IGN have posted a review of the latest installment in the Rainbow Six series - Raven Shield.
Raven Shield is pretty damn awesome. Not only does it continue the series' tradition of intense realism and the unforgiving consequences of close-quarters combat, it does it better than any of the previous titles in the series. The main changes for the game are largely graphical or mere matters of convenience, but the cumulative effect of the new technologies and design concepts create an experience that's as fun, if not as revolutionary, as the first game in the series.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (March 25th 2003) - Entertainment software publisher NovaLogic Ltd. is pleased to announce that the eagerly awaited PC Game Delta Force - Black Hawk Down has shipped and will be in stores across Europe from today.
Set in Somalia in 1993, Delta Force - Black Hawk Down is based upon and around the Operation Restore Hope and Task Force Ranger campaigns immortalized in the book and movie of the same name. The game follows members of the elite Delta Force, US Army Rangers and 10th Mountain Division as they participate in a number of daring raids against the oppressive Somali warlords in and around Mogadishu.
Delta Force - Black Hawk Down recreates the intense atmosphere of a war-torn country. From tours of duty in the vast Somali countryside, where snipers could lurk on top of any hill - to the maze like streets of Mogadishu, where militia and civilians blend seamlessly the task of discerning enemy from refugee is vital, as a wrong decision could cost you your mission.... or your life.
To ensure accuracy, NovaLogic spent months researching the history of the conflict, and worked extensively with former Special Forces Operatives, including two who served in Somalia in 1993.
NovaLogic has also teamed up with the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. A portion of the proceeds from Delta Force - Black Hawk Down will be donated to the foundation. The SOWF provides college scholarship grants, along with financial aid and educational counseling to the children of Special Operations personnel who were killed in an operational mission or training accident.
Delta Force - Black Hawk Down features include: * Insertion by MH-6 helicopter transports, Black Hawks and ground based vehicles. * An AI system that drives friendly teams and enemies to carry out strategic, lethal combat maneuvers. * An arsenal of authentic weapons as used by US Special Forces during Operation Restore Hope and Task Force Ranger. * Huge and varied landscapes that transport the player into the middle of a chaotic war zone.
For more information, including interviews, screenshots and in game videos, please click
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James "Hornit" Campisi from SimHQ.com has posted a review of Thirdwire's Strike Fighters Project One sim. Heres a short quote:
Here was a sim to portray the glamorous era of the fighter pilot. The 60's and 70's! The F-4 phantom, the F-104 Starfighter, and the ubiquitous MiG series of aircraft. While holding our imagination with these fantastic aircraft it also offered the promise of true air to air combat without the frustrations of attempting to learn the intricacies of more modern aircraft and the weapons systems which they include.
Alexandria, VA (March 2003)--- eDimensional, Inc. the leading provider of consumer PC virtual reality products and accessories including the renown patented E-D Glasses, announces enhanced drivers created for the use of the E-D glasses in conjunction with nVidia video cards.
Leading 3-D graphics company nVidia Corp. has released new E-D glasses stereo drivers for use with all of their video cards. The stereo drivers include added functionality that enhances graphics, game play, and simulation performance. The drivers have been streamlined to work with the newest technology utilized in the most popular game titles out today. The list of games has increased in size making the newest games perform even better in 3-D. Additionally, the new interface is easier to use, setup, and configure. Users with 'multimedia' keyboards now have full control over the hotkeys for in-game 3-D adjustments without conflicts. Key updates were made to conform to new standards that allow computer peripherals to work flawlessly together. Support for DirectX 9 and openGL 1.4 has been included in this update while coding was added to increase frame rates and enhance gameplay.
eDimensional is constantly striving to enhance features and compatibility of the E-D glasses and provide the most robust support available. The new drivers for nVidia users are the first of several new forthcoming releases by eDimensional to provide an even broader range of support for all users on virtually any system configuration. Stay tuned to eDimensional.com over the coming weeks for additional non-nVidia announcements.
The 40 series drivers are available immediately for download on the eDimensional website
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The new issue of Waypoint is here! The March 2003 issue of the magazine of the computer Harpoon community is now available for download from the Harpoon Headquarters site: http://www.harpoonhq.com/waypoint/
Features of the latest issue include:
- Editorial: With the war upon us - Dale Hillier's extensive Gulf War Journal; a must-read. - New scenarios in "The Docks": Canary's Cage (H2/3), Shallow Waters (H2/3), Back to Baghdad (H2002) - Realistic aircraft ready-times: A milestone for Harpoon. - JED Special: Electronic defence for frigates & destroyers - Evolution and cost-effectiveness of AWACS aircraft - Airstrikes 101: Build your own "shock and awe" package. - Nucflash: An unlikely scenario.....or maybe not? - Platform profiles: Kidd-class DDG, A-50 Mainstay AWACS, Kashin-class DDG, Charlie-class SSGN - Slick's Harpoon4 Mega-FAQ: Guaranteed to give an answer - Plus the usual assortment of news, FAQs, questions and answers for all versions of Harpoon and all air/naval matters worldwide.
Hunter has updated his column. Here's a snip of his latest editorial:
My Country is involved in a war to liberate an oppressed people. My only son is a part of that force that is now engaged in this endeavor. The Coalition has already lost close to 30 lives to this bill. Half was due to accidents, but 2 were killed in the line of duty. They laid down their lives for a principle, a belief that all people are free, or at least should be able to live without the fear of being turned into hamburger for expressing their disagreement with the government. That a child should be able to grow up with the right to dream of going to the stars, sitting in front of a computer screen and be able to fly a airplane at Mach 2 like WE here are able to do.
Matrix Games (http://www.matrixgames.com) and Just Flight Ltd. (http://www.justflight.com) are please to announce a new partnership aimed at supporting Microsoft’s best-selling Combat Flight Simulator 3 with a series of new historical add-on packages.
“Just Flight has produced a number of successful top quality add-ons for Combat Flight Simulator 2 and this new series for Combat Flight Simulator 3 will meet or exceed the expectations of flight sim fans everywhere,” said David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games.
"Matrix Games has established a strong reputation as a customer-oriented publisher of historical simulations. In choosing Matrix Games as the exclusive North American publisher for our new Combat Flight Simulator 3 add-ons, we feel we have made the best possible choice for fans of our products in the United States and Canada,” stated Mungo Amyatt-Leir, Managing Director of Just Flight Ltd.
The first add-ons planned from Just Flight for Combat Flight Simulator 3 will cover the Battle of Britain, taking gamers back to the struggle for the skies of England in 1940. This will be followed by a bomber add-on focused on the famous and beloved B-17 Flying Fortress.
ABOUT MATRIX GAMES Matrix Games produces, markets and publishes historical wargames as well as other computer gaming products. We are based in Woodbridge, New Jersey. For more information, visit our website at http://www.matrixgames.com/
ABOUT JUST FLIGHT LTD. Just Flight is the world's leading flight simulation specialist and has been established for over 6 years. It prides itself on quality, value and customer service, which it backs up with a unique money-back guarantee on all its products. It has been recognized with nominations for 'Best of British' by the software industry and accolades from the Daily Express and Royal Mail for its innovative marketing techniques. For more information, visit the Just Flight website at http://www.justflight.com/
Thomas 'tom2' Wälti has updated the Falcon 4 Seoul Airport Tiles with the seamless city tiles style and added some warehouses and hangars around the airport.
I received the following from Derek Davies of Computer Pilot Magazine.
the March issue of Computer Pilot Magazine, the monthly printed flight sim magazine, is now available at your local WH Smith high street stores in the UK.
Every month Computer Pilot is packed full of civil flight sim and combat sim articles, reviews, general interest stories and technical tutorials as well as the best professional civil flight lessons ever to grace a flight simulation magazine.
"Each Month, in Computer Pilot, you read about nothing else BUT Flight Simulation!"
Computer Pilot Is Your Monthly Guide To The World Of Flight Simulation...Now available at WH Smith!
I'll add that if you haven't already read Computer Pilot you are missing a treat, it is a great magazine. For those outside of the UK you can find more info (and take out a subscription) at the Computer Pilot website by clicking
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Microsoft Game Studios recently announced that the official Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight site is now live at http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulator. Visitors to the newly launched site will be able to celebrate the past and explore the present as Microsoft unleashes its ninth version of the venerable Flight Simulator franchise.
The rich history of powered aviation as well as the history of the Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise is presented on the site, including an article on the history of flight by Lane Wallace, columnist and west coast editor of Flying magazine. The site also features historical accounts, in-flight screenshots and cockpit images of the 24 aircraft. Visitors will also be able to download videos and keep tabs on events related to the 100th anniversary of the first flight.
Enthusiasts around the world will experience the history of aviation with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight. As the world celebrates the 100th anniversary of powered flight in 2003, A Century of Flight allows virtual pilots to feel what it's like to take the controls of nine historic aircraft -- the record-breakers, the workhorses and the innovators -- such as Charles Lindbergh's Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis, the Douglas DC-3 and the world's first successful powered aircraft, the 1903 Wright Flyer. Engaging, interactive multimedia provides a wealth of historical information on the planes that shaped aviation history and the pilots who flew them. Informed and insightful articles help players discover all that Flight Simulator and its fleet of 24 aircraft has to offer. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight also introduces an updated, dynamic weather system, enhanced automatically generated (auto-gen) scenery and detailed visual effects, as well as 15 modern aircraft, including the Robinson R-22 Beta II helicopter.
A new campaign for Janes F/A-18 was released on the opening day of the war with Iraq. Named "Operation Just Reward" the campaign is a theoretical model of the current Gulf war. Designed to be flown with either single player or multi-player missions, the campaign consists of a 35 mission set that spans the period from Operation Southern Watch and transitions into the war with Iraq.
The campaign was designed by David "Hunter" Proeber and was based on recent news reports and actual military briefings found on the web or satellite television.
You can download the campaign from theVFA-105 Gunslingers website
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The 100 AFW Buddy Boys have posted a report of their latest Lan. Here's a snippet:
As with all meets, we had a slew of funny as hell one liners ... MadEye putting his foot in his mouth and Yoda putting everyone else's in theirs. You need to know MadEye to really understand his deadpan delivery that makes you CERTAIN he is not kidding .. and when Dusty told him he had a bandit to his left and he asked "Which left?" ... makes it kind of hard to hear your EWR warnings when the room is laughing so hard. And Yoda, the ever so helpful father figure to us all, came to CRASH's aid on a very dark night as he looked for the carrier: "Well CRASH, I will give ya a clue ... it is at sea level." But shortly after that, MadEye did his traditional "lighting of the Tiki Torch" and the carrier was really easy to spot then!
Richard Harvey – Producer and Lead Programmer of the Fly series of flight simulations has died. Richard had been fighting a long battle with cancer. The staff at Frugalsworld offer our condolences and our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.
The latest Catalyst drivers have been released by ATI – these are reported to have solved many of the stuttering issues that those who have ATI Radeon 9700 cards have experienced.
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Ubi.com have reported Raven Shield is shipping. This is part of the press release from Ubisoft.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA. March 18, 2003 - Ubi Soft Entertainment, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced today that the third installment of its best-selling Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six™ Series, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six™ 3: Raven Shield™ is available this week at retail outlets across the U.S. The game was developed by Ubi Soft's Montreal studio, most recently renowned for creating Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.
The following has been posted on the I3D website. If you havent seen this new add-on aircraft for FS2K2 yet, check it out - it's a fantastic effort.
The GMAX B1B Lancer Update
The B1B patch we are working on now, has a release date. The patch will be avaliable to users on Saturday 15th of March. The patch will fix all errors, missing VC textures.. and model corrections. We hope to bring you a Force Feedback Update before then. If you have any queries, e.mail support@mnm-fs.com.
The first reports of IL2:FB being availble in mainstream US stores have come in. The European release date is 20th March (for those who didnt know already!)
I have posted some pictures of Aimsworth's New Viper 2 cockpit and their new F16 C Button/Knob set. I have also included info and pricing. Here's a snippet:
Like the Viper I, but she is too big for your place? We have the answer to your problem! The Viper II is designed as a desktop solution where your monitor stays on your desk and you can move the Viper II easily around when you need to something other than killing bogeys. The Aimsworth Viper II is highly modular, means it packs in less than a box the size 1 X 1 X 1 meter and is put in front of your desk. The Viper is even small enough for a LAN meeting. You can fly your favorite sim in this pit with almost the same feeling of "being there" as our larger Viper I. Even the rudder pedal position is correct and you can use your NORMAL CHAIR or our ACES II ejection seat (optional). There is ample space for your favorite HOTAS and you can mount also our Cougar mount, Instrument kit and ICP/MFD’s (all optional).
The single-player demo of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six:Raven Shield has been released
Features: ---------------------
Single Player Featured Mission: Oil Refinery Playable in all 4 Custom Mission modes with three levels of difficulty for each Practice Terrorist Hunt Lone Wolf Hostage Rescue
16 weapons available M12 Mac11/9 MP5A4 MP5K PDW MTAR-21 MP5SD5 P90 Uzi AK-47 M1 shotgun Dragunov PSG-1 RPD 92FS AP ARMY USP
Weapon gadgets Mini-Scope High Capacity Magazine Sound Suppressor Thermal scope
This cockpit is made to compliment the excellent F-111 Aardvark 3D model and textures that was recently released. This 2D cockpit is still betamaterial and will be updated frequently. It is made for 1280x960 resolution so most people can fly it.
Special thanks go to Ripley for a big part of the coding of the datfile. Make sure you apply this cockpit on an installation with SP3 or beyond.
Gotcha thinks he may have fixed the EECH Farp bug. Here's a brief description of the bug.
Choppers do not land completely but hop up and down on the landing pad. They are not cleared so that others have to wait resulting in long lines of flying choppers that get no pad assigned. One of the worse examples is Taiwan skirmish 5 for red.
WxMan1 has released version 1.02 of his Tile manager
Improvements to v1.01:
- palette color index error diffusion using serpentine raster dithering of all enhhanced and original hi-res texture images to Widowmaker's TerrainTexture palette.
- median cut Heckbert quantization algorithm implemented during palette selction.
- re-paletted hi-res tiles used as source for lower resolution tiles using above described error diffusion and palette index selection techniqe.
- improved terrain texture image color quality at all resolutions.
- 100% increase in ltile resolution (compared to Widowmaker TerrainTexture originals)
- at least 30% increase of palette color indexes used by any arbitrary Ltile compared to original Widowmaker TerrainTexture color index utilization
- resolution to water tile rendering problem
- compatible with standard F4 water texture tile or Twaelti hi-res water texture.
- global palette for fartile rendering is based on the arithmetic mean of all color indexes in use by both enhanced and original re paletted at Ltile level, and original palette hi-res water tiles paletted to Widowmaker's TerrainTexture palette at the Ltile level.
- major improvement to saturation and hue of general palette lighting
- less noticable change in saturation and hue to terrain textures when transitioning to and from differing terrain texture resolutions (especially fartiles).
I have posted a guest editorial by Dieter “Dada” Miller entitled Dada’s Multiplayer Guide and Checklist. This is a very funny piece. Here's a sample
01. Put my three and five-year-old to bed.
02. Fire up ICQ. Wait a couple hours for any squad mates to pop up. Re-introduce myself because they don't remember who the hell I am. (Sheesh, I gotta fly more.)
03. Pause to get up and tell the kids to get back to bed.
04. Connect on Roger Wilco. :) Interrupt everyone else as much as possible, over-modulating on purpose. (How else are they going to hear you over the C.O.?)
05. Pause to get up and yell at the kids to get back in bed.
06. Stop by the fridge for a couple of much-needed JW Dundee's Honey Brown Lagers
You can read Dada's bio in the Staff Bio's page. Read the full article by clicking
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Matt Wagner has updated the producers journal at www.lo-mac.com. Heres a small quote:
Avionics. With F-15C and A-10A pilots on the test team, we now have the final data we need to accurately recreate the avionics systems for these aircraft. Be it the APG-63 radar of the Eagle or the Maverick TVM display of the Hog, the avionics programmer is hard at work to complete these aircraft
