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Archived News:
A new patch for James Bond 007: Nightfire is now available, updating Gearbox
Software's super-spy first-person shooter to version 1.1. The patch adds the
multiplayer combat training map Istanbul and the CTF map Space Station and
addresses a variety of bugs. The 11 MB patch can be found on 3D Gamers,
FileShack (registration required), and Worthplaying.
Also, the Combat Mission Barbarossa to Berlin Downloads Page
now offers a new version 1.02 patch for this turn-based strategy game, stressing
that to install this update, you must already have the version 1.01 patch
installed. Mirrors are available on FileShack
(registration required) and Worthplaying.
3DMark 2003 released
on GameSpot is report on today's release of the new benchmark that, in addition
to another freely accessible mirror link to download it, also offers word on
questions about the test's veracity being raised by graphics card giant NVIDIA,
saying: "the company believes the benchmark doesn't represent how current
games are being designed." They go on to describe reasons NVIDIA feels the
test favors ATI hardware, and they also supply a response on the subject from
FutureMark.
Games Domain now offers
downloads of a playable demo for Darkened Skye, the action adventure game based
on Skittles candy that's due for release soon in the UK, though it has been
available elsewhere for some time now. The 56 MB demo offers one level from the
game. Mirrors are available on
3D Gamers and Worthplaying.
Saying they would not be taking any interviews or making further comments on
this, Activision sends along the following release: id Software and
Activision announced today they are canceling the retail release of Wolfenstein:
Enemy Territory. Despite a strong effort from talented developers, the single
player portion of the game did not progress as anticipated. Canceling the
release was a difficult decision made in the best interest of the Wolfenstein
franchise and fans. However, we remain excited about the progress and direction
of Enemy Territory multiplayer. Over the next several months the focus of our
development will be to complete the multiplayer portion of Enemy Territory and
provide it as a free downloadable expansion to Return to Castle Wolfenstein.
In Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory Axis and Allied teams do battle in traditional
single scenarios, or wage war through a series of linked scenarios in a totally
new campaign mode. During combat players gain experience and skill, and through
battlefield promotions are awarded additional abilities that remain persistent
across an entire campaign. Additionally, new character classes like the covert
operative class as well as an enhanced engineer allow teams to perform
reconnaissance, steal enemy uniforms, and construct battlefield structures and
military installations in the midst of combat to gain tactical advantages for
their team. All new game modes, maps and communication abilities require players
and teams to develop advanced strategies and tactics in the struggle for front
line domination.
TechTV's 'Unreal' Security Risk
(thanks Brian) is another article on the recently-revealed security holes in
Unreal engine that describes a somewhat different tone from Epic than our
initial response from Mark Rein ( story) in quoting Mark's
reaction to the allegation by security firm PivX that this leaves client machines
vulnerable: "This is slanderous," he says. "They've taken
this too far. We're getting our lawyers involved with this." Rein says the
only vulnerabilities he knows about affect "Unreal" servers. Rein
denies that any holes affect the machines of end users or "Unreal"
players. "I don't understand how they could [run code on a user's
machine]," he says. "From what I understand, this only has to do with
servers and can only perform a DDOS attack."
The story also quotes
Tim Sweeney on the subject of the patch, which he hopes will be released
tomorrow: "Last Wednesday, we produced an 'Unreal Tournament 2003'
patch we've had in testing that solves all of the reported client-side
'malicious code' exploits and server exploits. We also immediately made this
available to all of the Unreal Engine licensees for incorporation into their
future patches and full game releases," Sweeney says. "The patch is in
testing with the community, and release is imminent. We're aiming for Wednesday
unless testing reveals additional problems. We're testing as fast as we
can."
Update: A subsequent post to our forums from Mark Rein
apologizes for this earlier outburst, saying: "have sent Pivx an apology
for the completely out-of-line and unfortunate comments which I sincerely
regret. We did provide an official statement and I was not, at the time, aware
that my verbal reactions, in a moment of shock and surprise at seeing unfinished
licensee games on the list, were also being captured for the article."
Additionally, the quotes used above now seem to have been removed from the source
article. Finally, Games maker not suing over bug alert
(thanks Mike Martinez) is a CNET article describing the outcome of all this.
The Futuremark Downloads Page
now offers downloads of 3DMark2003, their new benchmark utility (thanks YiYas).
Mirrors of the 177 MB download can be found (thanks Quboid) on Majorgeeks,
Fileshack (registration required), Guru3d,
Vr-zone.com, Commongrounds-pc.com,
Computerbase.de/, Futuremark.allround-pc.com,
Vtr-hardware.com, Gamers-hardware.net,
Winfuture.de, Inpact-hardware.com,
Ocshoot.no, Edome.net,
Peliplaneetta.net, Pelaaja.info,
Dnainternet.fi, Tweak.dk,
Mydrivers.com, Nvidia.pl,
Dark-tweaker.com,
We-dare.nl, and Gamesbrasil.com.
Computerspiele-Entwickler Swing stellt Insolvenzantrag
is a German-language article (here's a link to the rough Babel Fish
translation) announcing that trading has been suspended in shares of Swing!
Entertainment after the German publisher declared itself insolvent (thanks YiYas).
According to the report, Swing! booked a pre-tax loss of approximately six
million euro for the financial year 2001/2002. Swing! was slated to be the
European publisher of Enclave and Shadowbane, and the status of those deals
remains unclear at this time.
Offering apologies for problems the version 1.16 patch caused, the Arx Fatalis
Website now features a new version 1.16a patch for Arkane Studios'
first-person RPG (thanks Active Reviews).
The update fixes a bug triggered when using the akbaa stone in the akbaa temple.
Also, 3D Gamers has
posted a new version 1.1.2.178 patch for the English, non-US version of Soldiers
of Anarchy, Silver Style Entertainment's
3D RTS game. Finally, new patches for both the English and German versions of
Sub Command are now available on 3D Gamers.
Here's a reminder that Troika Games will be attending an IRC session this
evening to discuss Temple of Elemental Evil, their upcoming D&D RPG based on
the Greyhawk pen-and-paper module of the same name. The festivities get underway
tonight at 8:00 PM EST on irc.gamesnet.net in the channel #rpgcodex.
There's an Enter the Matrix
Extravaganza on UGO based on getting to attend the recent gala promoting the
upcoming Matrix movies and computer game. Included are impressions of the
event, photos, screenshots, interviews with the stars, and of course,
impressions of the game. On a related note, Interview the Matrix
on PS2.IGN.Com (thanks HomeLan Fed)
is a Q&A with Shiny's Dave Perry about Enter the Matrix, discussing the
length of the project, the influence of the filmmakers, the game engine, control
schemes across multiple platforms, hacking, flying, and more.
There's a Warren
Spector Q&A on GameSpy.com talking with the ION Storm designer about
DX2: Invisible War, the upcoming Deus Ex sequel. Topics include his role in
production, goals for the project, linearity, the temptation to imbue the game
with more of an anime influence, the difficulty in pigeonholing a project like
this, and more.
RPG Vault's Harbinger Preview
is online, as is Gamers Pulse's
Harbinger Preview, and there's also a Preview
of Harbinger on The Adrenaline Vault from a couple of days ago that seems
to have slipped through the cracks. Each article offers impressions of
Silverback Entertainment's upcoming science fiction RPG, including the game's
setting on the spaceship Harbinger, character attributes, enemies, races,
missions, what sort of action to expect, and more. Each article is illustrated
by some screenshots.
There's a
Freelancer Preview on The Wargamer with the latest set of impressions of
Digital Anvil's imminent space simulation. They attempt to set the story without
spoiling anything, discuss the randomly-generated missions, the joystick-free
control scheme, factions, weapons, role-playing elements, and more. The whole
shebang is accompanied by a bunch of screenshots.
- Kreed
Action Vault's
Kreed Q&A #5 is online, asking to development team on the upcoming
shooter the following collective question: "Based on your personal
preferences, what would you list as a couple of your favorite visual
elements in Kreed?"
- Massive Assault
HomeLan Fed's Massive Assault
Q&A catches up with Wargaming.net's Victor Kislyi to discuss their
upcoming RTS game. Topics include the idea and storyline behind the game,
solo play, units, UGEs, multiplayer support, and more.
- Levelord
Guildhall at SMU
sends along this Levelord
Q&A where the Ritual Entertainment designer talks about the new game
development curriculum over there.
- Glympse
There's a
Glympse Q&A on The Adrenaline Vault chatting with Chris Miller, CTO
of Sojourn Development to get a glimpse at their upcoming MMORPG. They
discuss the formation of their team, what aspects of gameplay they will
emphasize, technology versus magic, and more.
- A Tale in the Desert
A
Tale in the Desert Q&A on RPGDot chats with Andy "Pharaoh"
Tepper of eGenesis about their combat-free MMOG. They discuss the premise,
features, the result of testing, and the plan to release the game this
Friday.
- Star Wars Galaxies
The Star Wars Galaxies
Q&A on SWGalaxies.Net chats with Cinco Barnes, lead designer on the upcoming
Star Wars MMORPG. Topics include his job, the time certain game assets take
to create, points of interest, and more.
- Priest
The Priest
Q&A on GamePimps talks with JCE's Jason Kim about Priest, their
upcoming wild west/horror game. They discuss the game's unusual concept,
game features, competing with other MMO games, and more. There is also a
Priest Q&A on Gamers Pulse with an unnamed member of the dev team
about the Korean comic that's source material for the game, and more.
- Halo Toys
HomeLan Fed's Halo Toys Q&A
discusses plans to create a series of collectible toys based on the shooter,
and in a semi-related note, there's a
Halo 2 preview on UGO.com.
"Microsoft Flight Simulator A Century of Flight" Commemorates 100 Years of Aviation History
is the press release announcing the next installment in Microsoft's long-running
flight simulator series. Here's a bit from the release on the 20th anniversary edition
of the game, which is slated to launch in July in conjunction with the 100th
anniversary of heavier-than-air flight. "With 'Microsoft Flight Simulator:
A Century of Flight,' the next milestone in the award-winning 'Flight Simulator'
franchise, Microsoft celebrates 20 years of developing and perfecting computer
flight simulation. 'A Century of Flight' allows aviation enthusiasts to
experience history at the controls of historic aircraft, such as Charles
Lindbergh's Ryan NYP 'Spirit of St. Louis,' the Douglas DC-3 and the world's
first successful powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer."
Thanks File Flash and Mike Martinez:
A new official Delta Force Black Hawk Down
FAQ is online, answering a few assorted questions about the game, covering
subjects like falling damage, system requirements, cheat prevention in the game
and the demo, and more. Also, the Delta Force: Black Hawk Down preview
on GameSpot is the latest set of hands-on impressions of the upcoming
military shooter.
On Friday, the official Rise
of Nations Website will begin accepting applications for their sneak preview
beta contest, where 1000 entrants will be randomly selected to participate in
beta testing of Big Huge Games' upcoming RTS extravaganza. Winners will be
enrolled in the official beta, given access to newsgroups to provide feedback,
and allowed to download official beta updates for the game, which is expected to
be released on April 22. Also, the results of Ritual's
24hour Q3 challenge on Polycount "to build, animate, and skin a Q3
character within 24 hours" have been posted.
As always it was fun watching all those over-pampered pooches in the first half
of the Westminster last night, and it was neat seeing the Airedale place second
to that juggernaut Kerry Blue Terrier (which, as you can imagine, is another of
my favorite breeds, along with the Blue Tick Bloodhound). It was very disappointing,
however, to see that Joe Garagiola's stint on the broadcast has ended. I'm sorry
I didn't see a
news article on the switch, which was made to boringly coherent Mark McEwen,
as it would have allowed for a chance to start a petition on the topic. Oh
well, there's always next year. In memory of Buck Laughlin: "Doctor,
question that's always bothered me and a lot of people: Mayflower, combined with
Philadelphia -- a no-brainer, right? Cause this is where the Mayflower landed.
Not so. It turns out Columbus actually set foot somewhere down in the West
Indies. Little known fact."
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