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Charlie Alan Ratliff

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FaceRig: Avatars, Features, and Omegle-ing

Using just your webcam, FaceRig (Holotech Studios) maps your facial movements onto a virtual avatar of your choice. I check out the beta and explore its current offerings, looking at the avatars, backgrounds, and customization that's available. I end the video by testing the program on Omegle.

 

Here are my impressions I wrote on NeoGAF:

Steam beta keys have been sent out to Indiegogo backers. It'll go into public beta starting tomorrow, at which it'll cost $15. It costs $10 if you preorder.

I messed with the program for a while yesterday and it works pretty well. They decided to include all the virtual avatars they currently have (excluding licensed ones, which can be downloaded later). The thing that surprised me the most is the amount of customization you have over avatars and backgrounds. You can also create your own in a separate modeling program and import them. I also used it on Omegle for a little bit. That was... interesting. I saw one guy on Twitch using the program already.

It's not perfect and they have some kinks to work out. They said they are focused on fixing bugs for the next couple of weeks. 

tags: FaceRig, Holotech Studios, Omegle, Steam, Tech: Videos, 2014, Twitch, Indiegogo
categories: Tech
Thursday 08.28.14
Posted by Charles Alan Ratliff
 

Xbox One Acquired: Setting it up for the very first time (Day One Edition)

In my kitchen. Again.

In my kitchen. Again.

Exactly one week had passed since the launch of the PlayStation 4, and once again I was at my local UPS Customer Center to pick up my Xbox One, a trick I had learned on reddit that would net me the console several hours earlier than if I waited for delivery to my home. I had just dropped off Kitty and White Fluffy Kitty at the vet for boarding, as my brother and I were leaving the next day to visit my mom in Kansas for her birthday and Thanksgiving, returning on November 30th. Eight years ago to the day - November 22nd, 2005 - I was picking up my Xbox 360 from GameStop on my way to Indiana to visit with family and wouldn't get the chance to properly play the console until I got back home and hooked it up to my very first HDTV. Perhaps the next time Microsoft releases a console I'll actually be home to play it!

I did manage to capture myself messing around with the user interface a bit before having to get ready for our flight, along with strapping a GoPro to my forehead beforehand as I drove to UPS and unboxed the console. I wanted to release this on the 22nd but didn't have enough time before leaving for Kansas, though I had managed to livestream my first Xbox Fitness workout. I had ten people watching me exercise. Weird!

Now we're back and I finally play some games!

Here's the video I made, along with relevant timestamps:

 

2:22 - Unboxing the Xbox One

12:37 - Turning it on for the first time

14:00 - Initial setup

24:18 - After the update

24:38 - Kinect setup

28:45 - Setup Complete. Intro video.

30:00 - Home screen

30:30 - "Let us show you around". Xbox One tour.

33:11 - Speech Tutorial

42:19 - Friends

43:07 - Gamerpics

44:37 - Posing for Gamerpic with Avatar

45:58 - Friends continued

47:22 - Jeff Gerstmann's "KI Dance" Game Clip

49:03 - Achievements

53:20 - Brad Shoemaker's "Ryse: Son of Rome" Game Clip

56:28 - Internet Explorer

58:10 - Watching a YouTube video via Internet Explorer

1:01:24 - Totally topical Charlie Sheen jokes by the Xbox One tutorial narrator. Who thought that was a good idea?

1:07:21 - Privacy settings

1:08:16 - Settings

1:16:20 - Customizing Avatar

1:21:00 - "Xbox, Bing Killer Instinct"

1:23:15 - "Xbox, Use a Code" - Scanning Day One Achievement

1:24:06 - Xbox Music

1:28:09 - Xbox Movies & TV

1:29:22 - My appearance as a strip club patron in the We're the Millers trailer

1:32:27 - My games & apps

1:33:27 - Apps

1:36:30 - "Xbox, Snap"

1:39:12 - Twitch

1:40:55 - Trying to Snap Netflix while watching Twitch

1:41:44 - Netflix

1:43:45 - Xbox Fitness

1:49:25 - Snapping Twitch while using Xbox Fitness

1:51:48 - Hulu Plus

tags: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, UPS, reddit, Kitty, White Fluffy Kitty, Mom, Xbox 360, GameStop, Xbox Fitness, Jeff Gerstmann, Killer Instinct, Brad Shoemaker, Ryse, Charlie Sheen, We're the Millers, Netflix, Twitch, Dead Rising 3, Achievements, Eminem, Video Games: Videos, 2013
categories: Video Games
Wednesday 12.04.13
Posted by Charles Alan Ratliff
 

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