Archived News:
The Savage UK - Quake TV website
has the debut release of this set of programs that promises to allow the viewing
of Quake II and Quake III Arena matches nearly live as they are played on the
Internet. Quake TV consists of a RocCam program that sends a demo as it is
recorded and sends it to a high-bandwidth server running the RocRelay program
which will distribute it real-time to viewers who connect using the RocStream
client to view a live game. The program is described as very useful for competitions
or tournaments, and a demonstration is promised next week.
Version 1.0 of Q3Post is now available,
offering a combination of an mIRC script and Quake III Arena key bind that can
transmit the IP address and description of the Quake III Arena server you have
joined to an IRC channel. Q3Post can also automatically respond to IRC chatter
that uses your nickname or other keywords with the info about the game to which
you are connected.
There's an Evolva preview
on TeleFragged with a look ahead at this unusual-looking action game from
Computer Artworks. In addition to the hands-on preview, the article also
includes a
half-dozen new screenshots taken at 1024x768 resolution in 32-bit color using a
GeForce 256 card.
A
.plan update by Raven's Rick Johnson gives word of a vote called Ban the Sale of Violent Video Games to Minors
on VOTE.COM, a political polling
site run by former Clinton politico Dick Morris and his wife. The site promises:
"We'll send your vote to your congressional representative, your Senators
and the President," and offers a chance to express whether you feel "These
brutal games are turning our kids into killers," or "Kids need better
parenting, not fewer games."
There's a small Win9x batch file on the odeesoft software productions
page that allows for more than one single player account on a single machine
running a single Quake III Arena installation where every player can have their
own fragcount, impressives, while opening up the tiers at their own pace. Also,
the new Quake3 q3config.cfg repair
page is now online, dedicated to helping you out if you've experienced
problems installing the beta point release patch, which they describe as possibly leaving
you in a situation where "your settings are gone, your previous level
progress banished, and the menu interface horribly broken." Disclaiming
that he "cannot not be held responsible if you destroy your q3config.cfg or
other files," the site's maintainer looks to help do the opposite, and
restore your gamestate to its pre-patched condition if you've experienced such
glitches.
A new version of the FightClub
Quake III Arena game configuration utility is now available as a full 3+ MB
download and a smaller upgrade for users of the previous version. This useful
utility can allow you to launch a dedicated or listen server (with map
rotations, user-defined or random bot lists, auto-kick of bots when humans join,
configurable client and rcon passwords, and more), connect to a server using a
built-in highly-configurable server browser, plus the ability to automate the
running of timedemos in any combination of video/sound configs and demo files
for easy benchmarking.
An updated version 1.1.2 of the Servarena
dedicated server launcher for Quake III Arena is now available, fixing a bug
that caused the program to crash when Nightmare skill was selected for one bot.
They also have a GameSpy tab if you are interested in isolating a list of
servers configured by Servarena.
The required plug-ins to accompany the Hand of Quad
game server access program were not included in the download when the story
about this new utility went up earlier ( story),
but have been added, so if you went by earlier and picked up a copy without the
plug-ins, you can head back and complete your download. Hand of Quad will allow
you to join a Quake II, Quake III Arena, or Half-Life server simply by clicking
a link on a webpage.
The Soldier of Fortune Official Australian Fan Site
has posted eight new screenshots showing off gameplay from Soldier of Fortune,
Raven Software's upcoming Quake II-engine game inspired by the mercenary
magazine of the same name. Like most SoF screenshots, these probably rate a
parental warning for graphic violence.
A post called John Carmack on Coding a Linux IP Stack & Winmodem
on Slashdot is posted anonymously, but professes to be from John Carmack
while honeymooning in Hawaii (hence his missing /. prefs) with a clarification
of his thoughts on the PowerPlay announcement ( story),
specifically refuting the subsequent report that he plans on rewriting the Linux
TCP/IP stack ( story).
Thanks Lawrence Ryan. Again, the post is anonymous, and I have not been able to
confirm that it is by him, but it so smacks of authenticity that I'm willing to
risk assuming it is. Here's a portion of the post:
No way do I intend to rewrite the linux TCP/IP stack.
I had mentioned to Yahn that it would be an interesting experiment to yank all
the networking code (TCP/IP + PPP + serial driver) into user space so some
cross-boundary optimization experiments can be made. I doubt there is any
apreciable latency in the TCP/IP stack, but there might be some scheduling
losses somewhere through PPP and the serial driver. Even if a send packet call
goes syncronously all the way to the serial ring buffer, giving no real
potential for latency reduction, there are still lots of possible experiments
with making decisions based on normally hidden data.
Just like the GLX driver work is Good For Me as a graphics programmer, going
through all the guts of the networking stack would be Good For Me as a
netowrking programmer. I may pursue this, and I may collect some interesting
data, but I seriously doubt it would be any contribution to the standard network
stacks.
I had a long talk with a couple people from Valve about the PowerPlay
initiative, but they couldn't give me enough specific technical details for me
to endorse it. I'm all for improvements in networking infrastructure, but at
this point, there isn't anything actually there, just an intention to improve
gaming. They need to tell me SPECIFICALLY what I am supposed to be endorsing. At
some point, bits have to go into packets and routers need to make decisions on
them. Changes at that level is what I want to hear about, not strategic company
relationships.
The entire
post goes further into "networking things that could be real
improvements."
The new DroneZ Screenshots
on GA-Source show off this third-person action shooter from Zetha gameZ.
Also, there are new Dreamland
screenshots on 3DGaming.Net showing off this tactical combat game in the
works from the folks who created X-Com. There are three
Metal Fatigue screenshots on Gamer's Alliance Strategy showing off this RTS
mecha game, with word on how to see more via their newsletter. Finally, there
are a few
new Art of Magic screenshots on 3DGaming.Net showing off Bethesda's tactical
RPG that will feature spell casting and summonable creatures.
Some assorted space stuff to boldly go: Some new Star Trek Klingon Academy
screenshots are online showing off a few ships and such (thanks Federation.Net)
and there is a new Klingon
Academy movie (direct link) with approximately 18 seconds of in-game footage
in .mpg format. Also seen on Federation.Net
(by way of ATFW) there's an interview with Relic's art director Rob Cunningham
on Relic News, as well as a new Homeworld strategy guide.
Finally, Allegiance Vault's
Stealth Fighter Basics is like piloting for dummies in Allegiance, or
something like that.
Otser's Site has a new version
2.02 of the QRec tool that helps automate the recording of Quake II and Quake III
Arena demos. The new version fixes several bugs, most notably a problem that was
causing lag when recording a Q3A demo.
The first version of the Hand of Quad,
described as the click 'n' go Quake launcher, is now available. Using "clever
monkey-brained™ technology," this freeware system-tray utility
lets you join a server playing Quake II, Quake III Arena, or Half-Life, just by
clicking a link on a website.
The Fragstats Homepage has
a new version 1.09 of the Fragstats log parser that supports QuakeWorld, Quake
II, and Quake III Arena with custom HTML output. Fragstats looks to restore the
original functionality of the QuakeWorld system, which provides player ranking.
Another log parser update, the Q3Logger Homepage
has a new beta 3 version 1.0.2.0 of this log parser that offers Quake III Arena
support. Q3Logger also offers HTML output, and in another back to the future
feature provides Doom-esque killer/killee tables.
KReGGeRs'
Q3A CTF Binder is a new utility designed to help the Quake III Arena CTF
player create a config file that can include a couple of handy aliases, and five
switchable offensive and defensive communication keys. The program is said to be
especially helpful to newbies, though they may balk at the programs need to be
run under a DOS box. Similarly, KReGGeRS'
CStrike Weapon Binder can help make a config file for Counterstrike for
Half-Life.
This
page on TeleFragged has the latest GlQuakeFX Win32 binary update from the Quake Standards Group,
which now adds colored lighting and interpolation, as well as several bug fixes
addressing problems with lighting on many popular video cards.
The XS Reality Razer Invitational
website has gone live, with more on this event that looks to assemble 12
world-class Quake III Arena players in Stockholm, Sweden for some deathmatch and
sauna. Here is the player list, directly from the site: "From the US we
have CPL 1999 Champion Wombat, his brother and top 10 CPL seed Vise, Frag 3 3rd
Place finisher Fatality, and the Quake 2 masters Makaveli and Immortal. From the
European side, Truegamers Invitational winner and runner up Lakerman and Kane,
Quake 2 EDL Champion Shub, recent LAN Arena 3 duel winner DOOMer, Logitech ECTS
Challenge champion Timber, CPL Danish Qualifying runner up Insane, and last but
certainly not least, Zibbo from Finnish superclan Z."
- The Rogue Warrior website is
for teams looking for players, and vice versa, for various games, including
Delta Force 1 & 2, Rainbow Six, Unreal, Quake II, and Quake III Arena...
- Descent Network Team has
posted Pyro GX model (V 1.2) of the Descent series, (a new one, not the
original Parallax version)...
- FvF World's FvF2 FAQ has been
posted with the questions and corresponding answers about the upcoming
sequel to the popular Quake RPG mod...
- Painful Detail has
posted five new custom voices for Unreal Tournament, as well as a tutorial
on how to create your own...
As loony mentioned yesterday it was Frans' birthday, although he failed to note
that yesterday is also the 65th birthday of Elvis Presley, which inspires me to
offer the king some well-wishes on the occasion, wherever he might be. This is
an interesting coincidence, since Frans' Dutch homeland seems to be the type of
place that might appeal to Elvis, with Amsterdam's coffee shops, window shopping
for companionship, and, of course, all those French fry stands all seeming to
fit in. My suspicions aroused, I got out the pen and paper, and sure enough,
Frans P. de Vries is actually an anagram for Ervis Pransdf, which of course, is
how Elvis Presley sounds when you say it with a mouthful of peanut-butter and
banana sandwich, which is Elvis' favorite food. Coincidence? I can't see how it
could be.
Oh, by the way, when I said a while back that I was sure I would make up for
a string of Out of the Blues about servers and stuff here that I would make an
extra rambling update to make up for it one day, so don't say I don't give fair
warning.
RIP
Don Martin. Thanks Randy Sims.
Link of the Day: The Empty Bowl.
Thanks Uncle Duke.
Story of the Day: Police say Florida man swallowed 55 crack pipes.
Thanks GreenMarine and Shawn Wallis. No word if this actually qualifies as a Guinness
world record or anything.
The Sonic Mayhem website has the
release of a new map for Quake III Arena deathmatch by Zoid and Sonic Mayhem
called Anti-Logic that features a new music track by the Sonic Mayhem folk, who
are of course, responsible for some of the music in Quake III Arena, among other
games. Here's a local
copy of Anti-Logic (12.4 MB) along with a list of mirrors. If you are
wondering, the larger than expected size of the download is indeed increased by
the new music.
There are five new
Starlancer screenshot on the StarLancer Vault showing off a little more of
the final frontier in which this space sim will take place, as well as some of
the ships and planets that populate it.
Well, furn has been hard at work tweaking the messageboards, and things are
rounding into shape quite nicely. One of the things we've done along the way, since the Q3A Road Tour is completed, rather than retire the Q3Tour
messageboard, is to convert it to a Quake III Arena
board to segue to discussions of the game. Likewise, to further cover the
other current game inspiring the most coverage around here lately, is the
corresponding brand-new Unreal Tournament
messageboard, so feel free to head over there with discussion of Epic's
latest -- I mentioned it to GreenMarine, and he broke in the board with a
loopy message that mentions that he will be hanging out on the board on
occasion to answer questions and shoot the breeze, so things are off and running
in fine style there.
While I'm discussing the messageboards, let me address a subject that
inspired so much behind-the-scenes discussion here that I may not have made
enough of a point of it amid the launch of these boards. The reason that email
verified registration is being used is to be able to ultimately remove users who
manage to abuse the boards. We're not into censorship here, and deleting posts
(which has happened all of about twice so far) is not something we want to do,
much less ban users (which has never happened yet), but I think it's fair to say
folks have come to expect a certain level of discussion here, and while I'm
pleased to see that a fairly high standard of posts has been demonstrated so
far, it is probably partly due to this accountability that this has been the
case (in addition to our high-quality of reader, of course). Anyway, the point
behind this lengthy explanation, besides to give a feel for the philosophy here,
is to reassure everyone that their email address will not ever be redistributed,
it is entirely for this sort of internal administrative function, rather than to
sell to some spam list (which will just never happen). Further, those with a
fear of cookies, whether out of concern for calories or security, can turn off
the use of cookies in their preferences if they don't mind not having their
other settings saved for them. There's the deal, just wanted to make sure I
mentioned all that stuff. Hope you enjoy the boards.
This post on the
Shugashack gives a reply from Valve's Gabe Newell to a question a bunch of
folks have been asking since the developers participating in the PowerPlay
project ( story)
have been announced, why there's no mention of participation by id Software.
Here's Gabe's answer to that question: Yahn's been talking with John
quite a bit about this. John told Yahn he wants to take a stab at
rewriting the Linux IP stack and a soft modem driver to see how much latency he
can remove, and use that to pressure Microsoft into cleaning up the Windows
stack. That would be really useful data to have.
Our list of things and John's list of things are pretty much identical, but John
passed this time around on being part of the public announcement. Yahn's take
was that John was just tired of answering questions from the
press...<snip>
Certainly with everything John has done already (e.g. OpenGL) he's paid his dues
into the next century, so if thinks it's other peoples' turn to carry the flag
for a bit, that's totally justified.
ShellShock's Crater has a new release
of Q3Offline, the utility for Quake III Arena players to allow the easy setup of
"offline" games against a wide selection of bots and over any number
of maps. The new version of Q3Offline features an improved wizard-like user
interface, map previewing, the ability to play against different bots on each
map, and server configuration so you can quickly set up a server with bots.
The QStat Downloads
page has a new version 2.3e beta release of QStat for either Windows or
Linux of this command-line program that displays the status of Internet Game
servers "including Quake and many recent shooters." The new release
adds options for Kingpin and Heretic II game servers, and fixes several bugs,
including Quake III Arena master queries, Half-Life master queries, Q3A player
name translation, raw mode output for Unreal, and much more.
Build 1.0.28 beta of Quake 3 Control
is now available, offering an update to this front-end program that will support
Quake II as well as Quake III Arena (additionally, QuakeWorld support is
promised soon). While not designed to assist in setting up a server, the program
does allow you to change server settings, kick players, view status, and
basically do anything you can do from a remote console.
A program that is designed to assist in setting up a Q3A server is the Servarena
dedicated Quake III Arena server launcher, which is designed to smooth out
setting up a server by insulating you from command-line arguments. A new version
1.11 is now available, offering an auto-bots feature that will automatically
add/kick bots as real players join your server, a 'disable bot chat' check box,
support for multiple master servers, and support for the NOP server statistics
utility.
There are nine more Evolva Screenshots
on GA-Source showing off gameplay from this upcoming
action/adventure/tactics game from Computer Artworks.
Lots more info on PowerPlay, the just-announced venture between Valve Software
and Cisco Systems...first of all, the
official site has gone live, and while there isn't much there, you can get
a glimpse of the companies working on PowerPlay-enabled games. Also, PlanetFortress
has posted a Q&A with Valve's Gabe Newell, who discusses some of the features
of the project.
PC.IGN has posted a preview
of BioWare's MDK 2, featuring five new Quicktime movies, and a whole bunch
of shots from this third person action title. MDK, as everyone knows, stands
for Moles Dig KISS.
Daily Radar has posted a
preview of Anachronox, Tom Hall's epic role playing game that utilizes the
Quake II engine, and features a billion or so mini-games, and even an original
language. The preview sports some new screenshots, as well as quotes from the
game's producer Jake Hughes.
GameSpot News has posted seven
screenshots from Blizzard's Diablo II running on a Macintosh. Actually,
to be a little more specific they're photographs taken from the floor of MacWorld,
so they aren't exactly detailed shots (thanks Ant).
- MapFinger,
a repository of original maps for various games, now boasts over 600 original
maps...
- If you want a BeOS port of TRIBES 2, hop over to this
petition on BeGroovy. Dynamix has said that they will consider it if there's
enough demand (thanks Sascha Offe)...
- The source code for MAPZ, a remote
map compiling system, has been released and is available
for download. The author no longer has time to work on it, so others are
encouraged to download the source and build upon it...
- Apparently those nutty scientists have been working overtime, as both Cliff
Bleszinski and Alan
Willard made .plan updates with recent discoveries about the nature of
the brains at Epic...
First off, happy birthday to our resident foreigner, and die-hard news guy
Frans, who turns...well, something between myself and Blue (which, I suppose
could just as well be any number under the sun). That said, how about that new
comments system, huh? If you haven't noticed, there's these little "comments"
links on each post now. Hit it, and yack away. And if you want to impress all
of your friends, go to the
regular message boards page, and then to the
news of the day section. All those threads come from the latest news stories.
Pretty spiffy...Furn outdid himself again.
Link of the Day: idgames.com. I
wonder if those hackers thought they had gotten into id Software? (For the record,
it's not even remotely associated with id, it's a completely different company
in a completely different field).
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