The Royal Institution Christmas Lecture today was on the subject of Mars, the current missions to it and future prospects. Speaking on a phone link-up during the live, one of the British scientists involved spoke from the Mars Express control centre in Germany.
He said that while the Mars Express will be entering its orbit on the 4th, the optimal time for contact with Beagle 2 will be on the 7th of January, when Express enters a much closer polar orbit. They're really pinning their hopes on that opportunity, rather than the 4th.
It should also be noted that while Mars Odyssey and telescopes on Earth are listening out passively for signals from Beagle, Express will actively send out a signal requesting a response from Beagle 2 and telling it to activate - effectively a wake-up call. If Beagle is safe but inactive or transmitting at the wrong times for whatever technical reason, instructions from Mars Express are likely to get it to wake up, charge its batteries and align its transmissions correctly.
So don't give up all hope if nothing is heard by the 4th of January - at least wait until the 7th!
There's always the old Blu-Tac approach. If a particular component is making a lot of noise, stick a blob of ol' Bluey on to it. It changes the frequency of the vibration slightly, removing any resonance that might have developed between the different parts of the machine (which could cause high amplitudes and lots of noise) and hopefully at least lowering the sound to a less annoying pitch.
I've only ever had a limited amount of success with this little trick - it definitely does something, but it's never really made things much quieter. Anyone gotten a better result with this?
The question has to be asked: Why isn't Weta making this game? Sure, they're not exactly a game development studio, but in conjunction with such a company they could put their Massive software to good use in RTS form. Half the work is done - the A.I. is already there, and it would be relatively easy for them to scale down Massive. Furthermore, they have high quality models and animations of all of the heroes and other characters already.
On a seperate note, who gave Vivendi the right to take over lotr.com and lordoftherings.com?
Disease, poison, political deviousness, different types of religion - all these things have a part to play in ATITD.
During Beta 2 there were indeed a few deaths, for a number of reasons. During general gameplay there is no way to immediately die, but there are story-related ways that someone can meet their end or even be "killed". But at the same time, this is a game that people are paying for. The creators don't want to make it so easy for players to lose their characters and everything they have worked so hard for - there is no respawn button in this game, and once a character dies, it is dead.
One great example is A Tale In The Desert, a MMOG by a small independent company, eGenesis. With only two full-time programmers and only a few part-time artists and other interns, over the course of four years they've created what looks like it will be one of the best multiplayer games around. It's immersive, highly developed and complex and looks fantastic - but most of all, someone has taken a good idea and turned it into a game that's genuinely a lot of fun to play and a world home to inhabitants who are proud to be its citizens.
ATITD had thousands of players over three beta periods, with several communities and fansites already up and running, and they're now planning to publish and release it themselves. I think this game is going to be the first test of whether independent developers can survive in a scene that's more full of multi million dollar, hollywood-scale games than ever before.
...can often create games on par in terms of quality with major development studios. eGenesis is a great example of a small, independent group of people creating top class games. There are just three permanent employees (only two of them actual game developers) and about seven or eight interns who do the art. They have created A Tale In The Desert, one of the most original and innovative MMORPGs around and the best one I've played for many years.
They don't have a big budget, major investors or even a confirmed publisher, so they've modified open source programs like Cal3D and written their own scripting language for the game. They currently have something like 10,000 beta testers and the game is looking more promising than most of the other MMORPGs in the current and near-future market. All it takes is a good and well thought-through idea; if it appeals to people, that's all that's needed to create a successful game other than commitment.
They never agreed on the colour of the universe, either. Is the cosmic spectrum turquoise? Or is it beige?These guys reckon they know, but I think this is another mystery - albeit a lot less important - that various groups will be disproving eachother over for a while.
Because there is no latest Farscape news there, and the cancellation FAQ is out of date and, for the most part, PR propoganda.
For some real up to date news and facts, try savefarscape.com.
Slashdot Mirror
Hah! The users of the most well known and prolific online piracy organisations conduct over 120 million searches every day!
If your example friend registered McDonaldDouglas.com would he get a free fighter plane?
He said that while the Mars Express will be entering its orbit on the 4th, the optimal time for contact with Beagle 2 will be on the 7th of January, when Express enters a much closer polar orbit. They're really pinning their hopes on that opportunity, rather than the 4th.
It should also be noted that while Mars Odyssey and telescopes on Earth are listening out passively for signals from Beagle, Express will actively send out a signal requesting a response from Beagle 2 and telling it to activate - effectively a wake-up call. If Beagle is safe but inactive or transmitting at the wrong times for whatever technical reason, instructions from Mars Express are likely to get it to wake up, charge its batteries and align its transmissions correctly. So don't give up all hope if nothing is heard by the 4th of January - at least wait until the 7th!
I've only ever had a limited amount of success with this little trick - it definitely does something, but it's never really made things much quieter. Anyone gotten a better result with this?
On a seperate note, who gave Vivendi the right to take over lotr.com and lordoftherings.com?
Disease, poison, political deviousness, different types of religion - all these things have a part to play in ATITD.
During Beta 2 there were indeed a few deaths, for a number of reasons. During general gameplay there is no way to immediately die, but there are story-related ways that someone can meet their end or even be "killed". But at the same time, this is a game that people are paying for. The creators don't want to make it so easy for players to lose their characters and everything they have worked so hard for - there is no respawn button in this game, and once a character dies, it is dead.
ATITD had thousands of players over three beta periods, with several communities and fansites already up and running, and they're now planning to publish and release it themselves. I think this game is going to be the first test of whether independent developers can survive in a scene that's more full of multi million dollar, hollywood-scale games than ever before.
What would really be useful is a version of Windows that can detect when you're REALLY not in the mood for any of its shit.
They don't have a big budget, major investors or even a confirmed publisher, so they've modified open source programs like Cal3D and written their own scripting language for the game. They currently have something like 10,000 beta testers and the game is looking more promising than most of the other MMORPGs in the current and near-future market. All it takes is a good and well thought-through idea; if it appeals to people, that's all that's needed to create a successful game other than commitment.
They never agreed on the colour of the universe, either. Is the cosmic spectrum turquoise? Or is it beige? These guys reckon they know, but I think this is another mystery - albeit a lot less important - that various groups will be disproving eachother over for a while.
(uh, that's a clicky)
I hear Santa's trying to reinvent his image for the 21st century.
I'd be rather disappointed if ease of animation is nature's excuse too.
Because there is no latest Farscape news there, and the cancellation FAQ is out of date and, for the most part, PR propoganda. For some real up to date news and facts, try savefarscape.com.