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Archived News:
Kohnke v. Perpetual: The
Opening Round on TenTonHammer reports on a lawsuit filed by PR company
Kohnke Communications against Perpetual
Entertainment, among other things, for breach of contract, fraudulent transfer,
and fraud. Late last month it came to light that a new company named Perpetual
LLC had acquired Star Trek Online and Perpetual Entertainment in a report that
suggested this may have been a way of skirting creditors ( story).
The following excerpt from their legal complaint indicates Kohnke also believes
that shenanigans took place to get out of paying them what they are owed:
"Star Trek Online Executive Producer Daron Stinnett published comments on
November 28, 2007 at startrek-online.net, flatly denying that Perpetual was in
the process of liquidating and representing that Perpetual was still an ongoing
concern: 'There was also a report about PE liquidating our assets. That report
relates to a transaction that took place a while back. And while I can't go into
details right now, I want to assure the community that the entire Star Trek team
is still here working hard…'
"Just one day later, the story changed dramatically. On November 29, 2007, Keene
[Joseph Keene, an officer of both Perpetual and P2 with a 'significant equity
stake in the company'] confirmed to counsel for Kohnke that Perpetual had
executed the ABC, and that all of Perpetual's assets were in the hands of
Perpetual ABC. However, Keene also admitted that, prior to executing the ABC,
Perpetual transferred certain assets to P2.
"On information and belief, the assets transferred to P2 include Perpetual
Entertainment trademarks and copyrights, the perpetual.com domain name, and
assets related to Star Trek Online, including code and the license… Perpetual
received less than market value for the assets it transferred to P2, and the
transfer made Perpetual insolvent (or worsened Perpetual's existing
insolvency)."
A new patch is now available for Settlers: Rise of an Empire, updating the
latest installment in this strategy series to version 1.3. The new version adds
online ladder support, adds map editor and quest system improvements, and
includes a number of bug fixes. The 137 MB download can be found on
AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
- Star Wars Galaxy Chapter 8
WarCry
Network SWG Chapter 8 Q&A chats with lead designer Thomas Blair about
the next content update for SOE's Force-heavy MMORPG. The article-format Q&A
covers various details on Chapter 8, which was slated to go live on the test
server today.
- Running with Scissors
Manhunt
Aftermath: Postal's Developer Speaks on 1UP hears about the Manhunt
controversy from Vince Desi of Running with Scissors, no strangers to
controversy themselves.
- Frontlines: Fuel of War on
GameSpy.
- Pirates of the Burning Sea on
YouGamers.
- PT Boats: Knights of the Sea on
RPG Vault.
- Universe at War: Earth Assault on
GameSpy.
This BioWare forum post announces the availability of a new patch for
Neverwinter Nights 2, updating the D&D RPG sequel to version 1.11 (thanks
Neverwinter Nights 2 Vault). The post has
details on the new version, available through the game's internal update
function, though the part of the patch notes pertaining to Mask of the Betrayer
fixes carries a spoiler warning. There is another post a few from the top
outlining a preliminary list of fixes in version 1.12.
NVIDIA is offering new "WHQL candidate" beta ForceWare reference drivers for
their GeForce graphics cards (thanks Thinus), in spite of that beta status
calling the new version 169.21 the "Recommended driver for the latest DirectX 9,
and OpenGL applications." There are new drivers for
Windows XP, Windows XP
Media Center Edition,
Windows Vista
32-bit, Windows
XP x64, Server 2003 x64, and
Windows Vista
64-bit. What's changed can be found in the
60 pages of release notes.
Get ready to rock out with your Mac out, as Aspyr announces the availability of
the Mac edition of Guitar Heroes III: Legends of Rock as part of the promised
hybrid package with the PC edition: AUSTIN, TX December 11, 2007
Aspyr Media has granted Macintosh gamers a license to shred with the
announcement that Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for Mac is now available on
store shelves. Released in partnership with Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), the
renowned Guitar Hero® franchise makes its debut on Macintosh computers as a
hybrid PC/Mac bundle that is available at major retail outlets across the
country.
Developed and published exclusively by Aspyr, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
for Mac matches its console counterparts with a killer set list that includes
many of the most popular rock songs ever recorded. Explosive content and
features include a multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss
battles, a host of unlockable content and visually stunning rock venues.
Expansive online multiplayer game modes also allow aspiring axe-shredders
worldwide to compete head-to-head for true legendary rock status with PC and Mac
gamers alike.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for PC/Mac comes bundled with a wired X-Plorer
guitar controller for the SRP of $79.99 and is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB.
For more information on this game please visit
www.aspyr.com. For more information on the Guitar Hero franchise, please go
to the dedicated community site
www.guitarhero.com.
NCsoft
Launches Chunk 2, Adding Advertising, New Content To Dungeon Runners Game
has word on the new content update for
Dungeon Runners, NCsoft's free MMOG. As the title of the press release
states, this build 99 update (also known by the elegant title Chunk #2) adds ads,
but these are only for the users who do not pay the optional $4.99 a month for a
premium account, which affords other perks as well. The advertisements come with
additional content for free players, described in full in the
patch
notes, which outline all the changes in Chunk #2.
AMD/ATI
announces that owners of ATI Radeon graphics cards are entitled to a pair of
free games from Steam, Valve's content delivery service. ATI hardware owners
can visit this page for
details on their free copies of Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Half-Life 2:
Deathmatch as well as discounts on other Valve games. Word is that future
versions of Catalyst driver packages will include Steam in case you didn't
know you wanted it.
More details are coming to light about the state of
Fury, the recently launched MMORPG
that has reportedly not lived up to the expectations of developer Auran
( story). Following
a press
release confirming staff cuts and that game support is being outsourced to
China ( story),
Kotaku Australia has word that the game will go completely free-to-play as
of the Chosen
( story) content update on December 14, and a dire comment from
Auran CEO saying: "We will then have some bad news to follow (unless a miracle
occurs), but there will be a very positive end to the week." While we wait for
that other shoe to drop, here's the announcement of Fury's new business model:
Cockpit, Austin, TX - December 10, 2007 – Gamecock Media Group and Auran
Games today announced a new Free to Download, Free to Play option for their fast
paced arena combat game FURY. The new business model will begin with the release
of the first major free content update “Age of the Chosen” on December 14, 2007.
“FURY was built around giving players options that suit their play style and
their wallet,” said Tony Hilliam, CEO of Auran. “With the AotC update, we are
introducing a new player category called “Chosen”. As one of the Chosen, players
can access all game types, equip all weapons and unlock all 400 abilities – and
they can play as much as they like absolutely free. This is a fantastic
opportunity for players to jump into battle with their mates and discover the
frenetic pace of the fastest RPG combat ever. Chosen will earn less gold and
essence, and will not be able to trade with other players.”
“Chosen players can purchase game gold from the FURY store or upgrade to “Hero”
status to earn more Essence and Gold. Retail stores sell the “Hero” status pack,
along with a free month of “Immortal” status, so this is $30 value for the new
price of $19.99 (in US stores). As a Hero or Immortal players can unlock
abilities faster and purchase better gear, but the matchmaker then ensures they
are playing against other players of similar skill and rank.”
FURY: Age of the Chosen is a massive free content update that introduces two new
game types aimed at the new player. “Carnage” throws two teams into battle with
the aim of returning blood tokens to their base faster than their opposition.
Blood tokens are gained from killing bots, not other players, so the action is
indirect competition rather than head to head. The 1v1 Elimination game type
means games will spawn faster and matches are more evenly balanced.
The Eschalon: Book I Website
now offers the promised Macintosh edition of Basilisk Games' new RPG. In
addition to online purchase and download of the full version of the Think
Different™ edition of the game, a playable demo is also available for a 73 MB
download.
- Europa: Universalis
The
Europa: Universalis Rome Q&A on GameShark hears from Johan Andersson,
producer on the strategy sequel. Topics include the setting, the scale,
playable races, and more.
- The Day
The
Day Q&A on PCGames.de talks with Jino Lee, lead producer on this recently
unveiled CryENGINE 2 MMORPG in a conversation that's also available in
the site's native German. They are only revealing so much at the moment, but
indications are the game will incorporate some manner of time travel. Speaking
of time travel, word is the game will probably not be released before late 2010.
Thanks Mike Martinez. The world has gone crazy edition:
Okay, following yesterday's theme, here's another surprisingly long-ago
anniversary: It was ten years ago today that Mike Wilson parted ways with ION Storm.
Todd Porter, BitchX, and all were a decade ago? It still all seems like it was
yesterday.
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