Archived News:
As announced in this Roger Wilco Newsletter,
the Roger Wilco Downloads
page has a new Roger Wilco Mark Ic Beta, an update to this software which
can add real-time voice communication to multiplayer Internet games, even for
modem users. The new release addresses the bug that caused Press-to-Send
transmission to break for some games (like TRIBES) when DirectX 7 is installed.
Thanks JB.
There is a new version 2.6 of the PingTool server browsing utility on the PingTool
page. The page has also been updated with word that they have been acquired
by BroadJump, Inc., and the first
side-effect of the new partnership is that PingTool is now freeware. The release notes
have all sorts of detail on what is new in the new version. Thanks RoqueFort.
The Matrox Graphics Windows 9x G400 TurboGL
page has been updated with a new version 1.00.002 of their TurboGL program
for their G400-based Millennium and Marvel G400 series (only). This OpenGL
mini-driver is made for games, offering support for Quake II, Quake III Arena
Demo, Quake III Arena, Half-Life, Half-Life : Opposing Force, Unreal, Unreal:
Return to Napali, Unreal Tournament, Heretic II, and Hexen II. Word is the diver
is supported only under Windows 98, and is only for use with 5.30.008 display
driver release and above. More details can be found in
this text file.
Raven's Rick Johnson updated his .plan with word on the upcoming Soldier of Fortune demo, and a poll on the need of IPX network support. Thanks Redwood for the heads-up. Here's the deal:
We're getting close to putting out a public demo of SoF. While we are busy working on that, along with
finishing up the main game, we've also been working hard on networking and various DM games / modes.
My question to everyone is, how important is IPX support? Does anyone really use this anymore (i.e.
can we drop support for it in SoF)? Let me know...
Gamecenter has posted the Fast Track Guide to Quake III Arena, providing some basic tips and tactics to help you survive in the game, as well as walkthroughs of each of the arenas in which you must battle.
GameProWorld has posted a preview of Metal Fatigue, an upcoming 3D real-time strategy in development by Zono and Psygnosis. The piece is accompanied by what looks like a set of new screenshots.
Activision has apparently been sending out new Soldier of Fortune screenshots in pairs, so two images have been posted on SOFNews.com,
while another couple were posted on ClanWorld earlier today.
The
Next Level of Play is an article on Newsweek that talks about the next generation
of video games on new console systems (like the Playstation 2) and uber-PCs.
What distinguishes this particular article from the 90 or so that are published
in mainstream magazines every week, is that this one features quotes from TRI's
Mark Randel, Bungie's Jason Jones, and John Carmack in addition to others.
LucasArts has kicked off a series of introductions to members of their Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine development team. First up are project leader Hal Barwood and lead artist Bill Tiller, and in an interesting twist on the usual developer diaries, both introductions contain video segments where the developer in question tells a bit about his work, and shares a gameplay tip.
The official SWAT 3 FAQ has been updated with new information now that the game has been released, including more details on the design and development, as well as entirely new sections on gameplay tips and system requirements. If you need more help in getting the game to run, Sierra has recently also posted its SWAT 3 Troubleshooting Guide.
Westlake Interactive has updated their
news page with the latest on the Mac version of Unreal Tournament. Here's
the scoop: Unreal Tournament for Mac is in the final candidate phase,
we have produced what could be the gold master CD and are shipping it off to
MacSoft for final review and approval. Our testers have been very pleased with
the game's stability and speed, and have been have way to much fun playing.
The 402 patch from the PC is not currently included in the Mac version of UT,
since we have not received code from Epic yet. Since many of the changes in
402 were Windows specific, they won't affect the Mac much, and the few server
side fixes should work fine for Mac clients. We've already fully tested playing
Mac 400 on PC 402 servers and vice versa, and compatibility is fine.
We will plan to implement the 402 changes on the Mac soon after ship, along
with any Mac specific changes/fixes we might have.
GASource has posted nine
new screenshots from Evolva, Computer Artworks' upcoming first person action/strategy
title, showing off a number of different creatures from the game.
Epic's Steven Polge has updated the Unreal Technology page with word on a problem users are experiencing when connecting to a version 401 Unreal Tournament server, a beta version that was never officially released. Here is the description, as well as what to do when you are playing a regular version 400 or 402 server and still get bitten by the same bug:
If your server is running version 401, it is not 100% compatible with 402 clients. 401 was a beta patch that was never publically released. Please upgrade your
servers to 402!
We believe this is the cause of 402 clients getting the following crash in network games:
Critical: appError called:
Critical: Assertion failed: ActorClass [File:E:\unreal220\Engine\Src\UnChan.cpp] [Line: 714]
...
If you get this error while playing, check the version number of the server to which you were connected. If its version is 400 or 402, please send a bug report to
utbugs402@epicgames.com - include the server version, the map you were playing, and your unrealtournament.log file.
AGN3D has posted an
interview with Rich Fleider, one of the designers at Rogue on American McGee's
Alice, a hybrid third and first person action game based on the Quake III Arena
engine. While it's still in the early days of development, and info is scarce,
Rich does mention some different locales and characters that will be appearing
in the game.
IMG Magazine has posted a form for die-hard Mac users to sign
up for the limited Baldur's Gate beta test. If accepted, you'll have to
sign an NDA, but you'll get to play the Mac version of the game before anyone
else.
Spanish developers Rebel Act Studios have posted a set of new screenshots of Blade, their upcoming third-person action adventure that is due for release next Spring. A few of the shots have already surfaced on gaming sites over the past week, but most are new. Thanks GA-RPG.
This Activision
press release says that "Based on Activision's internal sales data, the
game has sold through 50,000 units in its first three days on store shelves,
making it one of the most successful PC game launches for 1999." Thanks
kOkOpeLLi[i].
Trent Reznor conducted an interview recently with a magazine called "Rip
it Up", and amongst other things, he talks a bit about his decision not
to contribute to the Quake III Arena soundtrack. Here's an excerpt, spotted
on SeemsLikeSalvation (by way
of FGN): On the Fragile I realised
that when I work on tracks I automatically create a visual scene or image in
my head and then just dress the set with music, I try really hard to work on
the mood and flavour. What I would probably find the most artistically satisfying
right now if David Cronenburg called me up and said "score a film, don't
put pop music in it, actually score it." I would drop what I'm doing and
see if I could do it. ID software, the guys I did Quake for asked me to work
on Quake 3 but it was kinda like rock songs and it didn't interest me, I told
them if you're ever going to do something that's interactive and dark and you
need a real soundtrack then let me know. I would not do another lost highway,
I'm tired of that. There's a whorish nature to putting pop music on a soundtrack,
just to make a compilation record to sell. With Natural Born Killers, the use
of music as a collage really intrigued me, it was a lot of work and I'm really
proud of that one.
The Columbine Tapes
is an online Time Magazine article (apparently the related print issue hits
newsstands today) that recounts some of the contents of a recently released
video tape of the alleged killers in the Columbine school shooting tragedy that
took place earlier this year. While detailing some of the motivations for the
killings, discussing their enemies based on race, religion, social status, etc.,
it also contains a line that will no doubt help rekindle some of the efforts to
draw a connection between the shootings and games, saying "It's going to
be like f___ing Doom," Harris says. "Tick, tick, tick, tick... Haa!
That f___ing shotgun is straight out of Doom!" Thanks MC|zoOt.
id Software Lead Programmer John Carmack updated
his .plan with his ideas on what would help progress in development of
OpenGL drivers and applications: an "Independant OpenGL conformance nazi."
Here's a bit of the much larger update that goes into detail about this concept:
I think there is a strong need for a proactive, vendor-neutral OpenGL
watchdog, or even a small group, especially in the linux space.
I have been working on the utah-GLX team for quite a while now, and while I have
been very pleased with the results, I would like to see more effort spent on
doing things as right as possible. Because the developers (me included) are
basically just doing the work in their spare time, testing usually only consists
of running their favorite OpenGL application, and a few of the mesa demos, or
some of the xscreensaver hacks.
Recently I did the initial bringup of a RagePro driver on linux, and I was much
more conscious of the large untested feature space, and the tunnel vision I was
using to get it to the point of running Q3.
The Demise Rise of the
Ku'Tan! page has version 1.00r1 of Demise, the first release candidate of
this RPG. They have posted an order page for the game, though they interestingly
suggest folks wait until the 15th before using it. Word is that the gold version
of the game is expected to be created sometime this week. Thanks Zawash.
Version 1.21 of the Java MD3 Model Viewer
is now online. Among the new features of this program, which, true to its name,
offers Java-based viewing of Quake III Arena models, is TGA and JPG
texture support, advanced inspection of model properties (boneframes, vertex
normals, mesh names, etc.), complete support for the Q3A animation system, and complete
support for the MD3 file format.
Rust, devoted to game design, has
posted a short Q&A with Raven Software's Kenn Hoekstra, primarily discussing
how map editing and level design will work in Soldier of Fortune, Raven's
upcoming Quake II engine first-person shooter that puts you in the role of a
mercenary. Included in the Q&A is word that the game's editor and other
support files will not be bundled on the game CD, but will rather be offered
later over the Internet as a free follow-up release.
Voodoo Extreme
interviews Tom Hall talking with the ION Storm designer learning what
Anachronox will be about, life at ION Storm, as well as a few assorted off-topic
questions.
The beta version of Heretic II Siege
has been released, offering the first Heretic II version of this mod that was
first developed for Hexen II to bring some of the class-based teamplay action
found in TeamFortress.
- Linux Today points
out that the Microsoft Jobs page
currently lists four Linux-related positions available, including a project
manager job where primary responsibilities include "developing and
executing Microsoft's Linux strategy, providing competitive technical
analysis of the Linux operating system." Part of a description of one
of the other jobs is "develop strategic thinking around the
competition." Thanks PT...
- Apparently Quake II is referenced in CNN's
Millennium Perspectives Series as part of the "Internet boom"
of our times...
- Glide Underground
interviews Frank Hom talking with the Eidos Interactive programmer about
general PC game development, making comparisons to console development and
stuff like that...
- Captured.Com's CTF Survival Guide
has been updated with a whole bunch of new information about Capture the
Flag in Unreal Tournament...
After posting the news this morning, I'm going to dig through the holiday logo
collection (a few new ones have come in recently) and post one of the variants...
I see from the archives that one of them was actually done by logo-meister
Walter "2" Costinak, but I think it's mixed in with a bunch of others.
You may notice on the Webdog site that
those cool dogs have joined our miniscule list of affiliated sites, they needed
a new home, and since Webdog tech has been powering our .plan updates since they
were started, we expect having them on board will help increase the
reliability of .plan updates showing on both sites. Word is to expect a new
version of the Webdog client soon, as well.
Link of the Day: Angel of Death.
Many folks have struggled for years with the mysteries of life and death.. The
answers now can be yours for just $24.95. Following any of the instructions on
this page is not recommended. Thanks Steve Beiting.
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