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It's Fortress Fever Month! A lot of Team Fortress action has been going on this last month. The Team Fortress 2 Beta has been released, as has the Fortress Forever modification. We here at Planet Half-Life are of course on top of the ball with three new articles relating just to this very phenomenon: Article:The Fortress Question Review:Team Fortress 2 Review:Fortress Forever
- John "Chief" Phillips
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Tribes of the East Play as the orcs in the final chapter of the Heroes V saga. Get the standalone demo!
Spotlight: SMOD 3.9 Our latest deserving mod is SMOD 3.9, a single-player expansion.
Night at the Office Review Who says Half-Life doesn't have anything to offer anymore? Night at the Office may be on in its years, but it's easily still one of the top single-player mods out there.
Another TF2 Update Release[ 5 Comments ] 7:12 PST | Deathtoll_David | Print News | Category: Team Fortress 2Valve continues to show why the Steam system is such a significant improvement to the gaming world. Another important TF2 update was released late last night and fixes a number of bugs and problems. The updates are as followed:
Team Fortress 2
Added option to change Field-of-view, between 75 & 90, from the Options->Multiplayer tab
Added option to disable Player sprays
Fixed flamethrower hit detection
Increased flamethrower damage at point blank range
Demoman grenades (not stickybombs) no longer explode on contact after the first bounce
Fixed a startup crash
Fixed a case where players could get stuck in tc_hydro
Fixed player movement prediction errors
Fixed third-person sniper aim animation not matching player's view exactly
Fixed achievements and stats being awarded when watching other player's demos
Fixed rare server crash due to data corruption in networking
Fixed a case where some sounds had incorrect volumes
Restart steam and the update will be applied automaticly.
Added Team Fortress 2 events and cameras to SourceTV
Fixed memory fragmentation crash
Fixed prediction error that caused jittery sticky bomb launcher behavior
Fixed rare crash when creating muzzleflashes
As always, just give your Steam client a quick reboot to take advantage of the update.
Night at the Office Mod Review[ Comment ] 10:23 PST | John Phillips | Print News | Category: Half-LifeIt's not very often these days we get to report on anything Half-Life related, but Richard "MaxxPower" Ross decided to dust off the Night at the Office 1.3 installer and have some fun with this classic single-player adventure, placing you in the shoes of a nine to fiver working overtime when the building complex comes under terrorist attack.
The level design and general architecture of the building where the game takes place is also spot on. Air vents are in actual logical patterns rather than simply providing arbitrary routes to different areas. Attention to detail is meticulous, from the announcement boards, office stationary, even individual name tags on the desks of employees. You genuinely get a real feel for the environment, which compliments the setting perfectly. It also manages to produce a good balance between this realism and the ability to engage with the enemy. In real life office buildings are pre-set for guerilla combat, so instead a middle ground is found whereby some layouts may not be common to most office buildings but are believable.
For the entire article, head on over here. Also be sure to check out the official website for additional information and a comprehensive walk-through for those of you who get a little stuck.
One Month Down, Two to Go[ Comment ] 19:50 PST | Deathtoll_David | Print News | Category: Half-Life 2Announced just a little over one month ago Three Month Mod is an attempt to create a fully functional mod in just three months. It's a bold move considering the time and effort many people put into their mods for years that never see the light of day.
Here is a snippet in their own words:
Drawing from many different inspirations, Three Month Mod is a deathmatch-only multiplayer mod that seeks to be fast, fun, and frantic. As an intergalactic bounty-hunter, it's up to you to dispose of your enemies in any way possible, including your multifunctional arm blaster, missiles, and morphing abilities.
The plan - a fully functional, entertaining mod with custom assets. Three months from conceptual to downloadable, and three days to Proof of Concept in-engine.
Three Month Mod is the conceptual work of Blackened Interactive. At the risk of editorializing, if anyone has the talent and the drive to pull off a good mod worth playing in just three months, these guys can do it.
The team not only keeps a blog of their progress, but takes the time to create movies so you can see their progress as they go. Please check out their website located here.
The good folks over at the multiplayer western-themed modification Fistful of Frags are proud to announce that they are entering the beta testing phase of their development in order to squash bugs and polish the gameplay model.
Development is also steaming along as well, and as such, the team has decided to release 12 new in-game shots showing off the currently 12 weapons that they have implemented.
To offer your assistance with testing, animating, or mapping - or if you just want to look at some pretty pictures from a great mod - head on over to fistful-of-frags.com for all your cowboyin' needs.
A representative from Valve Software confirmed on Wednesday night that its upcoming releases of The Orange Box for PC and Xbox 360 have gone gold and are on their way for an October 10 release date.
Spectators can now see all player classes in the scoreboard
The affinity of the main thread is not set explicitly for dedicated servers. This will properly load balance multiple instances of the dedicated server running on a multi-processor machine. The affinity is still set to CPU 1 for clients and listen servers
Bug fixes
Fixed a crash with ATI cards running on Vista
Fixed a networking problem that could cause a crash certain types of home networking hardware with out of date firmware installed
Fixed a networking problem that could cause some animation jittering
Fixed bug causing incorrect .dem files to be written (all files after first .dem file would be corrupted)
Fixed bug with placement of teleporters that could result in players being unable to move
Removed mp_friendlyfire cvar for servers. Team Fortress 2 breaks in a number of ways if this is on
Fixed some truncated strings in the destroy menu
When a round finishes, if there's less than 5 minutes left on the timelimit, the server now goes ahead and switches level right away, instead of going into Sudden Death
Fixed crash on startup
Fixed crash caused by .dlls being loaded from the user's path, instead of from the install directory
As always restart steam and the update will applied automatically.
According to Computers & Video Games.com and a recent review they've done with Gabe Newell, Half-Life 2: Episode 3 may be the last attempt at an episodic release schedule.
"I think what we really want to do is have a couple of examples out there - Episode One, and how long it was to play and how long it took to develop, Episode Two, Portal and TF2 and then the third part of the trilogy; and then sit down with the community and say, 'OK, so what do you want?'", Valve's Gabe Newell told CVG in an interview set to materialise on these pages soon.
During our recent time at Valve, Marc Laidlaw (script writer) and David Speyrer (Episode 2 project manager) both confirmed this fact as well. To read the CVG article, point your browser over here.
For the full text and media-rich update, be sure to head on over to insmod.net, and be on the lookout here at Planet Half-Life for more exciting Insurgency materials!
Valve and GameStop today announced that those who pre-purchase the PC edition of The Orange Box at GameStop, the world's largest video game and entertainment software retailer, before October 10th will save 10% off the regular price and gain access to the beta version of Team Fortress 2 for the PC.
If you've ordered your copy of the Orange Box from GameStop, you will receive a keycode which you plug into your Steam account for access to the beta. Once the beta has ended and you have your paws on the DVDs, simply install as normal and you'll be playing TF2 gold.
New Mod 'Decadence' Announced[ Comment ] 3:56 PST | John Phillips | Print News | Category: Half-Life 2There's a new face on the Half-Life 2 scene, and that face is known as Decadence. Decadence is a multiplayer Source modification with a singleplayer feel to it, placing you in the shoes of one of four characters in a post-apocalyptic world.
To learn more about this new project and to catch their well-stocked media page, be sure to head over to decadencemod.com.
Ham & Jam Media Overhaul[ 2 Comments ] 17:37 PST | John Phillips | Print News | Category: Half-Life 2The good folks behind the Commonwealth-based World War 2 modification Ham & Jam are steaming along since they decided to start their code from scratch. Since the decision a year ago to start their codebase from scratch, they've managed not only to replace all out-dated features, but add new ones as well that run smooth and effecient, promising to bring HAJ players a good clean game to play.
They've also done some cleaning to their media pages as well, completely overhauling with new and much improved shots as well as many new shots of various in-game models.
If you'd rather see some Tommies and Canucks fighting the good fight, then you definitely should check out the Ham & Jam website and see what they have to offer.
It's Fortress Forever Month![ 2 Comments ] 14:36 PST | John Phillips | Print News | Category: Team Fortress 2 - Content UpdatesAs I'm sure you're all aware by now, there's been a lot going on this last month in relations to Team Fortress content. First was the release of Fortress Forever, a Half-Life 2 modification that sets to recreate the Team Fortress Classic feel, and of course the Beta release of Team Fortress 2 for those of you who have/will purchase the Orange Box game set.
First of all, to answer the obvious "what are the differences" question, I've drafted up a quick little article I call The Fortress Question. This article dives into just a few of the differences between these two Fortress games, and if you're a little unsure on which way to swing, or just curious to see the differences, then you should check it out.
Classes in Team Fortress 2 and Fortress Forever are like apples and orange. Both are fruits, but in a taste test, even the most primitive animals could distinguish between the two. As with the graphics, Fortress Forever sticks closer to what Team Fortress Classic represented with in regards to the class structures. The same weapons are available in TFC as in FF, and with very few differences. That�s not to say that they�re exact copies, there are in fact differences, but for a veteran TFC player, the FF classes are less alien than those of Team Fortress 2, which have all undergone extensive redesigns to ensure a perfect balance and to distinguish all classes from one another (such as the Pyro from the Soldier) and to make other classes more pertinent to gameplay (like the Medic and the Scout).
The buck doesn't stop here though! Chris "LuNaTiK" Fryant has given his thoughts on Team Fortress 2 - the official sequel that has been in the making since 1999. Better late than never, right?
I pulled out my aluminum baseball bat just as we reached the train station in the center of the map, the entrances of which were blocked by gates for a period of thirty seconds. Across the track on the opposite corner of the building I could see two soldiers and a Pyro right up against their fence, ready to dash through and blow me to smithereens. Then the gate opened, and the insanity began. A heavy came lumbering around the opposing team�s gate, chaingun whirring, bullets spraying. I did a side dodge as his bullets strayed my way and he was hit on the side with a rocket from one of my teammates. I came around behind him and brought the bat down on his very well rendered head. With a bang he went down, and my character automatically exclaimed �Take that fatty!�.
If that wasn't enough to quench your Team Fortress thirst, Steve "Ira" Kendall has also given a review of Fortress Forever, the unofficial modification that sticks closer to the Classic, but of course gives its own twists and turns to the game.
One of the biggest questions undoubtedly on the Team Fortress veteran's mind is regarding the gameplay changes from Team Fortress Classic. For the most part, things seem to function almost identically. However, there are a few changes worth noting: The spy has a new stealth mode that replaces the old feign death trick. The Heavy Weapons Guy now has an overheating meter on his chain-gun, making sustained fire less viable. Teleporters (to the rejoice of some and dismay of others) have been removed from the game. This makes for a game that plays very much like Team Fortress Classic in its heyday, which isn't such a bad thing at all.
Whether you're a hardcore TFC fan or a curious onlooker, all three articles deserve a read if not just to satisfy your curiosity on which deserves the Fortress crown. For The Fortress Question editorial/article, go here. Click here for our review of Team Fortress 2. Finally, if it's Fortress Forever you're waiting for, then you should click here.
DIPRIP Screenshot Update[ 3 Comments ] 10:30 PST | Bdn | Print News | Category: Half-Life 2The mod team over at DIPRIP (Die in Rain, Rest in Piece) have just released a huge screenshot media update that features some in-game screenshots of a textured "Hedgehog." You can see a couple of them below.
Be sure to head over to their website and check out the rest of the screenshots and the other media posted up on their site, also let them know how much you like the media by leaving a comment in their forums.
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