The official Medal of Honor: Allied Assault site by publisher Electronic Arts is now online, sporting game details, background information and some two dozen new and familiar screenshots of the WWII first-person shooter in the works at 2015. Thanks SpecForce.

After more than four months of testing (story), the version 1.08 patches for Starcraft and its Brood War expansion pack have now been released by Blizzard (thanks Noven and [ROQ] runt for the heads-up). As usual they can also be applied through Battle.net, and this release adds new features like game recording and gateway selection, anti-cheating measures, minor gameplay changes and bug fixes.

GodGames E3 2001 Coverage is underway, offering three updates live from the show, complete with usual Gathering-style debauchery. Also, GameSpy.com looks at Activision's E3 PC Line-Up with impressions of Star Trek: Bridge Commander, Star Trek: Borg Assimilator, Star Trek Armada II, Soldier of Fortune II, and Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Also, PC.IGN.com has posted a huge update with what they've seen at E3 so far, which includes Freedom Force, Aliens vs. Predator 2, a Command & Conquer- Renegade Interview, Stronghold, Unreal II, Age of Wonders 2- The Wizard's Throne, Mafia- La Cosa Nostra, Call of Cthulhu- Dark Corners of the Earth, EverQuest- Shadows of Luclin, and believe it or not, still more. Likewise, E3 2001 Live From LA on GameSpot UK is up and running (between sessions of trying not to get killed driving the wrong way on the LA freeways) with impressions of Commandos 2, Republic, Sims Online, and Majestic.

GameSpot's Return to Castle Wolfenstein E3 preview is online after getting a look at Gray Matter Studios' upcoming shooter at the Activision booth at E3. The preview gives a pretty detailed run-through on gameplay in the single level of the game they were demonstrating at the show along with their first-hand impressions of things like the graphics and the AI.

GameSpot PC News E3 2001 Richard Garriott unveils Destination Games has word that "The creator of the Ultima and Ultima Online games announces his new game development studio, a part of Korea-based NCsoft." According to the report, Richard Garriott, his brother Robert, and Ultima Online co-creator Starr Long will team up with Lineage creator Jake Song to launch new online games in both North America and Asia. NCsoft operates Lineage: The Blood Pledge, which claims more subscribers than the top three US subscription-based games combined.

The Weapons Factory for Unreal Tournament page has a new version 106a of Unreal Tournament Weapons Factory that in addition to various tweaks and bug fixes adds a new weapon, a new mode, and a bunch of other new features to this class-based UT mod.

The ThreeWave website now has the eagerly-awaited release of ThreeWave compilation pack #1 for Quake III Arena. Thanks Shacknews. There is a note on the page about certain aspects of gameplay that appear to be bugs in the maps, that will clear up once the point release is issued.

Blizzard has released a new patch for Diablo II, updating their isometric action RPG to version 1.06b (thanks Ape{DC} for the heads-up). The patch fixes a couple of minor bugs and a CD-ROM issue, and the Windows patch takes 2.5 MB to download but both Windows and Mac patches are also available via the auto-update through Battle.net.

Today's movie madness continues with a new Star Wars: Galactic Battleground movie on GameSpot, showing off this isometric RTS by LucasArts that is powered by Ensemble's technology. The movie features an even two minutes of in-game footage from various areas in the game, all for the price of a 21 MB MPEG download (or the usual streaming formats). And in related news, there's a hands-on preview of the game on PC.IGN.com.

Illusion Softworks has released the E3 movie trailers for Hidden & Dangerous 2 as well as Mafia: the City of Lost Heaven for download from co-publisher TalonSoft's ftp server. The H&D2 trailer weighs in at 40.8 MB and offers an impressive two and a half minutes of in-game footage from their squad-based tactical action game (that includes the one minute mini-trailer released early this month), while the Mafia trailer clocks in at 28.1 MB and sports over a minute and a half of action-packed game footage from their third-person action game of criminal behavior. And in related news, there are eight new Mafia screenshots on AVault.

Apparently incited by the comments Gabe Newell made in his messageboard posting mentioned yesterday (story), Rogue Entertainment's Bobby "Xcalibur" Pavlock sent along a message that, while confirming that the company is once again in jeopardy following the decision that they would not be the ones making Counter-Strike Condition Zero (story), refutes some of the statement's in Gabe's post.

Dunno if anyone really cares, but I thought I'd atleast let you guys know what really happened with the whole Rogue/Valve CS:CZ deal...

And now for the REAL story... (nice spin though Gabe!)

We busted our asses developing Alice in 10 months for EA, amidst a slew of EA f**k-ups which constantly had us falling behind schedule. Throughout the entire development cycle, EA was whispering sweet nothings into our ears, calling us their "Golden Child" and constantly reiterating how they wanted to "develop a long-term relationship" with Rogue (sound familiar to any other developers?). So we endure 5 months of 7 days a week crunch time to make sure Alice hit shelves by X-mas, which it did. Contrary to what some people may think. Alice has sold in the neighborhood of 400k units worldwide. Not amazing numbers, but certainly respectable, and well more than enough to make EA a cool few million dollars.

After Alice, we start designing the PS2 port of Alice, for which the contract had been signed back in May 2000 (7 months before PC Alice even shipped). 3 days before January payroll, we receive a call from EA informing us that the Alice PS2 port has been cancelled and effective immediately Rogue would receive no more funding. Rogue tried to explain to them that the employees were expecting paychecks in 3 days, to which EA responded "Sorry, not our problem." Apparently EA lost their ass by sinking all their eggs in the PS2 basket, and when the PS2 debacle went down, EA scrambled to make up lost money to appease their stockholdlers. This was done by slashing projects across the board, and what easier target than a PS2 title that had just started development.

Needless to say, this unexpected turn of events put Rogue in a bad spot. After a couple months of talking with several publishers about prospective projects, VALVE CALLED US, wanting us to do a Single Player version of CS. We were all excited about this project as we are all big CS fans. The contract was signed, and we started busting our humps to try to have a playable demo version ready for E3. About a month after we started on the project, Jim Molinets informed us that he had decided to leave the company to take a Senior Producer role at Sony HQ in San Diego. It was an offer noone in their right minds would refuse. So we thought, no big deal really. Jim was the Producer on the title, but we knew full well the team could develop this title just fine without Jim being there. When we inform Valve of Jim's unexpected decision to leave, they panic. We try to assure them that Jim's leaving would not really affect the project at all, as most of his duties (sheduling milestones, design doc., etc) were already done prior to his leaving. But, Valve felt that we had "betrayed" them. They thought we knew the whole time that Jim was planning on leaving, which we didn't, and that we purposely didn't tell them until the contract was secured. So they yanked the project from us, once again leaving Rogue in an unexpected financial hole. Rogue has not officially closed down yet, although throughout this entire ordeal, several employees did decide to leave for greener pastures, and are in fact in negotiations for another deal right now. Whether or not it will pan out, only time will tell.

So there you have the REAL story. Dunno if anybody cares, but I sure as hell wasn't gonna let Valve sit back and put a spin on the truth to make them seem like the 'good guys'.

Peace...

-Xcalibur

P.S. - you can post any/all of this message if you feel like it. I don't really care.

Microsoft's E3 site is now online (Flash required), and among the many PC and Xbox games on display, a number are of note. Direct links are not available, but the site offers three new Sigma screenshots, three new MechCommander 2 screenshots (on which topic there are also 20 new screenshots on Gamer's Pulse), and three new Freelancer screenshots, among familiar screenshots for titles like Age of Mythology, Dungeon Siege and others. Of special note is the Freelancer section which includes an impressive new movie trailer that takes 11.3 MB to download (direct link) and sports over two and half minutes of in-game footage from Digital Anvil's epic space combat game.

• Max Payne
  Voodoo Extreme has posted eight new screenshots of Max Payne, the gritty third-person shooter nearing completion at Remedy Entertainment.
• PlanetSide
  As promised, ten new PlanetSide screenshots have now been added to the official site for Verant's online shooter, along with a new pair of those swanky QuickTime 3D screenshots (thanks PlanetSide Networks).
• Soldier of Fortune 2
  Well Rounded Entertainment has posted seven new Soldier of Fortune 2 screenshots showing off Raven's mercenary shooter sequel.
• H&D2
  On Adrenaline Vault, there are ten new Hidden & Dangerous 2 screenshots from the squad-based tactical action game in the works at Illusion Softworks.
• Armada II
  Back on WRE, there are also seven new Star Trek: Armada II screenshots illustrating the space based strategy sequel by Mad Doc Software.
• Bridge Commander
  Same universe, different game, as Star Trek: Bridge Commander is illustrated with half a dozen new screenshots on Well Rounded as well.
• Necrocide
  The official Necrocide site has been updated with details on contributing artist Chichoni as well as a new screenshot, and there's another pair on EuroGamer.
• Age of Wonders II
  Once more over on AVault, they also have a set of Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne screenshots online, depicting new scenes in the turn-based strategy game by Triumph Studios.

GameSpot Jedi Outcast Jedi Knight II E3 preview is online after swinging by the LucasArts booth to check out the one level demonstration being offered for the just-announced installment in the Star Wars shooter series. Here's a portion of the piece that offers news on how the game will add a "buddy system," that also talks about what Raven is doing to provide visual impact:

Another new feature in Jedi Knight II is the game's buddy system. Through the course of the single-player campaign, you'll run into several NPCs, some of whom you'll be able to partner with. During the demonstration, LucasArts spawned in one such "buddy" while Katarn was facing a lightsaber-wielding boss character, and the ensuing fight looked remarkably like the spectacular fight between Qui Gon, Obi Wan, and Darth Maul in Episode I. Raven, no stranger to visual splendor, is incorporating a lot of eye candy into the game as well. Lightsabers leave red-hot scorch marks in any surface they touch, including floors, walls, and pillars. Additionally, the developers have implemented the GHOUL 2 animation system from Soldier of Fortune II into Jedi Knight II, and they've doubled the polygon capacity of the Quake III engine.

There's a batch of new Star Wars Galaxies screenshots on Station.com and three more shots on the Star Wars Galaxies page, which are the first-ever shots released from the upcoming MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe. Shown in the shots are a C3PO-style robot (if not the big ninny himself), an R2 unit, and a few other familiar characters as well as a couple of shots of a sand speeder.

Another update on GameSpot this afternoon brings three new Aliens Versus Predator 2 screenshots of the three-class first-person shooter being developed at Monolith, as well as a gameplay movie. While this is the same 45 seconds of footage that appeared in streaming format elsewhere yesterday (story), you can now get it in decent quality MPEG format for the price of a 8.8 MB download.

There are eleven new Myth III: The Wolf Age screenshots on The Adrenaline Vault that are actually the first-ever released from Mumbo Jumbo and Gathering of Developers upcoming third installment in this RTS series. The shots show off the game's "3D characters, procedural foliage (and), deformable terrain."

GameSpot has posted the first four screenshots of Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza, the recently announced first-person shooter in the works at Piranha Games that is based on the 1988 Bruce Willis action movie. There is also a 8.6 MB gameplay movie that shows the game in action in its current state, running for nearly a minute in MPEG format (or several streaming videos).

The official Return to Castle Wolfenstein website is live, offering a home base for this upcoming World War II first-person shooter from Gray Matter Studios. The site is a bit deeper than it may seem at first glance, with a bunch of sub-pages with details on the plot and gameplay, and the first entry in their surveillance section, which has some screenshots in honor of E3 day one. On the same subject, there are five Return to Castle Wolfenstein screenshots on Well Rounded Entertainment.

FilePlanet has posted a movie trailer of PlanetSide, showing off the massively multiplayer first-person shooter in the works at Verant. The trailer is in QuickTime format, takes 17.4 MB to download, and sports half a minute of in-game footage of the player characters and a few of the vehicles they get to operate in the game. Update: There are mirrors on PlanetSide Networks and PlanetSide Center.

LucasArts Announces Space-based Expansion for Star Wars Galaxies Online Game Series is the press release with word that while Star Wars Galaxies, the upcoming MMORPG, is not expected to be available until the second half of 2002, there are already plans underway to create an add-on pack that will follow six months after the game is released that will add the space flight and combat component that is such a necessary element to recreate the flavor of the Star Wars universe. Here is the release:

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2001--LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC and Sony Online Entertainment today announced the development of the first expansion product for Star Wars® Galaxies(TM) (www.starwarsgalaxies.com), their massively multiplayer online role-playing game series. The add-on, expected to be available six months after the initial product release, will enable players to own and fly starships, allowing interplanetary travel and space combat.

The Star Wars Galaxies online game series is designed to immerse players in the rich Star Wars universe. The first product, expected to release in second half 2002, will feature dynamic role-playing ground-based adventures across multiple planets in the classic Star Wars timeframe. Game play will offer a unique combination of combat, exploration, social interaction, specialized missions, and daring quests. Players will explore multiple Star Wars environments on foot or in land vehicles. Traveling between planets will be accomplished through the use of public shuttles, which ferry characters from world to world.

The anticipated space component of the Star Wars Galaxies online game will add personal starships and starfighters to the game, which can be used for travel or space combat. The expansion also promises additional worlds, playable species, non-player characters, creatures, and a variety of other elements.

"We view Star Wars Galaxies as a collection of massively multiplayer experiences that combine to form a multi-faceted perpetual universe," says Simon Jeffery, president of LucasArts. "Hundreds of thousands of gamers around the world will be able to choose whether to base their Star Wars alter-egos on ground, or whether to take them up into space -- for exploration, combat, or even to attempt the legendary Kessel Run. We know from our community boards that fans want to play Star Wars Galaxies in space as well as on planet -- we're happy to say they'll be able to do so."

The space component of Star Wars Galaxies is being developed as an expansion product in order to ensure that both aspects of the experience meet the high expectations of fans and game players. Ultimately, both the planet and space-based elements will provide players with greater game play flexibility and a wealth of content.

"The staggered release schedule of the space component of the Star Wars Galaxies series will benefit players because they will have time to establish their characters and explore different elements of the core game before we add the space layer," says Rich Vogel, director of development at Sony Online Entertainment's Austin studio. "Once the space component becomes available, players who have been with us since the beginning will be ready to buy their own starships and launch into this new arena."

I wonder if anyone will be able to make the Kessel run in under 12 parsecs?...

The Mac-happy folks at Westlake Interactive have made a batch of updates concerning the various Macintosh game ports and other projects they have underway. Included in their update is word of a final Alice candidate, a Tomb Raider Chronicles update that says the Mac Chronicles release is just awaiting completion of the editor, a RUNE update with word that the Halls of Valhalla expansion pack for the Mac has begun beta testing, an Unreal Tournament update announcing that a special version of Unreal Tournament 436 that fully supports SoundBlaster Live! cards through OpenAL is in beta testing and "should be released within the next few weeks," word that the Deus Ex Multiplayer patch that brings the Mac port in sync with the latest Windows version is nearly complete and is beginning to be tested, and that "As part of this patch effort, we are also working on a separate update for users of SoundBlaster Live! cards which adds EAX support to multiplayer," and in a departure from all this Macintosh stuff (could we say like apples and oranges?), they have also posted a bit on the fact that they are the ones doing the Deus Ex PS2 port that was just announced this morning.

The LucasArts E3 2001 page has the official announcement of a bit of news that was leaked yesterday (story) that work has begun on Star Wars: Jedi Outcast-Jedi Knight II, obviously enough the sequel to Jedi Knight (which itself was also Dark Forces II, for those keeping track of the nesting sequels involved). As the earlier report stated, the game is being created by Raven Software with an assist from LucasArts, and will be powered by id Software's Quake III Arena engine. Here is a good portion of the press release:

Inspired by the phenomenal success of its multi-award winning Jedi Knight action game series, LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC announces the long awaited sequel, Star Wars Jedi Outcast: Jedi Knight II for Windows PC. The return to one of interactive entertainment's most successful game series will feature a partnership between LucasArts and Activision, Inc., through its developer Raven Software, which will result in the incorporation of the acclaimed QUAKE III Arena engine in the development of Jedi Outcast. Raven Software has created many critically celebrated action titles.

Star Wars Jedi Outcast: Jedi Knight II is a dynamic single and multiplayer action experience that continues the saga of the once powerful Jedi Knight, Kyle Katarn, as he struggles with the power – and dangers – of the Force. Through a multitude of complex and richly detailed Star Wars environments players face a variety of powerful enemies and once again fight for the Rebel cause. Armed with the power of the Force, and an arsenal of weapons, including a Jedi Knight's signature lightsaber, players hold the fate of the Star Wars galaxy and the destiny of Kyle Katarn in their hands.

<snip>

Star Wars Jedi Outcast: Jedi Knight II picks up several years after Katarn successfully avenged his father and defended the Valley of the Jedi from powerful Jerec and his group of Dark Jedi. Katarn has since abandoned his allegiance to the Force for fear that he might fall prey to the temptations of the Dark side. However, as fate would have it Katarn learns of a powerful new Dark Jedi who must be prevented from creating a technology to harness the power of the Force. Katarn's destiny and the future of the Star Wars galaxy once again hang in the balance as he confronts his dark past to face another seemingly insurmountable evil.

Players of Star Wars Jedi Outcast: Jedi Knight II will find an expanded and enhanced use of the Force, including Heal, Jump, Speed, Force Push, Lightning, and Jedi Mind Tricks. Depending on the situation, whether in combat or stealth, players also have a variety of weapons – old and new – at their disposal, including the lightsaber, Bryar blaster pistol, blaster rifle, stun baton, Wookiee bowcaster, thermal detonators.

Star Wars Jedi Outcast: Jedi Knight II features breathtaking locales, such as Cloud City, the Jedi Knight Academy on Yavin 4, Nar Shaddaa, the smugglers' moon, and many-never-before seen locations.

The game will use a modified version of the lauded QUAKE III Arena engine, allowing for a multitude of enhancements such as more highly detailed graphics and a greater sense of overall scale. LucasArts will assist in the game's development with Raven, with expertise contributed by members of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II team. <snip>

The second-ever batch of Maelstrom screenshots are up on PC GamePlay showing off this "space-combat-come-first-person-shooter" from Virgin Interactive that will debut on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox before making its way to the PC. Also, there are the first-ever Force Of One screenshots on PC Gameplay showing off what they describe as a "Matrix-styled cyberpunk game," likewise from Virgin.

While most of the Duke Nukem Forever movie trailer appeared earlier than expected in streaming format yesterday (story), 3D Realms informs us that they wanted the clip to debut today, and certainly didn't intend it to appear in a lower quality, shortened version first. Therefore the complete, high-quality E3 trailers for 3D Realms' first-person shooter as well as Remedy's gritty third-person action game Max Payne have now been released for download. For Duke, this is the first media appearance since the screenshots of late 1999 (story), and the trailer offers nearly two and a half minutes of impressive footage. Also, while the last Max Payne movie we saw was still primarily composed of familiar footage from previous movies, this clip contains all-new footage running for more than two and a half minutes, and shows off even more of the Matrix-style influence that was made evident in the new portions of the previous trailer. Here are our local copies with mirrors (we'll add more links as we receive them) so choose your poison:

• Duke Nukem Forever
  - High Quality Bink (43.2 MB)
  - Lower Quality Bink (15.6 MB)
  - High Quality Quicktime (45.3 MB)
  - Lower Quality Quicktime (28.3 MB)
• Max Payne
  - High Quality MPEG (47.4 MB)
  - High Quality WMV (37.2 MB)

GameSpy.com's Chat with CliffyB is online, talking with the lead designer at Epic Games about a wide range of topics, including the ever-popular consoles versus PCs stuff, the Xbox's chances for success, violence in gaming, Cliff puts on his executive producer hat to talk about the progress Legend Entertainment is making on Unreal II, Epic's next engine technology, hardware, and more more than you can shake a stick at (provided stick shaking is your thing).

There's an interview with David Stalker on AVPNews of Fox Interactive discussing plans for Aliens versus Predator 2, including ways the sequel will attempt to improve upon the original, the reason Monolith was enlisted to help create the game, and more. In a related note, there's a batch of new Aliens vs. Predator 2 Screenshots on AVault, and another pair of new AvP 2 shots are up on GameSpy.

Mindless Games interviews Ben Haas of Click Entertainment, talking about progress on Throne of Darkness an upcoming action-oriented role-playing game set in feudal Japan where players will lead parties of specialized samurai warriors "in an epic quest against the forces of evil." The short conversation covers a lot of what to expect from Throne of Darkness, and is illustrated by a load of exclusive screenshots. Likewise there are also some Throne of Darkness Screenshots and Details on AVault fresh from the E3 floor.

PlayersHQ interviews Scott Brown talking with the president of NetDevil about the status of Jumpgate, their imminent massively multiplayer space flight game. Topics in the interview include Capitol Ships, third party utilities (JGTracker), planet-side code, and more.

The show hasn't even actually started yet, but the flood has begun... grab your high-waters and get to reading:

• Unreal II Preview
  There's an Unreal II preview on GameSpy that speaks enthusiastically about the original Unreal's impact on gaming, and discusses how they feel the sequel will stack up.
• Throne of Bhaal
  There's a Baldur’s Gate II- Throne of Bhaal E3 Progress Report on AVault looking at the upcoming BG2 add-on from the show floor, while there's also a new Throne of Bhaal screenshot gallery on RPG Vault.
• Sigma
  There's a Sigma E3 Progress Report on AVault catches up with Jay Wilson lead designer on Relic Entertainment's upcoming game of genetic engineering.
• Planetside
  GameSpy.com's Planetside preview is online, describing what to expect from this upcoming massively-multiplayer first-person action game in the works at Verant.
• Civilization III
  GameSpy.com's Civilization III preview looks at the upcoming third iteration in the strategy series begun by Sid Meier. The preview is based on checking out a playable build of the game, and also offers thoughts from Jeff Briggs, president and CEO of Firaxis. Meanwhile, there is also a Civilization III E3 Progress Report on AVault.
• Republic
  The AVault's Republic E3 Progress Report talks with Demis Hassabis, managing director at Elixir Studios about progress on this upcoming politically-charged strategy game.
• Red Faction
  There's a Red Faction E3 Progress Report on Adrenaline Vault offering as progress report on Volition's upcoming first-person shooter.
• Morrowind
  There's a Morrowind E3 Progress Report and New Screenshots on AVault with a look ahead at The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind for the PC.
• Bridge Commander
  There's also a Bridge Commander E3 Progress Report on AVault with a look ahead at this upcoming Star Trek simulation.
• Disciples II
  There's also a Disciples II E3 Progress Report on the AVault with an update on the upcoming turn-based strategy sequel, along with a bunch of new screenshots.
• Dungeon Siege
  Moving right along, there's a Dungeon Siege E3 Progress Report on AVAult looking at Gas Powered Games' upcoming RPG.
• O.R.B.
  And the O.R.B. E3 Progress Report on AVault indicates that the upcoming Off-World Resource Base game now looks like its headed for a Fall Release.

Of course we also have some batches of screenshots from the show too--sort of the silent movie previews:

• Freedom Force
  There are some new Freedom Force screenshots on AVault showing off the upcoming superhero game from Irrational Games.
• Global Operations
  There are seven new Global Operations Screenshots on Adrenaline Vault.
• Shadows of Luclin
  There are also some new EverQuest: Shadows of Luclin screenshots on GameSpy from the upcoming follow-up.
• Battle Realms
  There are some new Battle Realms Screenshots on Adrenaline Vault as they continue their adrenaline-charged coverage of the show.
• Empire Earth
  There are also some new Empire Earth Screenshots on AVault showing off this upcoming ambitious RTS.
• Art of Magic
  There are some new Magic and Mayhem: Art of Magic Screenshots on AVault as well.
• Nexagon
  The AVault's not through yet, they've also posted a bunch of new Nexagon: The Pit Screenshots.
• Dusk Till Dawn
  There are also some From Dusk Till Dawn Screenshots and Details on AVault.
• Dune
  Stop me if you've heard enough already, but there are also a dozen new Dune screenshots on AVault.

The Shadowbane News page continues their week-long series of revelations about Shadowbane, Wolfpack Studios' upcoming MMORPG by adding a page on City Building under their World Info section. The new section contains renderings and information pertaining to the various Guild Halls, which has also prompted an update to the Guilds section to reflect the individual Guild Halls.

The eighth installment in the Master of Orion 3 Developer Diaries on GameSpy.Com is now online. This edition, again penned by designer Alan Emrich of Quicksilver Software, is titled "before combat," where he chooses to "to take you just to the point of real-time combat in Master of Orion 3 and then abandon you," in discussing the preparation that will be essential to success at the turn-based combat in their upcoming 4X game. The article also offers some thoughts on the hierarchy of strategy, pointing out that "Whereas Grand Strategy narrows to Strategy, so too does Strategy narrow in focus to Operational Planning."

Here are a pair of music-related interviews: Volition Watch interviews Dan Wentz talking with the man behind the music in Red Faction, Volition's upcoming Geo-Mod powered first-person shooter. The conversation covers Dan's other contributions to previous games, and also offers a Red Faction tune for download in .mp3 format. Also, RPGDot interviews Ben Houge talking with Sierra’s in-house composer about his work on the soundtrack for Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura, the upcoming RPG from Troika Games and Sierra Studios.

• New NVSDK
  The NVIDIA Developer pages has a new version 5.0 of the NVSDK, which includes a new GeForce 3-oriented NVEffectsBrowser2.0 with OpenGL support.
• New HyperSnap-DX
  A new version 4.02.01 of the HyperSnap-DX screen capture utility is now available.
• Crash Test DMAs
  Crash Test: DMA Problems with VIA's 686B Southbridge on Au Ja is the English translation of their saga of trying to solve some nagging conflicts.
• BIOS Guide
  Revision 6.0 of The Definitive BIOS Optimization Guide on Adrian's Rojak Pot is online, redefining the definition of a definitive guide.
• Soldering Guide
  Cliff's Soldering Guide Part 1 on FanBus offers expert advice on the subject.

Eidos Interactive sends along this press release announcing that Deus Ex, their acclaimed first-person action/RPG, is making its way to the PlayStation2. The release says that the PS2 version will feature a "streamlined user interface {that} will allow the player to concentrate more on actual game-play and less on auxiliary actions such as menu navigation and inventory management," and can be expected in Winter 2001. Also, there are nine new Unreal Championship screenshots on PlanetXbox showing off this just-announced Unreal game for the Xbox. Finally, The Adrenaline Vault is reporting that a PS2 version of TREAD Marks, the award winning tank racing game, is being demonstrated at this year's E3.

The GreenHouseEFX website is the newly-relocated home of the Coliseum II mod for Quake III Arena, and is now offering a new version 2.3 of the mod, which significantly reduces the bandwidth used by the modification's runes.

The debut release of NPRQuake is now available, which has nothing to do with National Public Radio, but is rather "Non-PhotoRealistically-Rendered GLQuake." This is one of those "I didn't know you could do that" projects which adds a sketchy wireframe view to Quake reminiscent of Take on Me, the A-HA music video. Thanks liB.

The VoyagerEliteForce.com Expansion Pack Walkthrough is online to offer help if you're stuck trying to make your way through the recently released Elite Force expansion. Also, Jureel Krix's Guide to Character Creation on Vault13.net offers expert tips on creating your character for Fallout: Tactics - Brotherhood of Steel. Finally, the official HORIZONS FAQ has been updated.

There's an interview with Stevie "KillCreek" Case and Johnathan "fatal1ty" Wendel on GameZ (where the content is normally Dutch, but in this case is in the interviewees' native English) during their attendance at the recent CPL-Holland event. This is part one with a part two planned to follow. Also, registration for the SavageUK Q3ctf Super Sunday Cup ends Saturday.

• Panzer General III on MGON.
• The Sims: House Party on Head 2 Head.
• TRIBES 2 on PC Zone UK.
• Ultima Online: Third Dawn on Reviewboard.
• Worms World Party on 3D GameForce.

• Abit KT7A-RAID motherboard on Hardware Analysis.
• AMK ACE 122 C 5 1/4" Media Port on FragTopia.
• ATi Radeon 64MB VIVO video card on OcPrices.
• Cyber Cooler HC-160 HDD cooler on Mikhailtech.
• D-Link DWL-650 Wireless PC Card on SystemLogic.net
• ELSA Gladiac 920 GeForce 3 video card on Hardware One.
• EverGreen RumbleFX Headphones on Hardware Daily.
• Chieftec Dragon mid-tower case on RipNet-UK.com.
• Gigabyte GV-GF3000 64MB GeForce 3 video card on HotHardware.
• Glacier ][ Copper Insert Heatsink on ipKonfig.com.
• Gigabyte GF-2010D Geforce2 Pro 32 MB video card on Guru3D.
• Iomega Hip Zip on TECH-REVIEW.com.
• Leadtek WinFast GeForce3 video card on Got Apex?.
• Linksys Wireless Networking on Reviewboard Magazine.
• Samsung SW-212 12x8x32 CD-R/W on EXHardware
• Shuttle AK11 motherboard on LostCircuits.
• Soyo SY-K7ADA motherboard on The Duke of URL.
• Swiftech MC462-A cooler on AthlonOC.
• Western Digital Caviar WD800BB hard drive on StorageReview.com.
• Zoltrix Nightingale Pro 6 sound card on SoundCardCentral.

• A report on EuroGamer reports that French developer Kalisto has recovered after recently being on the verge of financial collapse (story)...
• There's a Safari Biathlon Demo on 3D Files offering racing and combat between futuristic turbocars...
• The PunkBuster Online Countermeasures website warns that the next version of their cheat-thwarting software will contain code to kick users of Asus drivers. Thanks RIVA Station...
• Part II of Massive Multiplayer.Org's John Wright interview is online, following up on Part 1 of their conversation with the lead developer for Pernica...
• Constantin Film to Bring Capcom's Blockbuster Resident Evil Series to a Feature Film In Resident Evil Ground Zero is the press release announcing the upcoming feature, to star Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez, while in the reverse trend, Microsoft Signs Exclusive Licensing Deal With Warner Bros. to Create Microsoft Games Franchise for 'A.I.' Movie has word of a series of games to be based on Steven Spielberg's planned summer blockbuster...

Well today marks the official opening of this year's E3, which marks the first show I'll miss since before my first one, which was in 1997. This is a bit upsetting, because I am one of the few folks I know that actually enjoys the atmosphere of the show, which is like being inside a giant pinball machine, but as you can probably tell already, this is going to be by far our best-ever effort at keeping up with the flood of news from the show, something that's really impossible while attending, so it's all for the best.

Link of the Day: eToast Corporation. Thanks Ant.
Bonus Link: Amazon.com buying info: The Story About Ping. Read the first reader review. Thanks Baz.
Weird Science: Mystery force tugs distant probes (BBC). Thanks [MP] Wolverine [MP].
Story of the Day: Doctors turn up noses at dung pay. Thanks jfp51.
Follow-up: Indian police release pictures of Monkey man killer (Ananova). Thanks EvilToast.
Follow-up Follow-up: Police suspect 'monkey man' is alien or remote-controlled robot (Ananova). Thanks again EvilToast.
Media of the Day: Caltrans State Highway Photolog. Thanks Ant.