Archived News:
The Team Fortress 2
Blog announces the release of a new Source SDK on
Steam that includes some
of the .vmf source files for official TF2 maps, and stating that more map & model
sources will be included in future updates. They say: "This is something we've
wanted to do for a while, especially as we've been growing the range of game
modes in TF. Here's the list of maps that are included in the update:
Lumberyard, Ravine, Badlands, Dustbowl, Granary, Gravelpit, 2Fort, Badwater,
Goldrush, and Hydro." Also, a new
Steam client update is
now automatically available.
A new benchmark utility is now available to test PCs for how well they can run
the Windows edition of Street Fighter IV when the fighting sequel is
released for PCs later this year. The tool is 397 MB, and the download is
available on AtomicGamer
and Gamer's Hell.
Joystiq reports on Verizon's plans to offer more than 1400 PC games on
demand via its broadband service, for a monthly fee of $9.99. This is launching
as a pilot program in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York, but there's no
indication of when it will be implemented elsewhere. On a related note, even
more ambitious plans are outlined in
AT&T Investing Millions in Gaming on IndustryGamers, an interview with Glenn
Broderick, AT&T's Executive Director of Gaming, who describes plans to relaunch
AT&T's gaming website, launch an IPTV service, and efforts at getting game
developers to cooperate with three-screen convergence games. He also sees them
being a major player as plans for cloud-based gaming from companies like OnLive
go forward.
Develop reports on a job posting for Crystal Dynamics, saying in spite of
layoffs in January and again just last week, the
Square Enix-owned developer is working on a "AAA" title. The listing
specifically says "one of the most prestigious AAA franchises in the industry,"
which we're guessing is also one of the most prestigious DDD franchises in the
industry: Tomb Raider.
A new trailer for Need for Speed: Shift explains the way driver profiles
will work in Need for Speed: Shift. Here's a bit on the profiles: "As a player’s
driver profile develops through the course of the game, it creates rivalries,
triggers specific challenges and even unlocks vehicles and customization
options. Need for Speed SHIFT’s multiple reward systems keeps players in each
race regardless of their position." The clip is posted on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer, and
Gamer's Hell.
Danny Bilson on the 'New THQ' and Avoiding 'Unacceptable' Waste on
IndustryGamers is an interview with Danny Bilson of THQ about their new
approach to quality assurance in their game development. Here's a bit on how
things have changed: "The other thing I want to talk about in quality is a
process. We have a very rigorous system now at THQ that was not in existence
before. It starts with concept, prototyping, schedule... a team will go eight
months before they have an official green light, so we have long
pre-productions, many check ins... And we stop games and we will not have $15
million dollar write offs at THQ anymore, because games will get stopped in the
early R&D phase."
Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Shacknews has a story
based on the contents of a 20-page court filing relating to Take Two's
lawsuit against 3D Realms over the failure to complete
development of Duke Nukem Forever. The story outlines negotiations for
concurrent development of an Xbox 360 version of the first-person shooter sequel, and
how that helped lead to where we are today, and why Take Two feels entitled to
take ownership over the source code for the project. Most intriguing is an
allegation that some offshore banking high jinks have taken place, as Take Two
says: "upon information and belief, [3D Realms/Apogee Ltd.] has title to a
substantial amount of funds deposited in an off-shore account, which Take-Two
believes Apogee can use to fund its outstanding obligations." 3D Realms has not
yet addressed this accusation.
Both
Kotaku and
CNET report being told by Blizzard they need to set up their press accounts
for the StarCraft II beta. No start date for the beta is offered, but
Kotaku does say they were given a June 19 deadline to send writers' account
login information. Thanks
StarcraftWire.net.
The AMD
Graphics Drivers & Software Page and the
AMD Game Drivers &
Tools Page now offer new version 9.6 Catalyst reference drivers for ATI
graphics cards. Here are the highlights of the new Windows drivers: •
Company of Heroes – performance gains of up to 25% for the ATI Radeon™ HD 4600
Series, and performance gains of up to 10% for the ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series.
• Crysis Warhead – performance gains of up to 11% for ATI CrossFireX™
configurations.
• Crysis – performance gains of up to 13% for ATI CrossFireX™ configurations.
• World in Conflict – performance gains of up to 30% for settings are were
previously CPU limited.
Aspyr Media announces a North American publishing deal with 1C Company for
XIII Century Gold Edition, a bundle of XIII Century: Death or Glory
as well as XIII Century: Blood of Europe, the upcoming sequel to the
medieval RTS game. The DRM-free Gold Edition will be released this summer in
stores and via digital distribution, and here's word: XIII Century Gold
Edition will include the 2008 release XIII Century: Death or Glory and the
upcoming sequel XIII Century: Blood of Europe in one package. Both RTS titles
offer up large-scale battles set in the Middle Ages and feature stunning
graphics and thousands of units on the field of combat. As one of the famous
military leaders of the 13th Century, gamers are able to test their steel
against neighboring nations and carve their names into history. Both XIII
Century titles depict realistic actions of Middle Ages fighting units and their
behavior during battle.
Aspyr Media also announces they are the North American publisher for Death to
Spies: Moment of Truth, the recently announced
counterespionage sequel, confirming a DRM-free summer release. Here's an updated
description of the sequel: Death to Spies: Moment of Truth is a sequel to
the popular stealth action title Death to Spies. The game's main character is
Semion Strogov, a captain in the 4th department of the Soviet
counterintelligence service called SMERSH. SMERSH, a Russian acronym that means
"Death to Spies," was the name of a set of Soviet military counterintelligence
departments that were formed during World War II. Strogov is back from his
previous missions and must now participate in a series of even more complex and
exciting military operations.
A new patch for Euro Truck
Simulator updates this transport simulation to version 1.3. Here's the
explanation: "While version 1.2 was a sizable content update with new
destinations and roads in the UK, version 1.3 is only a bug fix maintenance
release. We hope to be able to provide another region as a content update for
Euro Truck Sim in forthcoming patch later this year." The download is also
mirrored on
The Patches Scrolls.
IGN- The
Future of Gaming Past.
In the IGDA's white paper on games preservation titled: "Before It's Too
Late: A Digital Game Preservation White Paper", released in March of this
year, the team of gaming and history experts highlighted the rapidly
changing nature of the digital entertainment industry and how easy it is for
our digital history to get left behind. Where it once took societies decades
or even centuries to make leaps and bounds in their art-making practices,
video games have been moving at a pace of a tape on fast-forward. This only
makes it easier for developments to go undocumented and increases the
chances of large chunks of our gaming history getting lost.
Here's some perspective on the recently demised Duke Nukem Forever, not
that there haven't been enough efforts to put this in context: Today is the 11th
anniversary of the
announcement that the game would be switching to use the Unreal
engine, rather than the Quake engine. The announcement also touches on
the question of why they didn't change to the engine for Prey, which was also
killed before being revived and developed by Human Head studios: ""It is of
utmost importance to us to have Prey be the first game released using the Prey
technology. By going with Unreal's tech to create Duke Nukem Forever, we'll be
able to stay on schedule to get Duke done and released before Prey."
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