Archived News:
- Breed
The official Breed site has been updated with seven new screenshots of the 3D space, air and surface action title in the works at Brat Designs.
- Battlefield 1942
GameSpot serves up four new screenshots of Battlefield 1942, the vehicular 3D action game by Digital Illusions that is now slated for a late Summer 2002 release.
- Manhattan Project
Adrenaline Vault has captured 18 new Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project screenshots from their press build of the 3D platform action game in development at Sunstorm Interactive.
- Karma
Korean site Gamezone21 offers up two dozen new, high-res Karma: Immortality screenshots (conveniently thumbnailed this time), revealing more from the multiplayer 3D action RPG in the works at Dragonfly.
- XIII
There are about six new XIII screenshots on GameSpot, mixed in with familiar images from the partially cel-shaded first-person shooter being created at Ubi Soft Montreal.
- Sea Dogs II
Akella has released a new pair of Sea Dogs II screenshots, depicting new areas in their 3D role-playing sequel under construction.
- Mistmare
The official Mistmare site has been updated with 19 new screenshots of this 3D fantasy RPG in development at Sinister Systems and Arxel Tribe.
Action
Vault's HomePlanet Q&A talks with Alexey Medvedev of Revolt Games about HomePlanet,
their upcoming space-combat game. Topics include their goals for the game, what
sort of gameplay will be featured, the game's ultimate objective, the player's
role, different space vessels, AI, missions, interactivity, scripted events,
engine technology, the lack of out-of-the-box multiplayer support, standing out
from other space combat games, and more.
- Robert Duffy
3DGaming's
Robert A. Duffy Q&A is the English-language version of their Q&A
with the id Programmer that is also available
in their site's native German. The 10 questions they ask manage to cover
the gamut between map editing for their upcoming DOOM game to U.S. President
George W. Bush.
- John Mullins
Computer
and Video Games' John Mullins Q&A talks with the real-life soldier
of fortune behind Raven Software's pair of SoF games. Topics include
soldiering, how much fortune is actually involved, whether any of the
missions in the games are based on real experiences, and more.
- Morrowind
The Morrowind
Developer Q&A #22 asks the following question of much of the
design team: "What's the coolest in-game moment you've had while
playing or testing, and what made it so cool?"
- UFO Aftermath
UGO's
UFO Aftermath Q&A (thanks HomeLan
Fed) talks with Martin Klima of ALTAR Interactive about their upcoming
squad-based strategy game where players will fight off invading aliens from
outer-space.
- Xtreeme Forces
LoadedInc has conducted an interview on Xtreeme Forces, the 3D RTS by Raptor Entertainment, talking about the company's background, the gameplay elements you can expect, their mini-camera feature, the hunt for a publisher, and more.
Activision sends along the public source code distribution for Return to Castle Wolfenstein, available from our local mirrors page. The 6.4 MB download includes the public source to both the single- and multi-player sides of the acclaimed first-person shooter by Gray Matter and Nerve Software.
This post in the official Global Operations forum announces the release of a new version 1.2 patch for Barking Dog's recent team-based tactical shooter, available in English and Asian editions. Clocking in at 5.1 MB each, this version fixes several crash and stability problems, the mouse zoom bug, the gas/smoke grenade sprite bug and the C4 bomb pick-up issue.
The Lost Continents Website
(thanks RPG Vault) has word that this
MMORPG, which was to create a pulp-inspired world in the vein of the Indiana
Jones movie series, has suspended production. The update says they are "taking
a step back to evaluate whether we'll be able to do it justice." As to what
state this leaves the project in, the update concludes with the following:
"With any luck, we'll have some good news in the near future."
- Frontline Command
Codemasters has distributed five new World War II: Frontline Command screenshots to the press, revealing more from the 3D action real-time strategy game formerly subtitled as D-Day to Berlin that's under construction at The Bitmap Brothers.
- Silent Storm
Similarly, Fishtank Interactive sends along half a dozen new Silent Storm screenshots, offering new scenes in the 3D turn-based role-playing strategy game in the works at Nival Interactive.
- Sudden Strike II
The official Sudden Strike II site has been updated with five new screenshots of the isometric RTS sequel in development at Fireglow Studios.
- WWII RTS
Five new screenshots of WWII RTS, the working title of the 3D real-time strategy game by 1C Maddox Games, are online at Daily Telefrag.
Shadowbane Preview
on Games Domain based on some hands-on play with a European beta of the
upcoming MMORPG in the works at Wolfpack Studios. They offer comparisons to a
few other games, mention of an emphasis on resource management, the PvP
orientation of gameplay, the hack-and-slash life of a beginning character, the
impact of your choice of profession the interface, graphics, combat, guilds, and
more. The article is written in English, so readers like myself will have to
work through it, as BabelFish does not
offer translations into American.
There is a brief Q&A on Stalingrad at Computer and Video Games, quizzing 4X Studio's Rodolphe Donain about the World War II first-person shooter that was unveiled last night ( story). Topics include their inspiration by the movie Enemy At The Gates, gameplay features other than sniping, plans for a cooperative multiplayer mode, the search for a publisher, and more.
DreamCatchers has released a new patch for SuperPower, updating the strategy game of global domination by GolemLabs to version 1.01 beta. The 3.5 MB download includes over three dozen bug fixes and other improvements as listed in the included Update.txt file. An official patch is expected soon. Thanks Worthplaying, which has a mirror here.
GameSpy.com has posted a Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix multiplayer preview based on attending last week's press event for Raven Software's mercenary shooter sequel. The article offers impressions of the several multiplayer modes they got to try out, the weapon loadout and player configurations, enhancements made to the Quake III engine, the random mission generator and more, all illustrated with five new screenshots. And elsewhere, GameSpot serves up five new Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix movies in their usual streaming choices (thanks Planet Soldier of Fortune), offering plenty of action-packed gameplay footage.
There's a Harbinger
Q&A on The Adrenaline Vault talking with Steve Macomber, art director at
Silverback Entertainment about progress on Harbinger, their upcoming action/RPG.
Topics include what the game's title is a harbinger of, what lead up to the
decision to embark on this project, the game's setting and story, their feelings
about being called a futuristic Diablo, non-linear gameplay, influences, unique
features, combat, weapons and items, AI, the reasons for using a 2D engine,
their projected release date, and more.
French site Overgame.com reports that a new release schedule they received from Virgin Interactive, which distributes Interplay's games in Europe, contains an entry for Fallout Fantasy, a role-playing game in development at Black Isle Studios for a September 2002 release. Here is a rough Babel Fish translation of the story, which doesn't offer further facts on the game as Virgin Interactive refused to comment, but speculates this is the official title of the Fallout 3 game that was mentioned in several recent Q&As ( story, story). It is expected that the game will be presented at next month's E3 trade show in Los Angeles.
There's an Age of Wonders II Q&A
on Gamers.nl offering the English-language translation of their Dutch
Q&A with Lennart Sas of Triumph Studios discussing Age of Wonders 2, the
upcoming strategy sequel. Topics include the founding of Triumph, being a game
developer in the Netherlands, differences between AoW2 and its predecessor, the
reasons for staying with a 2D design, living up to the expectations of fans of
the original, collaborating with PopTop software, what remains to be done before
completion, and more.
As noted on the Earth and Beyond Online
Website, the folks at Earth & Beyond Stratics
are holding an IRC session today to discuss progress on this upcoming MMOG set
on Earth and beyond. Attendees will include producer Eric "Radrac"
Wang, technical director Phil "Cinder" Gorrow, lead designer
"Janus" Anderson, and community manager Maria "Cerdith"
Hamilton, and the festivities get underway at 7:00 PM EDT, and instructions on
how to participate can be found on Chat
Stratics.
A mere 18 months after the last update announcing the game was gold, an update
to the News
Page on the Simon 3D
Website has news that Simon the Sorcerer 3D, Headfirst's game that puts
player in the role of a fledgling sorcerer (who does not wear glasses), has now
got an actual release date, as it's planned to be available April 19, 2002, and
they are urging folks who want to support the "small guys" to purchase
the game directly from Adventure Soft.
GameSpot's Spider-Man: The Movie Game Preview
offers impressions of the upcoming game based on the upcoming movie based on the
adventures of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Additionally there's a
Spider-Man villains profile on PS2.IGN.Com.
There's a very short Halo
Q&A on xbox.com. There are some Buffy
the Vampire Slayer screenshots on Computer and Video Games offering images
from the upcoming Xbox game, accompanied by some sexist commentary.
Console Reviews
- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (PS2) on Game
Over.
3DAvenue's Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast Walkthrough
offers their first pass at some guidance for the new Star Wars shooter, though
some of the missions have not yet been outlined.
The Remote-X Admin Tool Website
now offers a new version 2.1.50 of the Remote-X utility for the administration
of Half-Life servers. The new release adds "a lot more features as well as
the introduction of plugin DLLs and in turn the Plugin SDK." Users of prior
releases are urged to upgrade to take advantage of the features and stability of
the new release.
- PlanetMoon Central
offers downloads of an unofficial Giants map that was created by PlanetMoon
Studios...
- A new version 3.4.8 of Harpoon
3 is now available as well as the first release of the game's scenario
editor for Windows...
- The debut release of version 0.1.0 of Outgun,
is now available, a freeware simple 2D CTF game released under terms of the
GNU GPL...
After a second round of investigations, the ad that was causing browser crashes
yesterday was identified and put out of our misery. We were also given new ad
code to run that features some spiffy "even larger" technology that
the scientists have been working on. Unfortunately, the way our design here
works, adding the larger ads is something akin to brain surgery; so you may have
noticed some of the elements atop the page moving about at times yesterday as I
worked on this (and speaking of brain surgery, you may have heard the accompanying
banging of my head against the wall). I'll be back at work on this again today,
so brace yourself for more potential wackiness.
Long-time readers will know how loathe I am to discuss future site plans
because of how long it can often take things to play out, but I do want to say
that some of the suggestions on how to deal with aspects of the situation on the
'net regarding advertising and revenue are in line with actions we're taking
even as we speak. So without going into detail, I want to offer reassurances
that this is something that's being worked on.
Link of the Day: U.S. Representative James A.
Traficant, Jr.'s Website.
Story of the Day: Empty airliner rolls onto L.A. street.
Thanks Jay.
Weird Science: Weird Stars Show Evidence of New Form of Matter.
Thanks EvilToast.
Wild Science: Future Computers Beat the Clock.
Thanks SurlyBitch.
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