It seems the team over at amBX have decided to try and make life a little easier for the rest of us by providing a dedicated wiki on the amBX homepage. Part of this wiki lists all of the games that are currently compatible with the kits and what sort of effects you can expect and whether they are automatic or if you need to install a patch or other add-on.

You can see which games have just light effects, fans and rumbles and there is also information about how to make the most from your media players as well. This will certainly make life easier when choosing new games to purchase as long as it is updated regularly but another great move from amBX to make life easier for us lazy gamers!

Having previously supported the “Dare to be Digital” design and development competition for games development students it seems amBX have pledged their support for the 2009 competition as well. Alongside the likes of Intel, Emergent and Autodesk they will be providing amBX kits, the SDK and full support to the next budding stars of the games industry.

The Dare to be Digital event is a great opportunity to not only showcase some of the emerging talent in the development sector but also give students the opportunity to experience the highs and lows of pressure situations, working to deadlines, teamwork and interacting with some of the industries leading figures.

It is good to see amBX continuing its involvement and this is another way for them to get the amBX SDK more widely used by development teams. Good work!

I know it has been a while since the last post but things have been catching up with me; namely work and University so it has been a little tricky to keep this blog updated. However I do have some good news for those that haven’t taken the opportunity to buy an amBX kit yet! Yes, as the topic suggests the Premium Kit is now even cheaper at Play.com and in line the other kits have come down in price as well.

Take a look below at the various pages with prices:

Play.com Premium Kit; £89.99

Play.com Starter Kit; £63.99

Play.com Pro Gamer Kit ; £77.99

Play.com Expansion Kit; £17.99

Enjoy!

Well it hasnt take quite as long as expected this time so the videos for Tom Clancy’s EndWar and HAWX are now online and when I get time to sit down and write I will try and do some dedicated review pages. For now though enjoy the two videos I have embedded below from the YouTube Channel.

Tom Clancy’s HAWX

Tom Clancy’s EndWar

Enjoy!

In a bold new move it looks like the guys over at amBX have decided to get in bed with education establishments to help the designers and programmers of tomorrow embrace the amBX technology at an early stage. A press release sent out today notes that amBX Ltd has partnered with the Entertainment Technology Centre (ETC) at Carnagie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA.

A statement from amBX in the press release reads as follows:

“amBX and the ETC share a common vision for the development of immersive experiences for entertainment and gaming applications using lighting and ambient scene control,” commented Jo Cooke at amBX. “This opportunity places state-of-the-art amBX technology in the hands of entertainment creators of the future and redefines the way entertainment is experienced. We’re really pleased to be able to work with such a prominent institution as ETC to develop the capabilities and application of amBX technology.”

It will be interesting to see if amBX look to establish similar partnerships elsewhere and if this is part of their long term plan but it is certainly a positive move as a follow-up to their support of the Dare to be Digital competition.

I have just been having a look at the current prices for amBX kits in the UK and it looks like Play.com have lowered their price for an amBX Premium Kit to just under £100. Previously standing at about £170 this is a good move by Play and will hopefully increase the number of sales (maybe highlighted by the fact they are currently out of stock).

From an amBX position this good work to help amBX become more mainstream as people are more likely to purchase products that fall under that magical £100 mark. If you havent got yourself a kit yet and have enjoyed watching the videos on this blog they perhaps now is the time to get involved and go buy one?

Play.com amBX Listing Page

I know I have been a little slack lately in keeping this blog updated but unfortunately work has got the better of me and I haven’t been able to find the time to keep you all updated about the latest amBX happenings. There is some good news however; I have just picked up copies of both Ubisoft’s End War and HAWX!

What does this mean for you readers I hear you ask. Well the answer is simple really, it means I will be producing some videos in the next few weeks that demonstrate both games in action and the amBX-enabled effects. That is of course subject to me actually being able to play the games! Controlling End War with voice commands could be quite interesting and likewise, I haven’t played a flight sim properly since I was about 12 and using an Xbox 360 for HAWX could be a little tricky.

Rest assured though I will conquer both and bring you some pretty footage to watch and as always it will also go onto the ILoveamBX YouTube channel.

amBX and Ubisoft have today released a press announcement stating that the new Tom Clancy game, EndWar, will be fully amBX-enabled. This could make things very interesting give one of the control systems for the game is voice-control.

You can command and move your squads and forces by issuing voice commands or by using the standard PC interface (keyboard / mouse). Going to be hard imagining amBX effects you indirectly control by the power of your voice but it could make for a very interesting type of gameplay, especially at LAN parties.

Hopefully I will be able to get hold a demo of this from somewhere and have a play.

I have just seen a press release from the team over at amBX that announces they have signed a licensing agreement with Sony! This agreement relates to Tools and Middleware and it may allow Sony to look at ways to integrate the existing PC-based amBX kits for the PS3 which can only be good news.

So what does the future hold? Will I be able to plug my amBX kit straight into my PS3 and have amBX-enabled PS3 games? Will a new amBX peripheral kit emerge specifically for the PS3? Granted I have no answers to any of these questions but it does look promising for amBX that one of the major platform holders has signed up.

I am starting to dream already…..

Finally!! I have managed to capture some reasonable footage from the game showing the new amBX patch in action for Turning Point: Fall of Liberty. Again I must apologise for the delay in this but hopefully you will forgive me and take the time to read through the page and watch the video I have uploaded.

Like normal the video is also on YouTube and will shortly be on the ILoveamBX Kyte Channel as well. For now though, you need to head over to the review page and get cracking!