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Out of Pod Experience

 
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Next level awesomeness or gimmick?

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valerydarcy
Doomheim
#1 - 2011-09-24 17:17:48 UTC
Ok, so I'm currently undergoing what is turning into a slightly drawn out process of designing my new rig ahead of returning to Eve later this year. One thing I have stumbled upon which seems to be a relatively new setup is amBX Gaming lighting. Very similar to the ambiance lighting that comes with some new high end TV's. I can see how these would add to the experience when playing FPS or other games with a lot of explosions and intense lighting variations- but I suppose question is, how effective or not do you think these would be as an addition to the eve experience? Even better, if anyone's used them, would be good to have a first hand review.

amBX

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IHaveCandyGetInTheVan69
Crouching Woman Hidden Cucumber
#2 - 2011-09-24 20:02:56 UTC
Given that most of the eve backdrop is black, unless they can somehow project shadow I'd vote they won't really make any difference to your eve gameplay
valerydarcy
Doomheim
#3 - 2011-09-24 20:08:55 UTC
I was thinking more in terms of different system colours, warping past suns etc..

Also, be interested to hear from a Dev if there are any plans to make the game amBX compatible in the future?

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Barbelo Valentinian
Federal Navy Academy
Gallente Federation
#4 - 2011-09-24 20:11:28 UTC
Ah, but what about the 'splosions and laz0rs? They ought to "cast" ambient light around. I could imagine it would be quite yummy.
Morganta
The Greater Goon
#5 - 2011-09-24 20:23:51 UTC  |  Edited by: Morganta
ok, but you do realize for this to work you need to put architectural LED lighting and controls in the house.

amBX is a control system that runs leds on the same control circuit and tries to best match either video, audio or both in the colors of the lights.

if you want to rip up your walls and spend thousands on led strips and control heads go for it, I bet it would kick ass

nm, I see they have heads for sale. Still.. it could be neat it could be cheesy, and it might not work with eve anyhow since it probably needs something in the code of the game from the look of it.
http://www.ambx.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=137


Great for a quiet evening with the GF though
valerydarcy
Doomheim
#6 - 2011-09-24 20:27:43 UTC
Not exactly no.. this just creates an ambient backdrop around your monitor. You can add additional lamps if you want to create a surround '3d' effect- no need to rip up any walls. This works best with games that actually directly support the hardware, but for those that dont the software that comes with the lamps creates the next best thing.

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Morganta
The Greater Goon
#7 - 2011-09-24 20:33:39 UTC
yeah, I saw what I missed,

meh, its fine if you can afford it and you like the effect
great for parties too

I do a lot of work with stage LEDs and they can be really fun, so I kind of like the idea, but it looks a little cheap, then again the fixtures i use run $1200 per without the control head so most anything in the realm of DJ ir consumer lighting looks a little cheesy

the heads they sell have one benefit which is the diffusion layer over the leds, this way you don't see spots of bright color on the wall. I didn't see the monitor backlight (wash)

what do they want for it?
valerydarcy
Doomheim
#8 - 2011-09-24 20:40:29 UTC
Morganta wrote:


what do they want for it?


You mean price?? Annoyingly, they sell in the US for $99 and in the UK for £89, which seems unfair, but hey ho. £89 isn't the end of the world, just means either the US have a very good deal or the UK have a very bad deal.

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Shahirahh Orgasana
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#9 - 2011-09-24 21:00:09 UTC  |  Edited by: Shahirahh Orgasana
This is a variation on something called "bias lighting", which is, as the OP said, used on some high-end HDTVs. They project colored lighting on the wall behind a flat-panel screen. Both those TVs and the amBX system change the color and intensity of the light to reflect the on-screen action, but bias lighting in general need not be so dynamic.

Simply having ANY light flooding the wall behind the monitor can make the picture's blacks appear deeper, improve perceived contrast, and reduce eyestrain. Naturally, you wouldn't get the "wow" factor with a simple static lighting setup, but it really does make staring at the monitor easier on the eyes, especially when watching it in a dimly-lit or dark room.
Mystic5hadow
Koku Uchu Industries
#10 - 2011-09-24 22:43:25 UTC
I have the Mad Catz amBX PC Gaming lights. I use them for EvE as well as videos and anything else that uses DirectX.
If you like ambient lighting, then you'll love them. You can set them to a color that you want, or to work with whatever is on screen in a game or movie and they work to great affect and the change in colors is seamless and changes as fast as the colors on screen.

They're pretty pricey though at $100, but I think they are totally worth it. You get two light pods which will do their best to display what colors are on the left and right side (or whatever side/angle you determine in the control panel) of whatever DirectX program you happen to be using.

Also, you can make custom lighting effects for different stuff, like when you plug in a USB device, open a certain program, press a certain key, etc. etc. Some games, like Brother in Arms, use the lights to tell you you're low on health by flashing red.

Overall, I think they're totally worth it. I love the ambient light behind my monitors.

Also, if you're a big fan of RPG's and whatnot, just picture walking in a dark dungeon, passing by a torch on your right, as you pass by, the amBX lights cast that light from the torch on the wall behind your screens (or wherever you point the right side light), slowly getting brighter as your approach it, then dimming as you get further away. It's really quite amazing to see.
Dradius Calvantia
Lip Shords
#11 - 2011-09-25 06:45:09 UTC
I have heard that EVE at one time claimed supported the Allienware equivalent of this, allowing you to do things such as cause the leds to flash when warp scrambled, or to change colors while your HP bled.

Everyone I talked to who tried it said that it was extremely unreliable, working maybe one time out of one hundred.
CCP Spitfire
C C P
C C P Alliance
#12 - 2011-09-25 08:19:22 UTC
Moved from 'EVE General Discussion".

CCP Spitfire | Marketing & Sales Team @ccp_spitfire