New Sins of a Solar Empire Maps: Jun 28, 2009
Sins of a Solar Empire Home
Today at 06:55:26 AM by RTSC

The following are the newest map(s) that have been added for Sins of a Solar Empire:







And should you have any SSE maps, feel free to send them in for all to enjoy!

0 Comments | Write Comment

New Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Mods: Jun 23, 2009
Supreme Commander Home, Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Home
June 23, 2009, 09:17:36 AM by RTSC

The following are the newest mod(s) that have been added for Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance:



And should you have any ForAll mods, feel free to send them in for all to enjoy!

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

New Dawn of Fantasy Images: Jun 23, 2009
Dawn of Fantasy Home
June 23, 2009, 09:15:46 AM by RTSC

The following are the newest image(s) that have been added for Dawn of Fantasy:

2 New DoF Screenshots:
0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

Starcraft 2: Battle Reports #3
June 23, 2009, 05:40:43 AM by Darvin

A new battle report has been released, this time showing a Protoss vs Zerg matchup.

Part 1:


Part 2:


0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 52: Map Maker Series
June 21, 2009, 03:44:35 PM by Clord

1. Does it still use the JASS language, or perhaps an upgraded version of JASS?
StarCraft II uses an entirely new scripting language, which we’ve called Galaxy. This language is very similar to C, and anyone familiar with programming in C will have no trouble picking it up.

2. Is the language event-driven or object-oriented?
The language itself is not object-oriented, although most of the native functionality is based around operating on game objects.

3. In comparison to the Warcraft III Editor, how much more, if any, can the GUI of the game be edited (it was extremely limited in Warcraft III)?
The in-game UI layout is externalized in data files to a large extent, however there is no editor support for working with these files. So it will be possible to customize the game UI, it just won't be a user-friendly process.

4. Are there new noteworthy functionalities in the Starcraft II Editor, or will the new editor just have general improvements?
I can’t think of a single editor feature from WarCraft III, large or small, which has not been improved in at least some way for StarCraft II.

5. Will the ability to communicate among triggers, for instance via actions or conditions, be improved in the new language?
One significant new feature of the Trigger Editor is support for custom function definitions, including actions and conditions. This means you can create your own actions that are built up from other actions (or custom script code), then use those in triggers just as you would any other action.

6. How does "Hero" support differ from the Warcraft III Editor? Or is it practically identical?
We’ve been working hard to create a hero system that is even more flexible than WarCraft III’s. For example, map makers will have the ability to define any number of custom attributes that modify a hero based on its level.

7. Will there be a public API for the programming language?
As with WarCraft III, there is a large set of “native” functions representing game functionality that can be accessed through scripts. If this is what you mean by “public API”, then yes.

8. Will there be improvements on the "Garbage Collector" for the new language? For example, in JASS all local variables need to be set to null at the end of their use, and certain data-types need to be removed from the game (such as Locations) at the end of their use to avoid memory leaks.
Galaxy features a robust garbage collection system for all native types, which is a huge improvement over WarCraft III (which technically did not have a garbage collection system at all). The script memory leak issues from WarCraft III will be a thing of the past.

---End of Transmission---

http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=17779588788&sid=3000

1 Comment | Write Comment | Top

New Warcraft 3 Maps: Jun 5, 2009
Warcraft 3 Home
June 05, 2009, 06:31:47 AM by RTSC

The following are the newest map(s) that have been added for Warcraft 3:


And should you have any WC3 maps, feel free to send them in for all to enjoy!

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

New Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Maps: Jun 5, 2009
Supreme Commander Home, Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Home
June 05, 2009, 06:31:47 AM by RTSC

The following are the newest map(s) that have been added for Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance:



And should you have any ForAll maps, feel free to send them in for all to enjoy!

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

New CoH: Opposing Fronts Maps: Jun 1, 2009
CoH: Opposing Fronts Home
June 01, 2009, 08:14:59 AM by RTSC

The following are the newest map(s) that have been added for CoH: Opposing Fronts:


And should you have any OppFro maps, feel free to send them in for all to enjoy!

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

New Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Maps: Jun 1, 2009
Supreme Commander Home, Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Home
June 01, 2009, 08:14:59 AM by RTSC

The following are the newest map(s) that have been added for Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance:







And should you have any ForAll maps, feel free to send them in for all to enjoy!

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 51
Starcraft 2 Home
May 28, 2009, 01:05:04 AM by Clord

Chat with Devs: Between adding new unit models and sliming up the zerg buildings, the StarCraft II art team has also spent some time on some little details that make the game come alive, such as new unit death animations. Featured below, we have a protoss carrier being blown out of the sky by a squad of terran marines, as well as several zerg units falling to their fates.
http://www.starcraft2.com/features/misc/deathanimations.xml

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if you're enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 51 ---

1. Add an option in the menu to disable the windows key, and same thing goes for ALT-TAB?
And add an EASY way to squelch your opponent. When their name “IllIIlIIlIIlIIlllI” (L & i), it's a little difficult.

While we are not considering disabling the windows key and Alt+Tab, we are looking into the naming policy to prevent problems like the one you described.

2. StarCraft 2's terrain properties such as Xel'Naga towers, destroyable barriers and Brush have a significant effect on gameplay and appear to create specific points of interest/advantage on the map. Are there plans to introduce additional terrain buffs/effect to the battlefield?

The current terrain features are not finalized. We still have these three map features in the game and we plan to keep them during the beta, but it is always possible to add more features if we find something that’s balanced and encourages exciting game play.

3. Since there are/were plans to integrate voice communications into multiplayer, will StarCraft 2 replays be able to include Audio, as well as chat?

Replay files do not include audio. However you will be able to see all text chats while you are watching replay.

4. You have talked a bit about replay functions lately and since patches will come up definitely former replays won’t work if the system sticks with SC1 or W3. Do you plan on making changes here so that players can view older replays ever after patches occur?

Yes, even as the game gets patched, you will be able to watch replays of matches played on older versions.

5. The interface we see in Battle Reports – is this interface available for Observers during a live game (in real time), or only while viewing replays, or both?

The interface you’ve seen in Battle Reports will be available in observer mode as well as in replays during beta.

6. StarCraft II is a package consisting of single player/campaign, multiplayer (+replay viewer), map editor and Battle.net. All four are complex and without a doubt require testing and patching. Has it been decided which of the above components are planned to be included in public beta testing?

You can have multiplayer game access through Battle.net during the beta and you can watch the replays as well. There will also be access to the Map Editor during the beta process but not necessarily from the start. Single player campaign will not be included in the beta.

---End of Transmission---

http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=17367809543&sid=3000&pageNo=1

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

New Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Maps: May 13, 2009
Supreme Commander Home, Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Home
May 13, 2009, 12:23:40 AM by RTSC

The following are the newest map(s) that have been added for Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance:


And should you have any ForAll maps, feel free to send them in for all to enjoy!

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

New CoH: Opposing Fronts Maps: May 13, 2009
CoH: Opposing Fronts Home
May 13, 2009, 12:23:40 AM by RTSC

The following are the newest map(s) that have been added for CoH: Opposing Fronts:


And should you have any OppFro maps, feel free to send them in for all to enjoy!

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

New StarCraft II Battle Report Available Now
April 24, 2009, 11:20:19 AM by Clord

We have just released the second installment of our StarCraft II Battle Reports, a series of videos created for the official website in order to give you a closer look at the fast-paced, intense, and exciting-to-watch multiplayer matches of StarCraft II. In this latest battle report, you'll see two of Blizzard Entertainment's best players go head-to-head as the zerg and terrans while our commentators, StarCraft II lead designer Dustin Browder and eSports team member Robert Simpson, dissect and analyze the on-screen action for you.

http://www.starcraft2.com/features/battlereports/2.xml

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

New Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Mods: Apr 11, 2009
Supreme Commander Home, Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Home
April 11, 2009, 10:19:01 PM by RTSC

The following are the newest mod(s) that have been added for Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance:


And should you have any ForAll mods, feel free to send them in for all to enjoy!

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

New Dawn of Fantasy Images: Apr 9, 2009
Dawn of Fantasy Home
April 09, 2009, 08:25:37 AM by RTSC

The following are the newest image(s) that have been added for Dawn of Fantasy:

12 New DoF Screenshots:
0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

CoH patch 2.500 and 2.501
April 08, 2009, 09:37:25 PM by Nick-SoD

Relic has released the patch notes and updated the community on when the patches should be going live. Look for the servers to update today (April 8th) at 16:00 GMT. The first patch unlocks all the new content, so original CoH and OF players can play people that purchase the new expansion, CoH: Tales of Valor; of course, you'll have to actually buy ToF to play with the new units and features. The second patch, then, is to balance in all the new stuff.

You can check out the patch notes for 2.500/2.501 here and the 'going live' announcement here at the CoH community forums. So, let's get back to the battlefield, gentlemen!...and ladies? :-)

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

CoH: Tales of Valor goes Gold!
Company of Heroes Home
March 26, 2009, 07:58:39 PM by Nick-SoD

The next expansion to the successful Company of Heroes series has just recently entered the "gold" stage of development and should be hitting stores sometime early April (April 9 in the US). Here's the official news release, as well as a short snippet of information on the expansion:



2 Comments | Write Comment | Top

StarCraft II Q&A Batch 50
March 25, 2009, 09:42:48 PM by Clord

Chat with Devs: StarCraft II from its conception has been designed to be an eSport and one of the backbone features to helping players learn more about their own gameplay as well as their opponents is through replays. In our chat with Dustin this week, he highlighted various features that will be available to players while viewing replays. These features are designed both to help players improve in StarCraft II as well as serve as a platform of statistics for eSports commentary.

• How much damage did that Reaper raid do on the enemy economy?
• Does it look like the enemy is going to be able to make a comeback?
• Is that player walking into a losing battle?

These are all questions that are raised in exciting competitive games and replays. With the new replay system, players and eSports casters will be able to follow these games in much more depth, as well as understand the repercussions of players’ major decisions on the battlefield. Players will be able to easily compare statistics of opposing players in real time as well as make their own predictions based on stats comparing army size, resource collection rate, resource allocations, and tech research in progress.

Reapers Raiding Zerg’s Economy
http://www.battle.net/Images/misc/3-17/Replay_UI%20_Resources_1.jpg
http://www.battle.net/Images/misc/3-17/Replay_UI%20_Resources_2.jpg

Comparing Army Sizes
http://www.battle.net/Images/misc/3-17/Replay_UI%20_Units_1.jpg
** Replay UI is still very much work in progress
*** Shown are two tabs of various info tabs the player will be able to view while viewing a replay

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if you're enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 50---

1. Overlord can be upgraded to carry units, and spawn creep, and Overseer can detect, spawn changeling, and has a longer line of sight. Why not just have the Overlord upgraded with these abilities, rather than have him transform? – Mooiki (Lordaeron)

We want each race’s detection ability to be well balanced. We don’t want to see every Overlord with detection after upgrading the ability once at Lair. Separating detection capability into two units creates important choices for Zerg players, to ensure their army has enough support of each type available.

2. Any support for stereoscopic play? - Ylleks (Azeroth)

Stereoscopic vision can be an interesting feature, as we’ve seen with the recently added support in World of Warcraft and other games. For now however, the team is concentrating on the core aspects of StarCraft II and making sure the core features of the game that will be used by everyone are as good as can be. Later on down the road we can evaluate more features like this and see if they make sense to support in StarCraft II.

3. At previous events with playable StarCraft II stations we often saw players doing classic Brood War build orders and tactics. Taking all the new things into account, how far do you get with playing just like in Brood War? Is it a clear disadvantage or a good way to start? - instarcraft.de

It will depend on the player’s play type and creativity. The experience and skills from the original StarCraft will definitely help players get familiar with StarCraft II. However, there are a lot more units, abilities, and buildings in StarCraft II than the original StarCraft. Players can always start out playing in the way that they used to play in the original StarCraft. As they grow more comfortable with the game they can begin exploring the new units and abilities and discover lots of new strategies. It’s not a matter of advantage or disadvantage, it depends more on the players’ play styles and preferences.

4. Will it be possible to use characters to colour ingame text like in SC1? – StarCraftWire.net

No, currently there is no in-game colored text support. Colored text was a neat trick in the original game, but we wanted to ensure that all in-game communication is clear and easily-readable, so we’re only supporting default text style.

5. In the single player, you said we can choose from the missions and the way we want to go forward. Will it be like we definitely will play all the missions and we can choose the order, or does it mean that probably we will miss some missions? – StarCraft II Hungary

In most cases, you’ll be able to go back and explore a mission branch that you skipped earlier in the campaign, so you can experience almost all of the missions in a single play-through of the campaign. There may be a couple of rare cases where a choice you make closes off a mission, however.

6. Will campaign decisions in the Terran portion affect campaign outcomes/branches in the Zerg and Protoss portions? - TheWarCenter

We looked into this possibility, but after some debate, we decided it was most important that each campaign delivers a self-contained, yet epic storyline. Giving each campaign a single start and ending was the best way to ensure a coherent plot.

7. In the original StarCraft, you could make the Lurker (through bug use), while burrowed, hold fire until told to attack, something which led to many exciting situations. Are there any plans to include a “hold fire” command for the Lurker in SC2? In addition, worker units lacked Hold and Patrol commands in SC, will this be the case in SC2 as well? – Team Liquid (Zanric)

There is no hold fire command for Lurker in the current build. However we will look into every possibility that encourages more tactical, exciting gameplay and keeps the game balanced.


---End of Transmission---

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

A Video Preview and Five Reviews
Empire: Total War Home
March 03, 2009, 01:58:53 AM by HordeOfDoom

Firstly we have a new preview from Gametrailers, available here. It focuses on siege battles and naval warfare, with some new video footage interspersed with the recut trailer.

Now, on to five new reviews, a number which can only increase further as release of the full game is imminent.

IGN UK, 9.5/10.
Full article here.

CVG, 9.4/10.
Full article here.

Gamingheaven, 94%.
Full article here.

PC Format, 92%.
Full article here.

Bit-tech 8/10.
Full article here.


0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

NowGamer Review
Empire: Total War Home
March 01, 2009, 12:28:08 AM by HordeOfDoom

The latest E:TW review comes from NowGamer, with a verdict of 10/10, "The greatest strategy game of all time."

What are you waiting for? Click here for the full thing.

Also, E:TW has already been shipped to some lucky pre-order customers, and is available for sale at some stores that jumped the gun. Although the game cannot be activated until release day, if you check around you could be one of the first to own the game, and have the manual memorized come release!


2 Comments | Write Comment | Top

Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment Releases
Sins of a Solar Empire Home
February 28, 2009, 08:58:35 AM by Darvin

The first Sins of a Solar Empire expansion pack has been released.  It adds starbases, minefields, and many new units and technologies.  Best of all, it costs only $10.  You can get more details here.  It's only available via online download, but at that price who can complain?

0 Comments | Write Comment | Top

Reviews and Video Review
February 28, 2009, 03:06:33 AM by HordeOfDoom

With the full release mere days away, reviews will soon be pouring in. IGN are one of the first, giving E:TW a 9.5/10 'Incredible' rating.

Read the full thing here, and check out the video review as well.

Eurogamer are early reviewers as well, giving E:TW a 9/10.

Check out the full review for more.


0 Comments | Write Comment | Top