B
bigfoot
Guest
Fully clickable version available here - http://play.game.net/newsletters/12thDecember.htm
GAME.NET News
No significant service announcements this week but we do have quite a few game & mod updates to get through that warrant a mention in more detail than normal as they will effect quite a few of you, all of them having either been applied to our servers by the time you read this or due to be rolled out at 6am on Saturday.
The most interesting of all the updates this week is probably the news that Halo has been patched, the 4.4 MB update takes the game from v1.0 to v1.3 and claims to make great steps to improving the network / online play of the game which is good news for those of you who have persevered with it during the short while it has been out, hopefully now things will indeed pick up on that front.
Next we have an update to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Raven Shield, the 9 MB incremental patch updating the game from v1.41 to v1.5. This new version includes better PunkBuster anti-cheat support, support for the upcoming Athena Sword expansion pack and also some tools to help you create your own mods, although be warned that there are reports it will cause you issues should you run any virtual drive programs, even if you have a legit copy of the game and have your original CD in your disc drive.
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault's most recent expansion pack - BreakThrough - has also been patched this week. At 34 MB the sizeable v2.4 update includes two new multiplayer maps - Stückguter and Bizerte Fortress - along with new skins for certain models, new weapons, various bug fixes and an improved dedicated server which should result in more control over your game for those of you running Clan Servers / Bookings.
In addition to these key patches we have some good news for those of you who play Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy as, for your gaming pleasure, we have added Jedi Academy Reloaded to our Bookable & Clan Servers. This server-side mod is currently on v1.0 with the aim of the mod being to make it even easier for you to admin your Jedi Academy server, full documentation for it available here. In addition to this we have also installed on all servers the official bonus maps that were released this week by game developers Ravensoft, the six maps cover a variety of game modes and can be download here from our FTP.
Further updates include Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor SpearHead's MAM / CI software now running v1.4.8.2, the new client for which you can download here, whilst the Half-Life client / server software Steam was updated on Thursday morning with Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat and Team Fortress Classic all receiving new content.
What's On
Sunday 14th December 2003
Operation Flashpoint @ 14:00
Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy @ 15:00
Counter-Strike @ 20:00
Monday 15th December 2003
Elite Force II @ 19:00
Call of Duty @ 19:00
Half-Life: Team Fortress Classic @ 21:00
Tuesday 16th December 2003
Battlefield 1942 @ 20:30
Wednesday 17th December 2003
Natural Selection @ 19:00
Battlefield 1942: Desert Combat @ 21:00
Thursday 18th December 2003
Call of Duty @ 19:00
Medal of Honor @ 20:00
Half-Life: Day of Defeat @ 20:30
Half Life: Team Fortress Classic (TFC) @ 21:00
Files and Patches
Trailers
Some interesting trailers released this week with quite a few major FPS games due out early next year going head to head, the first such contest being between DooM 3 and Unreal Tournament 2004. Whilst the DooM 3 trailer has size on its side (it comes in at a hefty 162 MB) it is effectively just a hi-res version of the E3 trailer that was shown off last year. In opposition to that you have a much lower quality yet mostly brand-new 10 MB trailer for Unreal Tournament 2004, filled to the brim with action it is pretty impressive and features the usual Americanised voice-over that you get with "final" trailers for games.
Two more pretty similar games also get the trailer treatment this week as Breed and Universal Combat go up against each other, both these games trying to give an all-round view on futuristic fighting with the chance to fly space craft, control land vehicles and also play the poor old grunt. As with the previous two trailers in size terms it is a mismatch with the Breed trailer being just 4 MB and featuring a mildly humorous bit of animation from the game, if you don't bother to get it I would still recommend checking out the demo that is mentioned in the next section. With this being the fourth Universal Combat trailer the chance is taken to combine all three different aspects from this game into one movie, at 62 MB it is quite a long trailer but the visual quality is only so-so and it is therefore hard to tell just how well it will play from this, in fact if anything it kinda looked to me like the game might more or less be a Tribes 2 clone.
In a week of mostly FPS trailers the last two I have for you thankfully cover different genres and, it is fair to say, vary dramatically in quality. The first is slightly odd in that it very much appears to be poaching a character from The Lord of the Rings, the game in question Spellforce which has just released here in the UK. To see for yourself what I mean grab the tiny trailer, honestly it doesn't really help much in deciding whether or not the game is for you, although if you have already purchased it then check out the Patches section below. On the other hand the high-quality DivX trailer for Syberia 2 is quite impressive, the beautiful looking point and click adventure not having a UK release date yet but I would definitely recommend grabbing the 10 MB trailer from our FTP.
Playable Demos
I mentioned the Breed demo in that last section and good things are being reported about the monster 217 MB download, you can get it from our FTP by clicking here and I would recommend that you do because it allegedly features over 2 hours of gameplay, allowing you to experience all aspects of the upcoming game, this being just the start too with promise of more Breed demo goodness to come in future weeks. By contrast with Breed the new Unreal 2 MXP expansion pack looks a bit limited but the class-based multiplayer add-on for the gorgeous looking Unreal sequel will probably revive interest in the game a little bit, the full download is available in the Patches section for those of you who already own Unreal 2 but should you want to give the demo a whirl then you can do so by clicking here and downloading the 150 MB file, it includes a couple of levels and vehicles from the full release.
There were other futuristic demos released this week with one of them being for RTS game I of the Enemy. This is in fact an updated version of a previously released demo, it is worth downloading though because it does contain two new missions and therefore some extra content not seen in the original demo release. At 118 MB the demo is almost twice the size of the one for Firestarter, a virtual-reality themed game in the mould of Deus Ex with the 64 MB demo giving you the chance to try out both single & multiplayer levels from the game, along with a benchmark utility to see how well the full game will run on your system. If you do decide to grab the demo you should also download this small patch that will fix a couple of issues with it.
One of the most heavily promoted games I've seen in recent months has been Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, an adventure game that has had some great reviews in the game press and even been dubbed as "redefining the genre". I've not played it myself but you can give the game a test drive by downloading this 240 MB demo. Contrast that with the 15 MB size of the Coliseum v1.1 demo and you would be forgiven for passing up the chance to test out the new version of the Gladiator management sim but, despite its size, the demo is quite extensive and this updated version includes a couple of nice new features, including the ability to manage your gladiator in-fight.
>From gladiators of old to those who fought in the sky in the early 1940's with a 51 MB demo for WWII: Pacific Heroes. Technically though this game isn't just about jumping in a plane and shooting down Japs / bombing their ships, there are more traditional FPS sections and you can have a look for yourselves by clicking here to download the two-level demo. Air-based pursuits of a more erotic kind are to be had in a 59 MB playable demo for Airline 69, this is one for the over 15's only with it from a company who specialise in producing games that would make even Leisure Suit Larry blush.
More controversy is to be had in the demo for upcoming multiplayer expansion Postal 2: Share the Pain, the gloriously violent and un-politically correct murder fest now allowing you to play other psychopaths online as of this Christmas. If you cannot wait until then you can download the 155 demo which includes a wide selection of characters from the full game, along with plenty of levels and four game modes to make it one of the more comprehensive demos available this week. If you'd rather torture chickens than people my final demo will be more to your liking, The Chickenator being a fun little FPS game that comes from the same team behind WWII: Pacific Heroes, the demo tiny in size and available from our FTP here.
Game Patches
I've already covered a number of the more important patches in the GAME.NET News section but there are plenty others to mention, including a number for fantasy games such as the recently released RTS / RPG Spellforce: The Order of Dawn which I mentioned earlier in this Newsletter. The 20 MB update takes the game to v1.03 and includes the usual variety of fixes, including one real show-stopper, and also improves multiplayer compatibility. Religion simulator Heaven & Hell also has its multiplayer section tweaked in the game's first patch, the small updated fixes some other miscellaneous video problems but that is pretty much all there is in the tiny v1.0.018 update. Not so much patches but some additional content this week for *the* fantasy based RTS, I'm talking of course about WarCraft 3 with a free Generals map, whilst the Frozen Throne expansion for the game also gets another official map in the shape of Emerald Gardens, both files being tiny in size.
Three more recent games get patches this week, the first being World Racing with the massive driving sim getting updated to v1.4.4 and, despite the file being under 10 MB in size, this is a pretty big overhaul with a completely new sound system and also several new cars included. A pretty sizeable overhaul for adventure game Beyond Good & Evil has also been released, despite being under 6 MB in size the v1.01 patch includes various tweaks to speed up the game, better support for older / lower spec machines and also anti-aliasing support for those of you with more powerful video cards. Graphical issues have also partly prompted the release of a new patch for Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic, the recent RPG game requiring some ATI-related bug fixes but the 20 MB v1.01 update also includes some other tweaks that will benefit those of you loyal to nVidia.
Over the last few weeks there's been quite a lot of hype for TrackMania with trailers and demos galore deluging the FTP and positive reviews winning the game a decent audience. Now the full game is out it is time for a patch, at 13 MB it includes some major multiplayer tweaks & additions along with a stack of other minor changes so it is recommend that you get it should you own a copy. Another patch released just as I'm writing this Newsletter is for Chaser, this primarily a multiplayer update that takes the game to v1.50 and is a very sensible 10 MB in size. Last, but by no means least, should you own a copy of Unreal 2 then the free XMP expansion pack is now available to download, it is a biggy at 274 MB but should you have the time to grab it then you can enjoy the class-based multiplayer game by clicking here, make sure you have your original Unreal 2 CD-ROMs to hand as they will be required when you try to install and play it.
Mods
Once more this week I'm a bit light on mods but should you be feeling creative then there are some new mod tools to satisfy your artistic needs. The first to mention are for XIII, having played this innovative FPS game to completion I thoroughly enjoyed it and hopefully the Mod Tools will help to develop the multiplayer side of things a little better, at 39 MB you can download them here. The BattleField 1942 MDT's have been out for much longer but it is nice to see them still being updated, v1.0c now available, whilst also updated this week are the WarCraft 3 Art Tools, these 3DS max plug-ins now on v1.01.
The one mod update I was able to dig up for you is for International Crime Syndicate, the 27 MB update taking this Soldier of Fortune 2 mod from v1.0 to v2.0. I've not played SoF2 for ages and this mod does tempt me to dip back into the game, an extensive overhaul of the base SoF2 game it includes a whole load of new scenarios and weaponry and should you require the original 33MB v1.0 of the mod you can download it here.
Special Offers
The countdown to the last order date on the GAME shop site is underway with your pre-Christmas orders having to be in by this time next week if you want to be assured of getting your items prior to the 25th.
I've done most of my shopping but if you haven't started to sort your own out then fear not because we have some fantastic bargains coming up in this next week, daily offers not to be missed whilst each format has its own Christmas Cracker (reduced games) with the PC titles being The Hobbit and Hidden & Dangerous 2. If you'd rather get some DVDs to give away as pressies then look no further than our 2 for £25 range, loads of new titles on offer covering a wide range of genres so definitely something for everyone in your family.
Regards,
Dave "BigFoot" Angus
GAME.NET Community Liaison
If you need any help or have any questions, we have a page set up to help you.
Please don't reply to this e-mail - we have all the support you need ready for you elsewhere.
http://www.game.net/
http://www.game.uk.com/
To Unsubscribe from this Community Newsletter simply go to this page, Logon and click the Unsubscribe button.
GAME.NET News
No significant service announcements this week but we do have quite a few game & mod updates to get through that warrant a mention in more detail than normal as they will effect quite a few of you, all of them having either been applied to our servers by the time you read this or due to be rolled out at 6am on Saturday.
The most interesting of all the updates this week is probably the news that Halo has been patched, the 4.4 MB update takes the game from v1.0 to v1.3 and claims to make great steps to improving the network / online play of the game which is good news for those of you who have persevered with it during the short while it has been out, hopefully now things will indeed pick up on that front.
Next we have an update to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Raven Shield, the 9 MB incremental patch updating the game from v1.41 to v1.5. This new version includes better PunkBuster anti-cheat support, support for the upcoming Athena Sword expansion pack and also some tools to help you create your own mods, although be warned that there are reports it will cause you issues should you run any virtual drive programs, even if you have a legit copy of the game and have your original CD in your disc drive.
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault's most recent expansion pack - BreakThrough - has also been patched this week. At 34 MB the sizeable v2.4 update includes two new multiplayer maps - Stückguter and Bizerte Fortress - along with new skins for certain models, new weapons, various bug fixes and an improved dedicated server which should result in more control over your game for those of you running Clan Servers / Bookings.
In addition to these key patches we have some good news for those of you who play Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy as, for your gaming pleasure, we have added Jedi Academy Reloaded to our Bookable & Clan Servers. This server-side mod is currently on v1.0 with the aim of the mod being to make it even easier for you to admin your Jedi Academy server, full documentation for it available here. In addition to this we have also installed on all servers the official bonus maps that were released this week by game developers Ravensoft, the six maps cover a variety of game modes and can be download here from our FTP.
Further updates include Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor SpearHead's MAM / CI software now running v1.4.8.2, the new client for which you can download here, whilst the Half-Life client / server software Steam was updated on Thursday morning with Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat and Team Fortress Classic all receiving new content.
What's On
Sunday 14th December 2003
Operation Flashpoint @ 14:00
Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy @ 15:00
Counter-Strike @ 20:00
Monday 15th December 2003
Elite Force II @ 19:00
Call of Duty @ 19:00
Half-Life: Team Fortress Classic @ 21:00
Tuesday 16th December 2003
Battlefield 1942 @ 20:30
Wednesday 17th December 2003
Natural Selection @ 19:00
Battlefield 1942: Desert Combat @ 21:00
Thursday 18th December 2003
Call of Duty @ 19:00
Medal of Honor @ 20:00
Half-Life: Day of Defeat @ 20:30
Half Life: Team Fortress Classic (TFC) @ 21:00
Files and Patches
Trailers
Some interesting trailers released this week with quite a few major FPS games due out early next year going head to head, the first such contest being between DooM 3 and Unreal Tournament 2004. Whilst the DooM 3 trailer has size on its side (it comes in at a hefty 162 MB) it is effectively just a hi-res version of the E3 trailer that was shown off last year. In opposition to that you have a much lower quality yet mostly brand-new 10 MB trailer for Unreal Tournament 2004, filled to the brim with action it is pretty impressive and features the usual Americanised voice-over that you get with "final" trailers for games.
Two more pretty similar games also get the trailer treatment this week as Breed and Universal Combat go up against each other, both these games trying to give an all-round view on futuristic fighting with the chance to fly space craft, control land vehicles and also play the poor old grunt. As with the previous two trailers in size terms it is a mismatch with the Breed trailer being just 4 MB and featuring a mildly humorous bit of animation from the game, if you don't bother to get it I would still recommend checking out the demo that is mentioned in the next section. With this being the fourth Universal Combat trailer the chance is taken to combine all three different aspects from this game into one movie, at 62 MB it is quite a long trailer but the visual quality is only so-so and it is therefore hard to tell just how well it will play from this, in fact if anything it kinda looked to me like the game might more or less be a Tribes 2 clone.
In a week of mostly FPS trailers the last two I have for you thankfully cover different genres and, it is fair to say, vary dramatically in quality. The first is slightly odd in that it very much appears to be poaching a character from The Lord of the Rings, the game in question Spellforce which has just released here in the UK. To see for yourself what I mean grab the tiny trailer, honestly it doesn't really help much in deciding whether or not the game is for you, although if you have already purchased it then check out the Patches section below. On the other hand the high-quality DivX trailer for Syberia 2 is quite impressive, the beautiful looking point and click adventure not having a UK release date yet but I would definitely recommend grabbing the 10 MB trailer from our FTP.
Playable Demos
I mentioned the Breed demo in that last section and good things are being reported about the monster 217 MB download, you can get it from our FTP by clicking here and I would recommend that you do because it allegedly features over 2 hours of gameplay, allowing you to experience all aspects of the upcoming game, this being just the start too with promise of more Breed demo goodness to come in future weeks. By contrast with Breed the new Unreal 2 MXP expansion pack looks a bit limited but the class-based multiplayer add-on for the gorgeous looking Unreal sequel will probably revive interest in the game a little bit, the full download is available in the Patches section for those of you who already own Unreal 2 but should you want to give the demo a whirl then you can do so by clicking here and downloading the 150 MB file, it includes a couple of levels and vehicles from the full release.
There were other futuristic demos released this week with one of them being for RTS game I of the Enemy. This is in fact an updated version of a previously released demo, it is worth downloading though because it does contain two new missions and therefore some extra content not seen in the original demo release. At 118 MB the demo is almost twice the size of the one for Firestarter, a virtual-reality themed game in the mould of Deus Ex with the 64 MB demo giving you the chance to try out both single & multiplayer levels from the game, along with a benchmark utility to see how well the full game will run on your system. If you do decide to grab the demo you should also download this small patch that will fix a couple of issues with it.
One of the most heavily promoted games I've seen in recent months has been Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, an adventure game that has had some great reviews in the game press and even been dubbed as "redefining the genre". I've not played it myself but you can give the game a test drive by downloading this 240 MB demo. Contrast that with the 15 MB size of the Coliseum v1.1 demo and you would be forgiven for passing up the chance to test out the new version of the Gladiator management sim but, despite its size, the demo is quite extensive and this updated version includes a couple of nice new features, including the ability to manage your gladiator in-fight.
>From gladiators of old to those who fought in the sky in the early 1940's with a 51 MB demo for WWII: Pacific Heroes. Technically though this game isn't just about jumping in a plane and shooting down Japs / bombing their ships, there are more traditional FPS sections and you can have a look for yourselves by clicking here to download the two-level demo. Air-based pursuits of a more erotic kind are to be had in a 59 MB playable demo for Airline 69, this is one for the over 15's only with it from a company who specialise in producing games that would make even Leisure Suit Larry blush.
More controversy is to be had in the demo for upcoming multiplayer expansion Postal 2: Share the Pain, the gloriously violent and un-politically correct murder fest now allowing you to play other psychopaths online as of this Christmas. If you cannot wait until then you can download the 155 demo which includes a wide selection of characters from the full game, along with plenty of levels and four game modes to make it one of the more comprehensive demos available this week. If you'd rather torture chickens than people my final demo will be more to your liking, The Chickenator being a fun little FPS game that comes from the same team behind WWII: Pacific Heroes, the demo tiny in size and available from our FTP here.
Game Patches
I've already covered a number of the more important patches in the GAME.NET News section but there are plenty others to mention, including a number for fantasy games such as the recently released RTS / RPG Spellforce: The Order of Dawn which I mentioned earlier in this Newsletter. The 20 MB update takes the game to v1.03 and includes the usual variety of fixes, including one real show-stopper, and also improves multiplayer compatibility. Religion simulator Heaven & Hell also has its multiplayer section tweaked in the game's first patch, the small updated fixes some other miscellaneous video problems but that is pretty much all there is in the tiny v1.0.018 update. Not so much patches but some additional content this week for *the* fantasy based RTS, I'm talking of course about WarCraft 3 with a free Generals map, whilst the Frozen Throne expansion for the game also gets another official map in the shape of Emerald Gardens, both files being tiny in size.
Three more recent games get patches this week, the first being World Racing with the massive driving sim getting updated to v1.4.4 and, despite the file being under 10 MB in size, this is a pretty big overhaul with a completely new sound system and also several new cars included. A pretty sizeable overhaul for adventure game Beyond Good & Evil has also been released, despite being under 6 MB in size the v1.01 patch includes various tweaks to speed up the game, better support for older / lower spec machines and also anti-aliasing support for those of you with more powerful video cards. Graphical issues have also partly prompted the release of a new patch for Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic, the recent RPG game requiring some ATI-related bug fixes but the 20 MB v1.01 update also includes some other tweaks that will benefit those of you loyal to nVidia.
Over the last few weeks there's been quite a lot of hype for TrackMania with trailers and demos galore deluging the FTP and positive reviews winning the game a decent audience. Now the full game is out it is time for a patch, at 13 MB it includes some major multiplayer tweaks & additions along with a stack of other minor changes so it is recommend that you get it should you own a copy. Another patch released just as I'm writing this Newsletter is for Chaser, this primarily a multiplayer update that takes the game to v1.50 and is a very sensible 10 MB in size. Last, but by no means least, should you own a copy of Unreal 2 then the free XMP expansion pack is now available to download, it is a biggy at 274 MB but should you have the time to grab it then you can enjoy the class-based multiplayer game by clicking here, make sure you have your original Unreal 2 CD-ROMs to hand as they will be required when you try to install and play it.
Mods
Once more this week I'm a bit light on mods but should you be feeling creative then there are some new mod tools to satisfy your artistic needs. The first to mention are for XIII, having played this innovative FPS game to completion I thoroughly enjoyed it and hopefully the Mod Tools will help to develop the multiplayer side of things a little better, at 39 MB you can download them here. The BattleField 1942 MDT's have been out for much longer but it is nice to see them still being updated, v1.0c now available, whilst also updated this week are the WarCraft 3 Art Tools, these 3DS max plug-ins now on v1.01.
The one mod update I was able to dig up for you is for International Crime Syndicate, the 27 MB update taking this Soldier of Fortune 2 mod from v1.0 to v2.0. I've not played SoF2 for ages and this mod does tempt me to dip back into the game, an extensive overhaul of the base SoF2 game it includes a whole load of new scenarios and weaponry and should you require the original 33MB v1.0 of the mod you can download it here.
Special Offers
The countdown to the last order date on the GAME shop site is underway with your pre-Christmas orders having to be in by this time next week if you want to be assured of getting your items prior to the 25th.
I've done most of my shopping but if you haven't started to sort your own out then fear not because we have some fantastic bargains coming up in this next week, daily offers not to be missed whilst each format has its own Christmas Cracker (reduced games) with the PC titles being The Hobbit and Hidden & Dangerous 2. If you'd rather get some DVDs to give away as pressies then look no further than our 2 for £25 range, loads of new titles on offer covering a wide range of genres so definitely something for everyone in your family.
Regards,
Dave "BigFoot" Angus
GAME.NET Community Liaison
If you need any help or have any questions, we have a page set up to help you.
Please don't reply to this e-mail - we have all the support you need ready for you elsewhere.
http://www.game.net/
http://www.game.uk.com/
To Unsubscribe from this Community Newsletter simply go to this page, Logon and click the Unsubscribe button.