Until May 24th, Portal is available for free on steam.  Download it now.  And since Valve has now adapted Steam and some games to support Mac, you Mac users can now play this great game for free as well.

http://store.steampowered.com/freeportal/

…Also…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDj1fYlwR00

Visit the Pernumbra: Black Plague Walkthrough page to view all 16 parts.  Or watch the first part below.  I suggest watching in full screen.

Well, I’m pretty much sure all of you know about SEGA’s upcoming Aliens vs Predator game, but in case you don’t, here’s a short review about the progress, the game and the demo release. The game is being made by the Rebellion team. Their first major successes were Alien Vs Predator on the Atari Jaguar in 1995 and Aliens Vs. Predator on PC in 1999, creating game innovations years ahead of their time. And as their name suggests, Rebellion’s approach to game production is focused primarily on cross-platform innovations and product quality.

It is Rebellion’s aim to produce innovative videogame products of the highest quality, to have solid links with comic, book and movie content to ultimately ensure that the final consumer experience is as exciting as possible. The game has been in development for about 2 years, the team concentrating on creating the ultimate AvP experience.

About the story, the action takes place on the planet BG-386, where the humans have established a colony. Apparently, they find an ancient Predator temple which was forgotten by the Predators and that’s what triggers the whole story. The humans find the aliens and capture them for tests, the predators find out about the temple and the marines are sent on the planet to clean up the mess. You can experience a distinctly new and thrilling first person gameplay as you survive, hunt and prey in the deadly jungles and swamps surrounding the damned colony of Freya’s Prospect.

• As the Marine, you’ll experience a claustrophobic and terrifying experience where light is your friend, but there’s never enough. However, the United States Marine Corps are humanity’s last line of defense, and as such they are armed to the teeth with the very latest in high explosive and automatic weaponry.
• As the Predator, you will stalk from the shadows and from above, passing athletically through the treetops to ambush your victims. Although equipped with an array of powerful, exotic weapons and tracking equipment, honor ultimately dictates that you must get in close and take your trophies face to face.
• As the most deadly species in the universe, the Alien offers you the chance to play as the very stuff of nightmares – the monster in the dark swarming forward with countless others, jaws like a steel trap and claws like blades.
• Play all sides off against each other in a series of unique 3-way online modes and go tooth-to-claw-to-pulse rifle in the reinvention of one of multiplayer gaming’s defining moments

Last week, on Thursday, February 04, the demo was released for AvP. So far, the demo supports a multiplayer deathmatch mode with 8 players. The code presented in the demo is not the final release and all the DirectX 11 features will be available in the full release.

The first time I launched the demo and already I had problems, but wait! I wasn’t the only one who had them. The full game features the ability to browse for and create games but for the purposes of simplicity the demo was limited to matchmaking, so you had to wait from 5 minutes to even 10 minutes to manage to play online. Shortly after the demo was released Rebellion updated the demo and managed to fix that issue. They even apologized about it “We’re really sorry that this issue tainted a day in which we saw many people get hands on with AvP for the first time and we’re hugely gratified by the positive feedback to the game.”.

Overall, the demo was pretty good. It gives us a great example of every race’s abilities to kill it’s prey. The marine for example, his motion tracker can give the alien’s position very easily making the vicious xenomorph an easy prey. The marine’s weapons are pretty much basic, he can equip himself with a pulse rifle, the smart gun, pistol, sniper rifle or a flame thrower. If you’re impressed by those then wait till you hear the Predator’s arsenal! Trip mines, pulse cannon, spear, “ninja disks”, deadly claws and vicious look; all of those are bound to give you a chill down your spine. But what about the alien? It’s quite simple and deadly, you are the weapon.

While you play as each race you see the game through different perspectives and you also have to come up with a completely new strategy. The Predator is based on stealth, he uses a cloaking device to become invisible which gives him the element of surprise. The marine is like a beeping radar with a gun, while the alien is like a deadly sword waiting in the dark.

The demo really convinced me to buy the game and test all the multiplayer modes and the single player campaign and of course, to try the game with all it’s features which are guaranteed to bring a one of a kind AvP experience!

I also took the liberty to record a multiplayer match. Enjoy!

Though the team has worked hard to develop this project, the planned beta has been scaled back to a short demo. This demo consists of a three map training course and five of the original maps that BiGToM developed when he first started work alone back in 2007.

There are several additional bonus maps that can give the player a good idea of what the final project should look like. I recommend cat_introbeta1.bsp and cat_living.bsp for a better idea of the project’s actual map and story line introduction.

I want to discuss some of our chat and then make a few comments of my own here.

Download the Demo

First, this is indeed a DEMO and not a beta. Second, it is a short demo with more limitations then I would have preferred. The main game maps are the same ones we have shown in the screen shots and videos to date. And feel a bit thrown together rather then tied together by the story.

This is largely due to the fact that the actual game story changed when DS began writing for the project. BiGToM’s original story idea was basically as follows:

The cat begins inside of a pet carrier on a transport train. As it progresses, a crane transfers the carrier to a conveyor belt that delivers the cat into the bowels of Black Mesa. Near the end of the line, and after a number of transfers, the cat is one of several crates on the brink of delivery into a test facility when a robotic arm transfers it instead to a waiting scientist.

From that point, the cat experiences the Resonance Cascade from inside a lab and then must escape.

Portions of that story can still be seen in this demo, but not in its entirety. Unless I am gravely mistaken, the story was changed to a scientist’s pet cat and this idea is reflected in the cat_intro and cat_introbeta1 maps which allow you to see a part of a different introduction sequence, one that even pre-dates Newton’s name. Keep an eye out in the living area bonus map for Easter Eggs, which reflect the gags of the final project’s secrets.

BiGToM made the decision to switch over to a demo largely due to bugs. He explained that there are simply too many bugs to fix at this time. I think BiGToM would like some help in debugging maps and sounds. It’s my understanding that part of the reason the demo has so few custom sounds is because of a problem with his sound editing software.

I have already explained the bugs with my source code, but there are apparently a number of additional problems. For example, BiGToM points out a bug on the cat4.bsp map in the demo in which the player must duck to enter a tram even though he raised the door height. The cat source code only gives the illusion of shrunk height and so the player hull is still full sized, but this is a human sized door and should not be a problem.

He also tells me there is a problem with the elevator near the end of the actual full game in which the elevator walls injure the player.

This seems to be unrelated to the code as he elected not to use the modified hull file and scaled hull idea. Instead, we are using the Half-Life friendly version of the dlls. Which does indeed mean that players can play in regular HL and enjoy the game. You’ll want to use the console to enter map c0a0 for the HL Campaign and map t0a0 for the HL training course.

Keep in mind that you will need noclip to get passed the HEV checkpoint in the HL campaign since you can’t pick the suit up anymore [player spawns with a suit].

I think players will have a little fun with this, especially playing the original HL, but they may be disappointed by the very short nature of the demo and a lack of action or changes. Most of the monsters and/or items have not been added yet.

I myself was disappointed as much of the custom content is absent and I feel that the project has hit a bigger problem then just source code or map bugs. I do recommend that you download the demo and enjoy it. BiGToM has explained that his plan is to release a “map pack” once he has more of the bugs defeated.

In fact he said, “all the maps are basically done so all I have to do is tweak them some, add monsters and sounds, etc.

I asked BiGToM if he had any plans for the cheap clones I made for the eventual extra monsters… three headcrab clones and a zombie clone that could have been further refined to “friendly cats”, “juvenile headcrabs”, “zombie cats”, and “military dogs”. He said that if we can find a new modeler, we could possibly create a sort of pet laboritory with an outbreak of the headcrabs and the resulting zombies. He hopes this idea will be usable in the future but is not in the project as it stands.

Keep an eye out for bugs while you play and report them to sayrken[AT]hotmail.com And if you have something to contribute such as :SysOp: has offered to work on a custom HUD, please contact BiGToM via that same address. I’d love to see this project finished and in far greater quality.

However… I have some personal feelings about this and as I said before, I am now disappointed. You do not want Mr Wildcat to be disappointed.

During my discussion with BiGToM we spoke about the “addon map pack” and his hope for the sequel project. I share his enthusiasm for a successful project, but I also am not satisfied with the current project.

For all that has been discussed previously, :SysOp: had some valid points regarding the project as it stands. Despite all of the customization, we won’t be able to see that in the demo. And I’m worried that the final release will not have everything we would like either. And I need to admit that I really do agree with his point that the source code should come first. Maybe its because of my programmer background, but I think any truly good project needs the source code to really develop a proper game.

Truthfully, I feel that the project is no longer what I personally had hoped it would be. So, with BiGToM’s agreement, I am now actively seeking a Source coder.

If you have been by our site recently, then you know I am in the process of changing the site into something more then just a Half-Life fan site. BWL Development is growing and improving, so too should our projects.

It is my intention to write a more serious and dark story for Cat-Life. If you want to know more about my type of story telling, then here are some options for you. Be WARNED, these stories are all rated M for Mature and contain violence and graphic descriptions.

Conundrum – around half-finished, this is my HL fan-fic in epic novel form. It was based on a forum RP thread and is basically a crossover story for HL, D00M, and my own characters and features many character creations by our forum members from years ago.

Mod-Fiction – this is a set of two mod fan-fictions. One is a fan-fic for Cat-Life and the other is for GargArena.

Delivery – this is a short 1-shot HL2 fan-fic that began as a forum rp-thread on the old Concerned forums.

Even though I will be writing a simple story line for team development, we WILL NOT proceed until we have source code in hand. I need someone that can edit the Source SDK to make the player hulls smaller, no taller then knee height compared to a human. I need someone that can code new monsters for juvenile headcrabs, zombie cats, military dogs, and friendly cats. I need someone that can add a limited wall climb and wall jumping. I need someone that can code DarkVision night-vision and ideally also catnip enhanced vision which basically offers a brief highlight of the monsters near the player. And I need someone that can make a bite attack that adds health in addition to standard claws. Basically, all of the stuff I was trying to begin in the original HL.

This code would then be used in the source alternate Cat-Life and it’s sequel Cat-Life 2.

I also want someone that isn’t afraid to write extra code on their own. Feel free to create for this mod project. Chainsaws and grappling hooks have no part in the main story, but they would make a great bonus for finding secret worlds and secret areas as a sort of gag or comical reward.

If you can map for source, make models, sprites, sound, music, etc… start thinking about this project. Can you make a cat player model? Go ahead, we could use it. Can you make Half-Life style music? Get started, we’ll either use it in Cat-Life: Source or we’ll use it in one of our upcoming machinima projects. We WILL FIND A WAY to use your work and of course credit you for your contributions.

And, by all means, ask anyone you know that may be able to contribute to the new source code. We WILL NOT proceed beyond my story development [which I have not yet started] until we have working code.

I welcome existing Team Cat-Life members to offer their aid as well. I know that some of them including BiGToM are anxious to work on this newer incarnation too.

So, in closing, expect a Cat-Life “map pack” and we welcome any help on said project. But also be on the look out for a Source coder. Cat-Life: Source will be a completely different game and we hope it will live up to the BWL tagline of Epically Awesome in Every Way. And we certainly welcome wishes of luck and showes of support.

However, with the lack of a full-time coder and the likelihood that the Open Beta would be basically a map pack with some new sounds and such details, I have also assumed the role of temporary coder.

I re-installed my old Visual Studio 6 for the first time in years and found out just how rusty my C++ has become.  Even so, I tracked down a few tutorials and toyed with the code, creating some cheap and ugly hacks to help give the game a better change to game play.

Even so, there is more work to be done and we really need a good coder to clean up my ugly mess.  You see, I’ve done all that I can without taking more time to refresh my C++ and study the GoldSource code to truly understand the details.  I have some 20 or so projects around the BWL site that I have put off for a few nights of coding, and even then I have used more time than I would have preferred.

I am sending my current work to BiGToM.  The code features wall jumping, wall climbing (modified wall jumps), 2 attacks, a dash button with short stamina bar, simple dark vision, and spawn with long-jump.

The attacks are weaker.  The cat makes 50% less noise for monsters to hear.  Some monsters have been changed to see the player as less of a threat and the houndeyes are now predators and will attack headcrabs and the cat alike.

Unfortunately, there are known bugs.  Sometimes, the attacks can loop unexpectedly making them very potent in that instant.  Sometimes hit detection on dead bodies is a little off.  The Enhanced IR Night Vision Goggle idea I planned to use for DarkVision wasn’t very good.  I considered using it for a “catnip” enhanced vision mode pick-up, but that didn’t really work either, so that feature was disabled.

DarkVision works nicely, but can sometimes stop the player briefly after level change.  Wall climbing works wonderfully, but is also limitless.  It’s not really a bug, but as long as you are on a wall, you can go up as high on that wall as you like.  We plan to use clip brushes to limit players in-game.

Overall, playing this new code has been a lot of fun even with the bugs.  Players will need a replacement set of dll’s in order to play the original Half-Life as the hull changes in Cat-Life require custom hulls.  Basically, Cat-Life works with one set of dlls and playing regular Half-Life with the cat code will require a replacement set of dlls.  I plan to offer the over-writing dlls as a separate download.

In-game, much of the game play will have changed.  You will need to run for your life more often then stand and fight.  The pace is considerably faster and more hectic, yet a fairly experienced player will be able to really play around and make use of the new code for some fun battles.

Here is a short video for your viewing pleasure.

Unfortunately, time and more current developments in the game’s pre-release days and weeks have changed my mind.  I won’t be playing Modern Warfare 2.

What brought about this change of plans?

To begin, let me state that I was not really satisfied by COD: World at War.  I haven’t played it much since the first few weeks it existed.  To sum my feelings on the subject, here’s my quote from that wish list thread.

“not what I hoped for. The lag in multi-player is unnecessary, the single player campaign(s) are disjointed and bland… but the Russian story was fairly fun, and the zombie mode was not worth much unless you play it in coop. Most folks I know of that still play it play for the zombie mode and updates. I personally stopped playing it after finishing the single-player stories.”

Admittedly, I’ve never really been a big Call of Duty fan.  I prefer the Battlefield franchise.  But I can play a number of different games and game play formats.  This one just didn’t quite find the mark.

It is my understanding that World At War developer Treyarch has actually addressed many of my complaints and mods may well make this game great.  Glad to hear it.  From my understanding, even now they are still patching the game and working to make the PC version more of the game it should have been out of the box.

This pleases me as it shows that the company is interested in its players and working to better their franchise.  Though World At War did not match up with COD 4 in my opinions, the developers are at least trying to improve.

Which is more then I can say for Infinity Ward.

Activision has been on the defensive for a few weeks now and Infinity Ward has effectively alienated the so-called hard core gamers of the PC platform.  Basically, that’s anybody that expects a PC game to play like a… well… PC game.

Allow me to retreat in time for a moment, dear reader.  I want to look back at the start of this apparent feud.

It began with a heightened level of silence on the part of Activision and IW.  News releases were abnormally rare, but the ad campaign was building a great deal of hype, particularly around the single-player campaign.

We saw cryptic trailers that revealed many secrets under close scrutiny.  Every thing from a snowmobile to an apparent group of Russian terrorists exiting an elevator and attacking someone.

As the hype machine rolled along, we soon saw game play that showed us mountaineering and snowmobiles at E3.  Later there was combat in various parts of the world.  Then something of a PR speed bump when the first footage of combat in Washington DC appeared.  It wasn’t anything too serious, but some of the more extreme types felt a bit sensitive about terrorism in the DC area.

Me?  Oh I just chalked it up to a more interesting story in SP.  It reminded me a bit of Fallout 3 and I thought, this could really get interesting.

The latest trailers, including the release trailer, show even more interesting events.  Something happening in an airport and something that causes a space station to explode and the apparent player to be carried away by the blast.

All this could really make a single-player enthusiast really feel good about this game.

Unfortunately, the negative blows, at least among PC gamers such as myself, have continued as well.

Activision increased the price by $10.  That’s not too bad, but for PC gamers that provide their own rigs and hardware support, we feel a bit cheated.  One of the best reasons to buy a PC version, beyond customization and details, is the lower price.  When a PS3 or XBOX 360 game costs $60, a PC gamer in a pinch can save $10 by purchasing PC games.

It isn’t much and I think that is pretty forgivable too.  If only MW2 wasn’t the only franchise to decide their game was worth more.  Battlefield Bad Company 2 isn’t going up in price and neither are other PC titles.

But I myself could forgive this.  The hype machine made this look like the “must-have” title.  I could maybe shell out another $10 despite economic depression events.  So I just sort-of shrugged that point off.

Help, somebody got jelly all over me!

The “Big One” hit when, during an interview with the Bash and Slash podcast, Rob Bowling of Infinity Ward stated that dedicated servers would not be used for MW2.  When I heard that bit of news, I knew immediately that I would not be purchasing MW2.

For me, a big part of any FPS game is the multi-player aspect.  And COD 4 was an excellent game in that respect.  I do not expect MW2 to follow in those footsteps.

Here’s a brief run-down of the revealed negatives, as I view them, over the past few months.  MW2 will not offer dedicated server support.  Though it will use steam for distribution and VAC support, players will be required to use the iwnet service to play online… in conjunction with steam.

fourzerotwo has gone on to post additional information… but in the end, it all sounds a bit like “It’s better because we say so.”   The biggest argument in support of the new system is that consoles have used this for years.

Of course, to that I say “a console is a console is a console.  They are made nearly identical in every way.  PS3′s are mostly the same with the exception of hard disk space and bulk as sleeker models appear.  So are XBOX 360′s.  And they can get fairly laggy by themselves.  PC’s are vastly different and some are better equipped for hosting then others.  You can’t really compare PC’s to Consoles when it comes to net connections and online gaming.  PC’s are good because they have dedicated servers to join to equalize the playing field and operate under better ideal configurations.”

But there’s more.  Modding will not be available.  Customization, beyond upgrades, streak bonuses, and weapon selection will not be available.  Multi-player games will be capped at nine player teams.  Players with a speed or configuration setting that is too low will never be able to host a server.

Hosting will be determined based on match-making for ping and skill level with exception of “private matches” which will be moderately controllable.  And that is the closest to a dedicated server that the game will allow on release.

IW’s representatives have gone so far as to suggest that server admins simply “slap” a graphic card in their servers and install the game and start private matches as a solution to the dedicated server issue.

And to top the entire matter off, after an overwhelmingly negative response from PC gamers, IW responded with a poorly worded message that seemed to target server admins and so-called hard core gamers as bad influences on the rest of us.

This business has been followed most closely by the Bash podcasts which can be found at this address.  They make a fairly good case for player outrage and also try to find the positive in these matters, hoping that IW will listen to player feedback and update with correction for these mistakes.

I… am less forgiving.

One of my coworkers, a PS3 lover, has been amused by PC backlash and can’t understand why PC users are so upset.  His impression was that PC users have been spoiled to all of this “good stuff” and aren’t used to being treated like the consoles.

I’d say that’s a fair statement.  And why should we settle for console quality when we build and maintain our system on our own?  Why should we PC gamers expect less of a game developer when we make the mods that keep these games alive?  We have built the franchise for Call Of Duty and other titles.

Should we ignore that now because IW says “boo”?

Without dedicated servers, I can’t really play a game like MW2 online.  My connection isn’t good enough to host and playing on someone else’s listen servers in other games becomes laggy after the fourth or fifth person joins.  And a single-player campaign isn’t worth $60 to me.  Especially not with outstanding titles such as Left 4 Dead 2 and Battlefield Bad Company 2 on the way.  Not to mention the already released Borderlands.

Even more icing on this sickeningly bad cake comes in the revelation that MW2 took mod code from COD 4 and implemented it in MW2 without giving the mod developers credit or recognition of any kind.

I simply look to VALVe as an example of how such mods should be handled.  Counter Strike, Day of Defeat, indirectly TFC, even hltv were developed by the community.  What did VALVe do?  They recognized the talent at hand and hired them to turn their projects into profitable merchandise franchises of their own.

IW has really shown a lack of judgment, or as one of the BASH podcast guests stated it, a lack of class.

Now, the most recent stink has arisen over an illegal copy of MW2 that was somehow obtained by a French gamer and posted.  IW and Activision have been fighting to have these video clips removed since they first surfaced, but this is the internet.

Be warned, the rest of this post contains spoilers.

Here are a couple of links that seem to be keeping up with these videos.
http://www.modernwarfare2forums.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1472&p=8514
http://www.mapmodnews.com/article.php/Forced-kil-civilians-Modern-Warfare-2 – german version?

To summarize, during the opening of the game, the player is informed that they are an undercover CIA operative infiltrating a terrorist organization.  They are offered a warning of impending graphic violence and/or harsh images and given the chance to skip that campaign.

Then they are treated to that elevator and airport hinted at during those early trailers.  The player and three terrorists, heavily armed, exit an elevator in an airport and begin gunning down masses of civilians.

The player apparently does not have to shoot anyone, and the German variation of the game may actually give the player a sort of “You Loose” screen if you do kill a civilian.  At the end of the rampage, the player largely looses the need to continue controlling the player as we are treated to the game’s villain revealing that he knows you’re a spy and shooting you.

All of this is intended to set up an emotional experience for the player, but many are disturbed by this.  Many of the “hard core” gamers actually dismiss this scene as being cinematic and motion-picturesque.

My favorite comments come from gamers that say things like “It’s people like you that keep games from become a more mature form of entertainment.”  They usually say this to people upset to see a mass killing portrayed in their game.  Sorry folks, but this isn’t “mature” or “grown up” entertainment.  It’s “shock value”.

And of course, many gamers are baffled as to why any one would be disturbed by an event that occurs daily.

Well, first of all, no… it doesn’t.  Killings happen daily, but not mass slaughters of this nature.  And just because this is intended to replicate a potentially real event, that doesn’t deny anyone the right to feel uneasy about its inclusion in a computer game.

Correction… console game.

And, need I point out that the game apparently includes a space battle or explosion on a space station of some sort during this gripping and realistic storyline?

Of course, there are then those that branch out into movies such as Rambo 4 or games like Grand Theft Auto.  These gamers sadden me.  Rambo is rescuing people from a militaristic regime and most recent GTA titles only have kill streaks for villainous types such as rival gangsters.  Oh, but the original GTA titles didn’t make that distinction?

Well, no… but then again… you’re talking about games that looked like this…

Even then, I can still dismiss this moment in the game.  I think it is incredibly distasteful and could have been handled in a better manner.  It really only marginally strengthens my resolve to avoid this game.

I think the matter of this clip is mostly an opinion discussion and thus isn’t as relevant as shoving PC gamers under the metaphorical bus.  However, I do see much trouble for PC gaming in the near future.  This WILL hit the major media outlets.  CNN has already shown an interest.  And the Jack Thompsons of the world now “appear” to have a more sound argument that these games are “murder trainers”.

How shameful is that?

Some of the supporters of MW2 have even gone so far as to post videos on YouTube in which they play GTA 4 and, using cheat codes mind you, run around killing civilians to prove that MW2 is no worse then GTA.

*sigh*

Do you guys really think that’s such a good idea?

And beside that, GTA 4 was not that great.  San Andreas was better.

In the end, this “scandal” has drawn only idle comments from Activision about how the scene is taken out of context and how the scene doesn’t reflect the scope of the game and how the copy used to make the video was illegally obtained.

*sigh*

Do YOU GUYS [Activision and IW] really think THAT’s such a good argument?

Take it from me, I would never include such a game play element as this in any storyline.  I don’t hold it up as a horrible, despicable, evil action on the part of the developers as many WILL soon.  But… It’s very irresponsible on the part of the developer and should have been handled differently.

Here’s one of a million alternatives of the same scene.

The player could have started, unarmed and waiting in line in the airport itself.  You would move around, visit the check-points and progress through on your way to your gate.  While waiting at the last security checkpoint, the elevator behind you opens to reveal the Russian Terrorists who proceed to gun you down.  Laying there, for a few last fleeting moments, you see the terrorists continue shooting and walking past you as you hear the gunfire and screams.

The violence doesn’t need to be shown as it can be more powerful when implied and this doesn’t make the player an unlikable character from the outset.  You’re not a murderer… your one of the hapless victims.

But I digress. Love the scene or hate it… or, like myself, simply add it to the list of questionable decisions by IW and Activision.  That’s your prerogative and your opinion.

Nevertheless, this may have major political ramifications for gamers and only adds to my distaste for MW2.

Why is it that the official screen shots aren't really screen shots but are PhotoShopped poses?

I will NOT be buying this game.  Perhaps, in a month or two, should the game turn more PC friendly I may consider purchasing it then.  But for now, I hope IW and Activision choke on lousy PC sales.  I say this not because I horribly resent them for making a console game, but because I am sick of developers essentially ignoring their players.

This is particularly disturbing when they ignore the players that built their franchise.  It shows arrogance I don’t plan to support and it shows a lack of interest in improving their games.

COD 4 is still popular, partly because of good game play and partly because of the mod community.  World At War may actually be in that same boat.

Did I mention that the next COD title is already planned for 2010.  Apparently we’re supposed to shell out $60 per year to buy annual games now.  At least the next title will be developed by Treyarch.  I wasn’t impressed by World At War, but they seem to be really trying.  They’ve shown more interest in PC gamers and in developing better games, and not simply throwing greater levels of shock value at us.

In the end, it’s business decisions that make me draw my support away from MW2.  And its business decisions that make me unhappy with developers of games like the modern Sonic titles [I'll explain this on my DA blog] or the infamous Duke Nukem Forever.

Come along now children… are we the modders and creative minds of you’re supposed fan-base really going to be forced to show YOU how to make games…

…because I will.  I have a darker, more grown up Sonic story concept already in the works.  It’s meant for a comic or fan-novel, but I have a mod plan in mind too.  Die hard Sonic fans will likely hate it, but people interested in a grown up, mature version of those games will love it.  I have ideas for a special BWL Duke Nukem Forever also.  A heavy story that remakes Duke in a proper fashion rather then simply ripping off Evil Dead catch phrases and passing strippers around.

I can write circles around your airport holocausts if I really want to.  And the community can produce more talented developers then you currently employ.  Clean up your act, or we the gamers… yes, especially the PC gamers… will replace you with someone better.  Such is the beauty of a free market system and capitalism.

We… the consumer… have the real power.

- End of Rant -

The Left 4 Dead DLC including the new “Crash Course” campaign has landed today.

This new two map campaign fills in the gap between No Mercy’s helicopter rescue and Death Toll’s… standing in the middle of the road.

In addition to the new update, Valve is offering a discount on Left 4 Dead until the 2nd of October.  Get the game this week with a 50% discount.

Also, 10 more achievements.

http://www.l4d.com/crashcourse/

However, as has been stipulated before, this mod about a cat trapped and ownerless during the Black Mesa incident has plenty of lives left.  Earlier this week, BiGToM announced that an older piece of code from prior efforts had been successfully implemented.  The original code had been fraught with bugs such as monsters sinking into the floor.  Nevertheless, after a lengthy wait for a new coder [a wait that included a cash reward], the early code was modified and fixed.

Now, with corrected code in hand, Team Cat-Life is able to wrap up other portions of the mod.  With this news, the team has also announced a target date for the first stage of Open Beta testing.  Expect to be able to download and play the Cat-Life beta in November.

The beta will also include additional bonus content including maps that were cut from the project and some of the original concept.

To help celebrate, I’ve asked BiGToM for some new screen shots for the gallery.  We’ve now added four new images.  Also, be sure to keep an eye on PHL, TWHL’s Forums, HL2Files, and our FPS Banana Account for this press release.  I dispatched two “exclusive” screenshots to each of those sites with our news and those images will not be added to the gallery.

Also, and this is to clarify previous statements, the team does not intend to stop work on Cat-Life and switch over to the Source engine.  There is, however, an ongoing discussion regarding the possibility of either converting a finished Cat-Life to Source or… more likely… making a sequel using Source.

No matter the outcome of that discussion, Cat-Life will begin its open beta in November and we do want it finished before moving to the next project.

And if you are interested in working on a sequel in Source, and happen to know how to code… contact me at the_wildcat@bwldevelopment.com  I personally would like to have someone writing new source code long before the team is actually ready to work on a second mod and possibly accelerate the development process.

Day 1 features the addition of 18 new hats.

Additionally, another community map is on its way to official TF2 circles.  Arena Offblast.  This map is based on the oldest of Bond Villain base concepts.  A mountain, hollowed out and filled with nuclear missiles.

Check back later for more updates.

UPDATE:
Day 2 of the Classless update includes a look at the new King of the Hill game mode.  Teams must face off on one capture point and successfully capture and hold that point for 3 minutes.

Included with King of the Hill is a new KOTH map called Viaduct and a KOTH version of Nucleus and Sawmill.

This news has been around since the 4th of August, but I just now read about it.  Valve has announced a new DLC for Left 4 Dead that will add a two map campaign between No Mercy and Death Toll.

The idea is to fill in the enormous gap in story between escaping in a helicopter and suddenly walking down an old roadway.  I’d say, given this is coming out now instead of back in May when Left 4 Dead 2 was announced, that Valve is also trying to prove that they intend to support Left 4 Dead even with a new game on the way.

Crash Course is designed for Versus Mode but can be played in Campaign and Survivor Modes as well.  The point is that they designed these maps to play faster because players don’t really like to sit down and play through each “chapter” a couple of times and stretch an already 1 hour journey into an even longer event.

This is estimated to take about half the time a normal versus campaign would, because most players quit after that.  We’ll have to wait and see if their new maps and weapon drop locations and what-not will help alleviate rage quitting.  I could say much about rage quitting and why it exists, but I think we’ll save that for another time.

This new campaign has been previewed over on destructoid.com.  Be warned, however, it contains campaign spoilers.

Click here for the preview.

In short, it was said to be fun and thrilling.