Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 August 1

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Flight Unlimited II is a 1997 flight simulator video game developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. The player controls one of five planes in the airspace of the San Francisco Bay Area, which is shared with up to 600 artificially intelligent aircraft directed by real-time air traffic control. The game eschews the aerobatics focus of its predecessor, Flight Unlimited, in favor of general civilian aviation. The team developed new physics code and an engine, seeking to create an immersive world for the player and to compete with the Microsoft Flight Simulator series. Commercially, Flight Unlimited II performed well enough to recoup its development costs. Critics lauded the game's graphics and simulated airspace, and several praised its physics. However, some considered the game to be inferior to Microsoft Flight Simulator '98. Following the completion of Flight Unlimited II, its team split up to develop Flight Unlimited III (1999) and Flight Combat (later Jane's Attack Squadron) simultaneously. Both projects were troubled, and they contributed to the closure of Looking Glass in May 2000. (Full article...)

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Kevin Feige, at bust length and wearing a black jacket and baseball cap, speaks into a microphone

There are presently ten films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), an American series of superhero films that has been in production since 2007. Produced by Marvel Studios and based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics, the series has collectively grossed over $6.3 billion at the global box office, making it the second highest-grossing film franchise, behind Harry Potter. Kevin Feige (pictured) has served as a producer for every MCU film, beginning with 2008's Iron Man and continuing through the series' most recent release, Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. The films are written and directed by a variety of individuals and feature large, often ensemble, casts. Many of the actors, including Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson, signed contracts to star in numerous films. Five more films have been announced, including Avengers: Age of Ultron, the next film scheduled for release, with release dates for a further six films announced through 2019. (Full list...)

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Portrait of a Young Girl

Portrait of a Young Girl is a small oil painting on oak panel completed between 1465 and 1470 by Petrus Christus. Unlike in prior Early Netherlandish paintings, the sitter is placed in an airy, three-dimensional, realistic setting. This portrait, described by art historian Joel Upton as "a polished pearl, almost opalescent, lying on a cushion of black velvet", was influential in the decades after its completion.

Painting: Petrus Christus

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