Archived News:
Adrenaline Vault has posted an interview on Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, talking to Headfirst designer Andrew Brazier about their upcoming 3D horror adventure, which is based on the Call of Cthulhu pen-and-paper RPG. As the title is still quite early into production, the article doesn't go into a lot of specifics, but here is a quote about their planned use of real-time physics to highten the experience:
Our advanced real-time physics will be an essential part of the gameplay and atmosphere creation. Most games these days
feature an element of physics, such as the bouncing of a grenade or the pushing of a crate, but we will be moving it forward a
lot further by accurately simulating physics on most objects in the game. Therefore, if you throw dynamite into a warehouse,
when it explodes, the windows might smash, debris will be thrown about, and the walls might collapse. This is not just some
scripted event; the force of the explosion will be calculated by the physics engine, and everything will react accordingly.
In terms of gameplay, this has far-reaching implications as it means there will be a number of ways to solve any particular
puzzle. For example, should you need to move a heavy object, pouring oil on the floor would reduce the friction. However, this
would also reduce the friction for you, meaning you, as well as other creatures, will slip around all over the place. Water will
behave realistically, so objects dropped into it will float or submerge, depending on their weight. We can also simulate events
such as driving a car or piloting a plane.
A new unofficial FAQ for Battlezone II: Combat Commander is available at GameFAQs, providing tips and strategies for survival in Pandemic's recently released 3D action/strategy game.
The NetGames USA ngStats for Unreal Tournament
Patches and Updates page has a new Patch No. 2 for ngStats that brings it up
to version 1.2. Thanks Stomped.
The version history
page has a list of what's new, which includes a fix for the missing CTF flag
kill bug that showed up after the UT 405b patch, a change to the way the program
handles large log files, and a way of addressing the problem of players potentially
getting disconnected during the heavy CPU usage of both UT changing the map and
ngStats running.
A new version 0.5 of the D3DQuake
conversion of the Quake source code modified to use Direct3D 7.0 instead of
OpenGL is now available. Thanks Ryan Stotts. D3D Quake is GPL, just like Quake,
so the source code is also available. Current issues with D3D Quake include requiring
32-bpp textures, an NVIDIA Beta Driver bug makes gun models invisible on GeForce
cards, and it crashes on Voodoo3 accelerators after about 60 seconds of play.
Version 5.12 of the King of the Server
Mod is now available, offering what they describe as "the next
generation of King of the Server." The
website has word on what's new and changed in this Quake II mod, a list far
too big to try to represent here.
Version 1.0 of Merc's Q3A TeamMod
is now available. This server-side mod is designed to help keep the peace on a
Quake III Arena server by providing ways to vote players on and off of teams, as
well to decide the timelimit via a vote.
PCGamers.Net's ORB interview
talks with Christina Ginger, Jamie McNeely, and Phil O'Connor from Strategy First
about ORB (Off-World Resource Base), their upcoming space opera where two sides
struggle to control the resources in an asteroid belt.
Yumpee's Home Away from Home has a
Makefile, a Q3A.depend file, and a read me that Yumpee says will equip you to
compile Quake III Arena Virtual Machines on Linux using the Win32 SDK &
Wine. Here's word from the Yumpster on the benefits and the limitations of this
setup: "However, only one QVM (cgame.qvm, client-side effects) will load
and run in Linux since the other 2 QVMs seem to be using features supported only
by the Q3A point release. All 3 QVMs load and run in the Win32 point release
while only cgame.qvm runs in Linux. Still, even one QVM should allow people to
play around with Linux mods in a limited fashion till iD provides the point
release and/or the SDK for Linux."
Eurogamer.net's xsi
coverage is underway with a look at the qualifier round matches (Makaveli
vs. DOOMer, Immortal vs. Shub, Kane vs. DOOMer, and Timber vs. Lakerman) in this
big international Quake III Arena tournament currently underway in Sweden. They
plan full coverage of the event throughout the weekend.
The intriguingly-named legowhore.com has
version 1.5 of Q3ServerKit, the Quake III Arena server utility that offers
remote and localhost server monitoring, real time player information, easy
addition of bots with all skill levels, a 'kick' button, and much more. Features
added in the new version include support for the full retail version of Q3A, a
new real time chat panel, and a start panel to kick off a dedicated server.
Version 2b of Artifact Quake 2
is now available, offering the debut public (beta) release of this Q2 update of
the "tongue-in-cheek" deathmatch modification for Quake. Not all of
the mod's 30 artifacts are in the current version, but it still has a load of them
that alter gameplay much in the way of CTF runes (techs, etc.), along with
"Pretty pretty colors," and "Many many bugs."
After nearly two years without an update, there's a new version 1.0h of Q_Check,
an mIRC auto-away Plug-in script for GameSpy users that will insert the server
you joined via GameSpy into your mIRC away message, apparently supporting any
game GameSpy supports.
In light of the release of the full source code to Quake, the QuakeOn
page now offers the source code for the QuakeOn front-end for Quake. The
source is written in Visual Basic (from the page: "The final release was for VB5,
but I've since loaded the code into VB6."), and is released under the GNU public license.
Longbow Digital Arts has opened a Modifications and Add-Ons page on the Tread Marks site, giving info and advice on how to modify their tank racing game. To kick things off, they have released a SuperFriction mod, which doubles the default friction of the tanks in both the demo and full versions of the game, for players who would like to have tighter control over their high-speed tanks.
- GA-Source has posted a square nine new screenshots of Venom, the first-person shooter in development by Russian company GSC Game World built on their own Vital Engine ZL.
- XCommand has received six more screenshots of X-COM: Genesis, the latest installment in the long-running X-Com series that will likely never be completed due to Hasbro layoffs.
- There is a first screenshot of Steel Whisper on GA-RPG, an upcoming 3D action adventure RPG by Dutch startup Lost Boys Games.
A new version of the unofficial Quake III Arena FAQ by SilverStream is now available, bringing the info in sync with the final point release, adding links to new mods, and updating many areas with more tips. And while I'm at it, there were also a few minor updates to this Unreal Tournament FAQ.
Raven's Rick Johnson updated his .plan with a status report on the Soldier of
Fortune demo, which he now says to expect Monday: SoF Demo News
The Demo will be officially released Monday. It got delayed until then mainly
because QA found another crash bug Thursday (in the same function, ironically,
but different area). Friday, I decided I wanted to try and address a 3dfx driver
related bug. On certain drivers (kinda a mix of processor and OS), texturing
would completely screw up. I changed the code so that on 3dfx, the game would
not enable a specific rendering feature. This took a bit to QA today (to track
down a related problem that got by me). I just got done talking to Mike Denny,
who is in charge of QA for SoF. We have their blessing to release the demo
(finally)... But because of "outside influences" it was decided to
hold up until Monday.
Just to give you a brief rundown of the Demo features:
4 single player maps (a tutorial level, 2 full playable levels, plus a cinematic
level)
2 deathmatch maps
12 different deathmatch models / skins representing 3 teams
In game server browsing
and a ton of custom options (including custom game settings (such as disabling
spawning))
The demo will weigh in at a hefty 95 megs, but should fit on zip disk.
Nihilistic's Rob Huebner updated
his .plan with a giant (nearly thousand word) update outlining some what's
going on in development of their third-person blood-sucking thriller, Vampire:
The Masquerade--Redemption, discussing some of the stages maps must go through,
and some bugs encountered in the process.
Thresh's
Firing Squad sent off an e-mail to John Carmack, asking why GameSpy's modified
server browser DLL is allowed on so-called, "pure" Quake III Arena
servers. John explained that it's allowed since it's loaded before you connect
to a server - only loads after that point count as "pure."
IGN Guides has posted their guide
to Unreal Tournament, featuring a rundown of all the game's weapons, maps,
mutators, and more. The guide is available as a downloadable PDF file, or online
in HTML format (however, a free signup is required).
There's a preview of Nox on
PC.IGN.Com, with some hands-on impressions of Westwood Studios' soon-to-be-released adventure game (which
according to them is very addicting). Also, as mentioned yesterday ( story), true to their word, the next in-game
Nox movie has been posted on Westwood's
official site, with some more of the upcoming movies also now on Westwood's FTP server.
Tritin Films, the makers
of the Quake III Arena movie "Quad God" have released a short, comedic
film titled, "CTF - Comedy in Armor". Like Quad God, it's available
for download in Windows Media's ASF format, although it's significantly
smaller at 26 MB.
The official Battlecruiser 3000 AD site
has been updated with six
new screenshots from Battlecruiser Millenium, showing off one of the game's
"type 3 stations." Look for more shots next week, showing off some
of the new features just added to the game, including shots featuring environmental
bump-mapping.
Gamecenter has posted some new
screenshots from Earth 2150: Escape from the Blue Planet, an upcoming RTS
from TopWare Interactive, that adds depth to the usual RTS gameplay by including
various weather and environmental hazards.
GameSpot's GameGuides has posted their
guide to Planescape: Torment. The guide, like every other one they've released,
is available online for free, or as a paid-for downloadable PDF file. Also,
IGN Guides has posted their
quick guide to Ultima IX: Ascension, which is available for free in both
formats.
Here's two professional gamers making headlines: GameSpy has posted an
interview with Kornelia as part of their "Women of Gaming Week."
Also, the Boston Globe has published an
article on Thresh, better known in the real world as Dennis Fong, talking
to him about the world of pro-gaming, and his site Gamers.com.
I spent much of yesterday afternoon building my new uber-PC, and I tell ya,
there's nothing like making your own computer. Sure, you get terribly frustrated
trying to find that one jumper on the motherboard you forgot to switch, and
sure it's really annoying trying to work all them cables inside your case, but
when you're done, and the thing starts up Quake III Arena for the first time...boy
is that ever fun. I think I'm done building computers for a while...I've got
a desk PC (that's today's model), a game PC, and with all the extra hardware
I had left over, I made a server PC, which I'll use to run dedicated servers
(under Linux, no less). That ought to keep me happy until Moore's law catches
up with my new Pentium III 733 processor.
Link of the Day: Club
a Seal. Because some days, this is really, really funny. On every other
day it's just stupid.
Bonus Link: Something
Awful's Look at PowerPlay, featuring a Q&A with the Gabe Newell Simulation
Device. Note: this is a joke, and not meant to be taken seriously.
Interplay has released another new movie of Star Trek: Klingon Academy, this time far larger than previous releases at 23 MB, and consequently showing off over a minute and a half of in-game combat footage from their upcoming space-based RTS.
A new postmortem is available at Gamasutra, dissecting Red Storm's tactical squad-action game Rainbow Six. The article, written by designer Brain Upton, relates the creation from concept to release, and examines the successes and shortcomings of the game's development process.
EuroGamer has posted a developer profile of Marcus Whitlock, talking to the Raven programmer about his start in the industry in the UK, making the jump across the Atlantic, and of course his current work on Soldier of Fortune, of which a new CTF screenshot is included.
There are eight new screenshots of O.R.B. on incitegames, offering more visuals of this space-based RTS in development by Strategy First.
3DNews.net has an interview on Neverwinter Nights online, grilling BioWare producer Trent Oster in fifteen questions for which the corresponding answers shed more light on this upcoming online RPG.
Another movie of Nox is now online at Westwood's official Nox site, showing off more gameplay from their upcoming 3D action RPG. And if you'd like to have a look into the future, next week's movies are already available from their ftp server.
Sierra Studios has released a version 1.1 patch for SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle for download (1.8 MB), fixing several mission ending problems as well as a number of AI problems, and adding a FAQ page (thanks 3DFiles).
The official 4DRulers page
has been updated with word that the upcoming GORE deathmatch demo is now 90%
complete, as well as a brand new screenshot from this first person shooter.
There's a multiplayer
beta sign-up for Star Trek Armada page on WONnet where 1,000 testers will be
selected to put Activision's 3D RTS set in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
universe through its paces. Testers will be selected based on a variety of
criteria, and they will be including International (non-North American)
testers. On this subject, ElWappo of Klingon Academy.com
sends word of an updated Star Trek Armada Preview
on PC.IGN.Com, and some
Star Trek Armada screenshots on GameFan.
A new version of Q3Post, a script
for mIRC that posts the server's IP address and description when you jump into
a Quake III Arena game has been released. This new version adds a few new features,
including the ability to set automatic answers via keywords to questions asked
of you in IRC.
A new version of Servarena,
a config program for Quake III Arena has been released and is available for
download at its official
site (thanks Michael Arnold). This new version fixes "one last bug"
as well as adding the ability to double click to select/deselect maps and a
new text box for the CD-ROM selector.
PsychoNews has posted three,
five question interviews with members of Third Law's KISS: Psycho Circus
team, talking about the maps, art, and AI in this LithTech Engine game. A new piece of concept art is available too, illustrating the BallBuster character.
HazardTeam.de, a German Star Trek: Voyager fansite has posted an
interview with Jeff Dischler, a programmer on Raven's Quake III Arena engine
Voyager game (thanks Voodoo Extreme). The interview is available in your choice
of English or
German. There
are two in-game shots and one concept piece posted as well, although the shots
look old to me (or at least similar to others previously released).
IcarusWeb has posted a
brief interview with ION Storm's John Romero, talking to him about one of
his favorite subjects, the original Doom (thanks to ION's
Daily Informant for the tip). John talks about the various Doom source projects, as
well as his pick for a star in the theoretical Doom movie (and no, it ain't Bruce
Campbell).
Jaakko Keränen has released second network test version of JHexen, his OpenGL port of Raven's Hexen, fixing the networking bugs that plagued the first release, and adding a few more features like choosing the player color.
Epic's Stephen Polge made a post to the
Unreal Technology Page with word that he's updated the Unreal resources
on the site, including a new version of the guide
to running a server, and a new performance
tweaks guide.
Daily Radar has posted a preview of Star Trek: Armada, looking at the upcoming real-time strategy game that puts the Federation, Klingons, Romulans and the Borg in a space that's too small for all four of them. Featuring quotes from producer Marc Turndorf, the article also offers eight new screenshots. In similar vein, there is a preview of O.R.B online at PC.IGN.com, describing a hands-on look at an early build of Strategy First's space-based RTS that goes by the full name of Off-world Resource Base.
Crusoe Chip's Rocky Origins
is an interview on Wired with Dave Taylor, formerly of id Software and Crack dot
Com, who now toils for Transmeta, who, of course, just unveiled their
highly-anticipated Crusoe multi-OS CPU. Thanks Andy. The interview discusses
Crusoe and life at Transmeta prior to the announcement, touching on the contrast
between the (up-until-now) secretive nature of his work at Transmeta after
working at id, "that divulged everything to anyone who cared." There
are also Crusoe previews based on all the newly revealed information on Ars Technica
and HardwareCentral,
and S3 comes to Crusoe's rescue
is a ZDNet article that says "OEM partner answers some of the lingering
questions about the profitability of Transmeta's new chip."
Thresh's FiringSquad
previews Thief 2 looking at Looking Glass Studios' efforts at following-up
on the success of their skulky single-player shooter, Thief: The Dark Project.
There's a Deus
Ex update on Unreal Universe where ION Storm's Bob White gives the latest
developments in the development of Deus Ex, ION's upcoming Unreal-engine science
fiction RPG. The update mentions "as a project approaches its final
days" relating to Warren Spector's freneticism, suggesting work on the game
is rounding into the home stretch.
A new version 0.3 of the Counter-Strike Alias Binder
is available fixing some bugs in this utility that makes it easy to knock out a
proper config for this popular Half-Life modification. Also, this NOTH1NG Interview
talks with Justin "NOTH1NG" DeJong about his work as a map author on
the Counter-Strike project.
A new version 1.6 of the Hand of Quad,
"the click 'n' go Quake launcher" is now available. Hand of Quad
allows you to join a Quake III Arena, Quake II, or Half-Life server simply by
clicking a link on a webpage. The small update addresses a few bug including
"the elusive 'shutdown' bug."
Version 0.3 of Requiem for Quake III
Arena is now available, with both Win32 and Linux versions of this Q3A
update of the popular QuakeWorld/Quake II mod. Requiem offers a bunch of
features, including an off-hand grappling hook, and supports single player, FFA,
team DM, or CTF.
A version 0.2 of the FragLan CTF mod for
Quake III Arena is now available. The mod is not very full-formed at this point,
but does offer the ever-popular off-hand grappling hook (grapple without
switching away from your weapon), which they point out "is too much fun not
to give to all..."
The Q3Logger Homepage
has the beta 4 version 1.1 release of the Q3Logger log parser that offers
several forms of HTML output to help analyze the results of games played on a
Quake III Arena server. One of Q3Logger's most noteworthy features is its
support of Doom-like "killer/killee" tables.
Gamasutra's Cyberspace in the 21st Century
is on "Mapping the Future of Massive Multiplayer Games,"
with a look at one of online gaming's most popular buzz phrases, Massive
Multiplayer RPGs.
The OzUT site has word
that their "Who is Da Man" contest for Unreal Tournament will now be
offering the opportunity to talk to the folks at Epic Games live on the
telephone to pump them for strategy tips and such (without CliffyB's usual
dollar a minute sexphone charges). Also, 20 Weeks Wars
is now recruiting clans for this TeamFortress Classic league.
- CheckOut Games
interviews Dukes of Hazzard Producer Steve Wartofsky, where they learn
that John Schneider and Catherine Bach's voices will not be in the game
because "They had other commitments and weren't able to
participate."...
- The Call
of Cthulhu First Look on Gamers Central looks at this upcoming
Lovecraftian horror game...
- Nomination Fun and Games at the Grammys
points out "For this year's Grammy Awards on February 23, the academy
has updated both its movie or television song and its instrumental
composition categories to include music composed for other visual media,
such as video games or the Internet. The funny thing is, all the nods in
those two categories have gone to music from films. There's not a video game
score or song in the bunch." Thanks Toughguy...
Thanks for all the kind words about the Yahoo Internet Life dealie yesterday,
you all are awfully nice... we'll try not to let it go to our heads (more than
it has already). It wasn't a Blue moon, or anything, but last night was a lunar
eclipse here in the US. Moon Moves Toward Total Eclipse
is an AP article with a shot of the event (which apparently made for the
even-rarer than blue red moon) for those outside the affected area (or if
looking skyward last night just resulted in an eyeful of snow, which was the
case where I am).
Link of the Day: The Beer Witch Project.
Thanks Manx.
Bonus Link: How to
Overclock your SoundBlaster Live! Thanks KaiBosh and Randy Perry.
Story of the Day: IBM offers ThinkPads for -- $1.
Woops! However, unlike some of these e-commerce glitch stories, they aren't
honoring the price. Thanks Ant.
Bonus Story: Hacker Wants To Go to College.
That's right, today's the day Kevin Mitnick will be released from jail. Thanks
Andrew Cruse.
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