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Archived News:
Steam News (thanks Frans)
outlines the latest updates to the Half-Life dedicated server, the Source
engine, and Steam itself, which includes the following: "Pressing the cancel
button while Steam is loading will bring up the offline dialog."
Sims 2 hacks spread like
viruses on SecurityFocus (thanks
Slashdot and Mike Martinez) outlines a problem for Sims 2 users who can find they are
running a hacked game after innocently downloading and installing tainted
properties from the Sims 2 website: At one point as many as
three-quarters of the lots on the exchange contained hacks, estimates Suzanne
Walshire, a 57-year-old Sims 2 player from Pflugerville, Texas, and an early
victim of the phenomenon." It's extremely widespread," Walshire says. "Someone
at Electronic Arts was really shortsighted not to have thought of hacked objects
spreading this way. If they knew that their own objects would download with a
house, they would know that other objects would download with a house also."
But the company says it was indeed surprised. EA declined interview requests for
this story, but last month, thirty days after the initial complaints rolled in,
the company finally issued a warning about the spreading hacks on its Sims 2
forum. At the same time it announced that it had reprogrammed the exchange to
identify any lots containing modified objects or behaviors, and to allow users
to see all the elements in a property before installing it. "Our community
continually surprises us by their creativity and dedication to pushing the
game's limits further then we ever dreamed possible!," the company wrote, by way
of explanation.
- DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil
There's a
DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil Preview on GameSpy interspersed with quotes
from id's Matt Hooper about the upcoming shooter expansion, a similar
DOOM 3: Resurrection
of Evil Preview on IGN that hears from Matt as well as Tim Willits.
- World of Warcraft
Eurogamer's
World of Warcraft Q&A speaks with producer Shane Dabiri about Blizzard's
MMORPG: "We have a lot of respect for the other companies making games in
this genre. Since working on World of Warcraft, we have become well aware of
the commitment and dedication it requires from a developer to not only
produce one, but to also support it for years to come. We feel World of
Warcraft will help break MMOs out of their current niche market. With
millions of dedicated Blizzard fans from our other games, we think World of
Warcraft will not only draw in the hardcore MMO gamers, but newcomers as
well. We've taken steps and designed our game to ensure that it is
compelling and easy for anyone who has never played an MMO before. It is our
hope to have the largest online community for a game of its type worldwide."
- Lineage II
RPG
Vault's Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle Team Q&A #1 chats with the folks at NCsoft,
asking about favorite characters to play and interesting locations to visit
in their MMORPG sequel.
- The Sims 2
The
Sims 2 Q&A on Fragland.net
talks with Maxis senior producer Tim LeTourneau about the virtual life
sequel and its upcoming collegiate expansion: "The problem with adding
sports into the Sims is that you can’t control the players in the game, for
example: if you play volleybal, you can tell your Sim to play volleyball,
but you cannot control the game or the ball - and that’s not a satisfying
gameplay experience."
- Super Tito
The
Super Tito
Q&A on Experience Gaming talks with Louis Dimsdale and Ferdinand Kreozot
about their upcoming platformer: "Tito is a very hard working Janitor in the
Intergalactic Star Fleet and he’s just been let off for the weekend early.
So he’s heading home in his little UFO to surprise is Girl friend Yoni with
a night out on the town. But when he gets there, he finds she’s not home and
on a photo shoot at Pirate Planet. So he head off there to try and find her
and that’s where his adventure starts."
This
Bioware Support Page offers a Neverwinter Nights 1.65 Hotfix for the Shadows
of Undrentide expansion (thanks Frans). Word is: "This special build of NWMain
and NWServer is to fix an issue with the 1.65 Update and the Shadows of
Undrentide Official Campaign in Chapter 2 where the game slows down and becomes
unplayable. You should only install this Hotfix if you're having troubles
playing Chapter Two of the Shadows of Undrentide Official Campaign."
The Barrow Hill Website heralds
development of an upcoming adventure game from developer Shadow Tor Studios.
The site offers screenshots along with background material more focused on the
story than the game, which is set in the rural areas of South West England
surrounding a set of ancient Stonehenge-style monuments. Target platforms are
not listed anywhere, but following-up we were told it will appear on PCs first,
with a Mac version to follow. Here's a bit on the story: A thrilling
storyline will explore the bloody and mysterious history of the ancient stone
circle, based atop of the dense wooded hill. From neo-paganism to new
archaeological methods, gamers will have the opportunity to take part in the
excavation, and unravel the mystery of who (or what) is buried deep inside the
ancient barrow. You will not be alone on this adventure, as something nasty is
stalking you through the woods…
This
DreamCatcher Europe Support Page offers the English, German, Spanish, and
Italian editions of a patch for Egyptian Prophecy, A.K.A. Egypt III, while this
DreamCatcher Europe Support Page offers the French edition of the patch.
Thanks Frans.
Visual Walkthroughs'
DOOM 3 Walkthrough offers a visual walkthrough for id's shooter, so put on
your walking glasses and get moving. Also,
Everquest 2
Online's EQ2 Priest Guide offers guidance on keeping the faith in the MMORPG
sequel. Finally,
Guild Wars OGaming's Beta Guide offers tips on playing the beta of
ArenaNet's MMORPG as well as insights on how to snag a key to the next beta
weekend.
Black Widow Games has word
that they do not anticipate releasing Half-Life: Source editions of They Hunger,
the popular Half-Life mod series, though the wording of the announcement indicates that
a willingness to port the mod hinges on support from Valve. Thanks
PlanetHalf-Life Forums and Ant.
So many responses to my comment about MrsBlue's idea that I have a kidney
stone pretty well confirm what I have suspected all along... that if I had one,
I would not be unsure about it at all. The theory that better explains what I am
suffering with is that I may have some soft of urinary tract infection.
Following that thinking I have been chugging some cranberry juice based on the
conventional wisdom on the topic, and sure enough I am feeling better already...
sounds like I still need to see a doctor to clear this up completely, but from
all the kidney stone horror stories folks have shared, I certainly have reason
to be thankful that this doesn't seem to be what's going on here.
R.I.P.:
Creator of Popular Bundt Pan Dies at 86. Thanks zombie69.
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