Friday - March 01, 2002
| Another Dungeon Siege preview can be found at UGO tonight. Nothing to add. It's just like the 1038 previews before this one. |
Sanya Thomas from Mythic has put up the latest and most frequently asked questions from their MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot in the latest Friday Grab Bag.
Here's a snip:
Q: Why are there no Camelot Herald features (realm wars, guild status, etc) for the European servers?
A: When we became partners with GOA, one of the things they requested as part of the deal was the right to set up such features for the European servers. They have talked to Mark, and they have many exciting plans for the European community. I know our players overseas don’t want to hear “patience” any more than our players here do, but we here in the US didn’t get the Herald up until November, and many of the features y’all are requesting didn’t come in until even later. So hang on, and in the meanwhile, send feedback about the features you want to GOA, not to me – here in the US we don’t even have direct access to the databases in Europe that would allow us to set up the pages we have for US servers.
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Frank's German MM-World.com has updated with some new info on city academies in NWC's/3DO's RPG flavored turn based strategy game Heroes of Might & Magic IV.
Heroes IV is supposed to be released later this month or early next month. Keep an eye on it! |
| RPGvault features part no. 2 in a series of Icewind Dale 2 designer diaries. It has been written by Damien Foletto, Junior Designer @ Black Isle Studios and it focuses on "phat loot", i.e. what monsters drop after their untimely deaths. |
Seems like Microsoft's official press release, concerning Asheron's Call 2 was not completely correct.
Gone Gold sends along word that MS has gotten the Beta/release date info wrong (actually MS told them they (MS) made a mistake).
The game is supposed to go Beta this summer and it's slated for release in winter 2002. In its press release, MS said it was supposed to go Beta this winter. |
| Since it would have been kind of lame to focus on AC 2 only, Gamezilla didn't squander the chance to also have a look at GPG's/Microsoft's soon to be released Dungeon Siege when they visited the Microsoft International Gaming Festival (formerly a.k.a Gamestock). |
| Gamezilla has paid a visit to Microsoft's International Gaming Festival (formerly a.k.a Gamestock) and managed to get a glimpse at Asheron's Call, the sequel to Microsoft's very popular MMORPG. |
Lucas'/Sony's official site (and forums) for Star Wars: Galaxies, the upcoming Star Wars MMORPG has (have) updated with the follwing news today:
1) The FAQ has received its weekly update.
Here it is:
10.17 Can I build multi-story buildings? Or buildings that extend underground?
Yes, you can build multi-story buildings. We haven't finalized the exact floorplans for all player-buildable structures yet, but the technology exists for them to extend underground.
2) Kevin "Q3-PO" O'Hara (Community Relations Manager) announced in the forums that he has updated the fan site list.
3) The fourth developer chat will be held Thursday, March, 14 on Sony's Station. Click the link for more details. |
UbiSoft has launched its official German Morrowind website today.
Here's the official announcement:
Seid gegrüsst! Wir heißen Euch willkommen im Reich der Dunkelelfen. Hier werdet Ihr regelmäßig alle Neuigkeiten rund um die Welt von The Elder Scrolls III - Morrowind finden. Prägt sie Euch gut ein! Ihr werdet sie auf Eurer langen Reise durch Vvardenfell gut brauchen können.
Besucht die Taverne in der Ihr Eure Heldentaten und Geschichten mit uns & anderen Wagemutigen teilen könnt.
Das Abenteuer hat schon begonnen...
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| The Adrenaline Vault has reviewed Simon&Schuster's action adventure/RPG hybrid 'Darkened Skye', rating the game at 3 stars (out of 5). |
ToTheGame now lists Might & Magic IX as being "Gold status" on its MMIX Product Information Page.
Someone by the name of "Andy B" spotted these breaking news and posted it to the TELP MMIX forums.
However, we were able to talk to Erik Johansen from ToTheGame in the meantime and he said that they didn't anticipate these news would spread so fast.
In fact, Erik is waiting for confirmation of these news from someone from his team who visited NWC (developers of MMIX) this week.
Whatever the outcome of all this may be... a March, 28 release date (as officially announced) of MMIX appears to be more likely than ever.
P.S.: ToTheGame has proven to be a very reliable source regarding MMIX / HoMMIV news in the past and for all those who do not know what "going gold" means: it's when the final release candidate of a game (=version 1.00 or in Ultima IX's case version 0.572 *eg*) is being released for reproduction). Average time span between "gold status" and street date is usually something below 10 but greater than 7 to 21-28 days. Depends on the game, how many copies have to be produced etc. |
An interview with Raphael Colantonio, CEO of Arkane Studios, has been published at RPGPlayer. It comes with some exclusive screenshots. Here's a bit:
RPGP: Press-Beta hadn't any kind of interactive conversation, but I've unterstood there's a large amount of dialogue in Arx ... Will player be able to spontaneously ask something, having also an active part during conversations with people (for instance using classic dialogue tree structure and selecting questions and answers)?
AS: As part of a long reflection, we've removed all dialogue boxes, popups, etc... Actually, back in time when we were in the gamedesign process debating about multichoice dialogues, we came up with the following conclusion: if you let 3 choices (for example) to the players (something like 'Name', 'Job', and 'about the murder'), most players will surely click on each choice to listen to the entire conversation with the NPC, most of all because they wouldn't want to miss a conversation that would trigger a quest or something like this. Therefore, why not doing this automatically for him ? Then you will say: "Ok, but what about the choices like 'yes' or 'no' ?", we always bring a solution to let the player choose what he wants to do by combining objects, or other means. For example, in Arx, a NPC could tell you 'give me 1 coin and I'll give you a drink', in this case, the player combines his money on the NPC, and he will receive his drink. In other games, you could have the NPC telling you 'Do you want a drink for 1 coin ?' and then bring up a yes/no pop up on the screen. well... this is only an example, but it fits in our will to keep the game imersive and accessible. |
Seems the guys over at 3DO have opened a preorder page for Might & Magic 9 today. This is, as our reader Scott, who reported this newsbit, stated, the "Closest thing to an official web site yet...". Rightie :-)
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| Today's site update at the official Morrowind site is a firm indication for the coming release of the game: the are now taking preorders for the PC and XBox version (another sign we received yesterday: Bethesda is preparing to feed the press with material). Other additions to the site are: 13 birthsigns were added to the skills section (birthsigns are important during character generation, they give you special abilities) - and a new wallpaper, featuring Caldera... |
Four Fat Chicks has reviewed Gothic - and liked it. Very much so:
If you've plowed through my wordiness above, that's clearly a rhetorical question. Yes, indeed, Gothic is fun and recommended—as a Gold Star, Creme de la Creme, must-have, essential purchase.
With a novel, large and intricate set of societies, coupled with excellent graphics and sound, as well as the best A.I. this side of Black & White, Gothic becomes one of the most immersive and believable single-play adventure/RPGs ever. The story (teen rated) is gritty, rather dark, not really uplifting—it is a prison society, after all. But this is a game where the intricacies and marvels of the journey (the "who," more than the "what" or even "where"), regardless of outcome, are well worth the price of admission. Try it out. |
| A new Divine Divinity movie can be found at Spelletjesgarnaal. The 18.6MB download or streaming movie shows app. 12 minutes of gameplay footage. |
The next preview of Warcraft 3 can be seen at AlloutGames today. Here's a snippet for you, this time about sound:
The music in the game is excellent, adding just enough ambience without overpowering. Sometimes you'll hear it, sometimes you won't. It comes and goes with whatever you happen to be doing at the time. Or maybe you'll be so busy defending yourself from opponents that it just won't register.
As expected, the sound effects add a ton of interest to the game itself. You'll want to take time out from whatever it is that you're doing just to keep clicking on your units to hear them acknowledge you omnipotence or maybe even gripe about you (behind your back?). Click away! The funny doesn't stop with the workers! Also, the battle sounds will have you checking behind you every few seconds. You know, just to see if that groaning sorceress isn't standing right behind you about to blast you into oblivion with one of her many devastating spells. One word: REALISTIC. |
| The Lost Continents website received an update today, with the usual addition to the serial "The Mask Of The Mummy Queen" and a new screenshot. Go have a look. |
Ok, the Arx Fatalis demo is out now, 150 MB, giving you three spells, two levels and app. 1 hour of gameplay. Here are the links to the sites that hold it for download:
Gamigo.de
3D Gamers
Gamesweb
Arx Fatalis site |
Within the next few hours, you'll see the public Arx Fatalis demo on the net, according to Fishtank's newsletter that we just received:
The English demo with about an hour of gameplay is nearly finished. The official release (March, 1st in the afternoon) will of course be accompanied by a press release listing various links from where the demo can be downloaded. In order to avoid traffic problems on the Ravensburger site, you will be able to download the demo from several online magazines at the same time. Many thanks in advance for the support! Today is also the launch date for the Arx Fatalis forum at www.arxfatalis-online.com
We will, of course, inform you when and where to get the demo. |
Video Game News has written a review of Everquest: Shadows of Luclin. Their rating is very positive: 90%. Here's something from the article for you:
Beyond the content enhancements, Shadows of Luclin gives the whole world of EverQuest a complete face-lift. The graphical improvements come in three basic parts. As EverQuest launched the first completely 3D game of its kind, its appearance has become somewhat dated in light of new software and technologies. To keep up, Shadows of Luclin employs a new 3D engine that allows for some stunning character modeling and animation. The older parts of the realm can be optionally overhauled with a retexturization process included in the Shadows of Luclin install. After undergoing this bit of redecorating, the surfaces and lighting effects are certainly enhanced with greater detail and sharpness but don't expect any miracles. The blocky geometry doesn't go away. For instance, trees still resemble a well talented third grader's construction paper masterpiece. The game's animated elements, however, have undergone some pretty noticeable improvements. First, everyone can take advantage of the new player character customization interface that allows gamers to select a variety of eye, hair, and face configurations. Depending on your hardware, you can take advantage of some or all of the expansion's new player models. These new character renderings allow for far more pleasing and realistic player appearances. |
A review of Disciples 2 - Dark Prophecy was put online yesterday at Armchair Empire. Once again, the turn based strategy/RPG got a high rating, 8.8/10. Here is their conclusion:
In the end, Disciples II: Dark Prophecy polishes the turn-based fantasy genre to a brilliant sheen. While it doesn’t do anything earth shattering, the graphics and sound are good, the interface easy to use, the challenge good, a selection of Sagas (campaigns) and Quests (with more available as people begin using the very easy to use Editor) means you'll not soon run out of things to do, and the addictive quality make Dark Prophecy worth the money. The pros definitely outweigh the cons. |
Famours author Piers Anthony, who will work on the Background story of Dragon Empires, was interviewed by Cliffhanger Games about his opinion on computer games, seen from an author's point of view. Here's a bit:
Jonathan Whitehead (Cliffhanger Games) - An increasing no. of popular Authors are becoming involved with writing for games. Any chance that you might consider writing a storyline for a game?
Piers Anthony - Probably not. When LEGEND made the Xanth computer game, I told them that I didn't know much about computer games but I did know my readers, and that the game should be made completely easy to get into and understand. They concluded that I was ignorant and did it their way, making a far less effective game and I think costing it most of the potential market. That turned me off. I don't want to argue with folk who think they know my readers better than I do. I suspect that's what I would encounter if I tried to write for games, just as I have encountered it in writing for movies. You have noted how my novels are different from the ordinary; you have not seen the struggle I had to get them into print. I'm too old to start the same battle in a new medium. | | Source: Voodooextreme |
A brief interview with Jonathan Chey, Project Manager & Lead Designer of Freedom Force, can be found at GamersPulse today. Here's a clip:
Can you give us some information on the multiplayer aspects of the title?
Multiplayer is up to four players each with their own team of up to 4 heroes or villains. Essentially, it’s about making your own team based on a points limit. So the real strategy and fun comes in attempting to outguess your opponents, finding attacks that they are vulnerable to and trying to protect your characters against theirs. For example, taking a bunch of flying characters is a great way to defeat melee brawlers but not so useful against enemies with powerful beam or projectile attacks. |
Josh Sawyer had a few things to say on the forums of Icewind Dale II.Josh had this to say about IWD2 being a competitor to NWN
IWD2 as competition for NWN? That's quite a compliment, considering that NWN has been in development for over three years and has over 40 people working on it.
Some explantion on how it is possible that LG paladins can be on opposite sites of the spectrum
I think you're ignoring that the fundamental concept of belief can put "Lawful Good" people on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Take Christianity and Islam. Arguably, both of these real-world faiths have moral codes that are lawful and good. However, each religion holds their soteriology to be the "right" one. For Christians, salvation lies in following the teachings of Christ. For Muslims, salvation lies in following the teachings of Mohammed. Regardless of how "lawful and good" any given member of the religion behaves, the faiths are ultimately at odds.
Similarly, Tyr and Ilmater in the Forgotten Realms both have paladins and are both Lawful Good. However, Tyr is the god of justice and Ilmater is the god of suffering. When given the choice between being just and merciful, the paladin of Tyr will probably choose to be just. When given the choice between being just and merciful, the paladin of Ilmater will probably choose to be merciful. However, both paladins can be acting in a lawful and good manner. Given trying circumstances, they could certainly be at odds.
Now who is the lead designer?
First of all: IWD didn't have a lead designer.
Of those listed, I, John Deiley, and Chris Avellone are still at Black Isle. The designers are listed in order of length of time on the project. Steve was on-board a month before I was.
Reg Arnedo designed the Severed Hand, though Chris Parker did the initial work. |
UnknownPlayer is giving away THREE Shadowbane Beta Accounts. Three lucky winners will be chosen on 3/31/02 at Midnight Pacific time. Just head over following our link to participate.
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| IGN.PC has published a couple of character artworks for the soon to be released PC version of Grandia 2. |
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