Tribalwar has received word from Dynamix that a "reverse" patch will be released shortly through the auto-update system that will take TRIBES 2 players back to version 22460, before yesterday's patch (story). This drastic step is taken because of the many problems in that release (story), and the "next patch will not be available until next week sometime, but should have many very significant improvements in the game."

PC.IGN.com has conducted a new interview on Conquest: Frontier Wars, the space RTS that was created at Digital Anvil and is now nearing completion at Fever Pitch Studios. Founder Eric Peterson is on the stand to talk about why publisher Microsoft decided to distance itself from the game (story), what has happened to the project since (reiterating they have signed with an still unnamed new publisher), their relation to Digital Anvil, and their plans for the future.

Also on PC.IGN this evening is a new Horizons: Empires of Istaria preview, looking ahead to the 3D MMORPG being developed at Artifact Entertainment. As the game is still early in development, the preview takes a hands-off approach and offers a fairly detailed overview of the game's premise, the playable races, character creation and interaction, and more (but no new screenshots).

Fate Studios sends word that the bi-weekly update of the official Charr: The Grimm Fate site is online, sporting a description and a concept image of the Brood Giant race in their upcoming unusually named MMORPG, as well as a bunch of new concept art in the Bestiary section.

Dark Age of Camelot Updated Preview on GameSpot is a new look at the medieval MMORPG being beta tested at Mythic Entertainment. The preview is fairly short as it foregoes the usual introductory information, and jumps right into their impressions of the current beta phase which focuses on the Norse realm of Midgard, and there are nine new screenshots to show what it looks like.

If you remember the original Quake and its expansion pack Abyss of Pandemonium, you may be interested to know that the Impel team has released a special deathmatch version 2.00 of the pack. This does not include any maps but instead brings all the pack's deathmatch features to the original Quake, as well as providing support for the various enhanced versions of GLQuake that have been created from the public source code. This deathmatch pack is available in four diskette-sized chunks along with those enhanced Quake ports, or from 3D Gamers as a single 4.4 MB download. A version 1.10 patch for the retail pack is promised for next Tuesday.

GameSpot has conducted a new interview on Half-Life: Blue Shift, and as usual Gearbox' Randy Pitchford is the willing victim to be grilled about their upcoming stand-alone episode. Randy talks about the differences between the PC version and the Dreamcast for which the game was originally designed, the storyline and environments, the High Definition pack that will also be included, and a few related topics.

• Red Faction
  The official Red Faction site points the way to nearly 20 new screenshots at fansite Red Faction Watch, showing off the PS2 version of Volition's upcoming first-person shooter.
• Startopia
  GameSpot UK has posted sixteen new Startopia screenshots as well as some concept art illustrating the 3D space station management game nearing completion at Mucky Foot.
• Operation Flashpoint
  Both EuroGamer and GameSpot UK offer more screenshots from the 3D tactical action game that is likewise approaching its final build at Bohemia Interactive.
• WWII Online
  The first four screenshots in the World War II Online gallery on the official site sport some new scenes in the massively multiplayer action/sim by Cornered Rat Software.

Game designer Peter Molyneux made an appearance on NPR's All Things Considered today, and you can listen to the interview via NPR's website. Here are links to the 14.4 and 28.8 streams, both of which require a RealPlayer or compatible program to hear. Thanks PlanetBlackandWhite by way of Voodoo Extreme for the tip.

PlanetSTArmada has posted a Q&A with Doug Pearson, the producer at Activision on Star Trek: Armada II. The two questions deal with the strengths and weaknesses of the different races and the role trading plays in the game.

PC Zone's Call of Cthulhu interview is an article-style chat with Andrew Brazier of Headfirst Productions. As its name would suggest, the article deals with the upcoming first person horror game Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, and Andrew provides some general information about the plot, setting and weapons.

A Q&A with Jim Perkins, the president of ARUSH Entertainment is up at Stomped, talking about their upcoming episodic title Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project. Jim explains that the game is "a 3D dynamic camera, side-perspective game" and he also talks about how they wound up with the Duke Nukem license and other related topics, including the game's pricing, which he says will be about $5 per chapter (after the free pilot episode, of course).

Fan page Black Ops Station has an interview with Joshua "Jinxx" Morris online this morning (thanks GameSpy Daily). Joshua talks about a number of topics, including the upcoming add-on Starfleet Command Volume II: Orion Pirates, life in the gaming industry and what will be contained in the next patch for SFC2 (including details on their Dynaverse2 plans).

Big Kid has conducted an interview with Jon Chey of Irrational Games Australia. The interview doesn't really cover their upcoming title Freedom Force (although it is mentioned a few times) and instead Jon comments on the Australian gaming industry, his background and how Irrational Games was formed.

A new Arx Fatalis Development Report is up at RPG Vault this morning. The report is by Raphael Colantonio, the lead designer on this upcoming RPG at Arkane Studios, and it consists of a general status update with details what they have been working on lately.

Massive Entertainment has released a fourth map pack for Ground Control through fansite Ground Control Center, expanding their acclaimed 3D action RTS with three new multiplayer maps, entitled AS4_Salamander, DM8_Colosseum, and ES2_Mountains.

A post on Tribalwar.com offers a summary of a couple of posts by Dynamix related to problems folks have been having with the just-released (story) TRIBES 2 patch (thanks Jonathan Telfer). Here's what they have posted:

Two major patch issues are mysterious to us. They are:

1) Grey triangles and health bars.

2) Redjack problems where servers have to reset.

We have NOT experienced these at Dynamix or Sierra, but we are working on them now and hope to have answers for you soon. We will get you new info as soon as humanly possible.

(Later edit...) Correction: I have experienced a redjack server now. This is duplicatable here at Dynamix.

(Further edits...by QIX) Folks...I do NOT expect you to be patient on this one. I'm angry about this also. But in the defense of the company...the Dev Team never saw these problems while making the patch, and the QA team tested it for over 48 hours without seeing this issue. Now, it's my job to go find out what the heck happened, fix it, and make sure it never happens again. I sincerely apologize that this is occuring and want you to know that we'll have it fixed as quickly as possible. -- Dave.

Speaking of Dave, The Armchair Empire's Dave Georgeson Interview is online, an admittedly short affair, as the eight questions they sent off to the Dynamix producer only netted five answers. The conversation covers the TRIBES 2 system requirements (while passing on the related question about bugginess), the breakthrough moment of development, football(?), and a couple of more general gaming questions. Also, Video Gamers Journal interviews Dave Meddish catching up with the TRIBES 2 designer about this and that since his involuntary departure from Dynamix.

Voodoo Extreme interviews Jeff Barnhart talking with the producer at Crave Entertainment on Global Operations, their upcoming LithTech-engine first-person shooter. A wide range of topics are covered, including the game's background, single-player and multiplayer play, the game's use of "specialties," why they chose the LithTech engine, and more.

In reaction to the recent hubbub about privacy in the new version 1.06 Diablo II patch (story) based on the new Terms of Use Agreement, there's a Battle.net Terms of Use FAQ that explains how, why, and when they will make use of the personal information they are now gathering, as well as what they would plan on doing with that information should the need arise.

More Than a Game on Accessmagazine.com is an article attempting to analyze the addictive nature of online game playing, talking with folks like pro-gamer Fatality and Raven's Kenn Hoekstra about first-person shooters, a "hardcore" pogo.com player (I wonder if she uses the transparent cards hack on Hearts), and, perhaps most appropriately, EQ-Widows about their former relationships with those now engaged to the MMORPG. Also heard from in the piece is a representative of the Computer Addiction Study Center.

• New Gigabyte BIOSes
  Gigabyte Web Site has new BIOS files for their 7DX(C), 7IX, 7IXE4 series motherboards (thanks SocketA.com) which address various things, including a fix for AOE II problems.
• New RadeonTweaker
  The radeontweaker homepage has a new version 1.0.3 (stable release) of their Radeon tweaking utility. Thanks Savage News.
• XP Release Date
  Industry Rallies Toward Oct. 25th Launch Date of Windows XP (thanks Phil "Cain" Hall). That's right, if you were wondering what all the noise was, it's the industry rallying.
• CD-R Price Jump
  CD-R Media Prices to Triple This Summer (PCWorld.com). Thanks Frottage.
• AMD SC Cluster
  HKUST Develops Supercomputing Platform with AMD Support (related link: The Linux PC Cluster Project). Thanks AMDZone.
• Speaker Tweakers
  3DSpotlight's Soundcard Tweak & Speaker Setup guide is online.
• RAMBUS Fraud
  U.S. Jury Finds Rambus Liable for Fraud. Thanks The Tech Report.
• Adaptec Win2K Fix
  CD software gets a fix (BBC). Thanks Chris Jones.
• Now THAT's Cool
  VR-Zone Hardware's ASUS A7M266 Liquid Nitrogen Cooling Experiment is online.

Westlake Interactive has posted a new version 1.1.1 patch for Escape From Monkey Island. "The patch fixes two problems on Jambalaya Beach and is recommended for all Monkey Island players."

The Invasion website has a new version b2.27 of the Invasion modification for Quake III Arena, which offers a marines versus aliens theme. The main purpose of the new beta is to offer Quake III Arena 1.27g compatibility, but there is also a new weapon included, as the marines now have access to a sniper rifle.

Version 1.5 of PsychoStats (Qu'est-ce que c'est fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better) is now available, offering an updated version of this program that extracts meaningful statistics (as well as psychotic ones, apparently) from the Half-Life server log when running a dedicated Counter-Strike server, and offers its output in HTML format. The new version adds many new player statistics and awards, while addressing several bugs.

PlanetBlood has word of the release of version 1.0 of Bastard CTF, a modification that brings more of the joy of flag capturing (as well as being a bastard, presumably) to Blood 2.

EA Signs Publishing Agreement With Fox Interactive Bringing the Simpsons, Buffy and Aliens to Next Generation Video Game Systems (Business Wire). Also, EA confirms GameCube support reports GameSpot. Meanwhile, Tony Hawk and Spider-Man confirmed for the GameCube is another GameSpot report. While, Interplay Announces Star Trek(R) Shattered Universe for the PlayStation2 (thanks AVault) announcing plans for an alternate universe trek game (where Vulcans sport goatees). Moving right along, Dreamcast.IGN.com's Half-Life Week continues with a Blue Shift preview. While, Rogue Leader Revealed on Cube.Ign.Com recaps a print preview of Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2 from Next Generation magazine, including new screenshots. Finally, LucasArts E3 2001 coverage unveils plans for Star Wars Racer Revenge (I'm still waiting for whack-a-Jar-Jar, myself).

On the Attack on OperationFlashpoint.net offers tips on how to lead the charge in Operation Flashpoint so that Nick Nolte doesn't yell at you (Thin Red Line reference).

Registration for the CPL 4-Year Anniversary Event begins today at 3:00 PM EDT. The event will include a QuakeWorld Tournament, a CPL Doom II Competition, a CAL Counter-Strike BYOC competition, a CAL Unreal Tournament BYOC competition, and the CPL Consummate Computer Competition (C3), as well as an 800-computer BYOC area, workshops, exhibitions, daily giveaways & raffles, and more.

• Battle of Britain on GameVisions.
• Black & White on Video Gamers Journal.
• Blade of Darkness on Gameraiders.
• Combat Command 2: Danger Forward on The Wargamer.
• Cossacks: European Wars on Intelgamer.
• Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive on ActionTrip.
• Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel on The Mushroom.
• Gilbert Goodmate on Games Domain.
• Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter on GameVisions.
• Rune: Halls of Valhalla on Electric Playground.
• Serious Sam on DeadAlfs 2000.
• Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force Expansion Pack on GameSpot, Games Domain, and (in German) on GamesZone.
• TRIBES 2 (in German) on Raffs.de.
• X-COM Enforcer on Tech Extreme.

• Adaptec FireConnect 4300 firewire adaptor on 3d Retreat.
• ATEN IC-1394 Firewire adaptor on NeoSeeker.
• AVGS aluminum case on RipNet-UK.com.
• CH Products USB Pro Pedals on Dogfighter.
• Coolermaster ATC-101 aluminum case on GamePC.
• CyberCooler P5500 cooler on Overclockedcafe.
• Hercules 3D Prophet 4500 video card on GameSpot UK.
• IBM Deskstar 60GXP hard drive on x-bit labs.
• Leadtek WinFast GeForce3 video card on Digit-Life.
• Logitech Cordless MouseMan Optical mouse on Dan's Data.
• Logitech WingMan RumblePad controller on GameSpot.
• MSI K7T266 Pro motherboard on x-bit labs.
• Plextor 16/10/40A CD-R/W on Overclockers Online.
• Power Cooler PCH 113 cooler on ChillBlast.
• Seagate Barracuda III 40 GB hard drive on Overclocking.dk.
• Seagate Cheetah 73LP ST373405LW hard drive on StorageReview.com.
• Sky Hawks ATX4388+C Tower Case on Overclockers Australia.
• Shuttle Spacewalker AE23 i815EP motherboard on HotHardware.
• Swiftech MC-370 heatsink on Mikhailtech.
• VisionTek GeForce 3 64MB DDR video card on Hardware-Unlimited, Hardware Daily, and PCRave.

• This GodGames Sign Up Form is where to add your name to the list of those who will receive a special CD with exclusive GoD stuff, as well as email updates with all manner of inside skinny on upcoming Gathering of Developers' titles...
• The Adrenaline Vault is reporting that Brat Designs has inked a deal that will have CDV publishing Breed, their upcoming multi-platform action game...
• Continuing their current theme, Rock of Ages on Computer Games Online examines the history of Dungeons and Dragons on the PC, while they also have an article called The Odyssey of Brett Sperry which is a short Q&A with the co-founder of Westwood Studios discussing, among other things, the two Eye of the Beholder RPGs that they developed for SSI...
• There's a new Battle.net Diablo II Lord of Destruction Beta Forum for participants in the beta test. Due to the tester-only nature of the board, this is the only place on the Battle.net website where you are expected to enter your CD key...
• CSports.net is offering a service that can allow you to dynamically display your spot in the world rankings on your webpage...

An increasing number of computer-related stories that may be of interest, but are not strictly game-related, has resulted in an expansion of Tech Bits, which often has shrunk to nothing when no new drivers or such are released. Seems like a logical move to me, as usual, if you mind the extra content, it is conveniently grouped and bulleted so it can be skipped over as easily as the yellow brick road.

Link of the Day: The Dorcus Line of Menswear. Thanks Schwab.
Story of the Day: Commercials Out of the Closet (Wired).
Weird Science: NASA Aircraft Will Help Find Heavenly Coffee (Reuters). Thanks EvilToast.
Media of the Day: Lego Cthulu. Thanks Sean Rohde.
Follow-up: Aliens and UFOs The Likely Scenario (Washingtonpost.com). Thanks PMD. Recapping that big UFO disclosure event (story).

* 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).