Raven Software Project Administrator Kenn Hoekstra sends word of a patch for Star Trek: Voyager -- Elite Force that was accidentally released, but should not be installed. Here's the warning:

Raven accidentally uploaded a .zip file of a pre-release patch for Elite Force. This is not a valid patch and MUST NOT BE USED! It will not work with other versions or the server lists.

The bad, Oct 25 patch 1.10 came in a ZIP file called efpatch110.zip. It contains two executables, two DLLs, and a pak1.pk3.

The good, Nov 10 patch 1.10 came in an EXE file called EliteForcePatch1_1.EXE which automatically installs the new files in the correct place.

We just corrected the Raven site, so if anybody downloaded a zip file named efpatch11.zip, please get the correct version immediately. If you've been having trouble connecting to servers after a patch install, odds are you have the wrong patch.

Get this one to replace it... http://www.3ddownloads.com/?file_id=115884

We apologize for the mix-up.

Finishing off their seemingly year-long series of year-end Q&As, Stomped interviews Paul Jaquays talking with the id Software artist/designer about trends in the computer gaming industry. Topics include community spirit and civility, the reaction to the releases of Quake III: Team Arena and Dreamcast Q3A, as well as looks ahead at possible future happenings on the scene.

Also capping off their year-end series is Vgames interview with Scott Miller this Israeli site asking the president of 3D Realms their slate of year-in-review questions, covering topics like the year that was, consoles versus PCs, and Scott's travel plans.

The Rocket Arena website has the release of a new beta version 1.4 of Rocket Arena 3 for Linux. The new Linux version of this Quake III Arena modification, available for both clients and servers, is fully compatible with Q3A version 1.27g. According to the accompanying update, the full version 1.4 release is going to have some new maps and some new features, as well.

The little green men at GameSpy send word of an updated registered version 2.2.4.14 of GameSpy on FilePlanet that fixes a problem with Quake II server lists on the previous version.

The Secret Life of Gooseman on The Adrenaline Vault is a profile of Minh "Gooseman" Le, the main force behind Half-Life Counter-Strike, talking with the young man they say "may be the most influential designer you know nothing about." The extensive article gives loads of detail about the history of this phenomenally successful project, and if we may swipe the cherry off the sundae, also offers a look into Counter-Strike's future:

"I definitely do not want my own company or to be burdened with the responsibilities of managing other people's work. If I could continue working on games the way I've been doing for the last three years, then that would be seventh heaven for me."

Once a modder, always a modder? Perhaps. Le has already identified his next likely challenge: a Counter-Strike 2 mod for Valve's still-to-be-released Team Fortress 2. His newfound connections with the company have given him the insider's track on what the eagerly anticipated online shooter is going to be like. "I do think the other new engines look great, and a CS-type game would be feasible on any of them, but I really like what I see in the TF2 engine. But I can't comment on that engine. It's hush, hush." At any rate, he admits, his involvement will have to wait until TF2 is released. "In the meantime, I'm going to take some much needed R&R."

RPGDot's interview with - Ultima 1 is a conversation with Telemachos, the programmer behind the upcoming Richard "Lord British" Garriott approved Ultima I - A Legend Is Reborn, remake of the original Ultima (ahh, Ultima I ) talking about the game, as well as the currently available test version. Also, Quarter to Three's 60 second interview is a partial reproduction of a print interview, talking with legendary game designer Sid Meier. Like their previous minute-man Q&As, this covers about as much as you can in such a brief space, and has some fun along the way, my favorite moment being:

Any discarded names for the original Civilization?

"My suggestions were 'Sid’s new interminable lo-res sequential turn-based strategy game' or 'It’s Good to be King.'"

• Prices
  Sharky Extreme's Value Business PC Buyer's Guide, Hardware OC's Mid-Budget Buyers Guide Hardware, and Digital Web 3D's Friday CPU, Memory, & Video Cards Price list have each been updated.
• DirextX Uninstaller
  A new version of the DirectX Uninstaller is up on TweakTown.
• New RIVA Tuner
  A new version of the RIVA Tuner is now available, updating this tweaking utility for all NVIDIA-based accelerators.

GameSpy.com's Counter-Strike Strategy Guide is online, offering tips on "How to make the most of your online Counter-Strike killing," with "Weapons detail, tactics, and detailed information on the eight most popular levels."

The story named "On-line gaming -- professionally" on eYada offers a streaming media interview with Angel Munoz (beginning about 22 minutes into the show) where the CPL founder talks about one of his favorite topics, the ongoing evolution of the competitive gaming scene. Along the way (about 37 minutes in) Angel mentions discussions with John Carmack about possibly using id's upcoming Doom game in future CPL (or, as the host calls it the "Cyber Professional Athletic League") events. Also, covered is the recent controversy resulting from the "Blue bug" in the mod used at the last CPL tourney.

• Battle of Britain on EuroGamer.
• Gunman Chronicles on SharkyGames.
• Gunman Chronicles Demo on 3DActionPlanet.
• Half-Life: Counter-Strike on Game Rankings.
• No One Lives Forever on GA-Source.
• Oni Demo on PCrivals.
• Project I.G.I. on Review Vortex, Maximum3D, and Head-2-Head.
• Siege of Avalon: Chapter 1 on Computer Games Online.
• Sudden Strike on Computer Games Online.

• ABIT Siluro GF2 GTS 64MB video card on TweakTown.
• fUnc Surface 1030 mouse pad on RIVA 3D.
• Plextor Plexwriter 8-4-32A CD-R/W on Guru3D.
• Thermaltake Blue Orb cooler on Overclockers Online.

• A new edition of Rich Carlson's Developer Corner on GameSpy offers a look at the history of gaming, talking about the games that Zdim played as they first appeared (though photos of many game boxes are included, the article does not seem to focus nearly as much on cover art as the introduction implies)...
• An article called DiabloII.Net Bug Bytes is a list of known issues that have surfaced in Diablo II since the recent release of the version 1.04 patch...
• The year’s biggest tech flops are the subject of the dubious honor of the Floppy awards on MSNBC. Thanks Chris Johnson...

We seem to get far more predictions for severe snow storms in our portion of the northeastern United States than we get actual blizzards, but yesterday's deluge was all that was promised, and more. We received well over a foot of snow (probably closer to two feet), turning the area into a winter wonderland, especially if you like to wonder about things like where your car is buried. Speaking of which, I got some sage advice from my pal Thom (AKA hoosier_dadi on the messageboards, or Devicer to those who remember some of the artwork on this site from years back) who said to get a snow-blower, no matter how small I considered my sidewalk, but Ye Olde Home Depot was sold out of them (hours in advance of the first flake falling), so it was the shovel for me, which got me to thinking about how it's shoveling snow that is so often the cause of surprise massive fatal heart attacks in middle-aged men... maybe I ought to consider getting in shape as one of my new year's resolutions? Speaking of the new year, the new year's logo popped up last night (thanks as always to Walter "2" Costinak), which, coincidental to any talk of my advancing age, shows me in my true state, or at least how old my back feels this morning.

Finally, on the subject of the New Year's Eve celebrations that take place tonight, whether your roads are wet or dry please be careful out there, watch for those who drink and drive, and of course, please don't be one of them. From all of us here, please have a happy, safe, and healthy celebration.

Link of the Day: Apreo. Fascinating stuff: With the promise of "keeping networks ready for work," they offer utilities to scour a system for games or mp3s, deleting them at will (apparently not even being thwarted by renaming the offending files). Thanks ScumHole.
Story of the Day: Cross-Dressing Gains Acceptance in the U.K. Thanks theAntiELVIS. This is news? I remember an article in the 25th anniversary issue of Playboy (yes I occasionally read the articles) by Robert Morley called "Why the British Like to Dress in Drag."