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Archived News:
Battlecruiser
Generations rechristened on GameSpot reveals that publisher DreamCatcher
Games will announce tomorrow that the upcoming installment in Derek Smart's
space sim series will be renamed from Battlecruiser Generations to Universal
Combat. The story describes plans for a new degree of user-friendliness and a
revised focus on action over complex simulation that will accompany the name
change, all intended to broaden the project's appeal.
There's a
DOOM 3 Q&A on Computer and Video Games (thanks Frans) with some brief
impressions of id Software's upcoming shooter sequel/remake after getting a demo
from lead designer Tim "Willets" Willits along with their conversation
with id CEO Todd Hollenshead. Topics include how this project fits in with the
prior DOOM games, multiplayer, the game engine, ports, and more. Accompanying
the article are a couple of new screenshots.
EA Ships SimCity 4 Rush
Hour Expansion Pack (thanks Frans) has word that the Rush Hour expansion for
SimCity 4 has managed to avoid traffic tie-ups to arrive on store shelves.
Here's a bit on the add-on: "For the first time in SimCity history, players
can take charge of vehicles in their cities to drive or solve missions that earn
reward buildings and vehicles. Players have the ultimate level of control over
their city's transportation network by completely taking charge of roads, rail,
air, and even waterways. SimCity is on the move in SimCity 4 Rush Hour."
There's a Robin Hood Defender of the Crown Demo on FilePlanet
(registration required), offering a sample of Cinemaware's action/strategy game based on the
legendary exploits of Robin and his merry men, exclusively for their registered
users (activating the demo will require a key acquired along with the download).
The demo is a 175 MB download.
A new The Lord of the
Rings: War of the Ring demo is now available, offering a sample of Liquid
Entertainment's upcoming Middle Earth RTS game. The single-player demo features
two missions for the cost of a 120 MB download, which can be found on 3D
Downloads, 3D Gamers,
Boomtown,
Computer
Games Online, FileFront,
FileShack (registration required), GameCenter.cz,
Gamer's
Hell, GameSpot,
GameTab (Bit
Torrent), IGN,
and Worthplaying.
Update: The game's official
website is now online.
There's a The
Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle-Earth Preview on GameSpy.com offers
a first look at the upcoming Tolkien-inspired RTS game in the works at EA ( Update:
The official
press release announcing the game has also now been released). The article
goes into detail about the origins of this project, tidbits about gameplay, and
what's being done to update the C&C Generals engine, as is demonstrated in
this excerpt: The engine has also been tweaked to do some incredible
things with lighting. Obviously, lighting has a huge impact on the drama of
scenes in the films, so the team wanted to get that sort of graphic effect in
the game as well. During the battle with the Haradrim, Verdu zoomed in to ground
level -- down to a first-person shooter perspective. The lighting was simply
beautiful, with gorgeous oranges and yellows and purples shooting across the
evening sky and shafts of golden sun coming in at the correct angle while the
sun set. According to Verdu, they're also considering ways in which lighting can
utilized as a gameplay element. When I pressed them for details, though, they
demurred, saying it's still in the planning stages.
Fulfilling the promise made when the German KnightShift demo was released, an
English version of the demo for Reality Pump's RTS game, to be titled Once Upon
a Knight in North America, is now available. The demo, a whopping 443 MB
download offering a portion of a campaign and a quick RPG mission, can be found
on 3D Gamers, Computer
Games Online, FileFront,
Gamer's Hell,
IGN, and Worthplaying.
A Hot Rod American Street
Drag Demo has been released. Though the link on the site to download the
budget racer demo is broken, the
working link is here, and since that server may not be able to handle much of a
load, mirrors are also available on 3D
Gamers and Worthplaying.
Also, The Shrapnel
Games Website offers downloads of the version 1.00 demo of Space Empires:
Starfury, the newest chapter in this ongoing science-fiction action/RPG saga.
Croteam's Get Serious Website has an
update on progress on Serious Sam 2, describing how happy they are with the
decision to create a new version of the Serious engine, and how the tools for
the Serious Engine 2 are already in workable shape, and their intention of
releasing a technology demo/benchmark "in the near future." Thanks
xxzen.
A new version 2.0 of ET Pro is now
available, updating this competition mod for Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. The
update includes a couple of gameplay tweaks and optimizations, as well as a
number of bug and exploit fixes.
The Relic Entertainment Website has word
that they plan on releasing the engine for Homeworld as well as the mod tools
for Homeworld 2 on Friday, via their Relic
Developer's Network. Thanks HomeLAN
Fed.
The P.A.I.N Website has been put
back online, dedicated to this old-school Quake mod, which can still be found
there (fire up the 9600 baud modem, it's a 2.9 MB download).
The service for my mom was lovely... those of us in her family were somewhat
aware of her influence in her field (a retired school principal turned
educational consultant) and her extended group of friends, but a crowd of more
than 450 attendees was a bit more than most of us expected, and I've never seen
a more touching funeral.
Obviously, my own process will be more drawn out, but I think it's about time to
put this to rest as a topic on the site here. Thanks once again for all the
support so many of you have showed, and also thanks to those of you who availed
themselves of the donation links I posted
yesterday. And to the couple of griefers who chose to twist this all to
their own uses, you are forgiven... my mom would have wanted it that way.
![=]](/miscimages/smiley4.gif)
My mom was a great person, and I will miss her every day of my life, but it's
been great being able to share her with you and others these past few days, and
I thank you for that. And remember, Carpe Diem.
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