Archived News:
This Flash page on
the Call of Duty Website offers a glitzy communiqué on plans for the
upcoming version 1.3 patch for the World War II shooter. The update says the
patch will arrive in "approx. 1 week" and will include a pair of new maps:
MP_Bocage and MP_Neauville as well as server browser enhancements, sniper rifle
scope fixes, and fixes to cheats & exploits. Word on PunkBuster support is that
it will arrive in a subsequent update.
The
Battlefield 1942 Website (thanks Frans) announces the five winners of their
mapping competition, saying that they will be putting up servers running these
maps soon. They will also be offering them for download, pointing to
PlanetBattlefield as the place
to grab them in the meantime.
Valve sends along a Steam update from Gabe Newell: There are a couple of
Steam-related things that I thought were worth bringing up.
#1) We've been re-running the hardware survey as we do periodically. We're up
over 500,000 respondents. The running tally is at
http://www.steampowered.com/status/survey.html
The previous survey is at:
http://valve.speakeasy.net
There's lots of interesting info, for example Windows 98/Windows ME users going
from 62.8% down to 8.25%. It will be cool when more people realize they can play
localized versions (Chinese, Korean, French, Italian, German, and Spanish) of
the games over Steam.
#2) We've been able to increase the level and speed of our Steam upgrades by
direct reporting of client bugs back through Steam. If a Steam client reports a
problem, we can replicate it on our machines and jump directly to the line of
code in our debugger. This is hugely valuable, and just a fundamentally better
way of supporting our customers than we've had in the past.
#3) We've started taking pre-orders for Counter-Strike: Condition Zero over
Steam. It is way cool that the people who have been supporting us over the years
can now buy our games directly from us. When the first pre-order went through,
we all cheered. We're going to be contacting the person who did it and doing
something to commemorate the occasion. I was trying to be first, but couldn't
type fast enough and ended up #6.
Gabe
The Whiptail Interactive
Support Area now features
a small patch
(direct link) for the Gangland multiplayer demo to address a crashing bug that
can be provoked "if a certain combination of circumstances occur."
An updated version of yesterday's kill.switch demo is now available, addressing
an unspecified glitch in the first demo, though the version number on the new
release is still 1.0. No patch is available, but the newer demo can be
downloaded from 3D Gamers,
ActionTrip,
GameSpot
DLX (registration required), and
Worthplaying.
This
Ubisoft Solution Center Page offers a new version 1.01 patch for XIII, the
cel-shaded Unreal-engine first-person shooter. The update adds the winning
character from their "You in the game" competition, a clarification of the
game's save game system, and single-player and multiplayer bug fixes. The patch
is a 34 MB download, mirrored on
3D Gamers,
ActionTrip, and
Worthplaying.
The Battlecruiser Online Website
(thanks Frans) has word of a resolution to the legal conflict between the
developer and DreamCatcher, publisher of Universal Combat ( story
and story and story). Here's the brief statement:
"Effective today's date, Dreamcatcher and 3000AD have settled their differences,
and the litigation is over."
Following up on the release of the mod's dedicated server
( story), the new version .02 client for the
Galactic Conquest Star
Wars-inspired modification for Battlefield 1942 is now available. May the Force
be with you.
This
Digital Jesters Press Release (thanks Frans) has news of plans for Chaos
League, "an ambitious fantasy sports game" in the works at French developer
Cyanide that's due for release in June of this year. The announcement is
accompanied by
the
first screenshots of the project, and there are more shots scattered through
this section of their
website. Here's a bit: Chaos League is a fantasy sports game in which
teams of nine players compete in a brutal field sport. Controlled using a real
time strategy interface, the object of the game is simple: put the ball in the
opponent's end-zone. The rules are equally simple: do it any way you can. And if
that includes issuing commands such as 'stamp', 'facial kick' or 'ball of
fire'... well, so be it. Just as long as you win.
Off the field, players are treated to an in-depth management game as they buy,
sell, train and trade their players into hopefully the best Chaos League team
around. The game features 10 different creature races, covering over 70 types of
players. Each race has its own style of play and strategy, demanding managers to
juggle morale and playing styles in order to create the best possible team.
Multiplayer options abound, with dedicated online play offering a persistent
league structure. Alternatively, players can go head-to-head with their
individual teams on one PC.
Applications to beta test Xpand Rally
are now being accepted on the official
website of Techland's upcoming rally racing game. Here's word:
Techland – the developer of Xpand Rally – has today started the
registration of beta testers for the game.
After learning the minimum system requirements of a beta tester computer and
approving the non-disclosure agreement one must fill out a simple form stating
his identification data, his hardware details and his preferences regarding
computer racing games.
Beta tests will help in game’s compatibility testing with special attention put
on game controllers. Techland also expects to receive detailed comments on their
car simulation physics as well as on game modes and general game’s playability.
2000 people will be chosen from among all applications and they will receive the
Beta version of the game. Beta testers will be also granted the access to
Techland’s bug reporting system and a special discussion board where they will
have the opportunity to directly contact the members of the development
team.
The Battlefield
Dedicated Server Forum is now host to an updated version of the dedicated
Battlefield Vietnam Linux server, shoring up the groundwork being laid for the
imminent shooter. Changes and improvements are noted along with the mirror on
3D Gamers.
This Star
Wars Battlefront Planets Page provides information on a couple of the
planets that will be included in the upcoming multiplayer Star Wars game,
profiling Yavin IV and Naboo 2. Each planet is depicted in an accompanying
Flash clip, and these clips are also available in Windows Media Player format on
3D Gamers and
Worthplaying.
The SecurityFocus
BugTraq Mailing List (thanks Wunderwaffe) has word on a problem that impacts
any game using the Unreal engine. Here's the deal: This bug was signaled
to EpicGames EXACTLY the 2th September 2003 (today is the 10th March so over 6
months ago) but at the beginning it was underrated and was taken a bit more
seriously only at November.
All the developers of the vulnerable games have been alerted by EpicGames
through their internal mailing-list.
About UT and UT2003: EpicGames refused to release a quick-fix for
UnrealTournament and UnrealTournament 2003 so the fix was inserted in the
planned patch as they do for graphic bugs and other small problems... the patch
has not been released yet and is impossible to know when it will be ready.
QUICK FIXES ARE THE SOLUTION: SECURITY BUGS ARE *NOT* COMMON BUGS!!!
The Far Cry
Designer Diaries #3 and #4 on IGN offer "Two diaries for the price of one,"
as Michael Khaimzon pens one diary entry about Crytek's upcoming first-person
shooter, while another entry is also on tap with Tony David, Ben Bauer, Sten
Hübler Harry Spatzig, Chris Natsuume, and Petar Kotevski ganging up on the
keyboard to supply another journal. Also, the
Middle-Earth
Online March Team Letter (thanks Frans) offers a quick update on how the
monsters in the upcoming Tolkien MMORPG will closer resemble the enemies in the
game's fictional inspiration than those in typical games: "Monsters will do far
more than mindlessly attack over and over."
There's a Far Cry log on FarCryHQ
(thanks HomeLAN Fed)
recapping an IRC session with Crytek about their upcoming shooter. Also,
BattleField Central has posted log of a chat with the developers of
Battlefield Vietnam, the imminent multiplayer shooter.
A new version 0.2 dedicated server for the
Galactic Conquest modification
for Battlefield 1942 is now available, allowing server operators to prepare for
the upcoming version 0.2 client release. Thanks Ant.
Boomtown's Battlefield 1942 Tweaks Guide is online: "Having trouble running
Battlefield 1942 to your satisfaction? Boomtown presents it's very own tweaks
gudie to help you run the game more smoothly."
Just a few days remain until Philly
Classic 5 opens its doors to eager gamers: "PC5 will feature coin-op arcade
games set on free play, classic home gaming stations, arcade and console
tournaments, a huge marketplace with everything gamers dream about including
home console systems from 1970-2004, games, accessories, memorabilia, and
rarities." Thanks Bronco.
Version 2.0 beta K of the Battlefield 1942 mod development toolkit is now
available, offering "everything you need to create your own mods." This version
of the toolkit includes the first support for Battlefield Vietnam, the imminent
BF19422 follow-up. The download is available on
FilePlanet (registration required) mirrored on
3D Gamers and
Worthplaying.
The
Jarhead Games Forums has word of an opening they are looking to fill for a
level designer: "Applicants must have a solid resume with playable samples.
Experience in Quake, Unreal, Lithtech or other major 3D engines is required.
Check out our Employment Section for more information."
Why
Sugar Pills Cure Some Ills (thanks Mike Martinez) has some interesting info
about the placebo effect, and how scientists are still unclear on exactly how
this all works. I just enjoy this story for the absurd image it conjures of the
Monty Python-style research that this would inspire.. what do you give the
control group in a test of the placebo effect? Real drugs? A placebo placebo?
Artificial sweetener?
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