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Archived News:
An updated demo for Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends is now available, offering
the promised ( story) revised sample of Big Huge Games'
mythological RTS game. The new demo includes performance improvements, enhanced
AI, and a new "Battle for the Core" map. The download is available from the
Microsoft Download Center and mirrored on
3D Gamers and
Worthplaying.
Battlefront announces the release of Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg, their World
War II "grand strategy" game. Word is that all pre-orders have shipped, and the
game is now available, well over a year later than originally planned
( story). Here's the deal: Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg,
the new grand strategy masterpiece from award winning game designer Hubert
Cater, is now officially released! All pre-orders are being shipped out at this
moment, and the game is available for purchase immediately!
Customers have the choice to
- DOWNLOAD the full version of the game, install and play within minutes!
- or to receive the CD and full printed game manual by MAIL within a few days,
- or to get BOTH the instant download and, a few days later, the backup CD and
printed manual!
A free demo version with limited features is also available for download.
Order Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg here:
https://www.combatmission2.com/sc2_order.html
Visit the Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg website here:
http://www.battlefront.com/products/sc2/index.html
GAME DESCRIPTION
Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg allows you to rewrite history with 6 full length,
open ended campaigns beginning at key stages of World War II. Begin the war from
the historical invasion of Poland in 1939, Denmark and Norway in 1940, Russia in
1941, Stalingrad in 1942, the invasion of Sicily by the Allies in 1943 or the
epic beach landings of D-Day in 1944. Also included are 5 extra mini-campaigns
depicting specific landmark battles such as Kursk, Operation Market-Garden and
the Battle of the Bulge. Control the forces of 30 different nations utilizing 16
different unit types including all new ones like Paratroopers, Engineers,
Partisans and Amphibious Transports.
Expandability is also the name of the game with Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg
as it comes with a full game editor allowing you unprecedented power to create
or modify maps, units, countries, diplomacy options, unit production schedules,
research technologies and more. You can even use the powerful scripting system
to create historical events that can be triggered based on events or game
circumstances. An entire game engine is now at your fingertips to control,
change and create as you wish!
Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg cranks up the challenge factor even more with the
inclusion of an all new diplomacy and counter diplomacy model, expanded
capabilities for air, naval and HQ units, dynamic weather, updated tech.
research and production levels and many other configurable special rules.
Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg features single player gaming against the AI as
well as a variety of multiplayer options (Hotseat, PBEM, TCP/IP).
Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg requires Windows 98, ME, XP or 2000.
Timothee Besset's .plan file has word from the id Software programmer on the
release of a new version 1.2.1 patch for the Linux edition of Quake 4. The
download is mirrored on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers, and
Worthplaying, and here's word: Quake4 1.2.1 for GNU/Linux x86 update!
ed9ecbddf8d3e5cf4e7d5330303c3610 quake4-linux-1.2.1.x86.run
This update is fully compatible with other versions of Quake4 1.2. The main
reason for this release is the addition of SMP renderer acceleration to the
Linux version. Same rules apply for Linux SMP as they do on Windows. Depending
on your system ( CPU limited, GPU limited, processor cache sizes.. ), this may
or may not improve performance.
The SMP binary requires a modified version of the SDL library, which is shipped
with the installer. A patch of the changes we applied to the lib is in the setup
as well.
Other things fixed:
- no longer using SDL_ListModes to filter available resolutions ( use +set
r_useSDLModes to re-enable, SDL_ListModes returns way too little of the possible
resolutions )
- fix stalls that may happen with DNS resolution ( Linux bug only )
- fix a download bug: if the server is configured with some of the fs_*path
cvars having a trailing slash, they might cut one character when returning
download URLs.
The download bug affects all operating systems. If you run a Windows server,
make sure you don't have a trailing slash at the end of fs_basepath
The update is available from our ftp and from the BitTorrent tracker:
ftp://ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/quake4/linux/quake4-linux-1.2.1.x86.run
http://zerowing.idsoftware.com:6969/
- Prey
A new Prey movie is now available, the first in a
series of "Countdown to Prey" trailers that will lead up to the release of
Human Head's first-person shooter. The movie can be found on
3D Gamers,
Gamer's Hell,
GameSpot, and
MMORPG.COM.
- Darkstar One
A new German Darkstar One movie is online,
showing off some gameplay from Ascaron's upcoming space combat game. The
clip also includes interview segments, but these are all in German. The
movie is available on
the game's official website and mirrored on
3D Gamers.
- Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
The
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway Q&A Computer and Video Games talks with
Randy Pitchford of Gearbox Software about the upcoming continuation of their
World War II shooter series: "The Operation Market Garden battlefields are
diverse and interesting. There is Hell's Highway, of course, which earned
its nickname because of the thousands of vehicles and men that were
destroyed along its length during the fighting. There are cities, like
Eindhoven, that were populated as fighting pushed control back and forth
between the Germans and the Allies. Some of the cities were heavily bombed
during the operation creating a landscape of destruction and death that the
men had to fight through. There are many waterways cutting back and forth
along the highway - this creates rivers and bridges and even marshy areas,
all of which became battlefields or obstacles for the fights. There are
wooded areas and open fields. Hills and plains. Lots of diversity - makes
for tough, but interesting fighting."
- Quake Wars: Enemy Territory
Shacknews'
Quake Wars: Enemy Territory Q&A chats up Paul Wedgwood of Splash Damage
about their upcoming first-person shooter: "John Carmack at id Software
devised the MegaTexture technology as a way to generate and exploit a single
huge, unique, untiled texture to cover the entire landscape of a map. This
represented the first of several significant advances for the Doom 3 engine;
for example, the MegaTexture technology has a tool suite called MegaGen,
which really helps our Level Designers generate the initial map layouts.
MegaGen can automatically distribute materials such as grass, sand and rocks
across the landscape, based on altitudes and the angles of incline. MegaGen
makes moss grow up the steeper slopes and cling to rocks, grass grow in the
flatter areas, and sand and snow gather appropriately in the crevices
between rocks. Our Artists are then able to paint additional fine unique
detail such as cracks in road surfaces, or they can texture modeled elements
such as shell and plasma blast craters in the terrain."
- Prey
The
Prey
Weekly Development Update #16 on the 3D Realms Website offers a Q&A with
Human Head's Chris Rhinehart on the upcoming shooter, as he answers
questions submitted by fans: "There will definitely be a demo for Prey. The
timing of it has yet to be fully determined, as it may be shortly before the
game is released or it might be shortly after. Regardless, it will
definitely be around the time the game is released. I've never understood
the idea of releasing a demo so much later than the game -- by that I mean
like two months later. Seems that you should get the demo out at least
around the time that the game comes out. I can understand that a lot of
people might be on the fence about a given game, and a kick-ass demo might
be just the thing to convince them to buy that game. That said, as a
developer I can understand how difficult it is to try to create a demo at
the same time that you are crunching to finish the game in the first place."
- Titan Quest
The
Titan Quest
Q&A on GameBanshee discusses Iron Lore's upcoming action/RPG with
Michael Fitch from publisher THQ: "Equipment is a major aspect of the game;
for an RPG, it's right up there with character development, story, and
combat as one of the core mechanics, and we've devoted a lot of time to it.
We're using both a randomized affix system that will mix and match
characteristics with base equipment and a large inventory of unique
hand-crafted items. I believe there are over a thousand equipment models and
something like eight hundred of those are unique for items with hand-tuned
names and stats. We have equipment that is tailored to each of the regions,
as well as equipment that is themed for different monsters, and equipment
that is themed for different character archetypes, so there's a tremendous
range of visual style, as well as the range of stats and abilities that the
equipment has. Similarly to the character development system, players will
be able to explore the equipment in the world for scores of hours and will
probably never exhaust the variety that we've built into the game."
- Joint Task Force
There's
a Joint Task Force Q&A on Joint Task Force Headquarters discussing the
upcoming military strategy game being completed by
Most Wanted
Entertainment with HD Publishing producer Vincent van Diemen: "Yes, we
will include an extremely enhanced map editor with the game. With this tool
you can create maps as nice and big and challenging as any map in the
release version of the game. This function is primary meant for multiplayer
maps, but it will support some basic scripting functions so that players can
also create new single player maps."
- Dreamlords
RPG
Vault's Dreamlords Q&A - Part 1 discusses Lockpick's upcoming MMO RTS
game with Jon Selin: "Since a very large amount of the management is done
through a web interface, it can be accessed from computers that don't even
have the game installed. However, when you want to get down and dirty and
fight other players, you will need to have the client installed just like
any traditional game. There is a duality to the game; on one hand, we have
the slower-paced management interface, which is web-based and has a strong
sense of long-term strategy to it, and on the other hand, the fast- paced
action of the client where you play RTS battles against other players or
embark on different quests."
- Music
Full
Spectrum Composition: Garry Schyman Talks About His Scores for "Ten Hammers"
and "Destroy All Humans" is a Q&A with the composer about his work on
game soundtracks.
Russian publisher Play Ten Interactive
announces its E3 lineup, revealing two
previously unannounced titles: Battle for Atlantis, the working title for a
fantasy RTS game and White Gold, a FPS/RPG that doesn't sound like a far cry
from another shooter we can recall: Battle for Atlantis (working title)
A fantasy RTS, Battle for Atlantis features advanced and unique water
technologies and special effects through waves, tsunamis, waterfalls and river
flows. From the developers of Ancient Wars: Sparta, action in Battle for
Atlantis moves players between seabed environments and dry land creating an
immersive game play experience. Platform: PC CD/DVD-Rom, Release date: Q3 2007,
Game Languages: English/German/French/Spanish/Italian, Developer: WorldForge
White Gold: War in Paradise
A modern FPS/RPG, White Gold: War in Paradise explores the shadowy background of
modern low intensity conflicts. Based in the Caribbean basin, players find
themselves on an island aflame with revolt. A unique mix of an action shooter
and RPG, White Gold: War in Paradise provides a rich game play environment with
non-stop action. Platform: PC CD/DVD-Rom, Release date: Q4 2007, Game Languages:
English/German/French/Spanish/Italian, Developer: Deep Shadows
SEGA of America (thanks Frans) announces plans for a rally racing sequel for
release next year: SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (April 28, 2006) - SEGA® of
America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced SEGA RALLY™ REVO. This
genre-defining competitive racing game will be the first title developed by the
newly-formed SEGA Driving Studio, and will be racing onto the PLAYSTATION®3
computer entertainment system, Xbox 360™, and PC in 2007.
With revolutionary dynamically deformable terrain, proprietary next-generation
graphics, bone-jarringly realistic physics, and competitive bumper-to-bumper
racing, SEGA RALLY REVO will set a new benchmark in its genre with a high-tempo
driving experience that is every racing fan's driving fantasy.
"SEGA RALLY REVO shifts into high gear with revolutionary track deformation
technology, skill-demanding gameplay and dazzling graphics on the next-gen
systems," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America,
Inc. "We're redefining the genre with SEGA RALLY REVO, using next-gen power to
guarantee our place in the winner's circle."
Vehicle selection affects driving strategy in SEGA RALLY REVO, as race course
surfaces dynamically deform upon repeated contact with vehicle tires and
changing weather effects. SEGA RALLY REVO features a variety of fully deformable
surfaces, from gravel-littered tracks and smooth tarmac roads, to snow-covered
mountain passes. This means no two laps will ever be the same, and drivers can
skillfully lower their lap times as they hurtle their chosen world-renowned
rally vehicles down photo-realistic courses only made possible on
next-generation hardware.
Driving skills will also be tested by SEGA RALLY REVO's advanced AI which allows
NPC drivers to dynamically adapt their driving style to the varied racing
surfaces. Players can enjoy a comprehensive single-player campaign as they
travel the globe racing the best drivers in the world. SEGA RALLY REVO also
features online capabilities, with multiplayer splitscreen modes offering an
extremely competitive rally experience against drivers around the world.
The Official War Rock Website heralds
development of War Rock, an upcoming multiplayer first-person shooter. The twist
here is that the game is free-to-play, with a business model that relies on
purchases of additional abilities and weapons by those seeking an advantage. The
game is expected to launch in the summer, but there will be an open beta
beginning next month. Word is the game will offer several game modes, support
for custom content, and the ever-popular 3D voice chat: The
community-driven game-play supports additional maps, weapons, vehicles and
in-game 3D voice chat. The game will eventually incorporate several modes
including timed competition, survivor (timed free-for-all), independent
one-on-one death match mode and last man standing.
"War Rock is an extremely addictive shooter with great weapons, smooth and
intuitive controls and a wide variety of battle modes. From close quarters
battles between SpecOps teams in built up urban areas to island campaigns with
fast attack boats and helicopter gunships, War Rock has everything any
adrenaline junkie will ever need," Matt Norton, War Rock producer, K2 Network,
said.
The Official Guild Wars Website (thanks
Guild Wars Slovenija) has
word that Factions is now live: The retail servers are live; your journey
to Cantha may begin. Start your exploration of the new continent, create your
new Assassins and Ritualists, and savor your first taste of the release version
of Factions now. Pop in your CD or
order your
online access key and come and join us in Cantha!
Third Wire Productions announces Wings
Over Europe: Cold War Gone Hot is gold, and this jet combat game is due in
stores "in few weeks." A new
Wings Over Europe
Product Section is online, offers a small formation of screenshots. Thanks
Frans.
The
Titan Quest Q&A on FiringSquad learns from Iron Lore that a demo for their
upcoming action/RPG is expected on May 10: The demo for Titan Quest will
be released on May 10th, and will allow someone to play the first few levels of
the game. We will make three skill masteries (Warfare, Hunting and Earth)
available for play, out of a total of eight masteries. I really hope people give
it a try, as I think they will be pleasantly surprised.
A post to our forums by Big Huge Games Community Relations Manager Joe "GreyPawn"
Pishgar has word to expect an updated Rise of Legends demo today: There
were some issues with the early sneak-preview version of the demo that was
released awhile ago, as it was an early build of the game from pre-beta. We
allowed our excitement to release the demo early get the better of us, and in
the future, we will be more careful to be sure our demo releases are more
representative of the final game.
On Friday (April 28th) a new optimized demo for Rise of Legends is slated to be
released that will contain new content and a complete new map "Battle for the
Core". You'll find a drastic difference in the level of performance and AI
presented in the new demo, and I encourage you to give it a try.
TrackMania Forums
offer the release of new TrackMania dedicated servers for Nadeo's motorsports
game. The download offers both the Windows and Linux servers which can host
games on all three TM models: TrackMania Nations ESWC, TrackMania Sunrise, and
TrackMania Original.
2K Games
Announces Prey Pre-Order Program has word on the incentives being offered to
buy Prey prior to the release of Human Head's first-person shooter along with
details on a Collector's Edition: The Limited Collector's Edition is available for both the Xbox 360™ and PC
editions of Prey and includes a special metal packaging upgrade, two die-cast
pewter figurines including the lead character Tommy and the alien Hunter, a free
download to a Prey soundtrack, and "The Art of Prey" book
featuring collected conceptual and development images from the artists behind
Prey. In addition, the PC Limited Collector’s Edition will include an upgrade to
DVD media from CD-ROM.
Customers who pre-order either the Limited Collector’s Edition or standard
edition of Prey on either Xbox 360 or PC will receive a die-cast pewter figurine
of Mutate. The Mutate is a melding of the DNA of human and alien victims of the
living Sphere, possessing a massive claw that it uses in-game to impale its
enemies in a spinning attack. All four versions of Prey will be released
simultaneously this July.
The Prey Limited Collector’s Edition is a single production run available on a
first-come, first-served basis. Both the Limited Collector’s Edition
and the Pre-Order program are available while supplies last at participating
retailers.
Customers who have previously pre-ordered Prey are automatically “grandfathered”
into the incentive based Pre-Order program. Prey is developed by Human Head
Studios and Venom Games and produced by 3D Realms. For more information on Prey
and a list of participating retailers, please visit
www.prey.com.
A Secret of Da Vinci French Demo is now available, showing off the upcoming
untied-in adventure game. The French demo about the Italian Renaissance man is
located on
this page, and mirrors are on
3D Downloads, 3D Gamers,
and Worthplaying.
- Hitman: Blood Money
As Elvis Costello once sang, accidents will happen, which is the theme of the
new Hitman: Blood money trailer that's now available on the
Eidos
Interactive Website. The clip shows off how an opportunistic assassin can
take advantage of the opportunity to arrange a little "accident" for his victim.
- Pirates of the Burning Sea
As
noted here,
Coldfront
POTBS now offers downloads of the Pirates of the Burning Sea E3 2006
video showing off Flying Labs' upcoming game set on an inflammable ocean.
The movie is mirrored on
3D Downloads and
3D Gamers.
- NFL Head Coach
The
NFL
Head Coach Media Center (thanks Frans) offers a pair of new movies from this
upcoming simulation of the stress-filled life of a pro football coach. There
is a gameplay movie and a
clip that incorporates background game footage and interviews with real-life
coaches discussing the NFL draft, which not coincidentally will take
place this weekend.
- Half-Life 2: Episode One
IGN's
Half-Life 2: Episode One Q&A discusses the upcoming shooter
follow-up with
Valve's Eric Johnson: "The Citadel being destroyed is a good thing overall,
but the specific way it is coming apart is the real problem for Gordon and Alyx. Breen's failure in the citadel has disappointed the Combine, and their
response isn't good news for the resistance. The chaos within City 17 has
turned their attention inwards, so they're not doing as good a job keeping
some of the more unfriendly monsters out of the City."
- Strike Force: Red Cell
The
Strike Force: Red Cell Q&A on FiringSquad talks with Michael Hamlett of
Vision Studios about their upcoming commercial release: "The Reality Engine
is really a great engine…. and it ranks right up there with Unreal 3 and
several other next generation engines on the market today. The engine was
bought out by Epic last year. Vision was actually one of the last studios
allowed to license the engine before it was sold to Epic. Currently our
studio holds unlimited development rights using the engine so it’s the best
choice for us to use at this time. We also have our co-development team
working with the engine to upgrade it for our game standards."
- Mythic
Voodoo
Extreme's The Bright Age of Camelot talks with Mythic Entertainment
about the future of Dark Age of Camelot, their MMORPG: "The instant
I say something is licked for good, ten thousand hackers cry out as one and
dedicate their useless lives to ruining mine. So I'm not even going there.
At this time we are able to detect and ban the current radar programs, and
we do so. We lurk on every single hack board out there through fake names
and identities, and should a radar program become undetectable, we'll devote
all available resources to detecting it."
- Civ IV: Warlords
The
Civilization IV: Warlords Q&A on GameSpot discusses Firaxis' upcoming
civilized expansion: "New units, buildings, leaders, and civilizations, of
course. That's why we've included a whole bunch of these in the expansion
pack. And vassal states have been greatly requested by the fan community as
well. This diplomatic option allows you to let opponents that you have
beaten down to just a few cities become your vassals. They pay you money and
provide you with support. You are their master! This makes the conquering of
civilizations less tedious and more fun."
- Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War
The
Rise
and Fall: Civilizations at War Q&A on FiringSquad talks with Matt Vella
about the storied development of this RTS game and the game itself: "The two
single player campaigns revolve around Alexander the Great and Cleopatra.
The goals of the campaigns are to immerse the player in the world of ancient
Greece and Egypt, while giving the player a rich RTS experience. You can be
Alexander as he storms his way through Persia, or join Cleopatra on her way
to conquering Alexandria. The story is dramatic and the action is fast and
furious."
- City of Villains
MMORPG.COM's
City of Villains Q&A is another look at the Patron Powers in the
upcoming issue of this MMORPG, focusing on Scirocco: "Scirocco offers a lot
of electrical attacks and powers. Specifically, he offers Stalkers a Sniper
attack in Zapp, and Brutes get ranged Area Effect attacks like Ball
Lightning. Corruptors get Charged Armor for protection, and Dominators are
granted access to Area attacks like Power Sink. Masterminds get control
attacks like Electrifying Fences and Electric Shackles, but are not granted
access to a Mu Guardian pet like the other Archetypes do. "
- Age of Conan
Separate
Tracks with Gaute Godager on GameSpy is an article format Q&A with
Funcom about Age of Conan, discussing how looking to balance
PvP and PvE in their upcoming MMORPG gave them an opportunity to
create some new approaches to this and other design issues.
- LEGO Star Wars II
Computer
Games Online's LEGO Star Wars II Q&A Part 2 rolls along, talking with
David Perkinson of LucasArts about the upcoming prequel built with the
force, and a billion tiny plastic blocks: "There will be over 50 total
characters from the Original Trilogy in LEGO Star Wars II. All of the main
characters from the first version will be in along with many of the more
obscure characters as well. You'll be able to play with Greedo, Bossk, Bib
Fortuna and many, many more - even Han Solo in his, shall we say, most
immobile form. And yes – Lobot, too."
- Indie Roundtable
Gamebunny's
indie roundtable offers a group Q&A with folks from Simutronics,
Near Death, Cosmic Origins, and Icarus Studios.
MrsBlue and I had a lovely time last night celebrating our anniversary. We tried
out a new restaurant that turned out to be spectacular. I love a good steak, but
am not a big Filet Mignon fan, but I got one last night that gives me a whole
new perspective on this cut, as it was that good. Anyway, thanks again for all
the kind words about our first decade of marriage, and here's to many more!
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