Team Fortress 2 SDK Update Includes Source Files For 10 Maps

Valve recently announced on the Team Fortress 2 blog that they are releasing the source files to 10 of the game's maps, making it much easier for fans to customize them. They also said they'd be releasing more source files for maps and models in the future. "Here's the list of maps that are included in the update: Lumberyard, Ravine, Badlands, Dustbowl, Granary, Gravelpit, 2Fort, Badwater, Goldrush, and Hydro. For the beginner map makers out there, we hope this gives you an easier entry point by allowing you to alter or edit an existing map, as opposed to being forced to start from scratch.


... We also hope that it'll reduce the amount of confusion around the game logic and entity setup required for the various TF game modes."

An update to the Source SDK that includes the .vmf source files for many of the official TF2 maps. This is something we've wanted to do for a while, especially as we've been growing the range of game modes in TF. Here's the list of maps that are included in the update: Lumberyard, Ravine, Badlands, Dustbowl, Granary, Gravelpit, 2Fort, Badwater, Goldrush, and Hydro.

For the beginner map makers out there, we hope this gives you an easier entry point by allowing you to alter or edit an existing map, as opposed to being forced to start from scratch. For example, you could start by fine-tuning cover in Goldrush, alter the layout of Granary, or tweak the amount of health and ammo in Gravelpit. Or maybe you just have a ton of ideas on how you think you could improve Hydro or 2Fort. We'd love to see what you come up with.

For the experienced map makers, we hope this gives you a variety of examples of how we design and construct levels, the tools we use to finish the aesthetic/thematic elements, and some specific implementation solutions to performance and networking problems. We also hope that it'll reduce the amount of confusion around the game logic and entity setup required for the various TF game modes.

Our plan is to get more of our TF content source out in the SDK, so look for more maps & model sources in the future.


Read the Team Fortress blog

Open Source FPS Game Alien Arena 2009 Released

The open sourced, freeware FPS game Alien Arena 2009 has been released (Windows and Linux). The improvements to the game engine are very significant, and have surely raised the bar for free games of this genre. All surfaces in the game are now rendered using GLSL, not only improving the visual quality, but the performance as well. Interesting new effects like post-process distortions using GLSL have been implemented, as well as light volumes, better per-pixel lighting (reminiscent of UT3), and shaded water.

Equally notable is that the sound system has been completely rewritten using OpenAL, allowing for effects such as Doppler, and adding Ogg Vorbis support. The game is free to play and available for download on its official website. It has a stats system and a built-in IRC client in its front-end game browser.

This time around, the game's been almost totally overhauled, with a "staggering" amount of improvements to the game engine. Full implementation of GLSL per-pixel lighting on all services sees the game come alive, especially when coupled with the OpenAL audio system and some spiffy new gameplay features. Optimisation has been a major focus, with the developers claiming that "No longer does one have to be leary of cranking the settings up, the game plays remarkably faster with the switch to GLSL for per-pixel operations."

Described as a "lean, clean fragging machine", the devs have made the statement that "This isn't your daddy's Alien Arena" - and it's a good few notches above last years model, boasting new and improved maps, music and sound effects.

So - what else is new?


Some of the new features in this release:

* GLSL per-pixel lighting on all surfaces.

* OpenAL 1.1

* Ogg-Vorbis support.

* GLSL post process framebuffer effects.

* New scoreboards.

* New HUD.

* Stereo music files.

* Seven new maps and two new player characters.

* Light volumes.

* Voice taunt system.

* Doppler sound effects.

Alien Arena 2009 is completely open source, free to play, and promises to set a new standard in freeware FPS gaming. Check it out now for Windows or Linux/Unix, and let us know what you think!


7.21 - 7.30 changelog

1. Rscript shader optimizations, fixed bug with flushing.
2. Fixed maxclients so that timedemo and other items can be run.
3. Added new textures and meshes for maps.
4. Added dm-deimos2k9.
5. Added realistic sun object.
6. Quake4 style explosion shockwave effect.
7. Added type option for vegetation shaders(grass and leaves).
8. Fixed and modified cvar r_speeds operation.
9. Added dm-warmachine2k9.
10. New scoreboards.
11. Rewrote mesh rendering routines, removed ordered iteration for non-legacy code.
12. Replaced all fixed function mesh per-pixel lighting routines with GLSL.
13. Removed Cybergirl until UV maps and animations can be fixed.
14. Changed lighting in player setup menu.

15. Added support for scrolling and glow effects for GLSL mesh shaders.
16. Improved accuracy of real-time lighting of meshes in GLSL.
17. New player model, Slashbot.
18. Much faster shadow rendering.
19. Fixed map voting string.
20. Low skill bots no longer user disruptors or vaporizers.
21. Added Mouse Smoothing(adaptive sensitivity).
22. Constrain overbrights to valid values.
23. Eliminate duplicate putenv() calls.
24. Updated blaster skin, fixed uv maps.
25. New HUD for AA2k9.
26. Ejecting brass now makes noise.
27. Add gl_showpolys.
28. Fixed some bad water normalmaps.
29. New player character, the Commander.
30. Added voice taunt system.
31. Fixed bug in func_rotating flags.

32. Rescaled Violator view weapon.
33. Added ctf-frost2k9.
34. Added dm-invasion.
35. Better culling of grass.
36. Fixed bullets endless bouncing in some cases.
37. Added water splash entity(misc_watersplash).
38. Added OpenAL 1.1 sound system.
39. Replaced all music with stero files.
40. Rocket, rocket launcher sound effects changed.
41. Vaporizor sound effect changed.
42. Disruptor no longer sends sound to entire level.
43. Added GLSL post process framebuffer effects.
44. Added explosion distortion(using GLSL FB effect).
45. Added pain distortion(using GLSL FB effect).
46. Added widescreen resolutions to non-custom list.
47. Updated menus with new options.
48. Added aoa-frost2k9.
49. Allow alt-fire to respawn players.
50. Added dm-chasmatic2k9.

51. Added normalmaps for vehicles, consoles, and powerup items.
52. Fixed bug with normalmaps getting gamma correction.
53. Added smoke to explosions, updated smoke effects.
54. Flag return for campers who die from anti-camp.
55. Resampled sounds that need to be upsampled.
56. Status explanations of video settings.
57. Added doppler effect setting.
58. Fixed bug with normals array being undersized.
59. Updated vehicle icons.
60. Added dm-command2k9.
61. Added Ogg-vorbis support.
62. Slight repositioning of beamgun.
63. Fixed menu bug with dynamic lights, bulletproof the menu from doing bad things with settings.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on PS3 Wii and Xbox 360

Muggles and Magicians

Although you’ll be playing as Harry for nearly all of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince videogame - no spoilers about who else you’ll get to play, but if you remember the moment when Harry is out of action in the film you might manage to guess - everyone else in the game is just as detailed and full of character. Many of the actors from the film have provided their voices for the game, and the team have had access to photos and bodyscans of all the characters, so every raised eyebrow and fluttering cloak is accurately portrayed.

For the first time in a Harry Potter game, it’s really possible to read the emotion in characters’ faces as they talk, thanks to the advanced facial animation system that’s been used. And it’s not just that the characters in the game look right and sound right - they moved right, too. EA has made every effort to perfect the animation for all the action in the film. To capture the moves that Harry can make on his broomstick it wasn’t enough to film a stuntman in a studio to get a decent approximation.

Instead, one of the game team built a complete broomstick rig in his kitchen at home, bringing it in so the animators could experiment with every possible move by ‘flying’ one themselves.

Chicago Blackhawks Star Patrick Kane the New Face of EA Sports NHL10

Electronic Arts revealed that 20-year-old scoring phenom Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks will be the new face of the NHL 10 videogame from EA SPORTS. Kane is the youngest player ever chosen for the cover of the NHL franchise and his image will be on the front of all packaging when NHL 10 is available in North American retail stores this September.

Having emerged as one of the most skilled players in the NHL in just two seasons, Kane won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 2008 and this year led the Blackhawks to the Western Conference Finals. He has scored more than 20 goals and registered more than 70 points in each of his first two seasons.

“It’s exciting to be on the cover of my favorite videogame after playing just my second year as a professional,” said Kane. “When you look back at some of the great players who have had this opportunity, it’s an honor to be a part of the EA SPORTS family and contribute to a game I’ve been playing for more than 10 years.”

EA SPORTS also announced that it has signed Canadian junior hockey scoring sensation John Tavares, expected to be the top pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, to promote the release of NHL 10. Tavares will join Kane, the first overall draft pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, as spokespersons for NHL 10.

“It’s exciting for me to team up with Patrick to promote EA SPORTS and get the chance to play NHL 10 before it’s in stores,” said Tavares. “Now I’m looking forward to the draft and finding out which team will select me.”

“At EA SPORTS we believe in identifying the most talented up-and-coming athletes in the world to help us develop the most authentic sports games,” said Jordan Edelstein, Vice-President of Marketing for EA SPORTS. “We believe Kane is one of the next great American hockey stars and Tavares will have an immediate impact in the league.”

Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom was earlier named a cover athlete on NHL 10 packaging in Sweden. Additional regional cover athletes for Finland, Denmark and Switzerland will be named at a later date. NHL 10 will be in retail stores across Europe on September 18.

A native of Buffalo, NY, Kane is just the second American-born player to be featured on the cover of the top-selling* EA SPORTS hockey videogame franchise. New York Rangers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck was the first when he was featured on the cover of NHL 97.

The EA SPORTS NHL® franchise has won 19 Sports Game of the Year awards over the past two years and this month named by Gamespot.com as the Best Sports Game of E3. This year the NHL 10 franchise begins a new era with gameplay innovations that deliver all-new board play, first-person fighting and over 200 gameplay refinements that replicate the skill and finesse of NHL hockey.

NHL 10 will be available for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system with an MSRP of $59.99. It is developed by EA Canada in Burnaby, B.C. The game is rated E10+.

CAA Sports, a division of Creative Artists Agency, brokered the deals on behalf of clients Kane and Tavares.

EA SPORTS is the leading interactive sports software brand in the world, with top-selling titles and franchises including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA Football, and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR.

*Based on total sales in 2008 according to the NPD.

New Star GP video game updated to version 1.1!

New Star Grand Prix has been updated to version 1.1. New features include improved driver intelligence and updated car stats to make it the most exciting and realistic top-down racer available.

New Star Grand Prix is a top-down racing game inspired by classics such as Super Sprint and Micro Machines, but brought bang up to date to feature all the teams, drivers and tracks of the 2009 GP. It features a full career mode that spans up to 10 seasons where you must compete against the world’s best drivers on 17 real-world tracks. During your career you will need to manage your finances and relationships with the team boss, pit crew, friends and fans. You can gamble at the casino and even purchase sports cars, but it is on the track where you must really prove yourself. Races feature changeable weather conditions, tyre wear, car damage and fuel loads, all of which affect your car’s handling and will require careful monitoring if you want to make tactical pitstops. The camera can be zoomed in or out to suit your driving style and after the race you can upload your best laptime to the online leaderboard. The game also features a comprehensive track editor that will allow you to design and race on your own tracks and is playable in 12 languages (English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Turkish, Slovenian.)

Trial versions for PC and Mac are available from www.newstargames.com/nsgp.html and the full version for can be purchased for $9.99. Please contact Simon Read for a review copy.

Based in Oxford, UK, New Star Games is a small independent company with a passion for sports games. They pride themselves on giving gamers what they want and can often be found interacting with fans on the forum: www.newstargames.com/newstarforum.

The Hunter video game Introduces 'The Boone and Crockett Club' Clothing Range - Play for free

Emote Games has today announced the Boone and Crockett Club promotional range of clothing available only in the breakthrough hunting simulation The Hunter www.thehunter.com.

Now players can stand out from the crowd with the Boone and Crockett Club branded clothing, which includes gloves, cargo pants, cap, and a jacket, all at very affordable in game prices. As well as looking cool, each item provides in game concealment advantages, including camouflage, scent and noise reduction. They are the perfect outdoors combination.

The partnership between the Hunter and the Boone and Crockett Club, announced in January 2009, forms part of a campaign to ensure that fair chase hunting ethics are represented within The Hunter, and underlines The Hunter’s commitment to be the most realistic Hunting game you will ever play. The partnership also marks the first time the Boone and Crockett Club has supported and worked to implement their universally accepted scoring system for native North American big game into a virtual experience. This agreement between Emote Games and the Boone and Crockett Club demonstrates the high levels of realism that The Hunter offers, visually and ethically.

The Hunter combines realistic hunting action ranging from tracking small varmints to big game, while blending a social interface to post entries and scores as part of larger social networking community. The online presence allows the game to continually develop, with regular updates and the release of new features, hunts, gear, game species, maps and habitats, making the game truly reflective of the ever changing hunting community.

Play for free now at www.thehunter.com.

Tekken 6 to be released for PlayStation 3, PSP and Xbox 360!

Publisher: NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe SAS
Developer: Namco Bandai Games Inc.
Release Date: Q4, 2009
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PSP
Genre: Fighting Action
Player: 1 – 2 Players
Rating: TBC

CHARACTER REVEAL
June 2009

Name: Alisa Bosconovich
Fighting Style: Special
Country: Russia
Deep in the forest, there is a heavily guarded research facility. Taking the name of the research leader, the facility is called the Bosconovich Laboratory. The facility was highly valued by the Mishima Zaibatsu, as it undertook all of the military equipment development for the organization.

The lowermost level of the facility houses a top secret section. In one of its rooms, there slept a young girl in a clear capsule. Her name was Alisa Bosconovich. Everything else about her is a mystery...

Name: Eddy Gordo
Fighting style: Capoeira
Nationality: Brazil
Eddy failed to win The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. He pleaded with Jin, who had become the new head of the Mishima Zaibatsu, to help him save his mentor. After looking at Eddy and appearing to think for a moment, Jin agreed to help with developing medical treatment for Eddy's mentor in exchange for Eddy joining the Tekken Force and reporting to him. Eddy knew nothing about the Tekken Force, other than it was a private military outfit, but agreed to join if it would save his mentor.

Eddy became a member of the Tekken Force and carried out plans of destruction around the world. Even though he knew the consequences of his actions, Eddy was unable to leave the Tekken Force. When the Mishima Zaibatsu announced The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6, Eddy joined the tournament as a member of the Tekken Force in order to eliminate those who would threaten Jin.

Name: Lars Alexandersson
Fighting Style: Karate
Country: Sweden
Force, defected from the organization.

Lars Alexandersson led the coup d'état. With an uncommonly high physical and mental ability, Lars become a ranking officer in the Tekken Force at a young age. Despite his high rank, Lars often fought in the front lines. Due to this and his friendly character, he was popular among his subordinates.

Only he knew the fact that he drew the Mishima bloodline through his father, Heihachi. Even Heihachi was not aware.

Name: Marshall Law
Fighting Style: Martial Arts
Nationality: USA
In the middle of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, Marshall Law's illegal employment in Japan was detected, and he was deported back to the United States. The due date for monetary damages caused by his son's accident was approaching, but Law had no means to deliver the cash and was completely out of ideas.

It was then that Law received an invitation from his friend, Paul Phoenix, to team up in the next tournament. Although certainly difficult alone, the likelihood of receiving the top prize money was higher as a team. After accepting Paul's invitation, Law realized that three people would be even better than two, and he set his eyes on the world-famous boxer, Steve Fox.

Yoshimitsu
Fighting Style: Advanced Manji Ninjutsu
Nationality: None (originally Japan)
Yoshimitsu was following Bryan Fury in order to take revenge for his fallen comrade when he noticed the sinister aura emanating from the spirit sword Yoshimitsu. The spirit sword, by its very nature, was in continuous pursuit of blood and drives its owner insane. Yoshimitsu had been suppressing the sword's power by supplying it with the blood of the malicious and evil. However, it was gradually becoming more difficult to maintain the sword's balance.

Left unchecked, there was a chance the sword may lose control, causing chaos and destruction, and seek out a new owner. In order to prevent this, Yoshimitsu attained the Fumaken, a sword with the ability to contain the power of the evil sword. At the same time, he joined The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6, where evil energy collected, hoping to return the balance of the spirit sword to normal.

ARMA II in North America on PC!

Bohemia Interactive, creators of award winning military simulation Operation Flashpoint and ArmA: Combat Operations and Got Game Entertainment, US leading publisher of interactive entertainment games, announced today their partnershipfor the North American retail release of ARMA II, one of the most anticipated PC Game of 2009. The two companies have partnered together to bring the game to most major retail outlets throughout North America this July.

Bohemia Interactive once invented the genre of realistic military sand-box games and it aims now to re-define that genre with its upcoming game ARMA II, the ultimate military simulator, powered by the 3rd generation of their original Real Virtuality engine that's also used to train soldiers in numerous countries from Australia to the United States.

"North America is one of the most powerful and important markets in terms of a game's marketing and distribution," said Marek Spanel, Bohemia's CEO. Spanel continues "We were looking for responsible and credible partners who will focus on ARMA II with the kind of drive and enthusiasm that this huge project deserves. We feel Got Game Ent. will be the right partner for us and I believe together we will make ARMA II a success in North America."

"We are very excited to bring ARMA II to the North American market," said Got Game Entertainment President Howard Horowitz. "This caliber of game brings Got Game Entertainment to a new level of excellence and certainly ushers in a new era for our company."

ARMA II will offer the ultimate realistic combat simulation experience in a modern day setting. With unprecedented freedom of movement, actions and tactics, unbeatable detailed weapons and military hardware, easy-to-use built in mission editor and one of the most dedicated online communities around. The game will allow players to immerse themselves into the battle as never before.

ARMA II is scheduled for an in store Date of July 7th, 2009. For more information please visit the official homepage at www.arma2.com and www.GotGameEntertainment.com

Majesco Entertainment announces 'Shorts' for Nintendo DS

Majesco Entertainment Company, an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced Shorts for Nintendo DS. This entertaining puzzle platform game brings to life the highly-anticipated Warner Bros. theatrical release of the same name. Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez (The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl, Spy Kids) the Shorts film features a high-profile cast that includes Leslie Mann, William H. Macy, Jon Cryer and James Spader. Developed by Artificial Mind & Movement, the Shorts videogame is expected to release in Europe this August.

In Shorts, a magical rainbow rock that grants wishes brings chaos to the peaceful suburbs. Players take on the role of four of their favourite characters from the movie—Toe Thompson, Nose Noseworthy, Loogie Short and Helvetica Black—as they work to return the community of Black Falls to normalcy by fixing wishes-gone-wrong. Each character has his own special jump and unique ability that helps when fighting off a multitude of enemies, including booger monsters, bomb shooting crocodiles, poison spitting snakes, bats and sparking robots!

Shorts features 26 levels in three distinct episodes from the feature film. Players can use the stylus to draw temporary platforms to jump on or use as shields to avoid dangerous threats. In addition, collecting enough energy balls lets gamers power special abilities like the alien and wasp hover-jumps, telekinesis super-attack, invincibility, and growth and shrink ray guns for extra sticky situations!

Shorts for Nintendo DS is PEGI rated 7+ and is expected to release in August. For additional information about Majesco Europe’s exciting line of products, please visit:
http://www.majescoeurope.com/

Championship Manager 2010 out in September - new gameplay innovation revealed

Beautiful Game Studios today announces the latest edition of its classic franchise; Championship Manager 2010 will be available in stores September 2009.

Championship Manager 2010 is the definitive football management game and the first football title available for the 2009/10 season. This new version of the game has been in development for over two years and will be released just after the start of the new football season.

Championship Manager 2010 features a host of unique, cutting-edge technology including a bespoke 3D match engine with over 500 individual player animations, a Set-piece creator giving users the chance to create their own unique free kicks and corners, Scouting Networks allowing users to set-up local networks in countries around the world and grow local player knowledge and Practice matches helping users select their perfect team or trial new players.

Championship Manager 2010 will also feature real player data and information for the 2009/10 football season in a completely new gameplay innovation called CM Season Live™.

In what is a first for football management games, CM Season Live is an additional monthly update that lets players download the real-world 09/10 football season data, at that point in time, and then take charge of their chosen club. All of the scores, competition standings, player transfers, player stats, bookings, major injuries etc. from the ten leading countries in Europe, downloaded directly on a monthly basis throughout the season - full updates of 49 major leagues and competitions. CM Season Live starts on October 15th and is available at monthly intervals for 6 months.

“With this game we are genuinely looking to change the face of football management games and raise the bar for consumers through bringing innovative brand new features to the PC football management genre,” said Roy Meredith, General Manager of Championship Manager. “CM Season Live is the most exciting innovation in football management games since they began with the original Championship Manager™ game. This is the closest fans will get to ‘actually’ managing their team, fighting the relegation or promotional battles, dealing with the big name injuries or transfers as they unfold in the real world, throughout the real season.”

Championship Manager 2010 will be fully localised into French, Italian, Spanish, Turkish and Polish allowing fans in some of football’s biggest countries to enjoy the game in their native language.

“Today’s announcement is one of the most significant in this much loved franchise’s history and we aim to continually improve and innovate on this each year.” continued Roy Meredith, “Everyone should continue to expect huge announcements from Championship Manager, 2009 is going to be a big year for us.”