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    Archive for December, 1999

    Friday, December 31, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
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    Got a few things for ya - backup @ 9:48 pm PST
    First of all my power went out not because of y2k but because of traffic accidents. Kind of funny though since it happened right around the 12:00 mark.
    Secondly, a linux programmer paid 35bux to renew Microsofts hotmail domain, heh when asked he said I saw it needed paid so I paid it. He is going to frame the check microsoft sends him. Nifty huh? Happy New Year to all and happy fragging.

    Resident Evil 3 Nemesis Review - backup @ 7:44 pm PST
    I have gotten my review posted of Resident Evil 3 Nemesis for PSX. You can check it out right here, along with the screenies I put in.

    UT Ngworld Stats - SPaZ @ 7:25 pm PST
    With the new year, we also have a new quarter statswise for Unreal Tournament. So if anyone was waiting until the statistics reset before they started playing seriously, now is your chance to start fragging for keeps.
    On a side note the weekly stats have also been reset for some reason...
    We'll have to see if the week now starts on Friday from now on or if it just was a result of the only quarter ever ending since the game was released.

    Happy New Year! - Gibb @ 4:56 pm PST
    I know Cerberus is going to repeatedly beat me with a stick for saying this, but Happy New Year to everyone. It seems that planes arent going to drop from the sky when the clock strikes 12, like everyone expected. Just remember, it isn't too often that all the numbers in the date change in one day (ex. 12/31/1999 to 01/01/2000)

    Just so he dosen't beat me too badly, heres some actual gaming news. I saw on SC.org that a new Starcraft Bot, the Ultimate Bot, has been released. It contains over 30,000(!) lines of C++, and its abilites are said to overpass those of the Winters Bot. Check the site out here. Now go party! :)

    Thursday, December 30, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    AOK Review @ GS - Surebrec @ 11:03 pm PST
    Gamesurge continues their streak of great content! This time, we have posted our AoE2: Age of Kings review, which was released a while ago from Microsoft and Ensemble Studios. This was such an awesome game BTW.

    Razer Mouse - Underwear Ninja @ 7:49 pm PST
    For those of you thinking about a system upgrade, check my review on the Razer BoomSlang2000.

    Counter-strike B5 out! - Surebrec @ 4:47 pm PST
    Hot off the press! I noticed over at VE that the latest Beta version (v5) of Counter-strike has been released! So get on over to the download, and while you're downloading, you can read the changes:

    New Content:
    - Added Benelli XM 1014 fully automatic shotgun
    - New Hostage model and two new skins.
    - SAS model added as a selectable CT
    - Added maps cs_backalley and de_train
    - Updated maps cs_station, de_nuke, de_dust, and de_prodigy
    - New icons for HUD (money, weapons, armor, timer, C4, defuse Kit, scoreboard)
    - Added buy zones, reload zones, hostage, and bomb target zones to HUD.

    Gameplay Changes:
    - C4 is now an equipment item in slot 5 (to plant, select then hold down fire)
    - C4 can only be planted in bomb delivery zone
    - To defuse a bomb Counter Terrorists must target C4, press and hold the USE key
    - CTs can defuse C4 without a defuse kit in 10 seconds
    - CTs can defuse C4 with a defuse kit in 5 seconds
    - A progress meter is added showing CTs their progress defusing a bomb
    - A progress meter is added showing Ts their progress planting a bomb (this takes 3 seconds)
    - Defuse kit now an item which can be purchased - Nobody starts with a defuse kit
    - Defusing bomb wins round for Counter Terrorists
    - C4 can be dropped for other teammates
    - Hostages are automatically rescued at hostage rescue zones
    - Counter Terrorist and Terrorist teams are now labeled
    - Individual frags can be toggled on or off
    - Ghosts can be made visible to other ghosts (client defined)
    - Pre-Round grace timer standard setting 6 seconds (server defined)
    - Three observer modes: classic ghost, locked chasecam and freelook chasecam ( press jump to toggle)
    - Auto-find teammate in observer mode (primary fire)
    - New radio messages and organization of radio keys (standard, group and report messages)
    - Can hear other players reloading
    - Mission briefing added to maps (can also be invoked during round)

    Q3A FAQ - Surebrec @ 4:42 pm PST
    The official Q3A FAQ, which addresses system requirements, video card issues, and other troubleshooting topics.

    SoF Preview - Surebrec @ 4:38 pm PST
    I noticed over at Blues News that Gamespot has just slapped up a preview of Soldier of Fortune, Raven Software's upcoming tactical shooter. The preview includes a few nice new screenshots. Also included in the preview is some info on the gameplay and graphics and some misc. issues.

    Counter-Strike Beta 5 Linux Port Out! - Gibb @ 1:56 pm PST
    I'm not in the mood to paraphrase, so heres what Cliffe of CS.net had to say about the release of the Beta 5 Linux port.
    The Beta 5.0 Linux Server Port is now available on the downloads page. If you are a server op running Linux, go grab it and upate now. This way you will be ready for the windows release which is forthcoming.

    The CS Forums have also been re-opened in light of the release. Give them a visit.

    We've gotten a lot of great mail from CS players who were upset by the lamers who got the forums shut down and spamfest 2000 cancelled. Due to the fact that there really are some good / mature CS players out there, we're holding Spamfest 2000 afterall!

    Yippee! To get all the details of IRC servers and such, head on over to Counter-Strike.net

    Quake 3 Tweak Guide - backup @ 9:25 am PST
    The Quake 3 Arena Tweak Guide here at Gamesurge has been updated with a few fixes. Make sure you check it out!

    RTS Unlimited to Host Starcraft Tourney! - Gibb @ 7:34 am PST
    I saw on SC.org that RTS Unlimited, a site hosted here at Gamesurge, is hosting a 64-128 team 2v2 Starcraft tourney. It will be double elimination, and the maps will be randomly picked by the RST Unlimited staff. To join, email your and your partners' email, ICQ numbers, and nicknames to rob@starcraftbw.com.

    Tribes2 Interview - Raven @ 4:41 am PST
    VooDoo Extreme have interviewed Dynamix's Senior Programmer, Rick Overman. Dynamix are the creaters of the original Tribes game and are presently working on the second addition in the series. The interview talks in general about Dynamix's achievements and covers alot of information about Tribes2. Interested go and read the interview.

    Tribes2 Interview

    Wheel of Time review - Raven @ 4:35 am PST
    Wheel of Time, is a First Person Shooter, based on Robert Jordans bestselling series of books. 3DSpotlight have recently reviewed The Wheel of Time, and have mentioned both good points and bad points about the game. If anyone is considering buying The Wheel of Time, or if your just wondering whether this game does Robert Jordan series justice check it out.

    WoT review

    Unreal Tournament Review - Raven @ 4:19 am PST
    I've loved Unreal Tournament since I got it, and I'm one of the people who strongly believe that UT owns Quake3 Arena is every possible gaming aspect. It seems someone shares my view on Unreal Tournament. www.Stratosgroup.com a website well known for its indepth gaming guides, has recently reviewed Unreal Tournament, and have come to possess the same opinion for UT that I have. Namely it OWNS! They sum up there review by saying this "UT is the new king of first-person deathmatch shooters, and is the most polished shooter to come along in a long time."

    Check the Review here

    Hangsim Review - Falcon @ 2:20 am PST
    Hangsim is a title dedicated exclusively to the art of piloting hang gliders, paragliders, microlites and sailplanes.

    With Hangsim, Ilan covers something he himself has been doing for years…light aviation. This area covers things like hand gliders and paragliders, to name a few. This game can cover a lot of ground, so to speak, and it gives us a chance to do something on our computers that we've never done before.

    Check out the GA-Source review to find out more about this unique sim.

    Interview with modeler/skinner Alpha Wolf - Falcon @ 2:18 am PST
    LadiesTF.com's "Man in the UK" [CYA]Wolf has just posted an interview with modeler/skinner Andrew "Alpha Wolf" Gilmour. Alpha Wolf has a site called Alpha Wolf's Den.
    Wolf and Alpha Wolf, Hmmmm... two wolves, sounds like a howling good time. (I didn't make that up)

    Here is a sample:

    [CYA] Wolf: Who in the industry would you say as a modeler do you admire?

    Alpha Wolf: I would have to say Adrain Carmack, i love his ideas from Doom and quake, just a good imagination.. I have to wonder what happened with Q2 and Q3A..:)

    You can view the interview over from Ladies TF

    Wednesday, December 29, 1999
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    Quake 3 Files Section - backup @ 9:22 pm PST
    I've added a Quake 3 Files section that auto-updates itself thanks to Fileplanet. You can check it out here.

    Quake 3 Tweak Guide! - backup @ 8:49 pm PST
    The Quake 3 Arena Tweak Guide has been created and posted. Enjoy :) I think I just proved you can run Quake 3 Fast and furious on a P1 166 with MMX of course. If you set everything on low detail and use the console to an advantage it runs quite nicely.

    Anyhow, you can read the tweak guide right here.

    Interview with Jake Simpson - Gibb @ 5:02 pm PST
    I saw on Blues News that SoF Center has interviewed Jake Simpson of Raven Software who is working mostly on Capture the Flag mode for Soldier of Fortune. Check it out here.

    Tribes 2 - Underwear Ninja @ 4:52 pm PST
    Tribes 2 stuff. Go here to see it.
    Please give props to my source.

    Source: Badassmofo

    Counter-Strike News - Gibb @ 10:06 am PST
    ...from Counter-Strike.net

    -Gooseman has confirmed that a news post on Planet Halflife saying that he is quitting CS is false. He reassured everyone that if anything like that ever happens, you will hear it on CS.net first.

    -Beta 5, which is coming out soon, has a plethora of new features. Here's some of them-

    Counter-Strike Beta 5, includes 2 new maps and a fully automatic shotgun, as well as significant improvements in the areas of ease of use, active visual feedback and accessibility. The CS team and Barking Dog have been working together to refine the HUD, improve the menus and help system, and implement new observer modes and features. Valve helped finance and produce the project as a way to say thank you to the Half-Life community and further the effort to showcase the great work of all HL mod developers. We've been thrilled with the success of Counter-Strike - the number of players continues to grow steadily as more and more people find out how fun the game is.

    New features list:
    - 1 new weapon: the fully automatic shotgun
    - 2 new maps: Back Alley and TrainYard, plus updates to existing maps
    - 3 new observer modes: classic ghost, locked chasecam and freelook chasecam
    - Auto-find teammate in observer mode
    - Ghosts can be made visible to other ghosts

    If you're wondering, yes, Valve and Barking Dog are working with the CS team on Beta 5, but no, the CS team has no plans of going commercial with CS, at least not in the near future.

    -There will be no IRC party for the release of Beta 5. Heres why, according to Cliffe-

    This is due in part to both disappointment with recent events concerning certain CS players, so-called fan sites such as 'violation,' and simply not wanting to deal with another spamfest.

    There ya have it.

    Huge Diablo II Preview up - Gibb @ 9:46 am PST
    I saw over at Blues News that Diablo II.net has posted a massive preview of Diablo II after playing it virutally nonstop for three days at Blizzard North. Check it out here.

    Top 100 Games of the millenium - Raven @ 6:11 am PST
    Alright firstly no this is not a comparision of original cave man games to something the likes of Unreal Tournament (which owns Quake3 Ninja :P). Gamespot UK is compiling a list of the top 100 games released to date in its top 100 games of the Millenium competition. The games are voted on by viewers and will be slowly put together during the course of the next few days.
    Presently only numbers 30 to 100 have been selected. Surprisingly Diablo is presently in 34'th place and the Warcraft series is sitting just behind in 35'th place. If you've got a game you want to vote for head over there now or if you just like to check the present scores pop over aswell.
    Gamespots top 100

    Everquest Expansion SS - Raven @ 5:56 am PST
    The Ruins of Kunark, is the up and coming expansion for everquest. The add on for everquest features a new continent lots of monsters and 40 new playing areas. If you go over to the official page now they've recently uploaded alot of screen shots for the game. The screen shots cover everything from fighting to simply walking around. The Ruins of Kunark isnt due to be realeased until March 2000, even so the ScreenShots are worth looking at and indicate that the next title in the Everquest series will be a good game.

    Screen Shots page

    War3 CONVERSION for SC - Raven @ 5:41 am PST
    This is a great piece of StarCraft news. StarCraft Infocepter have just released a Warcraft 3 total conversion for Starcraft. The conversion changes the 3 present StarCraft teams of Terran, Zerg and Protoss into Human's, Orc's and Demon's. The conversion changes everything from unit stats to wireframes. It includes War2 units, future War3 units and original units. The download in 9.8 megs.

    The graphics for the conversion looks great, the game has been well balanced, has some amazing features and even comes with its own free gaming server for you to play the War3 conversion on! I'm going to download this now and I'd advise u 2 aswell!
    To download the conversion go here.

    SC Gurus Interview - Raven @ 5:27 am PST
    This comes as abit of a surprise, afew months ago I believed SC GURUS had gone and died but now it looks like the page is coming back. FuzzyTheBear at SC GURUS recently conducted an interview with Agent911. Agent used to be considered a top Starcraft player and has also shined in War2 and TA. The interview is pretty good, and fairly interesting. Theres nothing ground breaking in the interview but its still worth the time to read.

    Agent911 Interview

    Team Fortress 2 Info - Raven @ 5:17 am PST
    Team Fortress 2, the long anticipated Half Life release, will now be delayed. Valve Software and Sierra have announced the game, which was scheduled to ship in Q1 2000, is now intended for release late in the year.

    Although the game itself will be delayed theres plenty of TF2 info on the web, I found these TF2 screen shots over at Planet Fortress, if your a half life fan and you want to be impressed, I'd say these pics a worth a look

    sample pic
    View TF2 Pics here

    Heres a quick explaination of TF for those of you who don't know. Team Fortress was originally a mod designed for quake, the original mod was an insist hit, and earned TF a good name and a great reputation. The TF mod had different character "classes" and a load of great features. Later Team Fortress moved from Quake over to Half Life, and TF2 is now a Half Life dedicated add on.

    New Hosted Site - Falcon @ 2:53 am PST
    Gamesurge is announcing a new hosted site, RTS Unlimited which has just opened its doors to the public. They cover Starcraft, Tiberiun Sun, Warcraft, Warcraft 2, and Warcraft 3, and also review games for various consoles. They are also in need of new staff so if you're interested take a look over here

    Q3 Game Guide - Facsimile @ 1:20 am PST
    Hey Everybody, Guess what? Gamespot.com Has just released a Q3 game guide, to help you better mercilessly slaughter your friends as you laugh Hysterically while they curse your name. simply go Here and pick up the info! Know all, frag all, be all, words to live by, and see you on the servers!

    Are you a Quake3 Newbie - Underwear Ninja @ 12:25 am PST
    Are you new to Quake3? Have you finally realized that Unreal is poorly coded and will be a thing of the past when Quake3 will still be running hard? Do you want to get in the mix now? If so, or even if you're an older player (so you can see the tricks the newbies will be trying to use on you) go to the only newbie resource for Quake 3 so far on the iNet.

    Tuesday, December 28, 1999
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    News Posters Needed! - Surebrec @ 9:21 pm PST
    Ok, I know I've asked this many times in the past, but we really kinda need news posters now. All you have to do is post news daily. There really is no requirement on how many times to post, but since we're looking for dedication, we encourage as much as you can. As I said before dedication is key. Also, we want good grammar and good spelling in news posts. Now, what does this have for you? Well, you get your own pop3 email account (@gamesurge.com). Yes, your very own email. What else? You get recognition in the gaming community. What more could you ask for? If you're interested, send an email this way.

    Anox Shots - Surebrec @ 9:02 pm PST
    This may be a little late, but better late than never. Gamefan has posted 5 new screenshots from ION Storm's upcoming action/RPG, Anachronox. Anachronox will be using a heavily modified version of Quake2.

    SoF News - Surebrec @ 8:57 pm PST
    I noticed over at 24HG that Jake Simpson of Raven Software has updated his .plan file with the latest on Soldier of Fortune:

    News on SOF - well, I'm here at work, between Christmas and New Year because a) I'm dedicated, b) there's still stuff to be done on SOF Deathmatch, but mainly cos c) I have no vacation left. CTF is pretty much done. Just doing some tidying up. I'm adding in the logging function that we added to Heretic II in the EP, which enables server operators to have a file of all the games being played. There are Cvars that allow you to add HTML commands into the file so you can create an instant webpage should you desire it. Just something cool we threw in there in case it is useful.

    Rally Championship Review - Surebrec @ 8:49 pm PST
    GamesXTREME sends word that they have posted their review on Rally Championship. Here's a clip from it:

    The graphics are mostly hit or miss. The menus are well drawn and easy to navigate (apart from the sheer amount of them) and the cars are very nicely modelled as are the tracks. Photo-realistic textures with high amounts of detail, and wonderful lighting make this game graphically very beautiful. The weather effects range from clear day, to dawn & dusk settings rain, snow and night are all very well implemented in the game. The problem is with the trees. Unfortunately, the trees are modelled only from a few polygons and
    are flat to say the least.

    D2 SSOTW - Surebrec @ 8:47 pm PST
    Ahh, what would you guys do without me? Well, I was away for a while at a friend's LAN Party :). Anyways, onto the news.

    BillWill from Diablo.net sends word that the latest Diablo 2 SSOTW has been released. In this week's shot, you can see a pic of the Amazon about to put some enemies on ice as she prepares her ice spell. And since this shot features a few extra goodies to make this screen a keeper.

    Werewolf: The Apocalypse Interview - Falcon @ 4:28 am PST
    The Iron Gauntlet conducted an interview with Travis Williams', one of the guys working on Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart Of Gaia

    Pacific Warriors: First Look - Falcon @ 4:26 am PST
    Pacific Warriors is a WWII action shooter combat game based on the old arcade shoot'em ups - where players faced waves and waves of enemies in the air as well as on the ground. In addition, power-ups, machine guns
    and special weapons will be at your disposal, and aid your progress.

    Check out this first look article to find out more about this "no-so-typical" air combat shooter - including nine new screenshots.

    Monday, December 27, 1999
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    Burning Diablo2 - Raven @ 5:28 pm PST
    I strongly doubt that anyone expected Diablo2 to come with no copying protection, but for those of you interested, Tony Gervase recently responded to Diablo.net, saying that Blizzard will be using Sony's MagicGate to prevent copying diablo2. If your interested heres a quote explaining MagicGate.

    "MagicGate" for IC Recording Media and Player/Recorders "MagicGate" employs a microchip embedded in both the player/recorders and media to ensure that protected content is transmitted only between compliant devices and media. All content is transmitted and stored in an encrypted format to prevent unauthorized copying, playback and transmission of protected content.
    "OpenMG" for PCs and Related Devices "OpenMG" employs a hardware module and special software to encrypt digital music content stored on a hard disk drive or similar storage device. Authentication technology is used to ensure that protected content is transmitted only to compliant devices and media, and all content is transmitted in an encrypted format. This technology allows content to be enjoyed on PCs, but prevents unauthorized copying, playback, or transmission.

    "MagicGate" and "OpenMG" support the interchange of data between PCs and compliant audio player/recorders, allowing digital music content to be "moved" rather than copied while preventing unauthorized copying, playback, and transmission. Sony will broadly license "MagicGate" and "OpenMG" to the relevant industries. At the same time, it plans to implement them into "Memory Stick" and PC related products....


    Considering how short CD protection software tends to stay protected, we can all guarentee that it will be cracked soon after Diablo2 release.

    Sunday, December 26, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Quake 3 Console Commands - Underwear Ninja @ 9:32 pm PST
    Wonder what all those console commands do? You can satisfy this thirst for knowledge here.

    Quake 3 Mods - backup @ 3:52 pm PST
    For the latest on editing Quake 3 and mods being released make sure you check out the forums at planetquake by heading here.

    Person of the Century - Gibb @ 3:28 pm PST
    This has absolutely nothing to do with gaming, but as one of my teachers would say: "my job is to keep you people from being cuturally retarded" Anyway, the Time Magazine Person of the Century is Albert Einstein.

    Quake 3 Skinpack - backup @ 3:22 pm PST
    There is a new Quake 3 Skinpack out with 10 skins in it from Trans Arms Pit shop. Make sure you grab it there.

    Nifty eh? Grab it now!

    Quake 3 Arena Review - backup @ 3:08 pm PST
    As promised, the long awaited Quake 3 Arena review has been posted. Check it out by heading here.

    Saturday, December 25, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Q3 - backup @ 8:23 pm PST
    Wow, all I can say is I played it and it's a great game, but with some minor flaws. One of which that inside one of the capture the flag arena's that is basically one big jump platform arena, really slows my system down. Running on 1024x768 max features on a Tnt2, P3-500, 128 Megs Ram, it slows down to around 25 FPS. Hell, I have a high end system, I can't even imagine what it would do to my other system.

    After I test it on my other system downstairs that has 64 megs ram, Voodoo 2, and a P2-266, ill review it. So far I won't tell you what I'm giving it, but the game isn't as good as Unreal Tournament, that is a FACT. I really wish iD would have improved on Capture the Flag, 4 maps isn't enough, though im sure we will see others in the future.

    Quake 3 Arena Review - backup @ 5:08 pm PST
    I should have a good amount of reviews up soon. Here is my list.

    1) Quake 3
    2) Pharaoh
    3) Unreal Tournament
    4) Age of Kings

    I am also going to start work on a guide to editing Quake 3. Something big is planned in a few weeks, which I am sure all of you will enjoy :)

    Q3A vs. UT - Surebrec @ 12:08 pm PST
    Seen enough of these articles? Looks like they aren't stopping anytime soon. PC.IGN has posted their view on the Q3 vs. UT battle. Here's a clip from the article:

    Quake III Highs

    -The feel of the game can't be beat
    -Choice, unique character models and a lot of them
    -Amazing high-quality textures, especially with a TNT2 or GeForce 256 card

    Quake III Lows

    -Lacking level design with only a few that really stand out as remarkable
    -Boring arsenal
    -Not much variety in game types -- deathmatch and capture the flag is about it, folks
    -Single player game is little more than a warm-up to the multiplay experience

    Unreal Tournament Highs

    -Unbelievable game options straight out of the box
    -Great weapons that reward skilled players with faster kills
    -Adrenaline inducing 'Mortal Kombat' kill announcements like Head Shot and Multikill

    Unreal Tournament Lows

    -While the game's animation is smooth, the textures seem a bit simple when compared with Quake 3
    -Getting shot doesn't really feel like getting shot. -The game could use more realistic feedback.

    SoF Screens - Surebrec @ 11:52 am PST
    I noticed over at 24HG that SoF Center has posted 2 new screenshots from Raven's upcoming shooter, Soldier of Fortune.

    SWAT 3 Review - Surebrec @ 11:49 am PST
    I also got word that GA-Strategy has posted a review on SWAT 3, Sierra's latest tactical shooter. Below is a small snippet from the review:

    In SWAT 3: Close-Quarters Battle players assume the role of the element leader, and take command of a five-man assault team in an attempt to save the innocent.

    "Go, Go, Go! Any day guys" - The familiar sound of a SWAT team breaking and entering a crime scene. A scary thought, to say the least. Take your rifle, knock down the door, and proceed to neutralize anything that stands in your way of completing the mission.

    Allegiance Screens - Surebrec @ 11:46 am PST
    John from GA-Source sends word that they have posted 6 new Allegiance Screens, which is Microsoft's upcoming massively-multiplayer space action game that will be available in Spring of 2000.

    Q3A Review - Surebrec @ 11:43 am PST
    The girlies over at 24HG have recently slapped up their review of Quake 3 Arena, id Software's latest FPS. Here's a clip from the review:

    The gameplay in Quake III is fast and furious. No one can accuse Id's latest effort of being sluggish. The controls feel solid and precise, leaving you with the feeling that you are in total control at all times which is important when frags count. The single player game features 26 maps and 32 bots to keep you busy. The AI in Quake III is adequate, although far from human in behavior. I suppose for most of us online Deathmatches are where we prefer to be, but it's worth noting that the bots probably won't keep a hardcore gamer entertained for very long due to a few quirks.

    Yes, but it's still not better than UT :).

    Merry Christmas! - Gibb @ 6:01 am PST
    On behalf on myself and the entire staff at Gamesurge, I'd like to wish a very Merry Christmas to you and yours, and I hope that you have a very blessed and wonderful holiday. Feliz Navidad!

    Thursday, December 23, 1999
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    Earth 2150 Info/Screens - Surebrec @ 9:09 pm PST
    Gamespot has recently slapped up 10 screens and info on/of Topware's (European company) upcoming strategy game, Earth 2150. Apparently, this game has been labeled as "best strategy game ever" in Europe. But things are different here in the US, so we'll have to see. The game looks amazing though.

    More SoF goodness - Surebrec @ 9:03 pm PST
    Looks like more SoF goodness for the day! The boys over at CNet Gamecenter have posted some sweet (and gory :) screenshots from Raven Software's upcoming shooter, Soldier of Fortune.

    SoF preview - Surebrec @ 8:59 pm PST
    While surfing on over to one of my favorite sites, 24Hr Gamer, I noticed over there that GameProWorld has posted a sweet preview of Soldier of Fortune, Raven Software's upcoming shooter. Here's a clip, which I must say is sweet:

    I shot the first enemy I ran into in Soldier of Fortune in the face with a shotgun. The gang member had peeked around a corner, and, at point-blank range, the blast blew his head clean off. His wobbling body remained erect for a moment, the jagged stump of his neck spurting blood, and then that, too, slumped to the floor.

    Slave Zero Interview - Surebrec @ 8:53 pm PST
    While on the subject of PC.IGN, they have some more great content for us all (reader says: "yay!"). They have recently slapped up an interview with Matt Powers, who is the Producer of Infogrames' Slave Zero. This interview includes some general questions about the game, questions on gameplay, and on the graphics. Here's a little clip (like I always give you):

    IGNPC: Were there any thoughts on adding a first-person option to Slave Zero similar to Jedi Knight?

    MP: Slave Zero is designed for a third person perspective. In first person you'd lose the sense of scale, which is a huge part of gameplay. There was great emphasis on developing a character with incredible animation, again, this would be lost in first person. There is a first person option in the game, but the game has been designed, tuned, and balanced for the 3rd person viewpoint.

    Nox Preview - Surebrec @ 8:48 pm PST
    The boys over at PC.IGN have recently interviewed John Hight, Executive Producer of Westwood on Nox, their upcoming kick-ass action/RPG. In the interview, they chat about how the game works, what it's all about, and how it's compared to other upcoming RPGs, like, say, Diablo2. Hah, it's gonna kick D2's ass. Here's a little clip:

    IGNPC: A lot of times when Nox has been mentioned in a preview the word Diablo isn’t far behind it. Do you think the comparisons between the two games are valid or do you think it’s an entirely different product?

    JH: It is very different but I think the casual gamer will see them as being similar due to the isometric view, medieval world and armour and magic. Anyone that explores a little bit deeper will find a solid game with a much richer storyline behind it.

    For the multiplayer game we’ve created 22 different maps and the whole experience feels more like Quake.

    Vampire Shots - Surebrec @ 8:40 pm PST
    I saw over at Blues News that VampireTales has posted some new screenshots from Nihilistic's upcoming action/RPG, Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption. Some of the shots show off some vamps brandishing some weapons, and others are just sweet :).

    more coverage from Gamespy? - backup @ 7:56 pm PST
    Yeah, we got news for you. Here is a listing of the upcoming planet sites from gamespy.
    • Asherons Call

    • Omikron

    • Ultima Online

    • Delta Force

    • Everquest
    • Driver
    • Nocturne

    • Black and White

    • Slave Zero

    • Ea Sports

    • Playstation

    • Nintendo

    • Warcraft

    • Age of Wonders

    • Deus Ex

    • Homeworld

    • Pharaoh

    Just some tidbits, make sure you check out those sites in the future.

    Ultima IX Patch - Surebrec @ 7:12 pm PST
    I noticed over at VE that the latest patch for Ultima IX has been released, upgrading to v1.07 (hmm v1.07 so soon? must've been alot of bugs..). The patch can be download from here. The list of fixes is over here but the damn thing is too long to list some of the stuff. Hmm.. must've been alot of unhappy customers with v1.0 :).

    BZ2 Gold! - Surebrec @ 7:06 pm PST
    Well, I noticed over at The Oxygen Tank that BattleZone II has gone gold! Check out the official site for more info on this sweet game.

    Gamespy covering homeworld? - backup @ 6:34 pm PST
    I noticed that Gamespy has registered the domain name PlanetHomeworld.com, though not suprising. Homeworld is the best game of this year as far as RTS goes. For more information, check out Homeworld.net

    Digital Extremes site goes live - Toxin @ 3:00 pm PST
    I got this email from Digital Extremes:

    Our website is online! www.digitalextremes.com

    On the site are two new Unreal Tournament maps available + a 3DStudioMax 3.0 model exporter.


    well there you go.
    On another note, the UT screenshots from DE's upcoming addon pack were sent to me as an exclusive by my contact @ DE. He (and I) did not know that in fact the screens were not an exclusive. I take full blame for not checking UU first and I hope everyone accepts my apology.

    Planescape Review - Surebrec @ 1:48 pm PST
    Looks like the pansies of GA-RPG have slapped up their review of Planescape: Torment, giving it a whopping 99% score! Here's a little snippet to get you interested:

    When I first heard of Planescape: Torment I figured that gamers would be given a Baldur's Gate ripoff in a new universe. How wrong I was. I am very familar with the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance universes for AD&D since I've read about 30 of the books, but Torment was a new experience for me. I will have to admit that it was a refreshing change of pace from the same stale old recipe most CRPG producers shovel. Although there really isn't any game like Torment, the best comparison would be Fallout II hands down. I'll admit I didn't like Fallout II that much especially with all the problems it had with save games, but Black Isle has definitely offered a better game this time around.

    War3 Screens - Surebrec @ 1:43 pm PST
    The official War3 site has been updated with 6 new War3 screens, which mainly show off some of the creatures in the game along with some screens of orcs and humans. According to Blizzard, War3 will be out... "When it's done" :(.
    Source: GA-RPG

    Anox shots - Surebrec @ 1:33 pm PST
    I noticed over at Blues (Pimp Shack) News that ION Storm's Daily Informant has been updated with 4 new screenshots from Tom Hall's upcoming 3D RPG, Anachronox, which uses a heavily-modified Q2 engine (why couldn't they use the Unreal engine or something :)

    Call of the Cthulhu Screens - Surebrec @ 1:26 pm PST
    Call of the what? Umm, anyways, GA-Source sends more word that Headfirst Productions has released 6 new sceens of their upcoming first-person perspective horror adventure game, Call of the Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth.

    Hellboy Info/Screens - Surebrec @ 1:14 pm PST
    The "big boys" over at GA-Source send word that they have posted screens and details on Cryo Interactive's upcoming 3rd person action/adventure, Hellboy.

    Splinter Preview - Surebrec @ 12:00 am PST
    While on the subject of PC.IGN, they have also posted a preview of Splinter which is coming soon from Stromlo. Here's a snippet from the preview:

    The weapons available in Splinter include your standard array of lasers, missiles and flame-throwers but also pack handy doses of insecticide for your less traditional foes. Although basic resources can be collected directly from the environment, you'll have to collect weapon upgrades from downed enemy crafts. Each of the different levels will play out in all sorts of bizarre locations inside the base - we managed to catch a quick look at missions that take place inside computers, ant nests and ceiling cavities. A tight storyline will hold all of the levels together and will unfold through some pretty impressive cut-scenes (more about those a bit later).

    Wednesday, December 22, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Crusaders Review - Surebrec @ 11:56 pm PST
    The peeps at PC.IGN have posted their review of Crusaders of Might and Magic giving it a hard time with a 4.0/10 for complete dullness, crappy animations, and even worse sounds. Check it out, if you dare.

    Skynet Project Screens - Surebrec @ 11:53 pm PST
    John from GA-Source sends word that No Fate Interactive has released 10 new shots and info from their upcoming tactical cinematic simulation mod for Half-Life: The Skynet Project.

    Atriarch Preview - Surebrec @ 9:13 pm PST
    The peeps at GA-RPG have kicked up a first look of Atriarch which sports 7 exclusive screenshots. Here's a little on the game:

    Welcome to the living, breathing world of Atriana, where everything is organic and alive. Atriarch is a massively-multiplayer online role-playing game and strategy hybrid, where thousands of players will be able to play in a full 3D polygonal world. This isn't just another one of your medieval setting Ultima Online or EverQuest, yet it's concept is much more complex and unique.

    TRIBES 2 Screens - Surebrec @ 5:45 pm PST
    I noticed over at Gamespy that Dynamix has released 2 new screens of the TRIBES 2 Blood Eagle Light Armor.

    No SoF Demo - Surebrec @ 5:42 pm PST
    It looks like there won't be a demo for Raven's Soldier of Fortune this year (which consists of 8 more days) according to Kenn Hoekstra and Rick Johnson over at the forum.
    Source: Gamespy

    TR4 Patch - Surebrec @ 5:25 pm PST
    I noticed over at Blues News that Eidos has released v1.1 patch for TR: The Last Revelation, which weighs in at a measely 426K. For a list of the changes head on over to here.

    Beta 5 this weekend??? - Gibb @ 4:52 pm PST
    Over at CS Skins, in the current news, there's a posting about Beta 5. It says that matt, the sites webmaster, will be adding lots of Beta 5 skins and such, but among that there is this interesting sentence-
    Everyone be sure to make this your first stop after you download beta5 which is expected on friday or saturday
    You're probably not going to beleive me. I didn't beleive one of my friends when he told me. I'm not saying that Beta 5 WILL be out this weekend, but it is a rumor... who knows.

    UT Pack Info - Surebrec @ 4:42 pm PST
    According to GameFan (and this post), that Digital Extremes (the people who helped make Unreal) that a downloadable map pack (it's supposedly a map pack) that will contain at least 2 UT CTF Maps, which are CTF-HallOfGiants and CTF-Orbital, and both will be able to support many players.

    With that in mind, there are some screenshots of the 2 CTF levels over at Gamefan. There are 6 shots, 3 for each map.

    TRIBES Update - Surebrec @ 4:36 pm PST
    Looks like Tim Gift, Programmer and Designer at Dynamix, has updated his .plan file with the latest stuff on TRIBES 2 (which is quite long BTW):

    Doesn't seem that long ago... Last Friday was the 1
    year anniversary of Tribes. We received final Sierra
    certification for duplication Thursday 12/17/98 at 7:46
    PM. By the following Monday the warezers were online,
    and by the middle of the week there were players who
    had actually purchased copies!

    These days it's all Tribes 2 programming & game design.
    My role on the project has changed quite a bit over
    the past few years :) (a long story) Now I'm mostly
    coding all the "game" part of the Tribes 2 engine.

    The big items that I've been working on:

    Client & Server object process management
    Move processing and inter-frame interpolation
    architecture Client->Server move/input
    synchronization This is part of an interesting
    client/server infrastructure that MarkF and I
    will discuss at the next CGDC.

    Spatial collision database
    Architecture and basic collision methods
    Extruded polytopes and other misc. clipping
    routines. Tribes 2 employs polytope -> poly
    collision (completely different from what I did
    on Tribes 1, which was basically polytope to
    BSP).

    Rigid body physics class
    Pretty standard stuff. Though resolving contact
    friction in a reasonable amount of time always
    causes me problems (Not the first time I've
    written one, but I never seem to end up using
    it). Will probably use this for the vehicles
    this time.

    Server->Client datablock architecture
    Datablocks are used to transmit static object
    attributes to clients.

    Game base class
    Overall architectural design for game objects
    and their interface to the scripting language.
    This base class provides a lot of common game
    object functionality including datablock,
    energy, damage and multi-threaded animation
    management as well as Item image mounting, a
    number of script interface functions, etc.
    Server->client packet code as well.

    Item Images
    Images are items mounted on objects, such as
    weapons and packs. Items now have a table
    driven state engine. The states are defined as
    part of the image datablock and are used to
    control all animation, sound, recoil and
    effects on the items in response to trigger,
    ammo, loaded and timer input. I hard coded
    these states in Tribes 1, but now they can be
    defined on the server (by Mods) and are
    downloaded to the client.

    Camera Class
    Observer camera (actually runs on the server
    and uses the client/server move architecture).

    Static Shape class
    The class used for all stations, sensors, etc.
    This class doesn't really do a whole lot as all
    the behavior for these objects is scripted.

    Item class
    Basic items, both stationary rotating items, or
    items thrown/ dropped by players. Includes
    client side prediction for moving items, which
    I skimped in Tribes 1.

    Player class
    Been spending a lot of time on this one
    recently. I had the basic player running
    around a while ago, but then went off to work
    on other things. I just finished cleaning up
    and finalizing all the player movement code,
    stepping (over things), sliding off corners and
    along creases, etc. Tribes 1 had a few
    problems in this area which I never got around
    to fixing. Tribes 2 is much smoother. The new
    approach is cleaner, uses less code, and works
    better :) The player is now almost done, bunch
    of misc. stuff (including death and celebration
    animations), but the only big thing left is
    client side movement prediction, which I should
    start on this afternoon. He currently moves on
    other clients, but doesn't interpolate or
    predict (this is handled differently than your
    own player).

    After player client prediction, some projectile code,
    then the code I expect to have some fun with: vehicles.

    New UT Map - Surebrec @ 4:29 pm PST
    Looking for UT maps lately? Well look no further! A new UT map has been released by the name of Memonto Mori, which was designed by Matthias Worch who also worked on UT and WoT maps. The map contains new textures and more, and can be download over here.
    Source: AGN3D

    Armored Fist 3 Giveaway - Surebrec @ 4:16 pm PST
    Our great hosted site GamesXTREME has a new competition now. This time around they're giving away one of 3 Armored Fist 3 Games and Glass Tankards, for the Runners up, we have 7 more Glass tankards to be won. For more info on this giveaway, check this out.

    Q3A Review - Surebrec @ 1:28 pm PST
    The peeps over at AVault have posted their review on Quake 3 Arena. And ya know what? UT got Reviewer's Choice from AVault, Q3 didn't :(. Sorry for plugging UT yet again, which is probably the best FPS ever (suck it down you Q3 bitches :). Here'a clip from the reivew:

    One of the highlights of id’s titles has always been the well-designed but aggressively abstract maps, and Q3A is no different. While other development teams concern themselves with fashioning real-world environments, id continues to focus largely on how the environment impacts gameplay. Powered at the hand of amazing new architectural tools that include curved surfaces and moving textures, the mappers set their wild design tendencies loose, with mixed results. There are 30 maps, including 26 deathmatch and four Capture the Flag maps, that range from small horizontal arenas consisting of a few connected rooms to larger and more vertically-oriented battlegrounds that can squeeze in 24 players in a tight fit. Overall, the maps are classic id material: circular in nature with the most powerful weapons and powerups in open places or areas that are either tough to reach or a huge gamble.

    Evolva Preview - Surebrec @ 1:03 pm PST
    I noticed over at Blues News that the Brits over at Gamespot UK has posted a preview of Evolva, which is
    Computer Artwork's upcoming tactical squad-based shooter. Here's a small clip on the gameplay:

    In terms of gameplay, Evolva is similar in concept to squad-based titles such as Spec Ops and Rogue Spear, but with slightly more emphasis on action than strategy. Where this game differs, though, is in its unique, futuristic setting, and its evolutionary character development. Starting with a squad of Genohunters, you mutate and adapt them to gain access to more abilities. By the end of the game, you'll have a unique team of Genohunters - with over a billion possible variations, no two players will have the same set.

    Incoming Forces Interview - Surebrec @ 12:54 pm PST
    The boys over at PC.IGN have recently posted an interview with Scott Johnson, Lead Programmer at Rage Software, who is currently working on their upcoming 3D explosion-fest, Incoming Forces. The interview talks mainly about the game and it's features, and also includes a few NICE screens from the game.

    Tuesday, December 21, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Santa - Underwear Ninja @ 10:57 pm PST
    You can't afford Quake 3? Go here and maybe Santa will give it to you.

    No guarantees though.

    UT Game Guide - Surebrec @ 9:37 pm PST
    Also at GameSpot, is a huge UT Game Guide, which includes everything from the basics, to strategies and map strategies, to a complete weapons guide.

    Planescape Torment Review - Surebrec @ 9:32 pm PST
    The "big boys" at Gamespot have slapped up a review of Planescape Torment, giving it a 9.0. Here's a small clip:

    Torment's scenery is more intricately detailed than the scenery in Baldur's Gate because of the close perspective, and much like its characters, the scenery looks good and looks different from what you're used to. The game has no pointless spans of wilderness; each area is carefully designed, and most areas are densely populated. The jutting blade-like architecture of the game's urban settings and the rough-hewn, almost alien tangle of its catacombs give Torment a well-defined, highly distinctive appearance, while the game's atmospheric soundtrack, good sound effects, and sparse but high-quality voice acting all help maintain Torment's style. The game has a consistently cold look that can even be unsettling and uncomfortable at times, but Torment's bleak environments seem to work intentionally to motivate the protagonist's desire to escape from the oppressive, claustrophobic confines of the city of Sigil. In spite of its harsh scenery, at times Torment is colorful and impressive looking, mainly because of its often-spectacular special effects. Powerful magic spells cause the screen to go dim and erupt in ghostly energy, which shakes and rattles the screen. Even the game's most minor incantations feature impressive effects and animations, although some of the more elaborate effects tend to make the game slow down.

    Gabriel Knight 3 Review - Surebrec @ 9:21 pm PST
    The peeps from Gamesmania have posted their review of Gabriel Knight3, recently released by Sierra, in which they gave this fine game a 9/10 stars. Also included is a few screens from the game.

    Rune preview - Surebrec @ 9:04 pm PST
    I noticed over at Blues News that Incite Games has posted a Rune Preview. Rune is Human Head Studios' upcoming Unreal-powered viking battle title coming soon.

    SoF Preview - Surebrec @ 8:38 pm PST
    The guys over at DailyRadar have kicked up a preview of Soldier of Fortune, Raven Software's upcoming tactical shooter which should be out by Spring 2000. The preview also sports a few tight screens from the game. Here's a clip on the cool models:

    The models are well animated, and we especially liked the way different parts and pieces can be combined on the same models to spruce up the look of the baddies (i.e., it's not the exact same generic thug every time). We also liked the ability to use the sniper rifle to shoot off these helmets, hats, gas masks and other extras. The best extraneous bit on a model in this version is the oxygen tanks on the backs of the biohazard troopers. Put a round right into the cylinder, and the entire tank goes up in a fiery flash, wiping out anyone (including the player) standing nearby. Nonlethal shots also produce an effect on the enemies that we haven't seen done well since Goldeneye on the N64. Nail a commando in the leg, for instance, and he'll hop around for a few moments clutching the injured limb. Shoot a gun out of his hand, and he'll shake his wrist, then take off running when he realizes that he's outgunned. A few times, cowardly enemies even managed to lure us into crossfire from other black hats hidden around a bend.

    UT Interview - Surebrec @ 8:31 pm PST
    Hmm. Who knows how many UT interviews are out now. Anyway, I noticed over at 24HG that Gamefan has recently slapped up an interview with Mike Leatham, who is the Lead Texture and Concept Artist of Digital Extremes (who helped with UT and Unreal). Here's a little clip from the interview with the guy that made UT what it is now:

    GameFan-What inspires your artwork?

    Well, texture creation is not so much about design or inspiration as it is about imitation--what technique will make that moss look like it grew on this brick wall. However, when design is actually an issue, for some decorative elements (such as the runes that recur in some Unreal levels), I tend to start playing around with some shape I find cool.

    Gunman Dev. Update - Surebrec @ 8:26 pm PST
    Also from GA-Source is a Gunman Dev. Update. If you didn't know, Gunman is an upcoming TC for Valve's Half-Life. Here's the news:

    Right now, we're on our last milestone. We have 2 levels to complete still. These are the opening mission, and will be needing some new textures and monsters. We want the game to rock right from the start. The rest of the game is done level-wise, but we're adding ammo, scripting, and fiddling with monster placement still. We also have to do a few "between episodes" scripted movie sequences to tie it all together. The team is running well and we're hoping to be done in about.... 2 months.

    If you're interested, or wanna find out more on this fine jem, surf on over to here.

    Soulbringer Shots - Surebrec @ 8:23 pm PST
    The guys from GA-Source send word that Infogrames has released 8 new screenshots from their upcoming real-time RPG/adventure title, Soulbringer. Check them out over here.

    D2 SSOTW - Surebrec @ 8:21 pm PST
    The Acolyte from Diablo.net sent word that the latest D2 SSOTW has been released. In this week's screenie, you can see the Sorceress cast a spell.

    FF8 Impression @ GS - Surebrec @ 1:15 pm PST
    Yea, it's about time for more content. And this is kinda late, but anyways. I have finally posted our impressions of the FF8 demo.

    SOF Interview - Falcon @ 1:55 am PST
    3D-Unlimited has an interview with Raven Software's Programmer, Jake Simpson, currently working on Soldier of Fortune, specifcally on SOF Capture the Flag. This 14 question interview includes tons of new info on SOF CTF and 2 of the first SOF CTF screenshots.
    - Cali-girl.net

    How the Grinch Stole Westwood - Falcon @ 1:48 am PST
    Yes, the Headline is correct. Westwood has posted a story on How the Grinch Stole Westwood. It's a short story that was told at this year's annual Westwood Holiday Party.

    Tiberian Sun Demo - Falcon @ 1:17 am PST
    Got this news about a Demo for Tiberian Sun:
    Just in time for Christmas, Westwood is delivering a demo of Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun, the million seller that's set sales records around the world.
    Members of the press can grab the demo at ftp.westwood.com/pub/tiberiansun/previews/demo. Feel free to put it on your website, cover disk, or on the company mainframe disguised as a file called "Y2K
    analysis program."

    The demo features two brand new levels of Tiberian Sun. The first mission is a tutorial about how to play T-Sun. The second mission gives you a heavy dose of
    C&C action.

    The file tsdemo.zip is for North America and the file tsdemoe.zip is for Europe.
    The European version is identical except for the ordering phone number.

    If you have any questions about the demo, write me at aaron@westwood.com.

    Monday, December 20, 1999
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    Raven Chat Log - Surebrec @ 10:49 pm PST
    If you missed the VE-hosted Raven Chat tonite, have no fear! They have just slapped up the chat log from earlier tonite. In the chat, they talked about a whole lotta stuff, including their personal preferences for game of the year and systems, along with some stuff on SoF like if there will be the ability to make mods for the game.

    Rune Interview - Surebrec @ 10:45 pm PST
    I noticed over at Blues Pimp Shack that RuneNews.com has posted a sweet interview with Mike Werckle on Rune, Human Head Studios' upcoming Unrea-powered Viking combat game. Here's a small clip on the technologies used and compared with Rune:

    Phoebus: HumanHead collectively has a lot of experience working with different technologies and highly modifiying them for your needs. How do you like working with Unreal technology? Compared to id / Quake tech? What about it makes your work easier and/or more difficult?

    Mike: I imagine there are huge differences in the programming and map-making departments, but as an animator there is very little difference between Quake and Unreal. All I have to contend with is how to export my work.

    There is however, a big difference between working with Quake and Unreal's animation systems, and working with Paul's Skeletal animation system for Rune. We have a full hierarchical skeleton which includes rotational interpolation on all the bones. This essentially rids the animated character of all motion artifacts that come with vertex animation or a non-hierarchical skeleton, and allows us to create very smooth transitions between sequences.

    New Q3 Map - Underwear Ninja @ 7:20 pm PST
    Kinda new, that is. Remember the map we all know and love from Q2, The Edge? Well someone has converted it to Q3. Read the blip about it here.

    More UT Fixes - Surebrec @ 3:53 pm PST
    The Unreal Tech page has also been updated with suggestions on how to fix some of the v402 patch problems, such as CD errors (not that same as the last post). So, if you are having problems with UT, head on over.

    UT CD Problems - Surebrec @ 3:51 pm PST
    I noticed over at VE that the Unreal Tech Page has been updated with some news on UT CD problems with the v402 Patch:

    We are seeing reports of several different problems that appear to be due to problems reading files of the game CD.
    For example:

    Critical: appError called:
    Critical: Assertion failed: InPos>=0

    There are also other examples, such as problems with running a particular map. Some people have reported problems applying the 402 patch because some file (such as botpack.u or umenu.u) is not recognized properly from their CD.

    ..........
    You might try the following reinstall procedure, simple as it
    seems it has helped a lot of people with weird errors.

    Corrupted files are sometimes installed without any error messages with some
    CD-ROM drives; data is copied to your HD with read-errors, but for some
    reason the CD drive doesn't warn the installer and everything appears to
    have installed OK.

    Copy everything from the CD to the hard drive, (running scandisk first to be
    absolutely sure there's nothing wrong with the hard drive) then install from
    the hard drive to the final destination folder. (you'll still need the CD in
    the drive for playing.) Also, please make sure you install into a clean
    (new) folder, not on top of any existing UT or UT-demo content.

    If your only problem is with patching, you only need to copy the system directory from the CD. When the patch installer asks you for your CD directory, give it the directory in which the temporary system directory resides (if you copied the system directory to c:\UTtemp\system, then tell the patch installer that c:\UTtemp is your CD.

    Slave Zero Review - Surebrec @ 3:43 pm PST
    The "big boys" from Thresh's Firing Squad have posted their review of Slave Zero from Infogrames. But unfortunately, they gave the game a measely 1.5/5 stars. Here's one of the reasons:

    The graphics in Slave Zero are decent, but they're not all that they're cracked up to be. Weapon effects are fairly vanilla, as are the explosions and such. Level architecture is blocky and rather monochromatic. Also, the vaunted sense of scale you're supposed to notice in the game is inconsistent. On the one hand you do feel like a huge robot when you go climbing around freeways, stomping on cars and stepping on people as you battle it out with the Sovkhan's forces. But it is rather strange that none of the cars or people on the ground seem to panic when you come stomping around or when the bullets start flying. It's as if they're completely oblivious to the mayhem you're creating. Then on the other hand, the "sense of scale" is completely ruined when you stand next to some of the buildings and bridges that make up the interactive environment. Factories, and other buildings look like big dollhouses instead of real buildings when you stand next to them. The problem is most apparent at the end of Mission 5 when you're defending the Guardian base from the Sovkhan's forces. The base is hardly detailed at all and just seems like an oversized toy.

    Matrox BZ 2 Screens - Surebrec @ 3:40 pm PST
    Also on the agenda of AVault, they have posted 12 new screens, which show off the power of the Matrox G400 with Battlezone II.

    TR4 Demo - Surebrec @ 3:37 pm PST
    The peeps from AVault has posted a TR4: The Last Revelation demo, which is around 12.5 megs. Here's a little on the game if you don't already know (doubt that):

    Based entirely in Egyptian locations, Last Revelation's plot revolves around ancient mythology and the alignment of the stars at the millennium. Finding herself in a serious predicament, Lara's objective is clear from the outset - she must escape a terrifying destiny and rectify a situation that threatens to destroy humanity.

    AoW 1.2 Patch - Surebrec @ 3:28 pm PST
    I saw over at Sharky Extreme that the newest Age of Wonders patch has been released, which can be downloaded from over here. The list of changes can be found over here, which ranges from AI improvements to better network code.

    P3 Reviews - Surebrec @ 3:24 pm PST
    The tech pimps over at Sharkey Extreme have posted a huge review(s) on the newest P3 CPUs from Intel: the P3-750, P3-800, and P3-800B.

    Majesty Demo - Surebrec @ 3:18 pm PST
    Cyberlore Studios has recently released the demo (45MB) for their upcoming RPG/strategy, Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim.

    UT Review - Surebrec @ 3:10 pm PST
    The folks at GamesMania have posted their review of Unreal Tournament the latest thing from Epic Games (and the latest thing to kick Q3's ass). And because this game is so good, they gave the game a 9.5/10 stars. Their only gripes were that more skins would've been nice. They said "Unreal Tournament is the only action game you need this holiday season". Hehe. And here's a small clip from the review:

    Graphics, which were definitely Unreal's forte, make an extremely strong showing. UT runs on a modified version of the original engine, which says a lot for Epic's tweaking skills and admirable attention to detail. While not the best looking game of the holiday season (it comes a close second to a certain, currently-unnamed competitor), there are enough pretty lighting effects, detailed character models and realistic maps to satisfy even the most picky videophiles--besides, you wouldn't get far in the standings if all you did was stand around gawking at the scenery! You'll need a powerful system to appreciate all of the little details (high resolutions and 32-bit colour should run you a P3 with a TNT2 or GeForce accelerator), but in its defense, low resolutions and less extravagant graphical options are included for gamers at the other end of the hardware spectrum.

    CS News - Surebrec @ 3:04 pm PST
    Well, looks like the next version of Counter-Strike (kick ass HL mod) will be out in a matter of a few days. So to get you all excited about the next released, the makers of CS have posted 2 new screenshots from a new map called backalley and can be found at their main page.

    Also in the new version, the commander will be no more, there will be proper death icons, and a neat feature, freeze time.

    Mark Rein Interview - Surebrec @ 3:01 pm PST
    I saw over at Blues News that MacGamer has posted an interview with Mark Rein of Epic Games on (guess what) UT! The interview also talks about Mark's view on Apple G4's and those oh-so-loveable iMacs. Here's a clip from the interview:

    MG: Obviously Unreal Tournament is going to be locking horns with Quake III: Arena. Why go head to head against id software in a genre which they are traditionally considered to be king?

    MR: I'll ask you: why did the Wachowski Brothers decide to release a sci-fi movie, The Matrix, in a year when Star Wars: Episode One was coming out? We make games because that's what we do. The key to making successful games is to make games you LOVE to play. UT is a game we LOVE to play. We love playing id's games too! Just about everyone I know who is isn't sci-fi/action movies saw both this summer and I think the real fans will buy both games and enjoy both games.

    BG2 Preview - Surebrec @ 2:56 pm PST
    The Brits from over at Gamespot UK have posted a preview of Baldur's Gate 2, coming soon from BioWare. The preview includes screenshots, and some concept art. Here's a small clip of it:

    Baldur's Gate II: Shadows Of Amn picks up where the first game left off. Those who played the first Baldur's Gate will be able to import their main character into the new game. New players, or those who wish to start from scratch, can create new characters, but everyone will start off as a 6th, 7th or 8th Level character (depending on class) with about 89,000 experience points.

    The plot, which Bioware wants to keep mostly under wraps, is going to continue the Bhaal storyline begun in the first game. In the opening scene, you have wandered south from Baldur's Gate into the kingdom of Amn, where you are kidnapped by The Shadow Thieves, a secret, evil-aligned guild of thieves and assassins. You awake to find yourself imprisoned at the Shadow Thieves headquarters. Joining you are a few old friends making a welcome return from the first game - Minsc, Imoen, and Jahiera. Why you've been kidnapped, and how it relates to a bigger plotline involving the failed assassination of an elf queen, are the mysteries to be solved (that we know of).

    Rocket Arena for UT - Surebrec @ 2:53 pm PST
    I noticed over at AGN3D that Brandon "GreenMarine" Reinhart has updated his .plan file with the newest stuff on Rocket Arena for UT (damn when is mine gonna come in the mail..):

    As you know, I am working with CRT on Rocket Arena for UT. I'm the lead programmer on the project along with c0mpile from Unloaded. CRT is in charge of design, management, and getting level designers. I'm leaving for Christmas tomorrow but I'll be taking the Rocket Arena code with me.

    I am collaborating with CRT because he felt he really wanted to develop a Rocket Arena for UT, but was very stressed with work and the Quake3 version of the mod. Epic feels it is very important that UT develop a strong mod community, so I am able to contribute my time to the project.

    Hopefully, the first release of RA:UT will be in early or mid January. The game will include full bot support, all the classic RA gametypes, and some new stuff to boot. In addition, Epic will be adding some professional quality visual and audio content.

    i2e2 Tourney News - Surebrec @ 2:46 pm PST
    While checking out 24HG, I noticed that the 4 players are now found, after some grueling battles. The results are below:

    X'Ds~Grrrr defeats Psyduck (Bracket A)
    [9]eVERLAST defeats GOOD_GAME_MAN! (Bracket B)
    October defeats Atlas\"/ (Bracket C)
    Maynard defeats Pillars (Bracket D)

    I know X'Ds~Grrr... is gonna win. We all know it. Every SC player knows it.

    V8 Challenge details/screens - Surebrec @ 2:42 pm PST
    Speaking of GA-Source, they send news that Torus Games has released 6 new screenshots and details on their upcoming racing game, Dick Johnson V8 Challenge, which can all be found over here.

    Picassio Movie - Surebrec @ 2:38 pm PST
    The guys from GA-Source send word that Promethean Designs has released a 5.7 meg movie of their upcoming stealthy action/adventure game, Picassio.

    Sunday, December 19, 1999
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    Raven Chat Event - Surebrec @ 3:09 pm PST
    If you didn't already know, the news pimps at VE are hosting an IRC chat with some of the developers at Raven Software, who are Dan Kramer, Jake Simpson, John Scott, Mike Schulenberg and will be held on Monday, December 20, 1999 at 9:00 PM ET (8:00 PM CT, 7:00 PM MT, 6:00 PM PT). For more info on the chat, such as where it is and that stuff, surf on over to this page.

    1602 AD Preview - Surebrec @ 2:59 pm PST
    The peeps at AVault has recently kicked up a preview of Sunflowers' upcoming RTS, 1602 A.D.. Currently, 1602 AD is the best seller in Europe. But can it compete against USA's top selling RTS'? Maybe..

    On a smaller strategic map is a view of the entire world as you know it--a randomly generated chain of islands. One of these islands is to be your home, but which one? Players must pick carefully because each one is unique in what crops it can support, what sort of ore reserves it has if any, and whether or not it already has settlements of indigenous tribes, many of which have flourishing crops that can be bartered for at a later time. None of these tribes are warlike, however, so new settlers need not be afraid of raids or pillaging at the hands of enemies--that comes later. Once a site has been chosen--and odds are, you won't get your first choice, as the computer ships will almost always beat you to the best spots--it is up to the player to literally hack their new settlement out of the forest by establishing a warehouse on the coast, and then building their first set of structures. These usually include a logger's hut, some rudimentary housing, a source of food such as a fisher's hut, and a sheep farm and weaver for wool and clothing.

    Planescape Interview - Surebrec @ 2:51 pm PST
    I noticed over at GA-RPG that The Game Vortex has posted the first part to their Planescape: Torment interview with Chris Avellone, Lead Designer of Planescape. Here's a small clip from the interview:

    GV:
    The plot of Torment centers around the Nameless One and him trying to recover his past. From originally seeing the game and the plot and the intro setting, I immediately thought of the Super Nintendo Shadowrun, which started off much the same. What were some of the major (non-Planescape) influences on Torment, both game- and prose-wise? Where did the idea as a whole come from?

    CA:
    The biggest influences on the game are probably Zelazny (who is the king of amnesiac characters coming into their own in a strange new world) and this space craft campaign I was planning to run in college and never got around to, though I did a lot of preparation work for it: all the characters started out in a derelict space ship, waking up from their bunks with no idea who they were or what they were doing there – and over the course of the campaign (it was only going to be three to five nights), they would have to research themselves on the ship's computers, their medical records, and basically try to puzzle out who they are, what they're doing there, and why they are the only survivors in the vessel. I thought it'd be cool to run a campaign where the main goal of the characters is to find out who they are, but in the process of finding out who they were, they actually end up finding out what kind of people they've become as a result of losing their memories.

    SoF Preview - Surebrec @ 2:29 pm PST
    While surfing for news, I noticed over at Blues News that 3D-Unlimited has posted a SoF preview, Raven Software's upcoming tactical shooter. Here's something on the locations and weapons:

    The game features 26 levels and 10 different worlds. You will take control of a mercenary who'll have to deal with terrorist and hostage situations around the globe. Worlds and missions range from a New York Subway to a bullet train in Russia to Serbian Territory in Kosovo.

    The weapons in SOF are very realistic. This game doesn't use BFG 10K's and Plasma Guns, it features real life weapons such as a 9MM, Machinegun, and a high powered rifle with an incredible scope and tons more. If you are looking for a great weapon selection this game has got it. Don't get me wrong, Quake III: Arena and Unreal Tournament have great weapon selections, but as far as real life goes, SOF has them both beat.

    UT Review - Surebrec @ 2:23 pm PST
    Umm.. which number is this? I guess that doesn't matter. UT kicks ass no matter what (even kicks Q3's ass!). Anyway, The Adrenaline Vault has posted their review of UT. And guess what? They gave this game a 4.5 overall (all categories had 4 stars or more) and a "Reviewer's Choice" stamp. Here's a clip on the graphics:

    The most important accomplishment here is that the graphics engine is able to render attractive real-time 3D environments that produce high framerates during the intense action. This is no small feat given the burden that world detail can have on system resources. I was using a string of superlatives when discussing the visuals with a friend, who quipped, “But there are no curved surfaces.” UT might not have the most recent architectural features and it still limits the amount of geometry that can be used to construct its maps, but the designers were still able to create gorgeous and thrilling environments. I never missed the curved surfaces when I was battling through the ancient galleon floating in an open sea or struggling to triumph over the opposing Assault team on a speeding train, complete with nerve-searing leaps from a helicopter. I was convinced I was battling for domination of a mining rig in space and marveled at the how the Earth loomed over the huge spinning asteroid on which my team was attempting to steal the opposing group’s flag. These and other locations are dressed up with just the right amount of set decoration to create the finishing touches.

    On a side note, UT is ruling all those polls which ask "Which is the best FPS". Hehe, looks like Quake is dying.

    Wasteland Shots - Surebrec @ 2:17 pm PST
    Thegamers.net sends word that Mod Alliance has posted 12 new screens from the Wasteland mod for HL.

    WTA: Heart of Gaia News - Surebrec @ 2:16 pm PST
    SaintOfKillers of The Iron Gauntlet has informed me of a little update on Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of Gaia (Unreal-engine-powered game). Rich Rosado of ASC Games' (who are currently working on WTA: Heart of Gaia) says this:

    I hate to say this, but we'll ship when we're done :) Right now we broke down the production into 2 phases. Phase I, being the longest phase, consists of final geometry for the levels, and textures indicitive of the final product. Examples of AI are shown and ironed
    out, and models are placed and tested. Phase 2 consists of final level lockdown and completion. We're just about to enter P2 now. However, with the approval process we're taking on this game (They
    send us a CD, and we comb it top to bottom, not overlooking one single texture, then have a call and go over it), it's hard to put a finger on when we'll actually be done. We're still aiming for early 2000. Just so you can get an idea, it takes almost one hour to complete one of the levels in the game... and that's knowing where everything is, AND going straight through! Imagine walking through that inch by inch, and checking all of the hidden and side areas.

    The whole shibang can be found over at The Iron Gauntlet.

    Sacrafice Artwork - backup @ 12:27 pm PST
    I noticed on Blues News that they posted a note about the front page of the Developer's Corner, which has new art from Sacrafice, a game being developed at Shiny. The art is character art of the early placeholder models from the game, and is one of two such pieces they've received, the second to be posted tommorow.

    Saturday, December 18, 1999
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    Interview with Steve Garofalo - Gibb @ 3:14 pm PST
    Masamune Online has posted an interview with Steve Garofalo. Steve is a freelance artist, and has done work for both UT and Q3 Arena. Here's a spicy litle tidbit:

    Kevin: And the question that everyone is probably wondering. What game do you think is better Q3 or UT and Why?

    Steve: Oh god. Im not even going to answer that. All I'll say is both games are different in what the companies wanted to accomplish..and they both did this well. I seriously cannot understand why people have to compare the two games. it's like this never ending saga of Epic vs id that the fans create. Who cares anyway? I think the problem is some people like to hear others fight..so they instigate these 'flame wars'. It's something which in my opinion is taken way too seriously.

    Check out the interview here, and also check out Steve's very cool website here.

    Friday, December 17, 1999
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    DirectX 7.0a - Surebrec @ 7:24 pm PST
    The "big boys" from Microsoft have released the latest update for DirectX 7.0a. All it pretty much does is fix some input compatibility issues and improved the force feedback. But anyways, if you're in need of this jewel, grab it.

    Rune Screen - Surebrec @ 7:21 pm PST
    Also at The AVault is a new Rune shot from Human Head Studios' upcoming RPG, Rune, which will be powered by the Unreal engine. Here's the description of the screen:

    A rugged warrior stands against an ancient crimson horizon. Towering mountains embrace the reluctant figure, tugging and pulling him to a pilgrimage of vengeance. A chilling gale rips across the Nordic landscape with tiger claws, beating his tattered garments and curling around a colossal battle axe, his bloodied implement of requital. Behind him, the red-hot remnants of a burning village illuminate his destination. Evil shall die, but it must first ache and beseech the blade's solace. A scream pierces the twilight and a nightmare creature emerges to meet the challenge.

    AC Changes - Surebrec @ 7:16 pm PST
    The seasons of Microsoft's AC are changing (literally) to a winter wonderland (just in time for the holidays). Here's what happening, according to AVault:

    Sudden Season has hit and the temperate zones of the island of Dereth are in the grip of a frigid winter. A white blanket covers the plains of Yanshi and Middle Osteth and the once arid Direlands are riddled with snowy patches.

    Eager adventurers have already donned their warmest garments and entered Dereth to experience the new look of the world and sneak a peak at the new monsters and items. Sudden Season kicks off a new quest and a series of large-scale events to be named later. While many are planning winter celebrations with holiday festivals, others believe something more sinister is behind the change in climate. The truth will likely be revealed in the coming days.

    Vampire Screens - Surebrec @ 7:05 pm PST
    I noticed over at GA-RPG that The Vault Network has slapped up a handful of Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption screens, Nihilistic's upcoming action/RPG. The screenshots range from in-game shots to total artwork.

    MDK2 Screens/Impressions - Surebrec @ 6:57 pm PST
    Also at Gamespot, are some screens and a small preview of BioWare's MDK2 (BTW, does anyone know what MDK stands for?) which should ship around Spring of 2000. Here's a small clip on the game:

    The game uses BioWare's Omen 3D engine, which will also provide the graphics for the upcoming Neverwinter Nights. MDK 2, as shown to us, looks good. The team says the game is still several months from shipping, but the game looked stable.

    The major difference between MDK and MDK 2 is that in new game, you will also be able to play as Max the Dog or as Dr. Hawkins, in addition to playing as MDK hero, Kurt. Each has a different style of gameplay. Kurt uses his sniper gun a lot and requires more deliberation in negotiating game levels. Max, as a gun-wielding four-legged dog, simply runs through levels blowing up everything in sight. Dr. Hawkins is less forceful in his approach, and he is required to do more puzzle solving. MDK 2 has ten levels; each character is devoted to three levels, with the final level open to any character.

    Allegiance Info - Surebrec @ 6:49 pm PST
    Gamespot has recently slapped up 9 new screenshots and a small preview of MS' Allegiance. Here's a little on Allegiance:

    In development for over two years, Allegiance combines the fast action of games like Wing Commander and action-oriented strategy similar to that found in Battlezone. Games can be played with any combination of up to 32 simultaneous players over a LAN and the Internet. There are various game modes such as pure deathmatch, cooperative play, capture the flag, and more. When you jump into a game, you can choose to play as one of three sides, each with a slightly different technology tree and focus. One side has great stealth capabilities, while another has increased economic abilities.

    OpFor Gameguide - Surebrec @ 6:36 pm PST
    If you're stuck in Sierr's new HL: OpFor, then there is an answer. And that is the new OpFor Gameguide over at Gamespot. It includes an enemy guide, weapons guide, a complete walk-thru, and some cheat codes if you're stuck.

    Next up, Dinosaurs! - Surebrec @ 6:34 pm PST
    What's next for Sid Meier? Dinosaurs. That's all he's said. Here's the news clip:

    Sid Meier, creator of Civilization and the more recent Antietam, has announced that his next game will be "a fun, deep, fast-moving strategy game about dinosaurs in the prehistoric world, that will appeal to gamers of all ages."

    The official game title will be announced early next year.

    The dinosaurs game will be published by Electronic Arts. Firaxis has started posting dinosaur diaries to track the progress of the game's development. The diaries can be viewed at this site.

    DE Interview - Surebrec @ 6:22 pm PST
    I noticed over at AGN3D that Games Domain has kicked up an interview with James Schmalz, president of Digital Extremes, the company that co-developed Unreal and UT. In the interview, they talk about their history, how they took part in the creation of UT, and their future.

    Nox Screens - Surebrec @ 6:09 pm PST
    I noticed over at 24HG that GameRush has posted 9 new Nox shots from Westwood's upcoming action/RPG (which will be a good game!)

    SoF Screens - Surebrec @ 6:07 pm PST
    PC.IGN has recently posted 14 cool new screens from SoF, which is Raven Software's upcoming tactical shooter. Note: viewer discretion is advised.

    Top 10 Games on the Millenium - backup @ 3:55 pm PST
    I will be putting together a list of the top ten games of the millenium. We need your help. You can help by submitting in your top 10 games for the millenium and saying why you picked the ones you did. Please send all lists in by December 22, 1999 and to Liite@earthlink.net

    Looking for help... - Gibb @ 3:40 pm PST
    I'm writing an article which will list the Top Ten signs you're a hardcore gamer. (Yeah, I know, tons of these have been written before, but I want to see what I come up with.) Anyway, I need your help. I need people to send me in signs that you're a hardcore gamer (I was aiming for comedy.) I'll be making my own up, but I'm only one person. Send em to this address by 12/22/99. Unless you say not to, your name and email address will be included in the article. Thanks alot...

    Thursday, December 16, 1999
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    Quake 3 Demo For Macintosh - Underwear Ninja @ 10:34 pm PST
    All 4 of you Macintosh users out there can get the blueberry compliant version of the Q3 demo here.

    **UPDATE**
    Q3A for Mac should be Gold Soon.

    Diablo2 Pirated Copy - Raven @ 8:30 pm PST
    Ok this is to finish off the Diablo2 News. There has been abit of a conspiracy theory floating around the Diablo2 community, centering around the posibility of a "Pirated" copy of Diablo2 outside of Blizzard's hands. The theory started up soon after the Diablo2 Preview by blizzard and the Dailyradar competition. Since then it has attracted a fair bit of attention over the Net.

    Me!, the person claiming to own the pirated copy, originally sent 5 new screenshots to Diablo2 Inferno, stating that these screenshots came from his pirated copy of Diablo2. The screenshots were then picked up by other Diablo2 sites and Diablo2.com issues a dirrect challenge to Me! to send in 3 more specific, unseen screenshots to prove that he did indeed have a pirated copy. This has posted an official responce from blizzard, afew posts on diabloii.net, posts on Diablo2 Inferno, a possible clash between Diabloii.net and Diablo2 Inferno, aswell as alot of talk in the wider diablo2 community.

    If your interested in keeping up with whats happening then i suggest you visit these sites.
    DiabloII.net
    Diablo2 Inferno
    Blizzard

    If you'd like to view the actual screenshots you can view them here
    Necromancer Curses
    Creation Screen
    Necro Poison
    Necro Summon
    Title Screen

    Diablo2 Necro footage - Raven @ 8:00 pm PST
    Necro Spell... very cool

    Blizzard afew days ago put up some great downloadable footage of the Necromancer in action. The footage covers spells and battles, and looks top rate. It can be downloaded for either PC or MAC.

    To read abit about the footage or to download it go to here

    Diablo 2 FAQ - Raven @ 7:50 pm PST
    One of the four winners of Blizzards Diablo2 competition, Ronen_X has posted up a list FAQ from his recent visit to Blizzard. The FAQs are good and despite the fact that similar information has been posted at diabloii.net, I prefered this source. The FAQs are in a simple list and shed light on a fair bit of new information.

    View the FAQ's here

    AN Affilitate News - Raven @ 7:06 pm PST
    Ancient Nation is presently constructing their own forum using UltraBoard. AN's webmaster Shiva has high hopes for the board and apparently UltraBoard is the most powerful forum software. The board hasnt been put up and is being configured but it's somthing to watch for in the future and will be worth a look-see. AN is hoping to host boards on there site soon so any webmasters wanting a good forum should probably start checking regularly at AN. For anyone whose ever played around with a CGI or SSI board its not easy and often invokes thoughts of suicide and the need to hit something, so congrats to AN.

    Download FF8 Demo - Raven @ 6:50 pm PST
    FF8 DEMO


    Considering that FF8 for PC is due to be released in a month, its rather nice that this little titbit for the game has appeared. The ff8 PC demo all 68 Megs -can you say MASSIVE DOWNLOAD!- Has been pinched off the demo CD for January's edition of PC GAMERS. This demo is not the official demo from Squaresoft and there is no technical support for the game. the Demo features
    • Amazing FMV sequences
    • Text -communication- scenes
    • A selections of battles and monsters
    • Limited variety of weapons
    • And showcases part of the FF8 storyline

    To download the demo head over to www.3dfiles.com for a selection of mirrors, remember though that the demo is a whole 68 megs and for people with normal dial up connections, is a fairly massive venture to download.

    -This story comes from FFOnline

    Staff needed! - Surebrec @ 6:20 pm PST
    So, maybe you've noticed that we run dry on news during the week. Why? Mainly because we're busy with stuff. Wanna make the site better? We are looking for a few good news posters who post news regularly and daily. They must have good spelling, good grammar, and complete dedication. If you're interested, send me an email! You get your own @gamesurge.com pop3 email account and some fame in the gaming community.

    Mac UT Gold - Surebrec @ 6:10 pm PST
    GS isn't exactly a Mac site, but it's news nonetheless. I noticed at PU that Mac UT has gone gold. Here's the news snippet:

    Unreal Tournament for Mac has officially gone gold and is in duplication at MacSoft! With end of the year (and millenial) madness, it will probably take a couple weeks to get duplicated and start shipping out, but MacSoft's goal is to have lots of copies to sell at MacWorld in San Francisco, January 5, 2000.
    The UT Mac conversion is one of the closest to the PC Westlake has done, we delivered the final CD to MacSoft a short 28 days after receiving final PC code from Epic. Thanks to MacSoft, Epic, and all the testers for making UT a great game!

    Hi-res Evolva Screens - Surebrec @ 6:04 pm PST
    GA-Source sends word that they have posted 9 hi-res screens from Computer Artwork's upcoming action/strategy title, Evolva.

    Top 10 Games - Surebrec @ 6:01 pm PST
    iG dropped an email saying that they have posted a rather funny article on the Top 10 Games of '99. Here's one of them..

    9. Ganja Farmer

    Jon: This game has got to be most intense game to play when you're stoned...gaaah (Probably because there are so many crazy colors). Yeah...heh.... heh...You must stop those secret agents...from taking yo ganjaaaaah...aha....whoooooooop whoop whoop...You play levels - and every sho many levelsh...you get new weaponshhhh...shh shhhh....yeah Rob's a good guy....wait .... Who's Rob?? Yeah what was I saying? YEAH! Go Chicago Bears! I mean ganja farmer rocksh my sockshhh!!!

    Shawn: Oh Ya! The crew showed me this game at my LAN last summer, and I loved it... but it's nothing like when your on da ganja, or according to Word, the following words are acceptable synonyms for ganja: marijuana, mary jane, pot, herb, grass, weed, dope and wacky tobaccy. PRAISE JAH MON..!!

    UT Boss Voice Patch - Surebrec @ 5:59 pm PST
    Tex from 24HG sends word that they have posted a small 2KBpatch which allows you to choose boss voices in the GUI, even if you haven't beaten the single player levels yet. However, some .ini editing is required.

    Crusaders of Might and Magic: First Look - Falcon @ 4:00 am PST
    PCgamers.net has posted a "first look" review of Crusaders of Might and Magic. Heres a clip:
    "The first feature worth mentioning about is the unique two mouse buttons style combat system. In the game you move your character around
    just like you would in Rainbow 6, or Quake, by using the arrow keys to move and the mouse to guide your directions, except that this is in a 3rd person point of view. During a battle, you attack (swinging
    your weapon) with the left mouse button, and defend yourself (hold up your shield) with the right mouse button, and the battles take place in real time... "

    Slave Zero Review - Falcon @ 3:53 am PST
    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 a battle to destroy SovKhan before he can finish creating his army of Slaves.

    So does this mix of anime-styled robots and third-person action add up to agreat action game? Read on to find out.

    Diablo.net Competition - Falcon @ 3:47 am PST
    Diablo.net - The Labyrinth is having a new Diablo/Diablo II Fan Art and Diablo/Diablo II related Story/Literature contest.

    The prizes are as:

    The first place Fan Art winner gets a copy of Diablo II (free).
    The first place Story/Literature winner will also receive a copy of Diablo II (free).

    The runner-up for Fan Art will receive a Blizzard action figure of their choice (free).
    The runner-up for the Story/Literature will receive a Diablo II T-Shirt (free).

    All the information that anyone needs to know, including contest rules and where to email your submissions, is on the contest's page, which you can check out here

    Wednesday, December 15, 1999
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    9 Nox Screens - Surebrec @ 7:49 pm PST
    John from GA-Source sends word that they have posted 9 New Nox Screens from Westwood's upcoming action/RPG, Nox.

    BTW, I know this RPG will be better than D2! Nox rules!

    Windows 2000 - Gibb @ 3:26 pm PST
    I saw over at CNN that after three long years, Microsoft has finally shipped the Windows 2000 code to the CD production plant. The retail version will be available in stores on February 17.

    Revenant review - Falcon @ 5:27 am PST
    Today Insane Gamers posted a Review of Revenant:

    Ah yes, I remember just a few years back…(scene fades into a black and white flashback)…My fellow chumps and I were engrossed in a little gem known as Diablo. Despite the shallow storyline, gameplay and character interaction, the simplicities of hack, slash, level up was refreshingly fun and innovative. Tremendously immersed into the game, I would play for hours and hours and eventually I would smell like eggs and the words "Suck sword, skeleton scum!" could be heard repeatedly coming out of my computer room. Soon, I would refuse to leave the house unless my parents allowed me to wear my full plate of armor (which I made out of cereal boxes) and go out onto the street and strike down neighboring kids with a snow shovel. ß(Dramatization may not have happened) As you can imagine I was quite excited when I was given the task to review Eidos' Diablo clone, entitled Revenant. Attempting to set itself apart from Diablo and its clones, Eidos set out to improve on Diablo's winning formula by adding an innovative combat system, impressive looking environments and an involving story. Although the game did not capture my heart, it did have its run at the top of my gaming priority list for a couple of weeks. You could say it captured something not quite as important as my heart, lets say…one of my kidneys.

    Rollcage Stage II Q&A and Screenshots - Falcon @ 5:22 am PST
    Rollcage Stage II continues to test the limits of 360° racing with cars that can flip and spin upside down, yet still continue racing. Developed by Attention to
    Detail (ATD), the creators of the first Rollcage game, this sequel promises to maintain the unique blend of action and racing that made the first game a hit, while taking the gameplay to all new levels.
    Check out this Q&A with Rollcage Stage II Producer, David Perryman, to find out more about this gravity-defying racer. This article also includes a full features list and nine new screenshots.

    Note: RS II will be released simutaneously for the PC and PSX in March 2000.

    Hands-on Preview: Evolva - Falcon @ 5:19 am PST
    Evolva is an upcoming action/strategy hybrid that pits you against a deadly alien parasite which has infected a planet. Players are able to create a customized set of warriors called Genohunters and then guide them into a series of confrontations with the parasite and its armies.
    The following in-depth hands-on preview is based on the latest beta build. This article also features 24 new screenshots.

    Tuesday, December 14, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    FF8 PC news - Surebrec @ 5:26 pm PST
    According to Thresh's Firing Squad, the PC version of FF8 will be out around January 25, 2000. Here's the news snippet:

    COSTA MESA, Calif., December 13, 1999 – Square Electronic ArtsSM L.L.C. (Square Electronic Arts), the exclusive publisher of all SQUARESOFT® products in North America, today announced that FINAL FANTASY® VIII will ship for the PC on January 25, 2000. The title follows hot on the heels of the PlayStation® game console version, which shipped in September 1999 and has sold over 1 million units in the U.S. and over 6 million units worldwide. The PC version will offer an improved graphics engine which provides life-like characters and motion-captured animation, a playable mini-game, "Chocobo’s World," available as a separate Windows® application, and full support of the latest graphics and sound cards.

    Dues Ex Preview - Surebrec @ 5:25 pm PST
    Saw over at Blues Pimp Shack that Gamers Domain has slapped up a Dues Ex preview, Eidos' upcoming kick ass action/RPG title. Now before I go any further, I really think this will be the game of 2000, unless there's something better gonna come then email me. Anyhow, here's a clip from the preview:

    Having followed the development, I believe it's shaping up into what may be a game with incredible world-depth and suspense. It will, however, share more in common with Half-Life or Thief than the likes of Baldur's Gate. So traditional RPGists beware! In Deus Ex one should have the choice of playing Colonel Anna Navarre or J.C. Denton, new recruits into the UNATCO. As either, you are a "powerful, nano-technologically augmented anti-terrorist agent." Again, bearing a strong resemblance to the original System Shock character who sported a neural implant, computer network interface. The style of character development, not clearly revealed yet, also bears a resemblance to the earlier game with approximately 12-13 skills available. A player will not be able to have all skills in the game and/or upgrade them all to maximum. Thus, what began in System Shock as a new style RPG is further explored in Deus Ex. This system will allow the player to differentially develop the character based on the choice of skills the player selects and enhances with allotted points.

    Alienware Interview - Surebrec @ 5:13 pm PST
    I noticed over at 24HG that 3D Wars has interviewed Nelson Gonzalez of Alienware Corporation, which, in fact, is my favorite computer company. Alienware is said to sell the best gaming rigs around. And they do. If you have the money that is. Here's a morsel of the interview:

    It's just like all of those sci-fi movies coming to life, especially for gamers. Where do you find the motivation do to this? Is it a business thing? Is it a 'for the greater good' type of deal?

    The motivitation for us is quite personal. We are gamers first and foremost, and we want to see this come to light. Obviously we wouldn't be able to attain these goals without being in business. I won't lie to you and say that we are in this business purely 'for the greater good' but we do love what we do and for us it would be quite satisfying to say that Alienware was part of the revolutionary way we look at games in the next century.

    We want to make significant contributions to our community simply because we love gaming so much, and to be honest with you not too many companies out there are really pushing the envelope. We will push the envelope! Unfortunately many system houses take a 'wait and see' approach to technology, depending on other manufacturers to develope new technologies. To be honest, some of these manufacturers haven't got the slightest clue as to what the gamers wants or needs are. On the other hand we are quite impatient, we want this stuff like yesterday.

    SOF Interview - Falcon @ 4:59 pm PST
    SOF Center has an interview with John 'Pagan' Scott, which discusses info on the game. Here's a clip:
    Q. There are some really good first-person shooters out by now, what do you think will make Soldier of Fortune stand out above these games?

    A: The gore, the fast pace and the quality of graphics. We want to aim for the playability of Doom, lots of enemies that die relatively quickly. Without the parental locks on, the game has blood and guts flying everywhere - which looks really cool. With the recent spotlight placed on violent games, we will be doing a non gore version for the mainstream stores.


    You can view the interview here

    Blademasters Screens - Surebrec @ 4:34 pm PST
    These guys never stop sending us email. Anyhow, John from GASource (again) dropped me a line saying that they have posted 6 new Blademasters Screens from Ronin Entertainment's upcoming real-time 3D-action/RPG.

    Omikron Review - Surebrec @ 4:30 pm PST
    John from GA-Source sends word that they have posted their reivew of Omikron which was released earlier from Eidos. Here's a clip if you don't know what Omikron is:

    Omikron is an adventure game with elements of a shooter (ala Doom style) and a fighter (ala Tekken) rolled into one. The basic premise of the game is that you, as the player, are sucked into (via your soul) the
    world into which Omikron takes place. It's from here that your story begins.

    Omikron, as you might have noticed from the proceeding paragraph, tries to mesh many different gameplay styles into one game. Is it successful in blending all of these styles into a cohesive whole? We hope to impart the answer to that question in this detailed review.

    Coppermine is crap? - Underwear Ninja @ 4:24 pm PST
    There is an article at Gamers.com talking about issues between the Coppermine and Voodoo3's. Apparently you don't have to worry about it if you're playing Q3 or Unreal, so pretty much it doesn't matter at all : )
    You can read it here.

    Q3A Weapons Stats - Falcon @ 4:16 pm PST
    Ingava has some Quake 3 Arena Statistics for Weapons and Items. How much damage a Shotgun really does? How damage each bullet is doing? Is the Grenade Launcher more powerful than the Rocket? Is there really radius damage on a Plasma Gun or are you crazy? Here are some further details:

    "Ever wonder what the stats of the weapons that blow you up to bits and chunks are? Ever wonder how long it takes for items to respawn so that you can time your camps and routes? No longer do you have to wonder; this feature will clear up those mysteries, as well as destroy some misconceptions about weapon damage and clarify which weapons really do have radius damage."

    D2 SSOTW - Falcon @ 4:09 pm PST
    The 41st Diablo II Screenshot of The Week is now online. It features The Paladin invading the temple of Act III. The image and further reviewing/commenting are available here

    Quake 3 CD-Keys - backup @ 4:02 pm PST
    I saw on Voodoo Extreme that Robert Colon sent them an email concerning problems with people ripping cdkey stickers off the cases and then resealing them. He states before buying check for tampering because of the no return policy after opening of box that some stores have. Here is a snippet.
    At my job people have been opening boxes of Quake 3 and tearing the CD Key sticker off of the back of the cases and then resealing the box tape. I think you should bring this to the attention of your readers to check their box seal for tampering because many stores have a no return once opened policy on software. This of course looks perfectly legal to ID's authentication servers since it isn't a cracked # but a legit one off of one of their CDs. This really hampers the fine individual that bought their game but has no CD key. I think this method of protection is one of the worst I have ever seen. Any kind of protection that hurts the customer is just wrong. Since no protection is 100% they should concentrate more on DETERRING would be pirates (even a small number of the jag-offs) and hurting 0% of the honest customers rather than hurting even just a few honest customers to stop many pirates. They try too hard to be 100% secure and hurt honest customers when there is no 100% secure no matter what.

    Make sure that when purchasing Quake 3 you check the box, very important stuff!!!

    UT Review - Falcon @ 3:57 pm PST
    GamesXTREME have posted a review of Unreal Tournament, giving a massive 97% score, Heres a bit:
    Every Weapon in the game has two modes of fire, for example you starting pistol can be used normally or if you press alternate fire you get a cool gangster style shoot the gun sideways, this is really impressive with 2 guns! The rocket launcher becomes a grenade launcher on alternate fire and every weapon has similarchanges, most you will only find useful in particular situations, but they can all be used once per level.

    Latest Time Issue - backup @ 3:52 pm PST
    The latest Time Magazine issue, which I got today, featured the best cybertech of 1999. Here is how the list went.
    1. Ebay
    2. Dreamcast
    3. Mp3
    4. Sim City 3000
    5. Palm VII
    6. Everquest
    7. Google.com
    8. Omikron
    9. Linux
    10. TheOnion.com
    Make sure you check the latest issue of Time out if you don't already have it.

    Punch the Monkey - Underwear Ninja @ 11:59 am PST
    I almost wrote a rant about the "Punch the Monkey" banner, then got busy or sidetracked, but I looks like someone at Badassmofo took care of it for me. Read it there.

    Monday, December 13, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Q3 Stuff (big time) - Surebrec @ 6:02 pm PST
    Shawn from Insane Gamers dropped me a line today saying that they recently posted a helluva lotta stuff for Q3. First, a Q3 review:

    Simply put, Quake 3 is a masterpiece. It has been called the greatest game of all time, and why shouldn't it be? It has a well-written engine, well-designed levels, excellent art, and pretty good bot AI. If you haven't heard of Quake 3, (then you have a serious problem), it's the newest first person shooter from id Software, the company that invented the genre.

    And along with that, they have posted a whoppin' 62 Q3 screens!

    Bah, UT is still better :).

    Blade shots - Surebrec @ 5:58 pm PST
    This one is coming from GA-RPG. They send word that Rebel Act Studios has released 9 new hi-res Blade shots, from their upcoming 3D/action RPG. And if you don't know what Blade is, here's some info:

    Blade from Gremlin Interactive is the first game from Spanish developers Rebel Act. Blade takes its starting point from the classic table-top RPGs. It combines RPG and adventuring elements with a full-blown, yet not overly-complex, combat system. Think Diablo, Conan and Tomb Raider all rolled into 17 grueling missions with a variety of environments from towns, sprawling valleys, and forests to huge castles, volcanoes, and Aztec temples. Then top it all of with some captivating effects: water reflections, smoke and diverse weather conditions.

    Evolva Screens - Surebrec @ 5:52 pm PST
    The boys from GA-Source send word that they have posted 9 new Evolva Screens from Computer Artwork's upcoming action/strategy hybrid, Evolva. Along with that, they have posted a little excerpt from their upcoming preview:

    Evolva's AI system is different from traditional game AI. Rather than things running on scripts and if-then rules, the creatures have a set of natural instincts and behaviour patterns, based on a set of fuzzy-logic controllers. This makes them genuinely react and adapt to the player's actions, and so that they have a realistic feel of predatory animals. One example of this is the ostrich-like indigenous species that riddle the planet. These docile creatures will just go about their business, unless the are attacked or feel that you are approaching too closely to their nest. Unfortunately their eggs are a good source of energy for your geno-hunters, so attacking the nest is a must if you want to replenish your strength. I actually find myself feeling kind of bad doing it, because of the pitiful defensive attempts these creatures will put up to protect their unborn - only to be cut down in a second or two by my powerful brethren.

    A New PlanetQuake - backup @ 3:18 pm PST
    Planetquake is being redesigned just like all the other planet sites over at Gamespy. I am guessing it will be up early tommorow or the next day. Most likely early tommorow.

    Star Trek Hidden Evil - backup @ 3:12 pm PST
    Our hosted site GamesXTreme has posted a review of Star Trek: Hidden Evil. You can view the review right here.

    Some File Additions - backup @ 2:41 pm PST
    I uploaded a few large files over cable a little while ago and here is what they are.
  • AI Wars Demo

  • Omikron Demo 180 Megs
  • Werd - backup @ 2:30 pm PST
    I keep going to the updates and when I update it trashes the file. I am not sure what is causing this but when you go to update any stuff make sure you create a backup.

    Super Smash Brothers Article - backup @ 2:18 pm PST
    I wrote an article concerning problems with the AI in Super Smash Brothers. You can read the article by heading to this link right over here.

    Penny-Arcade - Underwear Ninja @ 12:49 pm PST
    If you don't read Penny-Arcade then you should start. There is an interview up with the creators at Voodoo Extreme so I suggest you check it out.

    Sunday, December 12, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Q3A Stuff - Falcon @ 11:15 pm PST
    The guys over at iG have posted some a review of Q3A, heres a bit of what they had to say about it:

    Simply put, Quake 3 is a masterpiece. It has been called the greatest game of all time, and why shouldn't it be? It has a well-written engine, well-designed levels, excellent art, and pretty good bot AI. If you haven't heard of Quake 3, (then you have a serious problem), it's the newest first person shooter from id Software, the company that invented the genre
    On the subject of Q3A, they have also put up 62 shots, which can be viewed here

    Baldur's Gate Journal #2 - Falcon @ 6:08 pm PST
    PC.IGN has posted part two developer journal of Baldur's Gate II producer, Chris Parker. In the journal he shows us that there's more to making games than making the game.
    - Caligirl.net

    Reviews, FAQs & Bits - Falcon @ 6:05 pm PST
    GameFAQs has posted today, more reviews, new and/or updated FAQs, Walkthroughs, plus more of Arcade, PlayStation [PSX], Nintendo [N64], Dos/Windows [PC], Dreamcast [DC], and GameBoy Color [GBC] for you to check out.
    You can view the reviews here, or the FAQs and bits here

    Hidden Evil, PGA tou golf review - Falcon @ 5:56 pm PST
    GamesXTREME has posted 2 Reviews, one for the PC the other for the PSX:

    on the PC they have StarTrek: Hidden Evil
    Heres a bit from the Review:

    One of the differences of this to any other game is that because you play a human federation officer that was raised on Vulcan he can use the Vulcan Nerve Pinch, and you will master this technique in the first mission in the game. The graphics are quite impressive with the use 3D pre-rendered environments, and the fluidity of the game was good as well especially as the story is easy to follow.

    The PSX review is for PGA European Tour Golf Heres a snippit:

    The commentator responds to every shot you make, if you do well the commentator will say something like, "it's nice to see that we could be here to see a lovely round of golf'. However if you do badly they will take the piss, no matter how well your doing overall. Hit the rough once and they will say something just to annoy, most times your doing really well and you make one wrong shot and the commentators say something that would not be out of place if you were playing really badly on every hole!

    Campaignz Opening - Falcon @ 5:49 pm PST
    No, we dont usually post about sites opening but this is one of our hosted sites. Campaignz is officially opening today, they should grow to be an excellent source for your Starcraft campaignz.

    Staff needed - backup @ 1:24 pm PST
    Gamesurge is looking for 2 or 3 dedicated people to help create content like reviews, interviews, previews and more. In order to get hired please create 3 or 4 pieces of work and send them in. If we like them we will give you a buzz. Please include works in zip format with all the content and give your requested email address @gamesurge.com.

    Please send all Job requests to me. Thanks!

    A Small Editorial - backup @ 12:58 pm PST
    I have written up a small editorial on the series of Tycoon games. You can check it out right right here.

    Release Dates - backup @ 9:41 am PST
    Got this off of the The Adrenaline Vault. Its the PC release dates.
    13 - Virtual Pool Hall - INTERPLAY ENTERTAINMENT
    14 - Urban Chaos - EIDOS INTERACTIVE
    15 - Half Life Adrenaline Pack - SIERRA
    15 - South Park Rally - ACCLAIM
    15 - Wall Street Trader - INTERPLAY
    17 - PBA Bowling II - BETHESDA
    23 - F/A-18: Jane's - ELECTRONIC ARTS
    28 - Caesar's Palace 2000 - INTERPLAY ENTERTAINMENT
    28 - Chess Grandmaster - INTERPLAY ENTERTAINMENT
    28 - Earthworm Jim - INTERPLAY ENTERTAINMENT
    28 - Invictus: In the Shadows of Olympus - INTERPLAY ENTERTAINMENT
    28 - Messiah - SHINY
    28 - Renegade Racer - INTERPLAY ENTERTAINMENT
    30 - Battlezone 2 - ACTIVISION
    30 - Mortyr - INTERPLAY ENTERTAINMENT
    31 - Daikatana - EIDOS INTERACTIVE

    Console Release Dates are as follows from The Adrenaline Vault.
    14 - Asteroids Hyper 64 - N64 / CRAVE
    14 - Forumla One 99 - PLAYSTATION / ACTIVISION
    14 - MTV Music Generator - PLAYSTATION / ACTIVISION
    14 - South Park Rally - PLAYSTATION / ACCLAIM
    14 - Test Drive 6 - DREAMCAST / INFOGRAMES
    14 - Vigilante 8 Second Offense - DREAMCAST / ACTIVISION
    15 - Evolution - DREAMCAST / UBI SOFT
    15 - Fighting Force 2 - PLAYSTATION / EIDOS INTERACTIVE
    15 - LEGO Racers - PLAYSTATION / LEGO MEDIA
    15 - Roadsters - N64 / TITUS
    16 - Bass Masters 2000 - N64 / THQ
    17 - Fighting Force 2 - DREAMCAST / EIDOS INTERACTIVE
    17 - March Madness 2000 - PLAYSTATION / ELECTRONIC ARTS
    21 - Harvest Moon - N64 / CRAVE
    21 - Renegade Racer - DREAMCAST / INTERPLAY
    21 - Renegade Racer - PLAYSTATION / INTERPLAY
    21 - Space Invaders - N64 / ACTIVISION
    22 - Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling - N64 / THQ
    23 - Gran Turismo 2 - PLAYSTATION / SCEA
    23 - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2000 - PLAYSTATION / ELECTRONIC ARTS
    28 - Official Formula One Racing 99 - PLAYSTATION / EIDOS INTERACTIVE

    Note that all release dates may not be final and are subject to change.

    Saturday, December 11, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    I '82 Demo - Surebrec @ 6:28 pm PST
    I noticed that Adrenaline Vault has posted the new I '82 demo which is being created by Activision. This baby weighs in at around 28 megs and requires a P233 (damn my comp isn't fast enough), 32 megs of RAM (I barely have enough RAM for that), and a 3D Accelerator (does my ATI Rage Pro count as a 3D accelerator, or a piece of crap?). Here's what the game is about if you don't know:

    The Interstate is Deadlier Than Ever.
    It’s 1982 and auto-terrorism is at an all-time high. The U.S. is in crisis and you, legendary road warrior, Taurus, are dealing with a crisis of your own. Your long-time partner, Groove Champion, is missing and it’s up to you to keep him from becoming a skid mark in the mother of all wars on wheels. Wage fully charged vehicular combat as you strive to uncover and destroy top secret forces…before they drive you-and the entire country-to the brink.

    Gamespot stuff - Surebrec @ 6:22 pm PST
    While on my routine trip to Gamespot, I noticed that they have posted a review of UT (I don't know how old this is cuz Gamespot doesn't date the stuff). And just what have they given this sweet jem of a FPS (UT is better than Q3A BTW)? A 9.4 of 10 score. That's about the same score as Half-Life got. Here's what they say:

    The first-person shooter genre is fiercely competitive. But Unreal Tournament rises above the rest with its solid multiplayer performance, from its good weapon balance to its great level design. The numerous game types and mini-mods that ship with the game give you plenty of options right out of the box, and the large variety of great maps ensure a fast-paced and exciting game, no matter how many players you've got. Even considering its lack of a solid single-player adventure, Unreal Tournament is the most complete first-person shooter available.

    Here that Quakers?! UT is better! Hmm... back to the news.

    SoF Updates - Surebrec @ 6:09 pm PST
    I saw over at Blue's place that SoF Center, a newly opened Soldier of Fortune site, has posted 2 new exclusive screenshots from Raven Software's upcoming tactical shooter, Soldier of Fortune. Along with those shots, they have also kicked up an interview with Kenn Hoekstra from Raven Software (duh!). You want your clip? You got your clip:

    Q: Now since Soldier of Fortune is practically done, if you look back at the development, what has been the most difficult thing you guys encountered?

    A: The most difficult thing we encountered was a series of changes to the overall design concept of the game. We started out as an action game and then we thought about moving towards a simulation/strategy type game. When we got going on that, we decided it just wasn’t going to work and we switched back to action. Swapping horses midstream and second-guessing ourselves was a setback to say the least.

    Gothic Shots - Surebrec @ 5:59 pm PST
    The peeps from GA-RPG have posted 6 new shots from Piranha Bytes' upcoming 3rd-person RPG, Gothic. Here's one of the cool shots:

    And if you want to find out more about Gothic, check out this interview with the Gothic team.

    DK Movie - Surebrec @ 5:52 pm PST
    Well,it looks like this game is really coming out now. Bout time. How many times has it been delayed? Anyways, I saw at 24HG that ION Storm has released a new movie (5 megs) which shows off some of the gameplay in Episodes 2, 3, and 4. On a side note, it requires Real player (I doubt you don't have that..).

    Ultima IX Review - Surebrec @ 5:41 pm PST
    The boys at PC IGN have also posted their review of Ultima IX: Ascension, the newest of the Ultima series. Unfortunately for Ultima fans out there, they gave the game a 6.2 because of all the damn bugs in the game. Here's the clip:

    Perhaps the most frustrating thing about Ultima IX: Ascension is that all of the mistakes that Origin made in its development are mistakes that they have made before. Years ago, the company released Strike Commander, a high concept flight sim that, while very entertaining from a purely theoretical point of view, was so resource demanding that no one in the country actually owned a machine that could play it. Later, in Ultima 8, the company decided to try and increase their sales numbers by adding action sequences straight out of a platform game to their ultra deep RPG. The results managed to piss just about everyone off. With Ascension, the company has made both mistakes again, but this time on a scale that is likely to make everyone finally forget about the company's past mistakes and concentrate their efforts on making fun of this one.

    Icewind Dale Screenshots - Surebrec @ 5:35 pm PST
    PC IGN has recently posted some nice new 13 Icewind Dale screenshots. Icewind Dale is an upcoming RPG using the BioWare Infinity engine, the same engine that ran Baldur's Gate. Here's a sample of the screenshots:

    Along with the screenshots comes some info on the monsters of the game.

    War 3 scans - Underwear Ninja @ 3:35 pm PST
    Necrom has scanned some pages from a Swedish mag concerning war3. Check em out.

    Source: Necrom

    OpFor Review - Surebrec @ 12:34 pm PST
    It seems that the only reviews coming out these days are for UT, Q3A, and OpFor (maybe it's 'cause those are the only decent new games..). Anyways, Mod Alliance has posted their review of OpFor.

    IntelliEye Review/Article - Surebrec @ 12:33 pm PST
    The peeps from Insane Gamers also send word that they have posted a review/article on the new IntelliEye Mouse. How good is this bad boy? Here it is:

    When going to purchase a computer, some gamers will overlook the mouse as an important part of their system. In actuality, the mouse is the Quaker's rocket launcher, the Sniper's rifle. It's what makes or breaks a player. If you don't have an accurate and responsive mouse, how the hell are you supposed hit anything? This new 'IntelliEye' mouse by Microsoft is a revolutionary idea that can make the mouse-ball mouse a thing of the past... or can it?

    Spec Ops 2 Review - Surebrec @ 12:31 pm PST
    Shawn from Insane Gamers sends word that they have posted their review of Spec Ops 2: Green Berets, Zombie's latest tactical shooter. Here's the clip:

    This strategic 3D first person shooter is a far cry from its competition even though there are improvements over the original Spec Ops, such as graphical enhancements, tougher AI (way tougher), and better multiplayer gameplay. Zombie could have definitely put a little more effort into this bargain bin favourite, but they didn't and as is the case with many large game developers. They rushed what shouldn't have been rushed(or even been released). Perfection takes time of which more and more companies do not have much of in the holiday season, so all of you naughty gamers this year instead of a lump of coal you'll probably be receiving a copy of Spec Ops 2: Green Berets.

    Quake 3 Images - backup @ 11:07 am PST
    Dave "Zoid" Kirsch, a contract programmer for Id Software sent Blues News an image showing All the levels in Q3 Arena along with level names and number designations. He did because he finds the designations are as confusing to him as to the public. Here is a snippet.
    Lately, people have been telling me, "Wow did you see that cool thing on q3dm14?" and I can't for the life of me remember what map q3dm14 is. I do plan to memorize them in the future, but for now I need some help.

    Using the Unix ImageMagick montage utility, I was able to quickly cook up a reference image for all the maps that include the BSP file name and the map title. It's really handy when you just can't remember what map q3dm10 was. I hope that other people find it useful as I have.

    Friday, December 10, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Splinter Interview - Falcon @ 11:34 pm PST
    Splinter is an upcoming next-generation first-person 3D flying shooter from Stromlo Entertainment, Australia's newest Games developer. In Splinter, you are a pilot of a Black Ops response team in search of stolen micro technology.

    You take on the role of pilot in a top-secret mission to find and recover a Splinter, the code name for a missing MERC (Micro Emergency Response Craft). You and two co-pilots are miniaturized into your own MERC, and must negotiate a variety of everyday environments, avoiding natural and man-made enemies and hazards as you try to find the missing craft.

    The following interview with Stromlo Entertainment reveals information on the features we can expect, the engine, and more. This article also features a movie (4.5Mb) with in-game action.

    F1 Grand Prix, Soul Fighter review - Falcon @ 6:27 pm PST
    ViewEast has posted a review of F1 Grand Prix and Soul Fighter for the DC, these can be found from here

    SC MOTW - Falcon @ 6:14 pm PST
    The latest Starcraft Map of the Week (Vulcans Forge) is out, here is what they had to say about it:
    During the brief occupation of Char by the United Earth Directorate’s Expeditionary Force, Admiral DuGalle instituted a series of intense training exercises on the forbidding surface of the planet. With the security of the now-tamed Overmind being the linchpin of further military success in the Koprulu sector, DuGalle needed to know that the harsh environment of Char would not make this task impossible. The horrifying firestorms and boiling pools of lava -- combined with the thick layer of ash that covered man and machine -- could cause serious physical and psychological strain on even hardened soldiers. Forces that were able to function on Char stayed and served as a garrison force. Those that couldn’t "take the heat" were stationed elsewhere...

    You cna download it here

    SOF Screens - Falcon @ 5:57 pm PST
    The hunter becomes the hunted... You’re the world’s deadliest Soldier of Fortune and your mission is clear: survive. Track your prey across the globe in a series of secret missions to take down a fanatical terrorist organization... before it takes you down. Maintain your cover as a covert warrior in a startling variety of explosive missions - ranging from underhanded sabotage, to stealthy assassination, to full frontal assaults - where skill marks the difference between the hunter and the hunted. Welcome to the secret world of mercenary combat.
    Screenshots.net has added some more screenshots of Soldier of Fortune to their collection.
    - SOFNews.com

    Anti-Video Game Violence - Falcon @ 5:48 pm PST
    3D Realms/Apogee's Apogee Software President, Scott Miller's .plan file has been updated today regarding, an article on "Anti-video Games Tome Misses Its Target Widely." Here's more from Scott:
    An article about video game violence that desputes much of the extreme preaching of Lieutenant Colonel David Grossman, who's unfortunately become the press' favorite "expert" source:

    www.msnbc.com/news/342085.asp?cp1=1

    Top 10 Game Predictions of 2000 - Falcon @ 5:43 pm PST
    ActionXtreme has news that Gamecenter has released an editorial entitled, "Top 10 Game Predictions of 2000". The article talks about Baldur's Gate 2, Halo, Warcraft III, Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms, Black & White, Diablo II, Duke Nukem Forever, Freelancer, Harpoon 4, and The Sims. Those all aren't in particular order so head on over and check out in which order they have them in.

    Icewind Dale Stuff - Surebrec @ 5:33 pm PST
    The peeps from GA-RPG send word that they have posted some info on Icewind Dale, Black Isle's upcoming BioWare Infinity powered RPG, which includes 5 new screenshots, and some extensive monster detail. GA-RPG has picked some cool monsters to review and has posted their thoughts on them.

    Hired Team: Trail Weapon Screens - Surebrec @ 5:26 pm PST
    These guys send us too much mail! Also in my email was something on 7 new HT: Trial Weapons Screens at GA-Source from New Media Generation's upcoming multiplayer first-person tactical shooter. The weapons include Pistol, Machine Gun, Shotgun, Grenade Launcher, Sniper Rifle, Rocket Launcher, and the Combat Laser.

    Mortyr review, Rogue spear pic, FF8 Screens - Falcon @ 5:22 pm PST
    iG (Big Orange) has a few things worth checking out today:
    A review of the Nazi Bashing Mortyr:
    Heres a bit from it:
    "Achtung! I love the pitter-patter of little Nazi's around the house. Don't you? The game is Mortyr, and its pure Nazi bashing action-okay, it's not really ACTION. If you're old enough, you might remember the legendary Wolfenstein. Wolfenstein was a great man (well, not a man...just a game...but a GREAT game!), and paved the road for all first person shooters...yes, many of you young'uns may think that DOOM was the first first person shooter...but it was Wolfenstein. From a first glance, it would seem that HD Interactive and MiRage tried really hard to recreate that good ol' feeling, placing you against Hitler's army, using a crafty engine...but they failed."

    They also have another Rouge Spear pic. These things are hillarious, they got a lot of response from it.

    They have also posted 12 more screen shots for Final Fantasy 8 Demo, bringing the count up to 30.

    New Hostile Waters Screenshots - Surebrec @ 5:21 pm PST
    John from GAStrategy sends word that they have posted some tight new screenshots from Rage Software's 3D action/strategy title, Hostile Waters. To find out more about Hostile Waters, they've also posted a Q&A with Julian Widdows, Project Manager of the game. Here's a clip from that Q&A:

    Could you tell us about the characters in Hostile Waters and how they fit into the game?

    You see they supplement the story, but they don't really fit into it per se. The idea is that the characters play the story as you play it; that's to say, as you play the levels and the game, so do they. The story is fixed; it focuses more on what happens and how the game develops, and less on individual characters. There are some quest appearances though.

    Planescape: Torment ships - Toxin @ 3:49 pm PST
    I think I'm the first one to post this on the net :) (the joys of checking your email every minute and having contacts with publishers) but anyway, Planescape: Torment a new kick ass RPG using the Baldur's Gate engine has shipped. Here is a snippet:


    Irvine, California December 10,1999 - Black Isle Studios(tm), the role-playing game (RPG) division of Interplay Productions (NASDAQ:IPLY), today announced that the highly anticipated Planescape(: Torment(tm) is now available on CD-ROM for Windows(r) 95-based computers. The title is the first computer RPG set in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons(r) Planescape campaign setting, and uses the real-time game system powered by the BioWare Infinity Engine(tm) from the award winning Baldur's Gate(tm).


    And if you're wondering about the story:

    Torment is an epic story of an immortal character that suffers from amnesia and must search for his own past, identity and destiny. At its core, Torment is a mystery with the player's character as the central enigma. The player dies, only to find himself miraculously resurrected in a strange place with his memory completely erased. Someone or something is stalking the player's character and the main plot element involves the player figuring out whom, and more importantly what, keeps killing him. Throughout the game, curiosity, fear, greed, survival, self-defense and revenge will all take turns driving the character toward an unforgettable end.

    Thursday, December 09, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Q3 Linux Server Setup - Underwear Ninja @ 9:25 pm PST
    Go here and you too can configure your Q3 server. Tell me when it's up, and maybe I'll come by and show you how to play.

    More OpFor Maps - Surebrec @ 6:41 pm PST
    Looks like these maps are still coming (as seen at Blues News). This one is called Bounce(1.2 megs) and is also converted to OpFor.

    Nox Preview - Surebrec @ 6:39 pm PST
    Saw over at Blues News(Pimp) that Gamespot has posted a Nox preview coming soon from Westwood (You can also check out our preivew of Nox[shameless plug]). The preview includes some pretty tight stuff, like screenshots and some stuff from the game developers. Here's your clip:

    At first sight, Nox might be confused with a general Diablo clone, with the now-standard mouse-controlled character and point-and-click interface. But after a few minutes in front of the controls, it becomes obvious that Nox not only plays differently from Diablo, but is visually different as well. The first thing you'll notice is the TrueSight system. In an attempt to make Nox play more like a first-person shooter than an overhead action-adventure, Westwood has incorporated a true line-of-sight system into the game. That is, areas in a room not visible to you in a first-person game aren't visible to you in Nox either. How is this done in an overhead game? Objects taller than Jack, like pillars or large stones, cast a shadow directly away from his position, blacking out everything behind them. And as Jack moves across the screen, the shadows move correspondingly.

    UT Patch - Surebrec @ 6:28 pm PST
    I saw over at PU that there's a new UT patch out! This patch upgrades it to v402. Here's the changes:

    Bug fixes:
    - D3D detection works properly
    - Fixed NT crash on exit
    - removed log warnings for players ghosting out of the level
    - fixed saving last start spot for players
    - timemessage sounds play correctly if viewing another player
    - don't allow spaces in names when using console name or setname commands
    - suicide can now end overtime of tied game
    - fixed stuck animation if killed while coming out of feign death
    - no connect time on team scoreboards in single player
    - attach decals in post begin play when zone is properly set
    - fixed player sounds appearing to change location when using 3d sound
    - turn fog off by default for D3D - was causing texture thrashing w/ D3D drivers
    - fixed CTF-coret alternate path problems
    - fixed guided warhead blowing up if no client response with 300 msec after spawning
    - players can no longer switch to illegal team if server is full and force team balance set
    - fixed bots not always playing take hit sounds
    - don't kill spectators in the pressure chamber!!!

    Server performance improvements:
    - Don't replicate actor properties of GameReplicationInfo
    - Don't replicate actor properties of ZoneInfo
    - Less frequent visibility checks for currently relevant actors
    - don't keep checking visibility of optional effects
    - less frequent checks for temporary actors after 0.2 seconds
    - reduced playerreplicationinfo update frequency from 5/sec to 4/sec
    - inventory class-specific scripted replication only done if bNetOwner
    - native replication for weapon, pickup, levelinfo, and ammo classes
    - don't spawn decals on dedicated server
    - don't spawn non-replicated effects actors on dedicated server
    - sort static actors so can ignore non-replicated static actors when testing for replication

    New features:
    - Cache.ini file records all packages in your cache (whatever packages are auto-downloaded from servers)
    - added flesh hit sound to bullets
    - automatic path builder (documented in updated UT_AI.htm)
    - postnetbeginplay() called for actors spawned on network clients
    - Pawns use PostNetBeginPlay() to make sure they have a valid skin and mesh
    - improved D3D texture pool allocation when world and actor texture detail is medium
    - Pawns add momentum to velocity after effects of damage mutator
    - Optional package downloading implemented.

    Damn, thats alot of changes. Why can't the companies learn to get all the bugs out before the release? That's what demos/beta tests are for!

    UT Review - Surebrec @ 6:24 pm PST
    Looks like these UT reviews keep comin' (I wonder why). Anyways, Firing Squad has posted their review of UT. So, do I really need to tell you what they gave the game? It obviously got a good rating (I hope 4 of 5 counts as good. Here's something on the graphics:

    On the whole, Unreal Tournament is a visually stunning game. The backdrops on some of the maps are utterly gorgeous, most notably the enormous textures on the CTF map "Facing Worlds." We could stare forever at the Earth and asteroids in the midst of a starry space backdrop. The snowfall outside of Ice Station Zeto is so believable, it's almost distracting, while the moving backdrop of the spaceship level "Hyperblast" has to be seen to be believed. The tessellation system works seamlessly, with characters providing an extraordinary amount of detail up close. Combine all that with muzzle flashes and weapon effects lighting up the many dark and shadowy maps, and it's easy to see why many players can get entranced by UT's gripping, visceral beauty.

    Opposing Force Maps - Surebrec @ 5:55 pm PST
    The boys at PC IGN have posted some new OpFor maps, which are actually regular Half-Life maps changed to OpFor format. The first one is Crossfire (1.2MB), and the second is Frenzy (649K).

    Counter-Strike News - Gibb @ 3:59 pm PST
    -Cliffe has made it completely clear that CS BlackOps will not be making a single player Counter Strike. Here's a snippet
    We want to remind everyone that there are *no* official single player CS mods currently. CS Black Ops has caused a bit of a stir since they won't be doing the mod. Let's make a few things clear. First, you know just as well as us that Black Ops was not ever going to be released. Contrary to what they may tell you, without the source code there is no mod. Gooseman has made a decision not to let them use his models because we, the CS team, are not directly involved. We have worked very hard to make the CS name stand for quality. And if we were not able to uphold that with BlackOps (or any other current sp mod) ourselves, first hand, then we were not comfortable with them using our name and models.
    Go to the Counterstrike homepage to see the whole story.

    -Cliffe has also responded to a request for a "freezetime" in Beta 5 when you can buy guns, switch teams, talk to teammates, etc. His reply was simply "You want it, you got it." Check out the whole post here.

    Blair Witch Game - Gibb @ 2:51 pm PST
    Tim Gerritsen of HumanHead has updated his .plan. Without further ado, here's a snippet
    I just came back from a whirlwind trip to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Dallas to promote Rune and begin the leg work on our next game. The Computer Gaming World article was accurate. We are indeed creating a Blair Witch game for the Gathering. Our game will be the second of a trilogy that we will release details on soon. Before we get flooded with mail about the merits of doing a game based on Blair Witch, let me first say that you should all wait and see what we come up with. The Human Head Blair Witch game will focus on gameplay first and foremost, and we have some scary goodness cooked up that will most definitely make it one hell of an experience. We'll have an 'official announcement' on our website soon and will let everyone know more about the details as we get further into production.
    Sounds cool.


    Source: Blues News

    Shadowbane Details - Falcon @ 2:39 pm PST
    Wolfpack Studios revealed for the first time today detailed plans for their upcoming title, Shadowbane, unveiling an entirely new concept in online gaming. Read more details from here

    Close Combat : Battle of the Bludge - Falcon @ 2:37 pm PST
    PCGamers.net has a new review up, this one of SSI's Close Combat : Battle of the Bludge. As always when a
    review comes out that means the demo and cheats are also available there, so if youre intersted head over to take a look Heres a little snippet:
    "In case you've never tried any of the previous Close Combat titles, let
    me give you a heads up : Close Combat is not a
    real-time strategy game against popular beliefs. In my opinion, this is
    more like a strategic, war simulation game in real
    time. Generic RTS fans will not be pleased by the complicating and
    rather slow game play, instead of points and clicks, a
    lot of planning and strategic thinking are involved, only real hardcore
    war gamers need apply."

    Final rating is 86 out of 100.


    NHL 2000 Review - Falcon @ 2:28 pm PST
    Will Decker, from The Big Orange has reviewed NHL 2000 by EA Sports. You can read it here
    Heres a clip:
    EA Sports and the NHL series go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly, vodka and anything, or even if you will, hookers and $5 bets. In the latest installment of the NHL series, EA Sports continues to dominate with another award winning title. Even though NHL 2000 is more of an action sports game than a sports simulation, it still is the best hockey simulation to date. No other game compares to the number of options, or even to the amount of fun that can be had while playing this sweet title.

    Yo Yo! - backup @ 1:39 pm PST
    Hey it's me. I've been really busy lately with school and probably will be like that til the 17th or so when we get off of school. Anyhow, I am working like mad at night and at school in computer class making a database which i will tell you about in the future. I am working on a few articles will be posted soon. If I remember to wake myself up heh and not fall asleep and wait long enough til my parents go to bed I will have them uploaded very quickly. And now since we have this computer back up (new carpeting), I can work more.

    Just keepin ya informed.

    Heroes of Might and Magic3 ExtentPack, review - Raven @ 6:30 am PST
    Armageddon's Blade the first expansion for Heroes of Might and Magic3 was actually a game I'd been curious about for a long time, partly because this was an addon that no one had been talking about recently. Someone however has talked about it, and the people over at Game Revolutions have recently reviewed Armageddon's Blade, the latest Heroes of Might and Magic title.

    Around 6 months ago I heard that the Expansion Pack for the Real Time Strategy game Heroes of Might and Magic Three was under way. I've never been a big fan of the Might and Magic series, but afew of my friends are fans, and I do admit that Multiplayer for HMM2 is rather fun. After the first announcement on the commencement on AB, news on the up and coming kit pretty much died out, and before this review I didn't know very much about Armageddon's Blade.

    The News Expansion for HMM3 features

    • Tons of new maps
    • Six long, new campaigns
    • Campaign editor
    • Random game generator!
    Game Revolutions sums up the new Heroes of Might and Magic adventure as "More game than you can possibly ever play If you're trapped on a desert island for years..." Hmmm is that a good thing or a bad thing?

    Anyway if you're a fan of the series check out the review, if not its still worth a visit.

    Quake 3 Arena Debate - Raven @ 5:35 am PST
    Well Q3A, one of the big newly realeased PC games had been taking quite alot of slack from the gaming community... and well to be honest it has been been getting pretty much a constant sledging in most of the reviews I've read. Hailed has ID's "Mistake" Quake3 D, Quake3 DISAPOINTMENT, it really hasn't received a very warm welcome since its release.

    One site however has kept a rather open view on Quake 3 Arena, and they've mentioned some of its good points, which is a welcome change. The Quake3 Debate over at GameFan comments on the changes to the Quake set up in this new instalment and looks closely at gameplay and mutli-player effects. My own opinion on Quake3 Arena is that its a damn good game and a welcome change. Although I do concede that my only experience with Quake3 is half an hour on a demo at a friends' house...

    Anyway for those of you who are interested in reading this debate heres the link

    If your a little unsure of the terminology used,
    CTF= Capture The Flag
    DM= Death Match
    Q3A= Quake 3 Arena
    *Also note that Quake 3 Arena, is designed to be a multi-player game

    D2 Madness - Falcon @ 5:16 am PST
    More news tidbits from our affiliates,
    The newest popular shockwave cartoon made by Dream Realm, features Diablo II character, Diablo II Madness, just released its third episode, this time featuring the Necromancer with an odd attitude, you can view it here
    Note: The interview with Bill Roper is a good laugh :)

    Iron Plague Screenshots - Falcon @ 5:04 am PST
    On the subject of the TAK expansion, the Avault has been sent a couple of screenshots from cavedog, you can view them here

    Talk to your mech??? - Raven @ 4:45 am PST
    Well, I consider myself abit of a Mech warrior fan, I even bought Mech Commander and am one of the few people around sad enough to clock all of the Mech Warrior games... *gulp* even though I usually won't admit it. Despite my love for battle tech games in general, I've always had afew problems when playing Mech games. And well one of my biggest criticisms for MechWarrior games, is that while playing you quite often find yourself in annoying situations where you have to press about 10 keys on screen at the ONE TIME.

    Take for example this situation, your in a battle cycling though keys to get the exact weapon you want... at the same time you have to aim it with pin point precision at your target. Aswell as tilting your body ever so slightly to keep your target on screen... all well trying to move around a 40 ton mechanic monster... NOT AN EASY THING TO DO! And quite a distasteful situation.

    Thankfully however the gang at "Data Tech", have worked out a brilliant work around for this problem. As part of there soon to be released game MechWarrior3, they're releasing their latest voice recognition and communication technology, entitled "Game Commander". What this new addition to the MechWarrior universe does is it allows people to replace keyboard shortcuts for command with verbal instructions. So now when you're piloting a Mech, you can actually talk to it. Sounds like alot of fun, aswell as speeding up commands and player movements in the game.

    If your curious to know abit more about MechWarrior and the Mech universe, heres a little Summary. Mech Warrior is pitched in the rather distant future, in between a mammoth struggle between Governments and Clans, in their efforts to conquer known space. In each game you play in the MechWarrior series you play as different characters -half the time you don't even know who your characters name is- involved in different wars. In each war however, the Units and Stakes are alot higher. Now you go fighting around in 40 tones Mechs armed with enough explosives to level cities instead of infantry and tanks. The stakes now, are whole planet's rather then simple cities and countries... Sound like fun... *evil smile* :) IT IS.

    TA:Kingdoms Expansion - Falcon @ 4:27 am PST
    Thanks to our affiliates, AN for this tip:

    Cavedog Entertainment has announced the upcoming release of The Iron Plague, the expansion pack to the fantasy real-time strategy game Total Annihilation: Kingdoms.

    The Iron Plague introduces Creon, an entirely new fifth civilization complete with air, land, and sea power. A DaVincian society whose precepts of science and technology sharply contrast with the magic-using clans of Darien, Creon feels the time has come to challenge the balance of power.

    The Iron Plague is scheduled to appear in stores in March 2000.

    In The Iron Plague, players discover something amiss in the land of Darien. Picking up where Total Annihilation: Kingdoms left off, The Iron Plague pits the monarchs of Darien against a new enemy. The dust has barely settled from the Great War in which Aramon and Veruna were victorious over Taros and Zhon. The recovery and rebuilding of ravaged lands are still in progress as people desire a return to normalcy.

    Bounty hunters in search of rebels stumble across a strange object in a remote, frozen region. It seems to be the body of a bird except it's obviously man-made. Instead of feathers and bone, it's made from canvas and wood. Strange wires, pulleys, and hinges protrude from the interesting machine. Brought back and examined, scholars conclude that surely this object never could have flown. But there are too many questions left unanswered.

    The Iron Plague will launch with full accessibility to the Darien Crusades, the new cooperative multi-player game for Cavedog Entertainment's online gaming community Boneyards. Over 170 new multi-player maps, a dynamic battlefield that updates constantly to reflect changes in the war, a personal profile section for each Boneyards player, movie and cut-scene presentations throughout the game, a distinct ladder and ranking system, automatic score reporting, and personalized arenas for chatting are just some of its many features. The Darien Crusades will begin an open, public beta in late December 1999.
    Visit the Cavedog site for mroe info.

    Baldurs Gate II Preview - Falcon @ 4:14 am PST
    Gamecenter has a preview up of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn.
    This sequel to 1997's landmark role-playing game picks up where the original left off, and continues your adventures in the mystical lands of the Forgotten Realms. It looks big. It looks exciting. It looks like more of the same gaming goodness that propelled Baldur's Gate to the top of the sales chart.

    Bill Roper Interview - Falcon @ 4:08 am PST
    Gamers Playground has done and interview with Bill Roper. It is an audio interview which covers Diablo 2 and WarCraft 3.
    -SC Legacy

    FireStorm News - Falcon @ 3:59 am PST
    Heres a tip from Westwood about the latest news regarding Firestorm. Heres a few of the upcoming features:

  • New MUSIC
  • WORLD DOMINATION TOURNAMENTS
  • ENHANCED BATTLEFIELD RANDOMIZER
  • 10 NEW MULTIPLAYER MAPS

    Also related to C&C is a new patch out, here is some info on it, taken from Tiberiumsun.com,

    Westwood has released a new patch for Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. This new update features mainly multiplayer improvements, including improvements to the interface and fixes for latency issues in addition to bug fixes and gameplay tweaks. The patch is automatically downloaded when you log into Westwood Online, but it will also available for download shortly on their downloads page (which currently still lists the old version 1.13 patch).

    Frag Mag! - Falcon @ 3:00 am PST
    Are you looking for a hardcore magazine strung on top games like Team Fortress? Well, a new magazine called Frag Mag, which is dedicated to our favorite first person shooters, is offering free trial issues on their homepage so you can get a taste of this very promising mag!
    - GH

    Q3A, UT Review - Falcon @ 1:50 am PST
    Ingava has posted 2 reviews - Q3A & UT. The review of Q3A can be viewed here, but if youre more interested in reading on UT, then head over here

    Public Enemy Rocks Unreal - Falcon @ 1:31 am PST
    Bring the noise! Atomic Pop, developers of the Unreal TC Panic II: Hostile Takeover, are currently developing a new add-on for Unreal that will feature the rap artists Chuck D. and Public Enemy - and if you want to see the screenshots to prove it, just head over to here

    New Throne of Darkness Publisher Revealed - Falcon @ 1:25 am PST
    With the recent news of Acclaim dropping Click Entertainment's upcoming action/RPG Throne of Darkness, Doron Gartner, President of Click Entertaiment, informed GA that they have signed with a new publisher - Sierra Studios. The official announcement should be made later today.

    Throne of Darkness is being created by two former Blizzard employees who were both key members in the development of the critically acclaimed
    role-playing game, Diablo. Now known as Click Entertainment, they are currently developing a samurai-inspired action role-playing game - Throne of Darkness.

    To find out more about this samurai-inspired action/RPG, check out their first look article.

    The Big Orange updates - Falcon @ 1:16 am PST
    iG (Big Orange) is hitting the gaming community harder than a barage of oranges from a tennis cannon. Today's updates consist of:

    Final Fantasy 8 PC Demo Screen Shots (http://www.insanegamers.com/ss/ff8)
    The Second Installment of the iG Comic (http://www.insanegamers.com/features.shtml)
    A Funny Rouge Spear PIC (gotta see it) (http://www.insanegamers.com/ss/rspic.shtml)
    An Article for the RTSer, its about rushing: (http://www.insanegamers.com/articles/rushing_1.shtml)

    Razer Mouse - Underwear Ninja @ 12:05 am PST
    I got my Boomslang 2000 today!!!!! YES!!! I'm want to use it so bad I'm going to wet myself. I'll post a review on it soon, sometime this weekend and keep you updated... WHAT?? You don't know what a Razer Mouse is? GO, I command you.

    Wednesday, December 08, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Throne of Darkness News - Surebrec @ 4:38 pm PST
    John from GASource sends word that Click Entertainment's upcoming action/RPG has gotten a new publisher: Sierra. From doing this, they prevent the game from being dropped because of not having a publisher. The official announcement will be made later today.

    And if you didn't know, the creators of Throne of Darkness are former Blizzard employees who worked on one of the best RPGs, Diablo.

    Also, if you want more info on the game, then you can find it right over here.

    Hosted Site News - Surebrec @ 4:34 pm PST
    Our very own GamesXTRME has posted 2 new reviews. One on Turok: Rage Wars for the N64. Here's a clip from that one:

    As you'd expect, the multi-player is undoubtedly, one of the best ways to spend some quality time with your friends. There are four modes, comprising of quite a few maps, in each. One on One, Team Play, Tag the Monkey, and Capture the Flag. My favourite is Tag the Monkey, where one player is turned into a monkey, (and somehow a chicken for me once!), and is assigned 10% Health, where they must find a portal that will transform them back into a human/monster/droid /dinosaur type creature, before someone touches, or shoots you, and make you explode instantly. The others may sound familiar to Quake fans. One on One is self-explanatory, Team Play is where players are assigned to teams, and set out to kill each other. Capture the Flag is not like GoldenEye's Flag-Tag nor Quake's CTF. There is one flag, and two bases. The levels for Capture the Flag are too small for any real fragfests, and two-on-two doesn't really compare to a sixteen-on-sixteen on Quake 2 PC.

    The other review is on Supreme Snowboarding for the PC. Again, here's a clip on that:

    Requiring a 3D card, really makes this game look good on any machine, there are different textures for the types of ground you can snowboard on and also the different types of snow (normal, powder snow, ice and rock) They all offer varying feelings and friction for your snowboarding. The players models are also surprisingly good with only minor occasional clipping here and there. They also perform your moves with extreme smoothness everything moves like a dream even on my old calculator of a machine :o)

    Unreal Patch - Underwear Ninja @ 4:28 pm PST
    PlanetUnreal mentions an Unreal Tourney patch coming out soon. There is much more to this, so if you're an Unreal player then check it out.

    Tuesday, December 07, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Lotsa Reviews - Falcon @ 11:54 pm PST
    PC Gamers has been very busy with reviews lately, the most recent ones by them are;
    Tomb Raider : The Last Revelation [Eidos Interactive]

    Go Kart Challenge [Data Becker]

    Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine [Lucasarts]

    Abomination : The Nemsis Project [Edios Interactive]

    Also from them is a complete walkthru of Tomb Raider 4, which can be viewed here

    And lastly their latest preview, SuddenStrike, from CDV.

    Outcast Interview - Falcon @ 11:45 pm PST
    Adventure Collective has an exclusive interview with Douglas Freese, programmer and designer of Outcast. Outcast is an action/adventure game developed by Appeal and published by Infogrames. The interview touches on aspects of design and production of Outcast, as well as what holds in the future for this series.
    _GH

    Le Mans: 24 Hours First Look - Falcon @ 11:34 pm PST
    Although the PC version of Infograme's Le Mans: 24 Hours isn't due out
    in the US until March of next year, the European version of this racing
    sim is due out later this week. High Gear, a website dedicated to
    everything racing, has taken a first look at this title and has included
    some impressive screenshots as well.

    Video Game Violence? - Underwear Ninja @ 5:43 pm PST
    Read the facts for yourself. Get them here. Editors note: Anyone sick of reading these yet?
    REAL Editors note - What part of I (as in ME) am the editor and you are not don't you understand, Cerberus!!!!!!!? - Toxin

    Source: GameGirlz

    Quake 3 Arena Gold for Linux !!! - Underwear Ninja @ 5:20 pm PST
    If Quake 3 is out for Linux, there is no more need for Windoze right? Get more of the story here.

    Source: VE

    Soulbringer Preview - Surebrec @ 4:59 pm PST
    On the agenda of GASource, GA-RPG has posted a preview of Soulbringer from Gremlin Interactive. Here's a little morsel of what Soulbringer is about if you don't know:

    Soulbringer is a real-time 3D/RPG adventure that contains all the usual RPGish cliches, but also boasts an advanced 3D engine and combat system, sophisticated magic system, and an epic storyline.

    Although it contains certain elements in RPGs that gamers want, Soulbringer is far from being a "door, monster, treasure" RPG. In addition, there will be none of the typical Tolkien-like dwarves and elves that are usually found throughout the RPG heritage. Instead Soulbringer promises to be a better looking version of Ultima VIII, with dark overtones that serve to underline the demonic central theme.

    Also included with the preview are a few nice screenshots of the game.

    New SoF Screens - Surebrec @ 4:56 pm PST
    GASource sends word that they have received and posted 9 new screens from Raven Software's upcoming shooter, Soldier of Fortune, which uses a heavily modified Quake2 engine. Now I just gotta say one thing about these screens: Hot Damn!

    Croft Times Update - Surebrec @ 4:45 pm PST
    The Croft Times has been updated with some new stuff, including news on an exclusive level for Tomb Raider, cheats and a walkthrough for TR4, news on an appearance of Lara Croft in a TV series, and more!

    D2 SSOTW - Surebrec @ 4:41 pm PST
    BillWill from Diablo.net sends word that the newest D2 SSOTW has been released, which features the Necromancer visiting Ashera, leader of a mercenary band of Mages, in the land of Kurast. Also of note, there's an old character from the first Diablo in this shot :).

    Maynard Interview - Underwear Ninja @ 3:32 pm PST
    Necrom, at Rivalry.org, has an interview up with Maynard. Read it here.

    Ford Racing Preview - Falcon @ 2:31 pm PST
    ViewEast has just posted a preview of Ford Racing from Empire Interactive, along with reviews of Pen-Pen and Uefa Striker for the DC. They're available at http://www.vieweast.com/techhead/games/GamesIndex.shtml

    Omnikron Review - Falcon @ 2:27 pm PST
    Insane Gamers has posted their latest review, this one on Omikron: The Nomad Soul which was done by Turkish sensation, Ilker Belir. You can check it out here

    Also coming soon from those Insane folks will be the second part of the Insane Comic: Pocket Mascots, and also an article. Everyone pool your money together...Lara Croft, or Kerrigan!

    Monday, December 06, 1999
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    Most Hardcore Video Games - Underwear Ninja @ 11:40 pm PST
    soso has the Top 10 Hardcore Video Games of the Year up. Check it out here.
    Sorry Toxin, Barbie's Hotrod didn't make the list. : )
    Editor's Note - Hey, it was a damn good game!

    Review at FiringSquad - Underwear Ninja @ 8:10 pm PST
    FiringSquad has a review up on Asheron's Call. It looks awesome. I managed to avoid EverCrack, but I may be drawn into this one. If you know how to read, click here.

    Withdrawl - Underwear Ninja @ 8:02 pm PST
    I don't know how many of you have ever felt this, but I was experiencing symptoms today. You have no idea what I am talking about, so go here and read it for yourself.

    The State of the Gaming Industry - Falcon @ 6:34 pm PST
    Our often contreversial editorial writer, Gibb, has written an editorial titeled The State of the Gaming Industry, and talks about just that. It discusses the current state, and future prospects of it.
    You can view the editorial here

    Reviews @ Insane Gamers - Falcon @ 5:59 pm PST
    Insane Gamers have released a few bits of content on their site lately,
    Today's reviews are:
    Grand Theft Auto 2 and Test Drive Offroad 3.

    Odium Review - Falcon @ 5:21 pm PST
    GameFirst has posted a review including screenshots of Topware Interactive and Monolith Production's turn-based role-playing strategy game, Odium. Here's a clip:
    This seems to be the year for challenging some long-held gaming formulas, what with System Shock 2's incredible mix of RPG and first person shooter, and Outcast’s engaging blend of third-person action and adventure. So what can be done to the old turn-based tactical strategy formula to spice it up? How about throwing it into the mix with some slick role playing and genuinely frightening adventure. What do you get? Odium. Is it any good? I’ll have some more.

    Source: Xtreme Network

    Strategy Games Awards - Falcon @ 5:17 pm PST
    The Strategy Shrine is launching The Annual TSS Strategy Games Awards. Head over there and nominate your favourite strategy game in one or more of the following categories:

  • Strategy Game Of The Year
  • Best Storyline
  • Best Sound Effects
  • Best Music
  • Best Graphics
  • Best Intro

    More info can be found from their page

    Please Release Me - Falcon @ 5:11 pm PST
    John 'Gestalt' Bye of EuroGamer has word that their latest article been released, titled "Please Release Me". This takes a look at why there is often a long delay between a game being released in America and it finally reaching Europe, and in particular the UK. The article features comments from publishers Virgin Interactive and Infogrames. Here's a few clips:

    Last year saw the release of Unreal. Here in the UK we waited. And waited. And then waited some more. About a month later, Unreal was finally released in Europe.

    "What causes a difference in release date is almost always where a game is programmed in the US", Virgin Interactive's VP of Development, Joss Ellis, told us. "The UK release is usually aimed to be simultaneous with the release across Europe, and so the US game has to be localised into French, German, etc."

    WoT Review - Surebrec @ 4:47 pm PST
    GASource also sends word that they have posted their review on Wheel of Time, the Unreal-powered game based on Robert Jordan's best seller novels, Wheel of Time. Here's the poop on it:

    The Wheel of Time is an action/strategy game based on Robert Jordan's best-selling series of fantasy. Utilizing an enhanced version of the Unreal engine, The Wheel of Time mixes first-person 3D action and
    strategy with touches of role-playing elements.

    I was hoping with the advertised strategy and role-playing elements of this game that there would be a strong character system which allowed you build the strength of your character through experience. Unfortunately, there is no such thing at all.

    Evolva Screens - Surebrec @ 4:37 pm PST
    GASource sends word that they have received 15 new Evolva Screens from Computer Artwork's upcoming action hybrid, Evolva. First, I would like to say these screens just KICK ASS! What, you say you don't know about this game? Check this:

    Players create a customized set of warriors called Genohunters and then guide them into a series of confrontations with the parasite and its armies. How does the player customize their Genohunters?

    The mutator technology gives the player a great way to visually design the powered up geno-hunters so they get them just how they want them as they progress through the game. When creatures are killed the geno-hunters can absorb their DNA allowing them to be evolved into new powered up geno-hunters with new abilities inherited from their foes. A simple example of this is the weaponry - kill a fire breathing alien and absorb its DNA to get the potential for a fire breathing geno-hunter. Everything is mutated though so you get new spikes, colours, armor, muscles etc.

    There are 1.5 billion different genetic combinations so no two geno-hunters will be the same. Players can create highly specialised geno-hunters as 'stealthy scouts' to work with their 'heavy hitters' or they can create a team of good all-rounders. It is entirely up to the player.

    OpFor Review - Toxin @ 2:21 pm PST
    I have written a new review, this one about Half-Life: Opposing Forces. Should you buy it? Is it worth the time? Well go find out :) Here is a little tidbit:


    You and your war buddies are happily flying along enjoying a joke about
    each others sexual preferences and mothers. All of a sudden the plane
    next to yours gets shot down, sadly this time its not the Koreans (vague
    Predator reference there). Red lights start flashing, explosions sounding,
    people screaming, and you are going under. Corporal Shepard, welcome
    to Black Mesa.

    Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine Review - Toxin @ 2:18 pm PST
    One of our hosted sites, GamersXTREME, has slapped down a review of LucasArt's new action game Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. Here is a little tidbit:


    Simple, and the same as Indiana Jones I hear you say, well you'd be right, that was what I thought. Now the main difference is that most people grew up watching (and Loving) the Indiana Jones films, then the games and in true Lucasarts style, these were great, now comes the 5th (or so) Indy Adventure, and here it starts.

    Sunday, December 05, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    ngWorld Stats for UT Patch - Surge @ 10:13 am PST
    Saw over on Blue's that NetGames has released a patch for the ngStats included in the Windows 95/98/NT retail version of Unreal Tournament. This patch contains version 1.1 of ngStats for Unreal Tournament. According to the ngStats for UT Patches and Updates page, it fixes the GMT 0:00 time zone bug that would cause ngStats to not process games. Plus some other stuff.

    Counter-Strike Pack Out - Surge @ 10:05 am PST
    Yeah, we hear a lot about Q3a and UT, but if you look at the server stats. Half-Life owns everyone as the most played first person shooter on the 'net, bar none. One of the main reasons for this is the mod, Counter-Stike, that has more players than most 'real games' out there. Blending some amazing team play with awesome weapons and an overall intense experience, these guys really kick some serious butt. You can grab there latest SAS model pack as well as the newest server side patch, over on their official site.

    Blair Witch Games - Surge @ 9:45 am PST
    Just when you thought we were officially "Blair Witch" free, The guys from Stomped got their copy of Computer Gaming World that reveales no less than three Blair Witch license games in development. One from Terminal Reality, one from Ritual and one from Human Head Studios.

    Lord British Interview - Surge @ 9:28 am PST
    GameDaily posted a cream-puff of an interview with Richard "Lord British" Garriot from Origin Systems regarding the Ultima series. Nary a question pointed to the game's sub-par release state, nor the plentitude of problems with Ultima Ascension. I still haven't worked up the nerve to reinstall the game. Even with that last patch. I think I'll wait for a couple more patches before I even attempt it again.

    Interview With Counterstrike: Black Ops Mod - Falcon @ 7:58 am PST
    The Mod Alliance has interviewed Airborne of the singleplayer addon to the Counterstrike mod, CS: Black Ops. Read the interview at http://mod.thegamers.net/interviews/airborne/cs_blackops.shtml

    CGI - Falcon @ 7:34 am PST
    Well if you're reading this right now, youd probably have noticed a couple of little additions. We now have a quick link next to the date each day for your convinience to send us your news tips or comments. Also added is a new news search, this is somewhat buggy, but should be effective enough to find out any news you may be interested in. This search will produce results dating right back to the start of the news posting with this script. Lastly is the FFA Links Page, thanks to Raven for informing me that it wasn't working properly, one of the files accidently got CHMODed wrongly and therefore wouldnt work. That has now been fixed, and you can add your link here

    New Content Coming Soon - Raven @ 4:15 am PST
    Well, the gang at Gamesurge week in week out are always up to something, and this week isn't really different to any other week, except BIGGER. Soon to finished, Gamesurge will be unveiling a blitz of new content focusing on everything from Community News to Hot Gaming Topics, to even General Strategies for games. So incase anyone hasn't caught on yet, MAKE SURE YOUR BACK CHECKING THIS PAGE REGURALLY THIS WEEK! *coughs slightly before resuming his quieter alter ego* Its in your best interest to do so.

    UT Fixes - Falcon @ 3:32 am PST
    Blues News had info on a list of planned fixes for UT v401. The patch should be around 3.5MB and should be released around Monday. Here is a list of changes the patch will include (looks somewhat buggy eh?):

    Bug fixes:

    D3D detection works properly
    removed log warnings for players ghosting out of the level
    fixed saving last start spot for players
    timemessage sounds play correctly if viewing another player
    don't allow spaces in names when using console name or setname commands
    suicide can now end overtime of tied game
    fixed stuck animation if killed while coming out of feign death
    no connect time on team scoreboards in single player
    attach decals in post begin play when zone is properly set
    fixed player sounds appearing to change location when using 3d sound
    turn fog off by default for D3D - was causing texture thrashing w/ D3D drivers
    fixed CTF-coret alternate path problems
    fixed guided warhead blowing up if no client response with 300 msec after spawning
    players can no longer switch to illegal team if server is full and force
    team balance set
    fixed bots not always playing take hit sounds
    don't kill spectators in the pressure chamber!!!


    Server performance improvements:

    Don't replicate actor properties of GameReplicationInfo
    Don't replicate actor properties of ZoneInfo
    Less frequent visibility checks for currently relevant actors
    don't keep checking visibility of optional effects
    less frequent checks for temporary actors after 0.2 seconds
    reduced playerreplicationinfo update frequency from 5/sec to 4/sec
    inventory class-specific scripted replication only done if bNetOwner
    native replication for weapon, pickup, levelinfo, and ammo classes
    don't spawn decals on dedicated server
    don't spawn non-replicated effects actors on dedicated server
    sort static actors so can ignore non replicated static actors when
    testing for replication

    New features:

    added flesh hit sound to bullets
    automatic path builder (documented in updated UT_AI.htm)
    postnetbeginplay() called for actors spawned on network clients
    Pawns use PostNetBeginPlay() to make sure they have a valid skin and mesh
    improved D3D texture pool allocation when world and actor texture detail is medium
    Pawns add momentum to velocity after effects of damage mutator
    Optional package downloading implemented.

    Stargraft? - Falcon @ 3:24 am PST
    Yes, Stargraft. This is the latest SC editor released from Camelot Systems. This allows you to edit the starcraft.exe file, heres what King Arthur had to say about it:
    StarGraft (the secret util I promised earlier) is now available to the public. StarGraft is an EXE Editor which allows you to change unit commands, requirements for units to be built, technologies to be used/researched, and upgrades to be performed. It's really advanced and the tool is in its infancy so it's probably not terribly user friendly. You must save your changes over an existing EXE of the same version (basically make a backup of your exe and save changes to the copy). You won't be able to play Multiplayer if you make the changes - I hope to start implimenting a better patch interface than what is there now (basically nothing) so that Multiplayer is possible if you and everyone you're playing with all have the same patch. For now there is unfortunately no help file with it (because I haven't had time to write one) but it's a lot similar to WarHack - if you ever used that - and the manual for that is available on the WC Software page.

    You can download Stargraft here

    Unreal maps in UT - Falcon @ 3:18 am PST
    To play Unreal 1 maps in Unreal Tournament, some people are copying all their maps and textures in your unreal directory into your unreal tournament directory .

    Here is a way to have Unreal Tournament recognize all your Unreal 1 maps without copying or moving them!

    Just add the line:

    Paths=c:\games\unreal\Maps/*.unr

    Under your [Core.System] section of the Unrealtournament.ini

    Where "c:\games\unreal\" is the location of your Unreal 1 game.

    If you have custom maps with custom textures or custom sounds add more paths to your Unreal 1 directory.

    This way UT recognizes all your Unreal maps, and you dont have to do anything.

    Bots Bots Bots - Falcon @ 3:17 am PST
    Theres been a fair bit of controversy over the bots in Q3A as opposed to the ones in UT, so heres a bit of light on the subject.
    VE has news that Randar's Bot Page was updated with some of his impressions of Unreal Tournament and Quake III Arena's bots. For those of you who don't know, he's pretty handy at path-noding levels and tweaking stuff for bots. You can also check his turorial for Unreal Bots here

    Asheron's Call Interview - Falcon @ 3:04 am PST
    Stomped.com has an interview about Asheron's Call with Turbine Entertainment's Lead Technical Artist, Jason Booth.
    heres a clip:
    How did you get your start with Turbine Games?

    I think it was around July of 1995 - I had spent the last month or so driving around the country in a honda civic with a friend, and returned to Boston to find things in a summer lull. I saw an add on the Lightwave mailing list looking for 3d artists to work at a newly formed game company, and since I was generally bored, and had played with lightwave quite a lot before my trip, I decided to give it a go. I was hired the day I interviewed, and since the company had no money at the time we were all using our own computers on coffee tables or whatever else we could prop them up on - I slept on the couch that first night. Whenever Jon's mom would come home we'd have to clear everything out of the living room and pretend we hadn't expanded out of the basement yet. It was a pretty comical situation, but since I hadn't met anyone else using lightwave before it was a lot of fun for me. When September came, I was planning on going back to Berkley to finish my music degree. Even though it was my last semester there, I couldn't take it anymore and decided I'd rather work for peanuts and make games than spend another hour in conducting class. I quit school and moved to providence, where we had just gotten our first office.


    Battle Zone II Dairy #4 - Falcon @ 3:01 am PST
    George Collins, Director of Battlezone II over at Computer Games Online has his feature, "Battle Zone II Dairy #4" including screenshots online today of Pandemic Studios' action game, Battle Zone II. Here's a clip:
    Wow- is another diary due already? It seems like yesterday that I was writing the last "crunch time" diary. Time flies when you're having fun, and closing up a game. This stage of production is extremely busy but also quite fun for designers and artists. The tools for developing the game have reached the point where it is easiest to change things. So often someone will ask you to change something, or make a cool suggestion, and at this point it's pretty easy for the designers to change things. It is also satisfying because people are coming to you with small changes and refinements that are easy to do but often make the game seem much nicer or more fun.

    All I Want for Christmas - Falcon @ 2:55 am PST
    Wemmick's latest temporary sanity is titled, "All I Want for Christmas." Theres some things here which should be worth a laugh, so head over there and take a look

    The Longest Journey demo - Falcon @ 2:40 am PST
    They're getting crazier with the demo's these days, the size of this one is now at 82MB.
    The Longest Journey demo of FunCom's upcoming adventure game has been released today over at 3DFiles. Here's more about the game:
    The Longest Journey provides a huge 3D setting consisting of more than 150 locations, over 60 speaking characters and hundreds of puzzles. The best estimate is that it would take 50 to 60 hours for gamers to make it from beginning to end. I am thrilled to report there is no time pressure involved. "We want people to enjoy the experience without feeling like they're being herded from place to place without time to take a deep breath and enjoy the scenery," Tornquist says. The result is a living, breathing environment in which the player can wander around without feeling any pressure. At the same time, they will want to move the story ahead to see what's around the corner.

    You can find out the system requirements, view some screenshots, and download the demo from here
    - GameHeadlines

    Venom Screens - Falcon @ 2:24 am PST
    GSC Game World released the following eight new screenshots from their upcoming first-person action shooter, Venom. You can view them here

    UT D3D Fix? - Falcon @ 2:23 am PST
    I got this msg over email:
    "Heres a fix that may help a few ppl but doesnt work for everyone - Install dentonator drivers from nVIDIA site marked for ATHLON users only (obviously this is meant for TNT,TNT2 and GeForce users). I e-mailed nVIDIA , they said it isnt recommended but it shouldnt do anythiny bad to the card. I was able to play on-line after this (make sure you still install the D3D files from the demo also). Good luck"
    This method may or may not work for you and is done at your own risk, ie. if your computer dies after trying this its not our fault.

    Saturday, December 04, 1999
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    Free for all Links Page - Falcon @ 6:27 pm PST
    The FFA Links Page we promised is now up. Here you can add your site to the database, or view other's sites. If you have a site that does not fit under any particluar category and you would like us to create it, feel free to let us know. Head over to the page here

    Chapter 2 - backup @ 4:31 pm PST
    Chapter 2 of How to bypass your school's protection programs and play games, open programs, and more has been added. It features a bunch of cool stuff, so make sure you check it out right here.

    New Article! - backup @ 4:19 pm PST
    Yes! I've Finished my article concerning that Violence in Games Report Card issued by the Family on Entertainment people. You can check it out right here.

    Big Bang Preview - Falcon @ 4:24 am PST
    Our hosted site, GamesXtreme has a new preview of Big Bang, along with a load of screenshots. You can view it here

    News file - Falcon @ 4:12 am PST
    The news file has now been upgraded, and we didnt lose the current news either... woohoo! We will also have a FFA Links Page up very soon.

    Friday, December 03, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    WarCraft III Trailer Released - Falcon @ 7:14 pm PST
    Blizzard has released a [25MB] trailer for you to view today of the upcoming role-playing/strategy game, WarCraft III. In the face of an even greater invasion from the Burning Legion, the reunited Orcish Horde and the Human armies of Azeroth have shifted their focus from conquest, and betrayal to basic survival. Catch a glimpse of the chaos to come in this cinematic teaser for Warcraft III that was shown at ECTS. The file is self-contained and ready to play on any Windows system with DirectX.
    -GH

    Dan Sarkar Interview - Falcon @ 7:11 pm PST
    The final interview for Digital Extreme's Unreal Tournament week is of Dan Sarkar is up over at GameFan. Dan was one of the concept artists and skin designers, and contributed some voice talents for Unreal Tournament.
    -GameHeadlines.com

    Force Command Screenshots - Falcon @ 7:09 pm PST
    Gamespot has eight new shots from LucasArts real time strategy game, Force Commander. Here is the description about the game:
    To whet the appetites of RTS gamers with a thirst for Star Wars action, LucasArts released eight new screenshots of Star Wars: Force Commander to GameSpot France. The shots show that the game's graphics have definitely improved from its previously muddied look, with sharper textures and more defined gaming models.

    The game will be based on the popular Star Wars universe depicted in the films in the second trilogy - Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Worlds that will be included in the game when it releases sometime during the first quarter of 2000 include Hoth, Tatooine, Corellia, Yavin 4, and others.


    DF2 Review - Falcon @ 7:02 pm PST
    PC Gameworld has a review of NovaLogic's Delta Force II. They gave the game an overall score of 83%. Here is an excerpt:
    "Tin-hut! Ok, listen up soldier. You are a member of the US Army's elite special operations unit known as Delta Force. Your mission is to take on the scum of the earth… terrorists. These terrorists will stop at nothing to create a world where people are afraid to turn on their televisions, send their children to school, get on an airplane, or go to sleep at night. Your mission is to restore the world back to its natural state of peace and order, so that American boys and girls can sleep at night and not worry about a future of terrorist bombings and biological agents in their drinking water. It's up to you son. America and the rest of the world are counting on you." No pressure, right?

    Blizznet Updates - Falcon @ 5:48 pm PST
    The Blizzard Central Network has posted 3 new articles,

    The first one is named:
    Warcraft 3: What is it?
    - This article is sort of a preview in it's way. It includes screenshots and information on Warcraft 3.

    The second one is entitled:
    Problemed Battle.Net Players
    - This is a rant article and will tell you about the abusers of Battle.net

    The last one is called:
    Diablo 2: Where is it?
    - This is on sort of short because it just rants against the delayment of Diablo 2.

    More Elite Screens - Surebrec @ 5:37 pm PST
    GASource sends word that Activision has sent them 6 new screenshots from their upcoming Quake3-powered shooter, Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force.

    GA News - Falcon @ 5:36 pm PST
    With the recent news of Acclaim dropping Throne of Darkness, Doron Gartner, President of Click Entertaiment, informed us them they have signed Throne of Darkness with another publisher and that an official announcement will be made Monday. More on that here

    Fiendish Games sent them word that they has put together a Christmas edition of their shooter Natural Fawn Killers (NFK) - Santa's Gone Postal. More info on that here
    Also from Fiendish Games are 6 new screenshots from their upcoming Manga style Jetboat racer, Jetboats Superchamps. The game will be going gold on Monday. More here

    Republic Screenshots - Surebrec @ 5:35 pm PST
    Elixir Studios has released 3 new screenshots from their strategy simulation, Republic: The Revolution. The screens can be found over at GA-Strategy.

    Thursday, December 02, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    UT D3D Problems? - Surebrec @ 5:54 pm PST
    This isn't confirmed yet, but someone sent me an email on D3D problems in Unreal Tournament:

    For a good percentage of UT customers GTs "fix" that they slipped into the box to enable D3D rendering just isnt working. The only response to our complaints is Mark Reins in which he reposted the same "fix" that was already enclosed. We found a temporary solution was to remove the D3D file from the full version and install the one from the demo which allows it to run in D3D , albeit at a slighltly slower rate than the demo itself, but it wont work on-line because of compatibility issues. Steve Porter and Jack Colten also posted last evening as did Mark (at the GT forum) while ignoring the dozens of posts on this issue the only thread they chose to respond was a n obscure thread about european release dates. But out of that came a telling staement from Mark Rein in which he admits that GT did indeed hurry the release of the game in order to make the Thanksgiving weekend shopping rush:

    "We know as little about the UK release dates as you do and, believe me, we're equally frustrated with the fact that it isn't available in the UK yet. We just have to hope our friends outside the USA and Canada can be a little more patient and still support us fully when the product does arrive on their store shelves. We certainly got our part of the deal done. We handed GT the French, Italian, and Spanish versions at exactly the same time as the English version. The only ones we're still working on are the special German version (the UK english version will be released first in Germany anyway) and the Japanese language version which should be completed within the next two weeks.

    My guess is that CD replicators in Europe couldn't meet the short time frame that was needed due to so many products coming out in Europe around the same time. GT DEFINITELY RUSHED THE USA ORDERS IN ORDER TO MAKE STORES IN TIME FOR THANKSGIVING WEEKEND. The only other thing I can think of is that maybe the European boxes weren't ready as early as the US ones.

    As I said, we're just as upset about this as you are. But with GT now having been bought by Infogrames we expect GT won't have these kinds of problems in the future. In fact I heard specifically from our product manager, when I called her to complain about this issue, that Infogrames already told them that future releases would be strictly on a world-wide basis except in special cases like this special gore-free German version and the Japanese release. As I said above: we did our part for a simultaneous release and that's what we originally thought we'd be getting. "


    It may sound like nitpicking especially since more than a few people arent having anything more than a 10fps slowdown in the full version. But the rest of us are either unable to play longer than 5 min without crashing or not being able to play WHATSOEVER. Beleive me, wwe've done EVERYTHING and ANYTHING to fix this but the demo swap is the only thing that eveen resembles a solution though an unacceptable one. Please dont let GT stonewall people like they did with the first game, help us out by posting anything on it you can. Lord knows they havent responded to any of us.

    Again, this is not confirmed. And it may be a little late, but WTF. Just check.

    Star Peace Interview - Surebrec @ 5:50 pm PST
    The boys over at GA-Strategy have posted an interview with Mike Cepero, Lead Designer and Programmer of Star Peace. Along with the interview they include 8 new screenshots. Here's a little about the game:

    Star Peace is a new online game that promises to merge together the strategy, action, role-playing, and simulation genre into one cohesive experience. The first installment is a massive online real-time strategy game that provides persistent and highly graphical worlds where thousands of gamers create entire societies from the ground-up, and have
    collective responsibility for keeping them economically and socially vibrant.

    Hired Team Trail Screens - Surebrec @ 5:46 pm PST
    GASource sends word that New Media Generation has released some new screenshots from their upcoming multiplayer first-person tactical shooter, Hired Team: Trail. The screens can be found over here.

    More GeForce Demos - Surge @ 1:38 pm PST
    Razor (Planet GeForce) pointed out a few more nVidia GeForce demos, that were not listed on Dell's GeForce demo page that I mentioned yesterday (here).  There is a bump-mapping demo, their Scorpion demo that you have probably heard of, and a vertex blending demo (source code provided with this one).


    Ground Control News - Surge @ 1:26 pm PST
    Controlling Forces (site dedicated to Massive Entertainment's 3D RTS, Ground Control) has posted a bunch of new Ground Control "stuff" today: an interview with one of the game's designers, Henrik Sebring.  The unit pages have been updated with a list of names supplied by the units in the current screenshots by Henrik.  And finally, the development team page has been updated with a quote from each team member and their handles.  Here's a steaming piece from the interview:

    CF: Ground Control presents the player with a certain number of units instead of having to build them as in traditional RTS titles. Is today's player too impatient? Will the typical Ground Control player be a 'hardcore RTS fan'?

    HENRIK: There are several different types of RTS players out there, everyone with different opinions of what is fun and what is tedious. Not all RTS players are enjoying to spend 20 minutes of building a base just to start up a game, or where a lot of the strategy is to learn the quickest route to that "special" unit. But we do believe that the majority of the players are interested in the tactics and action that the RTS genre has to offer and that is what Ground Control will offer.

    We hope that Ground Control will also attract players that don't usually play RTS games. It is a game that doesn't require the player to learn a multitude of structures and build orders, instead the player can focus on the units at hand. A multiplayer RTS game usually takes quite some time to play and while Ground Control can take time, the unique drop-in-play mode will allow players to jump in for a short, intense game that traditionally only has been available for first person shooters such as Half-Life.


    AIWars interview - Surge @ 1:05 pm PST
    GC has posted an interview with Nexus Information Systems' François Machabée, regarding their Genesis3D engine powered 3D action/strategy game, AIWars: The Awakening .  Here's just a little nibblet:

    What genre does AI Wars fall into and why? What innovative quirks is the team working on that will set the game apart from the rest of the crowd?

    I think that is a cross between an Action FPS and a Strategy game since we have a bit of resource allocation/research built into the game play.

    If you missed the AIWars demo released back on Nov. 24th, grab it right here (27Mb).

    Force Commander Shots - Surge @ 12:51 pm PST
    GameSpot has popped up 8 new shots from LucasArts forthcoming RTS, Star Wars: Force Commander.   Here's a bit more on the shots, and the game:

    The shots show that the game's graphics have definitely improved from its previously muddied look, with sharper textures and more defined gaming models.

    The game will be based on the popular Star Wars universe depicted in the films in the second trilogy - Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Worlds that will be included in the game when it releases sometime during the first quarter of 2000 include Hoth, Tatooine, Corellia, Yavin 4, and others. 
     

    Rock Shots - Surge @ 12:47 pm PST
    In what is turning out to be screenshot day (since tuesday was driver release day), GA-Source continues the fun with some new shots from SingleTrac's upcoming first-person action hybrid, Rock. Here's the link.

    Messiah Interview - Surge @ 12:43 pm PST
    The always stylin Brits over at Gamespot UK have toasted up their interview with head "Messiah" at Shiny, Dave Perry. Some really good Messiah stuff in here folks. Have a taste:
  • GameSpot UK: Why has Messiah taken so long?

    Dave Perry: We did not design the game out in enough detail at the start, so we did not realise how GIGANTIC a project we were stepping into. The custom development tools alone took a year to create. It's been a major lesson.


    Wednesday, December 01, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    New Starcraft 2v2 Tourney - Daklown @ 7:11 pm PST
    A new 2v2 tourney is in the makings. Even though there are no prizes involved, the tourney still looks like it's worth checking out. View the tourney page here.
    Source: Ice's Cold Wars

    Tribes 2 - again - Underwear Ninja @ 5:30 pm PST
    BadassMoFo has a sweet screen shot up of Tribes 2. If you don't look at this screen shot, I will have to assume your mother does not love you anymore. I have no clue why these two things are related, but that's just how I feel. : )

    Tribes 2 Screenshots - Underwear Ninja @ 4:07 pm PST
    I know this has been a land dominated by Quake3 and Unreal, but many people, including myself, have once been hardcore Tribes players. We are wetting ourselves in excitement over Tribes2. Well Shugashack has a few screenshots up of Tribes2. Take a quick look, if you're into that sort of thing. : )

    -{SacTo}Ninja


    Quake 3 Goes Gold - Surge @ 1:09 pm PST
    Really makes you wonder how many times a game can go gold, seeing that you really only need one master copy. But no, for the 3rd time, Quake 3 Arena has gone gold. The only new info is that we should start seeing copys of Quake 3  this sunday (the 5th) according to the PR.

    Hangsim Demo - Surge @ 12:56 pm PST
    Wilco Publishing has released the Hangsim demo out for public consumption this morning. As Wilco states, its the first PC-based title dedicated exclusively to the art of piloting hang gliders, paragliders, microlites and sailplanes. You can pick up the demo right over here. (12.3 megs)

    FF8 Interview - Surge @ 12:52 pm PST
    Also over on Gamespot UK this morning we have an interview with Eidos senior producer on Final Fantasy XIII, Graeme Monk. Here's a good question:


    GameSpot UK: What new features can existing fans look forward to in FFVIII?

    Graeme Monk: FFVIII gives the player an involving storyline with enhanced gameplay. The characters have been designed away from the super-deformed characters of FFVII and have more of a western feel about them. Specifically, with the PC version the player can expect enhanced sound and music with Yamaha sound technology. The team were able to obtain the original high-res movie frames from the original FFVIII PSX development team and use a new movie compression and playback technology. Consequently the FMV movies run at twice the resolution of the PlayStation and just look superb.


    Included with the game is Chocobo World which was originally designed for the PlayStation PDA ,which has not been released in Europe. It is a small Windows application that can be run independently and saved. Chocobo World can be uploaded into FFVIII giving the player extra items. As for sub-games there is a card game called Triple Triad. This is a game that can be played with other NPCs and takes some skill to master.

    Battlezone 2 Shots - Surge @ 12:42 pm PST
    The lads over at Wewp have gotten their hands on 5 new shots from Activision showing off the soon to be released Battlezone 2. Check em out.

    Tomb Raider Interview - Surge @ 12:36 pm PST
    CheckOut Games has posted yet another interview with US Producer for Tomb Raider, Mike Schmitt, talking about The Last Revelation. Here's a snip:

    COG: Each subsequent game in the series has made improvements over the previous game. What improvements/changes did you make in TLR?

    MS: The inventory system has been redesigned so Lara can now combine items and equip certain weapons with various types of ammo (for example Lara can equip her crossbow with regular arrows, poison arrows or explosive arrows. There's also a lasersight she can attach to it for a sniper viewpoint. Lots of new animations were also added. Opening doors, picking up items, using a crowbar, climbing poles etc. As a result of the new animations and the skinning technique that was applied to the Lara model,
    she looks/moves more realistically than in any other TR adventure. Ropes have also been added to some levels and they work great. A nice, new gameplay addition for Lara! A couple of new vehicles have also been added (motorcycle and jeep). Finally, there's the new training level.


    New TAK Units - Falcon @ 3:33 am PST
    Cavedog has released four new units and two new maps for Total Annihilation: Kingdoms. They also have four exclusive new units being packed in with the TA: Kingdoms demo, which is coming up in the next issue of CGW (Jan. 1).
    -GameHeadlines.com

    Consoles Will Conquer The World? - Falcon @ 3:32 am PST
    Gamesmania has news today regarding a new report that suggests consoles will conquer the world by the year 2002. According to a Datamonitor study released today, online gamers playing on consoles will overtake the number of gamers using personal computers by 2002 and will dominate the market within a further two years. You can read more on their thoughts and predictions here

    Sid Meier's Next Big Thing - Falcon @ 3:29 am PST
    Over at the Avault again, they have news that during a press conference conducted at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in May, powerhouse publisher Hasbro Interactive and legendary game developer Firaxis Games announced a strategic partnership to bring the next generation of Civilization strategy games to life. You can read more on it here

    Buggin' Screenshots + Info - Falcon @ 3:27 am PST
    Over at the Avault they have some Screenshits and details on Infogrames Buggin', an arcade racing game which will be available for the PC in early 2000. Here is some info on the game:
    Buggin' starts drivers off with the standard 1960's Beetle; as they win races, they earn points and other vehicles become available. Some of the vehicles include the pre-1968 VW Beetle, the pre-1970 VW Bus, the 1969 VW 181 and the 1999 New Beetle Cup model. Developed by Xpiral and published by Infogrames, Buggin' will offer 2-8 person support via LAN, a split screen mode and will require at least a Pentium 166 with 32 MB of RAM, with no 3D hardware required.

    GamesDomain News - Falcon @ 3:15 am PST
    Gamesdomain has posted a walkthrough on Westwood's Lands of Lore 3: The Compendium

    They also have a second opinion on Epic's Unreal Tournament game. Here is a small clip:

    This issue will probably split the gaming community. Half of all gamers prefer the dark, sullen and gothic (that means brown and the varying shades of brown) setting of the Quake franchise. The other half prefers the science-fictionalized world of Unreal. You will find examples of both in Unreal Tournament. Castles, galleons, warships, futuristic space stations and dark dungeons will put every player "at home" eventually. Though this lack of cohesion would spell disaster for a single-player mission-type game, it doesn’t feel at all out of place here. The change of scenery is greeted with enthusiasm, not suspicion. In the final analysis, this freedom from stylistic constraints has produced fantastic and inspired levels.

    But thats not all folks, they also have a review of Monolith's Septerra Core. Heres a bit of info on the game:

    The world of Septerra is a rather complex land made up of seven distinct floating continents called "shells", that rotate around a spine-like biomechanical conduit. At the center of this world is the main computer core, which is the resting place of none other then the secret to the Kingdom of Heaven itself. When the shells move into the correct position light will penetrate the core, causing the "Conjunction", allowing this secret to be unlocked and obtained through the use of special keys that were left by the Creator. These keys to the core were separated and hidden in a great war, during which Marduk, the "only begotten son" of the creator, defeated Gemma after a battle between them that waged for 100 days and 100 nights. Marduk hid the keys and prophesized that they would resurface when they were needed and that it would be one of his descendants who would use the keys and unlock the power of Heaven to save the world.

    D2 SSOTW - Falcon @ 3:13 am PST
    The latest Diablo II Screenshot of the Week has been released by Blizzard. It features the Paladin sqauring off against some fetish in the jungles of Act III. A further description can be found from diablo.net here

    RTS:D Newswire - Falcon @ 3:08 am PST
    It's again time for another 15 minutes of wackiness with the craziest hosts you know on the net: Aaron and Jesse. This week we are talking about the free game playable on the HEAT.Net network: Ten 6. It's an online-only multiplayer RTS which looks promising already with it's different viewpoints, clan-like neighborhoods, and LEDO's: your weapons, and inventory which are collectable! Download the show off the front page of RTS Domain, or find the archives of all the shows right here.

    More GA-Source news - Falcon @ 2:31 am PST
    The guys at GA-Source get a fair bit of exclusives from gaming compainies/sites, the first is a screenshot of Mucky Foot's Urban Chaos from Eidos Entertainment (Action/Adventure, recently just gone gold)
    The second is from Rewolf Software, four new character AVI files (500k-700k) from their upcoming TC for Valve's Half-Life - Gunman:
    "Gunman is a fast-paced futuristic 3D-shooter based on the Half-Life engine, by Valve Software. Although it is an add-on, and requires that you already have Half-Life installed on your computer, Gunman is a completely new game, taking place in a universe unfamiliar to Half-Life veterans."

    Intel Price Cut - Underwear Ninja @ 12:36 am PST
    Intel has confirmed a price cut on their Coppermine processors. They say it's a Coppermine promotion and Christmas deal, but if you ask me, its AMD competition. See it where I found it.


    " "



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