Hi-Rez Studios
announces details about the three maps from
Global Agenda they are
demonstrating at the Penny Arcade Expo. These are an escort map called Ice-Flow,
a three-point ticket map called Seaside set on a massive drilling platform, and
an Attack/Defend map set within the mountains of East Asia called Climate
Control. The announcement is accompanied by
a batch of
three new screenshots and word on the next phase of beta testing for the
espionage-themed MMORPG:
Later this year, developer Hi-Rez Studios plans
to introduce Campaign functionality which will initiate a massive persistent
conflict between player created Agency groups for limited territory, technology,
and resources in the world of Global Agenda. Players interested in joining this
pending Closed Beta Test 2 (CBT2) phase of Global Agenda can apply at
www.globalagendagame.com
Plans for a third "micro-expansion" for
Sins of a Solar Empire are now
off the board, Stardock's Brad Wardell informs
Big Download at PAX, who explains that developer Ironclad's plans to support
its space strategy game are too ambitious for another $9.99 add-on. He does
offer strong indications that this will lead to a larger expansion, or perhaps a
sequel, saying that the future of the series is looking good. It was almost a
year ago that these
mini-expansions were announced, and actually
the
initial
announcement indicated there were to be four of them in total.
The Lord of
the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood announcement
from
Friday said pricing details "will be unveiled soon," which turns out to be
all of a day later as
Massively says Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel informed them the expansion will be
$19.99 when it is offered for digital distribution (the fall release date they
also highlight as new was actually already part of the initial announcement).
They also learned that some special promotional deals will be part of the
release in an interview they will publish soon with more details on what to
expect from the MMORPG add-on.
An update for the
Forgotten
Hope modification for
Battlefield 2 is now available, bringing this
World War II modification for the modern military shooter to version 2.2.
Included in the new version are five new soldier models, even new maps, 35 new
vehicles (plus a new diesel locomotive), 35 new weapons, 3D iron sights, new
aircraft physics, changes to the tank damage and armor system, and more, with
all the details spelled out in
these change
notes. The update involves two installers, and for those who downloaded the
prerelease part one installer, they offer the password to open the zip file.
Massively has first details on NCsoft's plans to enlist guest authors to
create missions using the Mission Architect editor that allows for custom
missions in
City of Heroes, their superhero MMORPG. They mention the
involvement of
Rooster Teeth (
Red
vs. Blue) who will create a mission surrounding
Captain Dynamic, and Scott Kurtz (
PvPonline)
who will create missions around
the
LOLBAT.
There's a video on
GameVideos
from GamesCom we missed at the time with ShakyCam footage of
Star Trek Online
shot off a monitor (actually a 16 monitor array). The clip is quite steady,
though at an off angle twice trisected by monitor borders. Shortcomings aside,
the clip shows off quite a bit of ground and starship combat if you are
interested in how that plays out. Thanks
Massively.
The
FRAPS Website has the recent
release of a new version 2.9.9 of this utility that allows framerate benchmarks,
movies, and screenshots from within the many games that don't provide these
basic functions. A bunch of fixes are included in the new version, which they
note comes right about ten years after the release of the first version of
FRAPS. Frappy birthday! Thanks
Ant.
I just came across an editorial on
loonygames I wrote on
the topic of the loss of some of the sense of tight-knit community from the
early days of Quake. The funny thing is this was written almost exactly 11 years
ago, all of two years after Quake's release, but talking about it like it was
the good old days. Perspective is a funny things sometimes; of course the other
times it is often sad, so I guess I'll take funny, given the choice.
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