Archived News:
There's a Robin Walker interview on PC Gamer talking with the Valve designer about the future of Team Fortress 2, Valve's teamplay first-person shooter sequel. Robin informs them a new update is coming, and "likely" due in about a month ( Valve Time) that will imbue the game with item trading, a brand new game mode, and approximately twenty new weapons and hats. Item trading is pretty self-explanatory, and he explains the new items are from the recent Polycount contest and will include items not in the winning pack. As for the new game mode, they are pretty tight-lipped for now. "We’ll probably start talking about that stuff soon once we’ve figured out how to talk about it," he tells them. "We’re going to ship a new game mode, and then we have a couple of other exciting features that we’ve been working on for a while that should be really really fun."
A post to MODMYWHAT points to some code they say was found in the recent Mafia II demo suggesting multiplayer support was part of the open world crime sequel at one point. They speculate that this may mean the game might actually yet include multiplayer support, though it seems pretty late to have not announced this by now. We shall see. Thanks joao. Also, the 2K Forums explain that the demo has been patch to fix a PhysX glitch, saying: "There was an outstanding Steam PhysX installation issue where PhysX/APEX settings on MED or HIGH will only be run on the CPU, drastically lowering performance. This has now been corrected – so if you experienced this problem yesterday, things should run a lot smoother for you today! You can also get the fix here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/physx_system_software.html." Thanks Game Blend.
The Tactical Intervention Website is now accepting applications for another round of closed beta testing of this upcoming tactical shooter from the creator of the original Counter-Strike. Word is: "People interested in playing and helping us test Tactical Intervention, are invited to register on our website for possible inclusion in the next wave of testers. We have not currently set a schedule for this next round of tests but be prepared to be invited as same opportunity would be valid for our first round of CBT players." Thanks Big Download.
Steam now offers pre-purchases of Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2, the aerial combat sequel. Purchasing the game now will earn you a free copy of Blazing Angels 2 to play right now.
The Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Website now links where you can preorder IO Interactive's shooter sequel. There are different offers from each of several retailers, and Big Download offers a series of trailers outlining the bonuses available from each.
Steam News has word on a beta Steam client that's now available, offering tabbed browsing and performance improvements. Word is: "We've also been making some improvements to Steam's browser performance and stability, with the biggest gains on the Mac in particular. Flash video playback is now faster and more stable here, and the browser now loads cached content quickly. The video below shows a before and after comparison of our store's home page loading in the released Steam client and our latest Beta. The comparison is fair, in that both versions of the client had the same amount of time after start up to "settle," and both had the page content in their local cache. What was once molasses is now a normal web page in a normal-speed web browser. Yay!"
The Camelot Herald has word that the new version 1.105 update is now available for Dark Age of Camelot, Mythic Entertainment's MMORPG, and that some follow-up immediate server maintenance is also now complete. These patch notes have details on the new version, and this recent producer's letter from producer Stuart Zissu has an outline of the new training window UI.
Steam News has details on a new patch that's now automatically available for Killing Floor, Tripwire Interactive's co-op zombie shooter. Here are the patch notes. Continue here to read the full story.
A new patch is now automatically available for the Counter-Strike: Source Beta, announces Steam News, saying: "Our current plan is to update CSS on Mon, Aug 16." They offer the following list of changes in the renewed beta for the teamplay shooter. Continue here to read the full story.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
A Steam Community post by the R.U.S.E. Team has the unexpected news that R.U.S.E. will not use Ubisoft's DRM scheme, much reviled by gamers for requiring a constant internet connection (thanks joao). The upcoming real-time strategy game will instead use Steamworks, and will support single-player play even without a 'net connection. This message is repeated on the Ubisoft Forums, where they add that more news is coming soon for console players: This news is destined to our PC players audience, so please spread the information if you know some.
When R.U.S.E. is released in September, it will benefit from Valve’s Steamworks API to offer the best community experience to players. Consequently, a Steam account and Internet connection will be required to activate the game, as per Steam policy. For this reason, R.U.S.E. will not use the Ubisoft protection. Single player can be played offline. Console players, stay tuned for more R.U.S.E. news in the coming days !
SEGA announces Football Manager 2011, saying the next installment in the association football/soccer series is due before this Christmas, offering "more new features than ever before, including real-time contract negotiation, a revamped training system and a number of match engine improvements, Football Manager 2011 will once again raise the bar for Soccer management games." The announcement comes with some new screenshots, and here's a bit more on the game: Football Manager 2011 will be more polished than ever this year, and Sports Interactive will again set a new standard for the genre by adding a host of new features. For the first time ever, aspiring managers can now negotiate contracts with players in real time. And by working with a multitude of real-life football agents, Sports Interactive gained an insight as to how these negotiations can be made as realistic as possible in-game. Prepare to meet different types of agents in your contract talks; each with their own personality so will therefore need a different approach.
Valve has filed a trademark registration for DOTA, reports superannuation, offering another indication that they have plans to release a Defense of the Ancients-inspired game. Valve hired IceFrog, the developer of this Warcraft III modification, in October 2009, and earlier this year IceFrog said a DOTA announcement was coming soon. Then just last week Voiceover artist Jon St. John tweeted of his work on a DOTA game for Valve.
Attributing the rumor to sources "claiming to have knowledge of the situation" and "sources who wished to remain anonymous," Kotaku reports that Gearbox Software has picked up development of Duke Nukem Forever, the on-hold first-person shooter that was in development at 3D Realms for so long that Wired awarded it a lifetime vaporware award in January 2004. They were unable to confirm this with publisher 2K Games, but they also report one source telling them to expect a playable demo before the end of this year, and that Gearbox president Randy Pitchford indicates he may be able to shed more light on all this next month at PAX 2010. Gearbox was previously identified as the developer on Duke Begins, the presumably cancelled game in the Duke series that was at the center of a legal tussle between Apogee/3D Realms and 2K Games.
Speaking of Gearbox, following a hint last week, they announce Claptrap's New Robot Revolution, saying the fourth DLC for Borderlands, their role-playing shooter, will be released next month for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 for 800 MS Points/$9.99 USD. The announcement is accompanied by a few screenshots, and here's word: Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution invites single-player and co-op fans back to try to suppress a deadly Claptrap revolution using one of four infamous vault hunters. The foursome find themselves caught in the crosshairs of a deadly civil war between the Hyperion Corporation’s well-armed armadas and the ever-amassing army of homicidal Claptraps led by one of the most eagerly awaited characters in the franchise’s history - the cunning Ninja Assassin. As vault hunters, players must put aside their past differences with the Hyperion Corporation, namely the organization’s repeated attempts to wipe them from existence. For a hefty payday, they will join forces to help beat down the mechanical uprising and thwart the dastardly kung-fu expert, the Claptrap known only as Ninja Assassin.
The ELSPA announces plans for a chart tracking digital sales in the UK, which will include data from Ubisoft, THQ, Sega, NCsoft, Mastertronic, Kalypso Media, Midas Interactive, and Square Enix, saying: "There are three other major publishers about to announce their formal involvement imminently." The data will be collated by Chart-Track and owned by the ELSPA, and they say it will be "initially for the PC and initially for the UK," leading to hopes for a global chart at some point. They also indicate this will be fairly comprehensive, saying: "All stakeholders have committed that sales data from third party resellers will be included, allaying fears that data from Steam would be missing from this chart."
The Walt Disney Company's Third Quarter Earnings are available, outlining the latest profits and losses at that Mickey Mouse outfit. MCV has the breakdown for the Disney Interactive portion of the ledger: "Games revenues rose 74 per cent to $197m – up from last year’s $113m, with Toy Story 3 and Split/Second: Velocity cited as the current quarter’s key releases. However Disney Interactive posted an overall operating loss of $65m – up 13 per cent year-on-year from $75m. In its financial statement the firm said this was due higher self-published video games sales, offset by higher marketing costs."
A Message To Valve on the Steam Users' Forums is a petition collecting signatures hoping to inspire Valve to break their silence about the future of the Half-Life series, as it's now nearly three years since the release of the second of three episodic Half-Life 2 follow-ups. They also note that rather than attempting to rush development, they are just seeking information: "This message is in no way, shape or form attempting to rush the development of the Half-Life series; in fact, most members (who have signed) agree that Valve should take the time needed to deliver a complete and polished product."
LIVE Activity for week of Aug 2 on Major Nelson's Blog includes the usual list of Games for Windows Top LIVE Titles (based on UUs), which follows. Continue here to read the full story.
BitMob - What if Blizzard Went Through with Real ID?
During the Real ID debacle, no one really spoke about the possible benefits of this move. It's much easier to instead worry about sexual harassment and stalkers (not that these aren't real concerns) than to ponder the brave new world Blizzard proposed.
I gave Hudson the wonder dog a bath yesterday, in case you were wondering why the air all around the globe smells better today. The Gunnar-man is next, though this isn't as urgent, as he doesn't really generate the same stench level as Huddy, though he makes up for it in plain old dirt.
R.I.P.: Ted Stevens Dies at 86 - Long-Tenured Senator Helped Shape Alaska. Thanks Mike Martinez.
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