Archived News:
There are several new Savage: The Battle for Newerth movies on IGN
showing off snippets of gameplay from S2 Games' upcoming multiplayer FPS/RTS. Also, the Command
& Conquer: Generals: Zero Hour movie that appeared last week ( story)
is now being offered without the GameSpot watermark. The trailer can be
downloaded from 3D Gamers, AusGamers,
FileFront,
Gamer's
Hell, Games Fusion,
and IGN. The Wish
Vault has two new Wish videos, each showing off an emote that can be
used to express oneself in Mutable Realms' upcoming MMORPG. Finally, the NovaLogic
Website (thanks HomeLAN
Fed) offers downloads of Fragged, a short live action film created by
the Delta Force community.
RPG Vault's Warlords IV Heroes of Etheria Diary #1
kicks off a diary detailing development of the next installment in this
turn-based fantasy series. In this entry, "Infinite Interactive's Steve
Fawkner, the creator and designer of the series, tells us how it will evolve
this time."
As promised ( story), the Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 Raven Shield
Website says the new version 1.4 patch for the tactical shooter will be released tomorrow. Andre Roy's Live Team Update
offers specifics about what the patch addresses. Thanks Frans.
GameDaily Newsletter (thanks
Frans) has word that the Windows version of Final Fantasy XI (though they've
scrambled their Roman numerals) will be shipping to North America in late
October. Word is: "The first edition of the popular series to go online has
already been released in Japan and counts over 250,000 registered users to-date.
Owners of the PC version will be able to play in the same world as those playing
the game on the PlayStation 2. No new details were forthcoming on the console
version of the game, which will be released “in conjunction” with the debut
of the PS2’s hard disk drive, whenever that is."
The Akella Website announces
development of a new World War II naval simulator called PT Boats: Knights of
the Sea (thanks Gamer's
Hell). Here's a bit: PT Boats: Knights of the Sea is powered by an
improved version of the STORM 2 used in the award wining Pirates of the
Caribbean. The STORM 2.5 engine enables the creation of unique special effects
like ocean waves from explosions, tracing the tracks of various types of boats,
illustrating the boats gliding, realistic collision damage, damage from assorted
types of ammunition and so much more! Our close cooperation with 1С/Maddox
Games, the leading flight simulator developers and renowned for IL-2 Sturmovik,
allowed us to create historically accurate and detailed aircraft models.
There's a Unreal
Tournament 2004 Q&A on Computer and Video Games
(thanks Frans) talking with Epic lead designer Cliff Bleszinski about the
upcoming chapter in the Unreal Tournament series. Here's a bit on how the
addition of vehicles to the mix will create new gameplay experiences, but they
are taking care to leave some continuity in place: We want to evolve the
franchise in the very obvious direction that many other games have gone into of
being hybrid experiences - driving, flying, running, jumping shooting, etc...
Layering this kind of cool depth on top of the existing UT base really results
in some unique fun.
At the same time we have a large fan base out there that likes their Deathmatch
and CTF the way they are, and they'll let us know. That's where the multitude of
game modes comes in, to help us out with this dilemma. We can have our vehicular
cake and eat it too by initially keeping vehicles in the two new modes.
I'm sure that within a week we'll see the first version of user created vehicle
CTF.
The Ascaron Entertainment
Website now offers a new performance fix for version 390 of the
Unreal-engine shooter. It looks like this is for the German version only, but
this is not 100% clear.
Sony to Launch Service for Online Sports Games
(thanks Peter Binazeski) has word that: "The new 989SportsOnline.com
is set to launch Aug. 26 to coincide with the release of the football game NFL
GameDay 2004. The online service will feature message boards, tournaments,
downloadable rosters and player rankings, and will let users conduct voice chats
with a PS2 headset." Update: VU Games sends word that: "Buffy
the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds has gone gold and will be available at your
local videogame retailer on August 26, 2003!"
A new version 3.0 of The Lands of Hyperborea
siegelet for Dungeon Siege is now available, updating this project that lets the
player play as "an escaped prisoner; a rogue, borne by a swift and magical
river to another land, far away." Hyperborea features 37 new regions, 14
new playable characters, and six new spell classes. The site is being hammered,
but SiegeNetwork
offers another place to locate a download.
A Ground Control 2: Operation Exodus movie has been released on
the game's official website, featuring almost 90 seconds of cinematic
footage in high and low resolution. The movie can also be found on 3D Gamers,
FileFront,
Gamer's
Hell,
and Worthplaying.
Also, a Codename: Panzers movie is now available, showing off more than
four minutes of AVI footage from Stormregion's action/strategy armored warfare
game. Larger and smaller version of the movie are available on 3D Gamers
and Gamer's
Hell. Finally, Blackhole Motorsports
offers downloads of a gameplay trailer for Crashday, Moon Byte Studios' upcoming
racing game, in the choice of high and low resolution formats. A mirror can be
found on Worthplaying.
Just Adventure's Eye on Adventure
Newsletter (thanks HomeLAN
Fed) is stating that Arxel Tribe, the French developer behind games like
Hitchcock and The Ring, "has closed its doors." No source for this
report is offered, nor do they have any further details on the subject, such
as what this might mean to the future of their Hannibal game ( story).
There's a NWN:
Hordes of the Underdark preview on GameSpy
with the first details on the upcoming NWN add-on since its existence was first
revealed ( story). Here's a bit: Other new goodies include
six new prestige classes, 16 new creatures, over 40 new spells, over 50 new
feats, new weapon types, new voice sets, new music tracks, and a new
item-crafting sytem [sic]. As good as Shadows of Undrentide was, the
additions to Hordes of the Underdark look even sweeter. For several
reasons, people love playing and reading about all things drow. This expansion
pack attempts to offer a thrilling Underdark adventure and allow module makers
to craft their own dark-elf tales.
SUNFLOWERS sends along word of plans to distribute a free multiplayer add-on for
ANNO 1503. Here's the deal: Max Design and SUNFLOWERS have entered the
final stages of production of the ANNO 1503 multi-player mode and will soon be
conducting a public consumer test.
Heusenstamm. Max Design and SUNFLOWERS will be providing ANNO 1503 players the
multi-player mode free of charge. Fans will be able to download the multi-player
update free of charge once the comprehensive test phase has been completed. This
week Max Design and SUNFLOWERS will begin an external test in which already
chosen participants will subject the ANNO 1503 multi-player mode to weeks of
exhaustive testing. This test will then be expanded to a public test. Interested
parties will soon be able to register on the official ANNO 1503 website at
www.anno1503.com. SUNFLOWERS will be informing all interested players about the
opening date for registration both over the website and by press release.
You can find out more about ANNO 1503 in the Internet at www.anno1503.com.
- Legends of Aranna
HomeLAN
Fed's Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna Q&A talks with Ian Davis and
Tara Teich of Mad Doc about the upcoming Dungeon Siege expansion, as well as
this tidbit about Dungeon Siege II: "from what I've seen it's going to
be SWEET."
- LucasArts
Dragon Clan's Ronda Scott
Q&A talks with the internet community relations specialists at
LucasArts about her work, her background, and her goals for the future.
PC Games has
indications, in German, that Valve plans on releasing a benchmark based on the
Source engine sometime prior to the release of Half-Life 2. Here's a link to the
Babel Fish translation,
which will allow non-German speakers to see the quote from Gary McTaggart on the
subject. Thanks Maximus, who points
the way to this
comparison on Valves' VERC from their fledgling Half-Life 2/Source Mod FAQ
comparing maximum map size in Half-Life 2 to the original Half-Life.
- Joint Operations on GameSpy.
- Homeplanet on HomeLAN
Fed. Concluding their look at the back story.
I was planning on throwing my hat in the ring for the California gubernatorial
election, but I have been told I am apparently too qualified.
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