Archived News:
Zombie's Spec Ops2: Green Berets
site is now online offering the official source of news and information about the
sequel to Spec Ops that's due fourth quarter this year. Thanks SpecOps.Org.
Starsiege TRIBES Players site
has the release of the development tools for Starsiege TRIBES on their Multimedia and Downloads
page. Thanks [Inq]Colosus. Here's the skinny on the release from the page:
TRIBES Tool Kit
Below is the link to download the TRIBES tool kit. Please be aware that this is a
non-supported release; in other words, we give you these tools "as is", use at
your own risk. This is by no means a required download, that is, this is not a patch. It's
a collection of tools and utilities that we used to create objects and missions for
TRIBES. If you aren't interested in creating your own missions, or customizing the
graphics in the game, don't bother downloading this. For a listing of the tools included
in this package, along with short descriptions of their functions, please examine the readme file
before downloading.
The ClanRing Mod Development site has a
new version 5.00 of the classic ClanRing CRMod++ for classic Quake. Thanks X-racer. The
new version adds even more features to assist the civil operation of a server, including
running commentary in observer modes, Autopause (matches can be automatically paused when
someone disconnects), and full ghost restoration when match is paused (weapons,
health, position, etc.).
Daikatana Nation posted a Q&A with John Romero
in their Sunday news talking a bit about Daikatana, mentioning that by using .mp3
compression for voices and music, the game would now be shipping on one CD. The Q&A
acknowledges the possible CPU impact of this, pointing out that MMX will help. Thanks GA-Source. Also, Planet Daikatana
interviews Mike 'Tarix' Montague about his work as "Programming Bitch-boy"
for Daikatana (hey, sometimes you have to lure the talent by offering fancy titles).
The Adrenaline Vault
News is reporting that "According to GT Interactive, news that it will cease its U.S. distribution operations is false" ( story).
The report goes on to say "Instead, the company has outsourced the day-to-day
mechanics of its distribution center, which means the people putting things in boxes are
no longer hired by GT; this part of the process has been turned over to a vendor."
A post on the Epic MegaBoard by Mark Rein gives word that the Unreal 224 patch is due sometime later this week (making the promise twice as intriguing as the more generic "in two weeks" that often means "when it's done"). Here's the quote spotted by Voodoo Extreme where Billy has also posted a new screenshot showing "Epic's Tim Sweeney, at work on Unreal Tournament" showing his programming tools in action. Here's the quote from Mark Rein on the release:
Chaostar--> Better D3D support won't be coming in time for 224 but it should
be coming at some point after that.
As Gavin found out, if you're using TNT, make sure you get the MOST RECENT DETONATOR
DRIVERS for the best possible performance. Gavin noticed this for the current version 220
D3D support but having the latest drivers will be even more important when 224 comes out
later this week.
Can Media
Make a Killer? is the name of an article on Wired news that covers the parents
vs. game/porn/movie companies lawsuit (thanks devilbunny). The article has quotes
from some baffled people in the industry, and adds Xatrix's
Redneck Rampage to the list of offending games (see story
1, story
2). The piece offers some reassurance, however:
Experts say that the suit will be thrown out of court. "This is a very
tough case to fight," said Eugene Volkoh, a law professor at the University
of California at Los Angeles. "It has virtually no chance."
The Starsiege
development status page was updated with details regarding the soon to be
released demo of this first person mech-er...HERC game:
The demo is finished and is almost ready for distribution. It should
be released sometime this week. The Demo consists of the four training missions
and the first two missions in the human campaign. It will be around 52 MB to
download. There will be no multiplayer in this demo.
Thanks Datumplane. If you're like me
and totally baffled as to what the heck a "Datumplane" is, by the
way, they've been kind enough to set
up a page for screwballs like us.
A new version (1.8) of the Gamer's Extreme
tournament mod is available, fixing the map rotation bug, as well as other
minor problems. The mod is server side only, and available in Win32 and Linux flavors.
4D Rulers' Gore site has been spiffed-up with a whole new look, and has a short update on the news page about the state of the deathmatch demo, which will not make the April 15 release they had hoped for:
We're putting in the final touches on the new web site, hope everyone likes it.
The AMP networking code is almost finished, so we can begin integrating Gore soon. We will
not make the April 15th release on the deathmatch test, but will give you an idea on how
its progressing: The maps are coming along good, the weapons models and skins are done,
it's just a matter of putting it all together and tuning it in for gameplay. The 24 bit
color OpenGL version is almost finished, so we can start delivering the eye candy soon:)
The Wheel of Time site has a new development update giving the status of this upcoming Unreal-engine game along with a new screenshot, which shows off the user-interface, which the update describes as "seems to be kicking in."
Computer
Games Online's Realistic Ops: The Sequel is a new article that declares "Once
more unto the breach dear friends!" the piece looks at several new and upcoming games
and add-ons with an emphasis on tactics: Rainbow Six: Eagle Watch, Spec Ops 2: The Green
Berets, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear, TeamFortress2, Navy SEALs and more (as of
this writing, the article seems to trail off on the first page, however).
There's a Mortyr preview
on PC Paradox looking at this upcoming game that puts you in the role of Sebastian
Mortyr (somewhere between Thomas Magnum and Frank Cannon on the armament-name continuum)
who must do combat in World War II and in the year 2093 A.D.
Autocombat's Loose Cannon Preview
offers some new screenshots from Digital Anvil's upcoming car combat game. Also, there's a
Loose
Cannon preview on GameSpot UK with a brief
hands-on look at the game. Here's a quote on what's new and cool from GSUK:
Since we last spoke to lead designer Tony Zurovec, the team has been
concentrating on making the driving physics as realistic as possible, and developing the
12 countryside areas, and nine impeccably detailed cities. These now include
pedestrians, a working police force and realistic traffic. There are 15 customisable
vehicles, and you can steal other cars, repair and upgrade them yes, they do take
frequent and visible damage. As the screenshots show, it's coming on a treat.
Enough bits for a byte here: Sharky Extreme's NVIDIA roadmap asks: "TNT3 Ready?" in a piece that talks about the NV10, and speaking of SE and NVIDIA, Clockspeeds Clear as Mud is another Sharky Extreme article talking about the difficulty pinning down what speed the TNT2 will be running at when it debuts at
retail. Tweak3D's Hard Drive Tweak Guide
has been updated. Gamer's Depot's
Voodoo3 - TNT2 First Look is up. Finally, Intel and AMD Slash Prices
is a GameCenter piece
reprinting a news.com article on CPU price cuts.
The Q2Admin Workbench has version 1.1 of this Quake II mod that adds extra administration features to any other mod. Some of Q2Admin's features are Z-Bot detection (multiple ways to detect users including commonly
hacked Z-Bots), advanced banning (IP and nick), including exclude and include banning, sub-net user limiting, passwords on nicks, etc., advanced logging, and more.
Have you entered our name the two guys in
this picture contest yet? (Who says all the creative ideas for contests are taken?)
Remember there is an actual prize, but it's all for fun... please, no wagering ![=]](/miscimages/smiley4.gif)
- Do geeks need
to go to college is a Salon Technology
article spotted on Slashdot that discusses the
oft-debated question of whether a degree is an asset in the world of high tech. As
loonyboi points out, you need a Religion degree to join the editorial staff at Blue's News
(well, at least we're one for one so far)...
- The XingMP3 Player is now available,
from the folks that have brought so many other similar xings in the past. Also, Creative cranks up MP3
player announces the Nomad, Creative Labs' entry into the porta-mp3 player market that
comes in 32 MB and 64 MB versions...
- The Flagship is now online to
"(serve) the Quake2 Capture the Flag community by offering a broad selection of
resources under one banner," with an interesting spaceship interface...
- Birdman's Lair, home of all things SpaceOrb
has a modified version of their Half-Life SpOrb patch that's been modified into three
different versions of TeamFortress Classic SpaceOrb patch...
John Cash dropped a line to point out his shock (which I share) that any discussion of geek diets could leave the John Cash Diet unmentioned (yesterday's etc.). Here is the JC diet, originally posted in his .plan on March 14, 1997. I can personally verify the results of this, but of course I (and I'm sure Cash) will take no responsibility for any future obesity, bypass operations and the
like resulting from following the diet.
Several readers were quick to point out that Miroslav Satan, the hockey player in yesterday's Link du Jour actually pronounces his name Shay-tan, clearly none of them familiar with Young Frankenstein, where I recall a similar deception (it's Frank-en-shteen!).
Andy Blender points out that in a startling turn of events, both The Sporting News Miroslav
Satan listing and ESPN's
Miroslav Satan listing both also use number 666. please excuse me now, I have to go
exorcise my hockey puck.
Link of the Day: Step By
Step - How to destroy your computer. Thanks James Boswell.
|
Twitter 
