Steam Update 10:18 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(1 comment)
Valve released a new update for Steam which includes some Counter-Strike: Source and Source engines fixes (just restart Steam to snag it):
Counter-Strike: Source
- Added buy favorite system
- Added location names to voice chat
- Soundscape files will be loaded properly for custom maps
- Fixed tinnitus effect for HE grenades playing twice
- Fixed the Five-Seven's price not matching the value in the buy menu
- Fixed case where money and chat HUD icons sometimes being the wrong color at round start
- Target IDs will no longer show when mp_fadetoblack is active
- When mp_humanteam is active human teams will be allowed to spectate
- The "hostage" field of the "hostage_rescued" event is filled in correctly
- Equipping the silencer is canceled if the player switches weapons
- Fixed problems with the hostage shack door in cs_compound
- Fixed "Hostage Rescue Zone" not showing up properly in chat and under the radar
- Players can only change their names once every 10 seconds, with a max of 5 times every 10 minutes
- "Enemy Spotted" hint text doesn't show for players behind smoke clouds
- Flashbang effect can't be reduced by hitting escape or turning off the HUD
Source Engine
- Fixed registry handle leak in VCR mode
- Added explicit engine error when trying to render too many decals in a frame
- Sound files will work properly when in a packfile now.
Humpday WPG 06:15 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: General News
(0 comments)
- 'Juiced' - Demo
- This demo features the game's Angel City and Downtown track,
available in day (vs. 1 car) and nighttime (vs. 3 cars).
- Various Game Trailers
Tribes: Vengeance Support Terminated 03:52 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(16 comments)
Thanks to Eike for sending word that despite assurances that VUGames would patch Tribes: Vengeance up, a terse message from a Vivendi spokesperson states on the official forums that:
Development on the previously announced Tribes: Vengeance 1.1 update has been cancelled. No further updates to Tribes: Vengeance are planned.
Troika's Downfall 03:44 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Role-Playing
(2 comments)
In an interview at Gamebanshee, former Troika developer Leonard Boyarsky chats about what went wrong for the RPG developer. Here's a slice about what Leon might've done differently if given a second chance:
GB: If you could go back to 1998, what would you have done differently with the company over the last several years?
Leon: I think we would have embezzled the company's funds and gone to live on an island in the Bahamas. If that plan failed, I believe we would have had a business person pursuing contracts/running the business year round regardless of where we were in our production cycles, so we'd always have something to fall back on if there were any problems with a current project. I also might have looked into raising some independent capital, but that would have brought us into a whole other situation that I'm not sure we would have wanted to get involved in.
They had a post-apocalyptic game in the works, but no publishers picked it up.
World of WarCraft Forum Nuggets 03:20 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: MMOG
(2 comments)
Yesterday's World of Warcraft patch had some major updates, caused a few problems, plus broke the internet from all the people downloading it and trying to play at the same time, so Blizzard has a few threads on the Battle.net boards that players might be interested in:
More topics can be found at WorldofWarCraft.com.
Camelot 1.75b Notes 03:11 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: MMOG
(0 comments)
Slow news today, so I thought I'd mention that Mythic released the latest round of Dark Age of Camelot test notes for the upcoming 1.75 update, which include tower razing, streamlined master level credit allowing players to do .10 steps without the other 9 and still get credit, plus also introduces faster running speed for all players not in a pvp zone. Last, but not least, they nerfed those cheaty Valkyries as they were way too overpowered (that's sarcasm for anyone whose ever played the class). They're just on round b of the notes, so expect more stuff to be included before the patch goes live.
CNN on the PSP 02:51 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Consoles: PSP
(3 comments)
The latest CNN Game Over column tackles Sony's PSP: "With the launch of Sony's PSP imminent, CNN/Money's Game Over column has weighed in with its thoughts on the machine. While thoroughly impressed with the hardware itself, as well as titles like Wipeout, the column does mention the relatively short battery life and the well-documented screen glare problems."
Brothers in Arms Q&A; 02:40 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(0 comments)
The Game Blog interviewed Gearbox's Randy Pitchford about its recently released World War 2 flavored first person shooter, Brothers in Arms. Check that out here.
Jade Empires Website Launched 01:22 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Consoles: Xbox
(2 comments)
BioWare sends word that it has re-launched the official website for Jade Empire showcasing its Xbox exclusive role playing game. "This sizzling new site features new info and more than a dozen never-before-seen video clips exploring the various features of the mystical world of the Jade Empire, including world details, character descriptions, and information about how to get your hands on the Jade Empire Limited Edition, featuring an exclusive playable character and more!"
RPG Vault Bits 11:31 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Role-Playing
(0 comments)
The Matrix Online Discipline Combinations
The team at Monolith shows us five examples of deadly characters you can create by blending skills and abilities. - Includes five exclusive concept images
Dungeon Lords Media #6
As we wander through a wilderness area in Heuristic Park's gameworld, we find that the dark holds myriad dangers. - Eight exclusive screenshots
Spec Ops Returns; Queens of the Stone Age Providing Score 09:28 am
- Andrew Burnes
- Games: Action
(4 comments)
Queens of the Stone Age revealed to MTV at a recent New York gig that they're working on the score for a new Spec Ops title from Rockstar Games, which is apparently due for release this fall:
"Alain and I are writing the music for a Rockstar game called 'Spec Ops,' " Homme said. "There's a bunch of versions of new songs. Some of them are mellow, some of them are rock and some of them are, like, hick-hop because we're a bunch of white guys."
"I can't play any video games when we're on tour or in the studio because then I would get addicted. And I don't need any more addictions," he laughed. "But the whole thing was great because it was so easy. It's way easier than writing a song, because with video-game music, everything just needs to be, like, 30 seconds long."
Thanks Eva.
Silicon Knights Creates Next-Gen Franchise For Sega 08:36 am
- Andrew Burnes
- Consoles: General News
(6 comments)
It was today announced that fabled development studio Silicon Knights will create a next-generation console franchise exclusively for Sega:
"We intend to establish SEGA as a leading publisher on the next generation of game hardware and only the highest possible quality of Western-developed content will get us there," said Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America. "Silicon Knights has a rich history of developing great games that push hardware technology, so we expect this relationship will result in a powerful, new, and highly commercial franchise."
"Silicon Knights believes that the next generation systems will be the catalyst propelling video games as the dominant form of entertainment in this century," said Denis Dyack, President of Silicon Knights. "We are very excited to collaborate with SEGA on a next generation project because we share a vision - to take the medium of games to new heights and move people as never before."
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Cyber Empires, Dark Legions, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, Fantasy Empires, Fantasy Fest!, The Horde and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes were all titles by Silicon Knights if you've never heard of those fine folks before.
Vivendi Purchases Scarface Developer 06:59 am
- Andrew Burnes
- Games: General News
(1 comment)
Vivendi Universal Games has bought the studio behind recent hit The Simpsons: Hit 'n' Run and forthcoming titles Scarface, Crash Tag Team Racing & The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction:
"The purchase of Radical Entertainment reinforces our commitment to strengthening VU Games' creative talent and internal console development capabilities," said Bruce Hack, CEO of VU Games. "Radical's focus will remain on entertainment-based console games for current and next generation platforms."
Radical is best known for developing critically acclaimed and commercially successful releases such as: The Simpsons: Hit & Run, which sold more than 3.5 million retail units worldwide; The Hulk, which sold more than 2 million retail units worldwide; and The Simpsons Road Rage, which sold 3 million retail units worldwide. Currently, the studio is developing several multi-platform titles for VU Games launching in 2005, including Scarface, Crash Tag Team Racing and The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but all 200+ employees will be retained.
AoE III Interview 01:19 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Real-Time Strategy
(0 comments)
Computer Games Magazine interviewed Ensemble's Greg Street about Age of Empires III. Here's a taste about the visuals that should make your nipples tingle with excitement (mine are at least):
Computer Games - What can you tell us about the graphics engine features for Age of Empires III?
Greg Street - For too long, RTS games have been in the long shadow of the first-person shooters. When you go to E3, everyone is talking about the FPS games. If a game makes it into Time magazine, it's invariably a shooter. We thought it was high time for RTS games to rise up and claim their portion of the spotlight. So one of our insane early goals was to simply make the best looking game ever. We'll let our fans debate about to what degree we achieved that goal (or to what degree an RTS ever can achieve that goal), but we're thrilled with the attention AOEIII's graphics have gotten so far. Our strategy was pretty simple. We looked at every cutting-edge graphic feature being used in an FPS, and tried to apply it to our world. So we have shaders, we have light blooms and streaking, we have projected shadows, and we have real-time physics. We also had to deal with a lot of situations unique to an RTS game. For example, at the scale at which you view our oceans, it's easy to make them ripple so fast that they look like bathtubs. All of these changes resulted in a graphics engine that started out as the AOM Bang! engine, but in which almost every line was code was rewritten to get where we are.
Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:45 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- hardware: General News
(0 comments)
Game Reviews 12:30 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: General News
(4 comments)
In Other News... 12:15 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- In-House: In Other News...
(40 comments)
I'm still undecided if I'm going to get a PSP or not... Is having a gaming system to play while you're on the can really money well spent? I think I'd miss out reading all those gaming magazines if I did get a one. Oh, the decisions... Today's question (besides the PSP on the can thing) is: What kind of audio set-up do you have for gaming?
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