ATFW Status Update

It seems as if I've been slacking off a great deal as of late, but it's my current goal to manage one day of updates per week. Between the job (which ends at the end of August), the obvious job search underway now, writing elsewhere, having some time for myself, and the indulgence of occasions of the social variety, I haven't had a lot of time for ATFW.

Having said that, "For the People, By the People" will continue its holding pattern while I'm in desperately-seeking-more-hours-in-the-day mode. Once the future job has been secured, and I've resettled, things should pick up again. In the meantime, I ask for your patience and understanding.

Flight Commander Patched

Eddie Benowitz has posted word that Flight Commander has been updated. Mostly geared towards the modding community, but it also adds a couple of multimedia features. Thanks CIC.

Gal Civ 2 Updates

Stardock announces that Paradox will be publishing Galactic Civilizations 2 in Europe. Paradox carries the full press release, which was created a couple of weeks ago.

The release of Beta 2 also saw the creation of a number of developer journal entries: CariElf discusses about efforts made on the new screens, mormegil shares eight screenshots from the second beta and also talks about UI design, BoogieBac offers a trio of concept art pieces and talks art, and Draginol reveals the release date (February 2006), gives an update on the game, where it stands, and how the beta will proceed, and also serves up four screenshots from the game.

X3 Screenshots

Egosoft have published a dozen screenshots in recent days that show off the X3.

Stargunner Freewared

Stargunner, a space/sci-fi shooter from then Apogee (now, 3D Realms), has been released as freeware. The 38.4 MB download includes 34 space-based and land-based levels (and one underwater level, to boot). Thanks Blue's.

Evochron v2.028

StarWraith 3D has updated their free-form space combat sim, Evochron, to v2.028. The latest patch can be applied via the game's installer or the full version can be grabbed from the gamesite.

MMPOG Round-Up

EVE-I.com shares a dev blog entry by kieron regarding a volunteer abuse in the ISD and the resolution of that issue.

A pair of missed Friday Features (Kkhowir Forest and Rryatt Trail) lurk at the official Star Wars Galaxies site.

Wizards of Technology airs a podcast (near the 30 minute mark) that includes a chat with Guild's John Bergman; apparent topics include Vendetta Online's future and an upcoming contest.

B5 Starfury Sim v1.2

The Babylon 5 Starfury Simulator has reached the v1.2 milestone. The latest and greatest adds mouse flight controls for the joystick-challenged, new graphical enhancements, and a number of new features (all listed near the bottom of the page).

Privateer Remake v1.1

Privateer Remake v1.1 has been launched in full versions (Windows, Mac OSX, Linux) and v1.0 to v1.1 patches (Windows and Linux). The full changelog (and there are a number of tweaks and enhancements) may be viewed in this thread at the Vega Strike Forums. Thanks PR team!

Star Trek Neutral Zone 2 Alpha 2.5

Thanks to Stuart and Justin for the news that Star Trek Neutral Zone 2 Alpha 2.5 has been released. The latest version adds 3D audio support. Undetermined future versions will include 3D models, screenshots of which can be seen here and there and that-a-way.

Gal Civ 2 Beta 2 Update

The Galactic Civilizations II site has been updated with news that the next beta version will include more features than planned but will be available later than expected (the second week of June).

Flight Commander v1.1 Released

Eddie Benowitz announces the release of Flight Commander v1.1. Flight Commander is an original 3D space combat engine. The latest version offers a number of graphical enhancements and new features. The mission editor has also been spiffed up. Full details on the latest release and (a lucky) seven screenshots can be viewed in this thread hosted at the CIC forums.

Space Empires 5 Beta Pics

Malfador has updated their SE V website with eight screenshots from the 4X title's beta. Thanks, Lee!

Heads Up: Star Trek Battlestations

As seen at the STNZ 2 site, Mark Hu's Star Trek Battlestations intends to make a Star Trek-flavored RTS game with "the fluidity of Homeworld".

Star Trek Neutral Zone 2 Alpha 2.4.3

Thanks to Stuart for the heads up that a new version of the STNZ 2 alpha has been launched. The 2.4.3 version includes a Spanish translation, a new chat system and new power management system, and several fixes.

Heads Up: GalaxyHack

James sends word of his open-source simulation project, GalaxyHack. The game's site describes the sim as:

GalaxyHack allows you to design a fleet of spaceships which can then be tested in AI script based battles against fleets designed by other players. Though battles take place in real time, the strategy comes before hand, both in writing short AI scripts in a simple scripting language, and also in the set up and selection of your fleet. You don't actually have any control over your units at all mid-battle, but rather use the time to see where the set up of your fleets is working, where your fleets' weaknesses lie and changes are needed, and perhaps also to learn from the strategy of your opponent.

Certainly not a standard type of game we hear about, and even better, the site offers GalaxyHack v1.38 so you can freely check it out on Windows and Linux machines.

Heads Up: Precursors, Birth of the Federation 2, Starfox: Shadows of Lylat, and More

Apologies for the lag as of late. Between the travel and the work, I haven't had a great deal of time. However, I have several emails worth of newsworthy goodness to share, and those will follow.

First of all, thanks to Nick, who pointed out several days ago that GamersHell featured a press release during E3 for Precursors, which is described as "updated conversion of good old and still famous game Elite, a modern First Person Shooter, classic science fiction movies and the world of the novels from Andre Norton." The game is under development by Deep Shadows, a Ukrainian studio.

Also from the GamersHell E3 section, one can find screenshots of two other commercial space combat titles from the east, Parkan II and Space Rangers 2, and screenshots of X3: Reunion.

Nick also shares two other non-commercial games of potential interest: Birth of the Federation 2 and Starfox: Shadows of Lylat.

BotF2 is a fan-made sequel of the TBS original; a handful of screenshots may be viewed at the website. Trek-Online.com offers a recent interview that clarifies that the game's engine is an original/3DState hybrid.

SF: SoL aims to merge the Starfox universe with the Freespace 2 engine. There appears to be no website yet, but a forum sports screenshots and a FAQ.

Epiar Mission Ideas Needed

The Epiar developers currently seek ideas for missions in the upcoming v0.6.0 release. Contributors whose ideas are used will be credited.

Starglider: Resurrection Development Update

A new Echthros Entertainment worklog discusses AI problems, solutions, and the new focus on strategy in the Starglider: Resurrection remake.

Evochron v1.588

StarWraith has released Evochron v1.588, which includes an AI multiplayer improvement, a revamped training system, and more.

ST Neutral Zone 2 Manual and Interview

A website version of the Star Trek Neutral Zone 2 manual has been opened. Trek-Online.com hosts a recent interview with Krešimir Špes of Cateia, who chats about a number of game features.

Heads Up: Gunstorm

Cornutopia Software announces that their arcade (in the style of Asteroids and Galaga) space shooter, Gunstorm, is available for download. The shooter has been patched to v1.03, which addresses an issue related to changing screen resolutions.

Cellblock Squadrons v2.0

Thanks to Joel for the news that Super Furious has released a free v2.0 update for Cellblock Squadrons. The patch adds a number of features, including asteroids fields and a targeting assist option, as well as a number of bug fixes and tweaks.

Starshatter v4.5.0

Starshatter v4.5.0, which features a major graphics upgrade (requires a hardware T&L card) and assorted tweaks and bug fixes, has been released. The readme can be viewed via the title link.

Massively Multiplayer Round-Up

The official Star Wars Galaxies site profiles the Kashyyyk city, Kochirho; the site also offers details on three additional storage slots on ships that SOE will give to purchasers of SWG: The Total Experience.

IGN writes about places of interest on Kashyyk in the final installment of their Imperial Field Guide, while Dallas Dickinson pens a second developer diary entry at Gamespot regarding the choice of Kashyyyk for an expansion. Finally, in non-RotW news, MMORPG.com talks with Julio Torres about the Combat Upgrade feature.

omgrawr.net posts the log from their chat event with EVE developers, CCP.