Archived News:
The Tectonic page has a new version 0.9
of the BotPlugin module for the TecArena front-end for Quake III Arena. The new plug-in
allows you set different names for the bots, and will now find all bots in
baseq3, including those not in .pk3 files.
There's a Dave Taylor
interview on G3d talking with the ex-id Software programmer and Crack dot
Com founder about his current work as an engineer at Transmeta, who recently
announced plans for Crusoe, their upcoming cross-platform, low-power, mobile
CPU. The Q&A discusses Cruse as well as gaming, going into Dave's most and
least favorite games of all time, and his start in the business.
The Æstats Page has a new
version 4.33 of the Æstats multiple game log parser for both Win32 and
Linux x86. The new release offers Opposing Force support, updates the Counter
Strike 5.2 support, fixes a Y2K date problem(!), fixes a Kingpin bug, and more.
Word is ngStats support for Unreal Tournament is in the works.
The Flatware Design Gaming Division
has the release of version 1.00 of Holy Wars for Unreal Tournament. Though they
point out there aren't likely to be any servers running right away, the debut
release does offer gameplay versus bots. This is the UT version of the Holy Wars
mod where players (AKA sinners) are fighting over the Halo in order to become
the game's Saint. It's then saint versus sinners in a one-versus-many battle.
French site Le Ouaibe Joystick has posted an audio interview with Ray Gresko, discussing all things Nihilistic and Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption ( Real player or equivalent required). The nine minute talk is of course in English, but if you want to read along with the French transcript, AltaVista Translations may be of service. Thanks Alex.
LucasArts has updated their Star Wars: Force Commander preview site with five new screenshots (and three familiar from this preview), as well as four rendered images of structures in the game.
There are several new development updates on the official Star Trek: Klingon Academy site describing Interplay's efforts to beat the upcoming demo of their space-combat sim into shape, and word on the KA forum now is that it is expected to be released around Wednesday next week. Thanks GreenDoh.
Speedy 3D has posted a couple new screenshots of Incoming Forces, and also a pair of Hostile Waters screenshots, both 3D action/strategy games under construction at UK developer Rage. Incoming Forces is more focused on the action, as can be expected from a sequel to their arcade-like shooter Incoming, while Hostile Waters uses more of a strategic approach.
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn Interview on PC.IGN.com is a talk with producer Ben Smedstad on BioWare's role-playing sequel, discussing the various ways this title aims to improve upon the first one.
An edited log of last night's IRC chat with id's David "Zoid" Kirch is now available for your perusal. The lengthy discussion covered all sorts of topics, ranging from the next point release ("when it's done" - did you expect anything else?) to very specific questions about Zoid's CTF levels, the Q3A source code, and lots more.
AVault has posted a profile of Rebellion, developers of Aliens vs. Predator, talking to Jason Kingley not only about the company, but also about their recently announced 3D action RPG, Gunlok. Three new screenshots of this title are at hand.
Raven's Eric Biessman has scribbled down another installment of his Soldier of Fortune diary at SoFCenter, and entitled "A night in the life of Raven Software," it describes an exhausting couple of hours out of the crunch mode development time their mercenary shooter is going through.
Counter-Server, the official Counter-Strike server admin resource, is now open for business and aims to provide everything you need to run and optimize servers for the popular Half-Life mod.
PowerPlay has announced that seven
new companies, including Bungie, Dynamix, and Raven, have all joined their
initiative to improve Internet game performance. Here's the scoop: FEBRUARY
9, 2000 -- PowerPlay, an effort to make the Internet a better entertainment
platform, gained momentum this week as six leading game development studios
and content and Internet tools developer, Applied Microsystems, joined the initiative.
The latest additions to the list of developers who have gone on record in support
of PowerPlay are:
- Bungie -Oni and Halo.
- Dynamix -Tribes, Tribes 2.
- Gas Powered Games -- Dungeon Siege.
- Jellyvision - You Don't Know Jack, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
- Nihilistic - Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption
- Raven Software -Soldier of Fortune, Star Trek: Elite Force, Hexen 2
"It's hard not to support a movement aimed at improving everyone's Internet
experience," said Chris Taylor, CEO of Gas Powered Games. "The list
of game developers and other tech companies supporting PowerPlay is a great
example of industry cooperation that will have a positive impact on all of our
games."
The PowerPlay initiative is composed of Internet companies, service providers,
and game developers cooperating in the definition and deployment of an open
industry standard to improve the Internet entertainment experience.
The first stage will be a proof of concept deployment for US dial-up customers.
Following the initial deployment, PowerPlay service will be available outside
of the US and for higher speed connections (DSL/cable modem).
The PowerPlay initiative also includes Bioware, Captivation, Cisco, Click Entertainment,
Ensemble, Epic, Gearbox, Looking Glass Studios, Outrage, Red Storm Entertainment,
Relic, Ritual, Shiny, Valve, and Volition.
The first part of CDMag's
guide to Battlezone II has been posted (thanks Voodoo Extreme). The guide
features some general tips, as well as mission-specific hints.
This week's "3dfx Game of the Week" at Daily Radar is Thief
2: The Metal Age, and to celebrate this, they've posted a whole bunch of
new, high-resolution screenshots from the game.
The Freak of Geeks has posted a
multiplayer guide for the recently released Nox demo. The guide covers all
the various aspects of the game's multiplayer, from starting a server and configuring
the Nox.cfg file, to how to best torture your friends.
Version 2.0 of Q3ServerKit, the Quake
III Arena server monitor and administration program, has been released. This
new version adds a new color scheme, a realtime chat panel, a start panel, support
for the Q3Demo and more. The program is available for the Win32, Solaris and
Linux platforms.
A brief Quake III
Arena programming tutorial is up on Q3Center, teaching you how to make a
simple mod that changes the names of the weapons in the game.
GameSpot News has posted some
new screenshots from Republic, a strategy game by Elixir Studios, a company
founded by Demis Hassabis, the co-creator of Theme Park. The game's engine is
capable of processing over 20 million polygons on screen, and the shots are
remarkably detailed.
Also new on GameSpot News are a
handful of new screenshots from Ground Control, an upcoming tactical combat
3D RTS title from Sierra.
- TheMasquerade.org is throwing a
wallpaper design contest to win a copy of Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption.
- QGirlz has posted the winners
of their female model contest, and are throwing two more contests, this time
to create skins and sounds for the model.
- I.AM Half-Life is giving
away three Microsoft Sidewinder Dual-Strike gamepads...all you have to to
is join their mailing list.
So, did everyone check out that story yesterday about the number of bugs in
Windows 2000? I gotta admit, I figured it had a few holes, but 63,000? That's
a bit too many ship with (more than Ultima IX, even!). I'm in a bind now, because
I'm pretty much sure that I'll be upgrading my desktop computer to Windows 2000
(under Win98 it seems to be remarkably unstable, even spontaneously restarting
from time to time) but I'm not looking forward to suffering from "early
adopter syndrome." Of course, I give Microsoft six months before they release
the first Windows 2000 service pack...but by that point I might be so fed up
that I'll just install DOS 5 again instead. Gotta love these newfangled computers.
Link of the Day: Bananarchy!
This site is so weird it defies explanation.
Link of the Day (2): The
Amazing Cam Cam. I suppose it was only a matter of time before this popped
up.
Sailor Scout's Gaming Center
has posted a brief Q&A with John Romero, with a few questions related to
the movie released on Incite Games yesterday ( story). While brief, the questions are
better than most, dealing with such issues as how the sidekicks are controlled,
and how to enable the console.
GameFan recently made a trip down to Blizzard's offices, and they've posted
a hands-on preview
of Diablo II based on what they saw and played there. The author is a big
fan of the original Diablo, so it's full of stuff that fans will appreciate.
Aureal has released new
drivers for A3D based cards (thanks Groltz). These drivers feature support
for A3D 3.0, and there are also A2D drivers available for enabling A3D 3.0 audio
support on non-3D cards as well.
A collection of images for your evening viewing pleasure:
The latest version 0.5a build 7 of wHeretic is now available for download. This release adds looping sounds, removes vissprite and visplane limits, and fixes display code and a couple other problems in the Win32 port of Raven's classic fantasy shooter.
According to this
story on ZDNet, Windows 2000, which ships next Thursday the 17th, contains
63,000 bugs in this initial release. Their source on the story is an internal
Microsoft memo, which says that 28,000 of these are likely to be "real"
problems. Microsoft was quick to defend the OS, saying that 750,000 testers
agreed that it was ready for prime time, but knowing previous releases from
the company, you may want to wait before upgrading.
Voodoo Extreme has posted Digital
Extreme's announcement that they are working on Dark Sector - a new massively
multiplayer persistent world action game, based on the Unreal Tournament engine.
They've also posted some preliminary
concept artwork. Here's an excerpt from the full release (available on their
news page): London, Canada, Feb. 11, 2000 – Leading computer game developer Digital Extremes announces its follow-up to the critically acclaimed Unreal: Tournament. Dark Sector is the next step in the first person action gaming experience by blending the intense action elements of Unreal: Tournament with the scope and character evolution of a persistent online universe.
Dark Sector is set in the wake of world devastation, where
survivors are scattered throughout the solar system in a vast crumbling network
of outposts and space stations. Anarchy reigns as violent factions wage war
over limited resources. The remnants of world government have sanctioned bounty
hunting in a desperate attempt to control the growing chaos.
Players carve out their destiny in a violent struggle for fortune and fame.
Begin your career as a bounty hunter tracking your target from Mars to the moons
of Jupiter and then face off in an ice mine on Europa. Or choose the darker
path by hunting the law-abiding citizens around you; build an infamous reputation
as an assassin, while the growing price on your head turns your own friends
against you.
Additional key features of Dark Sector:
Players can band together in formal syndicates, seeking to invade and occupy
the multitude of resource fortresses in the game world.
Challenge Arenas where players can hold grudge matches, wager on matching your
skills against others, compete in team battles and ladder matches.
An advanced Unreal: Tournament engine featuring a new hardware-only renderer
exploiting the latest advances in graphics technology such as T&L, skeletal
deformation, multi-texturing, inverse-kinematics, advanced surface lighting
and a myriad of other improvements.
Space flight gameplay will allow players to travel between space stations and
engage in gut wrenching dog fights.
Dark Sector is an evolving game where new elements are regularly introduced
after the game’s debut, enriching and expanding the game experience.
Version 1.12 of the Unofficial GLQuake Project's GLQuake has been released.
This new version adds a new "Weapon Flash Lighting" and "r_shadows"
controls to the options menu, underwater fog, and linear interpolation in addition
to other changes. Both the executable and source are available for download
on the Unofficial GLQuake
Project's web site.
AGN3D has posted a
brief interview with NovaLogic's Dan Bennett, talking to him about their
recent announcement that the US Marines will be using their game Delta Force
2 for training purposes. The interview is actually a transcript of one of their
shows, which of course is accessible from their archives.
Also new on AGN3D is another transcript, this one of an
interview with WizardWorks' Michael Gjere, talking about their dino-hunting
first person shooter Carnivores 2. Like the interview above, the original show
is available in their archives.
Word on Stomped's E3 Page is that Unreal II
will possibly be making an appearance in one of those 'by appointment' backroom
showings at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Though
most readers who attend the show who will be unlikely to be able to demonstrate
the requisite 'leetness to get in to view a backroom showing, it is the first indication
we've had that the game is this far along in development.
GameSpot UK has posted an interview on Tiberian Sun: Firestorm, the upcoming expansion pack to Westwood's real-time strategy affair, talking to lead producer Rade Stojsavljevic about the storyline, new features, and more. This will be the only expansion pack, as they "will be concentrating on the next C&C game after Firestorm is released."
PlanetQuake will be hosting an IRC chat with Dave "Zoid" Kirsch of id Software, author of Threewave CTF for Quake, Quake II, and Quake III Arena. The festivities kick off at 7:00 PM PST tonight in channel #PlanetQuake of irc.gamesnet.net 6667. Also, the log of last night's chat with Robert Duffy is now available for your perusal at PlanetQuake as well.
There is a new build 023 of Quake 3 Log Analyzer (Q3LA) available, offering a new output design, improved performance, new output options, funname support, and fixing some crash bugs.
GameSpot UK has thrown up on of their famed galleries, posting 20 new screenshots of Starlancer to show off more deep space action from the upcoming space combat sim by Warthog and Digital Anvil.
As expected for some time (thanks Matthias), Delphine has released a new patch for DarkStone on the official site. The version 1.0.5 patch comes in US and European editions, and adds a new "Legend" difficulty mode, makes some changes to character and monster behaviour, and has some multiplayer fixes. Also available is a download of some new quests, called "Journey in Uma," and word is, the "quest editor will be available soon with the next patch 1.0.6."
AVault
is reporting that in GT Interactive's quarterly results is word that Cavedog,
an internal development house at GT (and the people behind the Total Annihilation
titles and the recently cancelled shooter Amen: The Awakening) has been closed
down as part of their reorganization. There's no word as of yet how (if at all)
this will affect Cavedog's unpublished titles or their Boneyards online network.
A new version of D3Edit, the Descent
3 level editor, has been released (thanks Descent3D).
Also released, is the source code, although they're using CVS
version control software to track changes, so it's anonymous, read-only
access. Details are available on the D3Edit
source code page.
Dark Reign 2 Impressions at GameSpot is a brief preview of the 3D action RTS currently being prepared at Pandemic Studios for a Summer release. Besides a written update of the game's development status, there is also a visual update in the form of nine new screenshots.
GA-Strategy has posted a preview of Aquarius, a new 3D action/strategy game by developer Jack in the Box that should be released towards the end of the year. As the title implies, water plays an important role in this game, if only in the way it is graphically realized on your screen, and the engine also sports features like real-life physics, environmental sound, and full multiplayer support.
The official Thief II: the Metal Age site has put five new screenshots into rotation from Looking Glass stealthy action game sequel (thanks VoodooExtreme), although I recognize at least one image from earlier previews.
Unreal Universe Interviews Bob White
talking with the ION Storm designer about progress on Deus Ex, the upcoming
Unreal-engine non-shooter formerly known by the working title "Shooter,"
which according to the intro "should be going gold within the next
month." One question addresses the likelihood of hitting their planned
release date, bluntly saying "Ion Storm has a bad reputation with keeping
to release dates," which inspired the following response: "The Austin
group has a sense of drive and purpose unprecedented in the company. We will
make our dates."
Further word from Valve about the upcoming version 1.0.1.6 Half-Life patch
mentioned last week ( story)
is that it's expected to be made available this Tuesday (February 15) at about 1:00 PM
EST. The patch to update version 1.0.1.3 will be about 7 MB.
A post called Some Information about Werewolf
on the ASC Games Bulletin Board gives the status on the game from Travis
Williams, a former member of the Werewolf: The Apocalypse-Heart of Gaia
development team (now with Interplay). Thanks RPGvault.ign.com.
The update gives the state of the game following
the announcement that ASC was continuing its involvement ( story),
which apparently is not the case. To make it easy, PaxTravis finishes his own
lengthy post with a summary of what we've learned: So in case you don’t like to
read long posts….
Werewolf is still in development.
Werewolf was looking GOOD when I left it.
Dreamforge is still working on the title.
ASC is gonna be around but in what “form” I dunno.
Yes Take Two looked at the title but I am not sure if it’s a fit for them.
I have no idea what these developments mean as they pertain to release dates.
Travis Williams is now at Interplay in Sunny Cali (YES!)
Richard Rosado is now at Rockstar Games in New York City
There are 15
new Devil Inside Screenshots on GA-Source showing off loads of gameplay from
this upcoming 3D action/adventure from the author of the Alone in the Dark
series. Here's the description of the game from the blurb accompanying the
shots: "Take one part Nocturne, one part Running Man, and throw in a little
twist of the weirdness French developers are known for... and you get a really
strange game by the name of - Devil Inside."
Summoner Thursday! on PC.IGN.Com
offers chapter five of the designer diaries for Summoner, Volition's upcoming 3D
RPG. The new update gets "the dirt" from Lead Level Designer Mitri
Vanichtheeranont on "The Duties of a Level Designer." Also, Computer Games
Online previews Summoner looking at the game with a bunch of screenshots and
quotes from the developers.
Raise your rank on UT GlobalStats
gives a ten point list of tips specifically geared towards legitimately raising
your ngWorldStats for Unreal Tournament
rank. Ingava's Quake
III Arena Strategy Guide #3 offers tips for success on Q3DM3. Ultimazone.ch's
Game Guide to Quake III Arena offers Q3A tips in German (here's AltaVista Translations
if German's not your thing).
You may not be able to buy happiness, but you can license Ecstasy, as Infogrames North America's
Ecstasy Engine, which is the technology that
underlies their recently released Slave Zero, is now available for third-party
licensing. Those interested in more details can email Matt
Powers.
There are some new
Ruins of Kunark screenshots on incitegames showing images from Verant
Interactive's upcoming EverQuest expansion pack. Also, the Star Trek Armada
site has been updated with still more new screenshots from Interplay's
upcoming Trekkie RTS, these showing off Cardassian cruisers in
battle. Thanks Tymetodie. Speaking of space, there are three
more new Starlancer screenshots on Wewp! Entertainment showing off this
upcoming space combat game from Microsoft, Digital Anvil, and Warthog.
The version of the day of Q3Log is
version 0.95b beta, another rapid-fire release to this Quake III Arena log
parser that now supports spaces in names in the HTML and fixes a problem displaying
the logo in HTML game displays. They're not through yet, as word is a version
0.95c will be along pretty rapidly as well, to add improved HTML pages,
including colored (or "coloured" as they would say) names. The release
is expected to follow an accompanying new version of Q3LA.
A new version 1.5 of OverDrive Quake
for Quake III Arena is now available, adding the Big Freakin' Nuke weapon to replace the BFG and
some other new tweaks on fixes to this mod that adds a flamethrower, changes many
weapon damage values, and adds an off-hand grappling hook.
- The Sims website has a
set of free downloadable objects that can be imported into your game, including
a set of five character skins, a set of new lights for their homes, a
(reportedly VERY loose) slot machine, as well as some Maxis designed
mansions...
- Court Rules for Software Maker
announces that Connectix' Sony emulation software did not violate Sony's
copyright, according to a federal appeals court...
- Those in Europe interested in Razer's Boomslang mouse may want to check
out the XSReality-Razer Store
where they are available with lower shipping costs and shorter ship times
for those on the continent and in the UK....
- Video Game Tracker has been
launched as the gaming equivalent of the DVD Collection Tracker,
created by the same folks....
Well, since "it's always something," Nana Rosannadanna would have been
disappointed if there didn't turn out to be at least a little "something" about the JavaScript
solution to the frames focus dealie mentioned in this space
yesterday. Apparently the script is working as it theoretically should, and not
causing indigestion for decaffeinated browsers (the big fear), but a
side-effect of the script's intended purpose, which is to bring the news page
into focus, that is at issue. Apparently on some browsers for some users the new
script will cause your browser to pop into focus on your desktop after the page
loads if you navigate to this page and then switch to another application (this does
not happen to me). If it turns out to be a huge problem it can be addressed, but
it seems the way the new code makes the news more easily scrollable generated a
lot of positive feedback, and only a few mentions of this problem. One mail that
mentioned this pointed out this is an annoying quality we now share with the
HotMail site, and another called it "rude," though another note said
they still preferred the change in spite of this problem. Please feel free to send
in your thoughts on this, or post a message.
I forgot to mention that someone indeed came up with the perfect phrase for
those orphaned network wires behind so many computers on so many LANs I
mentioned the other day... Wayne posted a message to the messageboards calling
them "netsam" (as in flotsam and jetsam). I knew I could've continued
wracking my brain and still not come up with something as good as one already
being used, and I was certainly right. Netsam it is. Thanks again Wayne.
Link of the Day: Crash Test Dumbass,
a Crash Test Dummies simulator. The web-based version uses Flash, but there are
desktop versions for the Mac and PC for download. Thanks Ant.
Story of the Day: Cops
Bust Man Armed With Sex Toy "apparently thinking the clerk was not
taking him seriously, Vetters allegedly grabbed a sex toy, known as a
'vibrating tongue,' off a display rack and waved it at the
clerk." Thanks Buclerpp.
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