Friday, August 29

In case you missed it yesterday: Shadow Warrior and Unreal officially transferred!

The development of Shadow Warrior and Unreal Mac has now been transferred over to me (and also Ken Cobb on Unreal). We signed the papers today, so the projects have now moved over to us from Lion. This is good news since we don't have to worry about the future of these projects, and they should move along as scheduled. Shadow Warrior should be done in mid to late September, Unreal probably not until >after Christmas sometime (it depends a lot on when the PC version is finished).

Mark Adams
Maverick Software (http://members.aol.com/mavsftwre/home.html)

MaG opens Quake Ladder

The Macintosh Gaming League opened their MacQuake Internet Ladder today. Many new enhancment's are on the way. It's free, so join today!
source comp.sys.mac.games.action

Quake Demo on IMG CD

The longawaited MacQuake demo will be included on the next CD which is in production and scheduled to ship soon, so subscribe now!

Tikkabik interviews Chris DeSalvo, Game Sprockets Guru
A lot has been written about Game Sprockets, the MacOS technology from Apple that makes game programming much easier. Tikkabik recently interviewed Chris DeSalvo, technical charge for the Game Sprockets project. Chris gave Tikkibik lots of info on Game Sprockets, and making Mac games.

Quake fixes Coming!
Although most people just got Quake in the last 48 hours, there have been a lot of complaints. The majority of the complaints are about the game's installer and networking capabilities. Apparently MacSoft has revised the software for their second run of CD's. A patch containing those revisions is out now you can find it at MacSoft's home page.

MacSoft Executive Director Peter Tamte gave Tikkibik the following news: (I wish he would give me the news too)

A patch should be posted this evening or tomorrow morning on our Web site (www.wizworks.com/macsoft) that will allow anybody who owns Quake to update to the newest version for free. This patch is only about 500k.

Things that got improved in the second batch:

1. Better installer: Gives user the opportunity to choose whether to install all the files for the 3D hardware accelerators or to just install the regular application. (Users who happen to get a disc from the first batch can delete all the extensions that start with ATI or 3Dfx if they aren't running 3D hardware acceleration.) The installer will still put more than the normal number of files into the System Folder because the Input Sprockets need them to support a variety of input devices. Both the first and second batch install the same number of Input Sprockets.
2. Minor texture-smearing bug and a few other incidentals are fixed.
3. You can now connect to a network game directly from the console or through the Multiplayer dialog.
4. Some miscellaneous networking bugs are fixed.

There are still a couple known bugs associated with networking and searching for games. Users who have a problem networking via either TCP or IPX should switch to the other protocol.

source Tikkibik

MacQuake Nexus has moved
The MacQuake Nexus has moved to a new home. Please visit http://www.brutality.com/macquake/ for the latest news, links and files related to the Mac version of Quake, published by MacSoft.

ATI contacted MGL late on Thursday and indicated that they are working on a new driver for their XClaim VR 3D RAVE card to fix the freeze up problem when attempting to quit Quake, as well as a few other bugs. This freeze up isn't actually a CPU lock up, but rather the 3D card locking up when its 2D portion of the card kicks in during its return to the Finder. The ATI patch should be available at ATI's Drivers page either late Monday or Tuesday.

source MGL

CompUSA's goof is Mac gamer's gain; other MacQuake news:

MacSoft has officially announced that Quake for Macintosh has been officially approved for duplication by Id Software. They're now duplicating the CDs and building the products literally around the clock. So what's up with CompUSA's MacQuake copies? Well, according to MacSoft, some stores received some inventory of Quake on Wednesday, which was supposed to be held for sale this weekend when national retailer ads would have been found in newspapers. Most stores will receive their inventory early next week. Orders placed directly with MacSoft at Macworld are also being filled as quickly as possible. All direct-order customers and retailers should receive their Quake orders by Friday, September 5.

According to several readers who have already gotten MacQuake and installed it, there are a few notes of interest (especially to Mac OS 8 users):

The installer: Several people have written in indicating their frustration over the "Smaller Installer" application that installs the game and around 20 extensions/files into your System Folder...without your consent. There is no customize feature on this installer. It places old versions of the Apple QuickDraw 3D HW driver and Apple QD3D HW Plug-In into your System Folder. It also places old versions of the Apple Modem Tool and Serial Tool into your System Folder. It places a MacOS 8 incompatible version of MacIPX Ethernet in there as well (get the MacIPX update). It would be wise to back-up the contents of your extensions folder (heck, maybe even your System Folder) just in case.

It needs "OTUtilityLib": Those with MacOS 8 who have disabled Open Transport to some degree or don't have it installed at all may find that Quake won't run without the OTUtilityLib Open Transport extension file (which, I believe, isn't part of OS 8). A reader who came across this problem contacted MacSoft (who was surprised he had the full product!) but directed him to Apple's web site...which offered no help. He finally got it running with full Internet extension settings on, even though Quake claimed that OT had been bypassed in loading.

Looking for Quake servers to play on? Until Scott Kevill's QuakeFinder is released, Mac users can find a list of Quake servers on http://www.stomped.com/servers.html. Also, you can visit Quake Servers Info. You'll need to install MacOS Runtime Java 1.5 before using that site.

Bungie's MYTH web page offers a quenching of thurst for Myth info:
The MYTH web page offers current development info, newly posted screenshots, movies, and more. Check it out!

SCI on 3Dfx version of Carmageddon-Mac:
Tech support at SCI indicated to a reader yesterday that although it has no plans for a 3Dfx version of Carmageddon for Mac (there is a 3Dfx version for PCs), it is possible they may develop such a version later on. When asked about publishing Carmageddon-Mac in the U.S., they simply indicated "it all depends on if any US companies want it."

Download the Carmageddon Mac demo (19 MB; UK version).

Gundam 0079 Mac ready but delayed...; other Presto news:
Presto Studios told us Wednesday that its Gundam hybrid CD-ROM game which was expected to release this month in North America, will be delayed until November. Why? You can blame it on several Windows95 bugs in that portion of the CD-ROM. A Mac/Pippin Gundam CD-ROM was released a while ago in Japan. In the meantime, why not read MGL's Gundam preview!

In other Presto Studio news, Pegasus Prime (4 CD-ROM remake of the original Journeyman Project game) is currently scheduled for release in mid-September. Read MGL's Pegasus Prime review for all the details. The Journeyman Project 3 is "progressing nicely." The JP3 web page will soon feature a 30 MB QuickTime movie for download shortly, as well as some upgraded pages...pending Red Orb's approval (Red Orb will be publishing JP3; they are also publishing the sequel to Myst: Riven).

Devilution's web site is back up, barely:
Much of Devilution's office, along with their promising Mac game, Catalyst, was damaged in a recent flood in Colorado. The whole story is at their web page, but everything else in not accessible, as they are having to re-build much of what they lost (web page and surroundings).

Duke Nukem editor released:
Mac programmer John Inman has released his own level editor for "Duke Nukem 3D" to the public. Download the 68k version (.sit file or .hqx file, 250k) or the PPC version (.sit file or .hqx file, 297k).

Campaign for Championship Manager 2 or 3 for Mac begins:
Matt Wynne has created a web page that allows visitors to petition Eidos to port its soccer management simulation, Championship Manager 2 (or version 3) to the Mac. Eidos has indicated that consumer demand drives development. So, those interested in getting this simulation to the Mac, do your duty: visit the Championship Manager 2/3 Mac petition page and support Mac ports.

Quake special at MGL
The Mac Gamer's Ledge has once again teamed up with Interact! CD-ROM Store to bring Mac gamers an exclusive deal. MGL is taking orders for MacSoft's Quake for $39.95 plus shipping. The title should start shipping on 3 September.

Interplay's Avalanche deal a no go for Mac gamers
After getting a press release about Interplay's "Avalance of Excitement" promotion on Monday night, Tikkabik presumed that Mac gamers were able to take advantage of the great prizes and rebates being offered. Since then, however, we've learned that only Interplay's PC products are eligible for this new promotion.

CompUSA gets jump on the rest of the pack; full versions of MacSoft's MacQuake showing up:
According to IMG and many of our own readers who just visited their local CompUSA store, the full version of MacQuake is on the shelves and priced around $39.99. If you want to check your own local stores, call and ask them to look up SKU# 161029. As far as the rest of us who don't live near a CompUSA, we expect the game to arrive (most likely) by next week.
source MGL

Techworks tells customers: Power3D card to ship on Friday:
According to several readers and even my own investigative reporting, Techworks is planning to ship their Power3D accelerator cards on Friday, August 29. This obviously means that they've got all the software for the bundles! All of those who pre-ordered the card in the U.S. will likely be receiving it, beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 2 (due to the Labor Day holiday).
source MGL

Best Buy offers low pricing on LucasArts titles, misleads Mac version buyers:
Is it CompUSA all over again? A Lakeland, Florida reader found Rebel Assault 2, TIE Fighter, X-Wing, and Dark Forces for $14.99 each at his local Best Buy, as advertised in a flyer. When he visited Best Buy, he found the PC versions of those games for that price, but the Mac version of TIE Fighter was listed at $29.99 and rang up at that price. The cashier was shown the flyer which offered no specification on a platform for which the sale was targeted. They did reduce the price a bit to satisfy this customer, but your experiences may vary. Be sure to call your local Best Buy and get the specifics before making the trip.
source MGL

Damage Inc. editor released:
Alain Roy has announced the release of Orion, his map editor for Damage Incorporated. Damage Incorporated is a first person shooter that puts you in the role of the leader of an elite military squad. It's based around the Marathon engine. Orion, although still in beta stage, is based on Pfhorte 2.0, the Marathon map editor. Visit the Orion page for downloading the Orion editor (beta 4) (617K) and other info.
source: Tikkabik

Bungie Updates Myth Page
Bungie Software has informed us that there is a ton of new stuff on the Website for its new strategy game, "Myth: The Fallen Lords." Stop by and check out new screenshots, media clips, movies, information, and the screenshot of the week.
source: IMG

Magellan Sails
PlaidWorld Software has just released their new game, "Project Magellan." This horizontal shooter is available for PowerMac and '040-based Macs and features 10 fully rendered levels, multiple level mixes of each level, 4 layers of parallax scrolling, two-player simultaneous play, rendered QuickTime movies, a 10-song sound track, a built-in level editor, and five weapons. The game requires 8 MB of free RAM (5 MB of real RAM plus 3 MB of Virtual Memory or RAMDoubler), QuickTime 2.0 or greater (needed for movies), 50 MB free hard drive space, a 256 (8-bit) color monitor, CD-ROM drive, and System 7 or greater.
For a demo of Project Magellan, visit PlaidWorld's demo site.
source IMG

Double Aught debuts Duality Web site
Anyone who's familiar with Marathon Infinity knows Double Aught's work: they were responsible for "Blood Tides of Lh'owon," the scenario that ships with Marathon Infinity. Some of Double Aught's talent also worked on the remarkable Marathon EVIL add-on scenario that shipped earlier this year, too.

For the last ten months Double Aught has been hard at work on their own 3D action game, called Duality. They're finally starting to let gamers peek through the curtain, at Duality's Web site. Although screenshots weren't there when we checked, the story and engine pages were quite interesting. Good news: Duality will ship with its own level editor. Duality is expected out sometime this winter, in both Mac and PC flavors.
source Tikkibik

Interplay's "Avalanche of Excitement" fall promotion debuts
We've gotten word that Interplay will be coordinating an agressive marketing promotion called the "Avalanche of Excitement" for its fall product lineup. The promotion will consist of giveaways and product rebates. The giveaways include great stuff like a Jeep Wrangler and a 12 volume library of Interplay games. As we go to press we're still trying to determine if MacPlay consumers will be eligible for prize drawings and rebates.
source Tikkibik

MacPlay reportedly delays yet another title, Tikkabik says:

According to the MacPlay tech support's message board, Blood & Magic has been delayed indefinitely. No reason was given.

Just recently, VR Soccer had been mentioned by a MacPlay representative as a delayed product, although Techworks told us Monday that VR Soccer (though without networking and a few fixes) will be bundled with the Power3D card. They are hoping that the networking option and a perspective fix will be released as a patch from Gremlin later this year.

MacQuake demo will run on Powerbook 1400:
Thanks to MGL reader, Mark Ward, we can now offer a solution to those who have had trouble running the MacQuake/CompUSA demo on their Powerbooks.

Before playing the game, go to the monitors and sound control panel, and change the sound output sampling rate to 44.1kHz. This should enabled you to play Quake on your Powerbook 1400c under OS 8.

Mac Requests taking requests!:

Mac Requests is taking votes to have some of the most popular PC titles ported to the Mac. To take part, visit Mac Requests' The War Room. The products listed are based on feedback and the most popular requests. Anyone interested in having the titles shown ported to the Mac should sign the petitions (via on-line forms) in The War Room. Official requests are being taken for the following titles:

• Sport Games for the Mac (General Petition)
• Redneck Rampage (Game from Interplay)
• Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury (Game from Interplay)
• Wing Commander: Prophecy (Game from Origin/EA)

In the future, they are planning a LucasArts "snail-mail drive" for X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and Dark Forces II.

Torin's Passage available at low cost to U.S. gamers:
Those of you who subscribe to Inside Mac Games CD-ROM magazine already know about this game from reading their recent review of the animated adventure game, Torin's Passage (from Sierra). However, this game isn't going to be released in the U.S., even though it is finished and available in Europe. Never fear though, you can still order it securely on-line from the Sierra On-Line Limited (the UK branch) Store with a Visa, Mastercard, or American Express for a low price of £9.99 (approximately $16.31 US) plus £2.00 (approximately $3.27 US) Shipping & Handling. Totaling just under $20 US. The minimum system requirements on the game are a 68040/33 or PowerPC, 2X CD-ROM, 16 MB RAM, System 7.1 or above, 3 MB HD, 8 MB free RAM, and a 640x480 256-color display. You can read more about Torin's Passage at Sierra's Torin's Passage web page.

If you'd like to still see this game on U.S. shelves, you can write a letter to Sierra and mail it to:
Sierra On-Line, Inc.
3380 146th Place, SE
Bellevue, WA 98102

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