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Archived News:
Steam News has word on
the release of a new patch for Killing Floor, as well as the
promised DLC for Tripwire Interactive's multiplayer zombie
game. Update: The free DLC is not actually out yet, as this report
originally erroneously stated. Apologies for the confusion. The patch addresses a number of bugs, and here's the skinny: • Added 4 new Characters as a purchasable DLC pack available
via the Steam Store
• Added new animations for the specimens busting down doors
• Implemented a faster Quick Heal system
• Updated the Door Welded display
• Updated Mutator and Map White Lists(see Killing Floor forums at
forums.tripwireinteractive.com for more details)
Epic Not To Release A New Unreal Tournament “For Several Years” on G4tv.com
is a video interview with the CEO of Epic Games where he says they are backing
off from Unreal Tournament releases for "several years," though his statement is
not as definitive as the story headline suggests, as he says they are "planning
not to release a major retail game in the series for several years," which
doesn't rule out digital distribution. He does say the series is "certainly a
major long-term priority." Thanks
Big Download.
Ventrilo announces
sponsorship of the "QuakeCon Ultimate Power Up" Sweepstakes at next month's
QuakeCon 2009 in Texas, where the grand
prize winner will drive off in a 2010 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 Coupe, valued at
approximately $52,000. Word is: "A total of 100 tickets for the Shelby Mustang
GT500 drawing will be awarded to QuakeCon attendees for everything from
performance in the QuakeCon Pro, Open and Quick Draw Tournaments, to
participation in other QuakeCon contests, events and random drawings. The winner
will be randomly selected at 9 p.m. (Central Standard Time) on Saturday, August
15, as part of the tournament finals event on the QuakeCon Main Stage."
Impulse Weekend Buys - July 23rd: 50% off Paradox Titles, free DLC pack with
East India Company pre-order, and sales on Children of the Nile Complete, and
the Complete Tilted Mill catalog. The weekend deals on
Steam are a 75% discount
for Men of War, a 50%
discount on Velvet Assassin,
and a 50% discount on X3:
Terran Conflict.
The Borderlands trailer from Comic Con is now available to show off
Gearbox Software's upcoming first-person shooter/RPG (or as the trailer puts it:
"the RPG and FPS made a baby"). The clip shows off the game's stylized graphics,
and advertizes some of its selling points, like 897 bazillion guns. The clip is
posted on ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer, and
FileFront.
Steam now offers automatic updates for
RailWorks and
Garry's Mod, each
addressing bugs, with the RailWorks update also accommodating the new DLC, while
the Gary's Mod update also prevents the server from running restricted commands
on clients.
- Guild Wars 2 on
Massively. A collection of various tidbits.
- King's Bounty: Armored Princess on
Hooked Gamers.
- Left 4 Dead 2 on
Kotaku. Bulletproof zombies.
- Section 8 on
IncGamers. Multiplayer preview.
As noted on HexAgenda, closed beta
testing for Global Agenda is now underway, just as
promised. As they point out, there will be additional opportunities to join
the beta for Hi-Rez Studios' MMOTPS, so if you are interested, you can register
for the beta on
this page.
Steam announces the
release of no fewer than four DLC packs for
RailWorks, the
transportation simulation (and no more than four, as we are being quite precise
here). The DLC includes an
Isle of Wight RailWorks Expansion Pack, a
Class 158 Diesel Multiple Unit
Add-on, a Class 66 Diesel
Locomotive, and a Class 08
Diesel Shunter. The four DLC packs represent a $79.96 additional investment
in the $49.99 game.
A
Letter from the Game Director July 2009 on the Age Of Conan: Hyborian
Adventures Website outlines upcoming plans for Funcom's MMORPG. The
letter from Craig Morrison thanks returning players for reevaluating the game
and mentions a veteran reward program that will be part of their next content
update that will offer access to special vendors providing benefits ranging from
social status items to special items that will provide extra convenience. He
then outlines the centerpiece for update 6, which will be a Guild Renown system, "whereby the actions of any individual player count towards their guild’s
reputation. Collectively, guild members can level up their guild in three
distinct categories to gain access to new guild rewards and bonuses. The system
has two primary components, the Renown level, and also Renown rankings which
place guilds against each other and measure your successes against those of
other guilds on your server." Here's what he writes in conclusion: So
there you have it, a little bit of insight into what is coming up in the near
future for Age of Conan. Of course, there are also a couple of other significant
additions coming in the next update cycle, namely new zones in the form of House
of Crom and Thoth-Amon’s Stronghold, as well as new Tower-based PVP objectives
in the Border Kingdoms, but those will be the subject for future
letters!
MMORPG.COM reports August 1 may be the deadline for Firesky to raise funding
to continue development of Stargate Worlds, the planned Stargate MMORPG.
There have been lots of rumors about the state of this project, but very few
hard facts, and the new report doesn't change this trend, as it is an
unconfirmed report quoting an anonymous former employee who tells them MGM is
set to pull the license for the project if August 1 passes with no additional
funding in place. According to the report, the best prospect for an investment
in the project is a group of doctors considering an $8 million investment, which
would apparently "keep the company alive, allow it to pay off back wages and
launch Stargate Worlds," but their source does not believe that the deal will
get done.
Evolution Vault announces alpha testing is underway for
EV Online, allowing the chance
to sample this browser-based space MMOG (unless you want to
buy a vowel and spin the wheel). Word
is: "Evolution Vault, developer of the 'quick and engaging' space RTS Galactic
Dream: Rage of War, announces today the opening of an Alpha server for its space
browser game. EV Online features a world with thousands of players fighting for
supremacy. One begins the game acting as a Commander of a tiny basestar inside
the EV cluster, and rises to become the Supreme Ruler of this galaxy."
SteelSeries Introduces New High Definition Gaming Mouse and Gaming Surface
announces August availability of three new products, two of which are squarely
aimed at gamers, a new SteelSeries Xai LASER mouse and SteelSeries 9HD mouse
surface, as well as new SteelSeries Kinzu Optical Mouse. The new gaming mouse
boasts some extremely high numbers in explaining its awesomeness, and we'll take
your word for it that your mouse shortcomings are holding back your game:
Research and development of the mouse was done in close cooperation with
full-time professional gamers from the U.S., Europe and Asia to ensure that the
SteelSeries Xai is a tool with a purpose – not just a gadget. The 10.8
megapixels/second sensor offers a huge improvement over the current generation
of gaming mice by processing 12,000 frames/second at 5,001 CPI at movement
speeds of 150 inches/second providing the user with High Definition tracking for
unparalleled precision. Furthermore, the SteelSeries Xai offers unprecedented
levels of personalization for the user, with unique SteelSeries sensor
innovations like SteelSeries ExactAim, SteelSeries ExactRate, SteelSeries
ExactSens, SteelSeries FreeMove and automatic lift distance calibration.
SteelSeries Xai can be fully configured via a LCD menu system on the back of the
mouse, where settings will be stored on the mouse thus eliminating the need for
drivers and providing configuration capabilities on-the-go.
Some of the features of the SteelSeries Xai include:
• Ambidextrous shape
• 7 Programmable macro buttons, 200 strokes per button
• Driverless plug-and-play, with 5 profiles
• Fully configurable via LCD menu system
• 100-5,001 counts/inch
GameTrailers.com has the Command & Conquer 4 trailer that debuted on
G4 TV last night. Those hoping to see some gameplay from the real-time strategy
sequel will be disappointed, as the clip includes a combined cinematic/FMV
sequence that chews some scenery to set the stage for what looks like a NOD/GDI
collaboration, as Kane shows everyone his ball. There's a
BattleCast Primetime 2.0 Debut Trailer as well, with a couple of glimpses of
gameplay, and the implication we may see more of the game when the new episode
goes live tonight.
UK-based independent developer Mode 7 Games announces development of
Frozen Synapse, a top-down
turn-based strategy game planned for release via digital distribution later this
year. Their Visiting the Village
Podcast discusses the project, and here is what they describe as "utterly
stimulating bullet points": - A variety of multiplayer game modes
- Full single player campaign
- "Every Turn Counts" gameplay - in any given turn power can shift if you make
the right tactical decisions
- Unique scoring technique - see your performance against hundreds of opponents
on the same mission
- Fully destructible terrain - create the perfect cover with a well-placed
explosive
We've wanted to play a fast-paced squad-based (hey!) tactical game for a while,
and we're hoping other people share our perverse desires.
Battlefront.com offers a patch for Combat Mission Barbarossa to Berlin
to add Vista compatibility to this World War II strategy game first released in 2002. This is not a
free patch, however, as it carries a $5.00 purchase price. Word is: "you only
need this upgrade if you have purchased CMBB somewhere else than directly from
Battlefront.com, or if you have purchased from Battlefront.com directly but
before July 17th, 2009, and if you are experiencing problems running the game
under Windows Vista. In all other cases, you DO NOT NEED this upgrade." They
recommend users try the patch before purchase, and offer the
updated demo to allow you to try it before you buy it. Likewise,
Battlefront.com also offers a $5.00 patch to add Vista compatibility to
Combat Mission Afrika Korps, which was first released in 2003, and an
updated demo is also available for this game.
There's a
Torchlight interview on PC Games that kicks off in German, but
also includes an English translation of their conversation with Wonder
Russel, Minister of Culture at Runic Games, who are at work on this upcoming
action/RPG. Topics include the company's formation after the demise of Flagship
Studios, their feeling about the end of Flagship and the Mythos project,
gameplay in Torchlight, Torchlight's similarities to Mythos, skills, graphics,
random content generation, items, NPCs, and more. The article also includes a
bunch of new screenshots.
Destructoid - Rev Rant- Donate!
It's basically about how we will pay large sums of money for the chance
to play bad games, but will almost never pay very small amounts of money to
reward good designers who release their wares for free.
IndustryGamers - Why The Way Multiplayer is Sold Needs to be Rethought.
A strategy that would make more sense in our minds is to offer
multiplayer components essentially like large DLC offerings. For the record,
we're not thinking of something like Resident Evil 5, where there was a full
price for the regular game and then a DLC multiplayer component that stacked
on top of that. We think (or hope) the cost of the multiplayer component
would be subtracted from the price of the disc product, somewhere in the
range of $10 to $30. By doing this, consumers are more likely to buy a game
early because the retail price is more reasonable, and they can opt in to
the multiplayer at their leisure. This takes some of the appeal out of
buying cheaper used games that the industry seems to loathe so much and
guarantees steady income as more and more people buy into the multiplayer
DLC.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
Flynn Lives And He's Reopened His Arcade and
Ain't It Cool News have more
on the viral TR2N dealie mentioned into the black last night. Thanks nin.
R.I.P.: John
Barry, Popularizer of WD-40, Dies at 84. Thanks Neutronbeam.
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