Archived News:
The Battlefield
1942 Website (thanks Frans) has word on a fairly simple update mod makers
will need to make to keep their mods compatible following the release of the
game's version 1.45 update, which also contains news to expect the release of
this patch soon. Here's the deal: 1.45 ALERT: Mod-makers take note
1.45 patch will be available soon. If you've played the Secret Weapons demo,
you're already aware of some of the fixes that have been implemented.
One fix has implications for mod-makers. If you have not already done the
following, you will need to update your mod in order to make it work with 1.45
and subsequent patches. In order to work, you must modify the following line:
game.setmapid "bf1942"
....where bf1942 is changed to reflect your mod name. This line is found in the
init.con file found in the menu folder for each map included with your mod.
Example
The path in an unpacked level is:
...\Mods\BF1942\Archives\BF1942\Levels\bf1942\levels\Battle_of_Britain\Menu\init.con.
We have attempted to minimize all impacts that patches have on the mod
community, and any that do occur are unavoidable in order to deliver a better
gaming experience. We hope by providing this information before the patch is
released, you can update your mods accordingly. We apologize for any
inconvenience this might cause.
Attentions penguins at war, a new release of America's Army: Operations for
Linux is now available, updating it to version 1.90. The accompanying note on icculus.org
(where they list a few mirrors) says Mac version 1.90 is also done, and will be
distributed soon. Other mirrors of the Linux version can be found on 3D
Gamers and AmericasArmyFiles.
A new version 0.24 of the Siege
modification for Battlefield 1942 is now available for download. The latest
version includes a pair of mads and new vehicles and weapons for this
medieval-themed conversion.
The debut release of the Battlefield 1982
Interstate modification for Battlefield 1942 is now available. Inspired by
Interstate '76 and Interstate '82, the mod offers combat in all manner of
vehicles, as well as a full assortment of flattops, mullets, and shoulder pads.
A new version 1.44 of the Gangwars modification for Half-Life is now available
on the Gangwars Website. The update adds
a couple of new administrative functions, as well as some tweaks and bug fixes.
The official Ultima X: Odyssey Website is now
online, offering a home-based for the just-unveiled upcoming installment in the
Ultima series (thanks Frans). Included is the press release announcing the game,
a link to sign up for their newsletter, and a screenshot that is not included in
the batch posted in a couple of places this morning. Also, the latest website to
announce one of those trendy relaunches is the Jedi
Knight Jedi Academy Website, now with even more Flash and music (thanks
Mike for the reminder).
Doom
and rocket science on CNN Money is an interview with id Software's John
Carmack conducted during the QuakeCon extravaganza. One of the primary thrusts
of the conversation is whether games have become too complicated, noting that
he's fought the designers on DOOM 3 on a couple of issues, unsuccessfully
arguing against including a crouch function and successfully convincing them
that a "use" key is unnecessary. Here's a bit more covering the recent
revelation that id's next game will not be another sequel (but will be a shooter)
and his oft-rumored plans to retire soon: We're not doing another sequel
next," said Carmack. "We will do a new title. It will be a shooter,
with a different antagonist and protagonist. ... People who have been working in
the company for a long time don't want to continually rehash their old
work."
With the new game will come a new engine, meaning Carmack's oft-rumored
retirement will remain a rumor for the next few years.
"In the coming years, I have things I want to do," he said. "The
next generation of hardware and the next engine is very exciting. There's little
doubt I'll be doing that."
PlanetUnreal's Unreal
Tournament 2004 Trip Report gives their account of heading out on a road
trip to check out progress on the upcoming shooter sequel first-hand. Also, Unreal
Ops has posted another ShakyCam™ clip from the game's presentation, this
time showing off the Raptor vehicle and the reskinned shock rifle. Thanks HomeLAN
Fed.
- War of the Ring
The War
of the Ring Q&A on Computer and Video Games talks with Ed Del
Castillo of Liquid Entertainment about progress on War of the Ring, their
upcoming RTS game set in the fictional Middle-Earth setting. The
conversation features some extensive answer to questions about how the game
fits in with the continuity of Tolkien's novels as well as specifics about
gameplay. Thanks Frans.
- Kuma: War
HomeLAN
Fed's Kuma War Q&A talks with Glenn Broderick of Kuma Reality Games
about Kuma: War, their recently announced game that will feature regular
content updates, ripped straight from today's headlines, as the popular
expression goes.
There's a new Dragon Empires diary on the Codemasters
Website in which Peter Tyson discusses the ups and downs of beta testing
their upcoming MMORPG. Also, there's a Ghost Master postmortem
on Music 4 Games in which Paul Weir of Earcom discusses the design and
implementation of the music in the haunting strategy game.
The Lock On Modern Air Combat Website now
offers downloads of yet another user-created movie showing off the beta of the
upcoming jet flight sim (if all these movies were strung together they'd be
longer than Top Gun). No description of the 21 MB movie is provided, but
they do promise (threaten?) more footage soon.
Origin Systems Announces
Development of Ultima X Odyssey is the press release officially announcing
development of another MMO Ultima game. There was also a press event yesterday
to unveil the project, and HomeLAN
Fed's Ultima X Odyssey Press Event Report is a teaser article, pointing out
that the assembled scribes will be exposed to the game first hand today (so
expect one of those flurries of previews that typically follows such an event).
Meanwhile, a 21 MB gameplay trailer has also been released, and can be found for
download on FilePlanet
(registration required), Gamer's
Hell, IGN, Tiscali
Games (where there's also a smaller DivX version), and Worthplaying,
while the first screenshots from the project have been posted on GameSpyDaily.
Here's a bit from the press release: AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug.
22, 2003--Origin Systems, an Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS
- News) development studio,
today announced the development of Ultima X: Odyssey(TM) (UXO), a next
generation massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG) from the
award-winning Origin studio team. Powered by the latest version of the Unreal®
Engine and based on the renowned Ultima(TM) single-player role-playing series,
UXO will enable players to create personalized legacies in a massive new online
world and will be one of the first of its kind to offer private areas on demand
within the game.
"Ultima X: Odyssey takes the genre to the next level through its innovative
new Odyssey Adventure System ensuring that players experience a greater sense of
adventure and reward from both questing and combat," said Andy Hollis, vice
president and chief operating officer of Origin Systems.
UXO's proprietary and innovative Odyssey Adventure System delivers customized
quests to players automatically and enables private adventure zones, providing
adventures on demand as players journey through the world. An added bonus in
offering players private areas is that they can't be interrupted by
"griefers" and other uninvited guests.
There's a TRIBES
Vengeance Diary on IGN is written by David Beswick, programmer at Irrational
Games (Canberra), discussing progress on the upcoming installment in the TRIBES
series. He discusses the role of the programming team, their goals for the game,
the process of creating tools and editors for the designers, and more.
The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences
has issued the call of entries for the second annual Machinima Film Festival
2003, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 25 at the American Museum of the
Moving Image in New York. This time out there will be a new award for
Commercial/Game Machinima, for which in-engine cutscenes are eligible.
It's just struck me that the blackout would have been a golden opportunity
to get a great view of the ever-closer planet of Mars without the detriment of
all the light pollution in the area, which is especially remarkable here in the
vicinity of New York City. Over the next few days the red planet will achieve
its closest proximity to Earth in anyone's (even Joan Rivers') memory, but I
imagine the view would be that much more spectacular in the darkness. The lights
here in the tower came on for Thursday's overnight before dying again Friday,
but I hope some of those in the city remembered to take advantage of the unusual
occasion of one of the brightest spots on earth becoming one of the darkest.
I got a couple of comments from readers who received a Gator pop-up dealie.
There are few things I despise more than spyware installers, and this was not
supposed to be running here. After learning about this, the powers-that-be were
able to pinpoint the offending campaign where some weasel had slipped these in
there, and it was killed. If this should happen again going forward, please be
willing to drop an e-mail to me or a forum post about it so that the croc hunter
can be sent after the offending reptile.
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