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Dark Messiah Tweak Guide 08:17 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(0 comments)
If you don't want to wait for the patch (or just want the game to run and look better if you don't have any issues) TweakGuides kicked up a nice Dark Messiah Tweak Guide:
The Dark Messiah of Might & Magic Tweak Guide is here to help people resolve their issues with this game and to get it to a playable state as quickly as possible. There are several differences between the way the Source engine works in Dark Messiah and other Source games, so I've retested all the commands originally found in my Half Life 2 Tweak Guide, added several important new ones unique to Dark Messiah, refined descriptions to be clearer, and grouped together at least a dozen commands which can help reduce stutter. Also included are a range of specific troubleshooting tips for known bugs, and of course details of all the in-game settings and what they actually do in terms of performance and visual quality.
Here's an update on the patch if you missed it.
$50 Worth of NFS Carbon Codes?! 08:12 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Consoles: Xbox 360
(22 comments)
Cruising Xbox Live! marketplace reveals that the cost for all of the Need for Speed: Carbon codes is a whopping $50. Here's a run-down of each code and how many points they cost.
Dark Sector Ditches PC? Blog Update 07:39 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Consoles: PS3
(6 comments)
The new Dark Sector website (which has removed the PC logo for supported platforms) mentions that there's a blog update from Digital Extremes Producer Sheldon Carter. The topic is, "Everything you know about Dark Sector is probably wrong." Thanks Blue's News.
Hi, I'm Sheldon Carter, the Producer of Dark Sector. I managed to bog down our Project Lead, Steve Sinclair, with enough work that I was able to screw him out of the honour of the first post on this Blog.
So, let's get down to it: Everything you know about Dark Sector is probably wrong.
I liked that tag line just because of all of the mystery surrounding this project for the past months, but after the Game Informer article it's not as true anymore. For us, it was pretty cool to finally be able to reveal so many of the secrets about the game, the setting, and to actually show the graphics and gameplay to the press. Even better was that it was really well received and it turned out to be a great article. So what exactly has the game transformed into?
Dynamic Weapon Pricing Goes Live 06:10 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(0 comments)
Valve has set the Dynamic Weapon Pricing system live on Steam for all you Counter-Strike: Source cats. Just restart your Steam client and it shall be installed.
VoodooPC Quad-Core OMEN 05:47 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- hardware: General News
(18 comments)
For the low price of $5,500.00 USD and up, VoodooPC is prepared to ship you a Quad-Core OMEN:
VoodooPC, manufacturer of high-end, personalized gaming PCs, announced today that it will be upgrading its flagship OMEN gaming PC to include the Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core CPU. This is hardly a surprising move, as chief competitors Alienware and Dell's XPS line will of course also be jumping aboard the quad-core train for their highest end gaming systems.
The subject of the excitement, the Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800, is the first consumer quad-core CPU to launch. In highly-threaded applications, the CPU has been initially tested as much as 70% faster than the previously highest-end Core 2 Extreme dual-core. As the most processor hungry PC games are patched to make use of the potential for more threading, gamers should expect some impressive performance gains from new quad-core CPUs from Intel, and soon, AMD.
I dunno, it sounds like a lot of moolah to fork over for an HP.
Warhammer Online Screenshots 05:00 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: MMOG
(20 comments)
Mythic sent over a bunch of new Warhammer Online screenshots. The first batch are from the Black Crag zone, then character shots of the Orc choppa and Dwarf runepriest classes.
Black Crag
"In the Age of Reckoning, the narrow, twisting ravines of Black Crag are infested with Orcs, Goblins and other unsavory creatures. Some of the deadliest among these can be found in Poisonwing Canyon, which is home to a great brood of Wyverns that will viciously attack any creature that enters their territory. Perched high atop a pinnacle of rock where she watches over her brood is Diemonus, the great matriarch of the Wyverns. She is an ancient and terrible creature, and when she alights from her loft to hunt for a meal, the other beasts who make their home in the crag wisely seek dark places to hide."
(Click to Enlarge!)
     
Orc Choppa
"Playing a Choppa is straight forward. Get in the fight, and stay there as long as you can without getting yourself killed. The longer you're in a fight, the more your morale builds and the more berserk you become. This makes your attacks more powerful and unlocks new devastating abilities. However, the use of these abilities depletes your morale and thus reduces your combat strength. You must decide whether it's more important to maintain your berserker frenzy or unleash a powerful attack upon your foe. You must also remember that you are less well armored than your Black Orc cousins, and generally less durable. The fighting itself may be simple, but strategy is required to reach and maintain your peak effectiveness."
   
Dwarf Runepriest
"In a world where magic is common place, it may seem that the Runepriest's powers are unremarkable. However, his runes offer something unique and powerful - the ability to bind a rune to an object or creature to await a trigger which will unleash its power. A rune-marked blade burns as it strikes, a rune-marked breastplate hardens against a killing blow, and rune-marked flesh awaits only a word of command before releasing its healing energies. By marking his allies prior to battle, the Runepriest is free to join the fight where and when he is needed, be it shaping further runes of power, or entering the thick of the fight with rune staff in hand. It is important to note that runes retain their power even after the Runepriest expires."
   
NVIDIA Forceware 93.71 Released 03:48 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- hardware: NVIDIA
(2 comments)
NVIDIA has released the 93.71 drivers for its GeForce line of graphics cards. You can check out what's new in the 135 pages of release notes (I'm not motivated to delve too deeply into them myself).
Updated Fall Dashboard Patch Released 03:39 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Consoles: Xbox 360
(0 comments)
It looks like it's safe to update your Xbox 360 with the Fall dashboard patch, as Major Nelson posted that an updated, update is now on Live!
An updated version of the Fall Update is now available on Xbox Live which has elminated issues relating to new or refurbished consoles failing after applying the Fall Update. Users who have already applied the Fall Update and are seeing an error message should call their local Xbox Support telephone number. If you already have the update, you will not be prompted for another update.
Dragon Age in Games for Windows Mag 03:15 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Role-Playing
(7 comments)
The artists formerly known as Computer Gaming World have BioWare's Dragon Age gracing their debut cover of Games for Windows Magazine. 1Up has some details, as well as a full-sized screenshot. Our inaugural cover story: a world-exclusive first glimpse at Dragon Age, the next fantasy role-playing game from the fine folks at BioWare (i.e. they who brought you NeverWinter Knights, Baldur's Gate, and Knights of the Old Republic). It's a fitting way to kick off GFW, since Dragon Age is the first PC-only game to come from BioWare in a long, long time (Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire both debuted on Xbox, and the upcoming Mass Effect is exclusive to the Xbox 360) -- it's as serendipitous a sign of "commitment to Windows gaming" as any.
Dark Messiah Update 03:00 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(7 comments)
If you're having problems with Dark Messiah of Might & Magic, they are hard at work on fixing them. Here's a note from Arkane Studio Head Raphael Colantonio:
We're currently fixing a lot of the stuttering that happens with Dark Messiah on some hardware: We're modifying the way we're accessing some of the audio and precache files. A patch will soon be released for both the Retail and the Steam version. It fixes a lot of issues, including a few scripting bugs and some performance [issues]. We are really sorry for the problems some of you have had with the game, and be sure we're fixing them all.
Crysis Delayed 02:41 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(15 comments)
Oh, snap. Crysis and Army of Two have both been delayed according to EA's quarterly financial conference call:
During Electronic Arts' quarterly financial conference call, EA execs confirmed that two upcoming game will not be released in their fiscal 2007 time period that ends on March 31, 2007. Both Crysis (the PC first person shooter from developer Crytek) and Army of Two (the co-op themed console action game) have been moved to EA's fiscal 2008 year that begins on April 1, 2007. No other specific release dates were revealed.
On the bright side, it gives you a little more time to save up for a kickin' new DX10 video card. :)
MoH: Airborne Community Summit 02:20 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(0 comments)
Planet Medal of Honor attended the Medal of Honor: Airborne Community Summit that EA held and shared a multi-page report of what all went down. Here's a taste: Producer, Matt Marsala, joined us after the previous session and discussed game design and gameplay. From what we saw of Operation Husky (one of the five operations in the game), the design has reached a new level of detail due in part to being able to land anywhere in the map. As opposed to other titles where maps are designed in a horizontal sense, the Medal of Honor: Airborne team has thrown all of that out of the window and began thinking in a vertical sense. This new type of design drastically changes how the game is played as well. Enemies will not just be appearing in front of the player, but they'll be coming from behind, the left, the right, and even from above. This is war, and it was fought in a 360 degree fashion. This new type of thinking has changed the gameplay (for the better) and opens up a lot more options to the player. You will not be restricted to taking one route to an objective or even what objective you want to complete first. How you get there and when you get there is completely up to you.
They'll have more coverage throughout the week.
The Ship Free Weekend in Full Steam 02:16 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(0 comments)
Valve is sponsering a freeplay weekend for "The Ship" on Steam that you can download and play for free:
Try The Ship, a massively mysterious thriller (MMT) from Outerlight Ltd, for free this weekend via Steam, the leading online distribution platform. The Free Full Game Trial of The Ship is on now and will conclude on Sunday, November 5 at 1 pm PDT.
Built with Source technology, The Ship is the critically acclaimed debut from Outerlight, a UK-based studio. Steam is the first full-featured broadband platform for the delivery and management of PC games and digital content, and has pioneered its broadband services to over 10 million customers around the world.
Vista Ship Dates Set 01:05 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: General News
(4 comments)
Microsoft revealed today that it would be shipping Vista off to biz customers on November 30th and to general consumers on Jan 30th. Corporate customers, system builders and everyone else who has a spot near the front of the queue should have access to the final code for Vista and Office before the month is out. Both the OS and Office suite are expected to make the transition from a tweaked Release Candidate to the final 'gold master' and hit RTM (Release To Manufacture) stage around the middle of this month.
For Vista, this will include a build number of 6000, which also matches the 6.0 reference that denotes Microsoft considers this the sixth full version of their beloved OS. Both Windows 95 line and NT 4.0 were officially stamped as Windows version 4 (or variants, such as Windows 98 being 4.1); Windows 2000 was christened as version 5, and XP anointed as Windows version 5.1 (due to its being built on the NT/2000 codebase).
Blizzard's Warcraft Encyclopedia 12:54 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: MMOG
(1 comment)
Blizzard announced the launch of the Warcraft Encyclopedia:
Since the release of the first Warcraft game, the lore of the Warcraft universe has been evolving and expanding at an incredible rate. Today, Warcraft lore is spread across four games and three expansions as well as a number of novels, a pen-and-paper roleplaying game, and even a manga series. Now you can find all there is to know about Warcraft in one official source of all things Warcraft: The Warcraft Encyclopedia.
The Encyclopedia will contain information about all major races, factions, and characters, and you will also learn interesting new things about the different worlds that make up the Warcraft universe. The first release of the Encyclopedia focuses mostly on the elves of Azeroth: night elves, high elves, and blood elves, and their relation to each other. You might also want to take this opportunity to brush up on your Darnassian and Thalassian, and if you ever plan to visit the Emerald Dream, it would be best if you read up about it in advance.
Aion Screenshots 12:21 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: MMOG
(14 comments)
NCsoft released ten lovely new screenshots of Aion, an upcoming MMORPG powered by the Crytek (Far Cry) engine. This is one of the cooler games I saw at last E3. Of positive note is the pvp and combat system it uses. It's also a three realm game if memory serves correct (Angels, Demons and Dragons).
(Click to Enlarge!)
         
Halo 2 Vista Developer Diary 12:00 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(4 comments)
There's a new Halo 2 Vista Developer Diary up over at Bungie.net (thanks Shacknews). Here's a revelation from one of the developers: As we've already explained, Halo 2 for Windows Vista will support the use of the Xbox 360 controller, but the mouse and keyboard might be surprisingly popular. Key mappings are fully customizable as of this Sprint, and rumor has it that people at the World Cyber Games were so impressed with the Microsoft Intellimouse after playing Halo that they actually stole them from the booth. Not that I endorse theft…
Labyrinth of Minotaur Screenshots 03:45 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: MMOG
(9 comments)
The NDA dropped for the Dark Age of Camelot: Labyrinth of the Minotaur beta yesterday, so I popped in and took some screenshots. It was the first time I actually adventured inside the Labyrinth, which holds claim as the single biggest dungeon in any mmorpg today. Overall, it was pretty fun. They have these new Minotaur relics that you can capture and run around the frontier with. To get them, you need to defeat the little encounter (it's usually a red-con boss; some are harder, although there are a ton of really nice one-time-drops from them) then you can grab them and go. The relics show up as an icon on your /map, so other groups of players chase you around trying to get them from ya. You can't just get a relic and sit inside a keep or whatever, because they have timers and need to be fed in order to stay active. The brighter the relic shines, the more power it has. Other than the relic stuff, the big-ass dungeon and the mauler, LotM advances character's power with 5 new champion levels, includes a new inventory slot, raises caps another ten points (so, it's 111 now), plus has a bunch of new loot. There's more I'm sure, but I haven't seen it yet. Anyhoo, here are a few snaps from last night's LotM adventure:
(Click to Enlarge!)
        
Upcoming 3D Audio Apocalypse in Vista? 02:45 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- hardware: General News
(50 comments)
Thanks to Jess for the link to a story called OpenAL and Windows which previews what sort of sound solutions Microsoft has come up for Vista: With Microsoft's decision to remove the audio hardware layer in Windows Vista, legacy DirectSound 3D games will no longer use hardware 3D algorithms for audio spatialization. Instead they will have to rely upon the new Microsoft software mixer that is built into Windows Vista. This new software mixer will give the users basic audio support for their old Direct Sound games but since it has no hardware layer, all EAX� effects will be lost, and no individual per-voice processing can be performed using dedicated hardware processing.
EAX has become the de facto standard for real-time effects processing. It has been incorporated in hundreds of games and has become the method of choice for game developers wanting to add interactive environment effects to their titles. Some of the best selling games of all time use the EAX extensions to DirectSound 5.0 and beyond, including Warcraft3, Diablo2, World of Warcraft, Half Life, Ghost Recon, F.E.A.R. and many others. Under Windows Vista, these games will be losing the hardware support that came as standard under the previous Windows Operating Systems, and will no longer provide real-time interactive effects, making them sound empty and lifeless by comparison to the way they sound on Windows XP.
In some cases, where a game specifically looks for a hardware audio path, it may even fall back to plain stereo output. This will be a very different landscape for 3D audio than the one that both Creative Labs and Aureal Technologies� pioneered 8 years ago.
Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:45 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- hardware: General News
(0 comments)
RPG Vault Goodness 12:26 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Role-Playing
(0 comments)
Scions of Fate Interview - Part 1
MGame's North American version of a title that attained huge success in the Far East, YulGang: Balance of Power - Includes four exclusive screenshots
Game Reviews 12:15 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: General News
(7 comments)
In Other News... 12:02 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- In-House: In Other News...
(33 comments)
Sorry about the slow news yesterday. Been working on a cubic-assload of stuff. Okay, okay, most of my day was spent playing games, but that's work too (cough). I have six games to play this week that are in various stages of completion.
Another question of the day from KevlarGorilla, who asks:
List the five best boss battles you've ever played. Think hard!
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