March 2001

Tribes 2 Review....
Posted by [Luckee] @ 2:06 PM MST Saturday, March 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
The original Tribes was a sleeper hit that turned into a phenomenon. Unlike anything before it, the multiplayer, 360 degree, team play-based game set new standards for what a multiplayer game could and possibly should be. Tribes 2 continues that proud tradition, complete with new vehicles, new modes of play, tons of new maps, a complete terrain/campaign editor, and a comprehensive command mode for armchair generals. Also included is a decent single-player training area for newbies and what is perhaps the best community building interface yet for a game. It needs to be stated that Tribes 2 is a complex game and is really geared toward the hardcore player. Additionally, the system requirements are staggeringly huge. Those with the ultimate system and mad teamplay skills will eat this up, though; it's a triumph of teamwork, dynamic gameplay and some serious strategy. (More @ the Source: dailyradar.com)

Top 10 Ways To Win At A LAN....
Posted by [Luckee] @ 2:36 AM MST Saturday, March 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
Hey, who doesn't love going to a LAN? There isn't anything more gratifying then fragging somebody... and then hearing them screaming obscenities from across the room. Some of us might have some trouble with the "fragging other people" part, though. CitizenC & StoneWolf are here to help - presenting the Top 10 Ways to Guarantee Victory at a LAN! (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

Tribes 2 In Stores ....
Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 3:30 PM MST Friday, March 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
Tribes 2 should be in quite a few stores around the nation today. In most places here in utah I saw it for around 49.00 Bucks. FYI Download the patch before you play! You can get that from 3D Files.com More @ the Source: 3dfiles.com)

More Annoying Garbage....
Posted by [Blood] @ 3:20 PM MST Friday, March 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
Ok ok, I promised all would be back to normal about a week ago. So I lied!! I apologize for any inconvience to those of you who frequent our page. The last two weeks we have been plagued by what seems trillions of server problems. We have been down more in the last week than in the previous six months combined. Hopefully we will have those all resolved shortly. Mean while I still have several interesting reviews and such waiting to be posted. Keep your eyes peeled for em. Thanks.

GeForce3 Antialiasing Article ....
Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:02 AM MST Friday, March 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
Antialiasing methods are varied in their implementation as to how they eliminate the affects of aliasing. It wasn't too long ago that NVIDIA brought antialiasing to the table with the GeForce and GeForce2. Known as supersampling, this method of antialiasing was straightforward to implement, but required large amounts of memory to operate. With memory bandwidth being a limiting factor, performance at high resolutions with the highest supersampling settings wasn't very good. (More @ the Source: nvnews.net)

Don't Blame The Game!....
Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:27 AM MST Friday, March 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
A few days ago, 3DActionPlanet featured an editorial by Hellchick that discusses the effect of violent games on children. It also discussed how it was the responsibility of the parents + retail stores to control the violent games. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

AOpen 1640 Pro DVD Player....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:57 AM MST Thursday, March 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
Our man Blood has posted up a review on AOpen's 1640 Pro DVD Player. Here's a preview:

"... I was recently given the task of writing about the AOpen 1640 Pro DVD player. Frankly I was a little bored with the idea of writing on a plain old boring DVD drive, you've seen one you've seen 'em all; Right? Wrong! The 1640 Pro by AOpen is a technological marvel, with a trayless front loading system, similar to those found in car stereos, and blazing speeds of 16X DVD and 40X read, this DVD player blows away the competition. For all you tech nuts out there here are the specifications."

Gore Server Testing ....
Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:57 AM MST Thursday, March 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
For those who are experiencing level change problems when playing online, where the loading screen comes up but nothing seems to happen, we have isolated it to a server problem and have a test version of 1.27 up and running called 4DRULERS SERVER 1 and 4DRULERS SERVER 2 right now. Try connecting to one of those servers and see if it fixes the problem for you. Let us know by sending email to gorebugs@4drulers.com. Thanks. (Source:4drulers)

Operation Flashpoint Screenshots ....
Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:54 AM MST Thursday, March 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
Following the preview they posted yesterday (story),there is a new batch of Operation Flashpoint screenshots on The Adrenaline Vault withnine more views from Op Flashpoint, the upcoming first- and third-personaction/strategy game from Codemasters. (Source:BNEWS)

Tribes 2 Review....
Posted by [Luckee] @ 9:18 AM MST Thursday, March 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
Am I dreaming? Is Tribes 2 finally here to bestow us all with multiplayer goodness? You better believe it! This Starsiege spin-off has returned as one of the most anticipated games of 2001, and with good reason. The original Tribes defined the team-based multiplayer experience for the rest of the gaming community, and paved the way for a multitude of popular games that currently dominate the industry. (More @ the Source: game-guru.net)

Why Did Team Arena Bomb?....
Posted by [Luckee] @ 9:17 AM MST Thursday, March 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
id Software was doing ALL of the development in-house, so the entire Quake III community was anticipating the release of "Team Arena", myself included! (Truth be known, I had been anticipating Team Arena ever since I saw the first rumour appear on PlanetQuake.) After all, with id Software authoring the add-on, it MUST be good, right? It was: Team Arena got rave reviews all over the web. So why did it bomb so bad? (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

It's... It's.. Unreal! ... II!....
Posted by [Luckee] @ 9:16 AM MST Thursday, March 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
The original Unreal was the epitome of game developers and graphics-hogs everywhere and, at the time, was the future of 3D. Now, more than two years later, the Unreal mission pack and Unreal Tournament have been released, and Unreal II is well under way! Get the skinny right here. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

Have you used an iFeel mouse with a game? ....
Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:51 AM MST Wednesday, March 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE:)))))))) Dr Foxy over @ 3DActionplanet, wants to know. The iFeel mouse is, well, a force feedback mouse that... uh... vibrates in your hand whenever you pass over a button or something in Windows. Has anybody tried it on a game? (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

New! PlanetTonyHawk Launches!....
Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:31 AM MST Wednesday, March 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
Are your 720s looking more like 360s into the asphalt? Are you walking away from a Tony Hawk session bloodier than an uncooked steak? PlanetTonyHawk, GameSpy's newest site and successor to the awesome THPS site on SportPlanet can help! News, tips, moves, movies, and cheats. Even info on THPS3. (More @ the Source: planettonyhawk.com)

Tribes 2 in Two Days ....
Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:01 AM MST Wednesday, March 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
I've seen reports all over the net that the long awaited Tribes 2 will be in the stores by Friday 3/30 :-). That's a good thing because the last FPS game to be released, well, sucked! For those of you who purchased it you know what I mean.....

Hidden & Dangerous 2 First Look....
Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:50 AM MST Wednesday, March 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
Back in 1999, several months after the 3D action-strategy Spec Ops, and Real-Time Strategy Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines appeared, the Czechoslovakian company Illusion Softworks published its Hidden & Dangerous. The military sim market was still relatively unpopulated which gave H&D a chance to be a financial success in spite of its flaws and bugs. In the meantime, the market got crowded with similar games, and it will be interesting to see if the sequel would fare as well. (More @ the Source: actiontrip.com)

New Sacrifice Patch ....
Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:44 AM MST Wednesday, March 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
There's a newSacrifice patch out now, and this one has a whole heaping full of good changesand additions. Here's a couple of interesting items worth noting:

(a) Enhanced Landscape Renderer
The landscape now makes better use of statically cached meshes. When it detects that a new mesh is needed, it is created in exactly the form the video card requires, and then not touched again until another new mesh is needed. This is made possible by the use of hardware lighting where available (before, the landscape was lit in software), and hardware texture coordinate generation where available. Also, the rendering method for detail textures has changed slightly, making them available on more video cards.

(b) Greatly Improved Speed On T&L Cards
The new landscape renderer is designed for maximum throughput with hardware T&L.

For the full detail on the patch, headhere. Here's a couple of mirrors to grab the patch from:

• 3DFiles
• FilePlanet. (Source:VE)
  
  

  Red Faction (PC) Interview ....
  Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:39 AM MST Wednesday, March 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
  With its deformable terrain and extra-vehicular activity, THQ's epic new shooter Red Faction is one of the most eagerly awaited first-person shooters of the year. We dropped in for a chat with Volition's Anoop Shekar to see how the game's shaping up. (More @ the Source: gamespot.co.uk)

  
  

  Serious Sam ....
  Posted by [Luckee] @ 2:19 AM MST Wednesday, March 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
  In my opinion, I didnt think this game was allthat, but anyways on with the review:)(: Croteam's Serious Sam harkens back to the days of long ago when DOOM ruled the Earth and first-person shooters were all about the mindless, maniacal, blood-filled frenzy. It was the best of times, and Serious Sam pays serious homage to those that came before by implementing that frantic gun-slinging fanfare so many of us old-skool gamers were weaned on. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

  
  

  AOpen HQ45 Mid Case....
  Posted by [Luckee] @ 2:13 AM MST Wednesday, March 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
  Frag-Girlie takes a look at Aopen's Hq45 Mid tower case here's a little nibblet: Upon opening the case, which involves undoing a few screws, you will find an envelope with all the screws, binders and equipment needed to install your components. You will also see there is room for three 3.5” hard drives without a FDD or two 3.5” hard drives with a FDD installed at the front bottom. This case features three external 5.25” bays, one internal and two external 3.5” bays, which should be enough for most users. The HQ45 comes with a 250W power supply, only 250W you say? Well, it should be enough power to supply the average user and/or the hardware that will fit into this case. (More @ the Source: pcshooter.com)

  
  Tuesday, March 27, 2001

  New Win9x/ME Detonator 11.01 Drivers ....
  Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 12:50 PM MST Tuesday, March 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
  A couple of sites sent word that they've got new Win9x/ME based Detonator 11.01 drivers available for download. Previously they were only for Windows 2000, but now these are for the 9x/ME users out there. Here's a couple of mirrors to grab them from: (More @ the Source: mediaxplosion.de)

  
  

  Ok boys and girls, here's the deal!....
  Posted by [Blood] @ 11:45 AM MST Tuesday, March 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
  As you may have noticed we haven't posted any fancy new reviews, inerviews, or articles for he past week or so. Don't despair, in fact they are actually piling up. Due to a firewall problem we haven't been able to upload anything to the server. This problem should be resolved in the next day or two, so grab a bag of popcorn and a mug of hot chocolate and set aside some time to sit down and read. Believe me when I say, there is a whole bunch of new stuff just around the corner.

  
  

  IHRA Drag Racing patch....
  Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:39 AM MST Tuesday, March 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
  Bethesdahas released a new patch for IHRA Drag Racing, bringing this guy up toversion 1.02 (2.1 megs).  Here's what this release fixes:

  • Fixed a number of bugs related to Internet multiplayer performance. Please read the Multiplayer.txt file after installing the patch for more information on what's been fixed in this version.
  • Added the ability to create and use custom paintpacks and wheels. Please read the "Custom Paint and Wheels.txt" file for more information on what's been added.
    
    

    2001 Games Guide....
    Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:45 AM MST Tuesday, March 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
    The year 2000 - turn of the millennium. It passed so very very quickly and a good chunk of 2001 has already been lost to the etha. Time flies when you play a lot of computer games and last year certainly offered up some tasty titles. (More @ the Source: speedy3d.com)

    
    

    Why PC Gaming Will Not Die....
    Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:40 AM MST Tuesday, March 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
    I am still pretty new to industry side of computer gaming, but I have been an avid gamer for many years. For the last few years PC gaming magazine after PC gaming magazine has been trumpeting the death of PC gaming, yet it never seems to happen. Mr. Brad Wardell has written some very good articles explaining the history and current state of the PC gaming industry, and voiced his opinion that PC gaming as a whole will not die out. (More @ the Source: avault.com)

    
    

    Myst 3: Exile Preview ....
    Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:36 AM MST Tuesday, March 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
    My guess is, you've heard of Myst and Riven. You undoubtedly know how Myst broke all kinds of sales records for computer games, and how Riven didn't do so shabbily either. (More @ the Source: interactfiction.about.com)

    
    Monday, March 26, 2001

    Dark Ore Q&A....
    Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 1:23 PM MST Monday, March 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
    Internet Gaming Zone has conducted a Q&A with Brandon Marlowe from Raylogic, talking about their upcoming action/strategy game Dark Ore. Brandon discusses how the project came about, how they are balancing the action and strategy elements, their plans for multiplayer (which will be integrated after the game's official release) and more. (More @ the Source: igz.it/Bluesnews)

    
    

    Microsoft Sidewinder Strategic Commander....
    Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:09 AM MST Monday, March 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
    The Strategic Commander is yet another hardware controller Microsoft markets under the Sidewinder moniker. This particular device is designed to replace the keyboard in real-time strategy games.The Strategic Commander has a stationary base and a moveable crown. The base has a profile switch and a record button, as well as its USB connector. The three-position profile switch allows in-game profile changes, which are absolutely necessary in more complex games. The record button starts (and ends) on-the-fly button programming. To keep the changes made to a profile during a game, simply save the modified profile. (More @ the Source: hardcoreware.net)

    
    

    TRIBES 2 Patch Info....
    Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:07 AM MST Monday, March 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
    The period between TRIBES 2 going gold (story)and appearing on store shelves later this week does not mean a pause indevelopment on the game. On the occasion of the shutdown of the TRIBES 2"meta-test," Tribalwar.com sends along the following info from Dynamix:

    The latest word from Dave, though, is really cool: They discovered a serious issue with vertex rendering on Voodoo cards that was making the game dog-slow if you were looking at objects. Word has it that it increased performance on Voodoo cards *significantly*, and I believe him. Every time he's claimed a performance increase on the 3dfx cards, it's happened. So, Voodoo guys rejoice. I was telling my gf I would probably have to put my 5500 back in my main machine now that I have a GeForce.

    As well as the following from Dave Georgeson, confirmingthere will be a TRIBES 2 patch by the time you get the game.

    It is christened the "Day One" patch and it will be automatically available to everyone immediately upon installing the game and connecting on-line to our Auth Server. One of the beauties of the auth servers is that we can guarantee that everyone playing the game on-line will have the patches when they play. (Source: BNEWS)

    
    

    Rocket Arena 3 v1.5 ....
    Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:59 AM MST Monday, March 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
    This highly anticipated update includes 5 new maps as well as numerous improvements to the code. This will also be the first release of RA3 to support Mac clients.
    NOTE: 1.4 is NOT compatible with 1.5 - if you try to connect to 1.4 servers with 1.5, you will not get the RA3 menu and may see error messages. This also means you can't play the maps locally unless you download the 1.5 server files.
    The full list of improvements over the last non-beta release is below:
    

    • 5 new Multi-Arena maps (see them on the screenshots page)
    • Mac support for RA3 client
    • New "enemy_model" cvar to allow you to set the enemy team to a different model
    • Improved player spawning code
    • Callvote support for "map"
    • IP addresses/names of players logged for server admins
    • Vote spam protection
    • New stats commands for weapon accuracy
    • Major cheat-protection/bot prevention improvements
    • Integrated IRC chat client
    • MP3 player fixed under Q3 1.27
    • Demo recording fixed under Q3 1.27
    • Pure server support...(More @ the Source: planetquake.com)
      
      

      The Future Of 3D Graphics....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:47 AM MST Monday, March 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
      If you're serious about games your 3D card is likely to be the most expensive part of your PC. But with such a confusing array of cards available, each boasting the best 3D trickery, which features should a new, £400 polygon pusher boast to ensure your rig is futureproof? (More @ the Source: extra.gamespot.co.uk)

      
      

      The Truth About Women In Games....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 9:23 AM MST Monday, March 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
      3DActionPlanet has posted up a good article about women in games chack it out>. The thesis of the article is that "The women in games…well suck." This overly general statement couldn't be further from the truth. No One Lives Forever, Drakan, The Longest Journey, Elite Force, Red Alert 2 - all recent games with strong female characters, all the kind of heroines many women would enjoy - although some may be a bit too shapely for such intense scrutiny. By only picking out a handful of games, the editorial is showing an intentional bias towards alienating the developers and fans of some popular games, completely ignoring to the numerous offerings of the gaming industry as a whole. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      

      Counter-Strike Weapons Guide....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 9:19 AM MST Monday, March 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The FiringSquad has posted up a new Counter-Strike weapons guide, which includes individual weapon strategies and results from all of their damage and accuracy tests. (More @ the Source: firingsquad.gamers.com)

      
      Sunday, March 25, 2001

      Tribes 2 Delayed....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:30 AM MST Sunday, March 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Game publisher Sierra and design studio Dynamix have made it official: Tribes 2 is going to have its production period extended. In a press statement, Senior Producer Dave Georgeson said the team will still hit the scheduled beta date, but have been granted a longer post-beta period to hone the game. “Because Tribes 2 is a AAA-title, we decided it would be best to extend the beta test and appropriately finesse the game so it meets the highest standards. This means we will be able to ensure the greater compatibility testing and play balancing that a game of this scale requires,” Georgeson wrote. “While we realize this is disappointing for many gamers, we hope you will agree this is the best decision, as our community deserves no less than our best effort.” Sierra and Dynamix will be announcing a new ship date soon.

      
      

      Darkened Skye....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:09 AM MST Sunday, March 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Gamespy has posted up a preview on the game that takesTomb Raider, adds some of what American McGee smokes, and then ties in America's favorite teeth-rotting junk food. The result is an all-new form of eye-candy: Darkened Skye -- the Skittles game. (More @ the Source: gamespy.com)

      
      

      Skinning in Serious Sam....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:57 AM MST Sunday, March 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Skindom has posted a new Serious Sam Skinning FAQ sheet with Croteam's derPunk. They are giving some preliminary information about creating your own player skins, including instructions on using the model viewer that accompanies the game. (More @ the Source: skindom.com)

      
      

      RA3 Version 1.5 Release Info ....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:50 AM MST Sunday, March 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Rocket Arena 3 version 1.5 is expected to be released sometime this evening... The upgrade from previous versions will be about 50mb, with the full version clocking in at 90mb. This highly anticipated update includes 5 new maps as well as numerous improvements to the code. This will also be the first release of RA3 to support Mac clients. (More @ the Source: planetquake.com)

      
      

      New Eternal Team Arena....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:43 AM MST Sunday, March 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The Eternal Arena website has released version 1.2 of the Eternal Arena mod for Quake III: Team Arena. The new version addresses a bug that prevented the flag from spawning on the 1CFTF map. With this release they have added some new weapon substitutions, more powerful explosions and the player model on main menu. (More @ the Source: q3center.com)

      
      Saturday, March 24, 2001

      Updated Counter-Strike 1.1 Patch....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 1:09 PM MST Saturday, March 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The Counter-Strike web page has released a fixed v1.0 to v1.1 mod installer. This newest version has the correct de_vegas map. You can download it here.

      
      

      Scent Enhanced Computer Games??....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 12:51 PM MST Saturday, March 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
      DigiScents has introduced a new technology at GDC, scent-enabled video games,Web sites, DVD movies, etc. Users must first purchase a small USB-connected peripheral called the "iSmell," a personal scent synthesizer capable of emitting a broad range of odors. This device then receives the data in real-time, via a command placed in a CD-ROM game or Web plug-in, which tells the iSmell to release a fragrance at a given moment. Essential oils will be stored in the iSmell, and will need replacing like a printer cartridge. Expect the PC version of the iSmell device to hit retail shelves by fall with a price tag around $200, and a TV version to debut sometime in 2002. (More @ the Source: digiscents.com)

      
      

      Angelina Jolie Wants Bustier Lara Croft Dolls....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 12:17 PM MST Saturday, March 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Sexy film star Angelina Jolie is starring as cyberbabe Lara Croft in the film version of the cult computer game Tomb Raider to be released this summer. She has demanded that the dolls promoting her latest movie should have plastic surgery - to give them bigger boobs. The 25-year-old spent months in the gym building up her muscles for the tough-girl role, and she insisted the range of Lara Croft dolls have their cleavage boosted from a C-cup to a D-cup. Check out the rest at 3DActionPlanet.com.
      
      Let's talk about this... come give us your opinions on our general chaos message board here.
      
      I also found a copy of the official movie poster.

      
      
      

      ThermoEngine Heatsink ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 10:46 AM MST Saturday, March 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
      One more heat sink joins the collective chopping block. This one hails from Taiwan, begat by a company that call themselves Thermosonic and dubbed the ThermoEngine - Model#V60-4210. They have ‘rated’ this HSF unit for both AMD and INTEL top-dog processors - the Thunderbird 1.5 Gig and the Pentium-III 1.13 Gig. wow what a cooler (More @ the Source: cluboverclocker.com)

      
      

      Polk Audio AMR 150 Speakers....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 10:41 AM MST Saturday, March 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
      As I am sure most of you are aware, Polk Audio is not a new name when it comes to speakers. They have been making speakers for over 20 years now and have grown to be a well-known player in the multimedia/speaker industry. In case you are not aware, in December I did a review on the AMR90 speakers by Polk Audio, which proved to be a very nice mid-price set for gaming and listening. Well, Polk Audio has gone one step further and released the new AMR150's at a price of only $50 more than the AMR90's. (More @ the Source: 3dretreat.com)

      
      

      Interview of developers of Venom....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 10:39 AM MST Saturday, March 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Kled'12 : Which games gives you inspiration in Venom creation ?Sergey : There are so many games, movies and books which influenced our artworks and code that I am in a difficulty to answer these questions. Probably Duke, Counter-Strike, Delta Force, Hidden & Dangerous, Rainbow Six, Half Life have been more of influence on Venom than other games.We tried to follow the best technical and scenario decisions existing nowadays and introduce something new. (More @ the Source: jeuxscoop.com)

      
      

      Unreal II preview....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 10:37 AM MST Saturday, March 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The folks out at GamesDomain have popped up a preview of Unreal II, Legend Entertainment's upcoming sequel to Epic's original shooter. No new shots are included (although some of the previously released ones are). Here's a snip from their write-up: The game looks to be at least partly focused on plot and characterisation, rather than out-and-out violence. The player takes the role of a Terran Colonial Authority Frontier Marshal, a 24th century version of a wild west sheriff, roaming space in a beat-up starship, called Atlantis. Your support crew numbers three - your wisecracking alien pilot, Ne'Ban, Isaak the cranky engineer, and Aida, your "spook," or intelligence officer. Hm. Sidekicks in a FPS? Reminds one of a certain Ion Storm game (no, not Deus Ex - the other one) - but with the Unreal heritage behind it, this title will hopefully turn out somewhat better. (More @ the Source: VE)

      
      

      Camping - Please Pass The Marshmallows....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 10:35 AM MST Saturday, March 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Ok. Everyone close your eyes and imagine the following scene. You're in a 16 player game of Counter-Strike. The map is CS_Italy. Both teams have been playing it fairly safe, sticking together, and remaining poised for the first big shootout. Radio messages scratch out, "Stick Together Team," as you and your fellow counter-terrorists creep up the tunnel toward the hostage location. As your team empties into the street, it's immediately sprayed with heavy surprise fire and grenade blasts. You manage to take only the blunt end of the damage, and slip into the apartment holding the hostages. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      Friday, March 23, 2001

      Gore Patch version 1.26 Released! ....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 5:53 PM MST Friday, March 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
      I just received word from Joel Huenink at 4drulers that they have released the Gore 1.26 patch and it has quite a bit of stuff in it. You can get the rest of the details here.

      
      

      Network Address Translation Article ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 11:35 AM MST Friday, March 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
      One of my fav:) The basic concept of NAT is to provide a mechanism to allow for IP communication between end stations when there is a reason that one end wouldn’t normally be able to reach the other. For example if a host that is on a network that does not have Internet routable addresses needs to access a host that does have a routable IP address. Sound confusing? Well, it really isn’t. The bottom line (and the aspect of NAT that I will focus on) is that the Internet is composed of many networks and the way that data traverses these networks is by following routes to particular addresses, the IP address of the stations that make up the Internet. Now, the tricky part is that while many networks are connected to the Internet, not all of them have addresses that are legal registered to be routed on the Internet. (More @ the Source: overclockedcafe.com)

      
      

      Aliens vs. Predator 2 Previews....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 11:33 AM MST Friday, March 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
      One of the hidden gems at this year's Games Developers Conference in San Jose was the first appearance, in the form of an engine demo, of Aliens Vs Predator 2 on the Lithtech stand. While the licence may have moved away from Oxford-based super-developers Rebellion, there's every sign that this is one sequel which is already shaping up very nicely indeed. Judging from the title screen, once again players will be able to adopt the persona of either a Colonial Marine, wall-hugging Xenomorph or the galaxy's ultimate hi-tech hunter, the Predator. Only a limited non-populated level was on view, but jumping straight in, in the guise of a Colonial Marine, it immediately apparent that AvP2 will continue in the series' fine traditions. (More @ the Source: gamespot.co.uk)

      
      

      GeForce3 Bug? ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 8:49 AM MST Friday, March 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
      For the past 2 generations of NVIDIA cards we have done manufacturer comparisons. For both the GeForce 256 as well as the GeForce 2 GTS. Today we bring you coverage of the next graphics chipset lineup from NVIDIA, the GeForce 3.The GeForce 3 will most likely boast the same performance with current games as the GeForce 2, but it is the technology behind it that will make upcoming games be awesome. It may take a while, but the upcoming games will make full use of DirectX 8 as well as the new technologies that are featured in the GeForce 3. Interested in finding out more about these new technologies, and what really makes the GeForce 3 what it is? Here's a list of a few articles that were posted and explain the new card: (More @ the Source: systemlogic.net)

      
      

      Epic Shows Unreal II Technology at GDC....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 1:50 AM MST Friday, March 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Yesterday at the Game Developers' Conference in San Jose, California, Epic Games showed the latest version of its Unreal Engine that is currently being used to develop at least two new games in the Unreal franchise. Epic didn't show actual gameplay from these games, but it did show some of the new levels and architectural technology that's being used. (More @ the Source: zdnet.com)

      
      

      Serious Sam Interview....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 1:42 AM MST Friday, March 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Voodoo Extreme has posted an interview with Croteam CEO Roman Ribaric about their just released first person shooter Serious Sam. We find out that they will be helping mod teams with creating mods for the game and are considering a number of options for the future, including an add-on, a full-fledged sequel, and a Xbox game. (More @ the Source: voodooextreme.com)

      
      

      Gore Demo Review....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 1:37 AM MST Friday, March 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
      3DActionPlanet has posted a review on the Gore demo. Here's a little taste:
      

      "I was fairly sceptical when asked to review a demo of the latest online multiplayer FPS, Gore. Do we really need another online fragfest game? Why can't developers come up with something original? This is just going to be another game where I run about shooting people, dying, getting back up and killing some more. Well after hooking up the lowest ping server I could find, I was pleasantly surprised...."
      
      You can check out the rest here.
      
      Thursday, March 22, 2001

      Sony Doubles Density of CD-RWs ....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 2:45 AM MST Thursday, March 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
      On Tuesday, the consumer electronics giant unveiled Double Density CD-R and CD-RW drives and discs. Dubbed DD-R and DD-RW, the discs can hold 1.3GB of data, or about 300 songs. That is twice the capacity of CD-R and CD-RW discs, which hold 650MB! (More @ the Source: megagames.com)

      
      

      AMD Athlon "Thunderbird" 1.33GHz CPU Review....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 2:44 AM MST Thursday, March 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
      AMD is again upping the ante in the processor war with two new high-performance products: the Athlon 1.33GHz, designed to operate on the 133MHz DDR EV6 bus, and the Athlon 1.3GHz, which runs on the 100MHz DDR bus. (More @ the Source: sharkyextreme.com)

      
      

      Historical Games....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 2:44 AM MST Thursday, March 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
      There have been popular movies like Saving Private Ryan and Enemy at the Gates, both based on the Second World War. Computer games, on the other hand, have plots like "go and kill the big alien thing." There are an amazing amount of historical game plots available; why doesn't anybody use them? (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      Wednesday, March 21, 2001

      Serious Sam Hits the Stores!....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 4:44 PM MST Wednesday, March 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
      I received my copy this morning and from what I've seen so far it's ...scary :o). The game may seem a little familiar for those of you who remember Doom 2 with its monsters and funky characters. Tonight we are going to launch a dedicated Serious Sam server... so if you see me running around in there, know that I have a big smile on my face. You can check out more information here.

      
      

      Weekly Platform Trends: Integrated Solutions....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 2:00 AM MST Wednesday, March 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
      HardwareCentral.com has debuted their Weekly Platform Trends column. This column will provide a view into the current AMD and Intel hardware platforms, as well as weekly price updates for both CPUs and Memory. The pricing data is presented in table format, and outlines the current CPU and Memory price lists to help plan cost effective fleet, group or even individual PC upgrades. Each week they will also be covering a section of the business computer market, or simply examining a new chipset, CPU or memory product/technology that is looking to make an impact. (More @ the Source: hardwarecentral.com)

      
      

      Tech's Heavyweights Go Wireless....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 1:51 AM MST Wednesday, March 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Analysts are saying this year's CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas has the highest concentration yet of big names in the computing industry, including IBM, Compaq Computer and Sun Microsystems. With the upstarts that drove the Internet economy starting to fizzle out, many companies have been looking to wireless for their fortunes... and the big computer makers and chipmakers are no exception. (More @ the Source: zdnet.com)

      
      

      AMD Emerges as Technology Powerhouse in U. S. Patent Ranking ....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 1:39 AM MST Wednesday, March 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
      AMD has announced that it ranked fifth among U.S. based companies and 12th in the world for companies receiving patents awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2000. The article says AMD's innovations in both product design and process technology contribute directly to their ability to deliver leading-edge solutions to their customers. (More @ the Source: AMD.com)

      
      

      X-Isle: Dinosaur Island Movie Trailer....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 1:29 AM MST Wednesday, March 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Crytek has released a new movie trailer of X-Isle: Dinosaur Island that demonstrates the technology employed by their CryEngine for their upcoming first-person shooter. The 400x300 resolution movie is in Windows Media Player format and runs for about three minutes. (More @ the Source: Crytek)

      
      

      Interview with Mafia: La Cosa Nostra's Lead Designer ....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 1:21 AM MST Wednesday, March 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
      PC.IGN.com has posted an interview gwith Mafia: La Cosa Nostra's lead designer, Daniel Vavra, on the third-person action game in the works at Illusion Softworks. They talk about their inspirations, their in-house LS3D engine, how they're using the the third-person viewpoint, the AI system and more.(More @ the Source: PC.IGN.com)

      
      

      Review: Clive Barker's Undying....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:12 AM MST Wednesday, March 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard at least SOMETHING about the recently-released horror game, Undying. You may have heard that it scares the crap out of anyone who plays it, or that the story rules, or the graphics are outstanding. It's all true. Believe you me. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      Tuesday, March 20, 2001

      Wasup with the News?....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 12:20 PM MST Tuesday, March 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
      News has been somewhat slow the past few months because of the rush to get things released by Christmas. News-hounds everywhere are bored stiff as shown by the plainly stated article my boyz over @ actiontrip.com have posted up.... Here are his comments:
      
      

      "... I can't believe the slow ass news. There's like absolutely nothing interesting going on. No real bestsellers on the way (except for the already hyped to death Black and White), and no media from any forthcoming hits either. It's just slow, or is it just my state of mind? The folks over at Infogrames/Legend have released everything they care to reveal about Unreal II for the moment (which is exactly what was revealed in PCG April earlier), and now websites are milking the same content over and over again, until we eventually read every possible interpretation of the same thing with slight differences in sentence structure. Is that news? I don't think so. S-L-O-W."
      
      Give the man something to do by posting a comment of your own here.
      
      

      Operation Flashpoint Demo Released....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 11:40 AM MST Tuesday, March 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Although it was assumed it would be released tomorrow (story), it turns out that the Operation Flashpoint demo is available now (More @ the Source: 3ddownloads.com)

      
      

      Developers Discuss Doom ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 11:37 AM MST Tuesday, March 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Tom Hall (Ion Storm) What was your reaction when you heard that there would be a new Doom? "Cool!" and "It better be darkscaryfast." Do you think it is a good idea to develop a new Doom title? Will expectations of gamers and developers alike be too high? Oh yeah. I mean, DOOM was such a landmark game, and hit so many marks, it's going to be tough to outdo that insane leap forward. But if anyone can do it, it's Carmack and the bad boys of id. (More @ the Source: doomcenter.com)

      
      

      Giants Game Launcher....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 11:29 AM MST Tuesday, March 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Over at Planet Moon Central I noticed that Giantshell has released a new version of its Giants multi-player game launcher for all you Giants fans. Just scroll down the page a little bit (they have tons of other cool Giants utilities as well). (More @ the Source: giantshell.com)

      
      

      A Look at the Thunder K7 - The World's First Dual AMD Motherboard....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:18 AM MST Tuesday, March 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Tyan has long been known to be working on a dual AMD solution. The Thunder K7 (Model No. S2462) as this mysterious board is known is expected to be released sometime in early quarter two of this year. According to a recent announcement on Akiba, a Japanese computer information magazine, the Thunder K7 is estimated to enter the retail market for around 118,000 Yen, or about $950 USD. (More @ the Source: pcstats.com)

      
      

      Game Theater XP....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:13 AM MST Tuesday, March 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
      After a pretty boring year in the audio industry, with every high end gamer using the "Sound Blaster Live!" card - we all thought Creative would stay top dogs in the Audio market, with other companies emulating their products... how wrong we were! (More @ the Source: pcreview.co.uk)

      
      

      How To Setup Your Own Game LAN ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:13 AM MST Tuesday, March 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Setting up a home network for multiplayer gaming couldn't be any easier with today's Plug and Play technology. Provided you know what must be done, in this article we'll try to explain all the steps you'll have to take to get your own LAN network, to frag your neighbors, and your friends over and over again. This, to the background of their agonized screams and wails, with the walls covered with their crimson blood….muahahah! ahem……. anyway on with the guide. (More @ the Source: speedy3d.com)

      
      

      Game Patches - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:13 AM MST Tuesday, March 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
      What comes to your mind when patches are brought up? Excitement? Anger? Apathy? It could be a variety of things, but patches are here, and here to stay. There is no end in sight. If you're going to game on the PC, you're going to have to deal with them. So let's look at the positive, negative but necessary, and pathetic aspects of them. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      Monday, March 19, 2001

      Tribes 2 Goes GOLD!! Pre-Order your Copy Today.....
      Posted by [Blood] @ 7:50 PM MST Monday, March 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Sierra and Dynamix are proud to announce that Tribes 2, eagerly awaited sequel to the 1999 Online Action/Strategy Game of the Year, has gone gold! The gold master was pressed this morning and immediately rushed to Sierra's replication facilities. Tribes 2 will arrive on store shelves around the world first week of April."We're looking forward to seeing how players tear into this game," said Dave Georgeson, senior producer/director at Dynamix. "There's an amazing amount of features in Tribes 2 and I can't wait to see all the combinations of strategies and tactics that players will develop. I think we have something here that can really create a whole new attitude towards gaming once folks are able to get involved with serious teams of 60+ people in a game."The Sierra.com online store is now taking orders for Tribes 2 here

      
      

      GeForce Buying Guide....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 12:24 PM MST Monday, March 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Checkout these prices..(More @ the Source: g256.com)

      
      

      Gore Demo Review....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 12:10 PM MST Monday, March 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Gore is a first person shooter, graphically, the game looks similar to Quake III, in that the maps have the same sort of feel to them and in certain places they look very impressive. The sound effects complement the graphics nicely, although I felt they could have been a bit stronger in places, as there just wasn't enough stress on my sub-woofer :o) (More @ the Source: barrysworld.net)

      
      

      Quake 3 Server Wizard....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 12:07 PM MST Monday, March 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The Quake 3 Server Wizard page has a new version of this program that eases the process of running a Quake III Arena server by providing a simple mouse-drive interface. The new version was actually released a couple of days ago, and since the release a couple of notes have been added describing problems with the Quad and speed multipliers as well as with the map list, which will be addressed in the next release. (More @ the Source: BNEWS)

      
      

      Activision Interview....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 12:06 PM MST Monday, March 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
      There's an Interview with Laird Malamed on tüplay.com talking with the executive producer at Activision for shooter and online titles. The conversation touches on his current projects, which include Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Commander Keen Color for the GameBoy, the Star Trek Voyager-Elite Force expansion pack "and 5 other things that aren't announced yet," and focuses a good deal of attention on the Zork franchise, discussing Laird's contributions to Zork: Grand Inquisitor and Zork: Nemesis, as well as why the series has been quiet lately. (More @ the Source: tuplay.com)

      
      

      LithTech Development System 3.0....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 12:04 PM MST Monday, March 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Remember when LithTech was a game engine made by Monolith, and was just called "LithTech?" They're certainly getting picky—now they have a totally separate company devoted to its development and support called LithTech Inc. and the people there get quite annoyed if you confuse them with Monolith. In addition, they've started to refer to the engine and tools as the "LithTech Development System" or LTDS. It's an effort to separate the product from the company. (More @ the Source: cdmag.com)

      
      

      Half-Life / TFC / Counter-Strike Tweak Guide....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:58 AM MST Monday, March 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The most popular online game around at the moment is (semi-ironically) not a game initially aimed at Multiplayer Online gaming. That is Half-Life of course, which has benefited greatly from Valve Softwares continual commitment to updating the game with new code & features.Over at 3D Spotlight you can checkout thier large Half-Life /TFC / CStrike & other Mods Tweak guide. This guide is aimed at (although not limited to) Half-Life, Team Fortress Classic & Counter-Strike. (More @ the Source: 3dspotlight.com)

      
      Sunday, March 18, 2001

      New Expanded Demo of No One Lives Forever....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 6:04 PM MST Sunday, March 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
      ZDNet.com/GameSpot is reporting that Monolith has released a new expanded demo of No One Lives Forever. The new version is dubbed the Mega Mix demo, and it includes four single-player levels and two multiplayer maps. (More @ the Source: ZDNet.com/GameSpot )

      
      

      VIA KT133A Based Boards Roundup....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 1:12 PM MST Sunday, March 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Digit-Life.com has posted up an interesting article on all VIA KT133A based boards. They have information on five boards on the KT133A and one board on the KT133. The article said after some time of trying to choose a good competitor for KT133A based boards, they stopped with AOpen's AK73 Pro. Because they feel these boards have a traditional good layout and excellent speed characteristics. (More @ the Source: digit-life.com)

      
      

      Fallout Tactics Ships....
      Posted by [Blood] @ 10:54 AM MST Sunday, March 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The moment you have been waiting for is here. Interplay and 14 Degrees East proudly announce the release of Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel! Make haste to your nearest video retailer to pick up your copy.

      
      

      Labels Aren't Helping, Napster Says....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:50 AM MST Sunday, March 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
      A Napster spokeswoman told TechTV that as of Wednesday night, the service had blocked a total of 10.6 million files, representing 59,600 artist-title pairs, from its service. According to online music research firm Webnoize, Napster's moves to bolster its filtering system have resulted in a sharp drop in usage. (More @ the Source: techtv.com)

      
      

      X-Micro HULK 5 32MB ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:43 AM MST Sunday, March 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
      X-Micro is one of the many new video card manufactures, which just happen to pop up around the world from time to time. If you'd like to find out of their short company history I point you to our X-Micro GeForce2 Pro review, the Introduction gives you a run down about the company and their line of graphics orientated products. Below is a picture of the X-Micro Hulk 5 video card with TwinView. (More @ the Source: tweaktown.com)

      
      

      How To Survive A Multi-Player Game ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:41 AM MST Sunday, March 18, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Death is inevitable, especially when it comes to multiplayer gaming. After all, killing is the name of the game. But while most players are content with racking up kills kamikaze-style, the ability of a player to actually stay alive is often overlooked. Avoiding frequent deaths has many advantages, and in most cases, the leader of a game will almost always have a low death count relative to his or her frag count. This article will discuss the major causes of death in multiplayer shooters, and hopefully provide some insight into promoting your gaming longevity. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      Saturday, March 17, 2001

      The LANding Zone....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:54 AM MST Saturday, March 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
      A small group in the Atlanta area is working on opening a LAN center. To gain further insight into what the gaming community is looking for in a LAN center, they have posted a quick survey. Please, give a helping hand with their LAN center project and stop by and provide some gaming info by taking the survey! (More @ the Source: LANding Zone)

      
      

      Infiltration Unreal Tournament Patch....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:47 AM MST Saturday, March 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The Infiltration Unreal Tournament mod site has been updated with info on the patch to fix problems in the recent 2.85 release. The patch is expected Sunday or Monday. Get the scoop here.

      
      

      Urban Terror Q3 beta 2 Not Far Away!....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:42 AM MST Saturday, March 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The Urban Terror Q3 website has been updated with a few more tidbits about beta 2. The team has released a new internal build fixing another 50 inconsistencies. They are approaching a critical internal deadline in the coming days, which means some decisions will need to be made as to what makes Beta 2 and what will remain on the "big list" for a future build. They also have 3 screenshots of the new interface that will be included. (More @ the Source: urbanterror.net)

      
      

      HP to Release CDR-W/DVD Combo Drive....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:25 AM MST Saturday, March 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Hewlett Packard is following recent suit and has announced a new 12x10x32x8 CDR-W/DVD combo drive that will come in an internal IDE version. The 9900ci drive is being targeted at end-users who wish to record and share Mp3s, digital images, and custom music CDs. Expected US price is said to be $349.00, more information can be found at their website. (More @ the Source: hpcdwriter.com)

      
      

      New Millennium Entertainment Q & A with Intelgamer....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:04 AM MST Saturday, March 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
      New Millennium Entertainment is a new ISP that is being tailored specificially for gamers by a group of gamers who once worked with Sega. They will be offering modem and broadband connections, as well as services for gamers such as tournaments and lag-free gameplay. Intelgamer had the opportunity to ask Lynn MacConnell, New Millennium Entertainment's Chief Technology Officer, a few questions about this upcoming service. New Millennium is also seeking some beta testers for their new network. You can find more information about that on their introductory site.. Check out the Q & A here.

      
      

      Setting Up a LAN at Home....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:57 AM MST Saturday, March 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
      There are tons of articles all over the Internet on how to share your Internet connection. Unfortunately, most of them are either too simple or too advanced. This article will try and sum up your options for getting a LAN going at home and sharing an Internet connection on it while avoiding the above pitfalls. For the sake of brevity they are focusing on the Windows side of things. (More @ the Source: The-Ctrl-Alt-Del.com)

      
      

      Quarkium Interview....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 5:24 AM MST Saturday, March 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Quarkium is the next logical step in game design" - says Koosmos, whose previous best-sellers include a smashing Starcraft like RTS game, which was positively huge on the EuroAsian market, and according to the local market analysts: "sold more units than what've sold AK-47's and Hashish last year". Needless to say, we were thoroughly impressed with what Shepluv's has done with this project. Without a doubt, Quarkium is looking to be one of the sleeper hits of the year. Our editor Bunny was quoted saying that: "Quarkium" brings so many new features to the genre, that a War and Peace like report wouldn't do it justice. (More @ the Source: actiontrip.com)

      
      

      Game Bosses - A Lost Art?....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 5:16 AM MST Saturday, March 17, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Now don't get me wrong here, I'm all for more realistic games, but it's not as if today's PC games are exactly realistic to begin with - so we may as well have the occasional boss character. Nevertheless, some people seem to believe that bosses can inherently limit a game's playability for just that reason: it is not "realistic." Besides the fact that carrying around 50 rockets and several tons of other miscellaneous ammo makes many of today's shooters unrealistic to begin with, there are plenty of examples of properly implemented boss characters to be found in recent games, and without any sacrifice of realism. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      Friday, March 16, 2001

      Internet Connection guide.....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 5:23 PM MST Friday, March 16, 2001 [Comment on news]
      There are tons of articles all over the Internet on how to share your Internet connection. Unfortunately, most of them are either too simple or too advanced. With this article I will try and sum up your options for getting a LAN going at home and sharing an Internet connection on it while avoiding the above pitfalls. For the sake of brevity I am going to focus on the Windows side of things. If any of you have questions about the other OS’s out there then let us know and we’ll do another article on those too. Windows is the OS that most have questions about when it comes to home networking though, so that is what I am going to focus on. But before we even get to sharing your connection you have to have a LAN to connect. (More @ the Source: the-ctrl-alt-del.com)

      
      

      GeForce Roundup ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 11:35 AM MST Friday, March 16, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Over at Legion Hardware, they have posted a roundup of the GeForce family of cards. Some 3DMark 2001 loving in there as well. A piece: The GeForce2 Pro is what we at Legion Hardware would recommend, these cards are known to overclock to speeds close too, if not that of the Ultra. We managed to get our review sample to the speed of the default Ultra running at 460mhz memory, and 250mhz core speed. The performance was only a few frames slower then that of the Ultra and that was for $300 AUD less. (More @ the Source: legionhardware.com)

      
      

      Is PC Gaming Dying?....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 11:27 AM MST Friday, March 16, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Every effort has been made to avoid making this a "PC versus console" debate. As mature gamers (don't laugh), we acknowledge that there are great games across all platforms. But the strengths and limitations of the PC will be compared and contrasted to those of the current batch of consoles. This simply reflects the reality that the console market exerts some pressure on the PC market, at least in the minds of gamers. Moreover, developers frequently switch between formats. But a lot of the competition for PC games doesn't come just from consoles -- it also comes from other PC games. But we'll get to that in a minute. (More @ the Source: pc.ign.com)

      
      Thursday, March 15, 2001

      Win2K vs ME for Games....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:40 AM MST Thursday, March 15, 2001 [Comment on news]
      hardCOREware.Net has jacked up a rather tangy article that comparesWindows ME and Windows 2000 for gamers. It's a pretty good read (benchmarks and all). Here's how they kick this guy out the door:

      So which one wins? Well if you want pure gaming, I'm going to have to go with ME by a hair, but that's only for pure gaming. In my experience, ME is stable enough for gaming, and its performance is better in the slimmest majority of the tests. ME is also cheaper by $80, something that has to be considered. However, as an overall OS I would have to say that 2k takes the cake. Its gaming performance is only slightly lower overall than ME, and it is far ahead with things like security and stability. If you can afford the extra $80, and want an all around OS, there's no reason not to go with 2k as it can finally post impressive numbers in both OpenGL and DirectX. (Source: VE)

      
      

      Half-Life 1.1.0.6 patch available....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:29 AM MST Thursday, March 15, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Valve Software have released the Half-Life 1.1.0.6 patchfor download. here's a quickie of what's fixed in this version;
      

      Bug Fixes in this update:
      - Load balancing on master server improved.
      - Changelevel2 crash on Linux server fixed.
      - Rcon say quote problem fixed.
      - Demo playback fixed.
      - Disguise5 will no longer crash a Team Fortress server.
      - Tf_ceasefire fixed.
      - Class limits at -1 crash fix.
      - Medic gets proper credit for a suicide/changeteam of infected player.
      - Launcher text in filter screen on Win98 machines not cut off.
      - Put client's IP address back into the 'status' command
      - Added code to support the server variable 'sv_allowupload'
      - Increased number of entries for banned IPs & banned WON IDs to 32768 (each).
      - Changed what types of map resource files can be downloaded using .res files (to help mod authors). We've changed from what types of files ARE allowed to what types of files AREN'T allowed.
      - Fixed a TFC bug where players could teamkill by shooting a rocket/grenade at a teammate & switching to specator mode.
      - Fixed the "adm_deal", "adm_next", & "next" TFC commands to properly cycle through the players in the server

      Available in Full, or Update from 1.1.0.4 versions,they can be both found at Snowstorm.org(This is the Mirror I'd recommend as its damned fast). Check out our Half-LifeTweak guide here

      
      

      First Person Halo....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:21 AM MST Thursday, March 15, 2001 [Comment on news]
      If you thought all this talk about Halo being played in a first person perspective is a little different from what we've been previously reporting, you're absolutely right. BLNEWS contacted a Microsoft PR representative for the official word on this, and we have been told that Halo is now a full-fledged first person shooter, and not the third person game it was originally unveiled as. Believe it or not, this actually due to the Xbox controller (see below for more on this), as the Halo team felt playing in a first person perspective was easier on the console. The game will still switch to a third person perspective when controlling vehicles.

      
      

      Women In Games....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:07 AM MST Thursday, March 15, 2001 [Comment on news]
      First things first: this isn't going to be one of those righteously indignant "the gaming industry is geared far too much towards males, and game developers should start making more female-orientated games" editorials. Nor is this a strident "us women don't want special treatment, we want equality, and don't you dare patronize us" rant. It's not even a sexist "women just aren't suited to playing real games, they should stick to The Sims and Barbie Fashion Designer" article. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      

      Sony Unveils Double-Density CD-RWs ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:07 AM MST Thursday, March 15, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Sony has recently unveiled a new Double Density CD-R and CD-RW drives and discs that can hold 1.3GB of data. The technology doubles the capacity of the discs by essentially shrinking the space between the tracks on the media. The drives will be available in retail stores by the beginning of April and will cost $249. DD-R discs will cost $1.99 each, and DD-RW discs will cost $2.99. (Source: Zdnet.com)

      
      Wednesday, March 14, 2001

      Fragomatic's Server Commander v1.50 Released!....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:32 AM MST Wednesday, March 14, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Oh heavens me! This is cool! Just finished uploading the latest version of Server Commander. Several bugs have been fixed and you now get levelshots with custom maps. Righteousness. Get Server Commander v1.50 Now! (More @ the Source: planetquake.com)

      
      

      Low End Buyer's Guide ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:17 AM MST Wednesday, March 14, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Building a cost-conscious PC that can still hang tough in Quake3 or Unreal Tournament is a challenge, but isn't impossible. With the product life cycles for new CPUs and Video Cards getting shorter and shorter, it's a great time to upgrade components using yesterday's sexy and expensive yet now discounted parts. (More @ the Source: planethardware.com)

      
      

      Updated AMD Roadmap ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:13 AM MST Wednesday, March 14, 2001 [Comment on news]
      AMD's updated roadmap has been 'leaked' yet again, this time showing some dissapointing information for consumers. The next-generation Athlon, codenamed Palomino, will not be shipping until July. At the close of 2000, AMD's roadmap showed the Palomino shipping at some point during this quarter at 1.2GHz. This newly updated Athlon is manufactured on the same .18 micron process as the current Thunderbird rendition, but improvements to the core have been made to allow AMD to crank the frequency up to 1.4GHz and beyond. The successor to Palomino, dubbed Thoroughbred, will be structered around a .13 micron process and will allow AMD to reach speeds nearing 2GHz by the close of the year. WOW CANT WAIT FOR THIS CHIP:)

      
      

      World War II Online....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:32 AM MST Wednesday, March 14, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The game is based almost entirely on first-person action. (There are plenty of vehicles to commandeer, but we'll get to that in a minute.) Your character in the game is a full 3D model, not just a floating bubble with a gun. As a result, you can look down at your feet, get shot in the arm or have your head run over by a half-track. And WWII Online will do away with the artificial crosshair in favor of a gun barrel sighting model. Just like a real soldier, you'll have to look down the barrel of the rifle to line up your target. The game raises the bar for realism by including blood loss, oxygen levels and fatigue. You won't be able to run non-stop across the whole of France without taking a breather or two. (More @ the Source: pc.ign.com)

      
      

      Unreal II Information ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:29 AM MST Wednesday, March 14, 2001 [Comment on news]
      At long last the media blackout has lifted for Unreal II, the eagerly anticipated sequel to one of the best selling 3D first person shooters of all time by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. Unreal II won't be developed by Epic or DE this time around though, as Legend Entertainment has picked up the rights to develop the sequel, under the careful eye of Epic. (More @ the Source: voodooextreme.com)

      
      

      New SWAT 3: EE Missions ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 8:58 AM MST Wednesday, March 14, 2001 [Comment on news]
      This mission is a rapid deployment of tactical personnel sent to investigate reports of a deranged gunman threatening citizens at 12th & Figueroa. Your team must gain control of mentally deranged suspect and evacuate all unauthorized persons. This mission was developed by the SWAT 3 team and originally released to subscribers of PC Player magazine in March 2001. (More @ the Source: sierra.com)

      
      

      Gaming Hype: Good or Bad?....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 8:55 AM MST Wednesday, March 14, 2001 [Comment on news]
      It has become the nature of computer game developers and publishers to begin marketing the final product early on in the development process. Often times you will see a screenshot of a game that is over a year away from completion. However, I have recently seen a trend of upstart game development companies failing in the dot-com downswing, and many games already hyped have ceased production. Also, there are often times unforeseen delays during development that push the release date farther and farther back (e.g. Daikatana). Even some of the larger, more established developers have cut projects and killed games in various stages of the process, adding to the growing distrust that some gamers have for hype. There is nothing more disappointing than being excited about an upcoming game for months and months only to find out it was canceled. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      

      Counter-Strike 1.1 Released!....
      Posted by [Ace] @ 1:41 AM MST Wednesday, March 14, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The new version of Counter-Strike is here! Download either the patch or the full client to enjoy new models, new levels, and gobs of CS lovin'. (More @ the Source: fileplanet.com)

      
      Tuesday, March 13, 2001

      NASCAR Racing 4....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 1:14 PM MST Tuesday, March 13, 2001 [Comment on news]
      NASCAR Racing 4's implementation of car damage is particularly innovative. Your vehicle experiences progressive damage with each impact -- producing distinctive effects -- allowing the destruction triggered by a collision to spread from one part of your car to another in real time. Major crashes cause cars to fly in the air and perform somersaults in an amazingly realistic fashion. Rather than just a pre-fabricated crumple, when hit you may see pieces of the car's body break off, your hood or trunk bend, or your bumpers disintegrate. You may select the level of damage susceptibility, and may also determine whether you allow your car to suffer from random mechanical failures leading to breakdowns. Overall, the damage modeling in NASCAR Racing 4 is much better than that in its competitors. (More @ the Source: avault.com)

      
      

      Amazing Computer Stories: Part IV....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:31 AM MST Tuesday, March 13, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Wheat Williams sent in our first story, and quite frankly, it is a very common mistake\misconception about online connections. Take it away Wheat: 
      
      In early 1999, I was working as a desktop technical support technician at a defense-industry plant in Atlanta, Georgia. Our director of human resources had retired, and moved to Kentucky. But for some reason she had some additional work to do with the company, and they installed a second phone line in her Kentucky home and set her up with a computer, a 28.8K modem, and a dial-in connection to our LAN. Our dial-in connections were to modems at our local Atlanta location. (More @ the Source: techextreme.com)

      
      

      Is PC Gaming Dying?....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:18 AM MST Tuesday, March 13, 2001 [Comment on news]
      We thought we'd ask some of the folks in the industry what they think about the future of PC gaming. While most of the answers were a tad on the pessimistic side, there's a firm belief among almost all the people we talked with that PC is here to stay as a significant gaming platform. Despite the fact that newer consoles are pushing the limits of technology and blurring the distinction between consoles and PCs, the personal computer still offers gamers a chance to try something new. The fundamental question of PC survival comes down to this: How much profit can publishers make off of PC gamers? (More @ the Source: pc.ign.com)

      
      

      A Look At Red Faction ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:12 AM MST Tuesday, March 13, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Interesting, the nature of innovation in first-person shooters these days. Starsiege: Tribes established itself with cooperation and team play. Half-Life was a triumph of direction and scene-setting. Likewise Perfect Dark, with its tightly-woven conspiracy plot, and Medal of Honor, whose re-creation of WWII made it the game to beat as far as atmosphere is concerned. (More @ the Source: ps2.ign.com)

      
      

      About Gore!?....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 2:04 AM MST Tuesday, March 13, 2001 [Comment on news]
      WHAT DO YOU REALLY THINK ABOUT THE GAME GORE? Let us know so we can send your comments to 4Drulers..(More @ the Source: PCH)

      
      

      AOpen HQ08 Full Tower Case....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 2:00 AM MST Tuesday, March 13, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The HQ08 is appealing to the eye, and at first glance you can see that the case can pack a punch. The above picture depicts the HQ08 with blue trim, but it also comes in gray, aquamarine, and green for variety. This case has all the standard features that earmark a quality case: rolled smooth edges, many drive bays (internal and external), a removable motherboard tray, two removable 3.5” trays, and a large, open interior. The quality of this case, which is constructed of 1mm thick sheet metal, is beyond question. (More @ the Source: pcshooter.com)

      
      

      How 3D Graphics Work ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:57 AM MST Tuesday, March 13, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Ever wanted to PYAITK and get down and dirty with 3D knowledge? Here's your chance to do so as HowStuffWorks.com has put up an article on just how 3D Graphics work. Here's a sample: One approach to taking more responsibility from the CPU is done by the GeForce 256 from Nvidia. In addition to the rendering done by earlier-generation boards, the GeForce 256 adds transforming the wireframe models from 3-D mathematics space to 2-D display space as well as the work needed to show lighting. Since both transforms and ray-tracing involve serious floating point mathematics (mathematics that involve fractions, called “floating point” because the decimal point can move as needed to provide high precision), these tasks take a serious processing burden from the CPU. And because the graphics processor doesn’t have to cope with many of the tasks expected of the CPU, it can be designed to do those mathematical tasks very quickly. (More @ the Source: howstuffworks.com)

      
      

      Tribes 2: Hands-On Preview....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:56 AM MST Tuesday, March 13, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Tribes 2 is almost here. For fans of the original, you will see a more refined version of Tribes. For people that have not played Tribes yet, welcome to the world of team based First Person Shooters. The Dynamix development team looked at what made Tribes so popular, listened too player complaints, and synthesized that into one of the most anticipated games of the year. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      Monday, March 12, 2001

      Operation Flashpoint Movie....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 5:01 PM MST Monday, March 12, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Operation Flashpoint. The tactical military combat simulation, under development with Bohemia Interactive Studio, is probably the most complex wargame experience ever. Unprecedented freedom of action integrates squad command, piloting of any vehicle and strategic decision-making, to totally immersive effect. Download Movie here: (More @ the Source: codemasters.com)

      
      

      AMD Athlon (Thunderbird) 1.2GHz 266MHz FSB & 200MHz FSB Processors Review....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 4:49 PM MST Monday, March 12, 2001 [Comment on news]
      There always will be something bigger, better and, faster around the corner. In this technology driven society of ours, there are those that are hell bent on convincing you that the true measure of a processor's value is the clock speed it operates at. That seems fair enough, right? As we have seen with the Pentium IV in recent reviews around the online media community, clock speed alone does not make for a better processor. Now, we have not had the good fortune of testing the Pentium IV so we cannot make a make a firm claim either way as to the performance of the fastest 1.5GHz Pentium IV when compared to the 1.2Ghz Athlon, but there are plenty of sites that do just that. We are gathered here today to cast judgment onto the latest and greatest from AMD and their current flagship chips, the 1.2GHz Athlon "B" and "C" core Thunderbirds. Right off the bat, you may be assuming that such a fast chip must undoubtedly necessitate a premium at the checkout. Fortunately, you would be wrong in that assumption. Hot on the heels of the Intel price cuts, the AMD Athlon 1.2GHz 266 FSB can be had for only $260. Take advantage of the falling semiconductor market while you can as I suspect it won't be long until we see those lofty $800 price tags of the past make a comeback as the economy takes an up turn. (More @ the Source: gotapex.com)

      
      

      MechCommander 2 Inerview....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 4:42 PM MST Monday, March 12, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Gamespot has put up a Q&A with Microsoft's Mitch G., as they talk abouttheir upcoming 3D RTS, MechCommander2. I remember getting to play this game about a year ago, and it lookedreally good. Although, I'm pretty sure it should've been out by now.

      GS: What has been the biggest obstacle during MechCommander 2's development?

      MG: Making sure we're satisfying everyone. Our goal has always been to delight our fans while expanding our audience as far as possible. In a game universe that's been around for over 15 years, that can feel herculean at times. BattleTech fans know their stuff, and they're vocal about what they want. Sometimes they want more detail than a newcomer would be able to digest. On the other hand, there are some things that aren't supported by the fiction, but are necessary for good gameplay. (More @ the Source: microsoft.com)

      
      

      An Interview with Croteam, MadOnion and NVIDIA....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:51 AM MST Monday, March 12, 2001 [Comment on news]
      In this fast and ever-changing industry of PC graphics and games, many folks are left wondering what actually goes on "behind the scenes". On one hand, we have innovative graphics chip companies like NVIDIA providing ever more features for developers to use. On the other hand, we have the one thing that probably finally determines both the quality of games as well as the "usefulness" of new hardware - the developers. In other words, what do developers think of new graphics features and developments as provided by companies like NVIDIA and Microsoft (via the DirectX API) - what features to use and what features to ignore? (More @ the Source: beyond3d.com)

      
      

      Gore demo patch....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:49 AM MST Monday, March 12, 2001 [Comment on news]
      3Dfiles has updated with a Gore demo patch. This patch makes servers more stable, fixes a problem with clients just disconnecting, fixes key binding problems, and adds ammo for the flamethrower. Get it here: (More @ the Source: 3dfiles.com)

      
      Sunday, March 11, 2001

      Gore Multiplayer Test Tweak Guide....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:29 PM MST Sunday, March 11, 2001 [Comment on news]
      3D Spotlight has posted up their unofficial Gore tweak guide that gives tips on improving performance in the multiplayer test demo from 4D Rulers that was released Saturday. (More @ the Source: 3D Spotlight.com)

      
      

      Logitech WingMan RumblePad Review....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:25 PM MST Sunday, March 11, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Sharky Games.com has posted up a review on the latest joypad to try and compete with the superb Gravis Xterminator. To sum it up they say it is a solidly built and feature-loaded joypad that will only set you back about $30. There are joypads selling for more than that with far fewer features, so the price tag is quite simply the icing on the cake. It isn't quite good enough to unseat the reigning champion amongst joypads, but it's good enough to at least take a seat not far below it. Check out the whole review here.

      
      

      Updated beta OpenGL renderer ....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:11 PM MST Sunday, March 11, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The Unreal Technology page has a new beta version of the OpenGL renderer for Unreal Tournament. This is primarily to address a bug in parsing the ini file options. The site gives full instructions how to apply the beta driver, and if you want to use the compressed textures from the 2nd UT CD, all you have to do is copy them over the existing textures. They report that if you have problems using the textures from the 2nd CD in online games you might want to consider asking the server administrator to update his/her server. There's also some other useful information. (More @ the Source: Unreal Technology)

      
      

      GORE???....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 12:48 PM MST Sunday, March 11, 2001 [Comment on news]
      What did you think about the gore demo?: Click here: (More @ the Source: PCH)

      
      Saturday, March 10, 2001

      Come Play Gore!....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 6:17 PM MST Saturday, March 10, 2001 [Comment on news]
      PCShooter is now running Gore's Multi-player test demo on two of our servers. Choose internet from the list and you should see PCShooter near the top (of course).

      
      

      New Gore Interview @ Gamespy....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 4:57 PM MST Saturday, March 10, 2001 [Comment on news]
      GSD: What's with the fat guy in the orange jump suit holding a Bud? Why
      shoot him in the chin?
      
      Joel: That is the Bartender, otherwise known as Brutus, and sometimes
      hes called Jake the Bull, one of the heavy player classes. He is an ex-con
      who escaped from prison which is why he wears the orange prison shirt.
      He is a lot bigger and harder to kill than the standard or light player
      classes, so you'd best shoot him in the head or neck region to try and do
      more damage to kill him. Gore has damage mapping which the engine
      uses to determine where someone was shot. Arms take quarter damage,
      legs take half damage, torso takes full damage, and heads take double
      damage, so always try and shoot for the head if you can. (More @ the Source: gamespydaily.com)

      
      

      Gore (NEW FPS) Multi-Player Test Demo Now Available....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 4:52 PM MST Saturday, March 10, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Just got word from Joel Huenink President, Creative Director @ 4D Rulers Software, That the Gore Multi-Player test demo is now available for download. It weighs in at 41 Megs and requires Open GL hardware acceleration, and runs on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows NT. It has been tested extensively on Nvidia TNT, but also should run fine on Voodoo5, and ATI cards. Go to the downloads page and download the demo NOW! (More @ the Source: fileplanet.com)

      
      

      Serious Sam Review....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 11:47 AM MST Saturday, March 10, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The Brits over at Eurogamer have slapped up the first review of Serious Sam on the net. According to Eurogamer, Croteam has delivered an offbeat pure action shooter with lacking AI, and silly storyline, but a whole lot of heart-pounding action. They seemed to have enjoyed the game enough to give it a 9/10 score...(More @ the Source: eurogamer.net)

      
      

      GeForce3 Preview List ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 11:44 AM MST Saturday, March 10, 2001 [Comment on news]
      NVIDIA has put up a site where you can check out most of the GeForce3 previews that has popped up on the net. Check it out here: (More @ the Source: nvidia.com)

      
      

      Fragapalooza 2001....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:42 AM MST Saturday, March 10, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The 5th annual Fragapalooza will be held July 19 through 22, 4 days of non-stop gaming. This is Canada's largest gaming festival to be held in Edmonton, Alberta. Last year over 400 people showed up and thousands of spectators came to the event, this year promises to be even larger with a new venue. The offical tournaments for Fragapalooza 2001 will be: Counter Srike - 5 on 5, Quake 3 - 2 on 2 and Unreal Tournament - 1 on 1.(More @ the Source: Fragapalooza 2001)

      
      

      A Look At Hired Team....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 11:39 AM MST Saturday, March 10, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Those Russkies are at it again! This time (when was the first time?), they've decided to try their iron hand at a multiplayer FPS. The results aren't spectacular, but everyone has to start somewhere. Tech21 takes a look at the recently released Hired Team demo. Is it worth the download? Read our review and see. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      

      Epic Interviews: Cliff Bleszinski....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 11:37 AM MST Saturday, March 10, 2001 [Comment on news]
      With the success of "Unreal Tournament," the developers at Epic Games have found themselves in the enviable position of having one of the most sought-after engines to license. Other big-ticket games such as "Deux Ex" and "Undying" have successfully used the "Unreal" engine for all sorts of game designs. Along with the "Quake III" engine and Monolith's Lithtech, Epic's "Unreal" engine can provide a big head start in making a great game since you don't have to create your own engine from scratch. (More @ the Source: techtv.com)

      
      

      Inside the Mind of Warren Spector - Deus Ex Designer ....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:28 AM MST Saturday, March 10, 2001 [Comment on news]
      It's the hottest game on the market, and now GameSlice.com is introducing you to the mind of designer Warren Spector, the man who helped bring Deus Ex to life.(More @ the Source: GameSlice.com)

      
      

      The Future of Interactivity....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:24 AM MST Saturday, March 10, 2001 [Comment on news]
      In the past 25 years, electronic entertainment has progressed in leaps and bounds. But no matter the plot, graphics, or sound, games come down to interactivity and the way we interface with the game environment. Interactivity and gameplay can be broken down into three categories: reciprocity, submersion and escapism. The games that continue to push the bounds of interactive entertainment will deal with all three of these categories in newfangled ways. (More @ the Source: GameSlice.com)

      
      Friday, March 9, 2001

      Gore Multiplayer Test Demo Release Tomorrow:) ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 2:19 PM MST Friday, March 9, 2001 [Comment on news]
      It's been a long week of testing and finalizing, but things are looking good for a release tomorrow afternoon (Central time) of the Gore Multiplayer Test Demo. Gamespy is working with 4Drulers to help premier and host the file, but 4Drulers will host it as well on their new 100 MB file server. If you can help them host the file, let them know. There will also be a compatability chart posted that shows what the system requirements and tested video cards are. Right now the graphics accelerators of choice are Nvidia’s TNT, TNT2 and GeForce. (Source:4Drulers)

      
      

      Diablo II: Lord of Destruction Expansion Interview....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 12:03 PM MST Friday, March 9, 2001 [Comment on news]
      MacNN: Can you give us an overview of DiabloII: Lord of Destruction and all that it will offer for Diablo II players?

      Brian Love: At the end ofDiablo II, you've killed Diablo and his brother Mephisto and destroyed theSoulstones that they were trapped in. Baal is still out on the loose, and he isout for revenge. Your job is to stop him before he can go about his plans todestroy flesh and make the world not a really nice place anymore. So you'repursuing him, and you pursue him to the homeland of the Barbarians, andeventually you catch up to him, confront him and have an epic battle. You arethe good guy, and good guys tend to win in these things.

      Along the way, for all of thosewho buy Diablo II and the expansion pack at the same time or decide to start newcharacters after getting the expansion pack, throughout the game there are newitem types, new magical prefixes and suffixes, new kinds of champion monsters,all kinds of interesting new things that-in addition to being in the all new ActV-are spread through the previous acts (I-IV). Some of my favorites are the factthat we're adding in exceptional sets-the exceptional items are the ones thatare only dropped in Nightmare- and we're going to have sets that are made up ofthose kinds of items. And just lots of good stuff. (More @ the Source: games.macnn.com)

      
      

      Weekly CPU Prices....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 11:19 AM MST Friday, March 9, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Welcome to the Sharky Extreme Weekly CPU Prices. This is a weekly update on CPU prices we find around the net. They have several different tables to help you find what you are looking for, sorted by manufacturer; (AMD or Intel) sorted by price; tables showing only high-end or low-end CPUs, all to make your research and subsequent buying decision a bit easier. Use our handy "jump to" feature at the bottom of each page to quickly get where you need to go. (More @ the Source: sharkyextreme.com)

      
      

      Gore Screenshots....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:51 AM MST Friday, March 9, 2001 [Comment on news]
      With the release of the gore demo anyday We thought you would love these little bits of eye candy:) (More @ the Source: dailytelefrag.com)

      
      

      Operation: Flashpoint Hands-On Preview....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:43 AM MST Friday, March 9, 2001 [Comment on news]
      There are those gamers that like strategy. There are other gamers that prefer action. Then there are those that prefer a hybrid of the two, the perfect balance between a purely mind-driven game and one that requires some quick reflexes. These are the gamers that the tactical genre is aimed at, and Operation Flashpoint is Codemasters' upcoming entry into that genre. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      

      GeForce3 Giants info....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:40 AM MST Friday, March 9, 2001 [Comment on news]
      RivaStatiom uncovered some details about what would be new and improved in the GeForce III OEM version of Giants: Citizen Kabuto.

      Here's what they discovered (YUMYUM)

      Characters:
      - Increase polygon count (use strips instead of lists)
      - Increase texture resolution
      - Add additional special effects (take advantage of 4 texture stages)
      - Bumpy / Reflective Meccs
      - Additional translucency effect on Sea Reapers
      - Vertex shader motion blur on reapers
      Water:
      - Vertex and Pixel shader for Reflective bump the water
      - Wet-shore effect using gloss map
      - Vertex shader for undulating water geometry
      Terrain:
      - Higher tesselation of near-camera terrain for better lighting
      - Improved texturing on terrain (bump, higher res, macro texture)
      - Use vertex shader for shockwave effect
      - More objects (rocks, trees, plants)
      - 2-sided lighting on tree leaves (More @ the Source: rivastation.com)

      
      

      Medal of Honor Q&A ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:25 AM MST Friday, March 9, 2001 [Comment on news]
      PCG: When does thisgame begin, and when does it end?

      
      LH: You start out on November 8, 1942. It'sOperation Torch. You are part of the 1st Ranger Battalion Squad that's got tocome in and take out the gun ports that are protecting the harbour so that theinvasion force, which is 100,000 troops, can come in.

      Then afterthe first campaign you move up to Norway to the German U-Boat operations andtake those out. The third campaign is Normandy and the invasion of Omaha Beach,so that rolls through June 1994 and unfolds throughout central Europe duringthat year. (More @ the Source: pcgameplay.co.uk)

      
      

      INSIDE TRIBES 2....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:21 AM MST Friday, March 9, 2001 [Comment on news]
      There are a score of exciting things to be found Tribes 2 -- even before you grab that disclauncher and jet towards the enemy flag. In fact, you could spend hours "inside" the game, even before you jump into a gaming server. The first thing you'll find is that Tribes 2 has included a number of independent features that we all enjoy -- yet has wrapped them all up into a complete gaming world. There are so many features, let's take a look at each one individually. (More @ the Source: tribalwar.com)

      
      Thursday, March 8, 2001

      Fallout Tactics has GONE GOLD! ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 3:42 PM MST Thursday, March 8, 2001 [Comment on news]
      That's right! Aren't you excited!!! Only a few more days until it's in your sweaty little palms! (Source interplay.com)

      
      

      NBA Live! 2001 Review....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:26 AM MST Thursday, March 8, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Lefty 2 Guns has posted up our latest review. He's been looking at NBA Live! 2001... here's a taste:

      The game begins with a shot of the home team in a huddle as spotlights circle the court. As the announcer introduces the starting lineup the players make their way on to the court high-fiving each other. Once the home team has been introduced, it shows both teams getting ready for the jump ball, shaking hands and talking with friends before the battle begins....

      Check it out here.

      
      

      Giants patch news ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:12 AM MST Thursday, March 8, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Planet Moon continues working on the beta patch and have reached version 1.306 now. Here's what's new and exciting in it:

      A new gameplay mode: Mecc vs Kabuto and Reaper vs Kabuto. The host of the game can now adjust the availability of Party house items and weapons which should cause some interesting matches. Good news is that the dedicated server worked on now works across all windows platforms! Well done, guys! (Source:VE)

      
      

      Asking Tim Sweeney ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:04 AM MST Thursday, March 8, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Yes, it's time for you - the reader to ask the questions as we presentanother action packed installment of Ask Sweeney, or Tim Sweeney, the leadprogrammer and head-hancho over at Epic Games. You should know the rules by now,no asking questions relating to future Epic games, just industry related queriesabout programming, game design ect..

      Question -- How hard is it for developers to add GeForce 3 optimizations to their games? Is itfeasible for developers to release patches for current games to add GeForce3/DirectX 8 optimizations?

      Tim -- You're completely missing the point ofthe new DirectX8 feature set. It's not about performance, it's about enablingdevelopers to render things that were impossible to render before, likebump-mapping and anisotropic lighting. While you could patch an existing game toadd some support for these features, it would be extremely limited andcounterproductive to do that. The games that really shine on DirectX8 and Xboxwill be the onces that are designed from the beginning to take major advantageof those features. (More @ the Source: voodooextreme.com)

      
      

      Interview with Dave Georgeson (Tribes 2)....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:51 AM MST Thursday, March 8, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Is there any particularsound effect that you really like in Tribes 2?

      When we addedthe projectile sounds to the weapons so that they emit a sound as they move pastyou, it added a whole new dimension to the game. Now, when you grab the flag andrun back to base, and someone is chasing you with a chain gun, you can hear thebullets whirring past your head, and when a disc crackles and sizzles past you,it makes you want to duck.
      
      Also, I'm working on a particularly difficult, multi-layered sound effect rightnow that happens when the mobile point base opens and deploys its missile turretand inventory station. The pieces all lie together and operate at different timesyncs, but the end result is getting cool and is totally worth the effort.(More @ the Source: eax.creative.com)

      
      

      Doom 3 Interview Over At Daily Radar....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:35 AM MST Thursday, March 8, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The boys over at Daily Radar Have cooked up an interview with Jim Dosé a programmer on the upcoming id project:

      DR: Is it based on the Q3A engine, a modified version of thatengine or an entirely new engine?

      JD: It's a completely new engine. During the early parts of thedevelopment, the "scaffolding" of the Q3A has remained in place toallow us to keep the game working while systems are replaced, but the major codethat defines what the engine is and is capable of is completely new. Rendering,collision detection, modeling/animation, game code, physics, sound andnetworking are all being completely written from scratch. (More @ the Source: dailyradar.com)

      
      

      Physical Unrealism....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:26 AM MST Thursday, March 8, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Oddly enough, the most physically realistic games seem to be the least physical. In Thief and Thief II, running around and jumping gets you killed. The former is noisy, and attracts attention, and the latter is toned down - you can't jump as high as you can in the Quake series. What you can do is mantle. While mantling, you use both hands to pull yourself up onto a ledge. It's slow, and since your hands are occupied, you can't attack or do anything else. Mantling is the perfect solution to the flaws in jumping, and I wish more games used it.Soldier of Fortune also does one thing right: it has an extremely accurate hit zome system. If a single bullets hits an enemy in the head, the enemy will die, which is as it should be. Much was made of this gaming advance, and it's wonderfully realistic - there are some rather sick people out there who enjoy throwing kives into an enemy's eye, or shooting them in the groin to watch them fall to the ground in agony. So why did Soldier of Fortune's designers stop halfway? Why did they implement this new hit zone system, yet leave in the old unrealistic jumping and running? (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      Wednesday, March 7, 2001

      Wasup With Urban Terror These Days.. (Quake 3 mod)....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 4:11 PM MST Wednesday, March 7, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The coding team has completed Beta 2 Build 4,which corrected approximately forty or so issues the development team identifiedin the past week of internal testing. Each build continues to introduce newfeatures and fix previous issues. This build also introduced the newly skinnedUMP45 from BladeKiller along withnew animations of the .50 Desert Eagle and UMP45 from DarkHorse. Bar-B-Q was also able to mixand release some of the new female sounds!

            They do have some, in-game shots which feature thier new, female model Athena.Check Them Out Here:

      (More @ the Source: surbanterror.net)

      
      

      Elite Force Expansion Pack Interview....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 11:56 AM MST Wednesday, March 7, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Raven Software proved last fall that the words "Star Trek" and "great game" were no longer a contradiction in terms. Their Quake III engine powered first person shooter Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force (published by Activision) got great reviews, won several gaming awards, and sold very well in 2000 by combining the universe of the world's most well know sci-fi franchise with Raven's attention to story, level design, art and programming. Now Raven is completing work on a commercial expansion pack to Elite Force which will be released later this year and which will combine both new single player and multiplayer content. (More @ the Source: stomped.com)

      
      

      AOpen AW744 Pro Review....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 11:48 AM MST Wednesday, March 7, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Our man Luckee just completed his review on AOpen's AW744 Pro Sound Card. Here's a little snip:
      
      

      Today's games are being developed to support surround sound and EAX Environmental Audio, and because of this, the sound card has become even more important in the game of realism. Most of the cards out there today that can give you the 3D surround sound experience cost around $99. Today we will look at the AW744 Pro 4-channel sound card, a high-quality, yet inexpensive, card from AOpen that costs less than $50.

      Check it out here.

      
      

      Serious Sam Performance Guide ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:42 AM MST Wednesday, March 7, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Croteam designed this wicked engine with one thing in mind - an enjoyable first person shooter. The twin deites of Frames Per Second and Visuals reign over this engine, using OpenGL for image rasterization. This is one of the fastest and most beautiful engines available on the market. (More @ the Source: hardwarepub.com)

      
      

      Weekly CPU Prices....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:34 AM MST Wednesday, March 7, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Sharky Extreme's Weekly CPU Prices list has been updated.. (More @ the Source: sharkyextreme.com)

      
      Tuesday, March 6, 2001

      TRIBES 2 Gold Soon?....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 2:08 PM MST Tuesday, March 6, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Gone Gold has learned from a representative for Sierra Studios, that TRIBES 2, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to Starsiege: TRIBES is set to go gold on March 19th. As the game has been pushed back many times in the past this may not be set in stone, but it is encouraging news for TRIBES fans. Source:bluesnews.com

      
      

      NOLF Update, Map Pack Available ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:30 AM MST Tuesday, March 6, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The No One Lives Forever Update #2 and Map Pack #2 are now available. Update #2 (13.9 MB) will update both the North American and international versions of 1.0 and 1.001 of NOLF to version 1.002. This update primarily addresses networking issues found in earlier versions of the game, as well as adds additional multiplayer features. Note that saved games from version 1.0 will not work after this update is installed. However, it will be possible to restart the last mission completed. Saved games from version 1.001 should load without problems.Map Pack #2 (8.6 MB) adds three deathmatch maps and five UNITY vs. H.A.R.M. assault maps. In order to insure the new maps play as intended, you will need to first download the base Update version 1.002. Download here: (More @ the Source: dailyradar.com)

      
      

      Intel Cuts Desktop PC Chip Prices....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:27 AM MST Tuesday, March 6, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The cuts, which took effect Sunday and were confirmed by the company Monday, come as inventories build and demand for new computers slows amid the economic downturn.
      Intel slashed the price of its 800 megahertz Celeron to $112 from $138, a 19 percent decline. The 766 MHz Celeron dropped 8 percent, to $103 from $112. Its 1 gigahertz Pentium 3, meanwhile, now costs $241, compared to $268 before the price cut. The 933 MHz model fell 7 percent, to $225 from $241.
      The new Pentium 4's prices also fell — though at the much lower rates. The 1.5 GHz Pentium 4's price dropped 1 percent, to $637 from $644. The 1.4 GHz model went to $423 from $440, and the 1.3 GHz version fell to $332 from $336.

      
      

      Red Faction Preview....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:24 AM MST Tuesday, March 6, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Unlike most shooters, here most of Parker's foes will be human, ranging from simple riot police and company-loyal miners to mercenaries, cyborgs, and killer robots. Occasionally you'll have friends to fight by your side, but these guys are simple blue-collar workers, not soldiers, so they won't follow your orders (at least, there are no plans yet for them to do so). "You're not going to find any little green men or anything like that," quipped Tsai, but he did grudgingly admit that Mars may have a few indigenous life forms hiding in its crevasses. (More @ the Source: cdmag.com)

      
      

      Quake III Models....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:21 AM MST Tuesday, March 6, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Checkout out this site for all your in game quake 3 models..(More @ the Source: planetquake.com)

      
      

      GF2 MX Roundup ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:33 AM MST Tuesday, March 6, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The GeForce2 MX GPU is quite old now. The first cards based on this chip came out in June last year and in a couple of months, it will be celebrating its first anniversary, but we thought of a revisit as it is one of the most versatile and cost effective video solutions out there in the market. Video card manufacturers are ready to strike again, but this time, with price and features. Using nVidia's GeForce2 MX GPU, they were able to lower the price barrier while maintaining respectable gaming performance, and this time, they're banking on the GPU's features and amazing versatility to produce cards aimed at all markets. (More @ the Source: review-zone.com)

      
      

      Star Wars: The Battle For Naboo....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:30 AM MST Tuesday, March 6, 2001 [Comment on news]
      I was a little disappointed with the graphics. They seemed almost paper thin, and the objects were a little too two dimensional. Even when using high detail settings, the landscape graphics were low quality and blurry. It doesn't appear that there was much change to the texture quality from the N64 release. On the plus side, because of the graphic quality, the framerate I got was excellent. This was the case even when the resolution increased, 32-bit color, and high detail settings were used. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      

      Unreal II Information ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 1:27 AM MST Tuesday, March 6, 2001 [Comment on news]
      At long last the media blackout has lifted for Unreal II, the eagerly anticipated sequel to one of the best selling 3D first person shooters of all time by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. Unreal II won't be developed by Epic or DE this time around though, as Legend Entertainment has picked up the rights to develop the sequel, under the careful eye of Epic. The April edition of PC Gamer Magazine just hit newsstands; here are a few choice cuts of information we shamelessly ganked from the massive article. (More @ the Source: voodooextreme.com)

      
      Monday, March 5, 2001

      Gore Demo Preview....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:32 AM MST Monday, March 5, 2001 [Comment on news]
      It's only days before the release of the public demo of Oz/US shooter Gore, and for the lucky few this weekend produced another beer and pizza afternoon at Brisbane's Eyecon with a chance to play the latest build of the game. (More @ the Source: bigkid.com.au)

      
      

      How To Avoid Being A Rune Loser....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:23 AM MST Monday, March 5, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Rune, a third-person slasher from Human Head Studios, plays differently than most of the FPS games out there. There are many rules that people out there thought up that you are expected to follow. Some are obvious, some are not. So here are six tips to help you get the most out of Rune without getting banned from every server out there. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      

      Pentium 4 vs. Athlon DDR Grudge match above 1GHz ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:21 AM MST Monday, March 5, 2001 [Comment on news]
      THERE'S NO LOVE LOST between the Intel and AMD camps these days. Both sides know they're in for the fight of their lives, and both are bringing spectacular advances to the desktop PC market with regularity. The latest salvos in the desktop wars are a whole new microarchitecture from Intel and a revamped Athlon platform from AMD. If you've not had the chance to do so yet, read up on these technologies in our review of the AMD 760 chipset with DDR SDRAM and our Pentium 4 review. We've already painted much of the backdrop for this article, and now it's time for the main event: The P4 and Athlon DDR in a head-to-head, take-no-prisoners benchmark brawl. (More @ the Source: tech-report.com)

      
      Sunday, March 4, 2001

      NVIDIA GeForce3 Graphics Architecture Optimized for AMD Athlon Processors....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:10 AM MST Sunday, March 4, 2001 [Comment on news]
      NVIDIA announced the GeForce3 has been optimized for the AMD Athlon processor's architecture and platforms. The NVIDIA GeForce3 GPU and software drivers allow the unique Athlon features and PC2100 DDR memory to unleash innovative visual excitement as well as blistering frame rates for the ultimate 3D graphics experience. (More @ the Source:nVidia.com)

      
      

      1.5 Update for RA3 Coming Soon....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:57 AM MST Sunday, March 4, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Planetquake.com's Rocket Arena website has details about the upcoming update version 1.5 to Rocket Arena 3 for Quake III Arena. It is in the final stages of beta testing, the final public version should be released within the next two weeks (pending an updated release of the Q3 point release from id.) They give information on the five maps included with the new release, and indicate this is the first version of RA3 that will support Macintosh clients. (More @ the Source: Rocket Arena Q3A)

      
      Saturday, March 3, 2001

      Giants Rated "2000 Game of the Year" by Rant and Raven....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:19 PM MST Saturday, March 3, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Congratulations are in order to Planet Moon for winning yet another award! Giants: Citizen Kabuto is the winner of Rant and Raven's Game of the Year award. They feel Giants was the only game released in 2000 that truly pushed the boundaries of the gaming community. (More @ the Source: Rant and Raven)

      
      

      Navy Seals Quake 3 Mod Interview....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 12:31 PM MST Saturday, March 3, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Redwood from Stomped.com caught up with Democritus from the Navy Seals Quake 3 mod team to find out what we can expect from this military/realism mod. He wasn't able to get information on a release date, but there is some other interesting stuff. Check out the full interview.

      
      Friday, March 2, 2001

      Pcshooter.com Frag-a-thon 2k1....
      Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 6:32 PM MST Friday, March 2, 2001 [Comment on news]
      There will be a Quake 3 Free For All Tournament March 17 for several hours. We have a program that will log all stats and prizes will be awarded based on kills.
      
      Rules: Any type of skin, script, or trainer giving a player an unfair advantage will cause the player to be promptly banned from this and all future tournaments.
      
      When: Saturday, March 24, 2001
      
      Where: To be announced.
      
      Prizes: To be announced
      
      Entry Fee: $10.00
      
      E-mail: luckee@xrgaming.net
      
      

      Light refreshments will be served.

      
      

      What Does It Take To be A Game Site CEO?....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:49 AM MST Friday, March 2, 2001 [Comment on news]
      What it is like to work full time on a game site?Tiring. :) I spend a lot of hours on the news every day. A lot of time is spent reading emails and checking out news stories to see if they are worthwhile. The unfortunate side effect is that I don't get to play games as much as the fans reading the site. I love it though, because I'm a news junky and a lot of hours doing something you love is better than 8 at a boring IS job. (More @ the Source: stanreport.com)

      
      

      Another great Look At NVIDIA's GeForce 3 ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:42 AM MST Friday, March 2, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Looks like it's going to be a hot summer this year! In the recent past, NVIDIA, now undeniably market and technology leader in the home and office market, has shipped products to its performance-hungry gaming audience on a six month cycle abd released a new graphics chip every 12 months. The milestones to date are the TNT, TNT2, GeForce 256 and the GeForce 2 GTS. Now, once again, it's time for something new: The GeForce 3. Originally, this new chip was supposed to bear a completely new name to mark the new architecture, but obviously the marketing people played it safe and wanted this chip to benefit from the well-known GeForce brand name. (More @ the Source: rivastation.com)

      
      

      Where The Hell Is Mafia?!....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:38 AM MST Friday, March 2, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Armani suits, penthouse suites, and pristine Cadillacs--whoever said that crime doesn't pay was clearly delusional. We've all seen some of the most famous Mafia dons in history strutting their stuff on camera as if to taunt the law. With glamour like that, who wouldn't imagine for a brief moment living a life of crime? So where the hell is Mafia? (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      

      Tribes 2 Interview....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 10:37 AM MST Friday, March 2, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Released in early 1999, Starsiege Tribes was well-received by many action fans, and for good reason. It offered a fresh form of gameplay to the first person shooter genre thanks to its focus on cooperative gaming in a multiplayer environment. While still providing simple modes such as deathmatch, Tribes thrived on situations that encouraged teamwork, with players assuming different responsibilities to better ensure victory against competing groups. Considering the nature of the game and its commercial success, it seemed only fitting that Tribes would spawn a loyal community. It is one that has remained relatively intact up to this day, which can be attributed to fans' continued enjoyment of the title, and better yet, to the fact that there is more to come. (More @ the Source: actionvault.ign.com)

      
      Thursday, March 1, 2001

      New Gore Screenshots ....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 6:20 PM MST Thursday, March 1, 2001 [Comment on news]
      NOT FOR THE KIDDIES AT ALL>>>>>>>>>>They have added some new up close and personal screenshots, most of them showing off the gruesome facial pain animations and our bullet hole effects. Bloody bullet holes attach exactly where you shoot your victim, along with spewing blood effects, pain screams and facial animations that are in sync with the pain sounds. Gore also matches damage types, direction, and location to provide an accurate pain act for the event. (More @ the Source: 4drulers.com)

      
      

      GORE!....
      Posted by [Luckee] @ 6:15 PM MST Thursday, March 1, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Just got word from 4D Rulers Software, The Gore Multiplayer Test demo is on the way, and will go public next week. We've integrated gamespy right into Gore so you can find games on the connect menu right when the game loads. The demo has three levels, and three characters to play with, each having their own special abilities. Light, agile and quick female player, Medium built male player, and the heavy bartender character. Weapons included in the demo are pistol, shotgun with defensive shield, riotgun with secondary nerve gas grenades, Rocket launcher with secondary bouncing grenades, Sniper Rifle with secondary energy drain, and the flame thrower with secondary fire bombs. These characters have some limited melee combat skills as well. The bartender can knock someone out with one beercan upside the head, so look out for him when he is up close. The 4D Staff as well as our coding partners Eyecon and Slam are very excited to play against our fans online and will have servers running at 4D.

      
      

      WOW What A Card.....The GeForce 3!! ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 11:08 AM MST Thursday, March 1, 2001 [Comment on news]
      On the first look some other numbers make it seem as if GeForce 3 shares quite a few hardware features with its predecessor GeForce 2. There are still four pixel pipelines and two simultaneous textures that can be applied to a pixel. The memory interface is still 128-bit wide and clocked at 230 MHz (460 MHz DDR), which seems to make it identical to GeForce 2 Ultra. The core clock of GeForce 3 is with 200 MHz even lower than the 250 MHz found on GeForce 2 Ultra cards. As you read on you will learn however, that the 57 million transistors of GeForce3 were certainly not wasted. Even though GeForce3 might have several general spec numbers that sound as if NVIDIA's new chip is only little advanced over the GeForce 2 line of 3D-chips, you will find that almost each feature of GeForce 2 was significantly advanced, making GeForce 3 a chip with several excellent technologies that even put GeForce 2 Ultra cards to shame. Let's go through those advances one by one. (More @ the Source: tomshardware.com)

      
      

      Elite Force Add-on Interview....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:27 AM MST Thursday, March 1, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Daily Radar: What's the title of the new expansion pack? What sort of new single-player experience will there be? And how many new "levels" will there be?Kenn Hoekstra: The title is still up in the air at this time. Star Trek: Voyager -- Elite Force is a pretty long title as it is, so we're trying to decide how to add to it without running the title over to the back of the box! We'll keep you posted... As far as the new single-player elements go, we have the Virtual Voyager mode (or tour mode, as it was originally known), featuring all of the major areas of the USS Voyager. You can interact with the crew and the environment as well as read ship's logs and technical information. There are mission objectives as well, and a hunt to find 14 secret items. We also have several Holo-Missions built in to the Virtual Voyager mode, including a Captain Proton mission, a Klingon stealth and infiltration mission, a firing range and a garden relaxation program that goes awry. These combine for a total of 16 new single-player maps, if you include the Voyager levels that are part of the tour. (More @ the Source: dailyradar.com)

      
      

      Top 10 Best/Worst Ways To Die....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:21 AM MST Thursday, March 1, 2001 [Comment on news]
      When it comes to a gaming career, there is one thing that is inevitable: death. Dying. Getting fragged. Pw33n3d. You get the idea -- unless you are Kornelia, GameSpy's professional gamer, who happens to be a robot. Well, StoneWolf and CitizenC are back, with the Top 10 Best/Worst Ways To Die! (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

      
      

      Inevitable Entertainment's Tech Demo ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:18 AM MST Thursday, March 1, 2001 [Comment on news]
      Check out the NVIDIA's site showing off a really killer looking tech demo for the GeForce3. It's made by Inevitable Evolution, and according to our own Brian Evan "The guys at Inevitable Evolution didn't even have a GF3 card, they just took the developer tools off NVIDIAs website and programmed the demo. To view it, they had to use a software rasterizer and it was EXTREMELY slow...then they just sent it to NVIDIA out of the blue..." Very very impressive! Here's two of the shots to drool over, and when you're done click the headline to see the rest. (More @ the Source: nvidia.com)

      
      

      Quake 3 Madness Interview ....
      Posted by [NewsStaff] @ 9:15 AM MST Thursday, March 1, 2001 [Comment on news]
      The Online Game Review has posted an interview with Jason "Dark" Haun, one of the team who is working on the Quake III Mod called "Quake III Madness". (More @ the Source: onlinegamereview.com)