Carranzafp released a tool that will patch any Hitachi-LG Xtreme firmware to make it 100% 'Firmware Stealth' (dump of FW and checksum appear asif it was original FW). It's not the same yet as C4E's Xtreme v3.0 FW for Toshiba-Samsung drives, that next to 'FW stealth' also includes 'Media Stealth'. (Gary)O.P.A. is working on adding 'Media Stealth' to the Xtreme FW for Hitachi-LG in one of his future releases:
Maximus 1.1 Hitachi Firmware Stealth-Maker - ALL VERSIONS (32/36/40/46/47/58/59)
WHAT IS IT ?
It is a tool to take any hacked xtreme version for the hitachi and patch it to make 100% firmware stealth (appears like 100% original when you dump it) including the CHECKSUM!!!
The only way to know if it has the hack is de-soldering the flash chip and read with external programmer, so the console will dont know !!! (I hope)
It is NOT MEDIA-STEALTH yet, garyopa is already working on that side but when he finish that part he can implement this hack on his version.
I first do the stealth hack mannually, but then I realized that it is a pain in the ass to calculate the differences by hand, and when a new xtreme release appears it will need to be calculated again so instead of that I have done a tool that do the necessary calculations and patches to make it stealth.
I have done the tests only on 46 and 47 drives but is the same principle for every others.
Another Xbox 360 DVD firmware patchmod, called Xeno-360, that will work on both Toshiba-Samsung and Hitachi-LG drives has been announced:
Features of Xeno-360:
* one chip for all dvd drives
* samsung 4 wires
* hitachi 5 wires
* actel chip for high stabilty and superb performance
more information soon...
From Major Nelson (Microsoft's Xbox Live Director of Programming):
I am catching up on email, and realized that I have a couple of sites I need to blog about that use Xbox Live data in a pretty nifty way.
At GamerScoreChart.com you can make a progress chart like this that you can embed into your email or forum sig. The graph is showing my Gamerscore progress (or in my case, lack of progress) over the last month. The 'G' indicates when I unlocked achivements, to futher illustrate my lameness.
Just swing over to the site, and plug in your Gamertag for your very own personalized progress chart. You can also compare your tag to someone else as well.
Meanwhile, My360Stats.com gives you another way to look at your data including this Gamerscore Status Chart, which in my case is even more depressing. I guess that what happens when you have access to all the Xbox 360 titles, but no time to play them. You can also plug in a few Gamertags to compare your status to up to four of your friends.
GameFest: Xbox 360 Camera To Ship With Free Game As part of Microsoft's Gamefest this week in Seattle, Gamasutra has obtained exclusive new details on the launch of the Xbox Live Vision video camera accessory for the Xbox 360, including confirmation of a gesture-based game that is set to be included for free with the hardware.
Microsoft's Jeff Stone revealed the new information on the Xbox 360-exclusive game in question, TotemBall, which was first announced in May of this year. It is being developed by UK-based Strange Flavour and Freeverse, both of whom are mainly known for their Macintosh titles.
TotemBall is controlled almost entirely through gestures; that is, the game tracks a player's arm movements to control a rickety, wheeled totem pole tower around each level, collecting items and trying to reach the exit within a time limit. Gesture-based gameplay is not foreign to Freeverse, who previously developed ToySight for the Macintosh, compatible with Apple's iSight camera.
The title shows that Microsoft is willing to compete with the gesture-based gameplay control concepts also utilized by Sony's EyeToy for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. Though no further gestural-controlled game concepts using the Xbox Live Vision camera have yet been officially announced, more gestural games are in early development, according to Stone.
In addition, the peripheral is compatible with selected Xbox Live Arcade games such as Uno, to allow video chat while gameplay is in progress, and with a facemapping feature for Activision's World Series of Poker, another new announcement.
The Xbox Live Vision camera is apparently set to ship alongside TotemBall in September, at a thus far unannounced pricing point - U.S. retailer GameStop currently has the camera listed for $39.99 with a September 19th release date, but neither of these specifics have been officially confirmed. Gamasutra will have additional details on the software in development for Live Vision in an upcoming feature.
Microsoft is giving away ‘Texas Hold ‘em’ to XBLA users for the first 48 hours after launch.
The promotion only lasts from Wednesday, August 23 at 0800 GMT (1am Pacific) through For 48 hours only – Wednesday, August 23 through 0800 GMT (1am Pacific) Friday, August 25.
Not only is ‘Texas Hold ’em’ free to all gamers, this title comes equipped with features that can only be found on Xbox 360. Designed to simulate the risk-reward of real poker gameplay, keep gamers honest, and discourage opponents from betting too recklessly, ‘Texas Hold ’em’ has an innovative new feature called Persistent Bankroll. Your virtual bankroll is tied to your Xbox Live Gamertag and keeps a running tally of your chip count. If you lose all of your chips in a poker game, you’ll have to play lower stakes buy-in games to make back your stack and earn your way to the big tables.
For those who miss the boat, the game will be available for 800 Microsoft Points. But you better believe we'll be staying up late Wednesday to download this puppy pronto.
Chat about this news item in the 360-Hq.Com Xbox Live Forums right here.
Microsoft debunked the story posted earlier today suggesting that Microsoft still considers using the HD-DVD player for games.
I'm seeing lots of speculation about our upcoming HD DVD Player, and whether we have plans to publish HD DVD games. The answer is no.
Since announcing the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player accessory at E3 2006, we've been clear that it is designed exclusively for playing HD DVD movies. It will not play games on HD DVD.
At this point, we haven't seen anything to suggest that next-gen DVD formats offer a better game experience than current DVD. What we do know is that these formats will bring added cost to game developers, disc manufacturing, and could even result in added costs and longer load times for the consumer, which would negatively impact the game experience. We are focused on making great HD games available to consumers now, and games like "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" clearly show that beautiful high def graphics and huge, immersive worlds to explore are possible on the DVD9 format.
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