Back in the 1980, when computers were expensive, far more basic and far less capable, a number of computers that tried to keep everything simple gained cult followings. The landmark of these was the ZX Spectrum, a simple plug-in-to-your-TV affair which was inexpensive (for its time), but had a wide variety of uses and many additional options such as modems and printers. It also was easy to develop for thanks to its simple BASIC programming language, which caused it to turn a number of children, teenagers and adults working in their bedrooms overnight into game and software developers; and the ZX quickly gained a following in Britain as an early game console with classic home-grown hits such as Elite, R-Type and Manic Miner.

A 3D model of the ZX Vega Controller, which may not be the final design. Image courtesy IndieGoGo.

Flash forward to today, and now – thanks to efforts by Retro Computers – the Spectrum is being reintroduced to a modern audience. The Sinclair Spectrum Vega is an all-in-one controller and console that's styled after the original, but uses modern advancements to reduce the cost and streamline the design. While designed to look similar to the most well-known and iconic of the original Spectrum designs, with that classic rainbow motif in the corner, the Vega's design is focused solely on playing those classic Spectrum games of old, to the extent that the full QWERTY keypad of old has been simplified to just the five most commonly-used buttons – R, F, S, 1 and 2 – plus a brand new D-Pad for directional control and a dedicated "Reset" function.

Retro Computers – a startup backed by Sinclair Research, the company founded by ZX Spectrum inventor Sir Clive Sinclair – are pitching the new computer on IndieGoGo after successfully completing a prototype model of the device. The company are aiming for an initial production run of just 1,000 of the new devices, and are asking for £100,000 ($157,115 USD) to begin work; with pledges of £100 ($157 USD) or more bagging one of the first models. Retro Computers says it'll come with 1,000 games pre-installed and support additional Spectrum titles loaded from an SD card, plus further free games are planned to be added down the line.

[Via Technically Motivated]

There are some uses of multiple accounts allowed in the game of EVE Online, and CCP have recently come out to clarify just what those allowed uses are and what will not be tolerated.

You’re allowed to have multiple accounts/subscriptions and even play them at the same time with the use of multiboxing software. There are many legitimate uses of this play style, including sending accounts ahead as scout parties and gang boosting. It’s also the cornerstone tactic of the ‘noble’ art of spying in the game of EVE, using smaller accounts to join the ranks of enemy corporations to keep an eye on their activities while your main account is active in the one you support.

However, other uses are not allowed. One, input automation which was banned way back in March 2013, is still very much illegal. This is when you use a bot to control an account and do actions for you, such as mining or looking after the time-consuming ore refining tasks. Now Input Broadcasting and Input Multiplexing have also been banned from list of allowed actions to take with multiple accounts – although only if they are performing actions that have an impact on the game’s built-in universe. Anything like altering EVE Online client settings and the positioning and arrangements of the client within your system’s desktop environment are fine.

The first bans for IB and IM will happen from January 1st 2015, with the first occurrence resulting in a ban of 30 days and the second ban being a permanent one. If you aren’t sure about something you are currently doing with your accounts, CCP recommend you ask them before you continue to do it lest you get hit by these penalties.

It’s been quite a week for card reveals. There’s at least two cards in this bunch that have me excited (hint: they’re the Hunter class cards) and Blizzard have confirmed that there might be an ‘Ogre’ card for every class, each one with a 50% chance of hitting the wrong opponent – Ogres aren’t really knowqn for targeted attacks after all.

So here’s your cards for this week!

  Scarlet Purifier

Minion, 3 mana cost, 4 attack and 3 health. Battlecry deals 2 damage to all Deathrattle Minions.

  Demonheart

Spell, 5 mana cost. Deals 5 damage to a Minion, but gives it +5/+5 instead if it is a friendly Demon Minion.

  Sabotage

Spell, 4 mana cost. Destroys a random enemy minion and Combo destroys opponent’s weapon too.

  Antique Healbot

Mech Minion, 5 mana cost, 3 attack and 3 health. Battlecry restores 8 health to your Hero.

  Burly Rockjaw Trogg

Minion, 4 mana cost, 3 attack and 5 health. Gains +2 Attack every time the opponent casts a spell.

  Ogre Ninja

Minion, 5 mana cost, 6 attack and 6 health. Stealth. Has a 50% chance of attacking wrong enemy.

  Dunemaul Shaman

Minion, 4 mana cost, 5 attack and 4 health. Windfury. Overload (1). Has a 50% chance of attacking wrong enemy.

  Crackle

Spell, 2 mana cost. Overload (1). Deals 3-6 damage.

  Steamwheedle Sniper

Minion, 2 mana cost, 2 attack and 3 health. Your Hero Power can target minions. (only works with Hunter)

  Druid of the Fang

Minion, 5 mana cost, 4 attack and 4 health. Battlecry transforms this Minion into a 7/7 if you have a Beast.

  Feign Death

Spell, 2 mana cost. Triggers all Deathrattles on your Minions.

  Lil’ Exorcist

Minion, 3 mana cost, 2 attack and 3 health. Taunt. Battlecry gains this Minion +1/+1 for every enemy Deathrattle Minion.

After having to lay off some staff thanks to a deal falling through, Double Fine have made an announcement to the backers of their crowd-funded Broken Age game series. It’s not too major though, there’ll just be a slightly longer weight for the second part.

The game will be in alpha by the end of the year and that means that release won’t happen until sometime early next year. While Double Fine says in the backer update that delivered the news that the team is working “super fast” and that the game is looking good, they want to give it the time it needs to be perfect.

“The goal now is to get all the finale work done so we can hit Alpha on all of Act 2 by the end of the year… That means, as you may have guessed based on recent updates and documentary episodes, the Act 2 ship that will deliver the complete adventure is now looking like it will be early next year.”

The original project idea was for a single game with a target set at $400,000, one that it far surpassed making around $2.9 million over. The game was later split into two parts, with the first part being received quite well.

Information about Telltale Games’ virtual rendering of the Game of Thrones series has slowly been trickling out to the public in recent weeks. Screencaps, a vague placement of a release date and information about when the games will be set and which family they’d be following have all emerged. Now we have one of those points clarified: a proper release date.

The first episode in the series has been named as Iron From Ice for a while now and listed on Steam for a release sometime in December. Telltale finally gave a date via a tweet and has since been dropping more bits of news, including a trailer due to debut tomorrow:

 

FULL Launch Trailer for #GameOfThrones: A @TelltaleGames Series hits 12/1. Your Story Begins 12/2. #IronFromIce pic.twitter.com/z5OHKHy2Op

— Telltale Games (@telltalegames) November 27, 2014

The game will release on the 2nd of December for PC and Mac, the 3rd for Xbox One, 360 and PS4 and the 4th for the iOS. The game will follow the members of the House Forrester as they seek to maintain themselves during the War of the Five Kings.