Archived News:
- XIII
German site GIGA Games has posted 11 new XIII screenshots, showing more from the cel-shaded Unreal-powered FPS in the works at Ubi Soft Montreal.
- Emperor's Tomb
The pop-up gallery at the official Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb site has been expanded with a single new screenshot of the third-person action adventure by The Collective.
- Sea Dogs II
The official Sea Dogs II site offers a new screenshot of the week, as well as the intriguing remark that the beta of this third-person RPG-at-sea by Akella "is finished by now," without a clear indication what the game's status is.
- Privateer's Bounty
Similarly succinct is the remark on Akella's official Privateer's Bounty: Age of Sail II site that their 3D naval-based RTS "has gone on sale," which probably applies to their home nation of Russia only, and the corresponding product page has been updated with four new screenshots to celebrate.
- Age of Mythology
As is their way, Ensemble Studios has released a lonely new Age of Mythology screenshot, depicting a cinematic scene in their 3D real-time strategy game under construction.
- Robin Hood
The first five images in the Robin Hood screenshots gallery on Freelancer offer new scenes in the squad-based tactical combat game by Spellbound Studios.
- BC Generations
3000AD has issued half a dozen new Battlecruiser Generations screenshots to illustrate their upcoming space and planetary simulation.
- Shrouded Isles
Worthplaying serves up two new Dark Age of Camelot: Shrouded Isles screenshots along with a fact sheet on this MMORPG expansion being created at Mythic Entertainment.
There's a Project Nomads Preview
on GameSpot with a look at Radon Labs' upcoming third-person action/strategy
game. They describe the efforts at blending the two genres, outline the story,
base building, automation, the single-player missions, action, navigation, the
style (said to be targeted at a European audience), and more. Included are 17 new
screenshots.
- World of Warcraft
There's a World
of Warcraft Interview on BonusWeb where Blizzard artist Stewart Rose
goes on camera for a video interview discussing their upcoming MMORPG,
answering general questions.
- Bill Brown
There's a
Bill Brown Q&A on Music 4 Games talking with the game music designer
about his work, discussing the Tom Clancy games, working on games compared
to film, what the restrictive elements of composing for games are, playing
games, and more.
RPG Vault's Black Moon Chronicles Developer Diary #19
features Vircom's Humberto Valencia with the latest on what's going on with
development of their upcoming MMORPG. Actually, it's the development of the
website for the game that's in the spotlight today, as Humberto describes their
reasons for deciding a redesign of the old site was in order, the hand-drawn
graphics that convey the feel of their game, the flexibility the new site will
offer both visitors and its administrators when it goes live, and more.
- Splinter Cell
There's a
Splinter Cell Preview on FiringSquad based on a recent foray they made
to Ubi Soft's offices to check out progress on the upcoming Tom Clancy game.
- Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
There's an Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb Preview
on ActionTrip with impressions of the upcoming third-person
action/adventure based on the exploits of the daring film archeologist. They
describe the equipment and weapons Indy will use, the interactive
surroundings, graphics, music and sound, and more.
The most recent newsletter from Bill Brown
features the game music composer spilling the beans that a second Ghost Recon
expansion is in the works, as he mentions he will be doing the music for the add-on.
A post on HomeLan Fed
backs-up this news, citing a pre-order listing
on EB Games and a confirmation they received from an Ubi Soft PR rep as
evidence.
GameSpot's
First look at Pillage reveals work on a new third-person turn-based
strategy/action game from Zed Two. They offer a brief outline of the plot that
puts players in the role of a young man named Low who seeks revenge for his
tribe, aided by his sister Pepper and a band of warriors. They draw comparisons
to the PSX game Hogs of War and offer the first eight screenshots to give an
idea of what this upcoming PC, PS2, and GameCube game will be like.
More metalliferous news, as Gone Gold reports that Aliens Vs. Predator 2: Primal Hunt, the three-way first-person shooter expansion by Third Law Interactive, has reached the finish line as well, and will be shipping to stores on August 13, 2002.
'Icewind Dale II' Goes Gold is the press release announcing that this isometric role-playing sequel by Black Isle Studios has been completed, and it "will be available at retail in early September." The announcement includes a succinct overview of what you can expect from the game.
As promised, Sierra Entertainment has now released the open beta of Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest, available for download from their ftp servers, allowing you to try out this 3D RTS expansion by Mad Doc Software. The whopping 278.6 MB download does not require the retail version of Empire Earth, includes a single map, and offers "a sneak peak at the new units and epochs to be included in the upcoming expansion pack. The beta test program will focus on multiplayer play balancing and load testing to ensure the best possible launch." A mirror is online at FilePlanet (registration required).
There is a new video of Unreal II: the Awakening on Tiscali Games (thanks Unreality) to show off the single-player first-person shooter in development at Legend Entertainment. Previously available on German magazine PC Action's cover disk, the movie was apparently captured at E3 and features a bit under a minute of ShakyCam gameplay footage in DivX format for the price of a 6.5 MB download.
After a false start last week ( story), the Legion downloads page on the Strategy First website now offers a version 1.0.6b patch to supersede the initial patch for Slitherine Strategies' isometric strategy game. No further details on the changes are available and you can currently get the 3.3 MB patch only from the Strategy First link as the listed mirrors haven't been updated yet.
Microsoft to Reveal Windows Code
is a Reuters story with some details on how, as the first steps towards
compliance with their antitrust settlement with the U.S. Justice Department,
over the next several weeks the software powerhouse will "disclose 385 bits
of computer code and internal operating rules, previously kept secret, that
outside software developers can use to write programs to run on Windows."
Here is a bit more on these 385 bits: "Microsoft said in addition to 272
pieces of code it also would reveal 113 proprietary software 'protocols' that
computer server makers can license to make their machines work better with
Windows desktops." The article also goes into the steps still being sought
by the nine states that have not accepted terms of this compromise with
Microsoft.
Activision sends word that future patches for Soldier of Fortune II: Double
Helix will add PunkBuster Online Countermeasures
support to help fight online cheating. Here's the announcement: We are
pleased to announce that Even Balance, Inc. is working on integrating PunkBuster
into Soldier of Fortune® II: Double Helix © by Activision and Raven Software.
We will release more details here as they become available. Any PB supporters
who have specific knowledge of where to download hacks and cheats for
multiplayer SOF2 should send information to research@evenbalance.com.
A German rolling demo of American Conquest is now available for download from BonusWeb, showing off GSC Game World's upcoming isometric RTS with 3D terrain. The self-running demo requires a 49.3 MB download and offers around four minutes of gameplay action, along with a German overview of the game's features.
- Mafia
Take 2 UK has posted 17 new Mafia screenshots, offering new scenes in the third-person action game that in the works at Illusion Softworks, including three more images than were available in a batch distributed to the press today.
- Shade
Publisher Cenega has issued six new Shade: Wrath of Angels screenshots to the press, revealing more from this third-person horror action adventure by Black Element Software that used to be know as Nefandus: the Wrath of Angels. The new official site is online as well.
- Nomads
The official Project Nomads site has been updated with seven new screenshots of the 3D hybrid action strategy game being developed at Radon Labs.
- The Thing
There are 16 new The Thing screenshots on Gamer's Hell, showing off the third-person horror action game by Computer Artworks based on the 1982 John Carpenter movie.
- American Conquest
CDV has also updated the official American Conquest site with three new screenshots of the isometric RTS with 3D terrain that's under construction at GSC Game World.
- Arcturus
Four new Arcturus screenshots are online at GameScreenshots, providing a life-sign of this 3D action strategy game in development at BlueInca Studios.
The Lionheart Q&A on EuroGamer
is one of their article-format Q&As, this time out chatting with Reflexive Entertainment's
Ion Hardie about progress on Lionheart, their upcoming alternate-history RPG.
Topics include the reception Zax: The Alien Hunter met with, the use of the
Fallout SPECIAL system to enhance the role-playing in Lionheart, customizing characters
in their classless scheme, the game's rapid development cycle, the setting,
multiplayer support, and more.
- Horizons
A thread called Questions for David Bowman
on the IGN forums features an ongoing Q&A with Artifact's (and
NASA's) David Bowman answering page after page of questions about Horizons,
their upcoming MMORPG. A wide range of topics are represented, with some of
the questions going into quite a bit of detail.
- Gothic 2
The Gothic 2
Q&A on Gamer's Hell talks with Stephan Berger and Kai Rosenkranz of
Piranha Bytes about work on their RPG sequel. Topics include the story,
standing out from competitors, playabale characters, AI, weapons, items, and
more.
- Shattered Galaxy
HomeLan Fed's Shattered Galaxy
Q&A talks with Nexon's Terry Park about Shattered Galaxy, their
massively multiplayer RTS game, talking about plans to bring new content and
units to the game, as well as other planned innovations, including the
return of the game's original four factions.
- Blizzard
Being Blizzard Entertainment
on Frictionless Insight talks with Blizzard's Bill Roper about the
Warcraft and StarCraft series' interfacing with the community, free time
activities, and more.
- Battlecruiser Generations
There's a Battlecruiser
Generations Q&A on Gamersclick talking with Derek Smart, outspoken
creator of the Battlecruiser series, discussing the idea behind
Battlecruiser Generation, what gameplay will be like, changes from previous
BC games, and more.
- Moonbase Commander
The Moonbase
Commander Q&A on GameZone.com talks with Rhett Mathis and Patrick
Wylie about Humongous Entertainment's outer space turn-based strategy
game.
- PunkBuster
There's a PunkBuster
Q&A on PlanetQuake3.net talking with Tony Ray of Even Balance about
their efforts at ridding the gaming world of the scourge of online cheating.
- Radioactive Clown
HomeLan Fed's Radioactive Clown
Q&A talks with folks from this start-up dedicated to creating lines
of action figures based on popular computer games.
When Dreamcasts
attack on The Register (thanks Gamers.com)
has word on an interesting use for those abandoned console systems... corporate
break-ins!
There's a new Quake III
Arena Tweaking/CFG Guide on Cyberfight.ru offering tips on how to configure
your config files to keep Quake III Arena running smoothly and happily.
ThE chUmbaLum sOft pAge
has a new Ghoul2 GLM model importer plug-in for their MilkShape 3D modeling
program that overcomes some problems with the previous version. There's a
new Special Effects Tutorial on The Unofficial Warcraft III Maps and Mods Site.
It's pretty buggy around our house, but luckily, we don't have a lot of biters..
I'm not sure what aspect of the birds and bugs balance is responsible for this,
but the mosquito population is minimal, and the even more horrible no-see-um
types are never much in evidence (we get beetles and lighting bugs and the
like). Last night we had a cook-out at the home of friends where the biters are
more prominent, and it turns out for a portion of the evening a screen door was
left open. Consequently I have approximately 100,000 mosquito bites this morning.
The interesting thing is I think I am in overload... I have so many bites the
itchiness is spread out so much, I don't feel terribly compelled to scratch any
of them in particular... though I am feeling a little light-headed from blood
loss.
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