If you're having trouble installing or connecting using the new 1.0.0.9 Half-Life/TeamFortress Classic releases, perhaps one of the following pair of tips sent along buy readers will help. Here the first one from ExsMediocre:

A lot of people are having problems connecting to 1009 FinalTFC. The 1009 TFC LAN patch installed a client.dll under tfc/cl_dlls dir. this file is not used or overwritten with the 1009 Final patch. If this file is still in your TFC dir you get an error about conflicting client.dlls and it will not allow the connection. The simple fix is just to delete this dll. Everyone including server operators need to remove this dll.

Even uninstalling HL first and then reinstalling does not fix this unless you delete the HL dir before reinstalling.

And there's this, from JB:

Problem : Error in setup, incorrect language settings when installing the 1.0.0.8->1.0.0.9 patch with Lan Party TFC patch already installed.

Fix : Change the ShortTitle entry in the sierra.inf file from "HALFLIFELAN" to "HALFLIFE"

GuruTech has posted the answer to a one question Q&A with 3D Realms' George Broussard talking about the new Sven Technologies' Multi-Resolution Geometry technology that they just announced would be included in Duke Nukem Forever (story). Here's the reply (kinda hard not to gank the whole thing):

George Broussard: We've had the stuff in for something like 5-6 months. It dropped it in initially in a couple of days. We tweaked things over a couple of weeks and have had no problems. The game will benefit from drawing less polys than it needs to. DNF is a test bed for the technology for us, but I see no reason not to consider it for future games. It saves you from re-inventing the wheel.

[TF] The Cleanser sent along a GameSpy tab so that users of this server browser can easily find servers running the newly released Team Fortress Classic for Half-Life. Here's a local copy of the teeny tab (300 bytes), along with mirrors.

WinHEC this week means lots of hardware news...NVIDIA issued a couple of press releases today, first announcing their support for TeraLogic's DTVPC system (allowing HDTV to be viewed on your PC) and second announcing their plans to integrate "transform and lighting" processes into their products. What the heck does that mean? Here's an excerpt:

By moving T&L calculations from the CPU to the graphics processor, there are more cycles available for modeling physics, artificial intelligence, character behavior and game play; areas that are severely lacking in modern applications. The benefit is two-fold, a world that both looks and behaves realistically.

In non-NVIDIA news, new reference drivers are available on Rendition's downloads page for Verite V2x00 based cards. These are Windows 98 native, and fully DirectX 6 compliant. Thanks Assassin. Finally, there's an interview with Dan Wood on GA-Source talking with Matrox' Senior product manager about the recently-announced additions to their upcoming G400 line.

Kali-guy Brian Hayes sends word that a new version of the server browsing Kali95 has been released. This version adds support for Delta Force, Red Baron 3D, Team Fortress Classic, Railroad Tycoon 2, South Park, Demon Star, Starcraft and Brood War V1.05 and Wages of Sin. Phew! Snag that over at the Kali homepage.

Ritualistic has posted an interview with RiEvEr, the author of the ReDeMpTiOn bot for Sin, entitled, "Walk forward. Stop. Fire." (Thanks Hexagon).

ShadowFactor Software has released a new version 1.2 Beta 4 of their BattleComm (formerly known as "BattleField Communicator") client software, along with version 0.90 Beta 5 of the server. This program allows real-time voice communication in multiplayer games, even for modem users, and the new release fixes some bugs, extends the beta expiration date, and adds support that allows the activation of BattleComm through ICQ.

PlanetUnreal has posted a few more new screenshots from Epic's upcoming Unreal Tournament, these showing off two more weapons, "the Enforcer," and "the Translocator." They also have posted an extensive preview of RealCTF, an upcoming free CTF mod for Unreal.

Just when you thought it was safe to install NT...News.com is reporting that Microsoft has another DOS based operating system in the works, to be released sometime in the year 2000. This is contrary to previous reports that their next consumer OS would be based around an NT kernel, and not DOS based. Regarding whether it'll be a new version of Win98 or something entirely different seems to be in dispute, as the article has conflicting reports:

Microsoft, in fact, seems to be debating the issue itself. While Ballmer called the OS a "new version" of Windows 98, a Windows product manager placed it in a "new generation" category.

"Don't think of it as a new version of Windows 98," said Mike Nichols, a Windows product manager. The upcoming OS will be based on the same code, but will contain a number of new features, he said.

'StepUp' Windows 98 release on tap is a ZDNN story that says: "Users who were distressed at the thought of paying Microsoft Corp. $89 for a minor upgrade to Windows 98, take heart," as it follows up on the announcement reported yesterday (story) that the Win98 StepUp program to fixes bugs, etc. would be fee-based, with word that "Microsoft has multiple -- not just one -- upgrades to Win98 up its sleeve." Thanks Maverick. Here's a quote:

But the company also is readying a CD-only, non-retail upgrade for existing Windows 98 customers at a substantially reduced price. Like the full edition, the upgrade will include fixes plus new features. Microsoft plans to sell the CD direct only, as its low cost will prohibit it from being a product of interest to resellers, says Windows product manager Mike Nichols. Nichols said the company has not decided on pricing.

There's a Kingpin: Life of Crime interview on 3D Spotlight talking with Ryan "Ridah" Feltrin from Xatrix Entertainment about Kingpin, the upcoming Quake II-engine game that puts you smack dab in the heart of the underworld, with the goal of clawing your way to the top of the mob. The piece also offers a handful of screenshots.

Beyond 3D has posted some new screenshots showing off Activision's upcoming Heavy Gear II running on a TNT at 1024x768 resolution, using 32-bit color.

Version 0.5 of the Unofficial MDK2 FAQ is online, with a preliminary set of Q&A about the upcoming sequel to MDK.

Eidos Interactive Announces Tomb Raider II Gold. Word is a playable demo of the new reworking or TR2 will be available on GameCenter on April 22. TRII Gold will be free to those who already own TRII.

Sharky Extreme's Weekly CPU Prices update offers some early skinny on AMD's upcoming K7 CPUs, discussing details gleaned from off-the-record discussions with two of the firms that currently possess Alpha K7 systems, discussing indications that the K7 is more on a par with the PIII, rather than its clear superior.

As planned, Team Fortress Classic for Half-Life has been released, which will update your Half-Life executable to a new version 1.0.0.9. You can get the patch via the Half-Life auto-update feature, or here are pages with local copies and mirrors of all four new releases. Here is the 1.0.0.5 to 1.0.0.9 update (20.5 MB), here is the 1.0.0.8 to 1.0.0.9 update (19.0 MB), here is the Standard Half-Life SDK (13.5 MB), and the Standard SDK source code (713 KB).

3dfx sends along a couple of press releases, this one to announce Voodoo3 accelerators would be on the motherboard of the next line of Packard Bell computers, and this one announcing that the Voodoo3 2000 and 3000 are in stores as of today, the 143 MHz V3-2000 accompanied by an Eidos game sampler, and the TV-out equipped 166 MHz Voodoo3 3000 offering a bundle of Need for Speed III, Descent 3 Sol Ascent (a five level version of the game), and Unreal, along with a coupon for Unreal tournament, when it is available. The release also outlines US and European availability and pricing for the cards. Here's some info they've included about some benchmarks they commissioned:

According to ZDTag test results released today, the blistering real-world performance of the Voodoo3 2000 and 3000 handily outpaces the non-3dfx based competition's most powerful shipping products the nVidia TNT-based Diamond Viper V550, the S3 Savage3D-based Hercules Terminator Beast, and the ATI Rage 128-based Rage Fury.

In Quake II time demo testing*, ZDTag found the Voodoo3 3000 scored an astounding 95.7 percent faster than its nearest competitor, the ATI Rage Fury. The tests, conducted at a resolution of 1,024 by 768, also found the Voodoo3 2000 is 68.8 percent faster than the ATI card. Complete test results are available today at http://www.3dfx.com/.

The Enternet Global Network page has the 621 alpha version of EGN2, their program that combines a server browser with an ICQ-type chat client. From the page: "This build was mainly released to get in the new Tribes server support. GameScan and other gaming features are being worked on at the current time."

Computer Games Online previews the TNT2 (thanks Billy). Also, Hot Hardware has posted a preview of the Leadtek Winfast S320 II after a hands-on look at a pre-production version of this upcoming TNT2-based accelerator. The board in the Hot Hardware article has a 150 MHz. core speed and a 170 MHz. Memory Speed, but the clock speeds for the TNT2 are not hard and fast, as this quote from the CGO article explains:

The actual speed of the cards will vary widely, depending on what the hardware manufacturers want to make. The least expensive TNT 2 cards will probably have the core processor at a clock rate of 125MHz and the memory clocked higher. This will deliver a fill rate of 250 megatexels per second, quite a bit more than the 180 delivered by current TNT cards. NVIDIA is recommending that high-end TNT 2 cards be clocked at 150MHz with a 183MHz memory speed, but there are already plans by hardware manufacturers to go higher. At least one brand of TNT 2 card will be sold at with a 175MHz core and 200MHz memory clock speed. This translates into an impressive 350 megatexles fill rate—nearly twice the current TNT. Some users may remember that NVIDIA's claims for the speed of the original TNT couldn't be met. The company is being more conservative this time around, and already have parts in-house running faster than the 175/200 speed that some high-end cards may use.

Here is a new TeamFortress Classic Server List on Evildead.com. Server operators interested in being added to the list should go here.

A Netscape compatible version of WarZone's Robin Walker interview is now online for those who had problems with the MSIE-only version that was posted yesterday.

PlanetStarSiege has posted an updated cowboy HUD for TRIBES, which, when used with Presto's Tribes Presto Pak allows you to keep tabs on the last enemy that killed you. Also, the technical FAQ at Planet-Tribes has been updated, and now even includes illustrations. Finally, there is also a tip on PlanetStarSiege from Tribesplayers.com on how to ping and refresh TRIBES servers faster if you have a fast Internet connection by editing your ClientPrefs.cs. Here's the scoop:

Edit your ClientPrefs.cs file and find the lines that say '$pref::maxConcurrentPings = "10";' and '$pref::maxConcurrentRequests = "6";'. You can increase these values to get faster refreshes of the server list. But be warned, this is recommended only for people with cable modems or faster connections. Mark "GotMilk?" Frohnmayer suggests that 64 is the practical upper limit on these values.

Quake'N Down Under News has a new release of the Duel mod for QuakeWorld, offering a newer and more stable version of this competition mod.

Version 0.6 of the Grissly front-end for Half-Life is now available from CrazyPete´s Toolbox, offering a fix for the "Developer Mod Bug," Half-Life 1.0.0.9 support, TeamFortress Classic support, and dedicated server support.

The Want Ads are the next feature in line after the LAN Parties to get automated (which should go online very soon), but in the meantime, I got a request to post some spots for a programmer at Bethesda Softworks that seemed worth passing along here:

We're looking for programmers with a wide range of skills: Tools programmers, lead programmers, and programmers with a history of design. But mainly we're looking for the ability to code in Windows, C++, Open GL and DirectX like nobody's business -- we're talking kick-ass skills combined with enough self-confidence to help us shape the future of gaming. Previous game programming experience is desired, but if you've got a killer demo reel you've cooked up yourself we're willing to talk. Works well within a well-managed team environment and has the motivation to push the boundaries. Please send resumes via e-mail, snail-mail or FAX to: Todd Vaughn Director of New Business Development Bethesda Softworks 1370 Piccard Dr. Suite 120 Rockville, MD 20850 (301) 926-8300 Ext. 362 Fax: (301) 926-8010 ICQ# 28848359

Engbat Tourney is a tournament for Engineers in TeamFortress for Quake that says it's offering $1,000 in cash and prizes.

• Next-Generation Online's EverQuest review.
• PC.IGN.COM reviews Starsiege.
• Next-Generation Online's Requiem Review and also AMD Zone reviews Requiem.
• X-Wing Alliance is reviewed at Gamers Depot.
• HardwareCentral's Voodoo3 2000-3000 review.
• 3DsoundSurge reviews the VideoLogic Sonic Storm Pro soundcard.

• Dave's Classics is down again in its entirety, again due to "recent legal action from a video game hardware manufacturer," which, according to this GameCenter article is Sony (story). Thanks Tony Fabris...
• The fourth Diablo II Screenshot of the Week has been posted on DiabloII.Net, showing off Act Two, the Catacombs...
• Circuit City Learns the High Price of New Video Technology is a New York Times article that talks of the "big drag on earnings" CC's Divx product line has been so far. Thanks Portax...
• HardOCP has posted the latest in their insane overclocking and cooling experiments, their attempt to push a Celeron to 600 MHz. They promise benchmarks sometime today (along with marshmallows roasted over the CPU)...

Well, it seems like whatever went out of control on the hard drive on the server yesterday is under control, but it has left the BlueTracker in a state of disrepair. I'm looking into the problem, but until it's straightened out, the .plan updates output an error (along with a note to contact me, but I'm aware already). Hopefully we'll get this straightened out soon enough (darned technology). More on the little Blue smiley icon for IE5 (only, unfortunately) users: I want to thank Morbid for making a version of the blue smiley with a transparent background, which I may use, but I also want to acknowledge 6|Red-Death, who originally sent along word on this trick a while back, along with an icon of his own (I didn't see the included icon at the time--doh!). I've changed the icon for his, which is perhaps easier to make out, though it may take a while to show up (I don't know what the deal is on caching with these icons is, but it seems awfully persistent). Finally, I do not know why it does not work on the index1 that offers headlines, but unless a solution offers itself, headline aficionados will have to suffer iconless (I've always been an iconoclast).

An apology: I confused a Brainiac reference with a Bizarro reference yesterday. Don't know what me was thinking... me am sorry (I pulled the reference in embarrassment once a couple of readers spotted it with their X-Ray vision).

Link of the Day: Seattle Weekly's April Fool. You would not believe the number of emails I got from frightened readers who bit on this one.

If it were still April 1, I'd suspect this wasn't serious, but the CNET News.com sent along by Maverick titled Microsoft to charge for Windows 98 bug fixes is dated today. The piece announces a plan called StepUp that they say will offer enhancements to Windows 98 to current users at a cost. Here's a quote:

Current users, however, will have to pay for the privilege to clear out their bugs with StepUp. Microsoft is going to offer the upgrade package for an estimated retail price of $89, according to a spokeswoman from Waggoner Edstrom, Microsoft's PR firm. Microsoft will sell the StepUp CD on its Web site, but not post the bug fixes and other technologies for free downloads, she said.

The original release about the Half-Life Software Developers Kit was a bit confusing (story), making it sound like it was now available. I wrote Jenni at Valve who explained the SDK would be available tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM Pacific time, along with the TFC Client mentioned in this story. Jenni says the SDK page is being updated with the appropriate info.

There's an interview with Robin Walker of Valve/TeamFortress Software on ModZone talking about TeamFortress Classic, which is slated for release tomorrow morning (story).

There's an interview with Steve "Gateway" Tietze on Ravages of Radiant talking to the Nihilistic designer (who also happens to coincidentally work at Nihilistic Software) about level editing in Nihilistic's upcoming Vampire game and more.

Intel seen cutting prices ahead of new chips is a CNN article describing expectations that "Intel is expected to cut prices from 10 to 20 percent for most of its products next week, including its newest Pentium III chips, ahead of launching some faster processors later in the month." Thanks Jamie Fullerton.

The PSP (Primary Server Program) portion of Valve's TeamFortress Classic release is available on this page from GameCenter. The 75 MB download is available after filling out a form for high-bandwidth users who plan on running servers. This is so servers can already be in place and online tomorrow, when the plan is to release the customer client for download bright and early at 9:00 AM Pacific time. The client download will be a still healthy 19 MB or so. In the announcement of all this, Valve also mentions the Linux Half-Life server is in the final stage of development and will go into testing later this week.

Whole boatload of big hardware announcements today...first off, is ATI, who announced their RAGE 128 Pro line, including separate boards for high end PCs/workstations, and consumers. Look for those in July...second, we've got Matrox touting their G400 MAX as, "the world’s fastest 3D and 2D acceleration." Here's a bit from their press release:

The Matrox G400 MAX benefits from an increase in raw speed of more than 30% over the Matrox G400 and can achieve peak 3D fill rates in excess of 333 Mtexels/second. On industry standard benchmarks, the new Matrox G400 MAX comes close to maxing out Ziff Davis’ 3D WinBench 99 test with a score of 1080 at 1024 x 768 resolution. The Matrox G400 MAX graphics chip also includes an industry-leading 360Mhz UltraSharp RAMDAC capable of driving high-end monitors at resolutions up to 2048 x 1536, 32-bpp at 85Hz.

Not to be outdone, NVIDIA announced today that the TNT-based Viper 550 from Diamond Multimedia has been chosen as an option in Hewlett Packard's Pavilion line of PCs...and if you're not totally sick of hardware by this point, GuruTech has an interview with S3's Paul Crossley regarding their S4 chipset (thanks Billy "Ambien" Wilson).

Valve sends word that the Half-Life Software Development Kit is now available on this page for mod authors eager to try their hand at writing modifications for Half-Life (though as of this writing there don't seem to be any download links there). There's info on the page with what seem like very liberal restrictions on commercial exploitation of your work, and here's word on the two versions of the SDK they are making available:

There are two versions of the source release: the Standard SDK, and the Professional SDK. The Standard SDK is what we're releasing on the web for anyone to download. This is the traditional kind of source code release people are used to. It will contain everything you need to make a mod. You can make new weapons, new gameplay rules, bots, new entities, whatever you want. You will not, however, be able to rebuild the hl.dll file.

We're also releasing the Professional SDK to folks who explicitly ask for it. Most mods I've heard of won't need it, but for those folks who want to modify rather than replace hl.dll, you will benefit from the Professional SDK, with the complete DLL source code.

It's probably helpful to give an example. If you want to create a bot (the most often requested mod by my count), you will not need the Professional SDK. This is assuming that your design for bots would not use the existing monster AI code.

The Standard SDK will be available on-line and is 775Kb of zipped source code.

The Professional SDK is about 600 MB, and will be available by CD once you have signed the enclosed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). The NDA says you won't turn around and give the contents of the CD away, and you won't make a commercial product without talking to us about it.

Jamie at Activision sent over three new screenshots from id's upcoming Quake III Arena. Here's a page with the thumbnails, to protect tender eyes from sights they don't want to see until they play the game.

id's Anna Kang sent along word of two new MessageBoards online at the Shugashack, the Official QuakeCon99 Message Forum, and the Official QuakeCon99 Get A Ride, Need A Ride Forum. Registration for QC99 will begin this Friday at the QuakeCon 99 website.

The Adrenaline Vault News is reporting that Duke Nukem Forever will use an advanced modeling technology from Sven Technologies to enhance animations:

Multi-Resolution Geometry, and it offers something called continuous level of detail. What this does, in layman’s terms, is increase framerates and enhance the visual quality of real-time 3D scenes by drawing polygons only where needed and smoothly increasing and decreasing the resolution of polygonal objects one vertex at a time. How impressive is the technology? Impressive enough for 3D Realms to license and integrate the technology into its upcoming 3D action title Duke Nukem Forever.

Another new engine for you freeware fans...CrystalSpace version 0.13r006 beta is available for download. This version is not suggested for the casual user, as it needs to be compiled before you can use it. Lay folk can download the official release, version 0.12 from the same site. CrystalSpace takes the cake for most platforms supported, as it has compiled versions of 0.12 available for almost every platform, from BeOS, to DOS, to Rhapsody and back again. Also, to update my earlier post, Anthony "madcow" Cowley tells me that I'm in the minority, and that Heroin was tested on over 30 machines before it was released, with no problems.

Aureal has announced their latest audio chip, the Vortex AU8810 (full press release care of PR Newswire). The new processor is described as a "low-cost audio solution" and features compatibility with Motorola's Soft Modem system for telephony functionality. Like its predecessors, the Vortex AU8810 uses DirectSound 3D and A3D for positional audio support.

Over at the Gathering of Developers site, there's been a couple of updates to their oracle section, featuring two questions about 3D engines and new technology, answered by some of g.o.d.'s developers.

PlanetUnreal has word of two new screenshots showing off Epic's upcoming Unreal Tournament that were posted to UnrealTournament.net featuring the new ASMD Shockrifle. Thanks Voodoo Extreme.

Proving that it doesn't take a billion dollars to make your own game comes two new home-brew engines. The Fly3D page has version 0.62 of this free 3D engine (licensing only necessary for commercial projects). Contained within the 1.2 meg download (making it fit nicely on a floppy disk) are a Quake 2 map converter, 3D Studio import tools, a Visual C++ plugin and a bunch of game demos (including a Descent/Forsaken clone with multiplayer). Also, the Substance Abuse site (is it just me, or does that sound strange?) has the first demo version of their Heroin engine, the latest engine from Anthony "madcow" Cowley, of Madcow Engine fame. Heroin, unlike the Madcow engine, is being designed for a specific game, whose working title is "Extreme BMX." Be warned, Heroin has lots of features, but stability doesn't appear to be one of them. Of course, for an engine that was "brought to you in 2 weeks development time by 2 complete idiots" it's pretty impressive.

The Starsiege TRIBES Scripting Documentation Index has been updated with three more chapters in the scripting documentation for Starsiege TRIBES. In addition to the Callback functions detailed in the first offering, now available is the documentation on Client, Client Only, and Command functions, with the remainder still listed as "coming soon." Thanks Prodigy.

A chat with Matt is a conversation with Raven Level Designer Matt Pinkston discussing MageSlayer, Heretic II, the Heretic II EP, and Raven's upcoming Soldier of Fortune game, which is based on the magazine of the same name, and will use the Quake II engine.

There's an interview with Chris Roberts on Games on Line talking with the chairman of Digital Anvil about the game business, the Wing Commander games, and of course, the WC movie (what I really want to do is direct...). The site is in Italian, but the interview is in English (there's an Italian version too, but I assume it is the translation, and the English one is the original).

Gamers Central's MechWarrior 3 preview is now online, offering a look at MechWarrior 3, Zipper Interactive's upcoming Mech combat game. The piece offers a bunch of new screenshots.

There are seven new Homeworld screenshots on Ultimate Games showing off this upcoming cross-genre space game.

Electronic Arts is informing people that the upcoming first person adventure game System Shock 2 has been pushed back to fall from its original spring release date (thanks to The Vault Network by way of Through the Looking Glass). In other SS2 news, the Irrational Games (developers of System Shock 2) site was given a neato redesign over the weekend.

Glen Dahlgren has made his weekly update to the Wheel of Time page, with the latest status on the Unreal engine RPG, apologies for missing April Fool's Day, and a note that you can catch .08 seconds of WoT in those cool 3DFX commercials.

I haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere: The Magic Lantern Playware page has a release on the news page that describes Paul Schuytema (who left 3D Realms not too long ago as the designer on Prey) as president of the company, and their staff page (the WetWare page) calls Paul Magic Lantern's executive producer, designer, and biz-guy. Another name among the many staff listed on the page is Rich "Zdim" Carlson, recently of ION Storm's Daikatana team. Thanks Brainiac 4. There's no description of the two projects they have planned, just the titles: Wildworld, and Heavy Machines on Mars.

The MADHUD Home Page has version 1.0 of the MADHUD enhanced heads-up display for Starsiege TRIBES that offers such useful functions as a kill and death display, kill per minute ratio, Flag event notifications with Flag icons, inventory item count, automatic thanking of teammates for repairs, and much more. I played with this tonight, and it was great (though I felt a little like a weenie announcing to my team every time I made a repair, which is another feature). Highly recommended.

The HLFE page has the new version 1.2 of the Half-Life Front End, which, to clarify, serves as a front-end for Valve's Half-Life. The new release contains only a few minor changes/fixes, and word is this may be the last version of HLFE released.

3DGN Interview Thingy talks with Dave Perry, an acolyte for Shiny's upcoming Messiah about a lot of off-the-wall stuff, in true interview thingy fashion.

A new beta version of Roger Wilco, the program that allows real-time voice communication in multiplayer games over the Internet, even for modem users, has been released. The new beta extends the free demo period "to at least May 5th, 1999." Thanks Look.

A few more previews of Fox Interactive's upcoming Aliens versus Predator, word courtesy of The Aliens vs Predator Network: GameOver's AvP preview, PC Gamer Online's preview, and Games Domain's preview.

3D Gaming.Net's Heavy Gear II Preview is up offering the opportunity to see Heavy Gear II through the eyes of their report after playing with a beta of the upcoming game of giant Gear combat from Activision. The preview also offers several new screenshots.

In discussing the new Tread editor yesterday (story), I commented that the Thred editor was "long-abandoned," which turns out to be true, but only in a technical sense. GerryK and Haremking both wrote in to help clarify that a descendant of the Thred code is now a portion of the Genesis SDK, and was also used in development of some of the indoor areas in Starsiege TRIBES. Also, I had a post up about some Daikatana screenshots for a short time yesterday, that it turns out were quite old, so if you went looking at those, they didn't represent the game.

Mission Control Command Center has word on their 256 player Quake II tournament in Ontario Canada, May 21-24, 1999. According to the page, they are giving away 30 loaded PIII computers to visitors on the Internet who correctly predict the tourney winners. There are also Half-Life, Unreal, Heretic II, Quake, and even South Park tournaments planned, and they claim to be offering a total of over $100,000 in cash and prizes(!?!).

• Sharky Extreme's 3dfx Voodoo3 3000 Review.
• FullOn3D Games' Redline Review.
• GoneGold's Quick Take on Requiem: Avenging Angel.

• EH Online on Extreme Hardware is the relocated version of Hardware Therapy, the column that collects the collective wisdom and ravings of the hardcore USENET hardware crowd and condenses them into one concentrated periodical...
• QuakeFiles.Com is a new site that offers a unique approach to offering game files and patches for download using a QuakeKey, "a dynamically generated unique file identifier which is used by our proprietary search engine to catalog and track Quake, Quake2, QuakeWorld, and Q3:Arena Downloads all across the World Wide Web"...
• Developer's Corner- The Learning Forum, a non-profit central learning forum created and run by game developers, has added a "Team Profiles" section, for those lesser known, underdog and newer teams to get some exposure and keep people informed of their progress...

We had a bit of downtime yesterday, it was a hardware difficulty, nothing wrong with the server, just a full disk drive (I believe this is the cause of the couple of recent munged .plan updates), I'm having it looked at today, since it seemed to be unnaturally full (it was pretty funny, a couple of readers wrote in saying "loony broke the server"). Speaking of the loonster, he cooked up the smiley icon that will show up in your URL bar and favorites list for this site under IE5, earning him another duty as "guy who figures out cool stuff."

Image of the Day: Here's a shot of a space station in X-Wing Alliance that may just be inspired by some other game (it's on the tip of my tongue). Thanks Mister Beefy, who sent that along a while ago.

Link of the Day: Company creates vending machine pizza. LAN parties may never be the same (or the Blue Tower for that matter). Thanks Steve. That's definitely the LoD, 'cause the The Furby Hooker Network that loony dug up while looking for Barney porn is too frightening.