Quake
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Quake Live public beta coming Feb. 24
Open betas are all the rage, and next week, id Software's free, browser-based FPS, Quake Live, is getting in on the trend. First announced as Quake Zero in August 2007, the game is derived from the classic Quake III Arena. The official site has been updated with a countdown (so in), wallpapers and the February 24 date. Quake Live is ad-supported, with levels containing prominently placed billboards. The game is currently a Windows-only affair, with id promising that Mac and Linux versions are in the works. While everyone is welcome to join the open beta, we're betting on the registration servers having a little trouble come next Tuesday. F5 keys at the ready![Via Big Download]
Quake gets ported to the BUG, controlled by Rock Band guitar
The folks from Bug Labs certainly represented themselves well enough at CES with a slew of new BUGModules, but we're guessing they would have attracted even more attention if they would have had this perennial favorite on hand. If you can't quite make it out, that's Quake running (rather well, we might add) on the BUG and, yes, it is indeed being controlled by a Rock Band guitar thanks to the newly developed Xpad driver, which should work equally well with a standard Xbox 360 controller if you're a little less ambitious. Head on past the break to check it out in action, and hit up the link below for all the necessary details.
Quake ported to Chumby makes for an adorable first-person shooter
At first glance, you may wonder if Chumby is simply too lovable to rock a version of Quake, but after peeping ChumbyLurker's port of the game, we'll be darned if the two aren't perfect for each other. He's been gracious enough to make it available as both source code and a disk image, and installing the game is as easy as plugging in your USB drive and turning the machine on. On the video we've seen, the 350MHz device appears to keep up with things quite well, but the best part would have to be that the mouse and keyboard control inputs have been eschewed in favor of the accelerometer -- when Chumby leans forward you move forward, ditto left and right. The bend switch is used to fire, and the touchscreen used to jump or activate items. Unfortunately, there's no network support at the moment, so if you feel the need to go multiplayer, it looks like you'll be stuck with your Nokia handset. You can see a video of the thing in action after the break.[Via Bunnie's Blog]
Nokia Quake III gains on-phone server, Bluetooth keyboard and mouse support
Remember when playing Quake III at a decent resolution required a $5,000 Alienware? Man, those were the days. Now, we can't help but be thankful for a few special Nokia handsets (the N95 8GB, E90 and N82 in particular) that can all handle the game by their lonesome. In fact, the latest version of the software adds a few remarkably awesome extras. For starters, users can now take advantage of on-phone server support, meaning that your handset can actually host a Quake III multiplayer battle (and may we recommend the server name "trashaccident?"). Also of note, the devs have tossed in support for Bluetooth mice and keyboards. We know, right? Tap the read link for all the juicy installation instructions.[Via Decoder, thanks Olli]
Quake creator repeatedly turned down MMO opportunities
John Carmack, co-founder of id Software and lead programmer of the historic first-person-shooter games Doom and Quake, told Shacknews that id has been approached by multiple publishers interested in releasing an MMO version of Quake. Each time, the company turned them down.It was implied that id has not pursued (and will not pursue) the idea because of the etreme challenges of developing a triple-A MMO.There's a good point here. It's not as if Carmack and friends were throwing a money printer in the trash compactor by passing on the opportunity. The concern seems valid: MMOs are expensive, risky endeavors. Even with a team of experienced developers and a well-known intellectual property, there's always a risk that id could get in over its head.[Via Joystiq]
Carmack turned down Quake MMO offers
So, according to John Carmack, id has turned down offers from publishers who wanted to create massively multiplayer version of Quake. Why? Well, to put it pretty bluntly, Carmack (and, by extension, id) doesn't have any interest in making one.So, what do you think the biggest news here is? Is it that this a Quake MMO isn't going to happen? We don't think so. We're far more concerned that some publisher somewhere thought that making a Quake MMO was a good idea. Dearest game publishers, please don't think that "MMO" actually stands for "Tons of Free Money." It's because of that kind of thinking that Richard Garriott had to pick up a second job at Toys 'R' Us.
Blizzard HQ temporarily evacuated due to earthquake
Blizzard headquarters in Irvine, California were temporarily evacuated today when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Chino Hills area in southern California. Chino Hills is about 30 miles from Irvine.According to the information on the login screen, in-game and phone support were momentarily unavailable, however everything is now back to business as usual. No servers or other game services have been affected by the earthquake. All the technology is operating smoothly.Our own Dan O'Halloran was in private chat with us all when the earthquake struck. He reported that while it was a good shaking, it was "nothing to go home about." Perhaps if we're lucky the earthquake shook a few more Beta keys out of Blizzard. We can only hope.Take a look after the break for the full in-game news released by Blizzard.
Carmack planning iPhone 'graphical tour de force'
John Carmack loves his iPhone, so much so that the id Software co-founder has been spending a lot of time lately thinking of ways to bring his studio's tech-hungry game development to Apple's pricey portable. Forbes reports that Carmack, who still kicks himself for not having a game available for the device at launch, is currently planning to bring one of the dev's existing franchises to the iPhone as a "graphical tour de force." But as for which one, the company isn't saying just yet, though given that the recently launched id Mobile division already has Doom RPG and the forthcoming Wolfenstein RPG to its credit, we wouldn't be at all surprised if Carmack will bring Quake or some flavor of Rage to the small screen as well. What's more, he's apparently considering the idea of tackling the MMO market on the iPhone down the line, though he admits that he's being "conservative" and doesn't "want to be in a bet-the-company situation" just yet. Even so, as Carmack looks for ways to push the phone's visual fidelity, we take solace in the fact that for once we won't have to upgrade our video card just to play with his latest toy.
Open sourcing your MMO
Many single player games have gone open source with raving success. Take Quake for example. When Id Software released the Quake engine as open source with Quake 3, people went nuts with it. How many mods and games were created after that using "The Quake Engine"?So the question posed over at Stroppsworld's blog is why can't we open source our MMOs? Stropp makes some great points for open source, against open source and a common ground that may be a viable alternative. It seems he's covered all of his bases and asked the questions we'd need to ask for a project like this, but wants your feedback on his ideas.
Quake Arena trailer shakes up web games
First it was Quake Zero, then it became Quake Live, and now we have a fresh new look at Quake Arena, id's free-to-play, browser-based iteration of Quake III Arena. As you'd expect, the visuals are decidedly simple, but still stylish nonetheless. We noticed a few instances of gameshow-like billboards peppered throughout levels; while they simply read "Quake Live" in the video, it's likely these are placeholders for in-game advertising.The trailer beckons viewers to QuakeLive.com for more info, but the site is still serving the sole purpose of a gateway for beta signups. From what's shown in the footage, it will eventually become a very robust matching and ranking component of the game. With QuakeCon kicking off in just a couple of weeks we expect to find out more details soon.
A sad and scarce Sunday deals roundup
ZOMG! There's deals to be dealt with, money to be saved, so why waste precious time, let's just get to it! This week, over at Best Buy, they're offering RSV2 for $40, UT3, Quake Wars, Deadliest Catch (w00t!) and CoD4 GOTY for $50. And that's about it. Sadly, Circuit City doesn't have a darn thing to offer Xbox 360 fanboys either which is, uhh ... sad? Now that we look at it, Target stores don't even have any 360 deals, not a single copy of a game on sale. Another major bummer. You know, this has to be one of the worst Sunday deal roundups, like, EVAR! Who would have thought that getting RSV2 for $40 would be a deal highlight? Stupid retail conglomerates, don't you know that all we want is money savings on 360 games and don't care that you have popcorn makers on sale?
One of the easiest Wii homebrew guides you'll find
If you've been waiting for someone to hold your hand through the Wii homebrew process, the folks at WiiHD have created the perfect guide for you, complete with step-by-step instructions, a downloadable starter kit with everything you need, and a video (embedded after the break) that shows you the process from installation, all the way to a trial version of Quake I. It doesn't get much easier than this.[Via Engadget]
Wii homebrew guide: go from zero to Quake in no time
As of right now, homebrewers have the upper hand against Nintendo, and it is possible to run whatever you feel like running on the Wii you own -- even on a recently updated Wii. Now would be a good time to go try some of the stuff that people have come up with. But maybe you feel like you don't know where to start, or don't have whatever technical skills are required to make Wii Quake happen.Much like we did on DS Fanboy for homebrew on that system, WiiHD has created a step-by-step guide to Wii homebrew, starting with the Twilight Hack. Follow these instructions, and you'll have the Homebrew Channel, ready and waiting to run your programs. If following three pages of instructions is too much for your fast-paced lifestyle, they've even put together a Starter Kit containing all the software you'll need, including the Twilight Hack and Homebrew Channel files, Quake, and an Amstrad emulator with public-domain games.[Via Engadget]
WiiHD's homebrew guide: hacking doesn't get much easier than this
The folks of WiiHD, in honor of the recent Quake release for Wii homebrew, have put together an easy-to-follow guide for getting the Wii homebrew channel up and running on your little white console -- plus a pre-packaged zip file with some ready-to-go 'brew if that's the way you like it. You've really got zero excuse to hold off on homebrew with as purtiful and straightforward all these fine hackers have made the process, but if you're still unconvinced, check out the Quake video after the break.
Last chance to win Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
This is it, your very last shot at winning Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. If you haven't entered yet (or if you have yet to place your final entry), now is the time. Hurry, seize the moment, mosey on over to the official giveaway post and place your entry. You know you want to. Heck, we want you do. Do it not only for yourself, but because it will make us happy. The giveaway closes at noon Eastern Time, so get to it.
Don't forget: win Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Hey, fanboys, don't forget that we still have a copy of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars up for grabs this week. Take on class-based team gameplay in the struggle between the human race and the Strogg ... for free! If that sounds like fun to you, head over to the official giveaway post and place your entry. Remember, you can enter once a day, so you should enter every day to maximize your chances. Go, do it and cure your projectile dysfunction.
Fanswag Weekly: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Looky here, it's another edition of Fanswag Weekly! This week, we have a copy of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars up for grabs. We're not sure what this war is all about, but we do know that we have a powerful urge to play team based objective games. We also love doing what the man in the game tells us, so it all works out pretty well. For your shot at a free copy, follow these simple steps. We're going to make this one easy. Leave a comment on this post telling us which team you prefer and why. Which is it, humans or Strogg? You can leave one comment per calendar day (Eastern time). posters of multiple comments during the same day will be disqualified. We'll accept entries until Friday, June 13 at 12:00PM noon Eastern time. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. This giveaway is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec). On Friday, we'll pick one winner via a random drawing One winner will receive a copy of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, worth $60. Complete giveaway rules can be found here
Quake Wars demo wages war on the XBLM
Freshly making its way to the Xbox Live Marketplace just as we expected, is a super new Enemy Territory: Quake Wars demo for most everyone (except Japanese Live subscribers) to enjoy. Clocking in at a very manageable 849MB, this Quake Wars demo is said to satisfy your strongest Strogg killing desires and even promises to cure the very worst cases of Projectile Dysfunction ... no joke! Give 'er a download, giver 'er a play and report back here to give us your thumbs up or thumbs down. It's your fanboy duty, now go!
Demorama: Battlefield: Bad Company, Quake Wars demos on Xbox Live
It's a great day to be a first-person shooter fan. ... Well, more specifically, it's a great day to be a first-person shooter fan who's also totally broke. Not only did (as we previously warned you) the Battlefield: Bad Company demo go up over the weekend, but today we get the Xbox Live demo for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. So, how is Quake Wars? Well, we haven't taken it for a spin yet, but the reviews say it's at least better than the PS3 version, even if that's not saying a lot. Give both of them a spin for yourself and let us know.
Deals: Cheap MS points and get Mass Effect free
This week we're all business, because we have an overly long list of retail deals to ramble off. So, we'll forgo the fluffy intro and just get to it. Starting with Best Buy, all this week they're giving away a copy of Call of Duty 3 with the purchase of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and a free $10 gift card with purchase of The Incredible Hulk. Best Buy also discounted a few accessories, offering the Messenger Kit for $20, Wireless Headset for $50 and Vision Camera for $30. Heading over to Circuit City, you can snag a free $10 gift card with the purchase of either NASCAR 09 or Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, get the Rock Band bundle for $155 and BioShock or Mass Effect for $32. They're also offering Burnout Paradise for $40, Frontlines: FoW or MX vs. ATV for $48, Need for Speed Carbon for $24 and our favorite CC deal of the week, 1600 Microsoft points for $15. Next up is Target, where they're giving away a FREE copy of Mass Effect with the purchase two of the listed Xbox 360 titles including Ninja Gaiden II ($60), RSV2 ($40), Scene It? ($50), Gears of War ($40), NASCAR 09 ($60) or Assassin's Creed ($40). And finally, because we love our Canadian readers so much, we hopped on over to Best Buy Canada and discovered they're offering two free games with any Xbox 360 console purchase (selection based on one of four game bundles) and a 12 Month Xbox Live subscription card for $50. Now run along and have a spectacular time shopping.
