Archives:

12/14/2004 3:01:53 PM - Steam update

12/16/2004 8:45:49 PM - Steam update

12/17/2004 8:46:36 AM - Dice News

12/17/2004 8:49:49 AM - SAS Demo Released

12/17/2004 5:28:50 PM - Source dedicated server update

12/19/2004 12:30:19 AM - New Battlefield 2 Screenshots!

12/21/2004 3:25:31 AM - STeam update + HL@ demo has been released

12/22/2004 8:21:45 PM - Steam + HL2 + CS:S Update

12/22/2004 9:20:20 PM - Operation Peacekeeper Released

12/22/2004 9:28:16 PM - BattleGroup42 Released

Submitted by: Zor - 12/14/2004 3:01:53 PM

Steampowered.com have just announced that a new steam update has just been released. Here is an extract from their website

Steam Client Update Released
December 14, 2004, 10:57 am · valve
A platform update is available and will be applied automatically when Steam is restarted. The changes include:

Steam

* Source MODs will now automatically appear in the games list
* Improved startup process for Steam
* Fixed crash when creating a backup that would span multiple DVDs
* Fixed a bug that would unnecessarily validate Steam caches after a cache corruption
* Fixed Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes and Codename Gordon failing to backup correctly
* Fixed a bug where the message “the game files will be deleted and re-acquired” would repeat
* Fixed offline mode failing after not connecting to Steam for more than a month


Half-Life 2

* Optimization to the Steam filesystem to reduce game launch and level transition time


Source SDK

* Simplified debug-launch process for MOD developers. MOD developers no longer need to place a config file in their directory
* Added a registry key for MOD developers to use to locate a user’s Steam installation located at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Valve\Steam\SourceModInstallPath

Submitted by: Zor - 12/16/2004 8:45:49 PM

Steampowered.com Have just announced that there has been an update for both the source engine and counter-strike:Source

Here is an exract from their webpage

Counter-Strike: Source, Source Engine Update Available
December 16, 2004, 3:41 pm · valve
Counter-Strike: Source and Source Engine updates are available and will be applied automatically when Steam is restarted. The changes include:

Counter-Strike: Source
* Added map: de_prodigy
* Improved player movement against walls
* Improved choppy player movement when bouncing down slopes
* Purchase icon for defuser is shown
* Physics prop avoidance is scaled by the object's mass
* Detail prop fade distance can be controlled on a per-map basis with env_detail_controller
* Spectator GUI last mode is saved
* Added spectate player by name
* Grenades, weapons, etc., splash when they land in water
* Frag grenade deafness is delayed so the explosion is heard
* Fixed viewmodel lag
* Added consistency checking player model bounds
* Weapon reloads finish when the round restarts
* Autobuy and rebuy trigger a reload if you don't buy a primary weapon
* Rebuy doesn't drop pistols the player has picked up
* Dropped weapon ammo isn't lost if the player has another weapon using that ammo
* Re-added hostage hint messages
* Smoke grenade canisters fade out and are removed when smoke is dense
* Breakable glass is blown outward proportional to the damage recieved
* Soundscapes update for observers
* Fixed not being able to attach to ladder tops
* Misc fixes to spray import


Source Engine
* Fixed crash when trying to play an MP3 that doesn't exist or is an invalid format
* Fixed a crash when playing MP3 files with ID3 tags
* Fixed network being started early enough so UDP remote logging works
* World rendering optimizations
* Fixed problems with demo recording
* Added command "setinfo " to allow clients to add custom user info fields (creates a new cvar flagged as FCVAR_USERINFO)
* Enabled sv_downloadurl & sv_consistency on dedicated servers
* Fixed "kick " command via rcon if the name is surrounded by quotes
* Fixed bug in "logaddress_add" that wouldn't add the correct port if the port and address were surrounded by quotes
* Added "player_say" event for 3rd party plugins
* Fixed crash in dedicated servers when issuing a say before the map is run

Submitted by: BumbleBee - 12/17/2004 8:46:36 AM

Here is some interesting news regarding the planned acquisition of Dice by EA. Check it out.

Electronic Arts' planned acquisition of Swedish developer Digital Illusions CE has hit a major obstacle, with shareholders representing 28 per cent of the firm's stock rejecting the proposed deal. Last month the developer's board of directors recommended to shareholders that they should accept EA's offer for the company, which valued each share in Digital Illusions at 61 SEK. However, two groups of shareholders have announced their opposition to the deal, and between them they represent around 28 per cent of the firm's stock - enough to prevent the acquisition from happening, according to Swedish financial news site di.se.

Electronic Arts, which publishes the company's Battlefield titles and owns the Battlefield brand, currently holds around 19 per cent of Digital Illusions stock, but wishes to make the studio into part of its European studios group, which also includes recent acquisition Criterion.

Submitted by: BumbleBee - 12/17/2004 8:49:49 AM

The Battlefield 2 SAS Mod has release a demo of their mod for Battlefield Vietnam. Check it out.

Yes we have been secretly working on a demo version of the mod to release to you guys for to show off the content and mapping etc to you, it’s only a demo version so it isn’t fully done, there are two maps within the demo SAS Urban Terror - Lets get ready to party SAS urban style, all the close combat needs are in this map ready to kick some Opfor Ass SAS Training Ground - Were do SAS train? Well in a massive close quarter battle set up, and yes you can as well Teams:

SAS Urban | SAS Desert | Opfor Urban | Opfor Desert

Textures and models are still in beta stages so not all complete, Player textures are subjected to very first beta and are only temporary, until 0.05 is released publicly. All weapons are ready for use, and all have been bug checked, if you do how ever find any bugs, please email us at SFAllsopp@hotmail.com

FilePlanet - Download (92MB)

Submitted by: Zor - 12/17/2004 5:28:50 PM

Steampowered.com have just announced that a new update for the source dedicated server has been released. Here is an extract from their website

Source Dedicated Server Update
December 17, 2004, 5:22 pm · valve
A Source Dedicated Server update is available and will be applied automatically when Steam is restarted. The changes include:

Source Dedicated Server
* Fixed +ip not being applied when given on the command line
* HL2 depot fix for upcoming SDK update

Submitted by: BumbleBee - 12/19/2004 12:30:19 AM

The ToTheGame.com website has posted some new Battlefield 2 screenshots. Check it out!

Submitted by: Zor - 12/21/2004 3:25:31 AM

Steampowered.com have just announced that a steam update has been released as well as a playable demo of HL2

Here is an extract from thier website

Source SDK Update Released
December 20, 2004, 5:09 pm · cliffe
A Source SDK update is available and will be applied automatically when Steam is restarted. The changes include:

Source SDK

* Fixed "bCloseSuccessful" bug in Hammer with directory trees too deep
* Added faceposer
* Included view model sources for Half-Life 2
* Revised directory structure - content and sources are kept separate
* Added presets for expert compiles within Hammer
* Fixed problems with launching the game from within Hammer
* Hammer's Game Configurations UI now displays the active configuration on entry
* Hammer now displays paths in a more readable manner
* Create a Mod puts the mod content into the SourceMods folder (shows up in Steam's games list)
* Added vconfig - a tool to handle specifying the current game you're editing
* Fixes for various cases of path environment variables not working
* Buildcubemaps fixed
* Improved startup speed of the SDK launcher
* Simplified debugging under Steam (eliminated the need to copy steam.dll and make steamapp.cfg)


Visit this page for more information on this release.



Half-Life 2 Demo Released
December 20, 2004, 11:29 am · cliffe
A free demo of Half-Life 2 has been released. Featuring some of the amazing digital actors and physical gameplay that has made Half-Life 2 the leading contender for Game of the Year 2004, the demo takes players through some of the early levels of the game and later transports them to the area of the game known as Ravenholm. The demo is available at ATI.com and requires a Steam account to install.

Submitted by: Zor - 12/22/2004 8:21:45 PM

Steampowered.com have just announced that a new steam update has been released. Here is an extract from thier website

Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source Update Released
December 22, 2004, 3:37 pm · Alfred Reynolds
Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source updates are available and will be applied automatically when Steam is restarted. The changes include:

Half-Life 2
* Fixed sound stuttering problems caused by thread contention in sound system

Counter-Strike: Source
* Fixed missing models when running the Video Stress Test




Half-Life 2 Closed Captioning and Steam Now in Portuguese
December 21, 2004, 6:47 pm · cliffe
Half-Life 2 Portuguese text closed captioning system and Game UI and Steam in Portuguese are now available through the Steam Options dialog. CounterStrike: Source and Half-Life: Source will be made available in Portuguese soon.

Submitted by: BumbleBee - 12/22/2004 9:20:20 PM

The Operation Peacekeeper Mod has released the first version of their mod today. You can download this Battlefield Veitnam Mod below.

FilePlanet - Download OPK v0.1 (202MB)

Here are three official game servers:
195.13.62.153:27000:27020
195.13.62.174:27000:27020
195.13.62.155:27000:27020

Submitted by: BumbleBee - 12/22/2004 9:28:16 PM

The BattleGroup42 Mod is happy to announce the release of version 1.1 of their mod today. Check it out!

BattleGrou42 v1.1 (292MB) [Requires v1.0]
BattleGroup42 v. 1.0 (800MB)