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- Review: Hive board game app offers all sorts of buggy fun
Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch, App Review
As a tabletop board game, Hive has been around since 2001. It draws inspiration from classic abstract strategy games like chess and shogi but does away with that pesky board (see also: Tile Chess). The iPhone/iPod touch app [US$1.99, iTunes link] brings everything from the physical version to your pocket, and if clever placement of bug-decorated pieces is your thing, the game is well worth the download - at least for a short while.
The Game
The rules of this two-player game are entirely simple. Each turn, you either add a piece to the hive (you can think of the hive as the board) or, if you've already placed your queen bee, you can move a piece in the hive. The object of the game is to surround your opponent's bee and, like in chess, each type of piece (different kinds of bugs) has its own movement abilities, so knowing when to move where is a challenge and certainly part of the fun. Beetles climb on other bugs, the ant runs around the hive, and so on.The full rules are detailed in the app's tutorial, or you can watch a video review after the jump (or get the rules PDF). Read on to discover if these bugs are the kind you want invading your iPhone.
A game of Hive goes pretty quickly, taking anywhere between five and 30 minutes depending on how good you are and what level you're playing against. The app can save up to eight games so you'll always have room for any game that gets interrupted.
The App
Since Hive, like chess and many other abstract strategy games where all pieces and options are known at all times, is a game of perfect information, it works wonderfully as a two player app. In fact, if your tabletop board game shelves are already full of abstract games, there's really no reason any more to shell out the $25 or $30 for the physical copy when almost the same functionality - with quicker set up - can be had for $1.99 in the App Store. Heck, just the 2007 Mosquito expansion costs $10 in a store. There's no way an iPhone can replace an entire board game collection, but in this case, it makes more sense to have the app than the box.
While the app doesn't offer a way to playing with multiple mosquito tiles, the game's visual options are ridiculously varied. None of them make the game look quite as nice and the polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride (sorry, Bakelite) pieces available for tabletop play, but you can pick from about two dozen background colors and five different tile types. There are also four difficulty levels and toggles to to turn the mosquito option and tournament rules on and off and to select which color the AI will play in single player mode. We recommend leaving the tournament rules set to be always on. Tournament rules mean that neither player can place the Bee as their first piece, a choice that often leads to games that end in a draw. Boring.
The trouble is that the AI, even on hard, is not too difficult to beat. In the course of an evening, an experienced abstract game player can learn the rules and manage to beat the system with some regularity. It's not a total cakewalk, but a difficulty level beyond "hard" would be appreciated. You know, something really frustrating. Considering the game's mediocre AI, a real online player option would be a great thing. Instead, the pass-the-device two-player and local network P2P are all that's offered.
Of course, a harder-working AI might be a bit much for early iPhones. Running on a first-gen iPod Touch, the game repeatedly reported low memory and suggested restarting the device. Even after doing so, though, the message appeared. Still, the app continued to work, so it's not the most useful of warnings. When playing the medium and hard AI levels, there is some - not too much - delay in the bot's moves, which is kind of nice and mimics playing against a person, but it might become too annoying if the AI got smarter.
Thankfully, the game's music and sound effects can be muted and, if iTunes is playing when the app starts, the audio continues without interruption. Also, while there is no undo button per se, you can touch the "Hive" logo on the game screen and call up the game menu, which includes a "Back to Game" option. If you do this when you're selected the wrong piece, the piece will be unselected when you come back to the game. Handy, but the location of the logo makes it kind of troublesome for one player in a two-player game.
All in all, Hive is like so many of the "easy to learn, hard to master" style of games. Even when playing on the iPod touch, having two human players is better than playing against the bots, and the game loses nothing in the translation to virtual tabletop.
Review of the board game version by the Dice Tower:
Official app promo from Lotus Studios:
TUAWReview: Hive board game app offers all sorts of buggy fun originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhone - iPod Touch - Board game - App Store - IPod Classic
Переслать - Talkcast tonight, 10 pm ET: Macworld Expo preview
Filed under: Macworld, TUAW Business, Podcasts
We're back live tonight with the usual gang of ruffians, this time (partially) live from San Francisco as we warm up for Macworld Expo 2010! So what if the iPad isn't out for a few more weeks? We're revved up for the show -- it's our first year with a booth of our own, and our first year livestreaming video directly from the expo floor -- so what we need now is to hear from you. What coverage do you want to see, which products do you want reviews, who are the pundits and industry veterans you want to hear from? C'mon & call the show to let us know.
We'll kick things off at 10pm Eastern (7pm Pacific); hopefully the Superbowl will be over by then, and if not, we'll vamp. Once you sign in on Talkshoe, you'll be able to call in with your own phone and chat live with TUAW bloggers and listeners. See you then!
To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (take advantage of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.
If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free Gizmo or X-Lite SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Talk with you then!TUAWTalkcast tonight, 10 pm ET: Macworld Expo preview originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW at Big Nerd Ranch: Aaron Hillegass
Filed under: Interviews, Developer
More coverage of TUAW's inside look at developer boot camp. See below for notes & disclaimer.
On my last day at Big Nerd Ranch, I got a chance to sit down with with the biggest nerd at the ranch, Aaron Hillegass, and talk about nerds, NextStep, the iPad and more. Aaron has a unique vantage point on all things Apple, and it was definitely an enjoyable conversation. If you continue reading after the first video, there's a second short video of Aaron and I out at the site of the future Big Nerd Ranch.
After chatting with Aaron for a while, we drove about 20 minutes to get to the site of the "new" ranch (it's much closer to the airport than the current residence). Ground hasn't been broken yet, but the plans are laid for a new Big Nerd Ranch. Aaron expounds a little on his "monastic" approach, and had me walking up and down slippery slopes to see the land ...A big thanks to Aaron for his time, it was definitely a pleasure and an honor to sit down with him!
In order to give our readers the first-hand account of what it's like to experience developer boot camp, Big Nerd Ranch has permitted Brett to attend complimentary classes and has provided transportation/lodging assistance. Other than those considerations, no sponsorship or advertising relationship exists between BNR and TUAW. This series is not an endorsement of BNR's programs or teaching methodology.
TUAWTUAW at Big Nerd Ranch: Aaron Hillegass originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Hands-on with the OWLE bubo: Better photos and video from your iPhone
Filed under: iPhone, Road Tested
A while back, we had a product announcement about the OWLE bubo (US$129.95). That bizarre name is actually a play on words: OWLE stands for "Optical Widget for Life Enhancement" (the company's name) and bubo is the genus for American horned owls and old world eagle owls. The device, if you have an imagination, even looks like a cartoonists idea of a horned owl.
So, now that we've got the name all figured out, what the heck is an OWLE bubo? You could call it the ultimate iPhone case for photographers, and you'd be pretty darned close. The current bubo is a sleek, machined piece of aluminum that is designed to be held with both hands for better stability when shooting photos or video with the iPhone. The bubo does a great job of making it easier to shoot video, but that's just scraping the surface of the feature set.
bubo also has a 37mm .45x wide-angle/macro combo lens that is awesome for doing close-ups of objects, taking crowd or landscape photos, or doing interviews. In fact, it's this last use case that finally convinced me to purchase a bubo. Since TUAW is going to be doing a lot of video and other photography at Macworld Expo during the this week, I want to see if I can make my iPhone 3GS my primary tool for capturing imagery since I'd prefer to pack light. The lens accommodates screw-in filters at a standard 49mm size, so UV haze or polarizing filters can be added to further improve image quality.
The lens is one excellent feature, but there's more. OWLE includes a 3.5mm 4-pin omni-style mic with a windscreen that can be swiveled to pick up either the camera operator's voice or the sound the subject is making. The aluminum case also provides four standard threaded receptacles for mounting on a tripod or attaching other threaded accessories, and there's also a cold shoe mount for adding extras like lights or other mics (see front view at right). That's a quick release for a Manfrotto monopod attached to the bottom, and a 36-LED camcorder light in the cold shoe.
OWLE's testing a bubo made from composites that should be lighter than the aluminum model, although I think I'd prefer the heft and strength of aluminum. They're also saying that a bubo for iPod nano is "coming soon," although there are no pictures or drawings of what that may look like.
The screw-in design for the lens will make it possible for OWLE to sell other lenses for the bubo case. While the company isn't divulging future plans, a spokesperson said that telephoto or zoom lenses were in consideration as accessories.
How does it work in the real world? Pretty darned good! Inside the box is the bubo with the lens attached, the small mic (which plugs into the headphone port on the iPhone), a pair of lens covers in case you wish to remove the lens, a lens cleaning cloth, a silicone case for your iPhone (the bubo works with a lot of standard iPhone cases), a small case for carrying the lens when removed, and instructions.
I had to remove the existing case from my iPhone (an Otterbox Commuter) and used the included case since the Otterbox was a very tight fit in the bubo. The iPhone fits snugly into the case, but users will want to take care not to jar the bubo as the iPhone could simply "pop out." I'd love to see some sort of swiveling tabs to help hold the iPhone in, although in normal use it should remain firmly lodged in the bubo. The photo at right shows the niche that the iPhone fits into.
The construction of the bubo is rock solid. The design of the case makes it very easy to grip it in both hands, helping to create a stable handheld platform for your iPhone photography. I found that using one of the threaded receptacles to attach the bubo to a tripod, monopod, or clamp worked very well in keeping the device completely still.
How does that mic work? A quick test showed that it really helped in terms of clarifying and amplifying sound from speakers who were standing in front of me. However, on several occasions the mic also seemed to be picking up interference from the iPhone itself. Needless to say, I'll be checking this out more completely before doing any major interviews at Macworld Expo.
The cold shoe (as opposed to a hot shoe, which provides power to a camera accessory) was useful in attaching a Sima LED Camcorder light to the bubo, although it was a bit of a tight fit. Whether this is due to tight clearances in the construction of the bubo or the base of the camcorder light isn't clear, but it really required a lot of force to jam the light onto the cold shoe.
Since a picture is worth at least a thousand words, I'm going to show you several images taken with my iPhone 3GS. The first (at top) is taken without the bubo, while the second (at bottom) uses the bubo's wide-angle lens:Notice that the lower picture, taken with the bubo from the exact same location, shows a wider field of view. The shrubs in the foreground and large spruce off to the left are not visible in the upper shot taken with the built-in iPhone 3GS lens.
The bubo's lens does a fairly good job with close-up macro shots as well. In the next set of photos, the top picture represents the closest picture I could take with the standard lens of the iPhone 3GS, while the bottom picture shows just how close I could focus:Purists will note that I got a little TOO close on the bottom closeup, as the foreground petal of the artificial flower is slightly out of focus.
Are there other macro / closeup attachments for the iPhone that don't cost as much? Sure. The Griffin Clarifi (US$34.99) is a perfect solution -- if you don't need all of the attachment points that the bubo offers or a cold shoe attachment isn't needed. Likewise, you could purchase the little microphone (VeriCorder Mini Mic, US$20.00) separately for better recordings. But frankly, for self-filming of interviews with an iPhone 3GS on a Manfrotto monopod complete with an attached LED light, there really was no other solution.
If you'd like to see the bubo in action, I'll have it at Macworld Expo next week. Drop by the TUAW Booth (#654) and ask for me, or just look for the middle-aged nerd carrying one around -- that will be me.TUAWHands-on with the OWLE bubo: Better photos and video from your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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