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Week of July 3, 2005
New X-Disk Installer Discs
>> The guys over at x-disk.com released a few new installer discs that allow you to easily install many homebrew apps/emus/games on your Xbox. Here's an overview of the new releases:
* X-DISK v1.31 English Version
What's new/fixed:
* GUIDED MODE
* Removed all "FiREFUCKeR" - Signs - and Adult Skins: no need any more to hide X-DISK from kids - well, better hide it before something gets broken :)
* Updated all Apps/Emus/Dashboards to latest Version (see list)
* Fixes,Fixes,Fixes
More Info: x-disk.com
* LoRD_FFs AnOd-X-DISK v1.02
New installer disc based on the AnOd-X dashboard. AnOd-X-Disk is a very new Dashboard, but it has many features, MP3Player, Filemanager, Download Skins, just to mention a few.
AnOd-X-Disk installs AnOd-X to C: or F: and the Apps to E: or F:
AnOd-X-Disk can also prepare a new HD and flash the Bios.
This is the list of preconfigured Apps that are on AnOd-X-DISK:
-> Dashboards: M$Dashboard 5960.01 , AnOd-X 1.02.1 + about 200 (!) Skins
-> Mediaplayer: XBMC latest CVS (Plays all kind of media), DVDX2 (Dongle Free DVD Player)
-> Copytools: DVD2XBoX (Rip Movies/AudioCDs/Games to HD: Decrypts DVDMovies and compresses AudioCD to ogg), Boxplorer (Filemanager), Complextools (Backup Games to HD), xtoolbox (FtpClient/Backup DVDs)
-> latest EvoX, & X2 Bioses
-> some Homebrew Games and Emus.
More Info: x-disk.com
* LoRD_FFs E:voX-DISK v1.1
New installer disc based on the EvolutionX(info) dashboard. E:voX-DISK should work on EVERY XBoX! No matter what version or Harddisk or Bios! (If you got a modded XBoX and you can boot C:\evoxdash.xbe or F:\evoxdash.xbe)
-> E:voX-DISK is able to install:
-Evolution-X to C:, Apps to E: - For small HDs
-Evolution-X to C:, Apps to F: - For Big (replaced) HDs
-Evolution-X to F:, Apps to F: - Stealth installation
-> Other nice Features:
-Livemode for Systemrecovery/repair
-Repair M$Dash/Rebuild to factory
-Many Skins for Evolution-X
-Install XBMC as a Dashboard
-> Software on E:voX-DISK: M$Dashboard 5960.01, EvoX 3935, XBMC 1.1 Latest CVS (Plays all kind of media), DVD2XBoX 0.67 (Rip Movies/AudioCDs/Games to HD: Decrypts DVDMovies and compresses AudioCD to ogg or mp3), Boxplorer (Filemanager), Complextools 1.6 (Backup Games to HD), xtoolbox 0.41 (FtpClient/Backup DVDs)
-> Bioses: (customized: *FC* ,noani, colormod...): EvoX M8 und M8+, Xecuter(info): 4981 & 5032 (needs 512kb ModChip!)
-> Some games
-> Some emulators
More Info: x-disk.com
* ADDON-CD#3: Games4X-DISK-the second act
This is an auto installer for homebrew xbox games. It will allow you to easily install many homebrew games from disc to E:\hddloader , E:\Games , F:\hddloader , F:\Games , G:\hddloader or G:\Games.
More Info: x-disk.com
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(Saturday 09 July 2005 17:59 EST) - (Category: (default)) - (Posted by::
)
The Xbox 360 Launch Line-up According to TeamXbox.com
>> From teamxbox.com:
[QUOTE]
Halo. Perhaps the most important launch title of all time. You could easily argue that there have been better console launch titles, but it’s hard to discount how important Halo has been to the success of the Xbox. Face it - launch titles can make or break a console. Launch titles also set the tone for the system, giving gamers a pretty good glimpse at what to expect in the future. Put a bad taste in a gamer’s mouth with a paltry, unimpressive launch lineup, and hear them all mutter “Dreamcast 2” under their breath.
We at TeamXbox.com all have our opinions on what would make a stellar launch title lineup. That’s why we thought it would be fun to play Microsoft for a day and come up with our own launch title predictions, coming at you with from a few different angles.
[/QUOTE]
Go check out TeamXbox's launch line-up prediction here.
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(Saturday 09 July 2005 07:46 EST) - (Category: (default)) - (Posted by::
)
Xbox Survey
>> A student project at the Institute for Innovation Research, Technology Management and Entrepreneurship (INNO-tec) at the University of Munich (Germany, Europe) in cooperation with xbox-linux have created an interesting online survey about the Xbox including topics like Xbox hacking, Xbox development, homebrew software and Xbox-Linux.
All the answers will be treated absolutely anonymous. Moreover, the data gathered within the seminar will be used exclusively for academic purposes and will not be exploited commercially. The results of this survey will be made public on www.inno-tec.de in September 2005.
Participate now in this Xbox survey (anonymous and takes only about 15mins).
We'll let you know when the results of this interesting survey are available.
European Parliament rejects software patents bill
>> From GamesIndustry.biz:
[QUOTE]
Proposed legislation which would have allowed companies to patent software innovations has been rejected by an overwhelming margin by the European Parliament, despite pro-bill lobbying from companies including Microsoft and Nokia.
The European Commission has now pledged that it will scrap the bill entirely in favour of attempting to draw up new patent legislation, rather than attempting to amend the existing bill.
Software is already protected by strong copyright laws in Europe, and many small companies and open source developers feared that the introduction of software patents as outlined by the legislation would stifle their ability to innovate and compete.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole article on GamesIndustry.biz.
This comes as good news for small videogame developers in europe and it's of course also essential for the future of many huge open-source projects like Mplayer, Linux distros and Xbox homebrew projects like XboxMediaCenter(info) and many others.
Xbox 360 hit by Stock Shortages already?
>> From computerandvideogames.com:
[QUOTE]
The reports, which remain speculation at this point, suggest that numerous large US retailers including EB Games and Gamestop have already exhausted their early stock allocations.
It seems that the demand for Microsoft's next-gen machine has been so great that a huge number of customers have pre-ordered their Xbox 360s - possibly resulting in empty store shelves when the console actually launches in November.
But the Redmond-based giant seemed unphased by the reports when we contacted it for comment. "Excitement for Xbox 360 is running high," said a spokesperson, "and we're working with our manufacturing partners to ensure we meet worldwide demand for Xbox 360 this Christmas."
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole article on computerandvideogames.com.
Interview with Jeff Henshaw
>> From TeamXbox.com:
[QUOTE]
Paul Thurrott got the chance to visit Microsoft's campus and interview Jeff Henshaw, the Executive Producer for Xbox Digital Entertainment. The first part of the interview, which you can find here, takes a look deep inside Xbox 360 while the second part focuses on the Xbox 360 Dashboard, the Marketplace, the new Xbox Live and the media experiences user will enjoy with the Xbox 360.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole interview: 1st part / 2nd part
News-Source: TeamXbox.com
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(Thursday 07 July 2005 18:55 EST) - (Category: (default)) - (Posted by::
)
Microsoft developing for Nintendo DS
>> From GameSpot.com:
[QUOTE]
Last week, rumors began to surface that the Xbox 360 would let gamers download Micrsoft-developed games onto Nintendo's DS handheld. Such a move struck many industry watchers as being highly unlikely, if not outright ludicrous.
However, it now appears that Microsoft may be crazy like a fox. This week, evidence surfaced confirming that the company is indeed developing games for the DS. It came in the form of two job listings (1,2) on the official Web site for Rare Ltd. Rare is wholly owned by Microsoft and is part of its Microsoft Game Studios suite of internal developers, which also includes Halo maker Bungie Software.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole article on GameSpot.com.
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(Thursday 07 July 2005 18:49 EST) - (Category: (default)) - (Posted by::
)
Xecuter Product Updates and Free Legal Xbox Bios News
>> From teamxecuter.com:
[QUOTE]
Just to keep you informed:
The X3IR Mod is having its final testing today. It should be with all resellers within the next 2 weeks.
The Xapt3r v1.6 is in stock now. It's high quality design and flexibility is proving a hit with thousands of customers who snapped these up in the first few days of release.
All X3CE are now shipped an official Team Xecuter(info) hologram sticker to proudly show of the #1 brand in Xbox modding.
The GC case range will be shipping to selected resellers in the next week. To see who is stocking these please see "GameCube Case Stores" section to the left of this page.
Our software developers are back working on an X3 bios update - a fully functional file manager is in progress.
We have started an internal project to completely redesign a legal linux based bios for the Xbox. The majority of features will be the same as included with the OS's of such releases from SmartXX(info) and Xenium(info) (such as bios bank control, hdd cloning etc etc) - however the project will be completely opensource and will open up many many legitimate-as-shipped features for ALL mod manufacturers and users to enjoy. We welcome the support of the community on this project. More news on this soon.
[/QUOTE]
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(Thursday 07 July 2005 09:49 EST) - (Category: (default)) - (Posted by::
)
Foxlink and Ji-Haw to mass supply Xbox 360 connectors
>> From the pressrelease:
[QUOTE]
Two Taiwan companies, Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co. (Foxlink) and Ji-Haw Industrial Co., Ltd., have won orders for connectors used on the new-generation game consoles Xbox 360 from Microsoft of the U.S.
Foxlink will start delivering Xbox 360 connectors in August. The firm’s chairman T.C. Gou claimed that his company does not rule out venturing into game-console assembly business in the future.
Ji-Haw said that it has poured NT$90 million (US$2.84 million) into establishing a new production line of Xbox connectors, which will be ready for mass production in August.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole pressrelease here.
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(Thursday 07 July 2005 06:56 EST) - (Category: (default)) - (Posted by::
)
Xbox 360 Beta Dev Kit Photo?
>> From XS Forums
Keva posted this pic he scrounged from the net..
Real or not.. looks interesting.
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(Wednesday 06 July 2005 22:43 EST) - (Category: (default)) - (Posted by::
)
XBConnect 5.1.1 build 226
>> XBConnect(info) 5.1.1 build 226 - a tunneling application to play Xbox network games over the internet - has been released. What's new/fixed:
* pSDK packet driver 2.3.2. This should help those that have had problems with the original pSDK driver and have been forced to use Winpcap.
* Ability to send packets directly the internet by sending them to the kernel driver bypassing Windows. This can help speed things up a bit and also bypass some of those firewall programs that do not handle UDP packets correctly.
* A few chat nickname expolits fixed.
* 3 new skins added. (full download needed)
Official Site: http://www.xbconnect.com
Download: here
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(Wednesday 06 July 2005 21:12 EST) - (Category: (default)) - (Posted by::
)
Secret Level to Bring Classic SEGA Franchise to Xbox 360
>> From TeamXbox.com:
[QUOTE]
SEGA of America and SEGA Europe announced today a partnership with Secret Level, a San Francisco-based development studio, to recreate a classic SEGA franchise for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system.
Under the terms of the worldwide exclusive deal, SEGA will manage all sales, marketing and distribution activities and work with Secret Level to supervise ongoing game development.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole article on TeamXbox.com.
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(Wednesday 06 July 2005 13:22 EST) - (Category: (default)) - (Posted by::
)
Xodus Summer Surprises
>> From teamxodus.com:
[QUOTE]
It has been quite a while since we updated you with news. We decided earlier, that less hype and more tangible results would probably serve us better. But summer is here and things seem to be hotting up again, so a bit of hype mixed with hard core tangible fact is now in order.
Xenium(info) SPICE is flying off the shelves. Stability, reliability and quality, which have been our trademark from inception are still the cornerstone of our philosophy and are proving themselves over and over again. As expected, the race for solderless solutions for the 1.6 is now in full swing but the Xenium is still the ONLY complete solderless solution across the board from 1.0 to 1.6. Since launch in early March, the SPICE has not only silenced even the hardest and most negative critics but has also proved that our designs are light years ahead of the competition.
We really have a lot in store for you this summer. So watch this space.
[/QUOTE]
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(Wednesday 06 July 2005 11:43 EST) - (Category: (default)) - (Posted by::
)
Game sales dip ahead of new consoles
>> From sharecast.com:
[QUOTE]
LONDON (SHARECAST) - Computer games retailer Game saw sales sales dip in the first half of the year with conditions remaining challenging, it said.
Like for like sales fell by 2.6% in the 22 weeks to the end of June with a lack of new games and fierce price competiton affecting revenues.
"Trading conditions continue to be challenging with ongoing price deflation and a continued lack of strong software releases," the company said in its trading update.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole article on sharecast.com.
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(Wednesday 06 July 2005 11:24 EST) - (Category: (default)) - (Posted by::
)
W.I.P. neXgen 360 video
>> Team XOS released a video of their new neXgen(info) (N360 / neXgen 360) dashboard for Xbox that has the look/layout of the Xbox 360 dashboard:
[QUOTE]
World Premier First Xbox360 Dash Clone Video.
Here is our Xbox 360 dash clone for the Xbox. It is still in alpha phase, but I [Fyb3roptik] managed to beat up HorneyDvl and steal his video ;)
This hopefully clears up the photoshop allegations.
Please welcome N360!!
Download the video here (1.05MB - XViD encoded).
Also we are holding a contest.
We need your help to come up with a logo for this dash. The logo will go in place of where you see the xbox 360 logo. The winner will receive a jewel for their xbox with any design they want, curtosy of Gamez Etc.
Please submit all logos on our forums.
The dashboard will be released when ready so please don't ask.
No beta testers are required atm but if we do need them you will hear about it on our site.
[/QUOTE]
Xbox 360 Makes Japan Spin July 25th
>> From xbox360.ign.com:
[QUOTE]
By now, we're sure Xbox 360 fans have heard some buzz about a big Summer event where Microsoft Japan will spill the miso about its plans for the 360 in the Japanese market. Today, we received final details on the event.
Mark your calendars for July 25. Starting at 1:30 PM on that day, Microsoft Japan will hold the Xbox Summit 2005 in Tokyo. Over the course of one and a half hours, the company promises to unveil the new Xbox 360 Japanese lineup and share final details on the system's Asian launch.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole article on xbox360.ign.com.
Xbox 360 to Feature Force Feedback?
>> From TeamXbox.com:
[QUOTE]
One item of concern for diehard racing game fans is whether the Xbox 360 will support "true" force feedback for peripherals such as racing wheels. Up to this point, Microsoft has been non-committal, neither confirming nor denying the feature.
When posed with the force feedback question again last week (in regards to the Xbox 360), a Microsoft representative had this to say:
"We believe force-feedback is very interesting, and we plan on launching force-feedback peripherals after launch."
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole article on TeamXbox.com.
Microsoft and Nintendo decline to follow Sony on budget pricing
>> From GamesIndustry.biz:
[QUOTE]
Following yesterday's news that the price of Platinum PS2 games is being slashed to UKP 14.99, Sony's rivals have informed our sister site, Eurogamer, that they have no plans to do the same with their own budget ranges.
"There are no current plans to reduce the pricing of our Xbox Classics range," a Microsoft spokesperson told Eurogamer.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole article on GamesIndustry.biz.
W.I.P. update: X2 Config Maker and KernelBasher
>> From Klutsh on x-projects.org:
[QUOTE]
I thought it was about time you had an update on my current development status.
* X2 Config Maker(info): Having restarted the whole application from scratch I am close to compleation, I'm still no closer to getting a working DLL for it though (DLL is needed for correct LBA48 patching).
* KernelBasher(info): Well as I'm not a c++ coder, this hasn't progressed far at all, the main coder of the application (clogic) hasn't been contactable for sometime now, sorry.
If you could help with ANY programming skill's be it C++ or Action script, just drop a line in the forums.
[/QUOTE]
UK man convicted for chipping Xbox consoles
>> From afterdawn.com:
[QUOTE]
A man in the UK has been convicted of chipping and selling Xbox consoles through his website. The 22 year old is the first man in the UK to be convicted for modifying games consoles. He also fitted the new consoles with a 200GB HDD containing 80 games. He was sentenced to 140 hours community service in Caerphilly Magistrates Court in Wales. "This case sets a major precedent which marks a milestone in the fight against piracy," said games industry spokesman Michael Rawlinson.
He was selling his chipped consoles with the new hard drives containing 80 games for £380 (€561 - US$668). As well as his community service he must also pay £750 in costs.
[/QUOTE]
Read the whole article on afterdawn.com.
Xecuter As Seen On TV (Again)
>> From teamxecuter.com:
[QUOTE]
It seems someone's entry to the X3 Rox My Box Photo entry has come in a little late.
On UK TV (Channel ITV) a drama show called "The Last Detective" has a scene with a large poster of the X3 logo stuck to a steel pillar in the dog track scene.
We have had several emails about it but no screenshots or episode info yet - if you can get a screen shot / episode info / or you were the person behind the stunt - let us know on the forums :-)
[/QUOTE]
New neXgen screens and website
>> From HoRnEyDvL on xboxopensource.com:
[QUOTE]
To follow up with the 2 screens that were posted by Fyb3roptik. I'll give you guys a sneak peak of another 3 screens.
Enjoy! :)
Also hope you like the new website[xboxopensource.com] theme & logo :)
If you got any comments or suggestions please come to our chat room #team-xos on the EFnet server or on our forums.
More pictures: screenshot2 - screenshot3
[/QUOTE]
Major Halo 2 Hacking Forums Close
>> It’s been an interesting 24 hrs in the scene.
With the recent rumblings from Bungie regarding Cheaters/Hacks, there has been a shift in the hack HALO 2 scene. Bungie’s most recent post goes into a fair amount of detail what they are doing about cheats and people who use mods on their service.
From Bungie.com:
[QUOTE]
Our team is aware of the types of activity taking place as well as the websites and individuals who are propagating these files through the community. Anyone who is found to be using hacked tags or modified game content will be PERMANENTLY banned from Halo 2 matchmaking. This is a serious issue and we will not be issuing any warnings. In addition, the Microsoft Legal Team is pursuing any websites or individuals found to be distributing Halo 2 game files or content.
Please note that contrary to some rumors floating around the internet, this does not solely apply to ranked games. Anyone using modified content or hacks in any game of Halo 2 over Xbox Live is subject to the full wrath of the Bungie Banhammer. You have been warned.
endquote
[/QUOTE]
When you read their release, it reads like so many they’ve published in the past. All the same words are there. “we’re doing our best” and “we’re gota lot of members.. blah blah blah”. But, despite all their well meaning words, all you have to do to tell how effective Bungie is at stopping and dealing with the cheaters is to look at their own numbers.
They reported..
[QUOTE]
The Bungie Banhammer has been dropped on nearly 3,200 people to date. Currently, approximately 2,600 players have active bans in place. We realize that this is probably a drop in the bucket but we are continuing to make progress.
[/QUOTE]
Take that number, divide that by the number of days HALO 2 has been on the market, and you’ll see that very few people have been banned for cheating or hacking with Halo 2.
Then the other shoe dropped…
From Halomods.com:
[QUOTE]
As some of you may have read on Bungie's website lately, the cheating problem on Xbox Live has grown out of control. While our moderating team has been vigilant in eliminating any information about these cheats on HaloMods over the past month, I feel the time has come for me to take more drastic measures. Starting today, I have decided to temporarily close both the files forum and the main forum until Bungie releases their next auto-update. From what I hear, this will likely be in the next few weeks. I know this will disappoint many of you, but I think it is better for the long-term health of our community. You may remember a similar situation on the HBO forums when Halo 2 was leaked.
I believe the majority of our community despises what these XBL cheaters have done to ruin the Halo modder's reputation. Modding is supposed to be about being creative and adding new content to our favorite game. We will not tolerate their intrusion into our community.
During this time, the main HaloMods webpage will remain up, so please do your part to help Bungie out. If you see ANYONE using mods on live, please click the "report cheaters" button on the right side of this page. You need to have an account with the main site. In addition, if you find any links with step-by-step tutorials on how to mod and get on XBL, links for warezing the new maps, or cheat ppfs, send the link to cheaters-list@halomods.com. We will forward the information to Bungie so they can take appropriate action.
Even though the forums will be closed, you may still contribute stories to our main page. Our IRC channel will remain open. Again, sorry for the inconvenience this may cause many of you.
[/QUOTE]
Even before those News Posts.. Xbox Scene had been reviewing our own forums, and making sure our house was in order. However, we’ve also seen the changes in our Halo 2 hack forums. A shift in focus from simple mods that people can enjoy and maybe share with a few trusted others.. to a more seedy, underground, less scrupulous user who asks for and researches the myriad methods of possible cheating.
Worse still, these same people have turned the Halo 2 Hacking forum upside down in a short period of time requesting Cheat files, offering Cheat files, while others are offering or can tel you where or how to download Maps. So, with our own XS membership not respecting XS site policy about NO PIRACY (by frequently asking for or attempting to link to files) and with the cheaters making life hell on LIVE and bringing down heat on sites like ours, we’ve decided to follow in the Steps of Halomods and close the Halo 2 Hacking Forums temporarily, and possibly permanently.
It’s with a heavy heart, that things have come down to this. However, we’ve devoted more than enough time and resources working hard to keep XS legal, and above board. We’ll wait and see what and how Bungie deals with the cheaters/hack users. I hope they get their ship in shape and actually do something about the cheating on LIVE. Cause, to date.. their record is piss poor. As a paying member of LIVE, and an owner of many copies of HALO 2 I'm upset and dismayed at how often Bungie continues to drop the ball on the issues of hacks and cheaters.
Bungie may well wish sites like HaloMods and Xbox-Scene didn’t exist, and they may blame us and other sites for their headaches, but until Bungie takes REAL responsibility and starts banning people for cheating and using mods/hacks the problems on Halo 2, and LIVE for that matter will only get worse. Closing our forums, will NOT fix the cheating problem on Halo 2.
Bungie.. Step up, and fix your game. Fix your service!
Editorial I wrote prior to closing the forum.. A Message To Our Members, And To Bungie, regarding the Halo 2 Hacking forums
Robbie Bach Summer 2005 Video Interview
>> The guys over at kikizo.com have an interesting video interview with Robbie Bach, Chief Xbox Officer, Home & Entertainment Division:
[QUOTE]
Extensive video interview with Xbox's top man, on many Xbox 360 topics, including "approachability", world-wide launch factors, the launch price, shortages, all aspects of the hardware, how Xbox strategy has indeed evolved, market leadership timeframe and Xbox in 15 years.
[/QUOTE]
You can download this 25mins video interview on kikizo.com.
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