An official version of the Shadow Man Demo is now available from Acclaim. Thanks Frans at 3D Action Gamers. The new version is some 2 MB smaller than the unofficial version released yesterday (story), and the content has a different date, though it is not 100% certain the contents of the demo are different.

Starsiege TRIBES - Multimedia and Downloads page has the new version 1.7 patch described in Nels Bruckners' .plan. Thanks Frans at 3D Action Gamers. Here's a local copy of the 1.0 to 1.7 patch, and a local copy of the 1.6 to 1.7 patch. Here's the lowdown on the patch from the page:

• You can no longer throw grenades & mines if you are not controlling either your player object or a vehicle.
• Fixed a bug where mines and grenades that exploded while the player was not in control of his body would have an invalid team number.
• Players can no longer activate any station if their primary weapon is in it's fire or reload state.
• Player weapon is unmounted for all active stations (was left mounted for permanent ammo stations in 1.6)
• Fixed a bug with palette management introduced in 1.6
• Typing unclosed single quotes in the console no longer crashes.
• Turret::verifyTarget now has two arguments (%this,%target)
• GameBase::getMuzzleTransform() should now work correctly with turrets.
• There is now a 2 sec. timeout after using a station in which you can not throw mines & grenades.
• A few fixes were added to the 1.6 fix list (the first three had been left out)
• Player now throws his weapon more often when killed with trigger down.
• Fliers can no longer hover up through cielings or the bottom of bases.
• Deployables objects now check against interior and terrain when being displaced by a moveable objects (doors & elevators)
• Displacement code (elavators & doors) now uses a stepping collision test when testing a displaced object for collision.
• A server side getLOSInfo method was added for bot authors.

There are some screenshots on RIVA 3D with some demonstrations of this newly announced 3dfx t-buffer stuff (story), showing off a motion-blur effect, among other things. Also articles on the 3dfx demonstration off this stuff is on Voodoo Magazine, Shugashack.com, PenStarSys, ZDNet, CombatSim (saw those last two on Voodoo Extreme), and Thresh's FiringSquad.

Rogue Spear, BattleZone II, Slave Zero, MacHeretic II, and BattleCruiser 3020 all on tap:

• The Rogue Spear Retreat has posted some exclusive new Rogue Spear screenshots from Red Storm Entertainment showing off action from this upcoming tactical shooter sequel to Rainbow Six.
• There is a new BattleZone II Screenshot on BZ2.COM showing off this upcoming action/RTS from Pandemic Studios.
• Planet RIVA has posted a pair of new Slave Zero shots, one of them showing off the use of bump-mapping in Accolade's upcoming game of rock-em, sock-em robots.
• MacHeretic 2 Screenshots on Mac Gamer's Ledge with a couple of exclusive looks ahead at the Mac port of Raven's third-person action slicer-dicer.
• The BattleCruiser Online Galcom News Network has a new update from Dr. Smart about his upcoming BattleCruiser 3020, including (following our current theme) a bunch of new screenshots of SHIPS and UNITS, as well as word about the series' interface revision, the opening of the Galcom Academy "the primary site for walkthru tutorials, hints etc.," and mention of the New Version discussion forum where you can be part of the BC3K 2.08 open beta.

The A3D Download Drivers has new version 2.22 A3D drivers. Thanks 3D Sound Surge. Word is these drivers "work on any A3D sound card or PC. These are the latest A3D Drivers available anywhere. If you are experiencing problems related to A3D it is recommended that you download these drivers. If you are experiencing general sound card problems, these drivers will not be of use. Contact your sound card manufacturer."

A new version of the GLSetup program has been released. This version is available as a 172k "active setup" style download, which determines which drivers you need, and then downloads them for you, or as a massive 33 MB download, for those who want every driver in one swell foop.

Both Sharky Extreme and GameSpot have posted details on 3dfx' new technology, which will be used in their next chipset (currently called Napalm, or the Voodoo 4). The new technologies include full screen anti-aliasing, their proprietary T-Buffer, depth of field, and motion blur, and boths sites have good explanations of them for the lay folk out there. In addition to their article on the new technology, SE has also posted an interview with 3dfx' Scott Sellers, talking about their T-Buffer technology.

Topping off a day of furious System Shock 2 news (go fig, huh?) is the release of the demo, which is available for download over on C|Net's Gamecenter. Gamecenter says that in the approximately 40 MB demo, "you will start with a smattering of weapon skills, tech skills, and cybernetics. You can grow your character any way that you see fit."

John Romero updated his .plan this afternoon with word that ION Storm is looking for beta testers in the Dallas area for Daikatana. Here are the details, straight from the man himself:

Okay, all you denizens of Dallas... I'm looking for on-site beta-testers for Daikatana for the month of August. You will be rewarded for your efforts with T-shirts, games and hardware! Just send your resume to dktest@ionstorm.com and we'll see if you're good enough to make it in.

Descent 3 screenshots on the Matrox G400 Enhanced Games page has some new shots showing off environment mapped bump mapping in Descent 3. Word is that a patch that will enable this hardware accelerated bump mapping (supported by the G400 series) in Descent 3 "will be available for download very soon."

The NOP website has version 1.0 of NOP, a ranking utility for Q3Test servers that parses the q3test-server-logfiles and generates rankings using an HTML template. The freeware program is described as "small, fast and easy to use."

The utterly psychedelic Quake III Arena Server Snooper page has the initial release of a new utility for Mac OS X Server Quake III Arena players to monitor a LAN for Quake III Arena servers. Word is when bugs are fixed and the feature set is stabilized, that the source code will be released.

EA and Looking Glass Studios have released details on the character generation in System Shock 2 as well as some other gameplay bits, as laid out in this press release I've just posted. It's pretty interesting stuff, including the ability to choose traits, and even a "Gameboy-like 'Game Pig' that allows [players] to play full, old-school games while exploring the 3D world."

• 3dfx has announced, with the usual fanfare, that the Voodoo3 3500 boards have shipped to retailers, and should be available pretty much everywhere soon, if not already.
• Sharky Extreme reviews the Gainward TNT 2 card.
• Singularity reviews the ABIT BE6 motherboard.
• Hardware-One has posted images of the new Yamaha XG Quad sound card, a multi-talented card that supports EAX, 3D Sensaura Sound, Dolby Digital, and a whole slew of other stuff.

Here's a whole bunch of System Shock 2 news for you: the official System Shock 2 site has been updated with a new desktop wallpaper image, as well as a new movie. PC.IGN has posted a rundown of the weapons in the game, complete with images (thanks to SShock2.com for those two). Lastly, Billy "game of the year" Wilson has posted an e-mail he received from Ken Levine, which says that the multiplayer patch for the game will be available as a free download after the game's release. They delayed the multiplayer to add features such as being able to see the weapons in people's hands. You may recall that the game has indeed gone gold (story) and will be available in stores on August 12th.

John Carmack updated his .plan with an explanation for the delay in the Mac Q3Test 1.07, as well as the announcement that we may have a new release for all platforms as soon as Monday:

I apologize for not getting the Mac version released this last time.All conspiracy theories aside, here is what actually happened:

I had my San Jose travel scheduled a while ago, and we were expecting to have the release done before I left. We didn't quite make it, and nobody else at the office knew how to build the mac version after Cash made some last minute changes.

When I got back, Graeme was taking off to move his family down here. Graeme is in charge of building all the installs for our releases. I considered just tossing new executables with the latest fixes for everything, but some data has changed, and it just isn't worth the hassle right now. We will be making proper new releases for all architectures monday night when he gets back.

PingTool Filter Library has an Action Half-Life PingTool TAB for download to separate servers playing the newest mod for Valve's Half-Life when using the PingTool server browser.

Saw on Doomworld that version 0.4a build 1 of wHeretic is out. The latest version of this Win32 Port of the source of Heretic, Raven's Doom-engine shooter/RPG, brings it "almost" in line with the single player version of the original, so that work can soon commence on a multiplayer version.

Inside Half-Life Opposing Force is a short GameSpot feature that offers eight new screenshots of Gearbox Software's upcoming add-on for Valve's "game-of-the-year" shooter, Half-Life. Thanks Ant. Here's a bit from the short write-up that describes the add-on's new weapons, as well as plans to add more all-star level designers:

The add-on features seven new weapons, including a new.357 Desert Eagle handgun. New characters will include a security guard nicknamed Otis, a new scientist model, and a drill sergeant.

And on the ultimate opposition spectrum, the game will also include one new race of aliens - the bipedal pitdrones. Opposing Force designer Randall Pitchford has said that Opposing Force will include much of what made Half-Life one of last year's best, such as a number of scripted events. Industry veteran Levelord has been officially announced as one of the designers of the game's multiplayer maps, and more all-star level designers are being assembled. Other well-known level designers who will be participating are due to be announced in the next week or two.

There are a pair of new screenshots from Zombie's upcoming Spec Ops II on SpecForce, one of them showing off the hit-specific animation when an enemy gets shot in the leg.

There are some new FreeSpace 2 screenshots on PC Arena giving four views of Volition's upcoming outer-space sequel. They've also taken the liberty of converting the FreeSpace 2 trailer into a more download friendly 4.86 Meg RealVideo format file.

GameSpy 3D Tab Downloads page has a brand-new Action Half-Life Tab to help GameSpy 3D users filter through the Internet to find game servers running the brand-new Action Half-Life add-on for Half-Life. There are also instructions on the SmartSpy Tutorial showing how registered users of this server browser can use SmartSpy to considerably cut down the time it takes to ping and filter servers.

UGN3D interviews Kevin Lambert talking with one of the lead engineers and (along with Garett Price) one of the lead designers on Sanity, Monolith' upcoming isometric view LithTech-powered action RPG. The interview discusses the first non-first-person shooter LithTech game.

Viper 3D's Guide to Tweaking Quake3 Test Graphics is up offering a lengthy rundown on ways to perk up your framerate in Q3Test. The article covers various console settings, gauging their effect on visuals, as well as framerate, offering a load of screenshots to illustrate the impact of various graphics settings.

• This CBS.MarketWatch report declares "Chip market to double in five years," which (sort of) quotes 3Dfx' Greg Ballard as saying the "Voodoo 4, is 'on schedule' for an October release." Thanks VE, JohnL, and Hedeus.
• Hard OCP has posted an Intel roadmap that outlines plans for the Big I's CPU life-cycle over the coming year.

Computer Games Online's Delta Force 2 preview is a look ahead at NovaLogic's voxelated game of realistic tactical combat. As the subtitle "Let's Get Physical" implies, the short piece discusses the game's advanced physics.

Rogue's Rich Fleider sends words that they are looking to add another Rogue, in the form of an artist. Full details are on the Rogue Job Listings on the job, described like this:

We might just have a pirate hat with your name on it! Rogue Entertainment is currently searching for an animator/modeler with the right skills and attitude to immediately start as a full time member of our crew. All applicants must be familiar with programs like 3DS Max and Character Studio with additional proficiencies in Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, and Lightwave. Storyboard and conceptual talents are also a huge plus. Industry experience would be an even bigger plus (though not required). Qualified artists should be prepared to submit a resume and a portfolio using a variety of media, including a demo reel of their animation.

This The Adrenaline Vault News blurb reports "Seven Kingdoms II Loses Publisher," saying that Enlight Software's negotiations with Ubi Soft Entertainment to publish Seven Kingdoms II have fallen through. The piece draws a connection between this situation and the difficulties in finding a publisher for Mortyr, described in the article as "another title Ubi Soft is refusing to publish that was acquired from the deal with Interactive Magic."

PlanetStarSiege TRIBES Timedemo Contest offers nothing less than a chance to win a spot on the TRIBES 2 Beta Team. The reward will go to the creator of the most action-packed, CPU-pounding, intense demo of TRIBES gameplay submitted.

• Thresh's FiringSquad reviews bleem! the PlayStation emulator.
• AnandTech reviews the Intel Pentium III 600.
• PC Magazine First Looks at 3-D Graphics Boards tests six of the latest graphics.
• Thresh's FiringSquad reviews the 3D Blaster TNT2 Ultra.
• Thresh's FiringSquad's Motion Sensing Gamepad Shootout: Microsoft vs. Logitech.

• Rift 3d has posted what they call the first player model for Unreal Tournament called Astro Trooper. The model can also be used in Unreal 224, salvaging some usability to accompany its novelty...
• Why is Duke Taking Forever on the newly opened PlanetNukem explains why DNF isn't taking as long as it seems...
• Culture News from Wired News reports on EverQuest addictions calling it the digital version of crack. Thanks crt...
• The Birth of the Federation Downloads page has a new patch for this Trekkie turn-based strategy game. Thanks Kyle Brun...
• Speaking of Trekkie (or Trekker), This Adrenaline Vault Featured Article is all about Star Trek games, boldly going yada...

As I sit here I am suffering from one of the few cases of heartburn I can ever recall experiencing: now I know why men who are having heart attacks sometimes think that it's heartburn, it's much more uncomfortable than the name implies. I suppose it could just be an actual heart attack, which would make what I just wrote rather ironic (or some near-Morrissette equivalent)..nope, a quick experiment with one of the 20th century's true miracle drugs (Alka-Seltzer) confirms my heartburn diagnosis, so I guess loony will have to put away that new loon's news logo he's been working on.

Link of the Day: CNN - Squashed splendor Nature center finds new ways to recycle (thanks GrandPappy) has CNN ferreting out the details on new ways to deal with roadkill. Don't worry, there are no recipes involved, though frighteningly, there is some streaming video.

As promised earlier (story), this WON.net FTP directory has the debut of Action Half-Life, the Half-Life version of Action Quake2. Here is the link to the file (direct link -- ~24.5 MB), but there are no mirrors to list, as WON has a 24 hour exclusive. Word on the Won site is that it "includes all the fixes needed to get the bots working and adds .zip file format for the Mod browser."

The fine folks over at AGN 3D have posted a three second AVI showing off Raven's Soldier of Fortune. This movie's definitely violent, as it shows a man getting an arm and a leg blown off, so viewer discretion is advised. If that's not enough for you, they've also posted three new screenshots (the rest on that page are old) showing off some more from the game.

We've gotten a couple of requests asking about the strange guy who's been responding to tech support e-mails to id Software, so I went out of my way to figure out who the heck this guy is. His name's Eric Webb, and he's the latest guy to work insane hours over at id. Here's the short, but sweet story of his rise to fame:

I was originally contracted by Brian [Hook] to help out with some benchmarking and, by the luck of the gods, Graeme [Devine] decided to keep me on for a while to help out with tech support. I have tech support experience, but this is my first gig in the game industry.

So there you have it folks...so don't be too surprised if he answers your tech support mail.

Word from the winners at WON is that tonight will be the highly-anticipated debut release of Action Half-Life, the Half-Life version of the famed Action Quake2 mod. Word from Duane at WON is that the files wile be available on the WON.net site beginning at about 5:30 PM Pacific Time (8:30 PM EDT).

NovaLogic's official Delta Force 2 site has undergone a major overhaul, complete with a bunch of new screenshots from this voxel powered tactical game (thanks SpecForce.net).

Mortyr.net is reporting that an improved version of the Mortyr engine will be used to make a new FPS based on the Warhammer 40,000 universe (thanks Frans). Their source appears to be this interview on DamageGaming with Mirage's Andrzej Wilewski, where he (almost accidentally) confirms the rumors about this game's development.

GASource has posted eight new Venom screenshots they received from GSC Game World, as well as the news that the demo will be released this week.

This evening at 6:00 EDT, GameTime (one of those shows over at AGN) will be featuring a live interview with Rick Johnson, programmer on Raven's violent Quake II engine game Soldier of Fortune. As they're apt to do with this sort of thing, questions can be submitted live via their IRC channel, so start thinking up insults to throw their way.

AVault has posted a 70 MB demo of Acclaim's "most certainly not for kids" (quote mine) third person action title Shadow Man. The game features some pretty far out concepts, including my personal favorite, a teddy bear that doubles as a dimensional portal (I can't make this stuff up, folks).

An Omikron Development Update on GA-Source gives a blurb about Quantic Dream's upcoming 3D action title, Omikron courtesy of Tom Marx, the games producer. The update makes the game's development sound like it's nearing the home-stretch, talking of the InstallShield installer and the efforts of the beta testers.

The AQ2SEaL page has a new version of the Action Quake2 Server Launcher, the purpose of which should be fairly self-explanatory. The new release sports a self-described "Spiffy new user interface," adds support for new features in AQ2 server v1.5.2, and offers other minor bug fixes and enhancements.

Over on that Shack of his, sCary has posted eight new screenshots from Legend's Wheel of Time. While these shots are said to have been given out for use in UK magazines, they are not scans of printed material, but rather the original image files.

The "Official Prerelease" version 0.14r000 of the Crystal Space free 3D engine is now available. Thanks Beta Bites. From the website: "Crystal Space is a free (LGPL) and portable 3D engine written in C++. It supports true 6DOF, colored lights, mipmapping, portals, mirrors, alpha transparency, reflecting surfaces, 3D sprites, scripting, 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit display support, Direct3D hardware acceleration on Windows, Glide and OpenGL hardware acceleration on Windows, Linux, OS/2, Macintosh, BeOS, ... See the extensive list of features for more details."

Logical Progression Software has posted version 1.02 of their Quake2 Web Viewer and also version 1.02 of their Half-Life Web Viewer, each allowing you to view models from their respective supported games using a web interface and OpenGL. Thanks GameDev.net. Word is that they're hard at work on a similar program for Quake III Arena.

Meant to mention this earlier, Private Wars News has posted a new movie showing off a "real-time day/night effect" (saw that on Voodoo Extreme). The AVI-format movie, as you can imagine from the name, shows a change from night to daylight and back again on some terrain. There's no gameplay, but it does have that cool sped-up camera effect used in some commercials and music videos.

Raven's Rick Johnson updated his .plan last night with word that Raven plans on showing off Soldier of Fortune at both GenCon and QuakeCon:

SoF will be showing at both QuakeCon and GenCon (which are about 2 weeks ago). Jake Simpson and John Tam will be showing SoF down at QuakeCon, while myself, Kenn Hoekstra, and several other Ravenites will be showing it at GenCon. So, here's a trivia question for ya: In QuakeCon, the "Quake" refers to, ummm, Quake! In GenCon, the "Gen" refers to ??? I'll post an answer in tomorrow's .plan file.

Word on Voodoo Extreme is that they will be the exclusive hosts of the playable demo of Humansoft's SEED, to be released sometime tomorrow. Word is it will be less than a 20 MB download. On the subject of demo plans, PC.IGN.com is reporting they will post a playable demo of Jane's Fleet Command sometime tomorrow.

There's an update from PlanetMoon's Tim Williams on Kabuto.net talking about multiplayer play in P.M.'s upcoming action title, as well as a new model. Thanks AGN3D. Here's the poop:

Hi, Tim Williams here (Creative Director on Giants). While C.S. is away I thought I'd write in every now and again to let you know how some of the things in Giants are coming along.
Well, where to start? Lately we've been really concentrating on the multiplayer game because there are certain essential bits in multiplayer which will transfer back nicely into what we already have for single player. Right now our present multiplayer game is a testing ground for balancing issues. This can range from types of spells and guns, to the punching power of Kabuto. Basically, we find out what works best, then take these elements and slot them into the already growing single player game. So far we're just at the point of getting the Meccaryn base properly up and running. This means actually having the Smarties doing things like building for you, tiring themselves out, getting depressed, giving out presents, and heading off to the pub! When you play the base-building multiplayer game your team will be in a mad dash to build a base, then upgrade it, and all the while trying to keep it well defended. As your base gets better (upgraded), the Smarties get happier, and their presents get more powerful! If you're out in the field with some major fire power it'll probably mean your Smarties are drinking cocktails, swimming in their newly created pool, and enjoying life!

On top of this, Bob has just finished a new model: Kabuto's Offspring! This fearsome creature is presently being animated by Shawn, who just finished animating a scene where the Meccs first meet Borjoyzee.
Next time I'll tell you about Kabuto's Offspring, the bizarre way it's created, and exactly what it does.

PS If you want, write to the messageboard about your favorite features in multiplayer games: particular games, teamplay, spells, weapons, etc., or even what you'd like to see in multiplayer Giants? As you know with us, we always love hearing suggestions from the players out there.

Hot on the heels of yesterday's release (story), as promised, The Railgun Project has posted a new version 1.1.01b of the Macintosh port of the Eraser bot, bringing the Mac version of this Quake II AI opponent up to date with the most recent release of the PC version.

The news on GameStar Online gives word (in German) about a recent showing of the Q3A bots in Edinburgh Scotland. Here is a translation sent along by Fabian Huester that he made with the help of BabelFish (AltaVista Translations), that's been tweaked a bit for better English:

During a presentation in Edinburg id software, for the first time, presented the bots against which you fight in the solo mode. There are to be approximately 20 different computer fighters in the finished game, among them a futuristic inline skater that hops over other players. When desired, beginners are guided by a tutor and make a sightseeing tour of the arena: Where are the best weapons, how do you come to the Quad Damage, where are secrets hidden?

GameSpot's Ten Questions with Warren Spector talks with ION Storm's lead game designer on Deus Ex, ION's upcoming action/RPG about his history in the industry, and what's up with Deus ex development (ten questions...ten pages). Thanks Omnigon.

We followed the first couple of Kingpin beta releases here, but a huge red banner has since been added to the page with a request from Ridah not to, so if you want to stay current with the doings over there between official releases, feel free, but the updates will no longer be posted here. Here is what Ridah's note says:

"Please do not link, mirror or post new release announcements for the files on this page.
Updates are likely to occur on a regular (daily) basis, announcing new releases will no doubt prove to be overkill.
Thank you for your co-operation."

Put away your bullet, Barney, just a solitary bit this morning: News.com reports Key testing results for AMD's Athlon due soon announcing that the AMD NDAs expire on August 9. Thanks AMD Zone where they point out that their ability to report that tidbit seems to indicate News.com didn't sign one of those NDAs.

Planet Daikatana interviews Noel Stephens, talking with the man called "Shadow" about his return to ION Storm as their "AI Ninja."

The bleem! website has a new version 1.4 demo of the Bleem (bleem!) PlayStation emulator for the PC. Said to be based off the brand new 1.4 (full) release, "this new demo is full of speed/compatibility upgrades." Related laugh of the day is in the link of the day.

The Specular Layer's in DroneZ on GA-Source "to better illustrate the Specular Layer effects in this upcoming Tron-inspired shooter." There are some TNT2 Need for Speed shots and Voodoo3 NFS shots on Computer Technology News comparing the game on the two cards. There are some Star Wars Quake 2 Total Conversion Screenshots on RIVA 3D showing off progress on Star Wars Quake.

id's John Carmack updated his .plan with a Quake III Arena worklog, detailing some changes to joystick support, as well as mention of really fixing the timescale cheat:

* log all client transitions, item pickups, and kills
* changed joystick axis to act just like arrow keys so they can be bound in the controls menu for strafing. Yes, this does remove slow walking from joystick movement, but it makes everything a lot cleaner.
* fix up PantherXL trackball support
* removed bad clear command from dedicated console clear button
* tournement queuing of spectators to enter the game
* track wins and losses as long as you stay on a tourney server
* spectators are now in fly mode instead of noclip, and use teleporters
* pass serverTime instead of msec for command timing, prevents timescale cheating
* track dual eventParms on player state
* draw crosshair and name in spectator mode
* fixed rcon
* r_colorMipLevels texture visualization tool
* don't allow weapon select and cycle when in follow mode
* archive cl_yawspeed and cl_pitchspeed
* don't draw place line on scoreboard when spectating
* fixed console chatting during intermission
* better recursive error handling
* fixed curve surface flags (no impact when landing on a curve bug)

3drage.com previews Vampire - The Masquerade: Redemption giving a good overview of what to expect from Nihilistic's upcoming RPG based on the White Wolf Publishing pen-and-paper game of the same name (which, according to the preview, is the second most popular to Dungeon and Dragons).

RiP II Quake2 patch Homepage has a new version 3.4 of this popular Quake II class-based teamplay modification. the new release adds a new Ghost class, adds some tweaks and bug-fixes, and adds Quake II 3.20 spectator support. There's also a brand-new RIP II MessageBoard to discuss such matters if you're feeling communicative.

The Invite Yourself Capture Ring gets underway at 9:00 PM PST tonight, where players will be randomly placed in teams to kick off the first action in this Quake (1) CTF tourney at about 10:00 PM PST. This quote sums up the deal: "This is a for fun tourny while we all await the official q3ctf mod. No clan attitudes, no bitching about pings, and since Q1ctf servers are scarce, everyone will have to deal with cruddy pings. Again - stressing fun."

• 3DGN's Counterstrike Quickie gives a fast look at this Half-Life counter-terrorism mod.
• Before It's Done's Grand Theft Auto 2 Preview.

• Falcon Mach V Fan reviews MechWarrior 3.
• CPU Review's LinuxWars: Distributions at War compares five Linux distributions: RedHat 6.0, Caldera OpenLinux 2.2, SuSE 6.1, Mandrake 6.0 (Macmillan Edition), and Slackware 4.0.
• Sharky Extreme's Intel Celeron 500 PPGA CPU Review.
• HardOCP reviews the Diamond V77O Ultra.
• RIVA Extreme reviews the Guillemot MaxiGamer Xentor 32.
• GameStats Hardware reviews the Vortex 2 SuperQuad Digital soundcard (though the main page calls it a preview.

• The RadioActiveSoftware downloads page has a new Half-Life DM map called Tremor, "Set in an abandoned and severely damaged military base, you must fight your opponents, while simultaneously avoiding the multitude of deadly environmental hazards!"
• Concrete's Kingpin Skin Warehouse has a second pack of WWF-inspired skins for Kingpin: Life of Crime...
• Quake DeveLS Message Board has relocated. Please update your records accordingly...

All of the proper incantations recited and virgins sacrificed, loony's ISDN is in (and there was much rejoicing). I'm a bit off schedule this morning because I was MovieBlue last night, with my cinematic pal MrCoffee scoring tix for a premiere of Mystery Men (if you were wondering, MrsBlue rally doesn't like to go to the movies). I liked it, Coffee loved it, so one thumb up, and one thumb half-way up (hmmm, that sounds wrong). When I got home the lure of deathmatch was too much for me, and I finally got to check out the Q3Tourney map (which I totally dig) until I wore myself out.

The advertising on this page is handled through outside folks, and I almost never find the need or occasion to directly comment on the ads here, but a thread in the new MailBag comments on the scratch-n-win ads that seem to be appearing in the middle of the page almost every time. While they are creative and amusing, I'm concerned they are causing what seem to be the inevitable problems that arise when you start messing around with Java, so if they are messing you up, please drop a line to let me know and we may have to put the kibosh on the little buggers. That having been said, if you don't have these problems, and are a fellow scratching addict, you'll want to check out the image of the day:

Image of the Day: The Blue's News Quake III Arena scratch off game. Thanks Jeff!
Link of the Day: Sony to unveil "bleem! emulator" emulator. Thanks Ant (and loony). You can't make this stuff up.
eBay Sale of the Day: TYRRELL'S ANTICEPTIC INHALENT--QUAKE MEDICINE. Thanks Yoda.