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Saturday, 7/21/2001
Today in Arcade: SFC2, AvP Gold, Rainbow Six and Klingon Academy Spiff | 14:26 | GameSpy News GameSpy is positively bursting with events today. Check it:
The gang from Eugenics War are hosting a special Q&A; / fleet registration session for their upcoming Klingon Academy tournaments. Meet in the Klingon Academy lobby in the Arcade software at 10:00 a.m. PST, 1:00 p.m. EST, 5:00 p.m. GMT to participate.
The guys from Digital Gaming League will be running a Rainbow Six tournament this afternoon. Meet in the Rainbow Six lobby at 1:00 p.m. PST, 4:00 p.m. EST, 8:00 p.m. GMT to play!
The Arcade Action Wizards are hosting a 1-on-1 Aliens vs. Predator Gold tournament. You'll need to pre-register at the Action Wizards Web site to participate. Once you've signed up, meet in the Aliens vs. Predator Gold lobby in Arcade at 5:00 p.m. PST, 8:00 p..m. EST, Midnight GMT to play.
Green Berets Gone Gold SheepCow | 14:25 | Industry Buzz Talonsoft has announced that Green Berets has gone gold! The game, powered by Myth II, is a team based tactical strategy that throws you into the jungle where you've got to plan your missions rather than rush in guns blazing. Read the full press release here.
Firearms Update SheepCow | 14:22 | Community The Firearms web site has been updated with some new screens and information on the soon-to-be-released RC 2.6. FA-Nation.Net has posted a detailed review of Firearms RC 2.6, including lots of screenshots and details of the maps and updates.
CyberExtruder Interview SheepCow | 10:56 | Industry Buzz HomeLan Fed has posted an interview with Larry Gardner, the CEO of CyberExtruder, about their system that allows you to put your face into your favourite first person shooter. The interview finds out what the system does, how and why they designed it.
Max Payne Demo Bits SheepCow | 9:46 | Industry Buzz PlanetDuke has passed word that the Max Payne demo should be out in around 3 weeks, and weigh about 150MB. Also, George Broussard has released the system specifications for the Max Payne demo.
So set your modem to download and computer to play, Max Payne is on the way.
3DActionPlanet: Will You Live Forever? SheepCow | 9:37 | Community 3DActionPlanet's latest Action Gaming Test is all about No One Lives Forever. Take the test and find out just how good a spy you would make.
Get Some Free Payne SheepCow | 5:22 | Industry Buzz To celebrate the almost released Max Payne, 3D Realms are giving away a free copy of the game to who ever wins this week's Camera Captioning Contest. The photo is of the Remedy team right after the game went gold, get the details here. For more info on Max, check out 3DActionPlanet's hosted site.
PlanetHalfLife: Grey Dog SheepCow | 5:17 | Community On thie fine Saturday morning PlanetHalfLife is welcoming its latest hosted site, Grey Dog. Grey Dog is an acclaimed mapper for Half-Life, having received top reviews at Ten Four and Hanger16. Check out Grey Dog's web site today!
PlanetRainbowSix: Ghost Recon Operations SheepCow | 5:08 | Community PlanetRainbowSix has been hooked up with a new hosted site, Ghost Recon Operations. The site has everything you need for your Ghost Recon addiction, check it out!
GameSpy Arcade Poker Updated Spiff | 5:05 | GameSpy News If you're a frequent player of GameSpy Arcade Poker, you've no doubt noticed a few BIG changes to the game and its lobbies today. First up, we divided the lobby up into group rooms -- much like those you'll find in the other classic games areas of Arcade, like Spades, Hearts and Backgammon. We did this for a couple of reasons: 1) To allow tournament groups and leagues to organize their events without cluttering up the main lobby, and to make organizing events easier on everyone; 2) To give players who want a less hectic experience some less-populated areas in which to find and create games.
The other big change was to the Poker game itself. We tweaked the game's backend a bit to provide for greater flexibility for game hosts; now you can determine the minimum or maxmimum holdings a player must have before joining your game. Want to play some high stakes 5 card stud? Take advanatage of the billion dollar maximum, and keep out the small fries. Just want a friendly, budget game? Set the maximum low, and make the big fish swim in a larger pond. As a result of this new feature, you may find that you can't join a game. The solution? Scan the game titles in the server list, and find one with a limit that suits your budget -- or, better yet, start your own game!
As always, if you have any questions or comments about changes we're making to Arcade or our games, please let us know! Send e-mail to feedback@gamespyarcade.com, or post a comment to our forums.
Today on GameSpy SheepCow | 3:22 | GameSpy News GameSpy have got some special goodies for you today, the first nugget of the day is a Preview of Myth III: Wolf Age, is the game faithfull to it's roots? Today also sees the sixth Statics MMOG Article.
Halo Weekly Update SheepCow | 3:17 | Community And the winner is... Rampancy.net! This weeks Halo Update tells of what the team have been working on and how the game is shaping up. For more information on Halo, check out Battleground: Halo.
Earth & Beyond Q&A; SheepCow | 3:06 | Industry Buzz Earth N Beyond has posted the final day in its special Earth & Beyond week with a Q&A; with (thanks VE) Janus Anderson, the lead designer for Earth & Beyond.
3DActionPlanet's Gamer's Guide to Dating SheepCow | 2:42 | Community Traditionally gamer's are seen as geeky single males that live in their parent's basement. The 3DActionPlanet team thought they'd help out gamers across the globe and write The Gamer's Guide to Dating, well they did, enough said.
Star Wars Galaxies Update SheepCow | 2:37 | Industry Buzz The official Star Wars Galaxies FAQ has once again been updated to include more questions; and more answers!
SheepCow's Daily Droppings SheepCow | 0:00 | GameSpy News School's out! Well finally school has finished over here in England, teachers and students are all celebrating and probably will be for the next six weeks. No school gives everyone lots of free time for going outside (yes, even gamers have to go outside), playing games and having fun. Fun fun fun. Time to do some work!
Friday, 7/20/2001
Pool of Radiance Interview Kyote | 20:16 | RPG The new Pool of Radiance feature is up at the official Wizards of the Coast Web site today, in the form of a new interview in which Chuck Yager interviews Lead Designer Mark Buchinagi. The two discuss the original Pool of Radiance and how the new one compares, as well as talk about a few of the new game's secrets.
Hellchick's Talkin' Trash Again Pappy-R | 20:12 | Action This time it's The Ice Terminal that got ,b>Hellchick to spill her guts in an interview. Questions about her involvment in everything but Area 51 are in this one.
IceStorm:
Most people don't know this, but you're a very laid back person and seem to do your best to get along with everyone. Is this a character flaw or do you get paid to be nice? And where do I send the check to?
Hellchick: You were talking to me, right? Well, I try to be nice. I mean, you don't get far in this world if you're a jackass all the time, do you? But I have my moments. Mainly it's just trying to be professional, really. There are things I see that really irritate me, but I try to let it just go by. Things like arguing between the mod community and developers -- I see so little cooperation there, and that's unfortunate.
Fighting Legends Beta Diary #8 hardcore_pawn | 16:23 | RPG RPGDot has slapped together another edition of their Fighting Legends Beta Report (now up to no.8) this afternoon. Today, they concentrate on alliances, the central core, the zones and the weather forecast. See more on RPGPlanet every day.
A Tale in the Desert Alpha Journal, Part 1 hardcore_pawn | 15:59 | RPG MassiveMultiplayer has posted part 1 of a new Alpha journal for eGenesis' RPG - A Tale in the Desert. Check out the writers initial experiences in the game here:
I took part in today's closed Alpha test, along with
the greatest number of players they've had to date. I
had my graphics settings pumped up to full detail, and
my system was already running a number of processor
intensive applications -- and yet, the game performed
marvelously, even in light of its early test stage
context.
Throne of Bhaal Novel MageDragon | 15:30 | RPG For those of you going to GenCon this year, BioWare’s Drew Karpyshyn will be there promoting his Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal novel. There is a scheduled book signing Thursday, August 2nd at 11:00 AM inside the Wizards of the Coast castle.
Sirtech Canada Layoffs hardcore_pawn | 14:36 | RPG Blues got the scoop on some more layoffs in the industry today. Sirtech Canada (Wizardry series and Jagged Alliance) has announced that they are laying off staffers from both teams (Jagged Alliance 3 and Wizardry 9 development is now halted.) Get the full press release here.
Neverwinter Nights Creation Article Kyote | 13:29 | RPG GameSpy has posted the latest in its series of Neverwinter Nights world-building articles written from the perspective of the fictional Fenthick Moss, Abbot of Tyr. The article discusses the creation of an area in which your story can take place, how to make an environment flow with the story you're trying to tell, suggestions for quest creation, and more.
Retro Studios Lose 26 and RPG for GameCube hardcore_pawn | 13:25 | Console According to a post on Planet GameCube (no, not part of our network) Nintendo GameCube first party developers - Retro Studios - has recently layed off 26 employees and cancelled their RPG title, Raven Blade. IGNCube received a copy of an internal mail circulated at Nintendo HQ, which stated that Retro are now totally focusing on making Metroid Prime a huge success. The Nintendo community is still divided in opinion about a US developer creating a Metroid title, but time will tell.
Commandos 2 Interview hardcore_pawn | 13:21 | Strategy Those Brits over on EuroGamer posted a new interview with Pyro Studios about their nearly-here strategy title - Commandos 2. Thanks VE for the tip, and see StrategyPlanet for more on the game.
Macworld Expo Coverage hardcore_pawn | 11:38 | Industry Buzz Inside Mac Games has posted another article covering the MacWorld Expo in New York. Get the latest news straight from the show floor as the IMG guys still have some stuff to report on.
Gran Turismo 3 Buyers Guide hardcore_pawn | 10:39 | Sports SportPlanet has busted out a cool buyers guide for Sony's Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec racer on PlayStation 2. Read up, buy some stuff, and get ready for their full review of this stellar title early next week.
Charr: The Grimm Fate Website Update #9 hardcore_pawn | 10:23 | RPG Fate Studios sends word that the official Charr: The Grimm Fate site has received yet another juicy update today. Featured this time is new art and a description of the Troll, a new descrition of Church of the Constant, and finally a new piece of bestiary art - Grimm Carver. See it all here, and keep close to RPGPlanet for more.
Japanese Dreamcast Sales RaptoR | 9:47 | Console Famitsu has recently updated their sales page with details of the Dreamcast's and other consoles' sales from the week ending July 8th 2001. The stats show the PS2 and GameBoy Advance battling for gamers' money, with the Dreamcast still clinging onto third place. Could this be a sign that the DC is slowly losing ground to other consoles? Yes, but that's to be expected due to, amongst other factors, the ever-decreasing supply of Dreamcast units. The stats in all their glory can be found below.
PlayStation - 1,920
PlayStation 2 - 88,286
Dreamcast - 5,951
Nintendo 64 - 552
Gameboy - 2,823
Gameboy Advance - 73,315
Neo Geo Pocket - 172
WonderSwan Color - 3,264
PocketStation - 1,459
Alternatively, take a look at SwirlVision's fancy pie chart thing here.
Myth II: Green Berets: Tim Beggs Interview Dragon | 9:43 | Strategy Tim Beggs, Green Berets Producer, talked with StrategyPlanet about this real time strategy title that uses the Myth II engine. Check out the interview here.
SegaNet And Earthlink Team Up Celeryface | 9:42 | Console Gaming-Age has reported an announcement that Sega.com Inc. and Earthlink has reached a strategic agreement today, that will have Earthlink as the preferred ISP (Internet Service Provider) for Sega.com. With this announcement, all gamers will be able to use the features only found in SegaNet, beginning as early as today. Here is a little snip from the report:
"This agreement allows Sega.com to continue to offer high speed, low-latency gameplay while concentrating on building the best community and content for online console gamers," said Marc Connor, director of strategic partnerships & alliances, Sega.com. "EarthLink can provide the speed, reliability and customer service that gamers want to be competitive online."
"We're proud to welcome SegaNet's Internet access subscribers into the EarthLink family, and we're pleased to bring them the full line of EarthLink services and features, from the personal touch of our customer service representatives to the cutting-edge technology of broadband and wireless Internet access," said Cliff Bryant, director of acquisitions for EarthLink.
If you are already using the SegaNet service, you will be converted over to an Earthlink account and can still enjoy SegaNet for your $19.95 monthly fee.
An interesting statement was brought up from Gaming-Age's report, that "As new consoles come online later this year, Sega.com plans to open its high-speed network to a wider audience of online gamers."
Dungeon Siege Character Animations dan | 9:42 | RPG Joe "thickpaint" Kresoja once again dropped by our forums to answer Valcrow's questions about character animations. Here's a snippet:
We get the animations in the game by exporting them with a plugin that one of our fine programmers Mike Biddlecombe made. Adding animation in the game once there done is a piece of cake. Of course the character needs to be templated in the gas file so it knows what and when to play what animation.
Iron Storm Interview hardcore_pawn | 9:01 | Action PCGamePlay scooped up an interview with French publisher Wanadoo to tall about their new FPS title - Iron Storm. A couple of the dudes on the dev team spoke about the game's story that runs some 50 years into the progress of World War I. See 3DActionPlanet for more details.
Today in Arcade: Virtual Pool 3 Double Header Spiff | 8:59 | GameSpy News Today in GameSpy Arcade, tear up the felt with the gang from In Stroke. They’ll be hosting two stick smackin’, ball crackin’ Virtual Pool 3 tournaments: an early bird 8-Ball APA tournament that kicks off at 2:00 p.m. PST, 5:00 p.m. EST, 9:00 p.m. GMT, and a later 9 / 15-Ball tournament that gets underway at 7:00 p.m. PST, 10:00 p.m. EST, 2:00 a.m. GMT. All matches will take place in the Virtual Pool 3 lobby. Drag out your custom cue, brush up on your trigonometry, and get ready to get down with billiards buffs from all over the globe.
Nexagon: The Pit Interview hardcore_pawn | 8:57 | Strategy HomeLAN has wanged up another strategy interview, this time talking with Strategy First's Paul Thibault about the new title - Nexagon: The Pit. Check out more on the sci-fi action strategy title over on StrategyPlanet.
PlanetDungeonSiege FAQ Guttyr | 8:41 | RPG We've put a great deal of work into creating our own custom Dungeon Siege FAQ. This version has quite a bit more information than the official FAQ and also contains links to other portions of our site when you need more in depth information than what's in the FAQ. We'll be keeping up to date as much as possible.
The Underworld: Crime Does Pay Dragon | 8:40 | Industry Buzz Phoenix Entertainment(tm) announced a revolutionary 3D game in development called The Underworld: Crime Does Pay(tm). The game is a fully 3D combination
real-time strategy game/first person shooter which includes significant
role playing game elements. It is the first title from Phoenix
Entertainment.
The Underworld: Crime Does Pay incorporates revolutionary 3D engine
technology that has been developed by Phoenix Entertainment. This
proprietary technology will enable The Underworld: Crime Does Pay to
seamlessly combine the key features of a real-time strategy game, a
true first person shooter and a role playing game, providing the player with
the ultimate gaming experience. As a result, the game will successfully
bridge the three major genres of gameplay.
The Underworld: Crime Does Pay places the player in charge of a criminal
organization. The player assumes control of a small organized crime group
and works to expand his or her power and operations while battling with
law enforcement and other organized crime groups for supremacy in a modern
day city. The gameplay is exciting and extremely diverse, making the game
addictive both as a single-player experience and as a multiplayer experience.
For more information, please visit the Phoenix Entertainment web site here.
PlanetDungeonSiege: Model Library Created Guttyr | 8:40 | RPG Valcrow, our resident 3D guru has created a Model Library here on PlanetDungeonSiege.
Dungeoneers needing some extra models for their siegelets, or just wanting to take a look at some wireframes while they are learning to model can find models to get started with in the Model Library. This section is devoted to user created models of all sorts and sizes for all your dungeoneering purposes and they're all free!
Although sparse at the moment, well OK, very sparse, I'm certain that this area will really pick up as we get closer to the release of DS. Valcrow has placed a shield in there to serve as an example.
And if you're ready to get in there and begin adding models then simply check out our model submission page.
Neal Hallford's Swords & Circuitry Loden Glade | 8:38 | RPG Author Neal Hallford was kind enough to send PlanetNeverwinter an e-mail to let us know that his book "Swords & Circuitry: A Designers Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games" was hitting the stores this week.
This book has many aspects to it. Featuring actual design document excerpts from the hit games, it also presents in-depth interviews with top role-playing designers like Neverwinter Nights' Trent Oster. Reviews on this book tell us that it goes into subjects that will no doubt be helpful to those of making modules for Neverwinter Nights as readers will discover everything that a role-playing title must have to succeed!
It is available at amazon.com if you can't find it in a local bookstore near you. Click here to check it out.
Quake Expo Doors Are Open! Pappy-R | 8:38 | Action Dust off your classic Quake CD if you have to (shame, shame!), but make sure you get in on what Quake Expo has going just hours after opening the doors on the week long celebration of the FPS that will never die. You admission is free so hit the Quake Expo site as often as possible so you don't miss a thing.
Here's what's already waiting for you:
Booths are open and ready for the cruising.
Servers have cranked up with mods and maps!
KrimZon QuakeWorld Client v3.0.0 is available!
New levels are popping up fast!
Level reviews!
QuakeWorld Co-op!
Much, much more!
This has got to be the biggest single thing for Quake 1 in quite a while...and it's only the first day! Celebrate the fifth year of Quake at the Quake Expo online event!
UT: Final Worlds V1.00 BETA Released Zaccix | 8:37 | Action Up for some single player UT? You might then be interested in the just-released Final Worlds single player mod. Here's what it's about:
Final Worlds is a Single Player Mod for Unreal Tournament. Not that you can only play a single player game you can play over 20 level over internet or play
with bots. The Singleplayer mode in Final Worlds is 25 levels big, with 6 hour play time.
It all began on planet Quasar in the beta Quadrant. You are David Stargazer, a fairly experienced Soldier in the violent year of 3200.
You start doing a day to day job which involves shutting down another power plant on Space Station 24. Once you've reached Homebase you must get in the
DropShip and travel 0.1 lightyears to the coordinates of the the power plant. but little do you you know of whats about to unfold on this unusual day.
You will end up at Final World as it is your destiny. Go forth and let the battle commence.
PlanetPS2: Half-Life First Look Mr. Domino | 8:35 | Console Come 'n listen to my story 'bout a man named Gordon, a Black Mesa technician, havin' PC gaming fun. And then one day, he was lookin' at some stuff and up through a rift come monsters pretty tough. Difficult to fight, that is, requiring lots of FPS ammo and weapony, now on PS2.
Okay, that didn't work out as well as I thought, but the point is clear -- Half-Life is coming to PS2. Thanks to the power of the system (and USB connections), Half-Life will actually have PC gamers reconsidering consoles' ability to pull off great FPS games. We'll clue you in on what to expect and get excited about in our hands on Half-Life First Look.
Sega Trivia Test #5: Sonic The Hedgehog! digitaltaco | 8:34 | Console It's time we gave you another chance to test your Sega know-all. Today, we've posted a brand-new, PlanetDreamcast Sega Trivia Test! And the subject of today's exam is one that is near and dear to the hearts of all true Sega fans. That's right... Today we test your knowledge of Sonic the Hedgehog! Do you know about Sonic? If so, prove it by taking our little test... That is unless you're scared. I can't blame you, if you are. But I can laugh at you. Ha ha ha ha! You weak, pathetic fool! You are but a... umm, I apologize. I will not berate you. But I do urge you to check out the new Trivia Test. A winner is it!
hardcore_porno (TFIF) hardcore_pawn | 0:00 | GameSpy News Comment! Friday is here once again. Unfortunately, I have stuff to do (other than gaming) this weekend. Apparently, it's important in real life to "pay bills" and "clean the house." My wife is very well up on these alien concepts, but it seems as though yours truly has been slacking off around the house... My punishment? A quick trip down to Orange County's perveyer of fine DVDs, of course! Mr.Ken Krane has it all, and I intend to buy up some great movies this weekend (Ok, so this ain't really punishment, but it does get me out of the house, and off EQ!). On the hit-list are Withnail & I, How to get Ahead in Advertising and the incredible Mr.Vampire! If your still still reading, have a nice weekend, and beware of the scary wives that force you to do crap!
Comment!