Archived News:
id Software's Robert Duffy updated his .plan with a lengthy essay on Q3A mod
support. It's pretty quiet, so here's the whole deal: Point Release Stuff
There was a lot of new functionality added in the latest point release,
primarily centered around mod development support. We are still sifting through
all the feedback e-mail but here are some problems and solutions based on what
we have found so far.
1. If you are are not seeing the new "Mods" menu, it is likely that
you are running something that replaces the UI. ArenaSpy and several other mods
have their own UI DLL's or QVM's so you will not be able to see the point
release UI. This can be remedied by removing any extra UI mods. This can also
cause a problem with auto-download in that if you connect to a server that sends
you something, you cannot see the download progress because the UI your using
does not support it. The download is working but you just see "Awaiting
gamestate" ( because your not using the new UI ). If you see partial files
in baseq3 or an fs_game path this is what happened. Again, using the UI that
comes with the point release solves this problem.
2. If you have chosen a 3rd party model or skin, you CAN still connect to and
play on pure servers. The caveat being that you will temporarily revert to Sarge.
This works just like it always has.
3. If you are using a cracked executable, you will no longer be able to connect
to pure servers. "You ruined the game, I cannot cheat anymore!" is not
a valid complaint.
4. If you are not able to join a server and you get an "unpure" client
message, it is likely that you are loading content from an invalid PK3 file,
loading DLL's for gameplay or loading content outside of PK3 files. If you have
modified any of the official PK3 files this will also cause you to not be able
to connect to pure servers. The other case in which I have seen this is if the
server was set to pure and not restarted. I am still looking into this one.
5. I have seen reports of non-pure clients not getting kicked fully and
remaining semi-connected. I have be unable to duplicate this problem. If you
have details on this please forward them to me.
6. If you cannot see a 3rd party model, I have tracked this down to the method
which it was zipped. It appears that some zip programs do not store directory
names as individual entries in the zip files. I use Winzip and it works fine.
7. You can use 3rd party UI's to launch games and connect to pure servers. Once
you have connected to a pure server, the client will reload the UI based on what
the server flags is ok. This will explain running a new UI ( like ArenaSpy ),
playing on a pure server, exiting back to the menu and ArenaSpy is gone.
8. There have been a couple of reports of not being able to load nn number of
maps, others have reported no problems. We load around 2500 maps from the
development directory here and with that and locally I have not been able to
duplicate this issue. And no, there are not 2500 maps we did not release.. these
are largely successive numbered versions of the same maps.
If you have any information that could help identify a problem or an exact set
of reproduction steps for unpure clients not getting fully kicked or not being
able to load maps from baseq3, please forward the information to me at raduffy@idsoftware.com.
And for those of you wanting to try out that new Mod menu, I highly suggest
HeadHunters or Fists of Fury those along with many others are Very Cool.
The AZ Development Team
page has a new version 0.75 of the Equilibrium mod for Quake III Arena.
Equilibrium is a teamplay mod that starts each team with 50% of the victory in
the match, and that ratio can swing back and forth with the momentum of the
match. The mod supports four game modes: regular teamplay, CTF, Showdown, and
Tournament.
It's been awhile, but there is now a new version 0.99.0 of JHexen, the OpenGL port of Raven's classic action game Hexen. This version boasts a number of major changes, including separation of the game proper into a Doomsday engine and a JHexen DLL, expansion of the 3D acceleration facilities to Direct3D, enhanced network play that uses a simulated client/server system, lots of new and improved console commands, and a ton of other changes and fixes. You can check out the complete list of changes here.
The newly relocated Fragstomp,
home of the Reload be Gone mod for Q3A has a new version 1.0 of their Bloodlust
mod for Quake III Arena, a client-side mod that causes players to throw body
parts and blood trails as they are shot, and makes gibs much bloodier, in case
you are just not getting the kind of gratification you seek disintegrating your
friends under the current system.
The One Must Fall Battlegrounds site has a
22 MB movie showing off gameplay from One Must Fall: Battlefields, an
upcoming fighting game from Diversions Entertainment. The AVI format movie
depicts the character named Jaguar. Thanks GA-Source.
These B&W Exclusives
on Infolder.Com offer six new looks at Lionheads' upcoming strategy offering
commonly classified as a "god game." The site is primarily in Dutch,
but the shots, of course, speak one of those universal languages.
Another release in today's run of front-ends for Quake III Arena comes on ShellShock's Crater,
where there's a new version 00.02.19.00 of the Q3Offline mod. The new release fixes some
bugs, and adds a few new features, such as map list drag and drop.
There are some new Hired Guns
screenshots and engine details on GA-Source showing off Psygnosis' upcoming
strategy/action hybrid. Along with the shots, there is a development update from
VR1, the team at work on the game, giving details about what is being modified
in the Unreal engine for Hired Guns. There's also a
Hired Guns Quickie on 3DGaming.Net giving a handy one-page rundown on the
game.
Slovenska Quake III Arena has posted an
exchange with id Software's Robert Duffy inquiring about CD key security after
the release of the Q3A CD security patch ( story),
learning, among other things, why encryption is not used on these keys. Though
their intro to the Q&A reads: "Kmalu po izidu novega Q3A Beta Patch-a
v1.16i sem poslal mail do idjevega frika Robert Dufffija in na moje zacudenje
celo dobil odgovor. No, pa si poglejmo . Ehm aja, sorry for my bad
english?" The Q&A itself is all English.
Bryionak.de
interviews Sergei Klimov from Snowball Interactive talking about
Stormbringer, an upcoming RPG based on the novels by Michael Moorcock (who is
involved in the Game's development). GA-RPG
interviews Jon Kromrey of Stormfront Studios
talking about Pool of Radiance Ruins of Myth Drannor, an upcoming "3rd
Edition Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game which uses a state-of the art 3D
animation system which brings D&D to life more than any product ever has."
There are more Chaser Details
on Actiontrip getting more details on this upcoming first-person shooter
from Slovakian developer Cauldron. Tech-Junkie's Ratbag Site Visit & Interview
goes on location to talk behind-the-scenes with Jim Rehn, Ratbag's lead game
designer. PlanetUnreal's
Unrealty Interview ( Unreal Universe
has the same Q&A on their main page) talks with one of the developers of the
Unreality Unreal-engine real estate sales
program.
A new version 1.6 of the Weapon Mod
for Quake III Arena "new minor additions and changes to the mod are grapple
pull speed, drop weapons after being fragged on/off, /drop weapons while playing
will spawn up above the player, 3 sec rule is gone, and offhand grapple. players
can choose the type of grapple they want using the two client console commands,
/onhand and /offhand." There's also a note there about a bug in lightening
discharge code in version 1.6 that's been removed, though it's not clear if that
means the version 1.6 they have for download has been altered from the first
version that was posted.
The El Niño Quake Extensions page
has a new version 1.4.1 of the Viz mod for Quake III Arena, hot on the heels of
last night's 1.4.0 release ( story).
As could be surmised from the rapid fire releases, the follow-up is a bug
fix, addressing odd gauntlet behavior in action mode.
The Tectonic page has a new version
0.9 of the TecArena Quake III Arena front-end. The new release adds per map frag/capture/time
limits, a custom game type option, and a couple of fixes, including fixes to the
Maxclients and Capturelimit variables.
A new version 2.08 of the Servarena
Quake III Arena dedicated server launcher is now available, fixing a few
"map-related" bugs, as well as removing some obsolete code that
remained as a vestige of previous releases.
The third Q3A front-end release of the morning is a FightClub
version 00.03.02 patch. This is a configuration tool for Quake III Arena servers
and clients that offers support for over 20 modifications. The update is
currently only available as an upgrade to previous versions until "any bugs
are squished."
There are a few new Quake III Arena coding tutorials on GameSeek.com,
a 3-Way Plasma Gun Tutorial,
a Laserbeam Weapon Tutorial,
and a Model-Manager Tutorial,
and they also have a Quake 3 coding article titled How
to make a Vampire Mod for Quake 3. Also, there's now a Voice Pack Creation Tutorial
on Painful Detail. VRMagazine
has posted their second texture pack out of three, featuring textures for Q3A,
which are said to be easily adapted to other games.
- Deathmatching for Fun and Profit
on RivalWorks talks with CPL founder Angel Munoz about the viability of
making a living as a "cyberathlete" Also, loonygames presents Game, Set,
Match, another Angel Munoz interview, calling him "King of the
CPL," and tossing up a few softballs.
- eXtremeDomination.net's
Q3A pummel fest offers the chance to throw away those guns and fight
like a man in a fists-only Quake III Arena tourney.
- Planet
Daikatana's Looking For A Hiro contest offers copies of Daikatana when it
comes out, as well as joysticks and stuff.
- The Ticket to the
Limit contest on Gamer's Voice is an "instant-win" (albeit
promoting repeated "instant" visits) game with over 600 prizes worth
over $14,000, including swag from Microsoft, Eidos, Sony, Karna, Monolith
Productions, and more.
- Cached.NEt Red64
Tourney results are online, DM-Zero4 is the champion of this one-on-one
faceoff.
- Painful Detail has
been updated with six new voice packs and two new player models for Unreal
Tournament...
- Apparently the revived Pyropimps Show
features some references to not getting plugged here, so it's obvious they
are back in form over there. Thanks R2P2. This is an irreverent RealPlayer
audio program, that unlike most of its irreverent kin, is usually pretty
funny...
Yesterday was the two-year anniversary of the release of the Quake II point
release, and in addition to being Zoid's birthday
as previously mentioned (the big 3-0, so I'm told), it
was also the second birthday of one of his children, Threewave CTF for Quake II.
More birthdays: Raven's truly certifiable Jake
Simpson's birthday is somewhere around tomorrow (BTW, this is the second year
in a row I screwed up Chris Foster's,
which was last week (gotta love annual traditions), and id's Kenneth
Scott's
birthday is tomorrow, as well. Today is also the birthday of Ritual's Andrew
Collins. There... all set, including handy email links if you want to send
some birthday spam.
Link of the Day: Oklahoma Microscopy Society Ugly Bug Contest.
Thanks [m42]Tyger. They probably switched to microscopes from magnifying glasses
after one too many portrait subjects burst into flames while posing.
Image of the Day: Penguin Computing Graphics
has a bunch of Linux-oriented desktop wallpapers. Thanks Jeff Magill.
The El Niño Quake Extensions page
has version 1.4.0 of the Viz mod for Quake III Arena. The new release of this
mod from the author of the visible weapons mod for Quake II adds player class
characteristics to Q3A based on the model you select, as well as gameplay
options like bleeding from wounds. All options can be toggled on and off, and
included is a .cfg to make the game "action quake-ish game, with one weapon
per player, forced player models, and no powerups or armor." The whole deal
is explained in the FAQ.
Battlecruiser Online Downloads page
has a new version 2.09 of Battlecruiser 3000 that runs under Win9x. This is an
unsupported release to patch the DOS version, and contains both the windowed and
fullscreen versions. Word is it "supports every DirectX compliant graphics
card, sound card and controller." Full details can be found in this file.
There's a Soldier of Fortune development update on The Adrenaline Vault
quoting Steven Rosenthal, Activision’s associate producer on Raven's upcoming
Quake II engine shooter. According to the update, the game was feature frozen on
Monday, and is now in final beta testing, looking to weed out any bugs that can
be found, but "the puzzles, level architecture, and weapon balance are
final at this point." There is still no specified schedule for a release,
but the update points out that the only remaining milestone in the game's
development will be the declaration of a gold master. The piece is illustrated
by three new screenshots.
The Adrenaline Vault
interviews Peter Moreland of Hothouse Creations, project manager on
Gangsters II, an upcoming real-time strategy sequel featuring enough hoodlum
action to make any mother proud, provided she is Ma Barker. Accompanying the
Q&A about progress on the game are three new screenshots.
GameSpy.com interviews Kevin Perry
talking with the lead designer on Shadow Watch, Red Storm Entertainment's
upcoming foray into a tactics/strategy game that will be turn-based in a genre
dominated by real-time games. The Q&A discusses the decision to opt for the
turn-based play, and offers a good preview of what to expect from the game,
along with several screenshots.
There are five Sacrifice
screenshots on nonstuff, a German-language gaming site. One of the shots is
familiar, but the first four have never been published online before, though
they appeared in last month's print PCGamerUK. Sacrifice is Shiny
Entertainment's upcoming action/RTS hybrid.
Vault Network interviews
Jason Hall, talking with the Monolith CEO about the recent LithTech2
announcements, particularly the one relating to the LT2 engine's applicability
to massive multiplayer online dealies ( story).
This Deus Ex Q&A with Warren
Spector on GA-RPG talks with the ION Storm designer about ION's upcoming
Unreal-engine sci-fi RPG. The brief three question Q&A discusses the game's
cross-genre nature, attempts to give it a unique flavor, and progress on
development. The piece also has a few new screenshots.
Descent3D has posted an interview with Kevin Bentley, catching up with the former Director of Technology at Outrage about his work on Descent 3, his experiences at Outrage, and his move to a new job outside the gaming industry.
Missed last night's Soldier of Fortune chat? PlanetSoldier now has an edited log available, so you can read up how four Raven developers survived the merciless barrage of questions on their mercenary shooter.
3dfx Gamers has released Voodoo3 2000/3000 Windows NT Retail Drivers version 1.04.00, fixing an OpenGL problem, as well as issues with Age of Empires, Age of Empires 2 and Starcraft. Thanks Montella.
There is a preview of Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.2 online at Daily Radar, featuring a Q&A with Ritual's Rob Atkins, a pair of new high-res screenshots (one featuring the Julie Strain character), and some concept art and stills from the Heavy Metal animated movie.
PC.IGN.com has posted a preview of Command & Conquer: Firestorm, examining a recent build of Westwood's expansion pack to Tiberian Sun, illustrated with a bunch of new screenshots and a pair of familiar movies.
3DGN Interviews Tom Hall is a talk with the head honcho behind ION Storm's 3D action/role-playing game Anachronox. Here is a quote that explains how the game's Quake II-based engine has been updated to meet today's demand for buzzwords:
The Anox engine has been upgraded with the following: 24-bit color, 8-bits of
translucency, complex particle effect generator, directional colored model
lighting, skeleton-based models, lipsynching code, controllable AI code, an
advanced camera scriptor, and an entire language to do both 2D and 3D
interfaces or minigames, called APE (the Anachronox Programming Environment).
There is a bunch of new Star Trek: Starfleet Command missions on PC.IGN.com, expanding the universe of Interplay's strategy title. One pack offers three new Romulan missions, and another seven new Hydran Elite missions.
The RS Toolkit Homepage has a new version of this tool collection that aims to improve your tactical combat experiences in Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear. Sporting a spiffy 2000 number, there is a host of new features including support for the upcoming Urban Operations expansion pack, and it is available as a full 8.2 MB download, or a 1.9 MB Lite version.
The official Star Trek: Armada site has been updated with a page on the Borg Collective, highlighting their fleet of starships and special weapons in Activision's upcoming space-based RTS.
The Daily Telefrag has posted a brief but hands-on look at Hired Team, using a visit to New Media Generation's offices to clarify various aspects of their upcoming first-person shooter.
Interplay has rebuilt their Evolva teaser page into a more complete site for Computer Artwork's weird-looking action/strategy game, currently offering game info and four new screenshots.
There is an updated Quake III Arena gameplay FAQ on GameFAQs, adding lots of tips and strategies for survival in id's deathmatch arenas, as well as specific advice for Q3Tourney5.
The official American McGee's Alice site has been updated to reveal a new section of Wonderland, entitled Madhatter's Area, and apparently the first stop along the way there will be in the Chess Village.
LucasArts has revamped their Star Wars: Force Commander preview page into a full-fledged site, sporting a flash intro, game information, a screenshots gallery, a movie trailer, and more on their upcoming 3D real-time strategy game. Thanks The Massassi Temple.
Gamesurge has posted five new screenshots of Flying Heroes, the colorful action flyer that is being developed by Czech companies Illusion Softworks and Pterodon.
Daily Radar has sucked the last drop of blood out of their Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption Week and ends it with an interview with Activision's John Heinecke, discussing the story, gameplay, and more in the 3D role-playing game that is being crafted at Nihilistic.
A
.plan update by id Software programmer Robert Duffy gives word
of a new Quake III Arena 1.16i Beta update now on the
id Software FTP server. Here is a
local copy of the Windows patch (401 KB), the
Linux patch (619 KB), and the
Mac patch (387 KB), each with a list of mirrors. Here's the entirety of the
brief .plan update, which indicates this addresses security: Q3A
1.16i Beta is now on our ftp site. This is a small executable only patch that
enhances security. It is available in three flavors, Win32 ( a .zip file ),
Linux ( a .gz ) and Macintosh ( a self extracting archive ).
This is the
note on exactly what security this involves from the accompanying read me
file(s): This update adds an additional layer of CD Key security.
When you type your CD Key in, the letters and numbers will appear as they normally would. If you leave the screen and return at a later time, blank spaces replace all the characters.
PC.IGN recently made a trip to Microprose's offices, and they wrote up a
massive preview of the Unreal engine title X-COM: Alliance. While the preview
is short on new screenshots, it makes up for it by delivering a whole lot of
information about the game.
GameFan has posted a
brief Q&A with Epic's Tim Sweeney, talking to him about the next Unreal
Tournament patch ("coming very, very soon") and what they'll be showing
at this year's GDC expo.
Incite Games, who either really, really like this game, or just enjoy posting
screenshots from it, have posted six
new screenshots from Black & White. The screenshots show off several
of the demented looking creatures you can grow in the game.
A new preview of Command & Conquer: Firestorm, Westwood's expansion pack
for C&C: Tiberian Sun, featuring new screenshots and gameplay details is
up on C|Net's Gamecenter.
The newly opened Nox fan site NoxGamer
has posted a number of known bugs (and even some solutions) from this recently
released isometric action game. Bugs covered include problems with AMD processors,
CD loading issues, and others.
A new (non-beta) version of HeadHunters Classic,
a remake of the popular Quake mod for Quake III Arena, has been released, and
is available for download on its official
site. This new version supports full bot play amongst other changes.
A whopping 24 new screenshots
from Battlecruiser Millennium have been added to the official Battlecruiser
3000 AD site. These shots show off the Mark 3 Battlecruiser you command in the
game.
A new patch for the Samsung DVD Revolution version of Heavy Gear II has been
released, and is available for download at
Activision's site. The patch is only for this specific OEM version
of the game, not the retail edition.
- GamerzUniverse is having a song
composition contest, to win a copy of Planescape: Torment.
- PCParadox is giving
away 10 copies of 3DMark2000 in their latest contest.
- XSReality
is having a contest to win one of those spiffy new Everglide Giganta mouse
pads.
It will probably come as no surprise to most, but I caved in and bought (and
subsequently installed) Windows 2000 on Thursday. So far, I'm pleased with it
- it runs pretty much all the games I've been playing recently, it's pretty
stable (only one or two crashes thus far) and 90% of my hardware is supported
(and I transferred any unsupported hardware to a Win98 machine on my network).
The only real problem I've had is with my ISDN line - I can get it to dial,
and connect, but only using one channel. I've put in an init string that should
be forcing it to use both, but for some reason it's not working. Strange stuff.
But otherwise, I'm pretty pleased with my final decision.
Image of the Day: The
world's largest blue screen of death. Truly an amazing picture.
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