Hasta La Gadget!

Got a few minutes to spare? Then don’t check out Salty Bet, because it will take those minutes and turn them into hours of lost time. Salty Bet runs an endless livestream of computer-controlled matches on M.U.G.E.N., a free and highly customizable fighting game. It has a massive stable of characters from various fighting franchises and then some. Seriously I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw a match between a Betamax tape and my neighbor’s dog.

Yep, that’s Son Gohan from Dragon Ball Z, and he’s up against Shadowcat from Marvel Comics. So far I’ve seen Kuchiki Byakuya of Bleach, Rikuo of Darkstalkers, Jill Valentine and some robot that just turned into a rocket ship and flew away.  And it didn’t come back. Seriously this game is nuts. Don’t believe me? Here you go:

Salty Bet is free to join. If you sign up, you get virtual currency, which can only be used to bet on the matches. It has no other value or purpose. The real benefit of becoming a member is that you can join the website’s chat, which is half of what makes Salty Bet such an addictive time waster because the folks there are as freaked out about the matches as you are.

Salty Bet also has a paid membership with a few fringe perks, but trust me you can lose hours just lurking on the site. The game is hilariously bizarre and unbalanced and the folks on the chat are funny, although their language is indeed salty. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to watch Shuma-Gorath lay the smack down on Link.

[via Pocket Tactics]

It doesn’t seem like dungeon masters are going to get their hands on the Surfacescape anytime soon, but Brendon Duncan may have an affordable alternative. His 3D Virtual Tabletop app gives you access to digital maps and creature tokens on your mobile device or desktop computer through a browser.

Aside from helping you visualize your adventure, 3D Virtual Tabletop makes it easy to add maps and characters. If you can copy an image, you can import it to the app, although I’m not sure how well its automatic cropping function works. The app will be available on iOS, Android and Kindle devices, as well as through Mac and PC via a web app.

Some of the other neat features of the 3D Virtual Tabletop include saving the setup of the map, status indicators and fog of war. You can try out demo versions of these apps right now. You can use the final version of the app offline, but if you pay $0.99 (USD) a month you’ll have access to its cross-platform feature. That means you and your party members can see and interact on the same map across multiple devices and platforms. Brendan said the app can handle at least 20 simultaneous users on the same virtual tabletop.

Pledge at least $9(USD) on Kickstarter to get a 1 year (or more) subscription to 3D Virtual Tabletop’s online services. When it launches, Brendan will also setup an online market where you can buy more maps and character images. It seems like a convenient alternative to physical maps, especially since its compatible with different devices. But if all of your playmates have access to a PC, you might be better off with Roll20.

When you see cosplayers, sometimes you look beyond the beauty of their costumes and realize that many of these people combine art with sheer effort. Some costumes are not worn, but endured. I think I could say the same for this amazing GLaDOS cosplay by Athena Cole aka Enayla, who had herself suspended five feet off the ground to emulate the Portal villain’s appearance.

Enayla presented her cosplay at the 2013 PAX Prime and was so eye-catching that she had to be moved to another hall more suited to gawking at GLaDOS. Here’s a better look at her costume taken by Count3D, which includes the PVC structure that she’s hanging from.

On her blog, Enayla said she stayed up in 40 to 45 min. increments and took lots of breaks. By the end of the day, she reckons she spent a total of four and a half hours in GLaDOS’ nonexistent shoes. Here’s her in-costume interview with Invader Boom:

Enayla should use a voice modulator so she could talk like GLaDOS.

[via Invader Boom & Enayla Cosplay via Geekosystem]

Watchmaker Click is making a name for itself by incorporating mechanisms from gadgets or electronics into their wristwatches. We saw that with the Keypad, the Switch and the Wallswitch. The company’s newest watch is no different; it looks and works just like an arcade button.

Aptly named the Button, the watch cycles through the time, date and seconds each time you press its face.

I hope the watch isn’t as hard to press as it seemed in the video. Mash the left click button and head to Watchismo or Click’s website to buy the button.

[via Craziest Gadgets]

Sorry NVIDIA, but it looks like the Shield is already obsolete. It’s not because of the Ghetto Shield, it’s because of the Cross Plane. Developed by three videogame console modders who founded a new company called Advanced Gaming Innovations (AGI), the Cross Plane streams HDMI input from and sends controller output to a PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and the Ouya. Yep, you read that right.

As you can see, the Cross Plane looks a lot like the Wii U Game Pad. It’s 1.5″ thick, 5.5″ tall and 9.5″ wide. It has a 7″ 1280 x 800 screen, two 25mm stereo speakers and a headphone jack. The red block you see sticking out of the Cross Plane’s back is a cartridge called the Control Pak. That cartridge doesn’t contain a game; rather it contains the hardware that makes the Cross Plane compatible with a gaming device. In other words, there’s an Xbox 360 Control Pak, a PC Control Pak and so on. AGI is also working on making the Cross Plane work with the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.

The last component of the Cross Plane is a wireless HDMI transmitter and receiver, where you’ll plug in the HDMI cable from your PC or console.

As you may have guessed, the Cross Plane can only stream games within a local Wi-Fi network, but that’s to be expected. Perhaps the Cross Plane’s only weak point is that its battery only lasts 4 hours.

Pledge at least $349 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a Cross Plane as a reward. That’s right, for just $50 more than the Shield you get a device that is far more versatile and possibly future-proof, thanks to its cartridge based hardware. If AGI does make it compatible with the next generation consoles I am definitely going to buy a Cross Plane.

[via Ubergizmo]