EVE Online Retribution Announced, Detailed

Chances are you've probably read more about EVE Online than you've played it. Approaching its 10-year anniversary, the spaceship-filled MMO from CCP Games has only grown each year, and the team predicts that 2013 will be their biggest yet with the free upcoming expansion EVE Online: Retribution.

Retribution is CCP's attempt to make EVE a bit more approachable, as well as update systems that just aren't working all that well. Most notably, the team is changing up the Bounty Hunting and Crimewatch systems. The new bounty system will allow players to not only place marks on users, but also corporations and alliances. The Crimewatch system will now have very easy-to-understand symbols that show you what level of crime you've committed and tell you the consequences at a glance. Additionally, Crimewatch is being redesigned so that there are less loopholes for players to commit crimes and then take actions that game the intended system. CCP loves emergent gameplay, but they really want Retribution to emphasize the idea that every action has a tangible consequence.

Other changes coming in the December 4th expansion are tweaks to the Factional Warfare system, revamped art and graphics for ships, a new mining frigate, four new destroyers (one for each faction), NPC AI improvements, better UI, a "Weapon Safety" feature that will prevent new players from accidentally committing crimes and the opening up of some of the studio's CREST API to see what users can do with it. CCP also wants to do some rebalancing, with boosts to early warfare, as well as improvements to the role and progression systems for ships.

Anthony Gallegos is an Editor on IGN's PC team. He enjoys scaring the crap out of himself with horror games and then releasing some steam in shooters like Blacklight and Tribes. You can follow him on Twitter and on IGN.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com Read More

Obama team tweets campaign message on 9/11 anniversary, day bodies returned from Libya

President Obama and his re-election team marked the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks and events related to the killing of four Americans abroad that day with a slate of official and somber events. But they also took to Twitter for some campaign business on both days.

"The election is in eight weeks. Sign up to volunteer," reads the first tweet, on Wednesday, the 11th anniversary of the deadly attacks, from @BarackObama.

The tweet went out at 7:07 a.m. President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama then appeared on the White House South Lawn and bowed their heads at 8:46 a.m. --  the exact time the first hijacked plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The event was followed by the president and first lady laying a wreath at the Pentagon, where the third plane struck.

The Obama campaign declined to comment Saturday for this story.

The second tweet, about a sale of Obama apparel, was posted Friday, about 30 minutes before Obama arrived at Andrews Air Force Base to welcome home the bodies of the four Americans – including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens -- killed at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

"You would expect nothing less from a president whose priorities have been misplaced ever since he came to office," Paul Lindsay, communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Saturday.

The second tweet read: "Winter is coming, but these sweatshirts are perfect for fall."

Source : foxnews[dot]com Read More

US officials investigate whether strike on Benghazi post 'coordinated,' timed for 9/11 anniversary

U.S. officials are investigating whether the murder Tuesday of the U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other American officials was a "coordinated" strike timed for the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks -- and not the result of a protest against an anti-Islam film.

A senior administration official told Fox News they are exhaustively investigating every angle of the attack in Benghazi, and an earlier assault on the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, and there are early signs the Benghazi assault may have been planned. The official cautioned, though, that the administration has not jumped to any conclusions about what happened, saying it would be "premature" to do so. 

But current and former U.S. lawmakers, and others, claimed Wednesday that the attack looked like a coordinated strike. 

"Absolutely, I have no doubt about it. It was a coordinated, military-style, commando-type raid," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers told Fox News. Based on his own briefings, Rogers said "military movements" were involved. 

"This was a well- planned, well-targeted event. No doubt about it," Rogers said. He said the Al Qaeda-linked Imprisoned Omar Abdul Rahman Brigades is one group being looked at by officials. 

Pete Hoekstra, former chairman of the House intelligence committee, told FoxNews.com the attack appeared to have the markings of an Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda-affiliated strike. 

"We've been talking for years about the desire of Al Qaeda, radical jihadists to celebrate the anniversary of 9/11," he said. "All my background, all of the conversations that I've had over the last 18 hours lead many people to believe that this was just more than a mere coincidence." 

Hoekstra noted that the supposed protesters -- purportedly angry over a film that ridiculed Islam's Prophet Muhammad -- didn't attack in Tripoli. They attacked in Benghazi, "where it so happens our ambassador is." And they happened to be "fully armed and fully equipped," he said. 

Hoekstra noted that Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri had recently released a video calling on militants to attack Americans in revenge for the killing of an operative in Pakistan. The message said his "blood is calling on you, inciting you to fight and kill the crusaders." 

Hoekstra said the film may have been just a cover to carry out such an attack. 

Two intelligence officials also said the attack looked "coordinated." 

London-based think tank Quilliam reached the same conclusion, saying the Benghazi strike appeared to be a "well-planned terrorist attack that would have occurred regardless of the demonstration (over the film)." 

Also, the brother of Zawahri was nearby during the separate protest at the American Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday. 

A few lawmakers on Capitol Hill appeared skeptical of the film explanation. "The timing of this on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11 is more than just coincidence," Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said in a statement. 

The FBI is investigating the attack and the deaths of American personnel. A U.S. military aircraft is expected to leave from Libya soon with the wounded and bodies of the dead aboard. 

President Obama, meanwhile, condemned the "outrageous and shocking" attack Wednesday, as he and other officials vowed to "bring justice" to the killers while moving quickly to bolster security in Libya and at other diplomatic posts. 

"Make no mistake. Justice will be done," Obama said, speaking from the Rose Garden alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 

Obama and Clinton both condemned the killers, while stressing that the U.S. bond with the Libyan government would not suffer as a result. 

"Make no mistake. We will work with the Libyan government to bring justice to killers who attack our people," Obama said, adding:  "There is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence. None." 

Stevens was killed Tuesday night when he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff. The protesters were firing gunshots and rocket-propelled grenades. 

Obama and Clinton offered new details Wednesday about the chaotic aftermath. They said some Libyans tried to fight to defend the U.S. post while it was under attack, even carrying Stevens' body to a hospital. The Libyan doctor who treated Stevens also told The Associated Press that he died of severe asphyxiation, apparently from smoke inhalation, and that he tried for 90 minutes to revive him. There continue to be conflicting reports about the circumstances of Stevens' death. 

Clinton, speaking from the State Department, called the tragedy "an attack that should shock the conscience of people of all faiths."
Obama, in a statement Wednesday morning, said he's directed the administration to provide "all necessary resources" to support security for U.S. personnel in Libya and to increase security at diplomatic offices around the world. 

The White House and Congress ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in the wake of the tragedy. The House also held a moment of silence for the victims Wednesday afternoon. 

The State Department identified one of the other three Americans killed as Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith, a husband and father of two who had worked for the State Department for 10 years. The U.S. government is still notifying the next of kin for the other two individuals killed, and has not identified them. 

Stevens was appointed as ambassador to Libya in May 2012. 

He served as a special representative to the Libyan Transitional National Council during the revolution in 2011, and as the deputy chief of mission from 2007 to 2009. 

U.S. officials remain on alert for violence at other diplomatic posts. 

Fox News' Catherine Herridge, Ed Henry and Bret Baier and FoxNews.com's Judson Berger and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source : foxnews[dot]com Read More

For New York Times, 9/11 anniversary not fit for front page

For The New York Times, the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was not news fit to print – at least not on the front page.

America’s “paper of record," headquartered just three miles north of Ground Zero, dramatically scaled back its coverage of the latest anniversary of the attacks, in which terrorist flew planes into the Twin Towers, killing thousands. In typical Times fashion, the decision sparked hand-wringing and introspection among the Old Gray Lady’s top brass.

“In subsequent years, we do have to mark these moments, but it will be in a more modest way.”

- Carolyn Ryan, New York Times metropolitan editor

“Some anniversaries offer a natural reflection point,” Metropolitan Editor Carolyn Ryan told Margaret Sullivan, the paper’s public editor, an on-the-payroll watchdog. “Last year’s 10th anniversary of 9/11 surely fit that category. “In subsequent years, we do have to mark these moments, but it will be in a more modest way.”

Sullivan wondered if it was enough. She noted that on the 10th anniversary of one of America’s darkest days, the Times published “an ambitious special section, along with major stories on the days leading up to the anniversary.”

But what Sullivan dubbed “anniversary journalism” often finds little to cover outside of related local events, she said.

“There isn’t always much to say that is original,” Sullivan wrote.

The Times did manage to run stories about infighting among politicians regarding development at Ground Zero and, on Sept. 10, an investigative report laying some of the blame on intelligence-gathering failures by the Bush administration.

Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, said the Times owed more to its readers, especially those in its hometown.

“It’s disgraceful on two levels," Bozell said. "First, as a national issue, this being the single deadliest attack on America since Pearl Harbor. And, secondly, as a local issue. This is, after all, The New York Times, not the Honolulu Times.”

The Times' website did feature a 9/11 story on the homepage Tuesday morning, and the site was updated with remembrance stories and coverage of the day prominently displayed.

Other New York metro area pages such as the New York Daily News, Long Island-based Newsday, and the Newark Star-Ledger featured front page coverage of the anniversary. The New York Post did not carry a 9/11 story on its front page, though tabloids typically can only feature one story on the front page, while the Times will carry a minimum of five.

The lack of coverage could be attributed to less emphasis on local news from New York City.

“New York is still part of our DNA and important to the soul of the publication, but the actual metro area has, over time, been not the main part of our print readership. And online it’s more of an international and national audience,” Times managing editor Jill Abramson said during an appearance in August on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program.

Readers expressed disappointment with the editorial choice on the message board of Sullivan’s online column.

“’The amount of journalism, however, must. 'MUST?' I am sorry, but who are you to say what 'must' and 'mustn't' with regard to this tragedy?,” said one person commenting from London.

“I'm not sure if, as public editor, you are entrusted with the care and feeding of the historical element of the Times, but must say that I think it's an error to completely omit any mention of 9/11 from the front page today,” wrote another person from California.

“If the city of New York is, as Jill Abramson said, part of the Times' DNA, it's necessary to relate to the people of the city who will never get over this anniversary. They still constitute a hefty majority and consequently one hopes a significant part of your readership. I am a newsperson and a transplanted New Yorker, and 9/11, 11 years on, still merits Page One of the Times to me. Even if it were two grafs and a jump.”

Source : foxnews[dot]com Read More