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Archived News:
The
Star Wars: Republic Commando Developer Diary #3 - Search and Destroy on GameSpot
is written by AI engineer John A. Hancock who describes the effort that's gone
into making the squad AI in Star Wars: Republic Commando stand out from
other squad-based games. The
Project:
Snowblind Dev Diary #2 on GameSpy is written by designer Patrick Connor who
offers a look at multiplayer play in Project: Snowblind, Crystal
Dynamics' upcoming shooter, while the
Project Snowblind Weapons Profile on GameSpot is written by Crystal
Dynamics' Zak McClendon. Also, The Witcher
Peek #10 on RPG
Vault is online, as "We learn about prophecies related to the end of the
world in which CD Projekt's fantasy-themed game takes place."
The World of Warcraft
version 1.2.2 Patch Notes on WorldofWar.net have notes on a patch for
European World of Warcraft beta that also apply to the next patch for the retail
North American edition of Blizzard's MMORPG. All the changes listed are bug
fixes.
- Battlefield 2
The
Battlefield 2 Q&A on TotalVideoGames talks with DICE designer Lars
Gustavsson about their upcoming modern combat shooter: "The Battlefield
games has never been about depicting war as ‘Saving Private Ryan’ where gore
and realism is key but rather as ‘Kellys Heroes’ where fun and excitement is
the key-focus. Then add to that all the military hardware that you find on
one of the shows of the Discovery channel and you have Battlefield 2."
- Guild Wars
The
latest Guild Wars
Fansite Friday on GUILD WARS HISPANO answers further questions about
ArenaNet's upcoming MMORPG for this Spanish-language site, though the
article is actually in English: "The ready-made characters will be
substantially different than those that you 'raise' yourself from Level 1.
The ready-made characters come in many different builds. This variety offers
you the chance to try out different gameplay styles and lots of unique
skills and skill combinations without acquiring the full mission experience.
And naturally there is a large and growing number of these custom builds. "
- EverQuest II
EverQuest
II Vault's Ask SOE #30 poses questions submitted by their readers about
EverQuest II to Steve "Moorgard" Danuser: "While we want to keep improving
the quest journal and making it easier to use, allowing you to sort by zone
on a per-step basis has a downside. We don't want people playing the journal
instead of the game. What I mean is, having a list of all the quest steps
you need to do in a particular zone turns your journal into a shopping list,
and you lose the story and flavor behind the quests. Though it takes effort
to go through your journal and find quests in a particular zone, the very
act of doing that makes you read through the steps and remember elements of
the storyline that you may have forgotten."
- Conflict: Global Terror
The
Pivotal Q&A on Computer and Video Games talks with Stuart Poole about
Conflict: Global Terror, the next installment in
their war on terror: "I'm pleased to say that Conflict: Global Terror hasn't
removed itself from having a 'real world' setting - we know how important
that aspect of the series is. All the missions are based in true political
hotspot locations around the world, which keeps Conflict's feet on the
ground but has freed us from having a single style of environment in the
game. The terrorist organisation that you are up against is fictional,
that's true, but all the events that happen through the game are inspired by
actual events from the past."
- Killer Women
Killer
Women: Ellen Beeman on Killer Betties kicks off a series profiling
female developers by introducing this producer on The Matrix Online.
Tulga Games announces it has completed its purchase of the assets of Artifact
Entertainment, most notably the MMORPG HORIZONS: Empire of Istaria:
TEMPE, AZ –– 25 January, 2005 –– Tulga Games, LLC announced today that it
has completed the purchase of the assets of Artifact Entertainment.
“We received approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in mid –December to move
ahead with the purchase, then proceeded to formally close the purchase,” said
Mr. Chris Tulumello, founding manager of Tulga Games. “I’ve been saying for
months now that I’m both a fan of the game and a strong advocate of the
underlying technology. This purchase dramatically increases the value of Tulga
Games and send a message of stability and longevity to current and future
Horizons customers,” continued Mr. Tulumello.
Members of Artifact Entertainment’s development, technology and creative teams
have been asked to join the new Tulga Games team and “the response to these
offers has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Mr. Tulumello.
The Daemonica Website (thanks
Tiscali Games) reveals plans for Daemonica, an upcoming "3D interactive mystery" that
will be the first PC game from RA Images, a company that has previously produced
various other 3D graphics and animation projects, including a children's
television series. The site actually has news dating back to last October, and
the content there includes some screenshots and a gameplay movie, with word to
expect the game in Q1 2005. Here's a bit from the description: Daemonica
is an intriguing 3D interactive mystery that offers everything that adventure
genre fans appreciate - immersive storyline with unexpected twists, extensive
dialogues with believable characters, puzzles, both mandatory and optional
quests. Action fights are smoothly integrated into the gameplay. Set in the
medieval England it tells a story of Nicholas Farepoynt, an "investigator" who
can talk to the Dead. A story of blood, passion and sacrifice.
Road to Hill 30
Multiplayer Brothers on PS2.IGN.Com is a description of the maps in
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Gearbox Software's upcoming World War II
shooter written by the design team, though the PS2 version is technically the
topic here. Also, a new Auto Assault
Recon Section is online, offering new information on Auto Assault,
NetDevil's upcoming vehicular MMORPG. The section now offers a whole bunch of
background on the back story that explains the game's post-apocalyptic setting.
The WoW Europe Website has posted the
Account Creation pages for phase
two of the European beta testing for World of Warcraft (thanks
WorldofWar.net). Word is: "The number
of new accounts will be limited based on server capacity and will be distributed
on a first come, first served basis so we recommend players to register early."
- SWAT 4
There's
a SWAT 4 Q&A on
10-David that talks with Irrational's Paul Hellquist about the upcoming
tactical police shooter sequel: "The command interface was great for its
time, but we felt it needed to be slicker and quicker in SWAT4. We wanted to
shorten the learning curve from an hour to a couple of minutes. Our focus
testing has proven to us that we have succeeded in this goal. One thing I
can’t stress enough to your readers is that NOTHING has been compromised in
terms of the depth of expression you have in the command interface from
SWAT3. All of the commands from SWAT3 are still there, plus more. We have
just removed the complexity of dealing with the interface."
- Auto Assault
The
Auto Assault Q&A on Auto Assault WarCry talks with NetDevil's Scott
Brown about their upcoming MMORPG: "Auto Assault is the game we’ve always
wanted to play, but we couldn’t because it hadn’t been created yet. It is a
fast-paced, action RPG where your actions can have a direct impact on the
game environment – you can destroy virtually everything in your path and
when you return to that area later, find it as you left it. There’s a great
variety of things you can do – everything from solo missions to crafting to
convoy missions and clan (our version of guild) activities."
- Call of Cthulhu
HomeLAN
Fed's Call Of Cthulhu: Dark Corners Of The Earth Update Q&A talks with
Pete Hines of Bethesda Softworks about Headfirst's upcoming horror game:
"We’re not making an FPS. This is a survival horror game played in the
first-person perspective. Obviously there will be comparisons, and obviously
there are FPS elements in Call of Cthulhu, but its goals and means of
entertaining and engaging the player are very different. It is, first and
foremost, a horror game that wants to scare the beejeezus out of you, over
and over again."
- The Matrix Online
The
Matrix Online Vault's The Matrix Online Question of the Week #18 asks
Monolith's Brannon Boren how full-time residence in The Matrix will be
possible in the upcoming MMORPG.
IGN has first details
on Heavyweight Thunder, an upcoming boxing game in the works at Iridon
Interactive. The game will feature first- and third-person modes, a full
management mode, as well as "lifestyle" features will complement the game's
boxing action. Heavy Weight Thunder is expected to break training and show up in
stores this March.
The Stronghold 2 mini-Website is now
live, offering a placeholder home for FireFly Studios' upcoming strategy sequel.
The only thing to see there for the time being is a Shockwave version of a
related mini-game called Castle Attack 2 that they released recently as a
stand-alone game, but didn't previously have an official home.
The NetDevil Employment
Opportunities Page outlines a couple of new openings that they are looking
to fill for the development team on Auto Assault, their upcoming MMORPG. In
addition to previously posted positions, they have added postings for level
designers and a web developer.
I took Gunnar for another session of puppy socialization
with the Devicers' yesterday, and got caught up in an adventure beyond anything
I had anticipated. The session of tromping around with a couple of adult dogs
who are not Hudson was great fun for him, and he got another good lesson on how
to act around cats to avoid conflicts, something he's got good instincts for
already. The ride up, however, was a smorgasbord of bodily functions, as shortly
after embarking (which indeed involved a lot of barking), I got presented with a
stinky poo and a puddle, both of which were probably intentional, provoked by
irritation at being tethered safely (but alone) in the back. I cleaned up and
relented on the safe approach for the ride by letting him free, and about a
half-hour from our destination, he thanked me by getting carsick in my lap
(yum!). After puppy play and puke cleaning, it was time to return, which is when
something in the truck fritzed, and now my dash lights are out. Trying to find a
blown fuse bore no fruit, so I got to drive home in the dark guessing about my
speed, as it was almost impossible to see the gauges even with the interior
lights on. I'm guessing the couple of state troopers I passed along the way were
tempted to stop me out of curiosity after seeing me slow to what was probably 20
MPH below the limit after spotting them. Vroom!
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