Archived News:
A small
note from a guy who didn't vote for this project on the Paradox Interactive
Forums is a post by Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester, who says he doesn't think
Victoria 2 will make a profit. He even says he's betting his hair Paradox's recently announced strategy sequel won't break even, which sounds
like a marketing stunt, but is anybody really going to buy a game just so one
more guy can shave his head? Here's word: I really like that people are
excited that Vic2 is in development. This feels like an interesting and exciting
project for all of us, however it is no secret I voted for another project from
the Paradox dev team.
Johan assured me our fans want this project, and so did you (forum people) in a
poll on this forum.
So in brief; I think this project never will see profit (reason is simple Vic1
was a terrible launch). Johan thinks it will. Johan and his team have the
responsibility to create a good game and of course we hope that you will buy it
since this was the most voted-for title in our poll.
So, what do I bring to the table except for whining? I have promised the dev
team (and checked with my family) that I am shaving my head if this project ever
sees profit. AND post pictures of it here in the forum.
We will have a budget meeting in the coming two weeks to see how many units we
need to sell to reach our break-even; and keep you posted. Progress reports will
follow.
And yes, I am serious. [smiley]
Eurogamer has details on the implications that users will be able to sell
custom StarCraft II content though the new Battle.net.
Blizzard's Rob Pardo confirms the marketplace will publish both free and premium
maps, and "a portion of the revenue" from premium maps will go to their
creators. The marketplace will not be part of the new Battle.net launch as to
prevent it delaying the release of StarCraft II.
This point ain't gonna
cap itself! on the Team Fortress 2 Blog offers a look behind-the-scenes at
Team Fortress 2 development, discussing map design. In the article Valve level
designer Corey Peters describes the process for prototyping the new King of the
Hill mode in extensive detail, and offers a couple of time-lapse videos of the
Viaduct map showing how the level design evolved over the course of time.
A post by id Software's Peter Sokal to the
Wolfenstein
Community Forum addresses issues users have raised in their
Constructive Feedback thread. Many of these relate to multiplayer support,
and while the team behind the game's multiplayer support has already been
laid off, Peter says: "I wanted to let you all know that as I am
typing this we are going through the list and discussing what can be done and
when. Keep posting your feedback and I'll keep updating the list. This process
might keep me away from the boards more than I would like, but ultimately I hope
it proves worth it." Thanks
Voodoo Extreme.
The BlizzCon 2009 Website
has a recap of the day-one festivities yesterday at Blizzard's gaming
convention.
Pisces, Two Cats Comic Book Store, and a reprieve. is a blog post by artist
Valerie Schoman who reveals Majesco Studios Los Angeles is closing. The studio
had produced two DS games and were developing a game for the Wii that she now
presumes is cancelled. Word is the studio will be closed at the end of the
month. Thanks
superannuation.
The
Star Wars: The Old Republic Walkthrough on IGN is a multi-part video
presentation on BioWare's upcoming MMORPG. Here's an explanation from our
narrator, Dallas Dickinson, captain of the Nostromo, and senior content producer
on the game: Now we've been talking a lot lately about the fact that this
is the first ever fully-voiced MMO, but we wanted to show that to you in action.
So, we're going to give you a quick preview of Star Wars: The Old Republic; the
cinematic conversation system, as well as some of the action-packed Star Wars
combat that you'll get to experience when you play the game. We're going to show
you a few things here, but remember this is a work-in-progress. You're going to
get to see a couple of character classes, a few of our planets, and then a
flashpoint in the game.
NVIDIA
announces promotions offering a free copy of Batman Arkham Asylum with the
purchase of select NVIDIA graphics cards are now running on
Amazon,
NCIX,
Newegg,
TigerDirect, and
ZipZoomfly. Word is: "Get the definitive version of Batman: Arkham Asylum
with NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ technology support and enhanced GPU-accelerated NVIDIA®
PhysX® effects. For a limited time only, purchase a qualifying GeForce GTX 260,
GeForce GTX 275 or GeForce GTX 285 graphics card and receive a coupon good for
the digital download of Batman Arkham Asylum, PC version." Thanks Ant and
FiringSquad.
Apparently there are concerns they will exhaust their supply of digital copies
of the game, as they say: "This coupon is valid between Sept 15, 2009 through
December 31, 2009 or while supplies last."
Steam now offers online
sales of the Stanier 8F add-on
for RailWorks.
Word is, "the Stanier 8F 2-8-0 steam locomotive comes with 4 distinct scenarios
as well as two extra items of custom rolling stock that served alongside this
mighty machine."
The Project Stealth Website
introduces Project Stealth: Spy versus Mercenary, an upcoming multiplayer
stealth/action game built on the Unreal 3 engine. This project is planned as a
free release, though they claim the team includes professionals from both the
game industry and Hollywood. Here's a bit: Project Stealth is a
Stealth-Action-Multiplayer game aimed at the hardcore PC-player who likes
intense teamwork, strategy and on-the-fly tactical planning. A
cat-and-mouse-game in which two non-lethal, fast Spies are up against two lethal
but slow Mercenaries. On top of that, a difference between third-person and
first-person cameras makes Project Stealth a guarantee for an exciting game
experience. Both sides are aided by various high-tech gadgets and special vision
modes to help them accomplish their goals: infiltrating and hacking an objective
for Spies, or preventing that for Mercenaries.
Monolith Associate
Producer talks about the third downloadable content for F.E.A.R. 2 on GameZone
is a brief conversation with Lucas Myers about the next batch of downloadable
content for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, Monolith's horror-themed shooter
sequel. Along the way he discusses how the DLC has allowed them to do some
things differently: "This means new environments: we created new spaces that are
much more open and offer vertical elements. Our combat mechanics are something
we’re most proud of, and we definitely wanted to push them to the next level.
There will be more avenues of attack, more choices in how to deal with your
enemies, and more directions from which danger will be advancing. Speaking of
enemies, players can expect to battle combinations of opponents that they didn’t
experience in the original game."
The
Paradox Interview on The Reticule talks with Fredrik Wester at GamesCom,
talking with the Paradox CEO about his company's upcoming projects. Topics
include the recently announced Europa Universalis II game
For The Glory, their free licensing of the EU2 engine, the also
recently announced Victoria 2, Hearts of Iron III,
and East India Company. Wester outlines their philosophy for DLC pricing,
and expresses hopes they will make a Hearts of Iron III expansion, but that
"this is not decided yet."
Australia's
ABC News details an Aussie research study that attempts to connect video
game playing with gambling addiction. There are quotes from one researcher who
has no problems jumping to conclusions in correlating the number of teen problem
gamblers who play video games: "Those sort of young people who've had this need
for more sort of unstructured activities probably also drift into gambling a bit
more because it's another activity which you can do if you're out on the
street." On the other hand, there's a quote from another professor that seems
more even-tempered: "Does an interest in gambling lead to people becoming
involved in video games or do video games lead to people becoming involved in
gambling? Or is there a third factor which accounts for both gambling and
videogames?" Thanks
GamePolitics.
- Modern Warfare 2 on
GameSpot. Special Ops Impressions. Thanks Ant.
- Alpha Protocol on
IGN.
Alpha Protocol's Blog: The Spy Who Stealthed Me.
I hadn't replaced my UPS since I commented on it not seeming to hold a charge
anymore, but it actually ran my computer for about 20 minutes last night after
the power went out here, and for close to an hour after that it still was able
to power my cable modem and router to allow me to connect through my laptop,
which was pretty cool. I think I'll still add a new UPS to the mix, and use the
old one specifically for the router/modem combo, as I imagine it could probably
keep that net connection running for hours without the PC plugged into it, which
will be that much handier in future outages.
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