Archived News:
The Civilization Fanatics' Forums have word that mod tools for Civilization V are now available on Steam for all owners of Firaxis' turn-based strategy sequel. The tools include WorldBuilder, Lua script IDE, ModBuddy, and Nexus art importer, and 2K Games has launched a community-driven Civ5 wiki as an informational resource to support the release. They say to download the SDK you should select "library" from the Steam menu, then select "tools" and search for "Sid Meier's Civilization V SDK". Thanks Shacknews.
MTV Multiplayer confirms recent indications that Guillermo del Toro is working with THQ on a game development project, with the director telling them: "we are talking about huge games, huge world creation and long deadlines," and saying the earliest to expect such a project is 2013. For their part, THQ is still playing this close to the vest, saying: "Guillermo del Toro is one of many creative artists that we respect and would be interested in working with. However, at this time, we do not have any formal announcement to make." Secrecy aside, del Toro is willing to comment on what sort of game he envisions: "It's horror...but it's a very different type of horror game. It's not survival horror. It's truly a strange, geeky mix. It's a Lovecraftian thing. Let's leave it at that."
The Primal Carnage forums have the news of an engine switch for Lukewarm Media's upcoming Crichton-esque teamplay shooter featuring an island full of dinosaurs taking on a team of mercenaries. The game was announced as using the Unigine, but word is they're now using the Unreal Development Kit, saying this is "not a decision that was made lightly." They explain the reasoning: "The benefits of the UDK are enormous. Obviously, the fact that the engine is built for FPS games is a huge advantage. When you take into account Speedtree integration, XBox and PS3 compatability [sic], strong support, many developers that know it inside-out and great AAA software it's easy to see why the UDK is the perfect choice for Primal Carnage." They also offer a new teaser trailer featuring a little dinosaur-on-dinosaur violence, and say to expect a full gameplay video on November 1. Thanks joao.
Treyarch officially announces the return of zombies for Call of Duty: Black Ops, after teasing their presence in the military shooter sequel. They simultaneously announce this as a new and familiar experience: "Zombies have been such a hit with our community that we were committed to bringing brand new zombie experiences to Call of Duty: Black Ops," says Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia. "We’ve taken extra special care to retain the essential ingredients of our Zombie game, and have also crafted a nice surprise for the fans."
Between now and the end of September, receive a $5.00 discount from Direct2Drive on all purchases over $15.00 by using the code "PAX" at checkout.
Thanks Acleacius and Ant.
Atari's Haunted House is now available, offering a new remake of the Atari 2600 classic that helped introduce the survival/horror genre almost 30 years ago. Naturally, the new game is a far cry from the original, showing such modern touches as rooms that are more than black boxes and a player character with body parts beyond a pair of eyes, as well as co-op support. The digitally distributed game is available from the Atari Store as well as Direct2Drive, GamersGate, and Steam, and as of this writing Gamer's Gate has the game for about 35% less than the other three sites.
Saying "in the competitive environment of StarCraft II you might occasionally stumble across unsavory behavior," Battle.net has instructions on how players can snitch on these unsavory types using the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty client. They say: "If an opponent simply lacks sportsmanship, we suggest you block communication with that player through the in-game message log or by right-clicking on their character name in the Battle.net menus and selecting the block option. However, if someone seriously crosses the line, we encourage you to help us set them straight." They go on to outline how to notify them about bad behavior, giving examples of their game policies against spam, harassment, real-life threats, inappropriate names or map content, and cheating.
In announcing a delay until next year for Two Worlds II, publisher SouthPeak Interactive stated the RPG sequel would undergo "heavyweight quality assurance" for an "absolutely flawless" release. A follow-up on GameSpot says otherwise, however, as co-developer TopWare tells them the game is actually complete, and the delay is actually to avoid competing with an "exceptionally crowded" holiday game release schedule. "Truth be told, fans only have so much time to spend playing these content-rich games, and there were concerns our title could potentially be lost in the fanfare," TopWare managing director James Seaman said in a statement. "Our publishing partner SouthPeak, to their credit, has acknowledged this fact and made an adjustment, postponing their launch of Two Worlds II into early 2011." They say Zuxxez will still be releasing the game in a "handful" of European territories on October 21, and that this will the same game to be released in North America next year, though any interim patches to the EU edition will make their way into the North American retail release. They also say co-developer Reality Pump has now turned its attention to DLC and other post-release support.
The QUAKE LIVE Website announces a new patch that's been applied to id Software's free-to-play multiplayer shooter. The new version adds four new arenas for premium subscribers, and more, as summarized here: "Today's update introduces 4 new arenas to QUAKE LIVE, improvements to our Skill Ranking system, and an extension of our existing Invite-to-Match system. Our Premium content Map Pak includes Devilish, a wonderfully Gothic themed map suited for Duel or small teamplay, and three small Clan Arenas including two highly requested Rocket Arena 3 fan-favorites: Somewhat Damaged and Thunderstruck. We hope everyone enjoys the new maps and we look forward to hearing your feedback and continuing to deliver additional content in the near future." Thanks Big Download.
The Ubisoft Forums offer links to new patches for The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom to update the strategy/management sequel to version 1.10. There are full and incremental patches for both the PC and Mac editions, though they suggest using the auto-update function. The manual patches are mirrored on AtomicGamer and The Patches Scrolls, and the change notes follow. Continue here to read the full story.
The EverQuest II Website announces that EverQuest II Extended is now out of beta, offering a way to play Sony Online Entertainment's MMORPG sequel free-of-charge. Word is: "To celebrate the launch, EQ2X players can claim their free Staff of the Rising Phoenix from the in-game Marketplace on the Freeport server. The staff is an appearance-only item, depicting a phoenix engulfed in glowing flames, and will be available for a limited time only, so be sure to claim yours before 11:59 pm PDT on Sunday, October 3rd."
Closed beta testing of Legend of Edda gets underway tomorrow, and there's still time to register your interest in participating in the test, which will run through October 11. Here's word on the game: "Based on the Greek mythological conflict between the Gods of the Olympus and the Titans, Legend of Edda takes players on a journey through a dynamic storyline divided into five unique chapters based on the conflict of two opposing factions. Players will pledge their allegiance to Olympus or Titan from the beginning -- prior to character creation --which will play a large role in upcoming PVP and RVR battles."
The drive to the trail where I walk the dogs follows a very quiet little street leading to the woodsy end of town. We were puttering along yesterday when a kid popped up about 10 feet in front of the car after racing down a very steep driveway on his skateboard. I was taking the road at an appropriate pace and was able to avoid turning him into road kill, though something as simple as glancing at the radio at the wrong moment would have easily turned this into a tragedy. I'm guessing he'd done this a million times before and had grown comfortable thinking that so few cars passed that way that such a brush was impossible, but his response to my horn honk made me confident that he appreciated the danger of what he had done and would be rethinking this maneuver.
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