The official Quake 3 Arena site has released the Linux Q3Test version 1.07 client in both RPM and GZIP formats. We're working on getting a local copy up, so we'll have that for you soon.

As promised earlier, here's a local copy of the full installer for version 1.07 of the Win32 Q3Test, about a 30 MB download. The Quake 3 Arena news page has been updated with just this small bit:

This addresses many cheat exploit issues as well as fixing an exploit in the q3tourney map.

Mr "Tabs are my life," AKA sCary has posted another GameSpy tab on The Shugashack to isolate those spiffy new Q3Test 1.07 servers.

The Action Quake2 site (which upped and moved somewhere along the way) has a new version of the server .dll for this action-packed Quake II mod. There's also word there that they are looking for a Mac programmer to fine-tune the Mac version of AQ2 since MacQuake II is now available. Finally, there are details there about their modeling contest, offering over US$400 in prizes.

Kabuto.net interviews Andy Astor in a short Q&A from an appearance in IRC talking about Giants: Citizen Kabuto in which the possibility of GameSpy support is discussed, as is the game's CD music, possible mature audience ratings, and more.

id Software's Graeme "Zaphod" Devine updated his .plan on the occasion of the version 1.07 release of the Win32 Q3Test, talking of expectations for Quake III Arena, and going so far as to drop a hint about id's next project, saying "Look to the next id product to give you the 'brand new' gameplay and world." Here's the update:

1.07 is out there. Please try and find cheat exploits and report them to us!

Also, keep in mind that this is a test, and not the final product. There's a lot in the test which is very temporary, so while we've taken great pride in putting out very solid test releases, we're still working hard on the final product and very much appreciate your feedback (q3feedback@idsoftware.com) in getting this product right for you - the players -

I get a bunch of feedback from people wanting this product to be more like Quake 1 or Quake 2, while others look for us to innovate and make something brand new. Quake 3 is arcade deathmatch, nothing more and nothing less. It's not Quake 1 nor Quake 2, but does nod it's head in the direction of the online DM version of both those products (and apparently pissing off both parties at the same time).

Look to the next id product to give you the "brand new" gameplay and world. Quake 3 Arena will keep basically with what you've seen and read about up until now and it's now time to put this one to bed.

The new release of the Win32 Q3Test is now available. Here's a local copy of the patch to update version 1.06, the 30-some MB full installer will be up shortly. In the meantime, there's a list of mirrors on the Quake 3 Arena site.

Xian made an update to the Quake 3 Arena page with word he's pulled the Win32 Q3Test 1.06 binaries from id's FTP server in anticipation of the fairly imminent release of version 1.07, expected at 8:00 PM Eastern time (7:00 Central), barring unforeseen problems. Thanks Cobalt_60. Here's the deal:

I've removed the Win32 v1.06 archive from our FTP server. We should have v1.07, as well as an upgrade path from 1.06 available on our FTP site around 7pm CST barring any horiffic problems.

Continuing what seems like quite a run of stories involving non-English language websites, Gamers.de (Spielenews für Deutschland) sends word that they've posted a pair of new screenshots from Piranha-Bytes' upcoming RPG Gothic, along with some commentary in German (here's that handy BabelFish link again, if your curiosity kicks in).

GamePower has posted a preview of Pandemic Studios' Battlezone 2 (thanks Nigel). While almost all of the screenshots are old, the preview does feature a Q&A with Pandemic president Josh Resnick towards the end.

The results are in from Romero's Age of Empires II challenge against Sandy Petersen (and Chris Taylor, creator of Total Annihilation, apparently), and The Romero has lost. Screenshots from the event, as well as a transcript of the chat that preceded it are available on Microsoft's Gaming Zone.

Entered in QuakeCon and worried you're gonna get whooped? Think a good strategy guide can help you get to the top of the rankings? Want to buy a bridge? Nevermind...anyway, Oxygen Tank's Q3Tourney guide is here to help you master the new map in Q3ATest giving what they feel are the key combat hot-spots and routes with tips to help you frag like a champion.

Exxtreme3D.Com interviews Nels Bruckner talking with the project manager on Dynamix' upcoming TRIBES Extreme (and TRIBES2) getting the lowdown on this upcoming version of Starsiege TRIBES that will feature enhanced single-player capabilities.

The ION Storm Daily Informant has posted a post-E3 wrap-up talking to Deus Ex team leader Warren Spector about progress on the Unreal-engine action/RPG since its showing at the show, which consists mostly of analyzing what worked (describing that as "lots of stuff") and what didn't from the alpha playable missions from the show before continuing with further development. The update caps off by quoting Warren as saying, "Needless to say...the changes we've made are going to result in an even stronger game."

Joy! It's time for this week's Mail Bag. In this week's, er...loony installment: the Kool Mouse, more Linux, more lame endings, damn those Mac users, Outcast, Sea Monkeys, and the required reference to John Romero's hair. We can't make this stuff up. Well, we probably could, but it wouldn't be as entertaining. Swing by and check it out.

Gamers.de interviews Martin Sommerhoffer and Adrian Maleska the lead programmer and the PR person (respectively) for Soft Enterprises, who are working on the upcoming shooter Skout. Skout is being developed in Germany, and the interview was originally in German (as is the site), but the link above leads to the (non Alta Vista) English translation (the original German is at the top of the same page). The interview discusses progress on the game, as well as the particular focus on violence in games in Germany.

SGI and NVIDIA Form Strategic Alliance, Settle Patent Litigation is a press release from SGI announcing an agreement whereby they've dismissed their patent infringement suit against NVIDIA and NVIDIA has licensed SGI's enabling 3D graphics patent portfolio, and SGI has licensed NVIDIA's patent portfolio. Here's the meat of the release:

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- SGI (NYSE: SGI - news) and NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA - news) today announced the creation of a broad strategic alliance to collaborate on future graphics technologies. As part of the agreement, SGI has dismissed its patent infringement suit against NVIDIA and NVIDIA has licensed SGI's enabling 3D graphics patent portfolio. As part of the alliance, SGI has licensed NVIDIA's patent portfolio. Further terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

SGI is a recognized leader in 3D graphics, multimedia and computer systems technology since its founding in 1982 and has been awarded more than 400 patents related to these technologies.

"For the past 15 years, SGI has been the most important 3D graphics company in the world and has created many fundamental technologies for 3D computer graphics," said Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO and president of NVIDIA. "Our collaboration is bringing together the most talented 3D technologists in the world to develop products that will usher in a new era of breathtaking 3D experiences. This is a defining moment for the 3D graphics industry."

"NVIDIA has an impressive team of 3D technologists, an intense focus on delivering industry-leading technology, and the strongest product roadmap for the high-volume 3D graphics industry," said Rick Belluzzo, chairman and CEO of SGI. "This alliance with NVIDIA is a major step forward in our strategy to partner with industry leaders to develop groundbreaking visualization solutions and deliver them to our customers faster than ever before."

The Adrenaline Vault Downloads page has a version 1.1 patch for the European version of Hidden and Dangerous. Thanks Andre Dreves. The patch addresses the following problems:

• Falling / get stuck through floor or surface.
• Zooming in sniper or binocs mode - zoom reset after movement.
• Dropping weapons held in hands in FP mode when laying - aim object still shown.
• Tanks problems (2 turrets after destroying, driving if driver is enemy soldier).
• Improved internet gameplay with more players shows a big latency and sync problems.
• Random deaths at missions with trains/trams (Italy1, Danube2).
• Loading saved game - soldiers in vehicle standing, or laying soldiers floating in air.
• Improper item saving in game profile after mission finished.
• Great slow-down in campaign 1 missions 5,6 and few other missions within the game.
• Hanging after few minutes of playing.

GA-Source has posted new screenshots from the Virtual Reality Notre Dame project, that cool attempt to make an accurate 3D representation of the Notre Dame cathedral using the Unreal engine.

The currently-on-hiatus GamesPlayer has posted a ZIP file with drivers as well as step by step directions for getting Q3Test to run under Windows 2000. There's word that "Q3 does work, but it seems to have a habit of completely killing itself a lot of the time. Just ends and goes back to the desktop with no warning. Other times it works perfectly." So try at your own risk.

Ars Technica has posted their First Look at BeQuake 2, with benchmarks on a dual Celeron 480 setup, as well as a single 300 processor.

The NT Game Palace has a post up with their conclusions about problems folks are reporting with Q3ATest Symmetrical Multiprocessor (SMP) support under beta versions of Windows 2000. They say the problem with Voodoo cards is with the 3dfx OpenGL ICD, while going on to describe another problem that seems to affect TNT/TNT2 users, though they don't speculate on the cause at this time. Either way, until a solution comes down the pike, it seems apparent that if you are having problems with Q3ATest SMP support under Win2K, at least you know it's not just you.

Xatrix Programmer Ryan "Ridah" Feltrin updated his .plan with word on what will be included in the Kingpin version 1.1 patch. The update is quite lengthy, going on to discuss the "dm_realmode" that makes Kingpin behave more like Action Quake2, and Kung Fu's plans for a bagman map pak. Here's the part about the patch:

The patch is almost done, just chasing down the "S_Update: overflow" client disconnects, then we're done. Here's an updated list of fixes/changes for the curious:

Kingpin v1.1 Fixes/Changes:
---------------------------

+ Fixed long level loads
+ Fixed pauses during multiplay
+ Fixed erratic mouse during multiplay
+ Optimized Vertex Array support
+ Allow access to consol while in multiplayer game
+ Only play intro once
+ Optimized scoreboard, fits more players
+ Fixed invalid model causing a thug model with sewer rat skin during teamplay
+ Fixed gibbing characters in single player mode causes character to dissapear
+ Completely disallowed alt-tab, causes several video drivers to hang the system
+ Added "maxrate" setting for servers
+ Pain skins on buddies in single player
+ Player ID display
+ Disappearing View Weapons on linux servers
+ Reduced network traffic on startup, causing overflowed client drops
+ Holster weapon, select weapon without ammo, can't raise weapon
+ Added "dm_realmode", allows only pistol, shotgun & tommygun, with 4x damage
+ Fixed dial-up connection dialing unnecessarily after selecting Begin Game in Gangbang menu
+ Allow for multiple CD drives
+ disable sound quality option for 64mb systems
= Crouching shotgun, won't reload automatically
+ play animation properly after respawn
+ Color coded Player ID (green = friend, red = enemy)
+ Added use of (audible) talk keys during multiplay, accompanied by a random jesture
+ Automatically scale maxfps with rate setting, if cl_maxfps is higher than current setting can handle
+ Prevent safe blockers
+ New seperate text/chat display
+ Easier to hit switch in Bagman

Voodoo Extreme's interview with Stuart Denman is a spicy Q&A with Surreal's meat popsicle talking about their totally dialed looking cash-cow Drakan: Order of the Flame.

GameSpot's Blood Feud describes itself as "a no-holds-barred deathmatch with three bloodthirsty contenders trapped in the ring. We played the hottest upcoming multiplayer shooters to see who's got the will to survive the carnage." The piece looks ahead at Quake III Arena, Team Fortress 2, and Unreal Tournament. Thanks Frans at 3D Action Gamers.

GEM's Earth 2150 Preview has 29 new screenshots from this upcoming 3D RTS. Before It's Done has posted 30 new DarkStone screenshots showing off this 3D RPG, and there's also a 20 MB DarkStone AVI on Voodoo Extreme.

ZDTV Interviews Chris Metzen talking with Blizzard Entertainment's senior designer about progress on Diablo II in a text interview, and an accompanying video interview in RealPlayer format. Thanks VE.

FPSGamers interviews Garth Chouteau talking with the PGL press secretary & director of corporate communications for the Total Entertainment Network (TEN) in a Q&A that discusses the state of the Pro Gamer's League, the outlook for its future, and PGL's rivalry with the CPL.

• Diamond's German Driver Updates page has Viper V770 drivers dated yesterday as separate downloads for English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish versions. Thanks Thomas.
• PC Gamer Online's five hot new gaming technologies looks at 3DScalability, VoiceInteraction, NeuralNetAI, FacialAnimation, and WeightedVertex.
• DemoNews has posted word of a program called Hz Tool "a freeware tool for Windows 95/98 that lets you set the refreshrate for all resolutions, including the ones that Windows normally don't let you use."
• Tech-Review.com's computer Buyer's Guide give info and even a crack at the best prices for upgrade components.
• USB Workshop's Ultimate Universal Serial Bus handbook is online (I can't figure out if this is a content site or a commerce site, or both).

• The post yesterday about the Mac V2 reference drivers was not accurate in saying they marked the first availability of the Voodoo2 for Mac users, as the V2 was available for a while through the now-defunct Micro Conversions, who used proprietary drivers (that would not work on reference boards). Thanks Frank Caratozzolo.
• Tweak3D points out a (glowing) review of the VideoLogic NEON 250 linked to from here recently was something I normally wouldn't link to, because it was based on a demo of the board, but no hands-on experiences. A hands-off review is of questionable value, and I'm sorry for any misunderstandings posting a link to the review may have caused.

A new version of the Q3Tweak front-end for Q3ATest is now available (thanks Voodoo Extreme), promising to improve visual quality, as well as performance. Also, the Q3ATest tweak guide posted at both Reverend's site and Mad Dog's site has likewise been updated, and similarly, Q3Test Deluxe Taser Edition Tweak Guide on 3DGaming.Net has got performance tips and benchmarks.

Computer Games Online's Aliens Versus Predator walkthrough has been updated again, this time adding the third walkthrough, for the Predator missions, calling it "In the halls of the monster kings."

GameSpot UK's Adrian Smith Interview talks with the operations director at Core Design, for "the inside story" on Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation "and what it's like Living With Lara." Along the way Adrian mentions that: "For the first time we are producing a dedicated PC version which is not constrained by what can or can't be done on the PSX."

Version 0.96 of the Gladiator Bot is now available, described as what may indeed be the final release of this AI playmate for Quake II. Thanks [utF] Stakker. Interestingly, The Shugashack points out that there's an "elusive.cfg" in the Q3ATest .pak file, leading to speculation that the author of the Gladiator (and Quake 1's Omicron bot), Mr Elusive, may be involved in the Q3A process in some way.

A new format?

Software Reviews:

• GamePower reviews Heavy Gear II. Thanks Frans at 3D Action Gamers.
• StereoVision.Net's Quake3Arena stereo-view has been updated upon the new release looking at Q3Test's stereo vision support.
• Similarly (sort of) 3DsoundSurge's Aliens versus Predator review examines Fox' shooter from an audio perspective, critiquing the game's sound.
• PC.IGN.com reviews bleem!, the PlayStation emulator.

Hardware Reviews:

• Digital-Clips' Celeron 450 VS PIII-450/600 create a civil war to decide between Intel-based systems.
• CPU Review reviews the Guillemot MaxiGamer Xentor32 (TNT2).
• UGN3D reviews the Guillemot MaxiGamer Xentor16 (TNT2).
• AnandTech reviews the ABIT BP6 i440BX Dual Socket-370 ATX. Thanks Ice.
• Thresh's FiringSquad reviews The Alpha P125C Heatsink.

Teamplay.Net is offering complete coverage all week long of Playground '99 being conducted across nine PC entertainment centers located across North America offering a showcase for daily tournament news, analysis, scores, match photography, and other match footage in addition to providing live Internet coverage and web-based tournament management services for the Tribes component of the tourney.

I think I'm going to separate the contests from the gameplay competitions, leaving this space to provide news of other types of contests, which leads to this week's game trivia contest. Test your game knowledge with our questions, your patience with our logic, and of course, your eyesight with our TinyText™.

• It's not online yet, but Pat Lewis sends word that the August print edition of Texas Monthly features a look at id Software and progress on Quake III Arena, including quotes from Todd Hollenshead and Graeme Devine...
• A new beta 3 of version 4.0 of GetRight, the resumable download utility, is now available. Thanks BetaNews...
• The Adrenaline Vault Previews Revenant looking at this upcoming action/RPG game.

Today is the 30th anniversary of the landing of Apollo XI on the moon. It was today in 1969 that over a half-billion people watched live as Neil Armstrong said "This is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Though Mr. Armstrong claimed he said it the way it was obviously intended ("one small step for a man") and it was radio dropout that lost the key word that gives the sentence real meaning. An email from opiate says he saw word that yesterday's planned Space Shuttle would be aborted at almost the exact same time as word came from id that the new Q3ATest release would not go down last night (if this were a movie, that would be pretty clumsy symbolism).

I didn't take the NT plunge yet because I didn't get out to the software store, and was shocked to see I couldn't find the NT client on Outpost after I decided to get it using their nifty overnight delivery. D'oh! Happy birthday to my good buddy and sidekick MrCoffee, who is celebrating in true W.C. Fields fashion by spending today and this evening in Philadelphia.

Link of the Day: Procedure to Follow in the Event That Building 245 is Attacked by Vikings. This is an actual page on the NASA website. Thanks Chad Armstrong.

HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH
FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON
JULY 1969 A.D.
WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND

Graeme Devine updated his .plan again with word that there won't be a Q3Test release tonight, as well as the revelation that a more compact patch will be available for people who already downloaded the 1.06 version of the test:

Not tonight. We're fixing the cheat exploits. Users who downloaded the current build should expect a 3-5 meg update (so you don't have to download the whole thing).

id's Graeme Devine updated his .plan with word that they're working on another build of Q3Test to be released soon (possibly tonight!). Here's the scoop:

Okay. More. Must Sleep Soon.

We're testing a new version of the build right now that has some new stuff in it:

- the ; key now remains bound (for all you lefties)
- the timescale exploit has been plugged (again, actually this was in the last version of the test and a lot of people were silently using it)
- LAN servers display properly
- IPX is working
- the enabling cheat exploit has been fixed
- CPU time for servers should be nicer
- an exploit in the tourney map has been filled
- joystick support (there is no conspiracy here, but this might require more time to fix than just tonight)

We're looking to get win32/Macintosh out there, hopefully tonight, but probably tomorrow by the time we're through checking all this out.

It's time to see how you did in last week's contest! And hey, even if you didn't enter, check out some of those goofy answers. Yowza. Once you're through with that, swing over and enter this week's contest. Good luck!

At long last, the BeOS port of Quake II is available (thanks Sean Graham). In order to play this, you must have the most recent version of Be (4.5), as well as a purchased copy of the game - the 1.2 meg download is only the executable file.

There's a new Wheel of Time Shot on Unreal Universe, apparently the first of five they've gotten their virtual hands on. The others will be posted either as part of a preview of this upcoming Unreal-engine action/strategy game from Legend Entertainment, or one of those shot a day dealies.

3dfx Interactive's Voodoo2 Macintosh MacOS 8.x Reference Drivers are now available for Mac owners to get their first chance at V2 action. Word is that no support is available for these drivers. MacOS 8.x and a Voodoo2 Accelerator required. Thanks Torsten.

The Gathering of Developers and Delphine Software's Diablo-style game Darkstone, has gone gold, and will be available in stores next week. Since the press release isn't available on wire news sites as of yet, here's the full release, complete with details on this 3D adventure title.

Stormtroopers has posted an interview with Chris Norden, lead programmer on ION Austin's first person RPG Deus Ex. There's also this bit about the game's current status:

[Stormtroopers]How close is Deus Ex to feature-complete?

[Chris] Really close...our "code complete" date is rapidly approaching, and we're on target to hit it. After that, we'll be tweaking things that aren't fun, fixing bugs, and polishing the visual effects.

Not to say the ones in the screenshot article (story) aren't, but there are definitely new real Tomb Raider 4 shots in GameSpot's Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Revealed, a brief preview that features info straight from EIDOS about the upcoming installment in their third-person adventure franchise, expected to be available in November for both the PC and the PSX.

Computer Games Online has posted the first two parts of their Aliens vs. Predator game tips, providing gameplay hints for completing the Marine and Alien missions of the game (with the Predator missions to be posted soon).

The French site InfosGames has some new (badly JPEGed) shots they say are from EIDOS' upcoming Tomb Raider 4, and this interview Jon Ellison, Borderline Studios on GA-Source is likewise en Français, but also offers new screenshots (the universal language, or is that math...or is it art?) of their upcoming World War II mod for Half Life, Russian Front. If you want to read either, but your French is rusty, as always, AltaVista Translations can help you out. And don't put away that translator just yet, since MagixX (in German) has a bunch of Earth 2150 shots up showing off this 3D RTS game. And while we wander off-topic, while I'm here I may as well point out Computer Games Online's NFL Fever 2000 preview since it is chock full of screenies, as well.

Dynamix' Rick Overman updated his .plan with an update on the status of the OpenGL fixes for TRIBES and Starsiege, which is good news for TNT users. He also adds a note on the Starsiege installer's incompatibility with the Win2000 beta, which will be addressed in an installer patch, with other fixes on the way in an upcoming version 1.004 patch:

The coding for the OpenGL performance upgrade is virtually done. Because of the extensive changes that
were required I'm letting QA really pound on this patch release. So far everything looks good. You TNT
die-hards will be glad to know that I have removed my Voodoo2 from my machine and am running exclusively with a TNT. Starsige runs great, no more hitching and very respectible framerates. Next plan I'll report on TNT2 performance.

I've been receiving a few e-mails reguarding Starsiege not installing on Win2000 beta. Yes we goofed. Starsiege runs fine but the installer gets a bit confused. We'll have an installer patch available on the website soon for those who are interested.

A few more hacks have been confirmed and will be addressed in v1.004.

To follow up on Mike Wilson's recent .plan update saying TRI's Fly! was on the verge of going gold (story), comes word that this upcoming flight sim dealie is now officially gold, is off to manufacture, and will be shipping on July 26.

There are six new SEED Screenshots on GA-Source showing off more action from Human Soft's upcoming action game which uses the proprietary SEED engine. There are also the more new shots on Screenshots Extreme, and if you missed 'em, we posted a half-dozen SEED shots of our own here the other day (I think the new GA-Source ones are the best of these bunches, however).

Part two of Speedy 3D's interview with Seumas McNally, lead programmer on Longbow digital Arts' upcoming tank racing game, Tread Marks. The Q&A continues the discussion about the game, as well as a bit on the future, Seumas describes a desire to use the "Tread Marks terrain engine in future projects, perhaps having to do with hovering attack vehicles or anime-style mecha."

There's an interview with Darren Pattenden on 3D Palette talking to the Bullfrog artist about the work he did on DungeonKeeper2 where he built and textured all the characters for the game, and created some of their animations.

There's an article on Salon called "One Step Ahead of the Law" that focuses on Kingpin and the whole "carding" issue that's popping up here in the United States, and its implications for the industry. It's an interesting article, and has this notable quote from Doug Lowenstein, front man for the ISDA (and staple for articles like this):

"There is this feeling that government will say, 'We gave them a chance and they didn't do it, so now we have to regulate for them,'" says Lowenstein of the IDSA. So the group's current position is that "We would prefer if 'Mature' games were not sold to people under 17."

The always entertaining sCary has posted more GameSpy tabs for Q3Test, including ones for 1.06 servers, teamplay, FFA, and my personal favorite, 1 on 1 servers.

Pels Interactive has posted a "Complete the Sentence" interview with id's PR woman, the fabulous Katherine Anna Kang. Amongst the entertaining responses is this oddly Zen-like answer: "PR is like between O and S with Q in between." Think about it.

The Adrenaline Vault previews Spec Ops 2: Green Berets giving a look ahead at the sequel to Zombie's Spec Ops: Rangers Lead the Way (thanks VE). Here's a quote from the preview that talks about the effort being put into creating a true-to-life simulation:

Like its predecessor, Spec Ops 2 will strive for realism. All of the weapon sounds are actual recordings of those weapons being discharged. All of the textures are taken from photos of real objects. Furthermore, the motion capture data for their soldier character animation was taken from their tactics consultant -- a former Green Beret who runs a military training school. While wearing a full pack and rifle, their consultant provided authentic motions for treading water, climbing ladders, moving, jumping, using inventory items and weapons and even animations for bullets striking different parts of his body (which was hopefully improvisation).

A follow-up on the story that follows (wow, was that quick!): I.Am-KingPin sends word that the post about the 1000 skin limit is in error, (meaning the Kingpin Skin Registry is obsolete in a few short hours). It turns out there is a workaround that they've posted involving the "skin" console command which allows for long skin filenames in Kingpin and eliminates the 1000 skin limit.

The I.am-KingPin Skin Registry is now up and running. The way Kingpin handles custom multiplayer skins is to use a unique 3-digit number for each one of each model's three body parts (head, body, and legs), so there can only be 1000 skins. "The registry will ensure that everyone who makes a new skin and submits it to I.am/Kingpin for download uses a different number."

Onicore.Com interviews Doug Zartman talking with the "PR Guru" from Bungie about their upcoming third-person fighting game, Oni. This is part one of a two-parter, with the second part to be posted following MacWorld (this week here in the Big Apple).

Hardware reviews are up here again this morning (like our own version of Where's Waldo, or something).

• 3dfx Interactive offers $30 OFF your Voodoo3 2000 and Voodoo3 3000. Thanks Voodoo3.net.
• The TechZone asks: 16 meg TNT2 vs 32 meg TNT2, which is better? Looking to see if the extra RAM is worth the extra cash.
• Exxtreme3D.Com's Overclocking 101 offers a very basic beginner's introduction to the black art.
• SysOp's reviews the Diamond Viper 770 Ultra.
• SystemLogic reviews the Elsa Revelator 3D Glasses.

Apparently WinNT users do not hear footsteps in the new version 1.06 Q3ATest. Team Abuse sends along a solution for this that they've doped out, saying that if you set s_mixprestep to 0.1, you will once again hear the pitter-patter of little feet.

Savage galleries has posted a couple of configs to help get better visual quality and improve performance on video cards based on Savage's S4 chipset.

Word from the InterPlay fans over at IPlayGames send word that Kingpin will be available in Australia (where they are restrictive about violent games) with an MA 15+ certification on July 22.

• Gamers Depot reviews Kingpin.
• BarrysWorld reviews Descent 3.
• GibWorld reviews Aliens versus Predator.
• ProGamers reviews South Park saying "I like the show, I love the movie, and now I hate the game."
• Sujoy Roy has written up his impressions of the new Q3ATest on Sujoy.com giving an expert player's analysis of the new tourney map.

• I see Dave's Video Game Classics has a new beta of MAME, the Multi-Arcade Machine Emulator (or something like that). In other EMU news, the official bleem! site doesn't mention it, but the bleem! support page has info on plans for the upcoming bleem! 1.3b2 release, which will include PSX mouse support...
• The Atriarch Downloads page has posted a 12 second movie from this upcoming online (persistent universe) sci-fi RPG in QuickTime format. The clip shows off a slithering alien, and does not use the game engine, but does use the game's sound effects and models...
• In spite of Graeme Devine's comment in his .plan that advanced controller support is broken in version 1.06 of Q3ATest, the old-school SpOrbers at Birdman's Lair have posted what they say is a working configuration for the venerable Space orb 360. Word is "it's not perfect, but it's working"...

A little pop culture yesterday: "Try the wine," is from A Clockwork Orange, used a second time because it fit so well, and because I messed up the quote in a previous attempt to use it (if at first you don't succeed...). I know I've threatened this before, but today may just be the day I go for a WinNT install to get rid of this system resource problem that keeps screwing up my email. If you hear the loud sound of someone banging their head against a wall, you'll know I decided to do just that.

Link of the Day: Big Bang machine could destroy Earth reports the London Sunday Times. Science marches on! Thanks PT and DiabolicalGenius.
Bonus Link: Super Marketing: Ads from the comic books. Thanks Joel. I cannot tell you how much time I spent in my youth dreaming of one day owning many of these hunks of junk.