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Archived News:
BF 1942 Beta Testers Wanted! on the official Battlefield 1942 site announces plans for a beta test of this hybrid 3D action game that's nearing completion at Digital Illusions. The sparse page specifies a few system requirements, provides an email address for interested players to submit their apparently rather freeform application, and 50 beta testers will be selected from those who enter.
3D Realms sends word that a patch for Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is now available, upgrading the 3D platform action game by Sunstorm Interactive to version 1.01. The 4.5 MB download addresses nearly 20 issues with the game as listed in this forum post, and there's a warning about save games in Episode 8.
As promised ( story), the Age
of Mythology Website now offers the details on plans to accept 10,000 participants
to alpha test Ensemble Studios' upcoming RTS sequel. Here is the plan: Microsoft
Game Studios and Ensemble Studio today announced that 10,000 gamers will be
invited to participate in Ensemble's online multiplayer test of Age of
Mythology. Between Friday, June 21 and Sunday, June 30, gamers will be able to
sign up for a chance to be among the first to experience the wrath of the gods.
This alpha version of Age of Mythology will contain two of the nine
civilizations that will be available when the game is released this October. Up
to four players will be able to compete head-to-head as a follower of either
Zeus or Poseidon on one of two multiplayer maps. This limited alpha version of
the game will be available to qualified testers in early July.
For more information, and to sign up (starting Friday, June 21), please visit
the official Age of Mythology site at http://www.microsoft.com/games/ageofmythology/,
or the Ensemble Studios site at http://www.ensemblestudios.com/aom/index.html.
TVG's
G.I. Combat Feature takes a look at this upcoming World War II strategy game
in the works at Freedom Games. The article offers a look at what to expect from
gameplay and is heavily interspersed with quotes from Eric Young, the project's lead
designer and producer Ryan Valade. Topics include the appeal of WW2, the
research behind the game, campaigns and battles, terrain features, the
interface, units, role-playing elements, branching outcomes, and more. Included
are 10 new screenshots.
There's a
Jay Wilbur Q&A on Computer and Video Games talking with the Epic Games'
biz-guy about Unreal Tournament 2003. The discussion covers things like where
the Unreal series stands in gamers' hearts, the future of the franchise, his
satisfaction with the feature-set being offered in UT2003, the success of the
series, their FPS influences, why they call UT2003 the next generation of
multiplayer first-person shooters, his favorite weapon from the game, their
impressive AI, the reasons for foregoing multiplayer play in Unreal II, and
more.
There's an O.R.B. Preview
on GamingExcellence.com based on play with the preview build of Strategy
First's Off-World Resource Base game that has spawned the recent flurry of O.R.B.
previews, though unlike some of those others, this one manages to offer a
substantial look at the game in spite of the brevity of the version it is based
on. The preview goes into things like background on the project, the game's
storyline, the single rescue and recovery mission contained in the preview
build, combat, graphics, the complexities of a 3D space-based RTS, unit control,
and more, as well as more on what the full game will include. Accompanying the article are a baker's dozen new screenshots.
There's a Todd Howard
Q&A on GameSpy.com talking with the project leader on Morrowind about
the Elder Scrolls RPG and its future. Topics include previous projects he's
worked on, where work begins on designing a project with the scope of Morrowind,
the biggest challenge in creating the game, user-created content, the reasons
the Xbox version was delayed, and more.
- Blizzard
There's a Bill
Roper Q&A on 4gamerz talking with the Blizzard Entertainment producer
about a variety of topics, including the push to get Warcraft III out the
door, item duping in Diablo II, fighting lag, the possibility of a Diablo
III, and more.
- Horizons
HomeLan
Fed's Horizons Q&A catches up with producer Steve Snow and designer
Paul Peterson of Artifact Entertainment to discuss progress on Horizons,
their upcoming "fantasy based massively multiplayer role playing game
featuring dragons, humans and other fantasy characters."
- Dark Ore
There's a Dark
Ore Q&A on The Adrenaline Vault chatting with Ken Veale, designer
and lead programmer on Dark Ore, the space simulator in the works at
RayLogic, a developer consisting of all of three-people. The conversation
covers the game's unique approach to the genre, the difficulties of being
such a small team, the hunt for a publisher, future plans, and more.
- CPL
There's a Angel Munoz
Q&A on GroovyGames asking some sycophantic questions of the CPL
president in catching up with plans for the CPL Summer Championship 2002
among other things.
Jamie System Development and JC Entertainment have launched the official site for NetSphere, their first-person online mecha shooter sequel to Axis (a.k.a. Axis Arena). The site requires Flash and offers plenty of information on the game's premise and features, along with a set of concept images, the first six screenshots, and more. In a timely note, there is a Netsphere Q&A on the Junkyard, quizzing JC Entertainment's Jason Kim to learn more about the game, its improvements over Axis, plans for its release in North America and for a demo release, and more.
A new version 2.2 of the Q3F modification for
Quake III Arena is now available (thanks Dan Hilliker). The new version offers 16 new or updated maps,
gameplay adjustments, and a bunch of bug fixes. The new release is available for
Windows, Linux, and the Mac as a patch, and work is underway on a full installer
for Windows users. They also have a
preliminary version of their work-in-progress Q3F guide.
A new beta 4.1 of ZPM for Quake III Arena
is now available, updating the zero[ping]mode modification that offers enhanced
client-side prediction for the weapons in Quake III Arena. New in beta 4 is the
addition of multi-arena and Rocket Arena game mode support, and since the site
has basically been down since that release at the start of the weekend, we can
include the follow-up beta 4.1 release in this report, which addresses a few
bugs that were discovered in beta 4.
Cowboy's Scripting Page now
offers a new version 1.2 of SuperIP, the program that describes itself as "The
ULTIMATE on-line game management system for mIRC," which allows IRC users
to query game servers from within an IRC channel and even join games with a
single click. Though it started life as a TRIBES utility, SuperIP supports a
wide variety of first-person shooter games, and is also available in a German
version (though the German translation is not up-to-date with the new version
yet).
Haters of Hudson stories, quick... click
here.
Whew, glad I thought of that. Anyway, so we're out for a very pleasant
extended walk yesterday when I learned how it is that Hudson the wonder dog
manages to come in the house on occasion smelling like she's been a little
bit skunked (which seems a paradox along the lines of being a little bit
pregnant) which also dovetails nicely with an explanation of the cause of her
sometimes coming in from outside clearly having eaten or tasted something quite
unpleasant. As we were walking along, she managed to spot a skunk before we
realized what was going on, and being a purebred hunting (and wonder) dog she
managed to close the gap with the critter to almost nothing so quickly it barely
had the chance to assume the firing position, and as we watched in horror,
proceeded to actually grab the little varmint after (get this)
willingly enduring being sprayed in the mouth! I managed to get her to drop the
skunk with a shout and a yank on the leash (clearly the spray was not entirely
without effect, as only Pit Bulls and bear-traps have more tenacious jaws than a
determined Airedale), but I'm still not so sure the skunk survived this
encounter. Aside from a brief bit of hacking on the taste and an urge to drink
out of puddles on the way home, she was clearly looking to attack more skunks,
so as I say, I now know how all this happens... she just plain likes it. Blech!
Link of the Day: Ballsy
Bear (Flash required). Thanks George. "Be warned: This site
contains immature material and is guaranteed to offend."
Link of the Day II: Bill of Rights - Security Edition.
Thanks Zdim.
Story of the Day: Feds charge forestry worker with starting fire.
Thanks Jamie Fullerton.
Story of the Day II: Richard Nixon's Last Secret.
Thanks [MP] Wolverine [MP].
Weird Science: Australian teleport breakthrough.
Thanks Ross Harper. Hide your BrundleFlies.
Wild Science: Electronic
eye gives sight back. Thanks dude163.
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