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February 2001

Wednesday, February 28, 2001

Echelon Demo Impressions Nine11 @ 19:30 Comments

It didn't take too long to nail down my impression of the Echelon demo because it's not playable in the current form. I may have a different opinion if I understood Russian, but there are more things wrong with this demo than the obvious language barrier.

Like I said, the entire game is Russian which makes it quite an adventure. Just trying to install the game is a click-n-cross-yer-fingers affair. If you've installed a few games over the years, the button positions pretty much give away their intended function.

During the install process, I noticed the game takes advantage of hardware T&L. Since I'm sporting a GF2, I opted for it. I also picked a screen resolution of 1024*768 and 32-bit color.

Just like the install screens, the in-game text and option buttons are Russian but a little more confusing. The game defaults to the mouse for control and I couldn't figure out how to change it. The keyboard layout is also odd but mashing the keys on the left side of my KB along with the space bar seemed to get me up and flying.

There appears to be some sort of training mission and a combat mission. I didn't get anywhere in the training mission because I simply didn't know what to do. There weren't any arrows to follow nor were there any specific instructions coming across the HUD (not that I would've understood them anyway).

I bailed from the training mission and hit the combat mission. I thought, "Blow stuff up... should be pretty straight foreword, right?" Sort of. I took to the air and headed toward the red reticule on the HUD. The target was in a valley, so I gained some altitude, flew over it, pulled a 180, dived down with lasers blasting, and smacked into the side of a mountain (d'oh). That never would've happened if I had the joystick working... damn Ruskie menus!

Notice how I said, "smacked into the side of a mountain?" Take that INTO part literally because Echelon has some of the worst clipping problems I've ever seen. All types of vehicles can pass through the terrain, and I'm sure the buildings could too if they were mobile. Totally pathetic!

I had a hard time getting back into the game after my intimate encounter with the hills. I was greeted with a 3rd person camera of the battle after my death and, just when I thought the game would kick me back to the post mortem screen, I popped back into my jet and immediately smacked into another mountain. This cycle continued till I hit the Escape key.

So, I was foiled because I didn't exactly grasp the Russian language. The clipping is still a major problem and needs a major overhaul. Also, wingnuts like myself should be able to pop right back into the game without being greeted by landmass.

I would like to mention the game, while unplayable (at least) for non-Russian speaking gamers, looks damn fine! I didn't notice any dropped frames and planes/structures were very complex. Rounded edges and curves actually looked round rather than like a really intricate polygon. Textures were also very detailed, and lighting effects gave a nice light sheen to aircraft hulls which were perpendicular to the sun. The only game I've seen lately which looks any better is Doom III.

I really hope Buka Entertainment gets this game polished. The graphics are stunning and they should be able to hammer out the clipping problems. Echelon is an interesting game to look at, but I'd have to encourage you to wait for the next revision and English translation.

Multiwave's Slick Aluminum PC Case Nine11 @ 18:27 Comments

I found this slick aluminum PC case (described as MWAVE PC60 MID TOWER ALUMINUM CASE) over at Multiwave which is very similar to the Polywell 850GB reviewed in this month's MaximumPC magazine. It sports intake and exhaust fans, tooless entry, and 10 drive bays. Too bad the $165 price tag doesn't include a power supply.

Echelon Demo Nine11 @ 18:07 Comments

There is a Russian version of the Echelon demo floating around the net, and I found a copy over at Avault which seems to be the most reliable place to grab it right now. The demo's a Ruskie because the company developing the game is Buka Entertainment which is deep behind the Iron Curtain. They've actually been in business since 1994 and have an odd pedigree working on games for Acclaim, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, Eidos, GT Interactive, Sega, Sony, Interplay/Virgin, etc. The Echelon demo is 45MB, fat-pipe firendly, and is creeping along around 33Kbps on da cable... ug!

On The Road With MP3 Nine11 @ 9:36 Comments

This month’s (April 01) Car Audio & Electronics magazine has an article called “On The Road With MP3” which seeks to determine how viable the MP3 music format is for car audio enthusiasts. Their article centered on the negative aspects of MP3’s “lossy” encoding scheme, which cleaves away inaudible sound frequencies to achieve a small file size. To test MP3 encoded music, they converted 13 songs (pop, rap, and some reference testing songs) from CD audio to .wav, to MP3, back to .wav, burned them to a CD-R, and then played them in a Honda Accord test vehicle. The Accord’s stereo system was considered “middle of the road” with 3-way separates up front (1” tweeters, 4” midrange, and 6.5” midbass), 15” sub in the rear, and a 4-ch 400-watt amp (200 watts for the front stage and 200 watts bridged to the sub).

CAE found the MP3 encoded songs to be lacking both midrange and sub frequencies. The most notable difference being the “flatness” of vocals and main instruments centered in the midrange. Song-specific complaints occurred while listening to Creed’s “With Arms Wide Open” which displayed deadened guitars during the chorus, and lack of bass when listening to Santana’s “Migra.” They also heard some low frequency pops/crackles on other deep-pounding tracks.

From their tests, CAE determined the MP3 format isn’t suited for even modest car audiophiles and those people should stick to CD audio. For others, who only modestly upgrade their car stereos or don’t listen to bass (there is no life without bass), MP3 is an acceptable system source.

While I tend to agree with CAE and direct comparisons between MP3 and CD audio are perceptible, I’m afraid some people may shun MP3 files entirely after reading CAE. CD music is far superior to MP3, but the difference narrows as bitrates approach 192kbps and above. I used to grab 128kbps songs but they tend to be “flat” and sometimes “hollow” (fishbowl) sounding. 192kbps songs have a larger file size but are well worth the disc space.

I’ve had the luxury of owning 3 different cars/stereos in the past couple of years (1 vehicle sold, the wife and I drive the other two). All vehicles had a combination of CD players, 6.5” coax speakers, 6x9 speakers, 8” subs, 10” subs, 4-ch amps, 5-ch amps, and 1-ch mono sub amps. I also have a brother who feeds his bass addiction with a 12” piston driver, a pal with a pair of 15” subs, and another buddy with slick Alpine/Boston/Polk setup. To say the least, I spend a lot of time downloading, sharing, and playing music in cars.

I prefer modern rock but also listen to classic rock, alternative, R&B, raggae, and rap. Some of my burned music does sound a little flat but I’d place most of the blame on the band’s producer (Collective Soul the prime offender because both CD and MP3 songs are as flat as Kansas). The only bass pops/crackles I’ve heard were on lame MP3 songs which were rotten throughout, and I’d blame the lamer who ripped the track rather than the MP3 format (not all MP3s are created equal). I get very solid bass from my burned discs that seem full-bodied and don’t roll off.

Most of the inadequacies of MP3 can be heard in a nice quiet place where you can concentrate on the music, but your car doesn’t fall into this category. While driving and blasting the jams, you’ll also hear your tires on the road, your engine, other cars, and the wind. MP3 music sounds pretty damn good at 192kbps on my office computer and sitting in my driveway, but I can’t tell the difference between CD and MP3 audio on the road.

MP3 music is also very convenient. I’ve got tons of music sitting on my hard drive, and it takes very little time to put together a playlist and burn a CD. This same process would take hours of swapping CDs when burning to CD-R (been there, done that). Also, less scrupulous people would save some dough when burning MP3 files to disc, but we’ll save that discussion for another day…

My point is there’s little difference between CD audio and MP3 encoded music, and these differences aren’t much to worry about. The average guy or gal with upgraded speakers and a couple of subs isn’t gonna sweat listening to MP3 encoded songs driving down the road. Unless you compete in car audio soundoffs, I'd keep on truckin' with MP3 thang and keep things clean by staying at or above 192kbps.

Planetside Preview Nine11 @ 9:20 Comments

ignPC has a preview of the massively multiplayer FPS Planetside. It doesn't cover much new ground 'cept for PKing/friendly fire and a couple of new screenies slid in with the old ones.

New HL-Rally Shots Nine11 @ 9:10 Comments

There are some new screenshots over at the Half-Life Rally web site. While the look pretty good for a HL racing mod, they're still a bit sqare/angular for my taste. Guess I shouldn't complain... the mod's free, right?

Blizzard Sues New Line Cinema Nine11 @ 9:03 Comments

Inside is reporting Blizzard has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against New Line Cinema for naming an upcomming movie "Diablo." Blizzard has the name trademarked and fears the movie, which is about a drug lord, would cause confusion between the two unrelated products. Blizzard was forced to file the suit after New Line refused to rename the movie.

Dungeon Seige Screenshots Nine11 @ 8:48 Comments

Dungeon Seige Vault has five new screenies. While the environment and player models look killer, they are just walking around and combat scenes are M.I.A.

Tuesday, February 27, 2001

Operation Flashpoint Preview Nine11 @ 16:09 Comments

The fan site, Operation-Flashpoint (original name, eh?), has a preview of Operation Flashpoint (no kidding?). It's a long sucker but a pretty detailed and funny read. I especially liked the post mortem of their multiplayer games. They pointed out a few rough edges but really dug the game overall.

Something which struck me about Operation Flashpoint is it's a single player game with multiplayer stuff tagged on. I had been under the impression it was a massively multiplayer game. Alas, the single player missions and campaing still sound cool and, as long as the online stuff is up to snuff, it should still be worthy of playing.

Operation Flashpoint Gallery Nine11 @ 8:56 Comments

Gamespot has a huge Operation Flashpoint screenshot gallery which totals 53 in all. The new screenies are the same as the ones I linked the other day, but there are a mess of older ones which I haven't seen before.

Rash Of Sniping In WWII Online Nine11 @ 8:48 Comments

WWII Online is suffering a rash of sniping in it's closed beta. Everyone is getting nailed from tank commanders to Ju-87 Stuka pilots (WTF!). A solution hasn't been achieved, but the team is mumbling something about putting an end to "L337 5k1LL5" snipers.

Five Myths/Truths of DSL Broadband Nine11 @ 8:30 Comments

TechTV has a couple of nifty DSL articles. Five Myths of DSL Broadband hits on some of hazards of DSL service (like the installation headaches I've mentioned in the past week), and Five Truths of DSL Broadband talks about the bright side of DSL (being able to easily/freely share connections, ect.).

Overclocking Simplified Nine11 @ 8:12 Comments

Technoyard has a nice little article on overclocking. It's written more for people who wanna breathe some life back into an old system rather than Xtreme OC Boyz who gotta run their P4 @ 1.6GHz. Overclocking Simplified hits all the angles from bus speeds to case heat issues. A good read for anyone interested in OC-101.

SyncMaster 955DF DynaFlat 19" Monitor Review Nine11 @ 8:02 Comments

Ctrl-Alt-Del has a review of the Samsung SyncMaster 955DF DynaFlat 19" monitor. It's kinda light with a few techie cut 'n pasties, but it gets down to what matters (how it looks) and gave it a 5 star rating. I've always liked Samsung monitors because they seem to be of good quality and don't bust the bank, and the SyncMaster 955DF can be found for around $320.

GeForce3 Preview Nine11 @ 7:38 Comments

Sharky Extreme has a big nasty-assed preview of the GeForce3. The thing is packed with geek-speak and starts reading like a high school biology text after 4 or 5 pages, so here's the Cliff Note version:

The GeForce3 is really fast (duh) and is blessed with features from the Graphics Gods. Vertex Shaders will allow more realistic surface textures. High Resolution Anti-Aliasing will take the jaggy edges out of our games without the performance hit we're used to. All the really big game think the GF3 is "da shit" 'cept for John Carmack who thinks it's pretty nifty but could've been done better. It's the same chip which is in the $399 Xbox, but the GF3 will set you back $600 on the PC (ouch!).

*Note - I just found another preview which is about the same over at Firing Squad.

*Note - Click here if ya wanna see a Gigabyte GeForce3.

Monday, February 26, 2001

Worms World Party Preview Nine11 @ 9:17 Comments

Gamespot has a preview of Take2's Worms World Party. It's much more detailed than Daily Radar's preview I mentioned last week, and it includes a mess 'o screenshots. Other than a few multiplayer options and objective based single player missions/campaign, the game is essentially unchanged. It's probably a good upgrade for those who need the latest version for online play but solo players sould probably pass on WWP.

PocketPC @ 360*480 Nine11 @ 8:53 Comments

CE4You has some pics of a Cassio EG-800 running in 360*480 landscape mode thanks to JimmySoftware. Pretty slick and much better looking than the standard display.

PocketQuake v0.04 Beta Nine11 @ 8:25 Comments

The newest version of PocketQuake sports 320*240 landscape mode, 24% faster frame rates, faster startup, and some cleaner menus. Oddly enough, CE4You has more info on the download than the PocketQuake site, so I linked to CE. Anyway, it's a must have for all you Pocket Fraggin' loonies.

Day Of Defeat Pic Of The Week Nine11 @ 8:05 Comments

The Day of Defeat site has an awesome Pic of the Week showing off a Sherman tank rolling down a country road. I haven't actually got around to playing DOD yet, but screenies like these are grabbing my attention.

Operation Flashpoint Screenshots Nine11 @ 7:51 Comments

There are 13 new screenshots of the online FPS Operation Flashpoint. They show off various battle scenes, some facial close-ups, and a tactical map. While I dig this game, I thought the screenies had an odd mix of high/low poly count (helicopters look very detailed while soldiers are kinda blocky). Weird.

Napster Ends On March 2 Nine11 @ 7:38 Comments

The next legal deadline for Napster to stop it's little music piracy party is on March 2nd. They've been able to dodge the bullet so far, but I'd grab that rare KC & The Sunshine Band MP3 before the deadline... just in case.

Simple Guide to Building a Home LAN Nine11 @ 7:23 Comments

Sharky Extreme smacked up a Simple Guide to Building a Home LAN . Although they call it "simple," it's 5 long pages of geek-speak but hits about every angle involved in home networking. This is one of the most detailed articles I’ve seen and is a must-read for anyone interested in home multiplayer gaming or sharing an internet connection.

Sunday, February 25, 2001

Carmack Talks About GF3 & Doom3 Pics Nine11 @ 10:11 Comments

This isn't really new stuff, but Gamespot has a nice little rundown of John Carmack's comments on the GeForce3 and a mess of screenies of Doom III nabbed from the Mac Expo. It's a good read and looksie if ya haven't been able to crawl out from under that rock. Also, is it just me or does that Doom Marine look constipated?

VIA Chipset Driver Guide Nine11 @ 10:01 Comments

VIA has posted a Chipset Driver Guide for their core-logic chipset driven motherboards. This is a good reference for anyone running a fresh Windows install and needs to update drivers.

Wind Tunnel Plus ATX Case Review Nine11 @ 9:57 Comments

Chick's Hardware has a very detailed review of the Coolerguys Wind Tunnel Plus ATX case. This case is a DIY which requires installation of 2 92mm fans which fit into blowholes over the PCI slots, one 80mm fan at the front of the case, and a slot exhaust fan which fits in an ISA/PCI slot. The case also sports a 300W power supply and three each 5.25" and 3.5" bays. Despite the DIY stuff, the case is only $129 and cooled their test CPU by 11C.

Saturday, February 24, 2001

DOOM III Gloomy, Carmack Talks Back Nine11 @ 10:56 Comments

Slashdot has comments from John Carmack on how dark and washed out DOOM III looked at the Mac expo (seems like he's taking quite a beating over it). To be blunt, the huge video screens they used to show off D3 and the GeForce3 aren't color calibrated (like our computer monitors) and the game will most likely display vibrant shades of gray AND brown.

Mechwarrior 4 Tips Nine11 @ 10:48 Comments

Dropship Command has a Tactical Guide to Multiplayer MechWarrior 4: Vengeance (what a mouthfull, Mrs. Lewinsky?). It's a damn good read for anyone still playing this game. I may just install it again...

DS9: Dominion Wars Site Updates Nine11 @ 10:04 Comments

The DS9: Dominion Wars site has been updated with new captain and ship profiles . There is also a nifty Ship Scale which shows how different ships size up in battle.

RIAA Goes After "Open Napster" Servers Nine11 @ 9:56 Comments

MSNBC is reporting RIAA has issued "60 legal notices to the Internet-service companies that provide Web connections for “Open Napster” servers." It looks like there are still a butt-load of Napster servers out there which can be navigated with freeware programs like Napigator, and RIAA wants to shud down their royalty-free music party for good.

DSL Self-Install Headaches Nine11 @ 9:44 Comments

PC World had a nightmare with DIY DSL. Here's the Cliff Note Version: they got the hardware but the DSL line wouldn't work due to a Pac Bell "router problem", Earthlink didn't enter the subscriber into their system correctly, they got a 28K connection, and they have to turn their modem off when not in use to avoid DSL signal loss. One more reason cable rules!

Motherboard Shootout: Soyo VS Asus Nine11 @ 9:31 Comments

HardOCP has a comparison of the Soyo K7VTA Pro and the Asus A7V133 Athlon motherboards. Both have strange little BIOS quirks and/or DIP switches. While they're both pretty speedy and will get the job done, I'd have to suggest sticking with an Abit board for their excellent Soft Menu BIOS and "snuggle-fresh" user friendliness.

Nvidia's GeForce3 Site Nine11 @ 9:15 Comments

Nvidia has slapped up a web site for the GeForce3 which details Vertex Shaders (allows characters detailed movement and facial emotion) and Pixel Shaders (high-impact organic surfaces). Yea, sounds like geek-speak till ya look at the DOOM3 video Cage mentioned yesterday. This stuff sounds really cool but probably won’t be implemented in any games for another 6 to 12 months (where the hell is hardware T/L?). Also, Steve Jobs (of Apple) thinks the GF3 will be released for the Mac before the PC... I think not because that doesn't make very good business sense for Nvidia (there's about 10 PC gamers to every Mac gamer).

On a side note, it’s rumored the GF3 is the same video card processor which is in the Xbox. Since the Xbox’s release will trail the PC’s GF3 by a good 6 months or more, that means the Xbox will be released with outdated graphics hardware (graphics tech doubles about every 6 months) and is just another reason why consoles won’t replace PCs.

Operation Flashpoint Preview Nine11 @ 8:50 Comments

XLGaming has a preview of Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis. They took a walkthrough of an assault mission and have 10 new screenies. They do a good job of explaining how the game is played and how involved the tactical element of the game is fleshed out. While the screenies are nice, the game isn’t gonna win any graphics awards (it just looks fun!). Also, check the "Classified" movie over at the OP site which I mentioned the other day.

News Monkey Is Back! Nine11 @ 8:31 Comments

I’m back after a 2 day hiatus. My work/home schedule was a little on the busy side, and it figures there’d be some killer news on my days off… always seems to work out that way. I got a chance to check out the DOOM3/GeForce3 stuff from the Mac expo. Damn fine lookin’ game and hardware! Hopefully, I can catch up on things around here and find some more goodies.

I also picked up Virtual Pool 3 and should have some impressions of this game up within the next day or two.

Friday, February 23, 2001

Motor City Online Preview Cage @ 8:13 Comments

Firing Squad has a quickie look at the upcoming Motor City Online. Here's a taste to get you going:
"There are 12 online neighborhoods you can "visit" in Motor City Online - players congregate in these neighborhoods, where they can interact with other drivers. You challenge other players in races, wagering online money, car parts, or even entire cars that you might own. The money and parts you win in races you use to mod your vehicle, or buy a whole new one." - Firing Squad.
If the net code is good, and the servers are robust it should be worth picking up.

Icewind Dale Expansion Shipping Cage @ 8:07 Comments

Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter has started shipping to stores nationwide. I never picked up the original game, but the expansion pack looks quite tasty. I'll check around today and see if I can pick it up, and post up some impressions.

Empire Earth Cage @ 7:54 Comments

OGR also has a preview up of Stainless Steel Studios' Empire Earth. This is the next cash cow done by the lead designer on the original Age of Empires, Rich Goodman. Here's some snippage:
"The game offers twelve historical epochs (or "ages," if you prefer) to choose from—the Prehistoric, Stone, Copper, Bronze, Dark, Middle, Renaissance, Imperial, Industrial, Atomic, Information, and Nano ages. If you're not sure that you want Civilization scope in a real-time strategy game, don't worry—you can pick and choose which epochs you play in and tailor your game to cover as much (or as little) of history as you care to see." - OGR.
The eye candy is sweet, and the gameplay looks interesting. The game is scheduled to ship sometime this summer. Visit the official Sierra site for more info.

Age of Sail 2 Cage @ 7:45 Comments

OGR News has a review up of Age of Sail 2. That were not too impressed with it, knocking it for among other things sloppy programming. Here's a taste from the review:
"Instability is the most serious out-of-the-box issue. Occasionally, the game refuses to load a single battle or a campaign scenario. Drops to the desktop accompanied by the grim words "Abnormal Program Termination" are so depressingly common that the game should be subtitled "Runtime Error!" A full Windows reboot is often required to properly restart the game. Even worse, these crashes can corrupt save data and end your campaign endeavors even quicker than a fleet of British 74s." - OGR News.

John Carmack on GeForce 3 Cage @ 7:39 Comments

John Carmack has updated his .plan file with his take on the GeForce 3 and other tidbits. Here's some snippage courtesy of Stomped:
"I just got back from Tokyo, where I demonstrated our new engine running under MacOS-X with a GeForce 3 card. We had quite a bit of discussion about whether we should be showing anything at all, considering how far away we are from having a title on the shelves, so we probably aren't going to be showing it anywhere else for quite a while.

We do run a bit better on a high end wintel system, but the Apple performance is still quite good, especially considering the short amount of time that the drivers had before the event.

It is still our intention to have a simultaneous release of the next product on Windows, MacOS-X, and Linux.

Here is a dump on the GeForce 3 that I have been seriously working with for a few weeks now:

The short answer is that the GeForce 3 is fantastic. I haven't had such an impression of raising the performance bar since the Voodoo 2 came out, and there are a ton of new features for programmers to play with."
The the entire .plan can be found at Stomped.

Quake 3 and GeForce 3 Spankage Cage @ 7:33 Comments

We missed it, but yesterday a movie was released from from MacWorld 2001 in Tokyo of the GeForce 3 in action on a Mac. It also features a look at ID's highly anticipated Doom 3 project running on a GeForce 3.

You can find the files at File Planet.

Un-Caged Cage @ 7:28 Comments

Since "George Harrison" called in today, I'll try to smack up some gaming news and get folks up to date on what's going on. Work has been busy, but I get a few days off starting now. Weekend time! As Nine11 mentioned this week we have been hard at work on a new gaming site. A rash of sites (that's the technical term) have fallen on hard times, and many of those left have been anxiously trying to figure out how to stay in business. We think there is plenty of room for a quality gaming and hardware site that tells it like it is, and isn't in bed with their advertisers. Our overhead will be low, and we have some quality writers who will be coming on board with the launch of the new site. I'll smack up some more details later next week.

On to the news!

Wednesday, February 21, 2001

Half-Life: Day Of Defeat Nine11 @ 12:34 Comments

Daily Radar has a rundown of the Half-Life mod Day of Defeat . The mod takes place in Europe during WWII and sports several character classes (infantry, sniper, ect.), some swank lookin' levels, and a stamina meter to give the game a little realism (can't hop and run forever). Player's score is tallyed from both kills and deaths each of which adds or subtracts a point. HL's multiplayer game never really turned me on, but some of the new mods (like this one) are starting to peak my interest.

NBA Live! 2001 Demo Impressions Nine11 @ 8:52 Comments

I took the EA Sports NBA Live! 2001 demo (demo linked from FilePlanet) out for a spin. Like all the other EA Sports games, the graphics, sound, and gameplay are dialed. The demo is stipped down and only allows exhibition games between the Lakers and Pacers, and one-on-one games between Kevin Garnett and Michael Jordan.

The graphics cover a wide range of settings. My test system is a P3-800 with 128MB SDRAM and a GeForece2. I set the resolution to 1024*768 32-bit color. The game looked damn fine and I didn't notice any texture tears, clipping, or dropped frames.

NBA2K1 is best played from the "wire" view. I'm mostly an NHL player and prefer the joystick, but this game plays much better with a gamepad (I used a Sidewinder). I fumbled with the gamepad's controlls a little but was able to pass, steal, shoot, and pull off a few jump-shots pretty easily.

Control options allow about as many devices as you have hooked to your system. All are active at the same time, so setting up a multiplayer game is very easy (just move each controller to a team/position), and I had 4 controllers/players available (joystick, gamepad, and a split keyboad).

During the exhibition game, the sound was really good with hip-hop playing in the background. The court sounds are realistic and the announcers chat appropriately. Unfortunately, the one-on-one game is nearly silent with only occasional background noises. There was a boom-box sitting on a bench and I was itchin' to turn it on.

The only other annoyance is the camera option. Other EA Sports titles (NHL in particular) will show the perspective of the camera as you change it in the options while NBA2K has you pick one and return to the game to see if you like it. It's not really a big deal, but it would've been so easy to stick in there.

Overall, NBA Live! 2001 seems like a really good 'n fast paced game. I didn't notice any hiccups, and the only annoyances I had were probably personal ones (yea, I'm a weirdo). The single player game is fun, but it'll really shine with 2 or more players on the same system.

Diablo II Music Video - Dragula Nine11 @ 7:40 Comments

I found this cool Diablo II music video over at FilePlanet. It's some of the D2 cutscenes editted to the music of Rob Zomie's Dragula. Very cool, but the video plays inside a Blink player and is kinda small.

Operation Flashpoint Flicks Nine11 @ 7:03 Comments

The Operation Flashpoint site has been updated with a new M60 machine gunner movie. There are also some other movies which show off this cool lookin' game. I really dug the "classified" video which is viewed from a down-n-dirty infantryman's perspective. The flick shows off some terrain which rolls with hills and trees that fall when hit anything big. Other units include some really detailed tanks and helecopters.

Cellular Phone Gaming Nine11 @ 6:28 Comments

FGN is reporting Nokia and Eidos have inked a deal to bring games to cellphones. Gangsters will be the first cellular game and is expected within the first half of this year. It's a cool idea but those screens on Nokia phones are just too damn small, and my parents thought playing an Atari 2600 on a 13" TV ruined my eyes...

DS9: Dominion Wars Update Nine11 @ 6:18 Comments

Mike Wallis, DS9: Dominion War's producer, updated his plan file . Basically, the game is still in Alpha stages but is shaping up nicely. They have 20 missions working (10 each for the Federation and the Dominion). They're also focusing on multiplayer gameplay and getting it to work with GameSpy Arcade (damnit, be a real man and implement your own game browser!). The most significant tidbit was the game seemps pretty speedy and allows some headroom for improvements. Here's a cut 'n paste:

"Since the game was by no means slow to begin with, this only means we'll be able to do more. Lots more: the art team will be able to put in additional special effects, multiplayer will be able to handle larger fleets, and the "brains" of the game (ship captains and pathfinding) will be improved."

Undying Review Nine11 @ 5:53 Comments

Daily Radar reviewed Clive Barker's Undying and declaired it a Hit. They dug the story, graphics, and gun/magic combat system. The game does have some rough spots (triggering cut scenes during battle is the worst), but it looks like a nice change from the Space Marine scene.

Max Payne Flick Nine11 @ 5:39 Comments

Gamespot has a new Max Payne movie , but it looks more like a few new bits spliced together with a lot of old ones. Still, it's good if ya haven't seen anything on Max Payne yet.

Napster Offers $1B To Drop Lawsuit Nine11 @ 5:30 Comments

Looks like Napster is offering $1 billion to make the lawsuit filed by RIAA go away. Napster would charge up to $20/mo as a subscription based service and pay $150 million each year to RIAA. I don't think RIAA will bite because they'll lose the copyright control they're used to.

Tuesday, February 20, 2001

GeForce2 MX Roundup Nine11 @ 14:37 Comments

Review Zone hammered out a 20 page GeForce2 MX roundup which compares the performance of various GF2MX cards against other "budget gaming" cards such as the ATI Radeon and Matrox G450. It's hard to go wrong with any GF2MX, but they gave a nod (for gamers) to the MS-StarForce 818 (MS-8818) for it's image clarity, TV out, and OC to 200MHz. GF2MX cards are going for about $100 USD.

CYPAQ Wireless iPaq Modem Review Nine11 @ 8:10 Comments

PocketPC Magazine has a review of the CYPAQ Wireless iPaq Modem. This spiffy little device will recieve data at 21kbps when operating wireless and 33.6kbps if connected to a land line. The complete package (Type III expansion & modem) is pretty slick but expensive at $749 plus ISP charges.

MS/Sendo Z100 Color Smartphone Nine11 @ 7:56 Comments

CE4You has the skinny on the MS powered Sendo Z100 color smartphone. This little gadget has a 65,000-color TFT display and personal information management (PIM) functions. For some strange reason, it'll even play MP3 and WMA files.

Black & White Goodies Nine11 @ 7:44 Comments

FGN has some Black & White tidbits from the UK eddition of PC Gamer. While they didn't really blow me away, there is a more impressive B&W movie (game trailer) over at the UK PCG site.

DSL Price Hikes Nine11 @ 7:26 Comments

ZDNet is reporting DSL service providers are being sqeezed by the Baby Bells and diminishing returns. As a result, they are silently raising the common $40/mo charge to $50/mo. Additionally, many DSL providers are dropping like flies which serves to justify the price hikes (suppy and demand in action). Here's a nice little cut 'n pastie which summs up the whole situation:

"Probe's Tumolillo said the Bells saw DSL as a way to get bandwidth hogs who wanted to download fat images and files off of the telephone network. But they didn't anticipate the demand. Hiking prices may be a way to get the $40 monkeys off their backs. "For most carriers, each DSL subscriber that comes on is cash-flow negative for three years."

One more reason to get cable!

Nvidia Driver Benchmarks Nine11 @ 7:12 Comments

3DRage has slapped up a Q3A benchmark comparison of the latest Nvidia drivers: 10.52 (unofficial), 7.52 (beta), and 6.50 & 6.31 (both official). With the detail settings at "Fastest", the 10.52 drivers gain 5 fps at 1024*768. All the drivers are even-Steven with Q3A set at the "Normal" and "High" detail settings.

Logitech SoundMan Xtrusio DSR-100 Review Nine11 @ 6:53 Comments

FiringSquad has slapped up a review of the Logitech SoundMan Xtrusio DSR-100 4.1 speaker system. It's very detailed with plenty of purty pictures, and they look like the best thing going for $179 (still gotta get out and litsten to 'em myself). They gave the DSR-100 an 88%

Monday, February 19, 2001

Venom Demo Impressions Nine11 @ 21:09 Comments

I took Venom out for a spin and have mixed feelings about this game. The outdoor environments and level design are very complex, detailed, and fun to run around in. A bit of lighting and smoke effects are there as well, and they add some atmosphere to the game.

Unfortunately, the game installed GameSpy Arcade and I couldn't get it to run without it. I played both CTF and COOP games with 2 to 4 players each. I had to tweak the controls from inside the game since, as I mentioned, it would only run under GameSpy. Control config was a pretty standard affair but there wasn't any in-game resolution/color options.

It played like any other FPS and sports both indoor and outdoor enviromnents. Outside, there are towers to climp and snipe from. The zoom feature is very nice and works with any weapon. The weapon effects were good but could feel a little stronger. Also, I only seemed to have one generic weapon which would morph into whatever type of ordinance I wanted to use (grenade, rocket, laser, shotgun, ect.) which didn't strike be good or bad.

On the COOP level, we started out in some sewers and advanced into some tunnels. We were stopped by some auto-cannons and guards. I don't know if this is a *feature* of the game, but I couldn't move while getting hit by the auto-cannons. So, like a dummy, I kept running back to the tunnels, getting shot, stuck, and dead. The auto-cannon weapon fire sound got stuck each time and wouldn't go away till I advanced to about the same spot where I had previously died. Very annoying!

I dug around on the Start Menu and found the Venom folder with it's Game Setup file. I got in there and tried changing things without any luck. The Setup wouldn't recognize my GeForce2 video card, and all the test patters it ran looked like crap... really slow crap at 1-6 fps.

Overall, Venom looks like it could be a good game but is rough around the edges in it's present form. It's still in development, so maybe the sound and graphics glitches will get ironed out. I really hope so because the levels, graphics, and environments are pretty nifty.

Venom Goodies Nine11 @ 16:01 Comments

Venom is a pretty ambitious 1st person shooter I came across. In the year 2034, the Earth escapes collision with a comet but is infested with an alien lifeform in it's wake. Battle ensues. Not real original but the game environments are pretty darn realistic and sport trees, undergrowth, rivers, and the like. Combat is team based with up to 12 in a squad. The player is paired up with a teammate, and this duo is necessary to complete some objectives like sniping a pair of aliens at the same time (Shoot on three. One... two...). Enemy AI has a range of hearing and line of sight. There's a movie which mostly shows off the levels but very little shooting, and there's a fat-pipe friendly 86MB demo which I can't seem to grab right now...

Future (Imagine Media) Cuts 350 Jobs Nine11 @ 9:03 Comments

FGN is reporting Future (known as Imagine Media in the US) has cut 350 jobs due to a slump in magazine sales and advertising revenue. This makes me wonder what will happen to PC Gamer and, to a lesser extent, MaximumPC because PC Accelerator (best damn game rag, ever!) was cut from Imagine's magazine lineup last year.

Napster II Nine11 @ 8:54 Comments

INSIDE has the skinny on Napster II. There's a lot of geek-speak so here's the Cliff Note version:

Napster II will be subscription based and will still share files (primarily music files) among users. Depending on the type of subscription each user posesses, they can download encripted music files which are registered to their computer. The encripted music won't play on another computer, so the rampant ripping and sharing of MP3 files should end.

It's a little foggy how the business model will operate and how RIAA will get their *cough* fair share, but it looks like Napster is aiming at becomming a net based distribution center for music. Honestly, it's not a bad idea and may work if they can keep the cost down on the user's end, sport an idiot-proof interface, and keep RIAA happy all at the same time.

ATI RadeonVE Review Nine11 @ 8:36 Comments

Anandtech has a review of the ATI RadeonVE video card. There's a suite of benchmarks for a full-scale smackdown between it and the GeforceMX, Radeon SDR, Voodoo 4500, and the Matrox G450. The poor little VE got beat like a red-headed stepchild by all of 'em except the G450. The VE retails for $99, but you'd be much better off grabbing a GF2MX for the same price.

Art of Magic Interview Nine11 @ 8:24 Comments

VE (I keep typing VD for some reason) had a chat with Andy Smith, Producer of the action/RPG Magic and Mayhem: Art of Magic. The game looks kinda like a Diablo/Warcraft stepchild with swank 3D graphics.

Windows XP Nine11 @ 8:16 Comments

The next version of the Microsoft OS is called Windows XP (formerly Whistler). The Windows XP site is up and has some views of the desktop which is quite a bit different from the old Win9x. There's also a signup for an Email newsletter and preview of XP.

Saturday, February 17, 2001

Gateway Country Comes To B-Town Nine11 @ 15:49 Comments

Here's a local interest ditty from Cage. He noticed an article in the Bakersfield Californian about a Gateway Country computer store being built where the Burger King used to be on California Ave. Here's a cut 'n paste.

"Gateway Country will open on California Avenue in a building once occupied by Burger King. Demolition on the 5,300-square-foot building started in January. This week, crews were laying foundation for dry wall and building walls. The store is part of Gateway Inc., which makes and sales computers and related products, and is expected to open late March. The San Diego-based company has 48 stores in California.

So You Wanna Be A Game Designer? Pt. 2 Nine11 @ 8:59 Comments

Daily Radar posted the second installment of So You Wanna Be A Game Designer? This one actually has some meat on it's bones and includes a nice little introduction to the WorldCraft level design utility.

Emperor Battle For Dune Goodies Nine11 @ 8:50 Comments

The Emperor Battle For Dune site has a couple of new pics which were featured in the March issue of CGW and the skinny on the new Harkonnen engineer unit.

Nvidia 7.XX Beta Drivers Nine11 @ 8:43 Comments

VC Drivers got their mitts on a beta build of the Nvidia 7.XX drivers . I can't say how reliable they are so use at your own risk.

Aware Magazine PC Case Mod Nine11 @ 8:39 Comments

Q: What do you get if you cross an Antec case, 120mm fans, metallic blue paint, and some graphic displays? A: A damn spiffy rig to brag about! Aware Magazine did all this and a few other things to their Antec KS 282 case mod . This is one of the trickest cases I've seen.

More NV20 Rumors Nine11 @ 8:21 Comments

Cage had some NV20 stuff whispered in his ear... well... ripped from The Guru 3D . Here's some possible NV20 (GeForce3) specs:

-Core Clock: 200 MHz
-Memory Clock: 460 MHz DDR
-Memory Bandwidth: 7.4 GB/Sek.
-Memory: 64 MB
-Output: VGA, DVI-I, TV-Out
-3.2 Million Sample per second FSAA Fillrate
-76 GigaFLOPS
-800 Million operations per second

Additionally, Tim (da weenie) Sweeney told VE "The NV20. It's going to change everything. No more fixed-function pipeline...developers now have control over every pixel and every vertex."

Steel Soldiers Goodies Nine11 @ 8:15 Comments

Gamespot has some new screenies and a movie of The Bitmap Brothers' RTS Steel Soldiers. The game sports a Myth cam (pan, rotate, zoom in/out), spiffy 3D graphics, and land, air, and sea units. Resource collection is scaled down to conquering/holding territory, and gameplay looks pretty intense. Worth a looksie. Thanks to Cage for the heads-up.

Friday, February 16, 2001

Cage's World Makeover Nine11 @ 9:56 Comments

We're gonna be moving Cage's World to a new domain (hopefully) within the next few weeks. We already have the new doman registered and are fleshing out the layout/graphics. We expect to bring aboard some new meat to help out with the chores, and we'll be doing some articles such as a MP3 Guide, a DIY PC system build, and some product reviews. I'll keep ya posted.

Pocket PC StarterPak for Dummies - Free! Nine11 @ 9:25 Comments

MS is giving away the Pocket PC StarterPak for Dummies . This is a freebie for owners of any PocketPC and includes a 96 page manuscript (I'd imagine it's bits 'n pieces of some chapters). The S/N of your particular PocketPC is required.

New Pocket Quake w/ TCP/IP & Sound Nine11 @ 9:18 Comments

The newest version of Pocket Quake has been pimped out with TCP/IP networking and sound. You'll also need MS GAPI 1.2 to get it up and runnin'.

WWII Online Site Updated Nine11 @ 9:14 Comments

There is a new spit shined WWII Online site . They gave it an extensive overhaul and it's much easier to read and navagate. The site is still experiencing some growing pains and sometimes loads like a slug.

WinGate 4.1.1Review Nine11 @ 8:43 Comments

SpeedGuide.net has a review of WinGate 4.1.1, the Internet sharing utility. The article is pretty tech-savvy and they took the 1-server/2-clients setup including a router. I took a breif look at the Wingate site and figured a simple 2 puter setup can be done with 2 NIC cards and some cable (sans router). Wingate also acts as a firewall and sells for $29 for 3 PCs and $49 for 6 PCs.

Police Bust Belgian Napster Users Nine11 @ 8:23 Comments

MSNBC is reporting Belgian Police, who are investigating mp3blast.com for copyright infringement, have "added four cases against Napster users were currently under review." Damn scary. Time to hit Add/Remove Programs...

Kenwood 72X CD-ROM Review Nine11 @ 8:09 Comments

Tweak Town has a review of the Kenwood 72X CD-ROM drive. It's the fastest CD drive on the planet but is still plagued with CD-R/CD-RW read problems. We've experienced these same problems since the 52X drive hit the scene. I'd also like to know if it'll shake like the 52X drives over time (you could feel it through the floor, damn scary!).

Clive Barker's Undying Quickie Nine11 @ 8:01 Comments

Firing Squad has a first impressions of Clive Barker's Undying. "Best selling authors" don't always make the best games (think F13, Timeline, Rainbow 6 which isn't an action game no matter what anyone says cuz ya spend way too much time in mission setup), but FS seemed pretty pleased with the 1st person shooter. The writeup is one page with an image gallery. *Note - is it just me or do all the screenies look like they were taken from inside a fishbowl?

Wizardry 8 Preview Nine11 @ 7:34 Comments

Daily Radar has a preview of Sir-Tech's RPG Wizardry 8. The game plays from the 1st person and has a mild mix of D&D and sci-fi (old-school setting with a few new-school weapons). Character setup is pretty traditional with classes defined by their abilities, but a Personality System follows your actions and continues to tweak your attributes during gameplay. DR seemed pretty impressed with the graphics (called it an updated Evercrack), but I wonder when someone will get these RPG games to look on-par with UT?

Echelon Screenies Cage @ 4:59 Comments

Echelon is a new sci fi combat sim from Bethesda. The screenshots look promising enough that I want to make sure to give it a whirl at this year's E3 show. Here's some samples:


and my personal favorite below:

Thursday, February 15, 2001

Minstrel 540 Wireless Modem Review Nine11 @ 14:29 Comments

PocketPC Magazine has a review of the Minstrel 540 Wireless Modem. While I feel this tech isn't ready for prime time, the Minstrel is still the slickest wireless solution I've seen for a handheld (Jordana).

Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter Complete Nine11 @ 14:18 Comments

Gamespot has the skinny on the Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter expansion pack which is due on 2/20/01 and includes new monsters, spells, and maps. They also have some screenies, movies, and previews. Thanks to Cage for puttin' my ass in-the-know.

NV20 Rumors Nine11 @ 14:12 Comments

There's a good chance we'll be seeing some Nvidia NV20 suff around the 27th of this month, so ya may wanna hold off on a new video card purchase if ya got "upgrade fever." Many thanks to Cage for the heads-up.

Domain Name Scam Nine11 @ 13:47 Comments

Looks like 27,000 people got scammed into paying $70/ea to register domain names. The fraud occurred when webmasters were faxed and alerted another domain way too similar to theirs was being registered. They were duped into paying a fee to stop the new domain registration. The FTC stepped in and arrested Darren J. Morgenstern who is named as a defendant in the suit.

Worms World Party Preview Nine11 @ 13:34 Comments

Daily Radar has a preview of Take2's Worms World Party. The Worms series is a cartoonish, 2D, side-scrolling, turn-based, worm combat game which I've been hooked on for years. The games are damn funny but seem to appeal to a very narrow and/or European audience. Guess I got my fill of Monty Python at an early age...

Gigabyte GA-7DX DDR Mobo Review Nine11 @ 13:23 Comments

Sharky Extreme has an in-house review of the Gigabyte GA-7DX AMD 761 DDR Mainboard. It supports DDR Ram (of course), on-board 4-channel audio, and overclocks via the Windows based Easy Tune III utility. ET3 will even automatically OC in small increments till the system becomes unstable and default to the last stable settings. It has some driver issues with Windows 2000 but is otherwise a very nice mobo for $170.

Fate Of The Dragon Impressions Nine11 @ 13:04 Comments

Fate of the Dragon is Eidos' new RTS game with an ancient Chinese warlord premise. Much like AOK, townships must be built and managed, support structures provide various resources, and (of course) armies must be built for ample butt-stopmin' fun. I had a chance to take the 56MB demo for a spin which includes a tutorial and campaingns.

THE GOOD:
Graphically, the game is 2D and very detailed. Textures are very impressive and the gaming environment feels very robust. Structures are built from the ground up and are displayed graphically by various stages of construction. Each object in the game (buildings, characters, trees, birds, ect.) has a shadow, and there are even some limitted lighting effects when mining (the mine lights up) and attacking structures (fire).

THE BAD:
The AI is supposed to take initiative when units are idle. While I did notice my workers gettin' busy, I still found a stray here or there with a big question mark above his head. Also, assigning a worker to a specific area (farm, workshop, ect.) won't make him perform any specific task when he gets there. I found 4 guys kicking back in the barn and had to tell them to get off their asses and work (plant/harvest corn, feed/slaughter pigs).

There is also a serious graphical glitch. The frame rates seem to take a big plunge after any type of on-screen instructions/dialogue and after objecive/status icons roll across the screen. It usually lasts about 5-10 seconds but is unacceptable.

Other annoyances could probably be solved with a good manual. The game interface isn't too busy but is still confusing. There are two game maps (local and world) and it's difficult to navagate between them. A type of "gate" must be used to travel between provinces which the tutorial doesn't mention. "Lack of Resources" keeps popping up when supplies get low but ya gotta figure out which resource to replenish (iron, wood, meat, corn, ect.).

CONCLUSION:
Fate of the Dragon is a good game, and a patch and manual will probably do wonders for it. The AI isn't all it's claimed to be but needs a little less hand-holding than most other RTS games. Other than the frame rate problem, it's pretty easy on the peepers. Overall, it's fun and acceptable in it's present form.

Ducati Racing Demo Impressions Nine11 @ 12:27 Comments

As we all know, Acclaim is one of the biggest developers for console games. Ducati World Racing Challenge is a spiffy lookin' street bike racing sim with a slim little 11MB demo, but I was worried DWRC would suffer the dreaded "port sybdrome" and be riddled with bugs.

THE GOOD:
Graphically, the game is pretty damn fine and I'd put it on par with Need For Speed 3. Textures are detailed and I didn't notice any tearing or clipping. The riders and bikes also look and act appropriately on screen.

THE BAD:
DWRC has some serious control issues, and that's where "port syndrome" rears it's ugly head. Consoles have a pretty narrow array of controls (basically, just gamepads), so not much effort has to go into control configurations. Unfortunately, Acclaim didn't put much thought into the PC controller issue and the game defaults to the keyboard (our default input device) which is way too twitchy for any racing sim. Trying to change any of the control options kicked be out to my Windows desktop.

Turns are very heavy-handed and must be made by tapping the arrow keys. Each tap leans the bike/rider into the turn after which it will "right" itself to the midline. As you can imagine, the control isn't very precise and the bike/rider bobs and weaves all over the place.

THE UGLY:
This game looks nice but is unplayable (in it's present form) on the PC. It appears to be an "official" demo and, unless the full version is more robust with options that work, I'd suspect it will be just as buggy from here on out. Most likely, it'll play just fine on your favorite console, but PC gamers should probably stay away from this one.

Q3 Team Arena Map Pack Nine11 @ 11:55 Comments

There's a map pack for Q3: Team Arena floating around which includes maps from the Q3 map/mod community and polish from id Sofware.

Wednesday, February 14, 2001

MS Outlook Mobile Manager Beta Nine11 @ 16:01 Comments

Microsoft has a beta available of their Outlook Mobile Manager software which serves as a kind of electronic message service. The program resides at your home base PC and will send Email "notifications on your cellular phone, pager, handheld PC, or other text-enabled mobile device whenever your desktop PC is running." The program is smart enough to nab names, addresses, and phone numbers from the Outlook contact list and send them along as well. The beta weighs in at 6.5MB.

ZIOGolf2 Released Nine11 @ 15:50 Comments

ZIOSoft has released the newest version of their golf game and is letting the first 500 gamers, who had bought the first game, get ZIOGolf2 for $10.

New iPaq Rumors Nine11 @ 15:44 Comments

More info on the new iPaq is bouncing around European hardware sites. Sometime this month, Compaq is supposed to release the 64MB version, and an iPaq sporting a GSM Phone should appear on March 22. September will bring the 412MHz iPaq w/o GSM. I'm still treating this stuff like rumors till we get some good 'ol fashioned ENGLISH info on our side of the pond.

Freedom Force Preview Nine11 @ 9:15 Comments

Gamespot has a hands-on preview of the 1960's comic book inspired RPG Freedom Force. They explore this "less traveled" theme for PC gaming (consoles don't seem scared of comics), game characters and the histories which surround them, and FF's turn based style of combat. The preview is also sprinkled with some swank screenshots.

DS9: Dominion Wars Site Update Nine11 @ 9:01 Comments

The DS9: Dominion Wars web site has been updated with an intro screen, info on two new ships, and 10 new 'n tasty screenies.

Ducati World Race Challenge Nine11 @ 8:57 Comments

Acclaim has a new motorcycle racing sim called Ducati World Race Challenge . The graphics are pretty slick and I plan to give it a spin with my dusty 'ol MS Freestyle Pro (with the tilt-steering mechanism), but I have a few reservations because the game is being ported out to everybody (typical Acclaim style) and may not be PC-friendly. The downloadable demo is weighs in at 11MB.

The Cable Guy Nine11 @ 8:43 Comments

Had a cable modem installed lately? Man, some of those guys who show up to crack open yer $3K game rig are scary! I wouldn't let the RR guy touch my puter, and he was totally amazed I could do it without his professional training... he actually asked how I knew the NIC card would fit into the "small" (PCI) slot instead of the "big" (ISA) one. Anyway, NetWorkFusion has a nice little read about similar problems and horror stories.

Cops Nab Kournikova Virus Suspect Nine11 @ 8:35 Comments