Archived News:
Saw on Voodoo Extreme that Tactical Planet has posted five new
screenshots from NovaLogic's upcoming voxel-powered sequel, Delta Force 2 at the bottom of
their Delta Force 2 Overview.
There's an Exclusive Experience
Screenshot on GA-RPG showing off Experience, WXP's upcoming shooter (they refer to it
as an FPS/RPG, a distinction I wasn't aware of). It's a neat shot featuring a fearsome
monster, and a cool tree (seriously -- 3D rendered trees rarely look so... tree-like).
GameSpot's GameGuides has posted their
complete guide to Mechwarrior 3, which is available in an
online version, or as
a downloadable PDF file (thanks AGN3D).
The Adrenaline Vault News has posted a few pieces of concept art from Rogue & EA's upcoming Quake
III-engine game, Alice (at least one of which is new), revealing at least a bit about the
game (as EA promised to do in launching the Alice website
yesterday, but that was a bit of an anticlimax).
Saw on RainbowSix.Net that there's an interview with
Carl Schnurr on SimHQ.com talking with this producer for Red Storm Entertainment about
progress on Rogue Spear, RSE's upcoming sequel to their Tom Clancy game, Rainbow Six.
There's also a team two-part interview with RSE's Greg Stelmack talking about Rogue Spear,
you can find half here
at Rainbow Recon, and the other half here at the KillingHouse.
The OpenGL DooM Legacy page
has an updated version of the recent beta 3 release that has a fixed version of the
r_glide.dll file which was corrupted in the original. If you had problems with the recent
beta 3 release, you probably want to grab the updated version. Saw that on Doom Nation.
3D Action Planet
Previews Slave Zero in a look ahead at this giant robot game with a preview that
includes comments from Accolade's Matt Powers, the game's producer, as well as some
brand-new screenshots.
Whoops, meant to post this yesterday: There are four new screenshots on TacticalPlanet showing off gameplay from SWAT 3
Close Quarters Battle (forgot until I saw it on AGN3D).
The Assimilation Page has a new
version 2.6 of the Assimilation mod for Quake II. Major changes in the new release include
new rocket modes, a new structured elimination mode, and a new map pack that offers 13 new
assimilation maps. For more info on what the mod is all about, check out their info section.
Thresh's
FiringSquad has posted an interview with Zono's designer Jason Hough, talking
about their battlin' robots RTS Metal Fatigue. The piece is illustrated with
a number of screenshots, so if this is your first exposure to MF, you'll have
no problem understanding what he's talking about.
The planned inter-operability of future versions of Unreal with Epic's upcoming sequel,
Unreal Tournament, has been mentioned often, since the two programs will share a similar
code-base. PlanetUnreal has reproduced a Mark
Rein newsgroup post that clarifies how interchangeable maps from the two games will be:
UT will run most Unreal DM maps but probably not run single player maps.
For multiplayer UT can serve most Unreal DM maps (provided you have the texture sets etc.)
with any problems but only UT users can play on a UT server even if it's playing an Unreal
map. I.e. you can't connect to a UT server with Unreal or an Unreal server with
UT.
Canopus' Japanese website
has new new drivers for Canopus' TNT-based Spectra 2500 graphics cards based on the v2.25
reference drivers from NVIDIA. Thanks BetaNews.
An update to the Speed Run Training Demos
on I.Am-Half-Life offers new routes and flag-running
techniques from a first-person viewpoint (or, the third-person perspective if you enter
chase_active 1 at the console before playing the demo). These demos can help you understand
how some TFC players seem to be able capture the flag twice in 45 seconds or less, showing
off the blast-jumps, clever routes, and excellent timing the best flag-runners use to turn
captures faster than many think is possible.
This week's Unreal Tournament Level of the Week is up on GT's
official UT site (thanks Billy " weakly" Wilson). This week's level
is the oddly named DM Stalwart, described as an 'old mechanic's garage that's been converted into a battle arena'. The usual batch of dramatic
screenshots help explain what that means.
The Black & White Stronghold
has posted two new screenshots from Peter Molyneux' latest creation, Black &
White. The images depict, "a tortoise with a funny look on his face and
the other of a fight between a tiger and ape" so you just know you're in
for something odd.
3D Unlimited has
posted a Q&A with Bobby Duncanson, 3D artist on Raven Software's Soldier
of Fortune, talking about his background, and the animation system in the game.
Loki's Missions has released Escape,
a new mod for Quake II. It's described as a "mini mission pack" and
contains new monsters, weapons, levels, sounds, textures and cinematics.
GASource
is reporting that Infogrames is shipping Independence War Deluxe, a "special
edition" of their shooter, that contains 18 new missions (in addition to
the ones already in the game), in-mission save points, new weapons, ships, and
more.
Runner's Delight is the name of a
new six level map pack for Classic Quake designed by Jesse van Dijk of Quake
Done Quick fame. While the maps will work in single player, co-op and deathmatch,
they are optimized for speed-running, meaning you can attempt astounding feats
of speed the likes of which haven't been seen since the Flash TV show was cancelled.
- The
stats from the "push the AMD" server at QuakeCon are online,
showing the full stats from this 100+ player server (take a look at those
pings!).
- According to BetaNews,
there's an AOL bot that's kicking MSN Messenger users off of its service (thanks
ewid).
- IGN Sci-Fi is reporting
that the much talked about Doom movie is finally dead (thanks neko, and everyone
else who sent that in).
- Bungie is considering porting their titles Halo and Oni to both the Dreamcast
and Playstation 2 consoles, but not the current crop of systems, according
to Next-Generation
Online.
- Impressions Games is looking for
beta testers for their strategy game Pharoah. They'll be accepting applications
next week, with winners to be notified on the 23rd.
In my continuing quest to play every game that's not EverQuest, I've
been playing quite a bit of System Shock 2, and as
Blue accurately predicted, I'm hooked. Boy am I ever hooked. I haven't enjoyed
a single player game this much since Half-Life, and I can't recommend the game
any more highly. Of course, it should be pointed out that the game is certainly
not for everyone. It's definitely more RPG than action...there's quite a bit
of action in it, but if you aren't willing to put up with the skills and inventory
system you ain't going to get far. If you can make it past that, you'll find
yourself totally addicted, much like I am right now. Oh, and one other thing
- make sure you've got a great sound setup for this one. The positional audio
is some of the best I've ever heard. Really creepy stuff.
Link of the Day: iPic:
The Match Head Sized Web Server (thanks to whoever sent that in first...I
think it was Brian Grivna).
id's Graeme Devine made a brief .plan
update with a quick tip to help find specific game types in Q3Test using the internal server browser: BTW.
You can search for Q3A Internet Servers using the keywords "ffa",
"tourney", "deathmatch", "team" and "tournament"
in the Internet game
browser screen to only show specific types of maps.
GameCenter
has posted a new preview of Wheel of Time, complete with quotes from Legend's
Glen Dhalgren. There are also some new screenshots, which show off more than
just the gorgeous architecture (let's face it, it's great, but there's only
so many times you can see the same cathedral). There's even an introduction
to the world of Robert Jordan, for those of you who haven't read the novels.
PlanetStarsiege has released
the Xtreme map pack for Starsiege: TRIBES, a collection of maps originally planned
for the Starsiege: TRIBES Extreme version that will be in stores this fall.
These were not, however, made internally by Dynamix: they were created by an
independent group. There are also a few screenshots available that show off
the impressive architechture in the maps. Likewise, those can be found at PS.
A new version (beta 2) of the anti-terrorist mod CounterStrike
for Half-Life has been released. This version contains the following changes:
- Three new guns added : (Sig SG-552 Commando , AK-47 , Desert Eagle)
- Added silencers to the USP .45 Tactical and the Colt M4A1
- Added a round timer which shows how much time is left in the round
- Added team scores which shows how many rounds a team has won
- Added Night Vision Goggles
- Added new entity for mappers to use (info_hostage_rescue)
- Optimized all the models for lower r_speeds!
- Ability to assign keys to all of the commands from the controls menu (courtesy
of cannelbrae of Gunman project)
The Quake 3 Arena Bus Tour page
has been updated with a schedule for the Texas leg of the bus tour, which will bring a
giant LAN on wheels to various stores, campuses, and more across the southwest USA. Also, The Quake 3 Arena
Bus Tour is Coming to CompUSA! announces the CompUSA site, with a schedule of stops at
their stores (thanks theta).
PlanetUnreal has posted a quote
they received from Epic's Tim Sweeney regarding the status of the next Unreal patch.
Here are the details: Yes, there will be another Unreal 1 patch, with
the latest Direct3D code (big improvements), network code and server performance
improvements. I don't have a date though...we're going through a lot of testing/tweaking
on UT now. The Unreal 1 patch might be synch'ed up with the UT demo.
The Burpfish Network (the Burpfish
lives?) has posted two new concept art pieces from American McGee's Alice, one
of which features the title character (which bears little resemblance to the
John Tenniel image so many of us are familiar with) and the other depicts some
demented scenery.
I have no idea how we missed this one, but a big thanks goes out to Redwood, who sends word that id (very!) quietly released
the Linux port of Q3Test version 1.08 (it's not yet up on the official site, however). Here is a local copy of
the tar.gz version, and a local copy
of the RPM installer. Here are some more download links:
Dynamix' Mitch Shaw updated his .plan with
a massive update on the status of his "Freeze" mission type for Starsiege:
TRIBES that he's been working on. Here's an excerpt, as the list of changes
is far to large to fit on this here news page: Wow, I think the Freeze
mission type is almost ready to be released! It looks like my server didn't
crash at all last night.... I'm getting all teary, it's like the first time
your baby sleeps the night through. *sniff* Thanks for the comments and suggestions
people
have given me on how to improve the game.
There are a few more minor points
I want to fix as well as some
gameplay issues I'm still undecided on....I'm a little torn whether or not to
implement a change that a few people have suggested: when a team is all frozen,
both teams respawn instead of just the frozen one. This would prevent people
from camping out at respawn spots and freezing people as soon as they appear,
which can obviously get pretty boring for the frozen people. Thoughts?
Rogue's Won Choi updated his
.plan (well, actually just about everyone at Rogue updated their .plans)
with word that they're looking to hire a new 3D artist/animator to work on their
new project, American McGee's Alice. Full details are available on
their new website in the "employment" section.
Rogue's Patrick Magruder updated his
.plan with word that the official Rogue
Entertainment website has undergone a spiffy redesign. The site now features tutorials such as "Designing Textures the N64 Way" by Rich Fleider, and also this official press release for American McGee's Alice that I couldn't help but notice:
It's Friday the 13th, Welcome to Wonderland
Electronic Arts Announces American McGee's Alice
Following weeks of rumors spawned by an Electronic Arts-hosted Web site, http://american.ea.com,
EA today officially announced American McGee's Alice, a dark and twisted 3D-action
adaptation of Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland. In conjunction with the announcement,
EA launched the first phase of the official Alice Web Experience site at http://alice.ea.com.
The site features a sinister Cheshire Cat who will reveal information on the
upcoming game through weekly riddles over the next several months.
Being produced and directed by EA's American McGee, one of the top level designers
at id Software for years, the game will put the player in the role of a tough
and cunning Alice, reborn to handle the challenges of a hostile Wonderland.
Alice will feature both a single-player action/adventure story line, developed
by Dallas-based Rogue Entertainment, and innovative multiplayer functionality
which will be lead by McGee's Redwood City development team. Cutting-edge 3D
technology, strange and familiar characters and intricately crafted environments
will bring the creepy, twisted and organic world of American McGee's Alice to
PCs in late 2000.
LinuxGames has conducted
an interview with Brandon "GreenMarine" Reinhart of Epic, talking
about his experiences porting Unreal to Linux (thanks PlanetUnreal).
A new beta patch for Kingpin (version 1.19b) is available for download at the
Kingpin beta site (thanks Thomas Guggisberg). This version fixes an "undisclosed
exploit" and is considered a 1.20 release candidate.
As promised yesterday, the official site for
American McGee's Alice has gone live, complete with oddball riddles, one creepy chesire cat, and
flash galore. Also of note is AVault's
Alice story, which has posted the first concept art available from the game.
Alice is a third person action game being developed by Rogue Entertainment and Electronic Arts, utilizing the Quake III: Arena engine, and
based on Lewis Carroll's Alice books.
Game
Theory The Feel of Cinema, but a Game at Heart is a NY Times article (free
subscription required) that discusses the cinematic feel of Psygnosis and Surreal's
upcoming third-person action game. Saw that on Drakan.Net.
id's Graeme Devine sent along an email to follow-up on the recent report that
it was possible that some fix would be released that would allow the viewing
of the demos of the matches recorded at QuakeCon '99. Here's the mail saying
that unfortunately, this is not meant to be, though the good news is, it sounds
like this is partially because such progress is being made towards completing
the project:
No there will not be a special update for playing back the QuakeCon
levels. We're in pretty much the final push now to get this thing out the door
and we've started to make CD images etc. to test out the game, so another test
is looking doubtful. I expect the next update will be the full demo, followed
in very short order by the game itself.
Ritual's Levelord updated his .plan with the
joyous announcement that he's upgrading himself from a humble "I" to a humble
"we," offering news his engagement. No one in this business
holds a warmer place in our hearts than the humble 'lord, and we want to be among the
first to wish him all the best. I just hope this doesn't mean the end of the Dick
stories...
Raven's Kenn Hoekstra sends word that Unpaid
Gamers Online has posted a new interview with him, as well as three new
exclusive screenshots from Soldier of Fortune.
Several places (including GASource
and Gone Gold, where I spotted
it first) are reporting that the Polish version of Mortyr has gone gold and
will be in stores on August 25th. As there still is no US or European distributor,
there is no release date set for those territories as of yet.
3dfx has released new beta drivers for Voodoo2 and Voodoo3 cards
to run under the Mac OS (thanks 3DFiles). Remember that these are beta drivers,
so read their stern warning before downloading. Quantum3D has also released
new drivers for their
Obsidian X -24 SLI Voodoo 2 card. Thanks Sting, who also says, " it's
about freakin' time, too!"
Saw on Voodoo Extreme that Terminal Reality has updated their Nocturne site
with new character animations
showing off the good, the bad, and the ugly from the upcoming oogie horror game, Nocturne.
GameLinks interviews Landon
Montgomery talking to one of the cogs at Gearbox software about Gearbox' upcoming
Half-Life add-on, Opposing Force.
A post on the The
Adrenaline Vault News describes a feature in Psygnosis' imminent dragon-riding action
game, Drakan: Order of the Flame, that will enable parents to restrict the level of
graphic violence with a lockout that's protected by password. The Adrenaline Vault
also has word on a search for the dragon on the web Drakan contest dealie (snappy summary,
eh?).
- This WickedGL dealie
on Wicked3D's site is described by 3DFiles, who sent
the link along, as an "enhanced mini client driver for Quake3 Test and Quake2
engine-based games for Voodoo Banshee, Voodoo2, and Voodoo3 cards. WickedGL will provide
you with significant performance and quality improvements over standard mini-gl drivers,
especially in Quake3 Test."
- ASUS has posted a new AGP-V3400/V3800
Win9x driver v2.09 beta 1 updating their TNT/TNT2 release of the other day. Thanks AGN3D.
- WinFast
3D S320II Ultra Windows 2000 Driver (direct link) Thanks BetaNews.
- There are supposedly new Voodoo3 drivers on the 3dfx
site, but it's been down steadily since we received the report.
- Corrinne Yu's .plan update make Hulk's brain hurt! Hulk smash!
Quake III Nation has a reply from id Software's
Kevin Cloud to their query about how custom textures will be handled in Quake III Arena,
which is basically the same as in Quake II, in a separate .pak file (*though he points out
the textures are in the standard .tga format rather than Q2's proprietary .wal format).
The post also mentions "shaders files," which are "short scripts that
define the properties of a surface or brush content as it appears and functions in the
game."
There's a Mark
Rein Interview on the Beauty of Madness with the ever extra-vigilant Andrew Smith
posing some questions to Epic's PR guy, asking about illegal beta reviews, patches, and
what's new in Unreal Tournament.
The Neuralbot page has the first
release of what's described as "an automated Quake2 deathmatch opponent(bot) that
uses an artificial neural network to control its actions and a genetic algorithm to train
its neural network." Thanks Ozh. According to the site, "The bot is basically
totally autonomous; that is no pre-programmed behaviours are included in its AI
code." The first version of the code allows anyone who wants to train a bot to do so.
The caveat is: "it learns, but not particularly well. I'm talking about hours of
training for a simple 'turn and shoot at opponent' behaviour - if you're lucky."
Exciting stuff nonetheless.
A "Q & A by Bungie Software Regarding its Distribution and Investment Agreements
with Take 2 Interactive" showed up in the mailbox here at the BlueTower as a
follow-up to yesterday's big Bungie/Take 2 announcement ( story), and the following answer seemed worth passing along in case
there were any Bungie fans concerned about what this all means:
Q: How will the responsibilities for development, publishing and distribution be
divided between the companies?
A: In North America, Bungie will remain developer and publisher for all PC and
Macintosh-based product, and handle all publishing responsibilities, such as sales,
marketing, packaging, and public relations. Bungie will distribute its products through
Take 2's distribution network and Take 2 will handle all logistics related to
distribution. Bungie and Take 2 will together handle all publishing functions in Europe
and Australia, using Take 2's very experienced staff.
Nihilistic's Rob "Innerloop" Huebner updated his .plan with word on how you can join the Nihilists at
Nihilistic* as a "Gameplay Technician" (admitting they just made the term up).
Here's the deal on the gig:
Gameplay Technician (yes, we just made that up..)
Nihilistic is looking for a driven and creative individual to join the Vampire team as a
Gameplay Technician. The role involves working with the game's scripting language and data
resources to create the coolest gameplay possible. This is where the "rubber meets
the road" in terms of gameplay sequencing, scripting, combat and Discipline effects,
etc.Also involves some level design, object placement, and AI tuning work.
We're looking for someone that will go nuts with the dark toy-box of capabilities the Nod
Engine offers and help to bring Vampire to a never-before-seen level of interactivity and
fun. If you are located in the Bay Area, have some basic experience in programming C or
Java, love games, and are enthusiastic about having a key role on a major entertainment
title, then we'd like to talk to you!
Please, Bay Area residents (that can commute to Novato) only should apply. A history of
work experience in the gaming industry is a plus, but not required.
This is currently a full-time, temporary position, but could lead to continued employment
if your work rocks and you don't piss us off too much. :)
Email resumes to jobs@nihilistic.com with subject
line 'Gameplay Tech'.
Or you can snail-mail them to:
Nihilistic Software, Inc.
1 Commercial Blvd. Suite 101
Novato, CA 94949
www.nihilistic.com
Version 1.1 of TRIBEStat
is out, updating this tool for TRIBES server administrators. This release adds some new
bug fixes, plus a few improvements "such as better admin to admin talking."
Thanks Datumplane::Starsiege.
Kokak's Heretic Page has
version 0.9 of Kokak's frequently updated beta OpenGL port of Heretic. Also, OpenGL DooM Legacy page
has OpenGL DooM Legacy v1.29 beta 3. Both programs are OpenGL Win32 ports of the publicly
available source code for each game. Thanks Voodoo
Extreme.
Today I spent the afternoon with my mom, the beloved MommaBlue, who made the a new
breakthrough in my family's occasional participation in this here website, as she handed
me the NY Times, asking if I'd seen the article on QuakeCon. I hadn't, and so I called
loony, who looked it up on the website and posted it ( story), definitely the first specific news story ever posted on this
site where the credit could have been thanks mom.
Link of the Day: Thieves Steal
26,417 Gallons Of Brandy. Thanks DNapalm. Round up the usual suspects (they can't have
gotten far!).
* Pop Culture Game (experimental new format) "...his girlfriend
gave up her toe!"
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