News from the Net From Alex van Kaam Let me start with: ftp://ftp.bioware.com/neverwinternights/desktops/ where you can go and download some really nice desktop wallpaper based on Neverwinter Nights, while downloading you can continue reading this. Dungeon Siege is turning out to be quite the hit, it's a RPG/action game and Voodooextereme has an interview with one of the developers talks about it: http://www.ve3d.com/games/interviews/christaylor/ and also a second article at http://www.ve3d.com/games/interviews/dungeon/ Packmule also has a page up about Dungeon Siege, so try http://www.packmule.org/preview/preview01.shtml is you want to learn even more about this game...... or maybe try the one over at Gamespy http://www.gamespy.com/articles/january02/dungeonsiege1/ and if even that is not enough go to IGN: http://pc.ign.com/articles/101/101223p1.html Since many of us (we SynTax readers) have been around for a while we probably all did some programming in Basic and STOS and all that.... in case you’re still interested in some programming then maybe http://www.darkbasic.com/ is the answer for you, if not then you can still find some fun games in their forums made by others.... loads of Pacmans but some are still fun :) Talking about it old people , I am sure you all remember Dungeon Master, if you want you can download it over at http://www.cs.pitt.edu/~alandale/dmjava/, it's not the original but it's a new engine based on Java, with new graphics and last but not least a very very good editor so you can make your own dungeons. the rules, combat and style are identical to the original Dungeon Master and if you look in the forums there you will easily find links to users who have done the original DM dungeon and Chaos Strikes Back dungeon with this engine. So far I am having a real blast playing DM on my PC, good old fixed stepping, mapping but with new crisp graphics..... and yes the screamers still make the same "eeeeek" sound..... Sue can agree on this I hope as she has downloaded it too. @~Yes I have and I'm also enjoying it. Look for a review next @~issue ... Sue Remaining with the old games... DM was made by FTL who also made the famous SunDog Frozen Legacy, and believe it or not, there still is a page about this at http://bfwa.com/sundog/ http://www.hut.fi/~jtpelto2/ultima4/devdiary.html has all about the re-make of Ultima 4, I don't like the characters too much (how they look) but still it would be great to play once it is finished.... http://www.hut.fi/~jtpelto2/ultima4/news.html is the news page for this game Sticking to old games, head over to The Bard Legacy at http://www.bardslegacy.com/main.html, it has been updated with news and new screenshots of this old classic A nice link between old games and the new MMORPGs is this link http://www.skotos.net/articles/BTH_17.shtml, it's all about the stages of MMORPG, from the first generation text-based to the current generations. Believe it or not, but yet again a new MMORPG is in the works, this time it is called Charr: The Grimm Fate, read all about it over at http://www.charrgrimmfate.com/... I'll just post the features below....it sounds nice with a few new items so maybe it will be worth it: * Advanced 3D Engine featuring Real-Time Motion Blur, Integrated Transform and Lighting, Cube Environment Mapping, Operative Particle and Lens Flare Effects and precision detailed models with high polygon counts insuring a playing environment that is as real as technologically possible. * 12 Playable races including Commoner, Badland-Elf, Shadow- Elf, Orc, Troll, Ogre, Dwarf, Dark Faerie, Brood Giant, Sleeth, The Risen and The Cursed. * Real world environmental hazards like Earthquakes, Meteor Hits, and Solvent Rain. Players will have to work together to get a 'Weather Modification System' up and running or suffer the consequences of taking painful damage every time it begins to pour! * Vast number of weapon sets. Players will begin by purchasing fantasy style weapons and armour from their local blacksmith. As they gain experience, they will acquire ancient weapons like the Plasma Blade, Needler Pistol, Fusion Auto-Cannon, Temporal Destabilizer, Stealth Suit and the mighty MECC (a.k.a. Mobile Exo-skeletal Combat Chassis). * Hundreds of unique combat and spell combinations. Depending on the player's experience level, players will be able to customize or let the AI determine hundreds of different combat variations, which are all class specific. * Player classes will be balanced. For example, Melee characters will gain special abilities that will allow them to duel with the best of their caster cousins. * Players can focus on soloing or grouping - they will not be penalized for deciding to solo! Players, not developers, make the decision whether they want to group or not. Charr is an enormous world with plenty of opportunities for the soloist to gain experience, regardless of class. * Players will face a common goal - to free the world of The Grimm. The Grimm are a horrid inter-dimensional species who spread mutation and disease everywhere in its path. No problem? The Grimm features a sophisticated Strategic AI. If players liberate certain areas from The Grimm and leave their Strongholds unprotected, The Grimm will come back. Players must constantly move toward the center of the world, cleansing The Grimm's presence while making sure they have left no areas defenseless. This is done by building 'Havens' and watch towers around previously infested sites. * Unique rumor/quest based system ensuring no two players ever compete for the same Quests or God items. * "Dynamic Spawning" will insure there are more than enough monsters to fight. With the exception of Grimm based areas, no monster will spawn in the same place twice. Spawning in the "Inner Circle" will be controlled according to number of players and experience mediums of those players, thereby eliminating player camping of areas or spawns. * All players start with a Companion (an NPC who helps the player in combat) Players may gain more powerful Companions as their reputation increases. * Players can build, fix or find vehicles in which they can drive. Certain rare vehicles act as Companions in which the player can drive or have them attack a foe. * Players will be able to build Strongholds and join others players to form Havens (or cities). Here players can manage resources, and loot, by creating stores, trading caravans or mining resources...sit back and watch the cash roll in. Beware, if a player leaves their Stronghold unprotected, another player may attack it, commandeering some of your possessions - even worse, the Grimm may decide it needs a change of scenery and infest their home, spreading its diseased tendrils throughout the entire community. * Incredibly sophisticated environments and unbelievable character models producing an in game experience so life-like players will swear it were real. I also had a bit about Tale in the Desert but since Sue is also writing about it I will just leave you with a link to this none-combat MMORPG http://www.ataleinthedesert.com/ and a link to a preview at http://www.eurogamer.net/content/p_deserttale Darkspace is also a online game, not a RPG but a space shooter, and it's free to download and play, you can also pay and save your game, but for a try out this is really nice. It sure looked nice on my system but I am a really bad flyer... if you’re not then head over to http://www.darkspace.net/ http://www.purgeonline.net/story.asp is all about Purge.... and what is Purge you may ask...well this is what they have to say themselves about it: Purge is an online-only computer game. It is a hybrid Role- Playing-Game / First-Person-Shooter set in the near future accounting a war between the diametrically opposed forces of science-fiction (the Order) and fantasy (the Chosen). Technology versus magic. Science versus religion. Purge is being developed by Freeform Interactive LLC and utilizes the LithTech Talon system HOW DID THE PURGE WORLD COME TO BE? Science is in a golden age: decades passed since the first android and genetically modified humans were developed. These beings of scientific perfection are several magnitudes stronger and smarter than normal man. They are collectively known as the Order. Eventually, the Order creates an one world government and world peace. This "worldwide order" comes at a high cost. A great social divide develops between the Order and ordinary humans. Rejected from the utopian society of the Order, some turn to the teachings of a man with seemly divine powers named Mabus and a new religion, the Chosen. Mabus preaches of attaining spiritual perfection thru constant magical research and supernatural enhancement. To be religiously pure, one must reject all forms of technology. The Chosen considers androids as "soul-less machines". As the Chosen gained in popularity, the Order saw them as the greatest threat to civilization. Mabus, who openly taught his followers to practice sorcery, is considered the incarnation of ultimate evil; an evil that would consume the world in unnatural witchcraft. Simply known as the Purge, the war started when the Order killed the Chosen's leader, Mabus. Purge is a war of self-rightousness and extreme intolerance; of fundamental values and the perservation of entire livelyhoods. The Order is protecting the very fabric of a modern world -- the right for scientific knowlege to even exist. The Order fears what the Chosen seek, a worldwide theocratic government (rule by religion). The Chosen believe they are "chosen ones" to cleanse the world of non-believers by eliminating technology wherever it exist in the name of Mabus, so that he will one day return. Homelan has an interview with Codemaster about Dragon Empires, another..... MMORPG, it sounds nice so head over to http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=4919 for a read..: Dragon Empires will stand out because of its highly developed player versus player competitions. Most current MMORPGs concentrate on monster hunting, with player versus player competition being a peripheral part of the game play at best and often being problematic. Dragon Empires addresses the traditional problems of PvP competition in a number of novel ways and extends PvP to become the focus of the game. Dragon Empires features a number of PvP combat competitions ranging from the cat and mouse game played by traders, outlaws and bounty hunters to the epic struggles between clans to conquer or hold cities. PvP in Dragon Empires is not limited to combat though, players can compete in political and economic games too. All of these competitions affect the world and each other to create a dynamic and player driven world. Meridian59 is almost ready to be re-released, Meridian Resurrection it will be called... but you all knew that because you all became a member of the Meridian newsletter I mentioned in the last news.... so head over to http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=3921 for a nice interview with the people who put all their cash into this game so it can survive. Shadowbane, the other MMORPG that is still in the works has some nice new screenshots up at http://shadowbane.ubisoft.com/downloads/screenshots/index.sh tml, and it's looking pretty sweet, and after reading http://shadowbane.ubisoft.com/community/journal/twelve/index. shtml I want to play this even more :) PC games has an update on FF XI, so all you FF fans head over to http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/news/0,10870,2850345, 00.html and you will learn that FF XI is another MMORPG... According to Japanese PC gaming publication Login, SquareSoft has revealed new details on Final Fantasy XI for the PC. The 11th instalment in the Final Fantasy series will be the company's first massively multiplayer online role-playing game, and it is being developed for both the PC and the Sony PlayStation 2 console. Though the game's specifications have not been finalized, so far it is known that it will require a graphics card that supports hardware T&L and DirectX 8.1. It is expected that users can choose from different resolution settings depending on their hardware specifications. Players will be able to share data between the PC and Sony PlayStation 2 versions since the game uses server-side saving. We have had MMORPGs, so why not an OMTHRPG (online multiuser turn-based hardcore role-playing game)called Chaos..... http://www.gamedale.com/chaos.html And to end my MMORPG section, head over to http://www.darkfallonline.com/features/index.shtml and read up on DarkFall.... another MMORPG If, like me, you liked the Age of Empires series then you will love to read this: http://pc.ign.com/articles/324/324719p1.html One of the new features for AOM is the God Power. These are divine favors granted to aid your civilization, and can be anything from a particular resource boost to a tornado called down on an enemy town. We have always approached our game balance believing that every strategy needs a counter strategy. If Jimmy attacks you with cavalry, you should be able to respond with infantry. If he avoids making any defenses in the interest of quickly creating a huge economy, you should be able to punish him with an early attack. We naturally tried the same approach with God Powers, and guess what? It was a disaster. We used to have heroes on the front lines directing the targeting of the God Powers. We figured the hero could then be attacked in order to counter the God Power. Sending in a tornado isn't like training an army of cavalry. If your tornado is countered, you feel let down. If your tornado is devastating, your opponent feels cheated. Sending in a half- strength tornado just isn't very compelling, and having a tornado do damage for all of 5 seconds seems like a huge waste of resources given how much design, art and programming time these things can take. Even worse, it felt like the hero was "casting" the God Power, which made it feel like fantasy sorcerers were throwing spells rather than Isis sending a natural disaster on behalf of your civilization. We threw out that design, which was pretty painful for all of the designers, artists and programmers who had worked on it, and instead implemented a system where every player gets to use a single God Power per age (or four per game). The God Powers don't cost resources and can't be countered, but each can only be used a limited number of times. Suddenly, we were seeing God Powers used in every single game. The players who were winning couldn't leverage their victory into dropping a dozen tornados, and the players who were losing still had a final act of retribution before surrendering. The God Powers can actually be pretty dramatic, because they can only be used once. It's actually not that different from a Queen in chess. She kicks major butt, but you only have one, and no matter how many units you beat, you aren't going to get a whole army of Queens. There still are reviews of Wizardy 8 popping up, a new one is at http://www.alloutgames.com/Reviews/wizardry8.html, it is a real shame we can't seem to get this game in Europe.... the last SirTech game..... seems to be so worth it !! http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/den/icewindii02.shtml is the second part of the Icewind Dale II designer Diary, always fun to read and after that the interview at http://www.voodooextreme.com/games/interviews/iwd2/ is just as nice. Over at http://www.lethaldreams.com/news.html you can read all up about this game, another RPG in the making.... New Role Playing Strategy game "Lethal Dreams" involves player into events taking place in a fantasy world on the side of one of the six magicians. Each of them is a specialist in one of the six paths of magic: Evocation, Incarnation, Necromancy, Portals, Enchantment and Transmutation. Besides the above, a seventh path exists in the game. It's a magic of Images. This path is open for all magicians. Each path has unique combination of spells that makes the opposite sides absolutely different from each other. The gaming world consists of battles between magicians in real time in the domains, small islands of substance, hanging in a limitless ocean of Chaos. The game is characterized by a dynamically developing plot and is not restricted by a strict set of missions that provides for a freedom of actions and development directions. There is a global step-by-step mode in the game. It allows you to investigate new spells, to interact with creatures dwelling in the domains, and to think over what happened to this universe. A fun link is http://www.safestuff.com/ - read up on the old Atari classics :) To close a small link to a Dos sound driver for windows NT/2000: http://www.ece.mcgill.ca/~vromas/vdmsound/ it might just be the trick to get your old games to work under these OSs - o -