July 2001

Payne vs Nukem ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:17 AM MDT Tuesday, July 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
Old Married Guys have written a feature to sort through the various strengths, weaknesses and quirks of Duke Nukem and Max Payne and have tallied the votes to see who is the Number One Video Game Good Guy.

All in Wonder Radeon Video Card Review....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:12 AM MDT Tuesday, July 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
The first card in ATI's All In Wonder (AIW) line was called the All In Wonder card. Based on the Rage Pro Turbo chip of about three years ago, the AIW is still a popular budget card due to its integration of a TV Tuner and its ability to use hardware motion compensation. Tech Extreme has posted up a review on this card. You can check it out here.

Military Forces Q3 Alpha Released ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:08 AM MDT Tuesday, July 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Military Forces Quake 3 mod has now been released. Alpha 0.37 is only a 16 megabyte download and lets players fly around in some of the planes. Also, this release contains full development information for those that want to create maps and models for the mod. (More @ the Source: planetquake.com)

Top 50 Games of All Time (31-40)....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:05 AM MDT Tuesday, July 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
The countdown continues as GameSpy takes a look at games 31-40 in their Top 50 Games of All Time series. (More @ the Source: gamespy.com)

Hitman: Codename 47 ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:01 AM MDT Tuesday, July 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
With all the elements there for the makings of a terrific game, you would think that Hitman: Codename 47 would have flown off the shelves. It didn't -- according to 3D Action Planet's Tech21, problems plaguing the demo release and more marred what could have been a real crowd pleaser. See what he thinks robbed a great game of a deserving audience. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

Super Heroes 3 Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 6:58 AM MDT Tuesday, July 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
There's a Super Heroes 3 interview on Q3 Center discussing progress on the upcoming Quake III Arena version of this mod that has also had versions for Quake II and Quake. The plan is to release the debut version of the mod at this year's QuakeCon, there are also some new screenshots.

UnrealGod ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 6:48 AM MDT Tuesday, July 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
An open beta of the UnrealGod modification is now available, offering Unreal Tournament gameplay with a twist: the presence of a player in the role of "god," much the way pen-an-paper RPGs have a dungeon master. (More @ the Source: planetunreal.com)

World War II Online Update....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 6:46 AM MDT Tuesday, July 31, 2001 [Comment on news]
An update to the official World War II Online website has some of the aftermath of the version 120 update released last week. The story describes what has been changed and fixed, going on to describe other issues that remain, leaving the possibility open that an interim version 121 will be made available before the version 130 patch that's planned as the next major update. More information on the 121 patch may be released by this weekend, and would be based on whether or not they can address high-priority issues like "CTD problems using Shift-Escape, 'blue sky', and army base capture side switch" and medium priority items like: "bad vehicle lists, Russian flags and non-capturable facilities, hanging at spawn screen, and 'purple sky' problems." (More @ the Source: playnet.com)

Operation Flashpoint Upgrades Imminent ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:21 PM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
Operation Flashpoint Network recieved an update from Codemasters today with news of some upgrades for Operation Flashpoint.

Operation Flashpoint Upgrades Imminent

The first upgrades for Operation Flashpoint are now complete, and in the final phase of testing.

Improving many aspects of the game, offering such enhancements as accurate shadow-casting for weapons and improved aircraft handling, the first will be available for distribution later this week. Following on from this, the second upgrade package will be released a few days later. This will contain new single and multi-player missions, a brand new weapon, and additional vehicles. Players will now be able to control both the Soviet SU-25 "Frogfoot" heavy bomber and the American M-163 "Vulcan" anti-aircraft defense vehicle. Infantry will also be able to engage their enemies with the "Kozlice" dual-barrel hunting rifle and shotgun.

Quake III Arena Status Update....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:14 PM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
id Software's Robert Duffy updated his .plan this evening with information on the status of Quake III Arena, including the news that a new patch to correct problems with the previous release is being tested.

We have made the fixes we wanted to make to the latest version, including having the proper pak files in the full installer. We did not make any input code changes between 1.29f and 1.29g, but we did link with a different version of Directx ti get NT Sound functioning properly. This fixed NT 4.0 sound but produced an FPS loss on some systems and changed the way input was working as well which allowed in_mouse == -1 to work like some folks like but causes mouse wheel problems under some versions of Intellipoint. We have since done the following:

-Re-linked to a later version of DirectX.
-Set Directx up to use sound compatible with Directx 3
-Made one small tweak to the input code which allows in_mouse to function correctly when set to -1 ( old sensitivity ) this should make both input camps happy.
-Fixed a potential server crash.

We are testing this now and should release it in the am.

New utLobby....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:49 AM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
Version 2.1 of utLobby, an Unreal Tournament server browser and monitoring tool has been released. utLobby sits in the user's system tray, and in addition to its standard suite of server monitoring functions, it can publish game information to a live web page and let players waiting to join the server chat with each other.

Soldier of Fortune: Platinum Edition Details....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:48 AM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
HomeLAN has posted details on the Soldier of Fortune Platinum Edition, a re-release of SoF that's set to be released at the end of August. This information comes by way of Raven's Kenn Hoekstra, and according to him the package will contain the latest version of SoF, the Brady Games strategy guide (in PDF format), five new multiplayer maps and a trailer for Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix. Also mentioned is that a patch to upgrade the standard (or gold) release to this version will most likely be released. (More @ the Source: homelanfed.com)

Strike Force News....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:17 AM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Strike Force Team says that they will now let the community at large have access to all releases (including unofficial releases ) of their popular Unreal Tournament modification. The SF team believes this move will help them squash more bugs and give the community a better understanding of what's being put into the mod.

FPS Guide for Beginners ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:09 AM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
CyberForces Gaming Nation (CFGN) has posted a new article which provides some good info and tips for gamers new to playing First-Person-Shooter titles. The article talks a bit about configs, then provides specific hints for Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Q3 Arena, and other popular FPS games.

Top 50 Games....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:07 AM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
This morning GameSpy has also started a "top games" countdown. In this feature they count votes from developers, freelance press, and in-house staff and plan to count down the Top 50 games of all time. Today's feature covers games 50 to 41.

Top Ten Games Of All Time ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:07 AM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Tech Zone has posted a new article which covers what they see as the best ten games ever made. It's really no surprise to see that this list starts with Doom and includes bits on other games including Quake, Diablo, the SimCity series, and more.

Green Berets Shipping....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:05 AM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
Take-Two Interactive Software has announced that Green Berets (Powered by Myth II) began shipping to retailers nationwide today. Green Berets is a squad based tactical game set in the treacherous jungles of Southeast Asia. In this game you plan your surgical strike and sneak deep behind enemy lines to attack your enemy head on in 10 missions through rice paddies, underground tunnels, and other detailed terrains.

Intel Pentium III 1.2GHz Review....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:03 AM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
Today Intel officially unveiled its "Tualatin" Pentium III processors, launching at clock speeds of 1.13GHz and 1.2GHz on the desktop. Find out how fast the 1.2GHz chip performs in comparison to Pentium 4 and Athlon at default clock speeds and overclocked to speeds approaching 1.5GHz in the FiringSquad's Pentium III 1.2GHz review.

Opera Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 6:59 AM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
Needbackup.net has posted up an interview with the Opera team talking about their Half-Life modification. Here's a snip:

(Needbackup): I have been told that there is some excellent cheat detection in your mod tell me about it.

(Cruise): Well, quite a few of us, our lead programmer Nighthawk especially, really hate cheaters, and so we were determined to prevent them as best we could. We actually scan players computers for any and all known cheats, which allows us to catch quite a few that other mod's don't. Some people have complained about it, but we think the slight "cheekiness" of it is well worth it for a cheat free game.

ArenaScout Version 1.2 ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 6:48 AM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
A new version 1.2 of the ArenaScout IRC server browser for Quake III Arena is now available. ArenaScout is a script that's run from within mIRC that is nonetheless quite feature-rich, offering a favorites list, the ability to store passwords, a list of friends to search for online, as well as some IRC-specific functions, like changing your nick automatically when you depart the channel to join a game.

Red Faction Screenshots....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 6:45 AM MDT Monday, July 30, 2001 [Comment on news]
Red Faction PC Enhancements on The Adrenaline Vault is another article on what Volition is doing to differentiate the PC version of Red Faction from the console version, and along with the report are new screenshots showing off both multiplayer play and the game's editor (they've also posted a batch of new single-player screenshots).

The week in review: Worm worries....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:52 AM MDT Sunday, July 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
Although it didn't reach the epidemic stages of other virulent worms, SirCam threatened to delete or e-mail files from the more than 140,000 computers it reportedly infected this week. (More @ the Source: news.cnet.com) shoot.. call a pro to remove this virus:) heheheh

DoD Central Opens....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:46 AM MDT Sunday, July 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
DoD Central has opened up, covering everything Day of Defeat related. To celebrate their opening comes an interview with DoD mapper Munro. Here’s a snip:

Munro: What is the main map you are currently working on for DoD? And what is it about?
Reiben: my main 'known map' (<-- what's that about?! :D) is called dod_neuville it is based (heavily) upon the town in the film Saving Private Ryan by the same name (Neuville). I found whilst watching the film - that it was a good idea for a DoD map, being not to big for the engine - whilst having a good amount of resemblance, and playability to it. (More @ the Source: dod-central.com)

Legends of Might & Magic Review....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:41 AM MDT Sunday, July 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
3DO and New World Computing attempt to cast a spell on Counter-Strike fans with Legends of Might & Magic, a fantasy-based teamplay game. But can players be distracted from their modern day arms long enough to succumb? Checkout The Adrenaline Vault's review here.

Max Payne Review....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:38 AM MDT Sunday, July 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Old Married Guys have reviewed Remedy's third person shooter, Max Payne. They seemed to like it quite a bit. Here's a snip:

As we’ve seen from past reviews, just because a game is a new release doesn’t mean it’s going to look the part, so what about this game? Max Payne has a wow factor of 10. Screenshots don’t do this game justice, and the screenshots look great. Max Payne’s visuals come courtesy of Remedy’s very own cutting edge 3D gaming engine called Max-FX. It’s the first game ever to use Photo digitized textures, radiosity lighting, and Hardware T&L together in one package which translates into one very realistic looking game. The characters, which use a technology called skeletal animation to make them move realistically, have never looked so real in a game before. The sets, New York City streets buried under snow practically, look like the real thing. I was also very impressed at how fast the game runs. I ran the game at 1024x768 resolution with 32 bit colors and textures as well as every option cranked to the max (btw, I use an Athlon 1.4Ghz, Geforce 2 32mb, and 384mb ram) and the game ran great.

Codename: Outbreak Preview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:34 AM MDT Sunday, July 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
GamesDomain.com has posted a preview of the upcoming Codename: Outbreak, which is being developed by Game World GSC. Here's part of the intro:

Ok, so here's the story. Not so far into the future, a comet is careening towards the Earth, but rather than obliterating all human life (which would have made a rather short game), it instead passed close by and littered the surface of the planet with meteorites. Then, research staff who were assigned to examine the meteorites mysteriously stop responding to communications, as do police and military units sent in to investigate. It's time for you, you lucky thing, as a member of an elite strike force to go in there and sort it out.

Feel the nForce....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:31 AM MDT Sunday, July 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
Nvidia is banking on sales of its nForce AMD Athlon-oriented chipset to provide a significant boost to its bottom line - the company suspects nForce sales will account of ten per cent of its revenues next year. (More @ the Source: eurogamer.net)

The Specialists Interview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:13 AM MDT Sunday, July 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
ActionNation.com talks with John_Matrix, the weapons modeler on The Specialists, an upcoming modification for Half-Life. Here's a snip:

Question: Can you give a brief description of what The Specialists is about?

Answer: TS is a total conversion for HalfLife that gives to players more moving freedom (dives, rolls, climbing/clinging abilities) really dangerous weapons (few shots and you're down), a great arsenal to choose in, and it's possible to add real life items on these weapons: silencers lasersights, flashlights, scopes and so on.

Operation Flashpoint Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:09 AM MDT Sunday, July 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
There's an Interview with David Solari on Operation-FlashPoint.Dk talking with the senior marketing manager at Codemasters about the upcoming patch that will add "2 new vehicles and a new weapon, 2 single missions and 5 Mplay missions" to Operation Flashpoint in the first of a planned series of updates that will come out every couple of months to add new content to the game. The conversation also covers other plans for the future of the game, including possible improvements to the mission/scripting tutorial, whether the mission editor will be updated, and more. (More @ the Source: operation-flashpoint.dk)

Incoming Forces Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:09 AM MDT Sunday, July 29, 2001 [Comment on news]
HomeLan's Incoming Forces Interview talks with Martin Kitney, seeing what the product manager for Rage has to say about Incoming Forces, the upcoming follow-up to the original Incoming, known for both the eye-candy of its 3D graphics and the blistering pace of its non-stop action. The conversation covers the newly-added multiplayer capability, the features of the new engine, the settings in which the sequel will be placed, and even the "storyline" (which in the original Incoming, was basically the title). (More @ the Source: homelanfed.com)

Jedi Knight II Preview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:12 AM MDT Saturday, July 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
PC.IGN managed to get a look at Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, and so they have written an updated preview of the game. The preview doesn't contain any new screenshots, but it is based on a look at a more recent build of the game, and so it has some new gameplay details. (More @ the Source: pc.ign.com)

TRIBES 2 Beta Demo....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:11 AM MDT Saturday, July 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
As promised, Dynamix has released a public beta demo of TRIBES 2 at the official Tribes 2 Central Download site, offering you a chance to try out their multiplayer shooter in case you haven't bought the full game yet. This demo weighs in at 78.4 MB, includes one CTF and one Hunters map, and is not supported by Sierra. (More @ the Source: tribes2centraldownload.com)

Giants Japanese Patch....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:09 AM MDT Saturday, July 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
Japanese distributor Imagineer has posted a version 1.4 patch for Giants: Citizen Kabuto, bringing the Japanese edition of Planet Moon's three-class third-person action game in sync with the English version released last month.

Max Payne Review....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:39 AM MDT Saturday, July 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
There's a good review of Max Payne over at Gamespot. I must say I'm not much of a 3rd person shooter fan but after playing this a tad last night, I'm a changed man!:) ,,,,,,,,,,,,Here's a lil' nib....

Bullet time is spectacular. The sounds of gunfire become muted and distant, and you hear a rush of air and then the pounding of Max's heart--and you'll invariably hold your own breath as all this happens, because the effect is so well done. Bullet time isn't just for show--it effectively gives Max superhuman reflexes, as while all the action in the game is slowed, you can still aim as quickly as you can move your mouse. Hence, bullet time lets you perform incredible feats of marksmanship--and, in combination with the movement keys, deadly acrobatic leaps in any direction. This particular technique, called a "shootdodge," is the key to surviving most of the game's gunfights. As you launch yourself through the air, you'll actually see the enemy's bullets (or shotgun pellets) zing past you, even as you keep your weapons trained and firing on the enemy as you sail by. Bullet time is a serious advantage, but you're limited to using it in small increments and thus can't afford to use it unless you really need it. Not only does this make the game seem very well balanced--especially since taking out bad guys is how you replenish your bullet time--but it also keeps the effect from feeling too overused.

Max will brandish an impressive variety of highly authentic real-world weapons throughout the game, including pistols, submachine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, grenades, Molotov cocktails, and more. He can carry as many weapons as he can get his hands on, though you'll have to keep track of your ammunition reserves. There will always be plenty of bad guys around to soak up all your lead, so you'll have to use your different weapons as strategically and as conservatively as possible. Besides, Max is rather vulnerable--a bullet in the head, let alone a grenade, can kill him. But he can unflinchingly withstand relatively minor wounds. You can then completely recover the damage he's sustained by using painkillers, which you'll find scattered about in desks and bathrooms and such.

AvP2: Volume 1 ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:29 AM MDT Saturday, July 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
Check out the AvP2 Diaries over at gamespy here a nibble:

Fans of AvP, rejoice! AvP2 is on its way, and in our first developer diary we look at its progress.

William Westwater, lead designer on AvP2: It's late July now. This week, we finally put our new multiplayer maps to bed, and that happily includes a few new ways to play.

Not to say that the basic Deathmatch isn't a blast. Actually, we started there, tuning the weapons and characters speeds to get a decent balance. This is tricky because of the three species: Alien, Predator, and Marine.

Take the Predator. Against humans, Predators tend to hide in the corner, cloak, switch into thermal vision, and then strike from a distance. (Well, most do; Brice, one of our artists, likes to hide in the rafters and then drop down and cut me in half with his two-handed spear.)

Against Aliens, Predators prefer to stay away from corners and tight spaces since the Aliens are fast and can sense cloaked Predators. It's best to see the Alien at a distance and take him out as he approaches either with a shoulder cannon blast or a well-timed spear slice.

3D World War II Update....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:23 AM MDT Saturday, July 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
Dennis Sloutsky over at GameActive Networks sent along a quick update here's a snip:

I would like to update you on the status of 3D World War II development - the current build is v2.7, while the final version will be v3. At this point we're done with most development, only things remaining are finishing up the in-game music, fixing up bugs (the beta testing process is going on right now) and implementing a few small features, as well as creating a new introduction movie for the game.

Red Faction Dev Update....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:20 AM MDT Saturday, July 28, 2001 [Comment on news]
VoodooExtreme has posted a quick update from Publisher THQ regarding the progress on the PC version of Red Faction. The update includes details on multiplayer development and more check it out here: (More @ the Source: voodooextreme.com)

On Quake IV Rumors ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 11:34 AM MDT Friday, July 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
Following up on their speculative Quake 4 story a couple of weeks ago (story), a new report on Computer and Video Games titled "Raven takes Quake 4 from Carmack" offers further fuel to this rumor, saying "several independent insiders, under conditions of strict anonymity, have now confirmed that the project is well down the line at Raven and will almost certainly be shown at QuakeCon." As pointed out in the article, "Activision is refusing to discuss the subject on or off the record." On an equally speculative note, Raven Flies Quake 4 Flag on FGN likewise cites "reliable sources," agreeing that Quake 4 (IV?) will be unveiled at QuakeCon, and adds an even more speculative release date as "late 2003." Rounding out the no comments on this, they point out that Raven likewise has not yet responded to their requests for a comment on these rumors. (More @ the Source: fgnonline.com/Bluenews)

Serious Fortress Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:26 AM MDT Friday, July 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
Fortress Center has been lucky enough to interview Bwian Miller, lead mapper and webmaster of the Serious Fortress mod team. A variety of subjects are discussed, including what you can expect, and how Serious Fortress will live up to other TF mods. Here's a snip:

FC: Why did you decide to add another chapter to the Team Fortress series using Serious Sam?

BM: Designing games is something that we've wanted to do for years, and we wanted to make a class based game for a good engine. Serious Sam came around at the perfect time. We've been designing the actual game since we first saw the Serious Sam Public Test 1. We chose a Team Fortress modification because we would rather not venture into the 'super-realistic' road a lot of mods have decided to approach (this isn't to say we don't like them, but we wanted to make something different).

Cyber-games Make Children Brighter....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:14 AM MDT Friday, July 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
While a recent report showed videogames cause violent behavior, a new study by the British Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and reported in this Sunday Times story shows what many gamers already know; games improve reflexes and concentration. The government-funded study also shows that those who play games tend to be better adjusted socially.

"They seemed able to focus on what they were doing much better than other people and also had better general co-ordination. Overall there was a huge similarity with top-level athletes. The skills they learnt on computers seem to transfer to the real world," said Jason Rutter of the ESRC's centre for research on innovation and competition at Manchester University.

From Dusk Till Dawn ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:11 AM MDT Friday, July 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
It's five years now since Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino unleashed their cult horror movie From Dusk Till Dawn on an unsuspecting public. But with a DVD edition of the film on its way in Europe, French publisher Cryo is hoping to cash-in on the renewed interest with a vampire-slaying action game based on the movie. EuroGamer grabbed an array of sharp wooden implements and moved in to investigate a preview version of the game.

Hercules MX 400 Review....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:07 AM MDT Friday, July 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
PC.IGN has posted a review of the Hercules 3D Prophet II MX 400 video card. Here's a bit:

"The MX400 performs pretty well in 3D Mark 2001 (available from MadOnion). While it trails behind the GTS – which is to be expected - it does manage to best the Radeon LE in the lower resolutions. Also performing as expected, the higher speed of the core and memory make for a small but noticeable performance increase from the original MX core."

Jeremy Soule Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:04 AM MDT Friday, July 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Armchair Empire interviews Jeremy Soule talking with the composer of music for games like Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Icewind Dale, and Total Annihilation. (More @ the Source: armchairempire.com)

TRIBES 2 Tourney....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:03 AM MDT Friday, July 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
D-Link, Sierra, and VitalStream Announce Alliance to Deliver Free Tribes 2 Summer of Champions Tournaments is the press release announcing "Summer Games 2001," culminating in a "Tournament of Champions," to be followed-up by an open "End of Summer Deathmatch." Over $30,000 of prizes are being offered for this free 5-on-5 teamplay event, for which sign-ups have already begun on this page.

Max Payne 1.01 Patch Released....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:01 AM MDT Friday, July 27, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Max Payne Version 1.01 FAQ on the Remedy website has word that the Max Payne patch that's been in the works is now available. (More @ the Source: remedy.fi)

Max Payne Patch Details....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 12:56 PM MDT Thursday, July 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
Remedy has updated their site with details on the Max Payne version 1.01 patch which they say is currently in testing and should be released later today. Here are the details:

We've finished a patch (download size: 6.2 MB) which is now in testing and will be hopefully released later today. Download information will be available here and at 3D Realms' homepage.

We're sorry for any problems caused for people who couldn't get the game to run, or it had stability problems. If there are still problems after this patch, we will do our best to get them fixed ASAP.

Max Payne Development Team.

The patch to version 1.01 addresses the following issues:

- Exit to desktop stability issues addressed:
The issues with the game crashing into Windows' desktop when loading a new map have been addressed.

- Game doesn't start with some CD-Rom drives:
A newer version of SafeDisc copy protection is used. If the game still doesn't start up, please contact support@talonsoft.com

Red Faction Multiplayer Details....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 12:52 PM MDT Thursday, July 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
Gaming site gameplay has a preview of the PC and Mac OS version of Red Faction online this afternoon. The preview is brief, but it does contain quotes from THQ Europe's Asam Ahmad who provides the first concrete details on the multiplayer options that will be available in this version, along with a couple of screenshots, although it would appear that they cannot be enlarged. (More @ the Source: gameplay.com)

MOA New Screens....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:26 AM MDT Thursday, July 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
Gamespot has 6 news pics up from Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Here's 3 of them.

The rest can be found
Here

Max Payne....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:03 AM MDT Thursday, July 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
Is Max Payne Worth $50 Bucks????????

Let us know: (More @ the Source: PCShooter forum)

Max Payne Review....
Posted by [luckee] @ 8:50 AM MDT Thursday, July 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
I saw Over at shuga shack a little review on Max Payne, here it is:

Well I played through Max Payne yesterday and finished it, so here's my little mini review (this is gonna be a lengthy FP). Remedy has created a fun, stylish, 3rd person shooter that while not exactly memorable, is a nice way to spend a weekend. It took me about 14 hours to play through the game, and was entertained for pretty much the entire game. I actually developed a strong disliking of the game in the first 2 levels, in the NY subway, but after that it picks up and gets much better. There's a great range of weapons, the slowmo option is actually useful and not just gimmicky, and the levels are very diverse. I never found myself bored, and it's pretty hard to get stuck in the levels. Story did nothing for me though, and I was annoyed at the overly dramatic voice acting from time to time.

The few gripes I have with the game are mostly minor. For one thing, the characters dont have moving mouths while talking in cut scenes. Since this has been in games for a couple of years now, you'd figure they would have this in. Nope. Not even a moving skin texture. Just Max and whoever is talking performing some idle animations. With a development time of over 3 years you wonder why this wasn't included. Another gripe of mine would be the dream sequences. It's fun the first time, but the level (which is fortunately the only jump puzzle like level) get rehashed later in the game, quickly losing its effect. But compared to the great gameplay of 95% of the game, this is minor stuff. I did have several Win2k crashes, and while a driver and DirectX upgrade decreased the frequency of crashes, there were still several occasions where Win2k would just reboot or kick me out of the game. Good game? Certainly. Worth $50? I'd say $30-40 is about a fair price for what Max Payne offers, which is about 15 hours of action filled gameplay. I'd recommend waiting for the demo though to see if this game is for you.

Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force Expansion Pack ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 8:05 AM MDT Thursday, July 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
Although barely different from Unreal Tournament and Quake 3, multiplayer Elite Force, with its epic phaser battles across cargo bays and the familiar sound of photon torpedoes, has a charm all of its own.

This expansion pack disappointingly doesn’t expand on the original’s truncated single-player campaign, but does offer some added longevity for fans of the multiplayer ‘Holomatch’.

As well as the expected raft of new skins and maps, several new game modes have been added. 'Action Hero' gives one player regenerating health and every weapon, but is worth five frags when killed. There’s also ‘Assimilation’, which is a bit like perennial playground fave British Bulldog in that the Borg players assimilate defeated players onto their team. (More @ the Source: pcgameplay.co.uk)

Max Payne GF3+Win2K+Athlon Problem ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 8:01 AM MDT Thursday, July 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
Over at VE that there's a post by Petri Järvilehto, project leader of Max Payne at Remedy regarding a problem with exiting to the desktop if you have a GeForce3+Win2K+Athlon combo:

Just wanted to let you know that we're aware of the problems.
It seems that with GF3 + Win2k + Athlon combination the game is exiting to desktop when loading a new map.

The game has been tested with different GF3/Athlon configs, and was developed mostly on Geforce+Win2k machines, so at the moment we are assuming that this is an issue with the user configuration (some drivers conflicting with each other or something).

As of yet, we haven't been able to re-create the problem at our office, so I can't give you any solid info. As soon as we get the game to crash here as well, we should be able to figure out how the problem can be fixed. In all probability a patch won't be needed. Will keep you guys posted.

Hercules Game Theater XP Sound Card....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:40 AM MDT Thursday, July 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
Bench-House has tested the Hercules Game Theater XP sound card. Here's a snip:

When somebody mentions Hercules, the first thing that will come to most minds is excellent graphic cards this company manufactures. After Guillemot's acquisition, Hercules expanded its range of products. Besides excellent graphic cards, their offer now contains few models of sound cards, scanners and one video editing card. It is likely that such hardware will take even more space in Hercules' future offers. These expectations were confirmed by the sound card we tested. Game Theater XP represents an excellent product that aims the top. It is also a great rival to Creative's Live! (Platinum).

Global Ops Screenshots....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:31 AM MDT Thursday, July 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
GameSpot has new screenshots of Barking Dog's squad-based shooter in action: Global Ops. You can check them out here.

PlanetSide Info....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:27 AM MDT Thursday, July 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
PlanetSide has some information on the Empires to be featured in its massively-multiplayer action game which is set to be released next year (it got pushed back a bit). Included, are two new shots. (More @ the Source: station.sony.com)

Tribes 2 Strategy Guide....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:22 AM MDT Thursday, July 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Stratos Group has posted their unofficial Tribes 2 Strategy Guide which includes a Tribes 2 weapons spreadsheet, guides for the the CTF game type, and lots more. (More @ the Source: stratosgroup.com)

Medal of Honor: AA Trailer....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:17 AM MDT Thursday, July 26, 2001 [Comment on news]
EA has released the second official trailer for their new FPS title Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. You can grab the file from the official website.

True Combat Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 3:53 PM MDT Wednesday, July 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
Q3Center has posted an interview with Tier from the True Combat Quake 3 mod team. The new release of the mod comes out this Friday. They talk about the gameplay, game modes, and other related topics. (More @ the Source: q3center.com)

World War II Online Patch....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 3:44 PM MDT Wednesday, July 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
Cornered Rat Software and Playnet have released the eagerly-anticipated version 120 patch for World War II Online: Blitzkrieg. You can download the 19 MB file and upgrade within the game, or you can also get manual patches for both the previous version 112 and the original game from the WWII Online Downloads page.

Savage Palace Q3 Map Review....
Posted by [luckee] @ 11:01 AM MDT Wednesday, July 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
Certain maps have a complete originality about them, offering architecture and game play that is slightly different to what the norm is. As well, some maps follow a tried and tested formula of structure and focus. This is the case with Savage Palace. It seems to follow the common model for the majority of Q3A DM maps. Now, this isn’t a bad thing people. The reason this type of map is “tried and tested” is because it offers something worthwhile in the form of a solid, basic Q3A death match. (More @ the Source: zaxis.stomped.com)

Operation: Flashpoint Interview....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:20 AM MDT Wednesday, July 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
HomeLAN Fed has posted an interview with David Solari about the tactical shooter, Operation Flashpoint. Here's a lil snip:

HomeLAN - It's very unusual to have a high profile game like this not be sold first in the U.S. Why was the decision made to hold off on the U.S. release?

David Solari - We felt that it was really important to get the dedicated server support in for the US version. The US has a far larger online gaming community than Europe and therefore we wanted to offer the best gaming experience we could to that community.

HomeLAN - What can you tell us about plans for a patch for the European release in terms of when it will be released and what it will contain?

David Solari - We hope to release monthly patches, these will include, bug fixes, new missions, new weapons and new vehicles. For July we hope to have a patch including 2 vehicles, 1 weapon, 2 single player missions and 5 multi-player missions. (More @ the Source: homelanfed.com)

ATI Interview ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:27 AM MDT Wednesday, July 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
Sharky Extreme has an interview up with ATI's President, Dave Orton. This interview is quite interesting, here's a snip:

There has been a lot of recent buzz regarding the Geforce3's support of programmable pixel and vertex shaders and their accompanying "leap forward" in 3D graphics detail. What are the differences in terms of rendering quality between ATi's method of per-pixel/vertex manipulation vs. those used by nVidia in the Geforce3? Will we happy Radeon owners see a similar leap forward in image quality? (More @ the Source: sharkyextreme.com)

PC Gaming As An Industry....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 8:00 AM MDT Wednesday, July 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Avault has posted the sixth edition of their column discussing PC Gaming As An Industry. Today's column touches on gaming media and goes in-depth on the E3 show and how some of the "Best of Show" awards are picked.

Epic Games FAQ ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:56 AM MDT Wednesday, July 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
A new Epic Games FAQ is now online, answering just about every question you might have about the company. (More @ the Source: epicgames.com)

World War II Online Update....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:52 AM MDT Wednesday, July 25, 2001 [Comment on news]
The World War II Online website has a couple of updates describing the decision-making process surrounding plans to release the new version 120 patch, weighing the benefits of getting fixed clients out the door versus the downside of needing to leave version 112 servers online, and possibly having to create a downgrade patch (as well as the fact that a fix for the "CTHL" bug remains elusive). The upshot is that they've decided to release the patch shortly, at least in part because they now believe the CTHL problem is not on the client's side. (More @ the Source: playnet.com)

Top 10 Graphics Boards for Gamers....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:57 AM MDT Tuesday, July 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
PCWorld reviews their top 10 game boards using a series of OpenGL-based game benchmarks. Here's a snip:

WHAT'S HOT: This ELSA budget card's overall speed performance was in line with the other GeForce2 MX boards we've evaluated. In Quake III at 1024-by-768-pixel resolution and 32-bit color, this board's score of 51 frames per second put it 5 fps lower than the Hercules 3D Prophet II MX. While boards such as the ELSA Gladiac MX aren't designed for the hard-core gamer, the price is right for gamers who must stick to a tight budget.

WHAT'S NOT: While this card's overall image quality was Good, it displayed choppy animation in Unreal Tournament, and the colors were faded and lacked contrast in both Unreal Tournament and Quake III. It was unable to complete our Test Drive 6 test at the highest resolution, 1600 by 1200 at 32-bit color. At $139, this card is less of a deal than the other MX cards.

Op/Ed: Sequels....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:53 AM MDT Tuesday, July 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
EuroGamer has an interesting editorial entitled What's wrong with a sequel?. The editorial looks at the number of sequels and add-ons coming out in the not-too-distant future, and why it's not a bad thing. It's an interesting counterpoint to those that believe the industry has a lack of originality. (More @ the Source: eurogamer.net)

Extreme Gaming PC Buyer's Guide ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:50 AM MDT Tuesday, July 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
Sharky Extreme has posted up, in response to reader demand, a third category of gaming pc buyer's guide, this time with a limit of $4000. Check out the system we ended up when given a limit that is not easily met without spending money just for the sake of spending it. (More @ the Source: sharkyextreme.com)

OCZ Ships Beefed-Up Version of GeForce 3 Card....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:49 AM MDT Tuesday, July 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
Building on the latest GeForce 3 video card with a revved-up, higher-bandwidth version, Idaho-based OCZ Technology has partnered with 3DChipset to offer its high-performance Titan 3 video adapter this month. (More @ the Source: techextreme.com)

Q3F Beta 2 Weapons....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:47 AM MDT Tuesday, July 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Q3F team has updated their mod website with seven new wallpapers which show new beta 2 weapons. The Nailgun, Super Nailgun and Grenade Launcher have had complete overhauls, while the Autosentry, Flamethrower, Dartgun and Single Barrel Shotgun are 'refined' versions. (More @ the Source: q3f.com)

Unreal II Preview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:44 AM MDT Tuesday, July 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
Unreal II is much more than a mere sequel to the 1998 blockbuster - it is a winning symbiosis of the three key elements: the prefect Unreal gameplay, Unreal Tournament multiplayer experience and a huge bunch of innovative features, which will surely make it incomparably better that all its predecessors. Check out this preview at ActionTrip.com.

id Software's Paul Jaquays .plan Update....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:41 AM MDT Tuesday, July 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
Paul Jaquays has updated his .plan file with more news on the QuakeCon 2001 Map Object Model Contest. Along with the selection of high calibre judges, the submission close has been solidified. You can read the whole update here.

Eight Things To Leave Out Of Thief 3....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:35 AM MDT Tuesday, July 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Thief games are a widely acclaimed series of First Person Shooters (Sneakers?) which brought new ideas to the slowing FPS universe. Thief 2 was not a giant leap technologically for the series, but it brought innovations and a finer feel to the Thief universe. Judging from the past record of the developers, we can only see a bright future for Thief 3. But a lot has changed since Thief 2. Will there be changes to the series as well? Hopefully only good changes, but here are eight changes that shouldn't happen to Thief 3. (More @ the Source: 3dactionplanet.com)

LithTech Q&A....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:31 AM MDT Tuesday, July 24, 2001 [Comment on news]
HomeLAN has conducted a Q&A with Dan White, the marketing manager at LithTech, Inc.. Naturally the questions focus on the LithTech engine, and Dan provides information on the latest release and comments on the engine licensing business. He also confirms that the engine will be ported to the Nintendo Gamecube, and says that Ghost Ops, which was recently shown in a LithTech engine demo, was a prototype created by Monolith and is not actually being developed as a full game at this time. (More @ the Source: homelanfed.com)

Quake 3 MAPS AND SKINS....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:43 AM MDT Monday, July 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
Here's are some links to some cool Quake3 maps and skins.......Check then
out: 

Max Payne shipping?....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:51 AM MDT Monday, July 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
Hmmm, here's an interesting little bit of news, according to VE reader Steve Hunn, Apogee Software has charged his credit card for pre-ordering Max Payne (don't worry, he did pre-order the game:) which means that 3D Realms must have copies of Max and is shipping them out today. Otherwise, they wouldn't bill the man's Visa card (as that's their policy). If you didn't pre-order, then most stores should have it in-stock on Friday. (Source: Voodooextreme.com)

ThrustMaster Firestorm Dual Power Gamepad Review....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:50 AM MDT Monday, July 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
Luckee has finished up his review of the ThrustMaster Firestorm Dual Power Gamepad. Here's his intro to get you started:

"Thrustmaster has been making controllers for a very long time, I first heard about their products when I got my CH Joystick for Christmas, which I played and played and was very impressed with. Thrustmaster has developed game pads before but nothing that live up to the Firestorm dual Power. Their products are a mainstay on many gamers' desktops."

Gravis Eliminator Gamepads Review....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:48 AM MDT Monday, July 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
Checkout our review of these cool little pads from gravis. Here's a snip:

I first heard of Gravis back when I was in college after I got my first computer and was introduced to the EA Sports Series. My first gamepad was the white, bone-shaped controller that had 4 buttons and a d-pad. Gravis has been a leader in the gaming hardware arena for years, and as ergonomic designs have improved, the Gravis gamepads have also improved. With the innovation of digital connections, Gravis was able to offer more buttons, axis controls and special features such as rumble effects. Today we will be doing a side by side comparison of two great Gravis gamepads: The Eliminator Pro and Eliminator Aftershock. (More @ the Source: pcshooter.com)

Doom III FAQs Posted....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:24 AM MDT Monday, July 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
The FAQs will you give an opportunity to gather some information regarding one of the most highly anticipated projects out there, which is, of course, Doom 3. Here's a lil snip:

What sort of engine will Doom 3 use? (Back)
The Doom 3 engine is going to be an extremely modified version of the Quake 3 codebase, if not an entirely new engine. On 9/18/00, John Carmack gave the impression that while the prospect of creating an entirely new engine from scratch was tantalizing, he had decided that there is no point in reinventing the wheel: "it is a huge help to have all the existing facilities of player movement, weapons, third person, noclip, cvars, console commands, etc, all present while I just concentrated on new rendering algorithms." However, on 10/23/00 Jim Dose had the following to say:

The engine is being completely rewritten, just piece-by-piece. Currently, the renderer, shader system, and game code are completely new. The cgame and network code have been removed. The animation system is currently being written from the ground up. The sound system and UI are still in place, but will be rewritten by Graeme and Robert when they are finished with the mission pack. At some point along the way, John will probably write a new network system.
So, even though we are not starting out with a blank sheet of paper, the final result will be a full rewrite. (More @ the Source: doomworld.com)

Broussard on Payne....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:50 AM MDT Monday, July 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
3D Realms owner George Broussard has penned a characteristically blunt update to his .plan concerning the status of 3DR/Remedy’s Max Payne. Here's a bit:

"Max Payne has been in duplication since July 16th," he says, "and as of July 20th, the bulk of the boxes will have been assembled and ready for shipping. The final boxes should start to hit the trucks on July 23rd and will arrive in stores around the 26th (in the US). 3DR pre-orders should be shipped very early next week, as we get our shipment from Take 2 on Monday."

NOLF Taunt Manager....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:34 AM MDT Monday, July 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
Black Angel Software offers a new tool for managing NOLF's taunts. In order to edit taunts without this handy tool, you'd have to do it by hand using a text editor. The NOLF Taunt Editor lets you edit Deathmatch, Unity and HAM taunts. There's even a screnshot of the editor available at the site. There's also a self-extracting version of the program here.

Aliens vs Predator 2 Preview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:31 AM MDT Monday, July 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
ArmChair Empire has posted a preview of Aliens vs Predator 2, the Lithtech-engined shooter being developed by the folks at Monolith. The preview includes a good description of what players will find when the game comes out later this year, as well as a few screenshots. (More @ the Source: armchairempire.com)

AvP 2 Screens ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:30 AM MDT Monday, July 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
Fox/Sierra has released 5 new screenshots of Aliens Versus Predator 2, which have been added to the image gallery over at AvPNews. You can view the new images here.

Half-Life Rally Shots ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:28 AM MDT Monday, July 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Half-Life Rally mod team has updated the HL Rally website with some new shots of Buznee's Lancia Stratos. Now there are 2 schemes for the Stratos: the Alitalia scheme and the Pirelli scheme. (More @ the Source: hlrally.net)

Warped for TRIBES 2 ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:21 AM MDT Monday, July 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
The debut release of the Warped modification for TRIBES 2 is now available, adding new weapons, armor, deployables, and more. The client is available for download, but be aware that the site is Flash-only.

New UT Night's Edge....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:20 AM MDT Monday, July 23, 2001 [Comment on news]
A new beta 4 of the Night's Edge mod for Unreal Tournament is now available. "This fixes the recently discovered vanishing armor bug, plus the off-center Vortex beam, the grenade death message, and the problem with bots shooting through each other at extremely close ranges." Also included in the new release is a mutator to add variants on the Night's Edge weapons to regular UT games. (More @ the Source: rps.net)

Madden 2002 Interview....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:59 AM MDT Sunday, July 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
Are you ready for football? I know I am....Checkout this interview posted up over at maddenmania, discussing the new things coming with madden 2002. here's a snip:

What would you say would be some of the more important improvements in Madden 2002 versus Madden 2001?

The look of the players (faces and body shapes) and coaches is a dramatic upgrade. Compared to last year, players look much more like their real-life counterpart. Additionally, the game play to me is much improved. Pass coverage and blocking in particular have been reworked to really improve game play. We've also increased our level of depth this year with a host of new game modes such as Two-Minute Drill, Training Mode, Create-A-Team, Custom League and Tournament.
Will Madden 2002 for X-box, PS2, GameCube and PC all contain basically the same features?

The PS2, Xbox and Gamecube are developed together so generally, yes for those three. PC is developed independently, so while we may share some technology, PC is very different in terms of features and design. Although to be fair on the consoles, we will spend quite a bit of time making specific enhancements to take advantage of each console in terms of both graphical capabilities and interface. For example: we can have better looking uniforms and crowds on Xbox and Gamecube, on Xbox we can use the hard drive to make load times almost non-existent and on Gamecube we have to scale back how much is saved in Franchise mode due the memory card size. (More @ the Source: maddenmania.com)

Value Gaming PC Buyer’s Guide....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:42 AM MDT Sunday, July 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
Sharky Extreme takes a trip down value lane to see what kind of gaming PC we can build. They say the basis of the Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide is determining the best possible combination of gaming hardware, while still coming in under budget. Thay're starting off with $1,000 in cold hard cash, and then will determine what is the right match of components in a variety of critical areas.
(More @ the Source: sharkyextreme.com)

Meltdown 2001....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:38 AM MDT Sunday, July 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
There's an article over at Tom's Hardware Guide called Meltdown 2001 -
DX9, XP gaming, and more 3D graphics. Here's a snip:

?From a graphics standpoint, we shouldn't expect too much from future versions of DirectX in new, cool terminology. The more programmability is added into DirectX the more the emphasis is going to be on reducing Microsoft's direct role in the 3D pipeline."

CyberExtruder Interview ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:37 AM MDT Sunday, July 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
As online gaming becomes more and more popular, players want to put themselves in the game or at least their images. A new company called CyberExtruder is currently offering a service where people can take photographs of their face and email them to the CyberExtruder web site where they will convert the picture to be used in games like Unreal Tournament and Quake III for a fee. HomeLAN got a chance to chat with the CEO of the company Larry Gardner to find out more about the service and the company's plans for the future (More @ the Source: eurogamer.net)

SAS: UT update ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:24 AM MDT Sunday, July 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
The SAS for Unreal Tournament mod page was updated with a few new screen shots of the SAS-Mediterranean map, plus also 4 screenshots of the Winlane level that has a nice Russian T-72 tank on it. You can learn more about the mod here.

Deus Ex sequel details ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:16 AM MDT Sunday, July 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
Publisher Eidos Interactive have released the first pictures from the sequel to award-winning first person role-playing game Deus Ex. Included in the press package were four concept sketches, a rendered mock-up, a pair of screen captures of the level editor in action, and an exciting pre-rendered montage of bathroom fittings which we can look forward to seeing in the game. (More @ the Source: eurogamer.net)

New Q2 Gloom....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:13 AM MDT Sunday, July 22, 2001 [Comment on news]
A new version 1.3 of the Gloom modification for Quake II is now available on planetgloom.com, offering teamplay competition between humans and spiders, hopefully reminiscent enough of a certain science fiction film series to be evocative, without being familiar enough to be Foxed (shut down). Word on the site is that an updated installer will be posted sometime today to address a few glitches with missing skins, improperly linked models, and a few missing sounds. (More @ the Source: planetgloom.com)

DeFRaG Quake 3 Solo Mod ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 2:01 PM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
The DeFRaG solo mod for Quake III Arena has been released. This mod bases success on ability, not skill against the bots or other players. It involves completing challenges and runs as quickly as possible. It is compatible with Quake 3 v1.27 and v1.29. The five best players on each map will have their times and demos published on the website. (More @ the Source: planetquake.com)

Which game console will be the most powerful?....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:59 AM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
When Nintendo releases GameCube and Microsoft releases Xbox later this year to challenge Sony’s PlayStation 2, the competition will heat up between the most powerful game consoles ever. But which of them will be the most powerful of them all? (More @ the Source: msnbc.com)

Memory Leak In Windows ME....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:55 AM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Windows ME operating system from Microsoft Corp. contains a memory leak that has apparently not been fixed. Extreme Tech let's us know what is going on:

"The Windows ME operating system from Microsoft Corp. contains a memory leak that has apparently not been fixed, according to a lengthy chain of emails provided by an ExtremeTech reader.

ET reader Matt Vlasaty, a Chicago-based electrical engineer, discovered that when after opening large files of 200-Mbytes or so --such as Outlook email attachments or Usenet downloads—Windows Millennium Edition did not then increase the amount of free memory after the files were closed.

According to the documentation provided as part of Vlasaty's email, Microsoft officials have confirmed the problem and are researching a solution."

Copy protected CDs in stores now ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:55 AM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
According to this CNet report on Macrovision, copy protected CDs have been quietly slipping into stores incognito. While BMG's test run was largely unsuccessful, Macrovision's technology so far hasn't garnered an excess amount of complaints from consumers.

Rather than blocking copying altogether, the technology introduces some digital distortion into a file. Macrovision says this is all but inaudible when a CD is played through an ordinary CD player, but when a song is copied into digital format on a PC's hard drive, the distortion shows up as annoying "clicks and pops" in the music.

Macrovision is not disclosing which albums feature this technology, let alone which record companies are using it, but one CD has sold almost 100,000 copies. They're out there.

Now that Napster is dead and convenient digital MP3 ripping is being curbed, the next aim for record companies will be to start cashing in on digital music that one would have to purchase directly. (More @ the Source: news.cnet.com)

3D Blaster GeForce3....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:49 AM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
It has been quiet for a while regarding Creative Labs versus videocards, but recently Creative Labs Europe announced an entire range of new nVidia based products that will make the Mack daddies of Multimedia products return to the hardcore gaming scene.

The last product that we have seen & tested was their GeForce2 MX with 64bits DDR memory, then came the GeForce3 announcement from NVIDIA and from there on it was quiet. Creative labs is back, with GeForce2 MX 200, MX PCI, Pro and big surprise the 3D Blaster GeForce3 ! They have made some pretty interesting moves to get back in the 3D saddle. (More @ the Source: tech-guru3d.com)

PlanetSide Bits....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:47 AM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
Verant's Kevin "Stryker" McCann popped in with some updates for PlanetSide, their upcoming massively multiplayer first person shooter. (More @ the Source: actionvault.ign.com)

Ghost in Your Machine....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:45 AM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
The quickest way to describe Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon is to say that it’s Rainbow Six outdoors, but there’s more to it than that. Though it does use a very similar interface, it has been rebuilt with a new engine, and takes a slightly different approach to squad-level strategy and action.

There were not many outdoor environments in the Rainbow Six universe. Many missions started outside, but they soon got you indoors. I don’t mean to knock those games because I’m a big fan of all of them, but I think most of us would agree that the indoor environments worked much better. In Ghost Recon, you spend most of your time outdoors, with brief forays into small structures. The opposite approach, but the new game engine makes it work. The outdoor environments look much better. Looking up at the sun will cause lens flare. Looking into the distance, there’s a proper horizon. There’s been an overall graphical improvement too. You should see the new nightvision view. It looks awesome.

The Rainbow Six game tended to be “apartment building” in its layout. Although there were often multiple levels stacked on top of each other, they were generally pretty flat with not a lot of actual terrain elevation to contend with. Ghost Recon has proper hills and valleys, 3D trees and rolling, rocky terrain with cliffs. (More @ the Source: gamesmania.com)

Soldier of Fortune 2 Screenshots ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:45 AM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
GameSpot has posted three exclusive screenshots from Raven's shooter sequel, Soldier of Fortune 2. (More @ the Source: gamespot.com)

Strike Force Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:41 AM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
The second portion of MGON's Strike Force interview is online, talking with Matt Sobotka about this mod for Unreal Tournament. If you're unable to get to the official PainKeep Arena site, it's for a good reason: the derailed train in Boston actually disrupted Team Evolve's Internet connection. They hope to be back online shortly.

Planet Moon Q&A....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 10:39 AM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
PlanetMoon Central has conducted a Q&A with Aaron Loeb, the new producer at Planet Moon Studios, and the one-time head of the now defunct Daily Radar. The questions all seek to introduce Aaron to Planet Moon's fans, and so he talks about his background, what it is he does at Planet Moon and he even manages to sneak a plug in for us while he's at it. (More @ the Source: planetmooncentral.com)

Email Virus Spreading....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:24 AM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
A new e-mail virus that can delete files from infected computer hard drives has spread to users in more than 50 countries in the past week, a security expert said on Friday.

The virus, nicknamed W32.Sircam, arrives as an email attachment and can affect any type of email program, said Mark Sunner, chief technology officer of UK-based MessageLabs, a provider of virus filtering services to corporations.

The virus, a self-propagating worm that has English and Spanish-language versions, sends copies of itself and a random file from the infected computer's hard drive to all addresses in the infected computer's address book, security experts said.

In some but not all instances, Sircam deletes files and directories and can fill up the hard drive, according to the experts. (More @ the Source: dailynews.yahoo.com)

Die Hard preview....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:20 AM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
PC.IGN posted a brief preview of Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza. Here's a nibble:

But the beginning at least is pretty standard. At the very beginning of the game you'll have to opportunity to explore the lobby of Nakatomi Plaza a little bit. Having watched the movie recently, I was pretty amazed at how accurate it all looked. You'll take the elevator up to the level where your wife's party is being held and run into John's wife's boss, Takagi. He'll direct you to your wife's office. From here the game transitions to a cutscene that shows the terrorists taking over the building. Now the fun begins. (More @ the Source: pc.ign.com)

FireArms 2.6 Preview....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:17 AM MDT Saturday, July 21, 2001 [Comment on news]
FA-Nation has posted up a preview of FireArms 2.6. They take a look at the upcoming release of this military mod for Half-Life, including new weapons, maps, and other features. They have images and screenshots for everything as well. Here's a snip:

Much to most of the FA Community's delight the Steyr Aug will be removed in 2.6. In its place will be a new sniper rifle, the Walther WA2000. The Walther WA2000 will have a six round capacity. To offset the lack of ammo it will do a little more damage than the new SVD Dragunov, with a ten round capacity. (More @ the Source: fa-nation.net)

Legends of Might and Magic Patch....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 3:31 PM MDT Friday, July 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
3DO has released a patch for Legends of Might and Magic, updating their fantasy multiplayer action game to version 1.1. The 3.6 MB update can be download manually or applied via the in-game updater, and it adds a number of dedicated server improvements and bug fixes as well as several other enhancements.

Global Ops Update....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:41 AM MDT Friday, July 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
Barking Dog Studios' Global Operations page has been updated with word that they've added the Demolition Expert and Sniper to the specialties section of their site. (More @ the Source: globalopsgame.com)

World War II Online Update ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:24 AM MDT Friday, July 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
The World War II Online website has been updated with word that version 1.2.0 has been delayed so they can track down a connection bug they believe is caused by increased traffic between the host and client. So, it looks like the patch won't be out until sometime after the weekend. (More @ the Source: playnet.com)

Iron Storm Interview ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 9:22 AM MDT Friday, July 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
Over at PC GAMEPLAY today, they have posted some new screenshots and an interview with the developer of Iron Strom, a new shooter from French publishing house Wanadoo that is set during an alternate history where the First World War has lasted for 50 years.

RAM Tweaking Article ....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:32 AM MDT Friday, July 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
TECH-REVIEW.com's Extreme RAM Tweaking article offers tips for users with 256 MB of RAM or more. (More @ the Source: tech-review.com)

AMD Interview....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:31 AM MDT Friday, July 20, 2001 [Comment on news]
There's an interview with Bruce Smith and Bob Kennedy on Tech Extreme talking with AMD's director of marketing programs, and their director of corporate branding. (More @ the Source: techextreme.com)

Intel to cut P4 prices by up to 55%....
Posted by [luckee] @ 4:30 PM MDT Thursday, July 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
Man 1.6Ghz for $163. thats crazy:) Well frag I guess its time to get you a new sys:)

The Register is reporting that Intel plans to cut P4 prices by up to 55% on August 26th. The 1.3GHz, 1.4GHz and 1.5GHz parts will become $133, the 1.6GHz $163, the 1.7GHz $193, and the 1.8GHz chip will be cut 55%, bring its price down to $256. This will help bring the P4 prices more inline with Athlon prices... now if RDRAM prices would only match SDRAM prices. (More @ the Source: theregister.co.uk)

Venom Interview....
Posted by [luckee] @ 11:42 AM MDT Thursday, July 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
Checkout our new venom interview, Here's a nibble:

(PCShooter.com) How much of a realism factor are you aiming for with Venom?

(Sergey Zabaryansky) Yes, the game was originally created with a slant to realism. This approach got reflected through many aspects, such as hit system, artificial intelligence, graphics etc. For instance, realism in AI is when your enemies can surround, call for backup, hide, arrange ambushes. And at the same time they are not without faults – the accuracy of their fire is not absolute. Playing Venom you win, of course, but you preserve an impression of having fought with a smart enemy, and not an arcade character, who finds the reason of his life in a showy death. Realism is when you cannot pick up 5 different submachine guns and a hundred of rockets. In Venom you can carry only a certain weight, and owing to this such oddities are impossible. When you lie in grass you can be spotted only from a really close distance, but if you lie on asphalt – you are visible from much further. Everything in the game is subjected to a certain logic and this makes Venom realistic.

Napster fans can test new system soon ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 10:01 AM MDT Thursday, July 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
A test version of Napster's new subscription-based file-swapping service will be available shortly, the company said.

Napster is letting fans try out a free beta version of the software before it launches a new paid model designed to appease the recording industry, which has sued the current free service out of existence.

"We're hard at work creating an environment that will sustain the Napster community over the long term," the company said in a letter to beta testers. "We expect that Napster will start small and grow, just as it did when Shawn first released it two years ago."

Return to Castle Wolfenstein ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:57 AM MDT Thursday, July 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
Checkout this quick preview of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, here's a snip:

In the game you will step into the smelly jackboots of US army ranger and Nazi killing machine B.J. Blaskowitz, who works on special missions for the special OSA (Office of Secret Actions) department of the American military. You will have to infiltrate a dank, and decidedly spooky Nazi stronghold, which is the centre for all sorts of bizarre weapon experiments. Indeed your mission is to prevent the Nazis from creating a demonic super soldier, and along the way battle many evil creations, which have been spawned by the Nazi scientists and mystics who are trying to win the war with their ‘uber-weapon’.

In essence this means the game, like the original, will see you hideously outnumbered and blasting hordes of enemy creatures and soldiers as you battle your way to the core of the castle.

Return to Wolfenstein will feature a host of intelligent opponents who will not only co-ordinate their efforts in trying to track and kill you, but your foes will also try to preserve their miserable hides as well. The artificial intelligence programming in the game will be so sophisticated that enemies will turn tail and flee if they realise you are armed with a superior weapon, or that you have drawn a bead on them and are trying to finish them off. Your opponents will also learn your tactics and respond accordingly as iD have invested resources in developing more acutely aware characters who will monitor your behaviour and over time adapt. If they believe you are hidden behind cover sniping at them, they will attempt to encircle you, and cut you to ribbons in a crossfire.

It is this sort of thing which should make the single player action in Return to Castle Wolfenstein exceedingly challenging. The game is also being developed as a joint venture by the people behind Quake (id Software) and Kingpin (the remnants of the now defunct Xatrix). This means it should have the right sort of pedigree.

QuakeCon 2001: An Interview with EvilJohn ....
Posted by [luckee] @ 9:43 AM MDT Thursday, July 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
Ash: Do you have any advice or comments you'd like to tell all those joining the pilgrimage to QuakeCon this year?

EvilJohn: I think the thing to remember about QuakeCon is that it is at its heart, a party. People have called it the Woodstock of Gaming, without the mud. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm taking my vacation from work to spend at QuakeCon. It is the place to be, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again. As always, everyone should feel free to hang out in the offical QuakeCon IRC channel, at irc.enterthegame.com #quakecon . I'm there most of the day, as are other executive staffers.

Intel Roadmap....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:29 AM MDT Thursday, July 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
The Register has some more of those ever changing Intel release dates for desktop processors. It's all "might" and "probably" but if you have't converted to AMD processors yet, it might be worth a look. (More @ the Source: theregister.co.uk)

Another WWII Online Update....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:10 AM MDT Thursday, July 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
The World War II Online website has been updated yet again with word that the 120 patch is done. There is no word on when that will go out to the public though, but the bugs were squashed. Also, there is mention of getting close on a client/host bug problem that has been plaguing some people for a while. (More @ the Source: playnet.com)

MOHAA Movie....
Posted by [Frag-girlie] @ 7:08 AM MDT Thursday, July 19, 2001 [Comment on news]
Staying true to the gameplay features that made Medal of Honor™ one of the most acclaimed and best-selling games of 1999, MOH Allied Assault builds on that success, adding new player weapons, new interactive Allied vehicles such as Sherman tanks and M3 Half Tracks, smarter enemy AI, and artillery strike calls. Today the MOHAA site has a downloadable movie for the Normandy Campaign (Mission 3 Level 1), available in QuickTime format in either low resolution (