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Archived News:
GameSpot reports on plans for more digital incarnations of Magic: The
Gathering, the collectible card strategy game. Word is a Magic game is in the
works at Stainless Games for PCs and Xbox 360 and another Magic game for PCs and
Macs is being developed by Mind Control Software. No further details are
available.
Left 4
Dead News has news from the March 2008 cover story of OXM revealing that an
Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead is in the works, but there will not be a PS3
edition of the multiplayer zombie combat game (thanks Geheme 45). Though the PC
edition is currently in a more advanced stage of development, the plan is to
release the Xbox 360 and PC editions simultaneously, but there is no word on
whether there will be support for cross-platform multiplayer games. Word is the
Xbox 360 edition is being created by
Certain Affinity, an Austin, TX-based developer with a certain affinity for
Xbox multiplayer support as it is headed up by Bungie vet Max Hoberman.
This press release announces the formation of Thriller Publishing (thanks
FiringSquad), a new Austin, Texas-based developer led by MicroProse vets
J.W. “Bill” Stealey, Fred Schmidt, and Jim Bull to create games with "military
and espionage-themed serial storylines." Word is: Thriller has licensed
and contracted multiple New York Times best-selling authors, widely
recognized and well regarded in their genres, to create and develop popular new
characters and storylines with the potential for game sequels and sustainable
series. In most cases. these relationships grant Thriller complete ownership of
the stories, characters and other intellectual property associated with the
books and games, including artistic content, film rights, board games, books,
toys and all other intellectual property rights.
Polish developer CD Projekt (The Witcher) announces the acquisition of
Metropolis Software (THEY), saying this gives them the manpower to run three AAA
game projects at once: WARSAW, FEBRUARY 18, 2008 - CD Projekt and
Metropolis Software announced that they have signed an investment agreement,
under which CD Projekt will become the majority owner of Metropolis Software.
Combining the strengths of both companies is a very important step in
realisation of CD Projekt's strategy, which includes becoming a leading
publisher delivering high-budget, ambitious and creative projects that ready to
compete with the world's biggest productions.
To date, CD Projekt has developed one title, the hit PC role-playing game, The
Witcher. Fusing with Metropolis and dividing the CD Projekt RED team into two
units, CD Projekt now has are three development teams working on new AAA game
projects.
CD Projekt's debut game, The Witcher, has been a worldwide success. After
several years of development by dozens of people at the CD Projekt RED studio,
as well as a record budget for a Polish media product, The Witcher launched to
much critical and commercial success. To date, The Witcher has earned more than
40 awards, including prestigious awards like Best PC RPG of the Year at IGN.com,
GameSpy and the US edition of PC Gamer, as well as Gamespot's Readers' Choice
award for Best RPG. Rave reviews from fans and media have translated into
excellent sales results, as the game has sold more than 600,000 copies around
the world.
Metropolis Software has been a leading Polish game developer for years and is
the longest operating game-development studio in the country. Its catalog
includes Gorky 17 and last year's Infernal. The latest Metropolis production is
THEY, a next-generation mystery first-person shooter set on a near-future Earth
that has been ruined by war. What makes THEY unique is that it combines an
involving story with the best characteristics of action games. Thanks to the
emphasis on an engaging plot, THEY has a chance to join the small and elite
circle of FPS games whose involving story is the key element driving the player
to keep playing for hours on end. The game's world is developed on the basis of
Metropolis' new proprietary game engine, benefiting from all the latest
technologies used in video games software. The game is designed for PC and
next-gen consoles, and is scheduled for release in 2009.
Epic’s Cliffy B Talks About The Proper Time To Announce A Big Game on MTV
Multiplayer is a Q&A with the Epic designer about game promotion (thanks
BeyondUnreal), and the best way to unveil a blockbuster project: "The thing
is, if you’re a developer and you’re making a new video game — whatever that
game is, I’m not talking about any sequels or anything right now — you want to
control the timing of when the official word goes out. Because it’s a carefully
orchestrated hype plan building towards a momentous release, which is an event
now. If you’re not making your video game release an event, then you might as
well give up on the whole thing."
- Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath on
IGN.
CD Projekt RED announces plans to release The Witcher Enhanced Edition in May,
offering an updated version of the highly regarded action/RPG. The enhancements
come in the way of additional features, as outlined in this
YouTube video where new
stuff is shown off and described by the game's developers (in their native
Polish, but there are English subtitles).
The press
release announcing the game is actually longer than War and Peace, so here's
an excerpt: Maciej Szcześnik, Project Manager at CD Projekt RED, spoke
about the content provided in the new edition: "The Witcher Enhanced Edition
will be a completely polished product, something rarely found on the PC market.
Of course, it would have been best if the original edition could look that way.
There were a few ways the original game didn’t quite live up to our high
expectations, but now we're trying to make up for it. Work is being done on two
levels: one concerns the removal of technical obstacles that hinder the player
from properly using the game and thus gaining enjoyment from it. Some of those
elements include the loading times, which will be reduced by 80%, the stability
of the game on different PC configurations, as well as an array of smaller fixes
that will increase interactivity and precision in combat. The other level
consists of very important changes that are not usually found in patches. First
and foremost, the English-language version will, for the most part, be
completely re-done. The amount of text in that version was reduced compared to
other language versions and that was said to cause a significant decrease in
immersion and atmosphere. Now the English version will be as polished and
atmospheric as the other language versions. Speaking of other language versions,
most of them will be improved in some way. Significant changes will also be made
in the German version, where we are planning to re-record the voices for many of
the characters. The most important improvements concern those elements of the
game that players criticized the most. For example, over 50 new supporting
character models will be added, so that the player won't run into the same
person too often. The inventory panel will be re-designed and improved, and some
elements of the main game screen will be polished. However, one of the biggest
changes that will greatly increase the player's immersion in the game world will
be improvements concerning dialogue scenes. Both Geralt and non-player
characters will get over 100 new animated gestures which will make their body
language during conversations much more natural. Additionally, the facial
animation and lip-sync system will be re-created, making the faces of the
speakers now even more natural, as well. Of course, I've mentioned only the most
important changes, and that's still a lot. There will be many smaller changes
that will make the game more fun. I'm convinced that, thanks to those changes,
The Witcher will almost be the ideal game for fans of PC role-playing."
Spiderweb Software
announces the release of Avernum 5, accompanying the full release with a PC demo
for the latest installment in this RPG series to accompany the Mac demo released
late last year ( story). Here's word on the game: "The latest game
in the award-winning Avernum series. Travel into the strange underworld of
Avernum, a land full of misfits, bandits, and barely civilized monsters. Hunt
the villain who tried to kill your Empress, and keep him from assassinating you
first." The Windows demo is mirrored on
AtomicGamer and
Gamer's Hell.
The Battle for Wesnoth Website offers
another new edition of this cross-platform freeware turn-based strategy game.
Word on the version 1.3.16 (AKA 1.4-beta3: Development Release), which they say
is "hopefully the last beta release before we start to get out release
candidates" (so it's the last beta before more betas).
This forum
thread discusses the new release, the
change log is a nearly complete outline of what's new, while the
players changelog offers a more concise outline of major changes. The PC and
Mac editions of the game are mirrored on
Gamer's Hell.
The Warzone 2100 Resurrection Project is a
continuation of Warzone 2100, the 1999 real-time strategy game originally
developed by Pumpkin Studios. A new version 2.1 Beta 1 of this project based on
the game's OpenSource source-code is now available. Details on this release are
in the Warzone 2100
Resurrection Forums. The download is mirrored on
Gamer's Hell.
UK
bank blames fraudsters for World of Warcraft ban on The Register has news
that UK bank Halifax is blocking payments to Blizzard Entertainment because of
the frequent use of stolen cards in paying for WoW subscriptions. Word is: "If a
customer does want to subscribe to a game site operated by Blizzard, using a
Halifax or Bank of Scotland credit card, we can arrange for the payments to be
processed for them if they contact us." According to a statement by the bank,
this is not meant as a reflection on Blizzard or the integrity of their billing
system. What it sounds like from here, is a reflection on the systems in place
at Halifax that they cannot tell whether their own customers' credit cards have
been stolen.
RPG Vault's Online
Worlds Roundtable #16 - Part 1 kicks off another installment in their series
of MMOG discussions that began during the Eisenhower administration. The new
topic being bandied about by their collection of developers is: "The status and
future of storytelling in massively multiplayer games."
A new version 2.0 of the Fortress
Forever modification for Half-Life 2 updates his Source-engine Team
Fortress-inspired project. Class changes and reworked maps highlight the
release, which includes a number of other enhancements and bug fixes. Thanks
Ant and
Planet Half-Life.
A new version 1.2b of Zombie
Panic: Source updates the Half-Life 2 edition of this undead modification
with new maps, new player models, new music, new textures, bug fixes, and more.
Following the new client release is a new server hotfix addressing a lag issue.
Thanks Ant and
Planet
Half-Life.
Happy President's Day. In our grand(ish) tradition, here's some trivia about a
lesser known president, Franklin Pierce, AKA "Young Hickory of the Granite
Hills." Pierce was the 14th president of the USA and the only president in
history with no changes to his cabinet over the course of his term. He also had a
predilection for partying, in fact his cause of death was cirrhosis of the liver
caused by his drinking, and on what is likely a related note, he was arrested
while in office for running over an elderly woman with his carriage (the case
was dropped due to insufficient evidence). On a less grim note is Pierce's
campaign slogan as the Democratic party hoped to regain the While House as they
had eight years before with James Polk: "We Polked you in 1844; we shall Pierce
you in 1852." They don't write 'em like that anymore.
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