Unlike games like "Resident Evil," "Silent Hill," and even "Parasite Eve," "Alone in the Dark 4" is based on terror, not grotesque gore. "We wanted to work in the spirit of the first Alone in the Dark," says co-Founder Antonine Villette, "the element of surprise combined with a great storyline and terrifying monsters is what makes you feel scared. "Resident Evil" was a great title, but what's the fun in killing zombies? They're already dead! With "Alone in the Dark 4" we want to develop an action/adventure game that pushes technology to produce the experience."

IGNPC: The player's actions also have an effect on the way the game world behaves, right?

Chris Roberts: Yeah. One of the big things that we're really happy with on Freelancer is that the universe runs independently of whatever the player's. Trade goes on between planets whether you're there or not, piracy goes on whether you're there or not, exploration and mining go on whether you're there or not. Basically when we build a system, we build it like you would build a real world -- we need someone to supply this, we need someone to consume this -- and we build that as a full rule set, populate it, step back and it runs itself. So it's kind of interesting cause we're actually demoing a lot of that this year where last year it was hand waving and promising. And when I demo it, since it's not scripted, sometimes we'll show up at a place and we'll say "Okay, there're merchant ships showing up here and they're not showing up just now but they show up a little later on." Sometimes pirates are attacking the merchant ships in the trade route, sometimes they're not.

And it's really cool because there's a living, breathing world and it has nothing to do with whether I just walked into that area or not. We actually show in our demo we can move the camera to the other side of the system and see merchant ships coming and going from a space depot that's a long way away from where the player's ship is. I think it's going to have a texture that people haven't felt before and it's built so that your actions have a ripple. If you're there and you start to be a pirate and start attacking merchant ships, the computer will start, by its set of rules, sending bounty hunters after the pirate problem in that area. That's really interesting.

It's not just the monsters who have gotten an overhaul this time around; player characters will also have a tremendous amount of new motions to help them to stand out in a world of thousands. There are already loads of different fighting actions, from simple swipes to spinning strikes that have been added for players to use in combat. According to Long, characters will get access to new movements based on which skills they have managed to acquire.

Why should you be excited about the Geo-Mod technology that Volition has cooked up? Because it should add a lot of new graphical and strategic elements to a genre that has been growing a little stale as of late. The technology is real-time, arbitrary geometry modification, which means that if you hit a surface in the game that has been programmed to deform, it will take into account the weapon you are using and actually reform the surface by drawing tons of new polygons to make the shape of a hole or crater.

Geo-BlowSh*tUp is what I call it! Read the rest of the preview here.

The year was 2999 and a great technological war laid waste to most of the planet Andraeus. The 3rd millenium of intelligent life in the Caeron system marked the dawn of a new era. A hundred years of rebuilding was followed by the invasion of the Hawkeens and a cosmic struggle has been raging ever since.

The realm of massively multiplayer games is about to explode with a ton of new entries. What are a few of the elements in Dark Zion that you believe help it stand apart?
It is player driven: players will create the story of the world by their actions in the game. The dynamic, self-generating world will create new lands to explore and take advantage of while recycling older less used areas. Characters can change over time so you can learn skills, unlearn them, and learn other skills without starting a new character. The world of Dark Zion has a very interesting fiction and backstory to discover, much different from existing online RPGs.

Undying shots on 3DAP

Titanium Angles shots on GameSpy.

Divinity Shots on 3DGN.

Age of Sail II Shots on IGN PC.

Homeworld: Cataclysm shots and Movie, on GameSpot UK.

Independence War II movie on ATFW.

ORB Shots on HitGames.de.

Out Force Shots on GA Strategy.

IL-2 Sturmovik Shots on Sim Arena.com

Neverwinter Nights movie on GameCenter.

BG2 Shots on Incite.com

"1st person? 3rd person what's the deal?"
I asked this question because it's an important one to many gamers. Ultima Online and Asheron's Call people like 3rd person. Everquest enthusiasts typically prefer the 1st person. Tommy and the other guys at the booth refused to be pigeonholed as one or the other. Their answer is that it handles both. Now while I can see how that can be a true statement it can also be a misleading statement. Asheron's Call and Everquest support 1st person and 3rd person modes. But it is obvious that the developers in both of these games favored one or the other of the view modes. In the case of Asheron's call it was 3rd person in the case of Everquest it was 1st person.

According to my sidekick Bryan Reynolds aka Eldwin, who was lucky to see a demonstration of the game. The Funcom guys aren't dissembling at all. He says that you can do a true 3d camera movement like in Asheron's call and with a keystroke snap yourself back into 1st person.

1. What state is the game in?? Beta?? Alpha?

We're still working on lots of the pieces. Balancing the classes takes a long time. TF 1.5 will be out shortly as well, and the lessons we'll learn from it's networking will be rolled back into TF2. We're also planning on putting a few of TF2's features into TFC so we can better understand their repercussions on gameplay.

2. What is this "spyder grenade?" And could you maybe shed a little light on some of the other grenades?

The spider grenade's a recon and offensive tool that allows the Spy to scope out enemy areas before entering them. It's useful to see what enemies are waiting around the next few corners, and it allows the Spy to make better disguise decisions.

May 19th, 2000 - 4:00pm

Brandon Reinhart will be joining us next week as a programmer on
Duke Nukem Forever.

Previously Brandon worked at Epic for two years and on such projects
as Unreal Tournament. We're very pleased to welcome him as a new
member to the DNF team and his Unreal experience will allow him to
be immediately productive here.

We will not be doing further interviews or plan updates on this, as
there really is nothing more to say at this time.

Thanks for understanding.

If you're wondering why anybody would want to write a movie in Half-life rather than in the Unreal Tournament engine, say, or that of the Quake series, then read on. Probably the most useful and widely known advantage of using HL is that it uses full skeletal animation (animation using a "skeleton", a rigid structure within a character or other model, rather than point-by-point animation). This can save huge amounts of time- in fact, I cannot convey how much simpler designing a model is when the animation is already done for you can be.

Although some of the animation will need tweaking the overall time saved would probably allow the use of double the number of custom models within a movie, which can be very important for movies where new characters may need adding. Of course the advantages don't stop there- for example, adding in additional animations for a model later on do not require redoing the whole model to incorporate the changes, only the addition of the extra animation files for the skeleton. Did I mention that there is a really good shareware modelling package available for HL in the form of "Milkshape 3D" from Chumbalumsoft ($30, I think)? Suffice to say skeletal animation makes things a lot easier, but that alone does not make a good platform for film making. What other features does HL have that would help?

If you have never been to an E3 before, then your first reaction is that of a deer in the headlights. But when you have covered as much news as we have, some things don't phase you any more.

But many things did impress us (or depress us as the case may be):

We saw sure hits and misses, and misses with very little clothes. We saw boobs and tubes, stars and bars, lights and frights and even the Quake and bake. There were hearty parties, lame games, tons of buns, noise and toys and apes in capes. A little KISS here and little Viking there, here a babe, there a Duke, everywhere a loud crowd! And you can't forget the licky-licky!

Through it all, we brought you a browser full of coverage every day and the week leading up to these awards. Our staff covered every major publisher and all the developers who could remember us after our great GameSpy E3 party.

And having seen it all, we proudly present our first ever "GameSpy: Best of E3 Awards."

I think the name needs a bit of an explanation and the storyline does just that. In Original War, three factions strive to gain control over a newly discovered mineral called Siberite (It's basically Tiberium but different). Depending on which faction you choose, your goals for the Siberite are different. As the mineral was discovered in Siberia, the Russians quickly take control of all the regions where it was found leaving the Americans without. The mineral however, is an extremely good power source and Russian control over it is simply unacceptable to the Americans. In the mean time, the Arabs feel their position as the World's power supplier endangered and also want the matter 'resolved'.

With the invention of a time machine, the American see a brilliant solution to their precarious situation: travel back in time and take control over the Siberite before the Russians can. Of course the Russians and the Arabs gain access to time travelling technology as well and the battle in the past can begin in full. Playing the Americans, your main task is to mine the Siberite before it can be discovered. The Russian objective is to stop the Americans while the Arabs goal is to destroy the Siberite altogether.

So far, it sounds like your regular RTS with a background story. It gets interesting when I tell you that you will only get a limited number of people to work with and that these people, each with their own skill, will have to operate factories, drive and repair vehicles as well as do their own research for new technologies. If someone dies, he or she stays dead and there are no replacements. However, you can build as many vehicles as resources will permit and leaving the vehicle before it gets destroyed will have you live to fight another day.

Command and Conquer Renegade is set right around the time of the original real-time strategy game. You take control of the Captain Nick "Havoc" Parker, the Commando from the original C&C. Fans may remember him as a super powerful character with an itchy trigger finger and a pocket full of C-4 explosives. Havok is trying to rescue Dr. Mobius from the Brotherhood of NOD and its rather unpleasant leader, Kane. Problem is, he's got a war going on around him with air strikes, missile attacks, and tank rushes going on all around him. He's alone behind enemy lines and up to his ears in hostile forces, but that's just the way Havoc likes it.

They've also posted a review of the recently released, Resident Evil/Alone in the Dark styled Martian Gothic: Unification. This pretty much sums up the review:

Martian? Gothic? How about: Tedious? Lifeless?

I knew it was a bad sign when I went to purchase the game, and the undead dreg at the checkout counter picked up the game, looked at it, stared at me for a few seconds, and then remarked in a condescending voice, "The War In Heaven?" I assured him, in a confident tone, that I was perfectly sane and the credit card which I was using to buy this game actually belonged to me, and not a corpse floating around in the creek by the meat rendering plant. He seemed skeptical of both claims. Only after bringing this title home and playing it did I realize his reaction was justified.

Read the rest here.

Penny Arcade has tons of news today courtesy of the one and only Tycho Brahe. Not only that, but they've got this thing called a 'comic strip' and it's supposed to be pretty damn funny.

PvP Online has one funny ass comic strip up today, plus some more hinting at a weekend update on his E3 journal thingy.

Stomped: Some people have wondered if the game's Geo-Mod Engine is just a "one-trick pony". Can you talk about other game features that will set Red Faction apart from other first person shooters other than the geometry modification?

Kulas: Well, better a one-trick pony than a zero-trick pony. :) Seriously, I think we have several very interesting things going on. The geomods, of course are the main hook. They are integrated into gameplay so the other cool features, such as drivable vehicles, water and lava effects and the infrared rocket launcher are all augmented by them. For example, it's cool to have any old rocket launcher, but it's a lot cooler when you can use it to blast a camper through a fortification. I think the geomods allow to innovate all the cool aspects of shooters that people love, but of which they've grown jaded.

Read the rest here.

This adventure game is intended for an adult audience. Whilst the puzzles early on are fairly easy, the difficulty level does increase the further into the game you get. Sometimes the solution to a puzzle can seem obscure, but with a little bit of thought, the answer becomes clear. The dialogue is also appropriate for the characters. Yes, there is swearing, but there is much less swearing in the course of this game than there is in every day life.

Eidos Interactive sent GA-RPG new screenshots from Warren Spector's upcoming action/RPG, Deus Ex.

GA-RPG has been updated with eight new screenshots from Ronin Entertainment's upcoming 3D action/RPG, Legend of the BladeMasters.

VR-1 released 12 new screenshots from their Unreal-powered futuristic, first-person strategic/shooter, Hired Guns.

"All the ingredients are there for a successful title. But the designers of Force Commander put too much emphasis on having a 3D rotatable, zoomable camera at the expense of having a playable game. As much as I'd like to recommend this title to RTS players, it is best reserved for devoted Star Wars fans, or anyone who collects Star Wars merchandise."

The first Thing that you notice about the keyboard is the fact that it is a lot larger than your normal run of the mill keyboards, then again, any keyboard that’s ‘a Pro’ has to be special. It’s got a lot of space around the actual keyboard area, it’s a lot wider than normal and with the hand rest is possible the widest keyboard around. The other thing you notice is the number of buttons it has, an additional row of nicely rounded buttons above the F key buttons and the numpad provide you with quick access to your calculator, Internet navigation & your mail program.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is planning what could be its largest processor launch ever.
The company could launch 10 new processors as soon as June 5, sources said. AMD (NYSE: AMD) has said it will launch its new Duron processor, code-named Spitfire, along with its forthcoming Athlon chip, code-named Thunderbird, in June. It now appears the chips will debut on the same day.

The new chips target both the high-end and low-cost PC markets. The Thunderbird chips will raise the bar for top-end performance, whereas the Duron will offer AMD's first Athlon-based processor as a lower-cost alternative.

Sources said the Duron chip will begin shipping at 600MHz, 650MHz and 700MHz in early June -- possibly as soon June 5. A 750MHz version of the chip will come later, sources said.

The Thunderbird chip, meanwhile, will be available in 50MHz increments, ranging from 700MHz to 1GHz (1,000MHz), sources said. The chips, which retain AMD's current 200MHz system bus, are currently being evaluated by PC makers.

F1 2000's realistic physics are an incredibly important element of its execution. As an example, poring through the manual's section on vehicular setup will provide you with a cohesive description of downforce, drag, and other aerodynamically related terms. Instead of simply being manual filler, these factors have an obvious presence in the game, and greatly affect your performance on the course. As such, fiddling idly with your vehicle's packers and ride height could see you bottoming out more often than you'd care to see. The physics extend to other areas as well, the most obvious of which being the speed. Trying to execute powerslides or turns while travelling at 185 mph won't see you skidding; rather, you'll most likely end up nose-first in the barrier. Vehicles react to their velocity, and so it's not unusual to see a careless driver spinning out, breaking off wings or even flipping over. F1 2000 is, above all, a simulation, and as such the laws of physics must be fully understood if one hopes to absorb its engaging nuances.

What impressed me greatly about Giants was the fact that the three races played very differently. The Meccaryn, for example, rely on technology to defend and attack. This gives them a lot of ranged attacks with rifles and other artillery, as well as a jetpack to give them unparalleled mobility. During my E3 presentation I saw a Meccaryn drop a huge bomb literally caused the earth to ripple and quake underfoot, wiping out anything in the general area. At another point one of the Meccaryns activated a camouflaging device that disguised him as an ordinary bush. Well, a bush that walked around and shot at things, but the illusion was pretty complete as long as you stood still. There are also vehicles, such as helicopters, that the Meccaryns can fly to aid them further in their fight for domination of the planet. These are the guys that most run-and-gun players will likely be most comfortable with.

Rogue Spear: Urban Operation

Triple Play 2001

Formula One Championship

Heroes of Might and Magic 3: Shadow of Death

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- 3dfx Interactive® Inc. (Nasdaq: TDFX - news), a global leader in enabling the emerging age of visual communications, today announced that it has reached an agreement in principle and entered into a memorandum of understanding with plaintiffs to settle three related shareholder class action lawsuits against STB Systems, Inc. and certain of its officers and directors. STB was acquired by 3dfx last May. The settlement, which is subject to final documentation and Court approval, does not reflect any admission of liability by STB and there has been no finding of any violation of federal or state securities laws. The principal terms of the agreement call for the establishment of a settlement fund consisting of $4.7 million to be paid by insurance.

``The closure of these inter-related lawsuits represents the end of a complex, multi-year legal process,'' said Bryan Keyes, vice president and general counsel of 3dfx. ``Although we were prepared to defend the litigation vigorously, we concluded that it was in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders to resolve the litigation by agreement in light of the inherent uncertainties of complex litigation and to avoid substantial legal fees and unnecessary demands on management's time.''

3DFX
Marketing silliness: Implying that a voodoo 5 is of a different class than a voodoo 4 isn't right. Voodoo 4 max / ultra / SLI / dual / quad or something would have been more forthright.

Rasterization feature wise, voodoo4 is just catching up to the original TNT. We finally have 32 bit color and stencil. Yeah. There aren't any geometry features.

The T buffer is really nothing more than an accumulation buffer that is averaged together during video scanout. This same combining of separate buffers can be done by any modern graphics card if they are set up for it (although they will lose two bits of color precision in the process). At around 60 fps there is a slight performance win by doing it at video scannout time, but at 30 fps it is actually less memory traffic to do it explicitly. Video scan tricks also usually don't work in windowed modes.

The real unique feature of the voodoo5 is subpixel jittering during
rasterization, which can't reasonably be emulated by other hardware. This does indeed improve the quality of anti-aliasing, although I think 3dfx might be pushing it a bit by saying their 4 sample jittering is as good as 16 sample unjittered.

I haven't been able to honestly recommend a voodoo3 to people for a long time, unless they had a favorite glide game or wanted early linux Xfree 4.0 3D support. Now (well, soon), a Voodoo5 6000 should make all of today's games look better than any other card. You can get over twice as many pixel samples, and have them jittered and blended together for anti-aliasing.

>>It would be great if Duke Nukem Forever had profiles, so different people using the same computer can have their own configuration and save game directory.
I agree, and we plan on doing this. It's really nice for multiple people to be able to play the same installed game.

Testing of beta6.5 continues. Meanwhile, Gooseman has put something new into the game that you may find very useful. You'll be setting smoke screens in 6.5 to outwit your enemies.

Game developers give Stomped @ E3 their views on which games they thought were the best at last week's expo. Check it out at http://e3.stomped.com

GameSpy's got the new Black and White movie from Lionhead Studios, which they showed off at E3. Now's your chance to see what everybody's been talking about. In addition, there a little interview with Jamie Durrant of Lionhead which you can find with the download link here:
http://www.gamespy.com/news/may00/5-16-00-3.shtm

Over the course of three extremely hectic days at E3, RPGvault spoke with a lot of developers and publishers, saw numerous games and received a pile of press kits. These contain various media such as screenshots, concept art, movies et al. To let you see at least part of this bounty, they've created a
number of E3 Galleries showing the materials that were provided for various titles that were at the show. here are six of them for your viewing pleasure today:

The SimCity environment, such as it is, lends itself very well to scenario-based challenges, a fact that SimCity 2000 players will remember well. The series' transition to 3000 saw this particular option missing, however, leaving players without any additional challenges. This fact has been mended in SimCity 3000 Unlimited, as a total of 13 different scenarios have been included. These range in type and feel, as each requires a very different strategy to meet its goal. For instance, one scenario sees you as the Mayor of Frankfurt during its annual Oktoberfest, and it's up to you to ensure that the partygoers are looked after. This involves upping police coverage to look after the drunks, selecting the official Oktoberfest locations and ensuring that the local water supply is enough to meet the areas' needs. Another scenario sets you in control of a town that has been divided into four islands through minor earthquakes, although each island still shares a central bureaucratic and energy system. As a much more severe earthquake is forthcoming, it's your job to localize system resources on each island, else the entire city be crippled by the disaster. This variety of challenges should satisfy most any scenario craving player while providing an interesting series of experiences.

2) My E3 commentary:

E3 was it's usual loud, boisterous self. I personally was interested in only a few games, both of which were the Sims addon pack ("The Sims - Livin' Large"), and the Sims sequel (due out next year called "Simsville"). I told the people at the EA booth that if they were for sale on the floor, I'd buy 'em, and go home - screw the rest of the show. :) Some other games I saw that looked really awesome were Ritual's FAKK II (I watched their back room demo twice), Tom Hall's Anachonox (I spent a lot of time looking at this one, I can't wait - it's very "Tom"), and the aforementioned Sims games from EA. I also caught up with 3DO to talk to 'em about their High Heat baseball game (yes - there's a new version due next year, too ). I also got a peek at the Wolfenstein sequel, which looked pretty good. Since Wolfenstein was what really got me into the industry (after this game was released, I contacted Scott Miller about the infamous "porn 1.3 version", and soon after became an Apogee beta tester, leading to me getting hired), I'm really interested in seeing a sequel - hopefully it doesn't stray too far from what made the original work in the first place. Duke Nukem: Planet of the Babes looked hot, I hadn't seen it in awhile, and if you've got a PSX, you should check it out. Max Payne looked really sweet - I hadn't seen it personally since the last batch of "photo-realistic" screen shots were released. Oh my! You're gonna love this one when it comes out - the Remedy guys are doing some totally awesome work.

There were the usual trips to "Planet Failure" at E3 too, but I won't get into that.

The mass market out there, the millions of people that buy games, they don't know anything about those sites. Those people will walk into the stores, see the box, and say, "Oh, this is from the guy that did Doom, and Quake, and Heretic, and all that. Those were cool games, so I'm going to get this one, even though I haven't heard about it." There are way more people out there than the few thousand hard-core gamers who write their negative opinions on-line all day long. People can't wait to rip on Daikatana just because of all the hype and PR. I'm going to be happy when the real reviews come out because the full version is just awesome, so much better."

Why does he think Daikatana had such a bad reception? "People are getting into the Rogue Spear slow, snipey kind of gameplay. This is nothing like it. Daikatana is a super-fast, Doom-style blast-a-thon. If people don't like it, they don't need to buy it."

GW: The low-profile strategy of DNF and Max Payne seems to be the antithesis of modern entertainment marketing-why do you see it as advantageous?

SM: We think it's actually similar to modern entertainment marketing, like TV shows, movies, concerts, etc.

GW: Do you feel that this low-profile approach will gain popularity among other developers? Is it better suited for larger companies, or can small companies prosper with it?

SM: I doubt it'll gain popularity soon, because in general our industry is very, very poor at marketing and promotions-in fact, we're still a laughably clueless industry in this area.

Are you also working on Elite Force?
Now that SoF has shipped, things have settled down for a little bit. I’m currently working with Jim Hughes (the Design Director on SoF) and discussing ideas for our next game but I am also back to designing levels again by helping out with Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force. The entire Soldier team is helping out Voyager and we are focusing on finishing up the multiplayer aspects of the game. The entire game is looking very cool, and I feel very privileged to be working on it.

And just between the two of us :) what's the word on SoF 2?
Still no decision. We are exploring several options at the moment, but nothing is set in stone yet.

It's official: Microsoft has upped the CPU on its X-Box video game system from 600 MHz to 733 MHz. Microsoft has also upped the X-Box's capabilities; previously, the company said the X-Box would be capable of a trillion operations a second, and now it claims the system is capable of 1.2 trillion operations per second.

The X-Box is Microsoft's initial foray into the video game industry, and the system was demonstrated behind closed doors at last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

The X-Box has three processors: an Intel CPU running at 733 MHz, a custom-made Nvidia graphics processor running at 300 MHz, and a custom 3D audio processor capable of supporting 256 hardware voices. The X-Box also has an 8GB hard drive, an Ethernet connection, and a DVD-ROM drive capable of playing both games and movies.

In Crimson Skies, you take the role of Nathan Zachary, "notorious air buccaneer and ladies' man" (which is just like me, without the plane or the ladies). Of course, Nathan is no ordinary air buccaneer; this guy is crazy enough to bail out of his airborne plane to steal blueprints. No wonder he's a ladies' man (lucky punk).

So what kind of planes will Nathan be jumping out of? Well, lots of em. Zipper promises a variety of fantasy planes, based on or inspired by conceptual designs and experimental craft. Of course, nitro boosters weren't part of the experiments, but they will be a part of some CS planes. And yes, the Spruce Goose will make an appearance, although it hasn't been announced if we'll be able to fly it (if they do let us fly it, though, I promise to lay off the Microsoft insults!).

Starting over, I came across a number of tools, which I blatantly overlooked the first time around, that allow you to dispatch your enemies without killing them. For example, gas grenades, wonderful toys when you have a swarm of angry soldiers running toward you and you need to make a quick and fast ninja-vanish. The enemy will rub their eyes in pain, allowing you to disappear in the chaos. There are tasers, which are highly effective if you can shock your enemy from behind in the torso. The infamous baton is one of the more frustrating non-lethal weapons, as it requires those with a low-tech skill rating to nail the enemy from behind in the head. At the highest skill level, one whack from any angle will leave the poor guys napping on the ground. There are also tranquilizer darts: silent, swift and highly effective. Nailing a bad guy with one of these sleep aids is a humorous sight to behold. They run around in panic for a bit, twitching in pain, then, with a final gasp, collapse onto the ground.

Today's feature deals with Cliffy B. in various articles of clothing, big breasts, Powerplay, Team Fortress 2, dance clubs, the best Quake player, LAN parties, haX0ring, "I LOVE YUO" virus, the stock trade, women relationships, Levelord wanting to be interviewed, and some lecture from a fellow smarty man. It's three pages of highly compressed and archived l33tness, so check out the column and get "into da know" (I heard that phrase on "The Rikki Lake Show" once)!

Motocross Madness 2 represents the ultimate experience in racing and competitive realism, utilizing cutting-edge graphics and a state-of-the-art physics engine. And, continuing the tradition started with the first Motocross Madness, Motocross Madness 2 has all the multiplayer mayhem that gamers have come to rely on. The game will feature a ranking system called the Internet Top 100. Players will be able to race online at the MSN Gaming Zone and have the points from their career wins tracked nightly. Gamers who earn enough points will then have their in-game number plates automatically updated with their current ranking in the top 100. Motocross Madness 2 will also allow players to design their own racing tracks with a free, downloadable 3D track editor that will be made available at the game's launch.

"If you are a Star Trek fan and can get past the numerous errors in the game ­some so big that they prevented thousands of people from even being
able to play ­ then you should like Star Trek: Armada. For the most part, I found it enjoyable, yet at the same time, a tad short. The game consists of only 4 levels per race, with four races total, adding up to a grand total of 16 levels. An experienced RTS player will be able to make short work of this game in a day or two. In addition, there was nothing in this game that really sets it apart from all of the other RTS’s out there. The Star Trek theme was nice, and it undoubtedly added to my enjoyment of the game, for I
was able to indulge my fantasies about controlling Defiant and Sovereign class starships. In conclusion, Star Trek: Armada does a satisfactory job, but on the whole, it’s just your average RTS."

"NovaLogic's first entry to space combat simulation looks terrific. There are a lot of ships that you can play with, and whether you are going through a wrap gate or raising pyrotechnic hell in the Fringe..."

Dungeon Siege Vault has updated their Image Gallery and Concept Art section with loads of new material from E3. Included are pictures of never-before-seen monsters as well as a shot of the Siege Editor tool in action.

RTSPlayers.org has received some e3 shots of

The Neverwinter Vault (http://www.nwvault.com) has just posted it's Neverwinter Nights E3 2000 Preview. Included in the preview are several screenshots from the new engine. You can find it at here

Over the course of three extremely hectic days at E3, we spoke with a lot of developers and publishers, saw numerous games and received a pile of press kits. These contain various media such as screenshots, concept art, movies et al. To let you see at least part of this bounty, we've created a number of E3 Galleries showing the materials that were provided for various titles we saw at the show:

Gamespy has had some steady news from E3: Some of the things in their news stream include:

Quick Looks:
No One Lives Forever
Legends of Might and Magic
Warlords: Battlecry
Empire Earth
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask on Nintendo
F.A.K.K. 2
Dino Crisis 2 for PS2
Metal Gear Solid 2
Diablo II
Updates on the new Unreal Engine
Simsville

Plus:

a first look at American McGee's Alice, including screenshots:
The game is a third person action/adventure with a variety of puzzles that fit right into the Wonderland theme. For example, in one scene Alice finds herself on what looks to be a giant chess board. The only way she can proceed is by moving just like a chess piece and actually becoming one herself.

a quick look at Halo:
Halo is a third person action shooter that emphasizes online teamplay. In the single player game two races, humans and Covenant, are facing off on a planet ringed by a gigantic purple halo. The Covenant seem bent on destroying the human race entirely, and your shipwrecked military outfit is doing its best to not only survive, but eventually take the battle to them.

a preview of MechWarrior 4:
You play the role of a citizen of the Commonwealth who's family was murdered by Katherine Steiner for rebelling against her. After being approached by the resistance force, you join up with them to take revenge for the death of your family. Throughout the game you will advance in rank and experience, moving from a lowly wingman to the commander of a whole squad of mechs.

a look at I'm Going In:
IGI will feature 15 missions, over 10 weapons and time-based actions such as hacking, alarm deactivation and lock picking. The missions are set in both large, expansive landscapes and claustrophobic enemy bases. Along the way players will be ambushed, face armored strikes and engage in sniper duels. There will also be battles atop cable cars and knife-only assassinations. Keep an eye out for this one, as it looks like loads of fun for fans of 3D action.

a quick look at Startopia:
In a cozy section amidst the bedlam that was the Eidos booth, Mucky Foot Productions showed off their "Spaceship Life" simulator, "StarTopia." StarTopia transports gamers to a once-thriving galactic network of starships, space stations and planets left lifeless by a past apocalypse. Gamers will take control of rebuilding the network of space stations that once served the commerce and communication of a past galactic empire. Players will attempt to unite different races under one rule.

a quick look at O.R.B.:
The game will offer two unique campaigns, one for each race. The surprise is that once you finish off the opposition, a new alien race comes in to try to kick your butt, McNeely said.
The engine allows for movement in 3D but can be plotted in 2D if you so choose. it also is based on Newtonian physics, so forget any ideas about turning your ships on a dime.

four new screenshots of Warlords: Battlecry

A good place to start is to look at the WarCraft III engine. This will be Blizzard's first strategy game to use a 3D engine, but it seems to fit their game like a glove. The terrain has gentle curves and valleys and ridges that affect movement. Units themselves are all 3D rendered, with significant detail and superb animation -- certainly if you were to pick out any one thing that sets WarCraft apart from anything else like it, it would be the amazing animations. Units run with urgency, swinging their arms and moving along as though actually propelled by their legs (not just scrolling smoothly along like a sprite.)

Stomped has tons of coverage, so much that they had to make a whole site for it. Check out Stomped @ E3 for all your news, reviews, and booth model needs.

Gamecenter has not only got tons of E3 coverage, but they've got megatons. That's right, I said megatons!

E3 News, courtesy of GameSpot has enough coverage to compete with Gamecenter's megatons.

Something Awful brought us back an 11 page writeup covering all the exciting events he witnessed at the gaming mecca. Check it out here.

Penny Arcade aka Gabe and Tycho have the last of their E3 sketches titled Unauthorized!. I think you'll like it.

PvP has a pretty cool new E3 strip today along with promises of a more thought out PvP Awards Page.

When I started, I was most sure that both fantasy and futuristic had both advantages and disadvantages, but soon more questions arised. Could setting be a mere matter of aesthetics? Are futuristic and fantasy the only choices? Are they, as a matter of fact, equals or is there a better one? And better for whom and which games?

I was a bit confused, and so I set on to analyze these differents settings. After asking a pair of demi-god developers, I was able to answer most of those questions and formulate a more informed opinion.
So let's begin: what better way than to resort to my (however limited) noveling skills, and create a short introduction to both genres?

Eidos has made it official: John Romero’s long-awaited 3D action game will be in stores May 22, the publisher’s current newsletter indicates.

a short glance over at CGO

impressions of the game over at UU

an E3 Awards section over at Evil Avatar

EvilAvatar

PvP Online

GamePro's E3 Homepage has tons of previews, tons of screenshots, and lots more.

Game Fan has awards for E3 games in every category. They like to call it 'Hot Info'.

PvP Online not only has some pre-E3 comics in the archive, but Scott Kurtz has his own set of E3 awards.

"Shadow Company is a game that calls to mind the turn based squad play of X-Com, yet fails to turn it into an equally enthralling experience. There is something about this game. Maybe it’s a Batman-esque graphics. Anyway, it feels like it was made for the 13 and under demographic. Character-advancement is almost a no-show. The turn-based combat quickly becomes a chore."

TeleFragged has plenty of E3 coverage in form of a daily journal type thingy. Check out yesterdays here. Read em all here.

Stomped has posted over 100 pictures from E3, including a bunch of celeb pics like Regis Philbin, Kate Mulgrew, Ice-T and more, and close to 100 booth model pics.

GameSpot have posted a few more previews from E3, all featured at E3 News. Here's the list thus far: Magic & Mayhem: Art of Magic, Diablo II, Echelon, The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge, and The Blair Witch Project Games.

GA-Source has tons of screenshots, including Deus Ex, Anachronox, Hitman, and Halo just to name a few. Check out the whole list here.

Shugashack has booth babes galore. Plus there's something I think he calls 'news'.

Stomped @ E3 has their news page up and running as usual. It's sorta like a running E3 diary you could say.

Penny Arcade faces the funny side of E3 with their sketchbook and tantalizing news posts. And you can check out their forum cause people actually post there.

Something Awful has posted news that Jeff K. is attending E3 and is writing a daily journal.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: From the creators of the award-winning Descent and FreeSpace series comes Red Faction, the first person shooter that will put an end to the clones and stagnant technology plaguing the genre. Every fps gamer has wondered what it would be like to unleash his weapons not just on unworthy opponents, but on the very walls that constrain them. With that in mind, Red Faction
introduces Geo-Mod technology – real-time, arbitrary geometry modification capability that drastically enhances realism and diversity of gameplay. Framed by impressive features including an astonishing physics engine, controllable vehicles, intense graphics, kick-ass
weapons, unique natural environments and a hugely involving storyline, Red Faction is the next must-have title for serious gamers.

OVERVIEW: Genre: FPS Platform: PlayStation 2/PC Projected Ship Date: Winter 2001 Target Audience: FPS/Action fans Players: TBD
Developer: Volition, Inc. Website: www.redfaction.com FEATURES:

Geo-Mod Engine – the only FPS with real-time, arbitrary geometry modification
Advanced physics simulation - supports falling geometry, particles and liquid Land, sea and air vehicles to commandeer and control
A completely immersive and compelling storyline
Stealth and action driven objectives
Varied environments including natural settings unique to the genre
Object shadow casting and other cutting-edge lighting effects
Advanced AI behavior in 20 dynamic 3D levels
Real-time skeletal deformation and interpolation for silky smooth animations
Location-based damage system
Proprietary level editor that is faster, easier and more advanced than any on the market
Multi-player support for LAN and TCP-IP

-fixed actorlinecheck() crash
- fixed findrandomdest()
- fixed D3D driver - combined best performance with widest compatibility of previous iterations, improved
Voodoo 4 D3D support
- fixed installer problem with certain directory structures
- fixed security holes with ServerRestartGame() SwitchLevel() and SwitchCoopLevel()
- removed ability to use bad skins
- fixed ADDINI for editing .ini files for patch and umod installation

They also have 18 shots from EA's upcoming PSX game Medal of Honour:

In anticipation of the Ground Control demo that should be hitting retail stores today, Damage Gaming has posted eleven new screenshots of Massive Entertainment and Sierra's upcoming 3D real-time strategy title.

And the wallpapers:
The Red Alert Power Plant has posted 2 exclusive wallpapers from the recently announced real-time strategy game, Red Alert 2.

The Xbox poll ran over this past weekend on gaming news sites and Xbox fan sites alike. With the votes counted, the outcome was clear: an overwhelming 86% of fans demanded that Microsoft go whole hog and bring the Xbox to E3. Honoring the fans' request, Microsoft made emergency preparations and delivered the Xbox to the Los Angeles Convention Center this morning. Raven was on hand to ensure the safe arrival of Xbox, and downloadable AVIs and images of the event, including action shots of Raven, will be available later today on the official Xbox site at http://www.xbox.com.

1) Q3A ToA (Tier of Admiration) Servers.

The Beta3 version of the Tier of Admiration for Quake III Arena was released the other day. If anyone is interested in running a Quake III Arena Tier of Admiration server, mail fusion@stomped.com. More info can be found here in the Admiration section. There's a link to the ToA page on the left hand sidebar. (Frames wont work otherwise)
ToA Download(4300 KB)
Mirror Download

2) The guys from id software came by and gave 3DAP a personal and hands on demonstration of the new quake 3 expansion pack. Surprise, they got some SS's!
3DActionPlanet now has 32 unique screenshots of Quake 3: Team Arena, featuring all the new weapons, gameplay modes, and powerups. These are unique shots, and aren't the ones PlanetQuake and GameSpy.com are showing.

On the subject of Q3A: TA, Planetquake has an exclusive preview of the Q3A mission pack, Quake III: Team Arena. A few of the guys from id stopped by the PQ/GameSpy offices on their way to E3 and gave them a complete, exclusive showing. Guess what, More SS's.

It turns out that we'll be playing OpFor CTF on the floor of E3. Come by the Half-Life display at the Sierra / Havas booth to see (and maybe even play) the soon-to-be-released official Gearbox Capture The Flag before anyone else on the planet. Also being shown are a number of other excellent Half-Life mods that have helped Half-Life be the most played game on the internet.

So, if you're at E3, stop by, say hello and check out the CTF action.

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 10 -3dfx Interactive(R) Inc. (Nasdaq: TDFX), today named Stephen A. Lapinski, 49, as senior vice president of worldwide marketing. Lapinski brings over 25 years of high-technology marketing experience to further enhance the senior executive management staff. He will be responsible for all marketing aspects including brand, product, channel, corporate and international marketing.

"Stephen has a track record of great success, so we believe he will advance our brand by building a strong team and initiating a worldwide marketing infrastructure that effectively leads 3dfx into the 21st century," said Dr. Alex Leupp, President and CEO of 3dfx Interactive. "At AMD the Athlon product strategy under his direction was a triumphant accomplishment. Stephen's savvy marketing tactics and skillful execution management will propel the entire Voodoo brand, particularly as we prepare to launch our Voodoo4(TM) and Voodoo5(TM) products globally."

"3dfx Interactive delivers unparalleled products and services to a technology-savvy market," said Lapinski. "My challenge will be to position 3dfx, along with our most recent acquisition of GigaPixel, as the one and only true global leader in 3D graphics, 3D gaming and the entire 3D experience. My vision includes implementing a worldwide marketing plan that builds upon the current and future team raising the stakes for doing business in the 3D technology market."

1. What kind of communication features can we look forward to for ‘MechWarrior 4? Will we see the standard auto-command keys or will MW4 extend to a higher level with customizable commands or voice command programs?

[TJ.]I am assuming you are talking about lancemate commands and we will have the standard hit a key to select a lancemate and hit another key to give a command. We are working on supporting voice communications for multiplayer where it needs it the most. The hardware group is coming out with a great device that will allow you to map any game command to a voice prompt. When I heard about this I immediately signed up to Beta test and have one here on my desk.

There's no shortage of tactical sims these days. What separates both SWAT3 and now Battle Plan from your competitors?

I think what separates SWAT 3 from the competition is our commitment to realism. If you look at our environments, they really give you the sense that you are part of the world that our artists created. The textures are realistic, the interior spaces are well laid out, and there is a great attention to detail. Our artificial intelligence system also separates us from the rest of the tactical sims out there. For SWAT 3 we wanted to create the most realistic close quarters battle experience possible, this involved creating a very complicated AI system that could handle the tactics in realistic SWAT situations. The reason why you haven't seen AI of this type in other games of this type is because it is very complex and difficult to implement.

The May 2000 package addresses the following software titles:

1) 1602 A.D. 1.0 (GT Interactive)
2) Access 97 (Microsoft)
3) Art Explosion T-Shirt Factory 1.0 (Nova Development)
4) Demolition Racer 1.0 (Infogrames Multimedia)
5) Encarta Reference Suite 98 (Microsoft)
6) Gabriel Knight 3 1.0 (Sierra On-line/Dynamix)
7) Half-Life: Game of the Year Edition 1.0 (Sierra On-line/Dynamix)
8) iF-22 Raptor 1.0 (Interactive Magic)
9) Outlook 98 (Microsoft)
10) Panzer Commander 1.0 (Strategic Simulations)
11) PhotoDeluxe Home Edition 3.0 (Adobe)
12) PhotoDeluxe Home Edition 3.1 (Adobe)
13) Pokemon Project Studio Blue Version 1.0 (Mattel Interactive)
14) Pokemon Project Studio Red Version 1.0 (Mattel Interactive)
15) Powerslide 1.0 (GT Interactive)
16) Resume Maker Deluxe Edition 7.0 (Individual Software)
17) Rising Sun 1.0 (TalonSoft)
18) Sonic & Knuckles Collection 1.0 (Sega Enterprise)
19) Streets & Trips 2000 (Microsoft)
20) Stuart Little: Big City Adventures 1.0 (Hasbro Interactive)
21) Thief-The Dark Project 1.0 (Eidos Interactive)
22) X Games Pro Boarder 1.0 (Electronic Arts)

Sony said today that its PlayStation2 will hit U.S. stores Oct. 26 with a suggested price tag of $299.

The U.S. launch of the PlayStation2 should help rekindle the console wars, as the new machine competes head-to-head against Sega's Dreamcast. Nintendo's Dolphin and Microsoft's X-Box are expected in 2001.

Sony plans to crank out 1 million PlayStation2 units for the launch, with 2 million more units to ship through March 31, 2001.

The machine also will work, as shipped, to play DVD movies and audio CDs. Sony announced the launch in Los Angeles in advance of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) trade show there.

As expected, the PlayStation does not include a built-in hard drive but can connect to one through the console's USB (universal serial bus) and "iLink" ports.

The PlayStation2 will not ship with a built-in modem, as many had expected, but it will contain an expansion bay designed to handle the modem. The modems will be sold separately and will not be available at the launch. A company representative said they should be available shortly thereafter, however.

"The overwhelming success of the product launch proves that the market is ready for PlayStation2, as we chart a path toward the future of networked digital entertainment," Sony Computer Entertainment chief executive Ken Kutaragi said in a statement.

7) All items and weapons taken out of game and replaced with "large rocks". The coveted "very, very large rock", which was dropped by a dragon in Veeshan's Peak, weighed over seven tons and could not be used by any class or race.

If you're an EQ fan or not, it's still funny. Read the rest of it here. Speaking of EQ, why not talk about it in the forum? (Getting tired of these hints? Then just visit the forum and be over with it!)

If I could say just one thing about E3, it would be this: thank god Eidos brings in Playboy Bunnies!

Many people may or may not remember the 1998 movie Soldier staring Kurt Russell as an outdated soldier in a dark and not altogether pleasant future. Kurt's character got the snot beat out of him by a newly bio engineered supersoldier, then got dumped on a backwater garbage planet. There he befriended (sorta) the other surviving refugees, and eventually shot the bad guys full of holes. Everyone was happy, despite the fact that they were still living in garbage.

It was only a matter of time before the Command & Conquer series eschewed the shackles of 2D graphics for the more robust and modern 3D world. While voxel technology was adopted by Westwood for Tiberian Sun, Firestorm, and Red Alert 2, the Command & Conquer series was, for the most part, still mired by two-dimensional tiles and units. It's somewhat poetic, then, that the first C&C game to fully embrace 3D graphics isn't a typical Command & Conquer game at all: It's Renegade, a 3D game that's light on strategy and heavy on action. Don't misunderstand, though. Renegade is still very much a Command & Conquer game, complete with Global Defense Initiative and Brotherhood of NOD units, structures, and soldiers. All the established C&C rules still apply. Instead of taking control of hordes of tanks and infantrymen, however, you assume the role of a single foot soldier named Nick Parker.

Gamespy: Midtown Madness featured the player driving through the virtual city of Chicago, with landmarks in various parts of the city all true to their location. When gamers played they actually felt like they were in a virtual city, with all landmarks and roads in place. Will Midtown Madness 2 feature as realistic cities now that you are working with two cities rather then the previous one?

John Rodman: Absolutely! We have gone to great lengths to make sure that both San Francisco and London are accurately depicted in Midtown Madness 2. You'll experience familiar landmarks such as Coit Tower and Lombard Street in San Francisco; to the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace in London. While both cities will be highly realistic, we've taken creative license with some of the routes to insure that the drive will experience a wide variety of fun and challenging maps and races.

HLC: How was it like utilizing Half-Life's skeletal animation system for the models? What type of innovative "moves" has it allowed you to create for the close-range, hand-to-hand combat?

ML: Well the skeletal animation system is great, it really allows you to bend human joints realistically, and moves like rolls, flips, etc look great. Hand to hand combat is not made yet, however I do have planned to have a kung fu system included in the 2nd or 3rd beta. It will have really neat animations.

Read the rest of it here. Or to conduct your own little interview, head on over to the forum and question anyone on the GameSurge staff!

- Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater

- Mechwarror

For the first time in the 16-year-old BattleTech universe, the player isn't a grunt private, but rather the commanding hero in the center of a complex story of betrayal, revenge and honor. Tearing through tundra forests and icy arctic worlds are more than 20 giant 80-ton war machines, all of which can be customized with new weapons, armor and sensors. More than 30 unique missions keep the tactical thinking and adrenaline flowing. Scheduled availability: 2000 holiday season.

." With five new civilizations, four new historically based campaigns and 25 new technologies, the latest in the "Age of Empires" series offers a worthy descendent to the best-selling PC game of the 1999 holiday season. The richest, deepest Age of Empires expansion pack ever created, "The Conquerors" lets players turn a tiny village into a mighty empire in a real-time strategy game set in the Middle Ages. Players relive the epic reigns of Attila the Hun, Montezuma, El Cid and other well-known rulers. Scheduled availability: September 2000.

The Anarchy Online Vault received several exclusive screenshots from Funcom's upcoming MMORPG Anarchy Online.
You can find them at: here, here, and here.

"The game has a wealth of interesting buildings that allow you to do various things, such as "hack" enemy computers to find out their resources, number of ships, etc... There is a delicate balance of repairing ships, arming them, researching new technology and general mayhem."

"Hidden & Dangerous Action Pack is an exciting, yet serious portrayal of WWII combat. Both games included with the Action Pack provide many hours of intense, and sometimes frustrating, gameplay. There are some bugs still
lingering in the game code, but H&D Action Pack comes with the latest patch, which makes it more stable than previous versions of the game. If you’re prepared to spend some time possibly updating video drivers, and have the patience to do a little trouble-shooting if necessary, you will be rewarded with one of the most realistic WWII combat games to date.

GuarddoG: How come people get so pissed off when they play CS, but barely get pissed when they play TFC?

Cliffe: In TFC you don't have to wait a few minutes to respawn when you die.

GuarddoG: What can we expect to see in Beta 6.5/7?

Cliffe: Well for 6.5 you'll see new net code integrated, redone weapon models, a new Little Rizzuh player model, etc.

GuarddoG: Which are better: ring dings or ho ho's?

Cliffe: Hey wait, this was my question on the forums -- so in essence I'm asking this to myself. A: I can't decide.

Well, since version 2.4, the text editor kinda sucked when it came to find, auto indent, etc. Version 2.5 R2 is an update to version 2.5 (Full or Upgrade with the same download links) that provide a brand new text editor that adds and fixes most of the features in the GameIDE text editor, so grab a copy of the updated 2.5 release now!

Updated: Please Download GameIDE after 8:00PM CST to ensure that you have the latest version.

Well, E3 is coming right on up!

John Cash departed from id last Friday to a new position at Blizzard. I'll let him
fill you in on what he's doing there, but we miss his CTF skills already! We wish
John all the best, and id looks forward to the forthcoming Diablo II beta copies..
:)

Oh, whoops, thinking out load again. Anyway, GameCenter is gonna be putting up the Inoxx Map Pack tommorow (tuesday), for Unreal Tourny. Dig it:

Gamecenter and Epic Games plan to debut the Inoxx Pack for Unreal Tournament on Tuesday, May 9. The pack consists of six new levels, including the long-awaited Facing Worlds 2.

[PlanetFortress] Will there be any more patches released after 1.5?
[Gabe Newell] Yes. We will continue to be releasing new technology, games, and content.

[PlanetFortress] In TF2, would vehicle moving create any more lag in the game?
[Gabe Newell] No.

[PlanetFortress] Will the commander function give a the gamer a RTS type view over the battle field?
[Gabe Newell] Yes.

[PlanetFortress] How many people will there be on a team who can issue orders?
[Gabe Newell] There is one commander per team, although there will be officers as well on a team.

[PlanetFortress] Just to suit the public, although we all know the answer - "When will TF2 be released?"
[Gabe Newell] I don't know.

Chris Roberts has said from day 1 that Freelancer is to be the game that Privateer could not have been due to technology restraints. With the technology available to Chris Roberts and the rest of the Freelancer team the game is able to be much more open and dynamic than games that have come out in the past. The sense of scale in Freelancer should be rivaled by no other game to date. The gigantic space stations and capital ships will effectively dwarf your fighter ship in comparison. Players will be able to form allegiances with pirates, trade, attack trade routes, go to battle, explore and more all in a large 3D universe set in space. The game will react to the players actions so if you attacking trade routes do not be too surprised when the prices of goods skyrocket. The goal of Freelancer team is to make the universe as real is possible with a lot of interaction and a compelling storyline.

Unlike many space-simulation titles Freelancer will be moving away from a joystick oriented game to an interface entirely driven my the mouse in cooperation with the NeuroNet. The NeuroNet aides in the control of navigation, combat, and the flight system. Like other parts of your ship, such as the engine and weapons, the NeuroNet can be upgraded at a cost. When engaging in battles players will be able to set the ship to auto-pilot and zoom in on the target for a more effective attack. With this use of the NeuroNet the player will be able to begin an attack on a target in sight while carrying out preset combat maneuvers.

Dungeon Siege is an action fantasy RPG that melds the best elements of role-playing game with the in-your-face intensity of an RTS. Using a Siege Engine specifically created for the game, the team has created a continuous, fully 3D fantasy environment that allows players to move freely about the world without having to worry about load screens. The world includes the traditional castles and dungeons, but in such detail that the player can almost smell the mustiness and decay.

With Arcanum , Troika has created a society in which an industrial revolution has stolen a lot of the thunder from the arts of magic, which are on the decline. The temples at the center of some towns have fallen into disrepair from lack of use; they’re used to house giant steam engines that power the town. It makes an interesting analog to the role of religion in our world after the Industrial Revolution and the rise of rationalism. As our increasingly secular society has relied more and more on science, there’s less room for religion. Something similar is happening in the world of Arcanum.

Besides the campaigns you get eight new multiplayer maps and a host of game enhancements and additions. The add-on also patches Rogue Spear to version 2.05, and makes incorporating user mods a very friendly affair.

The two best enhancements come in the form of a better interface for setting up quick games (called custom missions) like assault, lone wolf, terrorist hunt, et cetera, and the ability to order your team through hotkeys. Custom missions are pretty easy to set up. All you do is choose the type of game, the map (which must be unlocked by attempting to play through it at least once), the difficulty level, and the number of terrorists to battle. New to Urban Operations is the "defend" custom mission. This mission has a solo operative defending a location from an onslaught of terrorists. While it sounds fun, in practice it leaves a lot to be desired, primarily because you're in control of only one guy.

twisted: There has been a ton of buzz that Soldier of Fortune 2 may be the next project for Raven Software. Can you give us any information to tease our appetite for more Mullins?

Dan Kramer: I wish I could. At this point, it's still dependent on continued strong sales of SoF. We've already had meetings on cool stuff we plan on putting into SoF 2 if we get to do it. If we end up doing it, I assure you, there will be much coolness.

Read the rest of it here.

The sound in SoF stands out. Imagine the sound of a dying soldier in the background, while you take out another guard with you 9mm silenced submachine gun. The sound weapons are quite satifying and even the languages in different parts of the world are different. For example, the Russians speak a different language than the people in Iraq, and I’ve been told that they are actually speaking their native language. The amount of effort taken to integrate this shows you the commitment of the Raven team to producing a good, solid game that people will enjoy.

[Skills menu] [Health menu] [Missile silo]

The first one is a prototype sketches of their 5 classes. The other 3 shots are of a team assault level called The Lost Island. Also, if you'd like to chat with the team, you can join #sof-fortress on chat.planetquake.com . I'm sure they'd love to answer any questions you have.

Neocron is an online RPG / e-Community hybrid set in a 27th century metropolis. The user becomes a citizen of Neocron and it`s up to him whether he wants to experience exciting adventures or just live a normal life in this virtual world. The game can also be described as a 3D massively multiplayer online RPG (MMORPG). Another equally accurate way of describing Neocron is to call it a graphical MUD.

Keep reading the FAQ for more info.

Leet: What effects will we see in UnF with the use of the Unreal Engine that otherwise wouldn't be achievable with another engine?

BrainFreeze: The UT engine offers gorgeous and sophisticated graphics with some amazing lighting effects, effective rendering of huge areas, efficient net code, and excellent bot AI. (We're including full bot support so you can play without any other human players). For TF/C players who haven't played UT yet, they'll be in for a very pleasant shock!

The Beta-1c update (4.4mb) includes three new beta dueling maps, lots of new features, new commands, entities and dozens of gameplay adjustments and fixed bugs, not to mention improvements to the HUD and scoreboard plus new rifle and dartgun models/skins AND new effects like realistic napalm fire and atmospheric rain.

Results of Previous Poll:
What speed is your Internet Connection?

< 56k        63     12.30 %

56k           146    28.52 %

ISDN        23     4.49 %

Cable        160   31.25 %

DSL          83     16.21 %

T1+           37     7.23 %

TOTAL     512    100.00 %

LucasArts interview on XtremeNetwork

Anarchy Online interview on AO Basher

Terminal Reality Interview on A-Vault

Dark Zion Interview on GameSpy

Icewind Dale interview on Ice Winds of Dale

Tactic (webmaster of Stomped.com) Interview on Cold Ice Network

Tribes 2 Interview on GA-Source

GT Interactive - as a brand at least - might be about to fade into the sunset. Industry trade MCV is reporting that as of June 1, Infogrames will discontinue using the brand, to further focus attention on the Infogrames name. The move will mean the demise of one of the industry's best known names, but doesn't come as a complete surprise. Infogrames stopped using GT in Europe immediately after buying a majority stake in the company last year. An announcement on the new branding is expected next week at E3.

In Vegas the odds are against John McClane. But then again, they always are.
Yippie-kie-yay! Blast into non-stop action as feature film and game hero John McClane, who once again finds the chips stacked against him as he faces a new legion of hi-tech terrorists in a race against time. The bright lights and vast landscape of Las Vegas provide the backdrop for an all-new story line that incorporates the three white-knuckle game styles of the original best-selling Die Hard Trilogy. Try to beat the odds as you match wits with the meanest, smartest villains in the most explosive adventure John McClane has ever faced.

The payoff is the hottest action in town!

Building your own homegrown computer is not only a valuable skill to posses, but it is also a very simple one to learn and understand. Think of today's modern computer parts like Legos. Remember how one piece would fit nicely into another, and before you knew it you were looking at your homemade masterpiece and marveling in its sleek design and ingenuity.

Well, the days of building spaceships and robots from the simple interconnecting Lego blocks are over (well for most of us), but our own simple design ethics yet remain. What hard-core techies and companies like Dell and Compaq have been doing for years is what any computer user can learn how to do - build a computer from scratch.

Probably one of the most fun (and most painstaking) aspects of building your own computer is buying the right components. Needs differ from one person to the next and price pays a critical role in the equipment you choose.

The general rule of thumb for buying computer equipment is to buy the fastest components you can afford, and why wouldn't you? Over the past six months fierce competition between Intel and AMD have driven CPU prices so low that you can currently pick up an AMD Athlon @ 700MHz for only $186 and that's a steal. For a more in-depth discussion on choosing the right components try our monthly PC Hardware Buyers Guide.

Guillemot sells their new GeForce2 card 3D Prophet II GTS under the label of Hercules. Hercules was bought by Guillemot last year. The card design is an own development done by Hercules. The card runs with the default NVIDIA specs of 200Mhz core and 333MHz (DDR) memclock. A short look on the card let´s you anticipate for what kind of users it was made: hardcore gamers and overclocking fans! Besides of a powerfull fan Hercules has equipped the memory chips on the card with heatsinks. The board itself has a nice turquoise color - another point that differs the card from the competitors. Apple was first to design computerhardware in an aesthetical way and now Hercules shows us that a graphics card can look nice.

All primed to play Half-Life, only to discover that no game servers are showing up for you to join? We've identified the problem (it's a load-related problem with the Master Server), and Valve has provided a temporary fix — but the fix limits the number of servers shown to 2,000. If your favorite game server is no longer showing up, add it directly to your favorites — and look for the problem to be fully resolved with the next Half-Life update, coming soon!

Version 2.5 of GameIDE is done, this version should be much more stable than the previous versions and it also adds more customizable properties. The new release comes in two different packages, full or upgrade. The new version should support most games, but other than Quake3, other games have not been tested, if you could make a game work using build exe/dll, drop me a line about it and I'll post it here, the new release also fixes many bugs and allows better support for other compilers such as gcc. So grab a copy today in the files section!

Homeworld: Cataclysm continues the saga from the original Homeworld game and introduces a new threat from a techno-organic entity known as "The Beast." In addition to the seventeen new single player missions, Homeworld: Cataclysm will feature an improved multiplayer mode that allows for multiplayer games of up to eight players via WON.net, along with support for WON.net's enhanced ladder ranking system.

Homeworld: Cataclysm extends Homeworld's revolutionary gameplay with entirely new fleets of ships, each with the ability to upgrade their capabilities, new research, fog-of-war, interface enhancements,
mothership modules, damage control and way points.

Recipe for Starlancer:
3 quarts Allegiance
2 cups Wing Commander
½ tablespoon TIE Fighter
4 lbs raw Bad Ass®
Dash of Attitude®
Put CD in, will preheat and cook in it's own. Serves millions.

Game of the Year? Possibly Game of All Time contender, and it's a heavyweight.

Rick Delashmit: Here's a little blurb from the FAQ: "You awaken in the bowels of Hell, a subterranean prison locking you in faltering suspended animation. The infernal machinery of your cell is grinding to a halt, and your freedom comes with a price. . . fatigue, confusion, loneliness. You force your way out to find other lost souls, pressing questions. Should you break out onto the tortured surface, or cower in the toxic miasma of the underworld? You decide. You and your companions build a society, a seed of civilization, and as you grow, you ask more questions. Who are we? Why are we here? What is the purpose of Hell, and what ravaged the surface? What is our history... and will we survive?" There definitely is a background story to the game, but figuring it out is part of the fun of the game. We'll release more details as time goes on, but the meat of the background the players will have to find out.

According to designer Mark Frohnmayer, the Tribes 2 team is attacking the sequel from three different directions: enhanced community, improved graphics, and easier accessibility. "The first thing we're doing is pushing the team-based game in new directions. We made a good start with Tribes 1, but we're going to go way past that with Tribes 2," he explained. "For Tribes 2 that's going to include not just things in the game that enhance team play, but also outside of the game in the way that people interact in the community at large."

Read the rest of it here.

Meanwhile Tim Sweeney, lead programmer at Epic, had been working on a new version of their level editor, UnrealEd. The idea was to recode it in C++ to improve speed and stability, while adding new features to make it more flexible and easy to use for level designers. But with a new engine to design time was running out, and soon after Wheel of Time's release Tim revealed that he had stopped work on the project.

"When Tim announced that he was not going to take the C++ editor any further, I asked Mark Poesch if I could take a shot at finishing it up. He checked with Tim, who had no problem with it, and since we were just getting started on Unreal 2 .. off I went. It took several months, but it finally started to resemble an editor."

By the end of February the editor (now dubbed UnrealEd 2.0) was apparently nearing release, although there were still some teething problems getting it to work with Unreal Tournament.

As the title would imply, Reach For the Stars' campaign goal is to oversee humanity's expansion into the vast blackness of space. Beginning only with Earth and a small colony on Mars, you must establish a number of stations and colonies throughout various planets across the galaxy, balancing your resources as you explore and deal with other challenges that you encounter on the way. Your first step is to investigate nearby solar systems for compatible living conditions for your settlers. This is accomplished via a simplistic grid-based starmap, on which are highlighted the numerous bright, shining stars that symbolize the planetary systems that you are seeking to inhabit. Using a straightforward keypad-like interface, you can send your ships to scout out these areas and to establish their inherent conditions. If the different planets within a given system possess unbreathable atmospheres, global temperatures that are too low or too high, or gravitational forces that are too oppressive, then your hunt must go on and your ships must continue the search. Once a system is found to contain a planet with compatible living conditions, then all you need is to send forth a colonization vessel and your expansion is effectively underway.

Rob Pardo: I guess the best way to characterize WCIII is that it's a real time strategy game with the merging of a lot of Role Playing elements. The term I've always used is that it's a Real Time Strategy game set heavily in a role playing environment.

3DU: Technologically speaking, what new things does Deus Ex bring?

HS: Lots of secret stuff from Chris Norden (Lead Programmer/Assistant Director) and Al Yarusso. Really interesting AI from Scott Martin. (Specifically, there are some RPG-heavy, user-creativity features from Al Yarusso that, while I wish I could talk about, I should keep mum about...things that I believe RPG fans will just love.

3DU: How is the atmosphere at Ion Storm?

HS: I'm not sure, really. I work at ION Storm Austin. ;)

3DU: How did you get to work there?

HS: My wife gave me a ride this morning.

"When you start the tutorial you'll be a ranger. A voice will guide you through the basics of running, jumping, crouching ETC... Then you will be presented with info on the ranger, speed, special ablilitys, weapons etc. Then you get to go into a target room and a bot walks out and shows you the fire rate, accuracy and damage, penatration value of each weapon. Then it goes over how all that classes grenades work."

Read the rest of it here.

Five luck winners wil be chosen Halloween 2000 to receive a free copy of Tribes 2. Our site will also be soon featuring the most extensive databse of Tribes 2 related information anywhere and we currently have well over 95 screenshots from the games plus three upcoming videos.

incite: When you were distracting yourself, were you playing Quake, Quake II, or Quake III: Arena?

Reznor: That depends on what era we're talking about. I'll tell you a little history. Video games have always been a soft spot for me. I remember when the first arcade machines came out. One of the most fun times I had was stealing quarters out of grandmother's jar to go play Space Invaders.

Now I always stayed interested in it, but I got kind of rekindled in it when I saw Wolfenstein 3D. I'd never gone near a PC — that's a bad word around the studio, 'cause we're all Mac people. But Macs always had shitty games, never had an open architecture, though I was never aware of what was going on in the PC world until someone showed me Wolfenstein. So I went out and bought whatever it was at the time, 386, 486, and we got hooked hardcore. That sense being immersed in the game really struck a chord with me. And when Doom came out, we were rehearsing for the downward spiral tour, and I was like, "Oh my god. It's politically incorrect, it's gory, it's satanic — this company is pretty cool." I just appreciated the fact that a game had come out and changed the industry but hadn't come from Microsoft. In fact, it couldn't have come from Microsoft, it had to come from a kind of rag-tag, not-a-hundred-people-to-approve it, kind of company.

GA-Source has learned new details and the official name for id Software's recently revealed Quake III mission pack. Quake III: Team Arena, the first mission pack to be developed by id Software since the Master Levels for DOOM, promises to bring advanced team play to Quake III Arena’s fast-paced deathmatch experience.

Beyond classic team deathmatch and capture the flag, Quake III: Team Arena blends id’s hallmark visceral frag fests with strategic cooperative team play. The pack will feature multiple gameplay modes where players will jockey for control of strategic areas and resources within the new maps designed specifically for team and tournament play. In one of the new game modes, "Harvester," teams compete for skulls that appear in the center of the arena when a player gets fragged. To claim victory, players must collect the skulls of fallen opponents and battle their way into the enemy stronghold. Team coordination and communication is critical in this delicate balance of offensive and defensive supremacy.

Although a lot of the exhibits at E3 have somewhat of a carnival atomosphere to them, none of them should be able to come close to what the Gathering of Developers will be doing at their second annual "Promised Lot" situated outside the Los Angeles Convention Center. G.O.D. head man Mike Wilson just emailed us the full list of all the celebs, bands, and activities planned for the lot this year, and from all indications it will make last year's lot look like a children's school yard.

Ok, anyway, Gaming in 3D, has just kicked up a new article, entitled "How to clean your Computer." Check it out right here. Dig it:

Okay, I admit it folks. It might not be entertaining and it might not be long, but hell, it's damn original! Today at G3D, their article writer, Alien Cow, has been bored as hell again, so he's written up his latest article entitled "How To Clean Your Computer"

"So you just bought a brand new computer with all the goodies DVD, gefoce2, flat screen monitor, CD writer, gobs of ram. But you want it to last right but need a few tips? Then read on to learn some important tricks on how to keep your computer in a healthy condition."

There seems to be a clone of the Mellissa virus that swept the nation last year, going around today. The new virus has spread all over the word today, amazingly fast, swamping huge networks. The virus, which is really more of a trojen horse, comes in email titled "ILOVEYOU," is, umm, very bad. The email after proclaiming how much it loves you, asks you to open its attachment (the love letter), but when [dont do this] you open it, it sends itself to everyone on your contact list (in outlook express), and then starts deleting stuff off your hard drive.

This will probably be the last report, because we are that close to finishing...Next week a few of us will be at E3. Be sure to drop by and see the game in its final form....you will leave impressed.

Dynamix is also trying to make the terrain more than just eye-candy; it will play a large part in team strategy in Tribes 2. Expect to use the terrain for tactical approaches, positioning, and cover. The terrain will also make using Tribes 2's included vehicles not just a "cool feature," but a necessity. Don't expect to play the "lone wolf" in Tribes 2 and be effective. Dynamix is carefully balancing the weapons, vehicles, and terrain elements in an effort to truly promote teamwork. Several of the included vehicles will require two players to operate, so grab a cohort and double your firepower.

In Dogs of War, you get to play all three sides of the conflict: The Imperial Order, WarMonkeys, and the Mantai. The units are distinct and greatly vary from team to team. The Imperial Order is a toned military machine, as such their units take a form reminiscent of our modern day notions of an army with heavy weapons platforms like tanks and artillery. The WarMonkeys, being a rag-tag group of mercenaries that take what they can and make the most of it, have a lot of converted civilian vehicles such as jeeps and rely heavily on infantry manpower for guerrilla tactics. Lastly, the Mantai reptoids consist of specialized organic alien life forms that can perform specific tasks.

We wanted to capture the feel of the original Red Alert, but exaggerate our fantastic alternate universe even more with a lot of pop culture stuff," he said. "We really play up the Soviets' dabbling in psychic phenomena, for instance. They've even got psychically-controlled giant squids as part of their navy. We did a lot of military research for weapons and actually found some pretty kooky things. This research influenced the weapons we created. Many of our weapons are based in conspiracy myths of the 20th century. I've got two big binders of stuff that's pretty wild. Would you believe that at one point the U.S. was working on a weapon called HAARP that would heat up the ionosphere and use it as weapon? Then again, that doesn't hold a candle to the stuff we've got cooking in Red Alert 2."

Darek: It’s a story-based game, named after the main hero - colonel Grom. He’s a character shaped like Indiana Jones or James Bond – a hard, brave and charismatic man standing against all the evil of the world. No compromises. Story events take place in the period of World War II. During the time of the Nazis’ offensive, Colonel was a military man trying to stop them in Poland, but when his family got murdered, he quit the army, left the country and became a freelance fighter. Now he’s traveling between India and Tibet, looking for vengeance for the deaths of his relatives.

As for the game play style expectations; it’s a mix of genres – adventure games (storyline, dialogues, characters and overall feeling), with RPG features (statistics, character development, non linear approach), and real-time strategy and tactics elements.

I was ovar at Jerrys house yesrtarday and I told him, "I playaed Daykaitena yestarday and it was a vary good gaem!" and he says "JEFF, that gaem has been out vary long tiem!" and I was saying "NO, IT JUST CAME OUT YUO STUPID FAGOT!" and I threw a shoe at his head. Then Jerry showed me on his Gaem emulaetor that ther was a gaem caled "DAIMAKAIMURA", and it was teh Japanese name for "GHOULES AND GHOSTS!""!!! I WAS SHOCKED AND APPALED!!!! so me and Jerry decieded to maek a game comparisone between Dakaitantia and Daimakamuriaia becuase they are both god gaems but NOT AS GOOD AS YUO MAY THINK ONCE YUO HAVE READ THIS ARTICAL!!!

"Without giving the game away - there are a number of different soldier types and a variety of creatures," explains Roby. "We try to play on natural human fears. People are naturally afraid of certain animals and some of our creatures play to those fears. Scale can be used to our advantage also. As you have seen, some of our levels are epic in proportion. Imagine the types of creatures that live in those environments."

In addition to Codename: Eagle and Rogue Spear: Urban Operations support from the registered release, we've also added support for Daikatana (both demo and full game) and Soldier of Fortune! GameSpy 3D now supports over 30 games! There are also a handful of new features and fixes that registered users have let us know they love. Among them are:

Auto-favorites - add a server to your favorites list automatically after playing on it 5 times (the number is configurable, of course)

Periodic updates - automatically refresh your favorites list at set time intervals

Rescan for games - GameSpy 3D automatically detects new games

All Windows 2000 issues resolved! (the Win2k/NT lockup on refresh was a nightmare!)

Auto-Hopcount - hopcount low ping servers automatically

Half-life player profile - choose models/skins & colors, scripts right from inside GameSpy.

Added Filter on hop count to custom tabs.

Quake 3: Arena mod support improved!

Grab the new release from FilePlanet and let the fragging begin!

GS: If you could single out one feature in Deus Ex that you're especially proud of, what would it be?

WS: Well, to follow up the last question, I guess I'd have to say I'm most proud of the fact that the game seems to allow a high degree of player expression, as we hoped it would. I mean, it's not perfect by any means, but I routinely hear people describing things they did in their play-throughs that take place in locations I never even bother exploring. Similarly, testers are always talking about "ideal" player-development choices that don't match in any way what I like to do with my character. And some people think certain weapons are unbalancingly powerful, while other people think those weapons are useless. You have no idea how cool I find that (or how frightening). What it tells me is that the choices you make in Deus Ex really make a difference, and the game is robust enough to support a really diverse set of choices.

I've gotten some mail asking about OpFor CTF's release date so here's the official word:

OpFor CTF will be released either on the day or very shortly after the
new Half-Life update is released.

NVIDIA(tm) Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) announced today that the first GeForce2 GTS*-based graphics boards areavailable for consumer purchase at Fry's Electronics, Electronics Boutiqueand Best Buy. The ELSA Gladiac add-in card was on store shelves on April 28, 2000, just three days after NVIDIA's GeForce2 GTS announcement.

This immediate availability sets a new standard for the PC graphics industry. In addition, desktop PC OEMs Gateway and micronpc.com are now shipping high-end systems complete with the new GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). Creative Labs, Leadtek, Guillemot, ASUSTeK, as well as Dell, Compaq, Quantex and Hewlett-Packard will announce GeForce2 GTS-based solutions and shipping dates during the upcoming weeks.

+ Tidied up a lot of code, preWar & oneGun now much more solid.
* Updated oneGun mode::
-> Weapons & Ammo not spawned in maps.
-> Start with selected gun & 999 ammo.
* New 'oneHit' mode:: (only available in oneGun mode)
-> One (direct) hit kills.
-> combine with oneGun-Rail for some instaGib action.
-> Best used with noItems switched on.
* New 'noItems' mode:: (only available in oneGun mode)
-> Health, armor or powerups not spawned in maps.
+ Pre-defined teams named 'Red' & 'Blue' will be loaded into the bot selection screen in the Start Server menu by default.
-> The value of 'q3la_defaultTeamSize' is used to decide how many bots to initially display.
-> Increased selection slots from 12 to 16 to allow 8 vs 8 teams.
+ Example .team file provided.
+ Fixed save player name input box not accepting input.
+ Fixed falling damage causing instant death in oneHit mode.
+ Demo menu enhancement by Coriolis.

Computer - You just have to have it. If all you have is a console, or even worse, just a Game Boy *shudder*, then you're not a true gamer. Consoles may be your roots, but a computer is your future.

Half-Life - I'd go far out on a limb to say that Half-Life is the best game, ever. I really don't have to say anything more about this game. If you don't have it, get it.

Hot Pockets - You have to have at least one box of these in your freezer at all times! Pizza flavored Croissant Pockets are my favorite.

Game Skins - These are good, oh so good. A gamer does need clothes right? So why not go in style?

Penny Arcade - Go here. Read the comics. Enjoy being a gamer/nerd. I sure do.

PC Gamer - In my opinion, this is the best computer gaming magazine out there. Get a subscription now.

This patch fixes a fairly serious security flaw in Quake 3 Arena. Internet Security Systems identified the flaw and notified us with reproduction details as well as an overview of the exploit. The basic nature of the exploit is that malicious server operators could overwrite any file on a client system. This type of thing is always possible with DLL based mods (which is why we strongly recommend VM based mods ) but with this exploit, it was possible within the VM system.

To help facilitate a rapid transition to the new codebase we have also bumped the network protocol version. This means 1.17 is not network compatibile with any prior version.

The install also includes all 3 PK3 files, because the original "pak1.pk3" was not included in the final 1.16 release for Mac and Win32 builds. This will address some pure server connection issues. You will have to have all 3 pak files present to connect to a pure server.

In addition to this security fix, we have also fixed the following:

- Callvote to single player game type causes the server to crash.
- Crash in bot initialization on some systems.

I have been playing EverQuest since Beta4 of last year and I haven't been this excited about anything Verant has done since they lowered the amount of experience you lose when you die. It will take players many weeks of gameplay to fully explore all of the twenty new zones, and the new race adds more color to an already rich world. The Ruins of Kunark is already fueling the fire of addictiveness that EverQuest started a year ago. The expansion was well-timed: Many players that left that game are returning to join their friends and investigate the new graphics and new areas. If you're a fan of online gaming or roleplaying, and if you've passed EverQuest by before, you should look into buying the bundle. For dedicated EverQuest fans, it's simply a no-brainer.

Deus Ex will feature a total of 13 missions; each comprised of several different maps. It will be up to the players to determine how J.C. will progress through these missions. The emphasis will definitely not be on moving through map one in a linear fashion, finding the key, and moving through to map 2, ad infinitum. The game's involved and twisting story will reveal itself through conversations, carried out in standard RPG tree-form, with computer-controlled characters. In a nice touch, computer-controlled characters will converse using animation lip-synched to their words. The environments themselves are going for ambience and realism. Park settings will feature benches, plants, basketballs, trash and other assorted detritus on the ground.

RPG Vault has posted screenshots from Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption

GameSpot News has posted screenshots from Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force

GA-Strategy has posted a movie from Dark Reign 2

GA-Source has posted screenshots from X-Com: Alliance

GA-RPG has posted screenshots and details on Throne of Darkness

GA-Source has posted screenshots and details on Soldier

Damage Gaming has posted a character art gallery from Icewind Dale

If you have ever been to a LAN party, you will know how frightfully chaotic they are. Crowds of gamers lug in their 60 pound 19" monitors, 45 pound tower cases, keyboards and mice, then wire them all together in a chaotic spaghetti of LAN fun. Multiply that by 10 players and you have a logistical nightmare.

Now imagine a different sort of LAN party. Ten bloodthirsty gamers calmly walk into a room, sit down, open their notebooks, and proceed to dismember each other virtually. No wires, no monitors and no chaos, other than the virtual kind.

I'm imagining it right now... but you don't have to, you can just click here.

Gothic Inteview over on Daily Radar

Third Law Interview over on FragLand

B17 Interview over on GA-Source. Its along with a few tasty screenies too.

Duke Nukem: Endanged Species Interview over on GameSpy Daily

Valve Interview over on Voltron's Map Workshop

Dungeon Siege Interview over on Dungeon Siege Vault

Another Valve Interview on The Catacombs. This ones on TFC and TF2.

GOD Interview over on The Mushroom

Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force Interview over on Sharky Extreme

And of course, JeffK has kicked up an interview with "Kenn Hoerkstra of Raven Software".

Kirkland, WA (May 2, 2000) -Valve, L.L.C. today announced the upcoming release of the Half-Life SDK 2.0, an updated suite of authoring tools for its award-winning game, Half-Life. The release is part of an ongoing effort to support those creating Half-Life game modifications (MODs) and keep them current with the code base Valve is using to author its latest creations.
"The new SDK allows MOD authors to create a much wider variety of games, such as isometric RPGs, fighting games, and real-time strategy games, in addition to new styles of action games," said Gabe Newell, managing director of Valve L.L.C. "Half-Life is currently generating over 350 million player-minutes per month on the Internet and is the most popular multiplayer game played online, and part of that success was made possible by the amazing content created by the MOD community. We have every intention of continuing our support for that community."

"MODs such as Counter-Strike will benefit enormously from the new SDK," said Counter-Strike co-developer Minh Le. "Half-Life is far and away the best development environment for MOD authors, in addition to having the largest on-line community. With Half-Life, you can build a better MOD and have it played by a lot more people."

This release of the Half-Life SDK includes all the assets available in the "ProSDK," previously only available under NDA, plus many new features, including access to Valve's new networking system, and new user interface toolkit (V-GUI). Half-Life SDK 2.0 will be made available free of charge on gaming Web sites and CDs everywhere in the coming weeks.

I now have the bot working in all modes of play (CTF included), and the AI has been tweaked a good amount for each mode (they even guard base/do flag running/escort flag carriers/etc. in CTF). I have three items left on the constantly-expanding "to-do" list. Then after that's done I'll need to merge my changes with the latest SoF game code base so that the bot will be able to work with newer versions of SoF, and I suppose it'll be pretty much ready for a release after that (I still need to route some levels and write up documentation, but I don't expect that to take long).

Larian Studios and Swen Vincke are relying on Divinity to place them on the map of respected RPG developers of today. So they must have a few tricks up their sleeves for making Divinity stand out amongst other titles. As far as the game’s storyline goes, the developers are being rather secretive. From what we could gather so far, Larian Studios released some movie-trailer-like tidbits of info, just to spark our imagination and give us a few pointers on the game’s backdrop. As you might have expected Divinity deals with the classical fantasy world of humans, dwarfs, elves, wizards, orcs and all the other creatures that are widely familiar to RPG population. What we know so far of the plot is that there is a prophecy, and an eerie feeling of war floating throughout the fantasy world. The player is cast in a role of an apprentice in service of the great wizard Zandalor, who urgently needs to visit an old friend of his. He sends you off to Stormfist castle, where the old duke has been murdered. Why Divinity? Why The Sword of Lies for that matter? We can't tell you yet, as that information is being kept secure in Larian Studios offices. "Part of the fun for the player is uncovering the storyline, and we plan to release as little information as possible on that, except how it starts and what the basic ingredients are," says Vincke about the mystery. "Let's just say that the bad guys are not that obvious, and that there is no real appearance of bad guys in Divinity. The foe is very subtle in Divinity, though the chaos is very apparent ((wars, pestilence, corruption, racial hatred...), and dealing with that chaos forms a large part of the story.”

Kenn Hoekstra: FPS gamers are at heart like all gamers; they generally just want good games that are fun to play. In that sense, I think they'll be very happy with Elite Force. There's a good mix of combat and exploration to go along with a strong, overarching storyline. Recently, the shooter genre has moved a bit closer to the story driven/adventure side of things. Elite Force is right on target with these genre changes.

Speaking of monsters, they looked fantastic. These things range from downright tiny to the ultra-massive. Golems and beholders were quite a sight to see. We didn't quite get to see the very large animals, but rest assured some of them will be B I G. Magical attacks look pretty darn good now. The pics we have should show some off some pretty fancy stuff. Even the locales are pretty spruced up. Check out those chompers in one of the pictures.

Titled DUKE NUKEM: Endangered Species, the game is being developed for the PC at Russian-based Action Forms, creators of the dinosaur hunting titles Carnivores and Carnivores 2, and the first-person shooter Chasm. For all the genre’s low budget posturing, this is good news for fans of the character, whose ever-present shades should prove useful in the hot sun of the Serengeti. Broussard said the team has a super-fast, high-tech landscape engine he calls impressive. “The team also believes in photo realistic art, so count on great visuals,” Broussard added.

Broussard told the Adrenaline Vault the product will be out--and we saw this coming--“when it’s done.” Before fans get downhearted, 3D Realms’ co-founder promised Endangered Species is not planned as a massive 24-month project, nor is the Gathering targeting the product to be a full-priced release. “It will be a high quality, fun, budget level DUKE game with all the edge fans have come to expect. It will surprise a lot of people what designers can do with a good idea and [a reasonable budget],” Broussard said.

Our hero will of course bring his well-branded humor to the genre, which has been cloned to the point of self-satire. Indeed, Broussard confirmed with the Adrenaline Vault that DUKE would be his usual loquacious self, and that a number of parodies would figure into the action. Even more interesting was Broussard's statement that a few components from DUKE NUKEM FOREVER would be implemented in Action Forms’ game for consistency.

The 413 update contains all the fixes from the PC 413 (including adding HTTP downloads, fixing green player skins, most "invalid actor class" errors, and several others), as well as some Mac specific changes - better dedicated server stability, better cached download naming, faster load times, 32 bit Rave textures, and a few more.

413 is not needed to play on any existing UT servers (PC or Mac), although a few mods have started requiring 413. If you don't play those mods, and don't have any trouble with UT Mac, you don't need to update.

Quake 3 : Arena has been released. The Mission Pack will be arriving soon. What are you going to be doing after the mission pack will be released ?

We have a number of things we're working on currently that we'll have more time for and we'll also start work on the next game. Some of the announced projects that we will continue to work on are Q3A for Dreamcast with Raster Productions and Return to Castle Wolfenstein with Gray Matter.

ID Software is known for its 3D FPS, but a little while ago there's was talk about ID's next game being another genre. Any idea allready on what ID's next step will be ?

We have some good idea about where we'll be going, but I don't want to get into specifics because it's just too early to talk about. It won't be another deathmatch game like Q3A because we believe we've done the best that can be done in that sub-genre. Whatever we do, it will almost certainly be a 3D first person game.

Anyway, the signups for the battle.net stress test have started, as of this morning. Check out more info on how to signup right here. Heres some lovin from the beta overview:

The beta will include the Barbarian character class and portions of the game's first act. The beta is expected to be approximately 100MB and playable only over Battle.net by selected testers using access codes. The beta is being exclusively offered for download through ZDNet in partnership with Mirror Image.

The purpose of the beta test is to ensure the stability of Battle.net servers worldwide. In preparation for this final phase of beta testing, Blizzard will end the current on-going closed beta test a few days prior to the start of the Battle.net stress test. Participants in the closed beta will automatically be included in the group that is selected to participate in the stress test.

Running for your life around bend after bend, all your bodyguards are dead and its just you against the terrorists. Hiding in a dark corner you see one of them walk past you. Thinking quickly you slip out behind him and run for the escape zone. Only feet left when you feel a sharp pain in your shoulder, and then the ring of a bullet flies through the air. You know that they have you. No its not some strange movie its Counter Strike beta 6.1.

3DActionPlanet: Does Counter-Strike interfere with your schoolwork? Have you ever had to tell your English teacher, "I'm sorry I don't have my paper, but I was up all last night finishing up beta 6" ?

cliffe: Well, yes, I've been getting increasingly less sleep as the year has gone on. I'm averaging about 3 hours of sleep per night but I usually fall asleep during the day. I've always been like that though, I procrastinate and play games until it's finally time to do homework at 1 am.