Archived News:
PC.IGN.com has posted a new preview of Arx Fatalis, the first-person role-playing game being crafted at Arkane Studios. Based on checking out a recent build at the offices of publisher Fishtank Interactive, the article offers a fairly detailed description of the game's premise and features, hands-on impressions, and a dozen screenshots, about eight of which are new.
Also on PC.IGN this evening is a new preview of Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty, looking ahead to the fantasy MMORPG expansion in the works at Turbine Games. The preview describes how this expansion differs from similar offerings by including the original game, runs down plenty of impressions from the demonstration by lead designer / producer Nik Davidson they witnessed, and rounds off with ten new screenshots.
- MW4: Black Knight
MicroSoft has opened a product page for MechWarrior 4: Black Knight, including two new screenshots (and a familiar one) of the 3D mech combat expansion being developed at Cyberlore.
- Ghost Recon
GamePro has posted nine new, small Ghost Recon screenshots, featuring new scenes in the tactical shooter in development at Red Storm Entertainment (thanks GhostRecon.net).
- Project Eden
Half a dozen new Project Eden screenshots are up at Gaming Age, showing off the squad-based action game nearing completion at Core Design.
- Neocron
Another three new Neocron screenshots have surfaced at RPG Vault today, again illustrating Reakktor Media's upcoming futuristic MMORPG.
- Trade Empires
GameSpot has posted nine new screenshots of Trade Empires, the isometric trading strategy game by Frog City that went gold today (story).
Firaxis Interview on PC Gamer is a conversation with Sid Meier and Jeff Briggs, talking about their upcoming turn-based strategy sequel, Civilization III. Topics in this civilized discussion include the new ideas going into this installment, updating the game design and requirements for today's market, their influences, the pressure of creating a follow-up to the acclaimed Civilization II, and lots more. Update: In related news, the official site has been updated with a new installment of Ask the Team.
The DreamCatcher Games Downloads page offers a playable demo of Frank Herbert's Dune for download, clocking in at 81.7 MB. The demo is intended give you a taste of this third-person action adventure in the works at WideScreen Games. Note however that Blue and I were not able to get the demo to run, so while that may be problem with our machines, your mileage may vary more than usual. Update: 3DFiles has a mirror online, and reports no issues running the demo.
Ensemble Studios has released international version 1.0c patches for Age of Empires: The Conquerors, bringing the German, French, Italian and Spanish editions of their RTS expansion in sync with the English one of last week ( story). Also, Akella has released a German patch for Age of Sail II, updating their sea-faring RTS to version 1.55 like the English one preceding it ( story).
A manual update patch for the Red Faction multiplayer test demo (see below) is now available, and we have a local copy with mirrors of the 8.0 MB file, if you prefer that over the auto-updater with the game. Update: An updated version of the complete multiplayer test itself has also been released, and we again have a local copy with mirrors online.
Eidos public relations sends word that Trade Empires, Frog City
Software's RTS-style commerce simulator, has gone gold, and will be
winding its way across the various trade routes to find its way onto store
shelves "the week of September 17."
- Neocron
We have three new screenshots of Neocron available for visual inspection (courtesy of Neocron Central), showing off the futuristic MMORPG being beta tested at Reakktor Media.
- Far Gate
Similarly, Microids sent along four new Far Gate screenshots, offering more galactic scenes in the space-based RTS by Super X Studios that will arrive in US stores early next month.
- Earth Force Command
3000 AD has released eleven new screenshots of Earth Force Command, their recently announced tactical action shooter (story).
- World War III
FGN Online has posted four new World War III screenshots (and a familiar one), illustrating the upcoming 3D real-time strategy game by Reality Pump.
- Freedom Force
There is a single new Freedom Force screenshot on Freedom Force Center, showing off Irrational's 3D tactical RPG of superheroes on the loose in New York City.
- Medal of Honor
The official Medal of Honor: Allied Assault site sports three new wallpapers illustrating the WWII first-person shooter in the works at 2015.
- Pool of Radiance
Four new, dark Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor screenshots are online at LoadedInc, depicting more scenes in the isometric RPG nearing completion at Stormfront Studios.
The German website of publisher Ubi Soft offers a playable demo of IL-2 Sturmovik for download, giving you a chance to try this World War II flight sim nearing completion at 1C Maddox Games. The site is Flash-only but you can find the demo in downloads section, or use this direct ftp link to get the whopping 102.0 MB file, and it includes three flyable planes (the IL-2M2, Bf-109G-2 and P-39N-1), a number of AI planes and ground units, one single-player area centered around Smolensk (as well as a quick mission builder), and a multiplayer map for LAN and Internet play with up to four pilots. A US-based mirror is online at 3D Gamers.
Volition has released a patch for the multiplayer test demo of Red Faction, currently available only via the game's auto-updater. The 8.0 MB patch brings their first-person shooter to version 1.10, and adds a new CTF level, a couple of new features and configuration options, and a handful of bug fixes, all listed in detail on the page.
Game industry shoots down brain claims
(CNET) is an article that describes the reaction of the European Leisure
Software Publishers Association (not to be confused with an impartial party in
this case) to the recent study linking computer games to brain damage ( story).
Saying the study, performed by Japan's Tohoku University, is of "very
limited focus," the group continues in refuting the study in the following
excerpt (which also includes some of the article):
"The result of this study is actually not that computer games
damage the brain, but that half an hour of playing this one particular title was
less effective at developing the brain than doing half an hour of repetitive
arithmetic," the group said.
"There are many games that involve a variety of skills, reasoning and
coordination, while others can be purely educational."
The association is also attempting to dispel the traditional image of the
lonely, anti-social game player. It claims that recent British research has
discovered that computer games can actually assist physical, mental and social
development.
Academics at the University of Central Lancashire and at Manchester University
recently found that gamers experience the same high levels of concentration and
involvement as athletes do.
As promised when the Lord of Destruction and Macintosh Diablo II version 1.09
patches were released yesterday ( story), Blizzard has also
now released the downloadable version of the corresponding version 1.09 patch
for the PC version of Diablo II on their Diablo II Patch
page.
A Battle.net
Status report has word that while the Asia2, Asia3, Europe, and USEast
realms are back online, Asia1 and USWest remain offline while they investigate
what has been causing some characters to revert to level 1 ( story).
Here's the word: Asia1 and USWest realms are still down while we
investigate what is causing characters to revert to level 1 status, losing all
items, experience, skills, and stat points. (Note that this is unrelated to the
issue where Barbarians that were always Level 1 fail to load correctly).
We will update again tomorrow when we have more information regarding Asia1 and
USWest.
-The Battle.net Team
A post called Max Payne Demo ETA
on The 3D Realms Forums (thanks Shacknews)
by Remedy Entertainment's Petri Järvilehto with an update on the status of the
demo version of Max Payne. Here's the scoop: FYI: Getting the demo out has
taken a lot longer than we expected. This is mostly due to the fact that we all
took a break and vent on a brief vacation to recharge batteries.
Now we're back and working hard, but I'd estimate that it's still going to take
two weeks or so, as there's loads of other high priority stuff that we need work
on as well.
GameSpyDaily's
EVE: The Second Genesis Interview is a quick Q&A with Hrafnkell
"Clover" Oskarsson of Crowd Control Productions
about progress on EVE: The Second Genesis, their upcoming massively multiplayer,
space-themed, strategy/RPG. Along the way we learn that this is Hrafnkell's
first job designing a computer game after cutting his teeth designing strategy
board games, how testing the game will evolve, and how it doesn't really have
distinct goals, as his description puts it, EVE is "more player vs. player
(PvP) oriented than player vs. environment (PvE), as most current MMOG are."
GameSpot UK's Hubert Chardot Q&A
chats with the man behind Alone in the Dark about From Dusk Till Dawn, the
upcoming third-person action game from him and his team at GameSquad. Topics
include his contributions to the early days of the horror game genre, his role
in the creation of Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, the reasons French
games are so distinctive, his feelings about the Robert Rodriquez film upon
which From Dusk Till Dawn is based, and more.
Terra Arcanum has posted a
utility called unDAT that can allow you to delve into the data files for the
just-released Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura and see what resources
they contain.
There's a Project Eden
Preview on MGON taking a look at Core Design's
upcoming science fiction squad-based shooter as it nears completion. The preview
is hands-on, based on a visit to Core's UK-based offices, and is illustrated by
a batch of previously-published screenshots.
The PlanetRenegades has word of
another update for the Renegades 2 for TRIBES 2 beta testing that is now
underway ( story). Like the first beta, the updated Renegades 2
can be played without their optional client-pack, as it is a server-side
modification. Changes in the updated server include balance tweaks in addition
to bug fixes, and along with news of the update, they promise that more servers
are coming online soon.
Russian developer Snowball Interactive has released another Fatherdale: The Guardians of Asgard movie, showing off their upcoming isometric RPG. Subtly titled "Wham! 2," the clip features some 40 seconds of gameplay footage in soundless, self-running Bink format, while the site's frontpage features a brief development update on the combat tests they are engaged in.
There's Darren
Chukitus interview on PC Gameplay UK talking with the producer on Tom
Clancy's Ghost Recon, as part two of their Ghost Recon Week
rolls along. Topics covered include what involvement the military had in the
project, character classes, the reward system, graphic updates over its
predecessors, multiplayer play, and more. Here's a bit that covers the updated
graphics: PCG: What else have you updated in terms of graphics?
DC: We were shooting for some really unique character sets in this game. We'd
take all sorts of attire from the people we'd seen fighting in different
regions, and mix and match it in as many ways as possible. We've probably got
100 new faces as well. The idea is that each mission is going to have a
different set of enemies and NPCs, so every mission will seem extremely new.
We have lots of new special effects in the game too. This is something new for
Red Storm. In the past we didn't really have the time or the memory to allocate
for those things. With this game we have water effects - you're going to see
ripples coming off your character. If you toss a grenade in the water, you're
going to see a big splash. One of my favourites is the napalm. We use projected
lighting too - we have a POW camp that has spotlights all around it, and as you
move through the camp, if the spotlight catches you it will try to track you.
There are also shock waves. If a tank is shot near you, you're going to feel it.
There's a Kenn
Hoekstra interview on PCShooter.com discussing progress on Soldier of
Fortune II: Double Helix, Raven's upcoming SoF follow-up. Subjects covered
include the game's storyline, the contribution of real-life mercenary John
Mullins to the sequel, AI, technology, system requirements, the fact that
whether to include multiplayer support is still undecided (or unannounced at
least), and more.
There's a The Thing Interview
on HomeLan that talks with Peter Wanat of Computer Artworks about The Thing,
their upcoming horror game based on the movie of the same name. Along the way
Peter describes how they landed the assignment to create the game for publisher
Universal Interactive, the game's storyline, setting, gameplay, AI, the work
that's going into the shape-shifting alien, and more.
GameSpy.com's Master of Orion III
Developer Diary volume 10 is the second diary installment in the series
dedicated to the Master of Orion III user-interface, describing the issues
encountered when creating 100+ UI screens, discussing things like design
theory, color choices, textures, and how it all comes together. Included are a
few ShakyCam(tm) videos and screenshots to illustrate what is being discussed,
though an account is required to download the videos.
The Wargamer's
Takeda Interview talks with Ming-Sheng Lee about Takeda, an upcoming
real-time war game set in Feudal Japan. The conversation covers the obvious
comparisons to Shogun: Total War, terrain and element modifiers, Takeda's
dyamic storyline, and more. Included are several new screenshots.
Joey Liaw updated
his .plan while packing up his cubicle in the one-time ION Storm tower
with a bit on what future support Anachronox users, saying Eidos, where Patch 2
is currently being tested, is getting the source code, there are members of the
AnachroTeam still active on the PlanetAnachronox
forums, and that he's posted an
Anachronox Tech Support FAQ on GeoCities.
The award-winning “Shattered Galaxy” is ready to rock the online world
is the press release from Nexon announcing the launch of their
massively-multiplayer RTS game. Included in the release is a description of the
game as well as details on subscription pricing, and more stuff like that.
Terminal Update is Reality
on FGN is an article describing the reorganization at TRI in the wake of the
demise of their partners at Gathering of Developers. Mentioned is a personnel
move, their ongoing work on 4x4 Evo 2 for the Xbox, and an upcoming announcement
about a new PS2 engine, but no indication that they will be making any more PC
titles, as it says they now consider themselves a "multi-publisher aligned
developer seeking to produce high-end console titles"
Microsoft Pushes Xbox Bundles
on FGN quotes the LA Times saying MS is encouraging retailers to pre-sell
$499 Xbox bundles. There's a Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance preview on
PS2.IGN.com that features "New movies, new screens, new love, and
gelatinous cubes!" Yes, even with new movies on display, they are obviously
most excited about the gelatinous cubes." Meanwhile, The Space World 2001 software line-up
on GameSpot has an updated list of GameCube software that Nintendo plans on
showing at Space World 2001 (not to be confused with SpiceWorld). Finally, Deus Ex: The Conspiracy Logo Revealed
on Gaming Age shows off the logo for the PS2 Deus Ex port, which also
reveals the game's sub-title.
There's a support section on the Max
Payne website with troubleshooting tips and a FAQ. On a semi-related note, 3DSpotlight's Max Payne tweak guide
is now online. Finally, as mentioned already in this morning's update, there's a
new Anachronox Technical FAQ
online.
HomeLAN CONTESTERIFFIC
announces the opportunity to win prizes by playing on their game servers in
celebration of their first anniversary. Also, a start date has been posted for
the Nations DeathMatch League,
which will get underway on September 2. Thanks Savage Universe.
Also, a EuroCup 3
wrap-up is now up on ClanBase. Finally, the CPL
has announced that Intel is one of the sponsors for their upcoming World
Championship.
There's an updated version of the
Freedom Force Character Tool News which will allow you to design your own
character for Freedom Force before the superhero game is even on shelves, with
no radioactive spiders, cosmic rays, or any similar catastrophe required. Also,
the Dungeon Siege website
announces: "Microsoft and Discreet Sign Second Multi-Title Agreement to
Build gmax game packs: Dungeon Siege Next in Line," the implications of
which are discussed in more detail on PlanetDungeonSiege.
The Hostile Intent
website has a video trailer for their upcoming realism-based combat
modification for Half-Life. The video is in DivX
format, and is available in higher and lower quality versions.
With all this talk of the decline of web advertising these days, several readers
have asked us via email and posts to our messageboards whether clicking on the
ads on this site directly helps us. There is a more complex answer to be had,
but the simpler one will just about suffice in its place, and that answer is
yes. This is because in addition to the fact that there are CPC (cost per click)
ads in the mix, which only actually pay of if they are clicked upon, even for
the much broader CPM (cost per thousand) advertisements, click-through rate is
often used to define whether such campaigns are a success, and should be
continued. So there, clicking the ads certainly can't hurt, and who knows, maybe
some day someone will actually shock that damn monkey.
Link of the Day: Win
RG {Flash required}. Windows "really good edition." Thanks
Frag.Machine. Sheer genius.
Play Time: WingNut666's Doom
Quiz-O-Rama! A little too easy because of repeating questions, and there's
sometimes only one answer that makes sense, but fun nonetheless. Thanks
Daxxus.
Story of the Day: 'Tron
2.0' Plot Details Downloaded (Zap2it.com). Thanks Jonah
Falcon.
Weird Science: Dark blue light 'may end jetlag'
(Ananova). Thanks Andrew Arace.
Wild Science: 'Spin' Could Be Quantum Boost for Computers
NY Times free registration required. Thanks Jonathan C. Forster.
Media of the Day: This
teakettle auction (thanks Modo). I'm a little teapot, short and stout, here
is my handle here is my spout!
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