Allieu Shaw, a 19 y/o Frostburg State University student in Gaithersburg MD, Was arrested after making threats to shoot up the school and detailing how he was going to do it during a Multiplayer match of COD4.
The threats were made orally on Xbox Live while playing a multiplayer game of Call of Duty 4. A player in the same game from Oregon made a call to authorities in Maryland to report the threats.
The Police quickly tracked the account to Shaw at the college and placed him under arrest.
Shaw claims it was only a joke and he had no plans on moving forward with his threats. A search of his dorm room turned up no weapons.
The incident caused a Lock Down or (Lock In) of numerous schools in the Frostburg area till shaws location could be pinpointed.
With the latest shootings its best to take all threats seriously and if error to error on the side of safety.FSU spokeswoman Liz Medcalf said there were 40 police officers patrolling the campus at one point Tuesday.
The university has placed Shaw on interim suspension pending an administrative hearing to be conducted by FSU. In addition Shaw faces a maximum penalty of one year jail time and/or a fine of up to $5,000.
For those online players that like to joke around you better choose your jokes wisely and to those that really do plan on doing something stupid, please by all means blab about it on XBL we would love to hear about it.
Sega is test-marketing a new software tool designed to match character facial expressions with dialogue spoken by voice actors.
According to Nikkei, Magical V Engine dovetails with computer graphics programs to analyze spoken words and match the movements of a character’s mouth, eyebrows and eyes to vowel sounds. It also analyzes the emotional delivery of spoken words in order to detect happiness, anger, surprise and sadness, which can be combined to create complex expressions.
Sega says that the tool is able to complete up to 80 percent of the work involved in animating expressions to match spoken dialogue, and notes that internal testing improved efficiency in this department nearly 100-fold.
An introductory offer will see the software hit the market for 155,400 yen (approximately $1,392) until March, after which it will be priced at 207,900 yen ($1,862).
If you were given the power to pick an Achievement for a game, and you wanted to come up with something that would really anger players in a multiplayer game by those trying to unlock it, what would you come up with?.
Well, forget about it because the makers of the new Turok game (Not yet released) have already thought it up. A teabagging Achievement? No, that has already been done and is actually kind of amusing. No no, Propaganda Games has gone the extra mile to anger its online players by adding a TEAM KILL Achievement! I bet that will make for a very enjoyable game! Not only depending on your team mates to do their part to help defeat the enemy team but now you get the benefit of team mates shooting you in the back on a regular basis, "Woo Hoo! Hey guys I did it, I got my Team Kill Achievement! Good for you buddy!"
The Grab Bag achievement, dubbed the 'Worst Achievement Ever' by the internet, gives you ten points if you ""kill at least 1 creature, 1 enemy, 1 teammate, and yourself in the same round of a public match," encouraging the ultra-infuriating practice of team killing. The developers said since it usualy happens on accident anyways they thought they would add it in as a JOKE! Very funney guys.
The developers are building a patch to disable this achievement ("if" it turns out to be a problem). What are the chances that a MP team kill achievement will NOT be a problem? This author is not taking that bet. They mention the problem of "Achievement Whores" that tend to disrupt online games by being focused on achievements in MP games rather than being a team player. The company is a bit torn on the issue because on one hand it can hurt the online experience for other players but at the same time the MP achievements is what gets and keeps alot of players in a game.
News-Source: CVG Actual Turok Achievement List: TUROK POINTS
Harmonix, MTV Games and EA, released today the fourth song pack for Rock Band.
Build your Rock Band library by purchasing this game song track pack, which includes: "I Fought the Law"--The Clash, "Rockaway Beach"--the Ramones, and "Ever Fallen in Love," which is a cover of a song made famous by Buzzcocks.
A variety of song packs, albums and individual tracks will be available for download on a weekly basis. And that’s just through the end of 2007. Fans can expect more music every week through 2008 with suggested retail pricing varying from $.99 to $2.99 per track (The equivalent of 80 to 240 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360), with the vast majority selling for $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360).
3-Pack for $5.49 or Individual Tracks for $1.99 Each (160 Microsoft Points per track and 440 per pack for Xbox 360)
Punk Pack:
“Rockaway Beach” - Ramones
“I Fought the Law” - The Clash
“Ever Fallen In Love” as made famous by Buzzcocks *
UPDATE - Ailing publisher Atari has managed to maintain the rights to its popular Dragon Ball Z games, while announcing the completion of restructuring initiatives aimed at stabilizing the company's operations.
Update: Added statements on further restructuring measures.
Atari will pay Dragon Ball Z license holder FUNimation $3.5 million, comprised of a $2.7 million cash payment and an $800,000 reduction in the amount of a recoupable royalty advance made to FUNimation.
In 2004, Atari paid $10 million to FUNimation for the exclusive US interactive entertainment rights to the Dragon Ball Z franchise through January 2010.
"With this dispute behind Atari, Inc. we look forward to continuing our relationship with FUNimation and continuing to deliver to our consumers exciting products from the Dragon Ball Z franchise," said recently appointed chief restructuring officer Curtis G. Solsvig III.
On October 18 this year, FUNimation had issued a notice to Atari threatening to terminate the licensing agreement based on alleged breaches of the contract.
Atari said at the time that it disputed the validity of the complaint.
The Dragon Ball Z franchise has been a solid seller for Atari. November 2006’s Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 for PS2 and Wii together sold 460,000 units in 2006, according to NPD Group. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 for PS2 and Wii is currently on store shelves.
New York-based Atari is the US arm of Lyon, France-based parent Infogrames. Atari announced in November its complete withdrawal from game production as it moved into publishing and distribution only. Former CEO David Pierce had resigned around the time of the change in strategy.
The firm also announced Monday new restructuring initiatives, including an amendment to a $10 million credit facility with major Infogrames investor BlueBay.
First “Halo 3” Downloadable Content Arrives as Heroic Map Pack Hits Xbox 360
Award-winning multiplayer experience evolves with three new maps now available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
Price: 800 MS Points
The international award-winning “Halo 3” gets even better as the “Halo 3” Heroic Map Pack launches today on Xbox 360’s Xbox LIVE Marketplace. After launching to incredible acclaim and fanaticism, more than five million “Halo 3” players worldwide can now enjoy a package of three all new multiplayer maps. The Heroic Map Pack is the first in a series of downloadable content from Bungie Studios.
Available for 800 Microsoft Points exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, each map offers a unique experience. Standoff’s symmetrical valley, with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types, while Rat’s Nest’s vast, labyrinthine passages bring something new to the “Halo” multiplayer experience: an indoor vehicle paradise, strongly influenced by the Campaign mode, ideal for big team battles. Finally, Foundry is the ultimate Forge map – players can edit every single object in this voluminous industrial warehouse, place stairways, walls, bridges and tunnels to create an entirely new play space and build almost any kind of map they can think of.
As if the legions of "Halo 3" players needed more reasons to stay logged on to Xbox LIVE and fragging, Forge also allows players to edit and customize all three maps, keeping “Halo 3’s” multiplayer experience fresh, exciting and evolving. In addition, ongoing updates to “Halo 3’s” matchmaking playlists ensure that ranked and social gameplay remains dynamic and competitive.
The maps of the Heroic Pack are available in matchmaking today to those who have purchased the download. All three maps will become available as a free download via Xbox LIVE Marketplace in Spring 2008, just prior to the next wave of all new “Halo 3” multiplayer maps.
Terminator: Survivors confirmed for Xbox Series, PS5 & PC via Steam Play as a survivor in the aftermath of Judgment Day in Terminator: Survivors, a new open-world survival game by NACON (@Nacon). Build the resistance and defy the machines in Terminator: Survivors, com..
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A player in the same game from Oregon made a call to authorities in Maryland to report the threats.
Sega says that the tool is able to complete up to 80 percent of the work involved in animating expressions to match spoken dialogue, and notes that internal testing improved efficiency in this department nearly 100-fold.
3-Pack for $5.49 or Individual Tracks for $1.99 Each (160 Microsoft Points per track and 440 per pack for Xbox 360)
In 2004, Atari paid $10 million to FUNimation for the exclusive US interactive entertainment rights to the Dragon Ball Z franchise through January 2010.
Available for 800 Microsoft Points exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, each map offers a unique experience. Standoff’s symmetrical valley, with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types, while Rat’s Nest’s vast, labyrinthine passages bring something new to the “Halo” multiplayer experience: an indoor vehicle paradise, strongly influenced by the Campaign mode, ideal for big team battles. Finally, Foundry is the ultimate Forge map – players can edit every single object in this voluminous industrial warehouse, place stairways, walls, bridges and tunnels to create an entirely new play space and build almost any kind of map they can think of.
