#and L.A. Noire facial animation | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

beardycarrot · 6 years ago

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L.A. Noire is... interesting. It’s not a terrible game, but at the same time, I don’t know if I can call it a good game either.

You start off as a patrolman in 1946, and play through a few cases of police work as a tutorial. You’re then promoted to detective and work traffic cases, which lays the groundwork for the rest of the game, the meat of which you get into once you’re promoted to homicide. This is the most interesting part of the game, and what you would expect a noir detective story set in 1940′s Los Angeles to be about: investigating what appear to be copycat murders based on the Black Dahlia case, but with odd similarities that definitely make them seem connected.

Unfortunately, while this is interesting in concept, it’s absolutely unsatisfying. Since it’s spread out across multiple cases, and a case is only closed when you arrest the suspect, you have to keep arresting guys you know are innocent... destroying families in some cases. You eventually discover that the cases ARE all connected, because the killer leaves a series of clues leading you to him... and he turns out to be...!

Just some guy, actually. Yeah, just a bartender working for a temp agency that you talked to for a few seconds in the first homicide case. You don’t get any real explanation of his motives before chasing him through the sewers and killing him, and since having false arrests in so many cases would look bad, the police cover it up. That’s the end of that, and you move on to working drug cases.

This, unfortunately, is where the game’s real story comes into play. Half a million doses of army surplus morphine being shipped back to the US after the war were stolen, and... I honestly care so little about it that I’m not going to bother. You’re then demoted to working arson cases because your character has been having an affair with a jazz singer (you’re never told why), and it’s back to repeatedly arresting the wrong people. If you’ve been reading the newspapers that appear in some cases, you’ll know that the actual arsonist is a patient of the doctor involved with the morphine.

It turns out that the fires are being lit because the homeowners are refusing to sell to the housing project going up in the area, but then it turns out that the new houses being built are going to be burned down too for an insurance scam, but THEN it turns out that... maybe not...? Because... the housing project is in the same area that a freeway is being planned to run through, or something? The game doesn’t really attempt to explain itself on this point, and then you chase the arsonist through the sewers, kill him, and then die because... I don’t actually know, at some point someone did something to make the water level rise, which apparently results in a huge rush of water through the entire sewer system.

It’s not a BAD story... but you can’t help but compare it to the Black Dahlia cases. A psychiatrist deciding to exploit two soldiers he happened to meet to make himself rich isn’t nearly as interesting as a mastermind serial killer based on the biggest unsolved murder case of the twentieth century. THAT should’ve been the game’s main plot.

As for the gameplay itself.... eh. You investigate crime scenes and other places of interest by walking around, pressing A to examine objects whenever you get a magnifying glass prompt, and if it’s something important looking at parts of it more closely. Unfortunately, anything not directly related to the case is completely useless. In a game like Phoenix Wright, you can examine almost anything to get some witty banter between the characters; in L.A. Noire, you turn a beer bottle over in your hands and Cole says its unrelated to the case.

The real star of the show, however, is the interview system. You’re given a list of questions to ask, which I think is based on clues you’ve found or received from other interviews, and based on how the person responds you can choose to believe them, doubt them, or show evidence that proves they’re lying. Or, in the version I played, GOOD COP, BAD COP, ACCUSE.

Every character you interview uses facial motion capture of an actor, which is pretty cool. They even used a couple who are instantly recognizable, like Michael Gladis and Greg Grunberg. The idea is that you’re supposed to watch their faces to determine whether they’re telling the truth... but it kinda feels like a waste, since the signs aren’t little twitches at the corner of the mouth or their neck muscles straining or anything like that. Every character that I can remember has the same tell: being unable to look directly at you.

A downside of the motion capture is that it captures the whole head... but only the head. There are a few places where the animators weren’t quite able to match the movements of the body to how the head is moving, which is really immersion-breaking and kinda gross at times.

Depending on how well you do in an interview, you can receive clues that will help you out in future interviews or lead to small breaks in the case, but none of the interviews are actual fail conditions: you can get every question wrong and still progress through the game. Unfortunately, the game only tracks the number of questions you got correct, and not which ones they were, so all future dialogue plays out as if you did it perfectly. A memorable example of this was the police captain congratulating me on outing the Venezuelan consulate general as a sexual predator... which I neither did nor even assumed.

The third type of gameplay is the action set pieces, which if you fail enough times, you have the option to skip... that should give you a pretty good idea of their quality. These consist of chasing suspects on foot, chasing suspects in a car, or shootouts. The shootouts are the easiest, as your character can take a ridiculous amount of damage, you automatically heal after a few seconds of not being shot, you have unlimited ammo, and the areas they take place in are always conveniently filled with Gears of War-style pillars and chest-high walls. Foot chases aren’t exactly difficult... you can tackle the person if you get close enough, but you never will, because the game throws vehicles and pedestrians in your path to slow you down. You just have to follow the suspect for long enough, and they’ll eventually either tire out, take a hostage, or ambush you and force a fist fight. For most chases your character will draw his weapon, but even if he says “stop or I’ll shoot!” that’s not actually an option. Killing the suspect, and in some cases even just injuring them, can result in a game over... despite the game being perfectly okay with you killing people when the narrative says to.

The hardest are the car chases, largely due to the game’s driving controls. The cars accelerate and brake realistically, which is fine, but power steering wasn’t available on commercial vehicles until the 1950′s. What this means is that if you’re going above ten miles an hour, you have the turning radius of a tank. The computer-controlled cars, unfortunately, don’t seem to be as limited by this issue, and as with the foot chases they throw a lot of things in your path. While your partner will constantly urge you to case them at top speed with your siren blaring, the driving controls just can’t handle high-speed chases. The only way to consistently beat these sections is to drive slowly and carefully and just wait until the suspect gets hit by a bus, or whatever pre-determined end point the chase scene has. To give you an idea of how hard the vehicles are to control, I once lost a suspect because I’d somehow Austin Powers’d myself.

Finally, there’s the traversal. The game basically uses the Grand Theft Auto style of open world (which makes sense, as it’s a Rockstar game), but there’s never any reason to commandeer a civilian vehicle: you always have your partner’s car to get around in, and even if you do get a different car, half the time it will revert you back to your partner’s car when you enter the little cutscene that plays when you arrive at a location. Unfortunately, there isn’t much else to do in the open world; as this is a Serious Detective Game, there aren’t any side activities like bowling minigames or anything.

You can find a few rare vehicles hidden in police lockups that are marked on your map, or discover historic landmarks that aren’t, but everything else is just finding items scattered around the city that you can’t see from your car. Considering that any damage you do to vehicles or city property is deducted from your rank at the end of each case, it’s best to just fast travel everywhere and pretend that the open world doesn’t even exist... buuuut, the game only gives you a tutorial on how to fast travel on the twenty-third case. The game has twenty-six cases. I feel like I shouldn’t have to say that the tutorial should’ve come much, much earlier.

I know that I’ve probably sounded largely negative, but again, it’s not a terrible games. Almost everything was poorly-executed and it should’ve been refined prior to release, but it’s not like it’s an unfinished or fundamentally flawed game... it’s just a lot harder to praise something when it’s completely average. If I were to give it a number score, with one being barely playable and not at all fun, ten being the best game I’ve ever played... I’d give it a solid five. Not a great game, but not a terrible one either.

...Oh, except for the fact that Switch port is absolutely abysmal, that would probably dock it a few points if I’m talking about the Switch version specifically. The pop-in of background details is frequent and distracting when you’re in areas that buildings aren’t blocking your view, characters’ heads will sometimes be a glitchy hair-colored texture for just a second when they first appear, you can see some extreme frame loss and slowdown while walking around on foot out in the city, and worst of all, the game crashes a lot. In my 393 hours playing the Switch version of Skyrim, the game crashed four times. In my thirty hours playing L.A. Noire, it had seven separate crashes.

#la noire #spoilers

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bulletinwave · 3 years ago

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L. A. Noire

Price: (as of – Details) Using groundbreaking new animation technology, MotionScan, that captures every nuance of an actor’s facial performance in astonishing detail, L.A. Noire is a violent crime thriller that blends breathtaking action with true detective work to deliver an unprecedented interactive experience. Search for clues, chase down suspects and interrogate witnesses as you struggle to…

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#xbox 360

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knighteen87 · 7 years ago

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L.A. Noire for Sony Playstation 3. It can be repeatative some times but really an unique game with incredible facial animations and great story telling. Also the main theme of the game is one of the best VGM tracks I have ever heard. Hope a sequel comes out someday... #noire #lanoire #detective #adventure #rockstar #rockstargames #teambondi #sony #playstation #playstation3 #ps3 #favorite #retro #gaming #collection #videogame #videogames #games #retrogame_feature

#ps3 #lanoire #adventure #rockstar #detective #noire #playstation #favorite #gaming #retrogame_feature #collection #videogame #playstation3 #games #videogames #sony #rockstargames #retro #teambondi

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puniper · 7 years ago

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I finally played l.a. noire last month and my dad would sometimes watch me, he was absolutely fascinated by the facial animations and helped me interrogate people. He also immediately recognized Roy as a fucking asshole

!!!! my mom also watched me play L.A Noire back in 2011 and she would ask me every minute “are you sure they’re not real people?” it was hilarious

(and fuck Roy honestly)

#Anonymous

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majornelson · 7 years ago

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L.A. Noire Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One

Content: L.A. Noire Check pre-order price and availability in your Xbox LIVE region

Game Description: You may pre-download this game, but it will not be playable until release date (11/13/2017 – 9:00 PM).

Utilizing revolutionary facial animation technology that captures every nuance of an actor’s facial performance in astonishing detail, L.A. Noire blends the breathtaking action with true detective work for an unprecedented interactive experience. Solve brutal crimes, plots and conspiracies inspired by real crimes from 1947 Los Angeles, one of the most corrupt and violent times in L.A. history. Search for clues, chase down suspects and interrogate witnesses as you struggle to find the truth in a city where everyone has something to hide.

Xbox One Pre-Order FAQ

via Xbox Live's Major Nelson http://ift.tt/2zbMtft

#Xbox Live's Major Nelson

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spicynbachili1 · 6 years ago

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Call of Cthulhu review | Rock Paper Shotgun

I performed the primary three hours of Name of Cthulhu, and in my unconventional preview after the actual fact I mentioned that I appreciated exploring the docks and speaking to grizzled locals and detectoring my approach via issues. On the finish of the preview you attain the bit the place you discover the cult, and you completely know what’s up, however your character Edward Pierce has no concept. He simply will get chased out of a cave. And I mentioned:

“The fear could be that, having found the Cult Of Cthulhu is a factor, the sport turns into extra scripted chases than it’s grumbling round with the locals.”

Nicely, destiny makes fools of us all. As Edward Pierce would let you know.

Taking part in Name of Cthulhu made me offended, as a result of it didn’t must be this fashion, man. These first three hours have been promising! Darkwater is a cool, gloomy setting! Some fascinating characters have been launched! I actually appreciated Officer Bradley, the native policeman with a face like an beginner carver tried to make a bulldog out of a half used candle. Fitzroy, the harbourmaster, is a person made totally of the phrase ornery. You’re there to analyze a mysterious fireplace that killed a complete household, however there’s additionally a neighborhood gangster working a safety racket and bootlegging operation, a vandalised statue, and within the pub you possibly can hear two orderlies speaking about bizarre goings on at a hospital. Decaying bloodlines and insular communities. Huge ol’ fish monsters. “That’s loads of investigating Lovecraftian themes to do,” I assumed to myself, naively.

It’s not all unhealthy. Pierce’s expertise as an investigator could be customised by you. You possibly can prioritise your investigation, bodily thuggery, eloquence or psychological data to alter the kinds of questions Pierce can ask, and issues he notices about his atmosphere. The Spot Hidden talent specifically is a pleasant addition, and a direct name again to the tabletop roleplaying recreation Name of Cthulhu. Once you enter an space that has hidden objects, your Spot Hidden talent determines whether or not or not you discover them, so in case your talent is just too low the sport received’t even let you know there’s something to search for. It doesn’t gate off any of the primary story, it simply modifications how a lot supporting proof you discover. That’s cool! However there are solely two or three stable chunks, together with the primary three hours, the place Pierce is detecting stuff like a detective. These three hours are the bit that we’ve seen in all of the previews and streams. I think it’s because it’s the greatest bit.

After that the sport turns into a messy, sticky, freakshake of a factor, with so many disparate components it lacks any clear id. And I’m all of the extra cross at Name of Cthulhu as a result of if it had caught to what it established in the beginning, it might have been alright! I imply, certain, the facial animations are very a lot in want of the patch I’m informed the’re getting on day one, and also you generally get the impression that the voice actors solely received one or two takes at a line, however the fundamentals have been inside a tentacle’s attain! Then, all of the sudden, it’s like somebody in higher administration despatched a memo saying “They, as within the gamers of a recreation based mostly on an in depth and complicated TRPG, will get bored – put in incomplete variations of different online game stuff individuals like.”

So, all of the sudden, you get up in a grim and grubby asylum and it turns into a stealth horror recreation. There’s a monster working round that’s really a part of the Cthulhu mythos, however the hyperlink isn’t defined for those who don’t already know that, making it form of an easter egg that’s been expanded to suit two thirds of the sport. You run round with a lamp lots. One part is totally working round with lamps, however they’re completely different colors.

In the meantime, promising characters disappear with out closure to their arcs, and minor ones obtain blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameos afterward that they didn’t want. You place collectively a Scooby Doo crew that’s nearly instantly disbanded. It Was All A Dream segments break up whole chapters the place you don’t even play as Pierce, but it surely’s okay as a result of the opposite individuals nonetheless have his capacity to imaginate their approach via investigations. The sanity metric (let’s not) seems to be nearly meaningless, as an unavoidable plot level within the recreation renders you ‘Psychotic’ anyway. Often you get requested to decide on to save lots of or kill a citizen, however you don’t see the ramifications of identical. These be a part of a number of plot factors which might be left unresolved, flapping round untethered just like the arms of a dying octopus. Then you definitely get given a gun for a bit. Then it will get taken away once more. The ultimate, pivotal alternative within the recreation wasn’t that tough for me, as a result of I’d run out of all causes to care.

Hear, for those who like crawling round at midnight in an asylum, play Outlast. For those who like detective video games with bizarre facial animation, play L.A. Noire. For those who just like the Name of Cthulhu TRPG, maintain enjoying that.

from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/call-of-cthulhu-review-rock-paper-shotgun/

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thatsnotcanonpodcasts · 4 years ago

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Smile, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Paul Allen’s Living Computers Museum + Labs & BRZRKR

Has Professor finally found a way to keep DJ in the time limit? Some say yes.

Can a smile really make you think better of someone? What if it would make you think worse of them? This study looked at the perceived trustworthiness of people with various disorders, but the Nerds think it's not particularly rigorous.

Microsoft Flight Simulator will come with a physical edition including a lovely hardcover flight manual, and ten discs. TEN discs. It's going to be a pretty significant drive eater but if you don't have a good internet connection or want a pretty book this is the way to go.

It's time to say goodbye to Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum + Labs. Paul's museum is the only place a regular civilian can access the classic Big Iron mainframes of the 60s and 70s, but they've recently announced their temporary closure which is sounding more and more permanent as more news comes out. Now if you'll excuse us, Professor needs to have a bit of a cry.

Keanu Reeves is writing a comic book called Brzkr which sounds like the most Mary Sue self insert fanfiction a man could write. We'll have to wait for the full story to come out, but the main character sounds annoying. Maybe it'll have good art though.

This week, Professor sat around waiting in Forager, DJ jumped around in Nohra and Dev-i-Boy formed an army in VRChat.

A smile can increase or decrease how trustworthy you are

- https://www.psypost.org/2020/07/a-smile-can-increase-or-decrease-how-you-are-treated-by-others-depending-on-your-personality-study-finds-57394#:~:text=Social%20Psychology-,A%20smile%20can%20increase%20or%20decrease%20how%20trustworthy%20you%20are,on%20your%20personality%2C%20study%20finds&text=Though%20smiling%20generally%20increases%20trust,with%20certain%20antisocial%20personality%20traits.

- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0234574

Microsoft Flight Simulator now comes with 10 Discs

- https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-flight-simulator-is-getting-a-10-disc-physical-version/

The future of Paul Allen’s Living Computers Museum + Labs

- https://www.geekwire.com/2020/paul-allens-vulcan-inc-shuttering-divisions-impact-cinerama-cultural-institutions/

- https://rottedbits.blogspot.com/2020/07/on-closing-of-living-computers.html?m=1

Keanu Reeves, actor actor, musician, film producer and director and now comic book writer

- https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2020/07/17/exclusive-keanu-reeves-debuts-comic-book-writer-brzrkr/5448723002/

Games Played

Professor

- Forager - https://store.steampowered.com/app/751780/Forager/

Rating: 2.5/5

– Nohra - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1338250/Nohra/

Rating: 4/5

Deviboy

– VRChat - https://store.steampowered.com/app/438100/VRChat/

Rating: 4/5

Other topics discussed

Segway company owner rids scooter off cliff

- http://www.nbcnews.com/id/39377851/ns/world_news-europe/t/segway-company-owner-rides-scooter-cliff-dies/#.Xx1bOudS-Ul

Facial recognition software (technology capable of identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_recognition_system

Microexpression (A microexpression is a facial expression that only lasts for a short moment. It is the innate result of a voluntary and an involuntary emotional response occurring simultaneously and conflicting with one another, and occurs when the amygdala (the emotion center of the brain) responds appropriately to the stimuli that the individual experiences and the individual wishes to conceal this specific emotion.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microexpression

Microexpressions Are Not the Best Way to Catch a Liar

- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01672/full

Polygraph (popularly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse,respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked and answers a series of questions)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygraph

Truth Serum (a colloquial name for any of a range of psychoactive drugs used in an effort to obtain information from subjects who are unable or unwilling to provide it otherwise. These include ethanol,scopolamine,3-quinuclidinyl benzilate, midazolam, flunitrazepam, sodium thiopental, and amobarbital, among others.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_serum

Sodium thiopental (also known as Sodium Pentothal (a trademark of Abbott Laboratories), thiopental, thiopentone, or Trapanal (also a trademark), or Fatal-Plus in veterinary euthanasia contexts, is a rapid-onset short-acting barbiturate general anesthetic. Thiopental (Pentothal) is still used in some places as a truth serum to weaken the resolve of a subject and make them more compliant to pressure.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_thiopental#Truth_serum

Polygraph in TV (Lie detection has a long history in mythology and fairy tales; the polygraph has allowed modern fiction to use a device more easily seen as scientific and plausible. Notable instances of polygraph usage include uses in crime and espionage themed television shows and some daytime television talk shows, cartoons and films.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygraph#Portrayal_on_television

L.A. Noire (neo-noir detective action-adventure video game developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games.)

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A._Noire

Good Cop, Bad Cop ("Good cop/bad cop" routine, also called Mutt and Jeff, joint questioning or friend and foe, is a psychological tactic used in negotiation and interrogation.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_cop/bad_cop

Eragon (a third-personvideo game released for PlayStation 2, Xbox,Xbox 360, andMicrosoft Windows, developed by Stormfront Studios. The game is based upon the 2006 Eragon film, which is loosely based on the 2002 book Eragon, by Christopher Paolini.)

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eragon_(video_game)

Red Dead Redemption 2 comes on two discs

- https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-10-20-red-dead-redemption-2-comes-on-two-discs

Great, Famous, and Controversial Multi-Disc Video Games

- https://www.gamezone.com/originals/great-famous-and-controversial-multi-disc-video-games/

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 PC Game in OZ Game Shop

- https://www.ozgameshop.com/pc-games/microsoft-flight-simulator-2020-pc-game?gclid=cj0kcqjw6ut4brd5arisadwjq1-gny7xta2snd0pecfhgbl2pnvvv0zh8mig1a7rskvorcir-e0560iaai8sealw_wcb

Cardboard disc included with Fallout 76 Power Armor PC edition

- https://www.shacknews.com/article/108552/cardboard-disc-included-with-fallout-76-power-armor-pc-edition

WWII Collection Microsoft Flight Simulator X Add-On

- https://www.gamesmen.com.au/wwii-collection-microsoft-flight-simulator-x-add-on

Microsoft might give up microtransactions thanks to Game Pass

- https://www.tweaktown.com/news/68793/microsoft-give-up-microtransactions-thanks-game-pass/index.html

Minecraft will soon have microtransactions

- https://www.tweaktown.com/news/57063/minecraft-soon-microtransactions/index.html

Nixie Tubes Watch Face

- https://www.facer.io/watchface/6XF7aL6HY8?watchModel=moto3602

How the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)’s measly millions keep America’s museums alive

- https://theconversation.com/how-the-neas-measly-millions-keep-americas-museums-alive-71964

J.J. Abrams Makes His Marvel Debut with 'Spider-Man' #1

- https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/j-j-abrams-makes-his-marvel-debut-with-spider-man-1

Did Marvel drop the ball with J.J. Abrams' Spider-Man comic?

- https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/did-marvel-drop-the-ball-with-jj-abrams-spider-man-comic

Why Marvel's JJ Abrams Spider-Man Reveal Backfired

- https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/06/21/spider-man-4-backlash-jj-abrams-marvel-comics

Factorio (a construction and management simulation game developed by the Czech studio Wube Software.)

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factorio

-https://store.steampowered.com/app/427520/Factorio/

Robolox (an online game platform and game creation system that allows users to program games and play games created by other users.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roblox

- https://www.roblox.com/

Equagesic (a combination tranquilizer and analgesic used as an adjunct in the short-term treatment of pain accompanied by tension and/or anxiety in patients with musculoskeletal disease.)

- https://www.rxlist.com/equagesic-side-effects-drug-center.htm

The Way of the Dragon (a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts action-comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Bruce Lee, who also stars in the lead role.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_the_Dragon

James Doohan Discusses How He Helped A Suicidal Star Trek Fan

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COJuF7n9gGA

Electron microscope (a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a higher resolving power than light microscopes and can reveal the structure of smaller objects.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_microscope

Warm Red Earth (TNC podcast)

- https://thatsnotcanon.com/warmredearth

Shout Outs

19 July 2008 – It's been 12 years since Avatar: The Last Airbender aired its final episode on Nickelodeon - https://comicbook.com/anime/news/avatar-the-last-airbender-katara-trending-twitter-agni-kai-anniversary/

While this is a monumental for a number of reasons, many fans often celebrate this anniversary more for the stunning Agni Kai between Zuko and Azula before the final episode of the series. But while that is an important moment all on its own. The cartoon has recently reached a whole new audience via Netflix, who added the three seasons of the show onto their service in mid-May. The series has been a mainstay on the Netflix top 10 most-watched TV series charts since then.

19 July 2020 – Minecraft Original Title Screen World Seed Finally Found After 9 Years - https://screenrant.com/minecraft-title-screen-seed-found-original-background/

The original Minecraft world seed for the game's classic title screen has finally been found, ending a search that has spanned over nine years - but only took fans who decided to try to find it just over a month of hard work. For those unfamiliar with what a Minecraft world seed is, it is essentially a string of numbers and coding that's randomly generated and put together to make up a new Minecraft world. It may not seem like much to onlookers, but it's a bigwin for the Minecraft community and an important piece of history coming to light for one of the longest-tenured multiplayer ventures in modern gaming.

20 July 2020 – In a first, UAE spacecraft blasts off to Mars from Japan - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/uae-mars-mission-hope-spacecraft-japan-space-a9627481.html

A United Arab Emirates spacecraft began its journey to Mars with a blast off in Japan in what is the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission.The launch of the spacecraft named Amal, or Hope, marks the start of the seven-month journey to the red planet. The probe will study the upper atmosphere and monitor climate change while circling Mars for at least two years. The craft is expected to reach Mars in February 2021, the year the UAE celebrates 50 years since its formation. The Emirates Mars Mission has cost $200m (£155.8m), according to minister for advanced sciences Sarah Amiri. It aims to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere for the first time, studying daily and seasonal changes. The UAE first announced plans for the mission in 2014 and launched a National Space Programme in 2017 to develop local expertise. Its population of 9.4 million, most of whom are foreign workers, lacks the scientific and industrial base of the big spacefaring nations. It has an ambitious plan for a Mars settlement by 2117. Hazza al-Mansouri became the first Emirati in space last September when he flew to the International Space Station.

Remembrances

20 July 1866 – Bernhard Riemann - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Riemann

Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann, German mathematician who made contributions to analysis,number theory, and differential geometry. In the field of real analysis, he is mostly known for the first rigorous formulation of the integral, the Riemann integral, and his work on Fourier series. His contributions to complex analysis include most notably the introduction of Riemann surfaces, breaking new ground in a natural, geometric treatment of complex analysis. His famous 1859 paper on the prime-counting function, containing the original statement of the Riemann hypothesis, is regarded as one of the most influential papers inanalytic number theory. Through his pioneering contributions to differential geometry, Riemann laid the foundations of the mathematics of general relativity. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. He died from tuberculosis at the age of 39 in Selasca,Kingdom of Italy.

20 July 1973 – Bruce Lee - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee

Lee Jun-fan commonly known as Bruce Lee, a Hong Kong American actor, director, martial artist, martial arts instructor and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that is often credited with paving the way for modern mixed martial arts (MMA). Lee is considered by commentators, critics, media, and other martial artists to be the most influential martial artist of all time and a pop culture icon of the 20th century, who bridged the gap between East and West. He is credited with helping to change the way Asians were presented in American films. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, sparking a surge of interest in Chinese nation and Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s. He died at the age of 32 in Kowloon Tong. There was no visible external injury; however, according to autopsy reports, Lee's brain had swollen considerably. The autopsy found Equagesic in his system. When the doctors announced Lee's death, it was officially ruled a "death by misadventure".

20 July 2005 – James Doohan - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Doohan

James Montgomery Doohan, Canadian actor, voice actor, author and soldier best known for his role asMontgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series Star Trek. Doohan's characterization of the Scottish Chief Engineer of the Starship Enterprise was one of the most recognizable elements in the Star Trek franchise, and inspired many fans to pursue careers in engineering and other technical fields. He also made contributions behind the scenes, such as the initial development of the Klingon and Vulcan languages. Prior to his acting career, Doohan served in the 14th Field Artillery Regiment of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. He also served as a pilot. He saw combat in Europe during World War II, including the D-Day invasion of Normandy, in which he was wounded, apparently by friendly fire. After the war, he had extensive experience performing in radio and television, which led to his role as Scotty. He died from pneumonia at the age of 85 in Redmond, Washington. A portion of his ashes, ¼ ounce (7 grams), was scheduled the following fall for a memorial flight to space with 308 others, including Project Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper. Launch on the SpaceLoft XL rocket was delayed to April 28, 2007, when the rocket briefly entered outer space in a four-minute suborbital flight before parachuting to earth, as planned, with the ashes still inside. The ashes were subsequently launched on a Falcon 1 rocket, on August 3, 2008, into what was intended to be a low Earth orbit; however, the rocket failed two minutes after launch. On May 22, 2012, a small urn containing some of Doohan's remains in ash form was flown into space aboard the Falcon 9 rocket as part of COTS Demo Flight 2.

Famous Birthdays

20 July 1889 – John Reith, 1st Baron Reith - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Reith,_1st_Baron_Reith

John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith, was a Scottish broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom. In 1922 he was employed by the BBC (British Broadcasting Company Ltd.) as its general manager; in 1923 he became its managing director and in 1927 he was employed as the Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation created under a Royal Charter. His concept of broadcasting as a way of educating the masses marked for a long time the BBC and similar organisations around the world. He also stated that since his departure as Director-General, he had watched almost no television and listened to virtually no radio. "When I leave a thing, I leave it," he said. He was born in Stonehaven,Kincardineshire.

20 July 1932 – Nam June Paik - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nam_June_Paik

Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super highway" to describe the future of telecommunications. In 1974 Nam June Paik used the term "super highway" in application to telecommunications, which gave rise to the opinion that he may have been the author of the phrase "Information Superhighway". In fact, in his 1974 proposal "Media Planning for the Postindustrial Society – The 21st Century is now only 26 years away" to the Rockefeller Foundation he used a slightly different phrase, "electronic super highway": "The building of new electronic super highways will become an even huger enterprise. Assuming we connect New York with Los Angeles by means of an electronic telecommunication network that operates in strong transmission ranges, as well as with continental satellites, wave guides, bundled coaxial cable, and later also via laser beam fiber optics: the expenditure would be about the same as for a Moon landing, except that the benefits in term of by-products would be greater. He was born in Keijo (present-day Seoul).

20 July 1947 – Gerd Binnig - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerd_Binnig

German physicist. He is most famous for having won the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Heinrich Rohrer in 1986 for the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope. In 1978, Binnig accepted an offer from IBM to join their Zürich research group, where he worked with Heinrich Rohrer, Christoph Gerber and Edmund Weibel. There they developed the scanning tunneling microscope (STM), an instrument for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. The Nobel committee described the effect that the invention of the STM had on science, saying that "entirely new fields are opening up for the study of the structure of matter." The physical principles on which the STM was based were already known before the IBM team developed the STM, but Binnig and his colleagues were the first to solve the significant experimental challenges involved in putting it into effect. In 1985, Binnig invented the atomic force microscope (AFM) and Binnig, Christoph Gerber and Calvin Quate went on to develop a working version of this new microscope for insulating surfaces. In 1994 Professor Gerd Binnig founded Definiens which turned in the year 2000 into a commercial enterprise. The company developed Cognition Network Technology to analyze images just like the human eye and brain are capable of doing. He was born in Frankfurt am Main.

Events of Interest

20 July 1968 – The first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, with about 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Olympics#History

The first Special Olympics games were held on July 20, 1968, at Soldier Field in Chicago. About 1,000 athletes from the U.S. and Canada took part in the one-day event, which was a joint venture by the Kennedy Foundation and the Chicago Park District. Anne McGlone Burke, then a physical education teacher with the Chicago Park District, began with the idea for a one-time, city-wide, Olympic-style athletic competition for people with special needs. At the July 1968 games, Kennedy Shriver announced the formation of Special Olympics and that more games would be held every two years as a "Biennial International Special Olympics". Hayden served as the games executive director through 1972, and then in international development for the games.

20 July 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11's crew successfully makes the first manned landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.

-https://www.history.com/topics/space-exploration/moon-landing-1969

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11#Lunar_surface_operations

On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930-) became the first humans ever to land on the moon. About six-and-a-half hours later, Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. As he took his first step, Armstrong famously said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

20 July 1969 – A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, six days after the beginning of the "Football War". - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_War#Cease-fire

The Football War (colloquial: Soccer War or the Hundred Hours' War also known as 100 Hour War) was a brief war fought between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. Existing tensions between the two countries coincided with rioting during a 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifier. The war began on 14 July 1969, when the Salvadoran military launched an attack against Honduras. Although the nickname "Football War" implies that the conflict was due to a football match, the causes of the war go much deeper. The roots were issues over land reform in Honduras and immigration and demographic problems in El Salvador.

20 July 1976 – The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars. - https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/viking-1-lands-on-mars

On the seventh anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, the Viking 1 lander, an unmanned U.S. planetary probe, becomes the first spacecraft to successfully land on the surface of Mars. On July 20, 1976, the Viking 1 lander separated from the orbiter, touched down on the Chryse Planitia region of Mars, and sent back the first close-up photographs of the rust-colored Martian surface. It was the first attempt by the United States at landing on Mars. Viking 1 carried a biology experiment whose purpose was to look for evidence of life. The Viking spacecraft biological experiments weighed 15.5 kg (34 lbs) and consisted of three subsystems: the pyrolytic release experiment (PR), the labeled release experiment (LR), and the gas exchange experiment (GEX). Most scientists now believe that the data were due to inorganic chemical reactions of the soil; however, this view may be changing after the recent discovery of near-surface ice near the Viking landing zone. Some scientists still believe the results were due to living reactions. No organic chemicals were found in the soil.

20 July 1977 – The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra#Revelation

In 1977, during a hearing held by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, to look further into MKUltra, Admiral Stansfield Turner, then Director of Central Intelligence, revealed that the CIA had found a set of records, consisting of about 20,000 pages. that had survived the 1973 destruction orders because they had been incorrectly stored at a records center not usually used for such documents. These files dealt with the financing of MKUltra projects and contained few project details, but much more was learned from them than from the Inspector General's 1963 report.

Intro

Artist – Goblins from Mars

Song Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)

Song Link -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ

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vrheadsets · 6 years ago

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Experiencing The Thrill Of Being A Spy In Defector

Developer Twisted Pixel announced earlier this year that they would be working once again on an Oculus Rift exclusive, following their virtual reality (VR) title Wilson’s Heart, in the form of Defector. The title is a no holds bar action adventure title that sees players step into the spy life to go on a grand adventure. VRFocus’ Nina Salomon was able to get hands on with the title during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2018 show and has put together a video about her experience.

Salomon explains in her hands-on video that the Defector feels similar in vein to the likes of L.A Noire in terms of the technology being used to deliver facial animations. Though not to the same level as Rockstar’s title, it seems Twisted Pixel have done a fantastic job in ensuring that the immersive experience is made more believable thanks to high quality animation. She also mentions how it feels akin to London Heist in the way that both titles are action focused, require the use of a lot of guns and gadgets.

The demo that was being shown during E3 2018 starts with the player putting in an earpiece and wearing contact lenses that provide augmented reality (AR) within the experience. These help to give players more information about select objects within the world which create opportunities for play interaction. Defector does offer player freedom but there are times where you’ll need to play by the rules, so to speak. One section within the demo required players to blend in otherwise they might draw attention to themselves, possibly leading to a gameover.

Players can also expect to have to deal with intense conversations during Defector were picking the right option to progress the action without saying the wrong thing will be a fundamental part of the experience. After all, a spy needs to know how to talk along with how to blow things up. Any player who is use to dialog options in titles such as Mass Effect will feel right at home. Thankfully, the title provides training for these system which will be useful for players to understand the best way to talk their way out of any situation.

Of course it is not about walking and talking as Defector will feature a ton of action sequences. This includes using a range of gadgets, weapons both single and dual handed, and even shoot enemies from a car as you drive out the back of an airplane while it is being attacked by fighter jets. From the short hands on, it seems as though developer Twisted Pixel are creating a VR title that will bring that feeling of being a spy to life for anyone who puts on the headset.

Defector is planned to release later this year and will be an exclusive release for Oculus Rift. You can see the full hands-on video below and for more on the title in the future, keep reading VRFocus.

youtube

from VRFocus https://ift.tt/2NVmel9

#VRFocus #vr #virtual reality #canada

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nazih-fares · 7 years ago

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Now more than five years after its original release, Rockstar Games decided to give us a remastered version of one of its most iconic game of the past decade: L.A. Noire. Originally released on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 (which I’ve reviewed for At7addak.com back in the days) and PC in 2011, the new launch is mainly for those that might’ve missed the original game, and wanted to experience it with updated technology. Themed like a noire film, with the desire to take the concept of the open world on a different road, more focused on the investigation than the pure and hard action, Team Bondi’s original work was amazing for its time. With amazing facial animations which were key to the title’s core gameplay as to be able to deduce your witnesses and criminal’s intentions or lies during investigations. so that the player can better understand the impact of his lines, during interrogations. So now that I got my hand on a PlayStation 4 copy and Nintendo Switch version, the question is: is L.A. Noire still worth playing nowadays?

As you would expect from most remastered or re-released versions of games, L.A. Noire’s core storyline remains intact and untouched, almost to a point that it is better now with time, when compared to our most recent day’s productions. You see, few games since the initial release of L.A. Noire in 2011 have reached such a level of coherence between its universe and the narrative aspect of it. The player plays the role of Cole Phelps, a former Marines and war hero from the Okinawa battle during the second World War. When he returns to Los Angeles, medals don’t make it is easier for him to get back in the civilian lifestyle, and certainly not his career in the local police. Starting like everyone else as a mere patrol cop, our main character soon will discover by himself that he’s got a talent for investigation work, and starts solving more and more difficult cases. As he advance in his career, Phelps will soon discover that corruption is raging in his beloved city, and that appearances sometimes hide real monsters.

L.A. Noire is an amazing story until this day, with both lead and supporting characters all becoming immediately memorable. Whether these protagonists are Phelps teammates, murder victims, culprits or mere witnesses, they were all treated equally in terms of writing, down to the smallest detail, which reinforces the immersion, so much so that I find myself here replaying this game furiously and eagerly, even after all these years. There’s always a great story progression, pushing you to want to discover more, full of twists that are hard to see coming, and references to other known film noir. Your Femme fatale, late 1940s mobsters, Hollywood crooks, it’s all in there, with a slight dose of comedy, yet keeping a dark tone.

Now I should note that while this is a game clearly created by Rockstar Games, newcomers should be aware that L.A Noire is first and foremost a story to be told at its core, and not an open-world adventure like other titles done by the famed studio. Don’t expect to be grabbing uzis and shooting everything that moves, because this is no GTA.

L.A. Noire in terms of gameplay is an adventure led by police or detective investigation, more than an open world adventure. While the game is based on a fairly large map, it is not governed by the same mechanics as a GTA, to take the most obvious example. You will have the opportunity to travel throughout the city as you see fit, but that will mostly be to go from one key investigation scene to another, with no events on the way to distract you from your goal. Once again, as pointed out above, you are not going to experience the same model as what a Red Dead Redemption or GTA has introduced in the past, but that’s not a bad thing. Investigations are so well packaged that you will never be bored, thanks to the same proven cycle. After a cutscene presenting the facts, you will have to search on ground for clues, which are hinted to you thanks to little audio tunes (or vibrations on your controllers).

You’ll have to collect all these clues, which will be written in your trusty notebook, and help you with you interrogations. And this my friends and future detectives to be is where L.A. Noire shines! The choice of dialogues are relevant, even if we feel that it is still difficult to be wrong, or to launch into the wrong lead, thanks to Team Bondi’s insane work on facial animations, to be able to deduce if the person you’re questioning is lying or not.

Finally, your investigation only ends when you find a culprit. In this third part, you often have are led into a pure action sequences. Sadly, this is where L.A. Noire is not perfect, and unfortunately this remastered version was not an opportunity for Rockstar Games to fix this. Car chases and gun fights are too slow, and not engaging enough, in comparison to other games done by the mighty developer, which funny enough can be completely skipped if you fail them three times in a row. In any case, after handcuffing the one you think is the big bad guy in your case, you’ll get a general score or police report on your performance. If you have called for the wrong culprit and put an innocent goon behind bars, you’ll be able to restart the case from the beginning, which is great for those of you out there that are completionists.

This release of L.A. Noire on Nintendo Switch, was also an opportunity to add some small gameplay features for Rockstar Games. First of all, Joy-cons adds a sort of gyroscopic camera control, as well as the tablet itself uses its touch abilities to help you zoom into clues during investigations. You can also navigate through your notebook with a single finger movement, and even direct Phelps through the screen. All this gives the game a sort of point & click angle to the title, far from being anecdotal because it actually gives an undeniable comfort.

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Nevertheless, L.A. Noire cannot hide the fact that it is after all a 5 years and more game. Sure the game will run at full 1080p In dock mode, but the pure technical aspect of the game is still running on old generation technology. There is a hint of aliasing, but mostly framerate drops, and some environmental elements and the scenery tend to load late, creating a clipping noticed during driving sequence. And like it is the case with other titles on the Nintendo Switch, playing it on the handheld mode fixes these concerns, but you’ll end up swapping these issues with occasional pop-ups and stuttering.

Other big issue for some of you, is that the Nintendo Switch version of L.A. Noir is about 30 GB on the Nintendo Switch which is too big for its internal memory, so expect to cough up some extra dollars on a brand new MicroSD card.

But what about the other console versions? Well, on PlayStation 4 (and Xbox One) L.A. Noire runs at 1080p, while jumping to 4K with HDR support on PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X. Both versions of the Sony and Microsoft console got their shares of upgraded textures, better lighting and additional camera angles for cutscenes, but sadly all locked to 30FPS. Too bad for those of you that hoped for something more dynamic in terms of frame rates, especially when you could probably get up to 60FPS with the specs inside the Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro.

The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 version of L.A. Noire has updated textures and up to 4K HDR support but still reminds us that this is an early 2010 game

As always, I’d like to point that Rockstar Games are just great when it comes to their game’s soundtrack. The latter is actually split into two parts, which are known tunes and real classics from performers such as Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong or Tex Williams which I’m personally a big fan of, but it’s the other part of the soundtrack that are worth your time. Produced especially for L.A. Noire, and composed by Andrew Hale (who won a BAFTA award for best Original Music), the game’s themes are just marvelous, and some of the singing tracks, performed by Claudia Brücken are fit for this unique setting, and noire mood.

Finally, to end this review, you should know that investing into L.A. Noire nowadays is in general a neat package full of content. The game boast more than 25 cases, which average between an hour or two per case. And that is if you are content to only follow the main story, because L.A. Noire also has a multitude of smaller tasks and quests to finish, plus all previously released DLCs and exclusive console content are now available in these versions.

L.A. Noire was reviewed using a Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 retail copy of the game provided by Take-Two Interactive as well as an Xbox 360 copy purchased by the writer. The original game was released in 2011 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC is available in both retail and downloadable versions on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. We don’t discuss review scores with publishers or developers prior to the review being published.

If you are someone that never played L.A. Noire back in 2011, then you shouldn't miss this remastered version of Rockstar Games' detective storytelling adventure. Now more than five years after its original release, Rockstar Games decided to give us a remastered version of one of its most iconic game of the past decade: L.A.

#Action #Adventure #Rockstar Games #Take-Two Interactive #Team Bondi #Third Person Shooter #Virtuos

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