Archived News:
It's that time of the week kids...it's a Sunday, so here's
your Mailbag. In this week's zany collection of letters: more on the lawsuit,
the whereabouts of the Unreal shareware, Balls of Steel, Daikatana, mice, brain
plugs, and of course the inevitable more. Swing
on over there and take a look at what your fellow readers are saying.
GA-Source has
posted eight exclusive Giants screenshots offering a look ahead at PlanetMoon's
upcoming Giants: Citizen Kabuto. Also, Sharky Extreme's
First Glimpse at BattleZone 2 is up offering a teensy look ahead at the upcoming
action/strategy sequel from Pandemic Studios with a few screenshots. Finally, Lorien at
GA-Source sends word that the Illusion
Softworks website has been updated with some more new screenshots from their upcoming
WWII action/strategy offering, Hidden & Dangerous.
Not "PM" bits, we hedge and leave that available in case more bits pop through
the wire this evening:
- Tweak3D reviews the UltraTNT2
and there's a Voodoo 3 2000 Review @
BXBoards.
- Still more follow up on the Win98 VXD patch dealie (story and original follow-up). I received the following from someone I consider a
credible source. There is also a post up there by Mr.N Natural, creator of the patch to
answer questions and concerns, but to give an example of what they are, I'll pass the
email I received along (don't be offended by the bit about "non-advanced users"
he's referring to someone other than you specifically):
VMM32.VXD is a file built during Windows Setup. All of the VXD's people
say Microsoft forgot are actually rolled up into this file. VMM32 is a required file to
boot Windows. Why roll them up into one big file? Boot performance. It's
better to load one VXD at boot time than load 30. There are reports on Anandtech of
people not booting after installing the "patch" or coming up with
viruses. Other people have run dedicated system benchmarks and seen no performance
gains. Others have said they see gains but have not posted anything but a timedemo
score or, in one case, a 3d benchmark score. As to why anyone would get a
performance gain from this, I don't know. But messing with the system VXD's (you
know, the ones that load Ebios, Vcache, Vfat, Vcomm, and so forth) is not a wise thing to
do for anyone but an advanced user. And a lot of non-advanced users read your page.
Here is a post from
someone on Anandtechs BBS (called Cyprus) who contacted Microsoft about the
"patch":
"there is no reason to put these files into your windows\system directory.
win98 did NOT forget to put them there, and vmm32.vxd is not some generic replacement for
all the other files. This vmm32.vxd file isn't even one file, it is all the other files
specific to your machine grouped together into one file to speed up load times. This file
is built at setup time. If you manually copy all the files into windows\system, you're not
helping anything, and unnecessarily causing load/boot times to increase..."
GA's Lorien sends word that registration
has begun for SegaSoft's massively multiplayer title, 10six. They're looking
for all of 1,000 people this time around, so if you want in, run
over there now. If you don't know anything about the game, it's a combination
action/strategy title, played from a number of different perspectives, including
first person, third person, and top-down. Note: GoNINzo points out that you must be a premium member of HEAT.net to register.
The Rocket Arena website has a new version 2.5 of Rocket Arena 2. The new release has no programming changes, but adds a new map pak compiled by Multi-Arena HeadQuarters with nine new maps containing a total of 57 new arenas, bringing the total number of maps in RA2 to 28, with an impressive 172 total arenas. The full version is now a robust 41.3 MB and the upgrade for previous versions is 14 MB, and both are available on the RA2 downloads page.
Ear On Games interviews Kevin Schilder
and Chia Chin Lee of Raven Software, turning a keen eye, or ear, rather, towards the
sound effects in the recently released Heretic II, and the upcoming Soldier of Fortune.
SubXero at Requiem-HQ sends word of a new "top secret level" they've made available for download. Here's the deal on this:
I just got my hands on a top secret level for Requiem: Avenging Angel.
The file weighs in at a little less than 400kbs. The secret level reveals credits for
people who worked on the game including people who left the project early and were unable
to get in the official credits.
A new version 1.2 of the Quake 2 2 mod that allows two players to have a Quake II
deathmatch on the same computer is out on the Blackmoon
development site. The new release offers a brand-new interface, and as a result, old
versions of the mod must be removed before installing the new one.
A new version 2.3 of Demoplay, is out, the
first shareware release of this formerly freeware utility that allows you to easily play
back demos recorded in Quake and Quake II under Windows 95/98 using nifty VCR-like
functionality without having to contend with that nasty (this joke is Netscape enhanced).
More coffee anyone? The Q2Java site has
relocated, and to commemorate the occasion, they have released a new version 0.9.3 of this program that allows the creation of Quake II mods coded in Java. There is also a new Q2Java mailing list for those interested in detailed discussion of the project.
Two new ones: Version 1.10 of the Quake II
Console Parser is now available. This program can use either log files or demo files
produced by Quake II as input, and can output analysis in a few forms, including HTML
formatted tables. New features in the new release include chat logging, and support
for the PureDM, Lithium, and Battleground Quake II mods. Also, the Console Stats Webpage has version 1.1 preview 2.21
of Console Stats offering some bug fixes and tweaks for this feature rich Quake II stat
analysis program. Future versions will support QuakeWorld, and Loki's Minions CTF.
Giles' Quake Tinkertoys has a new version
1.12 of the meQanno Quake
modeling utility for the Macintosh, and a new version 1.30 of MacQFE, the MacQuake front-end.
According to the accompanying update, these releases mark the end of the current cycle of
development as the author considers more advanced modeling tools and Quake II and Quake
III support. Thanks Scandalon.
- As mentioned in the follow-up below, word was posted here yesterday of a level design
contest that has actually already ended. As if to balance the books, the deadline in the SP3D Quake II Level Design Contest,
originally last night, has been extended to next Saturday.
- 3D Rant is holding a "name the Rant Chic"
contest, offering a PII-450 CPU for the winner.
I posted mention of PCXL's Ultimate
Ultra Hyper Excellently Stoopid Design Contest, but it turns out this has already
ended, sorry about that. Here's hoping they come up with another contest soon, considering
how cool the name of that one was.
- The results of the 3rd Methos Ultimate
Quake Poll have been posted...
- The Q2PMP has posted a new plugin for 3D
Studio MAX and Character Studio 2.1 that allows modelers to adjust and modify their work
on Quake II models "and specifically Half-Life models which currently require the use
of MAX/CS..."
- The Terror Quake2 site has posted a new
online manual for this Quake II mod...
- d-TOP has posted a new Rainbow Six wallpaper from
Steve Reid, creative director at Red Storm Interactive...
- The Sonique Downloads has a new version
.95c of this .mp3 player with the unique interface, which includes plug-in support for the
new Microsoft Audio 4.0 thingy. Thanks Manpreet Jagpal...
I'm worn out... something suddenly got terribly unhappy on my machine, and it froze up about 20 times while making this morning's update, requiring a hard reboot each time. The crashes came more and more frequently, thwarting any attempt at addressing the problem
until I finally resorted to a full checkup from the old Norton Disk Doctor, which gave the disk a clean bill of health, saying it found no problems to repair. Of course, the system has been perfectly happy since then. I learned long ago the term for such occurrences is F.M., with the "M" standing for magic... As always, I feel better for sharing, thanks for your time. The answer to the contest and winners, along with a brand-spankin' new contest (wheee!) will go up tomorrow.
Link of the Day: Lumpynet - Teletubby Execution
Chamber. Thanks devilbunny.
The Arena interviews Graeme Devine
holding a short Q&A with id software's designer about his role with the company, and
some stuff about Quake III Arena, including this answer, that reveals that the game's
character classes, the subject of some debate among fans, is also the subject of debate at
id:
Q: Is id still determined to go with the character classes?
A: Character classes are still being debated.
Tribes.de has posted version 0.1 of their
Starsiege admin tool for download. Like their similar program for TRIBES, this allows
control over a Starsiege server via a simple GUI front-end.
Proving dogs have more than one life too, Webdog,
the gaming webpage newshound program, has been revived with a new version 1.06, now
available for download. The new release has a bunch of new features and enhancements, not
the least of which is considerably faster operation. There is a full release available, as
well as an upgrade for users of prior versions.
Following up on the recent announcement that the glDoom project was on indefinite hold ( story) comes word on the The
Official glDoom Homepage that the project is "defunct." The page dispels any notion that the project has been squashed by outside sources, stating the reason as an unfortunate case of simple data loss, where two hard drives and the backup tapes with all
the source code for this port of the Doom source were destroyed in the same mishap, with subsequent efforts by data recover houses to salvage the info from the drives unsuccessful. Thanks Bagpuss.
There are a bunch of new Hostile Waters
screenshots on Rage's
Hostile Waters page showing off more gameplay from this upcoming 3D action title.
Thanks GA-Source.
A new Beta Release 0.13r008 of the Crystal Space
3D Engine offers an update to this cross-platform free 3D engine that supports so many cutting-edge features. Thanks Billy at Voodoo Extreme.
Bell Kin pages has posted a Linux port of
version 1.28 of Doom LEGACY, the enhanced
version of the source code from id's classic shooter. Thanks Voodoo Extreme.
Next-Generation Online has posted a pair of
new previews, a little blip on Kingpin, which is
their 3dfx game of the week, and This Is Unreal Tournament,
a beefier piece about Epic's upcoming sequel to Unreal, offering loads of quotes from Mark
Rein, including the first word I can recall seeing that UT would not be out before E3.
Thanks Apache at Computer Gaming Review. Here
is a bit from the preview on how bots will be used to balance out multiplayer games:
Rein then pointed out an interesting feature, which is the ability for server
operators to specify the number of players desired in a multiplayer game, and that bots
can be used to round out the numbers. As players come onto the server, the bots are killed
off automatically by the system. Rein claimed the only way he is aware of to determine if
players are human or bots is to look at their ping time: "The AI is so good we hope
you won't be able to tell the difference otherwise."
PC Paradox
previews Hostile Waters, the upcoming 3D action game from Rage Software.
Game-Interviews.com
interviews Alex Garden of Relic Entertainment about their outer space action/RTS
dealie, Homeworld.
This GA-Source
Q&A with Scott Herrington talks about the "mature themes" in Shiny's
upcoming third-person action game, Messiah.
On the heels of the first Independent Games Festival at this year's Game Developers
Conference, comes word that they are already gearing up for the second edition at next
year's show in San Jose. Here's the deal:
As you may know, a highlight of the recent Game Developers Conference was
the first ever GDC Independent Games Festival, a venue created to promote interactive
entertainment as an artform and provide a forum for independent game developers to show
their work, receive recognition, and meet potential publishers. The Festival
received nearly one hundred submissions from around the world and presented six awards,
including a grand prize of $10,000 and with a possible publishing deal.
Entries for the second annual GDC Independent Games Festival are being solicited by Miller
Freeman and are due by Wednesday, September 1, 1999. Games for the Internet, PC,
Macintosh, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo and other platforms without current publishing deals
are eligible for the Festival. The finalists will be on display and the awards
ceremony will take place during the GDC Expo 2000 in San Jose. For detailed
information about this year’s winners, as well as the 2000 Festival rules and
application procedures, log onto www.indiegames.com.
If you have further questions, please contact us at our respective e-mail addresses.
Thank you.
There's an updated .dll on the Terror Quake2 site
to fix the weapon dupe bug in the just-released new beta. There is also an updated Linux
version now available.
I AM TFC, from the same
"I" that brought you similarly humbly named sites for other games, is now up and
running, with a map repository that already boasts 18 new maps for the recently released
add-on for Half-Life.
Rust, the game editing site, has posted updated
versions of the Quake II Design FAQ
and the Half-Life Design
FAQ.
We had a double-dose of the pop culture game yesterday, like so many things, it's feast or
famine. Tim "The Gunslinger" Gemma managed to submit a return quote for each,
from Terminator: "Uzi, nine-millimeter," and a classic from Johnny Dangerously:
"You shouldn't hang me on a hook. My father hung me on a hook once... Once."
Also, both JazzBone and Puck sent along the same great quote from J.D.: "It's an 88
magnum. It shoots through schools." Ozymandias put the two
together by pointing out: "Too bad Arnie didn't ask for an .88 Magnum, eh?
'Shoots Sarah Connor through schools.' :)" Gotta like a guy rooting for the
Terminator.
Image of the Day: License to Phear. Thanks Disruptor.
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