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    Arcade
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    Archive for November, 1999


    Tuesday, November 30, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    PS2 Rate - Underwear Ninja @ 3:59 pm PST
    Tweak Files has a new PS2 rate out. If you don't know what PS2 rate is, and you have been playing first person shooters, then do yourself a favor and check the program out here

    Source: Blue's News

    Nox movies - Surge @ 2:01 pm PST
    Westwood has released 11 short new movies from their upcoming action/RPG, Nox, which happens to be a very cool looking game, heck, I might even say it looks "dialed"!

    Omikron 2 Unveiled - Surge @ 1:54 pm PST
    FGNOnline has posted a little blurb about how Omikron 2 is already in the concept stage of development. According to the story they (Quantic Dreams) hope to retain Bowie's services on the sequel as well. For more info check out the full story.

    OpFor Review - Surge @ 1:53 pm PST
    The Technocracy has smacked up their review of Gearbox's official Half-Life expansion pack and Opposing Force. Going in with high expectations, it came out surpassing most of them! Check it all out here.

    Painkeep 2025 for Q3A - Surge @ 1:50 pm PST
    Word over on Stomped is that Team Evolve is working on Painkeep 2025 for Quake 3: Arena. They are shooting for a mid-2000 release and the name is subject to change. For the full scoop check it out at Stomped.

    Tomb Raider Chat - Surge @ 1:42 pm PST
    This evening at 5pm pacific time, CheckOut games will be holding a chat with Tomb Raider 4: The Last Revelation producer, Mike Schmitt. You can regester for this event (which is required) right over here.

    Gamers Alliance News - Falcon @ 1:50 am PST
    As you might already know SegaSoft recently released the public beta of 10Six, the world’s first million-player action/strategy game, to the
    public. GA-Strategy has an update from a player's recent activity in the first week of the beta, which can be seen here

    Secondly, GA-Source has 2 new screenshots from Computer Artwork'supcoming third-person action hybrid, Evolva.

    And finally they also have 8 new screenshots and descriptions from Rewolf Software's upcoming TC for Valve's Half-Life, these can be viewed here

    Monday, November 29, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Unreal vs. Q3 - Underwear Ninja @ 11:09 pm PST
    I want to hear both sides of the story. If you're pro-Q3 send me why you like Q3 and why you don't like Unreal and vice-versa. If you don't want to write about both, then just write about one, any feedback will be good. I'll read all the information and write an essay on it. I will wait until December 9th or so to start writing the editorial, allowing some people to get Q3 and get a handle on the full version.
    Please if you write in, avoid the demos if at all possible, and if you must use the demo, specify the demo when you mention it.

    -Underwear Ninja

    PS: I better hear from the Gamesurge Staff!

    id Interview - Surebrec @ 8:24 pm PST
    I am totally anti-Quake and pro-Unreal/UT, but if it's news, I'll post it. VE has interviewed Paul Steed of id Software, who has created all the different models in Quake 3 Arena, and also a few in Quake 2. Here's your clip:

    VE: What makes id Software different from all the other game development teams out there?

    PS: Very lean, very hard-working talented people. We have our problems like any other development company. Communication could be better. I could break less key boards or break less things period, but overall there's simply no one who doesn't take their job seriously and give it less than 110%. Especially the owners.

    Anachronox Interview - Surebrec @ 8:17 pm PST
    NGNetwork has posted a swank interview on Ion Storm's upcoming Q2-engine powered RPG, Anachronox. In the interview, they interview Lee Perry of Ion Storm. Here's a little clip for you all:

    NG: What was the biggest challenge graphically with Anachronox?

    LP: The biggest challenge for Anox is using the Quake engine to do something completely new. Using tools meant for deathmatch maps aren't in any way conducive to creating environments that have to function as a real location. It's definitely the goal of the game's graphics as a whole to show what can be done with existing software if you're willing to look at it in a completely different light and try something new. Breaking out of the molds of traditional Quake level design was a tough leap, but it's definitely paid off.

    UT Interview - Surebrec @ 8:14 pm PST
    The girlies at GameFan have posted a new UT interview with Juan Pancho Eekels of Digital Extreme, who helped out with the development of UT and Unreal 1. The interview includes how he joined DE, some of his thoughts on Unreal/UT, and the future of DE.

    10six Report - Surebrec @ 8:04 pm PST
    The boys from GA-Strategy sends word that they have posted a report on the first week of the beta. Here's a little about the game:

    The goal in 10six, like Command & Conquer, is to mine materials that will earn the player credit for their base. Each player is allotted a plot of land, and they must maintain and defend the camp, for the world operates in real-time. Showing up online on a regular basis to maintain your camp is an integral part of the game design, since the game is constantly running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

    They have also posted a first look of 10six with more info on the game and 8 new screenshots.

    A good server for Counterstrike - backup @ 5:46 pm PST
    Ever wanted to be ranked by the theCLQ.com? Well now you can by playing on the official NCTA clan server which autoposts its stats to the CLQ. One of our fellow GS Staff Members, Munkee, who is also my friend is ranked 184 in the world. This is great considering the thousands of players out there.

    The address of the server is as follows:
    209.118.215.53:27015
    if it doesn't work take out the :27015.

    You can acccess the server from the console using this command in Half-Life console.

    Connect 209.118.215.53:27015
    or
    Connect 209.118.215.53

    -Happy Fragging!

    New Article! - backup @ 4:59 pm PST
    Yup, my latest is up concerning the Battle of the Bandwidth. It's small (around 2 pages), but gets to the main points and gives a lot of information. In the days of the high speed internet access, the difference these modems will make will make a difference of maybe 10 kills or even a few hundred hours of downloading time :) The article takes DSL, Cable, and ISDN and compares them, giving you advantages and disadvantages of each one. Check it out right here.

    Soulbringer Website Launches - Surge @ 1:50 pm PST
    The official Soulbringer website has been launched. Soulbringer is a real-time 3D/RPG adventure that features numerous quests to resolve, a sophisticated magic system, realistic combos combat system, and more. All though theres not much there now im sure it will become a great site.

    Evolva 'Before and After' Screenshots - Surge @ 1:46 pm PST
    GA-Source has posted a pair of new shots from Computer Artwork's Evolva. These two shots show off the before and after shots from the same scene, one in wireframe mode, the other in its normal textured beauty. Kinda like a wake up call to the amount of polys that a single character has. Check it out.

    New Mad Catz Website Unveiled Tomorrow - Surge @ 1:44 pm PST
    Mad Catz announced today that they will be unveiling their new website on Tuesday November 30, 1999. In which they will also launch a special 12 Days Of Christmas Prize Giveaway.

    Blizz Dynasty Finally Up! - Gibb @ 1:42 pm PST
    After 3 months of waiting, Blizzard Dynasty is finally up. Here's a statement from CannonBalls about the new site-
    We're going to be running this website in a much different fashion than how our previous sites were run. This is not a personal page, and we're not a community page. We'll not update about other website's new designs, because that's not what we're about. We're here to bring you information on Blizzard Entertainment, it's games, and all that comes with it. That is the bottom line.

    Rally Champ 2000 Patch - Surge @ 1:33 pm PST
    3dfiles sends word of a Rally Champ 2000 patch that has just been released by Magnetic Fields. Among things fixed are a few 3dfx problems and some improved networking code. Get it right over here.

    Razer Mouse - Underwear Ninja @ 12:50 pm PST
    FiringSquad has a review up on the Razer Boomslang 1000. From what I have read, this mouse kicks ass. I ordered my Razer Boomslang 2000 about 3 weeks ago, I should get it this week, and I'll let you know if everything is true : ). Meanwhile read FiringSquad, then read about the Razer.

    Thin Line Dissolving - Falcon @ 2:18 am PST
    The Adrenaline Vault has an feature article titled, "Thin Line Dissolving" which discusses the capability for online gaming on the console, and how it has and possibly will develop in the future. You can view the article here

    King of the Hill Tourney - Falcon @ 2:10 am PST
    On the subject of online gaming providers, Mplayer is sponsoring the King Of The Hill Tournament starting tomorrow so you will all want to be entering to prove that you are the best of the best.

    When:
    This is a five week King of the Hill Tourney. The first four weeks will consist of open play, with the finals taking place on the fifth week.
    Where:
    Special King of the Hill Tourney Rooms
    What's at Stake?:
    A cool mplayer.com mousepad goes to the top four winners and a retail game CD, a special icon, and tons of bragging rights goes to the top Week 5 winner.
    The Facts:
    These days it's all about respect and the best way to get your share is by being at the top of the heap looking down. That's what the Mplayer.com 'King of the Hill' events are all about. This is your chance to show the world how good you really are. Not to mention you can also win some cool prizes. The Mplayer.com King Of The Hill tourneys take place one night per week over the course of four weeks, with the finals happening in the fifth week. The top four contestants from each week (a total of sixteen) will meet during the finals to determine the big winner. The Mplayer.com Wizards are running the show and on game day you can find them in the game lobby in special 'King Of The Hill' rooms. They'll hook up interested players and generally keep the peace.


    You can view the results and rules here

    Ultima IX: Ascension First Look - Falcon @ 2:07 am PST
    GamerPress.com has a first look preview including screenshots on-line of Origin and Electronic Arts' role-playing game, Ultima IX: Ascension. Here's a clip:
    The interface is neat. It's 3rd person and the camera moves around as necessary. Not at all awkward like Tomb Raider. You move with the keyboard, mouse or both. I suggest the both option. Things are manipulated as always. Click em, if you can do something to them you do, if not you don’t. One frustration was that it is REALLY easy to get disoriented. There was one time I had myself so close into a corner that I couldn’t move. I was lucky enough to hit the back button on the keyboard and got myself out of the jam. This isn’t really a CON in my mind. The awkwardness goes away as you get used to traveling with the Avatar. My suggestion here is to get really comfortable with walking and getting around BEFORE you talk to the Gypsy.

    Chrono Cross Guide - Falcon @ 2:02 am PST
    GameFAQ's has a new version (v0.4, 11/29)FAQ + Walkthrough for the PlayStation console system role-playing game, Chrono Cross. It's well detailed and contains around 100kb of text
    -Gameheadlines

    news@ SnipersAlley - Falcon @ 1:41 am PST
    Snipers Alley has just posted out their latest competition. This week you could walk away with no less than 11 PC titles, such as Apache Longbow, Championship Manager 2, F-16 Fighting Falcon, Jimmy Whites Whirlwind Snooker, Grand Theft Auto to name but a few. To enter, just get over to http://www.snipersalley.com/competition/index.shtml and answer a simple question, that's all there is too it.
    They have also just put up a first look of Maxis latest God Genre game the Sims. In this first, they outline the basic idea of the game, and a biography of its cheif developer Will Wright. Oh, we also have a boat load of screens as well. Check out 1st look here

    News Script - Falcon @ 1:28 am PST
    If you noticed the little bits of news downtime in the past day it is because we were in the process of upgrading our news script (or trying to). So far theres been no success and it's probably going to wipe our current news, I'll try again within the next few days, so if you notice theres no news on the main page don't panic.

    On the note of CGI, we're in the middle of setting up a FFA Links Page, so soon you will be able to add your own link, so stay tuned!

    Sunday, November 28, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Alternative Gaming - Facsimile @ 9:21 pm PST
    Y'know, with all this hype of the upcoming Holiday, many people, or all of us, overlook the Simpler things. With our graphics accelerators and Mega-Uberfast processors, we seem to miss Things that focus on gameplay directly, or more of the social aspect. Things such as MUD's have frequently been passed by in favour of "Better" rpg's like 'Asheron's Call' or 'Everquest'. However, Muds can be just as, if not more fun than a graphic intensive game. For one, you'll never experience any lag! To use this, you'll have to get a mud or mush client, then find a server. A good one I've found is Avatar. The server is Avatar.Walrus.com. And then other things that are hard to explain, like a strange phenomenon called E-FEDs. These are Wrestling Federations that are completely based on the internet. A good example is the FWF. It unleashes the creative writer, as well as the bloodthirsty animal within you. I suggest give these free, enthralling gaming incarnations a try, much cheaper than Q3!!!

    Rush Magazine Goes Online - Daklown @ 6:43 pm PST
    Rush Magazine, a publication geared for men, has just recently gone on-line. Although it has no gaming content, Rush does offer its readers a wide range of material, ranging from: opinion columns, articles, interactive features, film reviews, video reviews, interactive sports features, delectable pictorials, (Editor's Note - You know you only want the porn....)a streaming radio station, an advice column, roundtable discussions involving our readers, a controversial and active forum, and much more. Check it all out at http://www.rushmagazine.com

    New Impression - backup @ 6:32 pm PST
    Well, you got what you've been waiting for around 10 minutes (WTF, how do you do editors notes? Editor's Note - Tisk tisk tisk, in 10 minutes you couldn've been very productive people, but instead you sat around waiting for "impressions"?! Shame on you), the latest impression ive been working on. While I was at my grandparents in Cinncinatti Ohio I got to test a lot of games out on a cable modem and this is one of them. Make sure you check out the Star Trek Hidden & evil demo impression right here.

    D3Edit v1.0 - Surge @ 6:25 pm PST
    A new version (1.0) of "THE" level editor for Descent 3, Edit has been released (1.4Mb). This new version adds terrain support.( Editor's Note - Too many links = bad looking post, plus I need your ICQ # :)

    Weird - backup @ 5:55 pm PST
    Hmm, this morning the news script wasn't working, now the FTP stuff wont work.(Editor's Note - Dude, is typing in user/pass that hard?! :( I use Getright's FTP client, if it works for me it should work for you 8)How the hell am I supposed to do my job!(Editor's note - shouldn't there be a '?' there? hm... oh well, ranting about it on the news isn't actually concidered "doing your" job.)Lol, anyhow I have another impression in store but I guess you will have to wait til the FTP stuff works.

    Blitz: Disc Arena Interview - Surebrec @ 5:30 pm PST
    GASource has posted an interview Anders Jeppsson, Technical Engineer who is working on Blitz: Disc Arena (funny, they didn't give me the developer)(Editor's Note - Noone cares) who reveals some features of the game, some stuff about the engine and more. If you're like me ( Editor's Note - ewww... noones like you :( )and don't know what Blitz: Disc Arena is about, here's the scoop:

    Blitz: Disc Arena is a cooperative team play and aggressive close combat title that is set in a large arena, with two teams each consisting of up to four players. An official metal disc is placed between the fighters. After the starting signal sounds, both teams fight to get hold of the disc and throw it into the
    opposing teams goal.

    WarcraftIII is Coming Soon - Surge @ 5:29 pm PST
    Hey this is my first real news post here at Game Surge I hope all you Warcraft fans are interested in it. WarcraftIII is going to be coming out around early December to around the 18th. (Editor's Note - This is Blizzard Remember? Unless you mean December 18th 2000....)

    Firehawk Interview - Surebrec @ 5:25 pm PST
    Looks like 24HG (Editor's Note - 24HG rox!!!!) has posted an interview with Firehawk, former staff member of VE, which continues their odd interviews with VE staff members. Anyways, here's a clip from the screwed-up interview:

    Tex (Editor's Note - "The Bitch" Tex says if I ever do this to 24HG he will kill me. This is waht you get for giving me admin power! :): Where does Billy get his crack that he 'feeds' to his group of chimps?

    Firehawk: Billy, with his infinite number of industry contacts, knows this really cool guy from Colombia who cuts us a really good deal on his ho-made crack. Combine that with my contacts in BC (which, as we all know, is a great supplier of weed) and Dave's acid-dropping Georgian college chums, and you've got one happy, loving, productive VE crew ;-)

    (Editor's Note - he forgot to mention the fact im the biggest supplier of cocaine the world has ever known :(

    New Worker - Surge @ 5:25 pm PST
    Hey I'm a new working at Game Surge.. I'll be posting some news whenever I get the time.. Just thought I'd let you guys know..

    Suburban Commando HL Mod Test - Surebrec @ 5:22 pm PST
    I got an email from TheGamers.net,(Editor's Note - Who would send you mail?!) who sends word that Mod Alliance is hosting a test for Suburban Commando, a Half-Life mod which includes 14 new models! To download the test pack of the mod, click here. (Editor's Note - What'd I say about too many links in a post?)

    News Script Back Online - Surebrec @ 4:30 pm PST
    Ok, our news script is back online, thanks to me :). ( Editors note - Toxin is new editor better watch out!)It was just a matter of chmod'ing the news files. Anyways, just so you know, I've edited the Nox preview a little more just so people can get the feel of what Nox is.( Editor's note - you should see what the Nox preview was like before I edited it. Then Cerb decided to act "cool" and edit it again)

    Saturday, November 27, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    New Poll Question - Falcon @ 9:42 pm PST
    It's about time for a new poll, so here it is:
    What's your favourite online gaming service?

    Results of the previous poll:
    If you could have one FPS game for Xmas, it would be...
    UT          366    56.39 %
    Q3A        178     27.43 %
    Other      105     16.18 %
    TOTAL    649     100.00 %

    GamesXtreme Competition - Falcon @ 8:15 pm PST
    GamesXtreme has set up their First Competition and would love any support you can give them, so head over there and take a look.
    The url is at http://gamesx.gamesurge.com/competition/competition.html

    Buy Buy Buy! - Falcon @ 7:45 pm PST
    "As gamers, we feel the burn of the constant push to buy the latest and greatest in everything we do."
    If you feel this applies to you, then head over to our latest editorial written by UnderwearNinja, located here

    i2e2 going on tour! - Gibb @ 5:54 pm PST
    i2e2 is now have a GameXpo, where they will travel to 8 cities across the US and up to 20 players will compete. This is a sanctioned event of i2e2's Brood War Tourney. The eight cities are- San Jose, CA; Las Vegas, NV; Phoenix AZ; Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; New York, NY; Cleveland, OH; and Dallas, TX. For more info and to sign up, check out this .

    Starcraft Map of the Week - Gibb @ 5:46 pm PST
    The Starcraft Map of the Week is Outbreak. Check it out here.

    Interview with Shockman of Red Genesis - Falcon @ 5:04 pm PST
    If you have been keeping up with the site lately you would have noticed a few little tidbits coming in about Chemical Existence, a TC for Half Life. We now have an interview with ShockMan, the lead guy in the project, and you can read it here. It covers information on the Mod, details on what it has to offer, and how it will be unique from others.

    In other news on the Half-life total conversion Chemical Existence, images and informations about a lot of the different characters have been posted on the
    Red Genesis Entertainment site.

    Messiah Demo Soon - Surebrec @ 12:20 pm PST
    news-pimpin VE is reporting that Shiny will be releasing the newest version of the Messiah demo later today, which will be v2. Keep a look out if you're waiting for it.

    Messiah Interview - Surebrec @ 12:11 pm PST
    The happy-go-lucky news pimps of VE have posted a kick ass interview with Dave Perry of Shiny on their swank game coming soon, Messiah. In the interview, they talk about if there's going to be a Multi-player version of Messiah, about the graphics engine for their other game Sacrifice, and how well Messiah will run on the Playstation and Dreamcast.

    BG Patch - Surebrec @ 11:57 am PST
    BioWare has released the latest Baldur's Gate patch. The (English-only) patch fixes multiplayer gaming once DirectX 7 is installed. The patch is also compliant with the BG add-on, Tales of the Sword Coast.

    UT D3D Problems - Surebrec @ 11:54 am PST
    The official UT page has been updated with some problems on UT D3D. Problems include the game running slower than the demo when the demo was the same configuration. Here's the problem:

    The first batch of Unreal Tournament boxes that went to retail stores had a problem that made the UT installer unable to recognize Direct3D as a rendering option. But luckily it's a really easy thing to work-around and once you have UT installed and setup you don't need to worry about it.

    One of the things that could be happening is that you are running in software rendering mode and not realizing it. To check what rendering mode you're using go to the Options menu and choose Preferences. Click on the Video tab. Check where it says Video Device.

    The cards affected are the GeForce256, TNT, TNT2, ATI Rage 128, Matrox G400, Savage 2000, or any other high-powered card that just came out. Check out the page for full details.

    UT Patch Info - Surebrec @ 11:45 am PST
    Mark Rein has updated this .plan file with the following on the Server-Side patch for UT:

    It does NOT say there is a patch available for UT. It says that Steve is working on a patch. What it said exactly was "The server patch posted a couple of weeks ago approximately halved server CPU utilization compared to unpatched demos. Since we went gold, I`ve been working on further optimizations and have halved server CPU utilization again. We`ll release a patch with these optimizations and other enhancements shortly."

    So in plain english that means Steve is working on a SERVER-SIDE patch for UT.

    Guess you guys will have to wait longer... :)

    F22 Lightning 3 Giveaway! - Surebrec @ 11:43 am PST
    Our own hosted site GamesXTREME is having a giveaway! They are giving away 3 copies of F22 Lightning 3 and special edition T-shirts. But even if you don't win, the runners-up will get 17 t-shirts!

    Tim Sweeny Audio Interview - Surebrec @ 11:41 am PST
    As the fourth and last audio interview, Planet Unreal has posted the audio interview with Tim Sweeny, taped while the PU staff were at the UT release party at Epic Games. In the interview, you can find what you might expect from UT retail, how he started programming, some stuff on the mutators, and the improvements from the 348 demo. Enjoy!

    MDK2 Preview - Surebrec @ 11:34 am PST
    Thresh's Firing Squad has slapped up a preview of MDK2, coming soon from BioWare which should be out in early 2000 (unless the world ends :). The preview is included with some damn fine screenshots from the game. Just by looking at these, I want this game. Here's something on the shadows of this game:

    One of the most impressive effects that I had a hard time placing at first was the shadows. I knew that somehow MDK2 felt considerably more real than other games I've played and for about the first 3 minutes I was trying to figure out what, then it hit me as Greg demoed the Doctor and went by the fireplace and I saw the shadow leap onto the couch! Wow! Shadows elongated, got larger when placed on far walls, etc. They moved proportionately faster, etc. I've seen shadows (even very well implemented ones) before, but not to this degree.

    CE Info and Screens - Surebrec @ 11:25 am PST
    Red Genesis, the makers of the Chemical Existance HL mod, have posted some new info and images on the characters in the mod.

    Revenant Review - Underwear Ninja @ 2:25 am PST
    FiringSquad has a review up about Revenant (hence the title of this post.) It's not the type of game I'd play, kinda Diablo style, but if you're into that, then get the move on and start browsing.

    I am the king of non-game related. - Underwear Ninja @ 2:02 am PST
    Well, I'll relate this to gaming somehow... Getright 4.1.1 is out. (Here comes the game relation) If you don't have a download utility such as Getright, you want to check it out before you download that next 25+ meg demo! (see I did it!: )

    whatever... - Surebrec @ 12:36 am PST
    Well, not much to say here. We've been trying to pull together GS, and since Toxin has done such a good job here at GS, we might make him one of the co-webmasters. Also, I played a little SC with him and some people over Battle.net. Haven't played Starcraft for such a long time, and I didn't do that bad.

    Me, a friend, and Mystikal are starting a web design business. And sorry we're not excepting anymore people. We're trying to find a server for the webpage cuz we also wanna host the webpages. Sigh, such hard work and so little time to do it.

    Then I played some UT demo tonite (since I don't have the full version yet), and I found out I suck more than I thought. I barely beat the "average" difficulty bots. Hrmm.

    Friday, November 26, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    New Draken Editing Tools - Surebrec @ 4:33 pm PST
    According to Gamesmania, there are some new Drakan Editing tools out (version 1.10) which can be downloaded from this site. Here's what you can do with these:

    New features in the new tools allow you to create custom 3D models and textures for Drakan. The version includes the same level editor with new texture exporting and model feature. It also has a new 3D modeling tool which will allow you to texture-map and bound arbitrary models in Drakan.

    HL OpFor CD Probs - Surebrec @ 4:31 pm PST
    AVault is reporting that there are some problems with the HL Opposing Force CD. Here is the list of CD drives that might not run the CD:

    -Sanyo CRD-256P
    -Sony CDU77E
    -Acer CD-624a
    -MATSHITA UJDB110
    -Various Pioneer DVD models
    -All Yamaha CD-R's
    -Pioneer DR-A01S
    -Pioneer DR-A24X
    -Samsung SCR-1231

    Because of the holidays, there is no word yet of a fix/patch.

    Legend Interview - Surebrec @ 4:22 pm PST
    The news pimpin site VE has posted an interview with Scott Dalton of Legend Entertainment. Here's a sweet clip for you to digest:

    VE: What was the Unreal engine like when working on it? Is it fairly easy to use?

    SD: Many aspects of the Unreal engine are just light years ahead of anything else out there:

    The CSG approach to BSP, in editor scripting ability, the real-time lighting, quick compiles, extensive actor level control on a case by case basis, etc. At the same time there are some aspects which could be improved.

    Unreal actually seems the hardest to learn if you've already got preconceived editing notions in your brain. I began editing messing around with Doom, but really began in earnest with Quake 1 and 2, so going to a CSG engine after that was initially a difficult shift of mindset, but I can't imagine going back now. I think a lot of people who were into Quake editing initially felt the same, and had difficulty wrapping their heads around the Unreal approach to editing.

    In the end, however, CSG functionality offers so much to the designer that I don't feel I could live without it when working on this type of game. At the same time, I still have a list of features that we just didn't have time to implement into UnreaEd due to WoT's schedule, which we're now addressing. I feel that all of our LDs being familiar with both Quake and Unreal editing (among other things) gives us a good perspective and we're taking some of this spin up time in Unreal 2's schedule to work many good features of other engines/editors into Unreal/UnrealEd. All in all its a great engine, and we hope to make it even better. Particularly the new exporting interfaces, combined with the RonCo Polymer Injection Molding System(tm) is where its at, baby. Once we've got life-sized versions in flame-retardant polymer resin, the real fun begins.

    Q3A Renderings - Surebrec @ 4:16 pm PST
    I saw at Blues News that Stomped has posted the last of the Q3A Character Renderings. These last ones show Gorre, Wrack, and Xaero. If you missed any, you can check em out in the archive.

    UT Release Party Recap - Surebrec @ 4:13 pm PST
    If you missed the UT Release Party that was held on Monday night online, fear not! Planet Unreal has posted a recap of the party. This thing is full of pictures and stuff so check it out.

    UT Patch Info - Surebrec @ 4:07 pm PST
    I saw at the UT Pimp's place (24 hr Gamer) that Barry's World has received this little bit of info on the next UT patch:

    The server patch posted a couple of weeks ago approximately halved server CPU utilization compared to unpatched demos. Since we went gold, I`ve been working on further optimizations and have halved server CPU utilization again. We`ll release a patch with these optimizations and other enhancements shortly.

    Based on my testing:

    Patched demo server with 16 players takes about 60% CPU utilization on a P2-400.

    The new code with 16 players is about 30% CPU utilization on a P2-400.

    - Steve Polge

    Audio UT Interview - Surebrec @ 4:03 pm PST
    Planet Unreal has posted another audio UT Interview, this time with Cliff Bleszinski of Epic Games. The interview talks about stuff like single player ladders and some of the gameplay modes.

    Back - Falcon @ 1:41 pm PST
    Ok, I'm back from a whole week camp, as soon as I sort through the email flood in my mailbox i'll be getting back to site matters. Special thanx to all the staff for keeping the news flowing and Toxin who is keeping those interviews at an amazing rate.

    TR4 Chat - Surebrec @ 11:57 am PST
    GASource sends word that The Croft Times has been updated with some puzzle games courtesy of Core Designs, and you can find a chat with US Producer, Mike Schmitt, and more!

    Lara Croft in the Flesh - Surebrec @ 11:55 am PST
    Since TR4 is gonna be in stores any time now, GASource has posted 12 pics of the real-life body double of Lara Croft, Lara Weller. Nice :).

    Wicked Interview - Surebrec @ 11:52 am PST
    24 Hour Gamer has snagged an intervie with Billy "Wicked" Wilson of VE. In the interview, they talk about things like how VE started up, and where he got his nickname.

    HT: Trial Screens and Details - Surebrec @ 11:46 am PST
    GASource has just received some screens and details on New Media Generation's upcoming tactical team-based multiplayer shooter.

    Odium Reviewed - Surebrec @ 12:56 am PST
    GA-RPG has posted their review of Odium. Here's the snippet:

    Visually, Odium is an outstanding game. In these days of geometry processors and insane fill rates, it doesn't seem to make much sense to use 2D backgrounds when even RTS and console RPGs are evolving to fully polygonal worlds. However, Odium makes the case that not only can 2D be just as immersive and functional as 3D, but the insane levels of detail possible only with pre-rendered rooms heightens the sense of wonder and horror. From the decrepit streets near the entrance to the bowels of a gothic museum (complete with shattered dinosaur fossils and display cases), you always have a definite sense of place and time. At times, the environment can seem a bit too cluttered, and you will probably wonder why you can only search this one box and none of the other dozens of cabinets and shelves in the background. Of course the same is often true in 3D games, where detailed textures are still more common than interactive elements. The 2D environments also allow the game to be played on a wide variety of systems, wit h a basic software renderer if you have no 3D accelerator at all.

    Stephen King's F13 Movie - Surebrec @ 12:48 am PST
    A Stephen King game? Ya, and the games called F13. Still, it could happen. Anyways, Frightware has posted a movie of the game. You can check out this press release for more info.

    Daikatana Screens - Surebrec @ 12:45 am PST
    Gamespot has posted 7 new Daikatana screenshots for the picking. They're also reporting that the game will be out by Christmas Day, Dec. 25. Let's hope so.

    WoT Review - Surebrec @ 12:43 am PST
    And AVault has posted a review on Wheel of Time, the game recently released from GT Interactice based on the best selling novels written by Robert Jordan. Here's your clip:

    The online modes are where WOT comes to life! Arena is deathmatch with ter’angreals instead of shotguns and missile launchers. The interaction between the offensive and defensive artifacts reaches a zenith here, with slow-moving artifacts that pursue opponents through the maps--the “Set it and forget it” of deathmatch--being countered with defensive tools that stamp return to sender on offensive artifacts. I wish Legend could have animated the expressions on people’s faces since Arena is full of hilarious and unpleasant surprises. Some of the more interesting ter’angreal are: Swap Places, which switches your position with a target and confuses any weave they might have launched; Soul Barb, which causes damage to a target whenever he or she activates an artifact; and Minion, which gives birth to AI-controlled creatures. Legend has done a superb job of balancing the ter’angreal, creating defensive shields for each of five offensive elemental weaves--earth, air, fire, water and spirit--and coming up with a winning showcase of special artifacts. Arena is a genuine mental battle between opponents but retains the same intense pace as traditional deathmatch.

    OpFor Review - Surebrec @ 12:39 am PST
    The pimps from Gamespot have posted their review on Half-Life: Opposing Force. From the rating of 9.0, they liked the game :). Here's a clip for you all:

    Like Half-Life, Opposing Force's greatest strength is its success at consistently delivering surprises. You can sense the designers' enthusiasm as one memorable scene unfolds after another, and it compels you to keep playing. Although Opposing Force is only about one third as long as its predecessor, it's packed with original content. There isn't much filler in the game, so while you may finish it in just over ten hours or so, the experience feels much more complete and satisfying than many longer games, which tend to be padded with hours of drearily similar firefights.

    Homeworld Patch - Surebrec @ 12:32 am PST
    The latest Homeworld patch has been released, upgrading it to version v1.04. This thing has a whole bunch of improvements. Here's the changes:

    Homeworld V1.04 - October 21, 1999
    Changes to version 1.03

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    I. TUNING CHANGES
    II. BUG FIXES
    III. ADDED FEATURES
    IV. SOUND CARD ISSUES


    I. TUNING CHANGES
    =================

    o Defender gun stats adjusted
    o Heavy Corvette build time reduced, build cost reduced
    o MultiGun Corvette build time reduced
    o Minelayer Corvette build time reduced, build cost reduced
    o Cloaked Fighter gun stats adjusted
    o Carrier build time decreased
    o Carrier hyperspace cost increased
    o Attack Bomber armor increased
    o Missile armor decreased
    o Missile tracking decreased
    o Missile Destroyer mass increased


    II. BUG FIXES
    ============

    o Bounty rating capped at 250.
    o Homeworld now checks all available CD-ROM drives for the Homeworld CD - the Homeworld CD can be placed in any CD-ROM drive on the system
    o Cheat detection for multiplayer games.
    o Screensavers will no longer activate when Homeworld is running
    o Various Save Game Bugs fixed


    III. ADDED FEATURES
    ==================

    o Homeworld Dedicated Server Support
    - If you create a game and are behind a firewall, you can now choose the server you use when you start the game. People can have lower latency games if they select a server that is geographically close to them. Also, people will be able to create their own Homeworld Servers with a separate program we will release soon.

    New Commands added for online chatting and game control and creation. All of the commands are preceded by an ! mark, this designates the start of a command.

    o Ignore
    - Works only for the chatting in a room. In the chat text box use the following syntax: "!Ignore " You can use this feature to turn add and remove a person from your ignore list.

    o Ban
    - Works only for the Creator of a game. This is entered into the game chat text entry box, you use the following syntax: "!Ban " You can use this feature to add and remove someone from the list of people banned from your game.

    o Kick
    - Works only for the Creator of a game. This is entered into the game chat text entry box, you use the following syntax: "!Kick " You can use this feature to Kick someone from your game.

    o Limit
    - Works only for the Creator of a game. This is entered into the game chat text entry box, you use the following syntax: "!Limit " You can use this feature to limit the maximum number of Human players in your game.

    o The statistics files are now being checked for inconsistencies in multiplayer games. If inconsistencies are detected, warning messages are added next to the appropriate line in the statistics files.

    o The ability to view the world from any ship's point of view. Simply run Homeworld with /pilotView option (e.g. Homeworld /pilotview), and then focus on a single ship. Hit Q to toggle pilot view on and off.


    IV. SOUND CARD ISSUES
    =====================

    Running Homeworld in Windows 9x:
    o Homeworld will use the DirectSound mixer if your sound card driver reports as certified, otherwise Homeworld will use the Waveout mixer. If you have a newer sound card with new drivers, such as the Creative SoundBlaster Live or Diamond MX300, you may receive better performance by using the /dsound command line option because the drivers may not report as certified. If you have a slightly older card, such as the Creative SoundBlaster AWE32, and are having problems with sound try using the /waveout command line option to force use of the Waveout mixer. If you experience crashes that you believe are related to sound try the /waveout and then the /dsound command line options to see if one mixer is more stable than the other with your sound card and drivers.

    Running Homeworld in Windows NT4:
    o Homeworld will default to using the Waveout mixer, you should not use the /dsound option unless you are having crashes that you think may be related to sound.

    Sorry for bogging down the load time of this page :). Anyways, the patch can be grabbed by logging onto WON.net.

    Messiah Worklog - Surebrec @ 12:30 am PST
    I saw at Blues News that Torgier Hagland has updated this .rant page with the latest stuff changed since the demo:

    Here are some of the changes that we have made since the demo release.

    - mip mapping enabled (speed increase ..looks better)
    - added high priority class for Messiah (might fix anti-virus problems)
    - fixed a restart game sound bug - clear screen at startup, removes garbled graphics while waiting for load
    - fixed menu fade problem
    - fixed script sample buffer overwrite (crash bug)
    - got rid of 32 bit resolution check
    - fixed invalid sample error message
    - fixed intro to menu crash bug
    - Fear Factory sample added to main menu
    - fixed glide palette error crash bug
    - fixed TnL buffer size (GeForce only)
    - scripts compile box now displayed on screen
    - fixed A3D bug in their audio card detect code
    - added sound menu selector, user can now optimize his sound system to his hearts content
    - memory preinitialize to avoid swapping
    - new installation graphic added called "the art of possession" to help people figure out possession easier
    - voices for cop, domina, scientists added
    - added ability to use strafe keys when hanging
    - added invert y axis option
    - added camera tension control (camera can now be set to catch up faster)
    - added always freelook option
    - 8 new hand to hand aminations added to Domina
    - 8 new hand to hand animations added to Prostitutes
    - 2 new hand to hand animations added to Chots
    - fixed a bug with the configuration input to use the mouse wheel on some systems
    - spelling error in one of the help boxes

    BG2 Designer's Diary - Surebrec @ 12:26 am PST
    It's not really a Designer's Diary. It's called a "Developer's Journal". PC IGN has posted part 1 to the Baldur's Gate 2 Developer's Diary. In it, Ben Smedstad fills in the details of it's early stages of development. Here's a clip:

    New features included such things as 800 x 600 resolution support, 3D card implementation, 20+ new kits, new proficiencies (including dual wield and non-weapon proficiencies), a new character race (half-orc) etc., etc. (and etc.!) Tweaks were such things like a multiplayer store fix (so all people are not paused in a store when one person enters it – they can continue adventuring or enter the store independently of each other), pathfinding (character “bumping”), and reanimating characters and monsters (both new and old). There were literally hundreds of fixes, both obvious and subtle, that have been made to further improve the game experience. A few features that did not make the cut (for a variety of reasons, mostly associated with technical difficulties): horses, thieves climbing walls, and psionics.

    There ya go :).

    UT Review - Surebrec @ 12:22 am PST
    Gamespy has posted their review of Unreal Tournament. Considering they gave the game a rating of 94, they were pleased:

    Unreal Tournament raises the bar for first person teamplay games. The mutators, bots, teams, and sheer number of maps give the game an awesome depth and replayability. This game is stuffed with content and polished until it gleams. It's hard to find fault with the game -- some of the levels aren't quite up to the highest standard, and maybe new users might be overwhelmed by the depth of gameplay options, but overall this is a very solid product.

    Audio UT Interview - Surebrec @ 12:18 am PST
    Planet Unreal has posted an audio interview with Jack Porter of Epic Games. If you didn't know, the interview was done at the UT Release Party. Jack Porter has done the server browser, menuing coding, and decals at Epic Games. The interview is around 12.5 min long, and weighs in at 2.12 megs.

    Thursday, November 25, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Your Surprise Baby! - Toxin @ 11:00 pm PST
    Well It is 2 AM here, and what am I doing? Making your surprise of cource. "What is it?" you might ask well, I have interviewed 5 members of Digital Extremes, the company that made UT with Epic. Yep, 5 in one big ICQ interview. Check it out here!

    Warcraft 2 Bnet Tourney - Shadow @ 9:56 pm PST
    Yes there is another tournament for War2Bnet Wctownhall will be hosting the tournament. It is going to be a 64 man tournament with 4 different brackets. The maps will be any map that Blizzard has made for the game. You will play three games and they suggest a different map each game. The prizes will be an orc or human action figure that Blizzard has donated to Wctownhall and they will add a little something els to prize. Well that's what they say.The opening day for this tounament is December 1st, 1999 and they will be accepting aplications till September 27, 1999. So head on over to Wctownhall and read the rules the sign up!!

    Chemical Existance Screens - Surebrec @ 7:44 pm PST
    We have just received some brand spankin new screenshots from Red Genesis of their HL mod, Chemical Existance. Thanks guys. Here they are:

    Dolphin Preview/Concept stuff - backup @ 7:09 pm PST
    I found this at a geocities site while searching for some Jet force gemeni walkthroughs.Check it out.

    Im workin on some stuff - backup @ 6:48 pm PST
    Yup, I am working on stuff, so don't worry, I will have stuff up tonight or early tommorow (in the middle of the night). Anyhow, back to jet force gemeni and goldeneye with my cousin. Seeyaz.

    /*slaps himself with a 20 pound turkey.

    Happy Thanksgiving! - Gibb @ 6:08 pm PST
    From all the staff of GameSurge and myself, we would like to wish you a very happy thanksgiving. We all have alot to be thankful for so please think of this before you sit down and eat a 20 pound turkey.

    Well, there isn't really a whole lot of newsworthy things out there, so again, happy thanksgiving!

    No Interview Today - Toxin @ 3:24 pm PST
    Well, there is no interview today :( A pimp can't be pimpin every day y'know... Beside its turkey day and most people are with their families... Well anyway, becuase there is no interview today there will be a BIG surprise tommorow... Stay tuned! :)

    Hey im here! Im alive! - backup @ 7:33 am PST
    That's right, I am here at my grandparents house in Cincinatti, and on their newly installed Cable modem internet connection. So how fast is it? I downloaded the Opposing Force trailer in 2 minutes that is 35 megs. That's like faster than it is supposed to even go!! I am busy busy today, installing graphic cards, memory, buying a tuner card, a cd-rw for them and building them a new system to network. Mmm do I smell Turkey? Can't wait for food. Anyhow, ill be reviewing some games today so stay tuned.

    New Game from Westwood - Underwear Ninja @ 1:32 am PST
    Westwood Studios has a site up about their new game NOX. If you live in the Seattle, Washington area, you'll want to check this out, they got some benefits for you. The game itself looks pretty hot, take a look.

    Staff Needed - Surebrec @ 12:25 am PST
    Well, since we're growing even larger right now, what better time than to get more bigger. We are looking for some people to post general gaming related news daily. Requirements? Good grammar, good spelling, and dedication. That's all. What do you get? A @gamesurge.com pop3 email address, all to your self :). So, if you're interested, send an email this way.

    whatever... - Surebrec @ 12:18 am PST
    Well, happy thanksgiving (to the US people). Today is the day to eat turkey, then fall asleep :). Also a day for football. Umm... sorry for not posting the Unreal map of the day, I was real busy. I finally rented Saving Private Ryan tonite which was a pretty good movie. Anyways, I'll have a Unreal map of the day later today since I'll have some extra time. I got a really cool one. Also, I'm working on a huge article that relates to Unreal. I gotta lotta research to do to write it.

    And amazingly, I managed to squeeze in a Starcraft game tonite on Battle.net with Toxin! Whoa, haven't played SC for like 2 months. We won anyways, thanks mostly to Toxin :). Also, received some cool stuff, and will be posted later :). You'll see :).

    Wednesday, November 24, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Technology related - Underwear Ninja @ 11:24 pm PST
    I know that if you wanted technology, you'd go to technologysurge.com, but here it is anyway.
    There is a new awesome looking MP3 player out by Sony. It's about the size of a large fountain pen and holds 64 MB of music, check it out.

    Source: Spooky at BadassMoFo

    Not a game topic but... - Underwear Ninja @ 11:21 pm PST
    wrongforum at BadassMoFo is running for President. Check it out, he's got my vote for sure : )

    Issues with Ultima 9 - Underwear Ninja @ 8:29 pm PST
    Voodoo Extreme is linking to an article that links to an article that links to an article.. just kidding, they're linking to Daily Radar concerning issues which have come up with some video drivers on Orgin's latest release. Read the whole deal here or get the short version (for you impatient people) here.

    3dfx Drivers for Linux? - Underwear Ninja @ 5:12 pm PST
    HaB at GameGirlz wrote a short blip about 3dfx, concerning Linux drivers. I'd tell you about it, but then you wouldn't go look. If you're using Internet Explorer, hold shift and click here and you won't lose us. Read the article, and then come on back. : )

    Wanna Help those less fortunate? - Underwear Ninja @ 4:59 pm PST
    Games of Encouragement is taking donations to help The Ronald McDonald House. Check it out here. Please donate what you can, we want the youth to have the ability to play Quake just like you and I. If you have your own site, they would love for you to link to them. In the least, give it a look.

    Pimpin tha Interviews - Toxin @ 4:58 pm PST
    I'm on fire now! :) I have written an interview with model maker/animator James Green of Epic! Included with this great interview is some new concept art of either a new model for UT or for a new project. check it out!

    New map of the week - Pyro Man @ 4:40 pm PST

    Download Outbreak

    November 24, 1999

    "What is it with the Koprulu Sector, anyhow? It seems like every week there’s another skirmish, insurgency, sortie, planned offensive, counter strike, police action, border conflict or plain old-fashioned war breaking out. While the chaos and anarchy are great for a spacefaring merchant vessel that’s willing to transport certain cargo of questionable legality, I sometimes have to stop and wonder if this madness will ever end. Of course, this is also right about the time the Captain slaps me upside the head and...

    "(external entry) Bailey, stop daydreaming and get back to work!"



    -Personal entry of First Mate Norris Bailey

    Recovery Vessel Starheaper

    Download it now! (271K)



    • 256x256 Badlands

    • Designed for 2-6 Players







    Enlarged View

    (221k)

    CliffyB on UT Player Limits - Surebrec @ 3:11 pm PST
    I saw at PU that CliffyB has updated his .plan file with some stuff on the player limits of certain maps. Here's the update:

    Something is really distressing me when I browse the server list in Ubrowser in UT.

    Many server admins think that just because a map shipped with the game that it is ok for dozens of players to play at once.

    Deathmatch maps like "Fractal," "Oblivion," and "Stalwart" are TINY and are meant for one on one, no more. When you run a server with a 32 player limit and add these maps to your cycle list you're just ruining the play experience for those who are trying to find a good local server.

    CTF maps like "Niven" are meant for 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 CTF, nothing more. They're not even in the default map list, this is for a REASON!

    So, please, don't cycle these maps unless you're keeping your max players very low.

    Q3A on Dreamcast? - Surebrec @ 3:06 pm PST
    I saw a post at Scary's Shugashack that Gamespot is reporting that Q3A will be coming to Dreamcast. The game is being planned to be released in the late summer and will use the Dreamcast online system. It's also a possiblity that Q3A player of the Dreamcast will be able to play Q3A player of the PC while online. Now, this is my opinion, but usually PC-to-console game fail (Starcraft to N64 is a good example).

    Daikatana Screens - Surebrec @ 3:02 pm PST
    I saw at Stomped that Gamer's Voice has posted 7 new screenshots from Ion Storm's Daikatana. They say it will be out sometime by Christmas. Somehow I doubt that, but miracles can happen.

    Demo news - Surebrec @ 2:40 pm PST
    AVault has posted 2 demos! One is for AIWars which weighs in at 25.9 megs. Here's a clip on the game:

    Your role is to select a computer system and a set of basic programs to start the game. Once on the NET, you will need to explore and find information that you can sell on the black market so that you may increase the power of your computer or acquire more advanced software. You can have more than one goal to achieve to win the game and none will be set for you, except survival. If you choose, you may select a specific mission from our collection. Via NET play, you will be able to form alliances with other hackers or rogues on the NET or attack them if you wish. But beware,there are ghosts in the system. Some say that the military lost control over some artificial intelligence programs years ago and those personalities are roaming the NET freely. Some may be helpful while others will fry your brain. Use your masking and chameleon skills to blend in and defend yourself. When you are ready, you can attack with stealth or with brute force. Only your intelligence and cunning will protect you here.

    There is also included a few screenshots of the game. The other demo is for Verge, coming from VTEAM. Now much is know on this game, but the demo weighs in at 12.3 megs. Here's the clip:

    You want to shoot? Fly? Shoot again? Use hyper destructive weapons? - And all this with maximum speed and visual effects?
    Verge is going to be that - new game from VTEAM - a fast shooter with marvelous 3D graphic and sound - all that you want to detonate your mind!

    BTW, the screens for Verge look AMAZING.

    Ultima IX Released - Surebrec @ 2:32 pm PST
    Also from Gamespot, they're reporting that Ultima IX has been released and should be available for around $49.99.

    Coppermine and 820 Available - Surebrec @ 2:29 pm PST
    Holy shite! Gamespot is reporting that reporting that Intel's Coppermine and 820 Processors are now available. Now that's power. And I'm still using an AMD K6 233 :(.

    BG2, Interview - Surebrec @ 2:27 pm PST
    Gamespot has posted an interview with Ray Musyka, co-fouder of BioWare. In the interview, they talk about some enhancements to the engine along with new features, and the decision to use or not to use third edition rules. Here's a clip from it:

    GameSpot: Why did you decide to use the two-year-old Infinity engine for Baldur's Gate II?

    Ray Muzyka: We've been working on the BioWare Infinity engine for the past several years - we started work on it back in 1996. We began work on improvements to the engine eleven months ago, when we began work on Baldur's Gate II. In many ways we're now working with a new engine - there have been a lot of major improvements to the Infinity engine since that time.

    Mesiah Preview - Surebrec @ 2:22 pm PST
    Saw at VE that Games Domain has kicked up a preview of Shiny's Messiah. Here's a clip:

    In practice, this means the player takes on the role of a rather chubby, nappy-clad cherub in a Blade Runner dystopian future world. Being a cherub, of course, he has a couple of small wings attached to his back - meaning although he can't actually fly, he is able to flutter about to reach difficult-to-access areas. But the key weapon at Bob's disposal is his ability to invade the bodies of those around him. He can then use their skills, abilities and weapons for his own ends - or just use their body as armour to protect him against hazards.

    Chemical Existance Beta - Surebrec @ 2:18 pm PST
    Shockman from Chemical Existance (a HL mod) sends word that they are looking for a few testers to test out the beta and to find any bugs. SO if you're interested, head on over to the website.

    Another HL Expansion? - Surebrec @ 2:12 pm PST
    I saw at 24HG that Gamespot UK is reporting that theres gonna be another HL expansion pack. And they just came out with one. Well, to satisfy your HL cravings, check this out for the full story.

    New Nerf Demo - Surebrec @ 2:09 pm PST
    I saw at 24HG that FilePlanet has posted a new version of the Nerf Blast Arena demo. So if you're really bored or are a little kid (no offense) you can download the full demo here or upgrade the demo here.

    UT Review! - Surebrec @ 1:55 pm PST
    Gamefan has slapped up a Unreal Tournament review. And of course, they gave this game a near perfect score of 95, and is also included with some very nice screenshots. Here's a clip from the review:

    Graphically, Unreal Tournament is amazing... just about everything looks polished. The levels are light years better-looking than Unreal's. The weapons look better, the models are roughly 400% more detailed than Unreal's, and with enhanced Direct3D support, you don't need to have a card that supports Glide in order to play. I won't kid you, if you don't have a 3dfx card, you'll need a beast of a machine with at least 96 megs of RAM and a next-generation video card like the TNT2 in order to enjoy the graphics to their fullest. To speed up performance, you might want to use the medium detail settings and kill the HUD (heads up display) as it really kills the frame rate in D3D mode. As with all games, make sure you don't have any programs running in the background or have a high color desktop background, as that will eat up your system resources. Using a little common sense, and by tweaking the level of detail in your graphics, you can make a world of difference... even on high-end machines.

    Q3A CTF Info - Surebrec @ 1:51 pm PST
    I saw at Blues News that Gamespy has posted some info on Q3A CTF, which includes gameplay info and some screenshots.

    New Issue of Developers Dreams - Surebrec @ 1:44 pm PST
    GA-Source sends word that they have posted a new issue of Developers Dreams. Here's the poop:

    This feature asks developers the question, "what kind of game would you
    create if you had no monetary, technical, or hardware limitations what
    so ever?"

    With no technology restrictions it would not run on today's machines,
    but would work through a neural interface, directly feeding data into
    the brain's visual cortex and limbic system.

    Check out the latest issue of the Developer's Dream to find out who said
    that.
    This issue also features dreams from Greg MacMartin, Amen Lead Designer,
    Erik Robson, CoMM Lead Designer, and more!

    Q3A Officially Gold! - Surebrec @ 1:42 pm PST
    Q3A has officially gone gold this time around! Here's the clip from Blues News:

    November 23, 1999 - Santa Monica, Calif. - Activision today announced that Quake III Arena has gone gold. Developed by id Software, Quake III Arena is the third installment of one of the most popular computer game franchises of all time and is designed to be the final word in online multiplayer mayhem. The title, which was sent into manufacturing today, is expected to hit retail shelves on Dec. 12, 1999 at a suggested price of $49.99.

    The Big trip - backup @ 9:02 am PST
    Well, today is the day I get to travel for thanksgiving break up to my grandparents house in Cinncinnati, OH for the week until Sunday. You know what makes this trip so fantastic? Well, first I have a CD-R drive at my house to copy all my stuff onto to bring it with me, and second is that they have a Pentium 2 233 w/ 32 Megs Ram and a cable modem! Yeah, the little amount of RAM and crappy 3d accelerator are bad, but I am bringing along my Voodoo 2 and an extra 96 megs ram from my system to pop in so I can play Quake 3, Counterstrike, Unreal Tournament and so on.

    The trip is around 6 hours long and we will probably leave around 3:30, so expect me to get there around 10:30 or 11:00 EST tonight. It's doubtful I will be on if we get there later than that, but there is a good chance I will be on. Everyone who has my ICQ, please re-request authorization around tonight at 11:00 if you see that I am on-line. Once I arrive, I will be downloading and reviewing games for Gamesurge, and previewing things. You should see a lot of content coming this week so stay tuned to gamesurge!

    Unreal Map of the Day - Surebrec @ 12:15 am PST
    Ok, I know I'm like a few minutes late on this, but I finally got around to posting yesterday's Unreal map of the day as a part of our Unreal Week here at GS. Today's map.. is DM-StrictlyDiesel by willhaven. Now this is a PHAT Unreal map. Which is why I picked it :). The next map won't be delayed.

    whatever... - Surebrec @ 12:13 am PST
    Life is good...Well, as you might know, I have been selected to preview Nox at Wizard of the Coast in Seattle this friday! Oh ya! My friend is also going. Along with that, I get to meet the creators of Nox, I get a free copy of Tiberiun Sun and a free Nox T-Shirt, and free food and drink best of all :). Which means that I'm gonna post a preview on Nox this weekend :).

    And from where I'm standing right now, the only way I can get a new comp is those "Paid to Surf" programs. I found that if I refer enough people and they each surf for around 40 hrs a month each, I can earn up to $1200! That means new comp in 2months.. I hope that works out. I hate my AMD K6 233 with 48 megs of RAM and a crappy ATI 8 meg video card. It all must go!

    Tuesday, November 23, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Want to learn some Q2 tricks? - Underwear Ninja @ 11:50 pm PST
    At PlanetQuake they've got a new section called Riding the Rocket. It's a website to learn new skills and improve old ones. I haven't actually tried any of them yet, so send your feedback to me and tell me what you think.


    What are you waiting for? Go here.

    Elite Force Movie - Surebrec @ 5:21 pm PST
    GASource sends word that Activision and Raven Software have released a preview movie (AVI Format) from the upcoming Quake 3-powered shooter Star Trek: Elite Force. The movie weighs in at 7.7 megs, and can be downloaded from here.

    Opening Linux source for Unreal? - Underwear Ninja @ 5:11 pm PST
    There is a short post at PlanetUnreal on Brandon Reinhart, programmer for Epic, and his thoughts on opening portions of Unreal's source to the Linux community.

    New Q3Arena Demo soon - backup @ 5:04 pm PST
    id's Graeme Devine has updated his plan with information that a new version of the Quake 3 Arena demo is being worked on and should be released later this week. Here is a snippet.

    I’m working on updating the full demo today. We’ll bash on it a bit and get it out there over the next few days. Once it’s out there I’ll be updating the cdkey authorize server to the final version. Unfortunately this is not compatible with the demo test, so you’ll need to upgrade to either the full version of Q3A (woo hoo!) or download the new demo.
    Cool!!

    Max Payne Preview - Underwear Ninja @ 4:35 pm PST
    There is a preview up about Max Payne by Remedy Entertainment, here's a bit to wet your whistle:

    Its a sad fact, but the modern day action game hero seems to have died a silent death. For the last few years, we have been exposed to many futuristic action games, such as Half-Life and the Quake series, or the super-realistic environments of Rainbow 6. But what about the modern cop? Has he got a look in at all recently without being given at least one futuristic weapon? It seems not, but those movie-freaks at Remedy Entertainment are set to change all that with their latest game in development, Max Payne!

    See the whole story here .

    Source: GibWorld

    Yet Another interview - Toxin @ 2:33 pm PST
    I have conducted another Interview with Epic, this one with Erik de Neve, a programmer. The interview talks about his contributions to Unreal/UT, the future of Unreal, and some personal stuff. Here is a little tidbit:

    Gamesurge: Ok, did you work on any other major games or anything of the sort before you joined Epic for Unreal?

    Erik de Neve: Epic was my first serious programming work, but I had sold games to magazines before, and the fire program (DOS) was published by SoftDisk, the same company that started the careers of many id programmers.

    OpFor Patch - Surebrec @ 11:53 am PST
    Well, theres already a patch out for Opposing Force. Well, here's the changes:

    -Ability to run games over multiple subnets fixed.
    -Animation fixed for using alt-fire with the pipe wrench in multiplayer.
    -Animation fixed for holding the Displacer in multiplayer.
    -AutoUpdate support added for Opposing Force to Sierra Utilities.



    Source: VE

    Q3A Shots - Surebrec @ 11:48 am PST
    The news pimps of Blues News have posted some some more Q3A Character shots. The new ones include characters from tier 4 and 5. Today's shots show off tier 4, with Lucy, Biker, Anarki, Patriot, and Tankjr, and tier 5, featuring Razor, Stripe, Uriel, Keel, and Visor

    Unreal Patch? - Surebrec @ 11:46 am PST
    Epic's Brandon Reinhart has updated his .plan file with the latest on if there's gonna be another Unreal (Unreal 1) patch:

    In the Unreal Universe interview I said that Epic was not going to be pursuing more Unreal patches. I talked to Tim and he said that he was going to release one more Direct3D update with the latest changes/fixes and that would be it.

    Messiah Preview - Surebrec @ 11:45 am PST
    I saw at Blues News that PCZone UK has posted a preview of Messiah, coming soon from Shiny. Along with the preview, is a whole bunch of new screens, and this clip:

    We were promised mind-blowing 3D graphics (with or without the use of an accelerator card), complex gameplay, and what seemed like outrageously provocative content. You play a little cherub - it looks like a toddler - and you can possess anyone's body, and then make them do anything you like! You can make them leap out of windows! You can shoot them in the legs and then possess them and force them to walk with broken shins! It's got prostitutes in it! Etcetera!

    FF8 PC Screens - Surebrec @ 11:25 am PST
    The great people at Thresh's Firing Squad have posted some Final Fantasy 8 PC Screens. Theres over 40 screenshots from the game! Whoa..

    UT Release Party Chat Logs - Surebrec @ 11:22 am PST
    I saw over at Unreal Universe that Glide Underground has posted chat logs for last nite's UT Release Party. So if you weren't able to attend last nite (it kicked ass last nite :), then you might wanna read these to findsome interesting stuff in it.

    Life is good... - Surebrec @ 11:20 am PST
    Well, what an exciting day it has been so far. I have been selected to preview Nox at Wizard of the Coast in Seattle WA! I get to preview the game, I get a free copy of Tiberiun Sun, a Nox T-Shirt, free food a drinks. Oh ya.. Full preview of Nox this weekend :).

    Monday, November 22, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Site Updates @ GS - Surebrec @ 11:26 pm PST
    Well, since this is our first day of "Unreal Week" here at GS, where we are going to be taking a look at Unreal, UT, and the people of Epic to celebrate the release of UT, I have posted the first Unreal map of the day, where I find a great map and review it and then put it up for download.

    Also, on the non-Unreal related subject, theres a new TFC strategy up on the map Canalzone, which deals with all the command points and the different strategies.

    AIWars Galore! - Surebrec @ 11:22 pm PST
    Also at GASource, they have posted a whole bunch of stuff on AIWars, an action/FPS hybrid from Nexus Information Systems. They have included a Q&A with François Machabée on the game. Here's a clip from that:

    How many different missions are in AIWars? How big is a level and what type of environments will they cover?

    The game is not really mission based. In the first phase, the player will need to get a special piece of software from the Priestess of the Church of the Third Coming in order to get to the next series of systems because a high level Black ICE controls access to the gateway and cannot be vanquished without it. But after that, the player needs to explore the world to find what he or she needs to achieve the goals chosen at the beginning of the game.

    Levels (or systems) are fairly big and multi-tiered. Most of our levels require that the player moves not only in a 2D sense (walking in corridors and through doors) but also in 3D through vertical transportation shafts. The biggest level contains about ten full rooms connected through various corridors and vertical shafts, but since the levels are all inter-linked via routers, the complete environment is rather large (just like the real Internet is). A player can jump from one system to another via those routers. We also have a really interesting level which is a labyrinth with dynamically moveable walls (ouch! Just try to get out of there without a paper and pen !!!). You push here and the whole wall moves and creates a new corridor, etc. etc. etc.

    They have also posted 9 screenshots from the game. And along with all that, a demo is out (which can be directly downloaded over here) which is 26 megs.

    TR4 Screens and Movie - Surebrec @ 11:18 pm PST
    GASource has posted some swank screenshots from Eidos' latest-gone-gold action adventure game, Tomb Raider 4: The Last Revelation. Along with that, they have posted an 11meg TR4 Movie, entitled The History of Tomb Raider.

    AOE2 Game Guide - Surebrec @ 11:12 pm PST
    Whoa.. Gamespot is on a roll tonite. They have also posted a game guide to Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings. The guide includes subjects like campaign walkthroughs, civilization overviews, unit overviews, and general/comprehensive strategies.

    Slave Zero Review - Surebrec @ 11:10 pm PST
    On the agenda of Gamespot, they have posted their review on Slave Zero. Unfortunately, it got a 6.9 rating, and here's why:

    Slave Zero attempts to enhance the illusion of your Slave's size by populating the city with tiny people and cars, but these additions don't help the illusion much. The vehicles look and move like small crates on a conveyor belt. The humans look somewhat better than the cars, but move just as stiffly and don't react to your gargantuan, flame-spraying presence in any satisfying way. You can pick up pedestrians and automobiles and throw them, but there's absolutely no reason to do this other than for a few short-lived sadistic thrills. Your Slave can't harm most of the city's buildings, though some smaller structures can be destroyed, resulting in an odd and unsatisfying collapse, during which the building emits a weak burst of flame then folds up like a cardboard box.

    Remember, don't always go by someone's opinion :).. Blah.

    Best RTS Ever? - Surebrec @ 11:08 pm PST
    If you're wondering what RTS to buy at the moment, why not check out Gamespot's guide to The Best RTS of the Year. Many people have stepped in and added their comments on this question. They even have a voting system going. So go over there and vote on your fave RTS.

    Yet Another UT Interview - Surebrec @ 11:02 pm PST
    Don't these guys stop? The Unreal pimps from Unreal Universe have yet again posted another interview, this time with Greenmarine of Epic Games (where did you think he was from?). In the interview, he talks about the release of UT, Linux, his map desiging (with a screenshot from his map) and a few other things. Here's a clip:

    We all know that deathmatch and capture the flag are very popular online modes of play, do you think that UT's assault and domination will be able to compete against these classics?

    I don't think they will beat CTF in popularity, but I think that they will compete. Domination is very fast paced and suited more to skilled players than CTF. In CTF you can be a poor player, but do relatively well in a defensive position. Assault is fun, but is probably most fun in a LAN party situation where you can yell and coordinate your teammates. Its hard for a disorganized team to capture the enemy base. I think they will gain popularity with time, as both gametypes require some skill to play well.

    Linux UT Files - Surebrec @ 10:57 pm PST
    I saw at Blues News that FilePlanet has posted the Linux UT Files to get UT running, since the retail version of UT doesn't include the necessary files to run UT on a Linux OS. Plus they're only 3 megs so the slow modem users can even get them.

    Slave Zero Review - Surebrec @ 10:44 pm PST
    PC IGN has posted a review on Accolade's recently released action game Slave Zero. They gave the game a decent score of 8.0 out of 10, and included a whole bunch of screenshots. Here's a clip:

    Gameplay, for the most part, is fluid and packed with thrills. Though, the game is a little short for my tastes -- about 15 levels, with each level split into two or three sub-sections. The level design is strikingly unimaginative, and a majority of the levels had the exact same look and feel. Much of the game has the look of a bad Godzilla movie set, everything looks small although you appear normal sized. Even the cars and trucks driving on the ground that you can pick up, throw, or squash -- touted as a major selling point for Slave Zero -- are actually pretty lame and look like moving cardboard boxes. In essence, don’t buy Slave Zero because you like giant robot games; buy it because you like good action games. There’s this undeniable magnetic draw to this game, and I found myself having a blast playing it, mostly because the control and agility are superb. With a bit of practice you can get the robot thundering around corners and flying off ledges straight out of a scene in an anime film.

    i2e2 Brood War Tournament First Round Results - Daklown @ 7:55 pm PST
    The first round results of the i2e2 invitational tourney are up at starcraft.org. There are already quite a few "upsets" with Atlas advancing in the 1v1 and Defcon[1] and ER advancing in the 2v2

    Here's a run down of the results:

    1v1 Tournament
    Atlas\"/ defeats SSamjang
    psyduck defeats CrazyJim~LiZarD
    Stratus defeats [9]Thor
    Multifaith defeats [9]Kain
    Pillars defeats Xcorpion[ROKA]
    Tiranosaurus defeats [5th]Fire
    Crexis defeats H.O.T486~[Free]

    2v2 Tournament
    The SG Clan defeats LK & Gad
    Happy Sexy Apes defeat =[Another Biologogical Screwup]=
    RaPE defeats CoP
    The IN Clan 2 defeats S.W.A.T
    Gi defeats The Soda Clan
    The Gauls defeat Cow & Danthar
    Defcon[1] defeats Anceint Ruins
    Team ER defeats The Imports

    Good Luck to Baby and Zaehn of Defcon[1] (the clan I'm in) in the remainder of the tourney. I got faith in you guys. Knock some heads and bring it all home to D1! :)
    Source: Starcraft.org

    Gamesurge Mailbag - backup @ 7:02 pm PST
    Thats right, the first ever Gamesurge mailbag! Great huh? You bet. We decided to start now since it is a huge time in game history. Both Quake 3 Arena, Unreal Tournament, and Opposing Force have already gone gold, been released, or are very close to going gold. Send us your thoughts here!

    UT FAQ - Surebrec @ 5:59 pm PST
    Since UT is hitting shelves as early as today, GT Interactive has posted a troubleshooting FAQ for any problems you might have with the game, including lockups, and video problems.

    Q3A Not Gold - Surebrec @ 5:57 pm PST
    Apprently Q3A isn't gold yet. Here's what Blue is reporting:

    Responding to a rumor flying around regarding the gold status of Quake III: Arena, we contacted Activision. According to Activision, the game's publisher, when the game is gold, they will issue a formal press release - which they haven't done as of yet. This does not mean that id hasn't signed off on the game, it simply means that the publisher hasn't, and that the game won't be appearing on store shelves until they do.

    Unreal Tournament Impression - backup @ 5:45 pm PST
    My latest impression, Unreal Tournament, has been uploaded. It's very good, giving UT a good impression. It's a great read, check it out right here.

    Excellent Starcraft Post - Daklown @ 5:31 pm PST
    Dudey, formerly of Imports, has made an excellent post on the GX Starcraft Forum about Brood War Units and Imbalance. It's a well thought-out post and not whiney like all those other imbalance posts out there. Check it out here.

    Unreal Interview - Toxin @ 4:56 pm PST
    To kick off Unreal Week I wrote an interview with Alan "Talisman" Willard, a level designer for UT. You can check it out here. Here is the snippet:

    Gamesurge: Can you tell us anything about Unreal 2, if it's planned?

    Alan "Talisman" Willard: It is being planned, but Epic won't be doing it. We've contracted it out to Legend Entertainment, who just finished the truly AMAZING Wheel of Time game.

    WGL Needs More Teams - Daklown @ 3:17 pm PST
    If you don't already know about WGL, it's considered by many (including myself) to be THE BEST gaming league around. They're currently hosting a Brood War League and will expand to many other games. Because of recent forfeits, the WGL is in need of new Brood War teams. If you're interested in joining please contact RPXena. Don't miss this oppurtunity to join the fierce competition in the WGL!

    Check out the WGL main page at http://wgl.gamegurus.net.

    Raptor Chat 99 - Daklown @ 3:04 pm PST
    The recently released Raptor Chat 99, an advanced Battle.net chat client and bot, has moved to its new location at SCLegacy.

    Raptor Chat 99 is an advanced Battle.Net chat client and BOT. It is fully loaded with many new features for you to enjoy, including advanced configuration options allowing you to customize it to suit your needs. Many great features include a built in web browser used for viewing News, Product Information, Frequently Asked Questions and much more to come, although if you just want to surf around with it, then go ahead.

    The bot is LOADED with features, check out the complete details here. Raptor Chat 99 can also be d/loaded directly here.

    +Stratus+ defeats [9]Thor in i2e2 Tourney - Gibb @ 1:13 pm PST
    In an impressive three games in which I refereed, +Stratus+ defeated [9]Thor. It was really a great series. A battle report should be out soon.

    UT Release Party Today - Surebrec @ 1:04 pm PST
    Just a reminder that the Unreal Tournament Release Party is today at 6PM EST (3PM PST) which will be hosted on RadioSpy (in the 'Talk' Category, station name "UT Release Party") and you will also need WinAmp. So why should you go? You get chances to win prizes (signed copies of UT for example), live interviews, listen to the UT soundtrack, IRC chat, check out images (live and still), and even play CliffyB and the Gamespy staff at a game of UT (if you have it yet) and see how good you are. See ya there!

    Duel Coppermine 733 Preview - Surebrec @ 12:58 pm PST
    The tech pimps of Thresh's Firing Squad have posted a Hands-on preview of the Dual Coppermine 733 from Intel. Here's the way they put it on this speed demon:

    Wondering about dual Coppermine 733 performance in Quake 3? How does 180fps at 512x384 with an SDR GeForce sound?

    Titanium Angels Screens/Details - Surebrec @ 12:55 pm PST
    AVault has recently posted some nifty screenshots from Titanium Angels, coming soon from SCi in late 2000. Titanium Angels is a 3D Action/adventure game. Here's a little clip about the game:

    Titanium Angels is a 3D action and adventure game in which people control Carmen, a tough futuristic bounty hunter, and her intelligent assault vehicle, Titan. Together, they are drawn into the grim alternate world of the Kai'Tin, an alien race intent on annihilating Earth. Set in an alternate future, Titanium Angels charts the story of three alien races that become intertwined in a fight for survival. Carmen is one of a breed called The Kindred. Any job too sensitive or dangerous for conventional law officers is offered as a bounty to these individuals--who have no understanding of the words "fear" and "danger."

    Unreal Tournament comes when? - Surebrec @ 12:52 pm PST
    If you're just about to run off to your local software store to buy Unreal Tournament, better read this from AVault:

    Calls to numerous retailers have confirmed that shipments of Unreal Tournament are expected later today or tomorrow. Most are claiming the game will not be on shelves until Tuesday, though some copies of the much-anticiapted 3D action game could start appearing on shelves later today. In other words, call first before blazing to the store with cash in hand.

    I mail ordered mine for 10 bucks(I have my sources)! I dunno when it's coming though..

    TR4 Gold - Surebrec @ 12:51 pm PST
    AVault is reporting that Tomb Raider 4: The Last Revelation has gone gold. The PC version will arrive in stores by Wednesday this week, and the Playstation should arrive by Friday or Saturday.

    OpFor Interview - Surebrec @ 12:49 pm PST
    The news pimps of VE have posted their interview with Randy Pitchford of Gearbox Software on the recently released Half-Life: Opposing Force Expansion pack. Here's a little snipet of it:

    Voodoo Extreme: Does OpFor add anything to the multiplayer aspect?

    Randy Pitchford: We've got a ton of new All-Star levels from industry professionals including Tom "Paradox" Mustaine, Richard "Zdim" Carlson, Eric Reuter, David "Kevlar" Kelvin and, of course, The Levelord. Additionally, we've added ten new multiplayer models from OpFor like the drill sergeant, the cleansuit scientist and Otis, the new security guard. All of the original Half-Life weapons are back in OpFor multiplay, but added to that are 9 new OpFor weapons that have been placed to compliment the original favorites. We've been very careful to only use the new weapons to enhance the multiplayer experience instead of upstaging the fun of the original.

    Imperium Galactica II - Surebrec @ 12:45 pm PST
    I saw over at Blues News that the official site for GT's space shooter Imperium Galactica has opened up. Along with the buttloads of info comes a 11 meg preview movie for download.

    Rogue Spear Patch - Surebrec @ 12:43 pm PST
    The latest Rainbow 6: Rogue Spear patch has been released, upgrading it to v2.05. This patch includes support for Gamespy, and support for Win2k registry, and a few other changes.

    More Q3A Character Renderings - Surebrec @ 12:41 pm PST
    Stomped.com has posted yet more Q3A character renderings, which now adds up to 23 of 29 character images. This time, they've got the Doom guy, Hunter, Keel, Sorlag, Patriot, and Uriel.

    Sunday, November 21, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    AIWars Screens - Surebrec @ 10:28 pm PST
    GASource has posted some interesting screens from AIWars: The Awakening, which is an upcoming FPS action hybrid. The game is scheduled to be released anywhere from late February 2000 to early March 2000. Also, a demo will be released soon which will only show off a small part of the game.

    Screens from UT Final - Surebrec @ 10:15 pm PST
    It appears that Rainman's Game Domain has posted a whole bunch of screenshots from UT Final. So if you don't have the final of UT yet, check out these few dozen screens.

    QUAKE 3 IS GOLD! - Surebrec @ 10:11 pm PST
    This news is red hot of the press. According to Kenneth Scott's .plan update, Quake 3: Arena has just gone gold! Here's the info:

    We're Gold!

    I love you sweetpeach. :)

    Wow. Thats powerful and deep :). More info later on release details.

    Fast Track Guides On-line! - Daklown @ 9:13 pm PST
    TechBase now has on-line versions of four of Prima Games's hottest strategy guides for Starcraft, Broodwar, Stracraft Campaign Editor, and Diablo. Check them out here.

    UT vs. Q3A - Surebrec @ 8:24 pm PST
    Maximum3d.com has posted a article entitled UT vs. Q3A Preview. Here's a little clip:

    This is the deathmatch of the century, and Maximum3D is bringing it to you! This is not your average run of the mill comparison, it's all out war! I've devised 8 categories with 25 sub-items total. Using a point system with 100 points possible, I'm working like a russian sled dog puttin' these bad boys through the grinder!


    Source: AGN3d

    TR4 Delayed? - Surebrec @ 8:21 pm PST
    I saw over at AGN 3D that Eidos has delayed Tomb Raider 4: The Last Revelation from November 26th to December 3rd.

    Another UT Interview - Surebrec @ 8:13 pm PST
    Those pimps from Unreal Universe have interviewed another person from Epic on UT! The latest victim is Eric de Neve who is a "graphics programmer" at Epic and has also worked on many technologies such as Unreal and UT and later on Unreal 2. Heres a little clip:

    What Unreal engined game are you most looking forward to and why?

    I'm most looking forward to playing The Wheel of Time ! We got it here at the office as soon as it came out, of course - I just haven't had time to install it on my PC and play it yet.

    SWAT 3 Interview - Surebrec @ 8:07 pm PST
    News is very slow tonite, so I thought I should do a little bit of everything. Anyways, I saw over at VE that Tactical Planet has posted an interview with the SWAT 3 Jeff Lane, Environmental Artist. The interview goes into a little about the creation of maps, just if you were interested. Here's a clip:

    TP: How closely modeled are some levels after their real-life counterparts?

    JL: Some of the levels are pretty reminiscent of a real location (such as the LAX control tower), but we mostly just wanted the environments to feel like the real thing. The are some serious technical limitations that come in to play, so we decided to use the real locations as more of a reference than a blueprint. Besides the technical reasons, there are design and gameplay considerations. Some aspects of real locations are neither fun, cool looking or tactically interesting. For these reasons, we tried to create the ambience of the environment and boil it down to the essentials. We visited a lot of these locations in person and shot many photographs in order to create the proper look.

    OpFor Review - Surebrec @ 3:16 pm PST
    Gamecenter has posted their review on Half-Life: Opposing Force, recently released from Gearbox Software. They gave it a 8/10 rating because of a few small flaws. Not to worry anyways. The review is very in-depth and always includes screenshots.

    Gabriel Knight 3 Guide - Surebrec @ 3:11 pm PST
    Those game pimps from Gamespot has posted a game guide to Gabriel Knight 3. The guide includes a comprehensive walkthru, a quick walkthru (if you're in a hurry or need to know only the important stuff), and a guide on the inventory items.

    Q3A Renderings - Surebrec @ 3:00 pm PST
    This time it's not Stomped.com. It's Blues News that has posted some new Q3A Renderings. Here's the description;

    This is what it looks like once the doors are open and the new opponents are revealed for the first time. Keep in mind that although the characters are beefed up with more polygons they have the same textures that are in the game. Models by Paul Steed, Skins by Kenneth Scott.

    In the first tier is Bitterman, Hossman, Hunter, Daemia, and Grunt, and in the second tier is Gorre, Angel, Klesk, Slash, and Wrack.

    CliffyB Interview - Surebrec @ 2:56 pm PST
    The Unreal pimps of Unreal Universe are really pumping out the content. Their recent update is an interview with CliffyB of Epic Games. In the interview, CliffyB mainly talks about UT, with a few things in there involving Rune and Unreal 2..

    Unreal Week - Toxin @ 2:54 pm PST
    Most of you probably haven't seen much posting being done by me. You probably think I'm dead, or being held hostage by Cerberus for some odd reason, but infact I have been working on Gamesurge's new project (drum roll) Unreal Week. With the announcement of UT coming out this Monday the staff of Gamesurge figured we need to do something to *cough* get hits *cough* celerbrate it. Unreal week will be starting on Monday (tommorow) and will feature Interviews (done by me :) Tweak guides, strategies, maps etc. all for Unreal and UT. So don't forget to hit reload over and over and over again when Monday comes!

    War3 Art - Surebrec @ 2:42 pm PST
    Warcraft3.net has posted some really nice art from Warcraft 3. One picture is of a cross between an Orc Grunt and an Orc Minatour, and the other is of a Demonic Girl.

    Hail To The King Baby! - Facsimile @ 1:40 am PST
    Duke Nukem Forever Is finally uncovered! In a recent Pc Gamer, Screen Shots were posted, and let me say, they are PHENOMONAL!!! Built on a tricked-out Unreal Tourney Engine, This game looks to be turning heads everywhere. Check it out HERE
    You Won't be disappointed!!

    Saturday, November 20, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    New Article! - backup @ 8:28 pm PST
    I have written a 3 page article on how to bypass your school's security/fortress programs to do many things including playing games, accessing telnet, making web sites, and much more! Check it out here.

    Impressions Section - backup @ 8:20 pm PST
    The Quake 3 Arena impression has been updated with 2 more pages, including wether or not to download it and where to get it. You can check it out right here.

    UT Interview - Surebrec @ 7:56 pm PST
    The Unreal pimps from Unreal Universe have interviewed Jack Porter, a programmer of Epic Games. So here's a clip:

    Now that Unreal Tournament has been finished up and will be shipping to stores on Monday, what will you be doing to occupy your time?

    I come in and stare blankly at my Windows desktop. No really, there's still *PLENTY* to do. Right now I'm making the menus work with Japanese text, and yesterday we were making changes for the German version. We'll probably find a handfull of minor issues with the release version of the game, and we will want to get those fixed as soon as possible. We're also in the process of designing the game we're making next. The inital game design process has involved the input of everyone on the team, and artists will often just walk into the programmers' office and we'll discuss the merits of a certain gameplay idea. Stuff like that really encourages you to hang out at the offices.

    Neverwinter Nights Movie - Surebrec @ 7:48 pm PST
    Those fine people from PC IGN have posted an exclusive Neverwinter Nights movie, the upcoming RPG from BioWare. Or you could just directly download the 6.3 meg movie here.

    Messiah Demo Problems - Surebrec @ 7:44 pm PST
    I saw over at Blues News that there has been some technical problems with the recently released Messiah demo. Here's some of them straight from the people:

    It seems that everyone who has tried the Messiah demo has experienced what appears to be a "crash" when they first load it up. The display is black with some white lines and there is no visible indication that the game is doing anything. However, if one waits long enough, the game GUI will appear. Apparently it needs to compile scripts of some sort when run for the first time. The amount of time is far shorter on consecutive runs. Just thought this would be a good thing to post since nearly everyone is reporting the same "problem".

    (From VE)After you hear the "ding" (just after loading the Glide version), press enter...wait for like, 3 minutes or so...it will eventually load. I'm not sure what the hell is up, but it would appear that a TON are having this problem.

    (And this one)Although the read me only claims to need DirectX, Messiah apparently actually needs DirectX 7. A symptom of this is: With a TNT2, firing up the D3D version of Messiah will result in an error dialog that says:

    MessiahD3D is linked to a missing export DDRAW.Dll:DirectDrawCreateEx

    What this means is: install DirectX 7.

    Voodoo4/5 Rant/Preview - Surebrec @ 7:41 pm PST
    Talk about alot of slashes. Anyways, 24 Hour Gamer has just posted a Voodoo4/5 Rant/Preview on the announcement and the specs of these recently announced video cards. Here's a clip straight from the webpage:

    I have heard arguments from people who got their SLI setup when it first came out for $600. They ask why this is any different. For one, then, that was the only option for high framerates. Second, since then, prices for computer components have gone down, not up. No one expects to have to put down that much money the next time they upgrade their video card.

    Impressions Feature - backup @ 7:24 pm PST
    I have added a new feature to Gamesurge, impressions. Impressions is when we take a game that has just been released (or a demo/test) and tell you what we think of it, how it runs, and what you might wanna get to play it).

    Our first impression comes in at Quake 3 Arena Test Demo. We gave it an outstanding impression. Check it out right here.

    Friday, November 19, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    More Q3A Renderings - Surebrec @ 8:35 pm PST
    Stomped has posted the newest Q3A Character Renderings, making this 17 of 29 character renderings. The newest ones include Razor, Tank Jr., Klesk, and Cadaver.

    Shane Caudle Interview - Surebrec @ 8:33 pm PST
    The people from UU have posted their Q&A with Shane Caudle, a level designer/modeller/skinner/programmer of Epic Games. The interview contains some very nice screens from UT, including a pic from the map Temple of Vandora. Here's a little clip on some of the "next generation" stuff:

    With UT near completion, Tim has stated he's going to get to work on next generation technology, what features, as a level designer/modeler/texture artist would you like to see in any next generation 3d engine? Textures acting as light sources? "Drawing" brush creation? (which, ironically is part of Dedit, an otherwise none too user-friendly editor), the ability to create, expansive, expansive environments? (dwarfing the things seen in Unreal and Tribes)

    Textures acting as light sources- yes, this could be handy in certain situations.
    Drawing brush creation- of course, like 3dMax etc.
    The ability to create expansive environments- Hell yea, you know Tim Sweeny, he programmed the Unreal Engine 3to4 years ago, wait and see what he comes up with now!
    I'd also like to see realistic environmental stuff like ground fog that disperses when you run through it, or shoot a rocket into the ground.
    Real materials, with bump mapping, specular mapping, alpha channel etc.
    Real good real-time shadows.
    Extremely high poly counts, ;)

    I could go on for days.

    WoT Review - Surebrec @ 8:28 pm PST
    Apache from Gamefan has posted his review on Wheel of Time, the Unreal engine powered game recently released. Along with it comes plenty of screens and a rating of 81

    Slave Zero Ships - Surebrec @ 8:24 pm PST
    Infogrames announced today that Slave Zero will be shipping about this time and will be out by next week. Here's what the games about for the people who don't know (no offense):

    Slave Zero gives players control of a 60-foot biomechanical war machine 500 years in the future in a battle against rival forces throughout the vast metropolis, S1-9. The city is ruled by the SovKahn, an evil dictator who possesses dark matter, a mysterious energy source that is used to control the populace. Slave Zero is played from the third person perspective with an "emphasis on scale and interactivity."

    Spec Ops 2 Review - Surebrec @ 8:22 pm PST
    Gamesmania has posted their review on Spec Ops 2: Green Berets. According to them, this game was bad, as is indicated in their 4/10 rating. Here's one of the reasons:

    The first hurdle Spec Ops 2 presents is not an in-game challenge, but an interface one, and that is not a good sign. Spec Ops 2 has quite a few keys, but they are not organized very well at all. Here's an example: To cycle the scopes on your gun, you press F9. This toggles between sniper scope, and infrared sniper scope. But to return to your normal view mode, you don't tap F9 a third time, but you then hit F6 for first-person mode. If you want Nightvision, you hit F8. It seems to me that you could eliminate a few keys by combining some of the functions. In the default configuration, there are two different keys to toggle kneel/stand and kneel/prone. Why not one key to toggle between the three states?

    However, if you don't care about ratings and are interested in these types of games, by all means, check it out.

    Asheron's Call Review plus Strategy - Surebrec @ 8:01 pm PST
    Gamecenter has recently posted their take on Microsoft's newly released Asheron's Call. They gave AC a rating of 8/10. You can also find the strategy guide over here if you're having any kind of trouble in the game, from Character Creation to Allegiances.

    Nocturne Review - Surebrec @ 7:56 pm PST
    AVault has posted their 'view on Nocturne, including (of course) some screenshots from the game. Here's a little snipet on the great detail of the game:

    A great deal has been written about the game's elegant technology, and the title does offer an impressive weave of rich graphics, atmospheric lighting and shadows, and hair-raising special effects. These are combined with some of the eeriest sounds I have ever heard to create an experience that transforms immersion. This title demands to be engaged late at night with all the lights out, not just because it is more frightening, but because this closes off all peripheral distractions to achieve maximum effect. It has been ages since a computer game has manifested itself in a heightened pulse and a frosty crop of chill bumps, but there are moments that will do just that. Yet there is more than cutting edge programming at the heart of this title; the designers have laid an intriguing fictional universe as the foundation for these events.

    The game received a nice score of 4 out of 5 stars, which is better than Gamespot's rating of 7.0 of 10.

    TR4 Screens - Surebrec @ 7:53 pm PST
    The peeps at AVault have just received 13 new TR4 screens. Here's a preview of one of them:

    It's Demo Night! - Surebrec @ 7:49 pm PST
    I also saw at VE that there's an Urban Chaos demo released tonight which weighs in at 25.1 megs. Here's the description on the game:

    Since the beginning of time, good has always fought evil. Up until now, good has prevailed. But as the new millenium approaches, it seems that the tide may be turning. The thought is on everyone's lips: maybe Nostradamus was right.

    The year is 1999, just at the turn of the millenium. Turmoil, war, and famine rule. In the major cities of the world, chaos is rampant. Crooks, thieves, terrorists, and violent cults lurk around every corner. It is up to you to enter into the tattered remains of America's cities and try to bring order.

    You can enter the world as one of two characters. D'arci is a cop trying to prove her mettle. Roper is a vigilante dedicated to thwarting the efforts of a religious cult. Either one could be the hero the city is waiting for.

    But time is running out. Only by exploring the gritty city streets of America and beating the forces of chaos at their own game can you bring hope to a world at the edge of a new millenium.

    Nerf Arena Patch - Surebrec @ 7:46 pm PST
    I saw at VE that a Nerf Arena Patch has been released. This game was recently released and is powered by the Unreal engine. So if you were lulled into buying such a "kiddie" game, here's the news:

    Updates Nerf Arena Blast to version 1.1. The patch includes new team game improvements, fixes for international version problems, new advanced options for setting up team game servers, and more. Check out "more info" for a full list.

    Well, I guess parents are relieved that there isn't any violence :).

    Messiah Demo - Surebrec @ 7:41 pm PST
    I saw over at Blues News that theres a Messiah Demo out tonite! Here's the stuff:

    Well the testers have given the team their approval that the game is OK once 4 final bugs are fixed. (None a big deal)

    Then it's over to me. For the final OK. I am itching to play.

    So we called Gigex and Gamespot, they both agreed to stay late tonight to get the demo.We promised the 19th. It's still the 19th!

    We will deliver the file to GIGEX by 11PM Pacific Standard Time. Gamespot.com estimates that they will have the link live by 12:30AM.

    Tonight is Messiah night!

    Unreal Maps to UT - Surebrec @ 7:35 pm PST
    The Unreal Tech Page has been updated yet again. Steve Polge gives the latest stuff on porting the Unreal I maps to UT:

    Porting Unreal I maps to Unreal Tournament
    Unreal I content is automatically replaced by Unreal Tournament content if you run an Unreal I DM map with one of the Unreal Tournament gametypes. However, we recommend that you manually replace the Unreal I inventory items in your level with their UT equivalents and release an updated version of the map. Otherwise, both the Unreal I and UT versions will be loaded on the content, which will cause swapping on clients with low amounts of memory.

    - Steve Polge

    New map of the week - Pyro Man @ 5:15 pm PST



    Looks like we’ve finally found a new place to call home. This planet where the Dark
    Templar have set up shop is very strange, though. I can get over the fact that everything
    here is blue -- in fact, it's actually kind of relaxing, sometimes. No, the true surrealism
    of this place is that I have never seen a single plant! No grass, no trees, not even a
    single bush to break up the landscape. All they do seem to have are lots and lots of rocks.
    It's damn odd...

    -Personal entry of Engineer’s Mate Aaren Ruth, Renegade Battlecruiser Hyperion


    Download it now! (116K)



    Enlarged View

    (126k)



    • 192x128 Twilight
    • Designed for 2-5 Players
    • Requires Brood War to Play

    i2e2 - backup @ 4:08 am PST
    As you know, the games start playing tonight. Well, I get to referee one at 8pm :). Expect a battlereport up at the starcraft.org web site or i2e2 site later tonight.

    Thursday, November 18, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    GamesXtreme - Falcon @ 11:38 pm PST
    They guys over at GamesXtreme have been busy bringing in the new content, they now have a new preview of Titanium Angels from SCi with a few new screens.

    They also have 2 New screenshots of SouthPeak Interactive's upcoming mission-based driving game for the Playstation, Dukes of Hazzard - Racing For Home.
    You can check them out from http://gamesx.gamesurge.com/

    Dukes of Hazzard Screens - Surebrec @ 6:13 pm PST
    The peeps from 24 Hour Gamer have done it again. They have posted 2 new screenshots from Dukes of Hazzard, sent to them from TSI Communications. Find them damn pics over here

    James Bond Game?? - Gibb @ 1:01 pm PST
    I saw over at Blues News that MGM has made a deal with Electronic Arts to make a series of James Bond games. Check out the press release here.

    Counter-Strike News - Gibb @ 12:54 pm PST
    Just some news from Counterstrike.net.

    Sencer has made the CS themesong, called Enemy Down. It's extrtemely cool, I definitely recommened downloading it. Download it in MP3 format here.

    Also, Jon Mossie, who is making a full-length CS movie, has put up a trailer for the movie. Stream it from here, or download it from here.

    Finally, the server side patch (v. 4.1) is getting the bugs worked out of it and is undergoing testing.

    There's also alot of reviews of Cstrike, go directly to Counterstrike.net to take a gander at them.


    FCC orders local telecom firms - backup @ 12:46 pm PST
    The FCC has ordered local telecom firms to share lines with the local data carriers (Internet service providers or ISP's). This should and most likely will result in cheaper DSL access and other forms of High speed internet access running through a phone line.

    The phone companies say it will result in bad line reception, but this won't be a factor. Sounds like an outstanding win for consumers. Make sure you check out the press release here.
    Source: MSNBC News

    Wednesday, November 17, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Q3A Renderings - Surebrec @ 6:17 pm PST
    Stomped.com has posted the latest Q3A Character Renderings. This makes 13 characters of 29 now. The newest ones are Angel, Mynx, and Biker.

    Armada Screens - Surebrec @ 6:09 pm PST
    AVault has posted some great screens from Star Trek: Armada, which, in my opinion, look great.

    Baldur's Gate 2 Preview - Surebrec @ 6:05 pm PST
    On the subject of Gamespot, they have also posted a preview of Baldur's Gate 2. Here's a small clip from the article:

    At first glance, Baldur's Gate II will not look like much. The game still uses the Baldur's Gate engine, and the interface appears largely unchanged. However, the changes in Baldur's Gate II are not skin deep; they cut to the very heart of gameplay and are what will make this game better than its predecessor.

    Nocturne Review - Surebrec @ 6:03 pm PST
    If you're wondering what game to get for Christmas, Nocturne is a good choice. Gamespot has reviewed Nocturne. And amazingly, it only got a 7.0 out of 10 rating. Ouch. Here's why;

    However, Nocturne's visual quality has its price. The game runs poorly or not at all on machines that don't have over a hundred megs of RAM, and only the fastest home computers in existence will let the game run smoothly. In addition, Nocturne is compatible with only a few select 3D graphics accelerators, including the TNT2 chipset but excluding Voodoo, which means Nocturne doesn't exactly scream mainstream appeal. And even if you're part of the elite that can run the game just right, you'll find that Nocturne might have looked much better in spite of its attention to detail, which you'll find was focused exclusively on particular elements of Nocturne's presentation. The realistic shadows and the Stranger's billowing trench coat may look great, but other elements of the game's appearance are plainly lacking; for instance, none of the characters' faces are animated. There's a lot of dialogue in Nocturne, but the characters just stand there like poker-faced ventriloquists the whole time. Besides, none of these characters is well animated in the first place; each moves in the same jerky computer-game-character manner you've seen countless times before, which betrays Nocturne's realism as mere facade. It's also difficult to tell when the Stranger's enemies are actually hitting him and just as difficult to tell whether his bullets are hitting home or missing their mark. And even though most of the scenery in Nocturne looks real, some of it looks either too flat or too clean and simple by comparison.

    Delta Force 2 Patch - Surebrec @ 5:56 pm PST
    I saw over at Blues News that the newest Delta Force 2 Patch has been released, and can be downloaded over here. Information on the version number and changes are unknown as of this moment, but will soon appear on this page.

    CliffyB Interview - Surebrec @ 5:39 pm PST
    The news pimps from VE have slapped up their latest feature: an interview with Cliff Bleszinski of Epic Games. The interview mainly focuses on Unreal Tournament (cuz of course it just came out!). Here's a little snipet:

    VE: Now that you guys are basically done with UT, is there anything that didn't get added that you would have liked to be added? Now that id has released a new Quake3test demo, any thoughts on what maybe you should have done?

    CB: A real Rocket Arena 2 style game out of the box would have rocked for UT. We've got something that's the start of that in Last Man Standing, but to be true to RA2 it'd need a bit more work. Hopefully someone in the MOD community will do it because RA type games are a blast at LAN parties.

    I really like the "award" system that they've put into the recent Q3 demo. That's cool stuff.

    whatever... - Surebrec @ 5:35 pm PST
    Ok, this is something I'm really mad at. I pre-ordered UT a month ago for like $10 (I have my sources...). Now that it's out, I don't think I can run UT on my AMD K6 233 with 48 megs of RAM and an 8 Meg video card. So now I gotta wait to play it till I get a new comp, which could be in a few months. And how am I gonna get the money? Me and some friends are starting a web design business. Hopefully if we get enough people, I'll have the new comp within a month.. Hopefully.

    Weekly strategy - Merlin @ 4:33 pm PST
    I have to apologize that i havent put up this week's strategy yet, Its a general 2v2 guide and i need 4 people including myself to take the screenshots and i havent been able to get around to it yet. It will be up by friday though, and hopefully a new one on sunday also.

    Tuesday, November 16, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Infestation Alpha Testing - Pyro Man @ 11:42 pm PST
    Infestation is closing alpha sign-ups tomorrow. The more people who sign up, the more likely the chances you'll be chosen. So go on over now.

    Are the 2D days over? - Falcon @ 10:40 pm PST
    And here's the next news flash straight from the RTS Domain Office.

    RTS Domain is proud to show off Raizer's new, somewhat controversial, editorial. In it he discusses whether he thinks 2D games will be replaced by the ever increasing number of 3D RTS games. Is this switch for the good?
    What are the advantages or disadvantages of each? Will riots happen if Warcraft 3 sucks? (Oh, wait, that isn't in there!) To view the editorial, click here

    Tachyon preview and screens - Falcon @ 10:36 pm PST
    One of our hosted sites, GamesXtreme has posted a small preview of Tachyon: The Fringe from Novalogic with a few screens. This can be viewed at http://gamesx.gamesurge.com/features/tachyon/tachyon.html

    Cool Check this out - Mr Legacy @ 9:34 pm PST
    Here is the purgebot in action. Click here to view it.

    New D2 shot of the week - backup @ 5:31 pm PST
    Blizzard has released its Diablo II shot of the week. This week it shows a Barbarian in a Guild Hall. Check it out right here

    New Genesis 3d engine - backup @ 5:29 pm PST
    A new version of the Genesis3D engine has been released. Genesis 3d is a 3d engine that is free and supports open gl and direct 3d. The updated engine supports 3D Studio Max R3 and adds enhanced MIP-Mapping in addition to other changes. Nifty!

    Urban Chaos Preview - Surebrec @ 5:27 pm PST
    If you're looking for something other than Lara Croft, then check out Urban Chaos. Gamesmania has posted a preview on Urban Chaos, coming soon from Eidos. Along with this fine article, comes some screenshots!

    10six Beta - Surebrec @ 5:24 pm PST
    I saw over at AVault that Heat.net has opened their doors for the public beta test of 10six. This game is a great virtual space game which takes place 24 hours a day, even when you're away. Gamers can sign up to participate, and will not only preview it, but confer with the game developers and other players on your opinions. Visit the website for details.

    Mortyr Patch - Surebrec @ 5:19 pm PST
    I also saw at Blues News that a Mortyr Patch to fix a small problem when you have a CD-Rom drive with a letter above H. It's just a small .DLL file that you copy to the Data directory. It's that easy.

    D2 SSOTW - Surebrec @ 5:16 pm PST
    Saw over at Blues News that the newest D2 Screenshot of the Week has been released, showing off a Barbarian in a guild hall this week.

    Warez Article - Surebrec @ 5:15 pm PST
    Well I forgot to post this yesterday. Better late then never.
    24 Hour Gamer posted yesterday their second part of their warez article. This part describes how ethical warez really is, and descibes how illegal warez is, but not necessarily immoral. Here's a clip:

    Is warez ethical? In almost all cases, I can see no moral reason not to distribute and download warez. Warez is ethical for the reason outlined above pertaining to Oldwarez. You have to look at "who is the victim of this terrible crime?" The answer is... no one. There is, in truth, no cost in developing software that is not recovered in the first few months. Once the software is written, there is no further cost to the developer.

    Now, I don't recommend getting warez as it can be illegal and usually disappears before you can finish downloading it :).

    Wild Wild West Screens - Surebrec @ 5:11 pm PST
    The pimps from 24 Hour Gamer have posted some swank Screens from Wild Wild West: Steal Assassin that they recently received from TSI communications, and can be found on the front page.

    Heroes III Review - Surebrec @ 4:54 pm PST
    On the topic of of PC IGN, they have also posted a review on Heroes 3: Armageddon's Blade recently released by New World Computing. Here's a small morsel of the swank review:

    Setting the story line on the back burner, we can move along to the part of expansion packs that makes everyone who gets them absolutely giddy--new goodies. New World Computing has packed their latest adventure with both the usual expected bonuses and some generally helpful enhancements. In the former category, players will be greeted with 6 new campaigns, around 35 new single missions, 7 new "veteran Heroes", and 12 new creatures to recruit into their armies. The game also boasts a new town type, called a Conflux, 2 heroes classes to go along with it, and 10 shiny, fresh multiplayer maps. These additions, though certainly worth checking out, aren't exactly heart-stoppers on the surprise scale. But hey, it wouldn't really be an expansion if it didn't include these now would it?

    Holiday Buyer's Guide - Surebrec @ 4:48 pm PST
    If you're still wondering what to get or want for Christmas, then look no more! PC IGN has posted a Holiday Buyer's Guide for which lists everything you could want for Christmas, including all the great games!

    Sven coop new maps - backup @ 7:45 am PST
    SvenCoop has been updated with two new maps, a new version of Nightmare and the sequel to helebat which adds numerous features and more.

    /*more posts after soup :)

    Homeworld Interview & Review - Falcon @ 12:57 am PST
    Gamesmania has released an interview with Relic's CEO, Alex Garden. They talk about the success of Homeworld. In addition, Gamesfirst has a also released their review of Homeworld.
    Source: GH

    Matrix a PSX Game - Falcon @ 12:37 am PST
    Those of you who enjoyed the Matric may be interested in knowing that the film that reinvented the meaning of sci-fi WILL be an official game. Don't hold you breath too long, PSX.IGN has reported news about The Matrix game coming in the year 2002.
    -GameHeadlines

    10 Essential RTS Games - Falcon @ 12:34 am PST
    CDMag has an article entitled, "10 Essential Real-time Strategy Games. Included are names such as Syndicate, Dune2, CnC, Warcraft2, Total Annihilation, Age of Empires, and Starcraft, as well as an "Almost but not quite" list. You can view it all here

    Microsoft Excel Flight Sim - Falcon @ 12:07 am PST
    Well this is somewhat game related...
    Ever wondered why Microsoft applications seem to become slower and fatter with each new release?

    Apparently the constant rain in Redmond has driven Bill Gate's engineers to obsessive flights of fancy. Below you'll find instructions on how to access a little flight simulator that was inexplicably hidden by precipitation-maddened programmers deep inside Excel 97.


    1. Open Excel 97

    2. Open a blank worksheet

    3. Press F5

    4. Type X97:L97 in the "Reference" box

    5. Click OK

    6. Hit your tab key once (you should end up in cell M97)

    7. Hold down CTRL + SHIFT and click once on the chart wizard icon (the one at the top with the blue-yellow-red bar chart)

    Welcome aboard!! After a few moments you should be flying. Steer with the mouse, accelerate and decelerate with the left and right mouse buttons respectively and look for the monoliths with the programmer credits. Close with the ESC key, if you want to reenter the game (which feels highly disoreantating) you'll need to restart the program.


    On the subject of Microsoft, here is the IE Easter Egg, which users of IE5 can try out:

    1. Select the "Tools" menu then "Internet Options..."
    2. Press the "Languages..." button (near the bottom of the "General" tab)
    3. Press the "Add..." button
    4. In the "User Defined" field, type in "ie-ee" (without the quotes) then click "OK"
    5. Use the "Move Up" button to move ie-ee to the top of the list
    6. Press "OK" buttons until you're back in IE5, then click on the "Search" icon on the toolbar
    7. Click the "Previous Searches" option for fun stuff!
    8. For more fun, click the "Customize" button in the Search window
    9. If you get lost in the sub pages while playing, you can press the "New" button in the Search window

    VooDooDoo - Falcon @ 12:01 am PST
    Today, November 15, 1999, 3dfx released the "secret" information on 3dfx's code-named "Napalm" chipsets, the Voodoo4 and Voodoo5 video cards. After carefully analyzing the data 3dfx released on their site, The Acolyte from Diablo.net has written a critical new editorial/article/analysis of the new products, entitled "Voodoodoo."
    It's a fairly interesting read, you can see the article at this URL:
    http://www.diablo.net/articles/voodoodoo.shtml

    Monday, November 15, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Chemical Existence Screenshot - Falcon @ 11:22 pm PST
    Got this tip through Email: A screenshot of the sniper scope effect in the half-life total conversion Chemical Existence have been posted on the Red Genesis Entertainment website.
    Here is a bit of info on the game to get you started: Chemical Existence will feature many different styles and environments. Fight your way through the cruel ghettos of Motashe. Fight off gangs in the deadly sewers beneath the city. Cross the river by boat and the woods by jeep. Find your way to the chemical plant where strange mutated creatures roam free among scientists and guards.

    Revenant Guide - Pyro Man @ 10:33 pm PST
    Stratos Group has released their full strategy guide for Revenant, and features walk throughs, maps, cheats and a lot more. The giude is a downloadable file.

    B.net's 36 hours of Hell - Mr Legacy @ 8:25 pm PST
    Dailyradar.com is giving game the chance for a weekend of just Diablo II. Click here for more information.

    Download some of this!!! - Mr Legacy @ 8:21 pm PST
    Sound Of StarCraft is a site dedicated for all StarCraft fans to download all sounds you hear while playing StarCraft. You heard any sound you really liked and not sure where to get it? this is the place for you, it has all the sounds plus some ICQ sounds.

    Shlonglor was on T.V. - Mr Legacy @ 8:19 pm PST
    GFraizer (a.k.a. Shlonglor)was on T.V. Saturday night at 12:30 am pst. The Show is called Wild Web on CBS, after Howard Stern. It also was pretty good I watched it myself.

    UNREAL TOURNAMENT GOLD! - Surebrec @ 7:54 pm PST
    Is it true? Mmm Hmm! It is, it is! Unreal Tournament is gold and will be in stores as early as Friday. Here's what Blue had to say:

    I just got off the phone with Epic's Mark Rein who informed me that Unreal Tournament is gold, and in fact will be in stores in the US by this Friday, fast enough to make your head spin. He's not sure about availability in Europe, but speculates in may be the Friday that follows. Look for an official announcement from GT later today or tomorrow, but this is a confirmed story, straight from the horse's mouth.

    Gamers.com preview - Daklown @ 2:36 pm PST
    The gamers.com preview is up here. The layout looks really nice and the site will have tons of useful features for gamers when it's done.

    GL Setup - Falcon @ 4:21 am PST
    On the topic of Quake a new version of GL setup is available at their offical page. You can find out what it offers, which includes some bug information and more.

    Shootings + Game Violence - Falcon @ 4:13 am PST
    Bah, they're blaming another shooting on game violence again: You can read the article here

    SWAT3 Gold - Falcon @ 4:04 am PST
    I saw over at the Avault that SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle has gone gold. A press release on the shipping date is forthcoming. To learn more about the game and what to expect when it hits stores, read their preview, located here
    You can also view some screenshots of the game here

    Q3A Mirrors - Falcon @ 4:00 am PST
    A couple of mirror sites for the Q3A download have been added and can be found at:
    - Adrenaline Vault

    - Blue's News

    Q3A Test Demo - Falcon @ 3:58 am PST
    The Q3A Demo Test is now out and available and can be downloaded from Quake3Arena.com
    This is the latest release of Quake 3 Arena. It's a test build of the demo made to resolve any issues we have before going gold with the full product and the distributable demo release. You may not redistribute this test. Please send feedback to q3feedback@idsoftware.com. The game requires you to be able to work out the address "authorize.quake3arena.com" (use ping from the command line to see if it works). If you cannot resolve this address you cannot play the game online.

    Sunday, November 14, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    New Starcraft League - Daklown @ 8:31 pm PST
    I got this e-mail from Johnny today about a new starcraft league:

    Hi I woudl just like to inform you that a StarCraft league has opened at http://www1.50megs.com/johnny . When reaching this site you might think that it isnt bad. But im currrently getting a new server and i have my friend which is a very high ranked web designer to help with the site. Also im currently talking to sponsers to give out prizes at the end of teh league. Anyways On the site it might say that sign up is over but in truth it isn't i coudl put this on my siet because of server problems. Anyways im allowing signups from you. Plz reply with you b-net name, ICQ number and e-mail addy. and your in!!!!!!!! Also Please tell your friends about thsi League so if at anytiem i 2v2 or 3v3 tourny would arise during the league which counts for points in origianl standings you will have a friend or 2 to be yor partner,

    Thanks Alot
    Johnny

    Here come the controllers! - Surebrec @ 4:47 pm PST
    As I was searching for some interesting news, I saw that Gamespot has posted a rather large guide on controllers, which all includes joysticks, racing wheels, and gamepads (which I have neither).

    Nox Preview for all - Surebrec @ 4:39 pm PST
    I saw over at 24 Hour Gamer that MeccaWorld has previewed Westwood Studios' Nox, and along with this fine preview is a few screenshots.

    If you want more Nox stuff, IGN is holding a contest to preview Nox in Seattle on Thanksgiving Weekend. Sign up soon, cuz the contest is ending soon.

    Athlon 700 Review - Surebrec @ 4:32 pm PST
    Those swank peeps from Thresh's Firing Squad have posted a cool review on the new Athlon 700 from AMD. In their review, they compare it to the Athlon 650 and the regular PIII 600. And as the subject of the review might suggest, the Athlon 700 is probably gonna be priced extremely high for the processor alone.

    whatever... - Surebrec @ 4:20 pm PST
    Well, I know this might not be gaming news, but hey! All the sites are doing it :). So here's my daily rant.

    Well, sorry for little news yesterday or today (I'll get working on that). It's been a little hectic. My friend came over and found out that my piece of crap comp isn't a Pentium 233, it's an AMD K6 233! No wonder the damn thing has been running so slow lately! I can barely run Half-life without it being choppy! After that, we went to the only place that's playing the new anime movie in my state, Princess Mononoke. It was in downtown Seattle of all places. It was rainy (as always) and the place was full of goths and goth shops. Anyways, we came home, played some AOE (no, not AOE2). Today, I went to the place where I bought the damn comp 2 years ago (Sears of all places) and it turns out I'm probably gonna get a real Pentium 233. Joy.

    Drakan: Order of the Flame Comic! - Falcon @ 3:41 am PST
    Apparently there is a new Drakan: Order of the Flame comic that is in circulation in mainland Europe. There a a few scanned pictures from the comic available at Draken.net. Here is a bit of info on whats in the comic:

    The story starts in a (very rough) inn. Rynn enters and buys a drink. She is interrupted drinking by a bully and by a face- painted man.The painted man gets kicked out by the bully and Rynn starts arguing with the bully. After a fight Rynn leaves, she approached by the other man who offers a lot of gold for a job. Rynn declines: it probaly extremely dangerous and she already has some money for her village.

    GA-RPG Seeker Interview - Falcon @ 3:37 am PST
    GA-Source has an in depth interview with Todd Templeman, Producer, which reveals information on the features, the sophisticated engine, and more. Here's a few clips:
    [John]: What were some of your inspirations for this game?
    [Todd]: That's a tough one to answer because for many of us this game has been germinating for years. It really is the apex of each of our careers and some of the guys here have been tops in their field for a long time. It is safe to say that the inspirations range all the way from the Simpsons, to the X-Files, to theoretical Nano-technology, to Sherlock Holmes, H.P. Lovecraft's "Mountains of Madness" (just look at the end of our intro) and many others. I think you might get widely varying answers from each member of the team, but despite the multitude of inspirations, the vision has been surprisingly consistent throughout these last two years of development.

    Source: GameHeadlines

    SC MOTW - Falcon @ 3:34 am PST
    I thougth this weeks map (Giant Steps) was slightly more interesting than usual, here is what they had to say about it:
    "Who designed this [censored] place? What [censored] "engineer" crawled out from his [censored] hole to inflict this [censored] [censored] upon my people? A [censored] platform split into two [censored] halves?
    [CENSORED]!
    Why are there no [censored] bridges on this [censored] platform? Are we just supposed to [censored] leap off one [censored] half to the other? And to top it all off, those [censored] don’t even provide enough Vespene [censored] gas for operations! [censored] this place! It’s just one big [censored] [censored] [censored] [censored]!"
    -Edited comments of Colonel Riley "[censored]" Bullhorn
    Commander of Terran Orbital Platform G11-F3

    You can view the SCC Map archive here, or download it here

    Saturday, November 13, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Delta Force 2 Review - Surebrec @ 7:34 pm PST
    Ahh, the people from one of my favorite sites have posted a review on Delta Force 2, recently released from Novalogic. Along with the review is 6 mini screenshots and a rating of 4.5/5.

    WoT CD Problem - Surebrec @ 7:29 pm PST
    Apparently people who have purchased Wheel of Time recently have found a problem inside. Some customers are finding duplicate CDs (2 CD1s or 2 CD2s) which will make the game useless since you need both CDs to install the game. Better check your boxes at the store before you take it home.
    Source: Planet Unreal

    Baldur's gate 2 Preview - Surebrec @ 7:24 pm PST
    The good people from Thresh's Firing Squad have recently taken a trip to Seattle (my home town!) and took an inside look(preview) at Baldur's Gate 2, coming soon from Bioware. Along with their preview, comes some stuff about the trip (if you're interested on what it's like here in rainy Seattle), but you can always just go straight to page 3 of the preview.

    Rogue Spear Guide - Falcon @ 3:33 pm PST
    GameCenter has posted a Rogue Spear Guide to help gamers get through each of the 18 campaign missions. Here is an exerp:
    RAINBOW is back with another campaign to save the world. This time, terrorists are attempting to build nuclear bombs. You must stop them. The Prima Fast Track GuideTM to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear gives you the basic strategies you need to get through each of the 18 campaign missions. However, for more in-depth strategies and tactics for each of the teams as well as detailed maps, check out Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear--Prima's Official Strategy Guide. It also includes great multiplayer hints and tips as well as chapters on the operatives, the weapons, and general strategy and tactics to help you become a proficient counter-terrorist and hostage rescue operative.

    UTMacDemo News - Falcon @ 3:30 pm PST
    Here's the latest word from Westlake Interactive for those of you who are mac users out there who want to get your hands on the demo:
    The RAVE version (supporting ATI 3D accelerators) of the Unreal Tournament demo is still being finished, we hope to have it ready to release in a week or so. The main reason we have taken longer than anticipated to get this version of the demo out is that we've been working with ATI and Apple to try to resolve the Z clipping errors that have plagued the RAVE version of of Unreal (and UT) for quite a while. We want the RAVE version of UT to look as solid and impressive has the 3Dfx demo when we release it.

    While the current plans are to release a RAVE version of the UT demo to support ATI accelerators, this does not mean we are completely scrapping the idea of supporting OpenGL in a future demo or the full shipping version of UT. There are several issues (performance, memory usage, etc) with OpenGL we are working with Apple to resolve, so we can produce a version of UT that is fast, stable, and works on a wide range of 3D cards.

    The full version of Unreal Tournament Mac is still on track to ship 3-4 weeks after the PC (which has not shipped yet).

    Flanker 2.0 Cammo Commander - Falcon @ 3:27 pm PST
    Found this over at GameHeadlines; Game Tool Technologies have released their Cammo Commander for SSI's Flanker 2.0. Cammo Commander will allow you to collect and change the airplane textures for Flanker 2.0. Versions of Cammo Commander are available for SSI's Flanker 2.0, Graphic Simulations F/A-18 Korea Parsoft's Fighter Squadron and Jane's Combat Simulations F-15.

    Pretzel Works has a new Cammo Commander compatible Blue Angels skin for SSI's Flanker 2.0 available for downloading.

    D2 Fansite Chat Analysis - Falcon @ 3:20 pm PST
    BillWill from Diablo.net has written a short, but to the point analysis on the latest Diablo II fansite chat, which took place on November 11th, 1999. You can check it out by going here.

    RTS:D NewsWire Show - Falcon @ 3:18 pm PST
    Heres a little email tip that The Jester from RTS Network sent us:

    That's right folks, the time you've all been waiting for! RTS Domain has posted the latest update for the News Wire radio show, join our hosts Aaron and Jesse for a preview of the new German game coming out soon: Earth 2150. Although very little hype surrounds this game, it looks to challenge many of the new 3D RTS games already out, or coming out soon. Games like Warcraft 3 and Homeworld. We also have our usual Industry News section, and a ton of great humor. Tune in every week for the time of your life!

    http://www.rtsdomain.net/newswire

    Game Editing Source - Falcon @ 3:13 pm PST
    Dragonwings (from the StarCraft Millennium) and some friends are starting up a site called Game Editing Source (GES), which will hold tutorials, faqs, forums, and more for game editing. They have many games covered, and currently have two staff members with a wide area of knowledge, but are in need of more.

    They need:

    -News Updaters: Post Game Editing related news on GES
    -Tutorial Writers: Write up tutorials for editing games you specialize in
    -Forum Responder: Respond to various questions on our forum about problems
    with a certain game.

    To apply for any of these, e-mail Dragonwings@scmillennium.com.

    Flanker 2.0 Review - Toxin @ 9:26 am PST
    Sniper's Alley sends word that they have reviewed Flanker 2.0 a new flight simulator from SSI/Mindscape. Here is the snippet:

    "Few flight simulators have had such expectation over their release as Flanker 2.0 from SSI/Mindscape. Flanker 2 is a simulator that has been in production for well over 2 years. For months SSI kept pushing back the release date by 3 months at a time, fuelling only more expectation and speculation over what would be included in the final release. Now Flanker 2 is here, (or will be in the UK on the 19th November) however before I discuss the game, then I think it is time for a little history lesson."

    Friday, November 12, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    SoF Trailer - Surebrec @ 11:03 pm PST
    Also on the subject of Gamefan, I saw over there that a Soldier of Fortune Trailer has been released in AVI format, and weighs in at 23 megs.

    Baldur's Gate Preview #2 - Surebrec @ 11:00 pm PST
    The peeps of Gamefan have posted an short preview on Baldur's Gate 2, coming soon from Bioware. The preview also comes along with 4 screenshots.

    Q3A Renderings - Surebrec @ 10:57 pm PST
    Stomped.com has posted 3 new Q3A Character Renderings. These new ones inlcude Ranger (the old school quake marine), Major, and Anarki.

    C&C: TS Firestorm Preview - Surebrec @ 10:52 pm PST
    SnipersAlley has recently posted a preview on C&C: Tiberiun Sun Firestorm from Westwood Studios. Although its not really a preview, it does have some pretty tight game-concept sketches.

    Omikron: The Nomad Soul Review - Surebrec @ 10:47 pm PST
    Sharky Extreme has recently posted a review on Omikron: The Nomad Soul which was recently released, and also includes music by David Bowie! Here's a little from the review on the plot of the game:

    The plot of Omikron is intricate and deep. Much of the joy of Omikron comes from uncovering what is actually going on. The basic premise is that your soul (yes you, the video gamer) has been transferred into the body of Kay'l, a police officer in a parallel universe. Your mission is to save the planet from a terrible demon threat. It's a decent plot, but frankly, it's cheesier than Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (the cheesiest!). As plot points, which we won't reveal, get uncovered in the game, you have to fight to keep your suspension of disbelief. It just gets incredibly hokey. Omikron has an entertaining and deep plot but it gets really lame at points. But if you can struggle through the bad parts, it's all quite intriguing and rewarding. Omikron walks a fine line between disgusting you and enthralling you. If you can watch The Blair Witch Project without batting an eye, you can play Omikron just fine.

    Nocturne Movies - Surebrec @ 10:42 pm PST
    I saw over at AGN3D that Gathering of Developers (G.O.D.) has uploaded some great 3 meg Nocturne movies. These movies can act as an alternate if you don't want to download the 100 meg demo and let you see what you can expect from the game. Here's the link:

  • Nocturne Movie 1
  • Nocturne Movie 2
  • Nocturne Movie 3
  • Nocturne Movie 4
  • Vampire Screens - Surebrec @ 10:33 pm PST
    Those swank people from Adrenaline Vault have posted 5 new sweet Vampire: The Masquerade screens, which show off the greatly detailed modern day London environments.

    Sanity Stuff - Surebrec @ 10:31 pm PST
    The great people from Gamespot have posted an article on Sanity along with 9 new screenshots of the fine game. Anyways, here's a little from the article:

    Monolith has always worked a little outside the parameters of gaming design, and with its upcoming creation, Sanity, gamers will once more get a taste of something original. The game, a hybrid of action, adventure, and RPG, boasts a rather unconventional storyline: Humans discover ways to enhance portions of their unused brains through the use of experimental drugs. And as with any experimental drug, there are side effects. Users of the drugs gain special abilities to manipulate ethereal energy but also suffer from insane rages where they'll destroy just about anything.

    Messiah Interview - Surebrec @ 10:20 pm PST
    I saw over at Blues News that DailyRadar has posted a Messiah interview with Saxs Persson, lead programmer of the game at Shiny. The interview includes stuff like how the game will run on less-powerful computer and misc stuff.

    D2 Chat Transcript - Surebrec @ 10:12 pm PST
    BillWill from Diablo.net sends word that they have posted the chat transcript for the D2 Fansite Chat which took place a couple of nights ago. Here's a small clip from the chat:

    Bridenbecker: Will there be a world-wide release?

    BRoper: We are planning to have Diablo II ship worldwide and be up and running on continent specific Realms from the first day of shipping. We want to make sure that everyone gets the best experience possible from the very beginning.

    Baldur's Gate 2 Preview - Surebrec @ 10:06 pm PST
    PC.IGN has just slapped up a spankin new preview on Baldur's Gate 2 by Bioware. As with most previews, come screenshots for everyone to see. It also comes with characters sketches (thats new..). SO if you were a fan of the past game, or enjoy RPGs, check this out.

    Wheel of Time Demo - Surebrec @ 8:19 pm PST
    The Wheel of Time demo has recently been released! This bad baby weighs in at 77 megs so unless you're really patient or have a fast connection, go for the demo.

    Unreal DM Map Pack - Surebrec @ 8:13 pm PST
    Frag Facility has recently posted a great Unreal DM Map Pack with some of the best maps ever made for Unreal. The map pack includes these maps: DMBridge, DMDeCyberbridge, DMDropzonev2, DM-Esperv2, DMFlashback, DMGroovemachine, DMLethoria, DMLohmannslair, DMRefuge, DMRolus, DMSiberia, DMStrictlydiesel, DMSunder, DMUnrealityse, DMVeltor. So if you're getting bored of the current Unreal maps, then download these maps.

    Q3A Bet Test Report - Surebrec @ 7:08 pm PST
    The people from Thresh's Firing Squad recently went to id Software to try out the beta of Q3A, which can be found over here. The article basically describes Kenn Hwang's trip to id Software to beta test it, but it talks about some stuff on Q3A for those who are interested.

    Nox Preview Party - Surebrec @ 6:57 pm PST
    The peeps from Westwood Studios and IGN are holding a Nox preview party in Seattle! All you gotta do is sign-up over here for the contest and you may be selected to head over to Wizards of the Coast in Seattle, WA for a Nox Preview party. You will get a free copy of Tiberiun Sun and be eligible for other great prizes. However, it is for gamers for WA only. Unless you wanna pay for airfare to Seattle.

    Warcraft Planet NewsRadio - Falcon @ 3:50 pm PST
    At WarCraft Planet, soon to be WarCentral.com, (not sure if you're aware of the changes) warcentral.com , they have started a very cool thing called the WarCentral.com Newsradio.
    They have had two broadcasts already, one yesterday, and one previously recorded today. Another one is coming tommorow. This technology uses the Realplayer software and keeps gamers up to date with the lastest PC Gaming news. Its a great thing and will get better and better as time goes by.

    Raven Software Interview! - Toxin @ 2:30 pm PST
    Recently I was able to interview Kenn Hoekstra of Raven Software about their new game, Soldier of Fortune. Check it out over here!

    Sega Rally 2 Review - Falcon @ 12:43 am PST
    Lots of reviews coming around now, and even Telefragged has posted up their own review, this one on review Sega Rally 2. There is a bunch of sweet looking shots to accompany the review, and here's a couple to keep your engine revving, so head over there if youre interested.

    Delta Force 2 News, Interview, Review - Falcon @ 12:31 am PST
    Here's your scoop for the day on Novalogic's Delta Force 2.
    First for those of you who have an interest in the game or even own it, heres some information from TacticalPlanet regarding DF2 and the 3D hardware it supports:
    A new question has arisen regarding Delta Force 2 and the 3D hardware it supports via Direct3D: If DF2 requires a 3D card with 32-bit color (and hence a 32-bit Z-buffer), why does it work with cards based on Nvidia's TNT chipset, which only has 24-bit color and a 24-bit Z-buffer?

    It's a good question, but the answer's pretty simple. Delta Force 2 doesn't communicate directly with a 3D accelerator card's hardware; it communicates with the card via Direct3D. So the game is only concerned with the card's feature set as supported by Direct3D. Since Direct3D reports that the TNT has a 32-bit Z-buffer, the card meets the requirements for Delta Force 2, so the game will make it possible to select the hardware mode for this card.


    An interview with Wes Eckhart has been posted by Novacentral
    It has some old news but also some new information, and also explains what your suppost to do in Search and Destroy and ofcourse in the Attack and Defend missions. You can read the complete interview here


    The review on DF2 is from, surprise again, Speedy 3d (They're on a roll). Here's part of what they had to say about it:

    "As the hills roll back you hurl yourself to the ground with the force of a cheater pouncing on its next victim. As your eyes raise above the level of the long grass you spy two guards walking close by you. As they pass by swaying their guns brushing against the grass tips you swiftly change to your knife and sneak up behind them while remaining covered by the grass. They stop ahead next to a tree giving you just the cover and vantage you need to sneak right up behind them. Suddenly and without a thought your behind them and gliding your blade through their sponge like bodies. In the world of DeltaForce2 it's just another day on the job."

    Dirt Track Racing, Demolition Racer Reviews - Falcon @ 12:20 am PST
    Two reviews from the same site (3DRacing.net), so I'm combining them:

    There is a review of Ratbags' Dirt Track Racing. They score this excellent sim a healthy 86%. They also had some good words on the Graphics:


    The graphics in the game are outstanding. There is so much detail and realism in the game, it is really nearly jaw-dropping. The track itself looks nearly identical to real life, with trackside objects, fans, powerlines, and the scenery outside of the track all meticulously detailed and all in full beautiful 3D. Even the actual dirt on the tracks looks amazing, with different textures easily recognizable. As the dirt nears the wall, it will even begin to pile up and will look/act different, all adding to the realism.


    The second review is on Infogrames' Demolition Racer. This is one of the best reviews I have seen for the game, very detailed. However the review is rather critical of the game, saying:

    With no multiplayer, few modes, weak tracks, and few cars (and those modes, cars, and tracks that are good are locked to start the game), Demolition Racer likely won't be on your hard drive for too awfully long. It is not because the game is bad, not by any means, but more because of the fact that crashing into several other computer cars does get boring after awhile, and you have no opportunity to test your skills against anyone else, which is a real shame in today's day and age.

    Source: GameHeadlines

    Homeworld MP3's - Falcon @ 12:11 am PST
    If you're interested in aquiring the MP3 tracks for the 3d Strategy Game, Homeworld, they are all available for download at ftp://ftp.relicnews.com/pub/relicnews/mp3/

    Here is the list of the songs, thanks to Homeworld Fleet Command

    Level Themes (01 - 12)
    Battle Themes (13 - 16)
    Scripted Events (18 - 29)
    Cutscenes (32 - 48)
    Misc (17, 29 - 31)

    Level Themes
    01 Outskirts, Return & Menu
    02 Great Wastelands
    03 Diamond Shoals & Galactic Core
    04 Garden Of Kadesh
    05 Sea Of Lost Souls
    06 Super Nova Station
    07 Tenhauser Gate & Chapel Perilous
    08 The Karos Graveyard
    09 Bridge Of Sighs & Hiigara
    10 Training Mission
    11 Kharak System
    12 Return To Kharak

    Battle Themes
    13 ?? (Battle theme)
    14 ?? (Battle theme)
    15 Battle Garden Of Kadesh
    16 Battle (Taiidans Or Kushans)

    Scripted Events
    18 MS Launch - Kushan (Script)
    19 MS Launch - Taiidan (Script)
    20 Outskirts Of Kharak System (Script)
    21 Outskirts Of Kharak System (Script)
    22 Return To Kharak (Script)
    23 Garden Of Kadesh (Script)
    24 Super Nova Station (Script)
    25 Tenhauser Gate (Script)
    26 Galactic Core (Script)
    27 Chapel Perilous (Script)
    28 Bridge Of Sighs (Script)

    Misc
    17 ?? (misc)
    29 Credits & Yes Theme (Misc)
    30 Sierra Intro (Misc)
    31 Relic Intro (Misc)

    Cutscenes
    32 Kharak System
    33 Outskirts Of Kharak System
    34 Return To Kharak
    35 Great Wastelands
    36 Great Wastelands II
    37 Diamond Shoals
    38 Gardens Of Kadesh
    39 The Cithedal Of Kadesh
    40 Sea Of Lost Souls
    41 Super Nova Station
    42 Tenhauser Gate
    43 Galactic Core
    44 The Karos Graveyard
    45 The Bridge Of Souls
    46 Chapel Perilous
    47 Hiigara
    48 Outro


    Slave Zero SS - Falcon @ 12:04 am PST
    GA-Source has received an exclusive SZ shot from Infogrames. Here is a bit of info on the game itself:
    Slave Zero is a blend of fast action gaming that features anime- styled, highly maneuverable giant robots. Players control a 60 foot combat robot called a Slave. In contrast to traditional giant robots, the Slave is highly maneuverable and can dodge and weave like a human. And since combat with other armed robots is the primary focus of the game, it is fitting that the development team has made Slave Zero in the third-person perspective.

    Thursday, November 11, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    NFS4 High stakes Car - Falcon @ 11:46 pm PST
    I saw over at Gameheadlines that Electronic Arts has released a new car and showcase for Need for Speed: High Stakes. Roaring onto your desktop is the Atson Martin DB7. This is what they had to say about it:

    A colourful history that dates back to 1913 lies behind Aston Martin's fast and luxurious DB7. Aston Martin has always been famed for its unique ability to combine high levels of performance with the ultimate in luxury and refinement and that's what the DB7 is all about. The sleek and sensuous sports car, available as either a two-plus-two coupe or convertible, is virtually hand-built and uses a supercharged 3.2-litre, 335-horsepower all-alloy twin-cam six cylinder engine to provide lightning acceleration and a formidable top speed.

    Diablo2? - Falcon @ 11:42 pm PST
    Blizzard has made a press release giving details on the release date and beta test of Diablo2, including the news that D2 will not be released before the end of this year... surprise, surprise.

    On the subject of Diablo2, the latest Blizzard fansite chat has been released and can be viewed here

    i2e2 SC Tourney - 2v2 Brackets - Daklown @ 8:05 pm PST
    They're up at starcraft.org.

    On a side note, if you ever meet Lockeye (James Daily) in real life please give him a good kick in the nuts for me. I was absolutely appalled by some of the teams that made it into the tourney, especially some that my partner and I have consistently beat. Oh well, I guess it all comes with the territory. I'm an unknown player, and unknown players don't get into invitational tourneys. :( Now maybe if I just added an X'ds~ or a {PH} to my name.... :)

    i2e2 SC Tourney - 1v1 Brackets - Daklown @ 7:44 pm PST
    Hone, of starcraft.org, has posted the brackets for the 1v1 part of the i2e2 Invitational SC tourney. View them here.
    Source: starcraft.org

    Another Trickstyle Review - Surebrec @ 7:14 pm PST
    I don't know how many sites are posting Trickstyle reviews, but there are probably 10 out there now. Anyways, Gamespot has posted their review on Trickstyle from Criterion Studios, which received a 6.2 rating. But if you're interested in this game, go read it. Here's a clip:

    TrickStyle's graphics are definitely fancy. Above all, it's a great-looking game. The designers at Criterion Studios have wisely chosen to abandon the dark, dystopian look popularized by Blade Runner and regurgitated in virtually every depiction of the future since. Instead, they've created a world of bright colors, clean lines, and giant, recognizable structures. TrickStyle is composed of 15 races plus three boss contests across three urban settings - London, Manhattan, and Tokyo. Each track is exquisitely detailed and packed with colorful lighting, impressive architecture, amazing sky effects, and moving obstacles such as hurtling trains and rocket cars. The city areas are accessed through a central hub, a stadium called the Velodrome. Here, you can freely practice the tricks you know and unlock new moves by accepting and winning a sequential series of 16 races and stunt challenges presented to you by the Guide, TrickStyle's narrator and your coach.

    Septerra Core Review - Surebrec @ 7:06 pm PST
    PC.IGN has recently posted a swank review on Septerra Core, recently released from Monolith and Valkyrie Stuios. The review comes with several screenshots from cutscenes and battles and was given an overall score of 8.0. Here's a clip for everyone:

    That’s where you come in. You begin the game as Maya, a junker from shell two who scavenges trash deposited by those on the shells above you. The inhabited shells of Septerra Core are based on status, with the lower class citizens living on the lower shells closer to the radiating core. The highest class, the Chosen (of which Doskias is a member), live on the outermost layer and care little for those below them. As Doskias tears through the second shell, Maya gets wind of his plan and vows to stop the Chosen at all costs, since the last time they appeared on junker soil meant the destruction of her hometown and the death of her parents.

    Mankind - backup @ 6:52 pm PST
    Mankind, an internet multiplayer only Real Time Space strategy game is worth downloading. It's got 900,000,000 planets to colonize and every model and picture is rendered in 3d. Better yet? Every player interacts with each other and they have a tool where if your planet is attacked you are notified through your pager! Nifty!

    Tribes Extreme Screens - Surebrec @ 4:54 pm PST
    Gamefan has recently posted some tight screens from Dynamix's upcoming game, Tribes Extreme. The screens can be found over here.

    UT Tourney - Surebrec @ 4:42 pm PST
    The man known as Cache from Cached is holding a UT Tourney with 32 players and the good thing is you play until you lose. So if you're interested, head on over to the contest page.

    WoT FAQ - Surebrec @ 4:39 pm PST
    If you're patiently awaiting for Wheel of Time to arrive at your local store, or already have it, here's some stuff that will quench that urge. The WoT FAQ has been uploaded, covering everything from installation, video and sound stuff, and everything else that could be thought of.
    Source: Planet Unreal

    SWAT 3 Gold! - Surebrec @ 4:35 pm PST
    I saw over at Stomped.com that SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle from Sierra has also gone gold. The game is similar to Rainbow 6. It should be on shelves within a few weeks.

    Trickstyle Review - Surebrec @ 4:29 pm PST
    Gamesmania has recently posted a review of Trickstyle by Acclaim. If you don't know, Trickstyle is a 3D skateboarding game. The game received a 7.5/10 stars, and here's a clip:

    Now, after some additional development time, the PC version is ready. It's simply a slightly polished copy of the console version, which is a bit of a disappointment--at least to those who've already played it. Trickstyle was a good game for the DC that never fully realized its potential, and now it's a good game for the PC… that never fully realizes its potential. Despite the added processing muscle and capabilities of a computer, little was done to enhance the gameplay or even fix the problems of its counterpart (there isn't even any Internet multiplayer, which by far is the most noticeable omission). Still, if you're looking for an exciting arcade racer, or you really want to try out some new tricks, a few hours with Trickstyle should satisfy your cravings quite nicely.

    G.O.D. Interview - Surebrec @ 4:14 pm PST
    Voodoo Extreme has just slapped up an interview with G.O.D., the people who have made Nocturne and Age of Wonders. The interview talks about the general stuff, and here is a morsel of the interview:

    VE: It seems 1999 has been a good year for G.O.D. How much better will 2000 be (Talk about a loaded question :)?

    MW: 2000... wow... we've got a lot to get forward to. For me personally, it's getting back to my 'roots'. We've got a lineup of 3d action games second to none. KISS Psycho Circus, Heavy Metal: FAKK 2, RUNE, Max Payne... and then the Blair Witch games. And that's just on the action side.

    HL: Opposing Force Gone Gold!! - Surebrec @ 4:04 pm PST
    It's finally coming! I saw over at Planet Half-Life that Half-Life: Opposing Force has gone gold! This means the game will be out within a week, as early as Wednesday. Here's the message:

    Half-Life: Opposing Force is the official game expansion for Half-Life, the thrilling PC CD-ROM named "Game of the Year" by over 50 publications. In Opposing Force, players return to the Black Mesa Research Facility to experience an entirely new episode of single player action. In addition, Op For also contains a massive collection of new multiplayer content.

    Remember the soldiers who gave you so much trouble in Half-Life? Now you are one of them--and life is not so easy as part of the Opposing Force.

    As a soldier sent in to eliminate Gordon Freeman, you are separated from your base unit and discover a new alien race amidst the chaos. It's quickly revealed that these highly advanced alien life forms descended upon Earth to pillage the planet from the Black Mesa facility when Gordon Freeman transported to the border world of Xen.

    In addition to the extensive new single player experience, Opposing Force will also contain a robust collection of fresh multiplayer content, including new weapons, player characters (models), and several new multiplayer maps designed by the experts at Gearbox Software. Opposing Force will also feature new levels created by all-star legends of the Dallas gaming community.

    Blizzard Releases Information about Diablo II Ship Date and Beta Test - Daklown @ 2:49 pm PST
    Blizzard has finally confirmed what most D2 fans had long suspected, here's an excerpt from the press release that pretty much sums it all up:
    "The game is now slated for a worldwide release in early 2000. We plan to start beta testing before the year's end with a limited beta test of 1,000 players. We then will conduct an open beta program to stress test our new Battle.net servers. We will keep you updated on the game's progress once the beta test gets underway."

    View the entire press release here.
    Source: Blizzard

    Wednesday, November 10, 1999
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    Freespace 2 Review - Surebrec @ 10:28 pm PST
    AVault has slapped up a review on Freespace 2 from Volition. Here's a clip from the review on the game;

    In the original title of the series, Volition established itself as a leading contender in the space combat/simulation arena, and arguably produced the best Wing Commander-esque game to date in Freespace: The Great War. Equipped with an interesting storyline and a superbly designed 3D engine, The Great War was a game deserving of praise, but for some it too closely mimicked Origin's trademark. In the original Freespace, the humans, long at war with a race called the Vasudans, combined forces in order to combat an enemy that threatened to end both of their civilizations. The attacking horde, designated the Shivans were superior in almost every way, and almost annihilated the Terran army in its first sweep of the galaxy. Armed with shielding that protected their ships, the Shivan were an almost impenetrable enemy.

    The review comes with some screenshots. It received the Reviewer's Choice stamp. The final verdict: 4 and 1/2 stars.

    Shadow Watch Preview - Surebrec @ 10:25 pm PST
    Well it's not really a preview. Anyways, Gamespot has posted a small article/feature on Shadow Watch from Red Storm. The article also comes along with 9 screenshots.

    Eidos to take Ion Storm - Surebrec @ 10:23 pm PST
    According to Gamespot, Eidos will be taking over Ion Storm. Here's a clip form the news story:

    Our source tells us that the announcement will be released this Friday and will also confirm the ousting of both Todd Porter and Jerry O'Flaherty. Eidos will indeed be taking a 51-percent share of the company, and Eidos' John Cavanaugh will be moving in to run the company. And the remaining founding members of Ion Storm - John Romero, Tom Hall, and Warren Spector - will remain as employees of Eidos. Last week, Ion staff was informed of the upcoming announcement. The information we received indicates that Porter and O'Flaherty will be the only employees to be let go.

    The full story can be found here.

    WoT Patch... - Surebrec @ 10:20 pm PST
    Speaking of Wheel of Time, a patch has been released. Now the game hasn't even hit shelves yet and they released a patch. Oh well. The patch will correct problems with launching a dedicated server.
    Source: VE

    WoT Screenshots - Surebrec @ 10:18 pm PST
    Gamefan has posted some swank screenshots from Wheel of Time, an upcoming game (it should be out anytime) which uses the Unreal engine. Anyways, there are a total of 15 pics for you to gawk at.
    Source: VE

    Soul Reaver Review - Surebrec @ 10:14 pm PST
    The guys at VE have posted their review on Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver recently released from Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The review comes with screenshots and a total score of 83%.

    Solider of Fortune Preview - Surebrec @ 10:08 pm PST
    The peeps from AGN 3D have posted a preview of Soldier of Fortune by Raven Software. Along with the fine preview, comes a short interview and some screenshots of the game.

    The Sims "Mini-"Preview - Surebrec @ 9:22 pm PST
    Gamespot has updated their feature called "Games That Will Change Gaming". This time they feature The Sims and a few other games. Here's a clip from the article:

    Every game starts with creating a new, single Sim and deciding his or her sex, skin, and basic appearance before dividing points among basic character qualities: neatness, outgoingness, activity level, playfulness, and niceness. After that you dive right into the building portion of the game. Since you start with a set amount of money, you can either immediately purchase a model home or create your own. Designing your own home is a remarkably intuitive process, using a simple click-and-drag interface to plop down floors, walls, windows, doors, and anything else you feel your home needs. You will have to resist the temptation to blow all your money on the biggest house you can afford right off the bat, since you'll have to furnish it as well; forget to set aside enough money for a toilet and shower, and life will get very Appalachian very fast.

    Baldur's Gate 2 Announced - Surebrec @ 9:18 pm PST
    I saw over at VE that Baldur's Gate 2 has been announced, coming straight from BioWare and Black Isle. Here's the clip:

    Welcome,

    Black Isle Studios and BioWare Corp are proud to announce the development of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. We have been working on this title under wraps for some time now. As you can probably imagine, we are very pleased to be able to show you the next installment in the Baldur's Gate saga.

    We have been working closely with Wizards of the Coast and TSR to ensure that this second installment in the Baldur's Gate series is as rich in Forgotten Realms lore and history as possible. Our writers and designers have created a story with far more depth and intrigue than was previously seen in Baldur's Gate. The intricacies of the quests and the complexity of the game world has been increased dramatically from the original, creating a gaming richness that will win over the seasoned adventurer as well as the newcomer to the series.

    Improvements to the Baldur's Gate engine make the game even more rich and immersive, as well as increasing the realism, depth, and beauty of the world. Our monsters are bigger and have more animation, the spells are more stunning, our environments are more varied to ensure the overall look of the game is amazing. Gameplay improvements such as fixes to pathing, better journal management, and various tweaks to the multiplayer game should greatly increase the experience for all players.

    We are hoping that with Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, we can take everything that made Baldur's Gate a great game, fix those things that were frustrating, increase the depth and look of the game, and give our fans everything they want in a CRPG.

    Chris Parker
    Producer, Black Isle Studios

    First Person Shooter vs. Real Time Strategy - Daklown @ 6:21 pm PST
    Somebody has to settle the FPS vs RTS argument. Check out Soso and Makaveli of gamers.com, as they try their best to settle the argument once and for all at Soso's FOB Squad.

    Tim Sweeny Interview - Surebrec @ 5:30 pm PST
    Gamespy has posted a massive interview with Tim Sweeny from Epic Games (umm, the people of Unreal, UT) on UT and Unreal. The interview is several pages, along with some screens of UT demo. Here's a clip:

    Gamespy - Have you ever considered, or are you considering, *gasp!* putting the Unreal Engine aside and starting fresh with a new next-generation engine from scratch?

    Tim - We will do that to a certain extent with the next-generation engine. Anything that's not up to our standards of what a year 2001 game should look like, we'll rip out and replace. 100% of the rendering code will be new. Most of the scripting will be new. Other parts of the code, like the networking and core, are now in really good shape and won't be replaced unless our R&D reveals a significantly better approach.

    Tricksyle Review - Surebrec @ 5:25 pm PST
    The people at Thresh's Firing Squad have posted a tight review of Trickstyle, recently released from Acclaim. Here's a little clip if you're not familiar with Trickstyle:

    Trickstyle is a non-standard blending of console racing and console snowboarding. Think of it, perhaps, as the bastard son of Mario Kart 64 and Cool Boarders. It isn't really mainly a racing game nor mainly a stunt game, but rather, a smoothly blended union of the two styles.

    The final verdict on the game was 4/5 stars.

    New Q3A Character Shots - Surebrec @ 5:21 pm PST
    Stomped.com has recently slapped up 2 new tight character shots for Q3A, making four character shots total now. Here's whats out today:

  • Visor - Visor's toughness makes the T1000 look like ancient technology. Just because he's got the latest cybernetic enhancements however, does not mean he can't get medieval on your sorry self.

  • Orbb - Orbb not only sees all with his giant eyeball, but he has every arena battle on tap to pull out the best fragging moves.
  • Tuesday, November 09, 1999
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    Silent Hunter Screenshots - Falcon @ 11:20 pm PST
    Combatsim.com has posted some screenshots from SSI's upcoming Silent Hunter II.
    Here is part of what they had to say about it:

    Silent Hunter II and Destroyer Command have been delayed til Q2, 2000. Delays often mean improvements, and these delays make it even more likely that we will see an inter-operable pair in Destroyer Command and Silent Hunter II! The goal is to build these two together so that you can man the U-boats, or provide the escort buffer to face the wolf packs. Both games are looking great and will provide a unique entry into the naval simulation genre.

    You can find more info on the game as well from the offical website

    Source: GameHeadlines

    Off Road Review, Screens, Interview - Falcon @ 11:17 pm PST
    Speedy 3D has posted a review + screenshots from Off Road, an upcoming new 3D racing game. They also have an interview with the games project manager, Scott Philips which covers a few questions regarding the game and it's info which can be viewed here

    D2 SSOTW - Falcon @ 11:06 pm PST
    Thanks to the Diablo.net news submission for this, otherwise no one here would remember to post about it anymore...
    The Barbarian stuns a Skeleton Archer in the Sewers of Lut Gholein (Act2) in the latest Screenshot of the Week. Appears to be from a Single-Player mathup, but more information will be confrimed later. Believed that the Barbarian is using his Stun skill in which the Barabarian attacks a foe leaving him stunned for more brutal attacks. The Barbarian stuns a Skeleton Archer in the Sewers of Lut Gholein (Act2) in the latest Screenshot of the Week. Appears to be from a Single-Player mathup, but more information will be confrimed later. Believed that the Barbarian is using his Stun skill in which the Barabarian attacks a foe leaving him stunned for more brutal attacks. The Barbarian stuns a Skeleton Archer in the Sewers of Lut Gholein (Act2) in the latest Screenshot of the Week. Appears to be from a Single-Player mathup, but more information will be confrimed later. Believed that the Barbarian is using his Stun skill in which the Barabarian attacks a foe leaving him stunned for more brutal attacks. The image can be seen at, http://blizzard.com/diablo2/ssotw36.htm

    Might as well combine this post that GamesXTREME, which has just opened is looking for staff. So if you're interested in working a new upcoming site, go give them a hit.

    UT News - Surebrec @ 6:31 pm PST
    I saw over at Unreal Universe that loonygames hosted a UT chat last nite. The interesting this was this little piece of the chat:

    CliffyB: The UT art is done baby.
    Diehard: What's left to do before UT is going out the door?
    CliffyB: Not a lot. Final tweaks.

    Also if you missed the chat (I know I did), you can catch a chat log from Shugashack.

    Q3A Shot - Surebrec @ 6:27 pm PST
    loonygames has posted a great Q3A shot, over here.

    Thief Gold Review - Surebrec @ 6:18 pm PST
    Gamesmania has recently posted a review on Thief Gold, recently released from Looking Glass Entertainment. The game received a 8/10 "targets". The review also comes chock-full of screenshots.

    Omikron Interview - Surebrec @ 6:16 pm PST
    The people of Adrenaline Vault have also posted an interview with Phillip Campbell on Omikron, Eidos' recently released epic action and adventure game. The interview talks more about the game. Sooo here's a piece of it:

    What were the most challenging aspects and time periods of the development?
    You mean apart from the fistfights in the Omikron Fight Club? [Laughs hugely…] Collaborating with David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels, Bowie’s guitarist, was a fear that became a pleasure, and the biggest problem David Cage had was just to sustain his team. It’s very demanding developing a game that has everything!

    There ya go. Maybe I should cut back on the clips.

    Tread Marks Preview - Surebrec @ 6:13 pm PST
    The happy-go-lucky people of AVault have posted a preview of Tread Marks, a racing/combat game from Longbow Digital Arts. The preview comes with some fine screens of the game. Here's a clip:

    Tread Marks is clearly an arcade action rather than simulation title; there is little attention to real-world physics. About this lucid focus, McNally comments, "All of the tanks are fanciful, with extremely over-powered engines and super-strong armor, though a lot of them do look a fair bit like modern battle tanks externally." As you roam over the various terrain, including grassy, rocky and muddy hills, sand dunes, and light forests, tanks exhibit a variety of driving styles, but none perfectly resembles real-life patterns. McNally adds that the perfect winning attitude will be "Blast everything in sight and move really, really fast." The emphasis here is clearly on fun rather than realism.

    Hmm. Do I give you too many clips? Seems that way :).

    Delta Force 2 Review - Surebrec @ 6:05 pm PST
    Those oh-so-lovable people from Gamespot have also posted a review on Delta Force 2, coming straight from Novalogic. The game got a 8.2 of 10, which isn't too bad. Here's a little morsel to get you interested:

    Delta Force 2 offers around 45 single-player missions, including 25 sorties split between two campaigns and 20 stand-alone scenarios, in which you must prove yourself against large and heavily armed terrorist armies. In most cases, you'll work alone or with a handful of computer-controlled support teams. Most scenarios involve a clandestine attack-and-destroy mission against enemy bases, though many also include hostage rescue, recovery of stolen assets, and other commando-style objectives. The game also contains a powerful mission editor that lets you craft complex scenarios with relative ease and even provides thorough documentation for it.

    Hands-on Sanity Preview - Surebrec @ 6:01 pm PST
    Gamespot has recently posted a preview of Sanity coming soon from Monolith. Here's a clip:

    Sanity is set in a future where humanity has been significantly altered by drugs. These drugs have bolstered the latent psychic powers of certain humans. A department within the police force has since evolved to handle and control these new psionically endowed characters, and you play as a member of this special police force.

    UT Server Patch - Surebrec @ 5:42 pm PST
    The Unreal Technology Page has been updated with a patch (489k) on server performance. Here's what it says:

    This patch (489 KB) contains improvements to server performance for version 348. We are also working on some other optimizations for the full version, but we did not want to include any changes which impacted network compatibility in this patch.

    Ultima IX Gold! - Surebrec @ 5:39 pm PST
    I saw over at Firing Squad that Ultima Ascension has gone gold! Finally! Ultima IX: Ascension should be in stores around November 23rd. Heres the snip from the official website:

    Prepare to embark on an adventure beyond imagination with the long awaited return of the best selling role-playing series of all time and Lord British’s greatest masterpiece ever. In the ninth and final chapter of the 20-year legacy you return to Britannia™ for your last epic quest. Experience the most immersive 3D world ever created, with literally thousands of items to interact with and environments that practically breathe. Play the role of the virtuous Avatar, hero of Britannia, as you fight to save Britannia from final destruction. Meet hundreds of characters, all with full speech and animation. Discover new weapons and fantastic spells to use in the fight, as well as challenging puzzles to solve. From the skeleton-infested mines of Covetous to the underwater depths of Ambrosia, you'll find both familiar and unfamiliar territory, rendered in a more beautiful 3D than ever thought possible.

    Update to the Strategy of the week - Merlin @ 4:51 pm PST
    No, its not a new strategy, but i did slightly update Bring your overlords . There was a little bit of confusion about Corsair splash damage. When a Mutalisk has 3 carapace, the Corsair does something like .5 or less splash damage. When you include Mutalisk regeneration it is 0 splash damage but I didnt wan't to mislead anyone by putting that Corsairs do 0 splash damage, because in Starcraft no unit will ever do 0 damage, and that includes Splash damage.

    Nocturne Review - Surebrec @ 4:24 pm PST
    The people at Thresh's Firing Squad have posted their review on Nocturne from Terminal Reality. The review comes with great screenshots of the game. Here's a little about the game:

    Nocturne is a fully 3D, 3rd person, horror game. The gameplay can be described as a meld of action and adventure, with some character development and puzzle solving mixed in with a lot of gunplay and monster busting. Nocturne puts players in the shoes of "The Stranger," a grizzled monster hunter who packs a pair of .45 caliber pistols under his three piece suit, trenchcoat and fedora. As the premier field operative of Spookhouse (a secret government organization dedicated to fighting hostile supernatural creatures), the Stranger is sent out on a variety of missions to combat some rather nasty monsters ranging from zombies to werewolves, to vampires, and more!

    Firing Squad gave the game a 4/5 stars.

    Interstate '82 Gone Gold! - Toxin @ 4:22 pm PST
    I saw over at Blue's News taht Interstate '82, Activisions car racing/crashing/destroying game has gone gold!

    Intoxincation - Toxin @ 3:40 pm PST
    Well thats the title of my rant that I try to once in a while. I was really busy for the past few days so I couldn't update, but for the next few I have plenty of time 8). Anyway, on with the rant.
    A few members of the Starcraft clan I am part of are trying to kick me out because I am a disrespectful person. I have no idea where they get this from since the only thing that I have done is insult one of the leaders because he simply is a jackass. The leader of cource goes on thinking he is god alluva sudden and tries to get me kicked. Then some other fag desides that I'm using his name on the clan forum. Yep, I have absolutely no time to update the webpage that I work at, instead I post stupid posts using some guy's name. Oh well... He is just stupid. Anyway, if anyone ever sees a guy named ~Avatar~[cf] please insult/nuke/whatever him. Oh, BTW he took the ~~ from me =(. Also if anyone sees someone named AcePete[cf] go ahead and kill kill kill. Um... I will be posting their ICQ numbers and email adresses shortly =)
    Ive been playing some Unreal, and I have to say that unless you play on the "normal" mode it sucks. On hardcore (which most servers seem to use) 1 rocket spells almost instant death. On "normal" you can at least take a few hits before going down. Next thing is that unless you have super-low ping I honestly can't find a point to playing that game. If you use a modem (like me) then nothing is where it "seems" to be and you will end up missing the guy when you shoot at him.
    I've been playing Quake 2 also, watch out for a Q2 section soon, and I have to say that ping is almost everything in that game as well. =) I can still kill a few guys and all with my super high ping, but the first places are usually left to the guy's who can rail people out of mid air. (Something I can never hope to achieve) anyway.... Um.... I guess thats the end of another rant =)

    Message from Hone, of starcraft.org - Daklown @ 2:34 pm PST
    I got an e-mail from Hone today, in regards to my recent editorial, "The Truth about Koreans and the Starcraft Ladder":
    Hi Darklown,

    Nice editorial. You are right. Disconnecting is generally not a problem in the higher ranks.

    One thing that you need to mention however is that Blizzard DOES reset everyone who disconnects. Blizzard does not search for records of disconnectors. If your oppoenent disconnects the responsibility is with you to send a screenshot to ladder.abuse@blizzard.com with a link to the game in Battle.net's records.

    If you're playing vs an opponent who cares about their record and knows that you know how to reset them if they disconnect, you should play disconnect = draw. This protects you both if one of you accidentily loses their connection. If you're disconnected while losing you have the option of quickly coming back on and giving the other person a free win so they choose not to have you reset for disconnecting.

    This is what you need to know:
    http://www.battle.net/ladder.shtml


    Hone

    Gaming Girls Investigation - Falcon @ 3:31 am PST
    Over at GameHeadlines.com I saw a post about a new article written by SnipersAlley titled, Gaming Girls: They will steal your heart, then eat it. This is an interesting read about a "scientific study" created by the author, Fletch into what makes a Gamer Girl tick and learn how the female gaming community is different from the male one.
    Here is an exerp:
    The hugely scientific study consisted of sending an e-mail questionnaire to bunch of women who I didn’t know (except one) asking them about their opinions on gaming, men and their shoe size. I used a new and revolutionary selection technique for finding a statistically representative and unbiased sample. I call this technique “Pure Ignorance,” which means that I didn’t know enough people personally to make a biased sample in the first place to. I went surfing around all kinds of gaming sites and picked women out of clans to send the e-mail to. In fact, I may have gotten responses from a bunch of guys, but I’m feeling pretty good about names like “Hellchick” and “Bimbo” as some of the respondents.

    Well, if thats got you interested, you can check out the rest of the article here

    Spec Ops 2 preview - Falcon @ 3:25 am PST
    3D Gaming.net has posted a preview of Special Ops 2.
    Heres an interesting description from the meta tags on the page:
    Delvin Du Bachen!" screams the soldier. Unfortunately for him, Rich, the Green Beret sniper, has just zoomed in with his sniper rifle and has a terrible headache. Screaming does not make his headache go away. Too bad the soldier didn't realize this, or his face might still be intact and not have a sniper hole through it. Poor soldier. At least Rich is happy, because now there is no soldier screaming at him and his headache is subsiding. Well, maybe this isn't a realistic scenario. In reality, Rich just shot the soldier because he was an enemy and was doing bad, bad things. Rich and his buddies are a bunch of bad ass mofos who like their job of going into other countries and exterminating threats. Click below to read 3DGN's preview of Spec Ops 2: Green Berets. And maybe I'll give you a pretzel to munch on.

    Got your interest? Click here for the full preview.

    Hosting - Falcon @ 3:14 am PST
    Just a reminder that we are once again looking for high quality gaming sites to host. Preferably ones dedicated to a particular game, but multi gaming sites will also be considered. We include all the usual services and more on high speed OC-12 server. For more info visit our hosting page or email us.

    The Truth about SC Ladder - Falcon @ 2:42 am PST
    We have a new editorial here at GS, this one is on The truth behind the SC ladder, and discusses the involvement of the Koreans and the stats of those who most often disconnect. You can read it here

    On the topic of editorials, Darklown has also written an article on joining clans. This covers topics for those who may be interested in joining a clan, and looks at why you may want to join a clan and what aspects of them would suit you.

    Monday, November 08, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    UT Tips - Surebrec @ 7:15 pm PST
    The people at Unrealism have updated their Tips section with some more UT Demo Tips. Some of the tips inlcude movement and weapons.

    HL: OpFor Screens - Surebrec @ 7:04 pm PST
    The pimps of Snipers Alley have posted some swank screens for Half-Life Opposing Force. There are a total of 19 screens.

    ATI Rage Fury MAXX Preview - Surebrec @ 7:00 pm PST
    Sharky Extreme has slapped up a preview on the ATI Rage Fury MAXX video card, coming soon from, of course, ATI.

    Icewind Dale Movie, Screens - Surebrec @ 6:57 pm PST
    Interplay has released some tight screens of Icewind Dale, a upcoming RPG from Blackwind Studios. The new screens include 8 in-game screens and 2 character shots, which can be found here.

    A trailer can also be downloaded, which is 9.5 megs, over here.

    Septerra Core Review - Surebrec @ 6:53 pm PST
    Gamesmania has posted a review of Septerra Core, recently released by Valkyrie Studios. They have given the game a good rating of 9/10. Here's a little from the review:

    Legend has it that a being known as the Creator fashioned Septerra and all of its components. He built into the world two keys, a way in which man would be able to obtain his power, the Gift of the Creator. Once every hundred years the alignment of the continents allows a beam of light to reach the core, activating it for a short period of time. During this period the keys can be used to grant the holder the Gift of the Creator. After the Creator had constructed Septerra, a daemon named Gemma arose to combat his force of Angels. Gemma stormed the world and stole the keys. As a last resort, the Creator sent Marduk, his only son, to stop Gemma. After a battle that lasted 100 days, Marduk prevailed and struck down Gemma. He retrieved the keys and hid them, teaching that one day, far in the future, they would be made available in order to save the world.

    NIRA Intense Import Drag Racing Review - Surebrec @ 6:47 pm PST
    The peeps at AVault have posted a review on NIRA Intense Import Drag Racing from Bethesda Softworks. Here's a little of what they have said:

    Although racing titles as a whole tend to be at the forefront of technological innovation, the same kind of caste system exists here. Arcade car and motorcycle racing titles tend to be the most advanced, followed by racing simulations, which emphasize accurate physics rather than fantastic graphics and sound. Off-road offerings tend to be even further behind. At the very back of the pack are drag racing releases, using technology that the rest of the computerized racing efforts would find downright primitive.

    Black and White Preview - Surebrec @ 6:39 pm PST
    Gamespot has slapped up a preview on Black and White from Lionhead Studios. It, along with the earlier preview of Halo, has been deemed a game that will revolutionize the gaming world. But what is "Black and White"? It says right here:

    So what is Black & White? It is, as Molyneux insists, a role-playing game. But it also happens to be 1) a god game, 2) an experiment in artificial life, 3) a strategy game, 4) the world's most surreal online-chat program, and 5) an experience that evolves into an expression of who you are. If Black & White can be summed up as one thing, it is in the way creator Peter Molyneux sees it: "Black & White is the closest I have ever come to what was in my imagination."

    GamesXtreme - Falcon @ 1:40 pm PST
    Our hosted site, GamesXtreme is currently in the stage of uploading their files, and should be fully up by friday.

    Nanogirl Interview - Daklown @ 1:12 pm PST
    Ace of Nukewinters has released an interview with Kristine 'Nanogirl' Ishii. Here is an excerpt:
    Ace of Nukewinters: What are a few other things your interested in, aside from the computer?

    Nanogirl: I used to play tennis and squash (but got lazy). I love doing things with my friends, hanging out with my boyfriend, doing normal "college things". I do my homework and go to class, but I hate it.


    Source: Gamers Extreme

    Sunday, November 07, 1999
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    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Gory realism at its best! - Daklown @ 9:19 pm PST
    Ansalon, of gamegurus.net, had this to say about Soldier of Fortune, an upcoming FPS by Activision.

    "The game Soldier of Fortune is a game that I've been following closely. I think and hope this game is going to be a hit. It is boasting the most realism of any first person shooter around with real life realistic weapons, realistic injuries (IE shoot em in the hand, you blow their hand off, but they still live), and exceptional graphics. The game is looking GREAT and it should hit stores by the holiday season (and if a demo is released, I'll be the first one to have it and post it up here :) In the mean time check out these screenshots and see for yourself."

    9 new Soldier of Fortune screenshots from IGN
    Source: Gamegurus

    Short HTML Guide - Daklown @ 5:44 pm PST
    Phiber Optiks, of battlereports.com, has created a guide to using HTML (in reports). The guide teaches people how to colorize and align text, link images and align them within the text, and how to use FTP to upload images to websites.

    Sure, it's a bit Off-Topic... But it'll probably useful for somebody out there. View the guide here.

    Site News - Surebrec @ 4:49 pm PST
    GS has been updated with a new interview with Techno Kill of Matrix HL. The interview talks about Matrix HL and subjects about it, such as maps, and when it's going to be out :).

    LAN Article - Surebrec @ 4:36 pm PST
    24 Hour Gamer has just threw up. It's an article on how to set up LAN. So if you're looking at setting up a LAN party at your home, check this out. Anyways, here's a bit from the article entitled, When LANs Attack:

    Firstly, I'll deal with the sketchy basics. Install all the NIC's in the machines. There's nothing to it, simply take the card, line it up with the slot and push firmly. When you hear a satisfying "thuck" sound, your card is in firmly. Once you've installed the card, boot up and insert the driver disk (in that order). If the NIC's are Plug and Play, Windows will prompt you to select a Network Card. Click have disk and point it to the .inf file on your Floppy. (If there's more than one, load OEMsetup.inf and pick your network card from the list). Repeat this for all machines on the network.

    Ultima IX Preview - Surebrec @ 4:18 pm PST
    Gamecenter has slapped up a preview on Ultima IX: Ascension coming soon from Origin Systems and Electronic Arts which will be released sometime before the end of the year. The preview also comes along with some screenshots of the game. And if you've been under a rock for the past 10 years or something, and don't know what Ultima is, here's your answer:

    "The question that comes up a lot is 'What is Ultima?' Is Ultima the Avatar? Is Ultima an Apple II game? Is Ultima the world of Britannia?" Mendelsohn says, as though he's fielded these queries many times before. "And it's a lot of different things. But what we believe is that Ultima has got the virtues. And the reason that the Ultima games have stood above all the other role-playing games is that they have come up with a system of virtues." Instead of having you "just going and killing at will, and stealing and such," says Mendelsohn, Ultima holds you accountable for your actions. He claims that "this was something that was very important," because it makes the game "feel like a truly heroic adventure."

    Halo Preview Part 2 - Surebrec @ 4:13 pm PST
    Gamespot has put up the second part to their Halo preview, which is Bungie's upcoming game. Word is this game is going to be so good, it's going to look real. It will also boast the finest 3D engine, character animation and physics modeling.

    TF2 Preview - Surebrec @ 4:09 pm PST
    Gamer's Point has recently posted a preview on Team Fortress 2. Here's a little (big) clip from the preview:

    First there was Half-Life which is a great action shooter game, developed Valve and published by Sierra. After a while Valve has released an add-on for, a mod (modification) exactly, whoch was called Team Fortress Classic. There are maps with 2 bases / fortresses for each of the two teams. One of the objectives in the game was to enter the enemy base and steal the flag and bring it back to a certain place in the own base. There are several character classes to choose from, in example the Medic who can heal his teammates and poison the enemy team guys. This game is a real team game, and Valve made a huge revolution with this mod. This add-on, which was downloadable for free (!!) and was only thought for a little add-on is now played by thousands of people. I know guys who only purchased Half-Life to download TFC ( Team Fortress Classic ) and play it. ( I am one of them ). They were so elated by the gameplay of TFC. Seeing the engineers building automatic guns ( Sentry Guns ) to defend the base from the enemy and blco them to get the flag. Entering the hard guarded enemy base to get the enemy flag and bring it back to the own base. Telling your teammates " guys be careful there are 2 sentry guns beside the enemy base entrence ". Whhooohaaa.....this is a lot of fun. You entered the enemy base, 2 of your teammates died by the enemy fire on the way to the enemy flag room, you caught the flag and your "bodyguards" helped you to get the flag out of the enemy base, and again they were shot down by the enemy. Now you are on your own to bring the flag to your base and score and bring your team one step forward to win.


    Source: VE

    OpFor Screenshots - Surebrec @ 4:03 pm PST
    SnipersAlley has recently posted some screenshots from Gearbox Software's upcoming game, HL: Opposing Force. The screens were taken from a press demo that they received from Sierra.

    Driver Review - Surebrec @ 3:54 pm PST
    24 Hour Gamer has recently slapped up a review on Driver. Here's a little clip from it:

    Get out of the car! Get out of the car!
    Man, Yo da worst Driver I've ever seen!

    Well, that certainly seems to be the sentiment among much of the PC gaming Community. Endless strings of complaints ranging from "Where's the multiplayer?" to "Why is the 32 bit colour so slow?" plague the newsgroups. Many of them are probably quite justified, but before you, loyal reader, decide you've just found a new addition to your coaster collection, take a moment to ponder, "What is driver?" "Who's it for?" "Why are there so many rhetorical questions in this review?"

    Hello - Merlin @ 2:54 pm PST
    Gamesurge has opened a new Starcraft Strategy of the Week section headed up by me and my friend MemJ. We will be writing at least one strategy weekly. The strategies are detailed and have screenshots, with the opening of the new section we have 4 new strategies. For next week I am working on a 2v2 guide which is already over 10 pages long! But until then, Check it out!

    Be all that you can be... playing Starcraft? - Gibb @ 7:58 am PST
    Here's an interesting thing I found over at SC.org.

    Interestingly, the Air Force endorses the use of Starcraft. :) Being a cadet in Air Force ROTC, I was visiting the home page of the Aerospace Basic Course (the first course every newly-commissioned second lieutenant attends) to see what I'd be learning when I got commissioned. Apparently, they have a list of movies, books, and "simulations" (i.e. computer games!) that they feel every Air Force officer should look into. Lo and behold, Starcraft is on that list, along with other strategy greats like Civilization II and Age of Kings. If you look at the intro paragraph, it says that they actually use Starcraft in their course! The links at .

    Hmmm. So now the goverment's spending all its money on "simulations" :)


    Source: SC.org

    Saturday, November 06, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    What RTS is all about - Daklown @ 10:59 pm PST
    There was an interesting post over on the GX Starcraft Forum by IN^Lameking. The post goes into detail about the mechanics of Starcraft, War2, and RTS in general. It's a must read for people that play both SC and War2. Check out his post here.

    Forgotten Warriors Gaming Network - Daklown @ 10:42 pm PST
    FWGN, a new multi-gaming league will be starting on November the 12th. FWGN currently supports Broodwar and War2 Bnet team play, but will soon be expanding to more games. The site/league is completely automated, so there's no waiting time to see results.

    KBK Korean Tournament - Daklown @ 7:49 pm PST
    The KBK Korean tournament, which is hosted by Battle.net, is now taking registrations. International participants are welcome but will be required to provide their own transportation to the to the live 128 player phase, which will be held in Korea, January the 23rd. The prize for first place is the equivalent of 8424 US Dollars.

    Site News - Falcon @ 6:17 pm PST
    A few on site things have been happening here;
    We have 2 new staff members, Daklown, who will be covering strategies and news, and Merlin who is working on a surprise section which will open soon.
    Also, we have a new affiliate, RTSdomain.net, which is a promising new RTS gaming site,
    and 2 new hosted sites:
  • GamesXTREME
  • World Of Nomekop (Opening on Monday)


    RTS Domain Grand Opening - Falcon @ 4:41 pm PST
    Police and firefighters were unable to keep control of the crowds that
    surged into Times Square on Thursday night for the Grand Opening celebration
    of RTS Domain. Webmasters Neo, and TheJester preached about the new and
    creative content that this overhyped site would boast. Stuff like The weekly
    "News Wire" radio show, and the official Real Time Strategy Netzine. One
    young woman was arrested for trying to touch one of the famed webmasters, and
    unfortunately three FPS gamers were brutally beaten into the ground, as
    police worked around the clock. Crowds subsided late that night, all going
    home to spend hours at the RTS Domain website, so should you.

    UO, Heretic 2 Strategies - Surebrec @ 3:59 pm PST
    The Strategy Index (our faithful affiliates) have updated their sites with a strategy index for Ultima Online, which has well over 100 strategies, and a strategy index for Heretic II, which has around 50 strategies.

    Part 2 of Ultima IX Interview - Surebrec @ 3:49 pm PST
    AVault has recently posted the second part of the Ultima IX Interview with Richard Garriot. Along with this part comes some screenshots of Ultima IX and some inside info on the designer's next game.

    HL: Opposing Force Preview - Surebrec @ 3:47 pm PST
    The good people at Halflife.org have posted a preview of Half-Life: Opposing Force, the upcoming HL expansion pack coming soon from Gearbox Software. Along with the 3 page preview comes a whole bunch of screenshots.

    Site Updates - Surebrec @ 3:26 pm PST
    Ok here's some site updates. We've uploaded a somewhat edited version of last nite's Anachronox chat log, over here. We're also posted a UT Demo Tweak Guide, so you can get those few extra frames out of the UT demo. And, the Unreal maps section is currently offline because the maps were somehow deleted. We will be revamping the maps section will more maps and more info on them, instead of just a link.

    Stay tuned for more content, as there will be some good stuff :).

    Friday, November 05, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Chat Log - Toxin @ 8:22 pm PST
    I have uploaded the Anachronox chat log! Go check it out. Be warned thought, It is unedited and is probably too large (in width) to fit on one screen. What I suggest doing is saving it then opening it with a word processor such as word pad. I will post the "edited" version as soon as I can edit it.
    Mad props go out to TheZealot and his site, Planet Anachonox the best site to get your Anachronox news!

    UT Tweak Guide - Surebrec @ 7:25 pm PST
    I saw over at Unreality that theres a new UT Tweak Guide in town, this one concentrating mostly on modem users and how to tweak it so you can actually play it. I'm a modem user, and damn UT can be hard over a modem. Read it :).

    Anacronox Chat Baby! - Toxin @ 7:25 pm PST
    I took part in the Anachronox Chat for IONStorm's game, Anachronox it was great fun with a lot of questions being answered (just about all of mine! =) and a lot of jokes being said.
    I will post the chat log very soon!

    Mad props go out to the IONStorm people for actually listening (and answering!) my questions and not banning me, and TheZealot for sending me chat transcripts since Mirc has a great tendency of killing itself on me =)

    Ultima IX Interview - Surebrec @ 7:02 pm PST
    AVault has posted an interview with Richard Garriot of Origin Systems on Ultima IX: Ascension. And this is only part one. Go take a look.

    G-Sector Preview - Surebrec @ 6:57 pm PST
    The dudes at Thresh's Firing Squad have posted a preview on G-Sector. And what's the good thing about this game? It's totally free! It's a 3D game and it's free. Might wanna go check it out.

    Halo Preview - Surebrec @ 6:49 pm PST
    Gamespot has posted a preview on Halo, an upcoming action game coming from Bungie, which will be out early next year. From what they say, Halo will revolutionize computer gaming:

    Halo challenges the current conception of how beautiful a computer game can be. It could, in fact, redefine your conception of computer games. Why? Because this third-person-perspective action game features the finest 3D-game engine, character animation, and physics modeling we've ever seen. Such technology in the hands of a company long known for making fewer games at higher-than-normal quality levels is practically unfair.

    HL: OpFor Preivew - Surebrec @ 6:42 pm PST
    The peeps at Gamefan have posted a preview on Half-Life: Opposing Force. Although the preview is a little short, there are around 14 screenshots to quench your OpFor thirst :).

    Blizzard MOTW - Falcon @ 3:40 pm PST
    This weeks map is Indigo waters:
    "The destruction of our ancient home of Aiur still pains me. The blackening of our lands, the destruction of our cities and the defilement of our temples by the accursed Zerg leaves a void in my soul that can never again be filled. Now Shakuras is my new home, and I am finally beginning to understand why our exiled Dark Templar brethren settled here. I’ve spent many days just quietly gazing out at the strangely sad beauty of the water here. The waves hold the color of pure indigo and they mesmerize me and calm my soul. How could anyone leave this place after seeing such sights?"
    -Rassidan, High Templar of the Akiliae Tribe

    Pheonix Screenshots - Falcon @ 3:34 pm PST

    The Avault has been sent a large selection of screenshots from their upcoming space combat offering, Phoenix. You can view them here or learn more about the game from their intro article here

    BETA 4!! CS - Ob1 @ 3:28 pm PST
    COUNTER-STRIKE BETA 4 IS OUT!!!! BOO YAAAAAA!!

    get it a Here

    The Blizzard World? - Falcon @ 1:19 pm PST

    Webbster, of Infoceptor has written a short editorial on his thoughts of the Blizzard world and how it has progressed through time. He also goes to give a quick summary on Blizzards previous games and his views on those. You can read the editorial here

    CS Beta4 IRC Release Party - Falcon @ 1:09 pm PST

    According to Halflife.net, the Counter-Strike mod team will be holding an IRC Release Party Tonight (Friday) for Beta4 -- entitled SpamFest '99. The IRC Release Party will take place at 5pm EST in #counterstrike on Gamesnet. There will be a lengthy chat session with the makers of Counter-Strike and then the moment the team has been gearing up for, the long awaited release of Beta4.

    Thursday, November 04, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    New Thief Section on the index - backup @ 1:16 pm PST
    There is a new category entitled Thief: The Dark project up at the Strategy Index. Go check it out. We are officially affiliates with gamesurge Now.

    Now, let me put it in 3rd person (coming from a staff member at GS) We are affiliates with the Strategy Index now :)
    Source: Affiliate: Strategy Indexq

    Everquest EXPANSION - Raven @ 1:36 am PST
    989 Studios have recently announced plans to release an expansion pack for the RPG -Role Playing Game- hit Everquest. 989 plan to release the Everquest extension entitled "The Ruins of Kunark" late in March 2000.
    The Ruins of Kunark will feature
    • A new continent with more then 20 adventure zones
    • New characters and storyline
    • An additional playable race the Iksar -Lizardmen
    • Unique cast of new monsters including grey dragons, reptilian monsters, giant scorpions and man-eating plants
    • Improved services for all of its 200000 present user base

    "EverQuest has a wildly devoted fan base who are constantly craving new challenges and experiences in the massive world of EverQuest," said Jeffrey Fox, vice president, marketing, 989 Studios. "EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark continues the legacy of EverQuest and takes it many steps further with a more detailed world that offers 40 percent more gameplay and breathtaking graphics."
    "EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark takes players on a mystical quest to the continent of Kunark, home of the Iksar race. On the continent, players face all-new challenges and rewards in their quest for dominance and survival."
    http://www.station.sony.com/everquest/kunark/

    For those of you interested you can get more information about the up and coming release over at the official webpage http://www.station.sony.com/everquest/kunark/

    If you'd like to know abit more about Everquest heres a quick summary-
    EveryQuest is an online best selling RPG, pitched with a dynamic story line based on characters individual decisions, featuring 3 continents, 90 playing areas and 13 towns and bosting a online member basis of over 150000, EverQuest has assumed the role of Most Successful Role Playing Game released.
    If your intested visit the Everquest page over at Everquest.com

    Wednesday, November 03, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    HL: Opposing Force Trailer - Surebrec @ 5:32 pm PST
    PCGamer has recently posted a trailer for HL: Opposing Force which can be found over here. The trailer is around 37 megs zipped, inside is an AVI. But what does it feature? The new weapons, the new sounds, new environments, and new characters. Definetely recommended!

    New Battle Report - Gibb @ 5:14 pm PST
    An excellent battle report has been posted over at BR.com. Check it out here. Definitely a good read.

    Strategy Index now open! - Gibb @ 5:09 pm PST
    The Strategy Index is now open! You may have remembered Mystikal's site, Basismusic.net with the Starcraft Strategy Index boasting over 650 strategies for Starcraft. Now, the Strategy Index (soon to be www.strategyindex.com) is back! There are over 37 games, and over 18,000 strategies, that's right, 18,000. Check it out here.

    More TR4 Screens - Surebrec @ 5:02 pm PST
    GA-Source has recently posted some nice screens of TR4 (20 in all), Lara Croft's latest adventure game. Here's a nice sample of them:

    Carmack .plan Update - Surebrec @ 4:58 pm PST
    John Carmack has updated his .plan file with the latest poop on Quake 3 Arena:

    * cd check in single player
    * removed drop shadow on console input line
    * swapped mynx pain sounds
    * fixed cleared music buffer on track loop again
    * force skins on spectators in team games to prevent having a default waste memory
    * only defer to a model with same team skin
    * fixed grenade-disappearing-at-floor bug when about to explode
    * draw reward medals during gameplay
    * added "humiliation" feedback for gauntlet kills
    * spread respawn times to prevent pattern running:
    #define RESPAWN_ARMOR 25
    #define RESPAWN_TEAM_WEAPON 30
    #define RESPAWN_HEALTH 35
    #define RESPAWN_AMMO 40
    #define RESPAWN_HOLDABLE 60
    #define RESPAWN_MEGAHEALTH 120
    #define RESPAWN_POWERUP 120

    TR4 Screens - Surebrec @ 4:50 pm PST
    Seems that Eidos has sent a few good screens of Lara and TR4 over to Gamespot. And I must say, these pics are NICE :). It would be better if they could be real and not CG :). Anyways, the hi-res pics are over here.

    Xmas Wish List - Surebrec @ 4:44 pm PST
    Gamespot has posted a Holiday Gift Guide. The guide features some of the games they recommend for Christmas, whether is be action, adventure, or sports, they have the best listed. They also have some hardware listed if you want any of that this holiday.

    Warez Editorial - Surebrec @ 4:28 pm PST
    The pimps at 24 Hour Gamer have written a nice little article on warez from the point of view of a true "warez'er". It is very in-depth, and also tells some situations where it's LEGAL. Here's a clip of it:

    In Australia, there is a provision in the Copyright Act that allows for the reproduction of otherwise copyrighted material for the purposes of critical review. That means if I'm a film critic, I am entitled to make a copy of the film I've borrowed from a video store for the purposes of reviewing it. Or, for instance, if I were a reviewer for a prominent gaming website, I would be legally entitled to duplicate a CD in order to review the game, provided that after I had finished my critical review, I destroyed the copyrighted material.

    Age of Wonders Preivew - Surebrec @ 4:23 pm PST
    Online Gaming Station, our affiliate, has recently posted a short preview on Age of Wonders, an upcoming fantasy turn-based game. The game will be released on November 12.

    New War3 Site, with ScreenSaver - Raven @ 4:58 am PST
    This piece of info comes from over at http://www.shakuras.com/

    www.WarIII.net is a brand new website solely dedicated to Blizzards upcoming Real Time Strategy game Warcraft3 (WC3). www.WarIII.net boasts some very interesting War3 art and pictures and gives a good rap up on the somewhat bulky official blizzard WC3 site. www.WarIII.net have recently added a downloadable screen saver to their webpage which features stills from cutscenes, screen shots and concept art from WC3. If youve got abit of time on your hands this screen savers worths downloading. To download the saver go here ftp://ftp.gameshadow.com/pub/wciii/war3ss100.zip

    For those of you wont don't know much about WC3 hers a little summary for you-
    Warcraft3 is the long awaited continuation of the Warcraft RTS serious. Warcraft1 (WC1) and Warcraft2 (WC2) were both multiple game of the year winners in RTS category. The Warcraft series is centred on a medieval type conflict between two sides, Humans and Elfs vs Orcs.

    Tuesday, November 02, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Diablo2 SSOTW - Falcon @ 10:55 pm PST
    Looks like our news posters forgot to post about this, thanks to BillWill from Diablo.net for informing us.

    The latest Screenshot of the Week had been released by Blizzard, It takes place in Act One, in which the Necromancer, while using his \"Teeth Skill\". You can view the image at, http://blizzard.com/diablo2/ssotw35.htm

    SC/BW Patch - Surebrec @ 5:26 pm PST
    The latest SC/BW patch has been released, which makes it v1.07. In this latest patch, it fixes the lag meter problems, and adds support for the KBK, but those are only a few improvements. For more info, head on over to here. Or you can just download it off of Battle.net.

    ATI All-in-Wonder 128 Review - Surebrec @ 4:28 pm PST
    Ahh, I'm finally back from a 2 day LAN party, but only to come back to school. Damnit.

    Anyways, Thresh's Firing Squad has posted a review on the ATI All-in-Wonder 128 32meg video card. So if you're wondering what new video card to buy, or if you wanna know how it does against other cards, check out the review.

    New Browser Battle.net Bot for WarCraft - Mr Legacy @ 2:02 pm PST
    A new style of Battle.net Chat Clients has arrived. Now opening to the Battle.net community is a new bot, now known as ActiveChat (AChat). This bot, written by DinoBot, is able to be run directly through your web browser with all the functionality of a normal chat client. This Client has a WarCraft II interface using the bnet colors and display found on the WarCraft II Battle.net Edition. The bot is currently being run on FireBird so, you can head over there and check it out.


    AN Reopening - Falcon @ 1:02 am PST
    Our affiliates, Ancient Nation have recently reopened after a period of downtime and a complete overhaul of their site. This is what shiva had to say:

    Ancient Nation is proud to announce that our completely re-done site has been finished and is now open for viewing. We are featuring some major new section additions, and have expanded the site to over triple it's size.

    Our main page (http:ancient.igg.net) contains a brief overview of all the new additions and features, which is to much to discribe here, and it's all wrapped around a new site design as well.

    Thank you
    shiva
    Webmaster

    Medal Of Honour Preview - Falcon @ 12:57 am PST
    shaggy from Snipers Alley has informed us that they have posted a preview of Medal Of Honour for the PSX, as well as a bucket load of screen shots to go along with it.

    NWGN:SC - Falcon @ 12:46 am PST
    Sniper has informed us that The Starcraft/Brood War section of NWGN (Nuclear Winter Gaming Networks) has opened. They have strategies, interviews, and many other things! Go check them out.

    Monday, November 01, 1999
    Got News? Comments? Send it in! Help/Info/Contacts | Forum
    Can't find what you're looking for? Send a request!

    Linux SoF - Toxin @ 4:06 pm PST
    I saw over at Blue's that Raven's Rick Johnson has updated his .plan file saying that there will be a Linux port of SoF. Here is a little clip:

    ** Big SoF News **
    There is going to be a Linux port of both the client and server. Unfortunately, because of the lateness of this decision, it will not be ready by the time the game ships, but will be available to download as soon as it is available (hopefully within a month of release).

    We have completed a major AVI and will be releasing it very soon.

    Go over here to read the .plan file via Blue's plan tracker.


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