|
|
|
|
| |
 EA Brings Spore, Warhammer Online, And More To Steam [12.19.08] Publisher Electronic Arts formally joined Valve's digital distribution platform Steam, bringing big titles such as Spore, Warhammer Online, and more to the PC service. The company also looks to release Mirror's Edge and Dead Space through Steam in January 2009 as well.
Report: Aspyr Confirms Layoffs [12.19.08] Aspyr Media has confirmed it's laying off an unspecified number of staffers due to the economic downturn, according to media reports. It declined to specify how many staffers are affected, but says "operations will continue without interruption on all titles scheduled to ship in 2009 and beyond."
EA Layoff Plans Reach 1000, Black Box To Be Consolidated [12.19.08] EA says it will lay off a further 4 percent of its workforce as it either consolidates or closes down "at least nine" of its studios, moving Need For Speed creator Black Box to its Burnaby, British Columbia studio location. [UPDATE: EA clarifies that its studio closures are not effective immediately.]
|
| |
Gamasutra's Top 20 Trends of 2008 [12.17.08] As the industry undergoes a major evolution, Gamasutra rounds up the exciting top 20 trends of 2008 -- user-generated content, retro reboots and much more.
|
|
Khronos Releases Collada 1.5 Specification
The Khronos Group announced the release of a new COLLADA specification, which includes new features and expanded functionality designed to "further broaden the applicability" of the 3D digital asset standard.
COLLADA 1.5 adds new B-rep and kinematics functionality, which enables COLLADA to be adopted by the AutomationML group, a consortium of automotive industry leaders that includes Daimler and ABB, as the intermediate language for CAD automation workflows.
The update provides a new OpenGL ES 2.0 effects profile and enhanced support for external shader effects systems, which allows for a wider range of content authoring tools for developers using frameworks such as Microsoft XNA with DirectX.
COLLADA 1.5 also includes georeferencing of geospatially defined assets, enabling GIS applications to blend real and virtual 3D assets. Working with Google, the COLLADA team added a new file format extention called .ZAE (Zipped Asset Exchange) assets, often created in Google�s SketchUp 3D modeling tool, to be distributed through the Google 3D Warehouse. SketchUp version 7, due out later this summer, is expected to support this functionality.
Khronos intends to support COLLADA 1.4 for existing users in parallel with its COLLADA 1.5 development. The group announced the release of the COLLADA 1.4.1 2nd Edition specification, which includes corrections, clarifications, and minor additions to COLLADA 1.4�s documentation, as well as enhanced explanations for transparency, animation, lighting, splines, and skinning.
In addition, the company is planning a fourth-quarter release of the Conformance Test Suite for COLLADA 1.4. The suite comprises a complete GUI and scripting framework that integrates testing methodology with authoring tools and rendering applications. It also contains up to 500 COLLADA-based content test cases.
Said Khronos president Neil Trevett: �COLLADA 1.5 is a very significant release as it contains new functionality that enables completely new industries to use COLLADA � as well as expanding the use of this widely used standard in its traditional content-creation markets. The industry momentum of COLLADA has now reached a critical tipping point � it has become a genuine lingua franca for 3D designers everywhere.�
POSTED: 09.07AM PST, 08/07/08 - Eric Caoili - LINK
Related news:
Product: Khronos Group Releases OpenMAX IL 1.1
Collada Joins Khronos Group As Sony, Nvidia Sign Up
Khronos Discusses OpenGL ES Adopters
|
Comments
Login to Comment