Month: October 2007

Halloween is round the corner and every one’s getting involved, including Pacman. The aim in the fantastic PacDoom III is to guide your brave Pacman to the Halloween Party through a series of mazes that are full of tricks and treats. Test your wits against ghouls and ghosts and battle the monsters in your quest to reach the party on time. This game has been enhanced by a fun and easy to use game editor which allows you to create your own levels and scenarios for Pacman.

This is a strategic game for all the family which combines all the addictive elements of the original Pacman with a creepy twist. However, it’s a quirky mix of an arcade classic and a strategy based challenge so it’s not just like the original, requiring a little more thought about how you tackle the maze and obstacles that stand in your way. Creepy hands, ghosts, vampires, skulls, Jack-o-lanterns, wicked brains and spiders await you as you make your way through the depths of the forest, shadowlands plus ancient castles and caves. Can you destroy the dark side and get Pacman to the party on time?

Capturing screenshots is useful for all kinds of reasons from building tutorials to illustrating game and software graphics like we do everyday here at Softonic. Most operate on the same point-and-shoot principle but differ in the number of features they have and how powerful they are. Here’s a handy selection of my top ten screen-capture utilities:

• SnagIt – Capture, share, add special effects and annotate all-in-one

• Super Screen Capture – Excellent for making training videos and tutorials

• TNT Screen Capture – Create enhanced screenshots that sell for publicity purposes

• Freez Screen Video Capture – Record movements and even sounds

• FullShot Screen Capture – Capture entire screens with ease

• Super Screen Capture – Gives you 10 different ways to capture a shot

• Amor Screen Capture – Save your screenshots in a wide range of formats

• CaptureXT Screen Capture – Annotate screenshots to your heart’s content

• Capture My Screen – Screen captures in as few clicks as possible

• My Screen Capture ActiveX – 5 ways to capture shots based on ActiveX

Ever wished you could access your tasks and appointments more quickly on your phone? Well, now you can do so instantly, from your Today screen using this impressive Windows Mobile add-on. Facade adds several new icons to your home screen that provide you with quicker access to your applications and system information.

They say that two heads are better than one, but then they (whoever ‘they’ are) also say that too many cooks spoil the broth. When it comes to building web sites both of these statements can be true. When designing web sites it’s good to get input from a range of designers or content editors in order to hone the finished product into something that is accessible and usable for all. However, it’s also true to say that several people working on the same site at the same time is a recipe for disaster.

If you use Dreamweaver then you’re lucky, because the program’s ‘Check In/Check Out’ feature is perfect for allowing multiple developers to work on a site remotely without interfering with each others’ work. After each of the users has defined a site using the editor, they can access files by checking them out of the server. While a file is checked out it means that no other members of the team can use the file. Once the file is checked back in again it becomes available again. You can enable this function in Dreamweaver simply by selecting the Check In/Check Out option in the Remote Info menu.

iColorFolder enables you to change the color and appearance of folders in Windows XP in a very easy way. Simply right click on the folder you want to customize and select the new skin or color from the context menu. Colourful folders not only give a nicer aspect to Windows File Explorer, but also allow you to categorize data more efficiently and find folders more easily.

It’s only a week to Halloween and here at Softonic we’re all preparing our costumes and treat bags for that magical night. Although this holiday has been traditionally dedicated to children, there’s also a dark side to it. In fact, Halloween is considered as one of the days along the year when spirits are more likely to make contact with the physical world.

Bearing this in mind, we though it would be a good idea to gather some of the scariest games we’ve uploaded to Softonic so far, so that you can have some real fun with these terrifying adventures while you’re waiting for the spirits (or zombies) to drop by. Trick or treat?

• The Suffering: Ties That Bind – Use a deadly arsenal to fight against horrifying monsters
• Clive Barker’s Jericho – Destroy a mysterious force of Evil before it wipes humanity out
• Penumbra – Are you brave enough to unveil the mysteries of your own dark past?
• Anderson and the Legacy of Cthulhu – Get immersed in this playable horror novel
• Bioshock – Only the fittest will survive in this violent city infested with monsters
• The House of the Dead III – Fight waves of horrific zombies in a haunting atmosphere
• F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate – Your mission: hunting down spirits in a lost spaceship
• Infernal – Join the merciless battle between good and evil

Yesterday we brought you a list of the top drawing applications for PC, and a while back Nick wrote about some good programs to use your photos in a 3D digital environment.

Now we’re going to look at the best 3D modeling applications that exist. Whether you’re working in an animation studio, as an architect or on a video game, you have to create detailed 3D models. The following applications are fairly complex and more suited for somebody who has a fair amount of knowledge in design and 3D environments. Let’s take a look at them:

• Cinema 4D – Turns your PC into a real animation studio. Has a real streamlined interface thanks to OpenGL support and non-modal managers. Cinema 4D is excellent when it comes to lighting, materials and interaction between scenes. Its content browser really helps managing multiple projects.
• Google Sketchup – A free and friendlier alternative to 3D modeling apps, Google Sketchup uses simple words instead of technical jargon, making it accessible to anyone. A good collection of tools, more than a 100 material settings and shadows make it a good choice. You can customize your workspace and integrate your models in Google Earth.
• 3DS Max – A classic choice for 3D design and animation professionals, 3DS Max offers loads of advanced modeling tools and pixel perfect control over your models. Also quickly renders your templates.
• Autodesk Maya – An interface divided in tabs and fitted with a useful timeline, many animations and objects make for a great solution for designers. Maya offers in depth tutorials (including video tips) to get you up and running.
• Blender – With a database replete with objects, scenes and instances, a streamlined interface and many animations and effects Blender is one of the best applications you’ll find. Supports OpenGL lighting modes and features Python scripting.
• Art of Illusion – A simple, open source solution for those wanting to get a feel for 3D design.
• AC3D – Quick and with a structured, multi windowed interface, this application allows you to carry out a number of actions such as object annotation, wrap and birdge or polygon reduction.
• Modo – This program is a good combination of realistic paint tools, an advanced 3D polygonal environment and integrated rendering.
• Strate 3D CX – Another top choice this 3D modeling program features polyspline modeling and HDRI textures and lightdome. Can work in conjunction with both Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. A good choice for web designers.
• BodyPaint 3D – Create 3D characters, color them in and add movement and effects with this 3D animation program. Great for video games and cartoons, as it gives you a lot of freedom in the production process.

[Image Source: Wikipedia]

If you were a child in the 80s and didn’t have a ZX Spectrum, then quite frankly you were a bit of a dork. The Sinclair computer is often credited as being the father of videogames and I’m sure most of us can remember a handful of classic games that helped to waste large chunks of our formative years. Revisiting some of these old titles makes you realise just how addictive they were, and here are some of my favourite PC remakes:

• Cybernoid 2 – Get your blaster ready, there’s a whole lotta enemies to destroy
• 3D Live Pool – It’s still pool and it’s still 3D but boy are the graphics better these days
• Blasterball 2 – Arkanoid on steroids
• Deluxe Pacman – He’s 30 years old but the famous yellow blob is still scared of ghosts
• PiX Pang – Faithful remake of the Speccy classic
• Lode Runner – Make haste with the treasure but watch out for guards
• Boulder Dash – Pushing rocks has never been so much fun
• Bomberic2 – Blow stuff up just like Bomberman used to
• Dragon Jumper – Like Frogger but with a dragon
• Echoes – Modern day version of Asteroids with souped-up visuals

There’s a ton of Flash content now out there on the net with everything from YouTube to Google Video using it as the player of choice. However, Flash is not the easiest format to edit in and certainly no good if you want to watch the film on your DVD player. Therefore, here’s a list of the top 5 Flash converters so that you can convert files into the format of your choice:

• Free Video to Flash Converter – For AVI, MPG, WMV and MOV’s

• Anvsoft Flash to Video Converter – Converts to formats suitable for portable devices

• Video to Flash Converter – Control as you convert Flash to AVI format

• AVI2Flash Converter – Change and specify audio setting from AVI to Flash format

• ABC Amber Flash Converter – Flash EXE files so you don’t even need Flash installed