digg RSS Reader

The digg reader has been released in Beta:

http://digg.com/reader

I just got the Beta today, and it's pretty great.  It automatically imports all your RSS feeds from Google Reader, maintains the folders and organization, uses the same keyboard shortcuts, and works with the digg iPhone app.

Xbox One headset compatibility confirmed; will have adapter to use Xbox 360 headset

Reposted from Gaming Target:

News: Microsoft has confirmed that they will have an adapter to allow you to use your Xbox 360 headset on Xbox One.

Microsoft is currently working on an adapter for current wired headsets to connect to Xbox One. This tidbit of information was revealed when @XboxSupport replied to a question that was posted on Twitter. Previously there were rumors floating around the internet that you wouldn’t be able to use any of our current gen headsets. If you owned a nice pair of headphones (I own Astro A40s myself) then this was obviously unwelcome news. Fortunately though it appears that rumor was just that, a rumor. In the past five weeks or so there has been a lot of misinformation going around the internet regarding Xbox One and it is nice that we at least have an answer for one of the potential issues.

It should be noted that no release date or pricing was given for this adapter. For those who haven’t kept up with this particular rumor, the new XBox One controller will be coming with a new, proprietary data port that was different than what we have with the Xbox 360. According to Microsoft this will result in the audio quality being better than it was with the Xbox 360 headsets since it supports stereo audio which can only be a good thing. Still, there were legitimate concerns that our expensive Turtle Beach or Astro headsets wouldn’t work. Fortunately that rumor has been laid to rest by @XboxSupport.

What do you think of this development? Do you plan on purchasing a new headset to go along with your Xbox One or will you simply purchase the adapter so you can use the headset you have today? Tell us what you think below.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Player's choice.

Options to have ready:
- Halo 4
- Left for Dead 2
- Fable 3

Clan night tomorrow.

Clan night for this week will be tomorrow (Wednesday), largely because I'm out of town and scheduled this trip around a Wednesday clan night.

We are trending towards moving it back to Tuesdays starting next week though.  People seem to like that better.

Clan night attendance

Since moving to Wednesdays, we have had 2 of 5 clan nights where nobody showed up.  Octurian Pewn, the reason we moved to Wednesdays at 8pm PT, has missed 3 of the last 4 clan nights.  Wednesdays have been the poorest attended clan nights, averaging only 3 players per week and an overall average 29% attendance rate.



I want clan nights to be fun for the clan.  It's not fun when people don't show up.  Should we move to a system where people sign up each week?  Should it be a different day?  Should we cancel clan nights until X1 launches?

X1 Changes DRM Policy

Microsoft has removed the 24 hour checkins, and has re-enabled disc sharing. Digital sharing appears to have changed and may no longer be available.

http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/update

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Halo 4.

Thoughts on new games?

Clan Night Tonight. 8pm PT. Halo 4.

Lots of E3 excitement this week.

Destiny Gameplay

Bungie's next game, Destiny, has been shown off at E3.  We've learned a lot this week.

In some respects, Destiny has clear Bungie/Halo lineage, with familiar elements like Halo-ish guns, radar, targeting reticles, reticle bloom (Halo Reach), ammo counters, general FPS mechanics, regenerating health, critical hit headshots.

In other ways, Destiny is bringing in a ton of MMO elements.  New items:

• Multi-platform: On at least X1 and PS4.  I haven't seen anything that says you can play cross-platform (X1 and PS4 players playing together in the same game), but it's no longer Xbox only.
• emotes: The demo shows a player waving using the "emote" function.
• Character leveling: Instead of just unlocking armor, both users and enemies will have some kind of XP leveling.  Bosses appear to just have a "boss" level that transcends numbers.
• Ghost: Some kind of remote control drone or scanner.
• Special abilities: Like a hand thrown fire bomb of sorts.
• Player revivals: Bring fellow players back to life.
• Loot: Pick up stuff after battles, like better guns.
• Multiple guns: At least one class of character has slots for 3 guns.
• Multiple upgrades: Upgrade slots for head, hands, chest, belt, feet, presumably for armor.
• Equipment leveling: Upgrade at least guns, probably armor too.
• Player classes: Titan (heavily armored, shotgun), Hunter (lightly armored, sniper), Warlock (medium armored, machine gun)
• Shared world: Seamless multiplayer with things like Public Events that bring other fire teams in for a co-op engagement on the fly.

For those who have played MMOs like WoW or Guild Wars, these new game elements will be familiar.

X1 Pre-Orders Open Now

Pre-order notifications started going out just after noon PT today:

• Amazon.com: I have pre-ordered from here.
• Console price: $499.99
• Shipping: $0.00-$3.99 Eligible for Prime ($3.99 one-day shipping, free two-day shipping)
• Tax: $44.10
• Bonuses: Day One Console includes a limited edition controller, token code to unlock Day One achievement, premium packaging, and decal.
• Microsoft.com: Their webserver is getting hammered, response time is pretty slow.
• Console price: $499.99
• Shipping: $0.00 (unclear how fast - all it says is "Pre-order now to get Xbox One on the day it's released")
• Tax: $43.78
• Bonuses: I assume you get all the same free stuff as at Amazon, but it's not shown on the website.
• Gamestop.com: They were showing the console by itself two hours ago, but they're only listing bundles now.  Which kind of seem like a rip-off.
• Console price: $559.98 (bundled with Kinect Sports Rivals, Dead Rising 3, or Ryse)
• Shipping: $18.49-$24.99 ($24.99 for one-day, $21.99 for two-day)
• Tax: $51.19
• Bonuses: I assume you get all the same free stuff as at Amazon, but it's not shown on the website.

X1 E3 Announcements: Halo in 2014

E3 has kicked off in Los Angeles, and the Xbox One announcements are coming out fast and furious from the Microsoft meeting.  The next Halo won't be coming out until 2014, it was teased with just a brief trailer:

Other items announced:

•  XBL Gold members will start receiving two free game downloads a month on X360 from now until X1 launch.  The first two are Assassin's Creed 2 and Halo 3
• Forza 5 will have a new "drivatar" feature.  The game will learn how you drive, and then build an avatar for you in the cloud.  The avatar will then drive (as you) against other players, while you're off-line doing other things.
• Game replays will be managed via twitch.tv, the interface into the X1 DVR replay system
• Friend lists will no longer be limited to 100
• Purchases will be done using real dollars, instead of Microsoft Points
• Xbox Live can now be shared amongst family members
• X1 will be launching in November for $499

Call of Duty: Ghosts

Gameplay from the newest CoD game was shown at a pre-E3 show yesterday, running on next-gen (X1/PS4) hardware.  It looks gorgeous.  Scuba diving and a dog in the squad.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Halo 4.

Xbox One excitement.

How to watch the Xbox E3 2013 Media Briefing

Reposted from Major Nelson:

E3 is almost here, so I wanted to let you know how you can watch the Xbox E3 2013 Media Briefing show “Xbox: A new Generation of Games Revealed.”
Watch the main event live at 12:30p ET/9:30a PT/16:30 GMT via the live global stream that will be available on Xbox LIVE and Xbox.com. If you are in the US or Canada, you can also watch the broadcast on Spike TV. 
The show will be 90-minutes and be presented without commercial interruptions.
The full show will be available later in the day for viewing via video on demand on Xbox.com and Xbox LIVE.