Monday, March 28, 2005

SWG Ep III: RotW Ship Details

Late on my end, but Gamespot takes a look at the new ships in the Rage of the Wookies expansion for Star Wars Galaxies, including a nicely skinned Royal Guard TIE Interceptor and some Episode III ships.

Space Rangers 2 Movie and StarRush Screenshots

3DGamers offers an even twenty screenshots from StarRush, a planetary/space-based sim, as well as a trailer from Space Rangers 2: Dominators, a space strategy title.

Friday, March 25, 2005

Gal Civ 2 Screenshot and Beta 1

The Galactic Civilizations 2 site has been updated with a single screenshot from the beta; there is also news that the first beta has been made available to pre-orderers and TotalGaming.net subscribers. Notes and documentation may be viewed by any visitor, and as there's no NDA in effect, the beta testing forum can also be pilfered for information about the 4X title, if you're so inclined.

Vendetta Online Progress Report

The Vendetta Online site has been updated with details on recent happenings, including non-developmental details such as ISP problems. There is a bit on cap ship work, AI tweaks, and the wiki.

Monday, March 21, 2005

SFIII Update

Deus Siddis posts a number of updates on the Starflight III project in this thread. Some of the more interesting bits include:

The Nav and Comm engines are done. The four other engines are all in progress, probably around 50% complete or so (though that's not official, I'm just guessing.) There are no engines which have not been started. The main story line is about 60% set, I'd say and the sub plots are in the air. . . I would put two years as our ceiling if we REALLY slack off, and one year is what I am personally shooting for beta. . .

That brings us to today. We have lots of great music, sfx and art, but the code was created by individuals who did not plan on leaving their work to others at the time they wrote it. So presently, there is a massive review of 5 years of code which is to remove all the crap for evil dos, antiquated hardware support, poorly structured sections of code, and whatever else there is (I'm just an artist so this is not my field).

Space Empires 5 Beta Slots

Malfador is now taking applications for the Space Empires 5 beta. Prospective testers must fill out this form and submit it to Malfador in order to be considered.

Thanks to Lee for the news!

Heads Up: Epiar, FreeOnion, MDDClone, and Remnant to the Stars

Nick also points out a pair of fan-made projects. Epiar.net hosts Epiar, an open-source "space adventure/combat game". There is a v0.5 demo available for download.

Also, the 4X title FreeOnion has a v0.2 demo and is also an open-source title.

There is also a new version of the MDD (Mercenaries/Damocles/Dion Crisis) Clone. The latest version includes French and Italian translations, as well as having the ability to save and load games.

Lastly, there is a new title called Remnant to the Stars, but I am unable to load that website. Nick writes in his email that the site hosts screenshots and video.

X2: The Return Canceled; X3: Reunion Announced

Egosoft announces that X2: The Return has been canceled. Instead, Egosoft will concentrate its efforts on a "multi-format" game in the X universe called X3: Reunion. The PC release will come first, and then the game will be issued on an as-of-yet unannounced console.

The game is due for a Quarter 3 2005 release.

Thanks Nick!

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Upcoming EVE Changes

EVE-I.com shares Oveur's latest developer blog, which gives the rundown of changes in testing right now that will be integrated into EVE.

SWG Chat Log

SWG Stratics has posted the log from yesterday's chat with Star Wars Galaxies developers. Developers introduce the Kashyyk banta and chat about topics like the Galactic Civil War.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Parkan II Screenshots

Thanks to Andre for reminding us about Parkan II, whose website has been recently updated with new screenshots.

Monday, March 14, 2005

Star Trek Online Details

Gamespot has an article about Star Trek Online. Some details emerge, including bits about starships and their engineering and bridge sections, more on space combat and other types of missions, and the command structure.

Star Trek Neutral Zone 2 Alpha v2.2

Star Trek Neutral Zone 2 has been updated to Alpha v2.2. There is also a brief developer update regarding the v2.3 alpha and future versions that will include online play.

Heads Up: Supremacy: Four Paths to Power

Thanks to Nick for pointing out that Supremacy: Four Paths to Power can now be purchased from Matrix Games. The turn-based strategy title features space combat, as well as land-based combat. The website features a bevy of screenshots, but there is currently no demo available.

Ep III: Rage of the Wookies Expansion for SWG

Lucasarts and SOE released preliminary details about the next expansion pack for Star Wars Galaxies. Rage of the Wookies will feature Wookie homeworld Kashyyyk, a stack of quests, and most importantly, new starships that will be based upon Episode III (movie) designs.

Thursday, March 10, 2005

For the People, By the People: Thursday

Bridge Commander:

BCFiles serves up Starforce Production Team's Dominion Bugship, Dominion Battleship, Dominion Transport, and Vajaq-class Starship. Also online are the "Enemies of Life" Patch v1.3b by USS Donoghue, Subspace Torpedos by JamesTiberiusKirk, Blinkers for P81's Bird of Prey and Station Blinkers by TiqHud, Abandon Ship by Defiant, Dark Uniforms by Adonis, Dominion Wars Klingon Ship Pack by BlackRook32/Elminster, Specular Maps for the Vajaq Cruiser by Adonis, and FTB Klingon D9 and FTB Deltaflyer by Red Dragon.

Freelancer:

Black Eagle has issued a patch for Monkeys Mod v1.18, which Lancers Reactor hosts.

Freespace 2:

Omniscraper shows off atmospheric flight in his upcoming Starfox TC in a thread at HLP.

Klingon Academy:

Poktarl has converted the SFC III Norway Class Research Cruiser, and diforce releases a CV-65 Aircarrier.

Starshatter:

The revamped Babylon 5 pack by DamoclesX has docked at Starshatter Central. More details about the rather hefty download in this news item at SSC.

X2:

An updated Bonus Pack is available for users with problems with the 1.03.02 BP. Doubleshadow's X2 Modmanager has also been updated.

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Starfury Sim v1.1

The Starfury Sim has been updated to v1.1. The 13.7MB download features access to five systems, hyperspace, and a number of graphical tweaks.

Vendetta Online v1.2.1

Vendetta Online v1.2.1 is live. Although it does not feature the promised capital ship due to bugs, the latest version does include ship and weapons changes, dueling features, and various fixes.

EVE Chat Log Reader

EVE-I.com announces the release of the EVE Chat Log Reader (CLR), which sorts chat channel logs and permits for easy organization and searching of those logs, amongst a number of other features.

Heads Up: Starstrike

Thanks also to Nick for a link to Urban Interactive Software's work-in-progress titled 3D Starstrike (a remake of a 1984 game by Realtime Software). There are a number of screenshots of the shooter that plays "like Terminal Velocity" (according to Nick).

Evochron Released

Thanks to Nick for pointing out that Evochron, a free-form combat and trading sim from Star Wraith Games, has been released. A trial version can be downloaded, and the website has further details about the sim.

Monday, March 07, 2005

For the People, By the People: Monday

Freelancer:

Paul's New Balance mod has been updated to v1.41. The mod is open single-player only. Also at Lancers Reactor is tagunde's Death Glider Model in gmax format.

Klingon Academy:

Terran_Defense has readied another weapon--the Photon Missile.

Sunday, March 06, 2005

For the People, By the People: Sunday Drive Edition

Bridge Commander:

BCFiles offers a number of new files, including an NX-01 Hardpoint Update (based on "Twilight" episode) by John, Ablative Armor SFX for Armored Voyager by phazed, Canon Red Alert SFX for MVAM Voyager by fedmods, NanoFX Blinkers for Romulan Brightone by TiqHud, a patch for the C2x Galaxy-class Starship by CaptainFish, the Add Ship v0.3.1 (beta) utility by Defiant (allows the user to add ships in various modes without restarting the game), 9of9's Defiant Hardpoint Upgrade by Tooie32, Borg Mission Pack by Brandon, Romulan Intrepid Bridge by Nexxus21, Klingon Frigate by starforce2, TOS Romulan Bird of Prey by Piper, Venture Scout by starforce2, and Intrepid-class USS Belfast D (Beta) by BlackRook32/Elminster.

Freelancer:

The multiplayer and single-player-compatible Freelancer Fifth Gear mod has been updated to v1.1 and is available at Lancers Reactor, as is the Freeport 7 Nomad Attack Mod by Xtreme Team Studios (also compatible with single-player and multiplayer). TLR also has word of an open beta for Freelancer Explorer v2.0.6.21.

Hardwar:

Chris has released HUP v6.0, an installer which merges and patches Hardwar with UIM.06, Max's Enhanced, and smurph's Enhanced.

Klingon Academy:

Terran Defense unleashes an Andorian Disrupter Pulse.

Master of Orion 3:

MOO3Guardian hosts a new mod by Paladin-007. The Defensive Mod changes a number of parameters in the game.

Nexus:

Eater's "Pirate Ambush Mission" can be downloaded by visiting this thread at the official Nexus forums.

Star Trek Armada 2:

Drop by STA2Files to pick up Elrond's Second Set of Elven Ships, AdmiralRexStar's Summer Pack Collection (map pack), Pizza the Hutt's Klingon Heavy Frigate, draconis_sharp's Star Trek Armada 2.5 Mission 1 (includes two-player map), and Andrew_Of_Borg's Prototype Galor-class Starship.

Starfleet Command 3:

michelneder's USS Enterprise D v1.1 has docked at SFC3Files.

Starshatter:

Starshatter Central hosts Starbuck's Battlestar Galactica mod (see linked thread for instructions and details; the file is in the downloads section under BSG and then mods). A new Babylon 5 mod pack should also be released later today, which will include the Whitestar. Lastly, Necromancer shares his wisdom in a tutorial on the .DEF file format (download location in the link).

X-Plane Space Combat:

Aradayn has modeled a Galaxy-class Merchant Ship from Privateer for use with X-Plane's Space Combat game; grab the file at the CIC.

X2:

DeadlyDa brings forth the (beta) v0.2.2 Deadly Ship, Station & Galaxy Mod (which is combined with Mauzi's Ship Rebalancing Mod v0.89). The latest version adds three new ships, some tweaks, and compliance with the v0.89 Rebalancing Mod. Fingers_za's ShipBooster, which allows for ship theft, has been updated to v1.0; v1.0 includes a couple of fixes.

Another STO Interview

There's yet another interview with Perpetual's Glen Dahlgren. The PC Gamer interview covers a bit about the slower-paced ship combat, as well as a few other topics. Thanks STGU.

Gal Civ 2 Weekly Recap by Mudflap

Mudflap shares details and a few screenshots regarding recent UI work (information icons and DesktopX objects) on Galactic Civilizations 2, the upcoming strategy title from Stardock.

Privateer Remake v1.0 Released

Thanks to DM for sending word that the Privateer Remake v1.0 is live at the CIC. The different flavors (Win32, Mac, Linux) can be viewed at the Remake's site, and the file sizes range from 180MB to 185MB. There are also new HUD target images for download, and the CIC promotes a new MP3 by Hellcat that celebrates the Remake's full release.

Unfortunately for me, I'll have to wait until I can once again visit a location with broadband. I am extremely curious about thoughts on the Remake, so if you download and play, please feel free to comment to this post with your thoughts and observations.

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Brad Wardell Interview

File Front talks to Brad Wardell about Galactic Civilizations 2, the upcoming sequel to the 4X game. Some of the topics include the new ship design feature, playing all races, and the lack of multiplayer. Thanks Blue's.

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Vendetta Online Update

The Vendetta Online developers have added a new ship and a new duel ranking system, amongst a bevy of other changes and bugfixes.

Starfury Sim v1.0 Release

The Babylon 5 Starfury Simulator has been updated to v1.0. Changes are listed, along with several new screenshots.

For the People, By the People: Tuesday

Bridge Commander:

BCFiles.com has posted an update (v1.3) of the Enemies of Life expansion and Enemies of Life Patch by USS Donoghue, Andromeda Ascendant Beta by Ruivo, Warship Intrepid by mrjohn, and the Hardpoint Hidden Core Asteroid by TiqHud.

Freelancer:

Lancers Reactor serves up Freeport 7 Nomad Attack by Xtreme Team Studios (single-player and multiplayer).

Hardwar:

A new version of smurph's Enhanced2 patch has been released. The patch is compatible with UIM.06 and Max's Enhanced patch.

Wing Commander: Secret Ops:

The CIC has posted a snazzy screenshot from the Standoff Episode 2 end cutscene. The Standoff website has also been updated with new screenshots of the Crossbow and the interface, as well as with progress information.

X-Wing Alliance:

The XWA Upgrade team have released a new model in the transports section, the Heavy Lifter by Gringlas.

PiArmada and Wing Commander Battle Station

The CIC points to two fan projects with recent downloads--Wing Commander Battle Stations (small tech demo) and PiArmada (v0.7 Win32 and source release), which is a remake of Armada.

Nexus Review

Gameshark reviews the US version of Nexus, giving it a 4 out of 5. The overall review is very substantial, sharing details about gameplay, the campaign, and use of tactics. Thanks to Blue's for the link.