"We're going to have a lot of DLC. We'll see what happens," Avalanche Studios lead designer Peter Johansson tells Eurogamer in discussing plans to support Just Cause 2. "DLC is important, but a game like Just Cause 2 can live pretty long because it's not just playing through the story and being done with it - there's the completion rating and playing with friends. That's what we do in the office!" He says they're going to have fun adding content to the action sequel without going into detail: "Yeah, we're going to have some fun with DLC," Johansson says. "But unfortunately I can't talk about the specifics."
Stardock's Wardell Details Impulse Reactor Specifics on Gamasutra talks with Stardock CEO Brad Wardell about Impulse::Reactor, and what it means to gamers, developers, and publishers. Here's a bit: Like Steamworks and Games for Windows Live, Impulse Reactor is offered free to developers -- but unlike those services, it doesn't require users to maintain accounts on those systems. So what's in it for Stardock?
"The requirement is that the developer has to put their title on Impulse, non-exclusively, and the benefit to us is that they're not using Steamworks," Wardell said. "When someone uses Steamworks, that leads to everything being on Steam, and that's a non-ideal situation for us."
"If they spend $10 million making a PC game, they don't want an SDK to come in and steal their experience," he went on. "This is something we heard loud and clear about Games for Windows Live in particular -- 'I have my game, and all of a sudden here's this bubbly interface.' Hey, Games for Windows: you didn't spend the money to make the game; don't hijack the experience as if it's somehow your game. And that applies to anyone who tries to inject their experience into the user's face."
LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment announce the release of Threat of the Conqueror, a new expansion for the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game. Word is: "Players can aid the Alliance Renegade Squadron as they gather intelligence and locate the Empire’s modified Star Destroyer - dubbed the Conqueror - which holds within itself the ability to destroy entire planets, or they can take the side of the Empire’s elite storm commandos as they work to crush the Rebels and ensure the maiden voyage of the Empire’s newest deadly weapon. No matter what side they choose, ten new story scenarios will pull them into the fight in this pivotal battle between good and evil. This new set also brings the ability to boost gamers’ light or dark side deck with all-new special-forces themed cards, as well as all-new Bith and Duros avatar race cards."
The Battle.net Forums set March 23 as the official target date for the version 1.13 patch for Diablo II and the ladder reset for the action/RPG sequel that were first promised over a year ago (thanks Rhialto). Word is: "We will be resetting the Diablo II ladder on March 23 with the release of patch 1.13. We anticipate all Diablo II realms to be down for approximately six hours during the reset. More specific information on realm availability on the day of the reset will be posted in the Battle.net Status forum. When the ladder is reset, all existing ladder characters will be converted to non-ladder. All characters and items being converted to non-ladder will remain intact, but once converted these characters will no longer have access to ladder content such as creating ladder-only rune words. For more information on ladder characters please visit the Arreat Summit Realm Character Types page at http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/basics/charactertypes.shtml."
- Dragon Age: Origins Digital Deluxe Edition on Steam. Save 33%.
- Dragon Age: Origins on Steam. Save 33%.
Still on sale (previously reported)
Continue here to read the full story.
The Impulse Weekly Top 10 is now online for the week of March 7-13:
- Sins of a Solar Empire - Trinity
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Diplomacy
- Sins of a Solar Empire Expansion Bundle
- Total Annihilation
- GalCiv II - Ultimate Edition
- Space Rangers 2 Complete
- Battlefield Bad Company 2 Limited Edition
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Sins of a Solar Empire - Entrenchment
- Armada 2526
A post to the Impulse forums by Brad "Frogboy" Wardell has word from the Stardock boss on plans to update Demigod, saying: "It is our intention to work with the modding community to incorporate many of the community improvements into the game." He also describes how Impulse::Reactor will help improve the Demigod online experience, of which he says: "The sausage factory of game development sometimes results with non-ideal solutions." He describes how Impulse::Reactor can help, but tempers expectations, saying: "Now, Impulse::Reactor can’t magically address everything." He also wants to be realistic about the time frame for this, saying "When would all this happen? Honestly, not for awhile because right now, everyone is just tapped. GPG is working on Kings and Castles and Stardock is working on Elemental. But there’s a lot of things that can be done between now and this time with the first item." Thanks Big Download.
A new "anatomy of a stunt" trailer for Just Cause 2 is now available, showing more of the fun to be had with the sandbox design of Avalanche Studios' upcoming action game sequel. The clip shows how a helicopter can help the player conduct a physics experiment with a Tuk Tuk three-wheeled taxi, terminal velocity, and volatile chemicals (hint: it goes boom!). Here's the embedded HD edition of the video. Continue here to read the full story.
Another pair of beta patches for Din's Curse are now available, updating the PC and Mac editions of Soldak Entertainment's upcoming action/RPG to version 0.910. This page offers the patch notes. You can participate in the Din's Curse beta by preordering the game.
A story on ABC News reports on a new study of gaming, saying: "Young boys who receive their first video game system don't progress as quickly in school as boys who don't own such devices," quoting study co-author Robert Weis saying: "The average reading and writing scores of the young gamers don't go down, but they don't improve either." If this all seems obvious, Weiss thinks drawing obvious conclusions is meaningful, as they say: "While the conclusion that owning a video game increases the time kids spend on such game might seem obvious, Weis, a clinical psychologist, said it was important to scientifically prove that conventional wisdom was correct. The study was published last week in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science."
Startup developer Xaviant announces plans for an action/RPG called Lichdom, which will use the Crytek's CryENGINE 3. Thanks Voodoo Extreme, where they have this quote on the game from Carl Jones, CryENGINE Director of Global Business Development: ""We are really thrilled about our new partnership with Xaviant and we’re delighted that they have developed content so quickly with the engine. We designed CryENGINE®3 Sandbox™ to allow the fastest possible prototyping and iteration of game content and we’re looking forward to seeing more from this promising project."
EA announces that Dragon Age: Origins -- Awakening is now available in stores in North America, with the release of the RPG expansion in Europe expected on Friday. The expansion, which requires ownership of the original dragon Age: Origins, is available digitally from the EA Store as well as Direct2Drive, GamersGate, Impulse, and Steam. Word is: "In Dragon Age: Origins -- Awakening players assume the role of a Grey Warden Commander entrusted with rebuilding the order of Grey Wardens and uncovering the mystery of how the darkspawn survive after the slaying of the Archdemon. In this chapter of the epic RPG saga, players make difficult moral choices about how to rebuild their order, resolve the conflict with the mysterious 'Architect,' and determine the fate of the darkspawn. Each choice impacts the shape of each player's heroic journey. Players will be able to import their character from Dragon Age: Origins or start out as a new Grey Warden from the neighboring land of Orlais." The release is accompanied by a new trailer, which is embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
A post by DICE's Barry Tingle to the Electronic Arts UK Community Forums has word that the latest patch for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is now available, albeit a day later than planned. The patch is version 522175, though there is room for confusion here, as word is: "522175 is merely a re-packaging of the datafiles from 522174. Therefore, version 522175 reports itself as 522175 in the auto-patcher, but does still say "522174" in the game's splash screen." They also say the version for Steam "will launch later, possibly tomorrow, as it needs to go through extra QA before it goes live on Steam." The change list follows. Continue here to read the full story.
IO Interactive tweets an announcement that they plan an announcement tomorrow for the release date for their action/shooter sequel: "This just in! Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days release date to be announced tomorrow! Pull up your food bowl and sit tight for more news today."
EA announces that Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight is now available in stores and via digital distribution, culminating the Tiberium saga in the latest installment in this real-time strategy series. The game is available from the EA Store, Impulse, GamersGate, and Steam, among other places. A new Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight Fact Sheet celebrates the release, and this is accompanied by a batch of three new screenshots and a new launch trailer. On a related note, there's a Command & Conquer 4 Q&A on GameShark that fishes for some answers about the game from lead designer Sam Bass.
Publisher IDEA Games and developer Bohemia Interactive Studios announce the release of the first video trailer for ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead, the upcoming standalone expansion for the military shooter sequel, saying "this 1st Intel from the planned series of video introductions has been declassified for immediate analysis at http://www.arma2.com" (though there is no mention of the video there as of this writing). Word is: "The video showcases a selection of US Army content featured in ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead and created in stunning detail. Near future American troops are equipped with the best weapon platforms, including modernized Abrams main battle tanks, AH-64 Apache gunships, fully playable M2A3 Bradley IFV which is a superb modern armored fighting vehicle that can transport troops whilst also offer effective covering fire, the versatile light attack helicopter MH-6 Little Bird as well as the eight wheel armored infantry vehicle Stryker in numerous variations. The video also contains the first official sneak-peek at the very popular and much anticipated modern FLIR system created with Bohemia's precision to every detail including the full vehicle heating phase." The HD trailer is embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
The TrackMania Forums offer the release of new updates for TrackMania Forever which fix a few bugs. This page has details on the new versions, where they say: "There is a notable change being that the binks in manialinks and mediatracker images now work with transparency." There is a patch for TrackMania Nations Forever and TrackMania United Forever, and word is: "this update which should be compulsory in a few days." This forum post also offers the corresponding dedicated server. Thanks Frans.
Paradox Interactive announces the release of a new version 1.3 patch for Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim, which is now or soon to be automatically available for 1C:Ino-Co's RTS sequel "through the digital download portal of your choice." Word is: "The patch will reward fans with an abundance of free content to improve and enhance the much loved strategy game and provide a compulsory and automatic install for the upcoming expansion Majesty 2: Kingmaker." A manual patch is also available for the boxed version, the download can be found on Gamers Game (direct link) and mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileFront, The Patches Scrolls, and WorthPlaying. An outline of the new content and features included in the patch is in this forum post, and a list of highlights follows. Continue here to read the full story.
EA officially announces the launch of English-language closed beta testing of Need for Speed World, offering further details on the beta for the MMO racing game than when it was first revealed last week, along with some new screenshots and a new gameplay trailer. Word is the game's full release is expected this summer, and here's a bit on the testing: "Over the course of the next few months, thousands of players worldwide will have the opportunity to claim one of the limited slots in the PC beta test by enlisting at world.needforspeed.com. Need for Speed World testers will be the first in the world to get an insider’s look at this hotly anticipated racing MMO, and their constructive feedback will go straight back to the development team to help add polish, finesse and tuning to the final product."
THQ announces the North American release of Metro 2033, the post-apocalyptic shooter developed by 4A Games. The Metro 2033 Website has a launch trailer (also on GameTrailers), and the game is also available on Steam, per this announcement. Word is: "Based on a novel by the Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky, Metro 2033 combines classic first-person-shooter action with elements of survival horror and intelligent plot and character development not seen before in gaming, to create a true genre original. Metro 2033 is now available to purchase at retail stores around the world for both the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games for Windows®."
Mangled Eye Studios announces development of Metal Savior, "a futuristic sci-fi space shooter set in an underground facility on planet Arcronium." Word is the game is "super duper fast" to make it "funnest," as they say: "We tossed around many ideas for the next game and we decided making something very arcade like and a super fast paced shooter was the funnest option. This game is super duper fast let me tell you and only the quickest of experienced shooters will prevail." The Metal Savior Website is live as a preliminary home to the project, which does not yet carry a release date. Thanks Gamer's Hell.
The Battlefield Blog has word that as of today, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 players are entitled to 700 Battlefunds ($5.00 USD) to purchase items in the Battlefield Heroes item shop. Console users will need a VIP code (free with new copies of the game), while the offer is open to all owners of the PC edition of the military shooter sequel. New items are available in the shop for the occasion, including exclusive Battlefield Bad Company 2 tribute weapons and outfits.
Joymax announces the launch of Legend V: Heroes of Alexandria, the latest expansion for Silkroad Online, their historical fantasy MMORPG. Word is: "Players above level 100 can now make their way toward the sand-swept region of Egypt to see the sights in Alexandria, explore harsh landscapes like the Desert of Storms and Cloud, and test their mettle in one of two new dungeons: the party-focused Tomb of the Pharaoh and the PvP-friendly Temple."
The Runic Games Forums now offer TorchlightCam, a modification for the latest version of Torchlight, Runic Entertainment's action/RPG. Word is: "TorchlightCam is a stand alone application to enable camera control in latest Torchlight v1.15 game (much like the previous TorchCam tool did for previous Torchlight game versions)." There's a trailer on the YouTube showing off the mod in action. Thanks Morris.
The Project Vega Development Blog now offers the source code for the Skulltag modification for DOOM. They list several benefits to the change, one of which is this: "Being open-source will eventually allow Skulltag to update the GZDoom renderer (provided Graf doesn’t modify the license again)." Thanks Ant via LinuxGames.
Gamasutra - Colt Whitaker's Blog - Gaming can Save a Life.
What was the cause of this result? The video game Re-Mission. Three hundred seventy five male and female participants in the study were each given a computer. The computer had one or two games on it depending upon whether participants were in the control or intervention group. For the control group, a Shuttle SB51G minicomputer contained a single commercial game for the participant to play, Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb. While the intervention group’s computers contained not only this commercial game, but also the intervention game Re-Mission.
CNET News - How to get DRM-free PC games: Just wait. Thanks Peter.
Spore by EA may be one of the most high profile examples of this practice. It shipped in late-2008 with SecuROM, a copy-protection technology that keeps people from installing the game on too many machines. At the time of launch, that number was limited to three, meaning a user who had purchased the software would have to keep track of where that software was installed and deactivate any old copies before installing it on new hardware. The move to include this, along with a check that would verify whether a copy was legitimate each time a user went online, resulted in plenty of negative press, bad user reviews, and piracy on an absolutely massive scale after hackers were able to bypass the security measures.
- Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light on Bitmob. "Lara Croft and the Franchise Appetizer."
Frans has completed and rolled out a new feature to fulfill one of the most frequently requested enhancements for this site. It is now possible to select users to ignore on the forums, after which you will not see the text of their posts, allowing you to act as your own censor should you so choose. The new feature is explained in detail in this forum post. Huzzah and kudos to Frans, and here's hoping ignorance is bliss.
Also, tonight is the debut of Justified, the new FX series starring Timothy Olyphant as a shoot-first, ask questions later-style Deputy U.S. Marshal. With Deadwood long buried on Boot Hill, this may be as close as we get to a return of Seth Bullock, so here's hoping it's good. I wonder if they'll try for an Ian McShane cameo.
R.I.P.: World's shortest man He Pingping dies at the age of 21. Thanks Devicer.
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