Archived News:
Red Alert 3 Beta Page
on FilePlanet is now offering Red Alert 3 beta signups for all
FilePlanet users, not just paid subscribers. If you're interested time is of the
essence, as word is: "This event is a first come first served, limited access
beta and keys will go fast so sign up immediately!"
Project Origin is now expected in the first quarter of 2009, a delay from
its previously planned release later this year, reports
IGN. They learned of the setback during a demo of Monolith's sequel to the
horror-themed first-person shooter F.E.A.R., but no reason was supplied.
The World of
Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Interview on Eurogamer is another
conversation from the Leipzig show with designer Tom Chilton and producer J.
Allen Brack about the upcoming WoW expansion. They talk about new graphics
options in the expansion, but when asked about how to entirely replace an aging
graphics engine in an MMORPG, they point out that both Ultima Online and
EverQuest created new graphics engines that some users refused to adopt because
of performance drop-offs and other issues. In spite of that, Brack admits that
they will "probably" need a "graphical update from the ground up at some point,"
and he is "positive we'll talk about it next expansion." Thanks
IncGamers.
The Diablo
III Interview on Boomtown recaps a sit-down at the Leipzig Games Conference
with Jay Wilson, lead designer on Diablo III. They discuss progress on
Blizzard's eagerly anticipated action/RPG sequel, at one point describing how they
have scrapped the artwork in Act I several times and started over, and Jay also
once again addresses controversy over the game's color palette. There's also
Diablo III
Interview on Eurogamer also talking with Wilson, who gives an interesting
and frank assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of previous Diablo games
("I felt that as a role-playing game, it really sold itself short, and as an
action game, it really sold itself short. What it did right was the addiction,
the drops."), and how the new game will improve upon those shortcomings.
The
C&C Support Forums have a post from community manager APOC with a "state of
the union" for community members concerned about EA's commitment to Command &
Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and the Kane's Wrath expansion. Finalizing Red Alert 3
is currently in focus, but he says "my heart is still engraved in C&C 3 and
Kane's Wrath and I am working equally as hard on the prospect of our next patch
and the SDK." The MOD SDK situation is a good news, bad news deal, as while he
is "working early on our RA3 MOD SDK," but for C&C3 he says "the MOD SDK
situation is looking increasingly dire due to technical reasons, but I am
exercising every option." He also says the "recent patch 1.01 has barely been
out a few weeks" and that they don't want to upset the balance of the current
ladder season as reasons for forestalling a the next patch for the game, but
reaffirms their commitment to an update: "I understand the desires of having a
new patch soon and the SDK asap, but I want you guys to know neither is
forgotten, its simply a busy time these past couple of weeks especially with Red
Alert 3, but I assure you I am working on all the above for C&C 3 and KW to the
best that I can internally and with my strong army of volunteers." Thanks Ant
and Planet Command & Conquer.
Meridian 4
announces that Tank Universal is now available, as this
independently-developed "Tron-like" armored combat game is on several sites like
Steam
and
Direct2Drive for online purchase and download for $9.99 USD. The game
features 20 levels "of highly addictive and intense tank battles," though "some
missions require you to leave the safety of your tank and explore the world on
foot." The Tank Universal homepage
offers more details as well as a playable demo ( story).
There's a Ben
Cousins Q&A on GamesIndustry.biz talking with the executive producer on
Battlefield Heroes about DICE's subscription-free multiplayer shooter. Topics
include how they've scaled battles back to 16 players (they will look at
expanding this to 64 over time), what they've learned from beta testing,
appealing to less hardcore players, and more. Most interesting is a bit
highlighted in a separate post about the game's release plans, as Ben says
there is not going to be a dramatic launch of the game one day, but rather
the closed beta will continue to expand to the point that "every hardcore gamer
in the world will probably be able to get a key if they want to - it would just
be within a closed beta so that we can control the size of it to a degree." To
that end, he takes issue with the idea that the game is delayed from its summer
release, saying "Actually, we're in the closed beta already, so the game is
already out and you can't delay a game that's already been released and already
been played by people." He describes social networking features to be added over the course of the beta,
and on whether the game will miss out on not having a big splashy "release," he
calls Heroes "a modern web product" in the vein of Facebook or Wikipedia, which
did not have big launch moments, saying "These things grow over time and become
enormous by the network effect rather than having to rely on traditional
marketing methods, where obviously you bank of all your money in a particular
three-week period and try and get in front of everybody. We've got the luxury of
using the internet to spread the word about it - not relying on that critical
period of communication about the game."
Eurogamer
reports from the Leipzig Games Convention on a new maneuver being added to the
repertoire of acrobatics in the upcoming Prince of Persia game. They have given
the Prince an ability to run across ceilings, not actually sticking Spider-Man
style, but rather with a little assistance, though not as much as Spider-Pig, as
the player must find the proper rhythm to grab elements of the roof to make this
work, similar to other jumping mechanics in the game. Level designer Michael MacIntyre is
quoted saying: "With this new move, our level designers had all the tools they
needed to create acrobatic sequences that can use pretty much every surface in
the game."
MCV
reports that Scandinavian game distributor
Game Outlet has moved into the game publishing space, forming a new
subsidiary Nordic Games. The publisher will focus on casual and mid-priced games
for the PS2, Wii, DS and PC to start, but will look to evolve past that in the
future, and word is it already has five projects in development across 11
different SKUs. Nordic Games says "with the huge expansion of the market we feel
it is the right time to enter the publishing business," and that they are
looking to emulate the success of some countrymen, though hopefully this doesn't
mean users will have to assemble the games themselves: "Being Swedish, we have
adopted the IKEA philosophy, which means every product we do will aim to give
consumers great quality and value, at tremendous prices."
CNET News.com
reports the cancellation of this year's DigitalLife Expo, Ziff Davis Media's New
York City-based trade show, though one of the execs in charge is quoted saying
"Hopefully, a bigger and stronger DigitalLife will return in 2009." Poor
economic conditions are cited as the reason for the cancellation, though the
article points out the show has had a difficult time emerging from the shadow of
the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and was coming off a fairly
disappointing show last year. Thanks
Joystiq.
Matrix Games is now offering sales of Birth of America 2: Wars in America
1750-1815, the turn-based wargame sequel that has been available digitally
from developer
AGEOD for a couple of weeks now ( story). Matrix is also
offering the game for digital download, but for a relatively small premium
($10.00 in the US), they will also ship a boxed copy.
Massgate.net has news about a new version
1.2 of WicEd is on the way for World in Conflict, which will offer "lots
of new features to make your maps even better." They outline a handful of new
features and enhancements, and offer this overview: "The new WicEd update adds
lots of new features to the tool, including new editors for the bloom and mood
systems, new sleeker interface solutions and a brand new resolution editor." The
new version is said to be "coming soon."
A new cinematic trailer for NecroVisioN conveys the mood of The Farm 51's
upcoming Painkiller-engine supernatural first-person shooter that is set during
World War I. The movie is posted on
AtomicGamer and
Gamer's Hell.
Games32's Postal 3 Interview (NSFW) talks with Vince Desi of Running With
Scissors about the shooter sequel. The clip uses the mic on the camcorder,
complicated by the interviewer's accent and the ambient noise of the game demo
that accompanies the conversation, but Vince manages to come through pretty
well. Gameplay is also shown in second-hand ShakyCam footage of the running game
demo, but the bright lighting in the room makes for fairly washed-out, flickery
footage.
A new Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason movie offers a look at the first-person
horror game in the works at Ukrainian developer Action Forms. The clip
demonstrates a number of the game's spooky environments and a bit of melee
combat. You can find this movie on
AtomicGamer,
Gamer's Hell. and
MyGameTrailers.
Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
The work is about to begin on the new sidewalks I recently mentioned we're
getting, and we are pleased at the prospect of replacing our broken walkway.
However, now that backhoe is parked right outside our house, where it will
probably be for a week, which may be too much strain on my willpower, as I've
had a lifelong fascination with the prospect of "borrowing" every piece of
earth-moving equipment I ever see in such an unattended state.
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