Archived News:
The Vietcong Website
(thanks Unrealik) has word on plans to
release a new patch tomorrow to update the Vietnam War game to version 1.2. The read
me file for the multi-region patch offers details on the large number of
changes and fixes in the update, including some elements to hinder cheating.
3D Gamer's discovered some unplumbed game movies from E3, having posted trailers
for Vivisector: Beast
Inside, Perimeter,
Star Wolves, and MechMinds.
There's also a page with various trailers on Worthplaying
including the second and third parts of the recently released Men of Valor:
Vietnam movie (there is apparently a problem clearing the rights to the music in
the first part), with the Men of Valor movies also mirrored on Gamer's
Hell.
The Gathering Website now offers a new
Space Colony mini-game based on this upcoming project from Firefly Studios that
"is best described as a space-based People Sim meets a City Builder. Coming
to a world near you this Fall!" The mini game is a 10 MB download.
The first beta of System
Shock Rebirth is now available (thanks Rayme), a modification for System
Shock 2 that requires the original game to play. The mod offers a couple of
engine tweaks, but the primary change is the replacement of the game's models
with newer versions with higher polygon counts.
Windows Server
2003 gets first patch (thanks Mike Martinez) is a story on a new patch to
address security issues in the program, which suffered delays before its release to
close other security holes. According to the report, MS reps "maintained
that the patch did not mean the release had been a failure in its security
practices."
A new producer's letter has been added to the PlanetSide
Website touching upon issues with server stability since the launch of the
MMOFPS, saying "These are very close to resolved now," predicting that
fixes will be implemented within the next day or so. The letter concludes by
pointing out: "Just a day or two left now until that's completed. SOE is
very committed to the life of PlanetSide and the dev team has been working every
single day and night since launch to fix these issues. This team is here now and
will be here for many, many months to come, so expect great things."
Gathering
Announces Mafia for PlayStation 2 and Xbox is the press release announcing
that the game of this thing of ours is muscling in on some new territory, as PS2
and Xbox versions are slated for release this fall. No mention is
made of any differences between the console releases and the PC game, which was
developed by Illusion Softworks.
This Take 2
Interactive Downloads Page offers a new patch for Tropico 2: Pirate Cove,
updating the buccaneer simulator to version 1.2. The U.S. site isn't carrying it
yet, but the game's German website has a
post about it, obviously in their native tongue. The patch has been mirrored by Gamer's
Hell and Worthplaying.
Update: Turns out the patch listed above is the European patch, while a slightly
different sized version of the patch for the North American edition of the game
has been released on Take
2 Games US Website (thanks Frans).
There's a
Jedi Academy Q&A on Galactic Hunter.com talking with Raven Software
project administrator Kenn Hoekstra about the upcoming installment in the Dark
Forces/Jedi Knight series. Here's a bit on the improvements planned for light
saber combat: "The saber combat model has been vastly expanded both at an
aesthetic level and at the combat level. From an aesthetics standpoint, the
player will be able to choose from different saber handles and blade colors.
From a combat standpoint, we’ve pretty well doubled the number of moves
(attacks/defenses/jumps/acrobatics) that were available in Jedi Outcast. The
saber combat has been greatly enhanced to make it the true focal point of Jedi
Academy." In other Raven-related news, the Raven
Jobs Page has word of an opening the Wisconsin-based developer is looking to
fill for a high polygon count modeler to work on Quake IV.
Following the initial indications that such a project is in the works ( story),
Vivendi Universal
Games Signs Exclusive Worldwide Development Agreement With Legendary Rock Band
Metallica is the press release with more details, along with the official
announcement, of plans for a game involving the heavy metal band (thanks Frans).
Here's the deal: Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) today announced that
it has signed an exclusive multi-year agreement with renowned rock band
Metallica. The contract grants VU Games the worldwide rights to publish and
distribute a multi-platform vehicle combat action game featuring music,
voice-overs and inspiration from the band. Scheduled for release in 2005, the
game will be produced in collaboration with Segnana, Inc. ( www.segnana.com
), a company that partners with Metallica on interactive and online endeavors.
The new title -- a high action, third person vehicle combat game packed with
fully customized vehicles and weaponry, endless terrain and desperate, murderous
opponents -- will include voice-overs from band members, incidental background
music and other exclusive content from Metallica. Under terms of the contract,
Metallica will also record an original song exclusively for the game along with
a music video featuring elements from the interactive experience. A sneak-peek
trailer of the title will appear on Metallica's new album, St. Anger, which hits
store shelves on June 5, 2003, and will also be featured during the band's
"Summer Sanitarium Tour" kicking-off July 4th in Detroit, Michigan.
This Codemasters
Downloads Page has the promised ( story) patch for the Colin
McRae Rally 3 Demo. The 20 MB patch brings the code in the demo in line with the
final version of the game. Mirrors can be found on 3D
Gamers, FileShack
(registration required), Gameplex,
and Gamer's
Hell. On a semi-related note, there's a Colin
McRae Rally 3 preview on Gamers Pulse.
This Blizzard
Entertainment Technical Support Site (thanks Frans) now offers manual
versions in various languages of the new version 1.06 patch for Warcraft III
that was released yesterday through the in-game auto-updater ( story).
- Halo PC
Shacknews'
Halo PC Q&A chats with Randy Pitchford about progress on the
upcoming PC version of the Xbox shooter. Here's a bit on the PC graphics:
"The rendering pipeline is still Halo - which is good and solid. But,
we’ve ported it to DirectX 9 - which is great because Shawn (Green) has
been able to write Pixel Shader 2.0 effects for new, high-end video cards
and implement a fixed function solution for older or lower end cards."
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost
The Adrenaline Vault's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:
Oblivion Lost Q&Atalks with Oleg Yavorsky of GSC Game World, learning more about plans
for the upcoming shooter set in and around Chernobyl, among other places.
- PlanetSide
There's a
PlanetSide Q&A on Quadract talking with Dave Georgeson about the
MMOFPS, discussing the game's launch and pressing for details about future
plans.
- Dragon Empires
RPG
Vault's Dragon Empires Q&A #26 talks once again with Codemasters'
tireless Peter Tyson, who manages his 26th Q&A without a single cry for
mercy. They discuss the reception the game received at E3.
- Bloodmoon
The Bloodmoon
Developer Q&A on Gamers Depot catches up with Ashley Cheng, project
leader on the upcoming Morrowind add-on. They discuss new additions to
gameplay, focusing on werewolves, one of the major components of the add-on.
- Raven Shield
gameDiva
meets Rima on Ubisoft.com is a Q&A with Rima Brek, discussing her
contribution as a programmer on Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 : Raven Shield.
- Trainz 2004
HomeLan
Fed's Trainz 2004 Q&A talks with Greg Lane of Auran about Trainz
Railroad Simulator 2004, the upcoming sequel to their railroading sim.
- Painkiller
There's a Painkiller
preview on PC Gameworld offering impressions of an early beta version of
People Can Fly's upcoming shooter. Here's a bit on the game's graphical
goodness: "The game uses a proprietary engine known as PAIN that,
according to DreamCatcher, is able to pump out 100 times the polygons of the
latest shooters. I don’t know exactly how the claims hold water, but I
will admit that the game looks absolutely fantastic. Textures are sharp and
detailed, and the use of lighting and shadows adds volumes to the overall
mood of the game."
- Will Rock
Boomtown's
Will Rock Preview offers another look at Saber Interactive's upcoming
shooter. Here's more of that inevitable comparison: "Will Rock is a
first person shooter that borrows heavily from the PC budget title Serious
Sam. The player is dropped into a succession of richly lit and textured
(albeit geometrically simple) levels with a very large amount of
ammunition."
- Call of Cthulhu
The Call
of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth Preview on Games Domain (thanks
Frans) discusses the upcoming horror game. Here's a bit on the scary aspect
of not having a HUD: "there's currently no HUD whatsoever. COC aims to
give the player the Cthulhu Mythos the way it should be experienced -
atmospheric, immersive and paranoid. No HUD means no reassuring, artificial,
techno-visual cues as to aiming, status, ammo or the presence of threats."
- AO: Shadowlands
The
Wargamer Previews Anarchy Online: Shadowlands offering impressions of
the upcoming MMO add-on. From their perspective, Shadowlands does not follow
the typical expansion paradigm: "Shadowlands has forsaken the
typical MMORPG expansion route of adding new content just to keep its
subscribers. Shadowlands does offer new content, of course, but in a
more constrained, some would say linear, manner. Shadowlands is an
alternate dimension of sorts tied to Rubi-Ka-the original setting for Anarchy
Online - in a mysterious way."
- The Hobbit
There's a Hands-On
a Hobbit Preview on PC.IGN.Com with a look at the upcoming Middle Earth
game, though it's possible you'll have to share the author's medications to
follow some of what is being conveyed here.
- Half-Life 2
There's a
Half-Life 2 Preview on Gamehelper with a look at Valve's upcoming
shooter sequel as reports continue to trickle out of this year's E3.
- BF 1942: Secret Weapons Of WWII
The Battlefield
1942: Secret Weapons Of WWII Preview on Active Reviews is another
post-E3 preview.
The second Christian Game Developers Conference
is being organized, and is scheduled for July 25-27 on the campus of Cascade
College in Portland, OR. Also, the IGDA
has posted details on 25 student scholarships being awarded for the Game
Developers Conference Europe.
- Hobbits,
hobbits everywhere is an editorial in which Sauron (AKA C.N.N. Money)
"reflects on the gaming industry's struggles with innovation"...
Was off to Dr. Toothy for a cleaning yesterday afternoon... I have to admit to
not minding the process when it's routine like this... I have that nice clean
feeling in my mouth, and got to spend an hour set up like Dennis Hopper in Blue
Velvet. I think more things in this life should be accompanied by laughing
gas, if it can make having your teeth scraped tolerable, it should work for just
about anything.
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