Archived News:
Activision sends along a new patch for Return to Castle Wolfenstein, updating the first-person shooter by Gray Matter and Nerve Software to version 1.33. This release brings the game in sync with the imminent GotY Edition, comes as a lite patch (4.1 MB) from version 1.32 and a full patch (9.9 MB) from any older version, and it addresses the Medic Revival Sticking bug along with improving PunkBuster WebTool support and adding a few new console variables. Additionally, the Game of the Year map pack (49.0 MB) is now available for owners of the original game, offering three previous maps (Trenchtoast, Icelab and Tram Siege) along with four new maps: Chateau, Keep, The Damned and Rocket.
Take Two Games has issued a patch for Tropico: Paradise Island, upgrading the management strategy expansion by BreakAway Games to version 1.51. The patch requires a 6.0 MB download and fixes a few crashes, adds improvements and fixes to buildings, units and random events, tweaks some of the scenarios, and more as detailed in this Readme file.
- Rise of Nations
The Rise of Nations gallery on the official site offers five new screenshots for this isometric RTS by Big Huge Games.
- American Conquest
CDV has released one new American Conquest screenshot (the top-left one) along with the box image of this isometric RTS under construction at GSC Game World.
- Shadowbane
German site Spieleflut has appended nine new Shadowbane screenshots to their gallery for the fantasy MMORPG being beta tested at Wolfpack Studios.
There's a Beam Breakers Interview that interrogates five members of the Similis development team about their upcoming hover car racing title. Topics include the game's premise, its setting in a futuristic New York, the player's objectives, the kind of missions you'll have to fulfill, their in-house graphics engine, multiplayer support, how they aim to make the game stand out from other racing titles, and the proverbial more.
Providing their own challenge, GameSpot's
Neverwinter Nights Q&A starts out asking "What
more can possibly be said about BioWare's Neverwinter Nights?"
before proceeding to say more about the now-gold 3rd edition D&D rules RPG.
The article offers a complete background on the project, and segues into a
Q&A with Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, the pair of medical doctors who
co-founded the company and now serve as its joint CEOs. Topics include the role
the pair played in the game's development, whether the game turned out like they
expected, what they are most proud of, community support, post-release plans,
working with the 3rd edition rules, whether NWN will revolutionize computer
RPGs, the dungeon master feature, and more.
XGR's Joel Huenink Interview
is another of their customary audio interviews, where they will be chatting with
Joel Huenink, president of 4D Rulers, to discuss Gore, their just-released
first-person shooter. Topics will include the game, Joel's background, and the
traditional more. Everything gets started this evening at 9:30 PM EDT, SHOUTcast-compatible
media player required.
Gathering
of Developers Declares Age of Wonders II: The Wizards Throne Now Available In
Stores is the press release with word that Triumph Studios' turn-based
strategy sequel has shipped to stores. Here is the thumbnail description of the
game that the release provides: "'Age of Wonders II: The Wizards Throne'
blends role-playing, magical combat, and empire building, while placing the
player in control of an ancient fantasy kingdom. To restore balance in a world
on the brink of collapse and earn a place amongst the Circle of Evermore (a
group of immortal wizards,) gamers take charge of power-wielding wizards,
clashing battalions, and laboring guilds. Offering the ultimate in fantasy
turn-based strategy, 'Age of Wonders II' is an invigorating mix of empire
building, role-playing and warfare."
As promised, the version 1.1.1.0 patches for Half-Life and version 1.0.0.5 patches for the retail edition of Counter-Strike are now available for download. This release includes the Ricochet mod, a new demo recording facility, additional anti-cheat measures, the new C-S map de_piranesi, and various other improvements and bug fixes. You can use the SierraUp utility (from the "Configuration->Update" menu) that was distributed with previous releases, and Steam users should be able to upgrade around this time as well. Naturally, we also have local copies with mirrors of the English updates:
Additionally, the international patches (German, French, Italian, Spanish and Korean) should also be available via the auto-updater, while manual downloads are available at 3D Gamers, FilePlanet and Patches Scrolls. Finally, CS-Nation lists mirrors for the Counter-Strike mod version 1.5 updates.
This Bethesda Softworks Beta Test
page (thanks Sauron) has news of the somewhat unusual plan for a closed
beta test for the first patch for Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, the recently
released RPG sequel. They are accepting sign-ups for a limited number of
testers, and will also use the information gathered to assemble teams to test
future products and releases.
Infogrames has launched product pages for Operation Steel Tide and Operation Tiger Hunt, two games out of the trio of budget-priced shooters that was announced last week ( story). Both pages offer succinct information on the games' premise and features, along with sets of new but low-res screenshots to show what they look like.
GameSpy.com Interviews
Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk, the cofounders of BioWare, to discuss
Neverwinter Nights, their D&D RPG that just went gold yesterday ( story).
Topics include their goals for showing the game off at E3 and whether they were
achieved, the reaction to the games dungeon master features, whether a DM could
moderate a gaming session with a minimum of advance preparation, more on custom
module creation, the response to the Aurora toolset release, how the game will
appeal to RPG fans, and more.
Following on the Half-Life servers last night ( story), the dedicated Linux server for the mod version of Counter-Strike is now available from the official site for the wildly popular team-based online shooter. There's a 6.3 MB upgrade for server admins that are already running the previous version 1.4, along with a 107.7 MB full install (both requiring the Half-Life dedicated Linux server).
Aspyr Ships 'Clive Barker's Undying' for the Macintosh is the rapid-fire follow-up to the recent announcement that the OS X port of the
game is gold ( story), and the latest word is that the
first-person horror game "is available wherever great interactive
entertainment software is sold." In a similar vein, the
Westlake Interactive website offers word that a final candidate of the Mac
version of Max Payne has been submitted and they're hopeful it will be approved in
a "New York minute" and on store shelves soon.
GameSpot's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Q&A
talks about Surreal Software's PS2 LOtR action game with Todd Clineschmidt, its
lead designer. There's a
Project Ego preview on XenGamers taking a look at the upcoming Xbox RPG in
the works at Lionhead Studios' subsidiary Big Blue Box. 'Xbox Live' makes play for online games
(thanks Shacknews) reports:
"Microsoft on Tuesday took a step closer to arch rival Sony in the budding
world of cyber video games, unveiling a $54.50 plug-and-play starter kit for its
Xbox game console in Japan."
Console Reviews
Night's Edge Wet Works Website now has
links to the Macintosh version of this futuristic "tactical simulator"
modification for Unreal Tournament. The Mac version is available as a StuffIt
(.sit) file with a custom Mac launcher.
A few new entries have been added to the Duke Nukem Manhattan Project FAQ which provides a variety of solutions and workarounds for technical
difficulties encountered in Duke's recently released third-person action game.
Also, Stratos Group's
Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast guide is now online.
Here's the entirety of a help wanted we received from Pseudo Interactive:
"Toronto, Canada based game developer Pseudo Interactive is looking for
local Level Design artists. Applicants' portfolio should include maps created
using Unreal or Quake technology. Please send inquiries to John at jobs@pseudointeractive.com."
Also, Randy
Pitchford's .plan file has details on how you can apply for openings Gearbox
Software currently has for an animator and a level designer.
- The Laser Squad Nemesis
Website has a new version 1.09 patch offering "verious" bug
fixes including options to run the play-by-mail strategy game on non 3D
video cards...
- The Ironsquad Website
now offers the demo version of this "3D team based strategic/action
title in the tradition of the real time classic session-based multiplayer
games."...
- The Reflexive Entertainment
has an updated version of their Breakout homage Ricochet that offers joystick support
and other enhancements...
- OMM COMING BACK (thanks
BeerF*ck) is the teaser on the Old Man Murray site, though no word on
whether BitchX is starting a Martin Van Buren notification system for when
this actually happens...
My appointment to get that wisdom tooth that I thought I was going to get
pulled last month had been scheduled to tomorrow night, but fearing the patient
before me would run long, Dr. Toothy's office rescheduled me again for a couple
of weeks from now. Of course as luck would have it, this tooth really started
bothering me last night, so if nothing changes with that and I can't get my
appointment changed, I have plans to pick up a pair of ice skates and take a
shot at the Tom Hanks school of dentistry. Wilson!!!
BrendanLand is the work of
incredibly-frequent Link of the Day contributor Brendan Reville which he thinks
may just be "the first purely social peer2peer application with graphical
avatars."
Link of the Day: Spammimic.
Thanks Frottage. Hide messages in spam!
Story of the Day: T-Shirt
Company Caters to Plumbers. Thanks theAntiELVIS.
Wild Science: IBM reports storage breakthrough.
Thanks dbodine. Punch cards?!?
Weird Science: Watch Out for Spaceships.
No really! Thanks EvilToast.
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