How BioWare was born: The Ray Muzyka story ( Company news )
posted by DarkUnderlord on Sun 11 May 2008, 07:08:57
More info on BioWare

The Guardian have an interview with BioWare founder Ray Muzyka. Here's the intro:

It is not what you'd call an obvious career progression. In 1992, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk were practising medicine in Edmonton, Canada. Greg was a GP and Ray was an emergency room physician – and they were both keen gamers.

Three years later, they decided to set up their own development studio. "One day we were having lunch and I just said, 'hey wouldn't it be fun to make a game?' and Greg says, 'yeah, I know some guys who are good programmers, let's hire them'.

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MOAR Gothic 4 screenies ( Game news )
posted by DarkUnderlord on Sun 11 May 2008, 06:54:42
More info on Gothic 4: Arcania

Some website I can't read appears to have more screenshots for Gothic 4¹. Unlike the earlier batch, they don't appear to be magazine scans either.

A cookie to anyone who can translate the site.

¹Outside chance they may be nothing new.

Spotted @ Blues News

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EU Cantina interviews MCA ( Interview )
posted by Calis on Sat 10 May 2008, 09:56:32
More info on Obsidian Entertainment - More info on Chris Avellone

EU Cantina got a hold of Chris Avellone. A large chunk of the interview deals with KOTOR 2, which the interviewer really liked (and it shows in the way he phrases his questions). Here's the obligatory "wut u change" question:

EUC: If you could go back and change one thing about Kotor II, what would that be?

CA: Drop a planet, chop 1 or 2 levels off of Peragus, drop the Disciple and Hanharr, and then use that energy to focus more on Malachor V. I would also remove all party-splitting mechanics (which while true to the franchise, didn’t go over well with players), and de-emphasize all cut-scenes (which the engine couldn’t really do well in the time provided with the programming and scripting support we had available).

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Gothic 4 screens spotted ( Game news )
posted by Fez on Sat 10 May 2008, 06:07:49
More info on Gothic 4: Arcania - More info on JoWood Productions

The first batch of screen shots for Gothic 4: Arcania are available on CRPG.ru. They aren't the best looking scans but they do give an idea of where the art direction is headed and the kind of locations that will appear in this sequel being developed by Spellbound, the team chosen by JoWood to step into Piranha Bytes' shoes.

Spotted at: RPGDot

Update: Pericle has kindly visited the forums and given us some more (and better-looking) screens and artworks here and here.

Thanks!

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S.C.O.U.R.G.E. V0.2 rolls out ( Development info )
posted by Fez on Sat 10 May 2008, 05:35:05
More info on S.C.O.U.R.G.E.: Heroes of Lesser Renown

This one hasn't had a mention here for a while. The latest version of the free and open source 3D roguelike S.C.O.U.R.G.E.: Heroes of Lesser Renown has been unleashed. These are some of the changes mentioned for version 0.2:

Translations to languages other than English (German and Italian)

Outdoor Levels with villages and real terrain

Each level now starts in a village with its own set of npcs

User Interface has a new default color scheme and is now themable

New Models and Icons

Weather and ambient sound has been added for more engaging fantasy

New Monsters, Levels, Traps, Secrets and Story Additions

High Scores may be uploaded to SCOURGEweb

Walls in dungeons areas now become transparent in front of the camera

Many small features and bugfixes

S.C.O.U.R.G.E. is a cross platform, open source rogue-like game in the fine tradition of NetHack and Moria It sports a graphical front-end, similar to glHack or the Falcon's eye. The design of the 3D UI is an attempt at the best of both worlds from old to new: It lets you rotate the view, zoom in/out, view special effects, etc with the feeling of the old-school isometric games like Exult or Woodward.

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BioWare caves to pressure over Mass Effect copy-protection ( Game news )
posted by DarkUnderlord on Sat 10 May 2008, 03:20:00
More info on Mass Effect - More info on BioWare

How many people can I piss off by making a third thread about this? Hopefully a lot. BioWare have seen the light and caved in to peer-pressure over their proposed copy-protection shenanigans:

There has been a lot of discussion in the past few days on how the security requirements for Mass Effect for PC will work. BioWare, a division of EA, wants to let fans know that Mass Effect will not require 10- day periodic re-authentication.

The solution being implemented for Mass Effect for the PC changes copy protection from being key disc based, which requires authentication every time you play the game by requiring a disc in the drive, to a one time online authentication.

BioWare has always listened very closely to its fans and we made this decision to ensure we are delivering the best possible experience to them. To all the fans including our many friends in the armed services and internationally who expressed concerns that they would not be able re-authenticate as often as required, EA and BioWare want you to know that your feedback is important to us.

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Dark Disciples II tweaked to 1.6 ( Development info )
posted by Fez on Fri 09 May 2008, 20:54:36
More info on Dark Disciples II

Version 1.6 of Dodgysoft's freeware fantasy RPG Dark Disciples II has been released. This update promises to have squashed a bunch of bugs that have crept in during the continued development and content additions. A new module containing four levels is also due in a week or so. The download for the game available on the website includes the editor used to create the default game. It may be worth trying if you are interested in creating your own CRPG adventures.

MrDisciple (the developer) states he is interested in any feedback on what you particularly enjoyed or disliked, bug reports or general suggestions to improve things for future versions.

Having played through the original Dark Disciples I'm looking forward to trying this one out too.

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New major version release for UnReal World ( Development info )
posted by Fez on Fri 09 May 2008, 17:16:25
More info on UnReal World

The Finnish graphical roguelike UnReal World has recently had an update, bringing it up to version 3.10-1. Here are a few items that appear on the latest list of changes:

fixed: dead shopkeepers still trying to trade. Very persistent businessmen!

fixed: stacks of traps in inventory reducing down to a quantity of one if a trap was set (applied) from the stack

fixed the time required for curing and tanning

protection value of the clothes you make is now dependent from the type of the leather/hide used

foreign traders' inventories arranged a bit to offer more trading possibilities

changes in cookery and recipes

building construction is now a tile-by-tile procedure

added unique graphical symbols for the peoples of the three major cultural regions

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Inon Zur composes for Fallout 3 ( Game news )
posted by Ausir on Thu 08 May 2008, 00:58:23
More info on Fallout 3 - More info on Bethesda Softworks - More info on Inon Zur

Bethesda Softworks issued a press release announcing that Inon Zur is the composer of Fallout 3 music and conveniently not mentioning his work on Fallout Tactics.

May 7, 2008 (Rockville, MD) — Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, announced today that Inon Zur has created the original musical score for Bethesda Softworks’ highly anticipated post-apocalyptic video game, Fallout® 3. Zur, an award-winning composer, has created numerous scores for films, television, and new media.

“We’ve wanted to work with Inon for a long time,” said Todd Howard executive producer of Fallout 3. “He brings so much to the table, in terms of his talent, background, and the music that’s influenced him. He’s created a score that has epic sweep; from the lonely ambience of the wasteland to dramatic fights for survival.”

Fallout 3 features one of the most realized game worlds ever created. Create any kind of character you want and explore the open wastes of post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C. Every minute is a fight for survival as you encounter Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders, and other dangers of the Wasteland.

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Tom Ohle interview at Gamasutra and some other witchery stuff ( Interview )
posted by Ausir on Wed 07 May 2008, 21:56:24
More info on Witcher, The - More info on CD Projekt - More info on Tom Ohle

Gamasutra has interviewed Tom Ohle, CD Projekt RED's VP of Marketing, about The Witcher and game marketing in general.

What is coming in the future for CD Project Red?

First up for the team is The Witcher: Enhanced Edition. For anyone who doesn't know, we're basically going back and improving on every aspect of the game that was criticized at launch: we're reducing load times by about 80%, rewriting some of the English dialogue that didn't quite sound right, re-recording voice-overs where needed, adding lots of new NPC models, putting in new animations to make dialogue look better and a bunch more. We'll be replacing the existing box at retail with the new version and packing it with soundtrack CDs and other goodies, and we'll release it all online as a mega-patch for anyone who already bought the game.

CD Projekt recently announced that it had claimed a majority stake in Metropolis Software. We'll be working closely with the team there to make sure their sci-fi first-person shooter, THEY, is an amazing game when it hits the market next year.

We also announced The Witcher: DuelMail, which is a fun little browser game that's a touch addictive. I suggest people check it out for a fun lunchtime diversion... that ends up making you late for your afternoon meetings.

The Witcher is really our core brand right now, and we want to keep it relevant for a long time. That doesn't mean The Witcher 2009 with new roster updates or a Geralt plush toy (though that would be cool), but inevitably we'll look to continue the series. We have a lot of opportunities -- expansions, sequels, console versions -- and now it's just a matter of deciding what's best for The Witcher and for gamers.

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Mass Effect (and Spore) copy protection PHUN ( Game news )
posted by Saint_Proverbius on Wed 07 May 2008, 17:57:30
More info on Mass Effect

There's a thread on the Mass Effect forum about the copy protection EA will be using on it's upcoming titles. Here's the clip of it:

Mass Effect uses SecuROM and requires an online activation for the first time that you play it. Each copy of Mass Effect comes with a CD Key which is used for this activation and for registration here at the BioWare Community. Mass Effect does not require the DVD to be in the drive in order to play, it is only for installation.

After the first activation, SecuROM requires that it re-check with the server within ten days (in case the CD Key has become public/warez'd and gets banned). Just so that the 10 day thing doesn't become abrupt, SecuROM tries its first re-check with 5 days remaining in the 10 day window. If it can't contact the server before the 10 days are up, nothing bad happens and the game still runs. After 10 days a re-check is required before the game can run.

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Fallout, is it too inaccessible for console players? ( Interview )
posted by DarkUnderlord on Wed 07 May 2008, 15:55:39
More info on Fallout 3

Bethesda's Emil Pagliarulo talks to next-gen about Fallout 3 and ponders:

It's funny. I look at Fallout when I play it every day, and I sometimes think that there's a lot of old-school hardcore PC stuff in there too, and part of me thinks, "God, is this too inaccessible for console players?" There's a lot of dialogue to read, a lot of just hacking computers and looking through things like "VAT." I don't know. Sometimes I think it's just the opposite. So I don't feel like we're dumbing down the franchise.

...I think we're starting to find that there is a market for [hardcore "PC RPGs" on consoles]. People like myself and some people that work here actually grew up as hardcore PC guys, and now we're older, we have kids, we don't have that much time, so we've transitioned. We're console players now.

But we still have those PC game sensibilities. Those are the games we like. So I think BioShock has a little bit of that too. You can definitely feel the old System Shock roots in that game. So hopefully there's a trend there.

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VD vs the Old Republic ( Interview )
posted by baby arm on Wed 07 May 2008, 07:43:15
More info on Age of Decadence - More info on Iron Tower

There's a new Age of Decadence interview up at KOTOR fansite StarWarsKnights.com. Not surprisingly, our old pal VD took the opportunity to throw in a few anti-KOTOR jabs.

Now, consequences. Take Knights of the Old Republic for example. Remember when you decided to be the true Revan, the Dark Lord of the Sith, and then finally arrived to the Sith Academy on Korriban and ... nobody cared. You, the Dark Lord of the Sith, had to jump through the same hoops as any other character. Remember now? Well, that's what lack of consequences feels like. You've made an important choice, but the game ignored it completely. "What? You are THE Dark Lord of the Sith? Good for you, sugar. Now go back to you corner."

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Bioware releases Mass Effect copy protection info ( Game news )
posted by El Dee on Tue 06 May 2008, 22:00:56
More info on Mass Effect - More info on BioWare

Bioware's Derek French releases details about the copy protection for the upcoming PC version of Mass Effect on the official forums:

Mass Effect uses SecuROM and requires an online activation for the first time that you play it. Each copy of Mass Effect comes with a CD Key which is used for this activation and for registration here at the BioWare Community. Mass Effect does not require the DVD to be in the drive in order to play, it is only for installation.

After the first activation, SecuROM requires that it re-check with the server within ten days (in case the CD Key has become public/warez'd and gets banned). Just so that the 10 day thing doesn't become abrupt, SecuROM tries its first re-check with 5 days remaining in the 10 day window. If it can't contact the server before the 10 days are up, nothing bad happens and the game still runs. After 10 days a re-check is required before the game can run.

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Exclusive reviews are ethically troubling ( Editorial )
posted by DarkUnderlord on Mon 05 May 2008, 17:14:05

We've had a few threads here on the Codex forums about the pathetic nature of the gaming review industry. Namely that they're all corrupt and stupid. Now here's an article on Variety which says the same thing:

I just got an email from an IGN publicist titled "FYI: Exclusive GTA IV Review @ IGN.com, scores 10" alerting me that "IGN.com, the Web's leading videogame and entertainment information destination, has posted the first and only review of Grand Theft Auto IV." I'm reminded of when Game Informer ran an exclusive review of "Mass Effect" a few weeks before any other outlet and gave that game a 9.75. I was shocked since I really didn't think "Mass Effect" was that great (and said as much in my review), but of course it's very possible that the Game Informer folks just disagreed with me and that's well within their rights.

(Though I have to say I still found the Game Informer review problematic, since they gave "Mass Effect" an almost perfect score despite noting that "most of the skirmishes, which begin and end in the blink of an eye, run into balancing issues, problematic AI, and a difficulty in comprehending what is transpiring" and "it controls admirably, but it doesn't live up to the large stage the story sets or the standards you've come to expect from action games and RPGs." Those are pretty significant faults.)

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