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March 2002
 | DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
New Ehbinites in the Community
Posted 3/31/2002 @ 10:58 PM EST by Farmgirl | Evan sends word that he has started a new DS guild, Brethren of Mana.
While the site might not be much yet, I built this site out of my love for the game Dungeon Siege in hopes that I could gather a group of people also interested in the game together." Thx for the heads up Evan, hope to see your guild in the Dungeons soon. |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
PDS Reviews Dungeon Siege
Posted 3/31/2002 @ 8:25 PM EST by Aetius | PlanetDungeonSiege has posted their review of Dungeon Siege along with 40 new screenshots. Here's an excerpt from the review:
" Let me first talk about the single player game. While it is true that the game is more action-oriented than Baldur's Gate was, the story is exponentially more involved that that game that most people compare Dungeon Siege to, Diablo2. The scenery is breath-taking, and the story (what I've seen so far) is cohesive, intriguing, and generally doesn't feel at all far-fetched. The multiplayer game seems even more astounding. I've logged 25 hours or so already in the first multiplayer world (yes, this is the easy one), and I think I'm about 20 percent of the way through. I'm nowhere near getting bored. To facilitate movement on a grand scale, GPG has included the H.U.B., you simply step on a platform and you're launched to another area in the game (usually another town). This is VERY useful. The screenshots of this game do not do it justice at all. One needs to actually be walking around during the game to understand how marvelous the game really looks.
What is really amazing, though, is the intuitive level of the interface. You can do anything and everything with just a click or two of the button. This is no Diablo2 clickfest. Simply set your character's behavior levels, and they'll fight with nearly no input from you. The inventory can be manipulated at any point in the game without pausing the action. You can read the description of the great new gladius you picked up while your character is beating down some Krug. You can switch weapons during the middle of the fight as well. The game features 4 slots next to your characters picture - melee, ranged, spell 1, spell 2. During a fight, if you suddenly need healed, all you need to do is click on whichever spell slot has your heal spell, click on your character's picture, and then click on the melee slot. This take about 3 seconds, during which the action doesn't stop. In this game, the action never stops. Once you've beaten that mean old band of Krug, Gas Powered Games has included a VERY nice button for you. With a single click of a single button, your character will automatically go around and pick up all the items in the vicinity. No more clicking on every weapon and shield on the ground! "
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| EMPIRE EARTH HEAVEN
Unlocked Units for RM Maps
Posted 3/31/2002 @ 1:09 PM EST by Angel Park | Enrique Orduno aka EO has found a way to unlock a number of "scenario-only" units such as the Command Cyber to be used in RM/DM games. Much like the recent 5K poplimit and Unlimited Resource scripts, it is pretty safe-proof against cheaters.
Currenly EO is trying to figure out how to balance the new units/buildings and is asking the forumers on their opinion. If you're interested check out this thread. |
| AGE OF WONDERS HEAVEN
Happy Easter!
Posted 3/31/2002 @ 4:18 AM EST by Angel Draco | | I'd like to wish everyone a happy and joyous holiday. No matter what you believe, today is a fine day to reflect on what is good and decent in the world these days, and a time to think about what we can do to help our fellow man. Peace be unto you! |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
The Apostles of Reverence - New DS Guild
Posted 3/30/2002 @ 4:09 PM EST by Farmgirl | I just received an email from Crypt-AoR (Webmaster for The Apostles of Reverence)informing me that they have now opened their doors to folks to who wish to join up with an already established guild.
The Apostles of Reverence have been an established guild in Daiblo 2 since 7/14/99 and are inviting folks from the DS community to hook up with them to adventure through the Kingdom of Ehb together.
"Here you will find one of the oldest and most dedicated on- line gaming guilds in existence. Our members consist of dedicated online gamers who enjoy the benefits of belonging to a guild. We believe in honor, fair play and honesty. Our guild was built on these principles and continues to survive today because of them" |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Just got the game? Need a little help?
Posted 3/30/2002 @ 4:03 PM EST by Farmgirl | After browsing some of the DS community forums, I've written up a little post in our forums to help address some of the concerns people have had with the game so far.
It's maybe a long read, but will be well worth it for those who just received the game, and even for those of you have will pick it up next weekend.
If you have any other tips to add, please feel free to comment on this thread.
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| STRONGHOLD HEAVEN
Castle of the Week: Carisbrooke
Posted 3/30/2002 @ 3:37 PM EST by Jayhawk | GillB presents us with another castle in the United Kingdom. This time it's Carisbrooke on the Isle of Wight.
Carisbrooke Castle is on the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England and is probably best known as the castle where Charles I ws imprisoned prior to his execution.
Wraith has uploaded a siege scenario featuring this same castle. You can find it here
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| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Dungeon Siege Release Night Expedition!
Posted 3/30/2002 @ 3:35 PM EST by Aetius | Major Havoc of Mind Flight Systems has informed me that he will be holding an expedition into the Utraean Peninsula on April 5th at 8 PM MT Time. Here's what Major Havoc had to say about this upcoming event:
" I'm looking to put together an Expedition into the Land of Ehb at 8pm Mountain Time, April 5th. Seven (7) intrepid adventurers are invited to join me.
My expedition will lead us into the un-explored Utraean Peninsula, where anything and everything can happen. This is not for the faint of heart or weak in spirit!
Expedition Requirements
1. You must own a retail Version of Dungeon Siege.
2. You must be a registered member of Mind Flight Systems. Just Login and when your name is not found you will be prompted to join, easy....
3. You must have a High Speed (DSL or Cable) connection to the internet.
4. You must enter a posting (Resume?) in the Mind Flight Systems Dungeon Siege Forum "Dungeon Siege Tavern", with your qualifications, and reasons for wanting to join me. Feel free to role-play this! (You are STRONGLY encouraged to do so!)
The seven (7) expediiton members will be chosen Thursday 04/04/02 night after 8pm (Mtn Time) by me. Based on originality and creativity of their "Resume". Said members will be posted on the front page of MFS no later than Friday 04/05/02 at 6pm Mountain time. The IP address and Server Password will be sent to each member via private message prior to the expeditions start. If we have to play on "The Zone", then each party member will have to meet there, the zone game name and password will be the same as the direct IP game. "
You can check out the rest of what Major Havoc had to say by clicking here.
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| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Thank You GPG & MS
Posted 3/30/2002 @ 1:36 PM EST by Farmgirl | It's been a long and hard road for everyone who has been invloved with the making of Dungeon Siege. From the Developers, Publisher, PR folks and the fans who have waited and waited for this game (and believe me, it was well worth the wait).
In the last few days Zen and I have played the game into the wee, wee, wee hours of the morning. And we thought we'd say thank you to all the folks who made Dungeon Siege possible.
Zen has put together a one minute trailer of the adventures he's had in Ehb and the Utraean Peninsula. The trailer is 3MB and in Windows Media format.
Once again, thank you! We love Dungeon Siege!
SPOILER ALERT: This trailer contain scenes from the game that you may not have seen before.
Note: For anyone who wishes to link to the video, please link to the movies page, not the file itself. Thank you. |
| AGE OF KINGS HEAVEN
Cup War Continues...
Posted 3/30/2002 @ 3:16 AM EST by Thunder | The massive Arbalet Cup tournament, hosted by FOPT Clan is into round five now, with the big money still available for the taking. Some of the top players in the world are still in this event, a fact which has made for some great recorded games and will guarantee that they continue to roll in. Best of luck to all those remaining, and we'll turn things over to FOPT_Strawberry now for the latest: "The big Arbalet-Cup - Tournament has meanwhile reached round 5 which means that the field of players is down to 32 (from 18 countries) who are still fighting for no less than US $5000 in hard cash.
One of the big surprises: From the 78 American players who entered the tournament not a single one survived until now (at least the Canadian _IamChris is still in the race). Instead once again the Asian players are dominating: China has 4 players left, Korea 3, Taiwan 2 and Japan 1.
In the previous rounds many experts were eliminated by lower rated players; on top of all HALEN (_oN_Silva_) who just recently took the number one spot in the prestigeous MSN Zone-Ranking.
FOPT is offering all recorded games exclusively in their forums. Just register an account (free and easy) and start downloading.
Further more several small competitions are attending the event. For example you can still vote on the tournament-champion and win 5 free training lessons with the well known expert-player The_Steam_ by guessing the right name and of course a bit of luck. Please note that votes will only be accepted till Sunday, March 31st!
Fore more information about the tournament go here: http://www.fopt-clan.de" - FOPT_Strawberry |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Dungeon Siege First Impressions on IGN
Posted 3/29/2002 @ 11:38 PM EST by Farmgirl | Hot off the press! IGN posts their first impressions of DS after a visit from Chris Taylor and Christopher Lye (DS Product Manager) last night at the press event that was held in San Francisco. Along with the first impressions article are 24 new screenshots from the DS gold.
"Obviously the game is beautiful. If you've read anything about it through the years it has been in development, you'll notice that everyone here has tried to make love to it a couple of times mistaking it for a beautiful woman. The most notorious of these incidents involves Tal, the demo room, and some other unmentionable circumstances. The stench alone was enough to give the most jaded and perverted minds in the office reason to hide balled up under their desks weeping for hours. Tal will, of course, profess that he remembers nothing of this experience." Um...about 10 seconds after I viewed the screenshots, I was no longer able to view them, they had been moved to the IGNinsider. What that means is that those of you who do not have a subscription to the IGNinsider (me included), will have to wait a day or so before they are released to the general public.
Thx for the info Chris.
Back to the Utraen Peninsula to kick some more bootie!
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| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Multiplayer Game Play on MSZone
Posted 3/29/2002 @ 10:47 PM EST by Farmgirl | We manage to find this link on zone.com the other day. Its the page for hosting DS games on the MSZone. A few days have passed, we draw closer and closer to the released date of Dungeon Siege and we yet no rooms have been set up.
If your familair with the games Etherlords or Empire Earth, you'll know that the games have their own internal match making service, exactly the same as DS. I belive players will have the option to launch a game straight from DS, or they have the option of entering into the MSZone's game rooms and launch a game from there. Once they have launched from the MSZone room, they will automatically taken into DS' internal matcking making service. Once there, the host can now set the game options.
If you have no clue as to what I am yacking about, please refer to the MSZone's start-up page for DS. |
| AGE OF MYTHOLOGY HEAVEN
More From GameSpy...
Posted 3/29/2002 @ 9:50 PM EST by Thunder |  This news is coming in a little late, as my ISP has been giving me grief today. It's a holiday here, so their techies have been slow to respond.
As we lag behind a bit today, you may have already noticed a new set of screenshots, posted by the fine folks at GameSpy Daily. The series of six show some further action in the opening cinematic from AOM, as the war rages on! Be sure to stop by and see who comes out on top, the Centaur or the Minotaur. ...couldn't load any webpages for over 6 hours today...talk about torture! ; ) |
| COSSACKS HEAVEN
GSC Changes Name, Signs Contract With CDV
Posted 3/29/2002 @ 8:53 PM EST by TNK | According to the official Cossacks site, GSC has now changed its name to Game World Ltd. It has also signed a contract with publisher CDV to publish its next two games and three planned add-ons. From the offical site:
The Karlsruhe-based publisher of computer games, CDV Software Entertainment AG, has signed an outline contract for two full-price games and three add-ons with the Russian developer Game World Ltd.
The titles to be developed and published over the next two years are American Conquest, scheduled for publication at the end of 2002, and Cossacks II, which is planned for the end of 2003, with each title expecting one add-on. In addition, a second add-on to the top seller Cossacks I will be published later this year.
RTS experts Game World Ltd. used to be known under its old name of GSC Game World and was responsible, among other things, for the development of the worldwide best seller and multiple award-winner Cossacks I, of which about 500,000 copies have now been sold. |
| EMPIRE EARTH HEAVEN
Forum Party Tomorrow! March 30
Posted 3/29/2002 @ 8:32 PM EST by Cherub AzN | Yikes.. almost forgot today was Friday  . These things happen though when its Spring Break! I have waaayy too much on my hands, hehe. So this week we'll shoot for a long Forum Party, and hopefully more people will come (or less... if you guys are out of town). Who knows, maybe Eggman will drop by and you guys can beat up on him again  . So stop by the Forum Party Thread and we'll see who comes!
And also, for those who are wondering when SCNNetwork's Modding Discussion will return, it will be soon. We have moved off of the SCNNetwork, and moved to RTS Nexus. Our forums are up, but we have to rewrite all the tutorials. Watch the news Sunday or Monday for our official re-opening. |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
DSCenter Worn Items Compendium
Posted 3/29/2002 @ 7:09 PM EST by Farmgirl | DSCenter has put together the start of their items compendium. This is only the start of their compendium, expect thousands of more items to be added later on.
It's an excellent start at gathering all the items within Dungeon Siege. Keep up the good work DSC! |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Creative EAX Support Q&A
Posted 3/29/2002 @ 7:05 PM EST by Aetius | The Official Dungeon Siege Site has released a new Q&A on the subject of Creative EAX Support. Here's an excerpt from this interesting Q&A:
" Dungeon Siege promises to not only be a treat for your eyes, but for your ears as well. Recently, the folks from Creative Labs and Gas Powered Games got together for a brief Q&A on just what kind of aural experience fans have in store for them.
Did you use the preset EAX effects provided by Creative Labs or did you design your own reverbs?
We stayed with the presets provided by Creative Labs. Their versatility provided for each of the situations that we were interested in - from large cave interiors to small stone dungeons, and even underwater.
There are many distinctive and unique sounds in Dungeon Siege, how did you source the samples for the game?
We contracted with Frank Bry of Creative Sound Designs. Using source material from CD Libraries and custom sounds that he has recorded and designed over the years, Frank created the Sound Effects. A majority of the creature voice sounds were created from scratch using human and animal sources.
Sounds like spells, backgrounds and monster dies were layered and manipulated in Digidesign Pro-Tools 24/Mix and an Emulator IIIx Digital Sampling Keyboard (E-mu Systems, Owned by Creative). Up to 24 individual tracks/sounds were used to create the complex and larger than life monsters, underground ambiences, and machinery. "
You can check out the full version of the Q&A by clicking here.
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| COSSACKS HEAVEN
New Cherub!
Posted 3/29/2002 @ 1:51 PM EST by TNK | | I would like to announce the newest addition to the Cossacks Heaven team, Sharpe novel reader, who created the great Forum FAQ for Cossacks. You can congradulate him here. |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
New Screenies of UP from GameSpot
Posted 3/29/2002 @ 12:21 PM EST by Farmgirl | GameSpot has posted 34 , yes 34 new scrennies of the multiplayer map Utraen Penninsula. It's more of a screenshot walk through of the starting town in the Utraen Penninsula, Eldimm.
Spotted @ PDS. |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
What PC game will you be buying next?
Posted 3/29/2002 @ 2:02 AM EST by Farmgirl | What PC game will you be buying next? Is the new question on MGON's weekly poll.
Games you can choose from are.
- Freedom Force
- The Sims: Vacation
- Dungeon Siege
- Ghost Recon: Desert Siege
- Jedi Knight II
- Other
As of 11:00pm PST, Dungeon Siege is in second place.
Go vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! |
| AGE OF KINGS HEAVEN
Blacksmith Feature: Hadrian's Wall...
Posted 3/28/2002 @ 9:10 PM EST by Thunder | This week's Blacksmith feature is going to be slightly abbreviated. That's because it isn't a scenario or campaign with a plot and heroes. This week we dip into our collection of random map scripts, which can add many hours of great gaming to your Age experience. This particular map script is very popular, and happens to be a product from Matei, one of the talented folks at Woad Creations.
 (WC) Hadrian's Wall — If you're a fan of longer games or randomness, this map will probably be to your liking. The crumbling remains of Hadrian's Wall in this map is composed of rocks, which appear in many scenarios. You can't destroy them of course, and have to look for one of the breaches in the wall to get through it. The wall extends the length of the map, dividing it in half and separating opponents in the process.
Controlling the breaches in the wall is of obvious importance, but doing so early on can be dangerous. This map script also makes use of "Outlaw" units, which are essentially small groups of archers. You will occasionally find these groups sitting at the wall, just waiting for your tender villagers to come by.
That's all very well and good, but perhaps one of the coolest parts of this random map scripts is in the start. Your starting buildings are randomized, so you may find yourself starting out with more than one Town Center, or a barracks, or even outposts. This can definitely serve to create interesting strategic decisions early on, and spices things up.
This map script is only a recent find for me, but the handful of games I've played on it have been very entertaining. It's good fun to see the enemy building all sorts of walls to close up a way into his territory when you've snuck in some villagers much earlier. This map script not only creates lovely looking maps, but ones with diversity. Give it a go! ...many thanks to my pals for helping me test it out... ; ) |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Death With a Smile
Posted 3/28/2002 @ 6:00 PM EST by Farmgirl | I've been playing the game for about two hours now and its AWESOME! I've put the game down a bit so I can bring this hilarious little thing I noticed in the game. The death messages that you receive once your dead, are so funny. Example of one is FarmGirl has met her maker". I've encountered 18 different death messages so far and decided to share this with everyone. I've written up a list of them. *Spoiler Alert*
We also put together a chart of the character classifications in Dungeon Siege. Also you may have noticed that we've added about ten new forums to our existing ones. Please make yourselves at home and post away.
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| COSSACKS HEAVEN
2D vs 3D
Posted 3/28/2002 @ 3:29 PM EST by TNK | | Pepsi of GSC has posted a thread in the forums about whether it would be better to use a 2D or a 3D engine for the upcomming Cossacks 2. |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
I Got My GOLD CD!!!!
Posted 3/28/2002 @ 3:24 PM EST by Farmgirl |  All my getting up to see if the car that had just passed by was the delivery man or not paid off. At around 11am PST the deliveryman knocked on my door, he had a package for me.
I was jumping for joy when I saw it. I just wanted to sign the damn papers and take it out of his hands.
OK, I sat down and TORE open the package. You’re probably asking what's inside. So let me tell you.
My package is the press package and this is what was in it.- One Copy of the game
- A polyester...acrylic feel cloth map of Ehb
- A photocopy of the game manual
- And a nice letter from the MS PR dood.
At the moment, I am installing it to my computer. What that means is that you probably won't be seeing me for a few days. Just kidding.=)
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| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Modification News from Chris Taylor
Posted 3/28/2002 @ 2:55 PM EST by Farmgirl | We've just received the following information about the Seige Editor.
"Hey Everyone! As most of you know by now, Dungeon Siege has gone gold and will be in stores on April 5th. This may seem to mark the end of a long journey, but in many ways it is just the beginning. We are now starting work on our next release, the Siege Editor, which will be available for free download from the Internet in early May. We’ll be coming up with an exact date in the next few weeks. The Siege Editor that we are releasing is the same version we used, but there are still some bugs we want to find before we release it. I could talk at length about how rough actual development tools are, but we feel that this extra time to find and fix the real big bugs will go a long way to making everyone’s first experience a much better one.
We actually have many different projects in the works, and among them is the gmax game-pack for Dungeon Siege, another download that will be available for free from the Internet in the months ahead. We are working closely with Discreet (makers of 3D Studio Max and gmax) to get this ready for launch as soon as possible. More information will also be coming your way soon regarding the launch date. Lastly, we are working on a set of tutorials to guide first-time mod makers. These tutorials will provide detailed instructions on how to create terrain, place objects and monsters, create new AI using Skrit, and how to set up story-sequences, character dialog and more. The first batch of tutorials will be available when the Siege Editor is available for download in early May.
These next few months will be very exciting, and filled with thrills and spills as we smooth out all the rough edges, and make all of these different tools available. We are entering a fantastic new world, and we know that we must expect the unexpected, and we must all be prepared to forge the way in this area of game development. I can’t imagine a more exciting time to be in this business, and to be a part of what is undoubtedly going to change many different aspects of the way we all make and play games.
To all the future Dungeon Siege mod makers around the world, Gas Powered Games wishes you the best, and can’t wait to see the fantastic worlds you will create and share in the coming months and years ahead.
Yours very truly,
Chris Taylor " You know what that means? It just goes to show how dedicated that Chris and his team over at GPG are to their fans. To delivery a finished product. That's their goal and reasoning for the delay in the Siege Editor.
Source: DS.com |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
More for Your Money
Posted 3/28/2002 @ 2:04 PM EST by Farmgirl | Washizu spotted this in the PDS fourms, a little tidbit on what is on the DS Game CDs. This thread, which contained the info was frist surfaced in the GameFaqs fourms.
"Game is 2 disks, full install is about 1.2GB. Doesn't look like there is a
way to install a mplayer only client a-la Diablo though. However, it does
come with a full install of Asheron's Call on CD1 + a free month of play" Thx Washizu for the email. |
| AGE OF MYTHOLOGY HEAVEN
GSpy Double Shot!
Posted 3/28/2002 @ 10:55 AM EST by Thunder | That's right! Two new articles on Age of Mythology have been posted on GameSpy, both with material from their trip to Ensemble Studios for some hands on fun with the game. The article refers to the first Age of the game as the Archaic Age and also reveals some very interesting information on relics in AOM: "'Each relic gives you a different bonus. It's almost like an additional civilization bonus you can get. For example, the Eye of Horus lets your town centers provide more population or the Sistrum of Bast makes your villagers cheaper. We also have a lot of military relics. The Tusk of the Iron Boor makes your cavalry and chariot archers have more hit points. So you want to grab a relic and put them in your temple to gain the bonus.'" - Greg Street
Source - GameSpy Preview The preview also contains new screenshots, and a list of several relics that are in the game and what bonus they give you! But that's not all folks. They also have a great interview with Bruce Shelley, in which they discuss AOM, the RTS genre, including an impending showdown: "GameSpy: How would you compare Age of Mythology to the other RTS games that are coming out?
Bruce Shelley: We think Age of Mythology will be very competitive. We will have more units on screen than Warcraft III, for people who like the big rumbles. Our crisp realistic look is a nice differentiator from their graphic look. The mythology angle we hope will refresh our traditional gameplay. We will put our normal effort into polishing the game for both the hardcore and casual audiences. We think there is room for at least several good RTS games in any one-product cycle. We're trying hard to be one of the top ones and we feel good about our chances."
Source - GameSpy Interviews Bruce Shelley No doubt you've already left me hear typing to myself, all alone, and are off reading the two great articles. Well, I can't blame you. ...looks like WC3 will be hitting shleves first... ; ) |
| AGE OF WONDERS HEAVEN
Countdown continues - week 2
Posted 3/28/2002 @ 9:46 AM EST by ChowGuy | | A new trio of Wizard profiles are up at ign.com. Fetatured this week are Arachna, the Spooky Spider Lady, Nimue the Water Sorceress, and Marinus the Halfling Merchant. New screen shots as well. Take a look, then come visit the discussion thread in the AoW2 forum to tell us what you think you see. |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
DS in CGW
Posted 3/28/2002 @ 12:02 AM EST by Farmgirl |  If you get the chance, go pick up the latest copy of Computer Gaming World. Apparently there is an article of DS in there somewhere as you can see from the cover of the mag. Once I pick it up, I'll brief everyone.
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| AGE OF KINGS HEAVEN
Hun Warfare...
Posted 3/27/2002 @ 8:57 PM EST by Thunder | | Our thanks to MoFo_Revolution for sending in this recorded game which features a serious Hun versus Hun war. Not only that, but Revolution gets beat up in the game, so all the more thanks to him for sharing a good game where he loses. Give it a download, it's short and shows some players with some serious feudal war skills. Revolution hangs tough for quite awhile, but ends up getting attacked in several places at once and calls it a day. ...interesting to note that the only forward building was a single tower... ; ) |
| AGE OF WONDERS HEAVEN
Welcome SikBok, QA Tester
Posted 3/27/2002 @ 7:37 PM EST by Angel Draco | A new member of the Triumph Studios development team joined our forum discussion today. SikBok is a quality assurance tester for Age of Wonders 2, and according to forumer Iznoghoud, SikBok had a "multi killer posting spree" with Wazzz in his debut thread. I don't know what they said, but I'm certain they're making fun of me.
Say "hello" to SikBok and try to follow the action in the Dutch Developers thread.
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| AGE OF MYTHOLOGY HEAVEN
GameSpy's AOM Goods...
Posted 3/27/2002 @ 7:29 PM EST by Thunder | Warning, teaser alert! The little green people of famed gaming site GameSpy will be posting an AOM related article or two sometime tomorrow! Word on the street is that they have some exclusive information that they will be revealing, so this is not to be missed.
We'll let you know as soon as the article is made available, stay tuned! ...many thanks to Archangel for teasing...erm, giving us the heads up... ; ) |
| AGE OF MYTHOLOGY HEAVEN
Playtesting Tales...
Posted 3/27/2002 @ 7:23 PM EST by Thunder | None other than Ensemble Studios designer Sandy "Sandyman" Petersen stopped into the forum today to share an all Norse playtesting tale with us, invloving newly arrived designer Paul Jaquays. The group he was playing with in the 2vs2 game all had to choose Norse gods to worship in order to help in testing, and as Sandy mentions, they take some getting used to: "We divvied up the teams designers vs. artists (i.e., me & Paul vs. Dave & Don). None of us are what I’d call an expert player. Probably me & Dave were the best, but we are definitely second string players (no offense Dave).
Gloriously, we designers won (I played Odin and Paul was Loki I think -- Dave & Don were Odin and Thor, not necessarily ion that order). The reason I bothered to post this was because one of the major reasons behind my victory was that (I think) Don has not been playing the Norse much lately, so that he was unfamiliar with them. This slowed him considerably and also made it harder to build an appropriate anti-Sandy army. Thus, I was able to cut through him considerably faster than normal, and even Dave’s timely assistance to Don didn’t save the day. Don did run away and rebuild, but again, his unfamiliarity with the Norse hurt him again. So he wasn’t really able to rebuild properly
I found this pretty heartening, because it indicated that, unlike AoK, the strategies for the various cultures are already so different that it takes a bit of time to adapt. Which indicates, to me, that the final game will have a far wider variety of options than AoK; i.e., if you are playing Odin vs. Ra, your strategic options are different than if you are playing Odin vs. Zeus."
Source - AoM war story ... sort of ... It certainly is quite an adventure playing a Norse civilization the first few times, as you get used to their odd attributes like military units that can build. Switching between cultures is going to take some thought, because they really play quite differently. Be sure to check out Sandy's full post for the short but tasty tale. ...Norse = fit me like a glove... ; ) |
| COSSACKS HEAVEN
US Version of The Art of War Goes Gold!
Posted 3/27/2002 @ 7:00 PM EST by TNK | From the CDV newsletter:
The add-on to the blockbuster Cossacks: European Wars is finally reaching North American shores: Cossacks: The Art of War goes gold in the US.
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| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
LoadedInc & Fragland.net Preview DS
Posted 3/27/2002 @ 4:47 PM EST by Aetius | LoadedInc.com and Fragland.net have each released their previews of Dungeon Siege, so if you're still not sure if you want to buy DS, or if your just a DS fanatic you'll want to check these out. Here's an excerpt from the LoadedInc.com preview:
" I've logged quite a few hours playing a limited content version (first 20% of the game) of Gas Powered Game's new RPG, Dungeon Siege and it looks like fans of the click and slash RPG genre are going to be spending a lot of time playing this highly addictive game. Many in the gaming press have compared Dungeon Siege to Blizzard's Diablo series, which is not far off since this puppy is definitely a dungeon crawl but it feels much larger in scope since the environments are more diverse and they encompass so much more than what the Diablo series has ever offered.
First off, DS has an incredibly flexible camera mode that gives the game a lot more variety than what you’d expect from the typical over the shoulder game. With the variable zoom, you can play the game from different visual perspectives - isometric (similar to the Diablo series), top-down, and traditional third-person. This might not sound like a big deal but once you experience it, you'll appreciate the flexibility and overall enhancement it gives to the experience. One comment on the zoom feature, if you’ve been looking for an excuse to buy a mouse with a wheel, they you just found it. The wheel mouse is a natural with this feature. The developers have also done an excellent job of making sure vision is not a problem by having objects become transparent when they get in to your line of sight and the tops of structures (buildings, caves, etc.) cutaway when you navigate through them. Dungeon Siege’s flexible camera mode is without a doubt, one of the best I've ever seen in a game. "
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| EMPIRE EARTH HEAVEN
Mr. Grinch Q&A at EEA
Posted 3/27/2002 @ 2:31 PM EST by Cherub AzN | Mr. Grinch (a.k.a. Rick Goodman) has agreed to a Q&A session with Black Prince over at Empire Earth Aeon. He needs some questions to ask, so post what you think we should know! See the complete thread here.
We have not had one of these for awhile now. Its good someone stepped up ;). |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
First English DS Review
Posted 3/27/2002 @ 1:25 PM EST by Farmgirl | The first of many and there will be plenty more on the way in the next few weeks. Computer and Video Games writer Chris Anderson reviews the wonderful world of Dungeon Siege.
Some Quotes from Chris Anderson's Review:
"Moving your mouse left and right or up and down rotates and tilts the camera view so you can always see what's going on very easily. Along with the excellent interface, the 3D camera is another innovation which will set standards that we expect will be difficult to beat, and we can confidently say it's the first game of this type that we've seen which uses a 3D camera that helps players instead of confusing them. "
"Dungeon Siege's remarkable innovations all relate to game interface and design as opposed to the gameplay itself which doesn't stray far from standard RPG action-based shenanigans. This in itself is nothing to scoff at, if you've ever dreamed of playing Diablo II in full 3D with vastly improved graphics and presentation, you will find Dungeon Siege an absolute joy to play. You will want to get to the end of the game just for the immense satisfaction of exploring the beautiful game-world and discovering new spells and items as you go, both of which are plentiful and varied. In summary then, Dungeon Siege is a technological triumph and one of the most enjoyable games we have played in a long time, and if you like your RPGs to place more emphasis on action and combat than stats, there is currently no better choice on the market."
"The real beauty of the magic system is you can equip any spell you find, even if you can't use it, and freely distribute spells between any character, or even sell them if you find you no longer have a use for them. This is another one of Dungeon Siege's 'why didn't anyone else think of that?' features which makes the game such a joy to play." And for those of you who do not have the time to read the whole review, here's the Final Verdict.
Spotted @ BluesNews |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Seven Movies, Screenies and a Preview on Gaming Ground
Posted 3/27/2002 @ 1:07 PM EST by Farmgirl | Gaming Ground a Korean site has posted seven moives. All seven of the movies are of actual of gameplay footage.
- Movie One : Shows Character Selection and the Intro Movie of DS
- Movie Two : Journey to the Crypts
- Movie Three : Stonebridge
- Movie Four : Journey to the Spider Dungeon
- Movie Five : Combat in the Spider Dungeon
- Movie Six : Battle in the Ice Caverns
- Movie Seven : The Town of Glacern
Further snooping around on Gaming Ground reveal that they have a three page preview and some new screenies that we've never seen before. To get to page two and three, use the drop down option in the center of the page.
  
Spotted @ RPGDot |
| AGE OF MYTHOLOGY HEAVEN
Sneak Peek: CG Mag!
Posted 3/27/2002 @ 4:59 AM EST by Thunder | Forumer PW_DarkKnight, who got his May 2002 issue of Computer Games magazine nice and early, has shared a few more bits of information with us from the article! He's posted some of the new information revealed in point form and some so-so quality scans on a webpage for us, which you'll find a link to in this post.
The article seems to be loaded with some great screenshots, and the scans don't quite do them justice. If you can get this magazine in your area, make sure you grab it for the full article, and if you can't, this is likely the next best thing. ...that darned moire pattern...the bane of scanners everywhere... ; ) |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
RPGVault- DS Developer Q&A #3 - Favorite Spells
Posted 3/26/2002 @ 8:47 PM EST by Farmgirl | This has been my favorite part of the Developers Questions from RPGVault. This time around, RPGVault askes the develoeprs of DS what his/her favorite spell/s is/are.
"Lee Phemister
3D Artist
Meteor! Just brings the punishment down from above - expensive on mana though. The summons are very cool too. Having a pet that fights for you and ties up the bad guys so you can wail from a distance plus gains you experience - gotta have 'em. I'm always excited when I level up hoping to get the next best summon spell." Spotted @ BluesNews |
| AGE OF KINGS HEAVEN
Persian Festival!
Posted 3/26/2002 @ 8:02 PM EST by Thunder | Start practicing! Starting on March 29, which is this Friday, and running until March 31, we will be having a Persians Festival, hosted by Darth_Malice. This means free points for Ladder players who use the Persian civilization in their games during these days. Winners will receive an extra point, and losers will lose one less point if you use Persia. Remember to report which civilization you used during this time so that you can get your extra points.
In addition, Darth_Malice is also organizing a 2v2 NOmad tournament, for this Saturday in which all players must be Persia. They are a great NOmad civ, so that should be one heck of a good tournament. For more information on this event, visit this post in the forum! Good luck to one and all! ...LOTR post Oscar depression, PVP style... ; )
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| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Xtra Xtra Read All About It!
Posted 3/26/2002 @ 5:58 PM EST by Farmgirl |  Breaking news, this just came in from Game-Editing.Net.
Another creature has been spotted on the infamous Island of Dr. Moreau. This time it's a yellow giant size hen with measles. We've been informed that the yellow chick only spawns around Easter. Is there a connection with the Island of Dr. Moreau and the Easter Bunny? Tune in next time, when we spot more creatures from the Island of Dr. Moreau.
This is FarmGirl of DSH signing off!
From the DS community to the DS community, and everyone out there, Happy Easter.
Thx to Dan from game-editing.net for taking the time to create the image.
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| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Not Too Late Still
Posted 3/26/2002 @ 3:33 PM EST by Farmgirl | This popped into my icq, Darren "Guttyr" Baker (GPG Community Coordinator) sends a reminder that GameStop is hosting DS Preorder once again. So the cost to preorder DS is $37.99 USD, included in every preorder at GameStop, is a mini stategy guilde.
Now a reminder from me, EBGames is also hosting a DS preorder special, for ever preorder of DS at EBGames, you'll receive a cloth map of The Kingdom of Ehb. If that isn't enough, there's another DS preorder special at Gamefixx. With every preorder of DS at Gamefixx, Gamefixx will ship out a T-Shirt to the buyer!
How's that for specials, now all you have to do is decide which one of the free gifts you'd like. I personally feel that you would have nothing to lose by preordering. It's cheaper (In-Store Price: $51.00 Internet Preorder Price: $37.99), you get a free gift and the game gets delivered right to your doorstep, what more could you ask for?
Why take a chance on the day of release, to go to your local game shop and to have them tell you "sorry we're out, please come back next week".
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| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
The Full Meal Deal
Posted 3/26/2002 @ 1:41 PM EST by Farmgirl |  It's the Full Meal Deal from MS and GPG, on the left is an image of what you could receive if you preorder DS. I spotted this image along with some others, and a preview of DS on GameAxis:
"Our Take...For Now
While we did have some little quibbles with the AI of the enemies even on the Hard level, the demo (ok, it is a Limited Content Build version) did not give us any major headaches so far. Perhaps the delays Chris Taylor so insisted did pay off after all, the result is a solid and robust game with the Siege Engine working almost flawlessly. So do we like what we saw so far? Definitely. Do we think it lives up to all the hypes? So far so good, Chris. So stay tune to the full proper review as we cover other aspects of the game including Multiplayer (supports up to 8 players), inventory and interface, and the Editor that will be available shortly after the game launch." Just keep in mind that this is what the preorder could look like, its not an image of what the retail would look like. We have yet to find out what is in the boxes of the retail version of DS.
Click here for more images. Spotted @ GameSpyDaily
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| STRONGHOLD HEAVEN
Giggles in Heaven?
Posted 3/26/2002 @ 2:59 AM EST by Jayhawk | Abslolutely!
We'd like to welcome Wraith to the lofty heights of the Stronghold Heaven Staff.
Most of you will know him, so it won't be much of a surprise as to what he will be doing. You guessed it.
Wraith will be in charge of the soon to be running Stronghold Lists (our ladder competiton) and will keep a guardian eye on those visiting the Multiplayer Discussion forum.
We wish him good luck and good cheer |
| EMPIRE EARTH HEAVEN
Small Talk
Posted 3/25/2002 @ 11:04 PM EST by Angel Park | I'm flipping through a gaming magazine right now, and can't handle the voice in my head telling me to post this now. Seems like the guys at Maxis (what person with a computer hasn't heard of them?) will be making another Sim City game named...well Sim City 4. It looks and sounds quite amazing from the small preview I'm reading.
If I have any complains on the game, its that I cannot seem to find any sort of news on it anywhere. I guess CGW really scored big on that one. Go chat some more and post whatever you find over here.
In related news, the top selling games of January included Empire Earth at number #9. I'd say thats better compared to its spot at #14 in December. Not so surpising was that 4/10 top games are all Sims. |
| AGE OF KINGS HEAVEN
This Day In Age...
Posted 3/25/2002 @ 9:32 PM EST by Thunder | While sifting through the extensive news archives offered both here and at AOE Heaven, I stumbled on an interesting look back at the Age of Kings beta. In March 1999, Ensemble Studios invited some local Dallas residents to visit their offices and test out an early AOK beta. One of AOKH's local forumers, The Cardinal, was one of the lucky few to get the opportunity for some hands on time with the game. Here are some of his impressions, probably among the earliest hands on information from any Age fan: "When I play AoE and RoR I always made a perfect little city straight in a line and easily defendable. However, the size difference in AoK makes that basically impossible. Dont take that in a bad way I think they look really good that way, it just makes you change your strategy a little. I made the first mistake of building walls early in on the game thinking I had enough room, and found out that I didnt leave quite enough room to fit in all the buildings I wanted. So I had to destroy some buildings to fit new ones in. Of course this was my first game so I had not realized how much room I needed but now that I know, it is an easy mistake to fix." - The Cardinal, March 25, 1999
Source - AOKH Archives: March 17-31 Takes you back doesn't it? Later on, it was decided to scale down the size of the buildings in AOK, to the dimensions that we all know now. For those of you lucky enough to play any sort of early build of Age of Mythology, this is the sort of major change that can happen between the beta and a final version of the game. ...for those interested, we will likely hear more information on an AOM beta come May/June of this year... ; ) |
| AGE OF MYTHOLOGY HEAVEN
AOM Mag Exclusive!
Posted 3/25/2002 @ 6:57 PM EST by Thunder | Forumer PW_DarkKnight has reported in with some great news! The latest issue of Computer Games Magazine has released some exclusive information on Age of Mythology, as well as new images. Here's a taste of what the article gives us: "They also showed a screenshot of a healing spring, which is similiar to an oasis, but it heals your troops if they go near it. They also showed lots of scrrens with fire giants, which seemed like the new art.
They also sated that the most powerful MU in the game was the Norse mountain giant, which I found suprising. They said he has more HP than most buildings, and can sling rocks, stomp units, and beat up units with an uprotted tree club.
The Egyptians have an airborne transportation unit called "Roc", thats all it said about that."
Source - New AoM Article! ...and that's just for starters! Be sure to visit PW_DarkKnight's post for more bits of information from the article, and then to the local joint where you pick up your magazines for the full story! Many thanks for sharing DarkKnight! ...Roc = my fav MU... ; )
Update
The AOM article appears in the May 2002 issue. |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
French Preview
Posted 3/25/2002 @ 5:48 PM EST by Farmgirl |  We're getting closer and closer to getting our gold copies. I just wanted in inform you that SbyConnection from ds.forever has posted a french preview for the French speaking community.
Oh, by the way, this is an image of our limited content preview build.
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| AGE OF WONDERS HEAVEN
AoW2 Forum Round Up
Posted 3/25/2002 @ 4:21 PM EST by Angel Draco | A couple of interesting bits from the Developers in the AoW2 Forum over the last couple of days. With the public release of the beta demo hopefully just a few short weeks away, anticipation is running high! Here's what the Devs had to say, hit the links for the full thread:
Josh on AoW2 appearing on other platforms: We're going to focus on finishing the PC version, before evaluating future hatching eggs.
Wazzz on voice overs: All units in AoW2 WILL feature voice-overs (I'd rather call them 'selection sounds') but they're not annoying nor in any language (so we won't have translation issues). Imagine the goblin going 'gna gna gna heh' (it does!) The Orcs are my favorite, and you will find out why in just a while.
Josh on releasing the full developer's map editing toolset for AoW1: DPL files are Delphi's version of DLLs. They are simply more versatile and useful collections of our programming code. So Delphi would be our "editor" for those, since they are really just compiled source code. As for the rest, that's not really my decision, but I know we wouldn't be likely to spend the time putting any tools together when we have deadlines breathing down our back... So, Magic 8-Ball says: "Answer unclear, try again later."
Josh on critical hits: This system was changed. Damage distribution is now even. so if you have a 50% chance to-hit, and 5 DAM, then you have a 10% chance of doing 1 DAM, 10% of doing 2 DAM, etc. The "always critical hit" situation you described does not occur in AoW2.
RayB on a "Heaven/Sky" or "Hell" Level: I actually made this suggestion to Lennart a long time back. I think it'd be fun too. We also discussed a "Hell" type level too... both are possibilities, I suppose in future expansions. Ultimately the fruition of such features comes down to the popularity of the project at hand. If AoW2 does well, chances are they'll get a chance to try out some of the more "funky" terrain types.
And here is some slightly older stuff you may have missed!
Lennart on scenario design: We do the scenarios in-house. As the game is still in development, the scenario designers need to be in close contact with the rest of the development team. However, if there is going to be an add-on pack for AoW2, we may be able to recruit some map-maker talent off the internet.
Josh on elimination of the 3rd map level (i.e., "the Depths"): The 3rd level is gone, as it seemed pretty redundant w/the 2nd level. The underground looks much prettier, with 3D walls, and a variety of terrains (I believe all terrains are available, but I haven't checked some of the weirder ones).
RayB on the Difference Between Masters of Magic and AoW2: AoW2 = An interesting game that the developers wanted to create after doing AoW1. It so happens that we received TONS of feedback. The highest requested items we took very, very seriously, and it just so happens that the fans of MOM were very vocal about their wanting to see things like random maps, build your own cities, and a number of other features that were only had in MoM. However, I think once you see the game, you will see that this is something very special, done by a group of developers that care about a game, not recreating nostalgia in those who once played a game and want to recapture their youth by playing something like that again... Well, it would be nice if AoW2 were a fountain of youth... but um... yeah...
Post your questions and comments to the Triumph Studios developers in our AoW2 Forum! |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Swedish DS Ambassador Selected
Posted 3/25/2002 @ 1:21 PM EST by Farmgirl | FragZone a Swedish gaming site recently hosted a DS Ambassador contest over the net. Contestants we're required to answer one siple question "What will make you a great DS ambassadeur?". The winner would receive a retial copy of the game, a cloth map of The Kingdom of Ehb and a jacket (I wonder if it's a FragZone jacket or DS one).
And guess who won? Smultronizer a DSHeaven Forumer, that lucky son-of-a-gun! I asked him a few questions in our fourms and he has responded to them. Go have a look.
"FarmGirl: And how did you obtain the title, what did u do that they decided to give you the title?
There was just one single question really.. "What will make you a great DS ambassadeur?" I cannot remember my answer but I think I made five reasons like 1. 2. 3. 4 5. trying to be funny with a serious ring to it.. And it contained some things like "that I sleep with a broadsword in my bed and when doing that my girlfriend got really bored at me.. And that I have a skeleton in my closet so that when I wake up in the morning I get that "real" DS vibe.. This makes me walk around with this silly grin that I have.. he he" (Summary.. I go crazy if I dont get this game sooooOOOOON!!! ;-)" Grats again Smultronizer, and yes you should buy a lottery ticket. =) |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Did You Know...
Posted 3/25/2002 @ 1:06 PM EST by Farmgirl | Did you know that there are 7300 unique object types in Dungeon Siege? Did you know that 100000 objects have been placed in the two maps in Dungeon Siege? I bet you didn't know that.
Well, neither did we till we stumbled back onto Scott Bilas' site. And for those of you who unaware of who Scott is, he's one of the engineers over at GPG. He recently posted a slide presentation on his site titled "A Data-Driven Game Object System" a presentation which was used for GDC, I believe.
If you've never been to his site before I suggest you go have a look. You'll find useful information such as the skrit manual for DS on his site.
For more information on Scott Bilas Check out some of these sites:
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| AGE OF MYTHOLOGY HEAVEN
Weekly Screenshot: Valkyries!
Posted 3/25/2002 @ 12:18 PM EST by Thunder |  Today marks the first day that we've seen the Norse mythological unit the Valkyrie in a screenshot! The latest one offered in the ES AOM gallery shows us a massive battle between a variety of Greek and Norse units, with the cavalry attempting to come to the rescue for both sides. The female riders on the white horses streaming out of the hills are indeed Valkyries. Don't miss this new screenshot, it's a beauty!
As always, Mike "Archangel" McCart, Webmaster at Ensemble Studios, kindly dropped by the forum to let everyone know that a new screenshot was available. Many thanks Mike, and please drop in on his post to share your findings or read of others. ...I wish I could scroll up just a little...there's a statue and something just off the screenshot... ; ) |
| STRONGHOLD HEAVEN
The Official Stronghold Heaven Ladder
Posted 3/25/2002 @ 3:54 AM EST by Merepatra | Everything is set, and ready to go. We would still love for more participants in the ladder that will be starting on April 13. The registry is in the Multiplayer forum. This will be an on going ladder, so at anytime new players may sign up.
It looks to be interesting and full of all levels of competition. We hope to see you there.
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| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Gold DS CD on eBay
Posted 3/25/2002 @ 3:07 AM EST by Farmgirl | Well, some of you folks wanted to see how much it could auction off and here's your chance. The first, and probably not the last, auction of the signed gold DS CDs on ebay. Some dood is auctioning off his copy of the signed, gold DS CD on eBay becasue he is leaving town and will not be able to play the game. The CD is currently fetching $201.50 USD and will likely go up with a total of 25 bids at the moment.
You know what I will be doing with my copy? Sticking it in a frame and sealing it with glue because it isn't coming out of the frame. Who knows, perhaps it will be a collector's item down the road. Perhaps DS will be the game that sets a standard for other developers to follow and perhaps DS will be the game that changes the way that games are made.
You are free to do as you wish with your copy, but thats what I shall be doing with mine.
Spotted @ MFO:DS (forums) |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Two New Wallpapers
Posted 3/24/2002 @ 11:16 PM EST by Farmgirl | Ahnteis of Packmule.org has added two new wallpapers to his collection. Also, if you missed some of the previous wallpapers, don't fret, he's got them on this site for you to download as well.
Spotted @ tLoDS |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
The Darkening and The Advisor
Posted 3/24/2002 @ 2:17 PM EST by Farmgirl | The Darkening, is the latest musical masterpiece composed by Don Gibs for Electrofiction's Shawdow's of Winter mod.
Not only do they have a masterpiece of music to share, they've also posted a render image of Moiganya, Seer and advisor to Baron Kael Baendrag, Ruler of the North. Some of you folks are gonna go goo-goo ga-ga over this one.
Thx to Damian for the email.
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| EMPIRE EARTH HEAVEN
Whats next for Empire Earth?
Posted 3/24/2002 @ 2:00 PM EST by Angel Chooch709 | Adam Kahn, one of Sierra's PR people, dropped by our forums this morning with some elusive information on where Empire Earth is heading. Straight from the horses mouth:
Let me assure you all that we at Sierra are well aware of the places where Empire Earth needs some improvement. We're all gamers here so we know what we need to do.
We're getting close to being able to tell you with certainty our plans for Empire Earth moving forward. The reason we haven't been more clear before is that our plans were in flux, and the last thing I want to do is promise something that I can't deliver.
The Empire Earth saga at Sierra is just beginning. There are exciting things coming - things you probably wouldn't expect. You can check out others responses in this thread, or comment on it yourself. Thanks Adam!
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| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
New Poll Over @ tLoDS
Posted 3/24/2002 @ 3:06 AM EST by Farmgirl | Our good friend Damelon of tLoDS has put up a new poll:
"The new poll asks "Are you interested in creating and/or playing mods for DS?" Please click on the graphical question mark under the poll for an explanation. This is a pretty important poll for the future of tLoDS. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this little fan site. It seems redundant for me to do a general site since the larger, better-run game network sites do a much better job than I could possibly do. And I'm not really sure that there will be enough mod interest for me doing a mod news related site to be practical. And at some point relatively soon I'm going to have to decide if I want to plop down the bucks to keep this place open for another year.
So please give me a hand here and help decide where to take tLoDS now that DS is going to be in the store soon. As always, you can contact me with any suggestions about the site. Thanks." |
| STRONGHOLD HEAVEN
More art
Posted 3/24/2002 @ 2:53 AM EST by Jayhawk | 
Here's an image by Sir Deacon. He did not attach much information with it, but it appears to be pastels and possibly depicts an imaginative castle.
Enjoy!
I know I did. |
| STRONGHOLD HEAVEN
Castle of the Week: Conwy Castle
Posted 3/24/2002 @ 2:44 AM EST by Jayhawk | Another late Castle of the Week, this time I have the sad excuse that I spent most otf the past two days celebrating my birthday.
Indeed it was fun.
However, GillB made us another write up of one of the many castles in her kingdom.
Conwy Castle, Wales is one of the castles built by Edward I in the 13th century to keep peace in the newly conquered territory of Wales. It was built on the site of a monastery and was one of a ring of large castles around Mount Snowdon. |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Preview @ GameArena
Posted 3/24/2002 @ 1:56 AM EST by Farmgirl | GameArena previews Dungeon Siege. There is nothing new that we don't know already about the limited content build, but nonetheless this preview was an very well written preview and a pleasure to read.
"After several run-ins with the Krug it will quickly become apparent why there is no character selection, the game itself uses a unique intuitive class system that is one of, if not the most impressive features of the game. You can select a great verity of classes to become, however you do just that, by using a specific type of weapon or magic, you gain skill points in the use of it. So if you wanted to become a Melee expert, you would simply use lots of swords, daggers, and axes, thus gain skill points in that class.
The class system doesn't just stop there, strength, dexterity, intelligence, etc are all linked in the same way, you increase dexterity by using missile objects, and strength by using melee weapons, or intelligence by using magic. In total you can specialise in two types of magic, either combat magic with its enthuses on attacking spells, and nature magic, which has more defensive type spells." Spotted @ AusGamer |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Ankh-Morpork Chronicle Mod
Posted 3/24/2002 @ 12:31 AM EST by Farmgirl | The folks over Ankh-Morpork Chronicle Mod Squad have sent word that they are currently working on a Siegelet project based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld:- The Ankh-Morpork Chronicle
- Semi/Total conversion set in Terry Pratchett's Discworld
- The AMC MODSquad is working on two projects: one for DungeonSiege and one for Neverwinter Nights
- The AMC MODSquad is curently in the early stages of development on both projects"
Good luck to you all. |
| EMPIRE EARTH HEAVEN
SCNNetwork.com Down for Server Switch
Posted 3/23/2002 @ 6:08 PM EST by Cherub AzN | For those who are trying to access the SCNNetwork Modding Community, it is down for the time being. SCNNetwork is switching servers and hopefully everything will go smoothly and we will not have to redo the forums again. It is more likely though, that we will have to reinstall the forums because the paths will be messed up, we wont be able to run the boards to change them. But we will see in due time. Thanks to all those people who helped the Modding Community grow and you can be assured that we will be back better than ever. For now, you will just have to sit and wait. If your impatient, you can use my old forums: A-z-N.tk Forums
You can still download EE Studio here
Please note that my forums are only temporary will be torn down April 15th...
UPDATE: It seems SCNNetwork.com will be down for at least a week. Sorry guys, thats the problem of the internet these days: so unstable |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Korean DS Invasion!
Posted 3/23/2002 @ 4:48 AM EST by Farmgirl |   
  
It's 1am in the morning and I've got nothing better to do but surf. What better to do than to surf DS sites. I've seen some pretty unique stuff that has been released by the Korean DS site ClubMS before, so I decided to give them a try to see if I would spot anything interesting. I didn't spot much on their front page till I clicked screenshots. HOLY COW! Loads and loads of new screenies! From Drakes to Dragons and God knows what other creatures some of them are. And that place with all the lava, AWESOME!!!! Then there's a garden, now that's my kinda place.
Also they've got a nice wall paper you can pickup while you're there.
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| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
DS Preview By DSCenter
Posted 3/23/2002 @ 3:36 AM EST by Farmgirl | Just when I thought we were done with all the DS previews, DSCenter springs one on us. They've posted a three page preview of DS. The preview is much more of a review, it rates DS's graphics, sounds, gameplay, and the re-play ability. Overrall DSCenter gave DS a score of 94/100. And that score is based on a 20% build of the game, just imagine the full build.
"Overall, Dungeon Siege is a game for any gamer. The level of fighting is high enough to distract First Person Shooters
long enough to see blood and the depth of plot variation will give hardened RPG’ers enough to get their teeth into. The beauty of the whole game lies in the shaping of the player. Sticking rigidly to one form of combat will make you a power to be reckoned with in your choice of form. Keeping up with a constant mix of skill types will make you adequate in all types of magic and combat, so while you will never dominate you will be better placed to make up for the loss of a party member. It is the games use of the player that makes it so unique and addictive, allowing a multitude of player types and variations based on certain combinations of skill and attributes. If you are trying to become a powerful warrior, the moment you skill and strength increase to the point where you are known as a Warrior rather than a Soldier is worth the hours of gameplay that it will have taken. Of course then you will want be become something even more powerful, and so it will continue until the end. Even then, there is always the Multiplayer mode and the daily increasing number of Siegelet projects. Dungeon Sieges playability and modability will make it one of the greatest all time classics of RPG gaming. My hat comes off to Gas Powered games. " |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Acid Gas?
Posted 3/22/2002 @ 9:11 PM EST by Farmgirl | No, someone didn't let one rip. Acid Gas is one of the many spells in DS. PDS has released a new 6.0MB zipped video of Acid Gas.
Acid Gas is one of the offensive area effect spells from the school of combat magic. Better stock up on some Beano! |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
Packmule Forums Offically Opens
Posted 3/22/2002 @ 8:09 PM EST by Farmgirl | | Ahnteis from packmule.org dropped me a note this morning informing me that packmule.org fourms are now offically opened. I was busy and preoccupied this morning (playing RoR) and forgot about it till I was over at tLoDS, my bad. Grats Ahnteis! |
| AGE OF MYTHOLOGY HEAVEN
New Storyboards: It's War!
Posted 3/22/2002 @ 7:13 PM EST by Thunder | | The GameSpy Daily crew have posted another series of six storyboards, showing off another portion of the opening cinematic for AOM! Things have been pretty quiet so far, with our hero Arkantos exploring a temple and such. But all hell seems to break loose with the latest series of storyboards and a massive battle ensues, complete with a headlock! Make sure you check out this latest batch of storyboards, and watch for the opening cinematic itself to be made available for download sometime around the end of May, E3 time. ...hopefully in some sort of compressed version for us poor 56k folk... ; ) |
| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
SiegeToons
Posted 3/22/2002 @ 6:46 PM EST by Farmgirl |  Twas the night before Dungeon Siege (ok...still a few more nights till DS), and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse. It does seem awfully quiet today, what is everyone up to? Seeing as how news has been DEAD today, I decided to post something very different.
Toons have been a tradition here at HeavenGames and a tradition that the staff of DSHeaven shall continue. Without further ado, I present to you the first of many SiegeToons which we have for your viewing and laughing pleasure. May you laugh till tears come down your face and your belly aches to death. Hope you enjoy them.
As I was working on this post, I got that International Release Dates link from the MS PR d00d. So much for news being D E A D.
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| DUNGEON SIEGE HEAVEN
DS International Release Dates
Posted 3/22/2002 @ 6:22 PM EST by Farmgirl | A heads up from the MS PR d00d, Vidguy. He's sent a note that the MS DS site has posted up the international release dates of DS.
- Australia April 22
- Austria May 2
- Belgium English, April 19; French, May 3
- Denmark April 19
- France May 15
- Germany May 2
- Italy May 10
- Japan May 17
- Korea April 20
- Netherlands April 19
- New Zealand April 15
- Norway April 19
- Portugal April 19
- South Africa May 10
- Spain May 31
- Sweden April 19
- Switzerland French, May 3; German, May 2
- Taiwan May 12; English April 13
- United Kingdom April 19
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| EMPIRE EARTH HEAVEN
Forum Party Tomorrow! March 23
Posted 3/22/2002 @ 6:19 PM EST by Cherub AzN | Spring Break is here! How great is it that we also have a Forum Party!  . Its like getting free money... erm, kinda. Anyways, come down and join us in another great forum party. This week we will be playing normal so you don't have to worry about mods and all. I was getting annoyed at all the install/uninstall precedures so no mods this week. Stop by in the Forum Party Thread for whatever rantings you need. The party starts at usual, so dont forget!
Dont let Spring Break get over your heads now. Its not THAT long  |
| AGE OF MYTHOLOGY HEAVEN
FAQ Answers...
Posted 3/22/2002 @ 5:38 AM EST by Thunder | Our Frequently Ask Questions page, which is forever being updated, has been updated once again. No new questions have been added this time around, but quite a few answers have been tweaked and or added onto, thanks to recently released game information. Hopefully, the answers are a little clearer, and contain less speculation now.
If you have a question that you believe should be included on our FAQ page, make sure you let us know and we will be sure to add those questions which will enlighten the masses. ...I don't think I've ever had so much trouble explaining the basics of a game as I have with AOM...it only sounds complex, it's a breeze to play... ; ) |
| AGE OF MYTHOLOGY HEAVEN
GSpot Movies Yanked!
Posted 3/22/2002 @ 12:44 AM EST by Thunder | I hope you all saw the cool new AOM movies here at GameSpot while they lasted, because they have been pulled tonight. Four of the streaming movies were removed, which showed gameplay footage complete with sound effects.
No explanation has been forwarded at this time, but it is possible that they may have been made available too soon, and we may well see them attached to upcoming civilization showcases. If you did manage to see them, count yourself lucky, as it appears you may have had a sneak peek at what's to come. ...many thanks to forumer dustman for the heads up on this... ; ) |
| AGE OF KINGS HEAVEN
Blacksmith Feature: Cortez' Unification of Yucatan...
Posted 3/21/2002 @ 9:07 PM EST by Thunder | | We have pulled another grand submission from the Blacksmith this week, a campaign straight off our |
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