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U.S. Patent No. 9,616,329: Adaptive learning system for video game enhancement
Under : Patents
Issued April 11, 2017, to Electronic Arts, Inc.
Priority Date June 28, 2012
U.S. Patent No. 9,616,329 (the '329 Patent) describes a system for adaptive learning in a video game engine. AI opponents often fail to replicate the adaptive learning abilities of a human opponent. A human can quickly analyze an opponent's strategy and adjust easily. The '329 Patent hopes to change that by providing a system to implement adaptive learning into a video game. According to the patent, the game will begin to record the gameplay of an initial match. Upon completion of the match, the system will analyze the recording for key moments and player habits which lead to the outcome. For example, in Madden, the game will analyze the sequence and moments that allowed the human player to score a touchdown. The resulting analysis and recorded sequence are stored within the system's memory. During the second match, the system uses the recording to identify human player's habits. Using the analysis from earlier, the computer opponent adjusts its tactics to counter the human player. The player may find that the running play that once scored touchdowns is no longer a viable option.
Techniques are disclosed that can capture sequences of player input in response to situations confronting a player of a video game while playing the video game on a game console. A game engine within the game console may associate an archetype with the captured sequences. The outcomes of the captured sequences are determined with respect to the game situations and a score is applied to the captured sequences based on the outcomes. The captured sequences, the outcomes and the scores are stored in a runtime memory within the game console used to play the video game. Upon completion of the video game, the stored captured sequences, the outcomes and the scores may be downloaded and stored to an external memory associated with the game console. Subsequent video game sessions may load the captured sequences, the outcomes and the scores into the runtime memory to be used in the next session.
Illustrative Claim:
1. A method comprising: during runtime execution of a video game application on a computing device, the video game application comprising a virtual environment, capturing sequences of player input in response to one or more virtual events confronting a player controlled virtual agent within the virtual environment of the video game application; for individual captured sequences, determining an outcome of the captured sequence with respect to a virtual event of the one or more virtual events; applying a score to the captured sequence based, at least in part, on the outcome; storing the captured sequence, the outcome, and the score in a runtime memory within the computing device used to play the video game application; in response to a virtual event confronting a computer controlled virtual agent within the virtual environment, identifying one or more captured sequences based, at least in part, on a game status and computer controlled virtual agent status associated with the virtual event confronting the computer controlled virtual agent; selecting a captured sequence from the one or more captured sequences based, at least in part, on the scores and outcomes associated with the individual sequences; and executing the selected captured sequence by the computer controlled virtual agent in response to the virtual event confronting the computer controlled virtual agent within the virtual environment.
U.S. Patent No. 5,885,156: Video game apparatus, method of controlling the growth of play character in video game, and video game medium therefor
Issued March 23, 1999, to Konami Holding Corp.
Priority Date November 24, 1995
U.S. Patent No. 5,885,156 (the '156 Patent) describes a method for achieving experience points through dialog. The '156 Patent specifically relates to Konami's Pawapuro or Power Pros series, which is a baseball game that features some role-playing game elements. Power Pros features a mode called "Success Mode," which entailed users playing the life of an up-and-coming baseball player. Users start off with low stats and must train to become a better player. Part of the mode is managing the baseball player's social life as well. The game generates random events that impact the baseball player's stats. The '156 Patent describes the method of how the social events affect the player's stats. For every random event, a set of options are given to the user, each generating a different outcome. The user earns experience points for choosing an option, but not every option is treated equally. Some options may give players more experience points than others, while some may hurt a player's stats. Every play-through of "Success Mode" is different because the events are randomly generated.
A game cartridge is inserted into a game device, and a controller is operated to display and perform a game stored in the game cartridge on a display monitor. The game cartridge has a ROM for storing a game program and a RAM for storing data of a play character having unique abilities. The controller is operated to instruct a play character to repeat various patterns of speech and action to increase the number of "remaining experience credits". Obtained "remaining experience credits" are assigned to abilities of the play characters to achieve desired ability values for thereby growing the play character until it develops unique abilities.
7. A method of controlling growth of a player character in a video game performed by a video game apparatus having a display unit for displaying said player character and player event patterns of of said player character, and menus corresponding to said player event patterns, an input control unit for permitting a video game player to select said menus, event memory means for storing said player event patterns selected by said input control unit, and event control means for reading said player event patterns selected by said input control unit from said event memory means and controlling said player character to perform said player event patterns, said method comprising the steps of: imparting a number of at least one type of credit to said player character; varying said number of said at least one type of credit by a variance amount selected based on a random probability from a range of amounts depending on said player event patterns selected by said input control unit; storing said number of said at least one type of credit after said varying; permitting said video game player to operate said input control unit to distribute said number of said at least one type of credit to a plurality of ability values representing a plurality of abilities of said player character; and storing said ability values with said number of said at least one type of credit distributed thereto.
U.S. Patent No. 9,061,205: Music video game with user directed sound generation
Issued June 23, 2015, to Activision Publishing, Inc.
Priority Date July 14, 2008
U.S. Patent No. 9,061,205 (the '205 Patent) describes a method to add more variety in a music rhythm game during a free play routine. Music rhythm games like Guitar Hero often feature a free play feature. The '205 describes a method where if the player holds the plastic guitar in a certain position during free play, the game will enter into a different mode. Pointing the head of the guitar downward would access a power chord mode. The game would mute the normal audio sample and begin to play a power chord version of the same song. The idea is to recreate the artistic nature that takes place during live performances. A real guitarist can add or subtract elements from a song while playing, and that is the type of freedom the '205 Patent aims to give players.
A music based video game provides a user directed sound generation feature. In some embodiments, the user is provided a video game controller simulating a musical instrument, which the user may operate similarly to its real musical instrument counterpart. A free play feature is provided for users to operate the video game controller, where a processor of a video game console receives input signals from the video game controller and outputs audio samples based on the received input signals. During the free play feature, multiple suggestions as to how to operate the video game controller are simultaneously provided to give users some guidance as to what to play using the video game controller.
1. A method of generating audio tracks in a music video game, comprising: receiving a first input signal indicating status of a first plurality of input devices of a video game controller; outputting a polyphonic audio compilation based on the first input signal, the polyphonic audio compilation including at least two audio tracks featuring a sequence of notes or chords of different instruments; receiving a second input signal indicating status of a second plurality of input devices of the video game controller; selecting at least one of the at least two audio tracks based on the second input signal; and muting the at least one of the at least two audio tracks.
U.S. Patent No. 5,390,937: Video game apparatus, method and device for controlling same
Issued February 21, 1995, to Square Co., Ltd.
U.S. Patent No. 5,390,937 (the '937 Patent) describes the active battle system found in games like Final Fantasy IV or Chrono Trigger. Traditionally, RPG's used a turn-based battle system, where each character has to wait for their turn to attack. Turn order is based on who has the highest agility or speed stat. The active battle system, as described by the '937 Patent, scrapes the traditional turns for constant action. Player characters and enemies can attack at any time in an active battle system. A timer governs when each character may attack. The active battle system creates a dynamic feeling compared to the static nature of a turn-based system. Players must choose their next move wisely because of the unpredictable nature of when the next attack will occur.
Disclosed in a video game of enhanced realism in which actual combat is closely simulated. The game is so adapted that an enemy character on a display screen may launch an attack against a player character on the same screen, even while the player character is in the process of inputting a command, at elapse of a set time period specific to the enemy character. The attack is made without an interruption in the flow of time of the game.
1. In a video game apparatus in which a player character and an enemy character are displayed on a display screen of a display unit and the player character and enemy character carry out attacks on each other in accordance with an inputted action command or a predetermined action schedule, a method of controlling the video game apparatus comprising the steps of: clocking a time, which has been stipulated for each character, from the end of a previous action of a character; generating a signal for character when the time clocked in said clocking step is equal to or greater than a predetermined time assigned to that character; allowing, in response to said generated signal, input of an action command if the character is a player character, and processing in accordance with the inputted action command; and processing, in response to said generated signal, an action in accordance with the predetermined action schedule if the character is an enemy character.
U.S. Patent No. 5,805,784: Computer story generation system and method using network of re-usable substories
Issued September 8, 1998, to Christopher C. Crawford
Priority Date September 28, 1994
U.S. Patent No. 5,805,784 (the '784 Patent) describes a method and system for creating procedurally generated storylines. The system ties together a bunch of substories to create a larger throughline. A key aspect of the '784 Patent is that each substory is reusable meaning that every substory can be executed by any character and involve any character. For example, substory #1 could be about Character A looking for Character B, or vice-versa, Character B looking for Character A. Substory #1 could also involve Character B looking for Character C. There are an initial set of substories that all the characters start in. After completing the initial substory, the character moves to the next substory. The computer system generates a plan list that maps out the substory path the character follows. The plan list can change depending on actions taken by the player. Creating a generated plan which can change results in dynamic storytelling where a player could play the same character twice and experience two different stories.
The storyline of a dynamically generated entertainment program, such as a video game, is generated using a matrix of reusable storyline fragments called substories. A set of characters that participate in the storyline is established and a set of reusable substories is defined. Each substory represents a "fragment of a story", usually involving an action by a subject, where the subject is one of the characters. Most substories can be reused multiple times with different ones of the characters being the subject and different ones of the characters being the direct object of the substory. Each substory has a set of possible reaction substories, which are a subset of the defined substories. A plan list stores plan data indicating ones of the substories to be performed at specified times. An initial "seed story" in the form of an initial set of substories is stored in the plan list. The substories stored in the plan list are executed at times corresponding to their respective specified times. For at least a subset of the executed substories, the end user of the system is either shown a video image representing the executed substory or is otherwise informed of the executed substory. In reaction to each executed substory, plans to perform additional ones of the substories are generated. The additional substories are ones of the set of possible reaction substories for each executed substory. Each plan to perform an additional substory is assigned a specified time and plan data representing the plan is stored in the plan list.
1. A method of generating a sequence of images representing a dynamically generated story line, comprising: establishing a set of characters; defining a set of re-usable substories, a multiplicity of the substories representing an action by a subject comprising a selectable one of the characters where the action is performed with respect to at least one object comprising at least a selectable one of the characters; for each substory, establishing a set of possible reaction substories comprising a subset of the set of re-usable substories; establishing a plan list for storing plans indicating ones of the substories to be performed; storing in the plan list an initial set of plans, each of the stored plans representing a substory to be performed; executing ones of the substories represented by the plans stored in the plan list; establishing a physical position for each of the characters and updating the characters' physical positions during the executing step; establishing a current time and advancing the current time during the executing step; generating, in reaction to each executed substory, additional plans to perform additional ones of the substories wherein the additional substories comprise selected ones of the set of possible reaction substories for the executed substory; and storing the generated plans in the plan list; the plan list at times storing a multiplicity of the generated plans; the generating plans step including receiving, in reaction to at least a subset of the executed substories, input from an end user and selecting at least a subset of the additional substories in accordance with the end user input; the plan generating step including assigning each generated plan an earliest execution time and a set of associated characters including a subject and an object, wherein the subject and object are each a specified one of the characters; each stored plan in the plan list including the assigned earliest execution time, subject and object, such that at various times at least a subset of the plans in the plan list have respective earliest execution times that are later than the current time; at least a subset of the generated plans comprising deferred plans, where each deferred plan's execution is deferred because its earliest execution time is later than the current time and/or its associated characters are not physically proximate each other; the executing step including selecting for execution one plan from those of the stored plans in the plan list whose associated earliest execution time is at least as early as the current time and that meet opportunity availability criteria, the opportunity availability criteria including a requirement that the characters associated with the one plan have physical positions that are proximate to one another; wherein the generated plans are executed in a different order than those generated plans are added to the plan list by the generated plans storing step.
U.S. Patent No. 8,858,328: Storage medium having game program stored therein, hand-held game apparatus, game system, and game method
Issued October 14, 2014, to Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Priority Date June 2, 2010
U.S. Patent No. 8,858,328 (the '328 Patent) describes a game that uses real pictures as the basis for the puzzle. Using the Nintendo DSi, the player takes a picture that the system converts into the puzzle. The system divides the image into sections assigning each section a number. The numbers corresponded to the sections' original location. Once the system determines the starting points, it shuffles the sections. The player must rearrange the picture sections to their original position to complete the puzzle. Players can adjust the difficulty by increasing the number of sections.
An information processing section of a game apparatus executes a program including: a step of setting a puzzle area to be cut from an image taken by an outer camera; a step of setting the division number representing the number of portions into which the puzzle area is divided in accordance with a stage; a step of generating one-dimensional arrangement data representing a state in which puzzle pieces are positioned at random: a step of executing a game process by updating the one-dimensional arrangement data of the puzzle pieces which are selected based on a tilt of the game apparatus; and a step of switching, in accordance with the one-dimensional arrangement data, texture coordinate data of the puzzle pieces calculated based on a tilt of a virtual camera, and displaying an obtained image.
1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a game program executed by a computer of a hand-held game apparatus including an imaging device and a display device, the game program causing the computer to perform at least: sequentially acquiring taken-image data representing a plurality of taken-images which are taken by the imaging device; image dividing, into a plurality of small areas, an image of a predetermined area in a taken-image which is one of said plurality of taken-images represented by the acquired taken-image data; positioning, in the predetermined area, the plurality of small areas into which the image of the predetermined area is divided, so as to form an image different from the taken-image which is taken by the imaging device and is one of said plurality of taken-images; retaining a positioning state in which the plurality of small areas are positioned, by using, as an initial value, an obtained positioning state; image changing for sequentially changing, by using the taken-image data having been sequentially acquired, images to be displayed on the plurality of small areas, respectively, of which the positioning state is retained; display control for causing the display device to display images changed by the image changing; changing the positioning state of the plurality of small areas, which is retained, in accordance with an operation performed by a user viewing the images displayed by the display device; determining whether or not the positioning state of the plurality of small areas, which is changed, satisfies a predetermined condition; and a game process for performing a predetermined game process in accordance with a result of a determination of whether or not the positioning state of the plurality of small areas, which is changed, satisfies a predetermined condition.
U.S. Patent No. 4,738,451: Multi-player, multi-character cooperative play video game with independent player entry and departure
Issued April 19, 1988, to Atari Games Corp.
Priority Date May 20, 1986
U.S. Patent No. 4,738,451 describes the gameplay of the Gauntlet series, where multi-players navigate a maze. Gauntlet was a four-player dungeon crawler. Each player would select a fantasy troupe with unique abilities. In the first Gauntlet, each player was forced to take a different troupe, but in Gauntlet II, everyone in the party could be wizards if they desired. The players would need to cooperate with each other to escape. Progress could only be made if the players move together since all the characters must remain visible on the screen. Locking the camera with all the characters created a competitive cooperation feeling in the game. Even though all the players had to progress through the maze together, each player could independently control their character on the screen. There were game items the players could obtain to help their journey, but only a limited number of items are available to the players must choose who gets what. Players could also join or leave the game at any time. This patent was reissued in 1996 which we covered here.
A multi-player, multi-character video game where the game rules force the players to cooperate in negotiating the maze at least until the characters reach a portion of the maze where a specific objective is located. Certain limited resources to change the attributes of the characters or to increase their longevity are displayed in a maze. The players may compete to obtain possession of these limited resources when the characters have cooperated in their movements sufficiently to move to the location of the limited resources. Cooperation among the characters is forced by forcing all characters active in the game to remain visible in the displayed window. Players may enter the game at any time, and they may leave the game at any time without affecting the status of the game or the status of the other characters in the game. All active players may simultaneously, independently control their characters so long as they do not attempt to move their characters outside the currently displayed window.
1. A video game comprising: a central processing unit; a video display; a plurality of sets of controls coupled to said central processing unit; sofware means run by said central processing unit and coupled to said controls, and to said video display for reading player input from said controls and generating, storing, changing and outputting data for causing said video display to display a maze populated by a plurality of different kinds of characters each having attributes, said maze also being populated by a plurality of attribute-affecting entities including monsters, each said character having attributes including longevity and abilities including the ability to fight and to move, said attributes defined by stored data, said longevity attribute defined by stored data and decreasing over time and when that character is damaged by a monster, and including means for displaying different types of resources having characteristics defined by stored data and displayed on said video display throughout said maze in quantities and loctions established by said software means, said resources increasing the longevity attribute or otherwise affecting the attributes of the first character which is displayed to have obtained possession of them, and for causing said video display to display action by said characters and said monsters in accordance with rules of said game implemented by the following included means: first means for allowing a plurality of players to each simultaneously and independently control the movements and actions of one of said plurality of characters in the video game via said controls; second means for allowing any one of said plurality of players to enter the game at any time and simultaneously and independently control the movements and actions of one of said characters independently of when the other players started playing or when any other said player or players stops playing; and third means for encouraging the players to cooperate during play by displaying on said video display only a window portion of said maze which is related to the relative positions of all the characters being active in that they are controlled by a player at that time and by not allowing any active character to move outside the bounds of said window portion and by moving the window portion to display different portions of said maze only so long as all the active characters are contained in said window portion.
Take-Two voluntarily dismisses its legal action against the Pinkertons
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. v. Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations, Inc.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Filed January 11, 2019, NYSD-1-19-cv-00338
Dismissed: April 11, 2019
Case Update:
Back in January, Take-Two filed a declaratory judgment action asking the Southern District of New York to declare it had not infringed the trademarks of Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations, Inc. in Red Dead Redemption 2. On April 11, 2019, the district court granted Take-Two's motion to voluntarily dismiss the case. Pinkerton had issued a letter to Take-Two claiming the new Red Dead infringed the former detective agency's trademarks and demanding royalties. Take-Two responded by filing the declaratory judgment claiming it had a first amendment right to depict historical events. To read more about Take-Two's arguments click here.
While the exact reasons for the dismissal are unknown, Take-Two told The Verge "Take-Two can confirm that the present-day Pinkerton Consulting and Investigation company has withdrawn its claims against Red Dead Redemption 2, and Take-Two will not continue legal action against Pinkerton. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a work of fiction set in the late 1900s that references historical entities active during that time." Most likely, the two parties reached an agreement which prompted Take-Two to request the dismissal. For now, the case appears to have been resolved. Continue to follow the blog for updates on other cases in the video game industry.
U.S. Patent No. 8,282,491: Game-based incentives for location-based actions
Issued October 9, 2012, to Zynga, Inc.
Priority Date August 13, 2010
Smart Phones have allowed people to play games anywhere. U.S. Patent No. 8,282,491 (the '491 Patent) describes a method and system for giving in-game rewards to players for performing an action at a physical location. The game may give a player in-game currency for scanning the receipt for coffee from Starbucks. The '491 Patent relates more to how the game determines the reward for the player, than how the game determines a player's location. Rewards are determined based on the player's demographic information, how often the player visits the location, how often the player buys something from the location.
Systems and methods for providing game-based incentives to users of online games as a reward for performing actions at physical locations are provided.
1. A method comprising: accessing a game state of one or more computer-implemented games associated with a user; determining, using at least one processor of a machine, an incentive reward for the user based at least in part on the game state of the one or more computer-implemented games, the incentive reward being an in-game asset in the one or more computer-implemented games; determining a location-based action for the user based at least in part on the game state of the one or more computer-implemented games, the location-based action being an action performable by the user at a physical location that is external to the one or more games; and transmitting, to a device associated with the user, a message comprising a description of the location-based action, a description of the incentive reward, and an offer of the incentive reward for performing the location-based action at the physical location.
U.S. Patent No. 7,887,403: Method and system for controlling a game involving battles
Issued February 15, 2011, to Sony Interactive Entertainment, Inc.
Priority Date October 14, 2005
U.S. Patent No. 7,887,403 (the '403 Patent) describes an RPG battle system where player characters and enemies share magic points (MP). Traditionally, in an RPG every character is given their own MP. MP can be used for magic attacks that may have different effects than a standard attack. When a character no longer has any MP, that character may not cast any magic attacks. The '403 Patent describes a battle system where both sides share MP. Sharing MP could change a player's strategy in battle. Typically, players try to maintain their MP so their characters can keep performing magic attacks. With shared MP, a player may find it more beneficial in some situations to entirely drain the MP so an enemy character cannot cast any magic attacks of their own.
In a game system, a PC control unit controls an attack on an enemy character by a player's character. An enemy character control unit controls an attack on the player's character by the enemy character. An MP management unit stores, in an MP storage, a current value of a magic point indicative of the power required for a magic attack and manages an increase and decrease in the current value of the magic point. The magic point stored in the MP storage is used commonly by the player's character and the enemy character. When the player's character attacks the enemy character and the enemy character attacks the player's character, the MP management unit subtracts a value required for the attack, from the current value of the magic point.
6. A game system comprising: a player's character control unit which controls an action of a player's character in a battle between the player's character and an enemy character; an enemy character control unit which controls an action of the enemy character in the battle; and a first point management unit which stores, in a first point storage, a current value of a first point indicative of a power required for achieving a specific ability in the battle and which manages an increase and decrease in the current value of the first point; and a second point management unit which stores, in a second point storage, a current value of a second point indicative of a vitality of the player's character and the enemy character and manages an increase and decrease in the current value of the second point, wherein when one character attacks on the other character, said second point management unit subtracts a predetermined value, as a damage caused by the attack, from the current value of the second point, said first point management unit adds a value calculated according to the damage caused by the attack, to the current value of the first point, the first point stored in the first point storage is shared by the player's character and the enemy character, and wherein when the player's character exercises the specific ability or the enemy character exercises the specific ability, said first point management unit subtracts a value required for the exercise of the specific ability, from the current value of the first point; and wherein when an action has been executed by a first character and thereafter the first character is attacked by a second character during a time duration until the action by the first character is completed, said first program code module which controls the action of the player's character and said second program code module which controls the action of the enemy character cancel the action by the first character and when the first point in the first point storage has been reduced by the action by the first character, said first program code module which controls the action of the player's character and said second program code module which controls the action of the enemy character restore the value by adding an value equivalent to the amount subtracted.
U.S. Patent No. 8,914,136: Game control program and game device
Issued December 16, 2014, to Sega Corp.
Priority Date January 27, 2009
U.S. Patent No. 8,914,136 (the '136 Patent) describes a method for dealing damage in a video game. A health bar is a means to communicate to the player how many hits the game's character can absorb before losing a life. Once the bar is depleted then the character loses a life. Typically games that use health bars do not distinguish between types of hits or damage. The '136 Patent describes a method for using health bars that uses two types of damages: fixed damage and scratch damage. Fixed damage is the traditional damage type, a player who is hit with a fixed damage attack has their health bar drained. Scratch damage does not immediately reduce the health bar like fixed damage. If a player gets hit with scratch damage, then a portion of the health bar turns a shade of red. The portion amount is determined by the amount of scratch damage received. The scratch damage only decreases the health bar after a set time frame has elapsed, giving the player a chance to recover the scratch damage. Scratch damage can be compounded with fixed damage by adding together and immediately applying to the player's health. The type of health system described in the '136 Patent is usually used in fighting games or 3D brawlers.
Damages include ineffective damage (scratch damage) and effective damage (fixed damage). When scratch damage occurs, an amount Ds corresponding to the scratch damage is stored into a memory. When fixed damage occurs, a vitality parameter Lp is decreased by an amount Df corresponding to the fixed damage. Scratch damage decreases over time. If fixed damage Df occurs in the presence of scratch damage, the vitality parameter Lp is decreased by a total amount of the scratch damage and the fixed damage. Such controls on the vitality parameter diversify the game progress.
1. A game control method for making a computer, having a processor, a memory, and operation input means, perform game processing in which a player character that acts in response to a player operation and an enemy character attack each other, and in which a vitality parameter set for the player character is decreased in accordance with damage given to the player character when the enemy character makes an attack on the player character, the game control method comprising the steps of: setting by the processor the damage as ineffective damage or effective damage based on a value of an attack-power parameter of a weapon used in the attack by the enemy character; storing by the processor an amount of said ineffective damage into the memory when the player character is given the ineffective damage; restoring by the processor the amount of the ineffective damage stored in the memory decreased by a predetermined amount as time elapses after the player character is given the ineffective damage; calculating by the processor, as the player character is given effective damage while the amount of ineffective damage is stored in the memory, a total amount of damage that includes an amount of effective damage based on the effective damage and the amount of ineffective damage in the memory, and decreasing by the processor the vitality parameter of the player character based on the amount of damage; setting the attack-power parameter for the attack, wherein said setting the damage sets the damage as the effective damage or the ineffective damage based on the attack-power parameter; generating by the processor one or more points for the player character for each successful attack on the enemy character by the player character; and changing by the processor, when an accumulation of points reaches a predetermined amount, a state of the player character in which all damage incurred by the player character during a predetermined period of a remainder of a current game is set as ineffective damage regardless of the attack-power parameter value.
U.S. Patent No. 6,299,535: Method of processing interactive game, program product and game system for the same
Issued October 9, 2001, to Square Co., Ltd.
Priority Date April 28, 2000
U.S. Patent No. 6,299,535 (the '535 Patent) describes a method for creating branching storylines in an RPG. The storylines are tied to characters in the game and happen separately from the player's character. A classic example of this is recruiting secret characters in an RPG. A player must meet certain in-game conditions to add the secret character to the part, or the character will continue down his path. The game will not always tell a player when a condition has been met; nevertheless, the game progresses the secret character's story. The '535 Patent also encompasses situations where a player may have to choose between two characters, especially if there is an alternative path to acquire both.
A method of processing an interactive game, and a program product and game system for the same, which enables a character other than the player character to act separately from the player character in the game virtual space, sets an event which a character other than the player character can execute when a condition in the progress of the game is satisfied, displays on the screen the existence of that event for the character other than the player character acting separately from the player character when the condition in the progress of the game enabling execution of that event is satisfied, selectively accepts execution of the event displayed on the screen by an operation of the player in the screen display, and selectively executes and displays on the screen the event for the character other than the player character acting separately from the player character in accordance with the acceptance of the selection and execution of that event.
1. A method of executing an interactive game program giving a plurality of characters roles in a game and making each character play out an assigned role, comprising: making at least one character among the plurality of characters play out a first assigned role and displaying the at least one character on a screen, preparing in advance at least one event shared by the plurality of characters and judging if the at least one character playing out the first assigned role on the screen has reached the at least one event, switching display of the role played out by the at least one character to another character in the plurality of characters when determining that the at least one event has been reached, and making the other character play out a second assigned role and displaying the other character on the screen, wherein when the display is switched, the other character playing out the second assigned role is displayed instead of the at least one character playing out the first assigned role.
U.S. Patent No. 7,803,048: Radar manipulation in a video game
Issued September 28, 2010, to Microsoft Corp.
Priority Date March 15, 2006
U.S. Patent No. 7,803,048 (the '048 Patent) describes methods and systems for a deception in an online multiplayer game. One such method is for a player to manipulate the game's radar to trick other players. The player's in-game character could shoot a fake bullet to create a noise at another location, triggering the virtual acoustic radar. Also, a player can temporarily jam an opponent's radar, or make all the opponents visible on the radar. The '048 Patent describes several methods for deception using the in-game radar.
Methods and systems for deceiving other characters in a video game are disclosed. A video game may include a simulated environment in which player and computer controlled characters can monitor each other's positions using radar, e.g., an acoustic radar that detects noise (such as the firing of various weapons) associated with other characters. A character may fire a decoy bullet, which creates noise at the location of impact rather than the location of firing. A character may temporarily jam another character's radar so that the other character's radar does not display character locations. A first character may mimic an enemy character so that the first character appears as a friend to enemy characters on each enemy characters' radar. A special weapon may make all visible characters visually appear as enemies to a first character, thereby confusing the first character. Another special weapon may create a duplicate image of a character, thereby confusing others.
1. One or more computer readable storage device storing executable instructions for performing a video game method of representing characters on a radar image displayed on a video output device, said method comprising steps of: determining a first simulated noise level associated with a first object in a simulated environment operating under control of the video game; and displaying on the radar image, said radar image corresponding to a first character, a first radar blip corresponding to the first object, said first radar blip having a first characteristic based on the first simulated noise level associated with the first object determining a second simulated noise level associated with the first object in the simulated environment operating under control of the video game, wherein said second simulated noise level is determined to be louder than said first simulated noise level; and displaying on the radar image corresponding to the first character, a second radar blip corresponding to the first object, said second radar blip having a first characteristic based on the second simulated noise level associated with the first object, wherein the first characteristic of the first radar blip comprises a first amount of time based on the first simulated noise level, wherein the first characteristic of the second radar blip comprises a second amount of time based on the second simulated noise level, said second amount of time being longer than said first amount of time, wherein displaying the first radar blip comprises displaying the first radar blip for the first amount of time, and wherein displaying the second radar blip comprises displaying the second radar blip for the second amount of time.
U.S. Patent No. 8,882,590: Touch-controlled game character motion providing dynamically-positioned virtual control pad
Issue November 11, 2014, to Nintendo Co., Ltd.
U.S. Patent No. 8,882,590 (the '590 Patent) describes a method to control a game through touch controls. The '590 Patent relates to the Nintendo DS and its touch screen. On the DS, a player could move a game character by touching the bottom screen. If the player wanted the character to move to the right, he would first need to touch the screen then move his finger or the stylus to the right. At the first point of contact, the system divides the screen into multiple zones around that point of contact. Each zone indicates a direction, so when the player moves his finger to the right, the system moves the character to the right.
Methods and apparatus for controlling movement of a digital object displayed on a screen provide a virtual dynamic direction control pad based on zone detection and touch stroke direction to control customized animated character motion. A player wishing to move the digital object can use a stylus or other touch to indicate a first point on the screen. When the player first touches the stylus to the screen, the system analyzes the touch and divides the screen into multiple zones around the first point indicated by the player. To move the object, the player moves the stylus to a second point on the screen. Movement of the stylus to a second point within one of these zones causes the digital object to perform a predetermined action. Each zone has a predetermined associated action. Direct control of character motion by the game player is enhanced.
1. A method of controlling movement of a moveable digital object displayed on a touch screen that is coupled to at least one processor, the method comprising: displaying the moveable digital object on the touch screen; using a touch to the touch screen to select the moveable digital object and indicate a first touch point on the touch screen corresponding to the displayed digital object; automatically dynamically dividing, using the at least one processor, the screen into plural virtual zones that (1) are associated with the first touch point, and (2) emanate from a neighborhood determined in accordance with the selected moveable digital object; detecting a further touch to at least a second touch point on the touch screen different from the first point; determining, using the at least one processor, in which of said automatically divided plural virtual zones said second touch point is disposed within to thereby select one of said plural virtual zones; and controlling, using the at least one processor, the movable digital object to perform an action that moves the movable digital object based at least in part on said which of said determined virtual zones is selected by said second touch point.
U.S. Patent No. 8,313,379: Video game system with wireless modular handheld controller
Issued November 20, 2012, to Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Priority Date: August 22, 2005
U.S. Patent No. 8,313,379 describes the Nintendo Wii system. The Wii incorporation of motion controls into a video game system. Motion controls were not a new concept in video games, but the Wii certainly push motion controls into the mainstream. The Wii utilized a small remote and IR sensor bar to track a users movement. The IR sensor bar would be place usually on top of or below the television. A user would point the Wii remote in the direction of the television/sensor bar, and the Wii would generate a cursor on the TV in the corresponding area. When the user moved the remote, the cursor would follow. The Wii remote used accelerometers and infrared detection to determine its position in 3D space when pointed at the sensor bar. Calculating position in a 3D space is essential for games that require movement along a Z axis, such as a boxing game. Despite the complexity it took to track a user's movement, the motion controls were simple to understand.
The Wii was a hugely successful console for Nintendo, selling around 100 million units. A big reason for the Wii's success was the accessibility. The motion controls made playing video games simple for the non-gamer. A person could easily understand that to play a golf game only required swinging the Wii remote like a golf club. The Wii had a significant impact on the video game industry. Shortly after the Wii launched, Microsoft and Sony introduced their versions of motion controls. Nintendo still uses a form of motion control in its current system, the Nintendo Switch, though the system does not require motion controls to operate.
A home entertainment system for video games and other applications includes a main unit and handheld controllers. The handheld controllers illumination emitted by emitters positioned at either side of a display, and information derived from the sensed illumination is used to calculate the orientation of the controllers. The controllers can be plugged into expansion units that customize the overall control interface for particular applications including but not limited to legacy video games. Further, the controllers can be used in one-handed or two-handed modes of operation.
1. A handheld controller operable in a one hand mode of operation and a two hand mode of operation, said controller for use in wirelessly communicating with an electronic game machine having an associated display screen, a first light emitting marker and second light emitting marker each mounted spaced from, but in the vicinity of, the display screen, said handheld controller comprising: an elongated housing having an upper surface, a lower surface, a forward end, a rearward end and a longitudinal axis defining at least one longitudinal center line, and sized to be operable by one hand of a user; a first set of game controls proximate said forward end of said housing; a second set of game controls proximate said rearward end of said housing; said first set of game controls and said second set of game controls being operable in use in a two hand game playing mode of operation, wherein during said two hand game playing mode said first set of game controls are disposed so as to be actuated by one thumb of a user and said second set of game controls are disposed so as to be actuated by the other thumb of the user, and wherein said first and second sets of game controls are actuated in use by the cooperative action of the user's thumbs; the lower surface of said housing having a concave portion provided with a trigger switch; a processor enclosed within said housing; an imaging device located in said forward end of said housing at least substantially aligned with said longitudinal center line and including a filter, a lens, an image sensor and an image processing circuit, wherein the image sensor, in use, detects light from the first light emitting marker and the second light emitting marker and generates image data, and wherein the image processing circuit, in use, receives and processes said image data and generates position data related to positional coordinates of the first light emitting marker and the second light emitting marker, and wherein the image processing circuit outputs the position data to said processor; at least said trigger switch and said imaging device being used in a one hand game playing mode of operation, wherein game play is controlled by the user holding the controller in one hand; linear accelerometer circuitry for detecting acceleration of the controller along each of three axes and for generating acceleration data along each of said three axes, said linear accelerometer circuitry being, in use, in communication with said processor; and a wireless communication device disposed within said housing and operatively connected to said processor and operable, in use, to transmit signals to said electronic game machine representing operational states of at least said first set of operational controls, said second set of operational controls, said trigger switch, said position data, and said acceleration data.
U.S. Patent No. 8,814,677: Using real-time constructive solid geometry to provide painting and thinning game mechanics
Issued August 26, 2014, to Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Priority Date September 2, 2010
U.S. Patent No. 8,814,677 (the '677 Patent) relates to the Disney video game Epic Mickey, specifically the game mechanic allowing players to manipulate the game world using in-game paint and paint thinner. Epic Mickey followed Mickey Mouse as fights ink-blobs who invaded the Cartoon Wasteland, a place where the forgotten or obscure Disney cartoons live. The game was primarily a 3D platformer. In the game, Mickey wields a paintbrush which can spray paint or paint thinner. Spraying paint in a certain area would cause a hidden object to appear while spraying paint thinner would make the object disappear. The '677 Patent describes the method behind this game mechanic. The game causes the objects to appear or disappear based on the spray pattern using two binary space partitioning (BSP) trees. The first BSP determines the physical shape of the object before any paint or thinner is applied. A second BSP identifies the spray pattern. The game merges the two BSPs to create a new version of the object with the applied spray pattern.
Techniques are described for providing a painting and thinning mechanic within a computer-generated environment (e.g., in a video game). The painting and thinning mechanic allows geometry within the computer-generated environment to be "painted" or "thinned." Painting and thinning refers to a mechanic that involves making parts of the virtual environment visibly and collidably transparent (thinning) or visibly and collidably opaque (painting). The painting/thinning mechanic may be achieved using binary space partitioning (BSP) trees.
1. A computer-implemented method for executing a video game, comprising: receiving an input indicating to apply a liquid paint or a liquid thinner material to a first set of geometry in the video game, wherein the liquid paint or the liquid thinner material is rendered as a capsule held by a game character and wherein the input directs the game character to throw the capsule at the first set of geometry; determining a burst location on the first set of geometry where the capsule impacts the first set of geometry; determining a second set of geometry corresponding to a spreading effect of the liquid paint or the liquid thinner material from the burst location to an area of the first set of geometry, wherein the spreading effect of the liquid paint or the liquid thinner material is determined by a physics engine; merging, by operation of one or more processors, a first binary space partitioning (BSP) tree with a second BSP tree to create a merged BSP tree, wherein the first BSP tree represents the first set of geometry, wherein the second BSP tree represents the second set of geometry, of the liquid paint or the liquid thinner material, wherein one or more elements of geometry represented in the first BSP tree are associated with a respective paint/thinning state, and wherein the merged BSP tree represents a merged set of geometry created from the first and second sets of geometry;updating, based on the spreading effect determined by the physics engine of the liquid paint or the liquid thinner material on the area of the first set of geometry, a paint/thinning state associated with a respective one or more elements of the merged set of geometry in the merged BSP tree; and rendering the respective one or more elements of the merged set of geometry opaque or transparent based on the paint/thinning states of the respective one or more elements in the merged set of geometry.
U.S. Patent No. 8,802,953: Scoring of free-form vocals for video game
Issued August 12, 2014, to Activision Publishing, Inc.
Priority Date February 5, 2009
U.S. Patent No. 8,802,953 (the '953 Patent) describes a method for a video game to evaluate and score a person singing. In a music based video game, a person's singing score is determined by comparing the person's performance to a set of predetermined criteria. Aspects of the performance, like pitch, tempo, and key, are evaluated against a targeted range. A player singing inside the targeted range for pitch will earn points, while a player singing outside the range will lose points. The evaluation is happening in real-time and the player can see their score while performing.
A music based video game in which a game player's singing performance is digitally sampled while the player performs a free-form vocal over a prerecorded musical composition. Aspects of the game player's free-form vocal performance are compared with predetermined criteria. For example, the vocal performance may be compared with tempo and key information to generate performance evaluation data. The performance evaluation data may be used to present performance feedback to the game player while the game player is singing.
1. A method for evaluating vocal inputs in a music based video game, comprising: repeatedly over time receiving input signals providing audio information; repeatedly over a particular time period determining a pitch of the audio information so as to determine a plurality of pitches of the audio information; determining if the pitches are in accordance with a plurality of target pitches, without regard to particular timing of individual pitches of the plurality of pitches; determining a valuation based on whether the pitches are in accordance with a target key; and commanding presentation of an indication of the valuation.
U.S. Patent No. 7,663,045: Music replacement in a gaming system
Issued February 16, 2010, to Microsoft Corp.
U.S. Patent No. 7,663,045 (the '045 Patent) describes a method for a user to replace the background music in a video game with their music. The Xbox 360 allowed users to rip music from a CD and download it to the system's hard-drive. A benefit to having the music on the 360 hard-drive was the system allowed users to listen to their music while playing a game. The system would mute game's background music and then insert the user's music. If the game had a scripted moment that required preselected music, then the system would mute the user's music until the scripted moment finished. Sound effects remained in the game, so effectively the 360 allowed users to create customized soundtracks.
A user of a game system can replace background music from a game with the user's selected background music, while still hearing any other audio streams (e.g. sound effects related to gameplay). A music engine and system audio mixer allow the playback of the user's requested replacement music. The game tags background music streams with an identifier indicating that they are background music, and such streams are muted at the music engine and system audio mixer (if the game is using the provided music engine in order to play the game's audio streams) or by the game if the game is using a game music engine and has received information indicating that a mute request has been issued.
1. A system for providing audio playback from a gaming system running an application, wherein said application generates an application default audio stream, said system comprising: application programming interfaces, said application programming interfaces integrating gaming system audio playback control features into said application, wherein audio commands issued by said application are implemented by said gaming system concurrently with execution of said application; an audio input for receiving said audio commands and said application default audio stream from said application; an audio replacement indicator for indicating when replacement of said application default audio stream is requested; an audio output, operably connected to said audio input and said audio replacement indicator, wherein said audio output plays audio comprising said application default audio stream if said audio replacement indicator indicates that no audio replacement is requested, or an alternate audio stream if said audio replacement indicator indicates that audio replacement is requested.
U.S. Patent No. 9,687,733: Game apparatus, storage medium, game controlling method and game system
Issued June 27, 2017, to Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Priority Date February 23, 2011
U.S. Patent No. 9,687,733 (the '733 Patent) describes a video game that utilizes a step counter as a game mechanic. The player needs a device capable of counting steps and transmitting the information to the system or else the player can not utilize their steps. If the player does have the necessary device, then the player's steps can be used as a means to advance the game. A player can choose how to spend their steps by selecting from a variety of in-game options such as currency, experience points, or even a hint. Unspent steps are utilized to advance supplemental areas of the game, so no step is wasted. The '733 Patent mainly lists a number of ways a player can spend the steps.
A game apparatus includes a micon, and the micon measures step counts in correspondence with the magnitude of accelerations indicated by acceleration data from an acceleration sensor when a user carries the game apparatus in a sleep mode in which the apparatus is closed. The step counts are converted into earned coins. In each of a plurality of games executed by the game apparatus, by using the earned coins, a special item is purchased, playing in a special course is permitted, a hint is displayed, and a game is played in fast-forward.
1. A game apparatus comprising an input device, the apparatus configured to at least: measure step counts using a motion detection device; advance a game on the basis of an input from said input device; and execute processing of supplementing advancement of said game by using the measured step counts during execution of the game, said game being advanceable independently from the measured step counts.
Valve's IPR Petitions Run Out of Steam
Valve Corp. v. Electronic Scripting Products
IPR2019-00062
Decision Issued: April 2, 2019
On April 2, 2019, The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) declined Valve's petition to institute an Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 9,235,934 (the '934 Patent) for being a repetitive challenge to the patent. The genesis of this action is the patent infringement lawsuit, Electronic Scripting Products, Inc. v. HTC America, Inc., No. 3:17-cv-05806-RS, filed on October 9, 2017, in the Northern District of California. Electronic Scripting claimed HTC and Valve had infringed the '934 Patent and U.S. Patent No. 8,553,935 by integrating Valve's technology into HTC's VIVE headsets. On January 25, 2018, Electronic Scripting voluntarily dismissed Valve from the lawsuit, but not HTC, who in turn filed a first IPR petition on the '934 Patent. The PTAB declined to institute an IPR based on the first petition because HTC failed to show that any of the challenged claims would likely be invalid. Five months after the PTAB rejected HTC's first petition, Valve submitted additional petitions to the PTAB based on other grounds, which the PTAB suggested were based on lessons learned from the denial of the first petition.
Electronic Scripting asked the PTAB to exercise their discretion to reject Valve's additional IPR petitions under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a) because Valve was seeking to invalidate the same claims as HTC's earlier IPR and is "similarly situated" to HTC. Valve counters by arguing the only similarity it has with HTC is wishing to see the '934 Patent invalidated, but otherwise, the two companies are unrelated. When it comes to a petition on a patent that the PTAB has already reviewed, the board applies a seven-factor test to determine if it should grant the second petition, as set forth in General Plastics. Case IPR2016-01357, slip op. at 16 (PTAB Sept. 6, 2017):
whether the same petitioner previously filed a petition directed to the same claims of the same patent;
whether at the time of filing of the first petition the petitioner knew of the prior art asserted in the second petition or should have known of it;
whether at the time of filing of the second petition the petitioner already received the patent owner's preliminary response to the first petition or received the Board's decision on whether to institute review in the first petition;
the length of time that elapsed between the time the petitioner learned of the prior art asserted in the second petition and the filing of the second petition;
whether the petitioner provides adequate explanation for the time elapsed between the filings of multiple petitions directed to the same claims of the same patent;
the finite resources of the Board; and
the requirement under 35 U.S.C. § 316(a)(11) to issue a final determination not later than 1 year after the date on which the Director notices institution of review. Id.
The PTAB found that every factor weighed against instituting Valve's later IPR petitions because of how closely linked Valve is to the litigation and HTC's previous IPR petition. The first factor weighed against Valve because the PTAB found Valve's petition was directed at the same claims as the previous IPR. Factor two weighed against institution due to the new prior art Valve asserted in its petition being fairly easy to find, which meant HTC should have known it existed. The third factor weighed against instituting the IPR as a result of Valve using the outcome of the first petition to help craft its petition.
Factors four and five weighed against Valve because of the five-month delay on Valve's part to file the petition. The Board explored the impact of the Federal Circuit's Click-to-Call decision in factors four and five. Prior to the Click-to-Call decision, Valve was not time barred because Electronic Scripting had dismissed the complaint against Valve. However, the Click-to-Call decision changed the law, and Valve was put in a position where it had to file or Valve would become time-barred. The PTAB reviewed the situation but ultimately decided that this did not impact the fairness of Valve's delay in filing its IPR petitions. Finally, factors six and seven weighed against Valve because allowing similarly situated parties to continuously petition for IPRs would drain the resources of the PTAB.
With all seven factors weighing against instituting Valve's IPR petition, the PTAB denied institution. Because institution was denied here, Valve may still be able to challenge the validity of the patents back in the district court, but as noted above Valve is no longer a party to the ongoing litigation. See Shaw Industries Group, Inc. v. Automated Creel Systems, Inc., 817 F.3d 1293 (Fed. Cir. 2016). We will continue to follow this case, and provide updates when available.


We are looking for an exceptional General Manager for this pub restaurant and bar due to open in the summer. This is the latest member in their family of pubs, with over 60 across the country for this successful and unique group, with each site being individual and having its own character. The building will be lovingly refurbished, and it will offer a traditional pub warmth and welcome with a freshly prepared menu, an exciting selection of ales and beers plus an impressive array of gins and whiskey. The service will be friendly and personal to deliver a superb guest experience.
Due to the high number of applications we can only respond to those candidates whose skills and experience match our client's specification. If you have not heard from us within 5 working days unfortunately your application has been unsuccessful.


text:
Q: ext4 in luks: how to calculate the minimum 'outer partition's size loop0p2 contains a luks2 that contains an ext4. The question is: how to calculate the minimum size the outer partition needs in order to hold the inner. Given is the size of the inner partition (in the example: 25614K)
Device       Start   End Sectors  Size Type
/dev/loop0p1  2048  4095    2048    1M Microsoft basic data
/dev/loop0p2  4096 87273   83178 40,6M unknown

83178 Sectors (a 512 B) = 42587136 B
cryptsetup luksDump /dev/loop0p2

Metadata area:  16384 [bytes]
Keyslots area:  16744448 [bytes]

42587136 B - 16760832 B (luks2 overhead) = 25826304 B
25826304 B == 50442 sectors == 25221 KiB
dumpe2fs -h /dev/mapper/test| grep -iE '^(block|inode) (count|size)'
dumpe2fs 1.45.6 (20-Mar-2020)
Inode count:              5232
Block count:              24567
Block size:               1024
Inode size:               128

inner partition:
1285232 + 245671024 = 25156608 B = 24567 KiB
resize2fs /dev/mapper/test 25614K
resize2fs 1.45.6 (20-Mar-2020)
The containing partition (or device) is only 25205 (1k) blocks.

You requested a new size of 25614 blocks.

25221 KiB - 25205 KiB = 16 KiB
So: the outer partition holds 41589 KiB, the luks overhead is 16368 KiB
Makes for the inner partition: 25221 KiB
Actual size of the inner partition seems to be: 24567 KiB.
The inner partition says, it cannot grow over 25205 KiB.
What is in the 16 KiB stored? Did I miscalculate the LUKS overhead? Is that something ext4 related?

A: The "extra" 16 KiB is secondary LUKS2 header. The "Metadata area:  16384 [bytes]" is size of the header, but you have two on the disk. See LUKS2 On-Disk Format Specification for more details.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Paul Mottram is a Composer, Arranger and Orchestrator of music for film and television, and also currently writes production music for Audio Network.
Commissioned music credits include Bank Of Dave, Kirstie's Handmade Britain (Channel 4), Vic Reeves Rogues Gallery (Discovery, BBC Three) and People Like Us (BBC Two). His music has also featured on numerous productions including the films Bad Santa, The Bee Movie and trailer for Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine and Amazon's Generation Wealth and television programmes such as The Apprentice, Panorama, Horizon, Newsnight, QI, Doctor Who, Who Do You Think You Are?, The Crown, The Restaurant, The Gadget Show, Coast, Hollyoaks, Travel Man, Downtown Abbey and television commercials for companies such as Barclays, JVC, Pizza Hut, Rover, Renault, Hitachi. His music also features prominently on a large number of popular youtube channels such as BuzzFeed and it's affiliated channels, SortedFood, INSIDER and it's affiliated channels, The Economist, and BBC Three.


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If any of the above sounds like a problem that you are experiencing, then you could definitely use our remote support service.
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text:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--
  ~ Copyright (c) 2017, WSO2 Inc. (http://www.wso2.org) All Rights Reserved.
  ~
  ~  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  ~  you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
  ~  You may obtain a copy of the License at
  ~
  ~  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
  ~
  ~  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
  ~  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
  ~  WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
  ~  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  ~  limitations under the License.
  -->

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <parent>
        <artifactId>msf4j-service</artifactId>
        <groupId>org.wso2.msf4j</groupId>
        <version>2.8.6-SNAPSHOT</version>
        <relativePath>../../../poms/msf4j-service/pom.xml</relativePath>
    </parent>
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

    <artifactId>jwt-sample</artifactId>
    <packaging>jar</packaging>
    <name>Sample: Microservices in MSF4J with signed JWT</name>
    <description>Demonstrates how to work with JWT tokens and microservices in WSO2 MSF4J</description>

    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>com.nimbusds</groupId>
            <artifactId>nimbus-jose-jwt</artifactId>
            <version>2.25</version>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>

    <properties>
        <microservice.mainClass>org.wso2.msf4j.example.Application</microservice.mainClass>
    </properties>

</project>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Cerro Palpana är ett berg och en vulkan i Chile. Det ligger i provinsen Provincia de El Loa och regionen Región de Antofagasta, i den norra delen av landet. Toppen på Cerro Palpana är  meter över havet.

Cerro Palpana är den högsta punkten i trakten.

Trakten runt Cerro Palpana är ofruktbar med lite eller ingen växtlighet.

Källor

Berg i Región de Antofagasta
Berg i Chile 6000 meter över havet eller högre

Artiklar med robotjusterad position

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Check out all of our Hospitality and Hotel items to give guests and employees a better experience in your establishment.


text:
Events, Festivals, & Things To Do Across Connecticut
Town Ambassador Program
Ambassador FAQ
Lonestar Veterans Memorial Auditorium 70 West River Street, Milford, CT 06460
02sep6:15 pm9:00 pmLonestarSee Country Music Legends Lonestar Live in Milford, CTVeterans Memorial Auditorium
See Country music legends Lonestar in Milford, CT. Known for merging their country roots with strong melodies and rich vocals, Lonestar has amassed RIAA-certified sales in excess of ten million
See Country music legends Lonestar in Milford, CT. Known for merging their country roots with strong melodies and rich vocals, Lonestar has amassed RIAA-certified sales in excess of ten million album units since their national launch in 1995 and achieved ten #1 country hits including "No News," "Come Crying To Me," and their crossover smash "Amazed" (which was also #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first record since 1983's "Islands in the Stream" to top both charts). The band's awards include a 1999 ACM Single of The Year for "Amazed" (the song also won the Song of the Year award) and the 2001 CMA Vocal Group of the Year.
Doors Open at 6:15pm and the show starts at 7:00pm.
(Thursday) 6:15 pm - 9:00 pm
Veterans Memorial Auditorium
70 West River Street, Milford, CT 06460
Baker Concerts
Copyright © 2018. Content Powered by Pepperland Marketing - A Growth-Driven Inbound Marketing Agency in Cheshire, CT.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
EDAP Reports Installation of Ablatherm® Robotic HIFU at University of Southern California
Following Initial Sale, Keck Medicine of USC to Become First Ablatherm Robotic HIFU Reference and Training Center in the U.S.
EDAP TMS SA, today announced the first installation of Ablatherm Robotic HIFU at University of Southern California, Keck Medicine of USC, which will become the first reference and training center for Ablatherm Robotic HIFU in the U.S.
Dr. Inderbir Gill, M.D., Professor & Chairman, USC Institute of Urology at Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, commented: "FDA clearance of HIFU is a tremendous milestone for the urology community. We are delighted to be the first in the U.S. to treat patients on a routine basis with the Ablatherm Robotic HIFU, on December 10 and 11, 2015. We look forward to helping appropriate patients using this groundbreaking technology, thus opening new options and horizons for prostate ablation procedures."
Marc Oczachowski, EDAP TMS Chief Executive Officer, added: 'We are thrilled to have the first installation of Ablatherm Robotic HIFU following FDA clearance at such a prestigious university hospital as USC Keck Medical Center, which was one of the first facilities to purchase the device in the U.S. It is an honor to be working with the world class urology team led by Dr. Inderbir Gill, one of the top urologists in the world, and to collaborate with them on the establishment of a state-of-the-art training and reference center for Ablatherm Robotic HIFU in the U.S."


Also part of Edward's findings: Birth rates significantly increased during the 2004-2006 period when consumers were given lead filters for their home water taps, as well as educational tips on how to avoid water lead exposure. This latter information was consistent with expectations based on prior research that avoiding lead exposure, be it water or in other environments, can decrease miscarriage rates.
The research has been published in the latest journal issue of Environmental Science and Technology and echoes earlier work by Edwards, the Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech.
Edwards was the first researcher to document a higher incidence of childhood lead poisoning due to lead contaminated drinking water in the nation's capital from 2000 to 2003.
"Extrapolations of prior research, predicted there would be several hundred miscarriages caused by lead per year in the District of Columbia from 2001 to 2003 — the data analysis was consistent with that expectation," said Edwards, a former McArthur Fellow and researcher once dubbed "The Plumbing Professor" by Time magazine.
"Pregnant women consuming tap water in cities with lead service pipes and in older buildings with lead-bearing plumbing, should take health warnings of water lead exposure seriously, and consider strategies to avoid water lead by flushing, using lead filters or even bottled water," Edwards added.
The new research in Environmental Science and Technology by Edwards also revisits a 1987-1988 miscarriage cluster at the former headquarters of the newspaper USA Today, which was then located in Arlington, Va.
In this case, a 100 percent miscarriage rate had been documented for women on certain floors that were undergoing construction renovations. A simulation experiment was conducted by Edwards in the new study, which indicated that hazardous levels of lead contamination in water could have affected water during the renovations.
Lead contamination in the water had been ruled out as a possible cause at the USA Today offices by a 16-month National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health investigation that never considered the effect of the renovations on the levels of lead in the water when the miscarriages occurred, Edwards said.
In the new study, Edwards recommends that all consumers be protected from high lead in water when plumbing is disturbed because of construction.
Edwards' prior research into lead contamination in Washington, D.C., led to multiple congressional investigations, including hearings he testified at in 2004 and in 2010, and was covered extensively by The Washington Post.
In addition to the McArthur Fellow honor, Edwards has since been honored with numerous awards for his investigative work into lead contamination in water, including receiving the Carl Barus Award for Outstanding Service in the Public Interest by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Society on Social Implications of Technology.


The Angel Fund is dedicated to giving financial and social support to families residing in Northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan whose children under 21 years of age are receiving treatment for cancer or bone marrow failure.
The Angel Fund is for the family that must bear the burden of enormous medical and related expenses in an effort to cure their child of a life threatening disease.
Call the Resource Coordinator at 920-615-6363.
Alternatively, fill out a release form and give it to your health care provider to allow the Angel Fund Resource Coordinator to contact you. Release forms can be obtained from your health care team!
With the aide of the Angel Fund Resource Coordinator, a plan can be developed and we can assist you with completing the application process.
Copyright © 2019 Angel Fund For Children With Cancer Inc.


Service contracting to the federal government is a natural venue for small business. It does not require a product with a niche market or capital intensive manufacturing facilities.
Service contracting does require skilled management and labor resources capable of performing a scope of work for which the government has identified a need and for which outsourcing to an industry contractor has been selected as the means to fulfill that need. The venue demands strong human resources management, industry teaming and an enhanced business system to price, account and bill on a job cost basis under government service contracts.
Small enterprises in the commercial services market are tempted to immediately begin bidding jobs in federal government contracting, approaching them like commercial efforts. They quickly find there are major differences in the way the government contracts are marketed, proposed, priced and performed. These differences are not "Rocket Science" but it is necessary to learn about them and plan for success.
What immediately becomes apparent to the commercial small business when entering the federal contracting service contracting market is that the sales cycle is a long one and the preliminary steps are often hidden from public view.
Often misunderstood, is that much has occurred in the way of marketing activities by companies in advance of notices formally published by the government on FEDBIZOPPS. By the time the formal, solicitation is published it is too late to market for setting a procurement aside for a small business designation if it has not already been established as such.
Even if a company has had exposure to an agency, marketed on a program in advance of its announcement or become a member of an industry team to bid the job, the proposal and award process, to include negotiations and start up, can easily consume 90 to 120 days as a minimum. For major programs the process often exceeds 6 months in duration. Planning must occur for the expense associated with supporting such lengthy marketing efforts before any cash flow results.
What Is A Small Business Federal Government Contractor?
If you are relying on FEDBIZOPPS or like sites for new business you will be very disappointed. Pre-solicitation notices do have promise, but you have to get inside an agency to find out who has the funding, the need and the decision-making authority. It is rarely the contracting officer who posts the notice who has these responsibilities.
Pre-solicitations are alerts to industry, attempts to gauge industry interest or a way of "Kicking the Can Down the Road" until funding becomes available. These notices are an indirect way of saying, "Come Visit Me and tell me about your company", or "Send Me your CAPE". The full formal notification will come out at a time to be determined by when the agency gets the funding and how much interest there is in the contractor community. A schedule for when the formal bid notice will occur is rarely posted.
Develop a capability statement (CAPE) to respond to government postings and mail directly to government agencies and to large corporations doing business with the government.
A capability statement is a necessity as a standalone marketing tool for dealing with government agencies and contractors. It should be short (no more than 2 pages) and hard hitting, containing all the information necessary for a government contracting officer or company buyer to place an order, as well as your registration information at local, state and federal web sites, your NAICS Codes and contact information.
Insert your CAPE in the tab at your web site where you discuss your background information and your government registrations.
See the second, vertical, Box Net "References" cube in the left margin of this site for an example of a good service contractor capabilities statement in the public domain.
Start up service contractors face the dual problem of establishing the enterprise with the one-time, non-recurring activities necessary to get the operation underway and at the same time acquire the core management talent and subsequent help as the business grows.
Even established companies who enter government service contracting find they cannot sustain a work force for large scale agency programs until the contracts are in hand to finance them.
A core team is an absolute necessity; it may be small and the business proposals may be few at first. But the core team product must be strategic in terms of high probability marketing to build the company base.
Supplementary help can be acquired by permanent ads at the company web site for generic skill sets, contingent hire agreements with prospective employees and similar techniques that position the resources on deck for business growth.
Small businesses commonly utilize contingent hire agreements to locate promising individuals who can bring projects or contacts with them when they join the firm. They are willing to negotiate a prospective wage and salary arrangement in advance of a proposal submission and commit to an offer of employment with benefits and commission should the program be won. They further offer to reimburse the participant for expenses and business related costs during the proposal period, if pre-approved.
(2) Contribute heavily to the proposal. Just bringing someone on who has no ability to offer targets usually does not work.
Government contract proposal preparation is time consuming and can be costly. Meeting the agency Request for Proposal (RFP) requirements with a responsive proposal can be well worth the effort if a winning strategy can be formulated.
Affirmative or non-affirmative answers to the topical questions and ability to fill in the blanks will drive your decision to bid or not bid a solicitation.
This writing has conveyed insights for planning participation strategically in the small business federal government service contracting market.
Consider the lengthy sales cycle and the roles your enterprise can best play in the venue. Conduct thorough market research, promote your capabilities endlessly and make astute bid/no bid decisions.
You must acquire core and supplementary help as business growth permits by using methods to preposition human resources. Prepare dynamic proposals with unique project plans to meet the past performance challenge, then execute your project plans to succeed.


text:
Maureen McGovern Net Worth
Maureen McGovern was born on July 27, 1949 in Youngstown, OH. Singer and actress on Broadway who sang "The Morning After" and who won the first Best Original Song Oscar Award in 1976.
Maureen McGovern is a member of Stage Actress
Birth Day July 27, 1949
Birth Place Youngstown, OH
Some Maureen McGovern images
Singer and Actress on Broadway who sang "The Morning After" and who won the first Best Original Song Oscar Award in 1976.
She worked as a secretary by day and sang as part of the folk band Sweet Rain by night.
Due to financial troubles, she changed her name and assumed a new life as a secretary in Marina Del Rey.
She was from an Irish family, born to parents James Terrence McGovern and Mary Rita.
Her first concert was filled with songs by George Gershwin.
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Advertisers while doing search engine marketing, continue to calculate a return on their ad costs irrespective of the fact that tracking is in place. So why not deliberately put tracking in place to have a better PPC campaign management? With Google analytics, you can get this revenue tracking free and then you can merge it with AdWords to establish a Return on Investment within AdWords interface.
The ROI optimization process involves setting a goal for the ROI as its first step. This will give a clearer picture of which key terms give a profitable ROI and which go negative on the ROI scale. This way, you can easily remove ROI negatives if you are unable to convert those into positives.
Having a goal set for the ROI, it becomes easier to manage keywords and keyword clusters using basic optimization logic. You can take this optimization process a step further by combining it with CPA optimization logic and thus manage gross profit margins of your pay per clicks.
Like every product has its own value, every keyword has its own average order value (AOV) and it is obvious that with a higher AOV, every advertiser would want to maximize his sales on keywords he used for his pay per click campaign. In fact, if you shift your campaign budget towards terms having highest AOVs, it will maximize your ROI.
The basic idea behind this is to get business intelligence that can help make a successful PPC campaign management. If you don't have that business intelligence then you are wasting money. But why waste money when you have a solution ready and that too for free.


text:
W.P. Vandevert
Harper School
Hashknife Brand
Joshua Jackson Vandevert and Red Cloud Ranch
Joshua Jackson Vandervort was born in Piketown County, Ohio in 1822, and came to Oregon in 1848, meeting Thomas Clark, an Englishman along the way. The two worked briefly at Dr. John McLoughlin's lumber mill in Oregon City before decamping to catch the early days of the California Gold Rush. Known as Jackson and sometimes simply as Jack, Vandervort continued to mine gold while Clark went east to acquire horses and farm equipment to sell in Oregon. Thomas brought his sister, Grace Hodgson Clark back with him along the Oregon Trail where she narrowly escaped death in the Clark Massacre.
Jackson and Grace were married on April 14, 1853 in "Coast Fork", Oregon. Before their first son, William Plutarch was born, Grace told Jackson that Vandervort sounded "too Dutchy" and he agreed to change his last name to Vandevert. The Coast Fork of the Willamette River flows through Cottage Grove, Oregon, where the couple obtained a 320 acre donation land claim in the Delight Valley. The Donation Land Act of 1850 was a forerunner to the Homestead Act that gave land to Oregon settlers to encourage immigration. It was one of the first laws in the United States that allowed married women to own property in their own name. Joshua Jackson owned the east half of the property and Grace owned the west half.
Though Grace had been scarred and nearly killed by Indians on the Oregon Trail, she dedicated her efforts to helping Indians near Cottage Grove and taught Indian children in school along with her own.
Grace died February 20, 1875, and Jackson moved to Powell Butte shortly thereafter to start a new ranch. Powell Butte lies east of the Cascade Mountains between the Deschutes River and the Crooked River. It is dry high desert land and Vandevert selected a site with a good spring on it that came to be known as Vandevert Spring. Many settlers in the area hauled water from the spring to their own land until 1909, shortly after the Central Oregon Irrigation canal arrived and the Powell Butte Wood Stave Siphon was built. The photo at right shows the general area of the ranch as it appeared in 1991. The barn was built by Joshua but the other buildings are more recent.
Vandevert called his place Red Cloud Ranch. Red Cloud was a chief of the Oglala Lakota Sioux, famous as a war leader against the United States in Red Cloud's War (1866-1868) in northeastern Wyoming and southern Montana. By the time Jackson founded his ranch, Red Cloud had met twice with President Ulysses S. Grant and had led his tribe in its transition to reservation life. Red Cloud died in 1909 and his direct descendant, Oliver Red Cloud is the head chief of the Oglala Lakota Sioux and spokesman for the Lakota Sioux Nation.
Joshua and Grace had a son and a daughter who died as children and four sons who grew to adulthood. Charles, Dick, and Walter filed on adjoining homesteads on the Little Deschutes. Charles then moved to Trout Creek near Ashwood where he died in a horse and wagon accident in 1902. Dick owned a stagecoach company and a stage stop in Prineville. Later he moved to Eugene. Walter rode for various ranches in Crook County and claimed to know Central Oregon better than any other one person. William Plutarch, the eldest son, bought land from Charles on the Little Deschutes and founded Vandevert Ranch. The photo at left of a hunting trip shows, from left to right, Charles, Dick, and Joshua Jackson.
Joshua built a large barn on his ranch that still stands today. The accompanying photo of the Vandevert barn was taken in 1991. Joshua lived 88 years and died July 18, 1910 in Prineville. Part of the original Red Cloud Ranch, including the spring, became a five acre lot housing development called Red Cloud Ranch. A German developer had plans in 1991 to develop another part of the original ranch, including the barn, into a vacation resort called Stagecoach Ranch that would especially appeal to Europeans fascinated with the old American west. These plans did not come to fruition and this portion of the ranch remains in private hands.
Bennett, Sam, Crook Planners to look at proposed development site, The Bulletin, March 28, 1991.
75 Years Ago - Pioneer Walter J. Vandevert Dies, The Bulletin December 26, 2004.
Interview with Ruth Lane (Charles Vandevert's daughter) in Prineville, Oregon, by Grace McNellis June 6, 1991
McNellis, Grace Vandevert – photos, genealogies, land donation certificate, personal recollections
Page design copyright 2005-2010 The Vandevert Ranch Association. Content copyright 2004-2010 T. Haynes & G.V. McNellis. Neither the Association nor its members guarantees the accuracy or completeness of information or representations on this Web Site. Buyers should obtain definitive information from their real estate agent.


Product Code: bk006 What every person needs to know about trees. Learn about trees and their associates so that you can help make better decisions for their long-term, high-quality survival. Dr. Shigo explains the complex and fascinating mysteries of how a tree works. Even foresters and botanists will find this helpful for explaining to others the biology of trees. For that reason Tree Basics has been placed in all New Hampshire schools.
"Tree Basics" presents an excellent explanation of tree decay and compartmentalization.
A complete tree anatomy lesson on how bark, roots, leaves and flowers work.
Tree care advice including how to prune correctly.
Product Code: bk002 Show your commitment to proper tree care! A recent reprinting of Modern Arboriculture makes this most popular item available now to everyone! Modern Arboriculture is one of the most studied, requested and acclaimed books of Dr. Alex L. Shigo Modern arboriculture is about new and better ways to help trees stay healthy, safe and attractive.


text:
#import "NSString+SBJSON.h"
#import "SBJsonParser.h"
#import "RKFixCategoryBug.h"

RK_FIX_CATEGORY_BUG(NSString_SBJSON)

@implementation NSString (NSString_SBJSON)

- (id)JSONValue
{
    SBJsonParser *jsonParser = [SBJsonParser new];
    id repr = [jsonParser objectWithString:self];
    if (!repr)
        NSLog(@"-JSONValue failed. Error trace is: %@", [jsonParser errorTrace]);
    [jsonParser release];
    return repr;
}

@end


text:
Q: Do OpenLayers maps always show/flash an empty screen while zooming? When double-clicking on an OpenLayers map, the screen is momentarily blank while the next zoom level draws.
Is this avoidable? It's not ideal, given that many other mapping APIs show a smooth zooming effect.

A: You will have to change the layer transitionEffect to 'resize'. According to OpenLayers documentation:
transitionEffect
{String} The transition effect to use when the map is panned or zoomed.
There are currently two supported values

*

*null
No transition effect (the default).

*resize
Existing tiles are resized on zoom to provide a visual effect of the zoom having taken place immediately.  As the new tiles become available, they are drawn over top of the resized tiles.

http://dev.openlayers.org/releases/OpenLayers-2.7/doc/apidocs/files/OpenLayers/Layer-js.html#OpenLayers.Layer.transitionEffect


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It is good idea, but how we can upload all the source file?
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Fantastic to see these, so many names, so many memories. The exhilaration of being booked in, the journey to the "dark side" of Manchester, the excitement of being in the studio, trying to act cool but the anticipation of what you are about to do, overwhelming you. A big thanks to Cargo, starting so many careers. If we didnt stay in the industry, the experience would still be burnt into our history, leaving the building, cradling our TDK's as though they were newborn babies.