The first game engine to allow spline-based curved surfaces in a game was the id Tech 3, the engine behind Quake III Arena. This technology renders and slots together a series of small geometric shapes in order to create the impression of a smooth surface, so gone are the flat, 2D sprites of its predecessors. Other features of the engine include improved animation (thanks to the use of vertex movements), a high-level shader language, and a method for rendering volumetric fog.
The Rescuers Down Under (USA,1990), the first ever animated sequel made by Disney (USA), was also the first movie to be made using the Computer Animation Production System (CAPS) – Disney’s digital ink-and-paint system developed with Pixar (USA). CAPS allowed for, among other things, the digital colourization of scanned elememts, multiplane backgrounds, and complex camera movements never before available to animators.
Launched in arcades in 1985, the first game to allow simultaneous fourplayer action was fantasy-themed Gauntlet. The game featured four sets of inputs, allowing cooperation through a number of unique play mechanics. It went on to have a huge influence on the arcades, with many of the big titles that followed also shipping in four-player cabinets. Featured in Guinness World Records Gamer”s Edition 2010
An additional level of Half-Life 2: Lost Coast was available for download shortly after release. This level incorporates floating speech bubbles (known as commentary nodes) in the game world. Interacting with these nodes plays an audio commentary in which the developers discuss the creation of that area. The 2007 Orange Box version contains over two and a half hours of commentary activated in this way. GWR Video Gamer’s Edition 2008, title: First PC game to feature developer commentary.
The first PlayStation 2 game to use moving dynamic lighting was Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow. This came in the form of a torch, wielded by the ARGUS mercenaries, picking out details in the darkness.
NFL Football, released for the NES in 1989, was intended to represent the 1988/89 NFL season, and used teams and play formations accurate to the era.
GTA III was the first game to be recognized by the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) for selling over one million copies in the UK. Notably, it is also the first British game to make the ELSPA Award Million-Seller list. GWR Video Gamer’s Edition 2008, title: First game to win an ELSPA Diamond Million-Seller award.
Dr Crawford Williamson Long (USA)(1815-78) removed a cyst from the neck of James Venable (USA), using diethyl ether (C2H5)2O, in Jefferson, Georgia, USA on 30 March 1842.
The first actual golden disc was once sprayed by R.C.A. Victor for presentation to the U.S. trombonist and band-laeder Alton “Glenn” Miller (1904-1944) for his Chattanooga Choo Choo on 10 Feb 1942.
The Portuguese established the first global maritime and commercial empire under the leadership of Henry the Navigator in the 15th century. In the 1440s, Henry sent out key expeditions to Africa and Asia, and in the 16th and 17th centuries, Portugal went on to establish colonies in Brazil, Africa, East Timor, India and Macau. The Spanish quickly followed suit by conquering Mexico in 1519 and, shortly thereafter, Peru, the Philippines and most of Central and South America (except Brazil).