Archived News:
Player of Games has posted a brief interview on The Druid King, the recently announced isometric role-playing RTS by Bulgarian developers Haemimont Games ( story). Lead programmer Ivko Stanilov is at hand to talk about the strategy, roleplaying and adventure elements in some detail, as well as the multiplayer features and what should distinguish the game from other hybrid RTS offerings.
The official Conflict Zone site offers a new version 1.2 patch for this 3D real-time strategy game by French developers MASA Group. The 3.9 MB download currently only comes with a French readme page (so here's that handy Babel Fish link again) but updates all previous English, German and French editions of the game, and fixes a number of graphics and crash bugs, improvements multiplayer, and adds a few other changes.
As is their way, XGR will be broadcasting a new audio interview tonight at 9:00 PM EDT, this time grilling Digital Extremes developers James Schmalz and Pancho Eekels. The pair will talk about their past contributions to Unreal and Unreal Tournament as well as their upcoming Xbox title Unreal Championship, and of course you'll need WinAmp or a compatible player to tune in to the show.
There is a German press release from Codemasters on the official German Operation Flashpoint fansite that announces plans for a variety of add-ons for Bohemia's tactical action game to be released over the next few months. As the information is in German, you may like to stick a Babel Fish in your ear, or check the English summary at Australian fansite Operation Flashpoint Network. Among the add-ons are new single- and multi-player missions, new vehicles and weapons, dedicated server support and more, and a new multiplayer demo is also scheduled for August. Thanks Unofficial Hidden & Dangerous 2 Site for the tip. Update: Here is the complete English press release at Codemasters' site.
GameSpot has posted a
new preview of Conquest: Frontier Wars, the RTS title that was originally
developed at Digital Anvil, and following an exodus of its design team, is now
being finished at the newly formed Fever Pitch Studios. The preview is hands-on,
and contains the author's positive impressions along with a whopping 22 new
screenshots.
In anticipation of the game's release tomorrow, the official Anachronox site has been updated with two sets of new screenshots from the Verilent Hive and Limbus areas in ION Storm's 3D role-playing game, as well as new bios for the already familiar characters Stiletto Anyway and Paco "El Puņo" Estrella. A new movie trailer is promised for tomorrow, and as noted in this Tom Hall .plan update the first patch with "little improvements" and the playable demo are expected soon as well.
As noted in this World War II Online forum post, a version 112 patch for the massively multiplayer war sim by Cornered Rat is now available via the in-game updater (thanks Stomped). The 1.3 MB patch addresses a couple of gameplay problems, some memory issues, and lots of smaller bugs. A larger version 113 patch with new features is still in the works.
- Conquest
Swiss site Gameplex has posted eight new Conquest: Frontier Wars screenshots, offering new galactic scenes in the space-based RTS by Fever Pitch Studios.
- Galleon
A new Galleon gallery on GameSpot UK mixes new and familiar images of this PC and Xbox third-person action adventure by Confounding Factor.
- Etherlords
Five new Etherlords screenshots on StrategyPlanet accompany a brief look at this 3D turn-based strategy game by Nival Interactive.
- ExcaliBug
German site PC Pointer has posted a dozen new ExcaliBug screenshots, showing off the 3D role-playing strategy game by Spanish developers Enigma Software.
- Throne of Darkness
The latest Throne of Darkness Elements Of The Week on RPG Vault demonstrates the lightning spells in Click Entertainment's isometric action RPG in a dozen new screenshots.
- Camelot
Four new Dark Age of Camelot screenshots are online at the official site, illustrating a day and night cycle in the medieval MMORPG being beta tested at Mythic Entertainment.
Tolstiy's Place has an
interview with Mark Lewis online, talking with the level designer at Volition
about his work on Red Faction, their FPS that was recently released for the
Playstation 2 and will be released in the near future for the PC. Mark talks
about his work on the game, the capabilities of their GeoMod engine and more,
and there are also some new shots from the PC version of the game up alongside
the interview.
BioWare has released a new beta patch for Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, bringing their isometric RPG to version 26464. This 3.9 MB patch includes the changes of last week's Windows 2000 patch ( story) and also fixes several other single- and multiplayer bugs.
The official Black & White site offers a release schedule for various add-ons that Lionhead plans to release for their god-playing game over the next few weeks (thanks GameSpot UK). They include a Music Interface, a Chat Facility, a Soccer game and more, most of them pending the release of the official patch through Electronic Arts, but today's add-ons consist of three new multiplayer maps that were released at 6:00 PM BST (1:00 PM EDT). The maps will automatically be downloaded and added to your map-list when you take the game online, and more information on the three maps can be found at their site.
There is a brief interview on Project Eden at Computer and Video Games, catching up with "various" members of the Core Design team about their squad-based 3D action game. Topics include recent development progress, the differences between the PC and PS2 versions, some of the multiplayer features, and their current release target of September. The article includes 18 new screenshots, and there are another eight new screenshots on PC Gameplay as well.
Fan page Ritualistic has conducted a
Q&A with Rob Atkins, grilling him about Ritual's unannounced FPS. Rob
actually provides a small bit of information about the mysterious game, saying
that it was in pre-production for three years at Electronic Arts before being
handed off to Ritual, and that the game is primarily an FPS, "but there
are other gameplay types to keep it interesting." He also confirms that
the game will feature a full multiplayer mode, a contrast to many other recent
games. Thanks Stomped for the tip.
The game itself arrives on store shelves tomorrow, but Electronics
Boutique has announced that their EB1.com
service is already offering the full version of Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
for rental. Their rental service requires a broadband connection (or a lot of
patience) and the full game can be rented for 48 hours for $4.99.
Inside Mac Games recently paid a trip to Mumbo Jumbo Games, and so they have
posted a preview
of Myth III: The Wolf Age based on what they saw there. The lengthy preview
has loads of details on the game's graphics, gameplay and characters, as well
as information on how it fits into the Myth storyline. A handful of new screenshots is also included.
3000 AD has released a bonus scenario for the second Battlecruiser Millenium demo that came out last week ( story). This Episode 2, Scenario 4 mission is described as a "very challenging mission that even the NPC escort fighters aren't too enthusiastic about," and it's available as a 1.4 MB download from FilePlanet (registration required) and 3D Gamers.
PC Gameplay has posted a
new preview of Age of Mythology, Ensemble Studios' upcoming 3D RTS game.
The preview features quotes from Ensemble's Bruce Shelley, who comments on the
game's move to 3D, the switch from historical accuracy to mythology, and AoM's
multiplayer, and he drops some subtle hints about their plans. There are also
some screenshots, only one of which appears to be new.
Voodoo Extreme has conducted a
Q&A with Demis Hassabis of Elixir Studios, talking about their ambitious
strategy game Republic: The Revolution. Demis talks about the positive reception
the game received at this year's E3 Expo, how the overall premise for Republic
was developed, the amount of research that has been necessary and more.
German site Krawall has posted a video interview with Lious Castle, talking to the Westwood Studios co-founder about their just-released 3D real-time strategy game Emperor: Battle for Dune. Louis talks about using a 3D engine in a Westwood RTS for the first time, Emperor's features and development challenges, their plans for the future (which include an unannounced Command & Conquer game), and lots more. The movie comes as a 37.2 MB download in MPEG format and runs for nearly 18 minutes.
The official Shadowbane site sports a new developer journal by artist Billy Arnold, who talks about his work on a new area in the Wolfpack's fantasy MMORPG called the Vampyre Lord's Keep. Billy explains how the initial concept came about, the process from concept sketch to modelling the building and more, and over a dozen sketches and screenshots illustrate the proceedings.
If you missed the E3 trailer of Stronghold that was posted at GameSpot during last month's trade show, don't worry, we seem to have as well, but Gamerush now offers another chance to download it. The movie runs for nearly two minutes in MPEG format and features a cinematic (and humorous) look at this medieval castle siege game by Firefly Studios.
The fourth
installment of GameSpy.com's Nexagon: The Pit diary is now online written by
Paul Thibault. This is one of those journals that doesn't really feature
accounts of the creation process, but rather offers first-hand previews of
Nexagon, Strategy First's upcoming action/strategy game (or strategy/action game,
respecting their company name). Today's entry is a detailed account of the care
and feeding of your Sanctum, which is described as "essentially a floating
mass of rock with your Nexus Sphere fixed securely in the center." Topics
covered include the types of objects available depending on which of the game's
four army types you are commanding, the actual construction of the Sanctum, as
well as the types of weapons, traps, and defenses it can be populated with, and
even a description on how to expand your Sanctum without even a trip to the Home
Depot.
Likewise, the fourth edition
of the Mimesis Online Development Diary on RPGdot has been posted, and
likewise departs from the formula of recounting the game's production. Staff
writer Derek Handley uses the occasion of the update to talk about a recent Tool
concert, the sort-of start of summer, and to provide an introduction to a couple
of the other folks at Tannhauser Gate, the Polish developer currently at work on
this upcoming RPG.
A couple of updates to the PaleStar
website offers word on the publishing situation and plans for an open beta
for Dark Space, their upcoming space-based massively multiplayer game currently
undergoing closed beta testing. Here are the updates, which also mention an IRC
chat tomorrow: It's official, Palestar and UbiSoft have now signed an
agreement allowing Palestar to continue development and seek a new publisher for
DarkSpace. "DarkSpace" is now the official title, "Battle
Isle" has been dropped from the name. This happens just in time for the
planned Open Beta scheduled to begin near the beginning of July. The planned
Open Beta will use GameCQ, Palestar's own server backend and lobby software
which will be available for download soon.
A chat discussion concerning the open beta will occur on the BBGC in the
DarkSpace chat room on June 27th at 1:00 PM CST. We will discuss the details of
the Open Beta coming around the end of this month.
If you do not have the BBGC lobby software, you can download and install it from
Blue
Byte
GameSpot PC News First look DuelField
offers word on DuelField, an upcoming turn-based online strategy game in the
works at French game developer Sismoplay that places
players in the roles of deities who will face-off in one-on-one duels
over the Internet. According to the preview: "The object of the game is to
control as many creatures as possible and pit them against the creatures
controlled by other players. Creatures gain strength and experience from every
battle." The preview also features a
DuelField trailer found on the DuelField
website showing off gameplay footage, and this
page is where to apply to participate in first round of their beta testing.
- Soft Quadro
The RivaTuner
page on Guru3D has a new utility for download called SoftQuadro,
designed to unlock Quadro-only features on non-Quadro NVIDIA accelerators.
Gard Talks Galleon on
FGN is an interview with Toby Gard, the director of Confounding Factor, to
discuss progress on Galleon, "his first title since the original Tomb
Raider." Sega Shares Skyrocket
on Core Magazine describes the reaction to "Sega's recently announced
publishing deal with Sony in Europe for several PlayStation 2 titles." And Sony Demonstrates PlayStation 2 Broadband
on Core Magazine describes a demo of this technology that's due to be
released in Japan next month.
A new beta 2 of the Night's Edge modification
for Unreal Tournament is now available, updating this UT mod they describe
as a "tactical simulator." The new release mainly addresses bugs in
beta 1, and is available as either a full release, or a patch.
A new beta version 1.0 of the Demo Show Creator
"Light" utility is now available, the first release of a scaled
down version of this utility that can allow you to play back Quake III Arena
demos by double-clicking them in Windows explorer. The new release is compatible
with the new version 1.29f Q3A point release.
Massive Multiplayer.Org's
Anarchy Online Primer, Part 3 is now online, offering advice on "Combat
and Dying" in Funcom's MMORPG and Part
4 of their Anarchy Online Primer is also up, with a guide to "the
Newbie Zone." Also, a new edition of DiabloII.Net Bug Bytes
is online, detailing unusual behavior you may encounter in Diablo II following
what they describe as "The Patch from Hell."
Saying "We're serious this time," Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford updated
his .plan with word that Gearbox is looking to fill "several positions
in art, programming and level design," with more info available on the Gearbox Software
page and Gamasutra.
- So You Want to Review Games for a Living Part I
on GameSpy is an editorial that looks to help fill the world's desperate
need for game reviews by offering a blueprint on how to write them, offering
insider insights like "You have to be able to write"...
- Neocron
Online has picked up a messageboard thread revealing plans for a new way
of regulating player-versus-player combat on Neocron...
- The IGDA Bay Area
chapter page has word of their next meeting which will feature Sims
creator Will Wright as the speaker...
- Payne
Pre-Order Price Jumps on The Adrenaline Vault has word that pressure
from retailers is causing 3D Realms to raise the pre-order price (though
they will honor the lower price on orders that have already been placed.
Thanks Chris Johnson...
44 Years After
Dodgers' Defection, Baseball Returns to Brooklyn (thanks theAntiELVIS) is
the Fox article on the subject of the return of baseball to a place near and
dear to my heart (or two such places, if you count Coney Island). Like at least
one infantryman in about every World War II movie, I was born and raised
in what Welcome Back Kotter always reminded us is "the fourth
largest city in America." Talk about a fun day trip... head out to the
ballpark, take a ride on the Cyclone (the world's greatest roller coaster), grab
a Nathan's hot dog or two (probably good to do the coaster and the franks in
that order), watch swimmers dissolve in the ocean... I have a feeling
DisneyWorld is in trouble.
Link of the Day: Blues News.
Thanks Darren.
Bonus Link: Japanarama.
Thanks Frostnick.
Story of the Day: US Woman Killed in Malaysia
(AP). This was "...to obtain lottery numbers from the spirits." Thanks
Mike Martinez.
Media of the Day: ASCII Heaven: Classic Cows.
Thanks again Frostnick.
Weird Science: Desk bed invented for tired workers
(Ananova). Thanks Ant.
Wild Science: Contact lens measures glucose
(MSNBC). Thanks Medic.
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