Archived News:
Empire Earth Command Center has posted a new movie of Empire Earth, the era-spanning 3D RTS in development at Stainless Steel Studios. Like previous such clips, the 7.6 MB download offers half a minute of in-game footage in self-running Bink format, this time introducing the Nano Age, the last of the twelve epochs in the game.
- PC.IGN.com
Post-E3 coverage on PC.IGN.com continues this evening with previews of Steel Soldiers and Master of Orion III based on what they saw at the show, and in related news MOO3 developer QuickSilver has issued a clarification on the number of races in their 4X space strategy game.
- LucasArts
XGR takes a general look at the games that LucasArts presented at the show, while a more comprehensive report on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is online at RPG Vault.
- Recaps
Desslock's RPG News looks back at the show in general, the console games, and most PC games except the role-playing ones (which are saved up for a later date), while Don "OneThumb" MacAskill offers his own impressions as well as choice of game and platform of the show.
- FuzzyCam
In his own special way, the Levelord looks back at the show with some Kodak moments (with captions that might be offensive to some), while Liquified.org has posted a few photos of Liquid Entertainment and Battle Realms in action, and StrategyPlanet brings a decidedly unstrategic 2001 E3 Booth-Babes Shoot-Out.
- ShakeyCam
There is a new video preview of Mafia: the City of Lost Heaven on Czech gaming site BonusWeb, offering some 12 minutes of ShakeyCam footage demoing this third-person action by likewise Czech developers Illusion Softworks, so all the commentary is in their native tongue (thanks MafiaWorld).
- Half-Life: Blue Shift
PC.IGN.com took their gold copy of Half-Life: Blue Shift for a spin and captured ten new screenshots of the standalone Barney episode that should arrive in stores early next month.
- Orion Pirates
There are five new screenshots of Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates, showing more galactic scenes in the space strategy expansion pack by Taldren.
- Warzone Online
A brief look at Warzone Online at GameSpot is accompanied by seven new screenshots of this online tactical action game under construction at Paradox Entertainment.
- BattleTech: 3025
Stomped has unearthed links to 16 new BattleTech: 3025 screenshots, a massively multiplayer game originally by FASA and Microsoft that has hardly been heard of since the original announcement in August 1999 (story).
Monolith sends along the new patch for No One Lives Forever, bringing their acclaimed first-person shooter to version 1.003. The patch addresses a multiplayer exploit, and fixes several other multiplayer issues as well as a few gameplay bugs. Here is our local copy with mirrors of the 13.1 MB file.
GameSpy 3D version 2.53 is now
available for both shareware and registered users. This latest version adds
support for TRIBES 2 and also increases the overall speed of the program significantly
(both of these features have already been available for registered users for
some time now).
GameSpot has posted another video interview, this time with
Scott Campbell of Mumbo Jumbo games, talking with him about Myth III: The
Wolf Age. Like the other videos in this series it is available in a number of
different downloadable and streaming formats, and has the designer demonstrating
the game complete with ShakyCam gameplay footage. Note that the Myth III demos
were given within one of the Gathering of Developers trailers so the video is
a little dark.
Also new on GameSpot tonight is a
preview of Throne of Darkness, the upcoming Diablo-style RPG from Click
Entertainment. GameSpot was able to pay a visit to Click's studio, and so the
preview is based on what they saw there. The preview is illustrated with 14 new
screenshots.
Ross Perez of Flipside.com sends along this
statement regarding the recent authentication problems that have plagued TRIBES 2 and Half-Life
gamers. His explanation seems to suggest that the workaround recommended for
Half-Life users ( story) should work for TRIBES 2 gamers as well.
Here's what he has to say: Several major domain name and network changes
were made over the past 24 hours that caused unanticipated problems for the
online activities of several major CD-ROM games. We apologize for any inconvenience
and/or service disruptions that these changes have caused. Once the propagation
of the network changes have been completed, the titles affected will return
to normal. We estimate that for most users this will occur in the next 24 hours
depending on how quickly the DNS changes propagate. For ISP's that update their
DNS servers less frequently it could take a little longer.
CamelotHQ has posted three short Dark Age of Camelot movie clips, showing off the medieval MMORPG being beta tested at Mythic Entertainment. The clips each sport a few seconds of in-game footage in Windows Media Player format, and six more clips are available if you take out a subscription to the site.
Daily Telefrag has posted the first six screenshots of Endgame as well as some sparse information on this as yet unannounced title by Empire Interactive. The game is described as an "espionage action game" in the vein of No One Lives Forever, and there are a few details on its story but no word on who is developing it. The game is slated for a PC release in Spring 2002, as well as several console formats. Update: It turns out this is a PS2-only rail shooter.
- Emperor
Westwood has released another 3D QuickTime screenshot of Emperor: Battle for Dune (1.85 MB) allowing you to zoom and rotate your way around in a scene from their now-golden 3D RTS (story).
- Global Operations
The official Global Operations site has been updated with 15 new concept images, 2 new weapon images, and the Commando Specialty in this team-based military shooter by Barking Dog Studios.
- Harbinger
Half a dozen new Harbinger screenshots accompany a brief look on Computer Games Online at this isometric action RPG in the works at Silverback Entertainment.
- HoMM4
Norwegian site Gibme has posted a new pair of Heroes of Might and Magic IV screenshots illustrating the turn-based strategy sequel under construction at 3DO.
- American Conquest
A Russian preview of American Conquest (which you may like to read via Babel Fish) on Ukrainian site GaMMeR includes four new screenshots and a few character images (in that universal language) of the newly announced isometric RTS by GSC Game World, while Daily Telefrag has a statement from the developers on some of its features.
- WWII Online
To celebrate the game going gold (story), the official World War II Online site now sports nine new screenshots of this massively multiplayer title by Cornered Rat Software.
- Anarchy Online
The token number of three new Anarchy Online screenshots from the ongoing beta test of Funcom's MMORPG are online at Gamerush and EuroGamer.
- Intergalactic Bounty Hunter
Plenty of new screenshots and concept art of Intergalactic Bounty Hunter, an episodic action/adventure from PAN Interactive, is on display at GameSpot UK.
Tolstiy's Place has conducted an
interview with David Durcak, the head of development at Cauldron, talking
with him about their upcoming FPS title Chaser. David explains that work stopped
on the project six months ago so the company could finish up work on Battle
Isle: The Andosia War, and he says that now that work has finished on that title
they have started working again on Chaser. He also provides some gameplay info
about Chaser and explains what will separate it from the other FPS games out
there.
Looks like the same DNS problems at WON.net/Flipside.com ( story)
are affecting TRIBES 2 as well, as some people are having problems with the
authentication servers for the game (thanks MoreGaming).
Here's the comment from Dynamix' Dave Georgeson that was posted over at TribalWar: There
is a problem with the Sierra/WON/Flipside DNS. It's preventing authentication
from happening.
We're trying to figure it out now.
The problems we were experiencing last night were the precursor to the total
collapse of the DNS we're working through now.
This has nothing to do with the Tribes 2 code. It is a hardware issue and we're
working on it.
The official Black & White site has been updated with a
list of changes from the upcoming patch for Black & White (thanks PlanetBlackandWhite).
The patch will feature 32 bug fixes (including fixes for a pair of save game errors
that would crash the game) as well as two significant gameplay changes, one of
which will allow those that have already played the game to skip the tutorials
and creature selection if they choose to start a new game.
Akella and TalonSoft have released a new patch for Age of Sail II, updating their sea-faring 3D RTS to version 1.52. This release includes multiplayer improvements, save game tweaks, a new loading bar, and several other enchancements.
- Unreal II
Both Action Vault and PlanetUnreal have their Unreal II previews online based on what they saw of Legend's first-person shooter sequel at E3.
- GameSpy.com
More E3 coverage on GameSpy.com, as they have posted looks at Empire Earth and Steel Soldiers, as well as more photos.
- MMOGs
Elsewhere on the GSI network 3DActionPlanet checks out PlanetSide, and VoodooExtreme previews Earth and Beyond.
- Alien Spider
The Alien Spider 2001 E3 Report is online, recapping the show and offering looks at Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Dungeon Siege, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Command & Conquer: Renegade, and more.
- Recaps
The GamePC Report E3 2001 is online with brief look at all the games, consoles and hardware they saw at the show, as are the Best and Worst of E3 on Hoslap.com and the brief E3 2001 Report on Source Magazine.
GamePower has posted a
new preview of Real War, the upcoming RTS game from Simon & Schuster
Interactive that's based on an actual military simulation program. The preview
contains a detailed look at the game, along with some new screenshots and a
Q&A with Jim Omer, Simon & Schuster's producer on the game.
Shortly after the completion of the European editions ( story), Gone Gold reports that the US edition of the mobster management strategy game by Hothouse Creations has now gone gold as well, so you should be able to find it on store shelves from June 8 onwards (hopefully there's no horse's head next to it though).
The
demo version of Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos is up on PC Zone for
download. The demo for the sequel to Independence War is a huge 197 MB
download, and is only available from one source, so you should probably expect
some difficulties getting it downloaded. It is also not certain what the status
of mirrors will be, since they bandy about the term exclusive, which is a four
letter word in the world of demo downloads (no site, regardless of size, can
keep up with that kind of demand). On the bright side, the demo is also
available on the cover CD of an issue of PC Zone if you can locate it. We will
update this story with word on mirrors if and when they become available.
Gamespy Arcade is holding an online
chat session today with the folks from GarageGames, who are currently working on
the version of the TRIBES 2 engine that will be distributed to licensees. Jeff
Tunnell is to be the main victim of the session, but word is that all the folks
in the company are expected to be in some form of attendance, with the exception
of the vacationing Mark "Got Milk?" Frohnmayer. The session is to
start at 7:00 PM EDT. Also, word from Through the Looking Glass
is that tomorrow marks a chat session to commemorate Looking Glass Studios on
the first anniversary of their demise. Here's the poop: "May 25th of
2000 was the last day of operation for Looking Glass Studios. On May 25th, 2001,
we celebrate the past, present, and future.
It has been declared that from 12:00am until 11:59pm on May 25th (EST) , the
official TTLG chatroom, #thief on irc.starchat.net,
will be hosting a celebration to commemorate how far we have come since that
day. We implore all former member of Looking Glass Studios, and all friends of
Looking Glass Studios, to show up at some time during that day and share
memories of the past and aspirations for the future with your good friends and
fans. There will also be a special thread opened on the forum
for Glassers to post messages to each other and the fans.
We also implore everyone who sees this post to spread the word to the four
winds. We want to make sure everyone who would be interested in being there has
a chance to. Everyone who wants a chance to meet some of the makers of the
Looking Glass games needs that chance, and every person who was part of Looking
Glass Studios needs to know where to meet.
Try to get into #thief now so that you know how when the time comes. :)
Set your IRC Client to irc.starchat.net, join #thief.
If you have no IRC Client, please take advantage of our java chat client on The
Circle.com."
Basically, what we at TTLG are trying to do, is gather as many fans and
ex-employees of Looking Glass in the same place at the same time to celebrate
the amazing achievements of Looking Glass.
Shortly after receiving a couple of emails telling us that users attempting to
play Half-Life and its kin online were getting authentication errors from WON's
servers, Agent_X_7 sends word that a fix for the problem is up on the Sierra Forums.
The fix involves installing a new woncomm.lst (they supply a download link) that
uses the proper IP addresses of the servers you need to contact.
Diary from a Sound Designer
on GameSpy.Com offers thoughts from Zachary Quarles on his work creating the
sounds that will be featured in Soldier of Fortune II, Raven's upcoming follow-up
to their mercenary first-person shooter. In a rare turn of events, this diary
seems to be based on actual notes Zachary has kept since starting on the
project, and the topics covered include making the transition to Raven from the
'real world,' the art of creating sounds without a studio, coping with creative
block, preparing for E3, and more.
There's an
official Earth & Beyond Chat Log on the Westwood website as well as an unofficial
log on EarthNBeyond.com recapping the adventures in the recent third online
chat session catching up on development of this upcoming persistent online
galaxy game in the works at Westwood Studios. The chat features a few members of
the development team, and offers answers to a wide range of questions about the
game submitted by the participants.
A new version 1.0 of tribesserverstat
is now available, offering an updated version of this set of Perl scripts that
can generate webpages displaying the status of your TRIBES or TRIBES 2 server.
The new version adds support for multiple servers as well as the original
Starsiege TRIBES (hence the removal of the "2" from the program's
name), and as always, also requires the use of QStat
version 2.4 or later.
GameSpot's
Pirates of Skull Cove preview offers hands-on impressions of this upcoming
PS2 game. Meanwhile, Dreamcast Sold Out
on Core Magazine reports that reserves of Dreamcast console systems are
about gone in Japan (funny how when you stop manufacturing things, eventually
you run out of them). Best of E3 articles are up on PS2.IGN.com,
Pocket.IGN.Com, and Xbox.IGN.com,
where Halo, one time darling of the press, receives a noteworthy snub.
In our follow-up ( story) about the ASUS drivers cheating
situation ( story) we published an email from ASUS forwarded along
to us by a reader. Though it is hard to sort through the confusion of exactly
what happened, it looks like it's possible this letter was sent to one site in
particular, a Belgian site named deCURSOR,
who published it in an article called Asus disables hardware cheats.
After doping through all that, the result is to offer apologies to deCURSOR for
failing to properly link back to them on this news, and to point out that if
that mail was not actually sent out to all who participated in their online
survey, but to a single site in Belguim, it seems to bring into question whether
this represents ASUS' true intents regarding suppressing the cheating drivers. I
guess we'll know soon enough.
There's an announcement of the AMD
Instagib International on OZQuake describing plans for a five-on-five
teamplay InstaGib Arena match between Australia and New Zealand. Also, word from
the National Quake League is that they
will be beginning their second season soon.
The newly-launched Stalker Entertainment
website has a bunch of jobs listed for those looking to break into the
gaming business. Accepting any of the positions listed will require relocation
to Dallas, TX.
Okay, what do you think... in memory of Douglas Adams, we all participate in Towel Day?
Thanks to Nicholas C. Weaver who sent this in last week, as well as Deron deFreese
and Falkenberg who sent along more recent emails about it. Towel Day, planned
for tomorrow, is just what it sounds like, a day when you bring your towel with
you wherever you go... even the bathroom (wait, scratch that -- I mean even to
places other than the bathroom). This of course, is a tribute to what's probably
the third most useful item a galactic hitchhiker could own in the Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy after a Babel Fish and the guide itself, and since those
two items are fairly difficult to come by, Towel Day is the natural choice. In a
related note, there are also plans for a Happy Adams Day
on February 11, which is (naturally) the 42nd day of the year, and word is that
it's possible that in the future Happy Adams Day and Towel Day may share that
same date. Finally, there's also word of another planned memorial June 21-22
(which is 42 days after Adams' death), this is mentioned on the Happy Adams Day
link, though it's not clear what this will entail. So for tomorrow, don't forget
your towel, and don't worry that you will be laughed at... remember: "any
man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it,
struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is
is clearly a man to be reckoned with."
R.I.P.: Whitman Mayo, Grady of 'Sanford and Son,'
Thanks Miquel. Surprisingly, he was only 70 (I thought he was at least that old
during the show).
Story of the Day: Thunderbirds under the hammer
(BBC). Thanks theAntiELVIS. Word that the Thunderbirds puppets (as well as some
props and costumes from James Bond movies, among others) are going up for
auction.
Weird Science: What's Next: Batteries Push Paper Into Electronics Age
(NY Times-free subscription required). Thanks Jonathan C. Forster.
Wild Science: IBM offers free mainframe access to Linux developers
(Reuters). Thanks Digital Silence.
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