Archived News:
Microsoft Windows 2000 Security Flaw Worse Than First Thought
is a story on the
report that a recently discovered Win2K vulnerability is worse than
originally thought, saying "It's important that businesses apply a new
patch to all Windows 2000 systems, advisories state -- not just those running
Microsoft's IIS Web server software." They quote the advisory as saying:
"We expect that a worm attack similar to Nimda will eventually be created
using this vulnerability as a primary mechanism. Such a broad 'zero day' attack
could be orchestrated as soon as 7-10 days, and is likely in the next
month." Vulnerable systems are those "running Windows 2000 Advanced
Server, Server, or Professional with either Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3
installed." The patch to address this and its related information can be found
here. Thanks Darkhorse.
Today's flurry of releases continues, as Rayman 3 Ships for the PC
is the press release announcing the availability of the PC version of the
adventures of "the only gaming hero with no arms, no legs, helicopter hair,
and brand new powers." Here's their take on Rayman's latest appearance:
"Like his audience, Rayman is growing up - he's edgier, he's darker, and
he's funnier. From pulse-pounding gameplay and insane combat to A-list voices
and music, Rayman 3 delivers the fun that made Rayman famous, and takes him in a
new direction."
The Star Trek Elite Force II Updated Preview
on GameSpot offers further impressions of the upcoming Star Trek shooter
sequel in the works at Ritual Entertainment. They discuss various aspects of
gameplay, and address the complaint about the brevity of the single-player
campaign in the original Elite Force: "According to Activision producer
Doug Pearson, Elite Force II is 150 percent as long as the first game. There's a
total of 11 environments, and in addition to the indoor ship and space station
missions you'd expect, there are a number of outdoor locations. The Enterprise's
galactic explorations will take you to a desert world, a snowy world, a
rain-drenched urban world, and a Romulan-infested volcanic world for the
finale."
War games see sales
spike on CNN Money examines the impact of the war in Iraq on the sales of
military-themed game titles, describing the spike in sales the conflict has
inspired. Also included is an examination of the possible commercial future of
the Gulf War-themed Desert Combat Mod for
Battlefield 1942, offering this quote from Frank DeLise, the leader of the team
behind the mod: "We've been approached by multiple publishers to try and
sell it, so it's probably not going to be a mod for long. It'll be more of
an expansion pack."
Computer and Video Games' Deus Ex: Invisible War Preview (enough articles use this title to be
convincing that Eidos has dispensed with the "DX2" part without
telling us) is the latest look at the upcoming Deus Ex sequel in the works at
ION Storm. They describe various aspects of gameplay, and supply quotes from the
developers that they picked up during the demonstration of the game at ION's
offices. On a related note, we've just posted three
new PC screenshots from the game.
- S.T.AL.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost
HARDWiRED's
S.T.AL.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost Q&A talks with Oleg V. Javorsky of GSC
Game World about their upcoming first-person shooter. Among the subjects
covered is this on the length of the single-player campaign: "To play
it through, it will take rush-style players approximately 40-50 hours. Under
a more exploratory approach, the game can be enjoyed for 100 hours and more."
- Warhammer Online
Warhammer
Online: In Depth on Gamesradar.com is essentially an article format
Q&A with some of the folks at Games Workshop discussing progress on
bringing the MMO Warhammer game to life.
- Prince of Persia
Ubi Soft has distributed a Q&A they
conducted with Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner to discuss the Sands
of Time, the upcoming installment in the acrobatic Prince's exploits. The
article popped up first on Worthplaying,
and within Jordan discusses his roles as creative consultant on the project,
and a bit on what to expect from the game. Included are a few new images.
CSI Crime Scene
Investigation PC Game Ships to Stores Nationwide is the press release
announcing that the adventure game based on the hit television series has
shipped to stores throughout the U.S. Here's a bit: "In the CSI: Crime
Scene Investigation game, you become a CSI agent working alongside Gil Grissom,
Catherine Willows and the rest of the CSI team. A classic, first-person
adventure, the CSI game will test players' nerves and intellect as they question
witnesses, examine crime scenes, and analyze evidence utilizing the latest in
forensic equipment." In additional shipping news, Maxis sends word that The
Sims has shipped for the Xbox and GameCube, extending the reach of what they now
claim is the #1 PC game of all time.
Delta Force: Black Hawk Down hits the streets
is the press release announcing that the latest installment in the Delta Force
series has touched down in retail. More information is available on the
game's official website, and here's a bit from the release on the game:
Set in Somalia in 1993, Delta Force - Black Hawk Down is based upon and
around the Operation Restore Hope and Task Force Ranger campaigns immortalized
in the book and movie of the same name. The game follows members of the elite
Delta Force, US Army Rangers and 10th Mountain Division as they participate in a
number of daring raids against the oppressive Somali warlords in and around
Mogadishu.
Delta Force - Black Hawk Down recreates the intense atmosphere of a war-torn
country. From tours of duty in the vast Somali countryside, where snipers could
lurk on top of any hill - to the maze like streets of Mogadishu, where militia
and civilians blend seamlessly the task of discerning enemy from refugee is
vital, as a wrong decision could cost you your mission.... or your life.
To ensure accuracy, NovaLogic spent months researching the history of the
conflict, and worked extensively with former Special Forces Operatives,
including two who served in Somalia in 1993.
Extremely hot on the heels of the announcement that Wolfpack Studios' MMORPG has
shipped ( story), a version 1.0.1 patch is already available for
Shadowbane. The update optimizes performance in several areas of gameplay, and
fixes a number of bugs. The 8.8 MB file can be downloaded from 3D Gamers,
FilePlanet
(registration required), Happy Puppy
(registration required), and Worthplaying.
In a somewhat confusing note, there are fixes listed in the
read me for the Macintosh version, but this patch is for PCs only.
There's a
Will Rock Weapons Guide on The Adrenaline Vault offering an illustrated look
at the weapons in Saber Interactive's upcoming first-person shooter. The article
shows off everything in the game's arsenal ranging from the improvisational
Soviet Army Trowel all the way through the nuclear might of the Atomic Gun.
There's a
new beta test journal on the PlanetSide Website written by Sony Online Entertainment
community relations representative Victor Wachter, who discusses the way the
game is evolving as more and more testers join the beta server. Also, Assault on Tumas Station
on Gamehelper.com offers their second PlanetSide beta report, which features
extensive impressions of recent content that's been added to the test version of
the upcoming MMOFPS, illustrated by several screenshots.
Shadowbane Ships to Retailers
is the press release announcing the North American availability of both the PC
and Mac versions of Shadowbane, Wolfpack Studios' MMORPG. In other shipping
news: Activision Value Dares Gamers to Drive on the Wild Side in ``Cabela's Off-Road Adventure 3''
and Blizzard Entertainment Ships the Lost Vikings for the Game Boy Advance.
More information on Shadowbane can be found on the
official website, and here is some of what the release announcement has to
say about the game: Set in a dark fantasy world burning with strife and
unrest, Shadowbane takes the MMO genre to new heights of possibility by offering
gamers an unparalleled challenge. It combines immersive role-playing with deep
strategic elements such as city management, army creation, siege warfare and
economic development. Shadowbane is also the first MMO to offer a Dynamic World
Model, in which players' actions and decisions permanently change the history,
politics and landscape of the game.
The
Highland Warriors Downloads Page now offers a new patch to update the U.K./Scandinavian
version of Soft Enterprises' RTS game to version 1.1, brining it line with the
recent North American patch (called version R1a at the time - story).
The file has been mirrored on 3D Gamers,
Happy Puppy
(registration required), and Worthplaying.
Update: The patch is also now available for the Spanish
and Dutch
versions of the game.
This
article on Mondes persistants is the English version of this French site's
conversation on death and dying, with all due apologies to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
(my Dennis Miller-style reference for the day), in MMORPGs. The participants are
representatives of several different upcoming MMOGs, and the discussion covers
the impact of a character's death, penalties for shuffling off the virtual
mortal coil, how each of their games will deal with the subject, the importance
of the possibility of "permanently" dying in an MMOG, and more.
ARUSH Entertainment and Groove Games send along this
press release announcing that Devastation, Digitalo's Unreal-engine
first-person shooter, is now shipping in North America. Here's a bit from the
announcement on gameplay: "The singleplayer game plays through an intense
storyline where linear story-driven missions dominate the first half, gearing
players up for incredible dynamic gameplay as the final missions become more
open-ended combat with a true team-centric focus. Online multiplayer game types
include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and a brand new team-based
gamestyle called “Territories.” The game also ships with a full-featured
editor so fans can build and play in their own maps with the most user-friendly
interface ever developed. Devastation also incorporates MathEngine's Karma™
physics system, allowing for incredible ragdoll deaths and giving players the
ability to interact with their environment. Players can pick up objects and move
them around to block pathways, or throw items to cause distraction, or even make
improvised weapons with lethal force."
A manual patch is now available for those unwilling or unable to use the
automated in-game update released yesterday ( story). The update
can be downloaded from this
Infogrames Support Page (thanks PREY). Mirrors of the 4 MB file can be found
on 3D Gamers, FileShack
(registration required), Happy Puppy
(registration required), and Worthplaying.
The latest issue of X-Universe News
updates us on the status of X˛-The Threat (thanks YiYas).
There's a rundown on the plot, screenshots, wallpapers, and more. There is also
a status report on plans for a pair of demos: We can tell you that there
will be two demos of X˛.
The first will be a rolling demo which will include some benchmarks. This will
enable people to not only see the game, but also get an idea of how it will run.
The second will be the playable demo. This will be released closer to the actual
game and again, we can't specify a date for this yet as we don't have one
confirmed.
HomeLan Fed's Hybrid
Q&A chats with Paul Carrington of Vulcan Software to discuss their
recently announced plans to create a first-person shooter using their proprietary
Mother3D engine. Along the way, he describes the background on the game's underlying technology: "Mother3D has been in development for the last 4
years, whereas the creation of Hybrids content (models, textures and sounds) has
just begun. Being an independent developer, we’ve always been in a nice
position to set our own development schedule so we have no definite date as of
yet, although we are aiming for the end of 2003 to have Hybrid at a finished
state."
Chuck Carter's Website (thanks Renegade Generals
and CnCWorld) has posted concept art and
a video showing off models from the now cancelled sequel to Command &
Conquer Renegades.
Blizzard sends word that an additional 10,000 testers have been added to the Warcraft III Frozen Throne
beta test from their pool of applicants. Those selected should receive an email
within the next few days. Word is: "We are extremely pleased with the
results and feedback that the beta test is generating and would like to allow
even more players to experience the new features that The Frozen Throne has to
offer."
Warcry's Crossroads of Dereth
is organizing an Asheron's Call chess
tournament. "The Tournament will begin on Saturday, April 19th. And we will
need all entry requests to be submitted by Friday April 11th."
This Legend Entertainment Job Postings
Page has a new job listing for full
time Level Designers to work on their "upcoming high-profile,
cutting-edge FPS games." Ideal candidates will have some experience
designing for one of the variants on the Unreal engine, and will be willing to
relocate to Chantilly, VA, a suburb of Washington D.C.
Sure signs of spring:
Pulling the first tick off the dog.
Actually walking into the backyard.
Stepping in the first dog turd.
Walking through the first spider web. (Ptooie!)
Stepping in the second dog turd.
Stepping in the third...
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