Newest PS3 Firmware 2.50 Update

The newest firmware update for the PS3 is now live for download for all you lucky US residents. With a bit of luck it wil come across the pond fairly soon. Go turn on your favourite black gaming monolith and get the download going…quick, whilst it’s hot!

As reported yesterday by ps3vault, 2.50 features a great set of performance tweaks, including Flash 9 support and controller auto-switch off amongst others. I’m still holding out for the option to install another browser on there but still, a great update nonetheless.

Early reports across the Interwebs indicate the update is fairly quick to install. Have a go and let us know what you think.

Trophy Hunting Mentality in the PS3

There’s something strange going on. Not exactly wrong, but just… different. I feel different when I’m gaming: more competitive and yet somehow more vulnerable. I need a sense of completion and reward, a thank you and “job well done”. I need trophies. *stands up* My name is Ed and I am a trophyholic.

Trophies are not a new concept. We all know another console which has had it’s own version of them for ages. Not owning that particular device I never really gave much thought to a task-related reward system. Tut tut I thought, why are these silly people straining to perform some ludicrious act of gaming perseverance, simply to tick it off the list? Oh what a fool I’ve been.

Since the firmware update hit the shores of the PS3 the number of titles either shipping with trophies or being patched has steadily grown. I currently have about six of them. I was initially a little dismissive of what the update brought, but now I love checking out my PS3 card and comparing it with friends’. There’s two things going on here: the need to complete; and the need to be rewarded for doing well. Everybody loves a little basic psychology, right?

Ask any PS3 fan and they’ll tell you that Uncharted is a great game. It is: no question. Yet would I have played it through multiple times without the chance to get that platinum trophy which now adorns my virtual mantlepiece? I doubt it very much. Yes, some games (Uncharted included) had internal reward points but you couldn’t share and compare. Where’s the bragging fun it that?

Thankfully I know I have my limits in terms of addiction. I won’t buy everything just to increase my total - I have my principles! Still, if I buy a game because I want to play it, the trophies will probably get a hammering too. Ask a mountaineer why he climbs the mountain: “because it’s there”. So then, trophies are my Everest. I yearn to reach the summit and get the 100% progress bar beside each game. Will I achieve my goal? Probably not. Am I enjoying trying? Good lord yes!

Eve Online: Quantum Rise Ultimate Multiplayer Experience

CCP breaks barriers in free expansion slated for release this winter
CCP, one of the world’s leading independent game developers, today announced the launch of the ninth free expansion for EVE Online, its popular science fiction massively multi-player online game (MMOG). EVE Online: Quantum Rise offers limitless opportunity to the talented starship pilots of New Eden as the roots of conflict spread deep for their lifeblood.

Players have great things to look forward to in EVE Online: Quantum Rise. Corporations will be able to set their products apart from the rest by building trust in their goods through customizable storefronts. The backbone of EVE’s vibrant economy, industrial ships are being rebalanced and optimized to better suit the needs of haulers and industrialists-including the latest edition to the fleet, a massive capital industrial ship dubbed the Orca. A new certificate system will give a quick and verifiable means to discern a pilot’s skill level in trading, gunnery or countless other professions, providing plenty of bragging rights. Meanwhile, the introduction of a medal system allows corporations to distinguish their most valued pilots and honor them for their achievements.

The staged delivery of EVE Online: Quantum Rise began with the recent implementation of technological breakthroughs such as StacklessIO and EVE64 which upgraded the server hardware and streamlined communication between server and client to severely reduce lag. The reality of thousands of ships simultaneously engaged in adrenaline-charged combat is at hand and several fleet battles have already been fought using this new technology. Emboldened by the significant effects these improvements bring to high-level gameplay, CCP will push forward with a myriad of hardware and server improvements to bring the most massive player vs player experience available, expanding a boundless universe into a limitless one.

“We are very proud to be delivering this expansion, both in terms of features and the sheer performance increases made possible by deep refactoring of selected portions of our network and server code, complimented with the finest hardware we could find,” says Torfi Frans Ólafsson, Senior Producer of EVE Online. “I can’t imagine a better game where you can engage hundreds of people simultaneously in highly immersive tactical combat or simply sit back and make millions off of the conflict via research, manufacturing or logistics. You choose your destiny; that’s the beauty of it.”
Further features also include:

Weapon linking to make your onslaught easier
Continuations of the massive Trinity graphics update
Changes to autopilot routes and avoidance techniques
More to be revealed in the coming weeks

A full list of features will be available soon at http://www.eveonline.com/.

Availability:

EVE Online: Quantum Rise will be available for subscribers as a free download at www.eveonline.com/download. Non-subscribers should visit the EVE website to sign up for a free 14-day trial account.
About EVE Online

Set tens of thousands of years in the future, EVE Online is a breathtaking journey to the stars, to an immersive experience filled with adventure, riches, danger and glory. With nearly a quarter of a million subscribers worldwide inhabiting the same virtual universe, EVE features a vast player-run economy where your greatest asset is the starship, designed to accommodate your specific needs, skills and ambitions. EVE offers professions ranging from commodities trader to mercenary, industrial entrepreneur to pirate, mining engineer to battle fleet commander or any combination of these and much more. From brokering business deals to waging war, you will have access to a diverse array of sophisticated tools and interfaces to forge your own destiny in EVE. Learn more and sign up for a free trial at www.eveonline.com.
Definition of Subscribers

EVE Online subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active electronic time code (ETC) to play EVE Online, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions and expired ETCs.