Halo 3 doesnt play in HD

Ever wondered why Halo 3 has so many jaggies? The anti-aliasing may be off, but the game’s been upscaled from a rather unusual resolution – 1152x640 (640p!) to the HD 720p resolution of 1280x720. Here's Bumgie's statement on the same :

The reason we chose this slightly unorthodox resolution and this very complex use of two buffers is simple enough to see – lighting. We wanted to preserve as much dynamic range as possible – so we use one for the high dynamic range and one for the low dynamic range values. Both are combined to create the finished on screen image.

In fact, if you do a comparison shot between the native 1152x640 image and the scaled 1280x720, it’s practically impossible to discern the difference. We would ignore it entirely were it not for the internet’s propensity for drama where none exists. In fact the reason we haven’t mentioned this before in weekly updates, is the simple fact that it would have distracted conversation away from more important aspects of the game, and given tinfoil hats some new gristle to chew on as they catalogued their toenail clippings.

The game’s lighting is in fact remarkable, but the jaggies are also really apparent which makes you cringe during a few scenes in the single player campaign. The multiplayer on the whole seems a lot better, and the gameplay in both modes more than make up for the visual flaws in the game. Nash and I have been hooked on to the Halo 3 MP since while now, and we love every bit of it. Stay tuned to Tech2.com for a review of the same.

Prince of Persia : warrior within

EA - Crysis

Crysis™ is a next-generation PC first-person shooter from Crytek, the award-winning developers of Far Cry. A stunning technical achievement, Crysis combines incredible visuals, cunning gameplay and an epic story that challenges gamers to adapt to survive.

Global tensions have reached boiling point as the U.S. and North Korea square off in the South China Sea. At stake: a mysterious artifact uncovered by a team of U.S. archaeologists.

The North Korean government quickly seizes the area, prompting the U.S. to dispatch an elite team of Delta Force operatives on a rescue mission. During the siege the true nature of the artifact quickly emerges, pointing to the existence of an alien presence on Earth, and ultimately the trigger for a massive-scale alien invasion.

The battle to save Earth begins as the aliens’ flash freeze the tropics into a ghostly-white frozen landscape.

As gamers take up arms against the aliens, they will be outfitted with customisable weapons and a high tech nano-suit, allowing them to adapt their tactics and abilities to a hostile, ever-changing environment and a mysterious enemy.

Powered by CryENGINE 2™, Crysis delivers the ultimate DX10 gaming experience for the PC, including unparalleled graphics, special effects and artificial intelligence. The game is also scaleable to deliver a breath-taking FPS experience for older DX9 PCs.

Key features

Crysis Key features

•	Adapt to Survive - An epic story thrusts players into an ever-changing environment, forcing them to adapt their tactics and approach to conquer battlefields ranging from newly frozen jungle to zero-gravity alien environments.
•	Suit Up - A high-tech nano-suit allows gamers to augment their abilities in real time on the battlefield. Players can choose to enhance their speed, strength, armor and cloaking abilities to approach situations in creative tactical ways.
•	Customisable Weaponry - A huge arsenal of modular weaponry gives gamers unprecedented control over their play style. Blow the opposition away with experimental weapons like the TAC launcher, discover alien technology and utlise custom ammunition from incendiary-tipped rounds to tactical munitions that can silently put foes to sleep.
•	Veni Vidi Vici - Lifelike enemy AI challenges players to assess a situation and approach it strategically. It isn’t about having the fastest trigger finger – players are challenged to be proactive in the fight, not reactive.
•	Zero-G Gameplay - Battle a horrifying alien species in a true Zero-gravity environment, where physics change everything as players must adapt to moving in Zero-G and contending with the recoil from their weapons and more.
•	Next-Generation Graphics - Built from the ground up using Crytek’s proprietary CryENGINE 2™, Crysis’ visuals define “state of the art,” with full DX10 support and scalable options to deliver solid performance on older machines.
•	Open, Physicalised World - Choose your own path through the open world of Crysis, destroying obstacles, driving vehicles from VTOL’s to boats and using the environment itself against your enemies.
•	Bring It Online - Full-featured multiplayer for up to 32 players with real-time armor and weapons customisation. For a pure adrenaline fix hit the Instant Action button, or prepare yourself for the all-new multiplayer PowerStruggle mode that combines economy and vehicle warfare, alien technology and ranking, all wrapped in a strategic objective-based experience.

17 year old hacks iphone

For just the second time, someone has managed to hack an iphone. This time, a skilled teenager managed to free an iPhone from the shackles of AT&T. 17-year-old George Holz of New Jersey cracked open his iPhone and hacked it, and now it works with his T-Mobile account. It’s not an easy hack - it takes two hours and requires soldering and software work. You have to admire the kid for cracking the case (and voiding the warranty) on an expensive piece of hardware. He can’t get the visual voicemail to work but otherwise, he says, the phone works fine.

Grungy text tutorial

1) From google, take a picture of city night lights, something like this

2) Make a new document in photoshop with a white background. Write out your text

3) Take the ciy lights image and open it with photoshop. Go to image-adjustments-threshold and press ok

4) Now with the marquee tool, select a part of the image which has maximum lights. Copy it and paste it on a new layer on the document with the text

5) Now, select the new layer by ctrl clicking on it. With the layer stlll in selection press on the text layer

6) Press shift+ctrl+i to invert the selection. Now press delete.

Digital Imaging - urban decay