Archived News:
Shacknews has finally
received official word that Half-Life 2 will not be making its planned release
date of September 30, something a quick glance at the calendar can confirm.
Here's the quote from Valve's Doug Lombardi: The previously announced
September 30th release date for Half-Life 2 is being pushed back. We are
currently targeting a holiday release, but do not have a specific
"in-store" date to share at this time. We will release that
information as soon as we have confirmed a new date.
Mayhem Studios sends along an update for their PC/Xbox "final fantasy-style" RPG titled Neverend that was announced last year ( story) and that's expected in spring of 2004. In addition, new screenshots of the game have been released, and can be viewed on
RPG Radar. The press release describes a game where "Locations displayed by the pre-rendered background and engine-rendered characters and objects," so that: "The
computer at the same time works with a simplified model of the scene that
enables nice scenes with more than a million polygons and concurrently have full
interaction with the surroundings."
Tesseraction Games has announced they are suing GMX Media, the UK publisher for
Enigma: Rising Tide, their alternate-history naval action game (thanks Frans).
Here's the deal: "Tesseraction Games today filed a lawsuit for breach of
contract against UK publisher GMX Media, Ltd. The 1.7 million dollar lawsuit
cites unpaid royalties, substantial and un-remedied breach, inaccurate sales
reporting and initiation of product sales outside of licensed territories.
Tesseraction is also seeking injunctive relief against the publisher."
Lords of
EverQuest Downloads Index for PC at GameSpot now offers downloads of an
updated version of the Lords of EverQuest Shadowrealms Demo (registration required). Word is:
"This version has been updated to address several technical issues."
The new 402 MB demo has been mirrored on 3D
Gamers, FileFront,
IGN, and Worthplaying.
In other Lords of EverQuest news, Sony
Online Entertainment Announces Hollywood Voiceover Talent for Lords of EverQuest
is the press release announcing that some prominent film and TV actors are
lending their voices to the production of the upcoming EQ RTS game, including
John Rhys-Davies, Kate Mulgrew, Ron Perlman, and Katey Sagal.
The AMD 64 processor is officially released as of today, and the corresponding
flood of reviews and other news is making its way online:
- ALi/ULI M1687 Athlon64 Socket 754 Ref Motherboard on OC
Workbench.
- AMD Athlon 64 CPU on AMDZone,
AnandTech, Digit-Life,
The
Tech Report, and Tom's
Hardware Guide (thanks Mike Martinez).
- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ CPU on Amdmb.com.
- AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 CPU on Amdmb.com,
Gamers
Depot, Legit
Reviews, LostCircuits,
Overclockers
Australia, Sudhian
Media, UKGamer,
and X-bit
labs.
- Athlon 64
Motherboards on AnandTech.
- Gigabyte K8VNXP VIA K8T800 Motherboard on OC
Workbench.
- Shuttle's SN85G4 SFF System w/AMD 64 CPU on SFF
TECH and The
Tech Report.
Also:
EA Games sends word of another new game's availability, as Tiger Woods PGA Tour
2004 is now available for the PC, PS2, Xbox, and GameCube. Word is the GBA
version will be available October 28. More details can be found on the
game's official website. Also: "The 12th installment of EA's legendary
hockey franchise, NHL 2004 is now available for the PlayStation®2 computer
entertainment system, the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft, Nintendo
GameCube™, and PC CD-ROM."
This Ballerium
Progress report describes what's been going on over the past couple of
months of development of Majorem's upcoming MMORTS. The update describes changes
to the game's design, points the way to some screenshots in their Ballerium
Gallery and, while the update does not provide a release date, the timeline
entry clearly indicates that the game's overall schedule has been pushed back a
bit: "The current Ballerium is a much better game. But those improvements
cost. In order to enable us complete all the said changes, and in order not to
release a premature product, it is now estimated that we would need to wait till
Christmas before releasing the Public Beta (hopefully supporting about 5000
testers). It is estimated that such a beta could take as much as 6 months to
complete, with a phase of added features somewhere in the middle."
A pair of IRC sessions are slated for this evening. There's a Neverwinter
Nights: Hordes of the Underdark chat with the BioWare tonight at Stratics. The
chat will be at 8:00 p.m. EDT in the channel #nwnhoc on the server
irc.stratics.com. Also, the chat with Troika to discuss the release of The
Temple of Elemental Evil as well as their future plans is also being held this
evening at 8:00 p.m. EDT in the channel #rpgcodex on the server
irc.gamesnet.net.
A new version 1.11 Win32 dedicated server for IL-2 Sturmovik: the Forgotten
Battles is now available on the IL-2 Website.
The program is a substantial 319 MB download, which has been mirrored on 3D
Gamers.
Go from Trucker to Tycoon
with 18 Wheels of Steel Across America For PC From ValuSoft (thanks Frans)
is the press release announcing that this trucking sim is rolling into stores in
North America.
There's another DOOM
3 Q&A on GameArena talking with id Software's Tim Willits and Todd
Hollenshead at the Activision Activate conference in Asia. Likewise, GameArena's
DOOM 3 Preview is also online, GameSpy.com's
DOOM 3 Preview has been posted, and there are DOOM
3 Single-Player Impressions on GameSpot where they also recap their session
with the upcoming shooter remake as shown off by Willits and Hollenshead. They
offer impressions of the gameplay and the atmosphere created by the new game
engine, both of which can be found in this quote: The flashlight is
present in both single-player and multiplayer modes. It serves as an exploration
tool that realistically cuts through shadows, and it also serves as a
last-ditch-effort melee weapon. But if you have your flashlight in hand, you
don't have any kind of decent weapon equipped. This point was driven home by the
sudden appearance of another zombie, who leaped from the shadows of the
heretofore strangely quiet hallway. As we dodged away from it, we watched as it
lunged for us and closed its arms around thin air in a failed attempt to grab us
before we blasted it. We also came to a short stairway. At the top of the stairs
was a heavyset zombie who noted our presence. He then grabbed a nearby barrel
and hurled it at us. We dodged the barrel, but it tumbled off to the side, and
the sound of it crashing to the ground reverberated realistically around us.
Also,
IGN quotes
unnamed sources in reporting that "progressive metal band Tool is doing an
original song for Doom 3." Update: There is yet another
DOOM 3 preview on Eurogamer (thanks Frans).
The Nitro Family Website has
news that a multiplayer version of the upcoming Serious-engine shooter is in the
works. Here's the deal: "Nitro Family will be moved to Online Shooter which
will provide various Multiplayer modes and Massively Multiplayer experience at
the same time. With maneuverable vehicles and realistic physics added, Nitro
Family Online will be available in Q3 of 2004." They also confirm plans for
an Xbox version of Nitro Family due in Q2 2004.
DreamCatcher
Games Announces Universal Combat for PC is the press release official
confirming yesterday's revelation that Battlecruiser Generations, the upcoming
fifth installment in Derek Smart's BC series, is being remarketed as Universal
Combat, a more action-oriented game. The update gives details on plans for the
project.
From the Pits to the
Winner's Circle, IndyCar Series Delivers Racing Mania to PCs Nationwide is
the press release announcing that Codemasters' open-wheel racing game has
crossed the checkered flag, and is now available at retail. Here's a bit: "IndyCar(TM)
Series' complex AI system continues to intertwine the realism of the Indy Racing
League with stimulating and exciting gameplay, allowing competing drivers to
exhibit the same tactics as their real-life counterparts. The AI system also
gauges the ability of the player and dynamically adjusts the level of the
opposing drivers' skills accordingly. This creates a unique racing opportunity
as AI drivers make strategic decisions, rather than follow a scripted
path." Likewise, EA
Ships The Sims Double Deluxe has word that they have shipped "The
Ultimate Compilation of the Top-Selling PC Game of All Time." Thanks Frans.
Xbox Accelerates
Into Holiday With Full Head of Steam offers an account of the system's
success that would make an Enron accountant proud. Also, HomeLAN
Fed's Snake Plissken Game Q&A chats with Andre Emerson about Namco's
plans to bring the one-eyed bandit everyone thinks is dead to life in upcoming
video games.
A new version 1.2 of the Hell in the
Pacific modification for Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is now available.
The update includes all the changes and fixes from the 1.1 update as well as new
additions and improvements all aiming at laying the groundwork for the big
version 2.0 update.
Doomsday HQ now features a new
version 1.7.13 of the Doomsday version of DOOM/Heretic/Hexen (thanks Frans). The
update features improvements and bug-fixes for the renderer, enhancements to the
interface, and more.
The Guildhall at SMU has opened
admissions for their January 2005 game development program, while admissions for
their January 2004 session are running through October 13.
Aspyr Media sends along an e-mail... no, this is more a cry for help:
"According to Glenda Adams, Aspyr¹s director of PC and Mac development,
applicants for the programming positions should have experience programming
games in C/C++, or have a specialization in OpenGL, Mac OS X optimization and
debugging, or sound. Familiarity with DirectX and Windows APIs are a plus, since
the development group¹s efforts will be focused on porting games from Windows
to Mac. Qualified applicants should email their resume to jobs@aspyr.com."
Wow -- I thought that hurricane had come and gone, but it's getting pretty
sporty around here at the moment... I have horizontal rain coming in windows,
trees being buffeted in the wind, and the power has cut out briefly twice. Thank
goodness for uninterruptible power supplies... or for that matter, thank
goodness for brick walls!
R.I.P.: Gordon
Jump of 'WKRP', Maytag ads dies. Thanks Mike Martinez.
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