Tag Archives: Hat

Ultimate Guide to Amazon’s New Free Fantasy Game, Throne and Liberty: Otter in a Hat and Magic Wand

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Amazon has been attempting to enter the gaming industry for quite some time. Despite having abundant resources and hiring top designers, progress has been slow. However, in recent times, Amazon has found success in releasing massively multiplayer online games. First came New World in 2021, a fantasy game focusing on survival and player-built settlements. This was followed by Lost Ark in the next year, developed by SmileGate from South Korea, blending MMO elements with Diablo-style combat. While reviews were mixed, both games found popularity among players. Now, Amazon is launching its third MMO in four years, Throne and Liberty, also developed in Korea. Here’s what you need to know about this latest offering.

What is Throne and Liberty?




A large, detailed world… Throne and Liberty. Photo: Amazon Games

Throne and Liberty is an MMO set in a fantasy world akin to World of Warcraft. Players create characters and embark on adventures, either alone, with friends, or as part of a guild. The game offers main storylines, cooperative dungeon battles, and player-versus-player combat for territory control.

The game had a prolonged development, initially announced in 2011 as an expansion of the Lineage series. It was released in South Korea in December after facing delays, technical changes, and leadership shifts. Amazon is the global publisher, having acquired the rights in February the previous year.

How is Throne and Liberty different?




Traditional MMO combat combined with action-game dodging and parrying for real combat. Photo: Amazon Games

Throne and Liberty offers unique elements, such as the ability to transform into various animals for faster travel. Combat and character progression stand out; instead of fixed classes, character abilities revolve around weapon usage. With six different weapons and customizable combinations, players can create unique playstyles.

Is Throne and Liberty worth playing?




A unique world… a massive floating whale in the sky. Photo: Amazon Games

Throne and Liberty offers engaging exploration and combat mechanics, blending MMO and action elements. However, it lacks depth in storytelling and character development. Crafting and upgrading systems may feel complex and tedious. Overall, the game is free-to-play and provides a decent gaming experience without requiring excessive time investment.

Should I try Throne and Liberty?




Fashionable style… Characters resembling a mix of wizards, warriors, orcs, and goblins. Photo: Amazon Games

Throne and Liberty is recommended for casual play, offering basic yet enjoyable gameplay. However, if choosing between Amazon’s Korean MMOs, Lost Ark may be a better choice due to its more engaging combat and storytelling. Both games are free-to-play, providing diverse experiences for players.

Source: www.theguardian.com

App-Connected Smart Hat Detects Signal Changes and Sends Notifications

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This hat looks normal, but you can sense it when the traffic light changes color

Wang Zhihun

Flexible, wear-resistant strands of conductive fibers are used to make smart clothing with embedded computers and sensors, such as hats that can sense changes in signals.

Previous efforts to create fibers with wear-resistant coatings and conductive cores have encountered problems. When materials cool and shrink at different rates during manufacturing, or are twisted and cleaned once in the final product, small stress cracks can develop and often cause smart devices to stop working.

now, Rayway Researchers at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University have discovered a conductive material that shrinks on cooling and does not develop stress cracks, similar to the aluminosilicate glass used in smartphone screens. The material borrows techniques from fiber-optic cable manufacturing, and the process is cheap and “industry-ready,” Wei said.

The technique involves placing a semiconductor wire made of silicon or germanium into molten glass at a temperature of about 1000 degrees Celsius and drawing it into thin strands. The glass is later etched away with hydrofluoric acid and replaced with a polymer coating that allows for a more flexible material. Fibers can stretch up to 10 kilometers.

A small amount of this fiber is then woven into fabric using a standard loom and regular cotton. Wei says the new material alone feels like “fishing line” on the skin, so cotton is needed to make the clothes comfortable.

The researchers used the fibers to create several prototypes, including electronic sensors and chips that communicate through conductive materials, such as a hat that detects changes in the color of traffic lights. It then passes that information to a smartphone app, a jumper that can receive and decode images sent by pulses of light rather than radio waves, and a watch strap that measures the wearer's heart rate.

In a six-month test where the garment was worn, washed and dried, the fibers were durable and continued to conduct electricity.

However, there are still weaknesses. The link between the flexible material and the rigid circuit board that holds computer chips and other components tends to fail after a few months, causing smart features to stop working.

“The only part that consistently leads to test failures is the connection between the fiber and the external circuitry,” Wei says. “The challenge now is to find a stable connection method.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com