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Archived News:
A post to the Lock
On: Modern Air Combat General Discussion Forums (thanks Frans and SimHQ)
by Eagle Dynamics' Carl C. Norman offers information and reflections on the
delay of the release of the Lock On: Modern Air Combat Demo ( story)
that has inspired considerable consternation on the game's forums, and even an
online petition. The update shares the fans' disappointment that the demo is
not available, and goes onto more of the background behind the decision,
offering this conclusion that places this in a bit of perspective: While
you might not see or appreciate this, the good news is that Ubi Soft appears to
be committed to a strong launch of Lock On. Their decision to coordinate the
demo release with the major media outlets and magazines is good news in the long
run. In the short run it is disappointing for all of the active forum members
who have expressed your interest and support for this product and expected a
demo this week. My understanding is that this decision was made by Ubi Soft as a
means of coordinating the launch of the demo to coincide with its availability
on magazine CDs and in promotional efforts by Ubi Soft and the Media. I have
been told that when the final product is finished Ubi Soft has a promotional and
marketing plan that they are putting in place to make this a big international
launch with Press coverage and promotional efforts. I spoke to a Marketing
Manager at Ubi Soft that I have known and worked with in the industry for over
ten years. She assures me that the commitment is there to launch Lock On in a
big way and that the retailers are very interested in this title. Let’s not
let this incident cause the momentum to slip for Lock On. If Lock On is a
success then there is a much better chance for this genre of products to expand
and thrive.
The once-controversial Call of Duty Demo has been released, and as promised, the
World War II shooter sample is available with no exclusive restrictions. The 174
MB demo offers the single-player Burnville mission from Infinity Ward's upcoming
shooter. The file can be downloaded from 3D
Downloads, 3D Gamers,
AusGamers, Computer
Games Online, FileFront,
Filerush (Bit Torrent), FileShack
(registration required), Gamer's
Hell, Gamesradar.it,
Happy
Puppy (registration required), IGN,
Jucaushii.ro, Loadedinc
(registration required), Tiscali Games,
Worthplaying,
and yes, FilePlanet
(registration required).
On the heels of the European demo release ( story), the Warlords
IV: Heroes of Etheria Homepage now offers the U.S. version of the demo of
this upcoming turn-based strategy sequel. The 141 MB download has been mirrored
on Gamer's Hell
and Worthplaying,
where they point out that a few issues present in the Euro release have been
cleared up for this one.
The Downloads section of the TRON
2.0 Website ( Flash required) now offers downloads
of the Tron 2.0 launch update patch. The update includes a dedicated server,
interoperability between all language versions of the game, the ability to skip
light cycle races in single-player play, improved performance for ATI Radeon
7000 and 8000 video cards, and improved multiplayer performance.
The Medal
of Honor Allied Assault Breakthrough Website has some information about the
multiplayer demo version of the upcoming Breakthrough expansion for the World
War II shooter which concentrates on the North African/Sicilian campaigns.
There's a good deal of background on the featured setting of Anzio, gameplay
mode, and weaponry, but neither that update, nor Medal
of Honor Allied Assault page that links to it, offer any hints of when this
is expected beyond "soon." Update: GameSpot
is reporting that the demo will be released on September 9.
The Cossacks Website
(thanks Frans) has word from CDV Software on plans to release a Cossacks
Anthology this October (they give specific release dates for the U.S., U.K.,
France, and Germany). Here's word on what the RTS collection will include:
"The Anthology will be a collector's bundle, containing all parts of the
million-selling Cossacks series: Cossacks: European Wars as well as the add-ons
Cossacks: Back to War and Cossacks: The Art of War."
The Chaser
Website now offers downloads of the level editor for Chaser, Cauldron's
first-person shooter. Included with the editor is an HTML-format help file that
can get the process of creating new Chaser levels started.
Computer
and Video Games (thanks Frans) is chasing rumors again, as they have posted
news that "Co-founders of Tomb Raider developer Core
Design, Adrian Smith and Jeremy Heath-Smith, are to set up a new UK development
studio," quoting "A Core insider, operating under conditions of
anonymity" as saying that they've taken a few other Core compatriots to
join them. According to their report, an official announcement on this topic is
expected September 1.
The Lock On Modern Air Combat Website
has word that the promised ( story) playable demo for the upcoming
jet fighter is stuck in a holding pattern. Here's the deal: The
interactive demo for Lock On has been completed and will be made available
online in October of 2003. The demo will allow players to try their hand at
flying the A-10A "Warthog" and the MiG-29A "Fulcrum." In
addition to being available on the official Lock On website and several mirrors,
it will also be available in December issues of several popular magazines like
Computer Gaming Magazine, Computer Gaming World, and PC Gamer.
While we very first considered releasing the Lock On demo earlier, given the
postponement of the game's release, it has been decided it would be best to
release the demo in October to ensure a better support to the project.
In
a related note, a
petition has already sprung up asking Ubi Soft to reconsider this decision,
and there's also a new LO MAC movie on the
official website (thanks Frans).
This
Gigex Downloads Page (thanks Frans) offers downloads of the Mall Tycoon 2
demo. For a 37 MB download, players can: "Oversee every aspect of creating,
managing and profiting from a dynamic, fast-paced mall environment, while
allowing an unprecedented element of creativity in size, layout, themes, types
of stores and even the patrons that frequent the mall. Place stores, hire
cleaning and security crews, and manage every aspect of the physical layout of
your new shopping paradise."
The new version 1.45 patches and Win32 dedicated server for Battlefield 1942 are
now available on the Battlefield
1942 Website. The client patch is available as a 107 MB update for any
previous version, this file can also be found on 3D
Gamers, FileFront,
FileShack (registration required), GameCenter.cz,
Gamer's
Hell, IGN, Loadedinc
(registration required), and Worthplaying,
or as a 50 MB update from version 1.40, also available on 3D
Gamers, FileFront,
FileShack (registration required), GameCenter.cz,
Gamer's
Hell, IGN, Loadedinc
(registration required), and Worthplaying.
The new Win32 dedicated server is also available from 3D
Gamers, FileFront,
and FileShack (registration required), while
the update for previous versions of the dedicated server can also be found on 3D
Gamers, FileFront,
and FileShack (registration required).
Here's the change list that was previously posted on BFNation:
-Support for Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII expansion pack
-Land vehicles will not respawn if player is too close to spawnpoint.
-Def Gun now has shell icon instead of rocket.
-Fixed issue with using the mouse wheel as a control.
-AI skill no longer resets to EASY when browsing menus.
-Dropped kits stay on static objects such as bridges, houses, etc.
-Fixed issue with disappearing buttons after activating a custom game.
-Tooltips added for Def Gun, stationary MG42 and stationary Browning.
-Kits can no longer be picked up from a distance.
-Fixed force from explosions on vehicles which were sometimes wrong, and caused
vehicles to roll over.
-AI players don't count when voting in COOP.
-Possible to select position 4, 5 and 6 in aircrafts.
-Console background does not disappear after switching to main menu.
-Changing camera view while shooting or leaving water works.
-CO-OP briefing text now displays the specific conquest type for each map
(Assault, Head-On or Hybrid)
-Names with line-feeds are now valid.
-Fixed floating exploit.
-Fixed first person animations, which sometimes stopped prematurely.
-Fixed crash when changing camera view under certain conditions.
Activision sends along news that the Call of Duty demo at the center of last
night's firestorm ( story) will be released this evening all
across the internet, with no exclusivity. Here's the deal: The recent
reaction to the upcoming Call of Duty demo has caught us here at
Activision by surprise. We're appreciative and excited about the high level of enthusiasm the game has received throughout the gaming community. Due
to the tremendous demand for the demo – we are answering the call by not only
making the demo freely available to all gamers at the same time, but early –
This Friday Night - just in time for the long weekend.
Gamespy has been a great partner - working with us so that we can make our fans
happy and give them a taste of a game they're clearly excited about. The demo
will be available across the net on fan and gaming coverage sites,
including GameSpy's FilePlanet.
We think you'll love Call of Duty, and we can't wait for you to play the demo.
Look for it Friday night!
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 Raven Shield
Website (thanks Frans) has word that the upcoming version 1.41 patch
for the Rainbow Six shooter has suffered another delay. Here's the deal: "As
you already know 1.41 has been delayed due to a longer test cycle than
anticipated. We discovered an issue that could have impacted 10 – 15% of the
community and because of that we decided to delay it until September 2nd. 1.41
integrates PunkBuster as well as correcting the problems related to 1.40. We are
very sorry for the delay and thank you for your support."
The
Half-Life 2 Interview on Computer and Video Games catches up with Valve's
Doug Lombardi at ECTS to pepper him with a few questions about Half-Life 2. In
this first part of a two parter, they discuss where development stands and
scripted versus freeform plot elements. In a
separate story they also quote Doug as reiterating their September 30
release date, saying: "the release date is unchanged."
- Jedi Academy
Computer
and Video Games' Jedi Academy Q&A talks with Activision producer
Graham Fuchs about the now-gold Star Wars shooter sequel. They introduce the
game, role-playing elements, force powers, multiplayer support, and more.
- Savage
GameZone.com's
Savage Q&A chats with S2 Games' CEO Rick Bosch about their now-gold
FPS/RTS hybrid, discussing the idea behind the game, map editing, cheaters,
and more.
- Dragon Empires
RPG
Vault's Dragon Empires Q&A #32 once again chats up Codemasters'
Peter Tyson about their upcoming MMORPG, this time out concentrating on
Artificial Intelligence.
- Darkfall
The Darkfall
Online Q&A Part Two on MMORPGDot catches up with Claus Grovdal
(Producer and Lead Designer), Erik Johansen (Network Programmer), Trond
Evanger (Designer) and Kjetil Helland (Lead Programmer) from the Darkfall
team, discussing more of Razorwax' upcoming MMORPG.
- Nosferatu
ELiTeD's
Nosferatu The Wrath of Malachi Q&A is an article-format conversation
with Stefan Ljungqvist of Idol to discuss their upcoming supernatural
first-person shooter.
- Bridge Builder
The Chronic
Logic Q&A on Gamers With Jobs talks with Josiah Pisciotta of Chronic
Logic about Bridge Builder, Pontifex, Bridge Construction Set, and other
related topics.
The
Phantom is a Phony on Techseekers.net makes their case for the phantomness
of the phantom system (thanks ThePDW). In other PC-based console news, there's a
DISCover PC Game
Console Interview on PC Gameworld discussing plans for the system.
After the flurry of activity last night I was still wrapping up some stories
when the updated info on the Call of Duty demo came in, leaving me in a position
to post that right off. Sometimes you just get lucky.
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