A week after the English patch (story), NovaLogic has now also released international patches for Delta Force: Land Warrior. Available for the Spanish, French and Italian editions of their tactical shooter, the 3.6 MB downloads bring the game to version 1.00.30 addressing the same issues as the English patch.

MechWarrior 4: Black Knight Q&A on GameSpot talks to Cyberlore lead designer Dave Fifield about the recently announced expansion pack to Microsoft's 3D action simulation (story). Dave explains the game's premise and story, details some of the new mechs and weapons, and talks about the new black market system, among other topics. Three new screenshots are also included.

Newly opened fansite Wolfenstein Xtreme has conducted an interview on Return to Castle Wolfenstein, talking to Drew Markham and Greg Goodrich about the first-person shooter in the works at Gray Matter Interactive. Topics include the game's system requirements, using the layout of medieval castles as source materials for the level design, weapon balancing, the multiplayer features, and more.

The second Morrowind Developer Q&A is online at RPG Vault this evening, and this time project leader Todd Howard is at hand to discuss the topic of the playable races in Bethesda Softworks' first-person role-playing game. Todd explains the considerations in including some of the races, their various differences and similarities, and the importance of their roles in the game.

Tonight at 9:00 PM EDT, XGR will be broadcasting an interview with Matt Morton, audibly grilling the Activision associate producer on Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix, the mercenary shooter sequel in development at Raven Software. As always you'll need WinAmp or a compatible player to listen in to the fun, and a pair of new SoF2 screenshots is promised for posting at the start of the interview.

After yesterday's auto-update release (story), a downloadable version 23669 patch for TRIBES 2 is now also available from the Official Tribes 2 Central Download site. Also, as is their way, Loki Games has released the Linux version 23669 client patch (6.2 MB) and dedicated server patch (3.7 MB) for download from their ftp server, along with the list of changes. Finally, Matrox has released a small Linux TRIBES 2 patch that "fixes a G450/G400 texturing problem" and "is for use with the DRI version that is included with XFree86 4.1.0."

• Nexagon
  There are five new Nexagon: The Pit screenshots on Intelgamer accompanying a brief look at the 3D action tactics game under construction at Strategy First.
• Empire Earth
  Stainless Steel Studios has appended two "EE map 1" screenshots to their Empire Earth gallery while GameScreenshots has also added two new screenshots to their gallery for this 3D RTS.
• Iron Strategy
  Also on GameScreenshots today are nine new Parkan: Iron Strategy screenshots, depicting new scenes in the 3D action strategy game in the works at Russian developers Nikita.
• From Dusk Till Dawn
  German site SpieleCity has posted a huge From Dusk Till Dawn gallery with an impractical number of 122 new and familiar screenshots and concept images of this third-person action adventure by GameSquad.
• Prisoner of War
  There are half a dozen new Prisoner of War screenshots of the PS2 version of Wide Games' bust-'m-out on games xtreme, along with some details on the artificial intelligence in the game's A-Life engine.
• Bridge Commander
  As usual, the official Star Trek: Bridge Commander site sports a new screenshot of the week for the capitol ship space combat sim by Totally Games.
• AquaNox
  Another pair of new AquaNox screenshots is online at German site MemBa's GameWorld, showing off Massive Development's underwater action game.

Ensemble Studios has released a new patch for Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. This patch contains many changes, including new maps, a brand new map-type, gameplay tweaks and improvements (including technology modifications) and lots more. A full list is up at Ensemble's official site.

Version 1.1.5 of the All-Seeing Eye server browser has been released. This latest version adds support for Operation Flashpoint, expanded IRC support and a minimize to system tray option among other changes. Only new users need to download anything, as the program will update itself automatically if it's already installed.

There's a Breed preview on PC Zone with an advance peek at Breed, the upcoming first- and third-person sci-fi action game from Brat Designs. The article describes the difficulty of pigeonholing Breed into a genre, quoting lead designer Andy Roberts in saying "the aim was to simply give the player the feeling of complete freedom, influenced by such games as Delta Force and Codename Eagle." Along with some familiar screenshots and what looks like new concept art, the article also offers more quotage from Andy Roberts and a detailed description about what to expect from Breed. Here's an except that covers both gameplay and technology:

You might be thinking at this point that you're going to be fighting a lot of land-based battles in Earth-bound missions, but this is definitely not the case. The action in Breed will take place in Space as well as on Earth, and sometimes in both of these locations simultaneously! All missions in the game will be launched from the USC Darwin Battle Cruiser, which is in orbit around Earth, so you can expect to do a certain amount travelling to and from the planet. For Earth-based missions you will be required to load up a Dropship and pilot it through the atmosphere to a designated landing zone to deploy units and ground vehicles. Sounds like the movie Aliens? Yep. Sounds great? Oh yes!

Interestingly, Brat Designs has chosen to develop its own engine, Mercury, rather than plump for a licence for use of Quake III or Unreal or such. "Mercury has been designed from the ground up to simplify the production of 3D action games, " Andy tells us. "This is achieved by the use of a proprietary scripting language, which is used to define anything from missions and vehicles to landscapes and special effects. This flexible script-based system, which reduces the programmer's workload and increases the designers' freedom, allows us to very quickly and easily create and incredibly rich, detailed and realistic environment for the player."

The busy bees at PC Zone have also posted a Hidden & Dangerous 2 preview with a look ahead at the H&D sequel in the works at Take 2 and Illusion Softworks. The preview offers a crack-addled analysis of the hero's name and goes on to give some hands-on impressions of H&D2 after getting a demonstration from lead designer Tomas Pluharùik. Featuring headlines like "ARSE BUM FANNY," the article offers loads of wisecracks with their impressions, as well as quotes from Tomas.

Infogrames sends along word that they have acquired exclusive rights to develop and publish games worldwide based on the pair of Terminator movies for consoles, PCs and Macintoshes. Here is a bit more from the press release:

Consistent with the films' plots, the action will take place in past and future worlds, integrating the vision of a post apocalyptic society and time-travel made famous by the Terminator films. While the Terminator line of games will feature elements that are specific to that film, the Terminator 2: Judgment Day line of games, like the film, will be a continuation of the original Terminator and will include additional characters and elements. Infogrames currently has four Terminator related projects underway.

Those who can't get enough of the virtual lives of their little sims will be pleased at the announcement that Electronic Arts has plans to release a third add-on for The Sims titled The Sims: Hot Date. As can be inferred from the title, this add-on will concentrate on the libidinous side of the wee people, as this quote from the press release demonstrates: "Once your Sim is out with that special someone, additional interests and new interactions keep the conversation flowing and chemistry clicking. Sims can now flirt, play footsie, engage in a little tonsil hockey, or converse in Simlish about new and diverse interests. Being a fun and fascinating date gets your Sim one step closer to a goodnight kiss or more!"

E-tailer EBGames.com has posted an interview with Derek Smart, the always outspoken man behind Battlecruiser Millennium. Derek explains how the Battlecruiser series differs from other space-sims, and he also talks about the game's use of nine different 3D engines and how the game has no real plot or story, as it is completely open ended.

GameSpy.com's TORN Developer Diary Volume #5 is online, again written by the tag team of Brian Mitsoda, Scott Warner, and Chad Nicholas of Black Isle Studios, each giving their latest thoughts about progress on their upcoming RPG. Chad's entry is a sort-of continuation of their previous diary entry (story), while Scott's entry stretches an analogy between dance music and technology, and Brian's contribution stretches the imagination with visions of TORN: The Motion Picture, as his ability to ramble seems to rival even my own.

GameSpy.com previews Conquest: Frontier Wars, catching up on progress on the upcoming space-based RTS begun by Digital Anvil that will be published by Ubi Soft after its completion by Fever Pitch Studios. The article gives some of the background on the saga that lead to the switch in developer and publisher and then goes on to give several pages of hands-on impressions based on getting to play with a preview build. Also included are thoughts on the game's building mode, its three races, the combination of 2D (or 2.5D) and 3D it utilizes, the role of supply, and more. Accompanying the article is a bunch of new screenshots.

A press release on the Bastion Press Centre (thanks The Art of Magic Battle Fansite) has word that Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic "is due to be released on PC CD-ROM this September," going on to report that "Virgin today announced that highly-acclaimed developer Climax Entertainment has taken over the development reigns of The Art of Magic from Charybdis." This will be good news to those eager to play this upcoming fantasy RTS game that has been in limbo since the closing of Charybdis (story) the UK-based developer that was in the process of fine-tuning the game before shutting their doors.

World War II Online website has been updated with word that they are working on finalizing the features/fixes list and schedule, and in a few days they plan on posting a 'road map' "taking us to the 30 day trial and into pay for play..." There is also an update saying that the folks at Cornered Rat Software are busy at work on version a 1.20 patch that will include "a thing or two (they) haven't announced," as well as word on a new test server they are running.

The Gaming Intelligence Agency has a release date and pricing for the PS2 hard drive in Japan, though no date is set for a North American release yet. You can sign up to receive the new version 2.6 of the Dreamcast web browser by mail at Sega.com. Finally, Cell phone rivals team for games reveals a shocking spate of cooperation that has lead to the Mobile Games Interoperability Forum.

A new version 4.81 of æon's stats is now available for download for both Windows and Linux, updating this program that can extract statistics from the log-files of many multiplayer games. The new release offers several bug fixes, and also adds support for TRIBES 2, Half-Life Global Warfare, and Weapons of Destruction for Quake II, and updates support for Half-Life Science & Industry, UT Infiltration, and TeamFortress Classic for Half-Life.

The Mucky Foot Productions website now has the StarTopia research tree in handy MS Excel format that you can print out an use as a reference on how to get there from here when it comes to creating technology in the space station construction game. Also, the Independence War Technical FAQ has been updated with more of "the most frequently asked technical and configuration questions about Edge Of Chaos and the Edge Of Chaos demo." Also, there's a Half-Life: Blue Shift Walkthrough for Bad-Asses who only play at the Difficult Level on The Gamers Press. Finally, there's an Operation Flashpoint walkthrough on OperationFlashpoint.net.

• Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal on Games Domain and Gametech's Center.
• Diablo II: Lord of Destruction on GameZone.
• Emperor: Battle for Dune on MPOG.
• Gangsters 2: Vendetta on BarrysWorld.
• Gilbert Goodmate and the Mushroom of Phungoria on Adventure-Archiv.
• Half-Life: Blue Shift on prophecy.co.za.
• Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising on MPOG.
• Legends of Might and Magic on Gamepower.
• Pearl Harbor: Defend the Fleet on Well Rounded Entertainment.
• Shogun: the Mongol Invasion on PC Zone UK.
• Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates on PC.IGN.com.
• Z: Steel Soldiers Demo on StrategyPlanet.

• DTI 15in 3D LCD Display on Emulation Headquarters.
• Enermax Whisper EG465P-VE power supply on I am not a geek.
• Epox EP-8K7A+ motherboard on PC Hardware.
• EverGlide Mouse Skatez on Hardware Extreme.
• Intel D815EPEA2 'Easton 2' motherboard on PCinsight.
• Iwill KD266 motherboard on OC Workbench.
• PCI Slot Coolers Round-up on Mikhailtech.
• PCMods RheoBus Kit on Overclockers Australia.
• Samsung SyncMaster 570b 15 LCD monitor on NeoSeeker.
• Seagate Cheetah 73LP hard drive on Legion Hardware.
• TekCase Hawking / Lian-Li PC-2 case on Overclocking Opolis.
• Visiontek GeForce3 video card on [H]ardOCP.

• Citing no other source than "it just smells right," PC Zone offers speculation that the recent id Software QuakeCon tease (story) means they will be announcing Quake 4...

Had a very pleasant fourth here at the Blue Tower... the rain held off, the explosions were distant, and every time I try to barbeque, I ruin things a little bit less (there's looking at the bright side). Hope the day was equally agreeable to all of you, whether it was a holiday, or not.

Hey, look at that... as of today there are five years of news stories in the archive. Before it became apparent there was an interest in older news stories here, I used to delete older news from the bottom of the news page as new stories were added to the top, and July 5, 1996 is the first day that there are any stories remaining that were spared from the axe. For the record, it was five years ago today that the first Linux Quake port (version 0.91) was released by former id programmer Dave Taylor, and it was also on this day five years ago that Toby Goldstone posted the first copy of the unofficial Quake FAQ to USENET.

Link of the Day: Magician’s Network Self-Defense System. Thanks Dasein.
Story of the Day: Kobayashi's speedy gluttony rattles foes (ESPN). A 131 lb man doubles the old hot dog eating record! Thanks WarPig[doh] and Erik.
Bonus Story: Stick Shift Makes Carjacker's Arrest Automatic (Fox). Thanks theAntiELVIS, who points out "No word on if held the right end of the gun..."
Weird Science: Pop Rocks pop in stomach, not mouth; family suing (Boston.Com). Thanks Gudlyf. An urban legend comes true!
Wild Science: Force not with Milky Way for next star wars (smh.com.au). Finding that "...the Andromeda Galaxy, is really a savage cannibal," and "...we are on the menu." Thanks again Dasein.