December 2001

Monday, December 31, 2001

AMD Athlon XP 2000+ Review....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:26 AM MST Monday, December 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
GamePC has posted up a review of the AMD Athlon XP 1.67 GHz (2000+) Processor, currently the fastest chip in AMD's arsenal. Here's a snippet:


Game Developers Look Back And Forward ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:57 AM MST Monday, December 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
HomeLan has posted a Game Developers Look Back And Forward which is a year-end wrap up interview that poses a pair of questions to a group of developers. The questions are "Besides your own game, what PC or console game released in 2001 was your favorite and why?" and "Besides games you are working on, what PC or console game due out in 2002 are you most looking forward to playing and why?" The respondents are: Brian Jones of Ritual Entertainment, Jeff Dischler & Kenn Hoekstra of Raven Software, Randy Pitchford of Gearbox Software, Brandon James of Nerve Software, Greg Goodrich of Gray Matter Studios, and Samuli Viikinen & Anssi Hyytiäinen of Remedy.


Unreal 2 Preview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:54 AM MST Monday, December 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
There's an Unreal 2 Preview on Computer and Video Games after a visit to the offices of Legend Entertainment to check out progress of theor upcoming FPS sequel. The article offers several quotes from Legend's Mike Verdu, and some first-hand impressions of the game, which left them "overwhelmed by just how much better it was than every other FPS out there."


2001 Action Year In Review: Part 1....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:36 AM MST Monday, December 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
3DActionPlanet's 2001 Action Year in Review offers up a month-by-month rundown of the biggest games, releases, announcements, and stories of the year. Today they will cover January through June, and they promise to return tomorrow with the second half of 2001!


Sunday, December 30, 2001

Ghost Recon Review....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:06 AM MST Sunday, December 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
Fragland.net has posted a review of Ghost Recon giving the tactical shooter an 85.5%. Here's a tidbit:

    If you can't get enough of Ghost Recon, you can also try playing it in multiplayer where 5 big multiplayer maps of up to 400m² will allow you to snipe around killing up to 35 other players that are doing the same (maximum 36 players at the same time). Luckily both LAN and internet play are supported so even if you don't have broadband internet, you'll still be able to set up a small network with all your friends and start killing each other.


DDR RAM Guide....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:46 AM MST Sunday, December 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
DDR memory is getting popular now, but it is rather hard to know the overclocking limits before buying. Because of this, Gameguru.box.sk came up with this DDR RAM Guide. The guide is designed to test the limits of DDR modules on the market and they promise to update it frequently. :o)


Games of the Year 2001 ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:43 AM MST Sunday, December 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
EuroGamer has posted their Games of the Year 2001 list. Here's their intro to get you started:

    "2001 has been a great year for PS2 owners, and it has seen the introduction of Nintendo’s spectacular GameBoy Advance platform. Although Dreamcast manufacturer Sega tailed off production in March, the platform has also seen several important and extremely impressive products in the intervening period. Far from gaming’s dead duck, the Dreamcast is still a big success, and this year’s wooden spoon has to go to the PC. Although a large number of PC games materialized during 2001, very few truly stood out, and some of the most anticipated fell short of expectation. As is traditional though, each platform gets its moment, so without further ado, we take a look at some of the best games of the year 2001… "


SGI Sets Sights On Turnaround ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:37 AM MST Sunday, December 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
Slashdot has a post from a thread called SGI Sets Sights On Turnaround by John Carmack where the id programmer offers his vision of what sort of 3D breakthroughs to expect in the coming year.


New TeamSpeak ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:35 AM MST Sunday, December 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
A new TeamSpeak client is now available, updating this in-game voice communication software to version 1.05. The new release adds sounds when the user or other players connect or disconnect, allows the user to select between multiple sound cards for input and output, offers rewritten sound routines, and fixes DirectInput key bindings so they "should work in (almost) ALL games now."


Saturday, December 29, 2001

Is Universal Music's Copy Protection a Joke?....
Posted by [luckee] @ 11:11 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
Saw this over at techtv.com Here's a snip:

Earlier this month, Universal Music introduced copy protection for its line of audio CDs using Midbar Tech's Cactus Data Shield (CDS). The first disc released with Midbar's protection was "More Fast and Furious: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture 'The Fast and the Furious.'" According to stories posted online, Universal plans to copy protect its entire lineup of CDs.

The announcement that Universal will copy protect its CDs -- ostensibly to prevent users from ripping MP3s for trade online -- came the day before the launch of pressplay, Universal's (and Sony's) subscription outlet for digital audio.

With a purchased copy of the "More Music" CD, I discovered that it is possible to copy the disc and burn MP3s from it using software freely available for download online.

Read the rest here.


Lord of the Rings: coming to a PC, too ??....
Posted by [luckee] @ 11:04 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
After a mini bidding war, Electronic Arts announced that it has landed an exclusive deal with New line Cinema to create games for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The presser says the games based on the Tolkien classics will hit store shelves starting Fall next year in conjunction with the release of the second movie, The Two Towers.

Read the rest here.


CNN on CPL ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 11:02 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
Has yet another story on Cyberathlete Professional League poster-boy Johnathan "fatality" Wendell. The 20-year-old recently won a fully customized 2002 Ford Focus ZX3 at a CPL tournament. In the two years he's been playing, he's raked in US$150,000. The article has some interesting, albeit unflattering, descriptions of the gaming lifestyle.

Read the rest here.


New viruses for 2002 ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:57 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
Symantec, Network Associates, and other anti-virus and security firms are bracing for more pronounced and different threats from viruses and worms in 2002, based on the trend in recent months of the "blended threat" worm, where the worm not only relies on human intervention but also capitalizes on vulnerabilities of operating systems to spread across the Internet. For example, Code Red, the largest virus to date in terms of monetary damage caused, did not spread via e-mail, but capitalized on a vulnerability in the Internet Information Service portion of the Microsoft Windows NT and 2000 operating systems.


Read the rest here.


What's New for 2002?....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:56 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
AS ONE YEAR ENDS, a new one begins. And by the time you've finished singing "Auld Lang Syne," another dozen vendors will be lined up at your door, looking to lure your company onto the next technology wave. But budgets for new tools will be tighter than ever, so it will only pay to play with winners.

To that end, we've compiled a list of technologies we think have a shot at making it big in 2002. The current economic climate makes the crystal ball even cloudier than normal, of course, but these apps seem headed for the big time sooner rather than later.


Read the rest here.


Team Fortress 2, Where Are You?....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:44 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
PlanetFortress has posted up an article taking a look at Valve's upcoming action title, Team Fortress 2. Here's a bit:

    "...Needless to say, with proper organization and multiple team management, that is still a large amount of work and releases in a short time span for any software company. Many people are surprised to find out that TF2 itself has been created and started over from scratch more than twice. Starting from scratch also happened at Valve when developing Half-Life. Valve is very picky, and long developments with no release dates are the result. Half-Life turned out ok (and it did take a long time as well, years beyond original release dates).

    Of course, the success of a software company's first product does not guarantee anyone that their next product will be as successful. What it does mean is that a company that does know how to do things right, can. Opinions have, are, and will be tossed around wether or not TF2 will be worth it. This simply won't be known until the game is out. If you keep reading, it will be shown why TF2 (the full game) has had such a long development cycle.


Allied Assault SP Demo On Sale?....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:32 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
Allied-Assault.net is reporting that Amazon.com has a single player demo of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault on sale for only $4.99 and apparently they say it's ready to ship out even though the game is not sceduled for release until January 22.


Senior Game Designer Needed at Blizzard....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:27 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
A new opening for a senior game designer at Blizzard Entertainment is now available. You can get more info on what kind of person they are looking for here.


Lock N Load Competition....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:25 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
EuroGamer is running a competition for those of you in Europe only. They are giving away a "Lock N Load" compilation pack stuffed full of gory first person shooters including: Soldier of Fortune, Sin, Kingpin, Spec Ops II and it's mission pack Operation Bravo. Better hurry, the entry deadline is the morning of December 31.


Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Screenshots....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:17 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
GamePro has posted three screenshots of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, mixed in with eight familiar scenes from the third-person action sequel in the works at IO Interactive.


Breaking Into the Business....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:15 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
The series with Westwood on Breaking into the Business continues today on PC Game Central this time chatting with Benjamin Galley, their Quality Assurance Analyst. Here's a snip:

    How did you enter the gaming industry? Did you always want to be in the gaming industry? For how long have you been in the gaming industry?

    Benjamin: I actually entered the gaming industry by pure luck. My wife is in the military and was reassigned to Las Vegas, so I obviously followed her here. I moved about a block away from Westwood Studios, and, with no previous industry experience, took a chance on submitting my resume. I have always been a true "hardcore" gamer, so the thought of working in the gaming industry has always been a dream of mine. I have been in this industry for almost a year and a half.


True Combat Final Build 12 ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:08 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Official True Combat website has posted the final build 12 of this teamplay mod for Q3A, which requires you to have previously installed build 11. Here's what the accompanying update had to say:

    "Build 12 is a full feature packed update from Build 11 and a milestone in FPS realism simulation. Build 12 forces and requires much more tactical and team-based combat behaviour. With the enhanced ISIS, Build 12 is a new challenge for all true realism fans."


PainKeep Arena interview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:04 AM MST Saturday, December 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
HomeLan has posted an interview with Robert "Sgt. Hulka" Waring from Team Evolve, where they talk about their soon to be released verision 3.0 PainKeep Arena mod for Q3A. Here's a snip:

    HomeLan - What sorts of new content (weapons, levels and the like) will be in version 3.0?

    Sgt. Hulka - PainKeep Arena 3.0 will add new "Holdables" to the level inventory. One of the new PainKeep Arena enhancements is the ability for the player to hold more than one holdable at a time, providing they are different. Version 3 will add three new holdables to the inventory. At this point in development all of the new holdables are still very secret - shhhh. On the weapons front, the Dragon (grappling gun) will get some teeth. Opponents hit with your "modified" dragon's tongue will receive a good lashing full of damage.


Friday, December 28, 2001

Lost Legion Interview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 12:01 PM MST Friday, December 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
Blue Monday has posted a Lost Legion interview with ZZICT's Arnold Obbens talking about Lost Legion, their upcoming futuristic FPS. They discuss the company's background, how customizable the squads will be, engine features, multiplayer options, plans for a map editor, their release date, and more.


Linux MP Binaries for RTCW....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:32 AM MST Friday, December 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
id Software has released the latest v1.1 of the Linux multiplayer binaries for Return to Castle Wolfenstein. In addition, the final multiplayer demo for Linux has also been released.


Getting into the Business....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:25 AM MST Friday, December 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
PC Game Central has posted an interview with Harvard Bonin of Westwood Studios, where they talk about getting into the game development business. Some of the topics include an introduction by Harvard, how he got into gaming, the best and worst of his job, three qualities needed to be a producer and more.


Game of the Year 2001: The Gamers' Choice ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:21 AM MST Friday, December 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
GameSpy.com has posted their Game of the Year 2001: The Gamers' Choice results today, with the PC Action Game of the Year honors going to Operation Flashpoint. Check out the rest!


DoD: The Sounds of Beta 2....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:15 AM MST Friday, December 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Day of Defeat mod site has posted "The Sounds of Beta 2" where they let us hear the updated sounds. Here's what they had to say:

    "...We didn't want to do the usual map screenies though, or model shots which you all saw in the most recent updates and B2 movie. So, we thought why not show them the sounds of Beta 2 in crystal clear form.

    As many of you know, ALL of the sounds in Beta 2 have been redone and believe it or not, are even better. Everything from the ambience to the weapons themselves have been tweaked or completely redone. We know you guys are most interested about the machine guns Mg42 and .30 cal. So, I recorded myself during a recent firefight in one of our tests. We made use of our voice commands during this recent test too, you may notice some new ones in these clips. Also, I think you'll be able to tell which gun is which in these clips ;)..."
You can check out the first enemy encounter here, and the second enemy encounter here.


Serious Boot Bot ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:09 AM MST Friday, December 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
A new alpha version 2.0 of the Serious Boot bot for Serious Sam is now available. The update states its primary purpose is to address bugs, and indicates that once a few more are eliminated the source code for the mod will be made available.


Randy Pitchford Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:06 AM MST Friday, December 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
Halflife.nu has posted an interview with Gearbox Software designer, Randy Pitchford, where they talk about their upcoming Counter-Strike game, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero.


Quake II Updated Source Code....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:04 AM MST Friday, December 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
id Software has released a new source distribution of Quake II, available for download from their ftp server, updating last week's release to the final version 3.21 of the game which was never released as a patch.


Thursday, December 27, 2001

Stomped out.......
Posted by [luckee] @ 3:47 PM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
Homeland's JCal caught up with Stomped owner Gary Arndt to confirm that the site is officially not a news page any longer. Here's what they are going to be doing instead (which in all honesty, sounds like a hell of a lot of fun):

HomeLAN - Is Stomped moving completely to LAN center creation similar to The Stomping Grounds in Minneapolis?

Gary Arndt - Yes and no. We are going to focus on LAN entertainment, but not like current The Stomping Grounds....well not exactly like it.

We built the current center as a prototype so we could figure out what works and what doesn't. LAN centers are still pretty new in the US so we didn't have a lot to base our center off of. In the year we've been open we've learned a LOT about operating a LAN center. We've learned what works and what doesn't.

Our next center will be much larger, will be in a significantly higher profile location, will have a full bar/grill, a full retail store, and more consoles. It will be the Mecca for gamers in North America. We are also looking at doing having a weekly TV show with a live audience, recorded at the new store.

Source: VE


Top 10 PC Games....
Posted by [luckee] @ 3:45 PM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
The NPD Techworld just released the latest top-10 selling PC games list ending the week of Dec 15th and it looks like Harry Potter got his rocks off (sorry, Stone) and is currently the best selling PC game. Return to Castle Wolfenstein came in 6th, and EQ: Luclin was 10th. Here are the rest:

1) Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone; Electronic Arts - $28
2) The Sims: Hot Date Expansion Pack; Electronic Arts - $28
3) Backyard Basketball; Infogrames Entertainment - $15
4) The Sims; Electronic Arts - $42
5) MP Roller Coaster Tycoon; Infogrames Entertainment - $19
6) Return To Castle Wolfenstein; Activision - $44
7) Backyard Football 2002; Infogrames Entertainment - $16
8) MS Zoo Tycoon; Microsoft - $27
9) Backyard Baseball 2001; Infogrames Entertainment - $16
10) EverQuest: Shadows Of Luclin Expansion Pack; Sony - $21

Source: VE


Athlon XP 1900 Review....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:54 AM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
Welcome to our latest and greatest AMD CPU launch. A few weeks ago AMD launched it’s desktop Athlon XP 1900+ CPU, which we brought to you here. Today, AMD is continuing its domination of the gaming and professional SMP market with their newest MP processor. Please meet the AMD Athlon MP 1900+!

Palomino has been a huge hit with audiences around the world since the launch of the XP and MP processors just a few months ago. Recently, word has been spreading that AMD is having a tough time keep up with demand. Tough times indeed!

Also launching is AMD’s new MPX motherboard spec. While we have not managed to get a sample in our grubby hands yet, we are confident we will soon. Many vendors including ASUS, Abit, Epox, Tyan among others are going to be producing MPX motherboards so keep your eyes peeled. Thanks for being patient with us while we knock on the doors of our sources!


Read the rest here.


Creative Labs 3D Blaster GeForce 3 Ti200 review....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:50 AM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
Creative is one of the most recognized brands among PC enthusiasts especially because of its ever popular SoundBlaster line. They have also been major players in other areas such as Graphics products for quite some time, and although they retired from the Americas market a while ago, they have kept the 3D Blaster family alive in the European and Asian markets.

“NVIDIA GeForce 3 Technology gone mainstream”, as some would say, the 3D Blaster GeForce 3 Titanium 200 is based on one of NVIDIA’s latest chips; the Ti 200 is supposed to offer the best price/performance value, so let’s take a closer look to Creative’s offering.


Read the rest here.


New features planned for file swappers ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:48 AM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
In the midst of a potentially crippling lawsuit leveled by the recording and movie industries, peer-to-peer company MusicCity is planning a new, more powerful version of its popular file-swapping software.

MusicCity, also known as StreamCast Networks, makes the Morpheus file-trading software application that has consistently been one of the most popular downloads online for the last several months.

In a newsletter sent out to users of the software for the first time this week, the company said it is close to releasing a version 2.0 of the program, which will tap into parallel Gnutella-based peer-to-peer networks, and support Windows XP. The company also said it is working on a version for Macintosh computers to be released in Spring 2002.

"The StreamCast Networks Tech Gurus have been working diligently to develop a new feature set to give you the best (peer-to-peer) user experience possible," the company's newsletter said. It stopped short of giving away any definite release date.

The Morpheus software is one of three separate programs that link together into what has become the largest file-trading network now operating it the wake of Napster's collapse. Together, Kazaa, MusicCity and Grokster offer access to the libraries of hundreds of thousands of people at a time, swapping copyrighted music, movies and software, as well as non-copyrighted material.


Read the rest here.


Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Review....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:40 AM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
Most game companies don't put much effort into cashing in on a successful license. The fans are ready-made, anxiously waiting to buy any substandard game sporting the franchise name and logo. Electronic Arts must have been sorely tempted to cut corners with its "Harry Potter" game. Thanks to J.K. Rowling's phenomenally successful book series and a heavily hyped motion picture, EA needed only to churn out something passable and watch the money roll in. Fortunately, EA's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" is remarkably solid and satisfying, though Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone hardly brilliant or innovative. It's not for hardcore videogame fans any more than the books are meant for fans of ponderous, highbrow literature. It'll please the legion of underage fans and charm anyone new to gaming. And in truth that's all it has to do.

Read the rest here.


Madness Makes It....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:37 AM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Quake III mod, Madness has sent word to planetquake that their project has passed testing with the latest Q3A version (v1.31). That's good news for players and server admins that want the funky action of this mod with the newest game version. If you missed news of the "wall walking" feature earlier this month, get over to Madness to give it a whirl.

Read the rest here.

Source:Planetquake


Chronos V a free MMORPG/FPS game needs your help....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:31 AM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
"Chronos V" is going to be a MMORPG with very strong FPS influences. Veterans of deathmatch and every known shooter game will fall in love instantly. Based upon a epic evolving storyline set during the war between the great Terran empire and the mysterious Anchients, an alien species with fantastic powers, our game aims at giving people the chance to choose one of the two mighty factions, and to become part of the epic struggle for the secret of unlimited energy buried beneath the surface of a distant planet - Chronos V. Dozens of sophisticated weapons, vehicles and spacecraft together with enthralling looks hopefully will make it a huge success. Another interesting aspect is that we intend to make our game competely free - as long as we are able to pay all costs with the help of future sponsors there will be no intial costs nor any monthly payments whatsoever! Please visit our homepage www.chronosthegame.com to learn more about this project, its story, and alien races! Due to the fact that production has recently begun we are still looking for expert help - so if you happen to be an experienced modeller, coder, texture artist or mapper don´t hesitate to contact us. We are also looking for writers, concept artists, musicians, and many more who want to contribute to something really outstanding. If nothing else tell your friends and clanmates - all creative input is welcome. Hope to see you in our forums soon!

Read the rest here.

Source: Gamespydaily


Windows XP: What’s In It For Us?....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:40 AM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Electric Playground has posted an editorial on Gaming and Windows XP. Overall, they liked the gaming performance under the OS and found it to be very stable. The article does go on to say that with a price tag of $99, gamers need not to rush to buy. Here's a snip:

    Indirectly, all of this is good news for gamers, of course, but it is both the stability and user-friendliness of WinXP that raises concerns about game performance. WinXP is based on code evolved from Windows2000 OS, a famously stable business-grade OS that was also infamously slower and less compatible with games than Windows98 or ME. We were wary, frankly, that Microsoft really would take care to ensure game compatibility in this upgrade. So far, and after throwing at XP every game in our library of old favorites and new hits, we are happy to say that XP handles just about everything without so much as a hiccup. Deus Ex, Alice, Unreal Tournament, Quake III Arena, and Fallout Tactics not only loaded and played just fine, but overall disk handling seemed more efficient. The game engines and the levels seemed to load into memory faster.


AvP2 Editing Tools and Utilities....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:18 AM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
Aliens vs Predator 2 has some new editing tools and utilities available for download. The 8.7 MB package includes Talon's DEdit and Model Edit, "extensive documentation," and importers for 3dStudio Max and Maya. It is available from Sierra's patch ftp server and main ftp server, as well as FilePlanet.


Making Cash With Quake....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:14 AM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
Making Cash With Quake is an article on ABC News that describes the CPL's ambitions to become the "NFL of gaming," offering quotes from CPL president Angel Munoz and competitor Jonathan "Fatality" Wendell.


Ghost Recon Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:10 AM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
Ghost Recon has posted an interview with Darren Chukitus of Red Storm Entertainment, where they talk about their latest installment in their series of Tom Clancy-inspired tactical first-person shooters, Ghost Recon. The topics include their objectives for Ghost Recon, obstacles they've encountered, features they were unable to implement, what they would change if anything about the final product, the development cycle length, and more.


Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven First Look....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:04 AM MST Thursday, December 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
3DAction Planet has posted a first look of Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. For those of you not familiar with this title, here's a brief rundown of the game from the official Mafia site:

    Mafia is a third person 3D action game. The player assumes the role of a gangster in an American town of the 1930s, and gets a chance to live through a gangster's rise and fall. In a story of human hunger for power, you will be able to live through everything that was taking place in underworld during this stormy period: mad car chases, bootlegging, assassinations, and bank robberies. The story is set in a huge, functional town, provides 60 vehicles to choose from, and more than 20 missions filled with crazy action. Mafia is being developed by Illusion Softworks - creators of the award-holding Hidden and Dangerous.


Wednesday, December 26, 2001

Urban Terror Interview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:05 AM MST Wednesday, December 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Portugal Arena has posted an Urban Terror interview, talking to Oswald of the UT team about this popular Quake 3 mod.


Croteam Update....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:58 AM MST Wednesday, December 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
With the holiday, I missed Croteam's weekly update. This week they've titled it "Serious Christmas Development Diary: The Game Of The Year Edition."


Q3A Point Release Converter....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:54 AM MST Wednesday, December 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
RailBait.Com has available for download a Quake III Arena point release conversion utility, which allows for automated switching between versions 1.30 and 1.31. This will make it easier to play mods that require the different versions. Just make sure you read the README.txt located in the zip file before you do anything. There is also a mirror on PlanetQuake3.net.


Chaser Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:47 AM MST Wednesday, December 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
Computer and Video Games has posted a Chaser interview where they talk with Cauldron's Development Director, David Durcak, the Slovakian developer currently at work on this upcoming first-person shooter that will make use of their proprietary CloakNT engine.


Team Factor Site....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:40 AM MST Wednesday, December 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
The official Team Factor site has been launched, with information on the upcoming first person shooter from developer 7FX and publisher Singularity Software. The site launch also includes a game overview. Check it out!


Games: Training Programs for Criminals?....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:30 AM MST Wednesday, December 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
3DAction Planet takes a look at whether or not games can be used as training in the use of arms in their latest article "Games: Training Programs for Criminals?" Here's their intro to get you started:

    The American Military’s much publicised enquiries over using Doom deathmatch as a simulation of war, and much more recently, Operation Flashpoint to the same ends, shows the learning potential that games can bestow on us. Being bad is good fun, but many people see a more sinister aspect of games that let you dance on the wrong side of the law.


ION Storm Interview....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:22 AM MST Wednesday, December 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
Computer and Video Games has posted part two of their interview series on game AI, with Paul Tozour (AI designer) and Warren Spector of ION Storm. They discuss the recent trends in recognition of the importance of gaming AI, recent games that have impressed them with good AI, the challenge of designing an intelligent game, how they think AI will progress in the future, and more.

Read the rest here.


Command & Conquer: Renegade Interview....
Posted by [luckee] @ 12:32 AM MST Wednesday, December 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
Saw this cool interview over at actiontrip.com, here's a snip:

I had an opportunity to speak with the lead designer of Renegade, Dan Cermak, for a little heart-to-heart. Here's how it went down.

Action Trip: Okay, Dan. Renegade. Gimme the Skinny.
Whoooosh! Nice sweep boys!
"It's so nice to see you fully functional again sir..."

Dan Cermak: Well, there's a lot to the game, but to sum it up, Renegade is Westwood's first 3D action game set in the infamous Command & Conquer universe. Previously only available in a top-down perspective, we're now letting the player see the C&C universe in all its glory from the ground level. Players fight as Captain Nick "Havoc" Parker from either a first-person or third-person perspective, and get to fight in and around the vehicles, weapons and buildings made famous in the original C&C. Combine that with a great storyline filled with unique characters, and I think we've got a winner.

Read the rest here.


GeForce4 and GeForce4 MX Details....
Posted by [luckee] @ 12:28 AM MST Wednesday, December 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
XBitLabs.com has managed to get some interesting info on the GeForce4 family and three models in the GeForce4 MX family:

    GeForce4 Ti 1000. This is the fastest graphics cards built on GeForce4 chip working at about 300MHz frequency. The card will have AGP 8x interface and 128MB DDR SDRAM memory working at 700MHz.

    GeForce4 Ti 500. This is a bit slower solution with around 275MHz chip frequency and 600MHz memory frequency. Although it will have AGP 4x interface, the card will still come with 128MB graphics memory.

    GeForce4 MX 460. This is the eldest representative of the GeForce4 MX family. It will probably have 4 rendering pipelines and DirectX 8-compliant T&L unit. The amount of DDR graphics memory used (with 128bit bus) will be cut down to 64MB, and its working frequency will be reduced down to 550MHz. The core will work at 300MHz.

    GeForce4 MX 440. These cards will go with 64MB DDR SDRAM with 128bit access bus. The memory working frequency will be 400MHz and the core frequency – 275MHz.

    GeForce4 MX 420. According to the available data, this GeForce4 MX version will be targeted for the Low-End market that is why the cards built on it will have 64MB SDR SDRAM memory working at 166MHz. The core will work at 250MHz. Besides, It looks as if there were only two rendering pipelines in this modification.

Source: gameguru


Tuesday, December 25, 2001

Merry Christmas!....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:46 AM MST Tuesday, December 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
On behalf of everyone here at PCShooter.com, I wish you a very safe and happy Christmas. Hope Santa brought you all the things you asked him for. We'll be back tomorrow with our regular schedule. Merry Christmas!


Monday, December 24, 2001

Best and Worst of 2001....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:42 AM MST Monday, December 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
GameSpot has posted its sixth annual Best and Worst of the Year feature, which highlights the most noteworthy achievements from the past year in gaming. They award the most distinguished games in more than 20 different categories, each with up to five different nominees. In this process, they considered every game released in 2001 that was evaluated on GameSpot this year, which includes virtually every commercially available computer game.


What's The Story ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:31 AM MST Monday, December 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
Eurogamer has posted an aritcle today where they discuss storylines in games. Here's their intro to get you started:

    Stories have an uneasy role in the game development process, often tacked on at the last minute to satisfy a tick box in the game design document. Graphics - check! Soundtrack - check! Plot - check! It shouldn't be this way...


Q3A True Combat....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:24 AM MST Monday, December 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
The True Combat Website has a new build 12 test of their Q3A mod, which requires build 11 to install. The new release offers an extensive list of fixes, changes, and additions. They've also started a contest of sorts to stress test the release, offering rewards to anyone who can break the map rotation on a public server, and anyone who can continue to execute any form of equipment exploits (so I guess server operators installing this new release should be warned that there has been an official invitation to try and hack it).


Serious Boot Bot....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:21 AM MST Monday, December 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
Seriously! has posted the debut release of Serious Boot, the first modification to add artificial intelligence bots to Serious Sam. The lowdown is is: "The bot is still in dev, but we are making progress every day and it will most likely be finished in the near future."


Hitman 2: Silent Assassin interview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:14 AM MST Monday, December 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
3DAction Planet has posted an interview where they talk with Jens Peter Kurup, the Lead Animator on Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. Here's a snip:

    3DActionPlanet: We've yet to see screenshot in the new first-person mode. Does creating another view perspective entail a great deal of work? What influenced your decision to include a first-person perspective?

    Jens Peter Kurup: It's quick to make a good first-person view, but to make it great takes a lot of work. The first-person mode already plays very well but isn't finished. It is important to remember that Hitman is third-person game. It looks, feels and plays better in third-person, but every now and then, the first-person mode just fits. That's why we added it. Peeking through windows, a hole in the ceiling or through a small gap or under a truck just works better in first-person. It's also nice if you want to do some sharp shooting on a console.


Sunday, December 23, 2001

Gamespy's 2001 PC Game of the Year ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:32 AM MST Sunday, December 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
Empire Earth is Gamespy's 2001 PC game of the year beating out all the others in the action, role playing and strategy categories. Here's why:

    But when push came to shove, only one title really stood out. It was a complete package: it had great gameplay, enjoyable single player, fantastic multiplayer, and expandiblity to keep it fresh for ages. It was a massive title created by veteran game designers, earning among our highest review scores for the year. Of course, we're talking about Empire Earth, GameSpy's choice for PC Game of the Year! This real-time strategy game set a new high water mark for others to follow.


Soldier of Fortune 2 Preview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:29 AM MST Sunday, December 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
Lone Gamers has posted a preview of Soldier of Fortune 2, Raven Software's 2002 first person shooter. Here's a snip:

    The missions (10 with almost 70 levels) will take place around the world "ranging from the jungles of Colombia to the snowy mountains of Kamchatka to the streets of Hong Kong to the deck of an ocean liner on its way to America. You'll also see missions in Prague, Switzerland and the United States." The first bits of the story line currently released say that there is a group of evil-genius scientists who are experimenting with the human genome and somebody gets upset about it. Informants include Sam Gladstone, someone who owns a shop, and a genetics scientist, Dr. Ivan Petrovich. Along with the preset story and characters, they will use a random mission generator to create missions instantly playable and a little less strategic.


New MOH:AA MP Map....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:28 AM MST Sunday, December 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
Allied-Assault.net is reporting that FilePlanet will have a new objective team based map Monday for the recently released Medal of Honor: Allied Assault multiplayer demo from 2015 and Electronic Arts.


PCAction - December 23, 2001....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:51 AM MST Sunday, December 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
3DAction Planet has posted an article titled PCAction where they summarize the latest happenings in the action world. Check it out.


Saturday, December 22, 2001

MOH:AA Team-based movies....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:28 AM MST Saturday, December 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
Bluesnews has posted two movies on team-based multiplayer, showing off an unseen map set in the town of Remagen. QuickTime required for both movies. The first movie is 4.4 MB and has 37 seconds of action, and the second one is 3.6 MB and lasts about 30 seconds.


Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Tournament....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:17 AM MST Saturday, December 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
AlliedAssault.com has announced the first ever Medal of Honor: Allied Assault tournament, sponsored by 2015. You can check out the FAQ here.


Max Payne Kung Fu Edition ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:11 AM MST Saturday, December 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
Shacknews is reporting that a new version of the Max Payne Kung Fu Edition is now available, updating this mod that adds martial arts excitement to Remedy Entertainment's third-person shooter. The new release adds a bunch of new stuff and as a result of the update, old save games (including save games from v0.9 and v1.0+) are not compatible with the new version.


New Kquery....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:07 AM MST Saturday, December 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
A new version 2.5.1 build 685 of Kquery is now available, updating the Quake III Arena master server query protocol, adding Paladin anti-cheat support, and more.


Developers' 2001 Holiday Wish Lists....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:04 AM MST Saturday, December 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
Action Vault has posted an article called Developers' 2001 Holiday Wish Lists, where they pose the question of "What are you hoping to find in your holiday stocking this year, both game-related and not?" Go check it out!


Quake 2 Source Code Released ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:56 AM MST Saturday, December 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
id's John Carmack has announced that the Quake 2 source code has been released to the public and is now available for download, licensed under the GPL.

    As with previous source code releases, the game data remains under the original copyright and license, and cannot be freely distributed. If you create a true total conversion, you can give (or sell) a complete package away, as long as you abide by the GPL source code license. If your projects use the original Quake 2 media, the media must come from a normal, purchased copy of the game.

    I'm sure I will catch some flack about increased cheating after the source release, but there are plenty of Q2 cheats already out there, so you are already in the position of having to trust the other players to a degree. The problem is really only solvable by relying on the community to police itself, because it is a fundamentally unwinnable technical battle to make a completely cheat proof game of this type. Play with your friends.


Judge Dredd: Dredd vs Death....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:48 AM MST Saturday, December 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
3DAction Planet has posted a first look at Judge Dredd: Dredd vs Death. Here's a snip:

    "...Mega city one. Population 400 million. West coast of America. The largest, most crime ridden city in the world. It’s policed by judges who are the cops, the judge, the jury and the executioner, and Dredd is the most respected, and feared of them all. Eternally helmeted, and no young whippersnapper, to the citizen of Megacity one, Dredd is the figurehead of the judges.

    But, many of the citizens are against this system that offers no fair trial, and in most cases, no retrial..."


Friday, December 21, 2001

RTCW Multiplayer Map & Screenshots....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:25 AM MST Friday, December 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
As promised, the RTCW Multiplayer Map has been released. You can grab the demo version here, or the map pack for the retail version here.

You can check out the screenshots for this new map over at Stomped.


Breed website ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:16 AM MST Friday, December 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Breed website has launched and offers some info, screenshots, wallpapers, and more for Brat Designs' upcoming sci-fi action game.


Sven Co-op mod new Beta 2.0....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:11 AM MST Friday, December 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
A new Beta 2.0 of the Sven Co-op mod for Half-Life is now available. The main feature of this mod is to add cooperative multiplayer to Half-Life. The new beta also provides some major gameplay changes, including a pair of new monsters, a personal medikit, new maps, improved versions of the previous maps, fixed support for Valve single-player maps, and more.


Torc Interactive Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:09 AM MST Friday, December 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
HomeLan Fed has posted a Torc Interactive interview where they talk with Mark Cullen of Torc Interactive, the Irish developer working on Fate, an upcoming first-person shooter.


Red Faction German Patch ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:06 AM MST Friday, December 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
Volition has now also released the German version 1.20 patch for Red Faction. The patch "removes a bug in the file loading code that has allowed people to run mod-like cheats without going through the usual mod detection."


Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 1:06 AM MST Friday, December 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
We recently had the opportunity to chat with Brett Tosti from LucasArts about their upcoming FPS Jedi Knight® II: Jedi Outcast™. Here's a snip:

    For those gamers who are not Star Wars fans, what reasons would you give them to spark their interest in Jedi Knight II?

    BT: Beyond the deep compelling story and high-paced action, Jedi Outcast has some very unique game features not seem in other FPS’s. Your ability with the lightsaber to not only attack but to defend yourself adds a different gameplay element. And of course the wide range of force powers intermixed with the conventional weapon arsenal not only makes for an interesting single-player game but adds a whole new level of depth to the multi-player experience.


Thursday, December 20, 2001

Operation Flashpoint Patch....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 4:52 PM MST Thursday, December 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
Bohemia Interactive has released Operation Flashpoint patch v1.40, offering a new multiplayer level, and a bunch of fixes and additions. Check it out!


Red Faction Patch ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 4:45 PM MST Thursday, December 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
Volition has released a patch for Red Faction, updating North American and French editions to version 1.20. The patch is "a small update that removes a bug in the file loading code. This bug has allowed people to run mod-like cheats without going through the usual mod detection." The German and Macintosh version 1.20 upgrades are expected soon.


Ghost Recon Mission Pack Announced....
Posted by [luckee] @ 1:54 PM MST Thursday, December 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
Saw over at Ghost Recon Retreat that UBI Soft has announced a mission pack for their tactical shooter, Ghost Recon, will be out in March 2002. The mission pack will have new vehicles, weapons, enemies, 8 single player missions, and multiplayer maps. you can read the rest here.


Quake3 v.1.31 Released....
Posted by [luckee] @ 1:46 PM MST Thursday, December 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
id Software has released Quake 3 version 1.31 today. Here's a lil of what the patch covers:
Windows Fixes:
- fixed Doppler effect
- changed protocol from 66 to 67
- fixed simple developer 1 cvar cheat hack
- changed a few warnings to developer warnings
- rcon commands no longer fragment, sent buffered to the rcon client
- fixed connection issues / broken userinfo
- only printing R_AddPolyToScene warnings with +set developer 1
- various dedicated server issues fixed

you can grab the file here.


Medal of Honor Goes Gold....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:05 AM MST Thursday, December 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
Medal of Honor Allied Assault for the PC has gone gold. Here's the press release:

    Medal of Honor Allied Assault for the PC has just gone gold. The full version of the PC-CD game will be available in stores on January 22, 2002.

    Medal of Honor Allied Assault for the PC features over 30 levels of fully realized 3D worlds in which the player must accomplish specific objectives and goals in order to succeed and advance. Medal of Honor Allied Assault carries an ESRB rating of "T" for Teen and a MSRP of US$49.99.

    For more information about the game, the official Medal Of Honor Allied Assault site features links to a downloadable demo, preview movies of the game in action, and more news about the game's development.


CPU Price Guide ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:01 AM MST Thursday, December 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
FiringSquad has posted their final CPU Price Guide of the year. Check it out!


Serious Sam: The Second Encounter Demo Guide....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:54 AM MST Thursday, December 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
Invisible Dream has posted a Serious Sam: The Second Encounter Demo Guide that offers tips on how to find all the secrets in the demo version of the upcoming SS follow-up.


Interview with Charles Hirschhorn....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:53 AM MST Thursday, December 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
UGO has posted an interview with Charles Hirschhorn talking with the CEO of G4Media about their new gamers' TV network.


Ghost Recon Chat ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:51 AM MST Thursday, December 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Ghost Recon website has announced there is a chat with the folks from Red Storm Entertainment about Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, the latest in their series of first-person shooters. The moderated chat gets underway at 11:00 AM MST on the server irc.enterthegame.com in the channel #GRchat.


Wednesday, December 19, 2001

Cheating Gamers....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:20 AM MST Wednesday, December 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Adrenaline Vault has an aritlce posted today called The Lovers, the Cheaters, and Me where they take a look at gamers and cheating. Here's a taste:

    "When a player is stuck in the middle of an enjoyable game, or cannot achieve success even at the beginning, he or she feels a tremendous, seductive temptation to resort to cheat codes. Like substance abuse, reliance on cheating can become addictive, particularly for those impatient to immediately see every facet of a product. Succumbing to this temptation can damage a player’s self-esteem, leading to the dismal belief that the only way one can succeed in gameplay is by using this crutch. Frequent reliance on cheats can also lead to the illusion that “everyone does it” or that “cheating is part of the game.” While pretending gameplay builds crucial analytical skills, those caught in this web of deceit privately know nothing of the sort is true. This can be equated, in some circles, to a total loss of honor."


MoH Voodoo Fix....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:12 AM MST Wednesday, December 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
AlliedAssault.com has posted instructions on how to fix some problems experienced with the MoH: Allied Assault demo and Voodoo cards.


Holiday Game Buying Guide ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:04 AM MST Wednesday, December 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
Another Holiday Game Buying Guide has been posted today, this time by BlueSmoke.net. This guide covers a total of 23 titles from various genres. Check it out!


AXP Version 1.1....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:55 AM MST Wednesday, December 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Lv-426 Modifications Page has posted version 1.1 of AXP, their mod for AvP2. They describe it as "their attempt to make the Aliens vs Predator 2 game more like the movie line." The new version is compatible with the latest AvP2 patch and offers a bunch of tweaks and fixes.


SS: The Second Encounter Demo Review....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:50 AM MST Wednesday, December 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
3DAction Planet has posted a review of the recently released demo of Serious Sam: The Second Encounter. Here's a snip from their intro:

    "...While the full versions of Medal of Honour and Return to Castle Wolfenstein are or were probably greater anticipated than The Second Encounter, for me at least, the demo of The Second Encounter was certainly the news I jumped at most.

    Why? Well, if one demo stood out last year, it was Serious Sam’s first demo. While the weaponry, monsters and shoot everything ethos almost felt like FPS’ greatest hits, the environments were so unlike anything out there visually, and the sheer amount of carnage packed inside a little demo, was breath taking. Literally.

    If an hour or so of Serious Sam didn’t leave you feeling drained and gasping for breath, you weren’t playing at the right difficulty level.

    It was a small moment, on par with the feeling you get seeing Dorothy go from black and white to colour in the Wizard of Oz. You were outside the box in a bright, wide open outside world, and while it didn’t push any boundaries in story and originality, what it was, was the biggest FPS you’d ever seen.

    And this is the demo of its sequel."


Tuesday, December 18, 2001

Aliens vs Predator 2 Update ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:19 AM MST Tuesday, December 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
PlanetAVP has posted a 1.0.9.3 Update for Aliens vs Predator 2. The update contains some single player and multiplayer fixes. You'll have to check out the site to get all the details on the update but, you can grab the file here.


Uncrossable Parallel Interviews....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:15 AM MST Tuesday, December 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
Modxtreme has posted two Uncrossable Parallel interviews today. They’ve interviewed c00lizz from the UP: Close Quarters Combat team and BadMoFo from the UP: Special Forces team.


Renegade Preview and Screenshots....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:03 AM MST Tuesday, December 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
MGON has posted a preview and some screenshots of Renegade, the action game based on the Command and Conquer series.


New q3Log ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:52 AM MST Tuesday, December 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
There's a new q3Log Win32 Q3A logging utility version 1.40 available. The new version adds support for Return to Castle Wolfenstein and "takes advantage of Windows XP and its new visual styles to create a look based on the user's XP UI settings."


Dan Cermak Interview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:50 AM MST Tuesday, December 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
Renegade Realm has posted an interview with Dan Cermak, chatting with Westwood's Executive Producer about their upcoming C&C action game Renegade. Topics include Dan's role in the production, the origins of the project, whether there will be any new weapons or characters, the number of maps and/or levels included with the final game, a bit about his job, and more.


Global Operations Multiplayer Preview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:46 AM MST Tuesday, December 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
HomeLan Fed has posted a Global Operations Multiplayer preview where they take a look at Barking Dog Studios' upcoming tactical first-person shooter after playing with the multiplayer beta test. Here's their intro to get you started:

    "Before Barking Dog Studios gained fame for their excellent continuation of Relic’s RTS title with Homeworld: Cataclysm, they helped Valve Software and the Counter-Strike mod team with the Beta 5 version of their Half-Life multiplayer team mod. Barking Dog’s efforts helped to turn Counter-Strike from just a popular Half-Life mod to one of the most popular online action games ever released, mod or otherwise.

    Since the release of Counter-Strike Beta 5, Barking Dog has moved on their own road and have been developing their own action shooter entitled Global Operations. Officially announced a year ago, the game made an impressive first public appearance at last May’s E3. Last week, the development team and their co-publishers Crave Entertainment and Electronic Arts released a multiplayer beta version to a few selected testers to try out. HomeLAN got a chance to try out the beta and it’s clear that the game is already a lot of fun to play even at this stage of its development."


3DActionPlanet Staff Top 10....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:43 AM MST Tuesday, December 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
The 3DActionPlanet Staff has posted their Top 10 Games of All Time list today. Check it out!


Monday, December 17, 2001

Holiday Gift Guide....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 2:23 PM MST Monday, December 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
Computer Source Magazine has posted their Holiday Gift Guide. The eight-page article has a little of everything for people on various budgets. Check it out!


Serious Monday Development Diary....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 2:20 PM MST Monday, December 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Croteam website has posted their Serious Monday development diary. Here's most of it:

    Captain's log: December 17th, 2001.

    The word that I would use to describe how demo went would be: "Super!" If we were in the fifties, the word would probably be: "Swell!". Thanks God we are not in the fifties.

    We received thousands of e-mails with positive reactions regarding demo and that's why we are all very happy and excited. It seems that you like new enemies, weapons, gameplay, setting, sounds, music... yadda yadda yadda... everything... except the box. Which you all just adore!

    Instead of releasing Third encounter this X-Mass, we decided to go on holidays. Guess, we'll have to postpone it for Easter.

    Next update: when it's done ;)

    Sincerely yours:

    Mr. John from Las Vegas


CloakNT Video....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 2:16 PM MST Monday, December 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
The official Chaser site has posted a new CloakNT technology video, showing the engine powering Cauldron's upcoming sci-fi fps. The 30.4 MB download has over four minutes of high-resolution footage showing off some of what the engine supports.


2001 Action Game of the Year ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:30 AM MST Monday, December 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
Bohemia Interactive's Operation Flashpoint has been named by GameSpy.com as their 2001 Action Game of the Year. Return to Castle Wolfenstein,Max Payne, and Clive Barker's The Undying all received an honorable mention. Also, the Day of Defeat 1.3 HL mod was named Best 3rd Party Modification. Congratulations to everyone!


Strike Force v1.70 ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:26 AM MST Monday, December 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
Strike Force Center has posted the version 1.70 update for this Unreal Tournament modification. The 64.2 MB upgrade requires version 1.60 or 1.65 to be installed first, and includes seven new maps, a bunch of weapon changes and improvements, and many other enhancements and bug fixes.


Annihilation Video Trailer ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:51 AM MST Monday, December 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
There's a new video trailer on the Annihilation website that runs about a minute long and shows off features in the upcoming beta 2 of this Quake III Arena modification.


New RailArena....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:49 AM MST Monday, December 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
There's a new beta 4 of the RailArena modification for Q3A available, offering custom maps, a grappling hook, and an Unlagged server list. There is no upgrade version for previous betas because the entire mod has been rewritten.


Blood in MOH:AA Demo....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:42 AM MST Monday, December 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
For those of you longing to add the appearance of blood to the MOH:AA demo, Alliedassault.com has posted a patch that replaces the gray smoke that bodies emit when shot with red smoke (blood).


Kevin Cloud Interview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:37 AM MST Monday, December 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
Dteam 3d Design Guild has posted a Kevin Cloud interview where they talk with id Software's artist/co-owner to see what information he's willing to cough up. Here's a snip:

    dolo: If you were omnipotent and you had the power to zap into being the perfect game for all eternity, describe the gaming experience.

    Kevin Cloud: Every game is different and I play them with different expectations. I think the first person genre still has a long way to go before it delivers on its potential. But in the end the perfect first person game experience is still one that invokes an immediate physical response. I want to dodge in my chair or be scared by what lurks in the shadows. Although lots of things go into making a perfect game, that feeling of actually being inside the world is what really separates first person games from everything else.


Sunday, December 16, 2001

DoD 2.0 Map Info....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 12:24 PM MST Sunday, December 16, 2001 [Comment on news]
Dayofdefeatmod.com has posted an update on their beta 2.0 mapping FGD file. Here's a snip:

    "Just a quick update. We are proud to announce the first releases of our beta 2.0 mapping FGD file. This file, for those who do not understand what it is, is the file mappers use to make their maps for Day of Defeat. Alot of new entities have been created for use with Beta 2.0. We hope to see everyone's maps ASAP for submissions to be included in Beta 2.0. I will state this, we are hoping for a release in a matter of weeks. The time has come to finalize beta 2.0 and its contents..."
You can check out the rest of what they have to say here.


SS: SE Demo Walkthrough Guide....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 12:17 PM MST Sunday, December 16, 2001 [Comment on news]
Invisible Dream has posted a walkthrough guide for Serious Sam: The Second Encounter demo. It has some useful tips, tricks and secrets for Croteam's upcoming arcade/action FPS.


Single Player Walkthrough....
Posted by [luckee] @ 12:10 PM MST Sunday, December 16, 2001 [Comment on news]
PlanetWolfenstein is proud to introduce our complete single player walkthrough, written by strategy guide veterans Thrrrpptt! and Sluggo. The guide will take you through every level in the game, showing you how to beat it and how to defeat enemies and bosses along the way. The guide is 30 pages long and contains hundreds of illustrative screenshots.

If you're stuck at some point, this is the place you want to look. here.


Inno3D Tornado GeForce3 Ti 200 Review ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 12:01 PM MST Sunday, December 16, 2001 [Comment on news]
Planet Savage has reviewed the Inno3D Tornado GeForce3 Ti 200. It's a spiffy card sporting a black PCB, blue ORB-style cooler and blue RAMsinks.

A video card review wouldn't be complete without an overclocking test. The odd thing was that the GeForce3 Ti 200 sent was downclocked. It was running at 175/366 (core/memory) instead of the default 175/400. The Inno3D GeForce3 Ti 200 reached a maximum stable overclock of 210/450 from a default of 175/366. It was just in this particular case that the sample card was downclocked. The retail Inno3D Tornado GeForce3 Ti 200 is at 175/400. At any rate, the overclock isn't too low nor is it too high. It just happened that the Inno3D Tornado GeForce3 Ti 200 had some good cooling on it so expectations were pretty high. At any rate, the GeForce3 Ti 200 has been known to be able to hit GeForce3 speeds or near that so this card is an excellent card for the money.

Read the rest here.


Condition Zero Preview ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 11:54 AM MST Sunday, December 16, 2001 [Comment on news]
Gamespy has written a new preview of Counter Strike: Condition Zero, along with quotes from Gearbox's Randy Pitchford and several new screenshots. Here is a snip:

There will be six episodes in Condition Zero, with four missions per episodes. There will also be a training mission, which brings the total to 25. After the player creates a new profile, they pick a CT team from five possible. Sorry folks, you can't play as Terrorist in the single-player game. The five teams are Arctic, GIGN, GSG, SAS and SPETS. From there, players will come to a screen with various options: Personnel, Arsenal, Load Out, and Missions. Clicking Personnel will allow players to add units to their squad (here you can adjust each of your units' attributes, but more on that later.) Up to four CTs can be on one team (you plus three). Arsenal is pretty self-explanatory (here you buy your weapons and armor). From there players go to Load Out where you outfit yourself and your team. Then after you're done, you go to Missions.

Read the rest here.


Xmas Holiday Buying Guide ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 11:46 AM MST Sunday, December 16, 2001 [Comment on news]
With Christmas approaching, the Retail trade is girding its loins for it's best two months of the year. This month, we are showing you some of the best stuff - everything is available in the market as for this edition. Firstly, if you possibly can, wait until January. The first few weeks of January see the sharpest fall in prices of the year, as the prices are held high over Christmas and then drop to where they should be.

Read the rest here.


Saturday, December 15, 2001

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter Movies ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:51 AM MST Saturday, December 15, 2001 [Comment on news]
PC.IGN has posted a couple of movies from Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, offering a look at this upcoming shooter sequel by Croteam


Command & Conquer: Renegade Preview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:49 AM MST Saturday, December 15, 2001 [Comment on news]
GameSpot has posted a Command & Conquer: Renegade preview, offerring their thoughts on the C&C multiplayer mode in Westwood's upcoming shooter.


Generations Arena Interview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:46 AM MST Saturday, December 15, 2001 [Comment on news]
HomeLan Fed has posted a Quake 3 Generations Arena interview where they talk with Lee "Lee'Mon" Montgomery of WireHead Studios about their upcoming modification that features class-based combat using characters from prior id games.


Afterwards for Q3A....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:44 AM MST Saturday, December 15, 2001 [Comment on news]
Beta 1.0 of the Afterwards modification for Quake III Arena is now available. The mod adds new maps, models, and weapons, while adding a new "tactical" gametype, which features last-man-standing style teamplay, where each map has different team objectives.


New OSP Quake 3....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:43 AM MST Saturday, December 15, 2001 [Comment on news]
A new version 1.0 of the OSP Quake 3 modification for Quake III Arena is now available. You can check out this page for more information on the update and how to use it. The 41 MB download does include 15 new maps.


Counter-Strike Condition Zero Revisited....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:36 AM MST Saturday, December 15, 2001 [Comment on news]
GameSpy.com has posted a new preview of the upcoming Counter-Strike game in the works at Gearbox Softwarearticle called Counter-Strike Condition Zero Revisited. This preview focuses on the single-player mode that Condition Zero is introducing to Counter-Strike's tactics-oriented teamplay, describing the game's endurance and challenge modes, how cash is earned and utilized, the console-inspired method of unlocking new content as you progress, the settings of the various episodes, the new weaponry on hand, and more. They have also included several quotes from Gearbox's President Randy Pitchford, and about a dozen new screenshots.


Global Operations Q&A....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:33 AM MST Saturday, December 15, 2001 [Comment on news]
GlobalOpsCommand.net has posted a Q&A with Chris Mair, the lead designer on Global Operations, the upcoming tactical first-person shooter from Barking Dog Studios. They talk about the status of development, changes from the game's initial design, their reactions to those who call Global Ops a Counter-Strike clone, the competition the game's release will face, mod support, cheating, bot support, system requirements, Linux server support, and more.


Friday, December 14, 2001

Threewave Interview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:34 AM MST Friday, December 14, 2001 [Comment on news]
Dteam has posted an interview with Casey from the Threewave CTF mod team. Check it out!


RTCW Single Player Demo....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:06 AM MST Friday, December 14, 2001 [Comment on news]
Yesterday Activision released the single player demo (114 mb) for Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The demo contains 2 levels - Escape1 and Crypt1. Here are some mirrors: