I like being able to quickly glance through the news and the long quotes don't really slow me down, although repeating much of what is already at the link seems to be over the top. Find the key quote from the article; that might be better. Although, for the archives, if the link dies, it is nice to have the full text.

Blue does great work with this site and (except for the occassional pop-ups-gone-wild events), it's the best news site of it's kind.

OK Here is a nit. ... just to be obnoxious...

"My thinking was that a few extra lines of text..."

Is this a few?

San Francisco, CA (April 13, 2004) – Eidos (NASDAQ: EIDSY), one of the world's leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, today announced that its highly-anticipated, action-stealth game Hitman: Contracts, developed by IO Interactive, has gone gold for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft and the PC and will be available at retail beginning April 21, 2004 in North America. The release of Hitman: Contracts will be supported by a massive multi-million dollar marketing campaign – one of the largest to-date by Eidos North America.

“As the follow-up to the multi-million unit selling Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Contracts is one of this year’s “must-have” titles for gamers. Eidos will unleash an exciting marketing campaign with tremendous reach and frequency to back the next installment,” said Paul Baldwin, Vice President of Marketing for Eidos Inc.

Hitman: Contracts will be backed by an in-depth marketing campaign encompassing television, radio, print, online, channel and public relations activities. The multi-million dollar “make the hit” television campaign features four different 15 and 30-second spots, which will run for a total of six weeks beginning two weeks prior to the game’s in-store date. The radio campaign will run nationwide for two months on the Howard Stern Show, and it will feature live reads and sponsorship in the second annual “Mrs. Butterface” contest during the week of May 10, 2004. Hitman: Contracts’ print effort includes ads slated to run in lifestyle publications such as FHM, Blender, Penthouse and Stuff magazines. Eidos will also achieve significant reach via major advertising for the game in all the gaming magazines.

Additionally, Eidos will charge a focused online campaign, part of which includes releasing the Hitman: Contracts television spot via Interscope Records and the 50 Cent and Eminem DeskSite units. DeskSite is a highly-targeted, customizable, opt-in software program that automatically delivers full-screen, broadcast-quality video entertainment directly to the consumer’s PC desktop.

On the channel front, major retail promotions will flank high-impact frontline real estate at prominent retail venues such as Best Buy, EB Games, GameStop, Toys ‘R’ Us, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video and more. Eidos will back the Hitman: Contracts launch with pre-order incentives, employee sales programs, and top-tier in-store merchandising and national ad support. In addition, the title will be promoted via mainstream consumer and gaming focused comprehensive public relations campaigns.

Hitman: Contracts is the follow-up to Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, which to-date has sold more than three million copies since its release in November 2002. The game explores the dark psychology of killing for a living as the player takes on the role of the world’s deadliest assassin, Agent 47. Hitman: Contracts promises to be the most disturbing and action-packed episode of the series. Hitman: Contracts is in development by IO Interactive, the Danish-based studio recently acquired by Eidos. Hitman: Contracts will ship throughout Europe beginning April 30.

Yep. Those guys at Dynamix did a great thing for the community. So many have copied stuff they put in the original Tribes. They were truly gamers producing games for gamers.

I still have a bad taste for Sierra and their masters Vivendi Universal for closing down Dynamix as soon as Tribes 2 was released. What a bunch of llamas. I guess it was a business thing. In a way, it was abandonware due to that action. Although, I think did one or two updates to Tribes 2, but just for critical bug fixes. Yet the community lives on!

I'll probably go for the DVD in the magazine. After installation, it's a ready made backup in case something critical fails in my PC. I guess I could burn a CD or two, but nah...

I think they just messed up the date their News pages. When I checked out the download sites (several mirrors), they were dated Feb. 2004, not 2003.

LOL That was my first thought, too, ZzeusS.

ROFLMA

Z says, "fuck you guys are ignorant." and follows that by a short diatribe of how so many people's logic is flawed; making statements that are idealistic and disconnected with reality. Like Teddy says, deal with reality.

Of course, we want bug-free games. But unlike the narrowminded and naive outlook put out by Z, most of us have to live in a world where we must make judgements and trade-offs. Some of the best games have had patches shortly after game release. Call it "rationalization" or whatever, but software is complex and made more so for PC's due the need to support multiple operating systems and varied hardware.

It's fairly amazing that the game is going for only $20 and it is both single and multi-player. I'll have to check-out the reviews once it is released.

Yeah. That's what I was thinking, Sponge. Some just have to bitch about anything. LOL

Hey. It's still a curious thing, no doubt. I guess they've already burned the CD's, although I thought going Gold meant "ready to burn CD's" and they had not yet gone Gold.

I'm no longer as much a fan of RTS games as I used to be. I actually don't mind turn-based; including multiplayer turn-based. I would have had no problem keeping Lords of the Realm III at turn-based as where I and II.

This comment was edited on Feb 20, 22:50.

Actually, Sepharo. Yours is more accurate and informational. You include actual dates and you list events in the correct order. You don't mix facts with your opinion. Your only problem is... You haven't finished it! Come-on, man. Bring it up to date.

But I agree, PsycSui's is probably more effective. Good work, PsycSui. ... for this sort of thing, that is.

However, I still wish Valve the best of luck. I'm just not going to trust any PR from them... ever. They just string people along with their lame promises and assurances... Ah, I remember the heady days of TF2 hype. Those where the days.

I've seen others report the reload problem. I'm still at 1.5. Once about 80% of servers are switched over to 1.6, then I will switch.

...also, waiting for 1.61 to come out.

Does 1.6 break DC and EoD compatibility?

Good point. I guess people might want to check the website for their favorite mod to see if it's compatible to 1.6, yet.

I tend to hang out on the AllLazyBastards2 clanserver, which allows non-clan guests (like me) most of the time. Good server. Low-scoring players get kicked though, which is bad for noobs or for anyone having an off-day or a nightmare map. I'd prefer if they didn't do that.

And, kicking because low score may not mean you are not helping the team. Perhaps you are doing critical (but few) kills or destroying enemy equipment or key flag captures. But of course its their server to run how they want. Now, if an admin did the kicking after viewing a lame player, then that might be OK... except for people with low skills, I guess.

My Wolfenstein ET is working again.

Hummm... Their comment in the KNOWN ISSUES section of the Release Notes says:

Significant performance loss is noticed in Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. This issue is already resolved and a fix will be available in the next CATALYST™ driver release

That's worded to sound like a general problem. That is, not something that only happens with a particular chip, operating system, or display mode.

That's good news it works OK.

I can't answer your first question, (I don't even play Generals). But the second is answered yes. C&C:Generals is listed at the link I gave. The Kali game forum for it is at:

http://www.kali.net/bbs/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.pl?board=362

It was the first to efficiently connect gamers online BEFORE the games themselves supported it. It can turn a LAN-only multiplayer game into an internet/online game. It was used by many in the old days. I'm surprised it's still around.

These days, I imagine it's best use over the other browsers is it's ability to do what I described above. That's why it supports online connections for well over 300 games.

So if you really must play one of the old games online, then maybe you want Kali. The list of games supported is at: http://www.kali.net/games.asp

Maybe (or maybe not) it's a "damn pubber" who wants voice-chat, but it must be something worse for a person not to realize there would be a mute switch. I like integrated voice-chat. I think it would be great to have it in BF1942! It is more efficient and easier to coordinate than some of the 3rd party solutions requiring separate servers. HL did a good job on integrated voice-chat. Even on public servers I use it, but I agree it gets more appropriate use during clan matches or with friends on a LAN. Nevertheless, I've seen it helped me and the team on Public servers.

The running time is tough to sit through without a break. I remember back in the dark ages when movies had intermissions. Seems like a 3 1/2 movie should have one. But, it's unheard of these days.

One reviewer liked the movie but suggested buying the tub of popcorn. So when done with the tub, it could be used as a latrine.

actually that rating has no bearing on anything because if you've seen the movie by now you're a die hard fan that would have liked the movie no matter what

Rottentomatoes is a good sample. I hardly doubt the 97% approval is due to a majority being diehard fans. Maybe checkout the site for yourself, sometime... It privides good review coverage... http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

I'm with Bob on this, too. I'm not familiar with spiders biting people much. Do you think the bites are happening when you sleep? If so, it could be bedbugs; something spiders are not very likely to capture. Also, with the frost, maybe other insects have invaded your home; maybe they bite more than the former residents...

Aye, laddie. It's a sad day in The Highlands.

Yeah BicycleRepairMan, "Maps and game-mode should be designed in such a way that spawncamping doesnt pay or is just too hard or useless to do".

Your later point about "It gets even more bizarre that the so called spawncamper knows excactly where people will pop out of thin air" is especially valid on the smaller maps with tighter respawn zones. At uncapturable bases, it just seems lame that people aren't allowed to respawn and live more than 1 second. Luckily, this situation doesn't happen much.

However, it seems clear that the designers did intend some sort of base camping at the larger uncapturable bases. Or, rather battles at the bases. For instance, the main bases on El Alamein and Gazala are huge with many buildings. I assume with all the cover, there is a thought that there could be fighting there.

BTW, RO sounds like a cool mod. Too bad my ancient PC can't run UT2k3.

I can't comment about spawn camping in CTF; I play CTF in TFC, not BF1942. Conquest is the mode for me in BF1942.

Blue said,

I've always considered it poor form to rush the other team's non-takeable base, but I do have to admit that with nothing designed into the game to prevent it whatsoever, it seems hard to make much of a case against it.

Yeah, it's poor form. I think it should be the server admin's choice how to rule it. We can't expect the general public to have a common ethic or understand unstated rules. Fortunately, some admins have the rules posted.

Because a method to prevent respawn camping is not built into the game shouldn't mean that some rules can't be made. I haven't seen much BF1942 clan play, but in TFC clan play there are specific rules made that are not "designed into the game". In some cases they could be designed in; in other cases, it's just a matter of quality gameplay.

For Public servers, it would be nice of DICE to include options as suggested by Tekkor (post #1) or Oberiko (post #2). Sadly, I doubt that would happen, but there's always hope. I lean toward an enemy damage zones like Tekkor suggested, (similar to respawn rooms in other games). Or, doing what Oberiko said to have an invincibility time after respawn, (also, in other games).

It should be a server setting. The servers admins should shape the kind of game they want. However, it is sad (as some have suggested) that some admins muck-up a map with poor server settings, (assuming appropriate settings are available to them). Oh well. Find another server, I guess.

Nailbunny said,

TKs, basecampers, and unbalanced teams make it too hit and miss to hit the public servers.

Sad, but true. If there were some extra options available to the server admin's (and given good admins), it might help give us a better gameplay experience on the Publics. Luckily, there are plenty of servers to choose from.

Yeah, from what I see in the patch readme, I can't wait to check out 1.1. I'm very glad they realize they need to make a non-Steam release of this. I'll be able to check it out, then.

First, I'm sympathetic to people who test and probe software for security issues with the intent to help plug the holes. In fact, there are government, non-govermental, and international organizations that provide a clearing house and interface between such independent investigators and the companies producing software. Mr. Auriemma didn't mention any attempt to contact them; only GameSpy. Perhaps it would have been best to deal with these clearing houses which already have relationships and credibility with the software companies.

In case anyone wants to know what the other side actually said, here is the link (at the moment) to the GameSpy letter:
http://aluigi.altervista.org/misc/75395-1.pdf

The basic issue as taken from the letter sent to Mr. Auriemma is:

These programs purport to permit users to circumvent the encryption protection of GameSpy's proprietary software, including GameSpy 3D and Roger Wilco, to obtain access to computer servers owned and operated by GameSpy, or in some cases to cause those servers to crash.

They list programs on Mr. Auriemma's web site and claim that his "security advisories" provide step-by-step instructions for others to circumvent security on GameSpy servers. It isn't about him finding a particular bug. It's about him offering tools to the public to do what the above quote states, as well as Mr. Auriemma using them to gain unauthorized access to the GameSpy servers.

If it is true that he tried to work with GameSpy first but they rebuffed his attempts to help, then GameSpy sure doesn't look good. I sympathize with Mr. Auriemma. I hope he has some proof of his attempts and GameSpy's refusal to work with him prior to him posting the programs and methods to access the GameSpy servers. Although, I don't see how USA law can do anything to the guy. Maybe there is an international treaty covering this or the USA has some way to get to Mr. Auriemma through the Italian government.

BTW, I too am concerned that the DMCA will be used and abused by the authorities in concert with large corporations to stiffle criticism and impede competition.