Archived News:
Eidos has recently released a few international version 1.112fm patches for Deus Ex, the acclaimed first-person action RPG by ION Storm. They are available for download from their European ftp server in German (35.8 MB) and French (59.0 MB) editions, and bring the game in sync with the English edition released last April ( story). Thanks Patches Scrolls for the tip.
Similarly, NovaLogic has now released international patches for Delta Force: Land Warrior, bringing their tactical shooter in sync with yesterday's English version 1.00.31 ( story). Take your pick from the French, Italian and Spanish editions, each clocking in at 3.6 MB. As expected the Developer Notes have now been updated as well, mentioning that this release merely provides a "LAN hosting fix."
Majestic Day Two on PC.IGN.com continues their look at the conspiracy-laden Internet game by Anim-X and Electronic Arts. This time co-creator Neil Young is on the stand to talk about the gameplay, the challenges in creating the game's original content, the legal side of creating a multimedia game, the best way to experience it, his views on online gaming, and lots more.
Also on PC.IGN this evening is a look at some of the creatures in Etherlords, the 3D turn-based strategy game under construction at Nival Interactive. The four races, Chaots, Kinets, Vitals, and Synthets, are introduced in turn along with a few of the associated creatures and their back story (on separate pages).
Phoenix Entertainment sends along a press release announcing The Underworld: Crime Does Pay, a 3D game mixing first-person shooter, role-playing and RTS features. The official site recently opened its doors and sports the first nine screenshots and some more information on the game. Here is an excerpt from the full press release:
The Underworld: Crime Does Pay incorporates revolutionary 3D engine technology that has been developed by Phoenix Entertainment. This proprietary technology will enable The Underworld: Crime Does Pay to seamlessly combine the key features of a real-time strategy game, a true first person shooter and a role playing game, providing the player with the ultimate gaming experience. As a result, the game will successfully bridge the three major genres of gameplay.
The Underworld: Crime Does Pay places the player in charge of a criminal organization. The player assumes control of a small organized crime group and works to expand his or her power and operations while battling with law enforcement and other organized crime groups for supremacy in a modern day city. The gameplay is exciting and extremely diverse, making the game addictive both as a single-player experience and as a multiplayer experience.
PopTop Software has released a new patch for Tropico, available for download from FilePlanet (registration required), updating their dictatorial management strategy game to version 1.03. This 1.0 MB release enhances the editor, includes a new Mt. Sucio scenario, and fixes a couple of bugs.
Epic's Mark Rein sends word of an Unreal Engine update detailing their current build 739 that has recently been sent out to licensees. The update provides an overview of the latest features, such as new visual effects, improved terrain tools, their new cinematic creation tool Matinee, and more, and it is illustrated with several screenshots. Epic also publicly announces their Unreal Developer Network that aims to support "Unreal Engine licensees using builds after 600 (i.e. the 'Warfare' version of the engine)."
Morrowind Developer Q&A #3 on RPG Vault corners project leader Todd Howard once more to talk about Bethesda Softworks' first-person role-playing game, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Today's topics are attributes and skills, and Todd provides some details on the design and implementation of both.
Dual DuelField interviews are online at French site Sanqualis today, talking to the folks at likewise French company SismoPlay about their recently unveiled turn-based online strategy game ( story). First up is a chat with lead designer Manuel Bévand (also available in French of course), who discusses his work on the game, his influences, why the game's graphics are handled by an external team, and more. Next is a talk with PR manager Céline Varenne (also in French) with more on the game's premise and features, why DuelField is an online-only game, their subscription plans and, again, more. Thanks Raphaël Guyot for the tip. Finally, there is a single new character image of DuelField on PCPointer.de.
3D Realms' George Broussard has updated his .plan with the latest on the imminent release of Max Payne. Word is the game should arrive in stores around July 26, while 3D Realms pre-orders should ship early next week. There are also some details on the upcoming demo:
Remedy and 3DR are working on the demo for Max Payne now. Expect it out a couple of weeks after the game hits the shelves. It looks to be fairly large, and could easily be in excess of 120 megs. This is due to lots of art, sounds, and map data. We're basically not going to trim the content of the demo to make it an easy download.
UPDATE: I should be more clear about the demo size. It's not that we're lazy and leaving data in there. It's that the demo is just going to be that large with the maps we're giving out.
The latest development update on World War II Online at the official forum for Cornered Rat's massively multiplayer war game has word that the promised version 120 patch will not be released today, proceeding to explain that further investigation for the host connection problems is needed. Also, earlier updates here and here offer more insight into the changes that already made it into the impending patch.
As promised ( story), PaleStar has announced the start of the DarkSpace open beta test after fixing a "server prestige bug" earlier today (thanks A Talent For War). DarkSpace is the massively multiplayer space combat game for which they are still seeking a pubblisher, and more details on the game and beta test can be found in this press release.
It's been rumored for some time now, but GameSpy
Daily is reporting that it's now official, John Romero, Tom Hall, and all
the employees of ION Storm's Dallas office have left the company. Here's the
statement from Eidos Interactive that they received: John Romero and Tom
Hall have decided to depart ION Storm to pursue other interests. We wish them
luck in their future endeavors and thank them for their contribution to ION
Storm over the years, without which we would never have put together such talented
teams in both our Austin and Dallas offices. ION Storm will continue as a wholly
owned subsidiary of Eidos and work on the sequels to the awarding winning Thief
and Deus Ex titles as well as Deus Ex for the PS2.
Beta 1.00 of the Final Worlds mod for Unreal Tournament has been released.
Final Worlds is a single and multiplayer mod for UT that includes 20 new weapons
and items, 20 maps, a brand new intro movie and more. You can download it from
the mod's official site.
TimeGate Studios has released a new patch for Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns, bringing their isometric RTS to version 1.1.0. You can either use the small auto-patcher or get one of the 5.4 MB downloads to update the various previous versions, and this release adds a number of improvements and bug fixes as listed in detail on the site. As if they're not sure about the changes, there is even a reverse patch back to version 1.0.9.
A brief interview on Venom (a.k.a. Codename: Outbreak) is up at PCShooter.com, quizzing GSC Game World lead programmer Sergey Zabaryansky about their upcoming two-man squad action game. Sergey talks about the backstory, their Vital Engine ZL and its handling of indoor and outdoor levels, how they aim to make the game more realistic, its multiplayer features, and the proverbial more.
More Thief 3 news for you today, which comes by way of the forums at Through
the Looking Glass, where project lead Randy Smith has
posted a status report on the game (thanks Thief
Underground). The post contains a runthrough of the various team members,
as well as an update on what they have all been up to lately. Here's an excerpt: Well,
the programming effort has long since switched from planning to implementing.
In addition to the usual engine enhancements and tool modifications, we’ve
made a ton of progress on interface, player movement, and AI. That’s right,
Thief 3 already features guards who patrol, see and hear, search for you when
they detect you, and say “must have been rats” afterwards. Paul, the
AI guy, is clearly wasting no time. Furthermore, you can be Garrett in the game
already; you can sneak him around, hide in shadows, and even shoot arrows. It’s
not quite right yet, of course, but since we have so much of a headstart, we’ll
be able to tune it to within an inch of its life before ship, which is great.
Three missions are currently close to the end of their first development pass.
These missions are a testament to the value of our R&D efforts, since they
look spectacular. They have just the right Thief vibe, but rendering-technology-wise,
they look many years ahead. This is due in part to our level-building workflow,
which pairs artists and designers together to handle aesthetics and gameplay,
respectively. Once these three missions wrap up, we’re starting the next
four.
Inside Mac Games has posted a handful notable updates from the MacWorld expo
that's currently underway here in NYC. First up is their
MacWorld day one report, which has the author's overall impressions of the
show and the new hardware that was unveiled. Also up is the
news that Giants: Citizen Kabuto will be released for Mac OS X only (no
backwards compatibility) and a few tidbits from publisher MacPlay, who
have announced that they are showing off Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
and Sacrifice at the show, and another
announcement that says they will be porting Zork: The Grand Inquisitor,
Heretic II and Hexen II to the Mac OS, and will all support Mac OS X. The port
of Hexen II was actually completed back in 1998, but never released.
More moving Payne today, as Italian site Multiplayer.it has posted two new Max Payne gameplay clips here and here. Like all the previous clips, they are a bit over 2 MB in QuickTime format and show off 20-30 seconds of gameplay footage from Remedy's hard-boiled third-person action game. They are also available from Gamigo.de and MaxPayne.nl as a single ZIP file (thanks HQH for those).
Also on Multiplayer.it today is a playable demo of Worms World Party, the annelid-infested turn-based strategy game by Team 17. Weighing in at a modest 36.9 MB, this English demo includes both single- and multiplayer (hot seat) modes.
Fan page Thief Underground has posted the
first batch of screenshots and concept artwork from Thief 3. The artwork
and shots are all the same as the ones in the current issue of PC Gamer UK,
although fortunately these are the source images, and not low-quality scans.
Accompanying the images is commentary by Randy Smith, the project lead on the
game at ION Storm. In addition to details on each of the shots, Randy also explains the advantages of using the Unreal Engine instead of the Dark Engine which powered the first two installments in the series.
HomeLAN's Starfleet Command
Interview talks with Joshua Morris of Taldren about the company's series
of strategy games. Joshua touches on a few SFC topics, including Orion Pirates,
the add-on pack for Starfleet Command Volume II, his thoughts on working with
the Star Trek license and their future, which will see them working without
the license.
Another short gameplay movie of Max Payne is online at Shacknews this morning. The 2.0 MB download in QuickTime format shows off the sniper rifle for the first time in some 20 seconds of footage.
International gaming site Ruliweb has posted a
trailer and some corresponding vidcaps from Final Fantasy XI. Final Fantasy
XI is a departure from the series as it is an online-only massively multiplayer
RPG, and will be released for the PC and Playstation 2, and most likely the
Xbox and GameCube as well. This trailer is the first in-game footage seen anywhere
of the game, as the previous teaser used art assets from other games in the
Final Fantasy series. Thanks The GIA for
the tip.
Another From Dusk Till Dawn Q&A is available this morning, this
time over at Gamer's Pulse. The Q&A deals with the general concept of
the game, how they wound up with the license and some gameplay issues, and there
is also some background info on the various members of the development team. If
that's still not enough FDTD for you, there's yet
another one of these Q&As available at 3D Gaming Daily.
Geek Girl's Guide 2 Games has a
Q&A with Gleb Vlasenko of Snowball Interactive online. The Q&A is
actually reprinted from the Turkish mag LEVEL Magazine, and in it Gleb fields
a few questions about Fatherdale, the company's upcoming RPG.
Stomped has conducted a
Q&A with Hubert Chardot of Gamesquad, talking about their survival horror
game From Dusk Till Dawn. Hubert provides some general information about the
game, and explains why it's not shipping with either mod or multiplayer support.
PCPointer.de has posted the first details and screenshots of Zorro, a third-person action adventure based on the popular TV series and movies about the masked avenger in Spanish California. The game info is in German (so stick a Babel Fish in your ear), revealing that the game is being created by French developers In Utero for PC and PS2 and is scheduled for a release through Cryo Interactive in November 2001, while the screenshots offer the first glimpse of what it looks like. The official Zorro site is also online, featuring only a short Flash teaser at this time, while another Flash teaser is available here.
Word on GameSpyDaily
is that they are holding a chat session tonight in the
GameSpy Arcade Operation Flashpoint lobby, where Richard Blenkinsop, the
external producer on Operation Flashpoint, will be subjected to an interrogation
about this upcoming cold war FPS from Bohemia Interactive. The festivities begin
at 5:00 PM EDT. Also, there's a
chat log on Red Alert 2 eXtreme recapping the recent online session with
design lead Todd Owens and producer Frank Hsu discussing progress on Yuri's
Revenge, the upcoming installment in the Command & Conquer series. The log
is in a fairly orderly format, as the session was moderated.
GameSpy.com's Nexagon: The Pit
Diary Volume 5 is online, in which producer Paul Thibault offers more
details on Nexagon: The Pit, the upcoming game from Strategy First that
appropriately puts strategy first. The topic in the new installment is your
fighting forces in the game, as Paul gives a feel for what to expect from the
Thralls (your fighting forces), giving an outline of the four different types of
thralls available to each of the game's races. There's also a
HORIZONS Developer Journal on Horizons Vault where Doug
"Dark Jedi" Shuler, the lead concept artist on the upcoming MMORPG
gives a rundown on his job, which is the responsibility for "designing
every VISUAL aspect of Istaria."
An article on Heise
News in German (here's a Babel Fish
translation) has more details on plans for Neocron, the upcoming MMORPG from
Reakktor Media, saying Reakktor will add 300 more beta testers in a couple of weeks, they are
shooting for a November release, and that Neocron will ship with GF3
optimizations. Meanwhile, switching back to English, an
announcement from CDV Software has word that they will be publishing the
game, stepping up to compete with EA and Sony for you MMORPG dollars. Thanks Neocron
Online.
Cinescape
is reporting that DreamWorks is developing a live-action film based on Crimson
Skies, Microsoft's alternative history World War II combat game. Also, according
to an
interview on Showbiz Today actress Michelle Rodriguez took a role in the
upcoming Resident Evil movie because "it's based on a video game that I
love."
EGOManiacs
interviews Dene Carter discussing Project Ego, Big Blue Box' upcoming Xbox
title. There's a Soldier of Fortune preview on ps2.ign.com
with shots and movies from the upcoming PS2 port. Nintendo Loses Main Man
on Cube.IGN.Com has word that Peter Main will step down from NOA later this
year.
A new version 3.1.0 of Q_Check,
"the original gaming Script for mIRC" is now available. Included in
the new version is support for The All-Seeing Eye
server browser, a new favorites list, plug-in support, and more.
The Dragon LAN Party is now accepting
sign-ups for this 48-hour gaming event at Cardiff University's Student Union
scheduled for August 24-26, 2001. Also, 'Concern' over game gun prize
(BBC) has details of a controversy surrounding a disabled AK-47 being awarded as
a prize in the UK LAN tour. Thanks Mike.
Part one of MGON's
Strike Force Interview is online, chatting up the team behind this Unreal
Tournament modification. PlanetDungeonSiege
interviews Merciless Creations about their plans to produce mods for the
upcoming release of Dungeon Siege like they did for Total Annihilation.
Standing Stones
has posted details of a contest that looks to reward the best user-created level
for Clive Barker's Undying.
I have fooled around a bit with Outlaws since the 3D patch was released, and
besides my enjoyment of gameplay (in spite of perhaps a few too many confusing
puzzles, and 1997 state-of-the-art AI, which is to say, poor), I am struck once
again at what an amazing soundtrack this game has. Obviously influenced by the
Ennio Morricone scores for the man with no name trilogy, I am so impressed by
this that every time I'm exposed to it, how great it is seems to dominate my
consciousness (literally constantly running through my head), hence my rambling
about this again, when I'm sure I've done so at least once before.
I missed that yesterday was Ride To Work
Day (thanks Jeff), but I think there was a good deal of rain yesterday, so
maybe that was a good thing--anyway, I'll remember next year. I don't think I'll
participate... I don't own a bike myself, but if I did, riding one up the stairs
to my office would probably would tick off MrsBlue and freak the dog.
Link of the Day: Classic TV Theme Songs Theme Songs Quiz.
Thanks Ant.
Bonus Link: Lizzie's Hamptons 500.
Flash required. Not really as fun to play as most of these Flash games, but
once again, "ripped from today's headlines." Thanks devicer. Also,
there are now t-shirts on hitandrunbitch.com
(thanks Imus in the Morning).
Story of the Day: Orchestra to play while dead cow falls
(Ananova). Thanks EvilToast.
Bonus Story: Dolphins likely to pass on draft
(Miami Herald). Including the saga of running back Ben Gay, who, as freddyMERC,
who sent this along, points out "must hate his parents"...
Auction of the Day: eBay Motors item 593361626.
What torture for me. I love the show, and I love Suburbans. Thanks devicer and
zombie69.
Weird Science: U.K. park bench to get Net access
(MSNBC). Thanks Tweak.
Wild Science: How Lie Detectors Work
(Howstuffworks). Including tips on how to beat them.
Follow-up: Officials Take a Closer Look Bikini's Not Too
Teeny-Weeny (The Salt Lake Tribune). Following up on this
story. Thanks VG.
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