Smash Up The City As A Giant Monster In This Free Nintendo Labo VR Minigame
Remember the free ‘Alien Bopping’ game added to the Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit at the end of April? Well, Nintendo has now released another mini-game. This time it’s about smashing up a city as a gigantic green Godzilla-like creature. The only difference is this monster shoots red balls (imagine them as lasers) from its mouth to destroy the buildings.
Before you download this VR minigame, you’ll need to have first unlocked the Toy-Con garage VR programming tool. You can gain access to this mode by completing the activities in the Discover menu and from there, you load up the garage and save this new mini-game data by selecting “Name and Save” within the Toy-Con VR programming tool.
You can initiate this download by visiting the Switch news channel on the system’s HOME Menu and clicking on the Labo VR Channel. Once you’ve done this, view the ‘VR Minigame’ post and click the button at the bottom of the page to start up the software and receive the game.
Have you downloaded this or the Alien Bopping game yet? How are you finding Labo VR so far? Tell us below.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 05-09-2019, 05:22 PM - Forum: Windows
- No Replies
Military Spouse Technology Academy to be offered in San Antonio
May 8, 2019
Today we’re announcing the second phase of the Military Spouse Technology Academy (MSTA), which trains military spouses in technical and soft skills that equip them for careers in the technology industry. Following the successful completion of the pilot cohort on March 1 — which graduated 100% of its 19 participants in the Tacoma, Wash., area — the academy will also be offered at a new location in San Antonio, Texas, beginning this fall.
MSTA is the latest program to demonstrate Microsoft’s dedication to supporting the military community. It was built atop the success of the Microsoft Software & Systems Academy (MSSA), which launched in 2013 with the mission of providing important technical skills to transitioning service members and veterans.
Military spouses make up a highly educated, talented and hard-working group. Forty-five percent have a four-year degree or higher, but the demands of being a military spouse — frequent relocations, their spouse’s unexpected deployments and the challenge of sometimes living in remote areas — mean that they face high under- and unemployment rates.
At the same time, the technology industry continues to face a talent shortage.
For these reasons and more, Microsoft introduced MSTA, a 22-week onsite program that offers the opportunity for well-paying, long-term and meaningful careers in tech.
“We’re proud that the first Military Spouse Technology Academy graduates have accomplished their training goals,” said U.S. Marine Corps Major General (Ret.) Chris Cortez, vice president of Microsoft Military Affairs. “Now, we’re taking MSTA to San Antonio, based on its large military community, the city’s support for military spouses, and the many companies in the area that have committed to considering employment opportunities to hire these resilient and industrious graduates. Military spouses have a lot of potential. They’re going to be great employees.”
From MSSA, which has helped more than a thousand transitioning service members garner well-paid careers in the technology industry; to YouthSpark4MilKids, which provides immersive STEM workshops specifically for middle school children of military families; to MSTA, which is specifically tailored for military spouses, Microsoft endeavors to empower every person on the planet to achieve more.
MSTA empowers military families and the regions and industries that support them
Reflecting Microsoft’s ever-broadening commitment to this community, the new San Antonio location will offer the Texas-based military spouse community a chance to develop technology skills necessary for today’s digital economy. MSTA will also give local organizations a chance to hire motivated and skilled tech talent.
Microsoft works closely with Hiring Our Heroes — a nonprofit initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that connects service members, spouses and veterans to meaningful employment — to support the military community through MSTA and MSSA. San Antonio is one of Hiring Our Heroes’ Military Spouse Economic Empowerment Zones, which boost prospects for military spouses through a vibrant and robust network of employers.
“MSTA is the first of its kind for military spouses,” said Elizabeth O’Brien, senior director of the Military Spouse Program at Hiring Our Heroes. “Military spouses face unique challenges, but I will tell you we are masters of solutions as well. The program that Microsoft created is a perfect example of how companies can partner for innovative change to support military spouse employment.”
Jacqueline Widdis, an MSTA graduate and a program manager at Microsoft, had a 19-and-a-half-year full-time employment gap before starting the program. “MSTA has, quite frankly, changed my life,” Widdis said. “I knew what I had to offer a company, but I couldn’t get past that portal to show or even interview with a company to say, ‘This is what I’m capable of.’ Now, I feel empowered to take control of my own career, find out what my next steps are and walk in that direction.”
MSTA graduates benefit the companies that hire them
Jessica Jacobs, an MSTA graduate who now works at Boeing, found MSTA’s sense of community to be very valuable. “The most challenging thing about being a military spouse is juggling your household and your own personal aspirations,” Jacobs said. “MSTA can benefit organizations by teaching military spouses the fundamentals for IT. MSTA has empowered me to go after my dreams at all costs.”
MSSA and MSTA play a key role in funneling a unique pipeline of savvy and skilled talent from the veteran and military community into roles at some of the world’s most prominent companies. Our hiring-partner program is a group of more than 450 companies committed to hiring these graduates, who are often mission-oriented, adaptable and instilled with a sense of teamwork aimed at problem-solving. As a hiring partner, companies gain access to candidates with the drive, discipline, training and capabilities to succeed in a fast-paced and increasingly digital world.
Random: Rare Promo Art For Unaired Cartoon Show Features A Metroid Gender-Swap
Occasionally a piece of concept art for a treasured icon of gaming pops up and we all gawp and have a laugh at how off-model the initial sketches looked before the character was established. Even official takes on characters can be vastly different from the versions we know and love today (we all remember the legendarily hilarious US Mega Man box art, after all).
@TanookiKuribo has posted on Twitter the discovery of an auction currently live on ebay featuring some rare promo art related to the ‘Super Mario Bros. Power Hour’, an animated show that never went into production. It seems that the estate of a former employee of DIC (the animation company behind classics such as Inspector Gadget and the Sonic cartoons) has come across four concept images of games that might have featured on the show:
As you can see, Double Dragon, California Games, Castlevania and Metroid would have been part of the (presumably hour-long) show, although the promo art shows a somewhat different interpretation of the sources than we’re used to seeing all these years later. To be fair, Double Dragon’s not too bad, and the California Games image expands on the original box art in a cartoon-y fashion. The other two properties, however, have gone through some changes. Let’s look at the Castlevania one first:
Well, it’s got the Universal monsters in there, although they’ve certainly been given a makeover for the kids. And speaking of kids, we assume the terrified children represent characters from the show rather than a hip ’90s makeover of the Belmonts. The current Netflix show is certainly a more adult take on the source.
Moving on, the Metroid image makes a more significant change to canon:
Yes, it appears Samus has lost her golden locks in this iteration. It seems that the artist never made it to the end of the game – at least not in five hours or under – and went for a different interpretation to the one we’re all accustomed to. If you fancy putting in a bid, there’s another five days on the auction, although you’ll need deep pockets should you want to bag these 8x10s. The description also states that there’s more ‘rare Nintendo DIC items’ to come, so you might want to keep an eye on the seller.
Of course, off-model versions of fan-favourite characters are still easy enough to find these days – you’ve all seen the Sonic movie trailer, right?
Ah, we remember having a good old chuckle whenever that company logo came up at the end of our favourite ‘toons… So, what’s your favourite ‘off-model’ portrayal of a favourite video game character? Let us know with a comment in the usual place.
Set off on an amazing journey through Unknown Fate. Passing seamlessly from the real world into a surreal universe you?ll come across strange characters and unfamiliar artifacts.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 05-09-2019, 07:24 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Echo developer Ultra Ultra closes down
Newsbrief: The Copenhagen-based developer Ultra Ultra has closed its doors less than two years after releasing its atmospheric sci-fi game Echo.
The team shared the news in a tweet, noting that, while the studio has shut down, the movie based on Echo is still in the works and the game itself will remain up for sale.
“We’re terribly sad to report that Ultra Ultra has ceased to exist,” reads a tweet from the team. “We are grateful to have had the chance to crystallize something truly from the heart.”
Ultra Ultra released Echo for PC and PlayStation 4 in late 2017 and just this January announced that the game would be adapted into a film at the hands of John Wick creator and writer Derek Kolstad. Between development and studio setup, the team spent around three years working on the game, something discussed by Ultra Ultra’s Martin Emborg in an interview following their IGF nomination last year.
Rainbow Six Siege has long had a problem with team-killing, but developer Ubisoft has a new solution going live soon to help alleviate the issue. Reverse friendly fire, as it's called, has been in testing for a while and arrives on public PS4, Xbox One, and PC servers on May 8.
Essentially, the system is designed to punish griefers by dealing the damage to them, rather than the poor teammate being hit. Offenders will get a brief grace period--accidents happen, after all--after which any further damage dealt will be reversed, meaning the innocent player receives no damage and the guilty party will be injured themselves.
The system applies to all primary and secondary weapons, as well as direct hits from most unique Operator gadgets. Some explosive items are exempt--some by design, and some because of a bug Ubisoft says it will fix in a future update.
The developer says the method as it stands "is not our final version of the system," which will continue to be tweaked according to data and player feedback. It has already announced changes to the system coming during Siege's Year 4, Season 2: "We will introduce situations where the system will activate for the whole squad," the company said. "How gadgets will react and behave under Reverse Friendly Fire will also be fine-tuned." Read the full patch notes for reverse friendly fire's current iteration below, via Ubisoft.
Rainbow Six Siege Reverse Friendly Fire Update
When a player abuses the friendly fire mechanic to grief their teammates, this system is activated. We believe that this first version will be a positive step forward in our fight against team killing while maintaining the same intensity and high stakes gameplay that is core to the Rainbow Six Siege experience.
The Y4S1 release of RFF is not our final version of the system. Future iterations and improvements will continue based off data and player feedback.
Community feedback so far has been invaluable and allowed us to make early iterations to the system. For example, RFF can now activate based on total friendly damage. In these cases, there is no validation screen for the offending player's teammates. We are also striving to make it clearer how operators and gadgets will react to this system. We have consolidated some guidelines below for your reference.
Effect Of Reverse Friendly Fire
On Weapons And Thrown Objects
Impacts:
Primary/secondary weapons
Direct hits from thrown unique gadgets
Exothermic-S Torch (Maverick)
SK 4-12 (Buck)
Mounted LMG (Tachanka; regardless of who's using the turret)
M120 CREM (Ash) when the breaching round directly hits someone
KS79 Lifeline (Zofia)
Airjab Launcher (Nomad)
Pest Launcher (Mozzie)
Before RFF activation:
Can cause damage to teammates
Will count towards activating RFF
After RFF activation:
Teammates will not receive damage
Will reverse damage dealt
On Explosives
Impacts:
Generic gadgets (frag grenade, C4, breach charge) that results in an explosion*
Gas Grenade (Smoke)
TAC MKO asphyxiating bolts (Capitão)
M120 CREM (Ash) when the breaching round explodes
Cluster Charge (Fuze)
*Explosive gadgets that do not do damage (i.e. stun grenades, Ying's Candela) will not be affected by RFF in any way
Before RFF activation:
Can cause damage to teammates
Will count towards activating RFF
After RFF activation:
Can cause damage to teammates
Does not reverse damage dealt*
*Explosives currently will continue to damage teammates even under RFF. This is not intended and will be fixed in Season 2.
Exceptions*:
Claymore
Entry Denial Device (Kapkan)
X-Kairos pellets (Hibana)
Exothermic Charge (Thermite)
*These explosives do not trigger RFF. While under RFF, these also do not reverse damage dealt and can continue to damage teammates. This can change in the future with feedback and further game design considerations.
On Drones And Operator Cameras
Impacts:
Evil Eye (Maestro)
Shock Drone (Twitch and Mozzie)
Before RFF activation:
Can cause damage to teammates
Will count towards activating RFF
After RFF activation:
Teammates will not receive damage
Will reverse damage dealt (onto the drone/camera)
More To Come
Further changes for Reverse Friendly Fire will come during Year 4 Season 2. We will introduce situations where the system will activate for the whole squad. How gadgets will react and behave under Reverse Friendly Fire will also be fine-tuned based on data and feedback. We look forward to sharing future developments with you.
We welcome any additional feedback on the Rainbow Six subreddit!
Frane: Dragons’ Odyssey Brings More RPG Action To Switch Tomorrow
In today’s episode of ‘here’s another RPG from Kemco’, we present to you Frane: Dragon’s Odyssey. The game launches on Nintendo Switch tomorrow.
The story follows Kunah, a boy from the fire dragon tribe, as he gets summoned by the god that reigns over the world above. His mission is to bring Escude, a lost girl from the angel clan, back to Vanneth. With his childhood friend, Riel, the daughter of the ice dragon chief, he follows after the missing girl and sets out for the vast world below the clouds.
Featuring all the RPG elements you’ve come to expect, Frane: Dragon’s Odyssey has you facing combat against enemies, gathering items, creating dishes, and giving gifts to your friends to increase their likeability gauges. The press release even hints at some potential romance, should your gifts be particularly liked.
As we mentioned above, the game launches tomorrow and is available from the Switch eShop for $12.99 / £11.69. If you’re quick, you can take advantage of a pre-launch sale giving you 10% off that price.
Do you like the look of this one? Ready for another RPG adventure? Tell us below.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Celebrates Mother’s Day With In-Game Event
Nintendo has revealed the theme for the next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Spirit event, and this time it’s doubling up as a celebration for Mother’s Day.
Called ‘Mum’s the Word!’, the event will kick off this Friday and lasts for three days as always. The Spirit board will be littered with motherly characters for you to win, and you’ll earn triple the usual SP for adding one to your collection.
If, like us, you happen to live in the UK and are confused about the event being Mother’s Day-themed, worry not. In most places, Mother’s Day is taking place on 12th May (consider this your reminder to pick up a last-minute gift if you celebrate the day).
Are you missing any of these Spirits? Would you rather Smash received a new kind of event to enjoy? Let us know in the usual place.
If you’ve been reading the Community blog, you’ll already know: AskFedora has moved to Discourse! Read on for more information about this exciting platform.
Discourse? Why Discourse?
The new AskFedora is a Discourse instance hosted by Discourse, similar to discussion.fedoraproject.org. However, where discussion.fedoraproject.org is meant for development discussion within the community, AskFedora is meant for end-user troubleshooting.
The Discourse platform focuses on conversations. Not only can you ask questions and receive answers, you can have complete dialogues with others. This is especially fitting since troubleshooting includes lots of bits that are neither questions nor answers. Instead, there are lots of suggestions, ideas, thoughts, comments, musings, none of which necessarily are the one true answer, but all of which are required steps that together lead us to the solution.
Apart from this fresh take on discussions, Discourse comes with a full set of features that make interacting with each other very easy.
This decision was made mainly to combat the spam and security issues previously encountered with the various social media login services.
So, unlike the current Askbot setup where you could login using different social media services, you will need to create a Fedora Account to use the new Discourse based instance. Luckily, creating a Fedora Account is very easy!
Choose a username, enter your name, and a valid e-mail address, a security question.
Do the “captcha” to confirm that you are indeed a human, and confirm that you are older than 13 years of age.
That’s it! You now have a Fedora account.
Get started!
If you are using the platform for the first time, you should start with the “New users! Start here!” category. Here, we’ve put short summaries on how to use the platform effectively. This includes information on how to use Discourse, its many features that make it a great platform, notes on how to ask and respond to queries, subscribing and unsubscribing from categories, and lots more.
For the convenience of the global Fedora community, these summaries are available in all the languages that the community supports. So, please do take a minute to go over these introductory posts.
Discuss, learn, teach, have fun!
Please login, ask and discuss your queries and help each other out. As always, suggestions and feedback are always welcome. You can post these in the “Site feedback” category.
As a last note, please do remember to “be excellent to each other.” The Fedora Code of Conduct applies to all of us!
Acknowledgements
The Fedora community does everything together, so many volunteers joined forces and gave their resources to make this possible. We are most grateful to the Askbot developers who have hosted AskFedora till now, the Discourse team for hosting it now, and all the community members who helped set it up, and everyone that helps keep the Fedora community ticking along!
