Less new Star Wars, and more the old, just bought a pair of tickets for Secret Cinema this Friday. Have just received coded transmissions via subspace detailing the secret Rebel rendezvous point. Best dust off that blaster and prepare to head out.
I've seen a few unfavorable reviews on that little app enabled BB-8 droid. Apparently, it doesn't quite live up to the promo video. At $150, I would expect it to be a bit more feature rich than it apparently is. (of course, it's licensed from Disney, so the $150 is no surprise)
Having had a play with one, it does basically what you'd expect from a remote controlled device that costs less than a months wages. It responds to voice commands, can be set to "patrol" a route, and does other things like record videos. I'd be interested to know what else the reviewers thought it was going to do at that cost...?
On the subject of cost, the "basic" Sphero toy retailed at Aï¿¡89.99 last Christmas here (UK), which is around $135. As a toy for kids, it's fairly pricey, but not out of kilter with other, similar products from Parrot etc'...
I guess some people thought it was supposed to be more intelligent and do more than roll around and run into stuff in patrol mode. Some others seem to think the sounds it makes are supposed to come from the droid itself and not the device with the app. *shrugs* I'm only repeating what I read. It seems like a cool little toy to me, but something for grown ups. I could see a kid ramming it into a wall a few times or sending it down a flight of stairs and making it an expensive pile of tiny pieces.
Anyway, I only brought it up because I'd like to get TALON_UK's impression, or anybody else who has one. Is it worth the money and those people just have unreal expectations?
I was going to get to my thoughts on BB-8, but got distracted by my Secret Cinema news.
It is a little expensive for what it is, but it is still an awesome piece of kit, and almost worth the price just to have an example of the freaky tech which makes the real BB-8 work in your hands, and it does freak you out. I hadn't seen any of the advertising for this piece before I purchased it, I just happened to catch a glimpse of it behind the till as I was buying my other stuff and asked the assistant to pass one over so I could check it out, so it was actually something of an impulse buy, and an expensive one at that, I had until that point been reasonably responsible and had not gone too crazy on Force Friday, just picking up a few choice items, but that went out the window when I bought that thing, but had to have it.
:devil:
You read the blurb of what it is capable of on the box and it sounds mental:
Authentic movement
Listens and responds
Holographic communication?!?!?!
Autonomous behaviour
Adaptive personality?
When you read it you think, it is practically the real deal. Move over Skynet. The future is here and it is orange,
....and kinda round.
But that is overselling it a bit, though it is indeed impressive. You get the BB-8 droid (sphere body and domed head), charging dock and USB cable. The body sphere feels quite weighty, all the mechanics of the thing are clearly within and the shifting weight suggests a gyroscope type thing is in there. You also have lights from within which give you some indicators regarding the functionality and operation of the thing, but no actual surface lights because the sphere body surface is glass smooth to minimise friction, so all the details are printed on. The dome has more physical details on it, and little wheels under it that in conjunction with a magnet in it's base and the apparatus within the body allow it to operate and recreate that almost magical freaky looking tech. That is what will really wow you, and anyone who sees it, just how does that work then?
It isn't just a one trick pony though, and there is more to it than the wow factor of how it works. It has a multitude of other features too which will have you flipping through them on your smartphone wondering what does that do then? Some features are more successful than others. Patrol for example as has been mentioned above involves BB-8 roving around the floor bouncing into things, sometimes quite hard, and you worry about it getting broken while doing this if you have any particularly solid objects in it's path. The pair of antenna on his head also look quite fragile and I worry that they'll get snapped off in some unfortunate angled collision which is an issue. This is what I found the most disappointing, as for a patrol or autonomous function I'd expect it to detect objects and avoid them rather than crashing into that at full pelt and then having to shake off the impact. Though it is quite funny watching the droid's reaction to a crash, shaking his domed head and jerking around like a cute little droid who's a little bit too clumsy. Sometimes if he hits an obstruction too hard the domed head will actually fly off. They do say that upgrades will be made available for this through the App, so maybe one of those updates will include obstruction avoidance?
He does seem to react to sound though, as if you make noises or motions he'll sometimes come and check you out. You also get a data readout on your phone when he is in roving mode and you'll get streams of data regarding what BB-8 is reacting with. registering impacts, detecting electronic devices, lifeforms etc, which is quite cool.
More successful is the drive function where you can take control of the little droid and race him around the floor, you also have a couple of preset functions to give him personality, a few reactions and actions, also some pre-mapped paths such as a square or figure of eight. When fully controlling him you have a virtual joystick on your screen which you can use in conjunction with an aiming light device. This lets you know which direction he'll dart off in so you have some idea of relative orientation. This was fun.
The other feature that'll make you go wha...? Is the Holographic Communication function, and this is actually quite cool, and makes great use of the smartphone's camera to create some augmented reality graphics. Basically there is a message already in there showing the schematics of an X-Wing, and when you access the message your smartphone screen gives you a camera view of where BB-8 is and projects an augmented reality enhanced image which makes it appear that he is projecting a hologram, which is cool in and of itself, but you can also create your own messages. So to do this you get an icon graphic appear on the smartphone screen which is and outline of C-3P0's noggin, that you use to align your own head into the correct position to record a hologram message. Once you've recorded your message you can then get BB-8 to play it back and you'll see yourself projected from BB-8 with your image filtered to appear like an authentic Star Wars style hologram. This is a very cool feature. On the subject of upgrades it would be very cool if you could send this to friends who also have a BB-8 so you can playback each other's messages, which would just be awesome. Maybe you can and I just don't realise it yet. I do have a friend who has one of these so I am definitely looking forward to that if it does happen. Sod Skype, I've got a friggin Hologram projecting droid!
:flippy:
So yeah, not perfect, and there are a few issues, but it still has to be THE must have Star Wars gadget to have as we look forward to The Force Awakens. Plus if they capitalise on the promise of upgrades to the droid, a lot of these teething problems might be ironed out, and more exciting features might be added. It definitely gets a thumbs up from me. You'll be grinning from ear to ear when you get this thing out of the box and start running through its features.
And finally here's just a quick comparison shot, the littlest one is the one that accompanies the Elite Series Rey figure, and in the middle the Sphero, and in the back the way larger Disney Store electronic BB-8 which I got for my daughter that runs around on a hidden wheel and is also pretty cool actually.
Thanks for the great review, bro. I'm actually interested in this toy, despite its price tag. I've been very interested in BB-8 since I saw that video of him and R2-D2 on stage and realized he's not just a CGI gizmo. The technology behind him seems cool. A lot of people whined about the patrol mode, which definitely sounds iffy, but the rest sounds cool.
Well we made it back from our adventure to that galaxy far, far away (Secret Cinema does Star Wars: London). And it was bleedin' awesome. Want to review the experience, but will have to figure out a way to do it that doesn't give too much away as I don't want to spoil it for anyone considering doing it, must ponder how to go about doing this. If you are thinking of doing it you're going to have to be quick about it as the event draws to a close at the end of the month. Needless to say if you're a Star Wars fan you need to head down to London to take part in this once in a lifetime opportunity to live and breathe in the Star Wars universe for a night.
Here was my chosen persona just prior to departure, ISB (Imperial Security Bureau) Field Agent Talon, on a mission to defect to the Rebellion with plans valuable to the RebelAlliance:
Heading down to London with a trusted mercenary partner in crime, we headed to the secret rendezvous location and waited on the ship that would be our ticket off world, and so the adventure began...
No pictures from the actual event as unauthorized communication devices were forbidden, after all secrecy was key. But search out Secret Cinema Star Wars and you'll find some official images of the event, but even these don't do it justice, this was an insanely cool event, and it must be experienced to be believed.
Not long left of Secret Cinema Star Wars, I believe next week is the last week they'll be running this great event. I reckon once it is over and you can't go anymore I'll be free to give more details and give a more in depth review of the event. Until then, here is the latest official video they have released of the event which gives good insight into what the experience involved...
Here are a few screenshots from the Star Wars Battlefront Beta, and my thoughts on testing it over the weekend. Initial thoughts are awesome looking game, but flawed from a gameplay perspective, but in my own case I may be bias. Every time I look at the game I see what I'd do differently rather than take it on face value, and also have baggage from being a veteran player of the original SW: Battlefront, so sometimes I feel I might be judging it on what it isn't (it certainly isn't anything like the original SW: Battlefront) rather than for what it is.
Here are few articles featuring some of the other game modes available. Also news of Ultimate Edition of the game, which is ultimately something akin to the BF4 Premium DLC program where you'll get access to further releases of content over time, hopefully this will include additional world locations, and *crosses fingers* space maps.
Now the dust/sand/snow has settled on the SW Battlefront Beta here are a few screenies. Personally I found the gameplay to be a little shallow, but with a multitude of game modes yet to be revealed, perhaps the depth I seek will be hidden among them. Anyhow, without question, it is a beautiful looking game.
Tatooine is nicely rendered in a co-op map that was featured in the Beta, and Sullust a planet mentioned in the movies, but never seen until now looks pretty stunning too. However I'm more looking forward to the more built up locations such as towns and bases, Bespin's Cloud City for example, or an Imperial installation or capital ship interior.
Still this is a great start. I just hope DICE take on board the feedback given by those 9 million that checked it out over the weekend, and this results in tweaks to certain aspects of the gameplay as there are issues with it, hopefully these get rectified before release, or at least in patches not long after.
All I know is, after I get my Playstation 4, I'm definitely going to have to get this game. I was actually talking about it with a guy at work last night. I just hope EA doesn't screw it up like they do so many things these days.
I, too, tried the beta, played it for a while... graphics are nice, can't play them at max, but they were great at the auto defaults for my system, but it was a bit of a bummer that most of the beta was ground assault mostly. Sure you can try and get an X-wing, etc. but it's mostly ground assault.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB 1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD 32 GB RAM Windows 11 Pro
Well that was one of the issues, that the vehicle spawns were all token based, so you see a token featuring the icon of the vehicle you want and have to hightail it there before someone else nicks it, and then if it is an aircraft the controls are terrible. I made several adjustments to my settings, and even though I did manage to get it working better than it was initially, it was still bleedin' awful compared to the aircraft controls in either the original SW: Battlefront or any Battlefield game for that matter, they seem to have really screwed that up somehow, perhaps dumbing down the functionality for consoles and then not transferring the control scheme well back to PC. I heard a few console players saying the flight controls were fine, so it seemed to be just the PC ones that were borked.
Oh, and Chris, you can take solace in the fact that there is an aircraft specific map mode (Fighter Squadron) out there, it just was't included in the beta.
Have found confirmation that it is a Drew Struzan work, pretty unmistakable art style, but was strange not to see his usual signature in there somewhere, pretty awesome looking poster. Here's a remix for a header which is also cool, just rejigs the different scales of the characters somewhat to give them a more equal billing as it were.
Interesting to still see no sign of Luke. Intriguing.
Posts
bring spare ammo, you're gonna need it!
Having had a play with one, it does basically what you'd expect from a remote controlled device that costs less than a months wages. It responds to voice commands, can be set to "patrol" a route, and does other things like record videos. I'd be interested to know what else the reviewers thought it was going to do at that cost...?
On the subject of cost, the "basic" Sphero toy retailed at Aï¿¡89.99 last Christmas here (UK), which is around $135. As a toy for kids, it's fairly pricey, but not out of kilter with other, similar products from Parrot etc'...
Anyway, I only brought it up because I'd like to get TALON_UK's impression, or anybody else who has one. Is it worth the money and those people just have unreal expectations?
It is a little expensive for what it is, but it is still an awesome piece of kit, and almost worth the price just to have an example of the freaky tech which makes the real BB-8 work in your hands, and it does freak you out. I hadn't seen any of the advertising for this piece before I purchased it, I just happened to catch a glimpse of it behind the till as I was buying my other stuff and asked the assistant to pass one over so I could check it out, so it was actually something of an impulse buy, and an expensive one at that, I had until that point been reasonably responsible and had not gone too crazy on Force Friday, just picking up a few choice items, but that went out the window when I bought that thing, but had to have it.
:devil:
You read the blurb of what it is capable of on the box and it sounds mental:
Authentic movement
Listens and responds
Holographic communication?!?!?!
Autonomous behaviour
Adaptive personality?
When you read it you think, it is practically the real deal. Move over Skynet. The future is here and it is orange,
....and kinda round.
But that is overselling it a bit, though it is indeed impressive. You get the BB-8 droid (sphere body and domed head), charging dock and USB cable. The body sphere feels quite weighty, all the mechanics of the thing are clearly within and the shifting weight suggests a gyroscope type thing is in there. You also have lights from within which give you some indicators regarding the functionality and operation of the thing, but no actual surface lights because the sphere body surface is glass smooth to minimise friction, so all the details are printed on. The dome has more physical details on it, and little wheels under it that in conjunction with a magnet in it's base and the apparatus within the body allow it to operate and recreate that almost magical freaky looking tech. That is what will really wow you, and anyone who sees it, just how does that work then?
It isn't just a one trick pony though, and there is more to it than the wow factor of how it works. It has a multitude of other features too which will have you flipping through them on your smartphone wondering what does that do then? Some features are more successful than others. Patrol for example as has been mentioned above involves BB-8 roving around the floor bouncing into things, sometimes quite hard, and you worry about it getting broken while doing this if you have any particularly solid objects in it's path. The pair of antenna on his head also look quite fragile and I worry that they'll get snapped off in some unfortunate angled collision which is an issue. This is what I found the most disappointing, as for a patrol or autonomous function I'd expect it to detect objects and avoid them rather than crashing into that at full pelt and then having to shake off the impact. Though it is quite funny watching the droid's reaction to a crash, shaking his domed head and jerking around like a cute little droid who's a little bit too clumsy. Sometimes if he hits an obstruction too hard the domed head will actually fly off. They do say that upgrades will be made available for this through the App, so maybe one of those updates will include obstruction avoidance?
He does seem to react to sound though, as if you make noises or motions he'll sometimes come and check you out. You also get a data readout on your phone when he is in roving mode and you'll get streams of data regarding what BB-8 is reacting with. registering impacts, detecting electronic devices, lifeforms etc, which is quite cool.
More successful is the drive function where you can take control of the little droid and race him around the floor, you also have a couple of preset functions to give him personality, a few reactions and actions, also some pre-mapped paths such as a square or figure of eight. When fully controlling him you have a virtual joystick on your screen which you can use in conjunction with an aiming light device. This lets you know which direction he'll dart off in so you have some idea of relative orientation. This was fun.
The other feature that'll make you go wha...? Is the Holographic Communication function, and this is actually quite cool, and makes great use of the smartphone's camera to create some augmented reality graphics. Basically there is a message already in there showing the schematics of an X-Wing, and when you access the message your smartphone screen gives you a camera view of where BB-8 is and projects an augmented reality enhanced image which makes it appear that he is projecting a hologram, which is cool in and of itself, but you can also create your own messages. So to do this you get an icon graphic appear on the smartphone screen which is and outline of C-3P0's noggin, that you use to align your own head into the correct position to record a hologram message. Once you've recorded your message you can then get BB-8 to play it back and you'll see yourself projected from BB-8 with your image filtered to appear like an authentic Star Wars style hologram. This is a very cool feature. On the subject of upgrades it would be very cool if you could send this to friends who also have a BB-8 so you can playback each other's messages, which would just be awesome. Maybe you can and I just don't realise it yet. I do have a friend who has one of these so I am definitely looking forward to that if it does happen. Sod Skype, I've got a friggin Hologram projecting droid!
:flippy:
So yeah, not perfect, and there are a few issues, but it still has to be THE must have Star Wars gadget to have as we look forward to The Force Awakens. Plus if they capitalise on the promise of upgrades to the droid, a lot of these teething problems might be ironed out, and more exciting features might be added. It definitely gets a thumbs up from me. You'll be grinning from ear to ear when you get this thing out of the box and start running through its features.
And finally here's just a quick comparison shot, the littlest one is the one that accompanies the Elite Series Rey figure, and in the middle the Sphero, and in the back the way larger Disney Store electronic BB-8 which I got for my daughter that runs around on a hidden wheel and is also pretty cool actually.
:thumb:
:argh:
Just need to put a robo-vac under this emoticon.
Despite the issues I reckon it is well worth getting.
Here was my chosen persona just prior to departure, ISB (Imperial Security Bureau) Field Agent Talon, on a mission to defect to the Rebellion with plans valuable to the Rebel Alliance:
Heading down to London with a trusted mercenary partner in crime, we headed to the secret rendezvous location and waited on the ship that would be our ticket off world, and so the adventure began...
No pictures from the actual event as unauthorized communication devices were forbidden, after all secrecy was key. But search out Secret Cinema Star Wars and you'll find some official images of the event, but even these don't do it justice, this was an insanely cool event, and it must be experienced to be believed.
:thumb::eek!::notworthy:
:thumb::thumb:
Here's an article on the filmmakers.
http://www.cgsociety.org/news/article/1211/rise-of-the-new-republic-
https://www.facebook.com/StarWars/videos/vb.169299103121699/1030579940326940/?type=2&theater
So glad I got down there and had the opportunity to experience it.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a670870/see-the-amazing-life-size-x-wing-from-star-wars-secret-cinema.html#~ppIzHa4ilhgGET
:cool:
:argh:
Best check the minimum specs to check my old heap can run it!
Here are few articles featuring some of the other game modes available. Also news of Ultimate Edition of the game, which is ultimately something akin to the BF4 Premium DLC program where you'll get access to further releases of content over time, hopefully this will include additional world locations, and *crosses fingers* space maps.
http://starwars.ea.com/starwars/battlefront/news/extending-the-beta-and-the-announcement-of-the-star-wars-battlefront-season-pass-and-ultimate-edition
http://starwars.ea.com/starwars/battlefront/news/hero-hunt-beat-or-become-the-legends-of-star-wars
http://starwars.ea.com/starwars/battlefront/news/go-on-a-droid-run-in-star-wars-battlefront
http://starwars.ea.com/starwars/battlefront/news/cargo-a-star-wars-battlefront-twist-on-a-classic-game-mode
Oh, and over 9 million players tested the beta over the weekend, result. Hopefully DICE takes the feedback given on board.
http://starwars.ea.com/starwars/battlefront/news/nine-million-players-have-joined-us-in-the-star-wars-battlefront-beta
Now the dust/sand/snow has settled on the SW Battlefront Beta here are a few screenies. Personally I found the gameplay to be a little shallow, but with a multitude of game modes yet to be revealed, perhaps the depth I seek will be hidden among them. Anyhow, without question, it is a beautiful looking game.
Tatooine is nicely rendered in a co-op map that was featured in the Beta, and Sullust a planet mentioned in the movies, but never seen until now looks pretty stunning too. However I'm more looking forward to the more built up locations such as towns and bases, Bespin's Cloud City for example, or an Imperial installation or capital ship interior.
Still this is a great start. I just hope DICE take on board the feedback given by those 9 million that checked it out over the weekend, and this results in tweaks to certain aspects of the gameplay as there are issues with it, hopefully these get rectified before release, or at least in patches not long after.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
32 GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro
Oh, and Chris, you can take solace in the fact that there is an aircraft specific map mode (Fighter Squadron) out there, it just was't included in the beta.
http://starwars.ea.com/starwars/battlefront/features/game-modes
Looks cool, but another Death Star? Really ?!?!
:rolleyes:
Anyone know who the artist is? Looks like a Drew Struzan but can't see his signature anywhere.
(think if I say it enough times it will actually happen?
Interesting to still see no sign of Luke. Intriguing.
I sure hope so.
:thumb:
Meanwhile, I'm drooling over that special edition Battlefront PS4 due out next month. I think The Force is definitely calling to me on that one.
Evil, I agree I might have to get Star Wars BF. Although I felt a bit like this in the beta:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ2bsg12KkA
Edit: I also really hope they're not on Tatooine...enough already! It was supposed to be a useless planet!
The desert world they're on is Jakku.
^^ Don't even joke about that. You may make it happen just by thinking it.
No.
NO.
No no no no no!
(But I'm not going to do the logical, Lucas-special)
Just. Plain. No.
Bad Japetus! No biscuit!