Archived News:
There's a
Neocron preview on Neocron Central with a look ahead at their site's
namesake MMORPG, currently under construction at Reakktor Media AG.
In addition to the screenshots in the preview, they have also posted a pair of
shots that have never been seen before, here,
and here.
If that's just whetting your whistle, pcgames.de
previews Neocron as well, although this one is in their native German (rough
translation, as always, available via Babel Fish),
and this preview also includes three new screenshots.
The official EtherLords website has
been launched, dedicated to Nival Interactive's upcoming turn-based strategy/RPG
hybrid. The site is available in four flavors: English or Nival's native
Russian, with either version available for either Flash 5.0 or HTML.
The Vavoom website
has a new version 1.7 of the Vavoom project, which is "a source port based
on sources of Doom, Heretic, Hexen and a little bit from Quake." Available
for DOS, Windows and Linux following five beta versions, the new release offers some tweaks to the way
graphics are handled, including a new software rendering optimizations.
As noted in the .plan updates by Raven's James Monroe and Kenn Hoekstra, version 1.2 of the Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force dedicated Linux server is now available for download from 3DDownloads and VoyagerEliteForce.com. The updates also list more mirrors for the just-released retail patch ( story) which adds all the hooks and content required for the now-gold Elite Force expansion pack as well as the Jeri Ryan speech pack (including such classic speeches as "I like you as a friend").
There is a new video preview of Commandos 2 on Belgian site SpelletjesGarnaal, who have taken a press build of Pyro Studios' squad-based tactical combat game for a spin. The movie is available in the usual downloadable (22.4 MB) and streaming Windows Media Player formats, and offers a whopping 17 minutes of in-game footage that particularly demonstrates the difficulty of the game, all accompanied with their typical Flemish commentary.
Fansite Echelon HQ has posted a brief interview on Echelon, quizzing Madia designer Peter Porai-Koshits about their imminent futuristic action flyer. Peter looks back at how the finished game, which should arrive in stores next week, has turned out, and hints at their plans for the future, which include additional multiplayer features and a mission pack.
Fan page Battleground: Halo has posted this
week's Halo development update, which as usual comes by way of Bungie's
Matt Soell (thanks Stomped). Here's an excerpt from the update, which mentions the latest engine
enhancements and some fun "Halo moments": - Much work has been
done to make the game faster in general. Our framerates have improved considerably,
a change in the bitmap storage format allows the hardware to access that data
more quickly, and thanks to some Bernie Magic we're now able to dump many more
people on-screen.
- Bernie is also working on energy shaders for a plasma effect (already in the
game and looking very good, though Bernie says they'll look much better in the
end), another pass on the volumetric shader and a brand-new shader for the HUD.
- A Halo Moment: tossing a grenade at a fully-shielded Covenant Elite (whose
shields protect them from grenade damage), exchanging fire with it as it flies
through the air, then seeing it die from falling damage when it lands.
- Another Halo Moment: grenading the Warthog and watching it cartwheel through
the air before landing right-side-up, with driver and passenger dead but gunner
miraculously alive.
On a related note, a
brief interview with Matt is up at Core Magazine, where he talks about the
differences between making games for PCs and consoles.
The second edition
of RPG Vault's TORN developer's diary is online today. This latest installment
is by lead designer Dave Maldonado, who talks about the various members of the
TORN development team at Black Isle Studios, as well as the current status of
the game, which is beyond the initial design phase but still pre-crunch mode.
Or as Dave puts it, "all that's left to make are the Poopy Decisions."
Westwood has updated their official Emperor site with an
interview with Frank Klepacki, the composer of music for most of Westwood's
games. Frank talks about how he juggles different projects simultaneously, how
the Command & Conquer music has evolved over the years, and his work on
Emperor: Battle for Dune. Accompanying the interview are two downloadable songs
from the Command & Conquer Renegade soundtrack in WAV format and a recording
of a radio interview he did in RealPlayer format.
In a move that will probably hurt Blue more than anyone else, it looks like
SCi Online's upcoming game based on the classic television show Thunderbirds
will no longer be made for the PC. References to the planned PC version of the
game were recently removed from SCi's web site,
and there is also this sentence on
their Thunderbirds page that seems to support our theory: "The power
of Playstation 2 will ensure this is the ultimate Thunderbirds experience."
Just how much technology is needed to ensure "the ultimate Thunderbirds
experience" is of course debatable.
When Funcom announced the other day that Anarchy Online would be released on
June 27th ( story), many of the participants in the current beta
test voiced their skepticism that the game would actually be bug-free by that
point. Stomped contacted Funcom and they have posted a
comment they received from a representative for the company, which says
that "the team feels very confident that they can finish a high quality
product by this date" and that they are "certain the version shown
at E3 will please and surprise all who are able to attend."
As this morning's edition of consolation is a little large already (see below),
here are two small stories about the console versions of Half-Life, both of
which are currently in development at Gearbox Software. GameSpot has made a
news update with details on the Playstation 2 version of the game, which
will come with a new two player co-op mode called "Decay" where the
two players take the roles of two female hazard trainers. It can also be played
with an AI controlled bot. Also, Dreamcast.IGN has posted five
new screenshots from the Dreamcast port of Half-Life, along with word that
they will be posting much more from the game all next week.
GSC Game World has updated their
official Venom site with the news that the game has officially reached the
beta phase of its development. Although no publisher has been announced yet,
a
post to their forums by GSC's Sergey Zabaryansky hints that they have signed
with one, which he refers to as "a well-known USA company." Thanks
Gameplex for the tip.
Another week, another update to the
official Star Wars Galaxies FAQ. This week's questions cover character creation
and attributes, building structures, running and their plans for "character
makeovers" that will let you modify your character's appearance after it
has been created.
Version 3.0 beta of the Black
Mesa Security Force mod for Half-Life has been released (thanks The
Daily Telefrag). The mod features a brand new single player mission in which
you play a security guard, and as the developers are based in Russia, the mod's
official site is completely in Russian. The text on the site is pretty minimal,
but if you want to translate it, squish a Babel Fish
in your ear.
PC.IGN wraps up their three days of Motor City Online with a
look at the EZ Street Mode. EZ Street is the beginner's area of this massively
multiplayer racing game, and there are lots of details here along with four
new screenshots. If you missed them, Day
One and Day Two are still
online as well.
Italian gaming site Nextgame.it continues their series of interviews about
the future of the gaming industry with today's ten
question interview with Serge Hascoet, the editorial manager at uber-publisher
Ubi Soft. Serge talks about where he thinks the industry is headed, and he comments
on massively multiplayer gaming, the connections (or lack thereof) between violent
behavior and video games and more. The interview is available in English
or the site's native Italian.
FGN Online is
reporting that contrary to what some places have been saying, the planned
Dreamcast version of Commandos 2 has not been canceled. Bethesda
Softworks has announced that they are working on an Xbox version of The
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Xbox.IGN has conducted an
interview with Oddworld's Lorne Lanning, who also makes an appearance over
at Xbox.com, where they have posted a
video from GameStock of the man showing off Munch's Oddysee. MSXbox
is reporting that Havok has joined the Xbox incubator program, making their
physics system available to qualifying developers. Games in production that
use Havok's physics include Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth and Team
Fortress 2. NOLF fans will be disappointed to hear that according
to Well Rounded Entertainment, the sequel to No One Lives Forever will not
be shown at E3. Finally, One Giant
Diary is the name of the first in a series of developer's diaries at PS2.IGN
for the upcoming Playstation 2 port of Giants: Citizen Kabuto.
The CPL has announced that the finalists
of the Clash of the Titans tournament will be held at their upcoming LAN event.
More info on the Clash of the Titans can be found at the
official Face/Off site.
The Serious Sam editing site Swiftly
Tilting Planet has posted a downloadable help file for the Serious Editor.
The file features detailed explanations of every button and feature of the editor,
and is in Windows Help's HTML format.
The Backburner has posted three shots
showing off the Sig P228 pistol model from the Mutually Assured Destruction
mod for Half-Life. Also, Games Fusion has conducted an
interview with Cortex, the lead modeler on The Rock, an upcoming mod for
Half-Life.
- For
game testers, it's not all about fun is the name of an article at CNN.com
(reprinted from The Industry Standard) that takes a look at the often thankless
world of QA testing (thanks Jamie Fullerton)...
Yesterday's news about the passing of Gathering of Developers' Doug Myres ( story)
really came as a shock, and so there were a few things that weren't mentioned
at the time that should be now. One thing left out of the story we ran yesterday
is the wish of Doug's family for those that would like to pay their respects:
rather than sending flowers, they have requested that people make a donation
to their favorite charity in his name. Also, GoD's
site has been updated with comments from friends and colleagues as well
as details on Monday's funeral service. Good-bye Doug...you will be missed.
On a happier note, David Chase sends word that today is the ninth anniversary
of the seminal first person shooter Wolfenstein 3D. Here's David's letter, which
I think says it all: "You stand over the guard's body grabbing frantically
for his gun... Deep in the belly of a Nazi dungeon, you've only a knife, a gun,
and your wits to aid your escape."
With those words the FPS genre was invented on May 5th, 1992 with the release
of Wolfenstein 3-D.
Wolfenstein 3-D was based on the 1982 Apple game "Castle Wolfenstein"
by Silas Warner. In the 9 years since its release it has been ported to the
Super NES, Mac, Atari Jaguar, 3DO, Atari Lynx, and more! The engine was used
in Super 3D Noah's Ark, Spear of Destiny, Corridor 7, Operation Body Count,
Rise of the Triad (heavily modified), Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold, Blake Stone:
Planet Strike, and Shadow Caster (heavily modified). The source code was released
Oct 14th, 1996 which prompted countless other ports and modifications.
I could go on for pages but I think the history of the game speaks for itself.
Wolfenstein 3-D launched the FPS genre, helped give birth to a new online community,
and spawned hundreds of BBSs, newsgroups, game servers, and web sites where
gaming fans could congregate. Anyone who reads Blue's News owes a part of the
games they enjoy today to a humble little 3D game released 9 years ago today.
Link
of the Day: chengwin.
Weird Science: Genetically
altered babies born (BBC News). Thanks Chris Johnson. Let the debate begin...
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