Topic: The everything Xbox thread

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Microsoft updated their blog with more smartglass details and how it works in regards to the OS and Games.

With SmartGlass for Xbox One you can use your phone, laptop or tablet as a remote to easily navigate the web on your console, turn up the volume on your TV, and select a video, music or game to play. SmartGlass is more than just controlling your TV content though. We are working with all of our game and entertainment partners to build really cool experiences that take advantage of the fact that you have smart devices connected to your Xbox One.

A core feature that was super important for us is that gamers can use SmartGlass for matchmaking on Xbox One. If you’re in the middle of game on your console, you can begin matchmaking for a multiplayer session through SmartGlass and you won’t interrupt your action on the big screen.

If you’re having trouble in a game, you can tap a Help button in SmartGlass that will give you contextually aware information for whatever you’re playing. We’re working closely with developers today to add game help to individual Xbox One titles. This is done by game creators making a help manual that we then host in SmartGlass. During gameplay, SmartGlass follows your progress and knows exactly where you’re at and where you’re having trouble, so that when you hit the Help button you’ll be given the tips you need. It’s a really cool additive experience to your gameplay and a way for developers to use additional screens to enhance the experience of playing games on Xbox One.

SmartGlass is your Xbox One dashboard when you’re away from your console and keeps you in touch with your Xbox One games and community. In addition to staying connected to your friends, sending and receiving messages, and checking all your Achievements, SmartGlass will show your friends’ activity and let you look at the games they’re playing. From there, you can pin those games in SmartGlass and those pins will appear on your Xbox One the next time you’re connected to Xbox Live. We’re making it easier to find new games by adding the ability to search the entire Xbox Games Store within SmartGlass. And we’re adding a promoted games section that delivers titles specific to your tastes based on your gaming history

SmartGlass serves up game details pages that let you get competitive in a new way by showing you your friends’ progress relative to your own if you’re playing the same game. You can compare your Achievements and Challenges and other stats that developers deem relevant to their game. You can send and receive messages with your Xbox Live friends so you can talk trash or send congrats on their recent wins. You’ll also have access to Game DVR clips that you and your friends create.

You can do a lot with SmartGlass when you’re watching TV on your Xbox One. You can change channels on your cable or satellite set-top box and even control the volume of your television. When you hit volume up on your SmartGlass device, for example, it tells your Xbox One console to send the volume up command through IR blasting from Kinect directly to your TV. Xbox One integrates all your entertainment into an easy to navigate OneGuide—a single destination for seeing what’s on TV, your favorite channels and even programs that you watch in your favorite streaming apps. You can either navigate the OneGuide on the TV, or you can access it on your smartphone, tablet or laptop with SmartGlass. So when you’re fighting over the remote or what to watch next, use SmartGlass to see what’s on and what to watch without interrupting what’s happening on the TV or to go ahead and change the channel if the remote is nowhere to be found.

When Microsoft gave us the opportunity to use Xbox SmartGlass in “Dead Rising 3,” we immediately established two simple goals: Integrate the experience into the storyline and fiction of Los Perdidos, and ensure the experience is additive, yet rewarding.

We’re now about two months from launch and I’m excited to say I think we’ve accomplished both of these goals.

In “Dead Rising 3,” SmartGlass becomes your in-game smartphone, compatible with all Windows 8, iOS and Android SmartGlass-enabled devices. As Nick Ramos, you’re trying to escape Los Perdidos and fight your way through thousands of zombies before an impending military strike wipes the city (and everyone still in it) off the map. Thankfully, Nick’s not alone. There are other survivors banding together with the same purpose.

Early in the story, Nick finds a smartphone. At this point the player can connect their SmartGlass device and turn it into a Zombie Defense and Control PDA. This is totally optional, but again, we wanted to make it a rewarding and fun experience that feels fully integrated into the game – not just tacked on.

Here are the features Nick’s ZDC PDA will support:

Exclusive Side Missions and Rewards: You will receive phone calls and text messages from in-game characters on your SmartGlass device which will activate special missions exclusive to SmartGlass users. These missions have their own story that feeds back into the fiction of "Dead Rising 3" and will reward players with exclusive weapons and additional support applications for your ZDC PDA.

Mission Tracker: Track your progress towards all your active missions without having to pause and navigate the in-game menus. SmartGlass gives you a mission checklist as well as a map for quick reference as you fight your way through the zombie hordes.

Los Perdidos News Ticker: With the news ticker, you’ll get updates and hints on where zombie outbreaks are happening around the city, giving you an edge as you plan your escape (or attack!).

Real-Time Map: Shows your location in Los Perdidos, the location of your co-op player and other points of interest in the world.

Support Applications: Use the ZDC Military Support app to request drone gun support, military grade flares to distract zombies or an air strike to decimate an infected area. You can also utilize Item Finders to locate specific weapons, vehicles and stores scattered throughout Los Perdidos, or the Backup app to call in survivors to help you fight and get Hints to help with missions or boss fights.

“Project Spark” is all about putting the power of creation in your hands, and we’re literally doing that with Xbox SmartGlass available on all Windows 8, iOS and Android SmartGlass-enabled devices.

What we have created is not really a “companion” app as much as a mirror of the Xbox One experience, and more. It delivers the full power and visual fidelity of Xbox One with the additional benefit of the Windows 8 touch interface and a virtual keyboard on the device connected via SmartGlass. This means that you can play, create, and share on SmartGlass devices.

Anything you can do on your Xbox One in “Project Spark,” you can do with “Project Spark” on SmartGlass. This even includes playing games built with, and designed for, touch input.

SmartGlass infinitely expands the possibilities of “Project Spark” user-created games on Xbox One. For example, someone could create a touch-only based game and, using SmartGlass, Xbox One players can play, remix, and share that game without platform limitations. Creators could even create games where there is a mix between the two – a shooter or action game where controller works best, and then puzzles that require touch input to solve.

Our goal is to open players’ imaginations and give them the tools they need to create anything they can dream up. Combining SmartGlass with Xbox One lets us deliver on that promise. Team Dakota is extremely excited to see what you can create with these powerful tools.

Xbox SmartGlass has enabled us to take the interactive party experience to the next level for "Just Dance 2014." Here at Ubisoft we have designed a range of new features that really compliment the Kinect platform. Now, anyone with a smartphone device or tablet is able to connect to the game using the SmartGlass application and instantly take control of the game… and the party.

One of the SmartGlass-enabled features in "Just Dance" is the ability to set up endless playlists during gameplay. Players can set up play lists featuring their favorite "Just Dance 2014" songs like Psy’s “Gentlemen” or One Directions “Kiss you.” The player also has the ability to add or remove songs during gameplay allowing them to transform the soundtrack of the party instantly.

In addition, "Just Dance 2014" creates instant video recaps of a dance session in a feature called Autodance. Autodance videos feature the coolest moments of a party mixed together and presented as a music video at the end of a song. The player also has the ability to edit the videos and apply crazy and funny effects. This is where the SmartGlass functionality really shines! By using the touchscreen controls, players are able to edit these videos effortlessly in an editing suite.