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Archived News:
GameDev.net lists a job openings for Midway that seem to reveal a couple of
previously unannounced projects (thanks Frans and
FiringSquad). One of these is Criminal, which looks like a console project,
while the other title mentioned is Area 52, which seems like a liberty taken
with the titles numeral to be a sequel to Area 51, their science fiction
shooter.
A new Warhammer: Mark of Chaos movie introduces the Empire faction from Black
Hole Games' upcoming RTS game based on the fantasy-themed table-top game series.
The clip is available on
3D Gamers, Gamer's Hell,
and Worthplaying.
Also,
as noted here, a new GTR 2 movie is now available on
this downloads
page within the framed
GTR2 Website. The
clip shows the BMW M3 GTR scorching Imola's famed Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
- John Carmack
John
Carmack Details id's New Direction on Next Generation is not really a
Q&A, but rather an article-format recap of the keynote speech the id
Software Technical director gave at QuakeCon 2006, the developer's outlining
plans to change gears going forward: "There’s going to be value for at least
one more generation in having the best high-tech graphics--being able to
knock peoples' socks off, but increasingly, [impressing people is] going to
come from money in the development budget--what you do with content rather
than what you do with technology."
- SiN Episodes
The
SiN
Episodes Q&A on FiringSquad talks with Ritual's Levelord, Ken Harward,
and Shawn Ketcherside about the next episode in their episodic shooter
sequel as well as further releases supporting the debut installment: "We
released around 4 Arena maps with the initial release, followed by another 3
in one of the recent game updates. We hope to release an additional few maps
every couple of months. All of our modes will always continue to upgrade
across every episode. This is one of the great things about episodic
content--the products will get better and offer more functionality with
every release. By Episode 3 I expect we'll have several multiplayer modes,
tons of Arena maps, and not only will the AI in Episode 3 be outstanding,
but that same AI will be retrofitted back to Episode 1. The Episodes will
update like a MMO does, where the whole product updates all the time."
- Grid Wars
Grid
Wars author's reflections on Eurogamer is an article-format conversation
with the author of the game that closed down due to similarities with Geometry
Wars: "I don't know if legally they have the right to shut it down - but I took
it down out of respect for their developers and the cool work they do. I don't
really think it is affecting their sales on Xbox 360 - but if they do want to
move into the PC market then it's better if the confusion is cleared up," he
conceded."
- Casual Gaming
The
RealArcade Q&A on Gamezebo.com talks with Michael Schutzler of RealNetworks
about their game distribution channel: "So we've been doing some digging into
this. What we've discovered is that everyone plays casual games. Grandma and
Grandpa are playing games. The kids are playing. And mom and dad are playing.
This is the case in Japan, Germany, and in the US. Essentially, there is no real
demographic for game play. Game purchasing, on the other hand, skews heavily
female and that's true globally. In the US, game purchases are skewing about 65%
female. In Europe and Japan, its more like 70+% And everywhere, its purchase are
by women over 30."
- The Lord of the Rings
Online Website has a bunch of quotes from alpha testers offering their
impressions of what they've seen so far…
- Steam
News (thanks Frans) announces the availability of a new update
automatically available on Steam for DoD: Source the Source Engine, and
SourceTV, while another
Steam
Message says to expect a Counter-Strike: Source update next week…
- The Pursuit of Power Website
has a demo of this RTS game that allows one turn every few seconds for a
greater emphasis on tactics…
The server crapped out again for a bit today again, Apologies for the downtime.
I am trying to look into whether we have a problem somewhere, or if the hamster
is just holding out for more lettuce.
A Sudden Strike III: Arms for Victory beta demo is now available offering a
preliminary version of the sample of Fireglow Games' upcoming Word War II
strategy sequel. the demo includes a scenario where the player must lead a U.S.
invasion of a German beachhead. The download is available on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers,
Computer Games,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
GameSpot (registration required),
Internode Games Network,
VGPRO, and
Worthplaying.
There are
Joint Task Force demo details on GameSpot (thanks Frans) with a timer
counting down to the demo's launch on Tuesday at Noon Eastern time. Here's word
on the sample of Most Wanted's RTS game: "In this single-player demo, you'll be
faced with two challenging missions: to neutralize a Somalian port with a small
force of infantry specialists and to head deep into the Columbian jungle to
smash a heavily armed cartel. As part of your arsenal, you'll have officially
licensed military tech, including the Boeing AH-64D Apache helicopter and the
General Dynamics M1A2 Abrams tank."
ATI Customer Care offers new version 6.8 Catalyst reference drivers for ATI
RADEON video cards. Several gameplay fixes are included along the way, as well
as OpenGL performance improvements in DOOM 3, Quake 4, Chronicles of Riddick,
and Prey as well as DirectX performance improvement for Call of Duty 2.
The Rush for Berlin Website
has a new version 1.2 patch for Rush for Berlin accompanied by the developer
tools to allow the creation of custom scenarios for Stormregion's RTS game. Word
is: "The patch for version 1.2 of Stormregion`s RTS Rush for Berlin is now
available. But that`s not all! We`re also releasing the eagerly anticipated
Developer Tools for the game including the editor as well as the packer
software! You will now be able to make your own missions, and modifying most of
the game to your liking. A list with all changes is included here:
Patch Readme 1.2 >>." The patch is mirrored on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers,
FileFront, and
Worthplaying and the tools are mirrored on
3D Downloads, 3D
Gamers,
FileFront, and
Worthplaying.
As predicted ( story), a demo for ParaWorld is now available,
offering the chance to try out SEK's upcoming reptile-heavy RTS game. The demo
includes a single-player tutorial as well as a pair of multiplayer skirmish maps
for an 887 MB download, available on
3D Downloads, 3D Gamers,
4players.de,
Computer Games,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell, and
Worthplaying. Accompanying the release is the launch of
MySkulls.com, a new community portal
for the game.
3D Gamers and
FilePlanet are now
accepting sign-ups for the closed beta testing of Battlefield 2142. Apparently
they are letting in a trickle of participants at first selected from the roles
of their paid subscribers, and in about a week they will be admitting more
testers, including those with free registrations.
Prey 2 is Gestating on
IGN suggests that 3D Realms is pregnant with plans for a Prey 2 follow-up,
which implies that it's possible for a successful title to go without a
sequel. The speculation is based on
a Q&A with Scott Miller on Next Generation, though it seems just as possible
that answering "Prey 2, of course" to the question about what he's working on is
actually a joke about what one would assume would be the obvious answer to that
question, which would be Duke Nukem Forever.
The Armed Assault Website
(thanks Frans) reflects a new release date for the military shooter in the works
at Bohemia Interactive Studios. The site formerly listed Q3 2006 as the game's
release date, but that now reads Q4 2006. As a consolation prize they have
posted a bunch of new screenshots.
The official Gothic 3 Website is live as
a home to Piranha Bytes' upcoming RPG sequel. The site includes media and info,
as well as a news section rounding-up Gothic news from around the web.
A new Battlefield 2142 movie is live, showing off gameplay from DICE's upcoming
shooter sequel set on the game's Camp Gibraltar map. The clip is available in
low and high resolutions, available on
3D Gamers,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
GameSpot (registration required), and
Worthplaying.
Also, a new Dark Messiah of Might & Magic diary movie features gameplay footage
and an interview discussing the skill system in Arkane Studios' upcoming RPG.
The download is available on
3D Gamers,
Gamer's Hell,
GameSpot (registration required), and
Worthplaying.
- God & Heroes: Rome Rising
MMORPG.COM's
Gods and Heroes Dev Profile Q&A talks with ("Joey" look-alike) Mike
Hines, Art Director at Perpetual Entertainment about God & Heroes: Rome
Rising: "I think the game industry is finally getting its creative wings in
the visual department. For most of it’s past, it has been an industry
dominated by the select few who had the technical skills to navigate the
hurdles and create products. There wasn’t a lot of room for a rich artistic
element to flourish because the people focused on that weren’t able to get
their imagination past the technical complexities… and/or the people
creating the games came from the technical side and had minimal experience
on the art side. Obviously there have been some great exceptions to this,
but it feels like what the industry has been like as a whole."
- Maelstrom
The
Maelstrom Q&A on Strategy Informer discusses KD-Lab's RTS game with
designer Carl Johnson: "Something great about RTS games is that they are
somewhat timeless - you can still boot up a copy of Starcraft and go online
and find always find someone to play against. Multiplayer aspects often give
greater life to a game and in some cases (such as Half-Life morphing into
Counterstrike) it can give life to a game, period! We knew the multiplayer
aspect of Maelstrom was crucial, as gamers justifiably expect a lot from a
game when they put down $50. Our goal is to over-deliver."
- Patriot
The
Patriot Q&A on FiringSquad talks with DreamCatcher producer Mike Adams
about Patriot, 4D Rulers' recently announced first-person shooter: "The
whole idea of the game is that you are a member of the National Guard called
in to duty as the United States comes under attack by several terrorist
cells. These terrorists have positioned bombs, each armed with enough
nuclear strength to level an entire city. Each of these bombs detonate
simultaneously, destroying major cities across the country. The terrorists
have also targeted military bases, power plants and police stations,
crippling much of the country. Your company manages to regroup and become
vigilante in fighting for the freedom of the nation."
- Jumpgate
The
Jumpgate Q&A on MMO Portal talks with NetDevil's Istvan about Jumpgate,
their space-based MMOG: "I won't mince words. It was crippling. NetDevil is
a dedicated development shop and was hardly prepared to operate the game
directly. It was only quick action by the principals at NetDevil to regain
control of the game, and the immediate enlistment of Themis Group to handle
day-to-day affairs such as tech support and in-game events, that allowed the
game to keep operating at all. Furthermore, Jumpgate's size remains far
below its design potential mainly because the loss of our publisher in North
America effectively meant no marketing for the title."
R.I.P.: R.I.P. Tony
Jay. You may not know it, but you know him.
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