Creature Isles Interview on PC.IGN.com is a conversation with Lionhead top lion Peter Molyneux as well as lead programmer Jonty Barnes that took place at ECTS early this month. The pair discuss Black & White: Creature Isles, the recently announced expansion, and go into detail about the AI improvements, the new tyke creature, the new role of the villagers and more, and also look ahead to Black & White 2. Here is a quote on that topic:

IGNPC: [...] So, speaking of the sequel, what can you say about the game right now? Will you be able to bring your creature into the sequel?

Peter Molyneux: Yeah, definitely. I'd like to bring over the creature's mind and definitely your alignment, and making that fairly important in the start of the game, so if you've archived your creature away, then you can start the game off with your old friend.

We're also thinking about a system of guessing what kind of alignment you are through a series of questions if you don't have a history, just to try to get people off to a certain alignment at the start of the game instead of starting off neutral like you did in Black & White.

Black & White 2 will have a lot more concentration on the little people, and the idea that they will have wars. I really like the idea of these really big, quite vicious wars going on, and then you as a god coming back to this world after you left it in peace. When you come back, you'll have to pick what side you and your creature are going to support, and you will have a lot of miraculous input into these wars.

PC.IGN.com has also posted a new movie of Freedom Force, the superheroic tactical combat RPG being crafted at Irrational Australia. The movie offers an introduction to the Minute Man superhero and the origin of his secret powers, all in an animated movie that runs for two and a half minutes in QuickTime format.

It's a Friday, and that means it's time for another Halo update, this time at Halo.bungie.org. As usual Bungie's Matt Soell offers anecdotes and updates on the game's progress, and this time topics include bug fixes, performance optimizations, multiplayer testing and more, and word is: "An eerie calm settles over Bungie HQ as we approach the moment when we start calling them 'release candidates' instead of just 'builds.'"

Completing PC.IGN's hat-trick this evening, there is also a new Stronghold preview online, looking ahead to the castle building strategy game under construction at Firefly Studios. The author takes a recent build of the game for a spin in the concrete mixer, and offers impressions of the game's structure, missions, gameplay, and other features, along with nearly 20 new screenshots.

• Ghost Recon
  The official Ghost Recon site has been updated with a lonely new screenshot, offering another scene in the tactical shooter in the works at Red Storm.
• Civilization III
  The screenshots gallery on the official Civilization III site has been expanded with nine new screenshots in the turn-based strategy game nearing completion at Firaxis.
• Armalion
  Half a dozen new Armalion screenshots are online atop this gallery at the official site for this isometric RPG by German developers Ikarion.
• Divinity
  Larian Studios has released a single new Divine Divinity screenshot, showing more from their upcoming isometric role-playing game.

The official Counter-Strike site now offers the promised fix for the ATI "overflow" errors in Counter-Strike. The small (670 KB) patch is available from FilePlanet (registration required) as well as this Sierra ftp server for both the Half-Life and CS Retail editions and it's needed only if you have an ATI card and are experiencing the problem. Thanks Josh Taylor for the tip.

Maxis responds to cancellation on GameSpot follows up on yesterday's announcement of the termination of the SimsVille project (story). Maxis director of marketing Patrick Buechner is cornered about the reasons and circumstances for the cancellation, and he confirms that the game has indeed be cancelled rather than suspended like the official site suggests, while also looking forward to their upcoming titles The Sims: Hot Date and The Sims Online.

GameSpot kicks off the first designer diary for Star Trek: Armada II, offering insight into the development of this space-based strategy game currently docking at Mad Doc Software. Penned by CEO Dr. Ian Lane Davis, the article introduces the company and the origins of the project, discusses the wishlist for the game's features, and goes into more detail about their 3D engine, some of the playable races, and the challenges of completing the game. Three new screenshots illustrate the proceedings.

The folks at MindArk released a new batch of Project Entropia screenshots today along with a press release called MindArk offers the first public glimpses of the distant planet Calypso describing the shots, which are the first to be publicly released from Project Entropia Beta Phase II. The release describes what the shots are all about, along with word that: "Applications for further phases of the Project Entropia beta test are still being accepted at http://www.project-entropia.com/betatest/apply.asp?topic=betatest." In addition, the Project Entropia Development Report #2 on RPG Vault is penned by Patric Sundstrom, the marketing manager at MindArk, who discusses progress on the game, including specifics about how this phase II of the beta testing is going.

Analyst Says Microsoft May Ship Fewer Xbox Consoles (thanks Chris Johnson and Gaming Age) is the LA Times story on the recently-announced Xbox shortfall (story) published before the just-announced Xbox delay (story) that quotes Peter Main, Nintendo's senior vice president of marketing, saying "he received a call this week from retailers, including Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Electronics Boutique, asking if the company would increase shipments of its GameCube console Nov. 18 to 'make up for somebody else's problems.'" The report goes on to say: "Main said Nintendo, which recently pushed back its North American launch by two weeks, was 'locked and loaded' to deliver 630,000 GameCubes to the United States and 70,000 to Canada before Thanksgiving weekend."

PlanetFortress has posted several bits of information about changes resulting from the Half-Life 1.1.0.8 patch, including how to set up a filter in GameSpy to allow you to find servers where you can be a spectator via HLTV, a report on why CPU usage on servers running Counter-Strike (but not other Half-Life mods) will be higher after the update, server variables for voice communication, and word on a workaround for allowing PunkBuster to co-exist with the HLTV proxy.

The official Ghost Recon site now offers a new movie trailer for download, showing off the tactical shooter being developed at Red Storm Entertainment. The trailer is available in AVI and QuickTime format as well as high and low resolutions, and sports a round minute of in-game footage from various areas in the game.

There is a new Age of Mythology movie on FilePlanet (registration required) that offers more footage from the 3D real-time strategy game by Ensemble Studios. Despite going through the multi-hour queue this afternoon, we were unable to download a copy so we can't tell you what's in the movie, but most likely it's the third clip in the ongoing series to introduce the game's features, commented upon by lead designer Bruce Shelley.

Player Of Games Interviews Petri Jarvilehto of Remedy Entertainment, discussing Max Payne, their hard-boiled third-person shooter. The conversation discusses things like the game's commercial success, its positive critical reception, the relative lack of bugs, the use of photo realistic textures, mod support, and more.

If you can't keep up, that's ok, we barely can either. The id Software software ftp now carries beta 7 for the Mac OS X version of the multiplayer test of Return to Castle Wolfenstein. As usual, it's mirrored on ftp.cdrom.com and there's no word on the fixes in this version.

Microsoft delays Xbox launch (thanks ZYirAH) is a BBC report on a one week delay in Microsoft's upcoming Xbox console system "just five weeks after the company rigorously denied an analyst's warning that the launch that would mark its move from software making into hardware making would be delayed." No official reason is offered for the delay, though the article quotes Gartner researcher P.J. McNealy as saying "This is clearly a production issue." The system, originally planned to go on sale in the US on November 8, is now slated to be available November 15. In a related note, Xbox Manufacturing Underway for Nov. 15 Launch Date is a press release we've received on the subject, but in a fit of Teflon, this makes the November 15 date sound like business as usual, and makes no reference to the delay.

GodGames sends a press release with word of the release of a playable demo for FireFly's Stronghold: "A blend of simulation and real-time strategy set in medieval Europe," available as a Gigex download. The game is described like this: "In a divided European countryside, the kingdom is torn apart by four power hungry and warring lords. By skillfully managing resources, boosting peasant morale, and constructing complex castle architecture, players will ultimately establish settlements, build and manage castles and engage in siege warfare as they strive to reunite their king and country. "FireFly Studios' Stronghold", a unique castle simulation title, immerses the gamer in a teeming medieval settlement to create a vibrant castle community." The demo itself is a 58 MB download that features two full missions, four difficulty levels and over 20 buildings ("So long boys! Have fun stormin' the castle!"). Also, those willing to provide their email address upon download will be "automatically entered into the Dream Machine for the Dream Castle Giveaway. One lucky winner will win a top-of-the-line computer system from Alienware."

An update to the Garagegames website has word that the search they recently announced to replace the name V12 for their licensable version of the TRIBES 2 engine has concluded, and following the automotive theme, the engine will henceforth be known as the "Torque Game Engine." Thanks Schnapple.

An update to the "Ask a Screenwriter" portion of the latest Ask @ IMDb.com written by John August clarifies some misconceptions about the planned movie based on American McGee's Alice, including the fact that the potential film's current title is Alice, rather than Dark Wonderland, as had been reported. The report goes on to further clarify that Alice is "a long ways away from casting" so reports that Natalie Portman, Eliza Dushku, or anyone else is starring are likewise erroneous, and in a third bit of debunking, John points out that assumptions that he is writing the script are also incorrect, but are based on the fact that he wrote the film's treatment. The report does conclude, however, with his opinion that the film will indeed be made, saying: "Currently, the producers are working with other writers to come up with the script, so I have no idea how close they are to being able to film. While some projects do get lost in development hell, my instinct is that Alice will get made at some point." Thanks Gwog.

Randy Pitchford updated his .plan with word that: "Gearbox Software does not currently need any Beta testers for Counter-Strike: Condition Zero. If we do need testers in the future, I'll put the word out." The update goes on to describe their efforts to feel the demand for information about their upcoming Counter-Strike game, and in the meantime asks for patience and understanding if email to them goes unanswered.

GameSpot UK's Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds Interview (thanks HomeLan Fed) is online offering another conversation with LucasArts' Gary Gaber, talking with the game designer about "how the Age Of Empires II engine has been improved for Galactic Battlegrounds." The conversation discusses just that, how the Age of Kings technology has been adapted to the Star Wars theme, while also going into a bit of discussion about gameplay itself, including the game's settings, characters, units and more.

Don't blink or you might miss another Mac WolfMP beta, as hot on the heels beta 6, a new beta 6a of the Return to Castle Wolfenstein multiplayer test for Mac OS X is now available from id Software's ftp server (again, mirrored on ftp.cdrom.com). Like the last few updates, no information about what's been changed is available with this release.

There's a Fort Commander Q&A on Tolstiy's Place talking with Edin Razman, a 3D artist at Zenith Studios who is the project leader on Fort Commander, their upcoming RTS game with an emphasis on naval warfare. The amusing conversation covers a variety of topics including inspirations for the project, the various factors that will be encompassed by gameplay, being a "fort commander," the game's use of a chain of command, the role-playing elements in their character system, and more. Included with the article nine new screenshots.

Player.At has conducted an interview with Raven's Kenn Hoekstra where they question him about their upcoming title, Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix. The lengthy conversation covers topics like the Random Scenario Generator, heavy weaponry and vehicles, the enemy AI and the use of sidekicks, mod authoring, video technology issues and more. Thanks GameSpyDaily.

Empire Earth Beta Test CDs Available in Retail Stores is a press release from Sierra announcing that as promised, those who pre-order Empire Earth will get to beta test a pre-release version of Stainless Steel Studios' 3D RTS game. For some reason the are expecting more participants in the pay for play round of testing than the free one, saying: "The first phase of the beta test, underway since mid-August, saw over 15,000 online applications. Of those, only 1,000 were chosen, but with phase-two the companies expect to see that population rise to over 20,000 eager participants." Empire Earth is due for release in mid-November.

Hot on the heels of yesterday's release, a new beta 6 of the Return to Castle Wolfenstein multiplayer test for Mac OS X is now available from id Software's ftp server (as usual mirrored on ftp.cdrom.com). Again no details on the changes, but if you run OS X you'll know what to do with it.

As noted on the official site, Funcom has released the Anarchy Online version 12.6 patch, and the changes are listed in detail on the RPG Vault forums. This patch fixes numerous client crashes and exploits, enhances monster tactics, creates global trade and grouping chat channels and decreases the damage done by aimed weapons. It also introduces an inadvertant visual bug displaying an incorrect armor class (AC) but work on a fix is underway. As usual this client patch can be downloaded when logging into the AO servers, while manual patches are not yet available.

Italian site Multiplayer.it has posted five new Dragon Empires screenshots in addition to the three included with yesterday's announcement of Codemasters' upcoming MMORPG (story). The images display some of the crowded melee-combat scenes you can apparently expect in the game.

The second part of the Etherlords interview on Eurogamer is now online, talking further with Nival Interactive about their upcoming strategy/RPG. The new installment follows-up on last week's by delving further into "the game's single player campaign and multiplayer options," going into how the game will be presented both before and after the planned patch (expected in January) that "will add a host of new multiplayer options, including a whole new co-operative mode which will allow players to gang up on the AI," as well as a multiplayer ranking system, and more. The Q&A also covers what they are currently at work on in the game, and reveals that they are also considering an Etherlords add-on if the game proves popular enough to warrant one.

Simon & Schuster Interactive sends word that Real War, the modern warfare RTS based on a simulation that was developed for the Joint Chiefs of Staff called "Joint Force Employment," has gone gold, and will be available at retail next week. Here's a bit of the game's description they sent along: "Featuring all new levels, graphics and A.I. (Artificial Intelligence), REAL WAR is a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game set in the politically volatile Eastern Hemisphere. A U.S. Naval Base is attacked by ILA forces. The U.S. searches for the culprits and locates their compound. A missile strike is launched, but an unexpected event occurs. These actions lead the U.S. into a war with the ILA and the countries that back them."

Bright Light Productions has released another patch for Journey's End, this time updating their budget-priced first-person RPG to version 1.30. This release includes their "BrightNet massively multiplayer online gaming service," as well as graphics and menu enhancements.

• Jedi Outcast
  LucasArts has released five new screenshots of Star Wars Jedi Outcast: Jedi Knight II, their first- and third-person action game that show you the way of the Jedi it will (thanks The Massassi Temple).
• Arx Fatalis
  The Flying Eye Spell is the topic of this week's Arx Fatalis Element of the Week on RPGDot, and as usual its illustrated with half a dozen new screenshots of Arkane Studios' first-person RPG.
• Armada II
  There are three new Star Trek: Armada II screenshots on GamePen, offering new galactic scenes in the space-based RTS by Mad Doc Software.
• Etherlords
  Blue Monday has posted four new screenshots of Etherlords, showing more from the 3D turn-based strategy game being created at Nival Interactive.
• AquaNox
  Also on Blue Monday are four new AquaNox screenshots, accompanying their brief preview in English or their native Spanish of Massive Development's 3D action game.
• Neocron
  Neocron Central offers up three new Neocron screenshots captured from the ongoing beta test of the futuristic MMORPG by Reakktor Media, and three more shots are up at Stomped.
• Camelot
  The flood of Dark Age of Camelot images continues at Worthplaying where over a dozen new screenshots from Mythic's medieval MMORPG are served up.

An update on Planet Jumpgate (thanks A Talent For War) has word that in the wee hours tonight (actually 1:00 AM EDT tomorrow) the free trial of Jumpgate: The Reconstruction Initiative will come to a close. Included is word that from 11:00 PM EDT until that time, "a number of events will be hosted to celebrate the upcoming Retail Release," as well as 3DO's pledge to try to get copies in the hands of those who purchased the retail version through their store by the retail launch, which will be Tuesday, September 25. The update also mentions that pilots who have logged 40+ hours in the beta test will have their pilot names reserved in the retail release, and also offers tips for test participants on how to prepare their machines for the retail version.

The redesigned Kohan.net Official Homepage features a demo download page in the new Kohan: Ahriman's Gift section with the Kohan: Ahriman’s Gift demo available as a 48 MB download. Word on the demo of TimeGate Studios' upcoming real-time fantasy strategy prequel to Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns is that it includes two playable factions, two independent races (Slaanri and Gauri), a single player campaign mission, a multiplayer map for two players (human or AI), and a basic tutorial. This information comes by way of a Strategy First press release that offers the fairly obvious announcement of their deal to publish Kohan: Ahriman’s Gift (they also published the original Kohan).

There's a Medal of Honor: Allied Assault preview on PC Zone subtitled "They might not be able to spell, but the Americans know a thing or two about scaring the Hun. Steve Hill joins the war effort" (the spelling bit refers to the whole honor/honour thing). The preview of 2015's upcoming Quake III-engine World War II shooter is based on a visit to Electronic Arts to check it out in person, and as such offers first-hand impressions of the game, as well as quotes from 2015's Vince Zampella, Peter Hirschman, Lincoln Hershberger, and more.

HomeLan Fed's Axis Interview talks with David Nixon, senior producer for RealArcade Games, about Axis, their upcoming multiplayer first-person shooter. Topics include Real's relationship with the game developers, how they fit all the game's content in such a small download, the game's setting, weapons, gameplay modes, what the future holds for RealArcade and electronic game distribution, and more. Regarding Axis, word on The Adrenaline Vault is that the game will be available September 24.

The Mystery of the Druids site features a new English-language demo version of this 3D adventure offering a chance to check out the opening chapter of the game for free before it's planned US release on October 30 (thanks To The Game). Word is: "This new demo presents the majority of the opening chapter – in which Brent is asked to solve what is believed to be a fairly straightforward but grisly murder. A body has been discovered in Epping Forest, and it very quickly becomes apparent that this hideous deed has wide-reaching implications." Also, there's a new Mystery of the Druids movie for download on FilePlanet (registration required). According to the description: "Our man Brent tries his hand at LOVE," so parental guidance may be in order in addition to registration. The file is 12.2 MB.

RPGPlanet's Mimesis Online Interview talks with Derek Handley (head writer and gameworld developer) and Piotr Krzywonosiuk (public relations and marketing manager) of Tannhauser Gate about this upcoming MMORPG, currently undergoing beta testing. Topics include the back story, the game's structure, interactivity, the role of psionic powers, and more.

Kohan: Ahriman's Gift -- The New Characters on GameSpy offers brief descriptions and concept art of several of the new characters that will be included in Kohan: Ahriman's Gift, the upcoming prequel to Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns. They also offer a bit of back story for each character, provided you can keep who's who straight in statements like: "Hss'Rak stood alongside Slyys'Stok and Yss'Tok as a champion of the Slaanri people, until an arrow launched from the bow of a Mareten ally fell his beloved mate Nys'Srss."

We've received a few reports that the PC version of Red Faction has shown up on retail shelves, so if you want to get your ass to Mars, get your ass to the store first. Also, Spider-Man shipping on GameSpot has word that the PC port of the PlayStation Spider-Man game, featuring the adventures of the original webmaster, is swinging into stores "soon." Finally The Adrenaline Vault has word of the release of ClusterBall on September 24 (am I the only one that keeps seeing that as ClusterF***?).

• New RivaTuner
  A new version 2.0 RC7 of the RivaTuner is now available.

The WarCraft III Chat Transcript #3 on WarcraftIII.Net Press Desk offers a recap of last night's chat session discussing progress on Warcraft III. Topics include game balance issues, the beta, and more, all recapped in their Analysis of WarCraft III Chat #5.

The Dark Age of Camelot has word from Mythic Entertainment's president Mark Jacobs who has announced Dark Age of Camelot's pricing structure, which will be $12.95 per month for one month subscriptions, $11.95 per month for three month subscriptions, and $10.95 per month for six month subscriptions. There is also word of a $9.89 per month 'thank you' deal for beta testers for a three month subscription.

Yesterday's Anarchy Online daily update has news on several fronts, including a bit about the purpose of their test server, what to do if your account is closed, a bit about the in-game surprise they've promised, as well as a tip for Win2K users that are experiencing crashes since the latest patch.

GameCube Under the Cover on CoreMagazine (thanks Shacknews) offers photos of the guts of a dismantled GameCube and its controller, sort of console autopsy photos. Also, New The House of the Dead game in development on GameSpot has news of an odd turn of events that will lead to an upcoming installment in the series for an unspecified platform or platforms that will be based on the upcoming The House of the Dead movie, which of course, is itself based on the series of games.

S.A.S's Guide to Counter-Strike has been updated with information regarding the new C-S release, including a guide to the new voice communication feature.

• F/A-18 Precision Strike Fighter on SimHQ.
• Max Payne on Miss-Match.
• Primal Prey on GameSpy.com.
• Red Faction on PC Zone UK.
• Shogun: Warlord Edition on ActionTrip.
• Spider-Man on GameSpot.
• The Mystery of the Druids on Quandary and GameZone.

• Creative SoundBlaster Audigy Platinum eX & Inspire 5300 Speakers on VR-Zone Hardware.
• Cyber Cooler P-8000 Socket Cooler on GideonTech.
• EPoX 8K7A+ SocketA DDR Motherboard on OcPrices.
• Hitachi CM821F 21" Monitor on PC STATS.
• Lite-On LTN526S CD-ROM on StorageReview.
• Samsung SyncMaster 170T Monitor on I am not a geek.
• SiS 315 Video Card on 3dXtreme.
• SOYO SY-K7V Dragon Motherboard (in German) on Hard Tecs 4U and auto-translated into English.
• ThermalTake Volcano Coolers on Jsi Hardware.
• Xitel DG2 MDPort on NeoSeeker.

• The results of the Valve Survey that was conducted along with the Half-Life 1.1.0.8 update are online, offering interesting data on the types of systems and networks the over 50,000 early adopters that participated are running...
• GameZone's Roboforge Interview discusses this online robot combat game with Liquid Edge's Mike Ward...
• This page on The Mill has downloads of The Seventh God, an epic plug-in that expands Myth II at the cost of a 200 MB download...
• Disney puts emphasis on gaming (CNET). Thanks WarPig[doh]...
• There's a new series of Everglide mousepads for which 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the United Way September 11th Fund...

Wow. I failed to mention it a couple of days ago when the anniversary passed (still working on getting back into what passes in these parts for a normal state of mind after the recent tragedies), but September 19th marked the fifth anniversary of the QuakeWorld launch event at the offices of the now-defunct Pseudo Online network in NYC. As has been noted, this was not actually the launch of QuakeWorld, but in essence a LAN party, and the first chance to meet some people face to face that remain friends to this day. It also marked the debut broadcast of the QuakeCast, though I had nothing to do with the show at that time. Well that's not completely true, as they spent most of that first show walking around interviewing people, which included a friend of mine (you may recall that "devicer" made a few of the old logos here) who was basically a Quake newbie. So someone pokes a microphone in devicer's face as he was playing to ask what made Quake so cool, and he gets on a roll talking about how exciting the game is. He was actually making it sound like he knew what he was talking about, until he made the mistake of trying to allude to his lightning gun, at which point he realized he didn't know what its name was, and after a hesitation he said: '...and the weapons are amazing, like I'm shooting this guy with my... um... electrical thingie.' I think that set the standard for preparedness that was a trademark of QuakeCast throughout its run. On a semi-related note, I think JUDGECAL has some QuakeCast stuff stored away on his hard drive, and I'm looking into seeing if it's possible to get a copy of the opening to post locally.

Play of the Day: Spacewar! A java recreation of one of the original video games (perhaps the original). Thanks crazy0ne.
Link of the Day: The Game Producers - a Five Act Play. Thanks Neal Scott.
Story of the Day: News knocks out sex in Net searches (CNET). Thanks Tim.
Media of the Day: Lost Moon-landing tape found (BBC). Thanks Ant.
Wild Science: Sea level study reveals Atlantis candidate (New Scientist). Neither Prince Namor nor AquaMan could be reached for comment. Thanks [MP] Wolverine [MP].