We have a very large list of things we added to make developing a game easier for the level designers. First and foremost is our scripting system, "Morpheus," which we inherited from development on Sin. This allows a level designer to script actions and control just about every aspect of a level from a text file. Since most level designers are not programmers, the language is not super complicated and it's fairly easy to learn when compared to learning a full programming language like C++.

We also added an advanced particle effects system called "Ghost". This too is accessible through a text file. For instance the Uzi has about 6 effects that make it all work. It has a 2 part muzzleflash, smoke, bullet casing ejecting, impact marks, and debris falling off when a bullet hits a wall.

Attention Settlers: 10SIX will officially launch on the afternoon of Monday, February 28th! At that time Planet Visitor will be wiped clean, so Pre-Order your subscription to 10SIX today and get ready to secure your plot of land!

We more than doubled our number of Pre-Order subscriptions over the President's Day weekend! Join the ever increasing masses of players who won't be caught sleeping when 10SIX goes live-- Pre-Order your subscription today! CLICK HERE!

There’s a new patch (version 4.42) for NFS3: High Stakes. A list of game changes are listed on the download page.

Classic CTF Quake 3 Beta has been released. A quick copy/paste reveals this: “The Classic CTF mod incorporates the feel of q1ctf and q2ctf seamlessly. It has brought back most of the things we loved about the older ctf games, namely playability and the grapple! There are four runes now, strength, haste, regeneration and resistance like we had in q1 and q2. Some changes (fixes!) to the sounds and some changes to the cosmetics of some items. Drop runes, weapons, ammo and flags! One of the weapons brought back to life is the SNG (Super Nail Gun) from quake 1. Included with this beta release is one new map.”

The recent Second Genesis announcement raised more questions than it answered. Please tell us more about the concept and story.

Scott: In this game, we aim to combine science fact with science fiction. Remember that it is a game after all. Second Genesis is the codename for a top-secret project that was created to preserve the human race through seeding another planet--sort of a fail-safe plan. Around 1950, not long after the Roswell crash, astronomers discovered that a planetary system revolved around Procyon; all indications suggested a solar system containing planets capable of supporting human life. That was the first domino to fall.

Paul: In a way, the story has a bit of a Noah's Ark feel to it, and in a way, it pays homage to all those great science fiction tales that postulate a new beginning. In Second Genesis, though, the men in lab coats made some serious blunders while getting the project up to speed, and those blunders create a very interesting game situation.

DR: Many developers in the industry (most recently Hal Barwood of Lucas Arts) have complained that computer games don't really have AI, but AS -- artificial stupidity. What are some of the advances that Deus Ex is going to make in terms of computer-controlled AI (or AS)?

WS: I actually think Hal and others underestimate what we're doing in gaming AI-wise -- what they themselves are doing! No, we're not where we want to be and, maybe, where we need to be. But we're doing a pretty decent job of confronting players with interesting characters who behave in more or less believable ways. Where many people -- even many developers -- go wrong is in assuming that the goal of AI should be to recreate human behavior. It's hard to avoid thinking like that, especially in a game like Deus Ex where you're supposed to be in the real world. I fall prey to that kind of thinking all the time (much to my chagrin and, even more, probably, to the chagrin of the team!)

RPOV: The "Masquerade" is a rule that the Vampires must follow in order to hide their culture from humans. Since this rule is quite sacred, will there be some sort of in game penalty (or even death) if a vampire reveals their true self to a human and doesn't (ehem) silence them?

Nihilistic: The Masquerade is actually something that only exists in the modern day timeframe, back in the Dark Ages the clans were much more fragmented and Vampires were less discrete about their nature. According to the license, this is why you have a lot more mythology and superstition in those days; the Kindred were more exposed to normal society. All that changed around the time of the Inquisition. Its a cool aspect to the license, the whole "death of legends" thing has always been a great literary theme. Its nice to imagine that the supernatural hasn't left the world, just gone into hiding.

The Q3Fortress (http://www.q3fortress.com) Mod for Quake 3 Arena was released last night to a large group of Alpha testers made up mostly of Quakeworld Team Fortress and Team Fortress Classic Clans. The Testing was loads of fun and the mod already looks great at it's first release. A bunch of screen shots of the first night of testing can be found at: http://www.qiiiarena.com

incite: Does John Mullins ever stop by your office to intimidate Raven employees? Is he as hard as you make him out to be?

Love: John Mullins has been to Raven several times and only once did he ever beat somebody up. Hey, Jeff Lampo (an artist) had it coming; he shouldn’t have taken the last can of Sprite from the vending machine.

DR: How will control issues be addressed?

RP: The best thing we can do is support an end user's free choice of interface. This means that we should allow end-users to make their own configurations. And, since you can already get a PC style interface for your Dreamcast (keyboard etc), even the most finicky game players can find a configuration they are happy with. But the good news is that the Dreamcast standard controller is designed in such a way that for most games (particularly for those used to playing console games), the control will feel very natural. Gearbox and Valve will be working closely with Captivation (the team doing the technology port) to make sure we're happy with the control scheme. And since we've all played just about every PC first-person game that's gone to a console -- and had the same complaints everyone has about the controls -- you can imaging that the default configuration we come up with for this title will be as good as it can get.

1st place: DOM-Reliquary- by ruineR
http://www.planetunreal.com/ruiner

2nd place: DOM-Hysteria- by Entropy and CyanLongBow
http://www.unreality.org/cyan/mainmaps.htm

3rd place: DOM-Syncronicity][- by No ReMoRsE
http://mappershaven.homestead.com/mappershaven.html

Trigger Darts" - I wanted to include something you could shoot, but the Mouse metaphor kind of falls apart there. What would a mouse shoot? I'm open to suggestions. As a placeholder, I've added these Trigger Darts -- purple meaningless cone pickups that you can accumulate and fire using your AltFire key. Firing them at the ball is a way of foiling your opponents from afar. Firing them at Mouse Fans (because of as-yet not completed code) will eventually cause the fans to disappear. You can still score a headshot on a Mouse Fan. Watch how fans from the opposing team react when you do.

MouseFan Cheers - MouseFans rooting for your team go bonkers when you score a goal.

Ball Behavior - The ball now behaves more like a ball should. It continues to get nudged as you kick it, it moves faster when you're powered by cheese. It no longer freezes and trips you up.

Still to come:

- Some semblance of documentation and more screen shots. Not much of a site yet....
- Better Blimp - I'm going to render this and make it an Actor. Moving brushes can only do so much
- Mouse Fan Jeers - If fans for your team LIKE what you do, the opposing fans should hate it, right?
- Wandering Mouse Fans - I'd like to see those guys walking around the stadium a bit.
- New Arena (s) - I want to make a pinball-style arena with bumpers that fling mice all over the place, and a booby trap arena, and maybe a MouseBall On Ice level.
- Single Player version - booby traps, puzzles, maybe a Cat...who knows?

To install the Bonus Pack, just double click the .umod file and it should begin installing. If you are having trouble, extract the ZIP file to a temporary folder such as C:\Temp, and then use Start Run to run the following command:
C:\UnrealTournament\System\Setup.exe install C:\temp\UTBonusPack.umod

"I don't understand how High Command can believe success is possible in this new "mission". We've fought back and triumphed against vastly superior odds before, but the prospect of facing SIX well- equipped strike teams worries even me. There's only so long a human can stay alert and fit in combat before finally succumbing to the need to rest. We're not robots here -- we're men and women made out of flesh and blood. If we are going to have any shot at coming out of this mess with our heads still attached we need to end the fight quickly. We can't let this fight turn into a war of attrition because if that happens, we won't have the resources or endurance to continue that kind of fight for long. Now you all know what's ahead of us, so let's go, go, go!"

-256x64 Jungle

-Designed for 2 Players

-Use Map Settings

-Veteran-Level Scenario

If Blizzard has its way, Warcraft III will once again change the playing field for strategy/RPG fans everywhere -- and all we can say about it is thank god. Strategy games have begun to smell a bit like that old pond behind the ranch house, but with any luck we'll all be drinking some fresh mountain spring water from Blizzard mountain come this winter. And hopefully I'll stop making wretch-tastic metaphors like the previous one when that time comes.

Computer Game Fan ponyed up a small preview of Gunship!, MicroProse’s new WWIII flight sim. They also include three shots.

"Evolva was inspired by many of the hot topics for the millennium such as cloning, genetic engineering and the genetically engineered food debate", Vince explained.

UC: If you had one paragraph to sum up Duke Nukem Forever. What would you say?

JA: Take all the action, suspense and thrill of you favorite movie, mix it with a healthy dose of Duke attitude and then tie it in with an incredible story and allow it to unfold under your complete control.

A moose head

Cuckoo Clock

4 Extra Wall Lights

5 Bonus Skins

a Slot Machine

5 New Houses, and more...

No one ever accused Ultima IX of lacking in the graphics department. The game shipped with absolutely beautiful scenery and landscapes; the game designers and artists obviously put a lot of thought into the details of Britannia. If the game would've shipped with a decent frame rate and more robust support for DirectX, U9 would've been the most visually impressive game of all time. However, unless you were playing the game on a weather-predicting Cray supercomputer being cooled by liquid nitrogen your experience was probably a lot like watching a slide show.

"No one ever accused Ultima IX of lacking in the graphics department. The game shipped with absolutely beautiful scenery and landscapes; the game designers and artists obviously put a lot of thought into the details of Britannia. If the game would've shipped with a decent frame rate and more robust support for DirectX, U9 would've been the most visually impressive game of all time. However, unless you were playing the game on a weather-predicting Cray supercomputer being cooled by liquid nitrogen your experience was probably a lot like watching a slide show."

By pre-ordering Allegiance at store locations, or online at EB World or Gamestop, gamers will receive an additional month of free Allegiance Zone membership ($9.95 value), plus either a Limited Edition Strategy Guide (for pre-orders from Electronic Boutique) or 16 Microsoft Allegiance Collector Cards (for pre-orders from Babbages & Software Etc.). Combine this offer with the one month of free Allegiance Zone membership already available with the retail purchase of the game, and players receive two free months of larger-scale games, special events, persistent scoring and rankings, and exclusive new content. Microsoft encourages gamers to place their pre-orders early, as all offers are based on limited quantities.

Wake up, shower, eat, work, sleep, repeat?. Sound boring? Maybe in real life, but not in Maxis and Electronics Arts newest sim game, The Sims. From our most basic tasks like going to the bathroom, to our most complex emotions like falling in love, The Sims has it all and then some...Highly Addictive. That's the best way to sum up this game. It will have you spending more time with your virtual family than your real one.

Grand Theft Auto 2 is definitely a fun and addictive game. I mean, who wouldn’t want to walk around the city with semi automatics killing everything that moves. Then when the police, secret service, and the army want you, you steal a tank and start massacring them. After you finish manhandling them, it would be about time to take over the world!! Muhahahahah... er, no, I don’t need a psychiatrist, thank you very much.

New 1st person perspectives in rich, highly detailed environments

Employ stealth, espionage action, and overwhelming fire power as each mission demands.

Full arsenal of exciting Q-lab gadgets.

Over 10 exciting missions in exotic locations - race through Istanbul, fight your way through
a Russian nuclear submarine in Baku, and ski your way through the Caucasus Mountains.

Follow the plot through real-time 3-D cinematics and exciting clips from the blockbuster movie.

Improved precision targeting for your lethal arsenal of more than 20 weapons.

Full Internet and LAN multiplayer support. (PC only)

3 new character skins: the Skaarj Hybrid, Nali, and the Nali WarCow. 11 new levels: DM-Agony, DM-Cybrosis][, DM-ArcaneTemple, DM-Malevolence, DM-Shrapnel][, DM-HealPod][, DM-Mojo][, CTF-Cybrosis][, CTF-Hydro16, CTF-Noxion16, and CTF-Darji16. Additionally, Epic has included relics to your game which extends re-playability to UT.

Every level designer has developed his or her own unique style of design. What are some of the things you do in deathmatch or single player levels to make your levels stand apart from others?

I disagree that every level designer has their own unique style. I only wish it were so, as I review level after level from off the net. When I check these levels out, even stuff that gets high ratings on the level review sites, I usually am bored out of my skull by what I see. With a few noteworthy exceptions, most everything out there just looks the same to me.

Here's what I do. It's dangerous, so be forewarned! I never copy anyone else blatantly. I make every map different from the last map I've done, and I never follow trends or what is perceived to be cool, especially on the Internet.

I build levels to please myself. That's why they are different.

Microsoft announced today that a new civilization has been added to Allegiance, its online space-action game that is currently in open beta. Coming to stores in April, Allegiance will be playable on the MSN Gaming Zone (http://www.zone.com) as well as via independent game servers worldwide. Allegiance combines furious space combat with the social challenge of squadron-based combat in a stunning 3D universe.

In the game's story line, the earth is destroyed and the remaining survivors have taken flight into space. Instead of banding together for mutual survival, humanity divides into several warring factions such as the Iron Coalition, GigaCorp, The Bios, and others, squabbling over the remaining resources critical to survival. The new civilization, the Belters, joins this mix of factions. They are comprised of a loose collection of independent traders, prospectors, pirates, and privateers. Led by unlikely hero Orion Sholes, the Belters pilot an odd mix of captured and jury-rigged equipment referred to as the "Junkyard Armada." Once the game ships, the Belters faction will only be accessible to subscribers of the Allegiance Zone.

Allegiance will be available in retail stores for an anticipated street price of US$40. Gamers can then choose to play on public-domain servers free of charge or access the Allegiance Zone, a subscription service that provides larger-scale games, special events, persistent scoring and rankings, and new exclusive content such as the Belters faction. Players are eligible for one free month on the Allegiance Zone ($9.95 value) with game purchase. The MSN Gaming Zone will host the Allegiance Zone as well as a continuously updated list of free game servers worldwide. The Allegiance Server Code will be also be made available as a free download to parties interested in hosting game servers.

Allegiance is currently in open beta. Gamers are welcome to download the game and joins thousands of other combatants in interstellar war. For details visit:

http://www.microsoft.com/games/allegiance/beta.htm

In Allegiance, players can pilot and customize many different classes of ships; from scouts and fighters to battle cruisers. They also have the ability to switch between a variety of combat roles, including pilot, turret gunner or base commander. Hundreds of players can engage each other in death-match style arenas or in cooperative play. Gamers will be able to represent their identity, through recorded accomplishments and medals, giving combatants the chance to become part of an ongoing, dynamic universe. Allegiance also features rich strategic elements such as controllable assets, researchable technology and command features.

The interview goes over 3 pages; has lots of images and information; and more importantly is a good read for any gamer, whether they be a SoF fan or someone who knows nothing about the game.

Here is the official press release:

"Windows 2000, the newest Windows NT platform, is upon us. The 32-bit operating system boasts enhanced ease of use, Plug and Play support, and DirectX 7.0a support built right in, among other features. Microsoft stands by its NT marketing angle, saying that Windows 2000 is for business users only, but when was the last time anyone believed anything Microsoft said without concrete proof?

We certainly didn't believe the company, so we took a long, piercing look at Windows 2000 Professional (the end-user version of the new OS) and tested it with scads of current, and a few not-so-current, games. Is it time to give up on Windows 98? Should you upgrade? In a word, no."

Also from them is a review of Quake3,

The game, like Quake II (Q2) is real easy to control and like Q2, Q3:A will be loved by millions, played by billions and soon enough there will be a little country somewhere called 'Quake 3: The Real Arena' where your only requirement for citizenship is a good PC, a fast Modem and a copy of Quake 3: Arena.

And a review of the Razer Boomslang:

This mouse is relatively compatible, it seems to run fine on Windows 98/98SE systems, but obvious drivers for windows2000 (aka NT5), have not been released, and this has cause for more than just a few hours hopelessly trying to get the darn thing to work. Also, it is suggested to use this mouse with a thin plastic mouse pad, such as the official Razer one (available to order online), because the conventional mouse pad just doesn't do the job. Normal mouse pads give drag to the sleek low profile of the Boomslang.

Secondly are from Empire Interactive - 3 new screenshots (short Q&A too) from Mind's Eye Productions' upcoming real-time sheep simulation, Sheep.

Third are from a Swedish game developer, The Other Guys, who have released the following 4 new screenshots from their upcoming 3D thriller action/adventure game, Side-Scene.

"Hardware manufacturers have long since acknowledged the need for greater system memory bandwith, and the two chipset giants, Intel and VIA, have taken drastically different paths. Surprisingly, Intel has abandoned its Rambus plans due to skimpy supplies and eyepopping prices, in favor of the latter's PC133 standard. KingMax takes your standard TSOP memory module and changes it into a unique BGA design, claiming much cleaner signals with less noise and greater stability at high memory speeds.

"I first used the demos that were provided that was supposed to demonstrate the “advantage” of having this card. I didn’t hear any advantage, though. The demo gave me only adequate 3D sounds. I couldn’t hear distinctly objects circling around me and over me. The direction of the sounds also confused me a bit. I didn’t know whether it was in front of me or behind me. It was quite disappointing."

The official Crimson Skies site offers gamers a wealth of information, including a detailed features list, story background, a multitude of screen shots, and concept art. The site also offers downloadable audio clips and AVIs from the game, as well as a behind the scenes interview with John Howard, the lead designer for Crimson Skies.

In Crimson Skies, the planes are faster, the engines are bigger, and the guns are more powerful. In this alternate history, the year is 1937 and the United States is fractured into squabbling nation-states brought about by the weight of the Great Depression, regional prohibition, and mounting isolationism. Giant Zeppelins crisscross the skies carrying both passengers and cargo, and airborne bandits are a constant threat. It is a time of gun ship diplomacy and airship piracy, as dastardly villains, beautiful air-privateers and valiant militia forces battle for control of the skies over North America.

The transcontinental railroad and the budding highway system are in shambles due to the constant border wars of the hostile nation-states of North America. In an effort to maintain commerce and trade, flight becomes the vital lifeline connecting allied countries. America has fallen in love with the airplane, not the automobile, resulting in an explosion of unusual and exotic hot rods of the sky.

The creative team of FASA Interactive, acquired in 1999 by Microsoft and led by Jordan Weisman (one of the creators of the BattleTech universe), John Howard and Dave McCoy, is providing the vision and design expertise for the Crimson Skies PC game. Zipper Interactive, the development team behind "MechWarrior 3," is leading the day-to-day development of the new game.

[RW] What are some exciting features we can expect in Daikatana?
[Kelly Hoerner] Well, that's a pretty general question, because there are so many great things. Lots of new engine enhancements, the Sidekick concept has never been done at this scale before, practically four different games in one, etc.

GAMELINKS.