Archived News:
The noisy Microsoft Freelancer at E3 2000
page has a set of four new screenshots from Freelancer,
as well as the E3 trailer in streaming format that shows of some gameplay and
rendered sequences from the upcoming space combat game (thanks Lancer News),
as well as a page with shots and a streaming trailer from the game's
something-quel, StarLancer.
There are also pages up with similar treatments (screenshots and trailers) for Allegiance,
Crimson Skies,
Loose Cannon, MechWarrior
4, and Metal Gear Solid.
More WC3 News, as there's a new WarCraft III Trailer
on the Daily Radar, showing off the cross-genre strategy game in an
executable movie for the cost of a 17 MB download. Thanks Edge. Here's their
description of the cinematic experience: "As you may remember, the first
trailer left off with an orc and a human knight fighting to the death, only to
be interrupted by a demon. This one picks up where it left off, and holy cow
does it have orcs galore!"
The (former) Ultima Online 2 website
has word that the moniker that will replace the working title Ultima Online 2 as
the official name of the upcoming UO sequel will be Ultima Worlds Online:
Origin (thanks Honest3d). The update
goes on to explain that in addition to other significance the name imparts
that's appropriate, that this will also give the name Origin a chance to live
on, as this will be the first Ultima title published under the EA flag.
A "CTW E3 NewsFlash" just rolled in with more PlayStation 2 details
beyond what was posted earlier ( story), so I posted
it up here in case you are eager for more skinny on Sony's upcoming console
system. Included are details on an expansion bay for hard-drives, the
non-inclusion of a memory stick with the system (it will be available
separately), and more.
There's an interview on PC.IGN.Com
with Jason Kingsley talking with the art director on Gunlok, the upcoming
"futuristic 3D action RPG" from Rebellion, the developer of Aliens
versus Predator. The lengthy Q&A discusses a wide range of topics in-depth,
including the game's publishing situation, background on the plot, the engine.
The Blizzard Entertainment
Warcraft III screenshot archive has been updated with a half-dozen new
screenshots showing off the upcoming role-playing/strategy game in 800x600
resolution. Thanks The Oxygen Tank.
Armada.WON.net has posted the version 1.1
patch for Star Trek: Armada, now out of beta. Word on the patch is that it
addresses problems with the i810 chipset and most NVIDIA-based video cards, corrects some bugs, tweaks gameplay, makes changes to the single
player game, and more.
There are a
whopping 32 new screenshots of Team Arena on 3DActionPlanet after a hands-on
demo of the Quake III Arena add-on by some of the folks from id Software. Word
is these shots feature "all the new weapons, gameplay modes, and
powerups." Meanwhile there are 10
more shots on GameSpy, their sister site, along with word that a full
preview is due tomorrow. Finally, there are one,
two,
three
more shots on PlanetQuake, their, um,
cousin site.
- The LucasArts at E3 2000 lineup has
been posted, with screenshots of the bunch of them, including Star Wars:
Obi-Wan. Thanks Johnny Z.
- 27 new Submarine Titans
screenshots on GameSpy.Com showing off this underwater strategy game.
- There's a
Topware preview on SpieleCity, a German site (it's after midnight their
time, apparently lifting their E3 embargo), with previews and screenshots of
several offerings from the show: The Moon
Project, World War
3, Iron
Dignity, Two Worlds,
and Earth 3,
as well as a trailer. As always, Babel Fish can translate that German for
you.
Sony sets date for PlayStation2 debut
is the Cnet report (thanks Rob Smith and Brian Smedley) announcing that
Sony has announced the US release date for its their PlayStation 2 console
system as October 26, and that the suggested retail price is $299.00 (US). As
has been speculated, the unit, which will play DVDs and audio CDs, will not
include a modem or a hard drive, the former said to be expected to be on sale
separately "shortly" after the launch, and the latter to be connected
through USB and "iLink" ports. According to the report: "Sony
plans to crank out 1 million PlayStation2 units for the launch, with 2 million
more units to ship through March 31, 2001."
Unreal Universe sends word that
because some folks were having trouble with the umod-installer version of the
new Inoxx map-pack for Unreal Tournament, Epic designer Cedric "Inoxx" Fiorentino sent them
the maps and textures pre-expanded in a non-umod format, all available in a .zip
file on the Unreal Universe
files page.
While at Unreal Universe, I noticed
they posted word that the RUNE
website has a new shot of Ragnar, the studly Viking hero of RUNE, Human Head
Studios' upcoming unreal-engine game of Viking melee combat. In addition to
their normal character shot of Ragnar (holding a giant axe), there is also the same
shot in a format more suitable for a desktop wallpaper, if you are so inclined.
Windows 2000 users who visit the Windows
update page will find a second update to add further legacy application compatibility (mostly with games) to
Microsoft's Professional Edition software (thanks 3D
Spotlight). In addition to the fixes from the first update in February, the
new update also addresses compatibility with the following applications and games:
Application List
The May 2000 package addresses the following software titles:
- 1602 A.D. 1.0 (GT Interactive)
- Access 97 (Microsoft)
- Art Explosion T-Shirt Factory 1.0 (Nova Development)
- Demolition Racer 1.0 (Infogrames Multimedia)
- Encarta Reference Suite 98 (Microsoft)
- Gabriel Knight 3 1.0 (Sierra On-line/Dynamix)
- Half-Life: Game of the Year Edition 1.0 (Sierra On-line/Dynamix)
- iF-22 Raptor 1.0 (Interactive Magic)
- Outlook 98 (Microsoft)
- Panzer Commander 1.0 (Strategic Simulations)
- PhotoDeluxe Home Edition 3.0 (Adobe)
- PhotoDeluxe Home Edition 3.1 (Adobe)
- Pokemon Project Studio Blue Version 1.0 (Mattel Interactive)
- Pokemon Project Studio Red Version 1.0 (Mattel Interactive)
- Powerslide 1.0 (GT Interactive)
- Resume Maker Deluxe Edition 7.0 (Individual Software)
- Rising Sun 1.0 (TalonSoft)
- Sonic & Knuckles Collection 1.0 (Sega Enterprise)
- Streets & Trips 2000 (Microsoft)
- Stuart Little: Big City Adventures 1.0 (Hasbro Interactive)
- Thief-The Dark Project 1.0 (Eidos Interactive)
- X Games Pro Boarder 1.0 (Electronic Arts)
In more business shuffling, GT Interactive to Adopt Infogrames Brand Across the Company and Its Products
is the press release announcing that: "As of this month, all GT products
will carry the Infogrames name. The company, together with its affiliate
Infogrames North America, will be known as Infogrames, Inc. and will operate
under their existing arrangements. GT will continue to trade on NASDAQ under the
'GTIS' trading symbol."
Intel to Replace Defective Motherboards
is a Reuters story announcing that Intel intends to replace some problem
SDRAM-based i820 motherboards. Thanks Tony Chang. Here's the entire story: Intel
Corp. (NasdaqNM:INTC - news),
the world's leading maker of personal computer chips, on Wednesday said it would
replace motherboards that have a defective memory component causing some
computer systems sold since last fall to reset, reboot or stall.
In limited cases, the problem can lead to corruption of data, Intel said.
Intel, the largest maker of computer microprocessors, said the problem arises
from a defective memory translator hub (MTH) component that translates signals
from SDRAM (synchronous dynamic random access memory) to the Intel 820 chipset.
The company plans to make a reserve against the costs of the replacement program
when the cost can be determined. Depending upon the user replacement rate, the
amount of this reserve could be material, it said.
The affected motherboard -- the circuit board upon which chips and other
circuitry are mounted -- began shipping in November 1999 and systems shipped
before that time are unaffected by this issue, Intel said.
Gamers.Com has announced it has acquired
the P.G.L. (Professional Gamers League) from Pogo.Com
(proving Pogo's long-time claim that the league, which has been inactive for the
last year, was not truly defunct). Here is a brief excerpt from the post-dated press
release they just sent along, that indicates some further planning will be
done before an announcement is made about how the re-launch will be handled:
"Before announcing any specific plans for the re-launch of the PGL,
we plan to carefully study other sports leagues that have opportunities for
players of all levels to compete,” he added. “Other sporting leagues have
major leagues, minor leagues, farm leagues and even little leagues, and we
believe that with over 145 million gaming enthusiasts in the US alone -- with
interests in everything from online and console games to board and card games --
the same opportunities should exist for the PGL."
As if he new things would be a bit quiet, Zombie's Mark Long sent along three
unsolicited screenshots from a recent build of M.O.U.T. 2025 ("Military
Operations in Urban Terrain"), Zombie's upcoming LithTech-engine shooter.
Here is the note he sent along with it: "We're making last minute fixes to
our E3 demo and I thought I'd shoot you the latest screenshots while I burn CDs.
We've only been working on MOUT for 6 weeks - but it looks pretty good." 2025 is
the first in a planned series of M.O.U.T. games, which were originally planned
as a single SpecOps game, which has evolved into more of a science-fiction-themed
tactical shooter. Last we heard, plans were to release the PC version of the
game after it first debuts on the Dreamcast.
There are some New Legends
Screenshots on GameFan showing off the first-ever images of this upcoming
Unreal-engine action/RPG from The Infinite Machine, the startup company founded
by former LucasArts designer Justin Chin. The dozen screenshots show off
gameplay, described as "set primarily in a dark, futuristic mainland China."
Even as Dave Perry is polishing his pointer for his presentation at E3 later
today we have more Sacrifice news, as there are three
more new Sacrifice screenshots on The Oxygen Tank showing off gameplay from
Shiny's upcoming strategy-hybrid game.
There
is a Halo interview on rampancy.net core talking with Jaime
"Case" Griesemer of Bungie about Halo, Bungie's upcoming third-person
action title. Jamie is the senior designer (A.K.A the only designer) of this
upcoming shooter, and the conversation covers his roots as maintainer of a
Myth/Myth II fan site, his work in the business, and, of course, lots about the
game. Most of what's been discussed of Halo mentions its focus on multiplayer
play, but the answer in the following except indicates they are also working to
add a fulfilling single-player experience: Jaime: A single-player
component is absolutely crucial, even for a multiplayer team game like Halo. It
sets the mood for the entire game, it provides context and structure for the
multiplayer game and it gives us a chance to explore a much broader range of
experiences. No multiplayer-only game could ever capture the sense of heroism
and discovery that we are shooting for in our single-player game.
At the same time, our multiplayer game is going to have a lot of depth to it.
You can expect both a compelling single player game and an exciting and
long-lasting multiplayer experience. If you look at our previous games, the
Marathon series and the Myth series, all of them have had extensive single
player games as well as excellent multiplayer games, so we are confident that we
can do both.
The Nightbreed Main Page
has a new version of Nightbreed CTF, bringing this one flag Capture the Flag
variant for Quake III Arena in line with the version 117 source code. In
addition to the updated mod, they have also posted a proper version of the
command line to launch a server so that it's properly reported to the master,
since the included .cfg file did not do so.
Word from Rage Software is they have entered into an Unreal-engine development
and sublicensing agreement with Epic Games. Here is the
press release describing the arrangement, and here's an excerpt: Rage
Software is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Epic
Games Inc ("Epic"), a North American games and game technology
developer, to license the Unreal® Engine.
In addition, as part of the agreement, Rage has also been granted the exclusive
right to sublicense the Unreal Engine to third party game developers and
publishers throughout Europe. Rage will receive a royalty payment based on each
license it secures. In conjunction with Epic, Rage will provide technical
support for European Unreal Engine licensees.
PlayStation
Games on Dreamcast on GameWeek.com and Bleem to Bring PlayStation Emulator to Dreamcast
on Dreamcast.IGN.Com are stories confirming the rumor that the Bleem!
PlayStation emulator will be coming to the Dreamcast. The program, expected to
be announced at E3, is not a Dreamcast emulator for the PC, but rather a
PlayStation emulator for the Dreamcast, which will apparently allow owners of
Sega's console system to play games designed for Sony's console system. Thanks
Schnapple by way of Zophar's Domain.
The Shrapnel Home Page has a new
version 1.11 patch for Horse & Musket that fixes many "smaller bugs"
in this strategy game, and adds a Fall Back maneuver "requested by
fans." Also, Majesty - Dragon
clears up the confusion with a recently released version 2 patch for Majesty,
and they have a link to a properly updated new version of the patch that
clears up problems folks might have had with the original version 2 patch.
A thread called Magic system in DS OK GPG-- I'm still not sure on this
one on the Gamer's Lounge Forums
inspired a reply by Gas-Powered Games' President Chris "Dr. Death"
Taylor describing the magic system in their upcoming RPG, while another thread
called I really
(hate) to ask... asking the inevitable question about the game's release
date has a reply from designer Sarah "Calix" Boulian saying "We
will definitely be shipping well before this time next year. =)".
Part four (or is that five?) of the MechWarrior 4 Dev Team
Interview is online at BadKarma, this time discussing how natural the
Artificial Intelligence will be in the upcoming installment in the giant robot
combat series with Paul Touzour and T.J. Wagner. Previous installments in this
series include Q&As on artistic
development, gameplay,
as well as of course, this,
and that.
There are six more
Ground Control screenshots on GameHQ.de showing off more of this upcoming
strategy title from Sierra and Massive Entertainment. The site is in German, but
of course screenshots speak the universal language (wait, that's music, isn't
it? Or was it Igpay Atinlay?).
In addition to a text write-up, this ZDTV Sacrifice Preview
features streaming video with Joby Otero, art director for Shiny Entertainment,
talking about progress on Sacrifice, Shiny's upcoming "magnum opus,"
during a recent foray to the ZD offices. In addition to the footage of Joey
demonstrating the latest beta of the game, they also have the Shiny E3 trailer
online, so you can check that out from the comfort of your own home or office
(for the full effect from the show, watch it with your stereo full-blast and a
smoke machine running). Also on the Shiny/E3 front is a Conference/Workshop
tomorrow at 2:00 PM PDT where Shiny's Dave Perry will be showing off the
Sacrifice (while Peter Molyneux will show off Black & White). Finally, if
that's not enough, the Sacrifice Website
has three new images of Charnel minions from the game, showing off Blight,
Abomination, and Styx.
SimHQ.com
interviews Rod Fung, the producer on SWAT3, talking about this tactical
police shooter and its upcoming Battle Plan add-on. The short Q&A discusses
what sets SWAT 3 apart form other similar games and other general questions, as
well as a specific grilling about the add-on, discussing things like AI
improvements and support for tactics like sniping.
The MSN Gaming Zone Allegiance
downloads page has the Allegiance Shadow Server Switcher for download. This
utility can allow players of Allegiance, Microsoft's new multiplayer space
combat game, to switch to the "Shadow Server," which will be open for
a couple of hours each day to test new updates, balance changes and bug fixes.
The schedule for when the Shadow Server will be online can be found in the
program's message of the day. Thanks PlanetAllegiance.
The UZ Compression Admin Page has the
just-released Inoxx map pack ( story) for Unreal Tournament, all
set for server admins to point to so that clients without the pack who connect
to your server will not have to download it using bandwidth better used for
those playing the game. They now have close to a half-gigabyte of maps that can
be linked in this manner.
There's a Q3A Nordic
Championship wrap-up on gamepig.com detailing the outcome of this recent
tourney in Stockholm, Sweden. Also, CHEU
previews the EuroCup finals.
A new
Daikatana Demo Resources page on Planet Daikatana offers a bunch of
resources for the Daikatana Demo, which in addition to troubleshooting tips,
also offers a couple of support files for editing levels for the demo.
- GoCheat! is a newly-launched
resource to serve as "the Metacrawler of cheat codes"...
- DemoNews.com
has a new full version 2.7.6 of the Warbirds flight sim for download for my
buddy RedAnt and all his wingmen, and also a playable demo of Let's Dogfight!,
a WWI aerial combat game, is now available...
- WomenGamers.Com
Gaming Activism article discusses those who get involved, and those who
don't, on the subject of gaming "activism"...
It's like And Then There Were None around here, Frans headed out
yesterday, and might very well be here in the US even as I write these words;
loony is heading out a bit later this morning; and I'll head off tomorrow, all
of course, bound for the left coast where they are holding that Electronic
Entertainment Expo, that as I recall we may have mentioned once or twice
lately.
Link of the Day: Disgruntled Ninja Silently Kills 12 Co-Workers
(The Onion). Thanks Mike Sullivan.
Story of the Day: Hayden Christensen
(Who?) Does Darth (E! Online/MSN) announces they've finally cast the Anakin
Skywalker to co-star with Jar Jar Binks in the next Star Wars movie. At least
reporters will stop asking me about the rumors that I would play the part.
Thanks Idham Idris.
Quote of the Day: (from GreenMarine's
.plan) "If you are able to go to a party after working the floor at E3,
you didn't work hard enough." - Jay Wilbur.
*Whacking Day: "Founded by Jebediah Springfield in 1775, every May 10th,
the citizens of Springfield drive the snakes into the town square, then club
them to death." -- Kent Brockman (thanks Aaron "XuuL" Gussman).
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