|
|
 |
Archived News:
A new patch for Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates is now available, updating the
Trekkie space combat game to version 2.5.5.0. Links to the patch and the updated
version of the server can be found on the
Taldren Forums. Thanks Starfleet
Universe, who point out: "With the recent departure of Taldren's long
time SFC stalwart David Ferrell, this patch is likely to remain the really...
really, final patch for Orion Pirates." Also, a new Mistmare
patch is now available, updating the English version of Arxel Tribe's &
Sinister Systems' action/adventure/RPG to version 1.7. Thanks Frans.
- BF Vietnam
The Battlefield
Vietnam Q&A on GameSpot goes in country to get a sitrep from AJ
Marini, lead designer on DICE's upcoming BF 1942 set in the jungles of
Southeast Asia. Here's a neat tidbit: "NVA engineers have the ability
to relocate spawn points, which gives a feeling that the NVA are coming from
everywhere."
- TRIBES Vengeance
The TRIBES
Vengeance Q&A Computer and Video Games is their conversation with
Ken Levine of Irrational Games, learning about the company's history as well
as their plans for the upcoming installment in the TRIBES series of
multiplayer shooters. Thanks Frans.
- XIII
The XIII
Q&A on IGN talks with Julien Bares about the final days of
development of the imminent cel-shaded first-person shooter. Pow!
- Commandos 3
The Commandos 3: Destination Berlin Q&A on GameGossip briefly
chats with Pyro Studios' Ignacio Pérez Dolset about the latest
installment in their squad-based World War II combat game.
- Silent Storm
The Silent
Storm Q&A on Worthplaying interrogates Dmitry “Zak” Zakharov,
project leader on Nival Interactive's upcoming turn-based tactical game set
in World War II. They discuss the game's story and setting, and get into some
detail in describing gameplay.
- Cleric
The Edward
Chen Q&A Part One on Warcry News Network talks with the lead
developer on Cleric, Plutonium Games' upcoming Serious-engine
horror/survival game. The first part of the Q&A focuses on Ed's
background.
- Retuurn of the King
GamePro's
The Return of the King Q&A goes from out of the blue and into the
black with Neil Young of EA Games to discuss the upcoming Tolkien movie-inspired game. Thanks HomeLAN
Fed.
Strategy First sends word that the official Disciples
II Rise of the Elves "mini-site" has gone live, dedicated to the
upcoming stand-alone expansion pack. They say: "The mini-site features an
overview of the game, concept art and info about the new Elven race. Screenshots
and original music from the game are also featured on the site. Be sure to come
back often, as it will be updated weekly."
Ubi.com associate community manager Tim Ernst sends along a note about a bug in
the just released XIII demo, which will prompt a new version when it is
addressed. Here's the story: Today, the XIII MP demo was released but
there was a large bug in it. The bug is not affecting the 'Bot Challenge' but
multiplayer hosting. The development team is working hard to correct the
problem. This was the issue that caused all the confusion today. We will have a
new version soon that will have a better feeling for what the game's multiplayer
will feel like. I will keep you posted.
My own attempts to confuse the matter aside, the promised XIII demo is now
available for download from IGN.
The demo is a 158 MB download, offering two levels from the cel-shaded shooter
that can be played in straight deathmatch or team DM. Mirrors are available on 3D
Downloads, 3D Gamers, Computer
Games Online, Filerush,
FileShack (registration required), Gamer's
Hell, GameTab,
Gaming Asylum, Happy
Puppy (registration required), Loadedinc (registration required),
and Worthplaying.
A post to the Halflife2.net
Forums by Gabe Newell finally has a comment on the leaked Half-Life 2 source
code, brought to the world's attention by Gamer's
With Jobs and Slashdot.
Here's the deal: Ever have one of those weeks? This has just not been the
best couple of days for me or for Valve.
Yes, the source code that has been posted is the HL-2 source code.
Here is what we know:
1) Starting around 9/11 of this year, someone other than me was accessing my
email account. This has been determined by looking at traffic on our email
server versus my travel schedule.
2) Shortly afterwards my machine started acting weird (right-clicking on
executables would crash explorer). I was unable to find a virus or trojan on my
machine, I reformatted my hard drive, and reinstalled.
3) For the next week, there appears to have been suspicious activity on my
webmail account.
4) Around 9/19 someone made a copy of the HL-2 source tree.
5) At some point, keystroke recorders got installed on several machines at
Valve. Our speculation is that these were done via a buffer overflow in
Outlook's preview pane. This recorder is apparently a customized version of
RemoteAnywhere created to infect Valve (at least it hasn't been seen anywhere
else, and isn't detected by normal virus scanning tools).
6) Periodically for the last year we've been the subject of a variety of denial
of service attacks targetted at our webservers and at Steam. We don't know if
these are related or independent.
Well, this sucks.
What I'd appreciate is the assistance of the community in tracking this down. I
have a special email address for people to send information to, helpvalve@valvesoftware.com.
If you have information about the denial of service attacks or the infiltration
of our network, please send the details. There are some pretty obvious places to
start with the posts and records in IRC, so if you can point us in the right
direction, that would be great.
We at Valve have always thought of ourselves as being part of a community, and I
can't imagine a better group of people to help us take care of these problems
than this community.
Gabe
A
post to the XIII General Discussion Forum (thanks CoreyGH) by ubi.com associate
community manager Tim 'tbd' Ernst gives news that the XIII multiplayer demo that
they were hoping to release today has been delayed until tomorrow. Update:
It has been pointed out that this story refers to the demo being delayed until
today, not until tomorrow, and IGN says the release is still on track for this
evening. Sorry about causing any confusion.
A dedicated server program has been released to allow a Halo server to be
operated without a copy of the game. The download has been mirrored on 3D
Gamers, FileFront,
Filerush,
and Worthplaying.
Here's a note Gearbox sent along on this release: Due to the overwhelming
response and demand for Halo multiplayer, we are releasing this version of the
Halo Dedicated Server earlier than we originally planned. The server is a stand
alone application that does not require the retail version of the game to run.
Because we are releasing the server ahead of schedule, there were a couple
features that we did not get in on time. Most notable are support for RCON and
Multiple instances on one machine. These features are nearly complete and will
be released as an update in the next week or so. The dedicated server package is
roughly 100mb. The update will be roughly 10mb.
Conspiracies
Gone Gold is the press release announcing this murder mystery game from
Greek developer Anima Ppd-Interactive has gone gold, with the game, which will
include both CD and DVD formats in one box, "should hit store shelves in
just a couple of weeks." Also, Global Star sends word that both Jet Fighter
5 and Airport Tycoon 3 have gone gold. Word on Airport Tycoon 3 is to expect the
retail version some time this month. Here's the deal on Jetfighter 5:
Global Star Software, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
(Nasdaq: TTWO) is pleased to announce that Jetfighter 5 has gone gold!
This authentic fighter jet simulation features real-time air-to-air and
air-to-ground combat. It is developed using the Criterion RenderWare™ engine.
Choose from the F-16 Fighting Falcon™, the F/A-22 Raptor™, or the brand new
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter™. Combat evil in over 30 missions as you dogfight
your way across the satellite-mapped terrain of California and Nevada.
Features include:
- Stunning 3D graphics, environmental audio and highly detailed,
satellite-mapped environments.
- 90,000 square miles of flyable terrain.
- Three flyable Lockheed Martin™ jets: The F-16 Fighting Falcon™, F/A-22
Raptor™ and the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter™.
- Realistic flight physics and weapon platforms
- An in-game mission generator, giving you the ability to create unlimited
missions.
- Multiplayer dogfight with up to 16 players via LAN
- A variety of ultra-realistic effects including weather conditions and
G-force induced blackouts, redouts and greyouts.
Jetfighter 5 was developed at InterActive Vision. Global Star Software
plans to release the retail version on the game in October.
Be sure to check out the official Jetfighter 5 website at www.jetfighter5.com.
It features some exclusive screenshots as well as additional game
information.
The Yager
Website now offers word (in German) of the first patch for the futuristic
flying combat game. The 16 MB patch addresses controller and sound issues, among
other things (thanks YiYas). Also, a patch for
Mercedes-Benz World Racing is now available, updating the prestigiously named
racing game to version 1.2.3. The 2.8 MB update is available from FileFront,
GameSurf, and Worthplaying.
The Chaser Website is now offering
downloads of the first official map pack for Chaser, Cauldron's fast-paced first
person shooter. Included in the 52 MB download are: Arctic Siege (CTF), Bad
Place (ST, DM, TDM, CTF), Night Shift (DM, TDM), Old Harbor (DM,TDM), and Old
Hotel (ST, DM, TDM).
Microïds sends word that they have acquired Wanadoo Edition. Here's the
entirety of the brief press release: (Montreal, Canada - October 2nd,
2003) - On September 30, 2003, Wanadoo, a major European Internet Service
Provider, sold its interactive entertainment subsidiary, Wanadoo Edition, to
Microïds.
With this operation, Wanadoo becomes a shareholder to a total value of 12% of
Microïds.
This transfer makes it possible for Wanadoo to focus its strategy on the
emerging field of on-line games, and to firmly establish itself in the North
American market through Microïds' subsidiaries Microids Canada and Microïds
Distribution inc.
This partnership will strengthen the relationship and reinforce the bonds
between the two entities with a new distribution agreement covering the main
European markets and some joint Marketing operations promoting games on the
Microïds and Wanadoo labels. Microïds already distributes Wanadoo Edition's
games catalogue in Italy through its Italian subsidiary, Microïds
Italia.
Gamesindustry.biz
(thanks Boomtown)
has news that Lost Toys, the UK-based developer formed by former employees of
Bullfrog and Electronic Arts, has shut its doors. The company had released two
games, MoHo and Battle Engine Aquila, and was at work on Stunt Car Racer Pro
when the decision to close the company came down. Word is: "Company
director Jeremy Longley confirmed that development has ceased at the studio,
stating that he and the other directors are now investigating opportunities to
maximise the potential of the developer's intellectual property."
- Contract J.A.C.K.
Computer
and Video Games' Contract J.A.C.K. Q&A talks with Monolith's Craig
Hubbard, lead designer on the upcoming shooter that takes an alternate
approach to their swingin' 60s No One Lives Forever series. Thanks Frans.
- Far Cry
The Far
Cry IQ Test on IGN is a Q&A with Christopher Natsuume, producer on
Far Cry, discussing the AI in the upcoming shooter, among other topics.
- Bard's Tale
Brian
Fargo Back in play on GameSpot chats with Interplay founder Brian Fargo
about the recently revealed plan to revive Bard's Tale, the classic RPG.
- Lineage II
The Lineage II Q&A on Warcry with Aaron Rigby, North
American producer on the upcoming MMORPG sequel, discusses specifics about
how to lay siege to a castle.
- Shadowbane: The Rise Of Chaos
HomeLAN
Fed's Shadowbane: The Rise Of Chaos Q&A chats with Thomas Sitch of
Wolfpack Studios about the upcoming add-on for Shadowbane, their MMORPG.
- Commandos 3
Game
Chronicles' Commandos 3: Destination Berlin Q&A talks with Ignacio
Pérez Dolset of Pyro Studios about the third installment in their World War
II combat series.
- No Man's Land
The No
Man's Land Q&A on Game Chronicles is their conversation with
Burkhard Ratheiser, managing director of Related Designs, who discusses
their upcoming game set in the wild and wooly days of the American western
frontier.
- Prince of Persia
The Prince
of Persia: The Sands of Time Q&A on IGN talks with David Chateauneuf
of Ubi Soft Montreal about the return of the acrobatic prince.
- CENEGA
Les
questions et les réponses on Sanqualis is their Q&A with the folks
from CENEGA presenting answers to questions about Shade, Korea Forgotten
Conflict, and UFO Aftermath in an unusual format (but they are all in
English).
- Star Wars Galaxies
IGN's
Star Wars Galaxies Q&A catches up with Raph Koster, Kevin O'Hara,
and Haden Blackman to discuss the Star Wars MMORPG, and how players have
been reacting to what it has to offer.
- Rise of the Elves
RPG
Vault's Disciples II: Rise of the Elves Q&A is a discussion with
Ariel Gauthier and Ethan Petty about the upcoming expansion for Strategy
First's strategy game, the new elven race it will offer, and more.
- EverQuest
EverQuest's
Vault EQ Mini Q&A #1 asks a few questions of SOE's Alan
VanCouvering.
One time id designer American McGee, now signing off as "Creative Director (of) The
Mauretania Import Export Co" sends word that they are holding a Video
Game Casting Call for game players from southern California as they conduct
open casting for a video game television show. He says: "think 'iron chef'
meets 'jackass' meets head-to-head gaming."
The first public beta of the UETF
Chronicles is now available, a cooperative teamplay modification for Unreal
Tournament 2003. This mod is a finalist in phase one of the Make Something
Unreal contest.
Still trying to work back into a normal schedule around here with all the recent
goings on, but I needed to go back and sift through some submissions from the
past few days to make sure things weren't falling through the cracks, so it's a
bit of swimming against the tide.
On the bright side, having fought through this machine's objections to a system
reinstall, a couple of nagging glitches that it had been demonstrating have
cleared up, so there's still a way to view this glass as half-full (now I just
need to be careful not to spill it).
|
Twitter 
