Articles in the archive contain broken links because outdated files are removed.

Dario Casali on Level Design
There is an article on Designing Levels by Valve Software's Dario Casali on Videogamedesign.Com. Dario is currently working on Half-Life, and his previous credits include levels on the Final Doom.

3Dfx Shadow Warrior Bug, Speed Issues
Apogee/3D Realms' George Broussard updated his .plan about a 3Dfx Shadow Warrior bug, and addresses the question of the port's speed:

"3Dfx Shadow Warrior:

Yes, we goofed. The loading of saved games is directly our fault and I apologize publicly to our fans. In our zest to release the 3Dfx patch everyone "assumed" that the other guy tested mundane features like save/load. I take full respobsibility and we will address it asap (I expect it is a simple thing we simply overlooked).

As to the other 3Dfx problems. We are aware of them. It became obvious about halfway through the port that the speed wasn't going to be blazing (actually suspected it at the start). Our options were to blow off the port, or to proceed. If we blew it off, we'd have screaming fans from every corner. At least this way, you get something. It's honestly about as good as the 3Dfx can do. As we stated in the readme, Build on 3Dfx is a major hack and several concessions had to be made. Speed for one. 3D Sprites/Voxels for another. We thought it was at least worth "trying" and see what we'd get. Other than the damned load bug, it's playable and enjoyable by many. No, you aren't going to get 50-60 fps.

We will try to address the load bug immediately as it's an issue...."

Brian Hook Kicks at Boot
Brian Hook made a .plan update revealing his anger at Boot and bootNET for publishing the non-print version of the interview with him and John Carmack without providing them the promised opportunity to make sure they were not being quoted out of context.  I can tell you from personal experience the desire to check for this is not trivial. I have been quoted out of context myself, and it's amazing how easily your meaning can be misconstrued. His lengthy update details the broken commitment, and sums it all up with this:

"...The number of corrections that I'd need to post to make that "article" even vaguely relevant or accurate would consume too much time. Suffice to say that after we've gone gold that I will probably do a big update explaining and clarifying our positions on a lot of things. Hopefully I can do an interview with another magazine that understands the concept of journalistic ethics."

bootNET Marches On
In spite of the controversy, bootNET has posted the fourth segement of their interview with John Carmack and Brian Hook. This installment discusses console technology and touched on the PowerVR.

New ClanRing CTF Mod
Version 2.6 of the ClanRing CTF mod (146 KB) has been released by the ClanRing. Thanks Hanif.

New Malice Developer's Kit
A newer version of the Malice Level Developers Kit (646 KB) has been released by the Epochalypse Team. The new version fixes a mip problem with the sky textures in the original. They have also released a pair of walkthoughs for single player levels: d3demo (647 KB) and d12demo (711 KB). Thanks Prophet.

More Jedi Hints
LucasArts has updated their official Jedi Knight hints guide to include levels 4-6, they now have hints and secrets for levels 1-6. Thanks Valley of the Jedi.

Internet Gaming Shakeout?
There's an article on Jesse Berst's Anchor Desk on ZDNet called Internet Gaming Gets Gory. How to Tell Who Will Win that predicts a bloody battle for shares of the oft-predicted Internet gaming boom.

3D Accelerators
Another article on the Anchor Desk is called  Game Consoles are Old News. Tune Into the Future With 3D Accelerators.

Gravis' Sound Business Decision
Gravis has decided to get out of the sound card business. In a message posted on their website last week, they detail the procedure for getting technical support and drivers for existing Gravis sound products. Thanks Mike Shanahan.

Canopus FAQ's, Pure3D Review

• There is a Pure3D Review up on GameSpot. Thanks Wicked (Voodoo Extreme).
• Also, the Pure3D FAQ and the Total3D 128V FAQ on the Canopus page have both been updated. Thanks Joe Stanek (3D Portal).

Competition
There are just a few more slots in the high-ping QuakeWorld tournament at Skillz, so if you are interested in entering, time is running out.

Movements

• The Hexen Quake TC, has moved to www.hexenworld.com/hqtc/.
• Ethereal TeamFortress has moved to tf.ethereal.net/.

etc.
There have been problems with the server here all morning, sorry about that ... Similarly, sCary is still having problems with his server, and the Shuga' Shack should be back to normal this evening some time (too bad he's not an Internet Sysop anymore.) ... Final Arena, the final edition of Rocket Arena for Quake (with, of course, Quake II versions on the horizon) will include 20-30 maps, and they will be taking map submissions until December 5. Details on creating and submitting Rocket Arena maps can be found here. Further questions can go to NiOXiN ... I mistakenly said there was a new Dear Mynx earlier, and that's a mistake, according to PlanetQuake she's on a brief vacation  advice about love and grand issues. (Thanks Dave Lister.LagLL for straightening me out) ... After a few technical difficulties after changing servers, Lt.Dan's Single Player Quake is up to speed again, with all past and current level ratings functioning properly ... You can use the Quake Console as your Windows desktop, there is a version at about any resolution you want (except the oddball 1152x864 I use) on this page, created by HappyEvil's House Of Fun ... There's a funny, if stereotypical image up on the Quake Easel, a tribute to Canadian Quake players ...

First Hexen II Level
The first (to my knowledge) user-created Hexen II level has been released. Here's Ominous Inaugural (313 KB), created by the famed MarTim team. The level is described as a medieval deathmatch setting that tries to exploit the added features of the Hexen II engine. The map is also available on the MarTim homepage.

More Carmack on Boot
The third installment of bootNET's Brian Hook & John Carmack interview has been posted. This edition is John Carmack talking about 3D architectures, and some detailed comments on Talisman, and why it is not the answer.

GL Tweakers
I found not one, but two programs in my mailbox designed to help achieve maximum performance in GLQuake on 3Dfx hardware. TweekRush (155 KB) by Markus Jentsch is for Voodoo RUSH cards (thanks Sharky), and GL+ (216 KB) by Bjoern Stensrud which has been floating around for a while that will help you get the proper settings on Voodoo Graphics-based cards. Thanks handiman (I think Hanif sent this in a while back as well). 

1024x768 Quake II on Voodoo 2 - Voodoo 2 FAQ
I see on Voodoo Extreme that Sharky's alcohol poisoning has abated enough for him to recall one of the cool things that Brian Brunning of 3Dfx showed them at Comdex: Quake II on a PII266 with a pair of Voodoo 2's running Quake II at 1024x768 resolution, at over 35 frames per second. Wow! There is also a new edition of the Voodoo 2 FAQ pulled from the most recent Voodoo Review.

Tom's Quake/Quake II Benchmarks
Tom's Hardware Guide has posted a slew of benchmarks for GL Quake and Quake II (GL), testing them on a wide variety of graphics cards on both a PII-300 and a K6-233. Thanks Snoop-EMB. Here's Tom's closing line seemingly showing that Quake is indeed influencing hardware manufacturers:

ATI told me that they are working on an OpenGL engine, but it'll take a while ... can you feel the power of GLQuake ... ?

Jeu d'Espion (GameSpy en Français)
The French language version of GameSpy has been released on the GameSpy page.

Review
There's a jpg of Sharky's review of Shadow Warrior from UK's PC Gaming World (Computer Gaming World in the US) up on Voodoo Extreme.

Competitions

• Here's a write up (in Swedish), and another (in English) of a recent international CTF match between Sweden and Germany. Thanks Methabol.
• Those who entered Silver's Slide competition should email Silver, who is trying to put the contest back together since Gibbed.com's crash.
• There's info on a Quake II level design contest on VRGN (until the game ships, I'd say the id guys have the inside track on this one). Thanks Hanif.

etc.
Here's an essay by Bill Connolly discussing what he feels gaming leagues like the PGL and CyberAthletes need to do to succeed ... Congrats to Tomi Karna, AKA DOOMer, double Swedish DM champion, who is now officially sponsored by PC Gamer Sweden, who are becoming more active in Sweden's quite active Quake community ... Image of the day, is this animated .gif (67 KB) created by Hal 9000 of the Quake Workshop. What better for Thanksgiving than Turkey giblets. Have a good one ...

Article-o-Rama
A few articles of potential interest:

• An article on ZDNet called Let's get physical talks about interactivity in upcoming games, mentioning Quake II, and quoting Valve's Gabe Newell talking about Half-Life. Thanks CrushingDay.
• The virtues of GameSpy get mentioned in this PC Gamer Online Article, and this GameCenter article.
• OGR has a feature on the Online Games Conference & Expo.
• Quake II is mentioned in the latest Swedish edition of PC Gamer, which also mentions the Fantasy Quake TC, so they've posted an image of the cover and article (yep, in Swedish) on the Fantasy Quake Rise of the Phoenix page. Thanks Prophet.

New Viper Drivers
I saw over on Voodoo Extreme that Diamond has released new Microsoft certified drivers for the Viper 330.

The Big Boot Interview Part II
An update to the Boot interview story from earlier: The second part of the interview with John Carmack and Brian Hook has been posted on bootNET.  Thanks groove.

Malice Bug
Quantum Axcess' Smert updated his .plan to fess up to a boo-boo in Malice for Quake:

YOU GOT US! We forgot to put a parachute into the Underwater Base (map D8) so there's just no way to complete the level normally and alive.

So until we get a patch out there you'll have to use the console command FLY to get you down to the bottom of the pit.

US Tax Dollars at Work (Updated)

• A third link on this story, this directly to Senator Joe Leiberman's Video Game Reposrt Card 1997. Not Jo3'z ExcellenT QuakE PagE, for sure.  Thanks Shanoyu Crandor.
• ABC News has another story about Washington coping with games called Taming Computer Game Violence. Thanks tokay.
• There's an article on CNN called Some computer games flunk senators' report card decrying violence in video games, criticizing Duke Nukem 3D among others. Among the games gaining their approval for being suitable for children? Gettysburg. Thanks Thallid.

Voodoo 2 Giveaway
Diamond has a form up on their website to fill out to receive information about their upcoming Voodoo 2-based "next generation Monster 3D". Ten lucky entrants chosen at random will receive one of these babies when they become available. Thanks DigitalBoy.

Quake II Manual Cover
Here's a scan of the cover of the Quake II manual. Thanks Kevin Kraff and Phoebus and the gang over at Activision for sending this along:

Apogee at 10
As mentioned in Joe Siegler's .plan, today is more or less Apogee software's tenth anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, Joe has put together a web-based chronology of Apogee, and a list of milestones.

TEN 2.0 Java
The first beta version of TEN 2.0 has been launched, according to an announcement on the TEN page. The new version, slated to eventually replace the current interface, is Java-based, so requires a Java-capable browser. Thanks Hanif.

(P)Reviews Updated

• There is a rave review of Canopus' Total3D 128V on Zone 128. Thanks Billy "Wicked" Wilson (Voodoo Extreme).
• Avault has a review of the STB Velocity 128. Thanks Wicked again.
• There is a very positive preview of the After the Fall TC up on Frag.Com.
• Also, Hanif posted his impressions of The FRAG at Frag.Com (hmm, something to combine with the Comdex report: The FRAG.Comdex!).

Future versus Fantasy 4.0
Both the shareware and registered Future versus Fantasy 4.0 have been released on the FvF homepage. There will be no more features added to FvF, as future development will be focused on FvF for Quake II. Here's what's in version 4.0:

John Carmack & Brian Hook: The Big Boot Interview
bootNET has announced that they are going to be posting the entire interview conducted by Alex St. John with id Software's John Carmack and Brian Hook that was edited down for the December print Boot. The interview will be doled out in ten daily doses, culminating with the release of the whole ball of wax. They've just posted the first section (which contains the most horrifying non-pornographic use of an animated .gif I can recall), and you can keep tabs on the project on this page.

QuestFinger
On the heels of BrutalFinger's update, version 4.0 of QuestFinger is now online featuring all sorts of customizable filters and stuff.

Jedi Knight - Freeze!
Here's a patch with a new force power (45 KB) by Carlos Perez for Jedi Knight that allows you to freeze your opponent. Thanks JediKnight.Net.

Foxed (Updated)
Wow: "Foxed" has really become a techno verb. crash (of his late-great eponymous SPQ pages) points out that Foxed is defined on page 214 of Wired 5.11 as "Used to describe a Web site threatened with legal action for copyright infringement, the term was coined after 20th Century Fox sent cease-and-desist letters to unofficial X-Files and Simpsons Web sites. Paramount/Viacom has subsequently foxed Star Trek sites, and the band Oasis recently foxed its fan pages." I originally wrote that I thought this to be inaccurate, believing I coined the term on (after poking around the archive, damn why isn't this searchable) April 12, 1997 in my first story about the X-Men TC, of course, inspired by the Aliens TC being Foxed the previous day. onethumb, however tells me that this is just my out-of-control ego, and that the X-Files Foxing took place a couple of years ago, and the term sprung up then. (Anyone know otherwise?).

Interviews

• Next Generation Online has an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, one of the fathers of the video games (creator of Mario and Zelda, among other things). Thanks Prophet.
• This Week's Happy Puppy Radio show (live Saturday from 3:00-4:00 PM Eastern time, Real player required) features Shiny's David Perry and Heavy Gear's Tim Morten. You can call in live at 1-888-ONRADIO during the show. Details on this week's show will (eventually) be posted here. Thanks Prophet.

Competitions

• The AMD Pro Gamers' League has extended their registration deadline until this Friday, November 28, Midnight Pacific time, with online qualification still running through November 30. All players who register will be eligible to win a 233 MHz AMD MMX K6. They are holding a second orientation session for new players on Friday as well, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. Over 1,200 players have registered for the PGL so far, and as of last report Azrael13 (probably better known as JokeySmurf) was ranked first in Quake, with Thresh at 39. Finally, there are some demos of last week's orientation available for download at the PGL site.
• Here is a contest open to Europeans that gives the opportunity to win a Thriller 3D card (a 2D/3D combo using Renditions V2200 chipset) when they are available.
• The latest Skillz contest (one-on-one high ping QuakeWorld competition), rated a mention in PC Gamer Online. Cool! Thanks Prophet.

Movements

• The 3D Mapping Guild has moved to www.frag.com/3dmg/. Thanks Prophet.
• Defenders Capture the Flag, a strategy site for defensive CTF, has moved to home.bc.rogers.wave.ca/silenus/dctf/.

.plans

• Ritual's Charlie Wiederhold made an update talking a bit about the DM map he's working on (I took a nasty fall in an unfinished building I was playing in as a kid: probably explains a lot).
• ION's Rich Carlson made a .plan update pointing out his website, Zdim's Weapon Rack.
• onethumb told me about a site he mentions in his .plan called the Computer Literacy Gift Compiler that includes gifts for geeks and gamers where the word is to stay tuned for an offer of particular interest to id/Quake II fans. In a previous update, he takes Next-Generation Online to task for what he feels are inaccuracies in a story about PowerVR.
• Monolith's Nick Newhard made a .plan update giving the status of the 3Dfx Blood patch. Also, for the record, it is not possible to have more class that the Stainless Steel Rat.

etc.
There is a small note on the Dank & Scud news page that Michael has finished page three ... Birdman's Quake Lair has a driver for the Spaceorb for use with Shadow Warrior, (and the new 3dfx version) here. Thanks Prophet ... Word from Gibbed.Com is they're starting over from scratch, and will begin accepting applications for sites that wish hosting soon ... As the Quake World Turns is a message board where you can talk about what's on your Quakin' mind ... Happy Birthday to Joost Schuur, who turns 26 today ...

ION / Eidos Online Clarification
There is an update on ION's Daily Informant clarifying the non-exclusivity of Eidos' and MPlayer's newly announced joint online service with a quote (and a stern accompanying photo) from biz-guy Mike Wilson:

"While it's true that Eidos included our games in their package deal with Mplayer, the deal will be non-exclusive, and in no way indicates our inability to do deals with the other online services. It is our intent to make our multiplayer games available to as many people as possible, on whatever service they choose. We don't plan to include any services' software with our games, or play favorites in any way."

MacQuakeWorld
There is word on Inside Mac Games News that MacSoft's current plan is to release MacQuakeWorld as shareware release (that will also require the registered MacQuake) "probably" in first quarter 1998. Thanks [VII] BlazinEwok.

Sierra Online Online
There's a brief mention on Fragile Mortality that CUC, Sierra's parent, will begin beta-testing an online service called WonNet next month, with plans to offer Sierra titles like Half-Life (putting the online in Sierra Online). Saw that on Jaspur's Half-Life.

PCX2 Colored Lighting
News on Zanshin's GLQuake Dodjo is that full colored lighting in Quake II will be supported by the PowerVR PX2. Thanks Wicked (Voodoo Extreme) Here's the quote:

I have information that indicates there WILL be full colored lighting in Quake 2 with PCX2. Using a lot of blending mode hacks, NEC/Videologic managed to pull it off. The performance does take a hit, though. I hope they offer a choice to disable it, if speed is hit that much.

PGL Strategy Guide
There is a Strategy Guide up on the PGL site that covers Quake and Red Alert and also includes tips on dealing with latency. The Quake guide is excerpted from the one that had been on Thresh's (now dormant) Gamer's Extreme. Thanks Hanif.

BrutalFinger
Brutality's finger service has been upgraded to be better, stronger, faster than it was before. Feel free to go there and give someone the finger. Thanks Prophet.

Frag.Comdex
Frag.Com has posted their Comdex report, giving impressions of Quake II, Unreal, and Voodoo 2.

New VELOCITY 128 Drivers
Version 1.21 of Win95 drivers for STB's VELOCITY 128 have been released on the VELOCITY 128 Drivers Page. Thanks Walticus.

IRC Doings (Clarification)

• To clarify, word from GamesNet is that their website (not the IRC network, as the original post here implied) will be down until Monday or Tuesday as they set up their Zillion Jigobit connection. Thanks BD|mjk.
• Both QuestGate and Telefragged have joined with GamesLink, a new gaming IRC network. The network now features the following nodes (thanks Hanif):

gameslink.questgate.net
irc.questgate.net
irc.telefragged.com
Irc.Quake2.com
Irc.Unreal.org
Irc.Repent.net
Irc.Time2Quake.com
Irc.GAGames.com

Anyone wishing to link to GamesLink can contact netguy@quake2.com.

MaliceWorld Installer
As mentioned in his .plan, Embrionic Pete sent along the MaliceWorld installer (175 KB) to set up Malice for Quake users to play on QuakeWorld using the custom Malice pallette and console.

Jedi Patches
A few cool looking patches for Jedi Knight from The Jedi Knight Outpost: a new Heal Force Power (20 KB) to replace the heal yourself power with one that allows you to heal yourself and others; A Flaming Light Saber patch (5 KB) that's pretty self-explanatory; and an Exploding Force patch (14 KB) to replace the force absorb power with the ability to make things go boom. Thanks Prophet.

Wheel of Time Screenshot
There's been an update to the Wheel of Time page (in the current section) that includes the first screenshot released in months from this Unreal-engine game in progress. The shot, a thumbnail of a chamber in the Whitecloak's citadel, features neither final architecture or textures, but is meant to show the type of environments they are developing. Thanks Andy (Beauty of Madness).

Sin Hires
There's a press release posted on SiN CiTY detailing Ritual's hiring of Patrick Hook and Charlie Wiederhold as level designers.

Sin Art
There is an exclusive holiday image signed by the Ritual crew up on The Ultimate SiN.

Hardware Stuff

• Tom's Hardware Guide has a report from Comdex with a first look at AMD's K6 3D chip, describing its performance as about 30% faster than a PII 300 (using a special version of DirectX, as pointed out by Lionel Bouton). Thanks Wicked (Voodoo Extreme).
• There's a story on Jesse Bert's ZDNet Anchor Desk about two new high speed technologies using existing phone lines: ADSL Lite, and Channel Bonding.
• Another story on the Anchor desk profiles 3D accelerators, but is clearly not targeting gamers.

Movements

• The TF Outhouse has moved to www.warzone.com/tfouthouse/.
• The Pitt has moved to quake.3dx.org/.

Competitions

• Oops, the word leaked to me before the sign-up sheet for Skillz Test #5 was posted, so if you are interested in participating in a one-on-one high-ping (200 ms or higher) only QuakeWorld tourney with over $1500 in prizes, you can sign up now on the Skillz Page.
• The week four winners of id's Quake II/Monster 3D giveaway have been posted. Thanks WU-GFKiller.
• Jaspur's Half-Life is holding a logo contest, with the winner to receive a Preliminary Findings CD and a Half-Life hat.
• A reminder that the Quake Literary Guild's story contest (winner to receive a copy of Quake II on its release) ends this Friday.
• Results of the first Black Sun Jedi Knight tourney are up. The next one is planned for sometime next month. Thanks Jedi Nights.

Reviews

• OGR has a review of the Canopus Pure3D. Thanks Prophet.
• There is a review of Hexen II on the Focus on Quake. Thanks SpaceMan Spif of the Team Fortress Newswire.

.plans

• Brian Hook took the time in his .plan to dispel a rumor that id had discovered a flaw in the Pure3D, later he posted another worklog.
• Lee Jackson updated his .plan with news that he's gotten the music from Shadow Warrior on the list for nominations for the Grammy awards. He points out they don't have much chance of being nominated, but urges joining The Recording Academy to help affect a change and have the Grammies recognize game and multimedia music as its own category.
• Disruptor made an update that includes a photo of Paul "Conan" Steed taking out John Carmack's door with a sword.
• ION's Rich Carlson updated raving about Ikka's map (mentioned here yesterday), and ION's Larry "RocketMan" Herring's new deathmatch map called Vanguard Spectacle (222 KB), described as being good for fans of "American McGee style of DM", so you know I'm checking this bad boy out as soon as possible. Vanguard Spectacle is also mentioned in RocketMan's own .plan file.
• Crack dot Com's Trey Harrison points out that the top three of MeccaWorld's Top 100 Quake levels were made with Quest (which he co-authored, along with Chris Carollo).
• Similarly, ION's Dr Sleep points out that fellow Daikatana level designer Steve Rescoe's Shadow Over Innsmout wound up listed as the #1 level on MeccaWorld's Top 100.
• Levelord, AKA Beerf*ck, updated his .plan with some snippets of life, including his visit to QuakeCast (I don't know why it never occurred to me that the QuakeCast was Judge and Jury).

Departments

• Lan Parties: Someone looking for interest in the Western Mass/CT area; another gauging interest in Tulsa, OK..

etc.
A new site devoted to Quake art has opened called The Art of Strogg that is offering free art and logos ... Here's an essay on real-time Bump Mapping, and its potential application in Quake ... I personally get both flamed and defended in a pair of editorials on Inside 3D (I am assuming I do not have to defend myself further against unfair accusations, I hope that's correct) ... Image of the day is lifted from Disruptor's .plan (mentioned above): Paul Steed taking out John Carmack's door with a sword (though it's easy to speculate he was aiming for that copy of Windows 95, and missed) ...

Malice Developers Kit
The developers of Malice for Quake have opened the Team Epochalypse website, dedicated to being a resource for Malice add-ons. They are kicking things off with the release of the Malice Developers Kit (632 KB). The kit contains the following:

1. Malice texture wad file
2. Malice .fgd file for Worldcraft
3. Malice palette
4. Malice level design "tutorial"

Display Doctor 6
Version 6.0 of Scitech's Display Doctor, the application that gets the most out of most video cards, has been released. You can download a 21 day version from GameCenter. Thanks Ant. Here's what's up:

This new version adds support for many new cards, including Number Nine Revolution 3D; ATI's Xpert@Play and Xpert@Work cards; Diamond's Stealth 3D 2000 Pro, Stealth Viper 330, Fire GL 1000 Pro, and Stealth II s220 cards; Matrox's Millennium 2 and Mystique 220 cards; Hercules' Stingray 128/3D, Dynamite 3D/GL, and Terminator 3D/DX cards; and STB's Velocity 128/3D and Nitro 3D cards.

Furthermore, Display Doctor 6.0 offers support for VESA VBE 3.0 and VBE/AF 2.0 on over 250 different graphics chips. There is also a new user interface and support for 3D stereo LCD glasses, Toshiba laptops, and fixed frequency monitors. Also look for full centering and refresh rates control for non-VGA chipsets, as well as a SDDSpeed enhancement for Pentium Pro and Pentium II processors.

New QuArK with Hexen II Support
QuArK 4.04 with Hexen II support (requires Activision's Hexen II utilities) has been released on The Official QuArK HomePage. I saw that on PQ via CgANS.

New Fantasy Quake Map
A new map called Skull Keep (fqextra4) for the cool Fantasy Quake: Rise of the Phoenix TC has been released on the Fantasy Quake page. Thanks Prophet.

ddt Profile
There is an article on Dave "ddt" Taylor, ex-id software programmer and current Crack dot Com honcho, in the Austin Business Journal. Saw that in Dave's .plan.

Eidos and MPlayer Join in Online Venture
Word out of Eidos Interactive is that they've entered into a five year partnership with MPlayer to bring Eidos' full line of multiplayer games to the Internet in a venture called EidosGames.Com. According to a press release issued by Eidos, in the coming months their games, such as Deathtrap Dungeon, Joint Strike Fighter, and Flying Nighmares 2 will come to MPlayer, and when ION Storm's titles in progress like Daikatana and Dominion are available, they will be part of the service as well. These games will launch on the service throughout the remainder of 1997 and through 1998, with additional Eidos titles coming to MPlayer over the next five years to be announced at a later date.

Hexen II BSP Tutorial
BSP Headquarters has posted a tuitorial on using the BSP level editor to make maps for Hexen II. Thanks Filth by way of HexenWorld.

New R.I.P.
There's another new Reaper Improvement Protocol on the Tutorials Section of Inside 3D that will allow you to create Reapers that enter the game with a random skill.

VisPatch Source
The source code for both the Unix and the original versions of VisPatch have been released by author Andy Bay on the Water VIS page.

Obsidian 2 and Voodoo 2 Trade-Ins
There's an article on bootNET detailing Quantum 3D's .plans to create new Obsidian boards with Voodoo 2 technology in a project code-named Obsidian 2. There is also word there of Quantum's plans to offer a trade-in for current Voodoo owners to obtain Obsidian boards, as well as plans to offer trade-ins for higher-end cards when available. Thanks RonSolo. Here's the scoop on the trade-in straight from bootNET:

"...Quantum3D also announced it is implementing a "trade-in" program. If you've already purchased a consumer-level Voodoo Graphics based board or entry-level (and/or mid-range Obsidian series products), Quantum 3D will allow you to trade 'em in for a more advanced Obsidian real-time 3D graphics accelerator. Owners of Obsidian 50-2200, 50-2220, 50-4220, 50-4440, Diamond Multimedia Monster3D, Orchid Righteous3D, or other competitive "3D-only" Voodoo Graphics-based products will be eligible to receive as much as a $200 rebate when they trade-in their board(s) towards the purchase of Obsidian3DS or Obsidian 100SB series products. In addition, Quantum3D announced it would be implementing a similar trade-in option for customers who desire the new Voodoo2-based Obsidian2 realtime 3D graphics accelerator. Further information on the current trade-in program offer will be posted on the Quantum3D website."

"Details of the Obsidian2 trade-in program will be announced in early 1998, concurrent with the announcement of the commercial availability of the Obsidian2 product."

Quake in Print
A few articles worthy of note:

• There's an article in yesterday's Boston Globe (and a second article on the same subject) that says "It's getting harder to tell the movies from the computer games" saying the Dallas and Austin areas are being described by some as the "next Hollywood",  Thanks Ainsi.
• The Quake-related Sunday Dilbert Comic mentioned here last week is now available on the Dilbert website. Thanks >V< Sacrifice.
• The holiday edition of PC Zone (UK) apparently includes a CD with 30 TCs and over 500 Quake levels. Thanks WoodChuck.
• QuakeCast is mentioned in the November 28 edition of Entertainment Weekly. Apparently I get a mention as well (though I'm not sure if this site gets a plug or not).

Cool Quake Level
I've been fooling around with a new single player level that has me completely blown away. Clued in by Joost Schuur, and inspired by a rave review on SPQ Level Heaven, I downloaded ikspq5 (858 KB) by Iikka Keränen, of AirQuake fame. The level follows the military base theme (with what seems to be lots of Q2Test influence), and gives ample explanation of why ION Storm recently hired Iikka. The attention to detail, flow, and artwork are all nothing short of professional. Highly recommended.

FortressFest
The gang over at PlanetQuake have another fest in the works, this time to help promote TeamFortress. The action starts in a week, stay tuned to the FortressFest page for more information as details become available.

Competitions

• The concept behind Skillz Test #5 has been posted on the Skillz page. The new competition departs from previous tests, as you will now pit your Skillz against live opponents in a one-on-one high-ping (200 MS and higher) QuakeWorld tournament. More information and the rules are on this page. Thanks Subversion.
• Christmas Frag With You is a Quake league starting up in Hong Kong, eagerly awaiting local Clans to sign up.

Movements

• The Madman's Guide to Game Design is now known as Game Design Central, becoming part of Inside 3D, now found at www.inside3d.com/gdc/.
• The TeamFortress Strategy Guide has relocated to www.planetquake.com/tfguide/.
• The QTracker homepage is now at qtracker.stomped.com/.
• Qonfig is no more, replaced by PlayFig (yet to be released, but will support more games), and has moved to www.brutality.com/playfig/. Thanks Hanif.

.plans

• id's Brian Hook updated his .plan clarifying that disabling Alt-Tab will be optional in Quake II. This later update includes some techie stuff and a worklog.
• Rebel Boat Rocker Randy Pitchford updated his .plan discussing whether the first person shooter genre needs stories.

etc.
Here's a press release detailing the latest goings-on at QuestGate ... A new site underway that's looking to host Quake-related websites is Termination Central ... Word on the SWAT Team page is that one of their mappers, Brian Ball, has been hired by CaveDog ... Another new Single Player Quake page making the scene with a few level reviews is SeTh's Quake Pages ... Here's an essay called too Quad or not too Quad (too? to?) that discusses the pros and cons of Quake's noisiest powerup ... Sir-Real passes along news that there will be no MSIE version 4.0 version of the Internet Shämbler, his Quake-related version of MSIE, since Microsoft has changed the way the big "E" is implemented (and the legalities involved) ... I figured for sure that visitor #6,666,666 would have written in, but the closest to that I heard from was Nekotaku who missed by three ... Happy belated Birthday to ace newshound Prophet, who turned 28 yesterday ...

Second Demo After Quake II Retail Release
id has announced that the second Quake II demo will not be released until after the retail version of Quake II hits store shelves. f0de passed along word that American mentioned it in IRC, and when I asked tokay about it, he confirmed:

"yes i did. we are going to finish the game, get it out the door, then it will hit the stores... the demo won't come out until after the game is in the stores..."

3Dfx Shadow Warrior Patch
The 3Dfx patch for registered Shadow Warrior 1.2 (1.6 MB) has been released on 3D Realms' Website, where there are also patches for the parental lock version 1.2 (1.7 MB), the UK version 1.2 (1.7 MB), and the shareware version 1.2 (1.6 MB). Thanks Prophet.

QStatView
Version 0.9 of QStatView, a new XWindows based QuakeWorld server browser that uses Steve Jankowski's QStat to allow you to find QW servers and launch your game, has been released on the QStatView page.

Build a Better Reaper
There is a new set of R.I.P.'s, or Reaper Improvement Protocols up in the Tutorials section of Inside 3D. The deal here is, while publishing modified reapers is a copyright violation, Steve Polge, Dr. Reaperstein, is okay with individuals modifying the bot for personal use (what you and your bot do in the privacy of your own home...), and the R.I.P.'s are step-by-step instructions on how to do so.

Improved Jedi Grapple
Morpy  has released Version 1.1 of his Bryar Grappling Hook Patch for Jedi Knight (5 KB) which replaces the Bryar pistol with a grappling hook with improved dynamics, including the ability to hook onto moving objects, like other players, enemies, or ships. Thanks JediKnight.Net.

Hexen II Walkthroughs
The Chaos Sphere is now on HexenWorld, and is home to Hexen II walkthroughs, with plans on becoming a map repository as well.

Brita Quake
A WaterVis page has been started on the Stormtroopers Of Death site to aid in the use of VisPatch, the utility for 3Dfx owners to patch Quake levels for transparent water in GLQuake.

Calling Hanibal Lecktor
The Quake Women's Forum is planning on releasing their third all-female skin pack December 1. If you have a female skin to include, please submit it via email to qwf@planetquake.com.

Interview
Mattias Wellander, creator of the Jedi Knight level editor ForceBuilder, is interviewed on Jedi Link. Thanks Jedi Nights.

Reviews

• Malice for Quake is reviewed on PsychoNews, as is the Intergraph Intense 3D Voodoo.
• There is a Jedi Knight Second Opinion on GamesDomain that starts off as if to contradict GD's earlier positive review, but ends up praising the game highly. Thanks Hanif. Also reviewed on GamesDomain is Malice for Quake. Thanks Prophet.
• Malice for Quake is also reviewed on TC Magazine, along with an interview of Embrionic Pete.
• Jedi Knight is also reviewed on Gamezilla and EnterMedia. Thanks Jedi Nights.

.plans

• Brian Hook posted another worklog, some football updates, and word on the difficulties in disabling Alt-Tab in Win95.
• Disruptor posted a worklog of his own and a greeting to the sunrise (crunch time sounds rough).

Departments

• Lan Parties: There was a problem with yesterdays upload, so today you should really be able to find those events mentioned here yesterday: Northwest Arkansas; and Elkhart, Indiana.
• Want Ads: Added some high-powered looking postings for PostLinear Entertainment.

etc.
Zen and the Art of Level Design is an interesting essay talking about general approaches to level editing ... There's a guillotine you can add to your Quake levels (a Bastille Day TC anyone?) over on the Quake Prefab park. Thanks Prophet ... Version 1.8 of Wmned, the wacky name maker for Quake formerly known as Qnom, as well as Mned 1.00 for DOS (and War2nam 0.6 for DOS -- WarCraft) have all been released on this website ... The Preyground  which, as the name suggests, is dedicated to Prey, has been relaunched. Thanks Prophet ... FiEnDs QUAKEPAGE is a good Quake read (if you read Swedish) ... First Sin is holding a logo contest, with the winner to receive a copy of Sin when it's released ...

Newer ClanRing Mod
Beta 2 of version 3.1 of the ClanRing mod, considered to be the quintessential aid to setting up matches, was released in the wee hours by the ClanRing (thanks Hanif), hot on the heels of yesterday's release of beta 1. The newest version has been sent to servers, and is currently running on clanring.mpog.com:26000. You can tell servers running the new code by the 3.1.2 embedded in the teamplay code.

eXtreme Tag
The eXtreme Tag deathmatch mod has been completed: a QuakeWorld version and a net Quake version are available on the eXtreme Tag homepage.

Top 100 Quake Levels
Quake at MeccaWorld, long one of the premiere sites devoted to Quake levels, has compiled their list of the Top 100 Quake Levels of all time, which also includes responses from level designers and others in the community detailing their own favorites.

Bond Quake
The Tommorow Never Dies website has word that they are a day or two away from releasing a James Bond Quake level as a promotion for the movie. Thanks 007 (who else?).

Jedi Hints
LucasArts has posted a hints section detailing the secret areas in the first three levels of Jedi Knight. Thanks Spart of Jedi Knights.

MPlayer's Plans
MPlayer has announced a series of collaborations, and new sections, designed to increase traffic and win advertising revenues according to this Next-Generation article. Thanks Hanif. Their intent to compete with the PGL and CyberAthletes beyond their more traditional on-line service competitors, is summed up in this quote:

The plan is to create the largest sports gaming community on the Internet, by combining online sports gaming, with an online sports information resource.

Interview
Maverick Software's Mark Adams of   discusses the Mac version of Unreal with mac.unreal.org. Thanks Prophet.

Competitions

• The second HeadGames, a HeadHunters Quake tourney is getting underway. Results from the first tourney can be found here.
• The Thursday Night Quake League is starting up, attempting to eliminate scheduling hassles for clans that play regularly. They hope to begin play December 4.
• TeamFortress players from the Arkansas area interested in participating in the TF Superbowl should contact Nexus.
• DMP is holding a map competition for new/unknown authors.

Movements

• QuakeEasel, the Quake art site mentioned the other day has relocated to easel.quaked.com.
• The homepage of the Quake Base Defense patch has relocated to www.gibbed.com/qbd/.

.plans

• John Cash updated his worklog.
• Brian Hook updated his worklog and posted his opinion piece on opinion pieces then another worklog update. He also asks if someone knows of a convenient (i.e. domestic) source for Eurographics Proceedings, please send him an e-mail.
• Paul Steed is feeling the stain of crunch time, but is getting a kick out of ION's Quake II playtesters in his .plan update.
• Scott Miller posted a bunch of stuff, including a new puzzle, and the revelation that Duke Nukem for the N64 is out.
• Gary McTaggart's .plan discusses video card options top run 3D level editors.

Departments

• MailBag: A reader takes a look at John Cash's 1996 year-end predictions as we approach the end of 1997.
• Lan Parties: Added events in Northwest Arkansas; and Elkhart, Indiana.
• Want Ads: Song of the day: "It's Not My Place in the 9 to 5 World" - The Ramones.

etc.
Today is the one-year anniversary of the retail version of Quake appearing on store shelves in the US ... Today is also the one-year anniversary of the first release of QFront ... The Hooded Claw, formerly specializing in Quake Rally news is now expanding its coverage to being a UK source for all 3D gaming news ... The 3D Mapping Guild is open for business: a homebase for level authors ...