Gran Turismo Gamers Win Major Real-Life Endurance Race
Former GT Academy winners Wolfgang Reip and Florian Strauss, alongside Japanese Formula 3 and Super GT driver Katsumasa Chiyo, have won the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour at Australia’s world-famous Mount Panorama circuit.
German Florian Strauss was the 2013 GT Academy Germany winner. Prior to that he was working as a car rental manager and had no motor racing experience. Belgian Wolfgang Reip, the 2012 GT Academy Europe champ, was an “avid indoor go-karter” but had never pursued a career in racing.
After a race punctuated by 20 safety cars, the first caused by a kangaroo on track, Chiyo was able to pass two cars on the penultimate lap to nab the win. The victory is the first win for Reip and Strauss, and the first win for a Nissan GT-R at Mount Panorama in over two decades (since the R32 GT-R of Jim Richards and Mark Skaife took back-to-back Bathurst 1000 wins in 1991 and 1992).
Sid Meier Shows off Starship Customization
Firaxis has released a new video showing legendary game designer Sid Meier playing a mission from his latest strategy title, Sid Meier's Starships.
The video highlights the options available to captains as they refit their ships for each encounter, gives a glimpse of the diplomacy options available to avoid combat, and then shows Sid playing through a mission while making the best use of his customized fleet. It also shows the developers horsing around with a few Star Trek memes.
Starships is a typical offering from Firaxis and Meier, who are known primarily for strategy titles like Civilization. The game is set in the same universe as Civilization: Beyond Earth, and people who own the interstellar installment of the classic franchise will be able to take advantage of some kind of interaction between the two titles, though just what that means hasn't been revealed.
Sid Meier Shows off Starship Customization
Firaxis has released a new video showing legendary game designer Sid Meier playing a mission from his latest strategy title, Sid Meier's Starships.
The video highlights the options available to captains as they refit their ships for each encounter, gives a glimpse of the diplomacy options available to avoid combat, and then shows Sid playing through a mission while making the best use of his customized fleet. It also shows the developers horsing around with a few Star Trek memes.
Starships is a typical offering from Firaxis and Meier, who are known primarily for strategy titles like Civilization. The game is set in the same universe as Civilization: Beyond Earth, and people who own the interstellar installment of the classic franchise will be able to take advantage of some kind of interaction between the two titles, though just what that means hasn't been revealed.
Stewart & McKellen Back in X-Men After All
It turns out Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen will be back as the older Professor Xavier and Magneto, respectively, in two upcoming X-Men films.
In an interview with The Oregonian, Stewart told the site that he will definitely not be in X-Men: Apocalypse -- which is set to start shooting in Montreal -- but said that fans can expect to see McKellen in the Days of Future Past follow-up, reprising his role as the older Magneto.
Stewart went on to reveal that there are discussions for the third Wolverine film to centre around a team-up between Hugh Jackman's titular mutant and Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier. Stewart told the site, "...we have been talking about a Wolverine movie, which would team Hugh Jackman and myself together. Wolverine and Professor Xavier. That would be a very different sort of 'X-Men' from the four movies that I've already done."
Stewart & McKellen Back in X-Men After All
It turns out Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen will be back as the older Professor Xavier and Magneto, respectively, in two upcoming X-Men films.
In an interview with The Oregonian, Stewart told the site that he will definitely not be in X-Men: Apocalypse -- which is set to start shooting in Montreal -- but said that fans can expect to see McKellen in the Days of Future Past follow-up, reprising his role as the older Magneto.
Stewart went on to reveal that there are discussions for the third Wolverine film to centre around a team-up between Hugh Jackman's titular mutant and Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier. Stewart told the site, "...we have been talking about a Wolverine movie, which would team Hugh Jackman and myself together. Wolverine and Professor Xavier. That would be a very different sort of 'X-Men' from the four movies that I've already done."
Hubble Photo Shows a Galactic Smiley Face
A faraway galaxy cluster has found something to smile about.
While searching the archives of photos taken by the Hubble telescope, a woman discovered one image of a galaxy cluster shaped like a smiley face.
Known as galaxy cluster SDSSJ1038+4849, the two "eyes" of the face are separate galaxies, while the "smile" is actually created by an effect caused by powerful gravitational pull called strong gravitational lensing.
Hubble Photo Shows a Galactic Smiley Face
A faraway galaxy cluster has found something to smile about.
While searching the archives of photos taken by the Hubble telescope, a woman discovered one image of a galaxy cluster shaped like a smiley face.
Known as galaxy cluster SDSSJ1038+4849, the two "eyes" of the face are separate galaxies, while the "smile" is actually created by an effect caused by powerful gravitational pull called strong gravitational lensing.
343 Cancels Beta for Master Chief Collection Content Update
343 no longer plans to offer a beta test for its big incoming update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
The developer announced the news in a blog update today, saying the time it would take to plan the beta would postpone the content update for the public.
You can read the full explanation below:
After further evaluation, the team has determined that that final testing for the content update will be completed internally, and we will not be conducting a beta test for the next CU. Also, it was determined that the additional time and work devoted to the beta would’ve actually postponed the public availability of the content update. Lastly, there were some added challenges surrounding the CU beta – including an extra series of required updates and rollbacks - that made us take a step back and reexamine the CU beta. Ultimately, this plan will allow us to deliver the smoothest possible experience, and ensure that the next content update becomes available as soon as possible.
343 Cancels Beta for Master Chief Collection Content Update
343 no longer plans to offer a beta test for its big incoming update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
The developer announced the news in a blog update today, saying the time it would take to plan the beta would postpone the content update for the public.
You can read the full explanation below:
After further evaluation, the team has determined that that final testing for the content update will be completed internally, and we will not be conducting a beta test for the next CU. Also, it was determined that the additional time and work devoted to the beta would’ve actually postponed the public availability of the content update. Lastly, there were some added challenges surrounding the CU beta – including an extra series of required updates and rollbacks - that made us take a step back and reexamine the CU beta. Ultimately, this plan will allow us to deliver the smoothest possible experience, and ensure that the next content update becomes available as soon as possible.
DC’s New 52: 5 Things We Liked
Love it or hate it, DC's New 52 relaunch was one of the most significant comic book developments in recent memory. The publisher made the bold move of wiping the slate clean and giving new and old readers alike a fresh jumping-on point and 52 new comics. Though the relaunch had its fair share of problems, it also attracted a lot of new readers and helped reinvigorate the comics industry as a whole.
As DC prepares to end the New 52 and refocus their attention on a new wave of accessible, story-driven comics, we've decided to look back on the legacy of this relaunch. In the first of three articles, we're examining five things the New 52 has done well over the past three years. Be sure to check back tomorrow and Wednesday too, as we'll focus on what the New 52 did wrong and what we're hoping to see from DC's latest big relaunch.