Secondly, GA-Source has 2 new screenshots from Computer Artwork'supcoming third-person action hybrid, Evolva.

And finally they also have 8 new screenshots and descriptions from Rewolf Software's upcoming TC for Valve's Half-Life, these can be viewed here

VE: What makes id Software different from all the other game development teams out there?

PS: Very lean, very hard-working talented people. We have our problems like any other development company. Communication could be better. I could break less key boards or break less things period, but overall there's simply no one who doesn't take their job seriously and give it less than 110%. Especially the owners.

NG: What was the biggest challenge graphically with Anachronox?

LP: The biggest challenge for Anox is using the Quake engine to do something completely new. Using tools meant for deathmatch maps aren't in any way conducive to creating environments that have to function as a real location. It's definitely the goal of the game's graphics as a whole to show what can be done with existing software if you're willing to look at it in a completely different light and try something new. Breaking out of the molds of traditional Quake level design was a tough leap, but it's definitely paid off.

The goal in 10six, like Command & Conquer, is to mine materials that will earn the player credit for their base. Each player is allotted a plot of land, and they must maintain and defend the camp, for the world operates in real-time. Showing up online on a regular basis to maintain your camp is an integral part of the game design, since the game is constantly running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The address of the server is as follows:
209.118.215.53:27015
if it doesn't work take out the :27015.

You can acccess the server from the console using this command in Half-Life console.

Connect 209.118.215.53:27015
or
Connect 209.118.215.53

-Happy Fragging!

We're going to be running this website in a much different fashion than how our previous sites were run. This is not a personal page, and we're not a community page. We'll not update about other website's new designs, because that's not what we're about. We're here to bring you information on Blizzard Entertainment, it's games, and all that comes with it. That is the bottom line.

When:
This is a five week King of the Hill Tourney. The first four weeks will consist of open play, with the finals taking place on the fifth week.
Where:
Special King of the Hill Tourney Rooms
What's at Stake?:
A cool mplayer.com mousepad goes to the top four winners and a retail game CD, a special icon, and tons of bragging rights goes to the top Week 5 winner.
The Facts:
These days it's all about respect and the best way to get your share is by being at the top of the heap looking down. That's what the Mplayer.com 'King of the Hill' events are all about. This is your chance to show the world how good you really are. Not to mention you can also win some cool prizes. The Mplayer.com King Of The Hill tourneys take place one night per week over the course of four weeks, with the finals happening in the fifth week. The top four contestants from each week (a total of sixteen) will meet during the finals to determine the big winner. The Mplayer.com Wizards are running the show and on game day you can find them in the game lobby in special 'King Of The Hill' rooms. They'll hook up interested players and generally keep the peace.

The interface is neat. It's 3rd person and the camera moves around as necessary. Not at all awkward like Tomb Raider. You move with the keyboard, mouse or both. I suggest the both option. Things are manipulated as always. Click em, if you can do something to them you do, if not you don’t. One frustration was that it is REALLY easy to get disoriented. There was one time I had myself so close into a corner that I couldn’t move. I was lucky enough to hit the back button on the keyboard and got myself out of the jam. This isn’t really a CON in my mind. The awkwardness goes away as you get used to traveling with the Avatar. My suggestion here is to get really comfortable with walking and getting around BEFORE you talk to the Gypsy.

On the note of CGI, we're in the middle of setting up a FFA Links Page, so soon you will be able to add your own link, so stay tuned!

Blitz: Disc Arena is a cooperative team play and aggressive close combat title that is set in a large arena, with two teams each consisting of up to four players. An official metal disc is placed between the fighters. After the starting signal sounds, both teams fight to get hold of the disc and throw it into the
opposing teams goal.

Tex (Editor's Note - "The Bitch" Tex says if I ever do this to 24HG he will kill me. This is waht you get for giving me admin power! :): Where does Billy get his crack that he 'feeds' to his group of chimps?

Firehawk: Billy, with his infinite number of industry contacts, knows this really cool guy from Colombia who cuts us a really good deal on his ho-made crack. Combine that with my contacts in BC (which, as we all know, is a great supplier of weed) and Dave's acid-dropping Georgian college chums, and you've got one happy, loving, productive VE crew ;-)

(Editor's Note - he forgot to mention the fact im the biggest supplier of cocaine the world has ever known :(

The first batch of Unreal Tournament boxes that went to retail stores had a problem that made the UT installer unable to recognize Direct3D as a rendering option. But luckily it's a really easy thing to work-around and once you have UT installed and setup you don't need to worry about it.

One of the things that could be happening is that you are running in software rendering mode and not realizing it. To check what rendering mode you're using go to the Options menu and choose Preferences. Click on the Video tab. Check where it says Video Device.

It does NOT say there is a patch available for UT. It says that Steve is working on a patch. What it said exactly was "The server patch posted a couple of weeks ago approximately halved server CPU utilization compared to unpatched demos. Since we went gold, I`ve been working on further optimizations and have halved server CPU utilization again. We`ll release a patch with these optimizations and other enhancements shortly."

So in plain english that means Steve is working on a SERVER-SIDE patch for UT.

One of the most impressive effects that I had a hard time placing at first was the shadows. I knew that somehow MDK2 felt considerably more real than other games I've played and for about the first 3 minutes I was trying to figure out what, then it hit me as Greg demoed the Doctor and went by the fireplace and I saw the shadow leap onto the couch! Wow! Shadows elongated, got larger when placed on far walls, etc. They moved proportionately faster, etc. I've seen shadows (even very well implemented ones) before, but not to this degree.

Me, a friend, and Mystikal are starting a web design business. And sorry we're not excepting anymore people. We're trying to find a server for the webpage cuz we also wanna host the webpages. Sigh, such hard work and so little time to do it.

-Sanyo CRD-256P
-Sony CDU77E
-Acer CD-624a
-MATSHITA UJDB110
-Various Pioneer DVD models
-All Yamaha CD-R's
-Pioneer DR-A01S
-Pioneer DR-A24X
-Samsung SCR-1231

VE: What was the Unreal engine like when working on it? Is it fairly easy to use?

SD: Many aspects of the Unreal engine are just light years ahead of anything else out there:

The CSG approach to BSP, in editor scripting ability, the real-time lighting, quick compiles, extensive actor level control on a case by case basis, etc. At the same time there are some aspects which could be improved.

Unreal actually seems the hardest to learn if you've already got preconceived editing notions in your brain. I began editing messing around with Doom, but really began in earnest with Quake 1 and 2, so going to a CSG engine after that was initially a difficult shift of mindset, but I can't imagine going back now. I think a lot of people who were into Quake editing initially felt the same, and had difficulty wrapping their heads around the Unreal approach to editing.

In the end, however, CSG functionality offers so much to the designer that I don't feel I could live without it when working on this type of game. At the same time, I still have a list of features that we just didn't have time to implement into UnreaEd due to WoT's schedule, which we're now addressing. I feel that all of our LDs being familiar with both Quake and Unreal editing (among other things) gives us a good perspective and we're taking some of this spin up time in Unreal 2's schedule to work many good features of other engines/editors into Unreal/UnrealEd. All in all its a great engine, and we hope to make it even better. Particularly the new exporting interfaces, combined with the RonCo Polymer Injection Molding System(tm) is where its at, baby. Once we've got life-sized versions in flame-retardant polymer resin, the real fun begins.

The server patch posted a couple of weeks ago approximately halved server CPU utilization compared to unpatched demos. Since we went gold, I`ve been working on further optimizations and have halved server CPU utilization again. We`ll release a patch with these optimizations and other enhancements shortly.

Based on my testing:

Patched demo server with 16 players takes about 60% CPU utilization on a P2-400.

The new code with 16 players is about 30% CPU utilization on a P2-400.

- Steve Polge

Visually, Odium is an outstanding game. In these days of geometry processors and insane fill rates, it doesn't seem to make much sense to use 2D backgrounds when even RTS and console RPGs are evolving to fully polygonal worlds. However, Odium makes the case that not only can 2D be just as immersive and functional as 3D, but the insane levels of detail possible only with pre-rendered rooms heightens the sense of wonder and horror. From the decrepit streets near the entrance to the bowels of a gothic museum (complete with shattered dinosaur fossils and display cases), you always have a definite sense of place and time. At times, the environment can seem a bit too cluttered, and you will probably wonder why you can only search this one box and none of the other dozens of cabinets and shelves in the background. Of course the same is often true in 3D games, where detailed textures are still more common than interactive elements. The 2D environments also allow the game to be played on a wide variety of systems, wit h a basic software renderer if you have no 3D accelerator at all.

The online modes are where WOT comes to life! Arena is deathmatch with ter’angreals instead of shotguns and missile launchers. The interaction between the offensive and defensive artifacts reaches a zenith here, with slow-moving artifacts that pursue opponents through the maps--the “Set it and forget it” of deathmatch--being countered with defensive tools that stamp return to sender on offensive artifacts. I wish Legend could have animated the expressions on people’s faces since Arena is full of hilarious and unpleasant surprises. Some of the more interesting ter’angreal are: Swap Places, which switches your position with a target and confuses any weave they might have launched; Soul Barb, which causes damage to a target whenever he or she activates an artifact; and Minion, which gives birth to AI-controlled creatures. Legend has done a superb job of balancing the ter’angreal, creating defensive shields for each of five offensive elemental weaves--earth, air, fire, water and spirit--and coming up with a winning showcase of special artifacts. Arena is a genuine mental battle between opponents but retains the same intense pace as traditional deathmatch.

Like Half-Life, Opposing Force's greatest strength is its success at consistently delivering surprises. You can sense the designers' enthusiasm as one memorable scene unfolds after another, and it compels you to keep playing. Although Opposing Force is only about one third as long as its predecessor, it's packed with original content. There isn't much filler in the game, so while you may finish it in just over ten hours or so, the experience feels much more complete and satisfying than many longer games, which tend to be padded with hours of drearily similar firefights.

Homeworld V1.04 - October 21, 1999
Changes to version 1.03

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. TUNING CHANGES
II. BUG FIXES
III. ADDED FEATURES
IV. SOUND CARD ISSUES

I. TUNING CHANGES
=================

o Defender gun stats adjusted
o Heavy Corvette build time reduced, build cost reduced
o MultiGun Corvette build time reduced
o Minelayer Corvette build time reduced, build cost reduced
o Cloaked Fighter gun stats adjusted
o Carrier build time decreased
o Carrier hyperspace cost increased
o Attack Bomber armor increased
o Missile armor decreased
o Missile tracking decreased
o Missile Destroyer mass increased

II. BUG FIXES
============

o Bounty rating capped at 250.
o Homeworld now checks all available CD-ROM drives for the Homeworld CD - the Homeworld CD can be placed in any CD-ROM drive on the system
o Cheat detection for multiplayer games.
o Screensavers will no longer activate when Homeworld is running
o Various Save Game Bugs fixed

III. ADDED FEATURES
==================

o Homeworld Dedicated Server Support
- If you create a game and are behind a firewall, you can now choose the server you use when you start the game. People can have lower latency games if they select a server that is geographically close to them. Also, people will be able to create their own Homeworld Servers with a separate program we will release soon.

New Commands added for online chatting and game control and creation. All of the commands are preceded by an ! mark, this designates the start of a command.

o Ignore
- Works only for the chatting in a room. In the chat text box use the following syntax: "!Ignore " You can use this feature to turn add and remove a person from your ignore list.

o Ban
- Works only for the Creator of a game. This is entered into the game chat text entry box, you use the following syntax: "!Ban " You can use this feature to add and remove someone from the list of people banned from your game.

o Kick
- Works only for the Creator of a game. This is entered into the game chat text entry box, you use the following syntax: "!Kick " You can use this feature to Kick someone from your game.

o Limit
- Works only for the Creator of a game. This is entered into the game chat text entry box, you use the following syntax: "!Limit " You can use this feature to limit the maximum number of Human players in your game.

o The statistics files are now being checked for inconsistencies in multiplayer games. If inconsistencies are detected, warning messages are added next to the appropriate line in the statistics files.

o The ability to view the world from any ship's point of view. Simply run Homeworld with /pilotView option (e.g. Homeworld /pilotview), and then focus on a single ship. Hit Q to toggle pilot view on and off.

IV. SOUND CARD ISSUES
=====================

Running Homeworld in Windows 9x:
o Homeworld will use the DirectSound mixer if your sound card driver reports as certified, otherwise Homeworld will use the Waveout mixer. If you have a newer sound card with new drivers, such as the Creative SoundBlaster Live or Diamond MX300, you may receive better performance by using the /dsound command line option because the drivers may not report as certified. If you have a slightly older card, such as the Creative SoundBlaster AWE32, and are having problems with sound try using the /waveout command line option to force use of the Waveout mixer. If you experience crashes that you believe are related to sound try the /waveout and then the /dsound command line options to see if one mixer is more stable than the other with your sound card and drivers.

Running Homeworld in Windows NT4:
o Homeworld will default to using the Waveout mixer, you should not use the /dsound option unless you are having crashes that you think may be related to sound.

Here are some of the changes that we have made since the demo release.

- mip mapping enabled (speed increase ..looks better)
- added high priority class for Messiah (might fix anti-virus problems)
- fixed a restart game sound bug - clear screen at startup, removes garbled graphics while waiting for load
- fixed menu fade problem
- fixed script sample buffer overwrite (crash bug)
- got rid of 32 bit resolution check
- fixed invalid sample error message
- fixed intro to menu crash bug
- Fear Factory sample added to main menu
- fixed glide palette error crash bug
- fixed TnL buffer size (GeForce only)
- scripts compile box now displayed on screen
- fixed A3D bug in their audio card detect code
- added sound menu selector, user can now optimize his sound system to his hearts content
- memory preinitialize to avoid swapping
- new installation graphic added called "the art of possession" to help people figure out possession easier
- voices for cop, domina, scientists added
- added ability to use strafe keys when hanging
- added invert y axis option
- added camera tension control (camera can now be set to catch up faster)
- added always freelook option
- 8 new hand to hand aminations added to Domina
- 8 new hand to hand animations added to Prostitutes
- 2 new hand to hand animations added to Chots
- fixed a bug with the configuration input to use the mouse wheel on some systems
- spelling error in one of the help boxes

New features included such things as 800 x 600 resolution support, 3D card implementation, 20+ new kits, new proficiencies (including dual wield and non-weapon proficiencies), a new character race (half-orc) etc., etc. (and etc.!) Tweaks were such things like a multiplayer store fix (so all people are not paused in a store when one person enters it – they can continue adventuring or enter the store independently of each other), pathfinding (character “bumping”), and reanimating characters and monsters (both new and old). There were literally hundreds of fixes, both obvious and subtle, that have been made to further improve the game experience. A few features that did not make the cut (for a variety of reasons, mostly associated with technical difficulties): horses, thieves climbing walls, and psionics.

Unreal Tournament raises the bar for first person teamplay games. The mutators, bots, teams, and sheer number of maps give the game an awesome depth and replayability. This game is stuffed with content and polished until it gleams. It's hard to find fault with the game -- some of the levels aren't quite up to the highest standard, and maybe new users might be overwhelmed by the depth of gameplay options, but overall this is a very solid product.

November 24, 1999

"What is it with the Koprulu Sector, anyhow? It seems like every week there’s another skirmish, insurgency, sortie, planned offensive, counter strike, police action, border conflict or plain old-fashioned war breaking out. While the chaos and anarchy are great for a spacefaring merchant vessel that’s willing to transport certain cargo of questionable legality, I sometimes have to stop and wonder if this madness will ever end. Of course, this is also right about the time the Captain slaps me upside the head and...

"(external entry) Bailey, stop daydreaming and get back to work!"

-Personal entry of First Mate Norris Bailey

Recovery Vessel Starheaper

Download it now! (271K)

• 256x256 Badlands


• Designed for 2-6 Players

(221k)

Something is really distressing me when I browse the server list in Ubrowser in UT.

Many server admins think that just because a map shipped with the game that it is ok for dozens of players to play at once.

Deathmatch maps like "Fractal," "Oblivion," and "Stalwart" are TINY and are meant for one on one, no more. When you run a server with a 32 player limit and add these maps to your cycle list you're just ruining the play experience for those who are trying to find a good local server.

CTF maps like "Niven" are meant for 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 CTF, nothing more. They're not even in the default map list, this is for a REASON!

So, please, don't cycle these maps unless you're keeping your max players very low.

Your role is to select a computer system and a set of basic programs to start the game. Once on the NET, you will need to explore and find information that you can sell on the black market so that you may increase the power of your computer or acquire more advanced software. You can have more than one goal to achieve to win the game and none will be set for you, except survival. If you choose, you may select a specific mission from our collection. Via NET play, you will be able to form alliances with other hackers or rogues on the NET or attack them if you wish. But beware,there are ghosts in the system. Some say that the military lost control over some artificial intelligence programs years ago and those personalities are roaming the NET freely. Some may be helpful while others will fry your brain. Use your masking and chameleon skills to blend in and defend yourself. When you are ready, you can attack with stealth or with brute force. Only your intelligence and cunning will protect you here.

There is also included a few screenshots of the game. The other demo is for Verge, coming from VTEAM. Now much is know on this game, but the demo weighs in at 12.3 megs. Here's the clip:

You want to shoot? Fly? Shoot again? Use hyper destructive weapons? - And all this with maximum speed and visual effects?
Verge is going to be that - new game from VTEAM - a fast shooter with marvelous 3D graphic and sound - all that you want to detonate your mind!

GameSpot: Why did you decide to use the two-year-old Infinity engine for Baldur's Gate II?

Ray Muzyka: We've been working on the BioWare Infinity engine for the past several years - we started work on it back in 1996. We began work on improvements to the engine eleven months ago, when we began work on Baldur's Gate II. In many ways we're now working with a new engine - there have been a lot of major improvements to the Infinity engine since that time.

In practice, this means the player takes on the role of a rather chubby, nappy-clad cherub in a Blade Runner dystopian future world. Being a cherub, of course, he has a couple of small wings attached to his back - meaning although he can't actually fly, he is able to flutter about to reach difficult-to-access areas. But the key weapon at Bob's disposal is his ability to invade the bodies of those around him. He can then use their skills, abilities and weapons for his own ends - or just use their body as armour to protect him against hazards.

Graphically, Unreal Tournament is amazing... just about everything looks polished. The levels are light years better-looking than Unreal's. The weapons look better, the models are roughly 400% more detailed than Unreal's, and with enhanced Direct3D support, you don't need to have a card that supports Glide in order to play. I won't kid you, if you don't have a 3dfx card, you'll need a beast of a machine with at least 96 megs of RAM and a next-generation video card like the TNT2 in order to enjoy the graphics to their fullest. To speed up performance, you might want to use the medium detail settings and kill the HUD (heads up display) as it really kills the frame rate in D3D mode. As with all games, make sure you don't have any programs running in the background or have a high color desktop background, as that will eat up your system resources. Using a little common sense, and by tweaking the level of detail in your graphics, you can make a world of difference... even on high-end machines.

This feature asks developers the question, "what kind of game would you
create if you had no monetary, technical, or hardware limitations what
so ever?"

With no technology restrictions it would not run on today's machines,
but would work through a neural interface, directly feeding data into
the brain's visual cortex and limbic system.

Check out the latest issue of the Developer's Dream to find out who said
that.
This issue also features dreams from Greg MacMartin, Amen Lead Designer,
Erik Robson, CoMM Lead Designer, and more!

November 23, 1999 - Santa Monica, Calif. - Activision today announced that Quake III Arena has gone gold. Developed by id Software, Quake III Arena is the third installment of one of the most popular computer game franchises of all time and is designed to be the final word in online multiplayer mayhem. The title, which was sent into manufacturing today, is expected to hit retail shelves on Dec. 12, 1999 at a suggested price of $49.99.

I’m working on updating the full demo today. We’ll bash on it a bit and get it out there over the next few days. Once it’s out there I’ll be updating the cdkey authorize server to the final version. Unfortunately this is not compatible with the demo test, so you’ll need to upgrade to either the full version of Q3A (woo hoo!) or download the new demo.

Its a sad fact, but the modern day action game hero seems to have died a silent death. For the last few years, we have been exposed to many futuristic action games, such as Half-Life and the Quake series, or the super-realistic environments of Rainbow 6. But what about the modern cop? Has he got a look in at all recently without being given at least one futuristic weapon? It seems not, but those movie-freaks at Remedy Entertainment are set to change all that with their latest game in development, Max Payne!

Source: GibWorld

Gamesurge: Ok, did you work on any other major games or anything of the sort before you joined Epic for Unreal?

-Ability to run games over multiple subnets fixed.
-Animation fixed for using alt-fire with the pipe wrench in multiplayer.
-Animation fixed for holding the Displacer in multiplayer.
-AutoUpdate support added for Opposing Force to Sierra Utilities.

In the Unreal Universe interview I said that Epic was not going to be pursuing more Unreal patches. I talked to Tim and he said that he was going to release one more Direct3D update with the latest changes/fixes and that would be it.

We were promised mind-blowing 3D graphics (with or without the use of an accelerator card), complex gameplay, and what seemed like outrageously provocative content. You play a little cherub - it looks like a toddler - and you can possess anyone's body, and then make them do anything you like! You can make them leap out of windows! You can shoot them in the legs and then possess them and force them to walk with broken shins! It's got prostitutes in it! Etcetera!

How many different missions are in AIWars? How big is a level and what type of environments will they cover?

The game is not really mission based. In the first phase, the player will need to get a special piece of software from the Priestess of the Church of the Third Coming in order to get to the next series of systems because a high level Black ICE controls access to the gateway and cannot be vanquished without it. But after that, the player needs to explore the world to find what he or she needs to achieve the goals chosen at the beginning of the game.

Levels (or systems) are fairly big and multi-tiered. Most of our levels require that the player moves not only in a 2D sense (walking in corridors and through doors) but also in 3D through vertical transportation shafts. The biggest level contains about ten full rooms connected through various corridors and vertical shafts, but since the levels are all inter-linked via routers, the complete environment is rather large (just like the real Internet is). A player can jump from one system to another via those routers. We also have a really interesting level which is a labyrinth with dynamically moveable walls (ouch! Just try to get out of there without a paper and pen !!!). You push here and the whole wall moves and creates a new corridor, etc. etc. etc.

Slave Zero attempts to enhance the illusion of your Slave's size by populating the city with tiny people and cars, but these additions don't help the illusion much. The vehicles look and move like small crates on a conveyor belt. The humans look somewhat better than the cars, but move just as stiffly and don't react to your gargantuan, flame-spraying presence in any satisfying way. You can pick up pedestrians and automobiles and throw them, but there's absolutely no reason to do this other than for a few short-lived sadistic thrills. Your Slave can't harm most of the city's buildings, though some smaller structures can be destroyed, resulting in an odd and unsatisfying collapse, during which the building emits a weak burst of flame then folds up like a cardboard box.

We all know that deathmatch and capture the flag are very popular online modes of play, do you think that UT's assault and domination will be able to compete against these classics?

I don't think they will beat CTF in popularity, but I think that they will compete. Domination is very fast paced and suited more to skilled players than CTF. In CTF you can be a poor player, but do relatively well in a defensive position. Assault is fun, but is probably most fun in a LAN party situation where you can yell and coordinate your teammates. Its hard for a disorganized team to capture the enemy base. I think they will gain popularity with time, as both gametypes require some skill to play well.

Gameplay, for the most part, is fluid and packed with thrills. Though, the game is a little short for my tastes -- about 15 levels, with each level split into two or three sub-sections. The level design is strikingly unimaginative, and a majority of the levels had the exact same look and feel. Much of the game has the look of a bad Godzilla movie set, everything looks small although you appear normal sized. Even the cars and trucks driving on the ground that you can pick up, throw, or squash -- touted as a major selling point for Slave Zero -- are actually pretty lame and look like moving cardboard boxes. In essence, don’t buy Slave Zero because you like giant robot games; buy it because you like good action games. There’s this undeniable magnetic draw to this game, and I found myself having a blast playing it, mostly because the control and agility are superb. With a bit of practice you can get the robot thundering around corners and flying off ledges straight out of a scene in an anime film.

Here's a run down of the results:

1v1 Tournament
Atlas\"/ defeats SSamjang
psyduck defeats CrazyJim~LiZarD
Stratus defeats [9]Thor
Multifaith defeats [9]Kain
Pillars defeats Xcorpion[ROKA]
Tiranosaurus defeats [5th]Fire
Crexis defeats H.O.T486~[Free]

2v2 Tournament
The SG Clan defeats LK & Gad
Happy Sexy Apes defeat =[Another Biologogical Screwup]=
RaPE defeats CoP
The IN Clan 2 defeats S.W.A.T
Gi defeats The Soda Clan
The Gauls defeat Cow & Danthar
Defcon[1] defeats Anceint Ruins
Team ER defeats The Imports

Good Luck to Baby and Zaehn of Defcon[1] (the clan I'm in) in the remainder of the tourney. I got faith in you guys. Knock some heads and bring it all home to D1! :)
Source: Starcraft.org

Responding to a rumor flying around regarding the gold status of Quake III: Arena, we contacted Activision. According to Activision, the game's publisher, when the game is gold, they will issue a formal press release - which they haven't done as of yet. This does not mean that id hasn't signed off on the game, it simply means that the publisher hasn't, and that the game won't be appearing on store shelves until they do.

Gamesurge: Can you tell us anything about Unreal 2, if it's planned?

Check out the WGL main page at http://wgl.gamegurus.net.

Raptor Chat 99 is an advanced Battle.Net chat client and BOT. It is fully loaded with many new features for you to enjoy, including advanced configuration options allowing you to customize it to suit your needs. Many great features include a built in web browser used for viewing News, Product Information, Frequently Asked Questions and much more to come, although if you just want to surf around with it, then go ahead.

The bot is LOADED with features, check out the complete details here. Raptor Chat 99 can also be d/loaded directly here.

Wondering about dual Coppermine 733 performance in Quake 3? How does 180fps at 512x384 with an SDR GeForce sound?

Titanium Angels is a 3D action and adventure game in which people control Carmen, a tough futuristic bounty hunter, and her intelligent assault vehicle, Titan. Together, they are drawn into the grim alternate world of the Kai'Tin, an alien race intent on annihilating Earth. Set in an alternate future, Titanium Angels charts the story of three alien races that become intertwined in a fight for survival. Carmen is one of a breed called The Kindred. Any job too sensitive or dangerous for conventional law officers is offered as a bounty to these individuals--who have no understanding of the words "fear" and "danger."

Calls to numerous retailers have confirmed that shipments of Unreal Tournament are expected later today or tomorrow. Most are claiming the game will not be on shelves until Tuesday, though some copies of the much-anticiapted 3D action game could start appearing on shelves later today. In other words, call first before blazing to the store with cash in hand.

Voodoo Extreme: Does OpFor add anything to the multiplayer aspect?

Randy Pitchford: We've got a ton of new All-Star levels from industry professionals including Tom "Paradox" Mustaine, Richard "Zdim" Carlson, Eric Reuter, David "Kevlar" Kelvin and, of course, The Levelord. Additionally, we've added ten new multiplayer models from OpFor like the drill sergeant, the cleansuit scientist and Otis, the new security guard. All of the original Half-Life weapons are back in OpFor multiplay, but added to that are 9 new OpFor weapons that have been placed to compliment the original favorites. We've been very careful to only use the new weapons to enhance the multiplayer experience instead of upstaging the fun of the original.

We're Gold!

I love you sweetpeach. :)

This is the deathmatch of the century, and Maximum3D is bringing it to you! This is not your average run of the mill comparison, it's all out war! I've devised 8 categories with 25 sub-items total. Using a point system with 100 points possible, I'm working like a russian sled dog puttin' these bad boys through the grinder!

What Unreal engined game are you most looking forward to and why?

I'm most looking forward to playing The Wheel of Time ! We got it here at the office as soon as it came out, of course - I just haven't had time to install it on my PC and play it yet.

TP: How closely modeled are some levels after their real-life counterparts?

JL: Some of the levels are pretty reminiscent of a real location (such as the LAX control tower), but we mostly just wanted the environments to feel like the real thing. The are some serious technical limitations that come in to play, so we decided to use the real locations as more of a reference than a blueprint. Besides the technical reasons, there are design and gameplay considerations. Some aspects of real locations are neither fun, cool looking or tactically interesting. For these reasons, we tried to create the ambience of the environment and boil it down to the essentials. We visited a lot of these locations in person and shot many photographs in order to create the proper look.

This is what it looks like once the doors are open and the new opponents are revealed for the first time. Keep in mind that although the characters are beefed up with more polygons they have the same textures that are in the game. Models by Paul Steed, Skins by Kenneth Scott.

Now that Unreal Tournament has been finished up and will be shipping to stores on Monday, what will you be doing to occupy your time?

I come in and stare blankly at my Windows desktop. No really, there's still *PLENTY* to do. Right now I'm making the menus work with Japanese text, and yesterday we were making changes for the German version. We'll probably find a handfull of minor issues with the release version of the game, and we will want to get those fixed as soon as possible. We're also in the process of designing the game we're making next. The inital game design process has involved the input of everyone on the team, and artists will often just walk into the programmers' office and we'll discuss the merits of a certain gameplay idea. Stuff like that really encourages you to hang out at the offices.

It seems that everyone who has tried the Messiah demo has experienced what appears to be a "crash" when they first load it up. The display is black with some white lines and there is no visible indication that the game is doing anything. However, if one waits long enough, the game GUI will appear. Apparently it needs to compile scripts of some sort when run for the first time. The amount of time is far shorter on consecutive runs. Just thought this would be a good thing to post since nearly everyone is reporting the same "problem".

(From VE)After you hear the "ding" (just after loading the Glide version), press enter...wait for like, 3 minutes or so...it will eventually load. I'm not sure what the hell is up, but it would appear that a TON are having this problem.

(And this one)Although the read me only claims to need DirectX, Messiah apparently actually needs DirectX 7. A symptom of this is: With a TNT2, firing up the D3D version of Messiah will result in an error dialog that says:

MessiahD3D is linked to a missing export DDRAW.Dll:DirectDrawCreateEx

What this means is: install DirectX 7.

I have heard arguments from people who got their SLI setup when it first came out for $600. They ask why this is any different. For one, then, that was the only option for high framerates. Second, since then, prices for computer components have gone down, not up. No one expects to have to put down that much money the next time they upgrade their video card.

Our first impression comes in at Quake 3 Arena Test Demo. We gave it an outstanding impression. Check it out right here.

With UT near completion, Tim has stated he's going to get to work on next generation technology, what features, as a level designer/modeler/texture artist would you like to see in any next generation 3d engine? Textures acting as light sources? "Drawing" brush creation? (which, ironically is part of Dedit, an otherwise none too user-friendly editor), the ability to create, expansive, expansive environments? (dwarfing the things seen in Unreal and Tribes)

Textures acting as light sources- yes, this could be handy in certain situations.
Drawing brush creation- of course, like 3dMax etc.
The ability to create expansive environments- Hell yea, you know Tim Sweeny, he programmed the Unreal Engine 3to4 years ago, wait and see what he comes up with now!
I'd also like to see realistic environmental stuff like ground fog that disperses when you run through it, or shoot a rocket into the ground.
Real materials, with bump mapping, specular mapping, alpha channel etc.
Real good real-time shadows.
Extremely high poly counts, ;)

I could go on for days.

Slave Zero gives players control of a 60-foot biomechanical war machine 500 years in the future in a battle against rival forces throughout the vast metropolis, S1-9. The city is ruled by the SovKahn, an evil dictator who possesses dark matter, a mysterious energy source that is used to control the populace. Slave Zero is played from the third person perspective with an "emphasis on scale and interactivity."

The first hurdle Spec Ops 2 presents is not an in-game challenge, but an interface one, and that is not a good sign. Spec Ops 2 has quite a few keys, but they are not organized very well at all. Here's an example: To cycle the scopes on your gun, you press F9. This toggles between sniper scope, and infrared sniper scope. But to return to your normal view mode, you don't tap F9 a third time, but you then hit F6 for first-person mode. If you want Nightvision, you hit F8. It seems to me that you could eliminate a few keys by combining some of the functions. In the default configuration, there are two different keys to toggle kneel/stand and kneel/prone. Why not one key to toggle between the three states?

A great deal has been written about the game's elegant technology, and the title does offer an impressive weave of rich graphics, atmospheric lighting and shadows, and hair-raising special effects. These are combined with some of the eeriest sounds I have ever heard to create an experience that transforms immersion. This title demands to be engaged late at night with all the lights out, not just because it is more frightening, but because this closes off all peripheral distractions to achieve maximum effect. It has been ages since a computer game has manifested itself in a heightened pulse and a frosty crop of chill bumps, but there are moments that will do just that. Yet there is more than cutting edge programming at the heart of this title; the designers have laid an intriguing fictional universe as the foundation for these events.

Since the beginning of time, good has always fought evil. Up until now, good has prevailed. But as the new millenium approaches, it seems that the tide may be turning. The thought is on everyone's lips: maybe Nostradamus was right.

The year is 1999, just at the turn of the millenium. Turmoil, war, and famine rule. In the major cities of the world, chaos is rampant. Crooks, thieves, terrorists, and violent cults lurk around every corner. It is up to you to enter into the tattered remains of America's cities and try to bring order.

You can enter the world as one of two characters. D'arci is a cop trying to prove her mettle. Roper is a vigilante dedicated to thwarting the efforts of a religious cult. Either one could be the hero the city is waiting for.

But time is running out. Only by exploring the gritty city streets of America and beating the forces of chaos at their own game can you bring hope to a world at the edge of a new millenium.

Updates Nerf Arena Blast to version 1.1. The patch includes new team game improvements, fixes for international version problems, new advanced options for setting up team game servers, and more. Check out "more info" for a full list.

Well the testers have given the team their approval that the game is OK once 4 final bugs are fixed. (None a big deal)

Then it's over to me. For the final OK. I am itching to play.

So we called Gigex and Gamespot, they both agreed to stay late tonight to get the demo.We promised the 19th. It's still the 19th!

We will deliver the file to GIGEX by 11PM Pacific Standard Time. Gamespot.com estimates that they will have the link live by 12:30AM.

Tonight is Messiah night!

Porting Unreal I maps to Unreal Tournament
Unreal I content is automatically replaced by Unreal Tournament content if you run an Unreal I DM map with one of the Unreal Tournament gametypes. However, we recommend that you manually replace the Unreal I inventory items in your level with their UT equivalents and release an updated version of the map. Otherwise, both the Unreal I and UT versions will be loaded on the content, which will cause swapping on clients with low amounts of memory.

- Steve Polge

-Personal entry of Engineer’s Mate Aaren Ruth, Renegade Battlecruiser Hyperion

Sencer has made the CS themesong, called Enemy Down. It's extrtemely cool, I definitely recommened downloading it. Download it in MP3 format here.

Also, Jon Mossie, who is making a full-length CS movie, has put up a trailer for the movie. Stream it from here, or download it from here.

Finally, the server side patch (v. 4.1) is getting the bugs worked out of it and is undergoing testing.

There's also alot of reviews of Cstrike, go directly to Counterstrike.net to take a gander at them.

At first glance, Baldur's Gate II will not look like much. The game still uses the Baldur's Gate engine, and the interface appears largely unchanged. However, the changes in Baldur's Gate II are not skin deep; they cut to the very heart of gameplay and are what will make this game better than its predecessor.

However, Nocturne's visual quality has its price. The game runs poorly or not at all on machines that don't have over a hundred megs of RAM, and only the fastest home computers in existence will let the game run smoothly. In addition, Nocturne is compatible with only a few select 3D graphics accelerators, including the TNT2 chipset but excluding Voodoo, which means Nocturne doesn't exactly scream mainstream appeal. And even if you're part of the elite that can run the game just right, you'll find that Nocturne might have looked much better in spite of its attention to detail, which you'll find was focused exclusively on particular elements of Nocturne's presentation. The realistic shadows and the Stranger's billowing trench coat may look great, but other elements of the game's appearance are plainly lacking; for instance, none of the characters' faces are animated. There's a lot of dialogue in Nocturne, but the characters just stand there like poker-faced ventriloquists the whole time. Besides, none of these characters is well animated in the first place; each moves in the same jerky computer-game-character manner you've seen countless times before, which betrays Nocturne's realism as mere facade. It's also difficult to tell when the Stranger's enemies are actually hitting him and just as difficult to tell whether his bullets are hitting home or missing their mark. And even though most of the scenery in Nocturne looks real, some of it looks either too flat or too clean and simple by comparison.

VE: Now that you guys are basically done with UT, is there anything that didn't get added that you would have liked to be added? Now that id has released a new Quake3test demo, any thoughts on what maybe you should have done?

CB: A real Rocket Arena 2 style game out of the box would have rocked for UT. We've got something that's the start of that in Last Man Standing, but to be true to RA2 it'd need a bit more work. Hopefully someone in the MOD community will do it because RA type games are a blast at LAN parties.

I really like the "award" system that they've put into the recent Q3 demo. That's cool stuff.

Is warez ethical? In almost all cases, I can see no moral reason not to distribute and download warez. Warez is ethical for the reason outlined above pertaining to Oldwarez. You have to look at "who is the victim of this terrible crime?" The answer is... no one. There is, in truth, no cost in developing software that is not recovered in the first few months. Once the software is written, there is no further cost to the developer.

Setting the story line on the back burner, we can move along to the part of expansion packs that makes everyone who gets them absolutely giddy--new goodies. New World Computing has packed their latest adventure with both the usual expected bonuses and some generally helpful enhancements. In the former category, players will be greeted with 6 new campaigns, around 35 new single missions, 7 new "veteran Heroes", and 12 new creatures to recruit into their armies. The game also boasts a new town type, called a Conflux, 2 heroes classes to go along with it, and 10 shiny, fresh multiplayer maps. These additions, though certainly worth checking out, aren't exactly heart-stoppers on the surprise scale. But hey, it wouldn't really be an expansion if it didn't include these now would it?

/*more posts after soup :)

Apparently the constant rain in Redmond has driven Bill Gate's engineers to obsessive flights of fancy. Below you'll find instructions on how to access a little flight simulator that was inexplicably hidden by precipitation-maddened programmers deep inside Excel 97.

1. Open Excel 97

2. Open a blank worksheet

3. Press F5

4. Type X97:L97 in the "Reference" box

5. Click OK

6. Hit your tab key once (you should end up in cell M97)

7. Hold down CTRL + SHIFT and click once on the chart wizard icon (the one at the top with the blue-yellow-red bar chart)

Welcome aboard!! After a few moments you should be flying. Steer with the mouse, accelerate and decelerate with the left and right mouse buttons respectively and look for the monoliths with the programmer credits. Close with the ESC key, if you want to reenter the game (which feels highly disoreantating) you'll need to restart the program.

On the subject of Microsoft, here is the IE Easter Egg, which users of IE5 can try out:

I just got off the phone with Epic's Mark Rein who informed me that Unreal Tournament is gold, and in fact will be in stores in the US by this Friday, fast enough to make your head spin. He's not sure about availability in Europe, but speculates in may be the Friday that follows. Look for an official announcement from GT later today or tomorrow, but this is a confirmed story, straight from the horse's mouth.

This is the latest release of Quake 3 Arena. It's a test build of the demo made to resolve any issues we have before going gold with the full product and the distributable demo release. You may not redistribute this test. Please send feedback to q3feedback@idsoftware.com. The game requires you to be able to work out the address "authorize.quake3arena.com" (use ping from the command line to see if it works). If you cannot resolve this address you cannot play the game online.

[John]: What were some of your inspirations for this game?
[Todd]: That's a tough one to answer because for many of us this game has been germinating for years. It really is the apex of each of our careers and some of the guys here have been tops in their field for a long time. It is safe to say that the inspirations range all the way from the Simpsons, to the X-Files, to theoretical Nano-technology, to Sherlock Holmes, H.P. Lovecraft's "Mountains of Madness" (just look at the end of our intro) and many others. I think you might get widely varying answers from each member of the team, but despite the multitude of inspirations, the vision has been surprisingly consistent throughout these last two years of development.

"Who designed this [censored] place? What [censored] "engineer" crawled out from his [censored] hole to inflict this [censored] [censored] upon my people? A [censored] platform split into two [censored] halves?
[CENSORED]!
Why are there no [censored] bridges on this [censored] platform? Are we just supposed to [censored] leap off one [censored] half to the other? And to top it all off, those [censored] don’t even provide enough Vespene [censored] gas for operations! [censored] this place! It’s just one big [censored] [censored] [censored] [censored]!"
-Edited comments of Colonel Riley "[censored]" Bullhorn
Commander of Terran Orbital Platform G11-F3

RAINBOW is back with another campaign to save the world. This time, terrorists are attempting to build nuclear bombs. You must stop them. The Prima Fast Track GuideTM to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear gives you the basic strategies you need to get through each of the 18 campaign missions. However, for more in-depth strategies and tactics for each of the teams as well as detailed maps, check out Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear--Prima's Official Strategy Guide. It also includes great multiplayer hints and tips as well as chapters on the operatives, the weapons, and general strategy and tactics to help you become a proficient counter-terrorist and hostage rescue operative.

The RAVE version (supporting ATI 3D accelerators) of the Unreal Tournament demo is still being finished, we hope to have it ready to release in a week or so. The main reason we have taken longer than anticipated to get this version of the demo out is that we've been working with ATI and Apple to try to resolve the Z clipping errors that have plagued the RAVE version of of Unreal (and UT) for quite a while. We want the RAVE version of UT to look as solid and impressive has the 3Dfx demo when we release it.

While the current plans are to release a RAVE version of the UT demo to support ATI accelerators, this does not mean we are completely scrapping the idea of supporting OpenGL in a future demo or the full shipping version of UT. There are several issues (performance, memory usage, etc) with OpenGL we are working with Apple to resolve, so we can produce a version of UT that is fast, stable, and works on a wide range of 3D cards.

The full version of Unreal Tournament Mac is still on track to ship 3-4 weeks after the PC (which has not shipped yet).

That's right folks, the time you've all been waiting for! RTS Domain has posted the latest update for the News Wire radio show, join our hosts Aaron and Jesse for a preview of the new German game coming out soon: Earth 2150. Although very little hype surrounds this game, it looks to challenge many of the new 3D RTS games already out, or coming out soon. Games like Warcraft 3 and Homeworld. We also have our usual Industry News section, and a ton of great humor. Tune in every week for the time of your life!

http://www.rtsdomain.net/newswire

They need:

-News Updaters: Post Game Editing related news on GES
-Tutorial Writers: Write up tutorials for editing games you specialize in
-Forum Responder: Respond to various questions on our forum about problems
with a certain game.

To apply for any of these, e-mail Dragonwings@scmillennium.com.

The plot of Omikron is intricate and deep. Much of the joy of Omikron comes from uncovering what is actually going on. The basic premise is that your soul (yes you, the video gamer) has been transferred into the body of Kay'l, a police officer in a parallel universe. Your mission is to save the planet from a terrible demon threat. It's a decent plot, but frankly, it's cheesier than Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (the cheesiest!). As plot points, which we won't reveal, get uncovered in the game, you have to fight to keep your suspension of disbelief. It just gets incredibly hokey. Omikron has an entertaining and deep plot but it gets really lame at points. But if you can struggle through the bad parts, it's all quite intriguing and rewarding. Omikron walks a fine line between disgusting you and enthralling you. If you can watch The Blair Witch Project without batting an eye, you can play Omikron just fine.

Nocturne Movie 1

Nocturne Movie 2

Nocturne Movie 3

Nocturne Movie 4

Monolith has always worked a little outside the parameters of gaming design, and with its upcoming creation, Sanity, gamers will once more get a taste of something original. The game, a hybrid of action, adventure, and RPG, boasts a rather unconventional storyline: Humans discover ways to enhance portions of their unused brains through the use of experimental drugs. And as with any experimental drug, there are side effects. Users of the drugs gain special abilities to manipulate ethereal energy but also suffer from insane rages where they'll destroy just about anything.

Bridenbecker: Will there be a world-wide release?

BRoper: We are planning to have Diablo II ship worldwide and be up and running on continent specific Realms from the first day of shipping. We want to make sure that everyone gets the best experience possible from the very beginning.

A new question has arisen regarding Delta Force 2 and the 3D hardware it supports via Direct3D: If DF2 requires a 3D card with 32-bit color (and hence a 32-bit Z-buffer), why does it work with cards based on Nvidia's TNT chipset, which only has 24-bit color and a 24-bit Z-buffer?

It's a good question, but the answer's pretty simple. Delta Force 2 doesn't communicate directly with a 3D accelerator card's hardware; it communicates with the card via Direct3D. So the game is only concerned with the card's feature set as supported by Direct3D. Since Direct3D reports that the TNT has a 32-bit Z-buffer, the card meets the requirements for Delta Force 2, so the game will make it possible to select the hardware mode for this card.

An interview with Wes Eckhart has been posted by Novacentral
It has some old news but also some new information, and also explains what your suppost to do in Search and Destroy and ofcourse in the Attack and Defend missions. You can read the complete interview here

The review on DF2 is from, surprise again, Speedy 3d (They're on a roll). Here's part of what they had to say about it:

"As the hills roll back you hurl yourself to the ground with the force of a cheater pouncing on its next victim. As your eyes raise above the level of the long grass you spy two guards walking close by you. As they pass by swaying their guns brushing against the grass tips you swiftly change to your knife and sneak up behind them while remaining covered by the grass. They stop ahead next to a tree giving you just the cover and vantage you need to sneak right up behind them. Suddenly and without a thought your behind them and gliding your blade through their sponge like bodies. In the world of DeltaForce2 it's just another day on the job."

There is a review of Ratbags' Dirt Track Racing. They score this excellent sim a healthy 86%. They also had some good words on the Graphics:

The graphics in the game are outstanding. There is so much detail and realism in the game, it is really nearly jaw-dropping. The track itself looks nearly identical to real life, with trackside objects, fans, powerlines, and the scenery outside of the track all meticulously detailed and all in full beautiful 3D. Even the actual dirt on the tracks looks amazing, with different textures easily recognizable. As the dirt nears the wall, it will even begin to pile up and will look/act different, all adding to the realism.

The second review is on Infogrames' Demolition Racer. This is one of the best reviews I have seen for the game, very detailed. However the review is rather critical of the game, saying:

With no multiplayer, few modes, weak tracks, and few cars (and those modes, cars, and tracks that are good are locked to start the game), Demolition Racer likely won't be on your hard drive for too awfully long. It is not because the game is bad, not by any means, but more because of the fact that crashing into several other computer cars does get boring after awhile, and you have no opportunity to test your skills against anyone else, which is a real shame in today's day and age.

Here is the list of the songs, thanks to Homeworld Fleet Command

Level Themes (01 - 12)
Battle Themes (13 - 16)
Scripted Events (18 - 29)
Cutscenes (32 - 48)
Misc (17, 29 - 31)

Level Themes
01 Outskirts, Return & Menu
02 Great Wastelands
03 Diamond Shoals & Galactic Core
04 Garden Of Kadesh
05 Sea Of Lost Souls
06 Super Nova Station
07 Tenhauser Gate & Chapel Perilous
08 The Karos Graveyard
09 Bridge Of Sighs & Hiigara
10 Training Mission
11 Kharak System
12 Return To Kharak

Battle Themes
13 ?? (Battle theme)
14 ?? (Battle theme)
15 Battle Garden Of Kadesh
16 Battle (Taiidans Or Kushans)

Scripted Events
18 MS Launch - Kushan (Script)
19 MS Launch - Taiidan (Script)
20 Outskirts Of Kharak System (Script)
21 Outskirts Of Kharak System (Script)
22 Return To Kharak (Script)
23 Garden Of Kadesh (Script)
24 Super Nova Station (Script)
25 Tenhauser Gate (Script)
26 Galactic Core (Script)
27 Chapel Perilous (Script)
28 Bridge Of Sighs (Script)

Misc
17 ?? (misc)
29 Credits & Yes Theme (Misc)
30 Sierra Intro (Misc)
31 Relic Intro (Misc)

Cutscenes
32 Kharak System
33 Outskirts Of Kharak System
34 Return To Kharak
35 Great Wastelands
36 Great Wastelands II
37 Diamond Shoals
38 Gardens Of Kadesh
39 The Cithedal Of Kadesh
40 Sea Of Lost Souls
41 Super Nova Station
42 Tenhauser Gate
43 Galactic Core
44 The Karos Graveyard
45 The Bridge Of Souls
46 Chapel Perilous
47 Hiigara
48 Outro

Slave Zero is a blend of fast action gaming that features anime- styled, highly maneuverable giant robots. Players control a 60 foot combat robot called a Slave. In contrast to traditional giant robots, the Slave is highly maneuverable and can dodge and weave like a human. And since combat with other armed robots is the primary focus of the game, it is fitting that the development team has made Slave Zero in the third-person perspective.

On a side note, if you ever meet Lockeye (James Daily) in real life please give him a good kick in the nuts for me. I was absolutely appalled by some of the teams that made it into the tourney, especially some that my partner and I have consistently beat. Oh well, I guess it all comes with the territory. I'm an unknown player, and unknown players don't get into invitational tourneys. :( Now maybe if I just added an X'ds~ or a {PH} to my name.... :)

TrickStyle's graphics are definitely fancy. Above all, it's a great-looking game. The designers at Criterion Studios have wisely chosen to abandon the dark, dystopian look popularized by Blade Runner and regurgitated in virtually every depiction of the future since. Instead, they've created a world of bright colors, clean lines, and giant, recognizable structures. TrickStyle is composed of 15 races plus three boss contests across three urban settings - London, Manhattan, and Tokyo. Each track is exquisitely detailed and packed with colorful lighting, impressive architecture, amazing sky effects, and moving obstacles such as hurtling trains and rocket cars. The city areas are accessed through a central hub, a stadium called the Velodrome. Here, you can freely practice the tricks you know and unlock new moves by accepting and winning a sequential series of 16 races and stunt challenges presented to you by the Guide, TrickStyle's narrator and your coach.

That’s where you come in. You begin the game as Maya, a junker from shell two who scavenges trash deposited by those on the shells above you. The inhabited shells of Septerra Core are based on status, with the lower class citizens living on the lower shells closer to the radiating core. The highest class, the Chosen (of which Doskias is a member), live on the outermost layer and care little for those below them. As Doskias tears through the second shell, Maya gets wind of his plan and vows to stop the Chosen at all costs, since the last time they appeared on junker soil meant the destruction of her hometown and the death of her parents.

Now, after some additional development time, the PC version is ready. It's simply a slightly polished copy of the console version, which is a bit of a disappointment--at least to those who've already played it. Trickstyle was a good game for the DC that never fully realized its potential, and now it's a good game for the PC… that never fully realizes its potential. Despite the added processing muscle and capabilities of a computer, little was done to enhance the gameplay or even fix the problems of its counterpart (there isn't even any Internet multiplayer, which by far is the most noticeable omission). Still, if you're looking for an exciting arcade racer, or you really want to try out some new tricks, a few hours with Trickstyle should satisfy your cravings quite nicely.

VE: It seems 1999 has been a good year for G.O.D. How much better will 2000 be (Talk about a loaded question :)?

MW: 2000... wow... we've got a lot to get forward to. For me personally, it's getting back to my 'roots'. We've got a lineup of 3d action games second to none. KISS Psycho Circus, Heavy Metal: FAKK 2, RUNE, Max Payne... and then the Blair Witch games. And that's just on the action side.

Half-Life: Opposing Force is the official game expansion for Half-Life, the thrilling PC CD-ROM named "Game of the Year" by over 50 publications. In Opposing Force, players return to the Black Mesa Research Facility to experience an entirely new episode of single player action. In addition, Op For also contains a massive collection of new multiplayer content.

Remember the soldiers who gave you so much trouble in Half-Life? Now you are one of them--and life is not so easy as part of the Opposing Force.

As a soldier sent in to eliminate Gordon Freeman, you are separated from your base unit and discover a new alien race amidst the chaos. It's quickly revealed that these highly advanced alien life forms descended upon Earth to pillage the planet from the Black Mesa facility when Gordon Freeman transported to the border world of Xen.

In addition to the extensive new single player experience, Opposing Force will also contain a robust collection of fresh multiplayer content, including new weapons, player characters (models), and several new multiplayer maps designed by the experts at Gearbox Software. Opposing Force will also feature new levels created by all-star legends of the Dallas gaming community.

"The game is now slated for a worldwide release in early 2000. We plan to start beta testing before the year's end with a limited beta test of 1,000 players. We then will conduct an open beta program to stress test our new Battle.net servers. We will keep you updated on the game's progress once the beta test gets underway."

Our source tells us that the announcement will be released this Friday and will also confirm the ousting of both Todd Porter and Jerry O'Flaherty. Eidos will indeed be taking a 51-percent share of the company, and Eidos' John Cavanaugh will be moving in to run the company. And the remaining founding members of Ion Storm - John Romero, Tom Hall, and Warren Spector - will remain as employees of Eidos. Last week, Ion staff was informed of the upcoming announcement. The information we received indicates that Porter and O'Flaherty will be the only employees to be let go.

Every game starts with creating a new, single Sim and deciding his or her sex, skin, and basic appearance before dividing points among basic character qualities: neatness, outgoingness, activity level, playfulness, and niceness. After that you dive right into the building portion of the game. Since you start with a set amount of money, you can either immediately purchase a model home or create your own. Designing your own home is a remarkably intuitive process, using a simple click-and-drag interface to plop down floors, walls, windows, doors, and anything else you feel your home needs. You will have to resist the temptation to blow all your money on the biggest house you can afford right off the bat, since you'll have to furnish it as well; forget to set aside enough money for a toilet and shower, and life will get very Appalachian very fast.

Welcome,

Black Isle Studios and BioWare Corp are proud to announce the development of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. We have been working on this title under wraps for some time now. As you can probably imagine, we are very pleased to be able to show you the next installment in the Baldur's Gate saga.

We have been working closely with Wizards of the Coast and TSR to ensure that this second installment in the Baldur's Gate series is as rich in Forgotten Realms lore and history as possible. Our writers and designers have created a story with far more depth and intrigue than was previously seen in Baldur's Gate. The intricacies of the quests and the complexity of the game world has been increased dramatically from the original, creating a gaming richness that will win over the seasoned adventurer as well as the newcomer to the series.

Improvements to the Baldur's Gate engine make the game even more rich and immersive, as well as increasing the realism, depth, and beauty of the world. Our monsters are bigger and have more animation, the spells are more stunning, our environments are more varied to ensure the overall look of the game is amazing. Gameplay improvements such as fixes to pathing, better journal management, and various tweaks to the multiplayer game should greatly increase the experience for all players.

We are hoping that with Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, we can take everything that made Baldur's Gate a great game, fix those things that were frustrating, increase the depth and look of the game, and give our fans everything they want in a CRPG.

Chris Parker
Producer, Black Isle Studios

Gamespy - Have you ever considered, or are you considering, *gasp!* putting the Unreal Engine aside and starting fresh with a new next-generation engine from scratch?

Tim - We will do that to a certain extent with the next-generation engine. Anything that's not up to our standards of what a year 2001 game should look like, we'll rip out and replace. 100% of the rendering code will be new. Most of the scripting will be new. Other parts of the code, like the networking and core, are now in really good shape and won't be replaced unless our R&D reveals a significantly better approach.

Trickstyle is a non-standard blending of console racing and console snowboarding. Think of it, perhaps, as the bastard son of Mario Kart 64 and Cool Boarders. It isn't really mainly a racing game nor mainly a stunt game, but rather, a smoothly blended union of the two styles.

Visor - Visor's toughness makes the T1000 look like ancient technology. Just because he's got the latest cybernetic enhancements however, does not mean he can't get medieval on your sorry self.

Orbb - Orbb not only sees all with his giant eyeball, but he has every arena battle on tap to pull out the best fragging moves.

Might as well combine this post that GamesXTREME, which has just opened is looking for staff. So if you're interested in working a new upcoming site, go give them a hit.

CliffyB: The UT art is done baby.
Diehard: What's left to do before UT is going out the door?
CliffyB: Not a lot. Final tweaks.

What were the most challenging aspects and time periods of the development?
You mean apart from the fistfights in the Omikron Fight Club? [Laughs hugely…] Collaborating with David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels, Bowie’s guitarist, was a fear that became a pleasure, and the biggest problem David Cage had was just to sustain his team. It’s very demanding developing a game that has everything!

Tread Marks is clearly an arcade action rather than simulation title; there is little attention to real-world physics. About this lucid focus, McNally comments, "All of the tanks are fanciful, with extremely over-powered engines and super-strong armor, though a lot of them do look a fair bit like modern battle tanks externally." As you roam over the various terrain, including grassy, rocky and muddy hills, sand dunes, and light forests, tanks exhibit a variety of driving styles, but none perfectly resembles real-life patterns. McNally adds that the perfect winning attitude will be "Blast everything in sight and move really, really fast." The emphasis here is clearly on fun rather than realism.

Delta Force 2 offers around 45 single-player missions, including 25 sorties split between two campaigns and 20 stand-alone scenarios, in which you must prove yourself against large and heavily armed terrorist armies. In most cases, you'll work alone or with a handful of computer-controlled support teams. Most scenarios involve a clandestine attack-and-destroy mission against enemy bases, though many also include hostage rescue, recovery of stolen assets, and other commando-style objectives. The game also contains a powerful mission editor that lets you craft complex scenarios with relative ease and even provides thorough documentation for it.

Sanity is set in a future where humanity has been significantly altered by drugs. These drugs have bolstered the latent psychic powers of certain humans. A department within the police force has since evolved to handle and control these new psionically endowed characters, and you play as a member of this special police force.

This patch (489 KB) contains improvements to server performance for version 348. We are also working on some other optimizations for the full version, but we did not want to include any changes which impacted network compatibility in this patch.

Prepare to embark on an adventure beyond imagination with the long awaited return of the best selling role-playing series of all time and Lord British’s greatest masterpiece ever. In the ninth and final chapter of the 20-year legacy you return to Britannia™ for your last epic quest. Experience the most immersive 3D world ever created, with literally thousands of items to interact with and environments that practically breathe. Play the role of the virtuous Avatar, hero of Britannia, as you fight to save Britannia from final destruction. Meet hundreds of characters, all with full speech and animation. Discover new weapons and fantastic spells to use in the fight, as well as challenging puzzles to solve. From the skeleton-infested mines of Covetous to the underwater depths of Ambrosia, you'll find both familiar and unfamiliar territory, rendered in a more beautiful 3D than ever thought possible.

Nocturne is a fully 3D, 3rd person, horror game. The gameplay can be described as a meld of action and adventure, with some character development and puzzle solving mixed in with a lot of gunplay and monster busting. Nocturne puts players in the shoes of "The Stranger," a grizzled monster hunter who packs a pair of .45 caliber pistols under his three piece suit, trenchcoat and fedora. As the premier field operative of Spookhouse (a secret government organization dedicated to fighting hostile supernatural creatures), the Stranger is sent out on a variety of missions to combat some rather nasty monsters ranging from zombies to werewolves, to vampires, and more!

Hi Darklown,

Nice editorial. You are right. Disconnecting is generally not a problem in the higher ranks.

One thing that you need to mention however is that Blizzard DOES reset everyone who disconnects. Blizzard does not search for records of disconnectors. If your oppoenent disconnects the responsibility is with you to send a screenshot to ladder.abuse@blizzard.com with a link to the game in Battle.net's records.

If you're playing vs an opponent who cares about their record and knows that you know how to reset them if they disconnect, you should play disconnect = draw. This protects you both if one of you accidentily loses their connection. If you're disconnected while losing you have the option of quickly coming back on and giving the other person a free win so they choose not to have you reset for disconnecting.

This is what you need to know:
http://www.battle.net/ladder.shtml


Hone

The hugely scientific study consisted of sending an e-mail questionnaire to bunch of women who I didn’t know (except one) asking them about their opinions on gaming, men and their shoe size. I used a new and revolutionary selection technique for finding a statistically representative and unbiased sample. I call this technique “Pure Ignorance,” which means that I didn’t know enough people personally to make a biased sample in the first place to. I went surfing around all kinds of gaming sites and picked women out of clans to send the e-mail to. In fact, I may have gotten responses from a bunch of guys, but I’m feeling pretty good about names like “Hellchick” and “Bimbo” as some of the respondents.

Delvin Du Bachen!" screams the soldier. Unfortunately for him, Rich, the Green Beret sniper, has just zoomed in with his sniper rifle and has a terrible headache. Screaming does not make his headache go away. Too bad the soldier didn't realize this, or his face might still be intact and not have a sniper hole through it. Poor soldier. At least Rich is happy, because now there is no soldier screaming at him and his headache is subsiding. Well, maybe this isn't a realistic scenario. In reality, Rich just shot the soldier because he was an enemy and was doing bad, bad things. Rich and his buddies are a bunch of bad ass mofos who like their job of going into other countries and exterminating threats. Click below to read 3DGN's preview of Spec Ops 2: Green Berets. And maybe I'll give you a pretzel to munch on.

Legend has it that a being known as the Creator fashioned Septerra and all of its components. He built into the world two keys, a way in which man would be able to obtain his power, the Gift of the Creator. Once every hundred years the alignment of the continents allows a beam of light to reach the core, activating it for a short period of time. During this period the keys can be used to grant the holder the Gift of the Creator. After the Creator had constructed Septerra, a daemon named Gemma arose to combat his force of Angels. Gemma stormed the world and stole the keys. As a last resort, the Creator sent Marduk, his only son, to stop Gemma. After a battle that lasted 100 days, Marduk prevailed and struck down Gemma. He retrieved the keys and hid them, teaching that one day, far in the future, they would be made available in order to save the world.

Although racing titles as a whole tend to be at the forefront of technological innovation, the same kind of caste system exists here. Arcade car and motorcycle racing titles tend to be the most advanced, followed by racing simulations, which emphasize accurate physics rather than fantastic graphics and sound. Off-road offerings tend to be even further behind. At the very back of the pack are drag racing releases, using technology that the rest of the computerized racing efforts would find downright primitive.

So what is Black & White? It is, as Molyneux insists, a role-playing game. But it also happens to be 1) a god game, 2) an experiment in artificial life, 3) a strategy game, 4) the world's most surreal online-chat program, and 5) an experience that evolves into an expression of who you are. If Black & White can be summed up as one thing, it is in the way creator Peter Molyneux sees it: "Black & White is the closest I have ever come to what was in my imagination."

Ace of Nukewinters: What are a few other things your interested in, aside from the computer?

Nanogirl: I used to play tennis and squash (but got lazy). I love doing things with my friends, hanging out with my boyfriend, doing normal "college things". I do my homework and go to class, but I hate it.

Sure, it's a bit Off-Topic... But it'll probably useful for somebody out there. View the guide here.

Firstly, I'll deal with the sketchy basics. Install all the NIC's in the machines. There's nothing to it, simply take the card, line it up with the slot and push firmly. When you hear a satisfying "thuck" sound, your card is in firmly. Once you've installed the card, boot up and insert the driver disk (in that order). If the NIC's are Plug and Play, Windows will prompt you to select a Network Card. Click have disk and point it to the .inf file on your Floppy. (If there's more than one, load OEMsetup.inf and pick your network card from the list). Repeat this for all machines on the network.

"The question that comes up a lot is 'What is Ultima?' Is Ultima the Avatar? Is Ultima an Apple II game? Is Ultima the world of Britannia?" Mendelsohn says, as though he's fielded these queries many times before. "And it's a lot of different things. But what we believe is that Ultima has got the virtues. And the reason that the Ultima games have stood above all the other role-playing games is that they have come up with a system of virtues." Instead of having you "just going and killing at will, and stealing and such," says Mendelsohn, Ultima holds you accountable for your actions. He claims that "this was something that was very important," because it makes the game "feel like a truly heroic adventure."

First there was Half-Life which is a great action shooter game, developed Valve and published by Sierra. After a while Valve has released an add-on for, a mod (modification) exactly, whoch was called Team Fortress Classic. There are maps with 2 bases / fortresses for each of the two teams. One of the objectives in the game was to enter the enemy base and steal the flag and bring it back to a certain place in the own base. There are several character classes to choose from, in example the Medic who can heal his teammates and poison the enemy team guys. This game is a real team game, and Valve made a huge revolution with this mod. This add-on, which was downloadable for free (!!) and was only thought for a little add-on is now played by thousands of people. I know guys who only purchased Half-Life to download TFC ( Team Fortress Classic ) and play it. ( I am one of them ). They were so elated by the gameplay of TFC. Seeing the engineers building automatic guns ( Sentry Guns ) to defend the base from the enemy and blco them to get the flag. Entering the hard guarded enemy base to get the enemy flag and bring it back to the own base. Telling your teammates " guys be careful there are 2 sentry guns beside the enemy base entrence ". Whhooohaaa.....this is a lot of fun. You entered the enemy base, 2 of your teammates died by the enemy fire on the way to the enemy flag room, you caught the flag and your "bodyguards" helped you to get the flag out of the enemy base, and again they were shot down by the enemy. Now you are on your own to bring the flag to your base and score and bring your team one step forward to win.

Get out of the car! Get out of the car!
Man, Yo da worst Driver I've ever seen!

Well, that certainly seems to be the sentiment among much of the PC gaming Community. Endless strings of complaints ranging from "Where's the multiplayer?" to "Why is the 32 bit colour so slow?" plague the newsgroups. Many of them are probably quite justified, but before you, loyal reader, decide you've just found a new addition to your coaster collection, take a moment to ponder, "What is driver?" "Who's it for?" "Why are there so many rhetorical questions in this review?"

Interestingly, the Air Force endorses the use of Starcraft. :) Being a cadet in Air Force ROTC, I was visiting the home page of the Aerospace Basic Course (the first course every newly-commissioned second lieutenant attends) to see what I'd be learning when I got commissioned. Apparently, they have a list of movies, books, and "simulations" (i.e. computer games!) that they feel every Air Force officer should look into. Lo and behold, Starcraft is on that list, along with other strategy greats like Civilization II and Age of Kings. If you look at the intro paragraph, it says that they actually use Starcraft in their course! The links at .

Hmmm. So now the goverment's spending all its money on "simulations" :)