Archived News:
There is a new interview on Axis at The Junkyard, talking to the marketing manager known simply as 'JUN' about the robotic multiplayer first-person shooter by Korean developer Jamie System Development. Topics on the table include the premise and features of the game, the player support they're receiving in their home country, and the difficulties of getting the game published in North America. On the latter issue, an update to the situation since the interview was conducted gives word that the game is to be published by Real Networks.
The Game Developers Conference is in full swing, and naturally the first reports from the event are appearing online this evening. Here is a round-up of articles for your reading pleasure:
- Unreal Technology
GameSpot has posted a report on the latest Unreal technology demonstrated by Epic Games, describing some of the new features that will make their way into Unreal II, among other games.
- Aliens Vs. Predator Sequel
There are some first impressions of the as yet unnamed sequel to Aliens Vs. Predator on GameSpot, in particular of the new wide-open areas that will feature in the game.
- Shogo 2?
GameSpot also reports on a rolling technology demo of the LithTech 3.0 engine that showed a giant robot reminiscent of Shogo, although Monolith's Jason Hall again couldn't comment on whether a sequel is in development.
- TORN
Daily Radar, PC.IGN.com, and GameSpot all have their own take on today's announcement of Black Isle Studios: TORN, including game details and quotes from director Feargus Urquhart.
- Asheron's Call 2
Turbine demos Asheron's Call 2 on GameSpot offers a first take on the recently announced MMORPG sequel (story) that was shown as a tools demonstration.
- The Keynote
Daily Radar has a report on the keynote discussion that revolved around the question, "Is the PC dead?" which was addressed by a panel including Demis Hassabis, Bruce Shelley, Ed Fries, and others.
Newly opened Fallen Age Stratics has conducted an interview with Daniel Manachi, grilling the Netamin producer on their upcoming MMORPG. The interview is neatly divided into general and various gameplay-specific topics, and Daniel fields all questions in fair detail.
GameSpot has posted a guide to Clive Barker's Undying, the recently released first-person horror shooter by DreamWorks Interactive. The detailed guide offers overviews of the weapons and spells in the game, full walkthroughs for all quests, and if you need even more assistance then there's a list of cheat codes and secret areas as well.
Iceland based developers CCP send word of an update on their official EVE site, which now sports a Minmatar "theme pack" to introduce this race in their upcoming massively multiplayer space sim/RPG. There is a new ships database offering two dozen new screenshots, along with some wallpapers, a pair of soundtrack MP3s, and more.
CDV has released a new movie trailer of Cossacks: European Wars for download from FilePlanet in low-resolution (15.5 MB) and high-resolution (71.9 MB) self-running Bink formats. The movie offers a round five minutes of cinematic and gameplay footage from this isometric RTS being developed by GSC Game World.
Quarter
to Three's latest "double time" interview talks with Alan Emrich,
a designer on Master of Orion 3 at Quicksilver Software and Andrew Ewanchyna,
the creator and sole developer of Starships Unlimited. The two interviews run
side-by-side, and talk about the world of 4X strategy, the various influences
on their respective games and more.
Undying fan page Resurrection has
posted UnEd, the version of UnrealED that was made for Clive Barker's Undying,
which apparently was not on the North American CD but shipped with the UK version.
Dreamworks Interactive has given their blessing to the release of these two
files, so download and mod away.
Volition has updated their official Red Faction site with a
sign up form to receive the Playstation 2 demo of the game. The demo disc
contains three levels, four weapons and the game's trademark destructible environments.
More details can be found on their
site.
Fan page WarcraftIII.net has posted a
movie in AVI format containing a Q&A with Blizzard's Bill Roper. The
movie was filmed at Blizzard's recent press event in London, and in it Bill
explains why they decided to remove the Burning Legion as a playable race in
Warcraft III.
The second
half of Games Domain's Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor preview is
online today. Like the first half, it features quotes from Jim Hanson, the project
lead on the title at Stormfront Studios, and in this portion he talks about
their transition to the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition ruleset (apparently
they started the project with the 2nd edition) as well as which races are playable
and subsequently which are not.
There is a quick Q&A on Dark Ore at GA-Source, quizzing RayLogic's Brandon Marlowe about their upcoming 3D space sim/action hybrid. The Q&A is brief but Brandon comments on the development progress as well as their plans for a public demo, which depend on how the game will be published. A new concept image is also included.
RPG Vault's
TORN Interview talks with Dave Maldonado and Ken Rosman from Black Isle Studios about
their just-announced RPG TORN ( story). As the game has literally
just been announced there are loads of new gameplay details here, along with
the first batch of screenshots. On a related note, the
official TORN site is live, and it has the same screenshots along with a
plot synopsis and a features list.
Micro Forté has opened their BigWorld site for business, showcasing their MMORPG technology that will be employed in their own game BigWorld: Citizen Zero (for which five new screenshots are also included). The site has a detailed overview of the client, server and tools that make up their technology, and also offers licensing details. Thanks RPG Vault for the reminder.
Voodoo Extreme has conducted an
interview with Jeff Tunnell of GarageGames, talking with him about their
plans to license the V12 engine (their version of the TRIBES 2 technology) to
independent developers. Jeff explains how they plan on making their business
model work, and he talks about why they are charging $100 for the engine and
how the V12 technology stands up against the next batch of engines from id and
Epic. He also reiterates that they are working on their own game with this technology,
and they aren't just going to be licensing it out for others to use. Thanks Stomped for the tip.
Republic: The Revolution, the upcoming 3D strategy game from Elixir Studios
and Eidos Interactive is having its first (relatively) public showing at the
Game Developer's Conference, and so a
new preview of the game is up at GameSpy.com today. The preview contains
some new information about the overall gameplay, along with quotes from Eidos'
Bryan Davies and new screenshots.
Action Forms has released a new patch for Carnivores: the Ice Age, updating their prehistoric hunting shooter to version 2.12a. New in this release are several 3D audio fixes and improvements, and a software audio problem under Windows2000 was also addressed.
After their evening update last night PC.IGN posted a
Q&A with David Swofford of Origin Systems that slipped past us. The
Q&A deals with the surprise announcement that they have canceled Ultima
Worlds Online: Origin ( story) and David gives something of an
explanation for the decision. Here's an excerpt: To be completely honest,
this is the end of our fiscal and it is not unusual for EA or any company to
reassess where all of there products stand in the marketplace. I think what's
going on here is that they're looking at UO2 and they're weighing it against
some of the other PSWs we have in development at some of the other studios in
the company and they have to make decisions as to which ones are looking like
the ones we need to put our bets on. I think when they saw UO2 they saw a product
that was very similar to UO that's already a proven success, and rather than
to continue on with two products paralleling each other, they probably decided
to continue the upward movement of the original by throwing more resources at
UO and making it even better than it is now.
With the Game Developer's Conference well under way, LithTech, Inc. has made
a couple of announcements today. The first is a
formal announcement of their partnership with Real Networks to create RealArcade,
a free version of the LithTech engine that will be distributed by Real starting
today. They have also announced
version 3.0 of the LithTech engine, which includes a new physics system
and the new RenderStyles Editor, which allows for the creation of custom pixel
and vertex effects.
Well Rounded Entertainment has posted a
press release from Interplay announcing TORN, a new 3D role-playing game
from Black Isle Studios that is powered by the LithTech 3.0 engine. The game
will be released later this year, and apparently uses the same rules system
as the Fallout series. Here's an excerpt with some gameplay details: TORN
contains a skill-based character system that allows for innumerable approaches
to any problem in the game, whether through combat, guile, or diplomacy. Utilizing
items of the player's own creation, four different realms of magic, and enough
specializations and abilities to make every character unique, TORN will take
the player through a twisting, epic tale of noble allies, vile treachery, vengeful
tyrants and maddened gods that will set the precedent for fantasy and adventure
games to come.
Utilizing the LithTech(TM) Development System Version 3.0, TORN operates on
a real-time version of the rule system behind the Fallout series and allows
players to pause the game at anytime to issue commands and control companions.
Pre-generated characters will be provided for those who do not wish to indulge
in the detailed character creation process. TORN will include new Perks (Pyromancer:
the character's effectiveness with explosive fire-based magic is increased)
Traits (Lone Wolf: the character gains bonuses when working without companions),
skills (Fortitude: increases a character's Hit Points), and even new races such
as the sidhe and ogres in addition to humans, dwarves, halflings, and elves.
The non-linear features of the game such as customized character creation, multiple
story arcs and NPC reactivity greatly enhance replayability. TORN can be played
as either a single-player or multiplayer game, supporting up to six separate
players.
Gothic, a 3D action role-playing game by German developers Piranha Bytes was released in that country last week, at which time a playable demo was also released for download from 4Players.de. This 89.5 MB download offers a taste of the full game, all in German of course. Additionally, there is now a German version 1.07c patch for the full game, bringing a long list of changes and bug fixes as detailed on this page. Thanks Shawk for the tip.
GameSpot
UK interviews Sid Meier, talking with the legendary designer about Civilization
III. Sid explains how they are improving the Civilization experience, with details
on the new leaders, diplomatic and combat systems and the new engine that powers
the game.
More reports from Blizzard's European tour are popping online this morning.
WarcraftIII.net has
theirs up, which describes the demonstration of Warcraft III that Bill Roper
gave, and French gaming site Gamedata.com has their
preview of the game online, although you'll need Babel Fish
to read it.
As promised at the release of the German demo ( story), the English demo of Desperados is now available for download from Italian site Multiplayer.it. At 92 MB it's noticably larger due to the inclusion of a previously released movie trailer ( story), and it allows you to play a single mission from this squad-based tactical combat game by Spellbound and Infogrames. While you're waiting for the download to complete, you may like to read their brief Italian preview of the full game, also available via Babel Fish, which includes some more screenshots.
RPG
Vault's Dungeon Siege GameStock Report is a look at this upcoming RPG from
Gas Powered Games. As its name would suggest, the preview is based on what they
saw at Microsoft's recent GameStock event, and in addition to their impressions
it also has some quotes from designer Chris Taylor.
The fifth part of Bad
Karma's interview with Dave Georgeson is online this morning. This interview
is actually several months old, as it had been lost until now, but nonetheless,
Dave provides some gameplay details on TRIBES 2 and talks about how they have
improved the game since Starsiege: TRIBES.
There's a new Producer Letter
on Sony's Sovereign website written by Clint "CobraJet" Worley
where the designer and producer on Sovereign offers his first update in some
time about Verant's upcoming massively multiplayer RTS game. The blurb describes
the overtime efforts being put into preventing some of the more complex issues
they are facing from becoming gameplay issues, a bit on their E3 plans, and
mentions "some minor changes in the design of the game," though no
details on these changes are offered, Clint says these revelations will come in
future message board posts.
Microsoft Download Center
has the March 2001 Win2K update package, the sixth release of additional
application support for Windows 2000. Word is "The March 2001 package
includes compatibility updates of the February 2001, October 2000, August 2000,
May 2000, and February 2000 packages." Thanks 3DSpotlight.
The Æstats Page has an updated
version 4.64 of the Æstats log parser that can extract meaningful information
from the data in the log files created by many popular shooter games. The new
release adds updated Counter-Strike support, a new design for the program's HTML
output, and a new skinning feature. Word is that TRIBES 2 support will be added
to the program as soon as possible.
Japanese Xbox Hype Begins
reports Core Magazine, describing the hype preceding the Spring Tokyo Game Show
later this month. Also on Core is a story titled NEC Upgrades GameCube Factory
describing a new 'Automatic Optimization' system in NEC's Kyushuu facility.
Meanwhile, Computer and Video Games
News reports Metal Gear Solid 2 new characters revealed, the scoop based on
a slip by McFarlane Toys related to MGS2 action figures. Also, Majesco Announces GBA Shooter
reports Daily Radar. Finally, Jason Hall Talks Xbox Graphics Engine,
also on Daily Radar, where the head man at Monolith and LithTech attempts to
clarify the perception that some recent screenshots were evidence that work is
underway on Shogo 2 ( story), at least as much as you can clarify
something with an "I cannot confirm or deny." Here's the quote: If
Shogo 2 were underway, it could likely be an Xbox title, but the fact is that
the images on the net that are creating that perception are just LithTech Inc.
supplied images that are using some art assets to demonstrate RenderStyles.
Those images happen to partially contain some Shogo 2 concept stuff. The shots
do not come from Monolith, actually they are coming from LithTech Inc.
I cannot confirm or deny a Shogo 2.
The QuakeCon 2001 website has been
updated with the dates of this summer's event, which will be August 9-12, as
well as word that QuakeCon 2001 will feature a Q3A tournament with a $30,000
first prize. Meanwhile, Registration for the
Moshpit CPL Event is underway. This event is slated for June 21-24, 2001 in
Dallas, TX, and will feature a $25,000 Unreal Tournament one-on-one competition
sponsored by Moshpit
Entertainment. Also, the Recon 2000
website is looking for more registrants for their 1000+ player LAN event
planned for this summer in the Washington DC area, or, well, it won't be a 1000+
player LAN event. Finally, this MSN Gaming Zone
page announces their Age of Empires II: The Conquerors International Tournament,
the first time they've been able to include non-North American participants.
This test tourney is only open to German players, though interestingly the rules
are only in English.
The Planetside FAQ
has been updated with more questions and answers relating to this upcoming
space-based first-person action game.
Computer Games Online's
Scenario Design 102: Advanced Scenarios offers part two of their "How
To" guide for building Panzer Campaigns battles.
So it may be sometime as early as tomorrow morning that Russia's Mir space
station will return here to its home planet, adding another confirmation of that
tricky "what goes up, must come down" theory to its legacy of science.
Reflecting on this, I can't help recall the time back in the 70s that Skylab,
the seminal NASA space station, was similarly entering its final days (this
refuting a long-held theory that remembering the 70s is proof you didn't
actually live through them). I was in summer camp at the time, and Mike, my best
friend at camp, spent days leading up to Skylab's crash landing declaring that
he was convinced it was going to land on his head. Well, as luck would have it,
the night that the station crashed and burned we were on an overnight hike, and,
yup, I was in a tent with Mike. Fortunately, Mike was wrong about being the
target of the station, which, as I recall, landed in and around
Australia--obviously there was no real cause for fear, but when someone repeats
something like "I know the space station is going to land on me" often
enough, you start to think... enough so that after my old pal Mike recently left
a message on our answering machine after tracking down our new location, I've
decided to wait until after Mir has completed re-entry before I make any plans
with him for a get-together.
Happy birthday to William Shatner (70), and today would have been the 114th
birthday of comedy legend Chico Marx. Thanks Chris
Morris. Hey, did you know Chico's nickname was pronounced chick-oh, not
cheek-oh? Well, you do now!
Link of the Day: The Onion,
where there's a cover-story titled "Congress Adds 'All Your Base Are Belong
To Us' Amendment To Bankruptcy Bill." I made the mistake of skipping this
yesterday thinking everyone's minimum daily requirement of Vitamin "all
your base..." had been met for the century, but the, oh, I don't know,
million or so readers who've sent this in since then indicate otherwise. Thanks
all million of you, I guess you set up us the bomb.
Follow-up: Mir Destroys Taco Bell, Kills Four
(BBSpot). Thanks Jeff Magill. Following up on the follow-up in this story.
Image of the Day: Desk
Computing (WinDrivers.com). Thanks Chris "JetLag" Thompson.
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