Almost the same story as was just reported, with a variation on website: Q3Center's Quake 3 Arena Console Page has been updated, and is now current through Q3Test 1.08. The section includes a complete list of variables, as well as a rundown on what's changed since version 1.05.

BW.wire has a pair of new exclusive screenshots from Lionhead's upcoming god-game, Black & White. Next Monday they promise more Black & White screenshots (which are, of course, actually in color--we've been down this path before).

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Rogue Spear page has been updated with an updated with a full listing of all the weapons to be featured in Rogue Spear and an updated FAQ (dated August 19). "The FAQ mentions that two unnamed maps from Rainbow Six will be converted to Rogue Spear and that the Rogue Spear Demo will be released before the full version" (slated for release September 15, 1999). Thanks Rogue Spear Retreat.

Quake3 Arena Test console commands list on Trendkill.net has been updated to be complete rough version 1.08 of the Q3Test detailing console commands and variables and their uses.

PC.IGN.COM interviews Bungie's Hamilton Chu about ONI, the third-person action/fighting game which they describe as a "highly-anticipated full contact action title." The piece also offers several new screenshots showing off action from Oni.

3DFiles' X Patch page has a new version 1.6 patch for the German version of X: Beyond the Frontier, said to fix a few bugs and add a few new features.

The US Creative Technical Support Download Files page has the new a 3D Blaster Banshee BIOS & Windows 95/98 and Windows NT driver update that were released the other day on their European site (story). Thanks 3D Files.

The Sun-worshippers at SolarEclipse have posted a pair of ports of the world-famous Eraser Bot for Quake II, for both Solaris platforms. In addition to downloads of the updated Eraser, they have something there for all your Solaris Quake II needs.

Voodoo Extreme has posted word that the unofficial Experience FAQ has been updated with some minor changes to this Q&A about WXP's upcoming shooter.

In spite of loony currently being on the road, I have a dinner engagement that cannot be skipped this evening, so unless his looniness is able to check in and make updates from his hotel (at this time it is uncertain if he is or isn't going to be able to), the news desk may be quiet for the next couple of hours (sorry about that).

3DShooter.com, a German-language first-person shooter site, sends word that they've head from Michael Kolkau, a level designer on Skout, the German FPS, that the game is gold, and off to manufacture. They are planning a chat with Michael at 10:00 PM German time tomorrow, details are on their site (in German). For the heck of it, here's that BabelFish link we always provide to translate in times like this, though it's probably less helpful than usual in this circumstance, since it seems the chat itself will also be in German.

NVIDIA to release powerful new chip is a Forbes Digital Tool (yowza!) article looking ahead at the upcoming announcement of NVIDIA's next-generation chipset, which already has a lot of people hot with anticipation. Thanks Voodoo Extreme.

The version of the day for Q3Stats is Version 2 beta 2a, now available from the downloads section at Q3 Center. The new version fixes a fatal error when parsing server logs with less than an hour of game play, and significantly adjusts the score formula to generate "much more accurate scores for player rankings."

There is a Sneak Peek at Unreal Tournament on Inside Mac Games giving the first preview I've seen of the Macintosh version of Unreal Tournament, Epic's upcoming deathmatch-centric Unreal follow-up. The piece goes into specifics about each supported Macintosh video option, and concludes with a whole load of screenshots with the promise of more, along with a VR movie, tomorrow.

Drakan.Net is reporting that some users may be experiencing problems where the game asks them to insert the CD, even though it is already in the drive. If this is happening to you, they say to contact Psygnosis for a replacement CD.

Talkspot's Game Dive Archive now has the recent broadcast that featured Dynamix Programmer Mark Frohnmayer and former TRIBES Designer Scott "CornBoy!" Youngblood. The 2 hour Q&A discusses TRIBES, TRIBES2, Tribes Extreme, TRIBESCon, and Scott's recent departure from Dynamix (just to list an item without that jarring all-caps TRIBES in the middle). RealPlayer (or SurrealPlayer), required.

A couple of posts of interest I snagged from The Descent Chronicles. Camelot Systems has posted a new version 1.1 of their D3Stats program, which now includes support for all of D3's multiplayer modes (except coop and robo-anarchy), and the ability to see a list of every player you've played against, and how you've done against them. Also of interest to Descent 3 fans into level editing is DXF-ORF Written By Cougar and BadBoy, a new tool that will convert DXF files to ORF (Outrage Room File) files, which means that you can use any DXF compatible 3D editor (such as 3DSMax) to make rooms for your Descent 3 levels. Thanks again The Descent Chronicles.

This Adrenaline Vault Demo Downloads page has the playable demo from Septerra Core, a nearly 88 MB beast that offers a look at this upcoming third-person adventure game from Valkyrie Studios and Monolith. Thanks Mark Allman.

As promised on the Action Half-Life page, the Action Half-Life FTP directory has a new beta 2 of Action Half-Life, the H-L version of one of the most popular mods for Quake II. Thanks MoRtIs. The new releases are fully uploaded 9there was a note here previously saying they might not be), and here's a list of the new features:

• Spin Kicks, Jump Kicks
• Pain sounds
• Staying alive DM, Action Style Teamplay. (More than 2 teams supported!)
• Falling damage and weapon accuracy is fixed.
• New improved Wall Penetration Code!
• POV Chasecam implemented!
• Gestures and Radio Commands Implemented!

No, not some online cheat, but the AvP Network has posted a small utility that can give you "god mode, unlimited spears, discs and energy for the Predator, cloaking for both Predator and Marine, and more" in single player mode, if you are bored (or too challenged, I suppose) with straight solo play. Thanks AVPNEWS.

That new BAWLS sposnorship is paying dividends already, as there's more news already from the hopped-up folks at The Adrenaline Vault News, where they've posted an introductory movie trailer for the upcoming game of auto mayhem, Grand Theft Auto 2, as well as word that a playable demo of the game will be available September 22.

A short blurb on The Adrenaline Vault News announces that Westwood Studios, noted for their RTS offerings, will be debuting Renegade, their upcoming third-person shooter at ECTS this September 5-7 in London in some select behind-the-scenes showings.

The BW-Admin page has a new version 1.64 release of the Barrysworld ZBot Detection & Admin Plug-In DLL for Quake II. This is a "transparent" DLL that adds the following to any existing Quake II modification: ZBot detection and kicking (with logging to file), Rate and 'cl_maxfps' capping, player IP and NAME banning, server MOTD, configurable item/weapon spawning, reserving nicks to specific IP's, flood protection and keyword filtering, and more. The new version cleans up the code, and is a recommended update for those running the DLL, as it addresses the following issues: It eliminates "false-positive" RatBot detects, the program failing to kick some players has been fixed, a bug in the flood-protection settings has been fixed, another bot detection routine has been added, and more.

This Unreal Tournament Development Team Chat page on AVault (spotted on Beta Bites) has the updated word on the scheduling of the Unreal Tournament chat that was postponed last week. Word is the chat is re-scheduled for this Thursday, August 26 at 7:30 p.m. EDT. To join, use a standard IRC client, and connect to irc.avault.com, port: 6667, and join the channel #chatroom. The first portion of the session will be moderated by the AVault.

Red Storm Entertainment Shines Light on Shadow Watch and Rainbow Six Sequel At Europe's Largest Gaming Tradeshow is the press release announcing that more on the follow-ups to Rainbow Six will be unveiled at ECTS:

This year the company plans to introduce the expanded franchise of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six along with an exclusive sneak peak at their new PC title, Shadow Watch.

Red Storm will unveil its lineup at the London tradeshow Sept. 5-7 at Stand N375 in the lower level of National Hall, Olympia Exhibition Centre.

In its first public viewing, Red Storm's Shadow Watch is a new strategy/RPG title that leads players through a strange new world of intrigue. Players lead a crack team of operatives to uncover a nefarious plot to stop humanity's advancement to the stars. As chief of the corporation's security team, the player will track and interrogate more than a dozen unique contacts in exotic locales like Rio de Janeiro and Hong Kong. How they question these contacts will change the plot. Once they have the answers they need, players can launch covert missions using their team to rescue hostages, plant surveillance devices, raze buildings, and assault enemy strongholds. Players have to use their wits on and off the battlefield to win. This isn't a battle to save the world; it's a battle to save every world.

Giving the people what they want is what Red Storm is all about. To that end, Red Storm also uncovers the wraps on Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear - the sequel to last year's best selling Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six. Team Rainbow is back with a vengeance with more missions, 400 additional captions, improved AI, joystick support, sniper mode, etc.

The PQ All Star Quake 2 Model Pack #1 is online, offering a set of great player models for Quake II (hehe--I originally thought the name meant they were models for the All-Star Quake II mod ).

The Sybergen Networks has a new beta version 3.1 build 528 of their nifty SyGate proxy dealie that allows you to easily share a single Internet connection over a LAN. The new beta offers compatibility with version 1.1 of SyShield, their newly-released accompanying firewall software. Thanks BetaNews.

There's a ten question Q&A with Drew Prairie on AGN3D discussing the reaction to AMD's just-released Athlon processor.

I just posted loony's Quake III Bus Tour Day One Diary, a traditional rambling (but chronological, and that's important) recounting of the days events in hot-as-Texas Houston. The update describes the LAN, the people, the new maps, and even offers up a road version of the pop culture game. Today's experience is a multimedia one as well, since the loonster is outfitted with the Blue's News Gratuitously Expensive Camera™ which will allow him to give some visuals from the event, including the first couple of shots of that Orbb model that's part of the bus version of Q3Test. The shots are photos of the screens (because the computers on the bus have all the features that would allow a normal screenshot turned off as a side-effect of the high security implemented), so they are not nearly as good as real screenshots, but they don't completely suck, and give a feel for the quirky new model. Here are the day one Quake III Tour photos, and again, here is loony's Day One Tour Diary.

There is a Mutator Q&A With Jack Porter From Epic on Mod Central Unreal talking with Epic's own Mek about Mutators, which are described as "mini-mods" which can be used to add and remove items from the map or change item or level properties. The IRC Q&A goes into the various planned Mutator types, and offers a pair of new screenshots, one of the Fat-Boy Mutator, and the other of the Chainsaw Mutator (which notes that chainsaw headshots will be possible).

Billy at Voodoo Extreme points out the Decay page has the first update in a while on the status of this upcoming shooter that has looked so impressive in early screenshots. Word is they will be announcing their publisher soon, and there is also a mention there about how they're looking for "talented programmers and artists to join [them] in creating the ultimate action game."

As was noted a while back, Red Orb's Prince of Persia 3D page has some release dates for the game (story), saying "The wait is nearly over" and "The Demo will be released on August 27. The Full product will ship September 19" (actually that's a slight change from the original post that said the demo was due today). Now this mail just came along from designer Carson Utz saying the game is now gold, giving a feel for its content:

Our game, Prince of Persia 3D, has just gone gold!

You never know this stuff until the very end, but just for the record we managed to get 17 levels into the game over the 12 listed on the box, and we're shipping with 2 CDs of tasty goodness. Expect many hours of gameplay in our sequel to the famous classic.

Phineas Bot version 0.21 is now available as both a Linux and a Windows version of this AI deathmatch opponent for Half-Life. The new release fixes the previously identified bug, but has uncovered a new problem they fear may be an engine bug. Thanks Planet Half-Life. The Phineas bot author has also written an article on compiling the standard Half-Life SDK under Linux.

• Tom's Hardware Guide's Showdown between Athlon and Pentium III talks of running the Athlon at 500, 550, 700 and even 750 MHz.
• The Matrox User's Resource Centre has a post up describing an "especially overclockable" breed of G400 that's been appearing (notable buy its use of 5 ns RAM, rather that 6 ns RAM) that they suspect were originally intended as G400 Maxs that may have failed some form of QA.
• NV10.net's Elsa NV10 Interview is a translation of an interview between an Elsa sales manager and Voodoo Gaming, originally in Chinese.
• NGNetwork interviews Patrick D. Day, a Software QA Engineer at 3dfx Interactive.

RainbowSix.Net has posted some maps for Rainbow Six and Eagle Watch "fixed" by [MIN]FatMyke "eliminating unfair advantages and disliked sections of maps."

Game Domain is a Washington DC area gaming facility where they are holding a Q3Test tournament on Saturday August 28 at 7:00 PM EDT, with the winner to be sponsored by Game Domain to participate in the Ground Zero CPL tournament in NYC on September 9-12.

• Well Rounded Entertainment reviews Shadow Man.
• Future Games Network reviews Descent 3.
• Wicked PC reviews the ACT LABS Gun System.
• BetaBites reviews the Applica Multimedia Card, which can allow a head-to-head deathmatch on a single PC.
• Sharky Extreme reviews the Guillemot Maxi Gamer Xentor 32.
• Wired News reviews the Xentor MaxiGamer 32.
• AnandTech reviews the A-Trend ATC-6254M BX Slot 1 motherboard.
• Bxboards reviews the Abit BE6 motherboard.

• Gates and wife donate another $5 billion to foundation is a CNET News.com article announcing the Gates' have donated $5 Billion to charities for the third consecutive quarter this year. Thanks Ben at 3DFiles...
• Inside 3D's Teamplay interview talks with Kerbuffel and Tungsten of Captured.com and Dolomite, high tyrant of the 10th plane of Hell (and noted mapper) about teamplay modifications...
• The International House of Mojo has chat logs with Monkey Island madman Ron Gilbert in both edited and unedited varieties...

Sorry don't really have anything to ramble about this morning (and as you have no doubt seen, it's something you can't fake), so I'm just going to make with the news. Mondays are like that sometimes.

Link of the Day: Trailervision Video presents: The Jar-Jar Binks project. Thanks Mike.

The Æstats Page has a new version 4.12 of the Æstats log file parser for 3D Shooters with Stats/Ranking output in HTML. The new release offers TeamFortress Quake support, Kingpin support, and updated Counter Strike for Half-Life 2.01 support. Other games supported by Æstats are Q3Test 1.08, Quake II, Half-Life, the OZ Half-Life mod, TeamFortress Classic for Half-Life, Lithium II for Quake II, Rocket Arena II for Quake II, and Unreal. Future support for Action Quake2, TRIBES, Sin and Heretic II are still planned.

Soft Enterprises Skout demo page has been updated with word that the release of the real demo for this German first-person shooter will be on August 25, with the International release to follow a few weeks later. Thanks Frans at 3D Action Gamers. Yup that German demo version that just popped up a week or so ago wasn't a real demo release, just a beta leak.

The version of the day of The Jumbot for Half-Life has been released, bringing this simulated deathmatch opponent up to version 0.35. The new version is mostly bug fixes, though it does also have some new features. Thanks DarkLord.

3DFiles has word of a new release of that WickedGL hopped-up mini-OpenGL driver for 3dfx-based accelerators. Word is: "The fixes include lost railings" bug in Half-Life with WickedGL HiRes accelerated version fixed, flashing textures in Q3 with WickedGL HiRes accelerated version fixed, improved WickedGL HiRes accelerated version performance in low resolutions and more." Thanks VE where you can also find The Pulpit taking a hard look at some of this driver's shortcomings, insights from 3dfx' Gary Tarolli (Chief Technical Officer and co-founder).

The Sincest For SiN page has an updated version of SinEd omega, the Sin level editor. The new release offers a small change that will allow users to view the entire texture list at 800x600 resolution (if you don't require that, you don't require the new version).

Doomworld Linux - Unix Source Ports page has a new (as of the 16th) release of XDoom along with source code. This is a Unix port with translucency, CD sound, lasers / forcefields and much more. Thanks Jacek Fedoryñski.

Activision has announced Battlezone Gold, an upcoming release (due next month) that will bundle their critically acclaimed action/RTS with other Battlezone goodies including the Red Odyssey mission pack, and a new mission pack, Battlegrounds. Here's what's included:

• Battlezone with version 1.4 patch!
• Two authorized add-on packs: The Red Odyssey (version 1.3) and Battlegrounds, adding a new side, 10 new vehicles, 23 new missions, 45 instant action missions, and over 50 multiplayer maps!
• The BradyGames Official Strategy Guide!
• A demo of Battlezone II!

The ReDeMpTiOn page has word of a new version 1.16 of the ReDeMpTiOn bot for Sin, currently available for download at Ritualistic (as RiEvEr is currently apparently having as much trouble with PQ's FTP as he does with his caps lock key). The new version of this simulated deathmatch opponent for Sin is based on the Sin version 1.06 game .dll source, which has not yet been publicly released.

GameSpot's Preview of FreeSpace 2 is online, offering another look ahead at the story and gameplay from the upcoming sequel to Descent: FreeSpace, providing some exclusive screenshots along the way. Thanks AGN3D.

HQH's Website has an updated version of their unofficial Half-Life FAQ, like the just-updated I.am-Half-Life's Half-Life-Team Fortress Classic FAQ (story), now current through the new Half-Life version 1.0.1.3. They have also posted an updated demo of their own to work with the altered demo playback in the new Half-Life version 1.0.1.3 to allow for comparative benchmarking (again, like the new one on the tweaks page at I.Am-Half-Life (story)). HQH's FAQ, as always, is a zip of a text file, but a new HTML version is promised soon.

Word from PlanetStarSiege is that version 1.1 of the Rabbit mod for Starsiege TRIBES is now available. The file is available on this FilePlanet page. This is actually from yesterday -- I thought PlanetStarSiege was down because of a typo in the URL they sent along. Rabbit is a server-only mod that was described the first time it was sent along as "a classic game of smear the guy with the red triangle on his head."

The first public release of the Lambda Arena modification for Half-Life is out on their newly-relocated homepage. As the name might imply, this is a Half-Life variation on the now-classic Rocket Arena mod for Quake and Quake II that offers last-man-standing gameplay (where players start with all weapons and full ammo, plus extra health and armor) for both one-on-one competitions, as well as teamplay. Like Quake II Rocket Arena, Lambda Arena allows multiple arenas to be simultaneously active on a single map. The mod currently features "beefed-up" Half-Life weapons, but they've tried "to make them more balanced than in the normal game."

We posted earlier about a fun contest on Q3Center (story) looking for the best screenshot showing off persistent RailGun trails using the variable "cg_railtrailtime 999999" (the winner earns a Voodoo3 3500). Cache wrote in to point out that there are obviously a lot of people using this variable on public servers on the internet, which is causing game lag, so the cooperative folks over at Q3Center have amended the rules of their contest to only reward screenshots of games with one player in them, so you can fire off your own server to make with the art, and the deathmatching can go on undisturbed. Further update: Avatar writes in to point out (probably quite correctly) that using this client-side variable will not actually effect the server, but on the other hand, people running around making rail art were probably not helping the quality of the deathmatch, either.

The Gamelink Homepage has the first release of Gamelink, a program which allows you to connect to a multiplayer game without the use of a server browser, provided you know the server address in advance or by clicking on an "Active Gamelink" from a webpage. While this sounds no more sophisticated than entering an IP address into the game to join a server, the program does offer some advantages, like remembering the last IP address you entered, allowing easy configuration to connect to passworded servers (provided you have the password, of course), it can connect to servers via web links ("Active Gamelink"), server administrators can set match times embedded in Active Gamelinks, and more. The program offers support for Quake, Quake II, Q3Test, Half-Life, TRIBES, and Unreal.

Having arrived safely in Houston, our man (or boi) on the scene, loonyboi, has filed a short initial report, basically introducing his upcoming four-day jaunt with the road tour on the Quake III Arena bus, starting in Houston, and leading up to their big arrival in Austin. Here's loonyboi's Day 0 Q3A Bus Tour Report, which mentions that his next installment may very well be providing some new screenshots of some of the stuff being shown on the tour that has not yet been shown off publicly anywhere else. Whee!

Speedy 3D interviews Lisa Bucek of Volition discussing FreeSpace 2, their upcoming sequel to Descent: FreeSpace, as well as the original FreeSpace, the inspiration Star Wars has on the space sim franchise, and more.

As promised, Part two of Computer Games Online's Q&A With Sierra's Rod Fung is up, discussing Multiplayer and AI issues in Sierra's upcoming SWAT 3, which simulates tactical police operations.

Ten Four interviews Neil Manke talking to reputable level author Neil Manke, most recently praised for his fine work on the USS Darkstar for Half-Life. This second Q&A (the first one is here) mostly discusses the response to Darkstar.

I.am-Half-Life's Half-Life-Team Fortress Classic FAQ has been updated on the occasion of the release of Half-Life 1.0.1.3. Thanks Billy at Voodoo Extreme.

Thresh's FiringSquad previews Mortyr, looking at what's up with the back-to-the-future game of World War II combat (still no word on who will be publishing this one in the US), examining gameplay based on playing the demo.

Saw on The Descent Chronicles that ZappaFan's Descent Hangout has worked up plans for a "Descent 3 Fan Appreciation Chat" AKA "The Descent 3 Love Fest" this Wednesday at 10:00 PM EDT in channel #300baud on any EFnet IRC server. They point out "this is NOT a bug report chat, this is a feedback only chat session, so there shouldn't be any kind of "why won't descent 3 run on my graphics card?" type of questions."

A headline titled "Interplay Prod Slate" on Cinescape Online has word of a bunch of Interplay game-related movie projects apparently in the works according to a report they found on movie trade Variety (thanks Descent4.net):

Interplay Films, a division of Interplay Entertainment, is developing seven of the company’s most popular video game titles. Beyond that, they are working on a number of other non-game related productions for TV and and the big screen, according to Variety. Among the known video game oriented projects are:

Redneck Rampage
A violent video game with title Rednecks chasing after and taking on hideous aliens who have stolen their prize pig. Plans are for the film to emphasize those the game's comedic elements. At one time, Robert Rodriguez was set to direct the feature film for release by Dimension Films. When the option lapsed, Rodriguez moved on to another project. Sony is now said to be interested in taking it on.

Fallout
A Post-apocalyptic action game. Interplay is said to be partnering with Dark Horse Entertainment on the project on the project. The trade reports that Brent Freeman (Dark Skies, Mortal Kombat II) wrote the script.

Descent
Based on the combat flight simulator game. The film was originally developed as a two-hour TV movie for the NBC TV network. Now planned for a theatrical release, the film has a script by Steven DeSouza.

Other projects that were mentioned include feature film versions of Carmaggedon and Earthworm Jim.

Q3Center's Q3Test Rail Trails Contest offers a Voodoo3 3500 for the most compelling screenshot shooting rail trails after using the variable "cg_railtrailtime 999999"

• Here's an Unreal tweaks and troubleshooting guide that offers tips that can also be used on the Unreal mission pack. Thanks Voodoo Extreme...
• Half-Life Express' Ultimate Clan Reference is online shooting to be the definitive resource for clan info in Half-Life, TeamFortress Classic, and ultimately TeamFortress2...
• Silex Particle System Explorer is an interactive demo where users can modify particle elements (fire for example) in predefined scenes...
• For the second time in a short span, some sad news from the community to report. Remembering Evilchild is a memorial to Eric Sunde, founder of the Department of Engineering, devoted to Half-Life, Team Fortress Classic, and Team Fortress 2 level editing. We can again only offer our deepest condolences and sympathies to his friends and family...

It was a day of mixed joy and sorrow for our little family of Mourning Doves that's adopted our fire escape as their home this summer. We awoke to find that one of the fledglings did not survive the night. There's been rain, but it didn't seem wet enough for it to drown, so the cause is hard to pin down, but clearly it was a bit behind its surviving sibling in development. That sibling, on the other hand, is quite the intrepid youngster, and took off for the final time to live on its own before our eyes as we were first mourning (no pun intended) the loss, seemingly to underscore nature's balance. I wonder if it's possible the parents will still return for a third brood this summer?

Link of the Day: iBrator.com. Thanks Mars. Parental Discretion advised (in other words, be discreet with this around your parents). Sorry for the adult-oriented link on a Sunday and all, but the iBrator QuickTime Movie made me laugh out loud.
Bonus Link: iMaul. Not quite as good, but cleaner, and it follows the theme. Thanks Ant.