?

Rey: Well I make sure that the team is practicing regularly and on time as well as look for sponsors.

Q: So is any company supporting/sponsoring your Team?

Rey: We got sponsorship last year, but recently we had a change in plans. These days we represent
IndiaGames.

Q: So basically you get paid to play CS


Rey: Yea, we do.
Q: Lucky #$%^( , so do you plan to pursue a career in gaming?

Rey: My first objective is to finish studies and become a graduate, and if things go as planned, I will definitively seek gaming as a career option.

Q: Lets be honest now, playing counter strike may have given you a lot of goodies, but they all came at a price, may be physical, mental, monetary or personal, were all the hardships worth your current position and would you advise others to follow your path?

Rey: Well I am happy to be where I am today because this is what I wanted to do and be the best at, for others I would advise to follow their own dreams.

Q: Good Answer, now lets stir things up a bit, all this career talk has a very serious undertone that makes gamers uncomfortable. Pick one of the two below?

Playing CS or Playing Cricket on the field

Discussing CS strategies or Discussing Politics

Watching CS demos or Bikini beach babes

Meeting friends for a clan match or meeting friends for beer

And lastly, Do you have a Girlfriend?

Rey:

Both

Discussing CS

Both

Both

Yes I do (like he could ever say No to that question)

Q : Those were fairly safe replies, but I guess once a safe player always a safe player. Ok , if you weren’t playing CS what would you be doing today?

Rey: I would be studying animation.

Q: What are your hobbies besides gaming and what do you do when not frag-ing ?

Rey: I like to watch movies, listen to music and love to go bowling.

Q: how big a deal is it for you to have your gaming kit, mouse, mouse-pad, headphones and so on.

Rey: I take it very seriously, it affects my game if I don’t have my proper gaming gear with me.


Q: well I think I am out of questions, so before I end this brief discussion with you, would you like to give a message to your fellow gamers?

Rey: Stick to one team & practice a lot. Try to crack a sponsorship deal & give your 110%.

Well guys I hope you guys enjoyed this brief interview with Rey from clan A-T-E, more pro gamers coming up in the following weeks. Keep watching this space.