Quake-Wars
Latest
Quake Wars patch to add voice, better balance
Though they've just delivered what, by all accounts, is an extremely solid shooter in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, developer Splash Damage hasn't taken much time for themselves. For that is the horrifying double-edged sword of video game success, your fans may be legion, but they are also voracious. They are like vampires that crave content, and can be slowed in their advances only by nerfs. For now, Splash Damage is satiating the hoard with patch 1.2. In addition to balancing issues you'd expect to be fixed, the patch will also bring some user interface improvements and improve bots. Also, you can look forward to full voice support, so you'll finally be able to tell if "PrincessTeddyRainbow" you've been fighting alongside is a Hot Lips or a Klinger.
GameStop inserts Mario in Quake Wars
What better way to ring in your Wednesday morning than with a little "Fun With Copy Editing Errors"? A listing for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars on GameStop's home page says that players of the game will get to "Duke it out with characters from your favorite Nintendo games, Mario, Link, Kirby, Pikachu and more!" You can allow yourself a bit of fan fiction day dreaming before you realized that somebody probably screwed up. It's not the end of the world, but you have to admit it's good for a laugh. This entry might be gone by the time you click your way to GameStop's front page, but thankfully it's saved here in digital amber for you and your grandkids to enjoy. [Thanks, dg10050]
Quake Wars demo now available
Admit it: Releasing a big multiplayer shooter a few days after Halo 3 is just plain scrappy, and it's the kind of scrappy that calls for a sports movie analogy. If late September were a movie, we'd like to imagine that it would be The Mighty Ducks. We see Halo 3 as "The Hawks," strong and confident, while Quake Wars is the Ducks, short on hype, but big on heart. Continuing our analogy, the newly released demo for Quake Wars could be the game that the team wins to clench their slot in the playoffs that gives Emilio Estevez the opportunity to start hitting on Charlie's mom. It could also be the game after Emilio is fired from his lawfirm and the team is so demoralized that they get beaten to a pulp. You can only find out by playing. We admit that the big game between Quake Wars (Ducks) and Halo 3 (Hawks) won't actually have much gravitas, what with them being on different consoles. But as long-time Quake fans, it would warm our hearts to see them pull out a triple deke.
Quake Wars demo due this month
When id Software and Splash Damage announced that work had finished on Quake Wars: Enemy Territory, they mentioned another nugget we thought you might be interested in. Splash Damage is currently working on a demo that's planned for release in mid-September. With the full game releasing in late September/early October (depending on where you live) that means you have around two weeks to assess the game before you make your purchasing decision. It also will allow you valuable time to ponder why anyone would start a war during a quake. Doesn't that seem like the worst possible time? Isn't that a time for understanding? [Via CVG]
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars shines gold
Not to be outdone by another prominent first-person shooter with a new metallic finish, id Software's Enemy Territory: Quake Wars has gone gold. According to the press release, the game will invade Europe and Australia first on September 28, followed by North America four days later (October 2). Though not mentioned, we're expecting the game to also be released via Steam much like the rest of id's catalog. No word on its impending release for Mac (being handled by Aspyr), Xbox 360 (Nerve Software) or the PlayStation 3 (Activision Foster City). %Gallery-1618%
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars coming Sept 28 to Europe, Oct 2 to North America
The PC version of id Software's Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is coming to Europe on Friday, September 28 and to North America on Tuesday, October 2, according to an announcement made at Quakecon. The public beta is still going strong, but the final product is now just two months away. Though previously announced that the game is also coming to home consoles, no details or information have been given. We wonder if this will be made available on Steam. %Gallery-1618%
Joystiq interviews id Software's Todd Hollenshead
Just minutes before he takes the stage, along with John Carmack, to deliver the QuakeCon keynote address, we bring you our E3 interview with Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software. We had a chance to ask him about id Tech 5 and id's future in engine licensing, that new IP they keep talking about (and will be showing off any minute now), the Games for Windows initiative, their announcement of a Nintendo DS game, and more. You guys have been laying low for a while. Laying low, but busy. I'm quite certain. At WWDC you guys come back out swinging, and I'd like to find out what your goal was there. Probably a good discussion of that would start with all of the projects that we're working on that are sort of announced just so you get up to speed. And I think some of these things, people forget this is actually id working on this stuff. You guys are working with Splash Damage and Nerve over here and then you've got ... That stuff is all going on at id too, because we have internal resources that are devoted to that. For example, the guy who is programming all of the AI bot work for PC, 360, and PS3 is actually an id employee and he's devoted full time to the project. Of course, Kevin McCloud is the executive producer for id so he's overseeing not only the Splash Damage work but also others. So there's a significant amount of id effort that goes into a project like Enemy Territory because we're working hand in hand with all of the developers, and Activision trying to coordinate stuff. It's resources and managerial? Managerial? I guess it depends on how you define that word. It's design input, it's working with Activision and Splash Damage to make sure the workflow stuff that is set up is something we think is achievable and doable and is working towards the right direction. So, yeah, there is a lot of what ends up being management but not like what I would call production management work. Nobody is sitting down and going, "I've got twenty people and this person is working this many hours on this little thing and he needs to be done with that by Thursday at noon."
Joystiq impressions: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
I have a confession to make ... I didn't know that much about Enemy Territory: Quake Wars going into this. I'd heard of the title and knew that it wasn't your normal entry in the Quake series, meaning that it's not the typical first-person shooter where your goal is to run around looking for bigger and better weapons while fragging the enemy back through the gates of Hell. Instead you'll be building those weapons, like turrets and anti-aircraft guns, ordering your teammates to repair your vehicles, and generally trying not to get killed. Just be prepared to fail at that ... a lot. In fact, imagine yourself failing at staying alive, and then multiply that by a lot. At least you'll be mentally prepared. %Gallery-1618%
Video: killing some Strogg in Quake Wars
This new Quake Wars video came across the proverbial desk this weekend. Unfortunately, it was at the bottom of the virtual "IN" pile, so we've only now just gotten to it. News about the title has been fairly scant so far, so we're happy to take what we can get. The video is taken from the PC public beta that's going on right now. The game looks decent, though we wish there was more weapon variety present in the video. What do you think? Does Quake Wars stand a chance against the likes of Halo 3 and Team Fortress 2?
Today's shootingest video: Quake Wars
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is one of the next big shooters from Id, and GameTrailers shows some in-game multiplayer footage. We've seen better demos of the game, but this video gives an idea for some of the gameplay and style of the title, just in time for the public beta. Is Quake Wars on your FPS radar? See the video after the break, or view the HD version if unimpressed with the embedded clip.
Quake Wars enters the in-game ad wars
Splash Damage has announced that Quake Wars will feature in-game ads. The reasoning behind this decision, according to Managing Director, Neil Postlethwaite, is that Quake Wars will require ongoing support for things like stats servers, and Splash Damage doesn't want to pass that cost onto gamers. Postlethwaite assures readers that the ads will not be intrusive or interactive in any way. What's more, they will be appropriate to the game and all ads must be approved directly by Splash Damage. In-game advertising is still fairly new, and opinions toward it vary wildly, but we're glad to see Splash Damage taking care not to ruin its game. Hopefully they make good on their promise. Oh, and if you happen to be part of the PC beta, then you'll be among the first to see the ads in action. [Via Joystiq]
Quake Wars to have in-game ads
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars producer Neil Postlethwaite has announced on the community site that the upcoming game will feature in-game advertisement. The ad revenue is to help the developers to "provide a higher level of on-going support to the Enemy Territory: Quake Wars community than would have been possible otherwise," he said. Postlethwaite explains that the ads will be appropriate in content and placement (e.g. the side of container trucks), non-intrusive and non-interactive. The developers have absolute approval rights. "If it's not appropriate or it's distracting, it won't go in," he said. No personal data will be collected. "All they track is if an how long you look at the advertisements." Since we've yet to see any in-game ads in the screenshots, we don't know how well developer Splash Damage will implement them. However, that Postlethwaite is being open about the process is always appreciated, and he keeps to his word and it does mean more substantial support (e.g. free content packs in the future), it doesn't sound like a bad trade-off to us. The first sign of the advertisements will be seen in the upcoming public beta.
Quake Wars public beta keys coming this week
The community site for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars has announced that it plans on doing a public beta of the game soon; no start date has been given, but license keys will start to be given out "in the middle of this week." There will be 60,000 slots available and only one map for testing -- Sewers, according to a dev blog post, which is said to feature "an interesting mix of outdoor and indoor, vehicle and infantry combat, deployables and counter-deployables and good old-fashioned FPS combat." It's likely the map with the most possible situations for bug-testing. All slots will go to FilePlanet users, with half of the slots set aside for those who pay for the premium subscription. The post makes it very clear that this is not a demo. "If you want to just play a game for free you may find it a frustrating experience," it said. It also cautions that the beta will be taking data about your hardware configuration, "so you shouldn't apply unless you're comfortable with that." %Gallery-1618%
Quake Wars shoots for July release, fragged
The latest entry in the Quake series, sporting the title Enemy Territory: Quake Wars has been talked up every now and then, but a true release date was never really set in stone. Activision wants to change that -- kind of. They have come out to say they expect the game to ship out for the PC, PS3, and 360 any time from July through September of this year. We've heard that developers id Software like to polish and tinker with a product until they feel it's good and ready for release, so we're not sure if the release date schedule will properly reflect the release date for this game. September, maybe, but if they go that long, they'll probably just keep tweaking until it's holiday shopping time. Which starts in August, oddly. Stupid holiday shopping lasting five months ... That aside, who's excited for this game? More than Haze? More than Unreal Tournament 3? We'll take 'em in that order: Haze, UT3, then this game. But that's just us.
Some new Quake Wars screenshots seem explosive
Everyone loves the Quake franchise. Even those directly opposed to FPS titles from birth should be able to appreciate the nuances and intricacies the Quake games have brought to the -- oh, whatever. They're a good FPS series, but that's about it. However, with the newest upcoming entry, Quake Wars, they might actually change things up enough to appear fresh and delicious. The action shooter combining real-time strategy elements is showing off some new screenshots today and they look fantastic. Whether in a tank, on foot, or some kind of jet, the game looks intense. The game will hit the PC in mid-June, but a console release is expected shortly thereafter for the 360 and PS3. We don't know if the final result will merit all the hype, but we can hope so! Anyone else pumped for this game?
Quake Wars to rage on Macs in 2007
Multiplatform game publisher, Aspyr Media, will stay current with its Mac roots by publishing that version of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars sometime this year. (Aspyr had previously mentioned those plans but today's statement marks the official announcement.) Aspyr has already released Doom 3-engine games on the Mac, and its port is being developed by in-house coders. Quake Wars will be a tactical- and objective-based first-person shooter instead of the traditional Quake deathmatch. No release date has been named, but assuming that Aspyr is accurate when saying the Mac version will be out this year, PC and console versions may be out by the fall. %Gallery-1618%
Live Anywhere nowhere to be found in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
As the first game to support Live Anywhere, Shadowrun has erected a rickety bridge between the realms of the PC and the Xbox 360, allowing players to dash across and kill each other using their peripherals of choice. Perhaps it is in the interest of peace then, that id Software has ruled out the possibility of cross-platform multiplayer for their upcoming shooter, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. "Console players will not play against PC players," says id co-owner and creative director, Kevin Cloud, in an interview with GameZone. "Consoles require a certain [adaptation], and that wasn't something that we wanted to take on." While there's no immediate framework to necessitate play between the PS3 and PC just yet, Live Anywhere promises to bring more convergence between Microsoft's Vista and 360 platforms -- but could the $50 Live entry fee for Xbox-PC multiplayer prove to be a turn-off for developers and gamers alike? %Gallery-1618% [Via CVG]
Quake Wars admits: no cross-platform online play
Makers of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, id Software, have come out saying that the title will not feature cross-platform online play. Kevin Cloud said "Console players will not play against PC players...Consoles require a certain [adaptation], and that wasn't something that we wanted to take on." What he means is that it would be difficult to keep a level playing field between consoles and PCs. Because not all consoles support the keyboard/mouse combo. However, don't think the console versions of the game will be handicapped in any way -- they're going to be the same as the PC version. Both will feature the neat action with little bits of RTS features to fight against... you guessed it, maniacal enemy creatures that want to destroy. Look for the game later this year on the PC, PS3, and XBox 360.
No cross-plat play for Quake Wars
CVG reports that id's Kevin Cloud has confirmed that cross-platform play will not be featured in the upcoming Enemy Territory: Quake Wars for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. According to Cloud, the concept is possible, but requires too many tweaks to each platform in order to level the playing field. We imagine Cloud is referring to the advantage of a mouse and keyboard on PC (and potentially PS3). The mouse obviously offers an aim advantage, and the keyboard could provide plenty of shortcuts for the game's RTS like features. Cloud does mention, however, that id is striving to make sure that the overall Quake Wars experience will be maintained across all platforms. Well, thank God. Expect Quake Wars to debut some time this year.
id Software CEO: piracy pushed us multiplatform
At an early session Friday, id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead gave a lecture on the problems of piracy on the internet. During his speech, Hollenshead revealed that, although they are still primarily a PC developer, id Software had begun to look at console game releases as a way to financially combat piracy. "Piracy has pushed id as being multiplatform," Hollenshead said, noting that the current project Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is being scheduled for release on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Hollenshead's rationale is that console piracy is, by a large factor, minimal relative to the rampant PC piracy. In Hollenshead's lecture, entitled "The Videogame Piracy Problem: Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest," was a discussion on the problems of piracy, his company's experiences with the issues, and suggestions to help the diffuse the issue.
