NVIDIA 'Fermi' (GF100) @ GeForce 400 Series (DirectX 11)

We know this has nothing to do with LEGO, but it has something to do with games - the hardware that powers games, in this case, on desktop computers. Over @ BrickTech, we've put up the latest news on NVIDIA's flagship graphic card, the GeForce 480, which comes from the new GeForce 400 Series, driven by the new GF100 GPU, called Fermi.

With this card, NVIDIA is on par with it's rival AMD, with their ATI Radeon HD5000 Series. Both sides now have DirectX 11 cards, which are supported on both Windows 6.1 (Windows 7) as well as Windows 6.0 (Vista), the latter via the Platform Update.

DX 11 is supported in new and upcoming games, and throws in new features like Tessellation (which was introduced in DirectX 10.1 with Vista Service Pack 1 and supported on Radeon HD3000 and 4000). DX11 also introduces a new Compute Shader which works with Direct Compute, which is an implementation of GPGPU, which allows games to use the card for processing, not just graphics. This comes in handy for AI, physics calculation via NVIDIA's PhysX, and real-time 3D Ray-Tracing, via NVIDIA's OptiX, which used to be a feature found in NVIDIA's Quadro professional workstation video cards, but now can be used for games too.

This is not a rendered 3D still image - it's a 3D motion rendering of a scene using NVIDIA's OptiX Quadro technology on the new GeForce 400 series of graphic cards. You can click on the image to view the full original size. Games can use this technology to have ray-traced 3D scenes.

He is higher Level than Me!

Mooo... oops where were we?

LOL... a foreign government official has been sacked for milking virtual cow in the popular Facebook title Farmville during government meetings. Read more in Bulgarian Sacked For Milking Virtual Cow.

New DRM: Paying Customers are like Pond Scum

Can't Command & Conquer without Connection

Seems like the new Command & Conquer 4 has a DRM scheme similar to that of Assassin Creed 2... constant connection needed to play. Read more on Command & Conquer 4 DRM.

Quote: "I'm so glad EA considers its PC customers as less than pond scum. "
Pond scum? LOOOL

Assassin's Creed 2 DRM

The biggest buzz currently on the gaming scene is about Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 2 and Silent Hunter 5 unplayable as Ubisoft DRM servers go down. The terrible scene of corporate decision to protect its profit margin ended up punishing paying customers happens all too often lately.

Game - Identify LEGO MiniFigs via Mouth

Here's a LEGO game you can try - identify MiniFigs (Miniature Figurines) using your mouth - we kid you not (pun intended!) - a German kid has actually done that on a German reality show (Wetten Dass - German for Wanna Bet?)!

She (Sophia Heesch) can somehow use her mouth to feel what minifig she has and identify it correctly! That's some talent and she would probably make a geeky boyfriend - or any Star Wars fan - very happy too! So what LEGO can you identify with your mouth?

Microsoft Malaysia - TechNation - ELITE - Windows Day - Gaming @ 7

BrickTech, a BrickGamers' sister site, focuses on technology (duh!) and frequently touches on the gaming aspects as well, since modern games leverage on technology.

Recently, there was a talk held called Windows Day @ Microsoft Malaysia Headquarters @ the Petronas Twin Towers @ KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre).


It was organised by the Microsoft Malaysia NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation) TechNation, under which ELITE (Extraordinary League of Information Technology Experts) is found, supporting Microsoft's infrastructure software - Windows, Office, Server, ForeFront (Security) - with events held to speak about relevant topics based on certain themes - Server Day, Security Day, Office Day, and of course, Windows Day, mentioned above. Under Windows Day, one of the focus was on Windows 7 Gaming.


The Microsoft Office PowerPoint slides for that presentation is now available to download here.

LEGO Indiana Jones 2 Game - Updated

Update - TT Games (mentioned below, a division of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Group) will continue to make LEGO's games till 2016. More here.

If you've played the LEGO Indiana Jones game (or any other LEGO computer games), you might be interested in the new LEGO Indiana Jones 2 game, and this is a good time to show gamers and LEGO fans alike, that when it comes to LEGO games, it's not all done on the computer (since it's a computer game), but are modelled after actual LEGO creations!

Case in point, Carl Greatrix has been making custom (MOC - My Own Creation) LEGO models that will be used in the upcoming Indiana Jones 2 game. The game is being made by TT (Traveller's Tales) Games, who also made other LEGO computer games like Batman, Rock Band, and Star Wars, as they have the rights to make LEGO computer games.

To read more about his work, check out this interview here, and take a look at his LEGO MOCs here, which will be digitised and you will see appear in the Indiana Jones 2 game.

The actual LEGO MOC model made by Carl (above) and the digitised version (below) which will be used in the LEGO Indiana Jones 2 computer gameSource : Brothers Brick

Starcraft 2 Beta Cracked

Well it is the natural thing to happen...Starcraft 2 Beta Cracked & Available for Download. While the users can only play against AI opponent (should you follow all the steps properly... that is), none the less one get access to try out all the shiny new toys and gets the first person feel of playing it.