Archived News:
There's more layoff news on
Shacknews, where they
report EA has confirmed cuts at EA Maxis, the studio responsible for Spore
and The Sims. They report rumors of sizeable cuts, which are not
confirmed in the statement they received from EA: "Often in the video game
industry, the size of a studio fluctuates in response to business conditions. In
this case, EA has taken action to reduce the workforce at Maxis as we focus the
business and focus Maxis."
gPotato announces they are accepting applications from those interest in the
closed beta test of Allods Online,
Nival Online's upcoming MMORPG based on the Russian Allods series
of RPGs (Rage of Mages in North America and Europe). Word is: "The Closed Beta
Test of Allods Online will commence in the coming weeks. It will occur in
several phases during which several waves of players will be invited to
participate. Players who reach level 17 during the CBT will retain their
character name and friends list for the launch of the Open Beta. Guilds who have
over 24 members, and whose leader has reached level 21 will be retained for the
Open Beta. In addition to this, a variety of game bonuses and gifts will be
offered to participants who are accepted into the CBT." Thanks
Massively.
German developer Daedalic Entertainment
announces development of
Deponia, a third upcoming adventure game from the folks at work on
The Whispered World and an English version of Edna &
Harvey: The Breakout. The announcement is accompanied by some
Deponia
screenshots, and here's a bit from the
press release:
Deponia is a fast-paced comedy of errors and one of the most unusual love
stories in gaming history. The twist-filled story takes its off-beat characters
all over trash planet Deponia, a unique game world in the style of Douglas
Adams, Terry Pratchett and Matt Groening. From Kuvaq, an improvised village
built inside a giant trash heap, to the swimming black market and the dark
corners of the elevated planetary railways: Deponia is brought to life with
detailed hand-painted backgrounds in widescreen format and top-quality cartoon
animation.
Slitherine
Software now offers downloads of a new patch for Conquest! Medieval
Realms to update this RTS game to version 1.7. The new version fixes bugs on
"The Forest" map, a bug where capturing a crossing did not always correctly
split territories, and a bug where AI could make cavalry without stables. The
patch also offers further improvements to texture handling to reduce video
memory issues. The download is mirrored on
AtomicGamer.
The
Electronic Arts UK Forums have a couple of posts from Barrie "Bazajaytee"
Tingle on the status of the extraordinarily protracted delay of the version 1.50
patch for Battlefield 2, correcting one poster's comment that they've
been waiting for a year by pointing out it has been more like 14 months now. In
one post he says: "Keep an eye on www.battlefield.com this week for information
about BF2 v1.50 final release," while in another he says: "Not only a hint. I'll
tell you what it is in the announcement this week." In still another post he
says "Think around Thursday," so this may be clarified by tomorrow. Thanks Ant
and
Planet Battlefield.
Stardock's
Wardell On Matchmaking Out The 'Jerks' on Gamasutra is an article about the
coming Phase IV update for Impulse based on conversing about the
topic with Stardock honcho Brad Wardell. Along the way Brad explains how their
new "ready to play" feature will attempt to reduce the amount of time you spend
playing with jerks: "When you play online with random strangers, how many
people are jerks? I don't know how else to put it. Random people are often
jerks," Stardock CEO Brad Wardell told Gamasutra regarding the reasoning behind
Ready to Play's conception. "I wanted to come up with something that solved that
problem."
When you launch a title through the system, Ready to Play knows you own that
game (and since it identifies games based on their executable files, it works
for any game, not just those bought through Impulse), and it will attempt to
find other players who both own that game and who score similarly to you on a
rubric of gaming priorities.
"You [rank] a bunch of categories, like how competitive you are," explained
Wardell. "What matters to you in someone you want to play? Are they a similar
age to you? Do they have a good PC? How competitive are they? Are they all about
winning, or are they about having fun? Do they value their time? You don't just
get to say, 'Yeah, max them all out.' You put them in order of
importance."
EA's RAGE
Forums are live if you want to discuss id's upcoming shooting and driving
(and shooting while driving) game. The forums aren't skinned yet, however, so
you should picture mutants in your head if you are posting there.
Three new Heroes Over Europe video gameplay trailers are now available
for the upcoming World War II aerial combat game. A vignette featuring planes is
on Gamer's Hell,
GameVideos, and
IGN, the second showcasing environments is on
Gamer's Hell,
GameVideos, and
IGN, while the third focuses on "Ace Kill" takedowns is posted on
Gamer's Hell,
GameVideos, and
IGN.
The
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter SUPERMERCIAL in High Definition on
G4tv.com offers a look at a commercial for the upcoming "more definitionier"
Serious Sam remake, presumably a goof as it runs over two minutes. The clip
features a bit of gameplay footage, and some humorous hyperbole on the game,
which apparently can run at "6005 polygons per grundle."
The Fallen Earth Website
announces open beta testing for this post-apocalyptic MMORPG will conclude on
Tuesday with an Apocalypse Party to celebrate the occasion to kick off on
Saturday, offering in-game prizes: "Join us on Saturday, August 29, from 3 to 6
p.m. ET (GMT-4), for in-game food, drinks and entertainment while you collect up
to seven login prizes that are redeemable after launch."
A rumor of layoffs at Raven Software is being reported by
Shacknews, where they
attribute this to "multiple sources," with one of those sources saying some
30-40 employees have been offered severance and placement packages. Raven
shipped X-Men Origins: Wolverine in May and the new
Wolfenstein game earlier this month, and coincidentally, the
team at Endrant Studios that coded Wolfenstein's multiplayer component has
also been laid off. Raven is still developing their time-shifting
shooter Singularity for release next year, though this
report states the firings were not targeted at any specific team or project.
Shack has attempted to contact Raven or their parent Activision for comment, as
have we, but no official statement about this is available yet. Update:
Shacknews has
confirmed this, receiving the following official statement: With the
recent completion of both Wolverine, based on the summer blockbuster movie, and
Wolfenstein, the next chapter of the famed franchise, Raven Software is slightly
reducing its workforce to better reflect the studio's upcoming slate.
Valve announces plans to show off Left 4 Dead 2 at the
Penny Arcade Expo 2009, saying they will
be demonstrating a third campaign out of the five included in the zombie shooter
sequel as well as a few more items from the game: Valve today announced
that Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) will be shown and playable during the upcoming Penny
Arcade Expo (PAX), held September fourth thru sixth in Seattle, Washington.
After debuting "The Parish" campaign (set in the New Orleans' French Quarter) at
E3, and "Swamp Fever" at Comic Con San Diego, the PAX showing will unveil "Dark
Carnival", the third of the five campaigns shipping with L4D2 this fall. The
game will be playable in Microsoft's Xbox 360 booth as well as in Valve's L4D2
booth. Different areas of the game will be shown in each location.
In addition to the new campaign, Valve is also planning to unveil a few more of
the 20-plus new items coming this November when the title launches worldwide on
the Xbox 360 and PC. For more information, please visit
www.l4d.com
The
Operation Flashpoint Dev Interview on IncGamers offers a video conversation
with Tim Brown about Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising along with a
transcript of the chat. The main topic at hand is the research that's gone into
the military shooter, from firing actual weapons to consulting with actual
American and British soldiers. They also discuss not dumbing down the console
version, the PC map editor being "almost" the same one used to create the game,
and more. Update:
The audio glitch in the original clip has now been fixed. Also, the
game's official website now
offers a new Sounds of War trailer, where "key development team members explain
how meticulous attention-to-detail has helped provide the long awaited military
shooter with stunningly realistic audio, taking players as close to war as
they'll ever want to get." This trailer is mirrored on
eXp Download.
The
GamesCom 2009 Mafia II Interview on G4tv.com is an in-depth conversation
with Denby Grace, the producer on Mafia II, 2K Games' upcoming life of
crime sequel. Denby outlines the game's background story, their emphasis on more
"realistic" gameplay than running around guns blazing (it would seem many of his
points are to offer contrast versus the GTA series), taking ownership of
vehicles, dealing with arrest or death, cut-scenes, the soundtrack, and much
more. Also, there's an "Art Of Persuasion" Mafia II trailer from GamesCom we
keep meaning to mention, and this provides a good opportunity. This clip can be
found on GameVideos.
Finally, there's a two-part video interview for the game on GameTrailers, here's
part one
and here's
part two.
Courthouse News Service outlines a lawsuit Turbine has filed in New York
County Court against Atari over what seems to be an attempt to terminate Turbine
as developer of Dungeons and Dragons Online and its upcoming free
variant. The complaint says Atari failed to devote sufficient resources to
Dungeons and Dragons Online, and accepted royalty payments, "though Atari knew
it would not perform its obligations under the agreements and knew it would
pretextually seek to declare Turbine in breach of the agreements." Turbine
claims to have spent millions of dollars on development of DDO and that Atari
executed a strategy that would terminate Turbine one way or another, and that
ending their license agreement threatens both Turbine's past investment as well
as the goodwill that Turbine has developed with the thousands of DDO players.
Thanks
Joystiq.
Massively has details on another interesting tale to emerge from EVE Online,
where EBANK, one of the game's player-operated financial institutions, has
admitted to being in the red to the tune of some 1.2 trillion (yes, with a "t")
of the ISK that is the game's coin of the realm. Accounts in the virtual bank
are now frozen, and the article outlines the mechanics of the game's virtual
economy as well as details on the embezzlement and mismanagement that has head
to the 1.2 trillion shortfall. They have optimistic word from one of the banks'
operators on when withdrawals will be allowed and when accounts will being
earning interest again, as well as pessimistic word that the full extent of the
losses may not yet be fully understood.
The World of
Warcraft interview on GBASE is in German, but
in the middle of the
article begins the English version of their conversation with Tom "Alex"
Chilton about Blizzard's MMORPG. Topics include the inspirations for Wrath of
the Lich King, his personal favorite class, recent gameplay changes, gold
farming, and more. The question about adding flight to existing game areas
indicates this conversation took place prior to the Cataclysm
announcement (it was at GamesCom), which is why that expansion is not discussed.
New Warcraft III Patches are now available to update Blizzard's RTS sequel and
its Reign of Chaos expansion to version 1.24b, and this
Battle.net Forum post outlines the changes in the new version(s). The game
can be automatically updated via Battle.net, and manual US/English patches are
available from
Blizzard Support. The various language Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
patches are available on
The Patches
Scrolls and the multiple Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos patches are
posted on The
Patches Scrolls.
Section 8 delayed on Eurogamer has word that Section 8 is now
expected in Europe on September 11, rather than September 4 as previously
planned. The North American release of TimeGate's first-person shooter is
expected on September 1, and it's not clear if this delay impacts
that date as well, but it's possible, since the delay is attributed to "a small
delay in the manufacturing process."
The
Champions Online Forums apologetically explain why lifetime subscriptions
are no longer offered for Champions Online, even though they were originally to
be offered through September 1. A
recent post warned
lifetime and discounted six month subscriptions were running short, though it
was not initially made clear that supplies were limited (or why they would be),
and they say: "we definitely should have emphasized our limits more explicitly
in all our messaging." Though they are apparently not going to re-open this
offer, they make it clear hearing the reaction to this is hard for them: "It’s
hard for all of us here at Cryptic to see outcry in our communities. We work day
and night to create the best gaming experiences we can and any missteps – big or
small – on the long, winding, and sometimes treacherous path of development are
always regrettable." Thanks Trent.
FASA Interactive founder Jordan Weisman says "When Microsoft bought FASA
Interactive and incorporated it into Microsoft... the two reasons they bought us
was, one, they wanted the catalogue of intellectual properties and, two, they
felt that we had developed a really good development culture. And the reality is
that, pretty much from the day we moved to Redmond, that development culture was
destroyed," according to a new report on
GamesIndustry.biz. FASA was acquired in 1999 and closed in
2007, and Weisman says: "I don't think the studio ever really had a chance.
It was destroyed right in the beginning." He also describes his efforts at
warning MS against destroying Bungie in the same manner, saying, "We were much
better able to defend Bungie's culture than we were FASA's culture." Looking
forward he repeats his eagerness to work with Piranha Games on the
recently revealed MechWarrior revival and just yesterday it was
announced his new company Smith & Tinker has raised $29 million USD for
development of Pokemon-style games.
A new version 1.14 of
X-Motor Racing is now available, updating this motorsports simulation
with a bunch of changes and new features. A new version of the playable demo is
available on the X-Motor
Racing Downloads Page (new, though the page still says version 1.13).
Significant changes in the new version include a new dedicated server and
preliminary online multiplayer support.
The
America's Army 3 Interview on IncGamers talks with Marsha Berry about
upcoming support for America's Army, which is apparently now handled by the
America's Army Project Office (AAPO) Software Engineering Directorate. They
discuss the dismissal of the AA3 developers shortly after the
America's Army 3 release, and outline plans for changes and fixes
for the freeware military shooter.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
Not liking the look of the default screenshot icon when you bookmark the site on
one of Apple's mobile devices, a reader named Keith created
a Blue's News
icon for iPhone and iPod touch users. Thanks Keith. And thanks to SBlat for
clarifying how I had to install this: When people bookmark this site now on an
iPhone or iPod Touch now it should look more like a resident app.
R.I.P.:
Sen. Ted Kennedy dead at 77.
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