|
 |
Thursday , June 15, 2006 |
 |
|
 |
Prey Morsels 03:08 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(12 comments)
Human Head's Tim Gerritsen and 3DR's George Broussard knocked up the official Prey boards with some tasty morsels. Topics range from bot to widescreen support:
Any Bot Support in Prey?
TG-We've actually stated this a few times in other forums. No, there will be no bots in Prey. I argued to include them pretty strongly early on, but the issue is mainly one of the enormous AI headache. Bots are difficult enough to program for a regular FPS game. The Doom3 codebase didn't support bots, so we had no code to use as a basis, meaning we'd have to start from scratch. Neither Doom3 nor Quake IV had bots. Now we could have started from scratch to add them, but it's not a trivial feature; then add on top the fact that we have gravity and wallwalk (which are separate features since they both treat gravity differently), portals and spirit walking and it becomes an AI nightmare to code for. It would be doable if we put lots of resources to it for a fairly long time, but I think even then they'd be subpar due to all of the thinking outside of the issues of just a standard fps shooter they'd have to be doing. UT class bots would be outstanding, but that's a huge order considering how our features affect the standard way of playing.
We decided early on that single player was the focus of Prey and that we'd provide as robust a DM experience as possible without bots. I know you want to hear, "Oh yeah, we've got it nailed" but the reality is that we had to pick our battles, and we knew early on bots was one that would consume many resources for a result that would probably be subpar.
How does it scale on different hardware?
GB-I can play Prey on a 1900xtx, AMD 4400+ at 1600x1200 with all the features on.
We have people at the office play and finish it on as low as a 2.5ghz, 9800, and even one on a 2.0Ghz/9700Pro. So, the game scales pretty well.
Clearly there is a midrange, probably starting aroung 2.8Ghz and a 9800. Higher end video cards will make the game scream.
Steam-like Activation process?
TG-You need internet just for install. After that you can play it offline. You will need it each time you install (or reinstall) so the master server can authenticate the installation.
I'm not sure what Steam's current offline mode is like. You don't have to actively do anything, and you won't automatically log on each time you play. I can tell you that much. I hope that helps. If not, I'll do my best to answer.
Vista Support?
TG-Actually we're working with Microsoft on Vista compatibility. We will support the final release of Vista with Prey, most likely as a patched version down the road, but we will not officially be supporting Vista beta. (That doesn't mean it won't work at all, just that we won't be supporting the beta officially).
I know the engineers have been messing with the beta, but I can't answer any questions on it as it's pretty low on the priority list at the moment.
More about Widescreen support
TG-We support widescreen. Just choose 4:3, 16:9, or 16:10 from the menu and it adjusts to your display. The game also remembers your option settings. We've made other changes as well, but you'll see those soon enough.
Can't wait for the demo!
UT:XMP - Public Release 3 02:52 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(0 comments)
Planet Unreal notes that Free Monkey Interactive released UT:XMP - Public Release 3 which brings the goodness of Unreal 2's XMP to UT 2004. Here's the big list 'o changes in the new release.
Mercenaries 2 Website 02:44 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action / Strategy
(0 comments)
I think we missed this the other day, but Pandemic launched the official website for Mercenaries 2. Included, are plans to overthrow unruly Venezuelan dictators plus new screenshots and video footage.
Tim Schafer Pleads for Backwards Compatability 02:38 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Adventure
(9 comments)
Want to play Psychonauts on your Xbox 360? So does creator Tim Schafer:
You know, I have an XBOX 360, and I love it. I love it so much. I wish I could spend every living moment of my life playing it. My wife and I have discussed it, and we've agreed to name our first child, "Geometry Wars." The only thing that could make my XBOX 360 any better is if it would just play this game we made called PSYCHONAUTS.
To this end, I called up the good people at Microsoft and said, "Hello friends. How is the emulator coming along? Will it ever run the Excellent game Psychonauts?"
"Believe us, we have top men working on it now," they said.
"You know, if it would help, we'd be willing to fly all our engineers up to Seattle, and they'd do all the programming! Or, they could just tell you exactly how our engine works, and we could probably get it running on the 360 in just a few hours!"
"TOP... MEN." Is all they said.
Thanks TeamXbox.
Test Drive Unlimited: AC Screenshots 02:06 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Racing
(2 comments)
Okay, enough screenshots already. Release the damn game!
(Click to Enlarge!)
     
And yes, in case you were wondering, these shots are really, really big. More oddly shaped screenshots can be found in the gallery.
Xbox 360 Engineer Interviewed 01:53 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Consoles: Xbox 360
(1 comment)
Those tellytubby loving blokes at Ars interviewed Microsoft Mansteak Matt Lee about a number of Xbox 360 related issues (if you skip the first couple pages they talk about more interesting stuff):
Do you think that as time goes on, developers will get more comfortable with multithreaded code? How will this affect the ease in which games are ported to other platforms, for example the PS3 or PC?
Absolutely. We've already seen a great deal of rapid improvement and maturation of threading technologies, which will result in more complex, more immersive games going forward. And as universities teach more and more multithreading knowledge, we'll get an influx of new developers into the industry that haven't ever known software engineering without multithreading. If anyone is interested in being a game developer these days, they would benefit greatly from knowing how to write good multithreaded code.
Nintendo Sells Cubic Assload of DS Lites 01:50 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Consoles: Nintendo DS
(7 comments)
Nintendo announced that it has sold a cubic assload of DS Lites:
DS Lite Shines Bright:
- Just two days after Nintendo DS Lite went on sale in the United States on June 11, the new lighter, brighter portable system sold more than 136,500 units, with many retail outlets reporting sellouts.
- By comparison, DS Lite is outpacing 2003's launch sales of Nintendo's juggernaut Game Boy® Advance SP by more than 12 percent.
- Major retailers report that sales of Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day tripled over the previous week.
- Retailers also report that New Super Mario Bros. ® sales doubled over the previous week.
Perimeter: Emperor's Testament Screenshots 01:42 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Real-Time Strategy
(3 comments)
Five new screenshots of Perimeter: Emperor's Testament which may or may not give you wood:
(Click to Enlarge!)
    
Inside Halo 2 Vista 01:33 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(4 comments)
Frankie updated Bungie.net with some new information on Halo 2 Vista:
Can I play on the Vista version of the game against players on the Xbox?
No, we are adding Vista-specific features to the game that will not be compatible with the original Xbox version. We wanted the game to be the best it could be on Windows Vista and did not want to be limited by backwards compatibility with the Xbox version. If you have a friend who is playing on the Xbox you will be able to invite them to your game on Windows Vista, or send them messages, just like you can today on the Xbox 360.
FlatOut 2 Dev Diary 01:27 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Racing
(0 comments)
GamesXtreme cranked out a new developer's diary for Bugbear's FlatOut 2 which talks about the game's new engine (it's for older systems like the PS2/Xbox as well):
reworked a large part of the rendering system to deliver greatly improved visuals. Vehicles and environments really look outstanding. For the vehicles we are doing five rendering passes with, for example, simulated per-pixel lighting and scattering to make those cars look really nice.
The lighting system has also significantly benefited from the lessons learned with FlatOut 1, which contributes a lot to the improved graphics quality. The game also has much more pronounced day/night cycles. We also tapped into the different ways to do post processing effects such as motion blurring and blooming.
Glory of the Roman Empire Demo 01:25 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Real-Time Strategy
(0 comments)
I haven't tried this out myself, but 3D Gamers has a playable demo for Glory of the Roman Empire which comes in at 512 megs. "CDV sends along a playable demo for Glory of the Roman Empire, allowing the chance to try out this upcoming ancient 3D management strategy game by Haemimont Games. This demo includes the first part of the single-player campaign with more than half a dozen tutorials and missions."
Orcs and Elves Review (id game) 01:19 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action / Adventure
(2 comments)
Since this might become a PC / console franchise, I thought I'd mention that 1Up Orcs and Elves, id's (yes, the makers of Doom & Quake) latest offering (for Wireless):
In fact, the only thing wrong with Orcs & Elves is that it may actually be too much fun. Unlike most cell games, which are generally taken in tiny chunks during moments when there's little else to do, Orcs & Elves held our attention for pretty much the entirety of its seven-or-so-hour experience. On one hand, that's actually pretty long for a cell phone game. On the other, dammit, we wish it were longer.
Overall score was a 9/10.
As Levi often reminds us, you can play games on cell phones too!
Hardware & Tech Nuggets 01:04 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- hardware: General News
(0 comments)
Game Reviews 12:38 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: General News
(0 comments)
"Hillary Clinton and Joseph Lieberman be damned; violence and video games go together like humanely killed lamb and mint jelly." - GWN on Hitman Blood Money.
In Other News... 12:22 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- In-House: In Other News...
(21 comments)
With the dog days of Summer here I'm going to be a little less selective about what we post. I'm not saying we'll be giving every interview or preview that comes down the pike it's own little story, but as long as its semi-interesting and covers a game we're remotely interested in, it's fair game.
In other, other news, I'm really digging Rise of Legends. I'm into the second chapter of the single player now and I'm loving it. The cutscenes are cool, but the voice acting is pretty bad. Non-regional diction for the lose. The voice acting is about on-par with Age of Empires 3 (so if you didn't have a problem with that, you won't mind it in RoL). The Vinci need Italian accents! Anyhow, I like the game itself a lot.
Today's question:
What game do you think had the best voice acting?
btw- As if anyone cares, my healer dinged RR10 in Dark Age of Camelot too (cough).
|
|
|
|
Wednesday, June 14, 2006 |
|
|
|
Pacific Storm Preview 11:55 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Simulation
(0 comments)
PC.IGN previewed Pacific Storm, a pretty nice looking World War II sim:
The units all inhabit a 3D battlefield, complete with clouds, islands and a host of other environmental details that bring the world to life. Shells leave trails as they arc across the sky and heavy guns leave depressions in the water as they fire. Planes smoke and trail flame as they become damaged and leave mighty splashes when they hit the water. There's not a ton of damage modeling here, but the smoke and flames coming off of enemy ships will give you a good idea of their damage state. A handy pop-up lets you see the distance to an enemy and exactly how much damage they've sustained.
Jeff Strain Interview 11:51 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action / Roleplaying
(0 comments)
The sterling lads from the Adrenaline Vault interviewed ArenaNet's Jeff Strain about the recently released Guild Wars Factions expansion:
Is Arena.net going to stay focused on just Guild Wars, are there thoughts on expanding your business model down the road? You have your unique technology in compression and server linking, will you expand on that on the business side?
JS: Well I think that, eventually we will have other projects in the works, and certainly those projects will leverage this technology heavily. You are right, we have a very unique technology base, no one else has anything like it, and we'll take advantage of that. Any game that we tackle from here on, you can bet that it will be highly innovative and it will take advantage of the streaming technologies and kind of global distributed network technologies that Guild Wars is built upon. However, having said that, the player base for Guild Wars is breaking records every day, I mean, we've got so many people playing this game, all of our time, focus and energy has been for supporting Guild Wars. With new campaigns, you know we plan to release a new campaign every 6 months now, so we've got our work cut out for us. So as long as people are demanding new Guild Wars content, that will be our primary focus.
What the Hell Happened to Thief? 11:45 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action / Adventure
(5 comments)
Evil Avatar chats with Randy Smith of ex-Look Glass fame who reflects back on the Thief series:
To put it bluntly, what the hell happened?
Randy: Well, you've got 3 major topics in that question: 1) The difference between what we hoped T3 would be and what you perceived it to be instead, 2) the troubled T3 development environment at ION Storm, and 3) my "early departure" from ION. They are related in as much as the troubled development environment, 2), led both to a decrease in quality in the game and my departure from the studio. You'll have to give me more direction as to what you want more info about.
Updated Tomb Raider Legend Demo 11:30 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action / Adventure
(4 comments)
Eidos released an updated demo of Tomb Raider Legend which unlocks the "next-gen" graphics options. It's the same map as the previous demo, but has tastier visual options. It comes in at 473 MB.
STALKER Screenshots 11:25 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(5 comments)
PlanetSTALKER.de shot up 21 new screenshots of (take a wild guess) GSC Gameworld's extremely delayed FPS - S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The shots could use some AA, but the lighting is kind of neat.
HL2 DM Patch 10:12 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(0 comments)
Restarting Steam will treat you to an update for Half-Life 2 Deathmatch. The patch fixes some exploits, plus adds some new commands. They also added an immunity timer for after you respawn to prevent players from camping the spawn points.
Hellgate London Podcast 09:06 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action / Roleplaying
(1 comment)
Hellgate Guru wrangled up a podcast interview with a couple of the guys from Flagship Studios about (you guessed it) its forthcoming action/RPG - Hellgate London. "The questions and answers are all fresh, ranging from gameplay-related questions to technical stuff like details on the multiplayer. It's totally spontaneous, so there's a lot of fun and laughs. It's pretty damn informative, too."
Scoring with XXX Games 03:59 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: MMOG
(5 comments)
Wired has an amusing little story up called Scoring with XXX Games that covers the first Sex in Videogames conference where some 200 industry fodder attended:
Fryer was one of three experts on a panel about MMORPGs at last week's Sex in Videogames conference in San Francisco. The topic? "Emergent sex," or the kinds of salacious activities that show up in non-sexual games like World of Warcraft and Dark Age of Camelot. Fryer explained that the latter was especially sexy because avatars couldn't be undressed -- "so you had to get very creative."
Wha? The closest thing to sex in these games is getting cyber in Vent. You know, from a real girl! ZOMG
The Blizzard Wall Street Presentation Slides 03:40 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: MMOG
(4 comments)
The Cesspit managed to get its hands on some of the slides that were part of the Vivendi "Wall Street Presentation" which started the World of Diablo and World of StarCraft rumors. The slides really don't scream "All Blizzard franchises will become MMOGs", but perhaps the live presentation was different. Thanks Worldofwar.net.
WoW 1.11 Patch Preview - Argent Dawn 03:37 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: MMOG
(0 comments)
Blizzard updated the World of WarCraft v1.11 patch preview with a look at Argent Dawn. "The Argent Dawn reputations page has been updated with more rewards of superior and epic quality! Check out the new reputation rewards and new recipes in store for those who have proven their dedication to the Argent Dawn's fight against the Scourge."
Ritual Hiring for New Game 03:32 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(0 comments)
Ritual is looking to hire a senior level designer "for a multi-platform next-generation AAA action title" which we assume isn't episode related. Here's the poop:
Ritual Entertainment is currently looking for a Senior Level Designer for a multi-platform next-generation AAA action title. This position requires a talented individual with an eye for detail and the ability to generate highly detailed and immersive real world environments. Potential candidates must have a serious passion for creating games. Candidates must also combine an ability to understand how gameplay is created with a strong aesthetic sense and interest in creating visually interesting spaces. This is a full time position and will require relocation to our Dallas, TX-based offices.
Unleash the Wiederhold!
Blizzard VP Denies MMOG Plans 03:03 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: MMOG
(6 comments)
Vivendi might have grand designs for Blizzard's massively multiplayer future, but Blizzard vice president of game design Rob Pardo states otherwise on the official boards:
Nothing in that rumor is true in regards to Blizzard. If I had to guess, there was some confusion between what Vivendi has planned for its its game division versus what Blizzard has planned. While Blizzard is owned by Vivendi, their game division operates seperately from Blizzard.
Thanks Broken Toys.
Everquest II: The Fallen Dynasty Q&A; 12:12 pm
- Elia 'Mithan' Doulia
- Games: MMOG
(4 comments)
MMOReports has a two page interview with Matthew Higby, Design Supervisor for the new EQ2 download module, "The Fallen Dynasty".
Can you tell us exactly what new zones will be included with this pack?
MH: The major zones are; "The Village of Shin," a peaceful village which serves as a quest hub and staging area, "The Mystic Lake," an overland adventure zone, much like Antonica or Commonlands, but geared to level 50+ players, and "The Forsaken City" a high level dungeon zone. There are also many instanced adventure areas.
EQ2 is definitly on a roll with these modules and expansion packs. For anybody that missed it, the third expansion pack titled "Echoes of Faydwar" was announced a while back.
Poll: World of Diablo or World of StarCraft? 03:15 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: MMOG
(33 comments)
The new(er) VE poll of the week asks for you to pick between World of Diablo and World of Warcraft. Vote on your right!
Here's the original story if you missed it.
Results of this week's earlier poll which pitted Half-Life 2: Episode One vs SiN Episodes: Emergence can be found in the comments.
Scott Miller Interview 01:11 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(9 comments)
On the grill at Gameproducers.net is an interview 3D Realms' Scott Miller who chats a bit about Prey, general biz stuff and oh-so much more. Here's a taste:
GameProducer.net: 3DRealms got praise from Remedy when they were doing their first cinematic action title Max Payne. Remedy said that it has been great to work with a publisher that gave no or little pressure about the deadlines. I heard the famous slogan "When it's done" first time said by Remedy & 3D Realms. How do you approach this attitude nowadays? Do you have no deadlines at all? What it really means to you to publish a game "when it's done"?
Scott Miller: Well, we have a simply philosophy that if you're going to make a game, do it right. Another words, the game comes first. Most publishers do not see the value of this philosophy, and therefore the majority of their games are not hits. Also, since we retain ownership of our game brands, it is in our best interest to insure that our games are big hits, because not only do we like those fat royalty checks, we also like to see the valuation of our brands exceed 10's of millions of dollars. In 2002 we (us and Remedy) sold the Max Payne brand for nearly $50 million, and that was after earning some $25 million in royalties. So, was it worth the 4.5 years to make Max Payne right?
Top 10 Best Selling PC Games 01:00 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: General News
(7 comments)
Here are the top-10 best selling PC games ending the week of June 3rd:
1. World Of Warcraft - Blizzard
2. Half-Life 2: Episode 1 - Electronic Arts
3. The Sims 2 - Electronic Arts
4. Heroes Of Might & Magic V - Ubisoft
5. Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion - 2K Games
6. The Sims 2 Open For Business - Electronic Arts
7. The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff - Electronic Arts
8. Guild Wars Factions - NCsoft
9. Battlefield 2 - Electronic Arts
10. Heroes Of Might & Magic V: Limited Ed - Ubisoft
The Levelord Q&A; 12:55 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Action
(3 comments)
3D Realms greased up a new legacy interview with Ritual's The Levelord who once upon a time worked on the old Duke Nukem Games. Here's a bite:
Is there any story/incident that stands out as interesting during your time associated with Apogee?
Yes, going to my very first E3 in 1996 with the Duke Team. It was the first E3, so that made it memorable. I had lived in Los Angeles from 1980-1990. I lived only a few blocks away from the Nakatomi building in the first Die Hard movie. I lived in the garage of my parents while going to UCLA. Late one night, at about 2am, they started filming much of the exterior helicopter stuff at the end of the movie. I thought it was a real event ;)
Anyhow, that AM/PM store is right there, where the cop bought the Twinkies for his pregnant wife. This store, being so close to home, was just a regular old store to buy smokes and gas. To most others, though, it was an icon. First thing we did at E3 was go to this store and buy Twinkies ;)
Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:45 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- hardware: General News
(1 comment)
Game Reviews 12:30 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- Games: Real-Time Strategy
(1 comment)
In Other News... 12:15 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- In-House: In Other News...
(17 comments)
That World of Diablo and World of StarCraft stuff yesterday was pretty crazy. I can see Diablo as a massively multiplayer game, but I'll go on the record and say that I'd prefer to have a straight-up RTS sequel to StarCraft. I loved that game so much. I wouldn't mind a MMOG version of it, PLUS an RTS sequel. But, if I had to pick one or the other, I'd go with StarCraft 2 (the real-time-strategy game).
I think I'm going to mercy-kill this week's poll and do something Blizzard related.
Meanwhile, today's question asks:
If there could be only one: StarCraft 2 or World of StarCraft?
|
|
|
|
|
