History.

In 2003, original equipment manufacturers released the first tablet PCs designed to the Microsoft Tablet PC specification. This generation of Microsoft Tablet PCs were designed to run Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, the Tablet PC version of Windows XP. This version of Microsoft Windows superseded Microsoft's earlier pen computing operating environment, Windows for Pen Computing 2.0. After releasing Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Microsoft designed the successive desktop computer versions of Windows, Windows Vista and Windows 7, to support pen computing intrinsically. The Tablet PC with Windows XP released in 2001 possessed 128 megabytes of RAM and a 600 megahertz processor, with a storage capacity of 10GB.  Following Windows for Pen Computing, Microsoft has been developing for tablets running Windows under the Microsoft Tablet PC name. According to a 2001 Microsoft definition of the term, "Microsoft Tablet PCs" are pen-based, fully functional x86 PCs with handwriting and voice recognition functionality. Tablet PCs use the same hardware as normal laptops but add support for pen input. For specialized support for pen input, Microsoft released Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Today there is no tablet specific version of Windows but instead support is built into both Home and Business versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. Tablets running Windows get the added functionality of using the touchscreen for mouse input, hand writing recognition, and gesture support. Following Tablet PC, Microsoft announced the UMPC initiative in 2006 which brought Windows tablets to a smaller, touch-centric configuration. This was relaunched in 2010 as Slate PC, to promote tablets running Windows 7 Slate PCs are expected to benefit from mobile hardware advances derived from the success of the netbooks.  Many tablet manufacturers are moving to the ARM architecture with lighter operating systems, Microsoft followed suit in 2012 with Surface and Windows RT. Though Microsoft has Windows RT for ARM support it has kept its target market for the smartphone industry with Windows Phone 8. Some manufacturers, however, still have shown prototypes of Windows CE-based tablets running a custom shell.

Configurations.

Booklet.

Booklet PCs are dual screen tablet computers that fold like a book. Typical booklet PCs are equipped with multi-touch screens and pen writing recognition abilities. They are designed to be used as digital day planners, internet surfing devices, project planners, music players, and displays for video, live TV, and e-reading.

Slate.

Slate computers, which resemble writing slates, are tablet computers without a dedicated keyboard. For text input, users rely on handwriting recognition via an active digitizer, touching an on-screen keyboard using fingertips or a stylus, or using an external keyboard that can usually be attached via a wireless or USB connection.  Tablet PCs typically incorporate small () LCD screens and have been popular in vertical markets such as health care, education, hospitality and field work. Applications for field work often need a tablet PC that has rugged specifications that ensure long life by resisting heat, humidity, and drop/vibration damage. This added focus on mobility and/or ruggedness often leads to eliminating moving parts that could raise vulnerability.

Convertible.

Convertible notebooks have a base body with an attached keyboard. They more closely resemble modern laptops, and are usually heavier and larger than slates.  Typically, the base of a convertible attaches to the display at one joint called a swivel hinge or rotating hinge. The joint allows the screen to rotate through 180° and fold down on top of the keyboard to provide a flat writing surface. This design, although the most common, creates a physical point of weakness on the notebook.  Some manufacturers have attempted to overcome these weak points. The Panasonic Toughbook CF-19, for example, is advertised as a more durable convertible notebook. One model by Acer (the TravelMate C210) has a sliding design in which the screen slides up from the slate-like position and locks into place to provide the laptop mode.  Convertibles are by far the most popular configuration of tablet PCs, because they still offer the keyboard and pointing device (usually a trackpad) of older notebooks, for users who do not use the touchscreen display as the primary input method.

Hybrid.

Hybrids, coined by users of the HP/Compaq TC1000 and TC1100 series, share the features of the slate and convertible by using a detachable keyboard that operates similarly to a convertible when attached. Hybrids are not the same as slate models with detachable keyboards. Detachable keyboards for pure slate models do not rotate to allow the tablet to rest on it like a convertible. An examples of hybrids are Microsoft Surface (10.6 or 12) or Fujitsu Stylistic (11.6 with an Intel-i5-vPro processor).

System software.

Windows 7 touch capability is similar to Microsoft PixelSense technologies (formerly known as Microsoft Surface). This is a gesture and touch-centric UI enhancement that works with most current touch computers. Windows has a history of tablet technology including Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Tablet PC Edition is a superset of Windows XP Professional, the difference being tablet functionality, including alternate text input (Tablet PC Input Panel) and basic drivers for support of tablet PC specific hardware. Requirements to install Tablet PC Edition include a tablet digitizer or touchscreen device, and hardware control buttons including a Ctrl-Alt-Delete shortcut button, scrolling buttons, and at least one user-configurable application button.  Service Pack 2 for Windows XP includes Tablet PC Edition 2005 and is a free upgrade. This version brought improved handwriting recognition and improved the Input Panel, allowing it to be used in almost every application. The Input Panel was also revised to extend speech recognition services (input and correction) to other applications.  With the succession of Windows Vista, the Tablet PC functionality no longer needed a separate edition. Tablet PC support is built into all editions of Windows Vista with the exception of Home Basic and Starter editions. This extends the handwriting recognition, ink collection, and additional input methods to any computer running Vista even if the input device is an external digitizer, a touch screen, or even a regular mouse. Vista also supports multi-touch functions and gestures (originally developed for the Microsoft PixelSense version of Vista) and is now usable by the public with the release of multi-touch tablets. Windows Vista also significantly improved handwriting recognition functionality with the introduction of a handwriting recognition personalization tool as well as an automatic handwriting learning tool.  Tablet functionality is available in all editions of Windows 7 except the Starter edition. It introduces a new Math Input Panel that recognizes handwritten math expressions and formulas, and integrates with other programs. Windows 7 also significantly improved pen input and handwriting recognition by becoming faster, more accurate, and supportive of more languages, including East Asian writing systems. Personalized custom dictionaries help with the recognition of specialized vocabulary (like medical and technical terms), and text prediction speeds up the input process to make note-taking faster. Multi-touch technology is also available on some Tablet PCs, enabling more advanced interaction using touch gestures with your fingers the same way a mouse is used. Despite such advances, problems may arise with tablet functions of the OS, when, for instance, touch screen drivers are recognized as PS/2 mouse input rather than a touch input device. In such instances tablet functions may be unavailable or severely restricted in functionality.

Windows applications.

Applications developed for the tablet PC cater to the configuration and functionality available on the platform. Many forms of applications incorporate a pen-friendly user interface and/or the ability to hand write directly in the document or interface.  A brief description of the applications included follows:  The Touch Pack for Windows 7 is a free package of games and programs optimized for multitouch input.

Microsoft Tablet PCs vs. traditional notebooks.

The advantages and disadvantages of tablet PCs are highly subjective measures. What appeals to one user may be exactly what disappoints another. The following are commonly cited opinions of the tablet PC platform:

Features.

In addition to the host of features found on regular laptops, tablet PCs may also possess:

Microsoft Tablet PC is a term coined by Microsoft for tablet computers conforming to a set of specifications announced in 2001 by Microsoft, for a pen-enabled personal computer, conforming to hardware specifications devised by Microsoft and running a licensed copy of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system or a derivative thereof.

Microsoft Tablet PC (též jen "Tablet PC") je již opuštěná řada tabletových počítačů firmy Microsoft. Jejich nástupcem je Microsoft Surface. Microsoft Tablet PC byly označovány jako mezistupeň mezi notebookem a kapesním počítačem (PDA). Podle původních představ jimi měl být definován nový jednoúčelový přenosný počítač s vysokou výdrží baterií ovládaný pomocí stylusu s rezistivním dotykovým displejem.


In Canada.

Over seven million Canadians identified as a member of a visible minority group in the 2016 Census, accounting for 22.3% of the total population. This was an increase from the 2011 Census, when visible minorities accounted for 19.1% of the total population; from the 2006 Census, when visible minorities accounted for 16.2% of the total population; from 2001, when visible minorities accounted for 13.4% of the total population; from 1996 when the proportion was 11.2%; and over 1991 (9.4%) and 1981 (4.7%). In 1961, the visible minority population was less than 1%. The increase represents a significant shift in Canada's demographics related to increased immigration since the advent of its multiculturalism policies.  Based upon the annual immigration intake into Canada since the last census in 2006, accompanied by the steady increase in the visible minority population within Canada due to the higher fertility levels of minority females when compared to Canadian women of European origin, researchers estimate that by 2012, approximately 19.56% of the population in Canada will be individuals of non-European (visible minority) origin. The Aboriginal population within Canada, based upon projections for the same year (i.e. 2012), is estimated to be 4.24%. Hence, at least 23.8% of Canada's population in 2012 were individuals of visible minority and Aboriginal heritage. Projections also indicate that by 2031, the visible minority population in Canada will make up about 33% of the nation's population, given the steady increase in the non-European component of the Canadian population.  Of the provinces, British Columbia had the highest proportion of visible minorities, representing 30.3% of its population, followed by Ontario at 29.3%, Alberta at 23.5% and Manitoba at 17.5%. In the 2006 census, South Asian Canadians superseded ethnic Chinese as Canada's largest visible minority group. In 2006, Statistics Canada estimated that there were 1.3 million South Asian people in Canada, compared with 1.2 million Chinese. In 2016, there were approximately 1.9 million South Asian Canadians, representing 5.6% of the country's population, followed by Chinese Canadians (4.6%) and Black Canadians (3.5%).

List of Canadian census subdivisions with visible minority populations higher than the national average.

National average: 22.3%<br>Source: Canada 2016 Census

Legislative versus operational definitions.

According to the Employment Equity Act of 1995, the definition of visible minority is:  This definition can be traced back to the 1984 Report of the Abella Commission on Equality in Employment. The Commission described the term visible minority as an "ambiguous categorization", but for practical purposes interpreted it to mean "visibly non-white". The Canadian government uses an operational definition by which it identifies the following groups as visible minorities: "Chinese, South Asian, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Southeast Asian, Arab, West Asian, Korean, Japanese, Visible minority, n.i.e. ('n.i.e.' means 'not included elsewhere'), and Multiple visible minority". However, a few exceptions are applied to some groups. According to the "Visible Minority Population and Population Group Reference Guide" of the 2006 Census, the exception is:  The term "non-white" is used in the wording of the Employment Equity Act and in employment equity questionnaires distributed to applicants and employees. This is intended as a shorthand phrase for those who are in the Aboriginal and/or visible minority groups.

Controversy.

The classification "visible minorities" has attracted controversy, both nationally and from abroad. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has stated that they have doubts regarding the use of this term since this term may be considered objectionable by certain minorities and recommended an evaluation of this term. In response, the Canadian government made efforts to evaluate how this term is used in Canadian society through commissioning of scholars and open workshops.  Another criticism stems from the semantic applicability of the classification. In some cases, members of "visible minorities" may be neither "visually" discernible from the majority population nor form a "minority", at least locally. For instance, many Latin Americans living in Canada self-identify as White Latin Americans and are visually indistinguishable from White Canadians. Moreover, some members of "visible minorities" may form a majority minority population locally (as is the case in most parts of Vancouver and Toronto). Since 2008, census data and media reports have suggested that the "visible minorities" label no longer makes sense in some large Canadian cities, due to immigration trends in recent decades. For example, "visible minorities" comprise the "majority" of the population in Toronto, Vancouver, Markham, Coquitlam, Richmond, Ajax, Burnaby, Greater Vancouver A, Mississauga, Surrey, Richmond Hill and Brampton. In the United States, such cities or districts are described as majority-minority. But, the term "visible minority" is used for the administration of the Employment Equity Act, and refers to its statistical basis in Canada as a whole and not any particular region.  Yet another criticism of the label concerns the composition of "visible minorities". Critics have noted that the groups comprising "visible minorities" have little in common with each other, as they include both disadvantaged groups and groups who are not economically disadvantaged. The concept of visible minority has been cited in demography research as an example of a statistext, meaning a census category that has been contrived for a particular public policy purpose.

A visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connection with that country's Employment Equity policies. The qualifier "visible" was chosen by the Canadian authorities as a way to single out newer immigrant minorities from both Aboriginal Canadians and other "older" minorities distinguishable by language (French vs. English) and religion (Catholics vs. Protestants), which are "invisible" traits.

Viditelné menšiny (angl. "visible minorities") je označení pro příslušníky jiných než majoritních ras v rámci daného státu. Pojem je používán v Kanadě (pro příslušníky jiných ras než jsou bílá a aborginské) a částečně i ve Velké Británii.


Etymology.

The coast was named "Costa Brava" by in an article published in the Catalan newspaper "La Veu de Catalunya" in September 1908. Agulló, a journalist born in Girona, referred to the rugged landscape of the Mediterranean coast which runs from the River Tordera, near Blanes, to Banyuls with the name "Costa Brava". "Costa" is the Catalan and Spanish word for 'coast', while "Brava" means 'rugged' or 'wild'. This term was officially recognized and promoted in the 1960s as it was deemed suitable to promote tourism in the region. Before Costa Brava became the official name, other names were suggested, such as "Costa Grega" (Greek Coast), "Costa del Corall" (Coral Coast), "Costa Serena" (Serene Coast), "Costes de Llevant" (Levant Coasts) or "Marina de l'Empordà" (Empordà Marine).  It may or may not be a coincidence that the name "Costa Brava "resembles "Costa Blava "(the Catalan designation of the French Riviera), which is a literal translation of the Spanish "Costa Azul" ("Blue Coast"). This in turn is a not-quite-literal translation of the French "Côte d'Azur "("Azure Coast"); "azul" has the same etymology as "azur", but it is the general Spanish term for blue, not specifically azure. A direct translation from French to Catalan would have yielded "Costa d'Atzur".

"Comarques".

Its coastline includes three comarques:  But its toponymy includes two more:

Geography.

Extent.

The province of Girona is within Catalonia, it covers an area of 5,885 square kilometres and is situated in the extreme northeast part of the Iberian Peninsula, between 41°40′ and 42°30′ latitude and 5°27′ and 7° longitude east. The western border is a broken line that separates it from the province of Barcelona. The coastal strip is its eastern border, which extends along 158 linear kilometres (85 nautical miles) or 256 kilometres of the intricate profile of the Costa Brava.  The Generalitat de Catalunya defines the Costa Brava as the coastal region that stretches from the Franco-Spanish border to the mouth of the River Tordera, marking the border of the provinces of Girona and Barcelona. Portbou is the closest town to the border while its Blanes marks its southernmost point. The Costa Brava Girona Tourism Board, a body of the tourism industry of the Province of Girona, promotes the brand name "Costa Brava" as an area of. By this definition, Costa Brava includes the coastal "comarques" of Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà, Selva and the inland "comarques" of Pla de l'Estany and Gironès.

Description.

The northernmost part of the Costa Brava belongs to the "comarca" of Alt Empordà, and is marked by the Albera Massif and Cap de Creus, the easternmost prolongation of the Pyrenees. This area near the frontier is marked by rough terrain and cliffs, with small bays along the coast, in contrast with the large plains of the Alt Empordà region, where its capital Figueres is located. The first town from the border with France is Portbou, which grew around the railway station. A little down the coast are the seafaring villages of Colera and Llançà. North of the Cap de Creus lies the town of El Port de la Selva, while on its south lie the towns of Cadaqués and Roses. To the south of the Cap de Creus is found the Gulf of Roses, which stretches for fifteen kilometres with beaches and marshlands formed by the Muga and Fluvià rivers, with the protected areas of the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà along the coast. Empuriabrava, part of the municipality of Castelló d'Empúries, is one of the largest marinas in the world, built in the 1960s on the marshlands of the River Muga. Further south lies the town of Sant Pere Pescador and the coastal town of L'Escala. Between this two towns is the village of Sant Martí d'Empúries, which lies near the ruins of the ancient Greek colony of Empúries, founded in 575 BC. The central part of the Costa Brava belongs to the "comarca" of Baix Empordà, whose capital is La Bisbal d'Empordà, with the Montgrí Massif extending on its north, from L'Escala to the village of L'Estartit, part of the municipality of Torroella de Montgrí. The River Ter pours its water at this point, near a small archipelago known as Medes Islands. Further south, following a stretch of beach and marshlands, are the towns of Pals, Begur and Palafrugell. At this point the Gavarres Massif meets the sea, with a coast marked by rugged cliffs, small bays and beaches amid coastal villages such as Aiguafreda, Fornells, Tamariu, Calella de Palafrugell and Llafranc. The town of Palamós, further south, is a major commercial and fishing port. At this point the coast forms a bay between Palamós and Sant Antoni de Calonge, part of the town of Calonge. South of it lies the town of Castell-Platja d'Aro, including Platja d'Aro, a large tourist resort which has grown along a wide beach. Situated to the south are S'Agaró and the town of Sant Feliu de Guixols, which lies to the north-east of the Ardenya Massif.  The southernmost part of the Costa Brava belongs to the "comarca" of Selva, whose capital is Santa Coloma de Farners, about from the Mediterranean Sea. Tossa de Mar is located to the north of the coastline, with several resorts and small bays along the littoral. Lloret de Mar, located to the south of Tossa, is the largest resort on the Costa Brava, with a population of over 200,000 at its peak during the summer. Blanes is the southernmost town on the Costa Brava and is the third most populous municipality of the Province of Girona.  In the middle of the Costa Brava, about inland from the Mediterranean Sea, lies Girona, the capital of the comarca of Gironès and the Province of Girona. The city has a population of almost 100,000 and lies at the confluence of the Onyar, Güell, Galligants and Ter rivers. Ten kilometres north of Girona is Banyoles, the capital of the "comarca" of the Pla de l'Estany, on the shore of the Lake of Banyoles. Both the Gironès and the Pla de l'Estany are the inland "comarques" of the Costa Brava.

Rivers.

The main rivers that pour their waters into the Costa Brava are:

Climate.

Costa Brava has a typical Mediterranean climate, mild and temperate, characterised by hot, dry summers and moderately cold winters. The annual average temperature ranges from 7 to 28 °C, while the highest temperatures are recorded in the months of July and August.

History.

Until after the First World War, the beaches along the coast of Catalonia served for Sunday leisure pursuits for the local people, plus one or two from neighbouring villages. While world tourism had discovered the Côte d'Azur by that time, the Costa Brava remained unknown to it.  A few years after the Spanish Civil War when some sort of order had been restored, the gradual breaking down of Spain's international isolation in the 1950s cleared the way for new options in tourism. The sea and the sun were drawing increasing numbers of people, which combined with the Côte d'Azur already being overcrowded in those days, enhanced the appeal of Costa Brava for holiday-makers who made their way there.  In the 1950s, the Costa Brava was identified by the Spanish government and local entrepreneurs as being suitable for substantial development as a holiday destination, mainly for package holiday tourists from Northern Europe and especially, the United Kingdom and France. The combination of a very good summer climate, nature, excellent beaches and a favourable foreign exchange rate was exploited by the construction of large numbers of hotels and apartments in such seaside resorts as Blanes, Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar. Tourism rapidly took over from fishing as the principal business of the area.

Culture.

While part of the Costa Brava coastline lent itself to tourist developments on a very large scale, other parts have retained a more traditional look. Small towns like Cadaqués, which is close to the French border and close to the foothills of the Pyrenees, have attracted artists, such as Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso. The Dalí Theatre and Museum in Figueres is one of the most important and visited museums in Catalonia. One can also visit Dalí's House-Museum in Port Lligat, near Cadaqués and the Castle of Púbol in Púbol. The coast between Roses and Tossa de Mar has many delightful small coastal towns, such as Pals, Begur, Tamariu, S'Agaró, Empuriabrava, Llafranc, L'Estartit, Aigua Blava, Fornells, Calella de Palafrugell, Calonge, Palamós and Sant Feliu de Guíxols.

Museums and collections.

The great artistic collection is a set of nearly fifty museums and collections listed among the five counties that make up the name of the Costa Brava. From north to south:

General information.

Language.

Catalonia has two official languages, Catalan and Spanish. Most of the local population habitually speak Catalan, and all the population understand and can express themselves perfectly well in Spanish.

Currency.

With the creation of the single European currency, the euro has been in effect since January 1, 2002.

Times.

As in most European countries, in winter the time is an hour ahead of GMT and two hours ahead in the summer.  The working day usually starts between 08.00 and 09.00 and lasts until 14.00. In the afternoon, companies usually open from 16.00 to 19.00.  Lunch is usually eaten between 13.30 and 15.00 and dinner between 20.30 and 22.00. At weekends, these times are usually slightly later. Most restaurants adapt to the customs of tourists.  Opening times of bars are long and varied. The law permits bars to open until 2.30 from the night of Monday/Tuesday to the night of Thursday/Friday and until 3.00 from the night of Friday/Saturday to Sunday/Monday and on bank holidays. However, each bar adapts its opening times to the area in which it is found and the characteristics of the premises. Whilst cafeterias cover needs during the working day, night time bars usually open from 17.00 and stay open for as long as they are allowed to.  Opening times of businesses vary according to their function and size. Small shops normally open between 09.00 and 10.00 and close between 20.00 and 21.00. On the other hand, the large department stores and hypermarkets open continuously from 10.00 to 22.00. On Sundays, businesses are shut, except at certain times of the year (over the Christmas holidays and at sales time). Sometimes smaller establishments close for an extra half day, often a Monday morning.  Banks are usually open from 8.30 to 14.00 Monday to Friday. Banks also open on Saturday mornings from 08.30 to 13.00, except in the summer. From October to June, savings banks open on Thursday afternoons from 16.30 to 19.45.  Official administrations and town councils usually work straight through from 08.00 to 15.00, Monday to Friday.

Public holidays.

In addition to these, and through an order from the Ministry of Employment, there will be two local festivals, to be paid and not recoverable, at the proposal of the respective municipalities.

Events and festivals.

Pablo Casals, Manuel de Falla and Isaac Albéniz are some of the great figures who have left their mark on the Costa Brava. However, one of the first music festival organisers was Josep Ensesa, who opened the doors and gardens of Senya Blanca, his house in S'Agaró, to music lovers in 1956 with a series of concerts christened the International Music Festival. The success of this festival led other Costa Brava towns to host similar events and nowadays almost all the towns on the Costa Brava hold annual musical events.  Music forms part of the character of many towns and of the several events held by them over the course of the year. However, it is in the summer when emblematic venues such as gardens, covered squares, cloisters, monasteries or waterside venues host internationally renowned musical and cultural events. These summer events showcase all kinds of music, including classical music, pop and rock, havaneres (colonial sea shanties) and Catalan sardana music.  But there are a number of festivals in Costa Brava that stand out above the rest in terms of their history, originality or colour. These include the procession "Dansa de la Mort" (Dance of Death) in Verges on Maundy Thursday and the Dance of Death, with characters donning skeleton outfits dancing in the streets, the living Way of the Cross in Sant Hilari Sacalm, the floral carpet festival in Arbúcies, the Hobby Horse dance in Sant Feliu de Pallerols, the "Ball del Cornut" and "La Plantada de l'Arbre" (The Planting of the Tree) of May in Cornellà del Terri... not to mention the major music festivals, some of them internationally renowned, such as Peralada Castle, Cap Roig Garden Festival in Calella de Palafrugell and Torroella de Montgrí festivals, which draw world-class performers, as well as opera and contemporary music figures.

Literary.

The Costa Brava has been a source of inspiration for many writers. This is clear to see in the countless books dedicated to the area and the thousands that have been written here. Josep Pla, Federico García Lorca, Truman Capote, Salvador Espriu, Joan Maragall and Caterina Albert are just some of these famous writers.

Cinema.

Over the course of its history, especially over the last one hundred years, the Costa Brava has been the birthplace and place of residence of artists from various disciplines. Several political, intellectual and social figures have passed through or stayed on the Costa Brava, which has contributed to transforming it and boosting its profile both at home and abroad.  Artists and actors in particular have helped to give the area a glamorous image. Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner, Orson Welles, Yves Montand and Douglas Fairbanks all graced the Costa Brava with their glamour, as did Salvador Dalí, Marc Chagall, Dani Karavan (sculptor of the monument to Walter Benjamin in Portbou), Ramon Pichot and many others.  The Costa Brava was a natural film set where producers find the charm that inspires them to create stories starring world-famous actors. Artists also find inspiration for their works and the peace and quiet necessary to produce them.  From the early days of cinema, the Costa Brava featured in many films, which has proved on many occasions to be an added value in boosting its profile as a tourist destination even further. The attraction of the Costa Brava for local producers and filmmakers from the local area and from Catalonia in general is perfectly understandable given its geographical proximity and its highly interesting yet easily accessible locations of all kinds.  It has also proved a popular location with Spanish and foreign studios and directors, who have filmed high-profile films in the area with stellar casts and production values. The commercial success and media buzz created by these productions has made certain locations known all over the world.  Sant Feliu de Guíxols was the most popular location in the counties of Girona for cinema producers and the second-most popular in all Catalonia (after Barcelona). These results are logical enough: the Costa Brava is a potent area full of beauty and diversity, located close to the historical city of Girona with an old quarter that holds a huge amount of visual possibilities.

Gastronomy.

Gastronomy plays an important role of the Costa Brava. Anchovies from L'Escala, prawns from Palamós, monkfish from Roses, blue fish from Sant Feliu de Guíxols, rock fish from Begur or skate from Tossa de Mar represent the sea, while turnips from Campmany, onions from Vilabertran and Figueres, rice from Montgrí, beans and peas from Vall d'Aro and apples from Girona represent the land in an elegant fusion of sea and mountain that constitutes the Costa Brava cuisine. However, the gastronomic richness of the Costa Brava is not restricted to its cuisine.

Gastronomy stars.

Over 2,500 restaurants throughout the counties of Girona welcome diners with a cuisine based on a combination of quality seafood and the best produce of the land.  By the beginning of the 21st century, Girona province had become one of the main centres of gastronomic pilgrimage in the world. It is no secret that the creation and transmission centre of avant-garde cuisine is now El Bulli restaurant on Cap de Creus, on the northern stretch of the Costa Brava. Cap de Creus was formerly a centre of surrealism in the days when Salvador Dalí resided in the nearby coastal locality of Portlligat. The innovative cuisine at El Bulli first influenced Catalonia, then the rest of Europe, and finally the whole world. At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, El Bulli decided to reinvent itself as elBulliFoundation with the aim of perpetuating the legacy of Ferran Adrià. Starting in 2014, introduction to Girona Cuisine the new foundation will disseminate the skills, research, innovation and all future developments coming out of the sanctuary of creativity in the heart of today's Cap de Creus Nature Park. Girona province has always been home to good cooking: such pioneering cuisine could not have arisen without a historical background, local products and raw materials coming from local agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, olive production, stockbreeding, fishing and sausage-making expertise. Nothing was missing. It just took one small step forward to reinvent our traditions. And the Roca brothers exemplify an evolutive fusion between avant-garde world cuisine and their hundred-year-old family tradition at El Celler de Can Roca, a restaurant that has made major contributions to technological innovation and to culinary and gastronomic techniques. All this goes to prove that Girona province is and has always been a powerful focus of gastronomic creation.  El Bulli makes its last appearance in 2011 Red Michelin Guide, when in the province of Girona lists 20 Michelin stars for 14 restaurants. In the same year the World's 50 Best Restaurants list El Bulli (Cala Montjoi) and El Celler de Can Roca (Girona) in the top five. At 2012, 11 restaurants with 15 Michelin stars: five restaurants with six stars are found along the Costa Brava. And in 2012, El Celler de Can Roca is second in the World's 50 Best Restaurants.

Wines.

The wines of Alt and Baix Empordà fall under the auspices of the DO Empordà regulatory body. Wines have been grown in the region for over 2,500 years, but in the middle of the 20th century, the quality declined greatly in favor of producing cheap, bulk wines aimed at visiting beach tourists. A focus on quality returned to the winemaking due to smaller wineries opening, starting in the mid-1990s. Now, the wines from the region have been subject to high scores and recognition from international critics and have even become the focus of guides created solely for enotourism.  For red varieties, Carignan (legally required to be 'Samsó' on the label) is prevalent, forming the basis of Empordà viniculture, together with Grenache (sometimes known in Empordà as "Lledoner"). These traditional varieties are complemented by new ones that are being introduced: Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Marselan.  The most popular white varieties are Grenache Blanc, Grenache and Macabeo. Muscat, Xarel·lo recently planted Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer grapes are also grown, but to a much lesser extent.

Environmental protection.

In 1998, the coastal towns of the Costa Brava signed a charter, called the "Carta de Tossa", which undertook to pursue environmental protection, along with tourism. This recognised the value of the region's wide range of natural habitats and microclimates. The Medes Islands off the coast of L'Estartit are in Spain's first marine reserve and provide a home to a wide range of fish and aquatic flora. The nearby wildfowl reserve on marshlands at Aiguamolls de l'Empordà also saved land from the potential ravages of development.

Natural parks.

Three Parks are present in the geography of the Costa Brava.

Natural Park of Cap de Creus.

Protection law in this area becomes the Cap de Creus Natural Park, located north of the Costa Brava, in Port de la Selva, one of the most unusual in the Iberian Peninsula. Determined as protected areas the municipalities of El Port de la Selva, La Selva de Mar, Roses, Cadaqués, Palau Saverdera, Pau and Vilajuïga, with an area of 13,886 hectares spread over 10,813 hectares of land and 3,073 of maritime space.

Aiguamolls de l'Empordà.

Located in north of the Costa Brava, between the towns of Castelló d'Empúries-Empuriabrava, Sant Pere Pescador and Roses, this park is the second largest of its kind in Catalonia, as a great number of native species flora and fauna. It is divided into two areas, north and south of the River Muga, comprising the characteristic elements of the landscape of the Alt Empordà.

Montseny Natural Park.

Located in the interior of the southern part of the Costa Brava, in Arbúcies (Selva), Montseny Massif is the largest and highest part of the Catalan pre-coastal mountain range, straddling the provinces of Barcelona and Girona. One of the main values of the massif lies in the extreme variability of environments presents significant result of altitudinal gradients and vegetation and the diversity of its relief. Oak and pine forests, forests of cork oaks, oaks and beech trees are some of the shape almost a forest landscape while serving as a refuge for many animal species typical of environmental contexts of higher latitude.

Natural areas.

More than 30% of the total surface of Girona consist of protected areas of special natural interest:

Albera Massif.

Declared area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, includes the towns of La Jonquera, Rabós d'Empordà, Espolla, Cantallops, Vilamaniscle, Garriguella, Mollet de Peralada and Sant Climent Sescebes. The landscape presents with one of the largest concentrations of megalithic monuments in Catalonia, with small Romanesque churches that make this area one of the most rich heritage and history of the surrounding region of the Alt Empordà. And the Albera Massif presents transition vegetation between the species of the Pyrenean mountains and the Mediterranean, as well as fauna, characterised by great diversity, between the mountain areas and the wetland Catalonia.

Lake of Banyoles.

This area of great landscapes and geology covers the whole of the coast called the Lake of Banyoles, which separates the plains of the Empordà and the Transversal mountain in the region of Garrotxa. Lake of Banyoles, with an area of 107 hectares and a feature-eight, is one of the largest in the Iberian Peninsula. The most important lakes of this system are its origin and source of the feed water through seepage of rain in some parts of the Garrotxa through subterranean flows caused his departure abroad. Lake of Banyoles and the collection of small ponds, present throughout the year and chemical processes of thermal stratification. In addition to these features, concentrated around the lake a wide variety of flora and fauna lake.

Medes Islands.

The small archipelago of the Medes, located in the heart of the Costa Brava, in the town of Torroella de Montgrí (Baix Empordà) and close to the mountain of the same name, is composed of seven islands that are characterised by rich its marine ecosystem. The proximity of the coast and the River Ter these islands provide a great amount of organic matter, allowing the variety of flora and fauna typical of the Medes. Some examples of this variety are the colony of gulls, the peculiar terrestrial vegetation, algae or coralline seabed, where you can go diving so regulated.

Montgrí Massif.

Located between the districts of Alt and Baix Empordà, this limestone massif separates the bays of Roses and Ter, and provides interesting elements of ecological diversity to the landscape. This wild and inhospitable nature makes an exception of the area of the Costa Brava. This area is occupied mainly by pine trees and weeds, in addition to the vegetation that appears not only in forested environments, but throughout the eastern fringe of the mountain, the sea. In this regard include Ferriol and Pedrosa coves, among others.

Ses Negres.

The Marine Reserve of Ses Negres, located in Begur, in the middle of the Costa Brava stretches over 1,300 metres of coastline, including beaches of Sa Riera and Aiguafreda. It has a total area of 80 hectares, which includes the cliffs that surround the mountains of Begur. Buoys and beacons define the protected area and also indicate a navigation channel of limited speed. In the bathing area and apnea, respectful and activities compatible with conservation of the environment, there is a recovery of marine life, years after being declared the reserve.

Gavarres Massif.

Massive features typically Mediterranean. Located between the counties of Girona and Baix Empordà, is the northernmost of the Catalan coastal mountains. The landscape of this area is mainly forest. The nature of Mediterranean forest gives ample importance to the overall bulk comprised mainly holm and cork oaks. The fauna is typical of Mediterranean environments and forest. With regard to heritage, from the days with abundance of megalithic funerary monuments, in addition, the area also includes the medieval defensive buildings and religious buildings pre-Romanesque and Romanesque style.

Island of Ter.

The island of River Ter is a natural area of great ecological value for its biodiversity and for its potential as a setting for environmental education, both for students and for all those who love nature people who visit, where it is favoured because of its proximity to the city of Girona. The area is protected by municipal regulations and by the condition Wildlife Refuge. Presented botanical species of interest, the bell winter woods and some in excellent condition as they have been free from human interference natural setting of the island from the confluence the rivers Ter and Onyar. This fauna, include the otter, genet and various species of butterflies typical of aquatic environments, and a variety of birds such as night heron, the kingfisher and lesser spotted woodpecker, among others. In total, about 200 species have been observed.

Cadiretes Massif.

The Cadiretes Massif (or the bulk of Ardenya) is a natural area that occupies almost the whole town of Tossa de Mar and part of Sant Feliu, Santa Cristina d'Aro, Llagostera, Vidreres, Caldes de Malavella and Lloret de Mar. It is a mountainous terrain, granitic between the sea and the plains of the forest, the highest point of which is Puig Cadiretes (519 metres). The depressions are irrigated by mountain streams typically Mediterranean regime. However, the nature of the terrain makes it create upwelling of water throughout the year, along with humidity and precipitation caused by the screen effect of the mountains before the winds making the bulk elements converge of botanical and faunal clear Atlantic. The coast, with more than six kilometres protected is particularly abrupt, which has facilitated the establishment of several important species which have found an ideal retreat.

Guilleries Massif.

The bulk of Guilleries is located at the northern end of the ridge just behind and beyond the Montseny, the town of Sant Hilari Sacalm is the capital. The massive mountain range old and worn, covered with thick vegetation, has a total area of 12,500 hectares and is located within the Plan of Natural Interest (PEIN). A succession of peaks, form a unique landscape, thick, quiet and wild. The highest point is St. Michael the Ants, with 1,204 metres.

Beaches and coves.

Counting beaches and hidden coves surrounded by vegetation, there are 199 such locations in the coastal regions of Costa Brava.

Gardens.

In the four botanical gardens on the Costa Brava come together as many native plants typical of tropical plants, which in turn are balconies overlooking the Mediterranean:

Cap Roig Gardens.

In Calella de Palafrugell (Palafrugell, Baix Empordà), the species most characteristic of the Mediterranean mixed with trees and plants from five continents in this botanical garden, one of the most varied of Catalonia. During the summer, the botanical garden hosts a variety of activities such as exhibitions and cultural performances.

Santa Clotilde Gardens.

The Santa Clotilde Gardens are in a beautiful landscape on a cliff with views of the sea in Lloret de Mar (Selva). This botanical garden was designed in 1919 by Nicolau Maria Rubió Tudurí, and is characterised by the Italian influence and the formal coherence between the garden and the architectural surroundings. The gardens host several marble sculptures and are characterised by the absence of flowers, contrasting sharply with the wide variety of plants.

Pinya de Rosa Tropical Botanical Garden.

In Blanes (Selva), Ferdinand Rivière Caralt created in 1954 this botanical garden that has the peculiarity of having adapted to the Mediterranean and tropical vegetation characteristics. Plants and trees, such as cactus, Opuntia species or aloes, live in a context rich in native vegetation.

Marimurtra Botanical Garden.

This botanical garden, located in the south-eastern slope of Mount Sant Joan de Blanes, on the cliffs, was created in 1921 by German scientist Karl Faust. Years later, Marimurtra became one of the most important biological stations in the Mediterranean. The Marimurtra Botanical Garden meets not only native plants and trees, but plant species from around the world, such as Chile palms, bamboos and trees characteristic of Africa and Mexico, among others.

The Costa Brava (, ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain, consisting of the "comarques" (counties) of Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà and Selva in the province of Girona. Costa Brava stretches from the town of Blanes, northeast of Barcelona, to the French border. In the 1950s, the Costa Brava was identified by the Spanish government and local entrepreneurs as being suitable for substantial development as a holiday destination, mainly for package holiday tourists from Europe. The combination of a very good summer climate, nature, excellent beaches and a favourable foreign exchange rate (before the creation of the single European currency), which made Costa Brava an attractive tourist destination, was exploited by the construction of large numbers of hotels and apartments in such seaside resorts as Blanes, Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar. Tourism rapidly took over from fishing as the principal business of the area.

Costa Brava ("„Divoké pobřeží“") je pobřeží v Katalánsku ve Španělsku. Jedná se o nejsevernější část španělského středomořského pobřeží, která končí až na hranicích s Francií. Toto pobřeží je 220 km dlouhé, střídají se zde písečné pláže s příkrými útesy. Jedná se o turisty nejvíce navštěvovanou oblast Španělska. Nejznámějšími městy pobřeží Costa Brava jsou Lloret de Mar, Blanes a Tossa de Mar.


Regular tetrahedron.

A regular tetrahedron is a tetrahedron in which all four faces are equilateral triangles. It is one of the five regular Platonic solids, which have been known since antiquity.  In a regular tetrahedron, all faces are the same size and shape (congruent) and all edges are the same length. Regular tetrahedra alone do not tessellate (fill space), but if alternated with regular octahedra in the ratio of two tetrahedra to one octahedron, they form the alternated cubic honeycomb, which is a tessellation. Some tetrahedra that are not regular, including the Schläfli orthoscheme and the Hill tetrahedron, can tessellate.  The regular tetrahedron is self-dual, which means that its dual is another regular tetrahedron. The compound figure comprising two such dual tetrahedra form a stellated octahedron or stella octangula.

Coordinates for a regular tetrahedron.

The following Cartesian coordinates define the four vertices of a tetrahedron with edge length 2, centered at the origin, and two level edges:  Expressed symmetrically as 4 points on the unit sphere, centroid at the origin, with lower face level, the vertices are:  formula_2  formula_3  formula_4  formula_5  with the edge length of formula_6.  Still another set of coordinates are based on an alternated cube or demicube with edge length 2. This form has Coxeter diagram and Schläfli symbol h{4,3}. The tetrahedron in this case has edge length 2. Inverting these coordinates generates the dual tetrahedron, and the pair together form the stellated octahedron, whose vertices are those of the original cube.

Angles and distances.

For a regular tetrahedron of edge length "a": With respect to the base plane the slope of a face (2) is twice that of an edge (), corresponding to the fact that the "horizontal" distance covered from the base to the apex along an edge is twice that along the median of a face. In other words, if "C" is the centroid of the base, the distance from "C" to a vertex of the base is twice that from "C" to the midpoint of an edge of the base. This follows from the fact that the medians of a triangle intersect at its centroid, and this point divides each of them in two segments, one of which is twice as long as the other (see ).  For a regular tetrahedron with side length "a", radius "R" of its circumscribing sphere, and distances "d" from an arbitrary point in 3-space to its four vertices, we have

Isometries of the regular tetrahedron.

The vertices of a cube can be grouped into two groups of four, each forming a regular tetrahedron (see above, and also, showing one of the two tetrahedra in the cube). The symmetries of a regular tetrahedron correspond to half of those of a cube: those that map the tetrahedra to themselves, and not to each other.  The tetrahedron is the only Platonic solid that is not mapped to itself by point inversion.  The regular tetrahedron has 24 isometries, forming the symmetry group T, [3,3], (*332), isomorphic to the symmetric group, "S". They can be categorized as follows:

Orthogonal projections of the regular tetrahedron.

The regular "tetrahedron" has two special orthogonal projections, one centered on a vertex or equivalently on a face, and one centered on an edge. The first corresponds to the A Coxeter plane.

Cross section of regular tetrahedron.

The two skew perpendicular opposite edges of a "regular tetrahedron" define a set of parallel planes. When one of these planes intersects the tetrahedron the resulting cross section is a rectangle. When the intersecting plane is near one of the edges the rectangle is long and skinny. When halfway between the two edges the intersection is a square. The aspect ratio of the rectangle reverses as you pass this halfway point. For the midpoint square intersection the resulting boundary line traverses every face of the tetrahedron similarly. If the tetrahedron is bisected on this plane, both halves become wedges.  This property also applies for tetragonal disphenoids when applied to the two special edge pairs.

Spherical tiling.

The tetrahedron can also be represented as a spherical tiling, and projected onto the plane via a stereographic projection. This projection is conformal, preserving angles but not areas or lengths. Straight lines on the sphere are projected as circular arcs on the plane.

Helical stacking.

Regular tetrahedra can be stacked face-to-face in a chiral aperiodic chain called the Boerdijk–Coxeter helix. In four dimensions, all the convex regular 4-polytopes with tetrahedral cells (the 5-cell, 16-cell and 600-cell) can be constructed as tilings of the 3-sphere by these chains, which become periodic in the three-dimensional space of the 4-polytope's boundary surface.

Other special cases.

An isosceles tetrahedron, also called a disphenoid, is a tetrahedron where all four faces are congruent triangles. A space-filling tetrahedron packs with congruent copies of itself to tile space, like the disphenoid tetrahedral honeycomb.  In a trirectangular tetrahedron the three face angles at one vertex are right angles. If all three pairs of opposite edges of a tetrahedron are perpendicular, then it is called an orthocentric tetrahedron. When only one pair of opposite edges are perpendicular, it is called a semi-orthocentric tetrahedron. An isodynamic tetrahedron is one in which the cevians that join the vertices to the incenters of the opposite faces are concurrent, and an isogonic tetrahedron has concurrent cevians that join the vertices to the points of contact of the opposite faces with the inscribed sphere of the tetrahedron.

Isometries of irregular tetrahedra.

The isometries of an irregular (unmarked) tetrahedron depend on the geometry of the tetrahedron, with 7 cases possible. In each case a 3-dimensional point group is formed. Two other isometries (C, [3]), and (S, [2,4]) can exist if the face or edge marking are included. Tetrahedral diagrams are included for each type below, with edges colored by isometric equivalence, and are gray colored for unique edges.

General properties.

Volume.

The volume of a tetrahedron is given by the pyramid volume formula:  where "A" is the area of the base and "h" is the height from the base to the apex. This applies for each of the four choices of the base, so the distances from the apexes to the opposite faces are inversely proportional to the areas of these faces.  For a tetrahedron with vertices,, and, the volume is, or any other combination of pairs of vertices that form a simply connected graph. This can be rewritten using a dot product and a cross product, yielding  If the origin of the coordinate system is chosen to coincide with vertex d, then d = 0, so  where a, b, and c represent three edges that meet at one vertex, and is a scalar triple product. Comparing this formula with that used to compute the volume of a parallelepiped, we conclude that the volume of a tetrahedron is equal to of the volume of any parallelepiped that shares three converging edges with it.  The absolute value of the scalar triple product can be represented as the following absolute values of determinants:  Hence  which gives where "α", "β", "γ" are the plane angles occurring in vertex d. The angle "α", is the angle between the two edges connecting the vertex d to the vertices b and c. The angle "β", does so for the vertices a and c, while "γ", is defined by the position of the vertices a and b.  Given the distances between the vertices of a tetrahedron the volume can be computed using the Cayley–Menger determinant: where the subscripts represent the vertices and "d" is the pairwise distance between them – i.e., the length of the edge connecting the two vertices. A negative value of the determinant means that a tetrahedron cannot be constructed with the given distances. This formula, sometimes called Tartaglia's formula, is essentially due to the painter Piero della Francesca in the 15th century, as a three dimensional analogue of the 1st century Heron's formula for the area of a triangle.  Denote "a,b,c" be three edges that meet at a point, and "x,y,z" the opposite edges. Let "V" be the volume of the tetrahedron; then where The above formula uses different expressions with the following formula,The above formula uses six lengths of edges, and the following formula uses three lengths of edges and three angles.

Heron-type formula for the volume of a tetrahedron.

If "U", "V", "W", "u", "v", "w" are lengths of edges of the tetrahedron (first three form a triangle; "u" opposite to "U" and so on), then  where

Volume divider.

A plane that divides two opposite edges of a tetrahedron in a given ratio also divides the volume of the tetrahedron in the same ratio. Thus any plane containing a bimedian (connector of opposite edges' midpoints) of a tetrahedron bisects the volume of the tetrahedron.

Non-Euclidean volume.

For tetrahedra in hyperbolic space or in three-dimensional elliptic geometry, the dihedral angles of the tetrahedron determine its shape and hence its volume. In these cases, the volume is given by the Murakami–Yano formula. However, in Euclidean space, scaling a tetrahedron changes its volume but not its dihedral angles, so no such formula can exist.

Distance between the edges.

Any two opposite edges of a tetrahedron lie on two skew lines, and the distance between the edges is defined as the distance between the two skew lines. Let "d" be the distance between the skew lines formed by opposite edges a and as calculated here. Then another volume formula is given by

Properties analogous to those of a triangle.

The tetrahedron has many properties analogous to those of a triangle, including an insphere, circumsphere, medial tetrahedron, and exspheres. It has respective centers such as incenter, circumcenter, excenters, Spieker center and points such as a centroid. However, there is generally no orthocenter in the sense of intersecting altitudes.  Gaspard Monge found a center that exists in every tetrahedron, now known as the Monge point: the point where the six midplanes of a tetrahedron intersect. A midplane is defined as a plane that is orthogonal to an edge joining any two vertices that also contains the centroid of an opposite edge formed by joining the other two vertices. If the tetrahedron's altitudes do intersect, then the Monge point and the orthocenter coincide to give the class of orthocentric tetrahedron.  An orthogonal line dropped from the Monge point to any face meets that face at the midpoint of the line segment between that face's orthocenter and the foot of the altitude dropped from the opposite vertex.  A line segment joining a vertex of a tetrahedron with the centroid of the opposite face is called a "median" and a line segment joining the midpoints of two opposite edges is called a "bimedian" of the tetrahedron. Hence there are four medians and three bimedians in a tetrahedron. These seven line segments are all concurrent at a point called the "centroid" of the tetrahedron. In addition the four medians are divided in a 3:1 ratio by the centroid (see Commandino's theorem). The centroid of a tetrahedron is the midpoint between its Monge point and circumcenter. These points define the "Euler line" of the tetrahedron that is analogous to the Euler line of a triangle.  The nine-point circle of the general triangle has an analogue in the circumsphere of a tetrahedron's medial tetrahedron. It is the twelve-point sphere and besides the centroids of the four faces of the reference tetrahedron, it passes through four substitute "Euler points", one third of the way from the Monge point toward each of the four vertices. Finally it passes through the four base points of orthogonal lines dropped from each Euler point to the face not containing the vertex that generated the Euler point.  The center "T" of the twelve-point sphere also lies on the Euler line. Unlike its triangular counterpart, this center lies one third of the way from the Monge point "M" towards the circumcenter. Also, an orthogonal line through "T" to a chosen face is coplanar with two other orthogonal lines to the same face. The first is an orthogonal line passing through the corresponding Euler point to the chosen face. The second is an orthogonal line passing through the centroid of the chosen face. This orthogonal line through the twelve-point center lies midway between the Euler point orthogonal line and the centroidal orthogonal line. Furthermore, for any face, the twelve-point center lies at the midpoint of the corresponding Euler point and the orthocenter for that face.  The radius of the twelve-point sphere is one third of the circumradius of the reference tetrahedron.  There is a relation among the angles made by the faces of a general tetrahedron given by  where "α" is the angle between the faces "i" and "j".

Geometric relations.

A tetrahedron is a 3-simplex. Unlike the case of the other Platonic solids, all the vertices of a regular tetrahedron are equidistant from each other (they are the only possible arrangement of four equidistant points in 3-dimensional space).  A tetrahedron is a triangular pyramid, and the regular tetrahedron is self-dual.  A regular tetrahedron can be embedded inside a cube in two ways such that each vertex is a vertex of the cube, and each edge is a diagonal of one of the cube's faces. For one such embedding, the Cartesian coordinates of the vertices are  This yields a tetrahedron with edge-length 2, centered at the origin. For the other tetrahedron (which is dual to the first), reverse all the signs. These two tetrahedra's vertices combined are the vertices of a cube, demonstrating that the regular tetrahedron is the 3-demicube. The volume of this tetrahedron is one-third the volume of the cube. Combining both tetrahedra gives a regular polyhedral compound called the compound of two tetrahedra or stella octangula.  The interior of the stella octangula is an octahedron, and correspondingly, a regular octahedron is the result of cutting off, from a regular tetrahedron, four regular tetrahedra of half the linear size (i.e., rectifying the tetrahedron).  The above embedding divides the cube into five tetrahedra, one of which is regular. In fact, five is the minimum number of tetrahedra required to compose a cube. To see this, starting from a base tetrahedron with 4 vertices, each added tetrahedra adds at most 1 new vertex, so at least 4 more must be added to make a cube, which has 8 vertices.  Inscribing tetrahedra inside the regular compound of five cubes gives two more regular compounds, containing five and ten tetrahedra.  Regular tetrahedra cannot tessellate space by themselves, although this result seems likely enough that Aristotle claimed it was possible. However, two regular tetrahedra can be combined with an octahedron, giving a rhombohedron that can tile space.  However, several irregular tetrahedra are known, of which copies can tile space, for instance the disphenoid tetrahedral honeycomb. The complete list remains an open problem.  If one relaxes the requirement that the tetrahedra be all the same shape, one can tile space using only tetrahedra in many different ways. For example, one can divide an octahedron into four identical tetrahedra and combine them again with two regular ones. (As a side-note: these two kinds of tetrahedron have the same volume.)  The tetrahedron is unique among the uniform polyhedra in possessing no parallel faces.

A law of sines for tetrahedra and the space of all shapes of tetrahedra.

A corollary of the usual law of sines is that in a tetrahedron with vertices "O", "A", "B", "C", we have  One may view the two sides of this identity as corresponding to clockwise and counterclockwise orientations of the surface.  Putting any of the four vertices in the role of "O" yields four such identities, but at most three of them are independent: If the "clockwise" sides of three of them are multiplied and the product is inferred to be equal to the product of the "counterclockwise" sides of the same three identities, and then common factors are cancelled from both sides, the result is the fourth identity.  Three angles are the angles of some triangle if and only if their sum is 180° (π radians). What condition on 12 angles is necessary and sufficient for them to be the 12 angles of some tetrahedron? Clearly the sum of the angles of any side of the tetrahedron must be 180°. Since there are four such triangles, there are four such constraints on sums of angles, and the number of degrees of freedom is thereby reduced from 12 to 8. The four relations given by this sine law further reduce the number of degrees of freedom, from 8 down to not 4 but 5, since the fourth constraint is not independent of the first three. Thus the space of all shapes of tetrahedra is 5-dimensional.

Law of cosines for tetrahedra.

Let be the points of a tetrahedron. Let Δ be the area of the face opposite vertex "P" and let "θ" be the dihedral angle between the two faces of the tetrahedron adjacent to the edge "PP".  The law of cosines for this tetrahedron, which relates the areas of the faces of the tetrahedron to the dihedral angles about a vertex, is given by the following relation:

Interior point.

Let "P" be any interior point of a tetrahedron of volume "V" for which the vertices are "A", "B", "C", and "D", and for which the areas of the opposite faces are "F", "F", "F", and "F". Then  For vertices "A", "B", "C", and "D", interior point "P", and feet "J", "K", "L", and "M" of the perpendiculars from "P" to the faces,

Inradius.

Denoting the inradius of a tetrahedron as "r" and the inradii of its triangular faces as "r" for "i" = 1, 2, 3, 4, we have  with equality if and only if the tetrahedron is regular.  If "A", "A", "A" and "A" denote the area of each faces, the value of "r" is given by  This formula is obtained from dividing the tetrahedron into four tetrahedra whose points are the three points of one of the original faces and the incenter. Since the four subtetrahedra fill the volume, we have formula_33.

Circumradius.

Denote the circumradius of a tetrahedron as "R". Let "a", "b", "c" be the lengths of the three edges that meet at a vertex, and "A", "B", "C" the length of the opposite edges. Let "V" be the volume of the tetrahedron. Then

Circumcenter.

The circumcenter of a tetrahedron can be found as intersection of three bisector planes. A bisector plane is defined as the plane centered on, and orthogonal to an edge of the tetrahedron. With this definition, the circumcenter of a tetrahedron with vertices,, can be formulated as matrix-vector product: In contrast to the centroid, the circumcenter may not always lay on the inside of a tetrahedron. Analogously to an obtuse triangle, the circumcenter is outside of the object for an obtuse tetrahedron.

Centroid.

The tetrahedron's center of mass computes as the arithmetic mean of its four vertices, see Centroid.

Faces.

The sum of the areas of any three faces is greater than the area of the fourth face.

Integer tetrahedra.

There exist tetrahedra having integer-valued edge lengths, face areas and volume. These are called Heronian tetrahedra. One example has one edge of 896, the opposite edge of 990 and the other four edges of 1073; two faces are isosceles triangles with areas of and the other two are isosceles with areas of, while the volume is.  A tetrahedron can have integer volume and consecutive integers as edges, an example being the one with edges 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 and volume 48.

Related polyhedra and compounds.

A regular tetrahedron can be seen as a triangular pyramid. A regular tetrahedron can be seen as a degenerate polyhedron, a uniform "digonal antiprism", where base polygons are reduced digons. A regular tetrahedron can be seen as a degenerate polyhedron, a uniform dual "digonal trapezohedron", containing 6 vertices, in two sets of colinear edges. A truncation process applied to the tetrahedron produces a series of uniform polyhedra. Truncating edges down to points produces the octahedron as a rectified tetrahedron. The process completes as a birectification, reducing the original faces down to points, and producing the self-dual tetrahedron once again. This polyhedron is topologically related as a part of sequence of regular polyhedra with Schläfli symbols {3,"n"}, continuing into the hyperbolic plane. The tetrahedron is topologically related to a series of regular polyhedra and tilings with order-3 vertex figures.  An interesting polyhedron can be constructed from five intersecting tetrahedra. This compound of five tetrahedra has been known for hundreds of years. It comes up regularly in the world of origami. Joining the twenty vertices would form a regular dodecahedron. There are both left-handed and right-handed forms, which are mirror images of each other. Superimposing both forms gives a compound of ten tetrahedra, in which the ten tetrahedra are arranged as five pairs of stellae octangulae. A stella octangula is a compound of two tetrahedra in dual position and its eight vertices define a cube as their convex hull.  The square hosohedron is another polyhedron with four faces, but it does not have triangular faces.

Applications.

Numerical analysis.

In numerical analysis, complicated three-dimensional shapes are commonly broken down into, or approximated by, a polygonal mesh of irregular tetrahedra in the process of setting up the equations for finite element analysis especially in the numerical solution of partial differential equations. These methods have wide applications in practical applications in computational fluid dynamics, aerodynamics, electromagnetic fields, civil engineering, chemical engineering, naval architecture and engineering, and related fields.

Chemistry.

The tetrahedron shape is seen in nature in covalently bonded molecules. All sp-hybridized atoms are surrounded by atoms (or lone electron pairs) at the four corners of a tetrahedron. For instance in a methane molecule () or an ammonium ion (), four hydrogen atoms surround a central carbon or nitrogen atom with tetrahedral symmetry. For this reason, one of the leading journals in organic chemistry is called "Tetrahedron". The central angle between any two vertices of a perfect tetrahedron is arccos(−), or approximately 109.47°.  Water,, also has a tetrahedral structure, with two hydrogen atoms and two lone pairs of electrons around the central oxygen atoms. Its tetrahedral symmetry is not perfect, however, because the lone pairs repel more than the single O–H bonds.  Quaternary phase diagrams in chemistry are represented graphically as tetrahedra.  However, quaternary phase diagrams in communication engineering are represented graphically on a two-dimensional plane.

Electricity and electronics.

If six equal resistors are soldered together to form a tetrahedron, then the resistance measured between any two vertices is half that of one resistor.  Since silicon is the most common semiconductor used in solid-state electronics, and silicon has a valence of four, the tetrahedral shape of the four chemical bonds in silicon is a strong influence on how crystals of silicon form and what shapes they assume.

Games.

The Royal Game of Ur, dating from 2600 BC, was played with a set of tetrahedral dice.  Especially in roleplaying, this solid is known as a 4-sided die, one of the more common polyhedral dice, with the number rolled appearing around the bottom or on the top vertex. Some Rubik's Cube-like puzzles are tetrahedral, such as the Pyraminx and Pyramorphix.

Color space.

Tetrahedra are used in color space conversion algorithms specifically for cases in which the luminance axis diagonally segments the color space (e.g. RGB, CMY).

Contemporary art.

The Austrian artist Martina Schettina created a tetrahedron using fluorescent lamps. It was shown at the light art biennale Austria 2010.  It is used as album artwork, surrounded by black flames on "The End of All Things to Come" by Mudvayne.

Popular culture.

Stanley Kubrick originally intended the monolith in "" to be a tetrahedron, according to Marvin Minsky, a cognitive scientist and expert on artificial intelligence who advised Kubrick on the HAL 9000 computer and other aspects of the movie. Kubrick scrapped the idea of using the tetrahedron as a visitor who saw footage of it did not recognize what it was and he did not want anything in the movie regular people did not understand.  In Season 6, Episode 15 of "Futurama", named "Möbius Dick", the Planet Express crew pass through an area in space known as the Bermuda Tetrahedron. Many other ships passing through the area have mysteriously disappeared, including that of the first Planet Express crew.  In the 2013 film "Oblivion" the large structure in orbit above the Earth is of a tetrahedron design and referred to as the Tet.

Geology.

The tetrahedral hypothesis, originally published by William Lowthian Green to explain the formation of the Earth, was popular through the early 20th century.

Structural engineering.

A tetrahedron having stiff edges is inherently rigid. For this reason it is often used to stiffen frame structures such as spaceframes.

Aviation.

At some airfields, a large frame in the shape of a tetrahedron with two sides covered with a thin material is mounted on a rotating pivot and always points into the wind. It is built big enough to be seen from the air and is sometimes illuminated. Its purpose is to serve as a reference to pilots indicating wind direction.

Tetrahedral graph.

The skeleton of the tetrahedron (comprising the vertices and edges) forms a graph, with 4 vertices, and 6 edges. It is a special case of the complete graph, K, and wheel graph, W. It is one of 5 Platonic graphs, each a skeleton of its Platonic solid.

In geometry, a tetrahedron (plural: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners. The tetrahedron is the simplest of all the ordinary convex polyhedra and the only one that has fewer than 5 faces.

Čtyřstěn (jinak zvaný též jako tetraedr) je nejjednodušší typ trojrozměrného tělesa. Je vymezen nejmenším možným počtem bodů, který může trojrozměrné těleso definovat, tzn. čtyřmi různými body v prostoru.


Terminology and themes.

In order to avoid confusing the two product lines, players refer to the most recent version of the World of Darkness line, released on August 21, 2004, as "New World of Darkness", and the previous version as "Classic World of Darkness". Prior to the re-release of cWoD it was often referred to as "oWoD" for "Original" or "Old" World of Darkness.  While the newer setting is superficially very similar, the overall theme is one of "dark mystery", with an emphasis on the unknown and personal horror. The apocalyptic theme present in cWoD has been removed from nWoD, as have the "Gothic-Punk" aspects of the world setting.  After White Wolf was purchased by Paradox Interactive in October 2015, the franchise was re-branded in December 2015. The "new World of Darkness" was renamed "Chronicles of Darkness", while the "Classic World of Darkness" has retained the name "World of Darkness".

One World of Darkness (formerly "Classic World of Darkness").

Sometimes also referred to as "Original World of Darkness" or "Old World of Darkness". The original World of Darkness line was created in 1991 with the release of "". Support for it ended in 2004 with the release of "Time of Judgment". The theme of the Classic World of Darkness is described as "Gothic-Punk" by the developers.  The World of Darkness resembles the contemporary world, but it is darker, more devious and more conspiratorial. The dichotomy between rich and poor, influential and weak, powerful and powerless, is much more pronounced than in the real world. Decadence, cynicism and corruption are common. Humans are unwitting victims or pawns of vast secret organizations of supernatural creatures. Vampires, werewolves and wraiths—among others—struggle with internal factionalism and against other species in secret wars of intrigue for control of reality. The battles in these wars may last centuries, beyond the realization or comprehension of ordinary humans. This status quo is recently threatened by the rise of a global Technocratic cabal (and/or an animistic spirit of stasis and control) intent on monopolizing the power of belief and destroying all traditional supernatural societies. The mystical abilities of these non-human entities and their ability to alter reality at will are restricted by the rise of reason and disbelief in the supernatural and they are forced to rely on more mundane methods in their struggles for supremacy.  The darkness of the setting is reflected everywhere: architecture is dominated by Gothic styling and fashion and personal style embrace Goth, Punk and fetishistic elements. The game uses both historical (Wild West, Dark Ages, and Victorian) milieus as well as modern settings. Despite the fantasy elements, the game emphasizes that any action has real world consequences, and abilities beyond what is considered normal by mainstream society will draw unwanted attention and potentially disastrous results.

Publication (settings).

White Wolf Publishing developed the following game sets in the Classic World of Darkness between 1991 and 2003:  Each consists of a Rulebook and a number of supplemental Sourcebooks, detailing specific clans and tribes, specific gadgets, and entire cities including descriptions of all the supernatural denizens. White Wolf Publishing also developed historical settings for their major product lines. These include:  After White Wolf Publishing acquired the rights to "Ars Magica", additions were made to that game's setting to bring it into the World of Darkness timeline. Atlas Games would later acquire "Ars Magica" and remove these alterations, and the connection between "Ars Magica" and the Classic World of Darkness is no longer considered canonical. Early advertisements for the "Exalted" game established it in a pre-historic age of the World of Darkness. Although many elements of "Exalted" correspond with the WoD, the two game lines were divorced after the classic WoD was brought to a conclusion.  A "World of Darkness" sourcebook was published in two editions as well and provided general guidelines for story creation on any continent and in any milieu. These outlined the differences between African therianthropes and North American ones, for example. There was also a similar title for "Werewolf" entitled "A World of Rage".

Annual themes.

Each subsequent year of publication had a different theme. This brought about new sets of character types, but more importantly it dictated the focus of all the sourcebooks published that year. For instance, "Vampire" and "Werewolf" produced sourcebooks in the "Year of the Lotus" cycle concerning a variety of Asian themed creatures and expansions.

End of cWoD (Time of Judgment).

In late 2003, White Wolf Publishing announced it would stop publishing new books for the line, bringing the published history of the setting to an end with a series called "The Time of Judgment". This event is described from different supernatural perspectives in four Sourcebooks: "Gehenna" (for "Vampire: the Masquerade"); "Apocalypse" (for "Werewolf: the Apocalypse"); "Ascension" (for "Mage: the Ascension"); and "Time of Judgement" (covering the rest of White Wolf's less-established product lines: "Demon: The Fallen", "Changeling: The Dreaming", "Kindred of the East", "Mummy: the Resurrection" and "Hunter: the Reckoning").  The publishers stated that, in doing so, they followed up on a promise that has existed in the World of Darkness since the first edition of "Vampire", with the concept of Gehenna, and in "Werewolf", with the Apocalypse, as well as some elements of some of the published material that pertain to 'end of the world' themes in other games. Fiction novels from each of the three major gaming lines concluded the official storyline.

Onyx Path.

In 2011, a 20th Anniversary Edition of "", also called V20, was released, and a series of further books for the cWoD were announced. Those books include conversion rules between some cWoD games and their nWoD counterparts, as well as material that was planned but not published before the End of the cWoD, as well as additional material for V20 and a 20th Anniversary book based on "".  For V20, as well as the upcoming V20 Companion and the 20th Anniversary "Werewolf: the Apocalypse" White Wolf Publishing used an "Open Development" approach, where readers and gamers could give feedback to the authors. At GenCon 2012, it was announced that Onyx Path Publishing will produce material to the new and classic World of Darkness as licensee. In November 2012, it was announced by Onyx Path Publishing that due to the resounding success of the W20 Kickstarter, which reached over 400% of its target funds goal, a 20th Anniversary "Mage: the Ascension" would be launched for 2013.  At GenCon 2012, the 2013 release schedule was outlined, including 2 new game settings, "Mummy: The Curse" and "Demon: The Descent." Onyx Path also announced that 2013 would feature a Revised World of Darkness 1.5 core rules update titled "The God-Machine Chronicle" (for New World of Darkness) and "The Strix Chronicle" (for Vampire: the Requiem).

"Vampire: The Eternal Struggle" (card game).

One of the earliest collectible card games (CCG) "" (formerly called "Jyhad") is also based on the original World of Darkness, staying very true to the setting. As one of the longest-running CCGs in existence, it is the only WoD product that has not been discontinued – the Gehenna-theme (end of the old WoD "Vampire" setting) was featured in one expansion, but further expansions have been produced, without any reboot of the franchise.

Television series.

In 1996, there was also a short lived TV series set in the WoD called "" that was produced by Spelling Television and broadcast by Fox. The show was based on the game "". It was canceled in the U.S. after only eight episodes. The possibility of a Canadian television station picking the show up was pre-empted by the death of Mark Frankel, one of the stars of the show.

Chronicles of Darkness (formerly "New World of Darkness").

Many details of the setting, especially in regards to its history, are left vague or otherwise have multiple explanations. The first editions of the New World of Darkness games left the core rules to a central rulebook, "", which was well received and won the Origins Gamers' Choice Award for 2004. This book established core rules and a tone and mood for games featuring human protagonists. The old setting also made humans a minor threat to the supernatural races, but the new rules make it possible for humans to be powerful opponents to the things in the night. In order to play other supernatural entities (such as Vampires or Mages), both the World of Darkness core and the specific book detailing the rules for that character type were required.  The second edition of rules was released in a companion volume for the core World of Darkness book called "The God-Machine Chronicle", and Vampire: the Requiem was given an unofficial second edition in "Blood and Smoke: The Strix Chronicle", which contained complete rules for the Vampire characters, including the core system that had previously only been found in the "World of Darkness" core book.  As White Wolf Publishing attempted to keep the original World of Darkness separate, the new World of Darkness was rebranded as the "Chronicles of Darkness", releasing a new core book with the "God-Machine Chronicle" errata folded in. "Blood and Smoke" received minimal changes to be re-released as "Vampire: the Requiem 2nd edition," and other games previously part of the New World of Darkness began work on their own second editions.

New rule system.

The Chronicles of Darkness rules are much more streamlined than the previous system. One 10-sided die is rolled for any 'dot' possessed in Attributes and Skills, and 1 success is achieved for every die showing a result of 8 or higher. The "10-again" rule has been added, in that a 10 indicates a re-roll, and the 10 still counts as a success (this rule was present in the original WoD only for Traits ranked at least 4 out of the usual maximum of 5, and then only for a "Specialty" or particular sub-field of the Trait's application). If another 10 is rolled, this step is repeated until anything but a 10 is rolled. 'Exceptional Successes' are indicated by having 5 or more successes on the action and can be regulated by the Storyteller. 'Dramatic Failures' are now only possible on "Chance" die rolls: When a dice pool is reduced by penalties to 0 or less, a single Chance die is rolled. If a 10 is rolled, it is a success (and, as mentioned above, is re-rolled). If the result is less than 10 but not 1, then it is a 'Simple Failure'. On a Chance die, if the roll is a 1, then it is a 'Dramatic Failure', which is usually worse than a Simple Failure of the action and is regulated by the Storyteller (although examples of Dramatic Failures in certain situations are frequently given).  The game also features a much more simplified combat system. In the old system, each attack made during a combat scene could easily involve 4 separate rolls and, in many cases, required more due to supernatural abilities possessed by the characters. Combat scenes involving large numbers of combatants could take a very long time to resolve. The new system requires only 1 roll which is adjusted by the defensive abilities of the character being attacked and represents both the success and failure of the attack, as well as the damage inflicted (indicated by number of successes).  The nature and demeanor rules which represented the personality of the characters that were common in the old games have also been removed. In the new system, characters have a virtue and a vice trait that not only represents the personality of the characters, depending on how well the player role-played the trait, but also represents actions that the character can take in order to regain willpower points that have been spent during the course of play. The vices are the same as the deadly sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride), while the virtues correspond to the four cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, courage) and three theological virtues (faith, hope, charity). In the game's second edition, players do not select virtues or vices from a list. Instead, they may select any lofty ideal to be their Virtue, and any guilty pleasure to be their Vice.  The morality stat represents the moral outlook of the character and the notion that, as a character takes more and more morally questionable actions, he/she will eventually stop feeling bad about it. A character with a high morality would be more moral and saintly, while a person with a low morality would be able to take more dubious actions. As a person's morality falls, they run the increasing risk of becoming mentally unstable. This, too, was changed in the second edition. Morality was replaced entirely by an "integrity" stat which reflects a character's mental stability. Integrity can be lowered not only by performing questionable actions, but by witnessing or being subjected to the horrors, supernatural or otherwise, that occur in the setting.

Publication.

The core setting.

The Chronicles of Darkness rules have improved compatibility between games; all characters are created as normal humans and thus have the same basic traits. Supernatural traits still vary for each character type, but their interactions with each other are governed largely by a single, simple mechanic. The playable supernatural types generally follow similar rules in terms of game mechanics, including:  The three core games are as follows:

Limited series setting.

In addition to the main three games, there are also additional limited series games. Like "Orpheus" for the Classic World of Darkness, each of these "fourth games" will have a limited series of approximately six books, including the core rulebook. The first such game is "Promethean: The Created" for August 2006, based largely on Frankenstein and similar stories of giving the unliving life through alchemy. The second game is "Changeling: The Lost", and was released in August 2007. It is a game based around characters that were taken and enslaved by Fairies similar to those of European folk tales, who managed to escape to find they were no longer human themselves, and must find a new place in life. Due to overwhelming positive response to "Changeling", White Wolf Publishing has continued publishing material for it, although it is not recognized as a Core series. The third game, "Hunter: The Vigil", was released in 2008, dealing with humans who decide to confront the supernatural. The fourth game, "Geist: The Sin-Eaters", came out in 2009. The game concerns characters known as sin-eaters who, at the point of death, bonded with one of the strange entities known as geists. They returned to life, and are now able to journey into the Underworld. No additional games were released in 2010 or 2011, but at the 2011 Gen Con, it was announced that a new "Mummy" game would be released in August 2012. It was announced at the Los Angeles By Night Convention that the newest World of Darkness game is "Demon: The Descent". At the 2014 Gen Con, Onyx Path announced that their next line would be "Beast: The Primordial". At the 2015 Gen Con, Onyx Path announced that "Deviant: The Renegades" would follow.

"Monte Cook's World of Darkness".

In August 2007, White Wolf published the single volume "Monte Cook's World of Darkness". It was a take on a "World of Darkness"-theme by veteran RPG-designer Monte Cook. It was advertised as his last RPG book, before he would shift to writing fiction. (Cook has since returned to RPGs.)  The World in this setting is an Earth that has, some time prior to the start of the game, been hit by a global catastrophe caused by extra-dimensional alien beings. These beings sought to enter reality, but have since been repelled by mankind's emotion or will. Starting with that catastrophe, several supernatural beings and phenomenon appear – some accidental, some induced by the aliens to make mankind suffer to a level that allows them to enter reality.  The game uses a d20-like system, with level-based advancement. It incorporates vampires, werewolves, mages, and demons into its setting, and has therefore some similarities to the classical/new World of Darkness. It also tries to capture certain aspects of these game worlds, like the mages' free magic system: the game offers d20 compatible rules to design spells and a magic system based on exhaustion, rather than a classic d20/D&D-like "spells per day" system.  Although sharing the "World of Darkness" title, this game is a setting in its own right.

"World of Darkness Online".

A merger between CCP Games and White Wolf Publishing was announced at the annual "EVE Online" fanfest in Reykjavík, Iceland, in November 2006. As part of the deal, it was announced that White Wolf would be adapting the "EVE Online" intellectual property into a role-playing game, and CCP Games announced a "World of Darkness Online" massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). According to news at the time, work had already begun on a "World of Darkness" MMORPG and full-time production was to commence within the year and launch in four to five years. , full production of "World of Darkness Online" was scheduled to start March 2009 after the "EVE Online" expansion was finished according to CCP. Official confirmation that the game was in development surfaced in August 2009 on the official CCP web site.  The game was to be based on "Vampire: The Masquerade" and would have "focus[ed] on player politics and social interaction". According to Senior Producer Chris McDonough there "is no release date" set.  In October 2011, CCP announced that they would be significantly reducing the staff for the MMORPG, choosing instead to focus on the existing "EVE Online" universe.  In a February 2012 interview at Ten Ton Hammer it was reported that there were still at least 60 dedicated developers on the MMO and the project was still moving forward.  In April 2013, in an interview at EVE Fanfest 2013, it was reported that the "World of Darkness Online" team has worked on multiple projects at CCP, and were sharing technology with the company's other titles and teams. There are 70 people working on the tools and technology that will be used to build the World of Darkness and it was stressed that the game is in pre-production. Chris McDonough said "What we're doing is building a lot of tools, and we're trying to do it in a smart way... we have to be able to use the tools to make up the ground for the number of guys we have", and he also added "Now, we'll ramp the team up when it comes time to go into actual production but, for sure, we're making phenomenal progress". It was also announced the game was to be a next-generation MMO and will work like a vampire simulator. "We're making sure this is a next-generation MMO. It's very focused on movement and motion and capturing what it's like to be a vampire. People ask about our high level designs for "World of Darkness" and we've called this a vampire simulator. What's it like to be a vampire. Not a super hero, but a super-powered individual. The way the characters move around the city feels very vampiric", McDonough explained. The demo showed during the "World of Darkness" presentation at EVE Fanfest 2013, proved this out.  On April 14, 2014, CCP announced that the "World of Darkness" MMORPG was cancelled.  On October 29, 2015, Paradox Interactive announced that it bought White Wolf, including "World of Darkness" and "Vampire: The Masquerade" from CCP Games. Paradox stated it planned to create "multiple digital games titles" following this acquisition. White Wolf became a self-operating subsidiary of Paradox Interactive with its own management and goals.  In January 2017, White Wolf announced its partnership with video game publisher Focus Home Interactive for the video game adaptation of "", a tabletop role-playing game set in the World of Darkness. The game will be developed by the game development studio Cyanide and released on PC and consoles.

Now in print.

In 2011, White Wolf and online role playing game store DriveThruRPG.com, began offering the new and classic World of Darkness source books in a print on demand format through the DriveThruRPG website, starting with a number of formerly out of print "Vampire: The Masquerade" books, and gradually adding more as they were ready for print. DriveThruRPG and White Wolf have indicated that eventually all World of Darkness material will be available in this way.

World of Darkness are three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. The first was conceived by Mark Rein-Hagen, while the second was designed by several people at White Wolf Gaming Studio, which Rein-Hagen helped to found. The first two World of Darkness settings have been used for several horror-themed role-playing games that make use of White Wolf's storyteller/storytelling system, as well as "Mind's Eye Theatre", a live action role-playing game based on the core games. The third, "Monte Cook's World of Darkness", created by Monte Cook based on the first two World of Darkness settings, includes only a single product.

World of Darkness (WoD, česky Svět temnoty) je název, který používají tři podobné (v některých ohledech však velmi rozdílné) fiktivní herní světy. První vytvořil na počátku 90. let Mark Rein-Hagen, zatímco druhý pochází z návrhu herního studia firmy White Wolf, kterou Rein-Hagen pomáhal založit. První dvě prostředí Světa temnoty byla použita pro několik her s hororovými náměty a jsou postavena na Storyteller a Storytelling systému. Třetí prostředí, Monte Cook's World of Darkness, zahrnuje pouze jeden produkt a pro hraní využívá systém d20.