Not that many people still write nowadays with the rise of social media (Yt, Fb); I'm an exception!
Whatever comes to mind, whether it be politics, news, or daily events. Comments welcome!
/// An updated screenshot of my NYC as well as ones taken from my beta testing of CXL should be available August 2011 ///
I have been working on my SimCity 4 version of New York City for over two years (since January 2007) and have gotten my way through Southern Brooklyn, Staten Island, and a region bordering the East River. My road network is pretty accurate (with the exception of S. Brooklyn - I'm planning on redoing that later on) and major landmarks and public spaces are included, all with the help of Google Maps. However, after seeing what lucky7 has done with his "The Different Looks of NYC" City Journal at the highly-popular SimCity 4 forum/exchange site Simtropolis has made me consider giving up on my city. His road and transportation network is so intricate and exact it looks as if it were a satellite photo. My opinion is that he can make it that accurate due to a custom-made, larger map size. Although he has yet to fully populate his city, it is fantastic and deserves his award. I myself do not have a City Journal, but will hopefully have something that is comparable!
Of course, Monte Cristo's Cities XL is coming out later this year, and so far it looks far superior to SC4, partly due to plenty of user feedback about the shortfalls of SC4. It looks and has a much more realistic gameplay, as evident from Simtropolis' Webmaster's review of an invitation-only review.
Published Post Number:121/127
Feel free to comment below!
Sad news from the aviation and train simulation games world - Microsoft has canceled the production of their sequel, Train Simulator 2 as well as closing the production team for their more than a quarter-century long enterprise, Flight Simulator. Both games were pretty fun to play and will be sorely missed. Train Simulator had been canceled several years earlier, but was restarted shortly after that. Flight Simulator has had 10 releases in 27 years, making it the longest-running video game franchise. This announcements comes along with Microsoft's decision to cut 5,000 jobs worldwide.
Published Post Number:108/114 Feel free to comment below!
I'm not talking about the awesome 2002 movie which starred Tom Cruise, although it does involve the technology featured in it. I'm referring to the display where Cruise used hand gestures in the air (after fitting on a specially-made glove) that would enable him to interact with the computer. Turning his fist right would fast-forward a video, making a rectangle with his two hands would select a certain video frame...etc. All along, we have been trapped by the mouse/keyboard and have never been truly able to be able to express what we want on the computer in a quick and intuitive way.
However, in the past two years, Perceptive Pixel, a company led by Jeff Han, has been developing technology that would enable users to forgo the mouse and typical keyboard and instead use your hands to interact with the super sized upright display. Of course, this still requires you to physically touch the display, but is definitely a step up from the current computing interface. The multi-touch technology that it relies is already on the market today, primarily by Microsoft's Surface, Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch/MacBook trackpads, and as of recently, T-Mobile/Google's G1 phone.
This past January, the first of his displays was showcased by CNN during the caucuses and primaries in the U.S. Presidential Election. Dubbed by CNN as "The Magic Wall," its usefulness and popularity has since spread to the other major news networks, including FOX and ABC. As materials get cheaper and demand increases, these multi-touch displays will no doubt be seen in more high-profile locations.
Speaking of CNN, this was not the first time they took the lead in demonstrating new technology. In January, CNN's Anderson Cooper held up a "Virtual Pie Chart" to display the results of the Iowa Caucuses. It was based on cameras that was aimed at the placard he held, and a a computer rendered a pie chart over it. On Election Day in November, CNN once again took the prize when they beamed a "hologram" of music artist and activist will.i.am, who was in a studio in Chicago, to speak with Cooper, who was in New York City. This time, the set-up was much more elaborate: dozens of cameras surrounding will.i.am in a circular fashion, which was also surrounded by a green screen. In CNN's NYC studios, computers added in a 2D image of him that was only viewable on a television screen, not visible in the actual studio.
Of course, all of these technologies are only a small peek into the future of the many applications that can be created to enhance our experience with computing that will make it as easy as interacting with real life. I await the day when I can view and organize my pictures or do research at home with the feeling that I truly have control over my actions.
A parody of the Magic Wall on Saturday Night Live:
