PC.IGN has posted some comments by 3D Realms' George Broussard, which they spotted over at 3D Realms' message board. There's two quotes where George directly addresses the fan concerns about the game...here's one of them, which explains why the game is taking so dang long:

Today’s games are MUCH more complex. In Duke 3D all the characters were sprites. Today they are polygonal models, have to be skinned, and then animated or motion captured. A VERY long, tedious and complex process. Also games today are "deeper" and require more than key/door stuff. That means more time to develop. Note all the so-so fps games that didn't sell well in the last 2 years and you will see that they were simple compared to more complex efforts like Half-Life. A game like DNF is probably 5-10 times more complex that Duke 3D was.

The Refraction page has a new version 1.2 patch for the Codename: Eagle Demo released last week (story). According to their page, "The patch provides Voodoo1/2/3 support (using Glide), Load/Save function, an all new scoring system, as well as several in game tweaks and fixes." Thanks to the tireless Frans at 3D Action Gamers for that.

ION Storm’s official Deus Ex site has some new character art and a new weapon from Warren Spector’s upcoming Unreal-engine sci-fi action/RPG. "The character art depicts Anne Navarre, an augmented anti-terrorist mercenary and former colonel in the Israeli military who spent 6 years in the Massad. The newly added weapon is the Aerosol Pepper Gun, which 'sprays a high-speed, rapidly-spreading stream of a powdery, pepper-like substance' that disables enemies by blinding them."

The TrickStyle website has the playable demo of the PC version of TrickStyle, Acclaim's arcadey hover board racing game. The download is available as a smaller archive, which is a hair under 30 MB, and a larger one, which is 52 MB. Word is "The bigger one has a sweet non-interactive demo loop but they both have the same gorgeous, ass-kickin' gameplay." Thanks The Adrenaline Vault.

A bunch of screenshot stories, beginning with this: A few days late, but not a dollar short is the new StarLancer Weekly Screenshot on GameRush showing off more gameplay from Starlancer, one of a pair of upcoming games (Freelancer is the other) from Digital Anvil carrying on the space simulator tradition from the Wing Commander/Privateer series'.

There are five new screenshots on Eidos Interactive's Omikron page showing off more of the gameplay from Eidos and Quantic Dreams' upcoming action game that will feature a character based on David Bowie. Thanks Frans at 3D Action Gamers.

The Tomb Raider The Last Revelation site has five new screenshots showing off gameplay from the provocatively-titled next installment in Eidos' third-person cover-girl adventure game. Thanks again Frans at 3D Action Gamers.

The Titanium Angels site has posted a bunch of new screenshots of this upcoming 3D strategy game. The shots are also posted here on GA-Source along with a little Q&A with the game's developers. Thanks yet again Frans at 3D Action Gamers.

3DGaming.net's Experience preview offers a look ahead at this upcoming first-person shooter from WXP accompanied by three new screenshots. Thanks, yup, you guessed it... Frans at 3D Action Gamers.

This page on the Irrational Games Inc. website has details on their job hunt, as the developer of System Shock 2 is looking to add members to a team composed of Thief and System Shock 2 veterans. They are looking for level designers, programmers, and a 3D artist. "All applicants should be willing to work in a highly collaborative team environment and be ready to relocate to the Cambridge, MA area."

The Æstats Page has a new version 4.26 of this log parser for 3D shooters. The new version adds support for Heretic II, Sin, Unreal Tournament (3.38 Update), and updated Hexen II support to the wide range of programs already supported by Æstats, which include Action Quake II, CounterStrike for Half-Life, Half-Life, Kingpin, Lithium II for Quake II, Quake II, TeamFortress Quake, Rocket Arena II, TeamFortress Classic, Q3Test 1.08 and more.

id's John Carmack updated his .plan with the latest version of his work log on Quake III: Arena:

* handle window close events properly
* enable r_displayRefresh selection and feedback on mac
* avoid AGEN_IDENTITY when CGEN_DIFFUSE_LIGHTING
* colorized railgun muzzle flash, impact flash, and mark
* exactly synced animating textures with waveforms and collapsed all explosion sequences into single shaders
* removed unneeded black pass on hell skies
* fixed grenades sticking to steep slopes
* scan for next highest fullscreen resolution when exact mode fails (fixes SGI flat panel failing to init)
* all cgame cvars now have a cg_ prefix (crosshair, fov, etc)
* clear clientinfo before parsing configstring
* make all feedback voiceovers share the same channel
* fixed nodraw curves
* fixed obits from shooter entities
* fixed chat char issue
* separate gentity_t fields into sharedEntity_t
* reintegrated q_mathsys with q_math
* cg_forcemodel also forces player sounds
* unknown cmd commands don't chat
* fixed strip order on text quads

The Spookhouse has posted the second Nocturne demo, the one that appears on this month's PC Gamer CD. The demo, like its predecessor, is a big one (80+ MB) but it features a completely new episode of the game (which is expected on store shelves Halloween weekend).

3D Nexus has posted an interview with Raven's Mike Gummelt, talking to the programmer about his duties on Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force, their Quake III: Arena engine title currently in development. Also of note is Play Now's Star Trek Smorgasbord, which features a look at ST:V.

The ever popular Slashdot.org is going to be conducting an interview with none other than John Carmack, and they've asked for reader-submitted questions. Questions should be posted in their discussion group, one question per post. There's only room for 10 - 15 questions, so don't be offended if yours isn't picked (thanks to everyone who sent this one in).

PlanetMoonCentral, newly arisen from the ashes of Kabuto.net, has posted two new comics by Planet Moon artist Shawn Nelson, offering a little Giants-related humor.

Derek Smart has posted 16 new shots from the Battlecruiser 3020 AD Strike Pak (a first person add-on for the space sim) on the official BC3K page.

We've just posted an update on Terminal Reality's upcoming spooky 3D adventure game Nocturne. The game is set to go gold, and this update (more are promised soon) features a rundown of the technical aspects of the game's formidable engine. Hop over and check it out.

There was an embargo on these until 9:00 AM, so there's just been an instant flood of GeForce 256 DDR reviews. Here are a bunch of them (and one standard review as well):

• GASouce has posted a very good in-depth review of Guillemot's 3D Prophet, a 32 MB (standard RAM) GeForce 256 card.
• 3DGPU has posted a review of NVIDIA's GeForce 256 with DDR RAM reference board, complete with screenshots and benchmarks.
• Thresh's Firing Squad has posted their look at a DDR reference board, with their usual level of detail and insane benchmarking.
• RIVA3D has also posted their review of the DDR reference card, featuring screenshots from some GeForce enhanced games.

PlanetBattlezone has the initial release of a program called BZ Secure that attempts to address what's referred to as rampant BattleZone hacking that affects multiplayer play. Each player is required to run the program for it to work.

Half-Life Express is planning on hitting Valve's Erik Johnson with a bunch of questions about Valve's upcoming shooter TeamFortress2, and are soliciting questions from readers. If you've got a burning TF2 query that topical ointments can't relieve, fire it off to them, and maybe they can get it answered.

Today is another one of those days as an NDA on GeForce 256 DDR reviews expires this morning... just preparing you for the flood that will come shortly:

• There are a bunch of benchmarks on ShugaShack on a PII-300, PIII-450, an Athlon 600 using a Voodoo3 3500, a Hercules TNT2Ultra, an NVIDIA GeForce256 (SDRAM, 120/166mhz) at the following resolutions: 512x384, 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1600x1200, and this ShugaShack article by Jack "Morbid" Mathews talks about Quake III's use of T&L.
• The AMD Athlon(TM) Technical Documentation has been updated. Thanks AMD Zone.
• 'Errata' delay 500-MHz G4s on MacWEEK reports "errata" that affect Motorola's new G4 processor when run at speeds of 500 MHz or higher. And according to Motorola's own schedule, a fix isn't due until December. 500 MHz G4s are scheduled to ship this month. Thanks Jacek Fedoryñski...
• Computer Games Online previews the GeForce 256.
• Fast Graphics reviews the Guillemot 3D Prophet GeForce 256-based accelerator.
• Speedy 3D reviews the 3dfx Voodoo3 3500TV.
• Tweak3D reviews the 3dfx Voodoo3 3500TV.
• iXBT reviews the AMD Athlon 600.
• Glide Underground reviews the Card Cooler.

Mod Central Mutators is a listing of all the mutators available for the Unreal Tournament Demo. Detailed info on each of these modifications to gameplay in the demo include links to read mes, FAQs, etc. Saw that on PlanetUnreal.

There first release of the Armageddon Device for Quake II is available on The Roseville website featuring eight new maps, new monsters, and new weapons. the plot features a race against time to find the deactivation code for a power shield on an asteroid heading for Earth. Where's Bruce Willis when you need him?

The Gunslinger Quake 2 page has a new version 1.0 of this mod for Quake II that allows you to enjoy the action of the American wild west without the necessity of a Will Smith soundtrack (oh don't worry, I love that nutty French Prince, or whatever country he's the prince of). The new release adds two new play modes, bullet holes, bot detection, and much more.

And without any help from Frans this morning! It would probably be easier just to point out the rare occasion when that happens:

• The Adrenaline Vault reviews Sinistar Unleashed.
• Gamers Depot reviews Drakan: Order of the Flame.
• 3D-Unlimited reviews Drakan: Order of the Flame.
• Diversions of Technology reviews FreeSpace2.
• ActiveWindows reviews Age Of Empires 2: Age Of Kings.

• The PlanetQuake Mod Expo 99 is up celebrating PQ's Quake II mod lineup...
• There's an interview with Roberta Williams on GamersDepot talking with the legendary adventure game producer about what she's been up to since parting ways with Sierra...
• Sgt. Hulka's Bootcamp has a 3 MB Unreal Tournament screensaver for download...
• The folks at Unreal Nation send word that rumors of their demise are greatly exaggerated, as a couple of sites have posted news that this old school Unreal site is going away. While they are reorganizing over there, they are not shutting down at this time by any stretch...

I knew that yesterday's date of October 10 rang a bell, but didn't make the connection until Ant pointed out a post on Doomworld recalling it as the anniversary of the release of Doom II, marking no less than the game's fifth(!) birthday. In celebration, if a you share your home, school, or workplace with a Revenant, please take them to lunch today. Oh yeah, I'll point out I misspelled Teletubby yesterday, it was Mynx that pointed out the gaffe, which she doesn't need to be ashamed of, since I know she's a mom. Just didn't want to let a day pass by with out a reference to toddler television. What will it be tomorrow? Barney? Tickle me Elmo? Ack! Shoot me now!

Link of the Day: Arrak Anagrams. This is a web-based version of those old desktop anagram generator. Blue's News makes a lot of bad anagrams, including the dopey news blues, but also can translate to "web lens us." Thanks MAVERICK.
Image of the Day: Quake3 bus only here for one day? Ha, we'll see about that! Thanks DarkNova.

A fairly busy day for Kingpin news has our third story this afternoon/evening related to Xatrix' Quake II-engine life o' naughtiness game, as version 1.0 of the Kingpin Competition on the Reactive Software site. The mod adds the ability to elect server admins, set up and start timed matches, and "on-the-fly" changes of teamplay modes between DM and bagman. The mod also fixes a "bug" in bagman where money does not disappear when a player suicides, eliminating what they call an increasingly abused loophole in the game. This is a server-only mod, so clients need not apply.

There are five new BattleZone II screenshots on PlanetBattlezone showing off scenes from the upcoming first-person strategy sequel from Pandemic Studios. The shots are hi-res 1024x768 jobbies, and they say there are more on the way, so don't say you weren't warned.

An update to Poisonville's Kingpin FAQ adds loads of information to this unofficial resource to help answer questions about Kingpin: Life of Crime, Xatrix' criminal first-person shooter. KungFu, the FAQ's maintainer, points out this is "as close as you can get to an official FAQ," since he worked on Kingpin (who knew?).

The NOP website has a new and improved version 3.2 of NOP, the statistics tool that supports Q3Test, the Unreal Tournament Demo, and Half-Life. The new release adds support for Half-Life, H-L CounterStrike, H-L TeamFortress Classic, and H-L Jailbreak. Also new is ASP support to search player database and display player statistics, a bug-fix for the problem that caused NOP to crash while parsing UTDemo logfiles, and more.

Richard Turnbull sends word that ACID REIGN, the homepage of the Blitz Engine, has a new Blitz Engine SDK V0.02 Beta for download. The new SDK offers "a few major bug fixes and many minor improvements." In the new release, fogs curves correctly and standard volumetric fog has been added, the dynamic lighting system has been fixed so that curves light correctly, and smaller additions include inverse mouse support, more console commands, and the ability to export levels at any point in the program.

A new version 0.2 of RiEvEr's (or would that be RiEvEr'S?) Kraze! bot for Kingpin is now available on The Kraze! News. Thanks Poisonville. This new versions adds the beginnings of teamplay support to this version of his bot code for Xatrix' Kingpin: Life of Crime.

There's a Codemasters interview on GA-Source with more on the future of the Navy SEALs game that looks like it is going to be produced after all, following a period when its future was in jeopardy due to the reorganizations at Sierra. The Q&A talks with Tony Hernandez, the producer at Codemasters on this first-person tactical simulation based on the exploits of ex-Navy SEAL Richard Marcinko.

A new version 1.29 beta 9a of OpenGL DooM Legacy is available on the newly-relocated OpenGL DooM Legacy Homepage. Thanks Frans at 3D Action Gamers. The new changes are minor: The archive now includes the proper doom3.wad for those who had an out-of-date version, and the automap bug has been fixed. Any other expected changes and fixes will wait for the next release.

There's a post on Descent3D with a workaround to help those who may be having problems upgrading to the just released full version of Descent 3 1.2 after previously applying the beta 1.2 patch. The fix involves mucking around in the registry, so caution is advised, but if you can't get the patch working properly, desperate measures may be called for.

3D Action Planet previews Wheel Of Time with a hands-on look ahead at Legend Entertainment's upcoming Unreal-engine game based on the best selling series of Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan. To accompany the preview they've snapped nine new screenshots.

GameSpy.com interviews Gabe Newell talking with the Valve Software managing director about how the impact of the user community on the success of present and future games. The quote that begins the piece makes it clear that Gabe feels this is going to be even more of a factor in the future:

The user community is going to be more and more important going forward. Companies that don't rethink how they do business as a result of the opportunities represented by the Internet will go away. When I worked on Windows, the user community was incredibly far away. [Newell spent 13 years at Microsoft in the Systems, Applications, and Advanced Technology divisions -ed.] We had no idea what they thought, we had no way to talk to them, and we didn't have any way of enlisting them in making Windows better. I'd say it wasn't until pretty late in the 80's that even 1% of our consumer customers had email.

A new installment to Computer Games Online's Ask A Developer has Cliff Bleszinski sharing some "(Un)real advice on being a designer." answering the question "how hard is it to get into the field of design?"

Happily Ever After Story Lines in the Action Genre on GameSpy.com is an article featuring interviews Marc Laidlaw of Valve Software, Niklas Pehrson of the Swedish developing team Refraction, and Graeme Devine of id Software offering their opinions on the necessity of a detailed storyline in action games.

This Half-Life Opposing Force Frequently Asked Questions is a newly updated "semi-official" FAQ for Gearbox Software's upcoming official add-on for Half-Life, where you play the role of one of the soldiers, heretofore all believed to be among the bad-guys in the original Half-Life.

• A new version 2.52 of the PowerStrip uber-monitor and video card control utility is now available. Thanks 3DFiles.com.
• Demo News has posted a bunch of Matrox demos, some new, and some previously released that show off bump-mapping and dual head effects. The demos are meant for G400 cards, but should work on and Direct3D accelerator. Many include source code.
• Thresh's FiringSquad's IA-64 Itanium Guide attempts to explain the inner workings of Intel's new IA-64 architecture, and the Itanium (the CPU formerly known as Merced) in general.
• The fourth of NeHe's OpenGL Tutorials is up offering help with setting up OpenGL in Windows. Thanks Demo News.
• Digital-Clips.com reviews the Creative Labs GeForce 256 Part II.
• Sharky Extreme's The Motherboard Guide Part 3 offer help on installing a motherboard.
• Glide Underground reviews the Celeron (Slot 1) Double Whammy CPU cooler.
• Game Forces reviews 3DfxCOOL Cel-REX.

It's Gordon does Deutschland as the first beta of the War in Europe mod for Half-Life is up on the Borderline Studios Page, bringing World War II action to Valve's sci-fi shooter.

A new version of the Hexen32 Hexen Win32 source port is out, offering a first pass at Multi-Resolution support for a maximum resolution of 1600x1200. Thanks Voodoo Extreme.

This WONnet Tournament in conjunction with Clan World Network offers the chance to win an all expense paid trip to San Francisco to meet the Valve Team, and become one of the first to play Half-Life Opposing Force. The tournament will ultimately send the four best players to the event is in San Francisco on November 10, to be broadcast live by Talkspot's GameDive.

Thanks, as always, to Frans at 3D Action Gamers for staying on top of the review scene:

• Game Revolution reviews Prince of Persia 3D.
• Speedy 3D reviews FreeSpace2.
• Electric Games reviews Drakan: Order of the Flame.
• ActionXtreme.com reviews Drakan: Order of the Flame.
• TUGI.net reviews Homeworld.
• Computers R Us reviews Total Annihilation - Kingdoms.

• Webdog is now accepting new sites again to be included in the sites tracked by this system tray website tracking utility. The process is now an automated one...
• Interstate Mugshots is a site devoted to displaying photos of Interstate '76 players (and in the future I'82 players, as well). And not all of them look like Skeeter, either...
• There are six new screenshots on The Skynet Project page for this upcoming Half-Life mod...
• Gamedesign.net Prefabs has added about 50 new prefabs to their prefab database bringing our prefab total to 609 useful mapping prefabs for level designers...
• The new RPG Mythology on GA-RPG is by James Ohlen, Director of Writing and Design at BioWare describing the stories considered for both Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter, but were ultimately discarded...
• GA-RPG's World Fusion on Atriarch Interview looks ahead at this "3D massively-multiplayer, online, persistent role-playing & strategy game based on the alien and organic world of Atriana."...

Well, this will be the third straight day with an update that references Blue's Clues, a record that we can only hope isn't threatened anytime soon, but a flood of readers wrote in to point out that Blue the dog from Blue's Clues is a she, not a he. One can only hope that those writing in with this tidbit are parents, because from what little I've seen, this is not one of those shows that makes any attempt to appeal to a mind much beyond Tele-Tubbie age. Anyway, this is great news, because the next time I get riled by confusion with Blue the dog, I can get away with calling her a bitch.

Link of the Day: The Sports Illustrated for Kids Dancing Referee. You have to answer a football quiz to get him to dance, but it's worth it for the trippy disco ref effect. Thanks Matt Van Vleck.
Story of the Day: CNN - Police suspect killing was a Beanie Baby deal gone bad. Thanks Matthew Rorie and Mike Martinez.
Bonus Link: The Hunger Site Home. Thanks TERJE. Okay, so there's none of the usual LoD humor, irony, or attempts at such, but how often can the LoDs that offer those save lives?