The Galactic Downloads Page now offers stand-alone downloads of the Expanded Universe free add-on for Galactic Civilizations that was released last month via the StarDock Central utility (story). Word is: "The expansion pack has a ton of cool new features such as an integrated encyclopedia/technology tree navigator, a rally point manager, new ships, new technologies, larger map size, updated graphics, and much more." While there, you may want to participate in the poll they are running to gauge interest in a premium add-on for the space game that would cost around $20.

A playable demo for Beyond Good & Evil is now available, offering a three level sample of the upcoming conspiracy game. Accompanying the download on Gamer's Hell is a note that warns the latest Catalyst or Detonator drivers are required to run the demo. Mirrors are now available on 3D Gamers, IGN, Loadedinc (registration required), and Worthplaying.

Word from iGames and S2 Games is that a demo of Savage, their action/strategy hybrid, is due soon, going so far as to specify October 6 (this Monday) as their targeted release date in the subject line. Here's the spin:

iGames and S2 Games today announced that a demo for Savage: The Battle for Newerth is in the final stages of development and testing. Its public release is imminent. The long awaited Real Time Strategy FPS hit the shelves September 9th and earned accolades from the media, driving the gaming community to clamor for a demo. iGames and S2 have answered the fan requests and will release a demo featuring two levels of gameplay thrusting players into the role of commander or warrior in the Human forces.

Atari sends along word that a patch for The Temple of Elemental Evil is in the works. Here's the deal:

LOS ANGELES – Oct. 3, 2003 – Atari today announced plans to develop a patch for its recently released PC CD-ROM game, The Temple of Elemental Evil™, set in the Dungeons & Dragons® World of Greyhawk created by Wizards of the Coast. The patch, which is initially slated to release later this month, will address a number of issues associated with the retail release of the product, including: technical fixes and general fine tuning; a variety of quest clarifications; corrections for some race and class inconsistencies, such as miscalculated attack modifiers and incorrect weapon and spell use; as well as a number of interface updates.

A new version 1.9 of the Navy SEALs Covert Operations modification for Quake III Arena is now available (thanks Ant). The new release is available in three distributions, one for Windows, one for Macs, and a third OS-independent version via bittorrent.

On the heels of the release of the patch for the XIII demo, Ubi Soft sends word that this is the "buggy" European demo, which has been superceded by a new U.S. demo (no word on how this recommendation is impacted by the new patch). The new demo can be found on on 3D Gamers, FileFront, Filerush, FileShack (registration required), Gamer's Hell, GameSpot, GameTab, IGN, and Worthplaying. Here's a bit of the accompanying description:

The demo gives players a taste of XIII's adrenaline-pumping multiplayer action directly from the game. Players can choose between two action-packed 6-player maps for either Deathmatch or Team Deathmatch action. XIII's 15 deadly weapons are featured in the demo along with a few surprise armaments, allowing players to discover their favorite weapons before the game ships in October. In true XIII style, players will experience a unique graphic novel world as they compete against bots or other players over LAN and the Internet with Ubi Soft's Game Service. The demo can be downloaded now from XIII's website: www.whoisXIII.com/community.

A patch is now available for the new XIII Demo to address the bot bug discovered after it was released (story). The patch is a 1.1 MB download, available from IGN, and an updated version of the demo is planned to follow. The patch is mirrored on 3D Gamers, FileFront, Gamer's Hell, and Worthplaying.

A new bonus map for Command & Conquer Generals is now available, offering the chance to play the US versus Canada on a map representing North America. The map is a 200 KB download, which can be found on EA's FTP server (direct link). Here's a link to the map's read me that was not included in the archive.

This press release announces that Paradise Cracked has shipped in North America, and Buka Entertainment's tactical RPG should now be on store shelves. Here's a bit on the story:

Paradise Cracked finds the player in a future where the world has suffered from many years of overpopulation and ecological destruction, until the leading scientists created Cyber Brain - a supercomputer that solved all the global problems and turned the overpopulated and polluted Earth into Paradise. You are a young hacker. Once, while in cyberspace you managed to break into a secured area and came across a series of strange data packets. You hurriedly copied these to disk, not even having the time to read their contents. Only a few minutes later you hear a police siren, followed by banging on the door and demands to open up.

• Middle-Earth Online
  A new Middle-Earth Online diary on the game's official website, describes the push to complete an internal demo to show off the upcoming Tolkien-inspired MMORPG.
• Horizons
  Also, RPG Vault's Horizons Journal #27 is online, in the latest installment concerning Horizons, the upcoming MMORPG, "David Bowman updates us on Artifact Entertainment's launch preparations and reveals some post-release features."
• Atriarch
  A new update on the Atriarch News Page offers thoughts on bandwidth load balancing in the upcoming MMORPG. Thanks Frans.
• Celtic Kings: The Punic Wars
  The Celtic Kings: The Punic Wars Diary on Gamer's Hell kicks off a new series of journals on the upcoming strategy expansion, as Gabriel Dobrev of Haemimont Games fills us in on the carnage of the Carthaginians.

Another updated English demo for Yager is now available, adding the same fixes and improvements as the recent patch for the German version of the futuristic flying shooter. The new release can be found on this page or the mirrors on 3D Gamers, Gamer's Hell, and Worthplaying.

• Universal Combat
  GameGossip's Universal Combat Q&A is a quick confab with Derek Smart of 3000AD about the upcoming game formerly known as Battlecruiser Generations.
• Middle-Earth Online
  HomeLAN Fed's Middle-Earth Online Q&A talks with James Altenburg of VU Games about progress on the upcoming MMORPG in the setting of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
• Pax Romana
  The Pax Romana Q&A on Gamer's Hell talks with Philippe Thibaut of Strategy First about their upcoming project, and why he would call it a "historical strategy" game, rather than an RTS game.

The official Secret Weapons Over Normandy Website has been relaunched as a Flash-only affair (thanks Frans). Included are some new movies showing off the upcoming follow-up to LucasArts' classic Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe.

• Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna on Gamer's Depot.
• X² - The Threat on ActionTrip.

Titanium Angels cancelled on 3D Gamers has a confirmation from Mobius Entertainment that that production on the third-person science fiction game was cancelled "some time ago."

The Chaser Website offers new version 1.49 patches for the English and French versions of Cauldron's first-person shooter, while this page features the patch for the German version. Also, new English and French patches for Europa 1400 - The Guild are available on this page updating the game to version 1.05 beta 3. Likewise, this page offers new patches for the both the German version of the game and the German-only add-on. Thanks Frans.

An updated Linux version of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is now available as both an update patch and a new full installer. This release is now in line with the most recent Win32 version. The new files can be found on id's FTP server and 3D Gamers.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Report: Net attacks more frequent, lethal. Lethal? Can't we get more hysterical than that?
• Microsoft faces class action on security.
• Digital-rights group knocks 'trusted' PCs.
• Waiting for DVDs, the Sequel and DivX is ready for its sequel. Is Hollywood?
• Group takes nonstandard try at antipiracy standard.
• Online Sales Tax Bill Hits House.
• Web Searches The Fix Is In.
• Florida Dorms Lock Out P2P Users.

The Legacy Website now offers a new version 1.41 of Doom Legacy, updating this enhanced version of id Software's DOOM based on the publicly available source code. Word is: "...we took the time to make it as stable as possible. Sure, some bugs remain, but the most annoying ones reported to us are gone." Thanks Frans.

BerneyBoy's Maps Design now offers downloads of a photorealistic texture pack with 2000 high-resolution textures for a variety of applications.

• Age of Mythology: the Titans on GameSpot and ActionTrip.
• Anarchy Online: Shadowlands on GameZone.
• Chariots of War on The Entertainment Depot.
• Emergency Fire Response on The Entertainment Depot.
• Enigma: Rising Tide on Game Chronicles.
• Etherlords II on Games Domain.
• Freedom Fighters on 3DAvenue and (in German) on GBase.ch.
• Ghost Master on Adrenaline Vault and GameGossip.
• Halo: Combat Evolved on Game Revolution.
• Heaven & Hell on VideoGamesLife.
• Homeworld 2 on PC Arena.
• KnightShift on Computer Games Romania.
• Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Breakthrough on PC Gameworld.
• Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide on Ferrago.co.uk.
• Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy on EuroGamer and (in German) on GBase.ch.
• TRON 2.0 on Boomtown.net.
• Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection on GameZone.

• Afina AS 7180AV Computer on Designtechnica.
• AMD64 Platforms Compared on GamePC.
• ATI 9600 Pro vs. NVIDIA 5600 Video Cards on Techware Labs.
• ATI TV Wonder VE Remote Control Edition Video Card on Extreme Overclocking.
• GlobalWIN SAF420 PSU on Envy News.
• irock 400FM Wireless Music Adapter on TechTastic.
• Logitech MX310 Optical Mouse on CoolTechZone.
• MSI K8T NEO FIS2R Motherboard on AMDZone.
• Samsung Yepp YP-55i MP3 Player on Envy News.
• Thermaltake LANFIRE Case on Overclocker Cafe.
• XFX FX5600 Ultra Video Card on ViperLair.

• HomeLAN Fed is reporting that Dredd versus Death has gone gold in the UK, and is expected on store shelves on October 17...

Ralph Moore sends along a reminder that today is the 10th anniversary of the disastrous attempt to capture Mohammed Aidid in Mogadishu Somalia shown in the movie Black Hawk Down. This Ranger History Page gives a summarized account of the fighting.

Link of the Day:	Build your own FreeBSD Segway clone. Thanks Bunko.
Stories of the Day:	Hope Diamond glows with mystery.
Science!:	Discovery may spur cheap solar power. And that's how the cookie crumbles.
Media of the Day:	The Dragon & The Rat. Thanks Ant.
Images of the Day:	Best Photos. Thanks Larry. FoxTrot. Thanks Spooky42 and Quboid.
Auction of the Day:	PRESIDENT BUSH'S MOTORCOACH (BUS). Thanks Dan Leadbetter. FABULOUS BUCKET OF BRISTOL TAP WATER MINT NR!. Thanks Phragmites.
	Thanks Mike Martinez.