Virtual Reality

Virtual reality has been a long time coming, but the most notable strides have come in the past few years. Oculus has led a revitalization in VR tech, the development of which had slowed significantly over the preceding decade. Now, a resurgence in consumer VR products has resulted in great strides, and affordable virtual reality kitslike the Samsung Gear VR make virtual reality accessible to nearly anyone.

But there’s still one key piece missing from the virtual reality puzzle that prevents the user from being truly immersed in a VR experience. That may soon change, however, thanks to work being done by researchers in Germany.

A team of researchers from the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) lab at Germany’s Hasso Plattner Institute have created working prototypes of a device they call Impacto. The device is integrated into a band that can be worn on the arm, leg or foot of a virtual reality user. When combined with a VR experience that incorporates the HCI researchers’ special software, Impacto simulates contact on the wearer so that he or she can actually feel objects virtual reality. At least, to an extent.

Examples demonstrated by the team include a boxing game where the user can actually feel the impact from blocked punches on his or her arm, and a game where the player bounces a soccer ball on his or her foot and can feel each strike.

Of note, Impacto isn’t a simple vibrate motor shoved into a plastic box. The device combines a haptic vibration engine with electrical muscle stimulation to actually create a sensation of pushing or pulling, therefore more closely mimicking the feeling of contact from actual physical objects.

“The key idea that allows the small and light impacto device to simulate a strong hit is that it decomposes the stimulus: it renders the tactile aspect of being hit by tapping the skin using a solenoid; it adds impact to the hit by thrusting the user’s arm backwards using electrical muscle stimulation,” the team, led by Pedro Lopes, said in an abstract covering its research paper on Impacto. “The device is self-contained, wireless, and small enough for wearable use, thus leaves the user unencumbered and able to walk around freely in a virtual environment. The device is of generic shape, allowing it to also be worn on legs, so as to enhance the experience of kicking, or merged into props, such as a baseball bat.”

Here’s a video of the HCI team’s Impacto prototype in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNEZguz1NEU 

Use cases for Impacto are limited for the time being due to the device’s shape and size, but it’s entirely possible to use the same technology in both smaller and larger devices. As a result, different Impacto modules could be combined to form a suit of sorts that would give the wearer multiple contact points. So, rather than only being able to feel a jab to the arm or a soccer ball bouncing off of a foot, VR users might feel contact from VR objects all over their bodies. The team said that already has plans to create new Impacto modules for the abdominal region and shoulders.

Wildstar

So I am a gamer, I love all forms of games from RPGs (Role Playing Games), RTS (Real Time Strategy), FPS (First Person Shooters), MOBA (Multiplayer online battle arena).

  

However my all time favourite pass time is found in MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online) I started off playing Everquest as a kid, then when World of Warcraft launched  and it was my all time favourite, it was a great game that got me involved in various gaming communities which to this day still game together and have formed great gaming guilds.
 

However like most good things the magic that was WoW slowly got old and mu guild and I moved from one game to another picking up new members along the way, right now we are 50 close friends who have tried each MMO looking for the next big thing that would capture us the same way WoW did.

And now it feels like we have found that in NCsofts new MMO Wildstar.

  

when Wildstar launched on June 3rd 2014 it was well received but was mired with various gameplay issues and the other competing MMOs such as The Elder Scrolls Online where launching the same time as well. Regardless the guild came together to level up and play this new game, however after a year and with various communities leaving to try other games Wildstars popularity dwindled, and the core to any MMO is its community.

Just like that it felt like a great MMOs chance of success was gone, the guild stayed strong but divided in various other games that each member preferred playing.



However 2015 would see a Wildstar relaunch, the Devs decided that moving their payment plan from subscription based to free to play would breath new life to the game, at first I was sceptical, being a fan of MMOs does make you jaded to revamps, however I was still hopeful that Wildstar would rise  from the ashes and that it did, with a massive boost of players, improved gameplay, improved graphics and a greater depth in story telling Wildstar saw a great reception and now with the other competing MMOs out of the way the path is clear for Wildstar to make its comeback.

 
Again the mind of an MMO player is still jaded, I logged online and was pleased to see many new players, but in today's day and age of a new game coming out each month that players loyalty to games is very rare.

The greatest feeling was going onto the Wildstar forums and reading praise on who beautiful Wildstar is and what a great game it is. Old school WoW players such as myself post on how Wildstar gives us the same feeling of exploration and fun that we had when first playing WoW.



The next amazing thing to see is players new to MMOs in game talking about how great the game is and how much fun they are having. This was enough for me to load up the game again, and jump back into the heart of Nexus, a few of my Guild members have joined me, a few others are still sceptical, I cant blame them as I said the mind of an MMO player is jaded. Hopefully with time this community will stay strong and more and more of my Guild members will join us on Planet Nexus. Time will tell on how well Wildstar does, but for the first time in a long time I am not worrying the future of a game but just happy to be playing it while I can and hope many more gamers new and old to the MMO experience will join me in this great game.

Blizzard Overwatch

So as a long time player of Blizzard games from Warcraft-Orcs and Humans to World of Warcraft. StarCraft Brood Wars to StarCraft 2 , Diablo 1 to 3.

It seems Blizzard has been riding three great IPs for a long time now, and with a Warcraft movie on the way they don't seem to be in any hurry to slow down now.

Which is why Overwatch is the most exciting game from Blizzard for a long time now. Having watched various game play footage from Blizzard we can see that they are doing what Blizzard does best, taking an existing game in this case Team Fortress and adding to it to give it that special something that Blizzard seems to add.

For those who don't know  Overwatch is an upcoming MMO (Massively Multilayer Online) First Person Shooter which is under Development by Blizzard Entertainment. 

Overwatch will feature squad-based combat with two opposing teams of six players each player choose one of several hero characters, each with their own unique abilities and role classes. 

The four character roles include: 

offence-oriented characters with high speed and attack but low defence.

defence-oriented characters meant to form choke points for enemies.

support characters that provide buffs and de-buffs for their allies and enemies respectively, such as healing or speed alterations.

Tank characters that have a large amount of armour and hit points to withstand enemy attacks. 
Players can switch between characters in-game following deaths, which is encouraged by the game's overall design.

Plot
Overwatch is set in a near-future version of Earth, years after the resolution of the global-scale "Omnic Crisis". This crisis put all of humanity under threat of the "Omnic" robots, named as such by their very creators because of their artificial intelligence. To end it, an international task force called "Overwatch" was formed to protect humanity, ending the Crisis. In the years after, Overwatch remained as a peacekeeping force until, after accusations of corruption and sedition, the headquarters of Overwatch was suddenly struck, the attack officially taking the life of Overwatch leader Jack Morrison. After this event, the task force was eventually disbanded.

Overwatch currently has two game modes:

• Payload: The attacking team must escort a vehicle to a certain delivery point before time runs out, while the defending team must stop them. The vehicle moves along a fixed track when a player on the attacking team is close to it.
• Point Capture: the attacking team must attempt to capture points on the map, while the defending team must stop them.

  

It seems that Overwatch is looking to Team Fortress 2 as inspiration and hopefully we will see more from this epic looking game.

MSI Prestige, True Colour Technology

MSI Prestige, True Colour Technology

While colour fidelity is mostly associated with desktops and some mobile workstations, the dream of those that have to move around is to have a notebook able to offer some kind of colour fidelity. MSI has presented four models which offer excellent colour fidelity for many applications.

According to the company, “each panel in a MSI notebook comes with the finest precision in colour. After examination and an extensive factory calibration process by the MSI True Colour Technology, the panel quality will be more accurate, close to 100% sRGB. Hence, each colour is delivered with the highest standard precision in detail, guaranteeing excellent colour fidelity for many applications.”

MSI has partnered with Portrait Displays, Inc. in developing a level of accuracy for display technology that sets a new standard, aiming at displaying colours naturally. 

The MSI True Colour Technology appears to derive from the Chroma Tune software from Portrait Displays, offering features which provide optimization for 6 different usage scenarios. The profile sharing feature permits users to share their True Colour settings with other users anywhere without worrying about potential colour distortion issues. This unique function ensures that every notebook using 

MSI True Colour software shows exactly the same colour on the screen. According to MSI, “it is ideal for agency, corporate in-house and freelance designers seeking to have a common view of their content.”

The Prestige notebooks also offer Matrix Display, meaning you can now use the latest surround view display technology to build the multi-display working or multi-media environment (notebook's monitor + 2 external displays). 

Common Features of the Prestige Series are:

• Windows 8.1
• True Color Technology guarantees 100% panel pre-calibration and preset mode settings, fulfilling 100% sRGB color range.
• Matrix Display with maximum 2 external displays up to 4K display output usage.
• Sound by Dynaudio 2.1 sound system for high quality entertainment.
• Nahimic sound technology with immersive 3D surround sound processing.
• Exclusive SHIFT technology for a perfect balance of system performance and temperature. 
• CoolerBoost 3 delivers higher efficiency in the dual cooling system and boosts overall performance. 

For more information check MSI’s website 

MSI GS30 Shadow

Hi guys today I will be going over the GS30 Shadow from MSI. The GS30 Shadow is part ultra-thin, ultra-portable 13.3” laptop that measures just 20mm at its thickest point and weighs 2.6 pounds, the laptop features a quad-core Intel Core i7 – 4870HQ processor, integrated Intel Iris Pro 5200 graphics, 16GB DDR3 memory and 2x 256GB M.2 SSDs in a RAID 0 array.

The laptop as you can imagine boots up instantly and the feel and speed of the laptop feels amazing to work on, the laptop also features Bluetooth 4.0 and Gigabit Ethernet Connectivity, as well as an SD Card Reader, USB 3.0 inputs, HDMI output and an a four-cell battery.

The laptop is great for simply carrying around in a bag and light enough that it is easy to take to and from work, its screen although at 13.3” give off crisp and clear images and text that are easy to read due mainly to the IPS panel and Full-HD 1920 x 1080 resolution.

However this little laptop does come with one feature which sets it apart from the rest of the other laptops out there, this is found on the laptop rear edge, where you can find a PCIe x16 interface which connects to the second part of the GS30 Shadows arsenal, the gaming dock.

The GamingDock is what turns the little 13.3” laptop into a powerhouse which is just as powerful as a modern gaming desktop rig.

The GamingDock may not look as aesthetically pleasing however this 365mm x 209mm x 198mm dock comes with features that more than make up for its looks, once the laptop connects to the GamingDock through the PCIe x16 express and locks in place through the use of a side handle which locks and unlocks the laptop, all display is re-routed to the monitor connected to the Gaming dock and if opened up we can see the true power of the GamingDock which includes a 450W FSP 80 Plus Bronze power supply, a 3.5in drive-mount that can be used to expand the laptops storage, 2.1 speakers, four USB 3.0 ports, Killer Gigabit Ethernet and a full-size PCLe interface

outfitted with a GeForce GTX 980.

One key point to remember is that once the laptop is connected to the dock it can’t be used and must be switched off before locking into the GamingDock.

The GS30 Shadow basically means I can take a light 13.3” notebook to work, do what I need to do then come home connect the laptop to the GamingDock and game the night away, one issue I noticed when using the GS30 is that once connected the laptop does tend to heat up and in doing so produce a lot of noise through the cooling fans, however this isn’t really an issue for me as I simply put on my headphone and don’t hear the noise, but if I ever choose to disconnect the laptop and sit on the sofa while browsing the web it does heat up my legs.

Either way the GS30 Shadow is a future proof docking station due to the fact you are able to upgrade the graphic card and storage, whenever a better version becomes available, there are tweaks needed but I feel that it’s the sort of bold step that will fuse both the portability of a laptop and the raw power of a gaming rig in one. Hopefully they will continue to work towards improving the design and flaws of the GS30 but for now I am really happy with what I have as it fulfils both my work life and gaming life.

Deciding on a smart watch

So I have been deciding on what type of smart watch I want to get, I have looked at various products and think I can narrow it down to two products that I am interested in, Moto 360 and LG R4.

Moto 360 

Pros:

The metallic style and round face looks amazing, most smart watchers are square with leather or plastic wrist bands, this does not appeal to me as I find it tacky and after trying some on noticed that the square watch have an extended face thus making my shirts catch on them.

I love the fact that its got wireless charging and is water proof so I don't have to worry about washing my hands.

Cons:

Well the biggest con for me is the price, the Moto 360 is a bit expensive comparing it with the other smart watches, some people say the battery is bad but after checking out the info myself and the battery drain is due to an app that can be disabled making the watch run for a full work day.


LG R 4

Pros:

The LG R 4 watches display is amazing, its full circular and easier to navigate thought the apps, along with the fact that the Moto 360 is 320x290 where the LG R 4 is 320x320 its got a advantage on display quality aswell. The performance of the LG R 4 is also better with a 1.2GHz Snapdragon, 400 processor and 512MB of RAM.

Cons:

The cons I have with this phone is the aesthetics, it doesn't look as good as the Moto 360, the bezel is rather large and looks plastic, along with the plastic strap and the thickness means that shirts catch on the top of the watch face, it seems like its going to be a choice of looks over performance.


Gonna keep researching and I there are always the 2nd Gen of smart watches coming along, including the upcoming Google smart watch, lets see what the future brings.

My first blog

Hello all!

This will be my first blog, so hopefully I will get better at this over time.

My names Andrew Greenhalgh, 24 living and working in Manchester as an Account Manager at MSI notebook. Living with my girlfriend of 4 years Natalie, she works at Sea Life Manchester at our lovely apartment.

As people keep telling me to start a blog and make it personal, I will be updating with random stuff to do with work, life and my hobby gaming.

Lets see how this blogging goes :)