This 3DO Support Page now features a new version 2.2 patch for Heroes of Might & Magic IV as well as a separate patch for those who've installed The Gathering Storm, the HOMM4 expansion. Also, the Prince of Qin Website now offers a new version 1.13 patch for Object Software's RPG, adding more missions and scenes to the network version, adjusting the number of enemies in the network game, and more.

Here's some more game cinema, as Dredd vs. Death - Justice On The Web (thanks AvPNews.com) now offers downloads of a new trailer from Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death, Rebellion's upcoming Judge Dredd game. The movie is 21 MB and offers cinematic sequences, but no gameplay.

The official S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Oblivion Lost Website has opened for business (thanks ToTheGame), dedicated to this "Survival Action/RPG" in the works at GSC Game World. "The site features plenty of information about the game, its story line, features, engine and more. Forum and Support sections will help to the most effective communication with the community and developers of the title."

• Anno 1503 on GameSurf.
• Goldenland - Local Shots.
• Platoon - Local Shots.
• Priston Tale on RPG Vault.
• Time Guard on Gamer's Hell.

There's a Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death Q&A on Computer and Video Games (thanks HomeLan Fed) talking with Jason Kingsley of Rebellion about their upcoming game based on the exploits of the 2000AD Comics hero. They discuss introducing Judge Dredd and Mega-City One to those unfamiliar with the source materials, how they will be depicted in the game, whether there will be a stealthy element to the action, how they are paring down Mega-City One to fit the parameters of a game, the storyline, NPCs, cut-scenes, the reasons for omitting the Lawmaster motorcycle, multiplayer support, and more.

FileShack.com (registration required) has posted a new movie showing off gameplay from IGI 2: Covert Strike, focusing on some of the stealth required to succeed when playing Innerloop's upcoming FPS sequel. The mpeg-format movie is an 11 MB download. Also, there's a new game trailer on Worthplaying showing off combat and special effects from Horizons, Artifact Entertainment's upcoming MMORPG. The movie is available in three different qualities, ranging in size from 2.5 MB to 9 MB. Finally, there's a new Impossible Creatures trailer on PC.IGN.Com in three different sizes, ranging from 5 MB to 23 MB.

There's a Project Nomads Preview on PC.IGN.Com with thoughts on Radon Labs' upcoming high-altitude action/RPG. They describe the game's setting on a planet composed of thousands of floating islands, the story that lead to this unusual landscape (or lack thereof), the choice of player characters, customizing your home island into a floating fortress, structures and weapons, the types of missions the campaign will include, other activities besides island combat, and more.

GameSpy.com's Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin Preview offers a look at Battlefront's sequel to Combat Mission, their World War II combat game. They describe the game's setting on the fearsome Russian front, the focus on small unit combat, the inclusion of both real-time and turn-based elements, weather and terrain effects, the fatigue system, attention to detail, formations and tactics, and more. The article is illustrated by some new screenshots.

• New World Order
  HomeLan Fed's New World Order Q&A is another conversation they've conducted to discuss progress on Termite Games' upcoming first-person shooter, this time tracking down Erik Schreuder, PR manager for publisher Project Three. Topics include the stealth mode development seems to have entered, the story behind the DirectPlay patch required to play their demo, new gameplay features that have been added recently, modification support, what Termite will be working on next, and more.
• Bloodline
  HomeLan Fed's Bloodline Q&A talks with Jan Budín of Czech developer Zima Software to discuss Bloodline, their upcoming horror game. They discuss the game's idea and story, levels, weapons, enemies, puzzles, UGEs, the game engine, and more.
• NOLF2
  Action Vault's No One Lives Forever 2 Q&A #2 tracks down three of the developers of Fox and Monolith's spy sequel, spreading the load of their miniscule three question Q&A evenly among the three of them.
• Mythic
  RPG Vault's Mythic Entertainment Q&A chats with Mythic CEO Mark Jacobs about his company's inclusion in the Technology Fast 50 and Fast 500, honoring their rapid rate of growth.

GameBoy vs. Red Jade. The battle that never was on CNN Money is an article that discusses the fate of Red Jade, the handheld gaming device that suffered an untimely demise before it was able to come to market. The article features an interview with Red Jade's CEO and thoughts on the future of the handheld gaming marketplace. Ballmer Mod chips threaten Xbox (thanks Mike Martinez) features the MS CEO ("developers!") sounding off against a legal decision down under that legitimizes "mod chips" for console systems. Also, GameSpy.com's James Tsai Q&A chats with Volition associate producer James Tsai "about the color pink, educational math games, and Red Faction II."

• Dan's Data letters #4 is now online, with Dan answering more techie letters from his inbox.
• AMD's Opteron to power supercomputer. Thanks Mike Martinez.

The HexenWorld Forge now offers a new version of HexenWorld, the Hexen source code modification that utilizes the network coding magic from QuakeWorld. The new version offers bug fixes and some "new goodies."

Polycount has more UT2003 source art for download courtesy of Digital Extremes. As they put it: "These are the raw MAX files, grouped per species for the animations of the character models. Also it comes with a readme that details exactly what you are looking at and gives some advanced details on the animations themselves."

• America's Army: Operations on Gaming Invasion.
• Austerlitz: Napoleon's Greatest Victory on GameSpy.com.
• Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe on FlightSim.com and Gamezilla.
• Cultures 2: the Gates of Asgard on GamersClick.
• Divine Divinity on Adrenaline Vault and GameZone.
• Hitman 2: Silent Assassin on Gaming Horizon.
• Icewind Dale II on RPGDot.
• Mafia on GameGal and XGR.
• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 on GameSpot.
• Prisoner of War on GameGal.
• Privateer's Bounty: Age of Sail II on GameOver.
• Red Shark on Gameguru Mania.
• The Watchmaker on Game Industry and netjak.
• Ultimate Ride: Disney Coaster on GameZone.

• Albatron GeForce 4 Ti4200P Turbo Video Card on Technoyard.
• AMD Athlon XP 2200+ Thoroughbred CPU on Mikhailtech.
• ATI Radeon 9700 Pro Video Card on ipKonfig.com.
• Cooler Master ATC-710 Case on Systemcooling.com.
• CS ConStar USB 2.0 HDD Enclosure on The Tech Zone.
• Gainward Geforce4 PowerPack Pro 650TV and 650XP Golden Sample Video Cards (in video) on 3dGameMan.
• Gainward Ultra-650TV-Golden Sample Video Card on bit-tech.
• Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz CPU on PCStats.com.
• Leadtek Twinforce 2 Video Card on HEXUS.net.
• Maxtor DiamondMax Hard Drive Comparison on I Am Not A Geek.
• Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop on Hardware Fusion.
• Midiland PowerSTIXX 2.1 Speaker System on Gamers Depot.
• Neng Tyi Nexus KN02 HSF on TweakTown.
• Next-Cool WaterCUBE GT3 on TweakNews.net.
• OCS Cold Cathode Kit on bit-tech.
• PC3200 DDR RAM Shoot-out on OCAddiction.com.
• Philips 150MT 15" TFT LCD Monitor/TV on HardwareZone.com.
• Sapphire Radeon 9700 Atlantis Pro Video Card on VR-Zone Hardware.
• SkyHawk Jupiter Aluminum Case on Bjorn3d.com.
• ThermalRight SK-6 Cooler on Overclocker Cafe.
• Titan MT1AB5 Heatsink on FrostyTech.com.
• XOXIDE X300 Super-Tower Case on Monster-Hardware.

• Inflation threatens EverQuest economy. Thanks Mike Martinez. Shades of the Weimar Republic!...
• 2000AD Online announces "The third annual Dreddcon, a celebration of everything 2000 AD and Judge Dredd," scheduled for December 14 in London. Thanks Charles E Hardwidge...

I asked furn to look at what seemed to be a problem with the 'Previous 2 days' link offered at the bottom of this and other news pages here that facilitate scrolling back through older news posts, since it became apparent over time that these links suffered from some sort of problem that caused them to operate quite slowly at times. It turns out there was indeed a way of addressing this, and now that furn has tweaked it, in addition to those links no longer requiring a coffee break between being clicked and displaying the resulting page, the overall CPU load here has dropped to the point where other scripted elements that were not noticeably laggy to start with are now that much zippier, as things like archive searches whip along much more quickly now. Viva blammo!

Links of the Day:	Anti-telemarketing EGBG counterscript. Thanks Bostich. Lowtax vs the Nigerians on Something Awful. Thanks shafty. Contains adult language.
Stories of the Day:	Ka-POW! goes the pumpkin. Thanks devilbunny. Interview with a snack addict. Thanks Otto Eyebiter. Posting dad's poem forces Egyptian into exile. Thanks Mike Martinez. There once was a man from Egypt... nah, better not risk it.
Weird Science:	Southwest Alaskans say bird is the size of a small plane. Thanks brother19.
Wild Science:	Downloading the Mind. Thanks shafty. Track down who gave you flu. Thanks Mike Martinez.