Archived News:
Vault Network has posted an interview on Soulbringer, talking to producer Don Kirkland about this upcoming 3D role-playing game currently under construction at Gremlin and Infogrames. The detailed article covers the game's concept and engine, the magic and combat systems, and the proverbial more. Here is a taste:
Jonric: What will make Soulbringer stand out from the other
current and soon to be released games? What kind of gamer do
you feel it will appeal to most?
Don Kirkland: Soulbringer is an RPG that focuses very heavily on the
story and character interaction. In today’s market of merging different
game types together to make RPG/platform or RPG/FPS games,
Soulbringer remains a pure CRPG - you do not need to be a twitch player
to enjoy Soulbringer. However, Soulbringer is still real-time, giving the
game a lot more flow than a game that breaks to turn-based combat.
Following in id's footsteps, Bungie Software has released the Marathon 2: Durandal source code for Macintosh, as reported by MacGamer's Ledge. Marathon 2: Durandal was Bungie's first-person shooter released in 1995, and the source, which is released under the terms of the GNU public license, requires the Macintosh Programmers Workshop and can be downloaded in two different formats.
The official Quake III Arena FAQ has been updated to version 0.41, adding the known issues with A3D, and the new features and fixed bug lists. This is the same document that came included with the point release ( story). Elsewhere, the unofficial Unreal Tournament FAQ by Droogie was updated to version 1.6, mainly to fix some previously incorrect information.
There is a brief interview on Rune online at GameFan, talking to Mike Werckle about Human Head's upcoming third-person Viking action game. As the game is still quite some time away from its intended Summer release, the article does not contain much in the way of new information, but the bit about skeletal animation is illustrated by three screenshots from the animation editor.
Tsnoi's Transcripts (try saying that three times fast) has posted an interview with Trent Oster, producer on the 3D role-playing game Neverwinter Nights which is currently in development at BioWare. Thanks Vault Network. The talk covers a variety of grounds, including the progress of development, adherence to the AD&D rules, interaction with fans, and more.
id's Graeme Devine updated his .plan on the just released editing docs, as well as id's stance on the DLL vs. Virtual Machine debate for game mods. Here's the deal:
Mr Elusive just put together some bot editing documents, the file is available
on our ftp server:
ftp://ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/quake3/tools/Q3ABotEdit.zip
We've been following the whole DLL vs. VM debates, and id is firmly on the side
of using VMs for game mods. We will be addressing the "auto swap" VM
depending on which server you go to quickly (this was a bug) but I think we
will be strict on saying that people should use VMs over DLL files. The next
executable release will probably have a warning screen come up that you will
need to agree to and click through if the game is about to load a DLL.
Programmer Robert Duffy simultaneously updated his .plan on the same issue, as well as on the fs_game bug (for which they will be issuing another point release patch within a week) and the possibilities of auto-downloading mods. Here's the scoop:
We will be releasing a point release within a week that addresses the fs_game problem that exists in
the current executable. This problem forces clients to start with the same fs_game parameter as the
server. It does not affect normal game play but keeps the server from specifying which "game" directory
to use. This is a bug. Mod authors do not have to wait for the fs_game patch to get started as the code
will be the same either way on their end.
There are two other basic issues for mods that have come up:
1. DLL use for mods
Our position on DLL use for mods is that it is a bad thing. DLL's are not multi-os compatible and
they pose a much greater security risk than qvm's. Note, I did not say that qvm's are totally secure,
they are not, but they are definately more secure than DLL's. DLL's are for debugging only and qvm's
are the only official supported way to produce and distribute a mod. Period.
2. Auto-downloading
We are currently exploring several options for auto-downloading. There will support at some level for
mod surfing and downloading. This support is geared towards the "mod" type of add-on as opposed to
downloading maps or models ( or skins ). The goal is to not consume server bandwidth for downloads but
push the bandwidth use to some sort of a dedicated "mod" server or something.
id Software has released a set of editing documents for the bots in Quake III Arena. Written by id's Mr Elusive, the HTML docs come as a 19 KB zip-file for download from their ftp server, and include information on bot characteristics, the chat system, item and weapon specs, the creation of new arenas and bot characters, and more. Here is a local copy with a couple of mirrors.
More screenshots than you'd need to redecorate your wall:
A new version 2.09 demo for BattleCruiser 3000 is now available at BattleCruiser Online's Galcom News Network. This brings the demo in line with the retail v2.09 patch released early this year ( story), and while offering the same content as the v2.0 demo, this release "uses the advanced 2.09 kernel, has several surface mission zones, supports more graphics cards etc." The GNN update also includes more information on the multiplayer features in the BattleCruiser Millennium edition of this space sim series.
A new Eurogamer.net
feature on licenses offers a look at what they feel is a resurgence in the
development of games based on established licenses from movies, novels, and
comic books. The article discusses Ritual's FAKK 2 (loosely based on an animated
movie based on a feature from Heavy Metal magazine), Third Law Interactive's
KISS: Psycho Circus-The Nightmare Child (based on a comic book, which is itself,
of course, based on the rock band), Star Trek: Voyager-Elite Force (based on a
TV series, which itself was a spin-off of several prior series), Alice (loosely
based on Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll's sequel to Alice's Adventures
in Wonderland), Wheel of Time (based on the series of Robert Jordan Books), and
Soldier of Fortune (loosely based on the mercenary magazine of the same name).
The article features exclusive new screenshots of Soldier of Fortune and Star
Trek: Voyager--Elite Force, and comments from members of Raven, Ritual, Legend,
Third Law, and Electronic Arts' American McGee.
Another new
Messiah screenshot is up on incite games as part of their ongoing contest
that offers the chance to win some shiny Shiny swag while viewing new shots of
Shiny's upcoming diaper-clad third-person action game. Also, there are four
new Tread Marks Screen Shots on the official site for Longbow Digital Arts'
tank racing/combat game that is now available via mail order. The new shots
highlight some of the special effects of the game's 3D engine, including some
tanks kicking up large clouds of dust, and the bright green and white explosion
of a mass driver seen at close range.
There is a new version of JHexen, the OpenGL port of Raven's venerable Hexen. Thanks Phoebus. This release features new beta network code using a simulated client/server system, allowing TCP/IP games over the Internet (a first as far as Hexen ports go), and the beta testing page has detailed information on the features and use of the beta test.
Raven's Rick Johnson updated
his .plan with more details about the apparently imminent Soldier of Fortune
demo, as well as some questions for mod authors and model makers about model
support. Here goes: With the demo being extremely close to being
released, followed by the full game, I'm looking for feedback in this area.
Currently, you need to have a copy of 3DS MAX 2.0 in order to create GHOUL
models.
This may be of inconvience to some people, so I've left in support for Quake2
models. This code hasn't been used in well over a 16 months, and may not even
work with all of our networking changes.
Should I leave in Quake2 model support? Is that worth-while for MOD makers? Or
should I remove it and go on with life? Or if someone has done a Quake3 model
viewer for the Quake1 source code, should that be placed in? (given the author
gives me permission, as I just can't plop in Q3A source code into our project).
Send me an email with your thoughts.
Please put a subject of "Q2M", so that my filter will move it into a
folder for me.
Revelations as Freeware
on GA-Source gives the follow-up on a previous report there about plans for
an authorized Blood2 add-on called Revelations by Tequila Software ( story).
The update announces that rather than being a retail product as originally
planned, the add-on (or at least portions of it) will now be released as
freeware, apparently contradicting some prior reports that this would not
happen. The article includes screenshots from some of the levels to be included
in the release, for which no specific date is set.
There is some concept
art from the upcoming Blair Witch Project games on GameDaily showing off
some oogie sketches to inspire the games inspired by the homemade horror
breakthrough hit movie. As described there, the plan is to create "three
interwoven titles, each exploring a different era along the timeline of the
Blair Witch mythology. Each of the titles will revolve around the 'Stranger'
character featured in the previously released Nocturne." Word is more Blair
Witch Project game details will be in the upcoming January 31 issue of GameWEEK.
A bit confused by the article about the OEM demo for Soldier of
Fortune mentioned earlier ( story),
I wrote Raven's Kenn Hoekstra to ask him to explain the difference between the
OEM single player demo, the OEM multiplayer demo, and most importantly, how they
relate to any plans for a publicly distributed demo for the world at large.
Here's the rundown on the situation straight from Kenn: 1. Single Player
Only OEM was released with the Razer mouse and a few other miscellaneous bits of
hardware.
2. Multiplayer Only OEM was released (and is currently available) with the 3com
gaming modem. (This is the version that Thresh's FiringSquad is reviewing)
3. The public demo is going to be released soon and freely available for
download. This demo will include support for single player and multiplayer,
weighing in with a tutorial, two single player levels, a cinematic level and two
multiplayer levels. Download size could be approaching 90 - 100 MB.
The OEM versions are illegal to download (although people have been doing so)
but the demo will be freeware. As far as knowing whether or not the 100MB will
be worth the download, I guess research and reviews of the OEM versions and all
of the previews of the game will have to suffice. There is certainly no shortage
of Soldier of Fortune information on the Internet. =) In Europe, the game will
be distributed on several magazine cover demo disks and I'm sure the same will
be true in the U.S. If people are interested and don't want to risk the
download, I'm sure plenty of magazines will carry it. How's that for an answer?
Does that clear things up or make them worse? =)
That cleared things up
for me. Thanks Kenn!
A new version 1.3 of Savage UKs' QuakeTV
program is now available (thanks Voodoo
Extreme). This program can allow multiple viewers to watch a live Quake II
or Quake III Arena matches over the Internet via a QuakeTV server, ideally set
up on a high-speed connection.
The debut release of the Ultima Ascension Diary Reader
is now available, offering a handy way to review, print, and even search your
journal to keep track of what's what in Origin's latest installment in their
fantasy RPG series. The utility will even highlight key items in your journal
like City names, Dungeons, and Sigils with colored text.
Version 0.91 of Q3Log is now
available, offering the ability to parse logs from Quake III Arena matches and
extract results. The difference between Q3Log and other log parsers is that
rather than simply generating pages of HTML statistics, Q3Log is a full windows
application that allows users to graph all their player data. The program
also has an integrated console command list editor with descriptions of every
variable and command (courtesy of I-Am Q3A)
as well as game-by-game information provided with the inclusion of Q3LA
by Fabian Huester.
As can often be the case, there's a brand new version 1.5.3 of the NewMod
utility hot on the heels of the previous release ( story).
In an unusual twist, however, the new release is not a quick bug fix of any
kind, but rather adds a couple of new features to this mod compiling utility
meant to make life easier for mod developers. The new features include the option to
force the overwrite of an existing mod, and the option to have the include files
automatically patched with your mod's directory. In the process of the update, the entire
codebase has been converted from C++ into ANSI C, cutting the already modest
download almost in half, to a measly 28 KB.
There's a new version 0.5i of the SpoonBot on www.playspoon.com.
The new version of this AI playmate for Starsiege TRIBES doesn't really offer
any new features, just fixes for problems with version 0.5h, including the
"energy" and "runaway" bugs.
24 Hour Gamer interviews
SouthEnd Interactive talking with the Swedish developer about progress on their upcoming action title,
Blitz: Disc Arena. The Q&A goes into the technology and gameplay behind this
action/bloodsport game that 24HG chooses to describe as being "a cross between
NHL '99, Half-Life and Tron."
Thresh's FiringSquad
Soldier of Fortune Multiplayer Demo Review is called a review, but since it
is based on the still-to-be-released Multiplayer Demo to be included as an OEM
bundle, offering new screenshots and all sorts of details, highlighting it as a
hands-on preview seems just as appropriate. There's no word on what hardware the
demo will be offered with, but in spite of the article referring to cluing modem
users in on whether it will be worth a download, it seems safe to assume an OEM
demo will not be available for download legally, though you never know (a multiplayer demo with a limited distribution might make it hard to find games).
A report on The Adrenaline Vault
announces GT Interactive's plan to release the original Unreal bundled with
Legend Entertainment's add-on, Return to Na Pali, along with the official Unreal
strategy guide. According to the update, the whole shebang is going to be called
Unreal Gold, and will be on store shelves as soon as February 15, although they
point out "Epic was unable to comment on what version Unreal Gold will be
since it is 'very much a future product.'"
An update to the Unreal Technology page
gives word from Erik de Neve of an experimental D3D patch for Unreal
Tournament (thanks Creeker). Here's the deal: We are testing a new beta of UT's DirectX7 D3D rendering interface DLL.
People experiencing problems in D3D mode may want to help test it, keep in mind
this is an unsupported, largely untested beta. In particular, this should allow
you to run UT on certain combinations of GeForce-based cards and drivers for
which the original DLL crashes shortly after 'precaching'. To install, backup
the d3ddrv.dll that's in your UT system folder and replace it with this
file. Feedback welcome at utbugs405@epicgames.com.
The QER News page has
release 6 of Phoenix Quake, using access to the Quake source code to add Quake
III Arena-style shader functions to the original Quake. While the included
shaders for 500 or so current Quake 1 textures don't exploit the potential of
shaders, the new version opens the door to artists looking to get creative with
32-bit texture maps and other Quake III-engine effects. Thanks Tom Cleghorn.
BarrysWorld has posted some
Windows game .dlls for Quake III Arena optimized for speed on Pentium II+
processors they say can provide a significant framerate boost (though of course,
this may prevent you from being able to play on a pure server).
A new utility for mod authors called NewMod
for Quake III Arena is designed to take some of the hassle out of working with
the Quake III Arena game source by making it so that new projects will
automatically compile into their proper directories under your Q3A directory,
and the program also serves as what is described as a powerful source code
backup tool. Version 1.0.0 is an under 40 KB download that includes the source
code, and the author describes it as allowing mod developers "to add their
own custom files into NewMod's archival routines and to allow for future Q3A
source updates without having to touch the executable code."
The Just The Movies page has the
release of Road to Coma, a new Quake II movie, which, fitting the general state
of the art, is pretty bizarre. The movie features some non-sequitur channel
switching followed by an action sequence. The juxtaposition seemed a bit odd to
me, but then again, there's The Thin Red Line.
Fuzzy's Logic has posted a
new quake3data.gsl as a tiny 3 KB download to enable full Quake III Arena
support in the GibStats Quake
and Quake II log analyzer, which still only offers support for Q3Test/Demo. The
unofficial Q3A support is fairly complete, with proper support for colored
names the only feature with known problems.
Rob Wiltbank sent along the following for folks having problems connecting to
the Microsoft Gaming Zone to play Allegiance (or presumably other games) because they are behind a Linux masq server. Here's
the deal: Don't know if ya've tried the demo, but in the Zone lobby for Allegiance, it directs you to a webpage if you get the message, "Can't
Connect to Lobby." That webpage is research.microsoft.com/joeld/allnetwork.htm
and basically states some s__t that ya can't play Allegiance through internet
connection sharing, along with some proxies and firewalls without some tweaks,
which they give examples of for MS OS's...
Well, being the linux guy I am, this left me s__t out of luck, so for all of
those folks out there who are behind a linux masq server, here's how to play
Allegiance:
Step 1: You need to have root or su access.
Step 2: Find the ipmasqadm rpm for ipchains or the ipautofw rpm if you're using
ipfwadm and install the RPM (if not already installed... can be found at
rpmfind.net)
Step 3: For IP Chains use this command set:
ipmasqadm autofw -A -v -r udp 2300 2400 -h www.xxx.yyy.zzz
ipmasqadm autofw -A -v -r tcp 2300 2400 -h www.xxx.yyy.zzz
ipmasqadm autofw -A -v -r tcp 47624 47624 -h www.xxx.yyy.zzz
ipmasqadm autofw -A -v -r udp 47624 47624 -h www.xxx.yyy.zzz
ipmasqadm autofw -A -v -r udp 28800 28900 -h www.xxx.yyy.zzz
Where www.xxx.yyy.zzz is the IP address in the internal network that you want to
play on. For ipfwadm:
ipautofw -A -v -r udp 2300 2400 -h www.xxx.yyy.zzz
ipautofw -A -v -r tcp 2300 2400 -h www.xxx.yyy.zzz
ipautofw -A -v -r tcp 47624 47624 -h www.xxx.yyy.zzz
ipautofw -A -v -r udp 47624 47624 -h www.xxx.yyy.zzz
ipautofw -A -v -r udp 28800 28900 -h www.xxx.yyy.zzz
Where www.xxx.yyy.zzz is the IP address in the internal network that you want to
play on.
Also, this should work for all DirectX variant games. Thought this may be of
some help to other folks out there.
- Painful Detail has a
pair of new player models for Unreal Tournament, as well as a tutorial on
converting Quake II skins to Unreal Tournament...
- Bill Brown's Music Samples Page
includes streaming music samples of the game work of Bill Brown (of Rainbow
Six fame) including Quake III Arena end credits music, music from
Anachronox, and more...
- WasteLAN now hosting clan and
player profiles where you can upload a bio and even a photograph...
- There's a preview
of Metal Fatigue on Gamer's Alliance Strategy giving some hands-on
impressions of this upcoming anime-inspired RTS from Psygnosis...
Pretty darn quiet around here this weekend, for those outside the US who may not
be aware, things are
likely to be slow for a lot of the US-based scene today as well, since it's the
observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. Speaking of outside the US,
I heard from someone in Ireland that the new season of the Sopranos won't be
seen over there for months yet, so apologies to anyone similarly deprived for
rubbing last night's premiere in their faces. Not to worry, I certainly won't
post any spoilers here.
Link of the Day: Thumb.com. Thanks
Lord J.
Image of the Day: This
Quake III Arena Wallpaper by Eric Cherry.
Bonus Image: Another new Q3A wallpaper on www.q3a.de,
this one another of the Doom Marine, this time depicting old green and pissed in
an action shot.
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