Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
One of the main problems with developing game AI is dealing with the increasingly complex systems that have been created. Debugging AI code can be a nightmare, which isn't made much easier by the difficulty presented by reproducing the circumstances of some bugs. It also isn't made any easier by the many systems we've put in place all interacting and vying for control. Such things are sent to test us and can only be expected in a game that's been in development for as long as Stolen has. One of the things that keeps me going, as I imagine myself crawling underneath barbed wire with shards of twisted code flying past my face, is what the testers must be thinking when they find one of these bugs. When we get bug reports from the publisher, they're often very usefully accompanied with a video capture of the event. These usually end with a guard doing something totally crazy like bending at right angles from the waist while trying to run round in circles near some stairs, and Anya standing there watching them in a disparaging fashion for perhaps five or 10 seconds, as if to say, "Why would you hire people like this to protect your prison?"
So, what exactly is Rumble Mode all about? In truth, it's about whatever the player wants it to be. It can be a way to try out new powers or characters. It can be a way to challenge yourself by taking on single player levels using completely different characters. Heck, it's a great place to train yourself in just about every aspect of the game.
The Rumble Room feature can be accessed from the Main Menu. Once you've entered, you're then able to choose from the five different modes of play. These include, "Battle in the Rumble Room", "Campaign Mission", "Action Mode", "Iron Man" and "Race".
Working closely with the US Marines, Destineer's squad-based Xbox and PC first-person shooter takes a different tack on the genre. Using four-man squad AI, with ever-changing morale that reacts to your skills (or lack thereof), and a robust command system that includes everything from opening doors and clearing rooms to sending airstrikes into machine gunner nests, First To Fight is a simulation that begs you to employ skill, military smarts, and gaming wisdom to beat its gradually ramped up single-player campaign. We know, because we've been playing it, and in today's in-depth look (complete with exclusive movies), we dip into its interesting single-player mode.
This update brings your retail game to v5.0.3 and adds all changes
in personnel that have occurred in the world of football since the game's
initial release in November 2004.
We played an extremely early version of the game, so many of the features didn't work or were simply missing. Still, we got a good sense of where the game is heading. Much of the gameplay thus far feels very much like the first Stronghold games, which makes sense if FireFly has taken a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach to the sequel. Your first task at the beginning of a mission is to place your stockpile, which is where your workers deposit resources such as wood and stone. Then you'll place a granary, which is where your farmers and hunters will store food. After that, you're on your own. If you played the first two Stronghold games, then you'll know the best thing to do is place down a couple of saw pits to start harvesting wood, place down a couple of apple farms and hunters' posts to begin gathering food, and so on.
The latest title in the Silent Hunter franchise will add new dimensions to the simulation experience, where players will assume the role of U-boat commander, become immersed in a dynamic ocean environment and experience the intensity of WWII submarine warfare. The all-new 3D engine features impressive details such as historically accurate U-boat models that recreate the oppressive interior atmosphere and compelling exterior environment. From the captain's cabin to the swelling seas, these U-boats feel like the real thing.
Today, Ubisoft, one of the world's largest interactive game publishers, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire MC2-Microids (Microids Canada) Canadian development operations and integrate them into its Montreal studio. The closing of this agreement is subject to requirements to be met by the two parties. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Following this agreement, Microids Canada fifty employees will be integrated into Ubisoft Montreal studio operations. This agreement does not cover any of MC2-Microids intellectual property or projects currently under development.
This page on the Everquest 2 web site claims that the fantasy MMO sequel now has over 350,000 players logging in every week. They also claim that those players don't have to wait to play the game in a direct reference to the problems some World of Warcraft players have experienced while trying to sign in to the game's servers. The web page also claims Sony Online has a solid customer service base along with good community communication with its players and that Everquest 2 has had a lot of new content added to the game since its launch in mid-November, including 1,100 new quests, 400 new spells and more. The post ends with a download link to try out a 10 day free limited trial of the game.
They explained that "they used techniques borrowed from the video game 'Mortal Combat' in dealing with their victim", the spokeswoman, Kristine Mezaraupa said.
The boys described how they beat up their friend, Marcis, born in 1991, and threw his body in the nearby Gauja river, according to the head of Valmiera police department Juris Andersons.
"The attackers tried to imitate some fighting techniques used in video games," said the head of the investigation division of Valmiera police department Salvis Stamers. "They employed the use of the legs in a scissor fashion to try to break the opponent's neck," he said.
Dungeon Delvers Interview, Part 1
CrossCut Games' intriguing RPG described as fast, fateful and friendly, with adventures you can finish in an hour - Includes three exclusive screenshots and two exclusive character cards
Dungeon Lords Media #3
Assorted types of armor that will be available for adventurers to equip in Heuristic Park's action-oriented offering - Seven exclusive screenshots
Rez & Resident Evil Luminaries Developing For Xbox Next05:00 am
- Andrew Burnes
- Consoles: Xbox Next(26 comments)
Hot on the heels of last week's Xbox Next role-playing game announcement, Microsoft is now happy to announce that the driving creative minds behind the likes of Resident Evil, Rez, Street Fighter and Space Channel 5 have joined forces with the company to create exciting new titles for the Xbox Next, primarily designed to attract Japanese gamers to the system:
In another creative coup for its next generation Xbox platform, Microsoft today announced that esteemed video game developers Yoshiki Okamoto, President & CEO of Game Republic, Inc., and Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Creator and Co-founder, Q Entertainment Inc. have aligned with Microsoft Game Studios to develop exclusive next-generation Xbox games.
"By combining various factors, including exciting storylines, action, graphics and music, I've created video games that have brought gamers the ultimate fun in gaming," said Mizuguchi. "Now, I hope to create games that will give gamers the most emotional and thrilling gaming experience possible - joy, thrills, sympathy and speed. The power and advanced technologies of the next-generation Xbox platform will enable winning games with powerful emotions, high-quality graphics and sound."
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) was asked to investigate after receiving eight complaints about two adverts featuring game extracts.
Complainants included parents who said the adverts were shown at about 1830 GMT while their children watched Scrapheap Challenge on Channel 4.
"We could understand the parents' concerns that it was inappropriate for young children to see this level of violence in advertising for a product which was only available to adults," the ASA said.
Grand Theft Auto publisher Rockstar Games said its policy was not to advertise a product around programmes where less than half the audience was below the age required to buy it.
In Other News...12:03 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- In-House: In Other News...(32 comments)
It seems my fears about the Xbox version of Brothers in Arms are unfounded, as IGN gave the game a 9.3 score calling it one of the best games ever to hit the system. Granted, a PC.IGN guy was the reviewer, but if he liked it that much, then chances are the PC flavor is pretty smoking. Will I rush out and buy or rent the Xbox version? Probably not (why suffer through Geforce 3 quality Xbox graphics when you have a Radeon X800?), but it wets my appetite for the PC version even more. After enjoying The Chronicles of Riddick so much, I'm a lot more open to the idea of games not sucking after debuting on the Xbox, so it's all good.
Today's question is: Do you plan on picking up Brothers in Arms? If so, Xbox, PS2 or PC?
The title Earth 2160 is something of a misnomer, as the game will actually take place on Mars and other worlds. That's because in the series' storyline, Earth is destroyed and the three surviving human factions relocate to Mars. Earth 2160 will continue the tale, describing how the three factions--all taken from the earlier games--continue to battle it out on Mars for supremacy. However, in their efforts to terraform the planet, the factions awaken an imprisoned alien race on Mars. This mysterious race will serve as the fourth playable faction in the game, though not many details are being shed on it quite yet.
GS: The original Freedom Force's multiplayer modes (and mods), along with its editing tools, helped extend the game's life span considerably. How will the new game's multiplayer and community features help keep fans playing long after launch?
KL: The game will have new-and-improved versions of all the tools that were available in the original game. The focus this time around was not only in making the tools more accessible and further empowering mod makers, but also in giving players the chance to put their mods to good use. Story-based multiplayer was designed with this in mind. That said, the new version of the character tool will give players a lot more freedom in what they do with our effects system. Being able to attach particle effects to characters like we do with El Diablo or Entropy gives mod makers the chance to create completely different types of heroes.
Each team has its own headquarters which is a large and powerful building that takes several hits to take down. With this in place it's possible to build towers next to it to expand the overall fort. Once a tower is built next to it a wall will emerge between the two structures. In this way the fort grows and when a building is placed on a victory location that's indicated by a star, then more types of buildings can be placed. The only problem is that if the walls between two buildings get completely destroyed, then that supply line is cut and all of the rest of the connecting buildings away from the headquarters will be automatically destroyed.
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil Q&A;05:27 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action(0 comments)
PC.IGN interviewed id's Matt Hooper about the upcoming expansion pack to Doom 3 -- Resurrection of Evil, which actually started development alongside of Doom 3 some 16 months ago. Here's a random snip about the improved interactivity featured in the addon:
IGNPC: Speaking of physics--From what I understand, John Carmack wasn't as interested in a lot of interactivity in the environment. But we see a lot of that in the expansion. A lot of thing you can move around and push around.
Matt Hooper: Well, John always has a... I wouldn't say a narrow focus, but, at id, he kind of leads our technology side of things. And just from the design, we take advantage of what he's doing technology-wise. And the focus was always the most advanced rendering. That's what we wanted to do, and then of course we have dynamic lights, so we wanted to take advantage of that. And we made the spooky, tense environments, and we just went that direction. So it's not like he was opposed to doing the physics, the focus just wasn't there. And then, like I said, we've always had this robust physics system in DooM 3. We just never took advantage of it in DooM 3 like we're doing in the expansion. And that was all borne out of--okay, we sit down, and [ask ourselves] what would be cool. And we talked a long time about having some kind of thing to manipulate physics. So it just kind of went from there. It's just this thing that evolved. It's not in spite of, or because of--it's just a natural evolution of things we thought were fun.
Based out of Roswell, GA, the team formally known as The Red Orchestra team is ready for the next step. The first major project will of course be Red Orchestra. We will have more information on our further plans on Red Orchestra in the coming weeks.
Next up we are also just as proud to announce that Tripwire will be at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) next week as guests of the Nvidia booth (booth 410). We will be running the latest version of Red Orchestra (3.2) and will be more then happy to talk with anybody who wants to see us. So feel free to drop by if you can attend.
Half-Life 2 Picks Up 6 Baftas01:20 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- Games: Action(24 comments)
Half-Life 2 has picked up 6 gongs at the U.K. Baftas, with Burnout 3 collecting a coincidental 3, and Halo 2 just the one. Here follows a concise rundown of tonight's award winners:
Best Action-Adventure Game - Half-Life 2
Best Animation - Half-Life 2
Best Art Direction - Half-Life 2
Best Audio - Call of Duty: Finest Hour
Best Children's Game - Donkey Konga
Best Game - Half-Life 2
Best GameCube Game - Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Best Handheld Game - Colin McRae Rally 2005
Best Mobile Phone Game - BlueTooth BiPlanes
Best Online Game - Half-Life 2
Best Original Game - Singstar / Singstar Party
Best Original Music - Hitman: Contracts
Best PC Game - Half-Life 2
Best Playstation 2 Game - Burnout 3
Best Racing Game - Burnout 3
Best Sports Game - Pro Evolution Soccer 4
Best Technical Direction - Burnout 3
Best Xbox Game - Halo 2
For those curious about the competition faced in each category, the list of nominees can be found here. Opinions? Please share.
Star Wars: Episode III Trailer Coming March 10th01:05 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- Games: General News(23 comments)
Slightly off the beaten path of our typical coverage, but never mind - the latest eagerly anticipated Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith trailer will premiere during the March 10th episode of... The O.C., and then before the feature presentations at theatres nationwide the following day [insert false jubilation here].
God knows why they chose that tripe, but oh well; Ep 3 opens May 19th.
Microsoft Abandons Sport12:53 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- Games: Sports(10 comments)
Following yesterday's news that Microsoft had sold all rights to a number of their sports franchises, Reuters is now quoting Kim Shane, head of Microsoft Game Studios, who states that the company has abandoned all ambitions in the sports games arena:
We made a decision almost a year ago to reevaluate what we were doing in sports. Frankly, we weren't delivering at the kind of quality we needed for our customers and to compete effectively.
The one sports category where Microsoft will continue to compete, Kim said, is racing. "Project Gotham Racing" is a key franchise for Microsoft's Xbox video game console, and it will soon release another race game, "Forza Motorsport."
"Namco has created a game that takes full advantage of the new platform's wireless connectivity capabilities and offers gamers new to this genre a unique and exciting gaming experience," said Nobuhiro Kasahara, president and CEO of Namco Hometek Inc. "'Ridge Racer' not only capitalizes on the amazing wireless connectivity of the PSP handheld system, but also is a fun game that racing fans have continued to enjoy over the years."
The latest installment of "Ridge Racer" features stunning 3D graphics, smooth analog steering and robust course selections comprised of new tracks and classic courses from the "Ridge Racer" series. For the most serious speed demons who have mastered all 39 standard tours within the game, the U.S. version features a new MAX Tour in World Tour Mode, with seven ferociously difficult tours to conquer. "Ridge Racer's" Wireless Battle permits players to battle it out head-to-head in eight-player races, while an all-new nitrous boosting system allows for faster racing than ever before.
Hey, here are some of those nudie things!
(Click to Enlarge!)
Update: You can check out a snazzy new 2 minute trailer here.
Missions provide a big chunk of the gameplay in The Matrix Online, but they are not simply a means to advance your character and find loot. From time to time, you will notice certain ones that appear as Critical Missions in your panel. These critical missions often provide insight and involvement into the ongoing story. Each Organization will sponsor them, and savvy players will be able to discern from these the evolving situations that are affecting the Matrix. You might even find clues that shed some light on previous or upcoming events!
Dungeon Lords Beta Sign Ups09:26 am
- Andrew Burnes
- Games: Action / Roleplaying(3 comments)
Over the next 24 hours you can add your name to the list of possible candidates that will be chosen to test-run DreamCatcher Games' Dungeon Lords, "an epic combat role-playing game."
For the inquiring mind, more details are available here.
Act of War: Direct Action is a graphically stunning and frighteningly plausible tale of suspense, international intrigue and geopolitical military conflict. Through a techno-thriller story constructed by military expert and author Dale Brown, this real-time strategy experience puts players squarely in control of counterterrorist forces to defend cities of the world. As commander of a newly formed anti-terror military unit known as the Talon Task Force, players will need to recruit combat units, develop technologies, manage finite resources, and deploy their forces against a cunning and ruthless terror network.
Direction Action ships March 15th for the RRP of $49.99.
GGmania: Could you us a bit about the multiplayer in Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich?
Ken Levine: This was one aspect of the game that we weren't happy with in the original game. Needless to say, we learned our lesson that it takes a lot of dedication to get make a full-featured multiplayer game on top of a single player title. FFv3R will feature several competitive modes including "Tag" "Deathmatach" and a few other surprises. The coolest new mode has to be "Story-Based Multiplayer" though. This allows you to create complex multiplayer scenarios that you can share with others. It essentially allows you to live out your own comic book! Things are going to get pretty crazy when people start putting those thousands of user-created characters to good use.
IGN: How many people can play Fantastic Four at a time? Two? Four? Explain to us how this game works in co-op form, and how your team manages the dynamic of multiple character gaming.
Julia: Fantastic Four is fully playable in single-player form and in two-person co-op. We are very excited about two-person co-op, as it brings a completely different dynamic to the game experience. While the hero AI is helpful and strengthens the team aspect of game play, there is just no replacement for a living, breathing person controlling another character alongside of you. We've tried to incorporate a true team feel to all aspects of co-op. Points, Super Attacks, and even lives are all contained within a shared pool, so you better watch your buddy's back! On the flip-side, watching your friend use up the last available Super Attack when you've just cleared a room might cause a fight of Ben and Johnny proportions. We all have a blast playing in co-op and are really excited for people to experience the game that way.
MMORPG.com: Many Star Trek fans often enjoy a strict form of adhering to the rules of Star Trek Canon while some often enjoy a good surprise when it comes to story twists. Will all of your starship designs be strictly based upon Star Trek canon or will you be creating new federation ships alongside the established ships already known in the Star Trek Universe?
Glen Dahlgren: Canon drives everything in this design, from the story to the weapons to the starship designs. Since the game is set some time in the future, we have some freedom to create new material, but I always want players to know where this material originated. Hopefully nothing should shock the players outside of the Star Trek universe.
And, that said, one of the great things about this license is the wealth of raw material. There's tons of great source for all aspects of the game. It's wonderful that we have such an unparalleled license that can draw on everything Star Trek put on screen.
The above was from MMORPG (how apt), while another interview can be found on GamerGod.
Championship Manager Online is a stand-alone massive multiplayer online football management simulation. As well as testing your managerial skills against thousands of human opponents, the game offers a "buddy league" mode that lets you compete in a league against just your friends. Championship Manager Online is being developed by online games specialist Jadestone in conjunction with Beautiful Game Studios, developer of the PC version of Championship Manager.
Championship Manager Online will provide the same realism and depth that have become hallmarks of the series. Choose to manage a club from one of six national leagues (England, Scotland, Italy, Spain, Germany and France) dealing with everything from transfers and tactics to training. New leagues will be added and the game will be continually updated to reflect changes in the real-world of football. You can also be kept informed of your team's progress at all times via SMS. Within the game, users are grouped together in separate "worlds" meaning that there can only ever be one of each player and club in each individual world.
Championship Manager Online will set you back �3.99 a month if you decide to play.
In Other News...12:03 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- In-House: In Other News...(33 comments)
My secondary PC is about dead; the little bastard keeps crashing randomly in games. It's not adware/spyware related as I scan it daily, but a problem with the video card / memory being fried. Rather than throw more money into it (it's like 4 years old) I think I'm going to get a new set-up. I don't want to spend too much cash on it (>$1,000) since I have this lovely gaming rig I picked up not too long ago, but I need a semi-decent secondary bot PC since I like to dual box when I game (ie - Dark Age of Camelot / running two players at once) or even work on one system, and game on the other. I'm thinking a laptop or a mini-system like a Shuttle, but I'm not sure yet. Anyone have one of those Shuttle dealies? Looks like you can get a pretty nice rig for like $800-900 or so. Well, good for what I want to use it for.
Not really related to the above comments, but today's question is: What game released within the past couple years has had the best / most memorable ending?
