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Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard Preview 08:13 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: real-time strategy
(0 comments)
PC.IGN scored a hands-on look at Liquid's upcoming Dungeons & Dragons themed real-time-strategy game, Dragonshard, which is set in the new Eberon game world. Here's a bite:This is certainly a big game with a lot of features and ideas going into it. There will be more to talk about in the future, but one final thing that should be cleared up before we're done and that's Dragonshard's relationship to the Dungeons & Dragons rule set. Don't come into the game expecting 3rd edition rules to play a large part of the experience. This game is more RTS at heart than RPG and those rules just wouldn't translate as well to a real-time game. That said, they seem to be doing an amazing job creating a world and game that D&D; players should really be able to sink their teeth into if everything continues smoothly.
Blizzard Bans More WoW Hackers 08:02 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: mmog
(6 comments)
In addition to launching a Realm Status Page and releasing a small patch for the game, Blizzard tonight announced it has banned many a 'bot' user from World of WarCraft. Here's more:
We have recently verified that certain individuals were using third party "bot" programs to automate their characters in World of Warcraft. A bot is used to play an account non-stop, allowing its user to accumulate money, items, and experience without actually requiring the user to be physically present to play the game. The use of bots is a violation of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use and is absolutely prohibited. Therefore, the accounts identified as having used bots have been banned.
Blizzard Entertainment is committed to maintaining an environment of fair play in World of Warcraft. As stated previously, the company has a zero-tolerance policy for cheating or hacking of any kind. Players caught using a bot program to automate any of their characters' actions will have their characters removed and their account banned. They will not receive a warning. Over 300 accounts have already been banned for offenses of this nature.
Worthplaying Goodies 05:38 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: general news
(2 comments)
SWAT 4 Multiplayer Preview 03:45 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: action / strategy
(0 comments)
GameSpot have slapped up a preview of SWAT 4, taking a look at the multiplayer portion of the game. Here's a snippet: The "right" way for suspects to win in this mode is by killing off any opposing SWAT officers while subduing the VIP with a Taser. Then you must handcuff the poor sap and keep him down for two minutes. Being handcuffed and on your knees isn't really dignified, especially when the suspects continue to zap you with a Taser for laughs. But when VIPs recover from initial shock, they can actually crawl on their knees at a reduced movement speed. This may not sound like much, but most of SWAT 4's environments are indoor areas that have several tight corners and scattered furniture and debris that can be used as cover. Consequently, VIPs may have a shot at escaping, especially if their SWAT buddies can make smart use of flashbangs or tear gas canisters to provide distractions while moving in for rescues. Exactly where the VIP gets captured plays a big role in this too, so if the suspects can put down the VIP in a narrow corridor, especially one bounded by closed doors, they've got a very strong advantage. However, capturing the VIP out in the open leaves suspects vulnerable to potshots from SWAT officers who fan out.
Microsoft Nears Release of 64-bit Windows 03:07 pm
- Jeff Tom
- hardware: tech round-ups
(9 comments)
C|Net reports that Microsoft is almost ready with the final release candidate of Windows 64. Here's a clip: The company said it has reached the "release candidate" stage for Service Pack 1 of Windows Server 2003. Microsoft is also at a similar point with several 64-bit Windows versions that use the same code base, including Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.
Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs Live 01:30 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: mmog
(0 comments)
Over at the newly relaunched Camelot Herald Mythic announced that its latest retail expansion pack to Dark Age of Camelot, Catacombs is now live. Some highlights of the explansion include a new graphics engine, overhauled dungeons, improved player models with more visual customization options, five powerful new player classes, completely remastered sound effects, plus of course all the new zones and content included therein. Catacombs ships out to stores today.
China Bans Soccer Manager 2005 01:27 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: sports
(19 comments)
Reuters reports that China has banned Sports Interactive's football management simulator for classifying Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Tibet as countries:
Any Web site that offered downloads of the game would be fined up to $1,210, Xinhua said, quoting an order from the Ministry of Culture. Cybercafes that failed to prevent players from downloading, installing or playing the game would be fined as much as $1,815, it added.
Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau were listed as independent countries in the game, and the Himalayan region of Tibet, which Chinese troops occupied in 1950, is called "Chinese Tibet," which elevated it to the same level as China itself, Xinhua said.
Taiwan and the mainland have been politically separate for 55 years but Beijing considers the democratic island of 23 million people a rebel part of China's territory and has vowed to unite it with the mainland, by force if necessary.
How To Push Advertising Into Games 01:17 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: general news
(13 comments)
The Register examines the various companies and initiates who wish to push more advertising into games due to falling television ad revenue:
And games publishers could really do with this extra revenue, particularly important at the current stage of the cycle in the games business, with games platforms about to be replaced. Right now consumers are reluctant to buy games platforms, but also reluctant to buy games that may only have a short life before a new platform makes them obsolete.
Hays says, "This is about $500,000 to $1m of extra new revenue per game for most games. And as far as the games publisher is concerned, it's free money."
Gearbox Developer Diary 01:02 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: general news
(0 comments)
A new developer diary over on the Gearbox website is in fact a summary of Randy Pitchford's 2004 Computer Game Conference Keynote at the University of Texas, Dallas, October 16, 2004. Discussing next-generation game development, in addition to revealing further information regarding Gearbox's COGS program, the diary is a worthy read:
In order to develop competitive next-generation game titles, studios will need to facilitate growth of their production teams, their art teams, their engineering team, their design teams, and their audio teams - anywhere from 50% up to 200%, depending on the current resources. They will require more technical artists, materials artists (pixel shading), high polygon model builders, and set builders. They will desire more middleware experts and tool engineers, since the burden is growing most heavily on content. They will require designers who are increasingly oriented towards critical thinking, game play and experience crafting, and diplomacy (social engineering). And to manage an expanding team of developers, studios must have good, strong producers.
Nvidia Pushes The Polygons With Playstation 3 02:01 am
- Andrew Burnes
- consoles: ps3
(42 comments)
Sony and Nvidia today announced that the graphics card manufacturer has landed another valuable contract by powering the graphics of the Playstation 3, which is expected to be unveiled in February:
This collaboration is made under a broad, multi-year, royalty-bearing agreement. The powerful custom GPU will be the graphics and image processing foundation for a broad range of applications from computer entertainment to broadband applications. The agreement will encompass future Sony digital consumer electronics products.
"In the future, the experience of computer entertainment systems and broadband-ready PCs will be fused together to generate and transfer multi-streams of rich content simultaneously. In this sense, we have found the best way to integrate the state-of-the-art technologies from NVIDIA and SCEI," said Ken Kutaragi, executive deputy president and COO, Sony Corporation, and president and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Our collaboration includes not only the chip development but also a variety of graphics development tools and middleware, essential for efficient content creation."
"We are thrilled to partner with Sony Computer Entertainment to build what will certainly be one of the most important computer entertainment and digital media platforms of the twenty-first century," added Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO, NVIDIA. "Over the past two years NVIDIA has worked closely with Sony Computer Entertainment on their next-generation computer entertainment system. In parallel, we have been designing our next-generation GeForce GPU. The combination of the revolutionary Cell processor and NVIDIA's graphics technologies will enable the creation of breathtaking imagery that will surprise and captivate consumers."
The technology is based on Nvidia's next-generation GeForce chipset.
Gearbox Interviews 12:40 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: action
(0 comments)
HomeLan's Games In 2004-2005 Q&A; series continues today with interviews with Gearbox's Randy Pitchford and Patrick Deupree. Here's a bit from Randy:
HomeLAN - What do you see are the big events and trends that will affect the video/PC game industry in 2005?
Randy Pitchford - Customer expectations are always growing in terms of scene realism and narrative quality, but we've recently enjoyed a huge bar raising because of the great holiday titles of 2004. We'll see a division between the developers that can meet and exceed those expectations and the developers that cannot. I also expect more consolidation of the key players. I expect fewer new players to emerge as the incoming talent pool will be absorbed by existing studios adapting to the growing production value of the big titles. The barrier to entry will continue to be more and more daunting. The release of the next generation of consoles is going to be quite exciting to watch.
IGN Morsels 12:29 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
(0 comments)
From around IGN:
Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:17 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- hardware: general news
(1 comment)
Game Reviews 12:12 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
(0 comments)
Gamespot wasn't as kind with KOTOR II as IGN was:
In Other News... 12:01 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- in-house: in other news...
(38 comments)
Today should be pretty fun. I plan on picking up Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth, plus Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs goes live. Can't forget about Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords for Xbox either! I'm holding off on buying it until the PC version is out, but that won't stop me from renting it from Blockbuster. One of the perks of consoles games is the whole rental option. Gotta love playing a game for a few bucks rather than flat out buying it - it's a great try before you buy option, that's for sure. Console games aren't big on demos unless it's on a magazine cover disc, so it's all good. Yesterday's new C&C; game news was pretty exciting, at least for me. I love the proven method of the old Westwood games (harvest resources, build bases, defend or attack depending on tastes) and prefer the Red Alert universe to the Tiberian Sun stuff, so hopefully we will learn more about it soon. Today's question is: What's your favorite real-time-strategy game or series of all time?
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