A new beta 2 of version 1.2 of the BattleCom client, and beta 4 of the server are now available, offering fixes for issues with Beta 1 and extends the beta expiration to March 23, 1999. BattleCom is a program that provides in-game, real-time voice communication for up to 64 players, and is designed to work using a 28.8 modem.

Another news tidbit from the recent John Carmack interview has been pointed out by several readers. Thanks Bagpuss and Denison for being the first to point out that at about 37:10 of the second interview, though he doesn't say it will happen for certain, John states that he is considering releasing the full Quake source code "probably around Christmas, or something...", but realize that it's not a promise, as he clearly says, he "hasn't actually committed to it."

ION Storm's John Romero updated his .plan with word on the imminence of the Mplayer version of the Daikatana Deathmatch Demo, to be followed by a LAN and general Internet ready version of the demo. Here's the skinny:

The modem interpolation bug was fixed just a couple hours ago. We're finishing off some remaining polish and sending it off to MPlayer for their final testing phase. We will be releasing the demo in the Practice Area of MPlayer first (limited release), then into the Tournament Area when Practice is through with their testing. When it gets into the Tournament Area, everyone can download it and try it out.

About a month or so later, we will put up the Internet Deathmatch Demo release so you can play over LAN as well and start up your own servers. Just remember: this demo is only for the first episode of Daikatana's deathmatch. Each of the remaining 3 episodes have their own different deathmatch feel because the weapons are all different. It's like 4 deathmatch games in one. (And one single-player game in one. :)

We've been working hard on getting this demo together and I hope everyone likes it. Sure, it's taken us a little longer to get polished, but it will be worth the wait. No use releasing a shab demo.

The 4D Rulers News page has been updated with several bits of news about the development of their upcoming first-person shooter, Gore. The update explains the lack of screenshots recently, gives an updated release date of Fall '99, and gives news of a public playable networking demo that will have one or two levels, around four weapons to give a feel for Gore multiplayer, and allow them to get bug reports and feedback. Word is they're not sure when it will be done, they are shooting for April 15.

GA-Source interviews id's Christian Antkow asking Disruptor about his history in gaming and real-life stuff, rather than being focused on id or Quake III Arena as part of their Gamer Among Us series.

Tweak3D's guide to Tweaking Shogo is online with tips on how to enhance your gaming experience playing Monolith's Shogo: Mobile Armor Division with ways to tweak your hardware for improved framerates. It was written specifically for the TNT, but apparently offers benefits to users of other video cards as well.

An email from PCGaming World's Mat Bettinson responds to some of the implications of the questions asked in Chris Spencer's follow-up with Mr. Carmack about the recently posted audio interview:

Clarification time.

> 2. The interview sounds like it was somewhat off the record. When
> you mentioned 3DFX's future plans for a 32 bit part, that sounded
> like a breach of NDA. Was thi interview meant to be off the record?
> If it was, then what are your thoughts about having your off the
> record comments posted up for wide release?

One doesn't fly to Texas and go to id's office to interview the staff 'off the record'. I also work for PC Gaming World, not Computer Gaming World which is our US sister magazine. CGW's Robert Coffey conducted their own interviews on the same day.

URL link for PC Gaming World is http://www.pcgw.co.uk/ - like CGW, our official web site is Gamespot, with us it's Gamespot UK.

My decision to sample the interviews and make available via my web page, and also to post an unofficial informal Quake 3 Arena preview was not taken lightly. I did it because I'm a fan of id's and there was a lot more material than I could use in the official PCGW and Gamespot features. However I have made efforts to remove unsuitable comments from the interviews, both those that have been released so far and those that I'm yet to release, pending id's approval, on my unofficial .plan preview.

Action Xtreme interviews has part two of their conversation with Wesley Davis, Digital Platoon designer/project leader, about their upcoming Unreal-engine game, Project V1, posting another three screenshots along the way.

The Qizmo page has a new Qizmo fix available, version 2.62 fixes problems in the recently released 2.60 and 2.61. Qizmo is a full-featured QuakeWorld proxy program. Thanks X-M4N.

A follow-up on the quote from John Carmack yesterday about 32-bit support from 3Dfx: As several readers pointed out that the Tiwirly the quote refers to is actually Gary Tarolli. Finally, Christopher L. Spencer sent along an exchange he had with John about the revelations in the interview.

> After listening to the interview you did with Mat Bettinson
>for Computer Gaming World, a few questions have come up. A lot of
>speculation is going around on messageboards and the like. I thought
>I might get some answers so I could write an article clarifying some
>issues raised by your interview.

Feel free to forward this around.

>1. You are taking over bot development after Q3ATest. Does that mean
>you have lost confidence in John Cash's ability to code a bot that can
>stand up to critical review?

I'm just going to start working on their tactical behavior. Cash has the navigation and strategy code pretty close to finished.

The bot code IS lagging the rest of the game's development, though.

>2. The interview sounds like it was somewhat off the record. When
>you mentioned 3DFX's future plans for a 32 bit part, that sounded like
>a breach of NDA. Was this interview meant to be off the record? If
>it was, then what are your thoughts about having your off the record
>comments posted up for wide release?

I try to operate as if everything I ever say is "on the record". 3DFX is obviously working on a 24 bit part. I am looking forward to the time when I don't have to make complex qualifications about anything I say regarding 3DFX.

>3. There are plans for a petition to put in 3D sound for Q3A. You
>are known for not bowing to public pressure. Would a petition make
>any difference at all to you?

Petitions and public outcry make absolutely no difference to me. My mind can be changed be argument or evidence, but not by vote.

The real issue is that 3D sound just doesn't excite me very much, and I have thousands (literally) of other things that I can be working on.

However, as I have been informed, A3D does work on NT, so there is a decent chance I will implement some support for that.

>4. About the "Beginner Levels". Given the fact that Quake 3 Arena
>requires a basic level of 3D accellerated hardware, what guarantees
>that your Average Joe would buy the game anyways? It seems to me that
>having basic levels to introduce your dad to 3D shooters is mutually
>exclusive with the fact that it requires that your dad may very well
>might not have any reason to have a 3D accellerator.

"3D accellerator" includes the rage pro, which is basically the standard pentium II video card by volume. Riva128 also works fine, and now permedia II can at least limp along. That covers plenty of market. You are very hard pressed to buy a computer without a 3D accelerator in the last year or so.

Anyway, a lot of experienced players will love the simple maps.

>5. Can we have a definitive answer here as to whether bots will be
>available for the teamplay modes such as CTF?

They don't function that way right now, but it is our intention that they will.

John Carmack

The unofficial Half-Life FAQ has been updated to version 2.27. Thanks Voodoo Extreme.

Sharky Extreme's first glimpse at Mortyr looks at the upcoming WWII FPS from Interactive Magic. Also 3D-Unlimited has posted the last of their half-dozen Mortyr shots.

Half-Life Editing Resource Center has posted a guide for newbies to get started editing levels with Worldcraft 2.0.

Next-Generation Online Descent 4 Details talks with Volition's President, Mike Kulas, with exclusive development news on Descent 4. Thanks Voodoo Extreme.

• The Pentium III Serial # control utility is now available, allowing P3 users to disable or enable the serial number function in the P3 here. Thanks Jon Underwood...
• The Webdog page has the release of the source code for the Webdog gamesite monitoring utility, including the last official build from early January. The source code is covered under both the GNU Public License and an extra license agreement Webdog programmer Bagpuss...

Had a great first day at GamesCon, I got to see a few of the games being shown off here, talk to a bunch of folks, and see the worst lounge singer in the universe. All-in-all a fun, if not always typical event. I'm suffering from some manner of food poisoning, or traveler's stomach or something. Zoid has been hanging out with me while I prepared this update, and since he had to listen to me throwing up, I thought I'd share that with all of you too. =]

An email from the observant (and lemony-fresh) Toilet Duck, points out an interesting quote in the John Carmack interview posted earlier, a reference to 3Dfx's plans to announce a part that supports 32-bit color. Here's how T.D. put it:

In the Mat interview, it's very interesting bit in the second file (about 8 minutes in), where Carmack is talking about 32 bit color. He says that "When they finally announced that they would have this 32 part, Tiwirly was like, 'And this should make John Happy', but I feel that the 3dfx situation is really unfortunate."

The name of the 3dfx guy isn't clear (It sounds like too-early), but you might want to check out the interview at timestamp 8:10.

AFAIK, 3dfx hasn't announced ANY 32 bit parts (external, 3d, etc.), so this would be new, non-public tech.

Action Xtreme interviews Wesley Davis, Project Leader and Designer for Digital Platoon, eliciting some details about their upcoming Unreal-engine Project V1. Included in the interview are three exclusive screenshots with three more to be posted tomorrow with part two of the interview.

The Enternet Global Network site has a new alpha 593 version of the EGN2 server-browser/chat software. Thanks BetaNews.

PCGamer's Interactive Interview with Marc Laidlaw is online offering the answers to reader-submitted questions for the man who wrote the story for Half-Life. Thanks Voodoo Extreme.

Rust, the game editing design site, offers an interview with Ward Six's Dawn of Darkness team talking about this upcoming Dawn of Darkness Quake II add-on, and tossing in a half-dozen screenshots along the way.

The Qizmo page has a new version of the Qizmo QuakeWorld proxy that fixes a bug in 2.60 that was causing random exits under Windows '95. Thanks X-M4N. Qizmo is a full-featured proxy program for QuakeWorld.

The Rendition software download page has posted version: 3.0 beta3a reference drivers for their v2x00 series of accelerators (they're dated February 16). Thanks ]kaMpFsaU[. These drivers are Windows 98 native and support DirectX 6, but are still Windows 95 compatible, and offer built in OpenGL ICD support. A note on the page specifically mentions that "these drivers are NOT supported by Rendition. Use at your own risk."

A follow-up on the id interview stuff posted yesterday in Mat 'The Lurker' Bettinson's cunning .plan comes today in the form of a two part audio interview with John Carmack in .mp3 format. Here's part one of the John Carmack Interview (5.6 MB) and part two of the John Carmack Interview (10.3 MB), local copies, as always, thanks to Walnut Creek CDROM. Part one is a half-hour conversation about Quake III Arena in general, and part two is about an hour, and is more technical in nature, talking about graphics cards and networking, etc. Thanks Midiguy. Word is that transcribed versions will appear in a Gamespot UK article next week.

Version 1.01 of the Official Duke Nukem Forever FAQ is online at Dukeworld with new Q&A on the chances of a parental lock, the likelihood of a simultaneous Mac release, supported sound and video APIs, and more. Also, while digging on Dukiness, Duke Nukem's Ascent to World Domination is a new article at D.W. that, in the vein of the recent posting of all the games in the Duke series on the 3D Realms website, looks at the series from Duke 1 to Duke 3D, and ahead to Duke Nukem Forever and the rest of the upcoming Duke line, as well as the products spawned by series.

Threshold, Behavior pact for vidgame pix is an article on Variety that describes a pact between Threshold Entertainment and Behaviour Worldwide to finance and distribute eight movies based on computer games including Duke Nukem, and Zork. Thanks Spacklebeast. The article describes the Duke project as being on the fast track, and the Zork movie "a darker and more romantic pic..."

Layoffs Continue at Sierra is a GameCenter article that describes a layoff of 30 employees at Dynamix, something to which Tim Gift's .plan alluded. Thanks Lorien at GA-Source. Earlier this week Dynamix' parent Sierra announced that it was closing four development studios (here's another GameCenter article on that), including Yosemite Entertainment. According to the article on the new round of cuts, the 30 employees represent about 15 percent of Dynamix's staff.

FiringSquad's "Stepsister" SLI Preview gives a hands-on look at this new hardware setup from Metabyte that allows parallel use of any graphics chipset. The article even delves into the origination of the products icky name (no offense to any stepsisters out there).

The Zero Division page has posted a bunch of screenshots from Tank Fury, currently in beta. As the name implies this is a tank combat game, and they describe it as a blend of Quake-style deathmatch in Animé-style assault tanks with realistic racing physics and some pretty powerful weapons.

Making it in the game industry is a CNN article that talks with Interactive Digital Software Assn. President Douglas Lowenstein about the "unprecedented growth in the video game industry" and how it presents difficult challenges for developers and hardware manufacturers. Thanks dethkultur.

Word on Sniper.Net is Saturday March 13 they will be holding a Teamplay Boot Camp in Vancouver for Starsiege TRIBES and (if available) TeamFortress Classic.

• Here's an FCC ISP FAQ with a string of TLAs on the new ruling that should ease your mind. Thanks broken...
• The final release of the UKPAK level pack is out, offering eight four-on-four teamplay maps for Quake (1) done by a group of UK mappers...
• A new version 1.04 of the Powertweak program that promises to optimize your processor and chipset to work together is out. Thanks Tweak3D...

Off to GamesCon in Toronto mid-morning, just spending these last few hours alternating between filling the BlueJet and myself with anti-freeze (just kidding, you shouldn't drink and fly). I should be able to check in and update in the early afternoon. I was channel flipping yesterday and saw the portion of E.R. where they play Doom against another hospital ("shoot him with the BFG-9000!") pretty wild stuff.

Sad news, Culture News from Wired News reports the end of MST3K. Thanks Randy Perry. "If you're wondering how he eats and breathes and other science facts (la-la-la), Just repeat to yourself, 'It's just a show, I should really just relax...' for Mystery Science Theater 3000!"