NOW… | Longbox Digital Comics

NOW… | Longbox

The Launch Event at Emerald City Comicon this weekend was fantastic. What was intended to be a ‘low-key’ meet and greet, where we could talk to creators, publishers, and press, rapidly became a non-stop pace that carried through until we stepped into the cab on Sunday for the return flight home. A wonderful convention, and a powerful reminder of why we do this.

As you may have heard via The Beat, there’s this public beta thing. Public Beta in the true sense of the word… anyone can download and register, anyone can access the content in the storefront, or use the library and reader to read the comics in the StoreFront, or import your .cbr and .cbz files.

Over the next couple of days, the edited user manual, as well as a Beta User forum will be made available. The Beta forum will serve as the primary venue for feedback, suggestions, or questions. Until that time, PLEASE read the “Read Me” text that is above the download links. In our experience, if you read and follow those instructions, you will likely have a very easy install and user experience. If not, you may end up with an issue that is already clearly documented on how to get around it… So, take the time and read the instructions please!

This is Public Beta Phase I. Over the next 30-60 days, there will be two more before we are at final release. Each release will be noted here, and through our Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Thanks for your interest, and now… http://drop.io/LongBox_PublicBeta_VI

A Look At The Longbox Beta Launch Bleeding Cool Comic Book News and Rumors

Check out the rest of the article at the link below.

A Look At The Longbox Beta Launch Bleeding Cool Comic Book News and Rumors

A Look At The Longbox Beta Launch
Submitted by Rich Johnston on March 16, 2010 – 8:26 am (0) comments

If you want to look at what may very well be the future of comics, it’s time to download the public Beta version of the comic reading/storage/purchase software application, Longbox. Download it with the links at the bottom of this page and you’re away!

Firstly, if this is a big success, it could be game over for many comic book reportage sites such as this one, as CBR has covered Longbox in its comics news reportage. Hey Rantz, how about a button so people can flip to Newsarama or Comics Alliance of IGN or, hem hem, Bleeding Cool? Or has money already changed hands?

[Press] Padmé Amidala Unravels a Tangled Web of Corruption in an All-New Episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS – This Friday at 9:00pm on Cartoon Network!

When Senator Onaconda Farr dies under suspicious circumstances, Padmé Amidala sets out to find the person responsible – working independently of the efforts of the bureaucratic local inspector. Following a trail of clues, she delves into a dangerous world of backstabbing, lies and corruption. The tangled web of intrigue reaches to the highest levels of the Republic political hierarchy in “Senate Murders,” an all-new episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS airing at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, March 19 on Cartoon Network.

“Many of Padmé’s episodes center around politics, for obvious reasons, and they’re sometimes a departure – to a degree – from the action-packed episodes,” says Catherine Taber, the voice of Padmé in the series. “We try to create a feeling of tension and suspense, but Dave [Filoni] and the writers always include a touch of comedy, as well. It’s an essential element of the classic detective genre that influenced ‘Senate Murders,’ but it’s also such a key ingredient of classic Star Wars. One of the nice things about The Clone Wars is that we hearken back to all of the classic elements that made Star Wars so great, including the political intrigue,” she continues.  “Diplomacy – or the lack thereof – is essential to The Clone Wars, and part of the foundation for the Star Wars Saga. Good and bad, the motivations are so important; these are the reasons people fight. I love the great battle sequences and I love watching things blow up, but it’s all so much better when we know about the quiet conflicts underneath.”

Through rarely in the series’ epic spaces battles or out on the front lines, Padmé’s behind-the-scenes role often serves to shine a light upon the character motivations, revealing the driving forces – and devious machinations – which propel the war itself. Additionally, her own investigations, ambitions and efforts tend to uncover aspects of the conflict altogether unseen by the swashbuckling, headlining heroes.

“In her own way, Padmé brings so much to the larger story. Of course, she’s the reason that Anakin eventually falls to the dark side, and she’s the mother of Luke and Leia – but what I think is really interesting is that she’s such an important foil to many of the characters. It is often through her that we see other central characters illuminated.”

Season One: Common Ground Fact Sheet | Star Trek Online Official Site

Season One: Common Ground Fact Sheet | Star Trek Online Official Site

Season One: Common Ground

Our latest content update, Season One: Common Ground, is releasing shortly. Here’s just a bit of the updates we have headed players’ way.
PVP Updates

* Wargames – Federation players can now participate in PvP against one another to better prepare for the dangers of the battlefield.
* New PvP Map – Explore “Shanty Town,” a brand new Ground Assault map available for both Klingon and Federation players.

Customization

* Off-Duty Uniforms – Experience DS9 in style! Starfleet officers will have the option to change into off-duty outfits to enjoy more casual attire.
* New Stances and Hairstyles – Further customize your Captain by changing his or her hairstyle, or adopting two brand new stances: Stern and Relaxed.
* The Captain’s Log – A web-based application to check in on you and your friends’ Captains and ships.

Ships

* A New Klingon Battle Cruiser – The K’Tanco Battle Cruiser has been made available to Klingon Lieutenant Commanders.
* Klingon Ship Customization – Use the ship tailor to customize your Bird of Prey, Carrier or Raptor.

Missions

* New Fleet Actions Everywhere!
o The Big Dig – Available in Romulan space.
o DS9 Under Siege – The True Way has attacked and boarded DS9. Repel the invasion to save the day.
o Klingons Can Play, Too – Klingon Captains may now access the Crystalline Entity, Big Dig and Breaking the Planet Fleet Actions

Skills

* Respec Is Here – Unhappy with your Captain’s skill point allocation? Use the respec tool to change things up. (Available both in-game and as a C-store item.)
* New Skill: Starship Attack Vectors – Improve your ship’s accuracy and critical hit chance.
* New Skill: Combat Maneuvers – Improve your ship’s evasion and turn rate.
* New Skill: Starship Battle Strategy – Improve your ship’s critical hit severity and damage resistance.

In The C-Store

* New Bridge Variants – All new ways to update your Bridges’ look, available for a low price in the C-Store for both Federation and Klingon ships.
* Federation Ship Variants – New takes on your old favorites, available for a low price in the C-Store.
* Respec – Unhappy with your Captain’s skill point allocation? Use the respec tool to change things up.
* Character Slot – Purchase an additional character slot if you’d like to have more than three characters on your account.
* Rename – Changed your mind about the cool name you chose? Get it legally changed! Recognized across the Alpha Quadrant.
* New Federation Playable Species – Become a Tellarite, Pakled or Rigelian.

This is only a bit of the changes, fixes and updates coming to Star Trek Online in March. Season One: Common Ground will be available in mid-March. For a full list of what will be available in Season One, please visit the Engineering Reports forum. Interested in checking things out early? Visit the Tribble test server forums for early release notes.

STF: The Cure Overview | Star Trek Online Official Site

STF: The Cure Overview | Star Trek Online Official Site

Our latest Special Task Force, “The Cure,” will challenge you and your friends in brand new ways.

After the assault on Starbase 82, both the Klingon Defense Force and Starfleet are on high alert. While there is no official ceasefire, ships from either faction are not actively engaging each other while scouting Borg space.

During a routine sector scan, the KDF detects an antithalon radiation spike in the Vorn system, a planet with a light Klingon presence. The Federation independently identifies the same anomalous readings from the Vorn system and sends a team to investigate.

When you arrive, you learn Vorn is under attack by the Borg, and the entire planet is slowly being assimilated. It’s up to you to save the people on the ground and in the system from certain assimilation. Two factions will face a common threat in “The Cure.”
Quick “The Cure” Facts

* Klingon and Federation players both have access to this Special Task Force.
* Members of different factions will not be able to group with each other.
* It is a daily repeatable mission.
* Purple Mark X gear drops in the mission.
* Mission success provides Marks of Valor, which will be used in a special gear store coming in Season 1: Common Ground (formerly known as “Update 1”).

State of the Game: 03/12/10 | Star Trek Online Official Site

I love this game!

State of the Game: 03/12/10 | Star Trek Online Official Site

A few more weeks of furious post-launch development have passed and we’ve arrived at yet another State of the Game. Does time merely fly, or does it actually warp? I’m not convinced any of us had a chance to notice the days passing between the last State of the Game and now – we’ve been working that hard.

I suppose we’d best jump right into this State of the Game before somebody blinks and we all find ourselves staring at the next State of the Game!
STF: Infected is Live

We pushed our very first Special Task Force live last week. Huzzah! A terrific number of people have played STF: Infected, many have completed it, and some even took a moment to provide excellent feedback.

A reminder for those who waltzed into Infected and realized their error after being promptly obliterated: Special Task Force content is not meant to serve as an Episode players can jump into and plow through without breaking a sweat. STFs take coordination, talent, game experience and familiarity with the specific STF being attempted. Come in with anything less and … well, role-playing space debris probably isn’t the best use of one’s time.

Don’t worry, though! After completing an STF once or twice, a like-experienced pick-up group can assemble and take names. In other words, once the content becomes familiar, “Ms. Jet Boots” won’t hand your PuG its collective hat.
Of Bugs, Issues and Fixes

We know Star Trek Online has its share of issues. We see support tickets, we see forum reports, and we see issues when we play and enjoy the game in our own time. Please keep the feedback coming. It is extremely valuable.

It’s important to reiterate that we are, by no means, only adding content to the game. We continue diligently squashing bugs and making moment-to-moment gameplay better.

In order to keep you informed – so you don’t feel like your reports have fallen into some kind of horrible oblivion – our tireless Producer, Daniel “dStahl” Stahl, has started the “Engineering Report.”

The Engineering Report provides detail about what we’re working on and where that work falls in the development pipeline. Dan’s Engineering Report is regular, so you will see exactly what we’re knocking down and you will then see improvements moving through the development pipeline.

Please check out the most recent report right here.
Tribble Live

Tribble, our Public Test Shard (PTS for short), is finally live! Cue a collective sigh of development team relief.

Birthing Tribble took a little longer than predicted, but the Public Test Shard is up and running.

It’s such a relief to have Tribble operational; we can now publish in-game changes and new features to a secure testing environment to get hands-on player feedback before releasing said changes and features to Holodeck. The “straight to live” method might be hilarious fun for games developers who enjoy being completely overwhelmed by uncontrollable terror, but publishing to Tribble first is definitely the right practice.

See an issue or feature in the Engineering Report that you want to be absolutely sure we’re getting right? Just want to try the latest and greatest before everyone else? Want to feel “teh l33t, lol” and collect more fodder for forum posts? Copy your current Holodeck character to Tribble and play on the PTS right now!

This second, we have a preliminary build for Season One – Common Ground running on Tribble. If new content of this sort is interesting to you, and you would like to better help us improve Star Trek Online, please check this link for more Tribble information.
Season One – Common Ground Coming Soon

Our first major update to Star Trek Online (because the patches, STF content and Gamma Orionis content we already released is just a start) is right around the corner. It’s only been about five weeks since launch, and Season One – Common Ground is prepped to launch.

A preliminary build is on Tribble (see above for details). Expect the Common Ground build on the Tribble test environment to be updated many times over the next week as we intend to open up features, polish content and stomp the bugs our coolest users *cough* Try Tribble Now! *cough* are finding.

Respecs, new PvP maps, new Fleet Actions, another STF … Season One – Common Ground is pretty-pretty-pretty robust.
Transparency Forward!

General advisory: All Cryptic hands are hereby instructed to reconfigure comm. badges to broadcast.

What does that mean? Our devs are on the forums more, we’re sharing what we’re working on in a variety of ways and we’re publishing a calendar. The goal? Be as transparent as possible. We’re going to tell you what we’re doing as often as we can. We’re going to give you the date we’re shooting for on the calendar, even if it ends up slipping. We’re going to tell you the bug we’re squashing, even if it’s a resilient bugger. We’re going to show you that your subscription to Star Trek Online is a subscription to an ongoing service of tremendous value.

For example, we’ve recently posted and updated the “Upcoming Events Calendar.”

It’s improving, too. Soon, each item will link to its own descriptive page. A better style calendar was just published, also.

So, rather than waiting until everything is done, finalized, blasted into sacred stone and prepped for PR and marketing — the traditional way of operating — we’re going to post what we’re planning on doing as soon as we finish planning it. It’s risky, yes, but it’s definitely the right thing to do.

We believe our customers and co-developers of Star Trek Online – you beautiful people – deserve to know what’s in store for the universe. We believe it’s more important to let you know what we’re striving to accomplish, even if we stumble, than it is to package releases in fancy boxes for easy, last-minute consumption.

Here’s the drawback: Some of that information may, ultimately, turn out to be inaccurate. Dates move, items change, content gets revised. Delays, cuts, iterations, early releases … Oh, my! That’s games development for you. We’re hoping everyone understands this and still appreciates the rare look at how interstellar sausage gets made.

Some of the items on the coming soon list – Season Two and Season Three, specifically – are a little vague right now. But, we want you to know they’re coming and when they’re coming. As time goes on, we’ll fill out the calendar with more information.

Best I can tell, this is a pretty unique strategy, as far as MMOs go. “Telling the customers what we’re working on well beforehand so they know where their game is going.” So darn crazy it just … might … work!
Your Feedback, Our Job

For your edification, here are the results of the player survey that some 40,000 of you wonderful players graciously filled out for us.

Obviously, more non-combat content and ship interiors are hot items. Rest assured, we are forming our next update around those core concepts.

Expect more polls and surveys in the future. Still plenty of questions to be answered. For example:

1. “What new playable faction do you want?”
2. “What current content would you like to see more of?”

Because we intend our fans to directly impact development and we intend to address your concerns and implement your requests, we’ll do more surveys, release the results and move in the right direction.

Our entire team continues to look forward to resolving your most important issues and getting the exciting content and systems in that you request.

Until when next we boldly go,
Salute!

[Press] “COMIC BOOK LITERACY” PREMIERES AT CHICAGO’S C2E2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Todd Kent
214-287-8219
comicbookliteracy@hotmail.com

“COMIC BOOK LITERACY” PREMIERES AT CHICAGO’S C2E2
Documentary feature film showcases the utilization of comic books to promote literacy and education

CHICAGO, IL – The independent documentary feature film “Comic Book Literacy” will make its world premiere at C2E2 – The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo.  The film will screen on Sunday April 18th at 1:45.  After the screening there will be a Q&A with the film’s director Todd Kent.

“Comic Book Literacy” emphasizes the positive attributes of a misunderstood medium.  The film features appearances by comic book writers and artists such as Paul Dini, Scott McCloud, Terry Moore, Joe Quesada, Jim Salicrup, Gail Simone and Art Spigeleman as well as historians and scholars who discuss the role comics play in education in both an historical and contemporary context.

“Many, many people we spoke with attributed their love of reading to comic books,” Kent said, “And we are thrilled to be able to share that excitement and spread the good word about comics.”

Kent added, “C2E2 is a great fit for the film and we’re honored to be a part of it.”  Topics in the film include visual literacy, vocabulary and even science and history, the learning of which can be enhanced with the help of comics.

There are plans to screen the film at film festivals and comic book conventions throughout the year with the goal of obtaining a wide release distribution.

“We also hope to spread the word about what a great educational resource comics are,” said Kent, “All teachers should have some comics in their utility belt.”

For more information about the film, upcoming screenings, and updates go to: www.ComicBookLiteracy.com

[Press] Comics Fighting Cancer!

As some of you might know, I lost my brother Brian to cancer in 2002, so this is a cause close to my heart.  I have been asked to do a review of this when it comes out, and I will be honored to do so.

Comics Fighting Cancer is a new way to donate to fight cancer! All Profits will go towards The National Foundation for Cancer Research. What makes this project unique is the fact that our comic is completely donor funded. Every page of this comic was paid for by people wanting to create a change and find a cure for cancer. We hope you will join us in the fight against cancer.

How can you help?

You can help by buying our Comics Fighting Cancer products and spreading the word about this project. The number one thing is that we need people to get involved in this project. With more people talking about this project, we increase our chances of success.

Where can I purchase Comics Fighting Cancer products?

These products will be available in multiple retail outlets across the United States. These locations will be announced on our website. You may also purchase these products on our website and various outlets online. We will have both physical and digital copies available for sell of RIP #1.
Brief Summary Of RIP No.01

Two years ago he lost everything that he had ever loved. The vampires took her from him and he wants her back. It is their unusual appetite and uncontrollable cravings that set them apart from the ones that they hunt, but to the humans, they look somewhat normal. He knows better. With the help of high tech friend Chet and the curiously flawless and sexy Anaya, RIP will not stop until he gets his wife back, along with all of the missing. However, after RIP finds out that local doctors and scientists have become a few of the many that were taken, he begins to fear for the purity of the entire human race. With the motivation and power to kill any vampire that stands in his way, and the knowledge of exactly how to do it, RIP becomes an unstoppable force that not even the many faces of immortality can match.

More Information is available on our website

www.BlackSnakeStudios.com

Engineering Report – March 11, 2010 – Star Trek Online Forums

Engineering Report – March 11, 2010 – Star Trek Online Forums

Default Engineering Report – March 11, 2010
For more information about Engineering Reports, see the “What are Engineering Reports?” thread at the top of the Forum.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________

Tribble Test Server is Live
Many updates and fixes are now available for player testing on the new Tribble Test Server. Instead of redundently listing all of the fixes in this report – please refer to the latest Tribble Release Notes for a complete run down of everything open for testing. This report will primarily focus on items not yet available for public testing.

In Testing

* Respec
* STF “The Cure”
* Mission fixes for State of Q
* iPVP Assault Map fixes
* New C-Store Items
* Fixes for “Caves of Fire”
* Renaming your @name
* Fix for players trapped in TRAPPED

Under Investigation

* Maps not zooming properly
* Loading screens freezing the client
* UI Latency
* Sol System and Earth Space Dock loading times
* Players not getting credit for completing “Infected”
* Weapon powers getting stuck and unable to fire
* Klingon Carriers
* Critical Hits
* Antiproton Procs
* Items that cannot be equipped
* Loot that cannot be picked up
* Stores not selling items that players expect to be able to buy
* Feedback Pulse
* /Stuck Command
* Option for players to turn off shield rings
* PVP scoring updates to include shield healing
* Bridge officer candidates stuck in bank

In Development

* Difficulty Slider
* Death Penalty
* Full Autofire in Space
* Memory Alpha Update
* Commodity Mission Revamp
* New Special Task Forces
* Accolade System
* Exchange Improvements
* Squad Leading (Cross Level Teaming “Sidekicking”)
* Episode Replay
* Trading Existing Bridge Officers
* Random Bridge Officer Requisition
* Dabo Minigame
* Klingon Joined Trill
* TOS/Mirror U Female Uniforms

Tribble Release Notes – March 10, 2010 – Star Trek Online Forums

Tribble Release Notes – March 10, 2010 – Star Trek Online Forums

Tribble Release Notes – March 10, 2010
Hello Captains,

Welcome to the cutting edge of Star Trek Online. Please note that the below list represents what is in the current version of the Update 1 build on Tribble and not all of what you should expect to see in Update 1. We will continue to release the remaining Update 1 features to Tribble when we feel that they have seen enough internal QA testing to warrant showing all of you.

On to the notes!

New for Tribble
General

* The C-Store is disabled on Tribble. Players will be able to view and select items but purchases will not complete.
* New Starfleet Bridge Officer Rewards: Tellarite, Rigelian, and Pakled. Tellarite officers are also offered at the personnel store.
* Klingon players are now able to access their own star clusters.

PvP

* A new PvP ground assault map is available for all factions: Shanty Town.
* Fed vs. Fed PvP (Wargames) has been opened up for many maps and game types.
* New “Random Map” queues for PvP. Select queues by game type rather than individual maps.
* Assimilation Warzone Maps are now accessible from the Otha System in the Eta Eridani Sector Block and the Qay’ghun System in the Omega Leonis Sector Block.

Captain costumes and customization

* New alien customization options
* New hairstyles
* Added the new stances, Stern and Relaxed, to the costume tailor

Ships and Customizations

* The K’Tanco class Battle Cruiser in now available for Klingons starting at Lt Commander rank.
* The specifications of the K’Tanco Battle Cruiser have been added to the Klingon Empire ship database on Qo’noS.
* New bridges and bridge variants for Klingon faction players.
* Bird of Prey config 1 may now be customized at a ship customization contact on Qo’Nos.
* Raptor config 4 may now be customized at a ship customization contact on Qo’Nos.

Missions and Locations

* Fleet actions are now level banded to make scoring fairer and more challenging for all players. Players who enter a fleet action mission will be sent to an instance with players within a specific level range and enemies on the map will be scaled appropriately. Rewards are also now scaled based on the level band of the Fleet Action you are sent to. This change also makes many Fleet Actions playable for all levels of players, although Fleet Actions still have a minimum level requirement based on the initial mission that offers you the Fleet Action.
* Fleet Action: The Big Dig – is a new Fleet Action available in Romulan Space
* Fleet Action: DS9 Under Siege – is a new Fleet Action available to Federation officers at level 29
* Klingon players may now compete in the Crystalline Entity Fleet Action in the Qutmut System in the Omega Leonis block.
* Klingon players may now compete the Big Dig Fleet Action in the Tiqchirgh System in the Omega Leonis block.
* Klingon Players may now compete in the Breaking the Planet Fleet Action in the Teroka System in the Omega Leonis block.
* A Neutral Faction Bar has opening in the Drozana System in the Klingon/Federation Neutral Zone. Players of both factions may now socialize together before they return to battle.

Audio

* Klingon ship computer notifications will be appropriate for the Klingon Faction

Powers and Skills

* Starship Captain Skills: Updated starship captain skills that only affected a single ship type. These skills now provide 25% of their stat improvement to higher tier ships of the same category (cruiser, escort, etc.) This update addresses the concern that Commander and Captain rank starship caption skills were wasted skill points once the player moved into their next tier of ship.
* New Skill – Starship Attack Vectors: Improves starship accuracy and crit chance.
* New Skill – Starship Combat Maneuvers : Improves starship attack evasion and turn rate.
* New Skill – Starship Battle Strategy : Improves starship crit severity and damage resistance.
* Ability Modifier Changes – Attack Pattern Alpha, Beta, Delta, Omega: These abilities are now modified by Starship Attack Vectors, Starship Combat Manuevers, and Starship Battle Strategy.
* Ability Modifier Changes – Fire on my Mark: This ability is now modified by Starship Attack Vectors, Starship Combat Maneuvers, and Starship Battle Strategy.
* Ability Modifier Changes – Tactical Initiative: This ability is now modified by Starship Command, Starship Combat Maneuvers, and Starship Battle Strategy.
* Ability Modifier Changes – Go Down Fighting: This ability is now modified by Starship Command, Starship Combat Maneuvers, and Starship Battle Strategy.
* Training Node Changes – Attack Pattern Beta III: This ability is now earned by learning rank 9 of Starship Combat Maneuvers for Tactical Captains.
* Training Node Changes – Attack Pattern Omega III: This ability is now earned by learning rank 9 of Starship Battle Strategy for Tactical Captains.
* Ground Stealth Changes: Updated ground stealth to be more in line with space cloak game play. Stealth Module is now a toggle power with unlimited duration, but combat actions cannot be performed while using stealth. Stealth Module is no longer perfect stealth. Its strength is variable based on its version and enemies will be able to detect you at close range. Several abilities can now be used to counter stealth. Tricorder Scan, Target Optics, and Fire on my Mark all now have a stealth debuff element. Engineering fabrications (turrets, mortars, drones) have enhanced perception that can detect an enemy using stealth at longer range. Fire on my Mark in space has also gained a stealth debuff element, making it easier to detect cloaked ships while marked.

Animation

* Players now have access to more emotes!

UI and Controls

* Your ship hull indicator now shows the ship silhouette of your current ship as well as a tooltip giving the ship type
* Chat: The Emote submenu now disappears when an emote is selected, but can be “pinned” by a button press to turn into a moveable persistent window

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