Archived News:
There's a
Chaser interview on GamePlex talking with Marian Suran, lead programmer on
Chaser, an upcoming first-person shooter from Slovakian developer Cauldron. The
conversation covers the background and inspiration for their first FPS title, a
discussion of its setting (Mars) and storyline, the capabilities of their
proprietary CloakNT engine, and more. This is the English language version of
the interview that is also
available in the site's native German.
The Orange Smoothie Productions website
now has version 0.99v2 of the OSP mod for Quake III Arena (thanks Stomped),
which represents the final build before they head off to QuakeCon to run a
tournament there. The new version offers bug fixes "o-plenty," changes to
the game modes (in particular the voting/switching features), and of course,
proof of the mathematical concept that an infinite amount of numbers can be
found between any two other numbers, as they inch ever forward towards version
1.0.
GameSpy.com previews Jedi Outcast: Jedi Knight II
giving some first hand impressions of a recent build of the game they got to
check out while attending a recent press gathering to check out some upcoming
titles from LucasArts. Included is a description of what was different in this
demonstration of the upcoming Quake III-engine (and of course The Force) powered
game being developed by Raven Software from what they saw at E3, as well as a general outline of what's
expected to be included in the game when it's complete. Also on tap are some
previously-released screenshots.
The Etherlords Developer
Diary Volume 6 on GameSpy.com sees Andrey Emelyanenko handing over the
reigns for an installment to Victor Surkov, lead 2D and concept artist for
Etherlords, the upcoming strategy RPG from Russian developer Nival Interactive.
Victor gives an account of how he took over the reigns of the concept art
position, describing the "western" influences of comics and old
cartoons that influence his work, while outlining the dangers of creating
overly-ambitious concept sketches that cannot be properly realized in a computer
game environment.
PlanetAnachronox
interviews Travis "343" Doggett talking with one of artists on the
ill-fated Anachronox team that was let go upon the dissolution of ION Storm
Dallas. Topics include his appraisal of the finished game, the closure of ION
Dallas, the game's technological strengths and weaknesses, and plans for the
future.
Pointing out that rather than the final frontier, outer space represents one of
the first areas of exploration when the power of computers was first turned towards
the task of playing games, GameSpot Presents A History of Space Empire Games
taking a look at some of the titles in the long-running 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit,
and eXterminate) genre. While they are examining history, the article makes no
attempt to be comprehensive, pointing out that their list is "weighted more
heavily toward recent games for reasons of popularity and more diversity in
design." Titles covered range from early games like Andromeda Conquest and
Reach for the Stars all the way up to the upcoming Master of Orion III, while
covering a lot of what came in between (including to the two other M.O.O. games)
along the way.
PlanetDiablo's
Gambling Calculator attempts to quantify the risks and rewards for taking a
tumble at the gambling feature in Diablo II, updated through the most recent
balance change. They have also posted a new Shapeshift/Summoning
guide showing how to exploit this skill tree for those who play the Druid
class in Diablo II.
HomeLan's Urban Terror Interview
talks with Oswald, project coordinator for Silicon
Ice, to find out more about Urban
Terror their realism-based Quake III Arena modification (Urban Terror 2.2
beta is also reviewed on Z-Axis @ Stomped).
Also, the Infiltration
website has been updated with a detailed list of changes planned for the
upcoming version 2.86 of this tactical modification for Unreal Tournament.
Finally, while saying they "have not been shutdown or cancelled," The Official Bid For Power Website
does have word that they have received a cease and desist order to shut down
production on their upcoming Quake III Arena modification that did nothing to disguise
the fact that it is based on Dragonball Z, a copyrighted property.
For the second time in a couple of weeks, Hudson the wonder dog has come in from
one of her forays into the wilds of the backyard with a peculiar stink. Now by
peculiar, I mean a stench that is not in keeping with any of her typical smells,
which can include general dogginess, as well as an Airedale Terrier specific
odor that emanates from her behind on occasion (I'll spare you the details on
this in case you are eating, but anyway, it's apparently "normal").
This smell is best described as reminiscent of burning tires or rubber, sort of
distinctly petrochemical. I'm wondering if she's gotten into a couple of
conflicts with some beastie that produces such a smell when frightened (or eaten
for that matter)? Clearly it's not a skunk she's gotten into (there's no
mistaking that one), but is anyone familiar with something here in the northeast
US that can cause such a smell? It might just be something stinky she's found to
roll around in, but I really do think it may be a stink beetle or something like
that.
Something is wacky right at the moment with the messageboard comments...
hopefully it can be addressed quickly, sorry about that.
Link of the Day: Electrotank
Air Hockey. Flash required. At least as good as their MiniGolf
game. Thanks LwoodPDowd.
Follow-up: The Lizardman. Equal
time for a potential rival to the Tiger
man (story). Thanks Brian Barrington.
Weird Science: APOD 2001 August 2 - Burning Tree Sprite.
Thanks [MP] Wolverine [MP].
Media of the Day: Only you can
prevent Mass Execution ( Gallery of Regrettable Food). Thanks Sam Haschke.
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