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How a level is built in Rise of the Triad
We imagine this is actually how a lot of Unreal Engine 3 games are built, actually. Still, this time lapse video shows off some of the tricks that couldn't be pulled with the Wolfenstein 3D engine that ran the original Rise of the Triad. Tricks like, you know, round surfaces.%Gallery-163733%
Unleashing ludicrous gibs in the Rise of the Triad revival
By the late 90s, Apogee Software – the legal name of 3D Realms – was a household name for hardcore PC gamers. The Texas-based studio was responsible for franchises like Duke Nukem and published some of id Software's earliest hits such as Wolfenstein 3D.Years later that partnership continues as Apogee made its return to id's annual QuakeCon event in Dallas to announce the revival of Rise of the Triad – a cult-favorite first-person shooter released in 1995. Though its popularity never reached the same level as Doom, Rise of the Triad gained a niche fan base for its over-the-top nature. It's the kind of game that has a character named I.P. Freely; the kind of game with a gun that shoots a literal wall of flame, because why not?Rise of the Triad's return is being developed by people with at least a little experience in modernizing old Apogee products. Developer Interceptor Entertainment was formed in 2010 to create Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded, a fan project turned official remake that was put on hold indefinitely in late 2011. Apogee decided Interceptor could be trusted with another of its franchises and supported the development team by adding former Rise of the Triad devs and mod makers to Interceptor's squad.%Gallery-161630%
Rise of the Triad's return will cost $14.99; free DLC planned
The return of the PC classic Rise of the Triad from developer Interceptor Entertainment will be sold digitally for $14.99 and offer all post-launch DLC for free, the dev announced during QuakeCon 2012.Marketing director Dave Oshry told Joystiq the priority was being faithful to the original Rise of the Triad in the core game, with add-on content allowing the Interceptor team to go crazy once the remake is finished.Oshry says that co-op has been one of the most requested additions players at QuakeCon have asked for, so it's now on the minds of the developers as something to pursue in the future. Even weapons came up as a possible addition – such as shotguns, which were not featured in the 1994 original – but part of their inclusion would depend on player interest. As far as Interceptor is concerned, the sky is the limit, and the developer plans to support the game well after launch.As if running down a checklist of oft-requested features from PC players, the game will also be DRM-free, completely moddable, run at 60 frames per second and have plenty of adjustable settings to let the game run on older hardware.An exact release date has yet to be revealed; however, during a QuakeCon panel, the developer promised it would arrive "late this year or early next year ... at the latest, early 2013."%Gallery-161630%
Rise of the Triad returns to PC this year, powered by Unreal Engine 3
When it comes to the early days of first-person shooters, names like Wolfenstein 3D and Doom come up a lot. There are some, however, lucky enough to remember Rise of the Triad, a frenetic, gory and occasionally downright goofy shooter from 1994. Now, after over 15 years, Rise of the Triad is coming back, Apogee Software has announced (confirming the rumor from earlier today).Rise of the Triad is being built on Unreal Engine 3 and is under development at Interceptor Software, which includes original ROTT level designer Joe Siegler as one of its members. The game will feature a single-player campaign, online multiplayer and a level editor that will allow players to share maps via Steamworks. And yes, it will include all of ROTT's bizarre weapons and, of course, Dog mode.Rise of the Triad is slated for "late this year."%Gallery-161630%
Rumor: New Rise of the Triad in the works
A Twitter account for Apogee's 1994 first-person shooter, Rise of the Triad, has been discovered. The bio for the account reads, "The world's most ludicrous shooter has returned!" The obvious implication is that a new Rise of the Triad, or possibly a remake, is in the works.The account follows two other Twitter users, namely Apogee Software and Interceptor Entertainment. Interceptor, as it turns out, employs one Joe Siegler, who just so happens to be a level designer from the original Rise of the Triad. As a Duke4.net forum-goer pointed out in June, Siegler's bio states that he's working on an "undisclosed project," and that spilling the beans would "require the death of the whole world 30 years later by one of his descendants." For those without incredible memories, that's a direct reference to the bad ending of Rise of the Triad.Rise of the Triad has popped up a few times in the last couple of years, being released on iPhone in 2010, followed by developer Apogee opening a new online store in 2011 to peddle its classics, including ROTT.
Apogee MiC review
It's no secret that a few of us here at Engadget HQ have an affinity for mobile recording tech. Perhaps you could blame some of our fledgling amateur music careers, but at any rate, we love to get our hands on tech that allows us to lay down tracks on-the-go. It's also no surprise that Apogee would offer up another product that would look to do just that. As a complement to the outfit's Jam guitar adapter, the Apogee MiC is the latest foray into mobile recording. Much like its guitar specific counterpart, the MiC is both iDevice and Mac compatible and its compact stature won't take up precious real estate in your travel pack. But, as you may expect, staying mobile comes at a premium. So, is the $249 price tag a deal breaker for the MiC? Is it a small price to pay for adding a solid microphone to your mobile recording setup? Journey on past the break to find out.
Apogee Jam guitar adapter review
Musicians have long needed ways to catalog ideas and capture rough recordings of new material without the anchor that is a full-fledged recording setup. Apogee offers just that with its Jam guitar adapter for the iPad, iPhone and Mac, which allows you to strum your way to a record deal via an iOS device. Whether you're on the road or in your living room, the ability to connect a Les Paul to a mobile device and crank out the demo for your next hit is super helpful. But, is it worth the $100 investment to have recording-on-the-go at your fingertips? Read on to see what we discovered. %Gallery-137053%
Apogee opens online store, peddling its classics
Shareware pioneer Apogee Software has announced the launch of a new online store, offering a handful of Apogee's most well-known games, specifically Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project, Rise of the Triad and both Blake Stone titles, all of which can be had for $5.99 each. Savvy readers may recognize that the same lineup has been available via GoG.com for some time now. The Apogee store manages to offer a better deal though, thanks to its "Legacy Pack" which bundles all five games for $20. The bundle also includes the "Extreme Rise of the Triad" expansion and ... the Duke Nukem: Critical Mass soundtrack. Also, until June 20, the store is running a Father's Day promotion, offering the Legacy Pack for only $15. Just use the promo code "Father" during checkout. The current slate of available games is apparently just the beginning, as Apogee plans to revisit its beginnings as a digital distributor by "providing a platform for new developers to access a global market."
iPads were everywhere at Musikmesse 2011
If there's any one area of life that the iPad has had a huge impact on, it's the creation of music. Writing for The Mac Observer, blogger Jochen Wolters noted that iPads were everywhere at the world's largest trade show for musical instruments and audio recording technology -- Musikmesse 2011. This year's show was held April 6 - 9 in Frankfurt, Germany. Wolters noted that almost every developer of audio software and manufacturer of keyboards and mixers was demonstrating some way of using an iPad to perform or produce music. While I won't go into all of the many items that Wolters covered in his detailed article, there were a few products that deserve special mention here. The US$99 Apogee JAM is a deceptively simple-looking audio interface for connecting a bass or guitar to an iPad (it also works with the Mac, iPhone and iPod touch). It only works with GarageBand for iPad at this point, but Apogee is apparently working on supporting other iPad music apps. Our very own Brett Terpstra did a great writeup of the JAM back in March. Along the lines of the JAM is the Alesis iO Dock, a soon-to-be-released pro audio dock for iPad with XLR and 1/4-inch inputs, MIDI jacks, an assignable 1/4-inch footswitch input, and audio and video outputs. Synth software was everywhere at Musikmesse 2011 as well, with iPad apps from Reactable, Way Out Ware, Korg, and Spectrasonics catching Wolters' eye. MixVibes demoed an app that is used to remotely control its CROSS line of DJ software, while Akai had a four-octave keyboard with an iPad dock. An image of the SynthStation49 can be seen at the top of this post. You can get more details from Wolters' original post. Next year's Musikmesse is already scheduled for March 21-24, 2012. If your business is music and you want to make or produce it with the help of an iPad, you might want to make plans to attend the 2012 event.
Duke Nukem: Critical Mass trailer skips the PSP version for good reason
After a mysterious quiet period (which is totally uncharacteristic for a Duke Nukem game), Deep Silver and Apogee are planning to release Duke Nukem: Critical Mass for DS this week in Europe and next month in North America. You can see it in action in the trailer after the break, and, well ... it looks like a thoroughly humiliating experience, narrated by Jon St. John. Surprisingly, the press release accompanying the trailer says that the PSP version is coming out at the same time -- but Deep Silver informs us that it was actually canceled. So if you're in Europe and in line for Critical Mass on PSP ... go home.
Apogee rolls out Duet 2 pro audio interface for Macs
Recently drop $500 on an Apogee Duet audio interface for your Mac after pondering one for all these years? Then we're afraid we've got a bit of bad news for you, as the company has now finally rolled out a successor to the highly-desirable device. Apparently redesigned from the ground up, the new Duet 2 expectedly ditches FireWire in favor of USB, and packs some "completely redesigned" mic preamps and converters, along with two inputs and four outputs, a pair of configurable touch pads, and even an all new OLED display that replaces the basic LED meters on the original. Of course, the one thing that stays the same is the professional-level price -- look for this one to set you back $595 when it's available next month. [Thanks, Maxwell]
Apogee's Jam connects your guitar to your iPad
We've seen the iRig and the AmpKit, two interfaces for getting a line-in from your guitar or bass. Both come with effect racks and sound pretty darn good. But where do you go from there? How about a dock interface that records 44.1 kHz, 24-bit audio without line noise? Apogee's Jam guitar interface does just that, and it throws in hardware gain control and LED peak monitoring. It plugs into your Mac, too! I saw something similar at Macworld, though I don't think it was this particular model. I sat down and played an acoustic with pickups through my iPhone, though, and I was blown away by the clarity of the audio. The dock connector is, in my newly-formed opinion, the way to go. The problem at the time was that it didn't come with any effects, and the convenience of the AmpliTube and AmpKit setups was more convincing to my limited budget. However, with Apple's announcement of GarageBand on the iPad, the tables have turned. GarageBand's full set of effects, combined with a crisp guitar input, plus editing and multi-track capabilities (all with the polish of an Apple product) make this an amazing prospect. I'm sure I'll be picking one up, as they'll be retailing at US$99 and will be available later this month. See the Jam page at Apogee's site for more info. [via Gizmag]
Jam guitar input for Mac and iOS devices gets your axe into GarageBand
Hello Cleveland! Or, you know, wherever you are. Are you ready to rock? No? Oh, well, maybe just a little jam session, then? Apogee Electronics (no, not the company that brought you all those Duke Nukem releases back in the day) has announced the new Jam device, which enables a digital connection for electric and bass guitars into iOS 4.2.1 (and greater) devices or into any Core Audio compatible apps on Mac. You can record straight into GarageBand if you like and use the built-in control knob to adjust your levels. That connectivity won't come for free, naturally, with a $99 MSRP slapped on this one. It'll start rocking stores in March -- plenty enough time to find another new drummer. %Gallery-118299%
GOG discounts Apogee games this weekend
Hankerin' to clobber pig cops and jetpack-toting snake dudes, but just can't find that Duke Nukem 3D disc? Save yourself some time and snap up the Atomic Edition of Duke 3D for just $2.99 on GOG.com this weekend. If that weren't enough of a deal, GOG's offering its entire Apogee catalog for 50 percent off ($15) -- if you're just interested in a couple of games, a 20 percent discount still applies to individual titles. You might wanna hurry, though, as the discounts disappear on Monday, February 7 at 11:59PM EST. But then, we suppose you could just go back to looking for that disc, right?
Wolfenstein 3D loses two dimensions, becomes Wolfenstein 1D
Cheeky programmer/comedic mastermind Mike Lacher recently added a twist to an old classic by ... um, removing almost all of it. The game in question is Wolfenstein 3D, from which Lacher has stripped the height and depth, leaving only the meager remnants of a 1 pixel-tall line of width. The surprising part of this little project? It's still totally playable. Check out Lacher's minimalistic mod (appropriately titled Wolfenstein 1D) over on his website. We're sure there's probably a message about the lack of real depth in the storytelling of most first person shooters, though it was totally lost on us, because we were busy having such a good time shooting things.
Apogee and Take-Two settle Duke Nukem Forever lawsuit
After Duke Nukem Forever's lengthy (and often mocked) development ended without a retail product, developer Apogee and publisher Take-Two played the blame game in court. A lawsuit, and subsequent countersuit, held serious accusations against both: Take-Two demanded compensation for lost money loaned to the developer, while Apogee claimed pressure to sell the IP for "less than their true value." While details of the litigation aren't made clear in this court filing, it appears both companies have accepted a settlement, with all accusations "dismissed with prejudice" -- in other words, neither Take-Two nor Apogee will be able to bring this action to court again. According to the document, "each party is to bear its own portion of the costs of this litigation."
Apogee and Icarus Studios resurrect Sam Suede [update]
[iBase Entertainment] Apogee and Icarus Studios have announced a new "action comedy" game called Sam Suede in Undercover Exposure. No platforms were noted, but Icarus's past developments have all been PC-based (with the exception of Dexter on iPhone). In fact, nothing at all was said about the content of the game other than the title and a characterization as a "comedic twist on the action-adventure genre." If the title sounds familiar, you're probably an adventure game nerd. Leisure Suit Larry creator Al Lowe was working on a game with the exact same title, which was cancelled in 2006 when developer iBase Entertainment shut down. The fact that a new company has announced that it will complete the title should be encouraging to Lowe fans -- but the fact that the legendary Sierra game designer's name is mentioned nowhere in the announcement is probably not so encouraging. Update: Al Lowe told Big Download that "This is the first I've heard of it," wondering "who's going to finish the design and add the humor?"
iPhone Rise of the Triad getting free add-on
Apparently "early 2010" meant "right now," as it looks like Apogee's Wolfenstein pseudo-sequel Rise of the Triad is already available for the iPhone. To mark the release, Apogee has announced that developer Mobilia Interactive plans to deliver a free update to the game entitled Extreme Rise of the Triad. The update will include 40 new maps containing "deviously different tricks, traps and treachery not seen in the original Triad." Not bad, especially considering the update is free. Check out a new trailer above, which includes some snippets of both the game's God Mode and the far superior Dog Mode. Rise of the Triad ($4.99):
Kanex shows off HDMI to Mini DisplayPort adapter, your iMac celebrates
It ain't the first HDMI-to-Mini DisplayPort adapter that we've heard of, but there's nothing like a little competition in a market that Apple's own closed mindset helped create. Bitterness aside, we're pretty stoked to hear that Kanex -- the same company responsible for that oh-so-handy Mini DisplayPort Adapter for Mac mini -- has introduced its own solution for piping Blu-ray, Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 signals right onto that gorgeous 27-inch panel that resides in your iMac. Our BFFs over at TUAW stopped by the outfit's Macworld booth in order to give it a look, and they said that every pixel looked absolutely fantastic. Sadly, it looks as if you'll have to wait until April to drop your buck-fifty (not including cables), but hey, it's not like using that 13-inch CRT for a few more months will kill you. Or maybe it will, on second thought. Update: Apogee is Kanex's parent company. Apogee specializes in audio and video solutions, while the Kanex brand focuses on audio and video solutions for Macs.
Apogee's Rise of the Triad getting ludicrous on iPhone
Apogee -- it's not dead yet! -- has announced that its cult classic first-person shooter, Rise of the Triad, is on its way to the iPhone OS. The game is being ported to the platform by Mobilia Interactive, which has produced a number of previous iPhone titles as well. The port actually surfaced over the summer last year, though it's now clear that the company has been given Apogee's blessing to sell the app. The game will work on every iPhone OS platform, including the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad. Expect to see it hit the App Store in "early 2010." Check out a video of the game in action after the break. Tender viewers beware: The video contains ludicrous gibs.
