 Far Cry shader 3.0 Patch Arrives
Fido over at The Inquirer reports that I've just installed Far Cry 1.1 retail patch and found to my surprise that Shader patch 3 for Nvidia NV40 cards is already available.
The Far Cry web site actually talks about new 1.2 retail patch the one that the boys are still testing, but according to the site even 1.1 patch can support Nvidia shader 3.0.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 25, 2004, 2:52 pm
News Source : Warp2Search
 Radeon X800XT PCI Express
Driverheaven have just posted their latest article which looks at the performance of the Radeon X800XT on PCI-Express and compares it to the AGP version! Here's a snip.
Recently I reviewed ATIs newest mid level card the X600XT and while it struggled a little at the highest resolutions it walked away with a silver medal for its low power consumption, overall performance, value for money and high 2D and 3D image quality
It is with alot of interest today I turn Driverheavens new test rig to the PCIe version of the gold award winning powerhouse that is the X800XT.
This specific card we are reviewing today, codenamed The R423 is the non platinium edition meaning it is clocked at 500mhz core and 500/1000mhz ram.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 25, 2004, 2:51 pm
News Source : Warp2Search
ATI Multimedia Center 9.1
Multimedia Center is an integrated suite of software applications designed to provide the ultimate multimedia playback experience. Combined with ATI's industry leading RADEON and ALL-IN-WONDER products, Multimedia Center provides end users with advanced players
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 25, 2004, 2:50 pm
News Source : Warp2Search
Download : for XP
 Riddick game soundtrack available for free
VU Games releases the score to its acclaimed Xbox game in MP3 format; now available on DLX.
Today, fans of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay got a free bonus, courtesy of VU Games. The publisher released the entire soundtrack for the video game as a free download.
Currently available on DLX, the soundtrack runs 46.6 minutes in length, and features 16 moody tracks by composer Gustaf Grefberg. Four of the tracks are exclusive mixes of several individual game tracks put together.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 25, 2004, 2:48 pm
News Source : Neowin
Download : Soundtrack
 Silent Hill 4: Latest shots
Welcome to the world of the weird in the gore-fest that hasn't seen a duster in years
Some games are designed to thrill, others to kill and then there's Silent Hill 4: The Room - inducing a swift pants change appears to be its sole mission. Looking at these latest shots, it certainly is trying hard as the blood and gore factor are complemented by freaks and apparitions all bent on twisting your mind every which way.
The blood, gore and general nastiness is something we've come to expect but you'll note in the screens that being really messy seems to be a theme. Many of the living rooms seem on a par with the fat man's kitchen in the film Se7en. Grime and filth seem to fur up every corner and cockroach-infested plate.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 25, 2004, 2:47 pm
Nihilistic Off Starcraft:Ghost
When Blizzard announced that StarCraft: Ghost would be delayed, what wasn't announced was that Blizzard would be developing it on its own now.
When Blizzard announced the delay of Starcraft: Ghost this past Friday, the accompanying press release made no mention of Nihilistic Software, the development studio behind the title. After seeking further confirmation, HomeLAN is now reporting that Nihilistic Software has finished their work with Starcraft: Ghost.
"Nihilistic has completed its contribution on Starcraft: Ghost. They are contracted to begin work on another project in the months ahead," stated a Nihilistic representative when contacted by HomeLAN. "Due to the requirements of that obligation and the delay of StarCraft, it was mutually determined that now would be the best time for them to complete their work."
The original plan called for Nihilistic Software to develop the game while Blizzard provided art and additional assistance. With Nihilistic out of the picture, Blizzard will be taking complete control of the project, with further development assumedly handled by one of Blizzard's internal studios.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 25, 2004, 2:46 pm
News Source : Gamers.com
Half-Life 2 Screenshots
The official Half-Life 2 site had two new high resolution pictures. Unfortunately these pictures where taken down a few days ago for whatever reason. Luckily a Swedish site called halflife.nu grabbed these two pictures.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 25, 2004, 2:44 pm
News Source : Neowin
No online play for GTA San Andreas
After a long talk and the decision of Rockstar's creative director Dan Houser, GTA San Andreas will not have online play for the PS2 Version. The expulsion of the online play for PS2, almost definitely takes out the possibility of it being implemented in the Xbox and PC versions, which will probably appear at 2005.
Speaking in an interview with Dutch games magazine Power Unlimited, Houser categorically stated that "San Andreas will not be online," going on to explain that "we would have to sacrifice too much for it."
"We have a lot of script writers working on GTA, and they use so many scenarios to build the story - it's impossible to do that in an online game, that problem has not been solved," he explained. Quoted from Dan Houser.
News Posted by : Dodge On
: June 21, 2004, 7:06 pm
News Source : Neowin
 No backwards compatibility for X-Box 2
Magoo - There had been speculation that MS would use the tech aquired via its purchase of Virtual PC, a popular piece of emulation software. I'd be surprised and dissapointed if Microsoft didn't maintain support for the older games.
Sources close to Microsoft's senior Xbox executives have confirmed that the company does not intend to make its next-generation console, which is set to be launched by late 2005, backwards compatible with existing Xbox software. Speculation about the backwards compatibility functionality has been rife since it emerged that Xbox 2 - codenamed Xenon - will have radically different hardware to the original system, with a non-x86 processor, no hard drive and an ATI, rather than NVIDIA, graphics chipset, all of which would make running Xbox titles on the platform very difficult.
It was widely believed, however, that Microsoft had retained a team of hardware emulation experts to work on the problem - although concerns over the viability of such an endeavour were voiced by some experts, especially regarding the company's ability to emulate the functions of the graphics unit in the Xbox without violating NVIDIA's intellectual property rights. GamesIndustry.biz has now learned that Microsoft does not plan to provide any backwards compatibility in the next-generation Xenon platform - and indeed, that senior executives at the company don't believe backwards compatibility to be an important feature for consoles. According to a source close to the project, internal Microsoft figures suggest that only 10 per cent of PlayStation 2 purchasers were interested in the console's ability to play titles developed for the original PlayStation.
News Posted by : Dodge On
: June 21, 2004, 7:05 pm
News Source : Neowin
 Wallpaper designed to protect Wi-Fi networks
Who wouldn't want to have wallpaper that could stop electronic eavesdropping? A British defense contractor BAE Systems has developed a panel that does just that. In addition to being only 50 to 100 microns thick. This panel can be applied to almost any surface. What's interesting about this is that it lets other traffic through. Such as radio and cell phone signals. This technology comes with a price tag of $265,000.
British defense contractor BAE Systems has developed a stealth wallpaper designed to stop electronic eavesdropping on Wi-Fi networks.
The company has produced panels designed to prevent outsiders from listening in on companies' Wi-Fi traffic but let other traffic through, including radio and mobile phone signals. The FSS (Frequency Selective Surface) panels are made in the same way as printed circuit boards, with layers of copper on Kapton polymer. These materials are also used in stealth bombers and fighter jets. The panels come in two varieties: passive, which is permanently turned on, and active, where various areas can be switched on and off to enlarge or limit the area of the network.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 21, 2004, 7:04 pm
News Source : C-Net News
Why Microsoft should have made SP2 open to all
An excellent article from a very intellegent writer - see his website for more information.
"The security of your computer and your network depends on two things: what you do to secure your computer and network, and what everyone else does to secure their computers and networks. It's not enough for you to maintain a secure network. If everybody else doesn't maintain their security, we're all more vulnerable to attack. When there are lots of insecure computers connected to the Internet, worms spread faster and more extensively, distributed denial-of-service attacks are easier to launch, and spammers have more platforms from which to send e-mail. The more insecure the average computer on the Internet is, the more insecure your computer is.
It's like malaria: everyone is safer when we all work together to drain the swamps and increase the level of hygiene in our community. This is the backdrop from which to understand Microsoft's Windows XP security upgrade: Service Pack 2. SP2 is a major security upgrade. It includes features like Windows Firewall, an enhanced personal firewall that is turned on by default, and a better automatic patching feature. It includes a bunch of small security improvements. It makes Windows XP more secure.
In early May, stories were written saying that Microsoft would make this upgrade available to all XP users, both licensed and unlicensed. To me, this was a very smart move on Microsoft's part. Think about all the ways it benefits Microsoft. One, its licensed users are more secure. Two, its licensed users are happier. Three, worms that attack Microsoft products are less virulent, which means Microsoft doesn't look as bad in the press. Microsoft wins, Microsoft's customers win, the Internet wins. It's the kind of marketing move that businessmen write best-selling books about.
Sadly, the press was wrong. Soon after, Microsoft said the initial comments were wrong, and that SP2 would not run on pirated copies of XP. Those copies would not be upgradeable, and would remain insecure. Only legal copies of the software could be secured.
This is the wrong decision, for all the same reasons that the opposite decision was the correct one."
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 16, 2004, 8:00 pm
 Apple iTunes launched in Europe
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, has just announced the launch of iTunes for Europeans (UK, France, Germany). iTunes is a online music store, allowing PC and Mac users to download their songs legally. The service had previously launched in the US with a $0.99 price tag; since it's launch Apple claim to have sold ~ 70 million songs.
The UK launch, today, sees songs available at ?.79, and albums at $7.99 (.99 Euros in France and Germany, 9.99 for an album). Although a reasonable price (much cheaper than high street retailers like HMV), cynics might notice that the exchange rate being what is, the price should really be closer to ?.55. The EU store will (like the US) also offer gift certificates ranging from ?5 - ?100.
At the launch, Jobs extolled the virtues of the new release, highlighting localised version for France and Germany, exclusive music, artist's playlists, and the ability to burn tracks to CD. Also on offer are audio books. He also took the time to show off Apple's recently launched Airport Express, and it's tight integration with iTunes. The store now claims to have 700,000 from both main stream and indepedent artists. To finish the launch, Jobs welcomed Alicia Keys onto the stage; Keys played 'Night and Day', and commented on how much she loved iTunes. The store is now open to English, French, and Germany customers.
iTunes faces competition from Napster in the UK, who have recently announced a partnership with NTL. Apple, however, view their main competition as music piracy, and Jobs highlighted this in the launch.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 15, 2004, 8:54 pm
News Source : Neowin
Half-Life 2 moves to Autumn
What can only be described as bad news for Half-Life fans a new release date rumor emerges. Reports from Half Life Radio reports that Valve is soon going to ship HL2 to publisher Vivendi, but it also the game won't leave Vivendi until the fall. Then again the report may not be true. We'll just have to wait and see what Valve and Vivendi announce.
The Half-Life 2 release date saga continued to rumble on this weekend, with an Autumn release date now mooted as the title's likely launch window despite development on the hugely-anticpated game reportedly being completed in a matter of a few weeks .
Reports emanating from Half Life Radio in the US state that Valve will deliver the game to publisher Vivendi in the next few weeks, in line with the Seattle-based developer's recent promises that work on the project would be finished this summer. In fact, Valve's marketing director Doug Lombardi restated last week that the game was still "on target" for the summer.
However, the report also states that the game won't be launched by Vivendi until "Fall", which to us suggests a late September release - usually in order to meet that quarter's financials. If the report is true - and until Vivendi or Valve officially announces it we can't be sure - then this represents yet another blow to the long-suffering fans who have faced delay after delay.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 15, 2004, 7:34 pm
News Source : Neowin
Unreal Tournament 2004 Patch 3236 FINAL
It appears the 3236 beta patch for UT2004 has proven so popular, that the folks at Atari and DE have seen fit to give it their blessing. This will make the second patch available for the popular first person shooter title since its release. Get it while it's hot!
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 15, 2004, 7:33 pm
News Source : Neowin
Download : Patch 3236
ATI Optimized Driver V1.5 Beta has been released
The NGO Group released their ATI Optimized Drivers based on the new catalyst drivers 4.6.
read more for release notes and links.
Update: The NGO Drivers has been updated in the last few hours to include an exclusive: X800Pro > X800XT Softmod.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 11, 2004, 3:03 pm
Hackers Involved in Half Life 2 Theft Arrested
Several arrests have been made related to the break-in to Valve's network and the theft of the Half-Life 2 source code.
Within a few days of the announcement of the break-in, the online gaming community had tracked down those involved," said Gabe Newell, Valve's CEO.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 11, 2004, 3:00 pm
News Source : Warp2Search
iTunes 4.6 released
Apple have released a new version of their media player, iTunes, for PC and Mac. Although the release comes with no official changelog, notable features include the support for the recently launched Airport Express hardware (note - also compatible with PCs). Airport Express allows you to wire up your mac to various other audio devices, and output your iTunes songs straight to those speakers. Whats also great is that it has support for multiple devices, so you can easily setup a wireless audio network with your mac.
Asides from this cool new feature, the new release comes with improved stability and reliability, and might also bring into force the new licensing restrictions that Apple had (supposedly) agreed with the recording assocations recently.
iTunes and the Apple music store have so far been a roaring sucess, with the majority of music purchased online done via their portal. Apple claims to have sold 70 million songs so far, and is looking to expand it's stores into Europe and China. The launch is expected to be around June 15th.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 10, 2004, 8:45 am
News Source : Neowin
Download : Win / Mac
Catalyst 4.6 Out
Today ATI released Catalyst 4.6 for your download pleasure.
Resolved CATALYST? Driver Issues
This section provides information on CATALYST? driver issues that have been resolved in the latest release of CATALYST?. These include the following:
Display corruption is no longer seen when rotating the primary desktop 90 degrees or 180 degrees under Windows 2000 with extended desktop enabled
Display corruption is no longer seen when running the ATI demo Dolphin v1.1 with the Truform option set to Application Preference
The operating system no longer fails to respond when doing a monitor swap while running an overlay image on the secondary display
Rotating a display of 1024x768 60Hz followed by entering standby mode no longer results in display corruption being seen briefly when resuming Using the ATI icon in the system tray or using a hotkey stroke to rotate the display image no longer results in the operating system intermittently failing to respond for approximately 90 seconds
Playing a DVD with DXVA enabled and attempting to rotate the display 90 degrees no longer results in the operating system failing to respond
Moving an OpenGL window around the Windows desktop no longer results in the operating system intermittently failing to respond
Resolved Game Issues
This section provides information on game issues that have been resolved in the latest release of CATALYST?. These include the following:
While playing the game Halo, under certain conditions, images that should be hidden behind solid foreground objects are no longer showing through
Starting a game of Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow under Windows XP with an ATI RADEON 9000 PRO installed and the display set to 1024x768 and the graphics quality set to high no longer results in flickering textures
Display corruption is no longer seen when using particular air craft in "Century of Flight" games found in Flight Simulator 2004
Textures are now applied correctly in the game Silent Storm when setting the resolution to 1024x768 32bpp and the quality option set to high
Enabling AF to 8x and running the game Battlefield Vietnam with the graphics set to high and the display set to 1280x1024 32bpp no longer results in display corruption being seen at a certain point of the game
The display menu for the game 4x4 EVO 2 is now available when the rotation option is used to set the display to 180 degrees
Circular grid corruption is no longer seen when launching World Fables under Windows XP with Anti-Aliasing enabled at 4X
The Windows XP operating system no longer intermittently fails to respond when restarting the game Homeworld 2
Adobe Gamma and other colour calibration software now have the ability to adjust their independent gamma values. Note: In certain situations when closing the application, the default desktop gamma is not restored.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 10, 2004, 8:19 am
News Source : Warp2 Search
Download : for XP
Battlefield Vietnam v1.02 Patch
Electronic Arts have released a new patch for Battlefield Vietnam. This should replace the last update v1.01 and only has two fixes to it: Crash to desktop and disconnect issues have been corrected.
News Posted by : DoDgEtHiS On
: June 10, 2004, 8:18 am
News Source : Warp2 Search
Download : 3D Gamers
UT2004 Mod UnWheel Alpha 0.3 Demo
UnWheel is a driving modification for Unreal Tournament 2004. The idea behind UnWheel is not to create the ultimate racing game, or the 4x4 simulation with the best physics, or to specialise in any one area as other modifications and games do, but to simply create an assortment of gametypes and vehicles with the focus on fun driving, whether it be racing, rallying, or simply freestyle driving around! Thanks to Unreal Tournament 2004's support for extremely detailed models, you'll be driving some of the highest quality cars and trucks available, created by SupermotoXL.
What's New
This release features a new AI, more maps, more vehicles, and custom music tracks..
News Posted by : Dodge On
: June 9, 2004, 8:36 am
News Source : Warp2 Search
Download : UT2004 Mod UnWheel Alpha 0.3 Demo
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