Gaming Age has conducted a new interview on AquaNox, the underwater 3D action game under construction at Massive Development. Project manager Wolfgang Walk is in the hotseat to talk about his involvement in the game, how it follows up on the prequel Archimedean Dynasty, how to convey that submersed feel through the ships inertia, underwater currents, and more, their in-house KRASS engine, as well as a variety of related topics.

• AvP 2
  As is their way, AvPNews has posted another five new Aliens Vs. Predator 2 screenshots starting with the sixth image on the page, showing new scenes in the three-way first-person shooter in the works at Monolith.
• C&C Renegade
  There is a very brief look at Command & Conquer: Renegade on GamePro that includes two new screenshots (and two familiar ones) as well as two new concept images of Westwood's upcoming 3D action title.
• Echelon Expansion
  Buka has opened an Echelon: Wind Warriors preview page, introducing their recently announced (story) futuristic combat flyer add-on in words and the first seven images.
• Sierra's Double Dose
  Down to two upcoming games that feature screenshots of the week, Sierra has released new images for Empire Earth and Throne of Darkness.
• Trade Empires
  A brief and apparently hands-off preview of Trade Empires on The Wargamer is accompanied by half a dozen new screenshots of Frog City's trading strategy game that went gold last week (story).
• Throne of Darkness
  Another week, another collection of Throne of Darkness Elements on RPG Vault, this time putting the spotlight on the (Magnificent?) Seven Samurai in Click Entertainment's isometric action RPG.
• Gladius
  The official Gladius Online site has been updated with a humorous concept image of a Roman "police officer" in this just-announced MMORPG by RedBedlam (story).
• Camelot
  The flood of Dark Age of Camelot screenshots continues at SpelletjesGarnaal and GameSpyDaily today, where they have posted a bunch of new images captured from Mythic's medieval MMORPG in beta testing.

Both The Zen Garden and Battle Realms Network have posted a report of no fewer than three visits to Liquid Entertainment's offices, where the author Adam Gordon got to check out Battle Realms, their upcoming 3D real-time strategy game. The article describes a tour of the offices, impressions galore from hands-on time with the game, and some new details on the game's units and its World Editor.

Titus Signs U.S. Deal with Vivendi on The Adrenaline Vault has the announcement of a deal between French developer Titus and "media giant Vivendi Universal," while even more detail can be found in an article titled Vivendi to distribute Interplay titles on EuroGamer, which has the latest word on how this impacts the future of troubled publisher Interplay (story), saying: "This means the end of Interplay as a publisher, with their entire marketing and distribution staff set to join the dozens of other employees who were laid off earlier in the summer as Interplay plunged ever deeper into debt."

GameSpot Previews Freedom Force Designer Diary #8 penned by Anthony "Abbadon" Clare, a 3D artist in the Canberra, Australia, offices of Irrational Games. The diary discusses his job as "the effects monkey" and his role of helping to "develop and maintain an art aesthetic" for Freedom Force, their upcoming superhero game. He describes today's update as intended "to give you a little insight into how we have approached the effects creation tasks on Freedom Force." Here's a bit from the diary that talks about what they are putting together for the game:

Staying within the tech specs while also achieving the designers' vision is a pretty intense task. What's proved to be important is maintaining the right balance of particle systems, polygonal elements, 2D elements, and textures. The various effects use these "ingredients" in differing proportions. Words such as the classic "Pow!!" and "Zaaaaaaaap!!!" are included where appropriate. These are on billboards so as to always face the camera. I use the polygonal elements to morph a shape for animation and/or to give volume to an effect. Particle systems give a different type of animation to the effects and can give a sense of force and movement without spending hours hand-animating hundreds of individual elements. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, are the textures. Without them the effects would be a rather frightful display of colored squares and triangles popping across the screen. So a critical part of making the effects is doing the textures for them. As in all texturing jobs, not only do you have to watch your in-game texture budget, but you also have to keep in mind naming conventions and the disk space the textures will take up.

The Internet Explorer Homepage has the new version 6.0 of Microsoft's web browser for download, fresh out of beta. Thanks File Flash.

Hot on the heels of the announcement that Gearbox was taking over development of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (story) PC.IGN.Com's Counter-Strike Condition Zero Interview is online, talking with Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford about the project. The article also quotes Valve's Doug Lombardi, and makes reference to the game's original developer Rogue. Questions posed to Randy include several to clarify possible confusion about the multiplayer content in this game that is focused on the single-player experience, what sort of mission types they plan on including, what sort of control players will have over their AI teammates, what sort of new units are planned, weapon balance, and more.

Fatherdale Developer Diary volume 6 on RPGDot has the latest on Fatherdale: The Guardians of Asgard from lead designer Sergei Klimov of Snowball Interactive. Today's topic is their efforts not to sink to the lowest common denominator as they receive pressure from publishers to increase their appeal to the mass market by adding more violence to the game, which does not rely on death as the final outcome of most encounters. This is an interesting, and thought provoking read (a description we don't throw around lightly). Also included is a pair of new screenshots.

Austrian site Player.at has posted a report on Fishtank Interactive, based on visiting the offices of this German publisher earlier this month. The article is only available in German, so you can angle an appropriate Babel Fish out of the tank for a rough English translation, and it shares their impressions from checking out the first-person shooter Chaser, the light-hearted 3D real-time strategy game S.W.I.N.E., the futuristic city racer Beam Breakers, the submersed action game AquaNox, the first-person role-playing game Arx Fatalis, the 3D turn-based strategy game Etherlords, and more. Rounding the report is an interview with games director Frank Heukemes (catch another Babel Fish).

A report on GamePen has news of another delay, as they have received an "official" response from New World Computing saying that Heroes of Might & Magic IV will be delayed from its planned November release date. No updated release date has been provided.

There's a Q&A with NCsoft on GameSpot chatting with Taekjin Kim, the CEO of this Korean publisher about Lineage: The Bloodpledge, the insanely popular MMORPG, discussing "NCsoft's entry into the US market, offline violence, and Richard Garriott." The article makes mention of the record 200,000 simultaneous users Lineage has boasted, and the following question and response give a feel for why he feels the game is so successful:

GS: Lineage has been viewed as one of the most successful online games in Korea and showed a great deal of success in marketing to other countries, such as Taiwan. Why do you think it has been so successful?

TK: Lineage has been able to successfully appeal to the generation of Internet subculture users by being the first online game to ever offer superb full-scale 3D-rendered graphics and by providing a host of chatting modes. Also, the strategic/collaborative battles enabled by the use of the world's largest large-scale database management technologies have provided an effective means of delivering surrogate satisfaction for modern humankind.

There was no consolation post with this morning's update, so: Microsoft Delays Xbox Sale in Japan on Fox (thanks theAntiELVIS) quotes the managing director of Microsoft's Japan unit saying "the decision to delay sales until Feb. 22 was to concentrate efforts in the United States first, where the machine is set to hit stores Nov. 8 at $299." The report goes on to say the European release of the system is also delayed until 2002, a change from Microsoft's original plan to launch the console system worldwide simultaneously. Also, a new Digital Extremes Developer's Update is online with the latest on what's going on in development on Unreal Championship, their upcoming Xbox Unreal game.

Fansite Wolfenstein Xtreme has posted some new media of Return to Castle Wolfenstein which they captured from the first-person shooter being developed at Gray Matter Interactive during QuakeCon (thanks Stomped). Collected into one 3.1 MB ZIP-file, there are six FuzzyCam screenshots and three short ShakyCam movies sporting a total of 40 seconds of gameplay footage.

Although not yet noted on their news page, New Media Generation has made a new patch for Hired Team: Trial Gold available for download from this ftp server (7.0 MB). This brings their first-person shooter to version 2.101, and unlike the previous version 2.0 patch (story) which featured a Russian installer, this one runs in English so it now likely applies to European editions of the game as well. Thanks Patches Scrolls for the tip. Also, BioWare has released a Japanese patch for Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, updating that edition of their acclaimed isometric RPG to version 23037 like the English and European editions before it. Update: Finally, Ensemble Studios has also released a Japanese patch for Age of Empires II: the Conquerors, bringing their isometric RTS expansion in sync with the other version 1.0c editions out there.

We received a press release that adds a few scant details to the sketchy report from a couple of months ago on GameSpot España (story) that three of the folks on the Severance/Blade of Darkness team had departed Rebel Act Studios to form their own company called Digital Legends. Here is the release with a little more on their first project, an unnamed first-person RPG:

Xavier Carrillo (Blade: Edge of Darkness Project Director), Ángel Cuñado (Blade: Edge of Darkness Lead Programmer and engine’s Creator ) and José Luis Vaello (Blade: Edge of Darkness Lead Designer and Arts Director) will respectively assume the responsibility for General Management, as well as the Technological and the Creative Direction of Digital Legends Entertainment, a Barcelona located developer (Spain).

Digital Legends Entertainment’s first project is a RPG with high action contain, taking place in a fantasy world that includes martial art combats scenarios. It will be developed for several platforms.

This game, the name of which will be disclosed soon, is powered by a new and revolutionary engine, able to represents complex natural environments with a degree of accuracy and quality never seen before.

An update on the Red Storm Entertainment website has word of an updated release date for Ghost Recon, the latest tactical shooter inspired by the works of thriller author Tom Clancy. The site now lists November 20, 2001 as the release date, a minor change from the originally reported date of December 1. Thanks War-Fighter.com.

A post on RPGDot has word that publisher Fishtank Interactive has informed them that Arx Fatalis, the RPG in the works at Arkane Studios, will not be released until first quarter 2002. The game was originally scheduled to ship October of this year. No reason for the delay was given.

Valve Software sends along a note that adds another layer of clarification to the story of exactly who is producing Condition Zero, the upcoming single-player Counter-Strike game. Word is that Gearbox Software, responsible for many of the follow-ups to Half-Life, will be taking on the production in their Dallas-based offices. This is the latest in what has turned into a complex story about the game's production, as Rogue Entertainment was originally slated to do the project, but then it was announced that Valve was taking it in-house (story). Here's the updated news:

Valve is proud to announce primary development of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero has moved to the Dallas, Texas offices of Gearbox Software, creators of the award-winning Half-Life expansion products and the soon-to-be-released Half-Life PlayStation 2. In addition to the team at Gearbox, several CS1 developers have been recruited to lend their talents to the creation of CS: CZ.

An article on Multiplayer.it, written in the site's native Italian, provides the first screenshots and details about War & Peace (or as they put it, Guerra e Pace), an upcoming 3D RTS from Microids, that may or may not be based on the lengthy novel ("you mean there's a movie?!?"), as Leo Tolstoy's classic book is not mentioned, but the game seems to be it is set during the same period ("from the War of Independence to the Napoleonic Wars"). Non-paisans will need to run this through Babel Fish to make sense of it, and according to the translation, the game is a mix of strategy, economic management and diplomacy featuring the efforts of "six great nations," France, England, Prussia, the Ottoman Empire, Russia and Austria. In addition to the first details about the game, they have also posted the first 14 screenshots.

Not to be confused with the first installment of World War II Online, German publisher CDV has announced Blitzkrieg, an isometric real-time strategy game in the vein of Sudden Strike. The game is being developed by Russia-based Nival Interactive (creators of Evil Islands and Etherlords), and the announcement includes a few game details, while the Blitzkrieg preview page is online with a features list and the first four screenshots.

Also from CDV comes the announcement of Cossacks - The Art of War, the add-on for GSC Game World's RTS that was previously announced for the Russian market as Cossacks: The Age of Enlightenment (story). Again there are scant details on the expansion's features, as well as the first screenshot.

HomeLan's Dark Age Of Camelot Interview talks with Matt Firor about Dark Age of Camelot, Mythic Entertainment's upcoming medieval MMORPG. Topics include how Mythic's prior experience in online gaming helped in this project, the inspiration and research behind DAoC, how player-versus-player play will work, comparisons to other MMORPGs, and more. Also, there's a new Camelot Vault Screenshot Gallery on Camelot Vault that offers 15 screenshots from the fourth stage of beta testing on the game. The shots are contributed by four different testers, and therefore provide a bit of variety in their subject matters, and all focus on new sights and features that have been recently added.

MumboJumbo Trip on Myth Wolf Age.com offers first-hand impressions of progress on Myth III: The Wolf Age after they recently visited the offices on Mumbo Jumbo Games to check it out. The article features a big string of bullet points with stuff they saw and were told about the upcoming 3D RTS, and represents the first of what's planned as a three-part series stemming from their visit.

GameSpy.com's Operation Flashpoint Developer Diary Volume 2, subtitled "meet the cast," goes a little further in the ongoing effort to stretch the definition of a diary (or a cast for that matter), as it actually is an introduction to four members of the team behind Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis, the cold war shooter that's been available in Europe for some time now and should be arriving on North American store shelves tomorrow (story). Two of the profiles have accompanying photos (the other two have screenshots), and each offers a bulleted list outlining each person's résumé and interests, as well as a quote about the game.

There's a chat log on PlanetDungeonSiege offering what they describe as a "heavily modified transcript" of their recent "informal chat" with the folks at Gas Powered Games about Dungeon Siege, their upcoming RPG. Attendees include James Loe, Chad Queen, Eric Tams, Scott Bilas, and Mike Biddlecombe, and covers a very wide range of topics related to gameplay, editing-related stuff, strategies they are working out through play testing, and much more.

The Larian Studios Divinity website has five new Divine Divinity screenshots showing off gameplay from this upcoming RPG. If you're one of those that feels an RPG doesn't cut it unless it offers dragons, there are a pair of dragon shots, one showing a little mosh pit-style stomping being dealt to a party, and the other showing someone getting the business end of some classic reptilian halitosis. There is also another new Divine Divinity screenshot on DivineDivinity.Com taken from the cinematic intro, showing a big old orc being all orcy and whatnot.

• P4 Hits 2.0 GHz
  Intel Hits 2 Gigahertz Mark, New Chip Milestone is the announcement that covers today's torrent of reviews (below).
• CRTs Slim Down
  After Decades of Frustration, the Picture Tube Slims Down NY Times free registration required. Thanks Jonathan C. Forster.
• New ASUS BIOS
  A new BIOS version 1006 final for the ASUS A7A266 (direct FTP link) dated 8/20 is now available. Thanks SocketA.com.
• VIA and Sound Cards
  VIA 686B and Sound Cards on VIAHardware is an article examining the possibility of data corruption and other problems with VIA southbridge chips.
• Win2K Tips
  An updated edition of the Windows 2000 Hints & Tips on Adria's Rojak Pot is now online.
• Building a Better Hole
  There's a 120mm PVC Blowhole How To Guide on Slautech.
• K7T266 Pro Guide
  MSI K7T266 pro config guide (in German) on TecCentral, also translated into English and French.

UpsetChaps Tribes2 Guide has updated their section on Game Overview, Tips & Analysis for each of the maps in TRIBES 2 to include the just released TRIBES 2 map pack (story).

PlanetAnachronox has posted an Anachronox editing utility called lw2md2, which is the program used to convert Lightwave models into the .md2 format so they can be imported into Anachronox. Also, there's a third lesson on 3D modeling on NeverWinter Haven that focuses on importing your model into Neverwinter Nights, so if you have already created your model, all you have to do is read this article, wait for the game to be released, and you're all set.

• American McGee's Alice (for Mac) on MacGamez.
• Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura on Dimensions of Arcnum.
• Clive Barker's Undying on GamePen.
• Empire of the Ants on Gamitopia.
• Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising on GameStats.
• Max Payne on PC Zone UK and Battle-Fields.
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Dominion Wars on The Wargamer.

Today's no-brainer... what new CPU offering just had its NDA expire?

• Ace 112D Media Ports on OverClock Intelligence Agency.
• Arctic Silver II Thermal Compound on t-break.
• ECS K7S5A Motherboard on LostCircuits.
• EPoX 4T2A Motherboard on Overclockers Online.
• Evergreen Spectra 400 CPU Upgrade on OnePC.NET.
• Intel Pentium 4 2 GHz CPU on AcidHardware, CPUReview, Extreme Tech, FiringSquad, [H]ardOCP, (in German) Hard Tecs 4U (and translated to English), Hardware-Unlimited, HotHardware, SimHQ.com, SourceMagazine, and Tech Report.
• Matrox G550 Video Card on Neo Seeker.
• Muskin EMS High Performance DDR RAM on accelenation.com.
• Nanocomposite Thermal Compound on FrostyTech.
• Neng Tyi SN05 Copper Heatsink on FrostyTech.
• PC-133 SDRAM Comparison on Gaming in 3D.
• Zalman CNPS3100 Cooler on 3dfx Lives on.

There's a Diana Ross tune from the dawn of disco days called Love Hangover where in the chorus she repeats that she has "the sweetest hangover" and now I think I have discovered a variation on that theme. I had a late night snack of a couple of Pop Tarts (yes, I know, my dog eats better than I do), and woke up with a splitting headache that feels like alcohol-style dehydration that really seems to be a direct result of the sugar. I'm trying the hair of the dog trick by trying to wash it away with some Bawls (the innuendo of curing one's sweet hangover with Bawls almost being too much to stand), but I'm not sure that was the right call, so I've also resorted to pain relievers. I guess it could be worse, however, as some people's encounters with Pop Tarts cannot be so easily solved with a pair of Advil.

R.I.P.: Fred Hoyle Dies at 86; Opposed 'Big Bang' but Named It NY Times free registration required. Thanks Jonathan C. Forster.

Link of the Day: THQ Announces Red Faction on Fragtopia, one of the funnier satire press releases I can recall seeing in a while.
Bonus Link: Kate Moss on Partitions on HardwareGod. Thanks FondueBitch.
Story of the Day: Girl Catches Piranha in Ohio River (Fox). Thanks theAntiELVIS.
Bonus Story: Baseball Teams Almost Get Into Brawl Over Earrings (again Fox). Again thanks theAntiELVIS. It would have been one of those sissy baseball fights, too.
Media of the Day: Today's Foxtrot. I can so relate.