Archived News:
- Medal of Honor
PC Zone UK has posted three new Medal of Honor: Allied Assault screenshots, while the official site for 2015's FPS features its usual Wednesday update with more background info as well as the previously released movie (story)
- Ghost Recon
As every so often, the official Ghost Recon site sports another single new screenshot of the tactical shooter in the works at Red Storm Entertainment, and the system requirements are also online.
- Dungeon Siege
Similarly, fansite Packmule.Org serves up a single new Dungeon Siege screenshot, showing off some dragon slaying (or dragon dinner, as the case may be) in the 3D role-playing game being crafted at Gas Powered Games.
- Ahriman's Gift
GameSpyDaily has posted half a dozen new Kohan: Ahriman's Gift screenshots, offering new scenes in the standalone expansion to TimeGate's isometric RTS.
- Art of Magic
There are 16 new Magic and Mayhem: the Art of Magic screenshots on 3D Gaming Daily, showing off the 3D role-playing strategy game that is nearing completion at Climax.
- DuelField
German site PC Pointer.de has posted a new screenshot of DuelField, illustrating the user interface for this turn-based online strategy game under construction at Sismoplay.
- Camelot
Over a dozen new Dark Age of Camelot screenshots are online at RPGDot, continuing the flood of images from this now-gold MMORPG by Mythic Entertainment (story).
- IL-2 Sturmovik
A hands-on preview of IL-2 Sturmovik on Daily Telefrag is illustrated with a couple of new screenshots of the WWII flight sim preparing for take-off at 1C Maddox Games.
The Pharaoh Productions Interview
on RPG Vault talks with David Allen about his recent departure from Artifact
Entertainment where he was working on HORIZONS to discuss his new company,
Pharaoh Productions. David doesn't go into the reasons for his departure from
Artifact (though he does point out he is still the largest personal shareholder
of the company) or the future of HORIZONS, but drops hints about other all-caps
stuff, like PROJECT-X, their codename for their first project; FADE, "a
product that Pharaoh is picking up from a company in France;" and UNIVERSE,
of which he says: "We are using a new type of design structure approach for
the products that will be produced by Pharaoh in order to make them much more
detailed and flexible than most industry design approaches - thus allowing our
creations to be developed into multiple formats of media from a shared source
method that is very extensive. UNIVERSE is our first project that uses this new
design method."
Completing the round of Half-Life patches that started a week ago, Real.com has now released new patches for Half-Life: Team Fortress 1.5, the standalone edition of the team-based shooter. There's a 14.5 MB download for the demo version and a 18.0 MB download for the full version, both bringing TFC in sync with version 1.1.0.8 of the original game.
There's an RP Server Feature List
on the EverQuest Message Boards (thanks Ferrago.co.uk)
that has some news on a new experimental server (called Firiona Vie after the Elf on the game's box) they are
about to begin testing out. The post goes on to describe what they admit will be
some controversial features, the main thrust of which seem to be to encourage
role-playing, saying: "It will also undoubtedly NOT be consistent with many
players’ views as to what an RP server or any other server should be,"
going on to say: "But we’re going forward with this anyway, and we hope
it will make an interesting and even possibly better EverQuest. And we hope that
some if not many players will enjoy it."
There's an interview
with Aki Määtä on Spelplayset talking with the Remedy Entertainment level
designer/texture artist about Max Payne. Those who don't speak the site's native
Swedish should not be daunted by all the umlauts, as scrolling down reveals an
English version of the same Q&A. Topics covered in the conversation include
the reception Max has received since the game's release, violence in games, the
reaction to the game's lengthy development cycle, the reason for the comic strip
cutscenes, the lack of multiplayer support, game development in Finland, and
more.
There's an
Armalion Interview on Loadedinc talking with Ralph Roder, one of the artists
at German developer Ikarion Software who is currently at work on Armalion, an
upcoming RTS/RPG hybrid. Topics in the Q&A include what little they are
willing to reveal about Armalion's storyline at this point, how skills will be
used, the role of non-player characters, the real-time strategy elements it will
include, character balance, plans for testing, the search for a publisher, and
more.
Hot on the heels of the game's arrival on store shelves this week, Click Entertainment has released a patch for Throne of Darkness available for download from this Sierra ftp server, updating their isometric action RPG to version 1.1. This 4.1 MB download adds a new dedicated server executable as well as a handful of multiplayer improvements and bug fixes, including better firewall support, fewer timeout errors, and more. There is also a thronepatch1.0i.exe (116 KB) of which the purpose is not clear (although I'd hazard a guess that it's related to the auto-updater).
Cryptic Studios Announces Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, City of Heroes
is a press release with the first news of City of Heroes, an upcoming MMORPG
that will offer a "Comic-Book Style Adventure Filled with Superheroes and
Fearsome Villains." In the game, which is planned for a Summer 2002
release: "Gamers will confront super villains, aliens, madmen, monsters,
criminals, and other fearsome foes. They can take on personalized missions and
rid the city of dozens of different evil organizations and hundreds of
individual enemies. Players may acquire power, wealth, and fame and come to bask
in the spotlight and rake in the rewards as their powers and fame grow with each
successful mission and every defeated foe." Accompanying the release is a
batch of City of Heroes Screenshots offering four looks at the game, as well as the City of Heroes logo. Lastly, the official site is online with plenty of game information and four more screenshots (and a familiar one).
GameSpot UKs' Aliens v Predator 2 Producer Interview
talks with David Stalker talking about progress on Aliens versus Predator 2,
with a few of the questions in the short Q&A looking to contrast the sequel
with the original. The preview is part of their Aliens Vs Predator 2 Preview
which offers a hands-off overview of what to expect from the game when it's
released.
Unreal Sector
interviews Simon Callaghan of Infogrames public relations. The conversation
mostly focuses on Simon's work in PR, though it does touch on Unreal II a couple
of times, at one point confirming the game is still on track for release in
Summer 2002, and at another point, offering a modest assessment of how it's
turning out by comparing it to another couple of yet-to-be-released games:
"Simply awesome. Forget Doom 3 and Quake 4, this will be the new benchmark
for first-person shooters."
A new daily
Anarchy Online update has word that they are going to archive all the posts
to on their messageboards and begin fully moderating them, which certainly addresses
all the complaining users have been doing about the state of the game, if not
the cause of those complaints. They also announce plans for "experienced
community relations and customer support people" to join them in two weeks
"and their first priority will be to work with our current team to come up
with new procedures." Thanks Sonic Purge.
Lemon Interactive has released the third and final interactive Starmageddon unit demo, showing off their upcoming space-based RTS title. The tiny 586 KB download demonstrates a Gate unit that "can be used as a warpgate between two different places in space," and the application allows you to view it from all sides.
There's an
Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty Q&A on Stratics Central! discussing the
upcoming Asheron's Call expansion pack with Scott Herrington, the producer on
the project. Topics include what the expansion will offer to attract new players
as well those already immersed in Asheron's Call, at what level players can
expect to acquire their first house-one of the additions in the expansion,
features of houses (and other homeowner-related questions), what can be
discussed of the new island the expansion will add, new opponents; allies; and
creatures, add more. Thanks RPGVault.
A myriad of updates on the official Counter-Strike site bring a solution for a missing / wrong files problem with the retail v1.0.0.2 to 1.0.0.3 patch, offering a 2.1 MB fix for download. There's also a tip for voice distortion problems on WinXP systems with an SB Live card, and word that server instabilities in version 1.3 are being looked into. Lastly, the redesigned site also features a web-based step-by-step CS Download Wizard helping you determine which patch to get to bring your Counter-Strike installation up-to-date.
Star Trek Armada II Interview on HomeLan Fed is a conversation with CEO Dr. Ian Lane Davis and game designer Steve Nadeau discussing the upcoming space-based RTS sequel currently docking at Mad Doc Software. They talk about the challenges in and goals for developing the sequel, the playable races, their new "'Deep Dish' pizza box" 3D engine and its features, the gameplay and multiplayer, plans for an open multiplayer beta test as well as a demo, and the proverbial more.
There's an Magic & Mayhem: The Art of
Magic Preview on Gamezilla offering more hands-on impressions of the
upcoming Magic & Mayhem sequel based on playing with a press preview build.
The preview covers the game's back-story, describes the single-player gameplay,
controls and interface (the multiplayer mode was not available in the version of
the game they tested), as well as impression of the graphics and sound. Also
included are a couple of previously published screenshots.
Cornered Rat
Software's World War II Online has an "Open Letter to all WWII Online
Community Members" from Jim Mesteller, president and CEO of Playnet. Along
the way he makes the case for how hard they are working to create the promised
WW2 Online game experience, while also addressing some of the problems folk have
had with the game in this portion: It is important to remember that with
‘Blitzkrieg’ we are just getting started. What we have now implemented in
both gameplay features and support services is just the beginning of the WWIIOL
campaign. We’ve got much more planned. Currently we are dedicated to quality
and performance first. Of course we will bring you more ‘stuff’ as we can.
We’re trying to get out another upgrade or two for WWIIOL before Playnet.com
actually starts ‘pay-to-play’ service. Another significant upgrade should
follow soon after ‘pay-to-play.’ I believe that we have made significant
progress in improving all aspects of WWIIOL gameplay and support services, and
we will continue to make marked improvements as part of our regular development
process.
Gone Gold is reporting
that those interested in beta testing Kohan: Ahriman's Gift should head over to www.kohan.net
and register, as they are looking to recruit 100 new testers for the upcoming
prequel to Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns. Also, Mumbo Jumbo Game's Mike Donges updated
his .plan with word on Myth III beta testing that will take place in
California and Texas: Well, we are getting very close here. The game is
looking better than I would have ever imagined. We are now accepting
applications for internal beta testers in both our Irvine, CA and Dallas
offices. If you live nearby either of those locations, and are serious about
giving us a hand testing Myth 3 on Mac and PC, please go to
testing.mumbojumbo.com and fill out the Internal Testing sign-up form. Please
only fill out the form if you REALLY live near one of our offices and if you
REALLY do want to spend some serious time testing. We will be testing 7 days a
week, so there is plenty of space available. And for those not lucky enough to
live in Dallas or Irvine (hmmm...lucky?), your wait will be over soon. Have no
fear.
Remember, testing.mumbojumbo.com
A new update to the Charr: The Grimm Fate
website is online, the once bi-weekly updates going monthly for the moment, at
least. The new update adds the Rynokk Elite and the Kombine Sentinel to the bestiary,
a description of the Church of the Divine
has been added to the church
section, and a picture
of the wizard class (isn't that what Harry Potter
attends?).
There's a patch
message on the EverQuest website has news of what's changed in the latest
update to Verant's highly-addictive MMORPG, which include changes to how
mouselook is handled in the first two third-person camera modes, a possible fix
for the female hair and Erudite hoods bug, some quest changes, a reversion to
the previous effect for the Shaman Epic effect, and a removal of the recent
changes to bard song stacking that were made with the recent "emergency
patch," as they review those changes for possible inclusion in a future
update.
RPG Vault's Mimesis Online Developer Diary, Part 11
is online, continuing their ongoing race with the RPGdot diaries (the 'Vault is
now ahead 11-10) with Tannhauser Gate's Derek Handley taking the occasion of his
21st developer diary about their upcoming MMORPG saying he's "against our
current culture of over-previewing," but going on to break one of his rules
about not giving away elements of the game's plot.
Sony to release PS2 hard drive in early 2002
on GameSpot has details on plans to release a 40 GB Ps2 hard drive in North
America in the first quarter of 2002. Also, Beneath the Hood of Grand Theft Auto III
on PS2.IGN.Com offers a detailed look at "the multitudes of vehicles in
DMA's powerhouse action game," including new screenshots and gameplay
movies.
A new version 0.9.6 of the XQF Unix/X11
Quake server browser and launcher is now available. Thanks Jacek Fedoryñski.
This
page on Take 2 Games has word on the PC version of Myth II: Worlds, while this
page has a virtually identical description for the Mac version, each pack
offering Myth II: Soulblighter in a three CD collection that includes total
conversions, characters, solo levels, multiplayer levels, and a free Bungie.Net
account.
Getting the Blammo archives back online is taking longer than originally
anticipated (at this point I think furn is combining this project with
addressing that knotty Unix year bug so they are both fixed in time for 2038).
In the meantime, we have popped up a
temporary news archive with a bunch of static pages each covering a single
day going back to the beginning of September. These are just flat dumps of a
day's news page, so not only are they not searchable, but the inserts are all
whacked, offering time machine looks at what the popular threads and .plan
updates were showing at the time the page was saved, but they will serve
as some point of reference while we try to get everything else in order.
Link of the Day: An new era of entertainment is
dawning on SimArena. A new nutty music video. Flash required. Thanks To The Game.
Wild Science: Real-Life Cyborg Challenges Reality With Technology.
NY Times free registration required. Thanks Jonathan C. Forster.
Media of the Day: There's a new Lord of the Rings movie trailer on Apple's Website. Thanks Joshua and Bagpuss.
|
Twitter 
