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October 21, 2004
Yet another leak: GTA San Andreas
What the hell's going on? Hot on the heels of the Halo 2 leak, we find that the game that encourages you to steal, has been stolen itself. Already appearing on torrent sites, GTA: San Andreas has been leaked a week ahead of its release date.
This is crazy, in the past year we've seen pre-release copies of Half Life 2, DOOM III, Halo 2 and now this. Just about every major AAA title has suffered.
Posted by jb at 09:08 AM
October 17, 2004
DOOM III SDK released: let's see some mods!
The long-running joke is "DOOM III is a great engine, I can't wait until someone makes a game with it". It's pretty true, as the game itself gets a little boring. The upside being those eager mod developers have an incredibly powerful platform from which to launch their own creations.
"The Code is where all the real fun starts to happen. The Doom 3 SDK comes with pretty much half the source code for the game. I will briefly go over the major portions in the SDK, and touch on some subsystems that are in the main engine."
You'll need Visual Studio.Net to compile (although the savvy can probably get it to work with VS 6).
If you're having trouble getting the files from the id site, you can try this mirror.
Posted by jb at 08:50 AM
October 14, 2004
Halo 2 leaked
A number of sources are reporting that a version of Halo 2 is making its way around the intarweb. Its a French, PAL version of the game and obviously won't work with Xbox Live (you'd need a modded Xbox to get this to work). Or, you could just wait a month and play the real deal.
A look at the torrent sites indicated that there is a binary being distributed. Uggh.
Having worked on large software projects, I really feel for the Bungie developers who've worked so hard only to see their big release spoiled by this.
Posted by jb at 09:22 AM
Adventure Gamers follow the hype
If you're into adventure gaming, you probably already know AdventureGamers.com. If you don't know it, let this be your chance to dig in. These folks are on top of the adventure gaming scene, so when they list the 10 games they're most looking forward to, we pay attention. Here's the first 5 on their Hype-O-Meter:
- Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
- Fahrenheit
- Still Life
- The Moment of Silence
- A Vampyre Story (previously covered here)
Posted by jb at 08:37 AM
October 12, 2004
Counter Strike: Source - First Weekend
O-2, O-4, B-4-3, B-6, B-7. Ok, let's go:
What's Good: Oh my ME it is fast. Really fast. During my first session I was embarrased by how much my hand was shaking, it was so bloody fast. BFV has spoiled us a bit, suddenly we're back to a game where a round time of over 90 seconds is drawn out and boring. Get there, get it done, and get ready for the next round.
The graphics are silky smooth on the new HL2 engine. You will find beautiful new textures and light effects on all the classic maps. To be truthful, the fact that I had played these maps in a previous incarnation is the only reason I climbed out of the kill/death ratio abyss for a brief period on Saturday. Did I mention that it's fast?
What's Bad: Collisions are ridiculous. Despite amazing advances in the physics engine, all other players are imovable objects. Combine this with a collision detection box that seems to extend twice the expected distance, and you've got jammed up choke points galore. This goes for world objects as well - if you're moving quickly down that hallway, the door on your left might have a molding that will stop you dead in your tracks.
I'm going in for another 20 hours of play, will be back later. Also, it's fast.
Posted by at 08:41 PM
Katamari Damacy
If you haven't heard about Katamari Damacy, you've managed to duck under the news blitz of one of the strangest games we've heard of this year. You: are a massive rolling ball of junk. Your Mission: collect more junk and grow larger. The Quest: Get Really Big.
Plenty more to read on this one, but I feel a strong need to end this blurb before I write a terrible pun involving, "a rolling stone..."
Posted by at 05:11 PM
October 08, 2004
DHTML Lemmings back (for awhile at least)
A brilliant piece of web development, DHTML Lemmings has made a few appearances only to be taken down for various infringements.
Well, it's back for awhile at least.
Posted by jb at 12:05 PM
October 07, 2004
Introduction to modding your Xbox
We've been meaning to do some Xbox modding for awhile now here at Gamewag. Now that Bradley finally decided to return my console I dove in head first. The fundamental reason for modding your Xbox is to allow you to run unsigned code. This means you can use applications that have not been explicitly approved by Microsoft. This cabability opens up an entire world of possibilities, and turns your Xbox into a semi-standard PC. The benefits over a standard PC being a) it sits nicely on your AV rack b) has nice TV out video capabilities c) can be completely controlled by your Xbox controller or remote and d) it's damn cheap.
Since I just finished going through the whole process, I figured it was worth sharing the experience.
What can you do with a modded Xbox?
1) Install a new dashboard. The Xbox dashboard is that green menu you see if you turn your console on without a disc in the drive. By installing a modified dashboard such as EvolutionX, you have a full application launcher and Xbox manager. Most of the other enhancements on this list depend on having a modified dashboard installed.
2) Use the Xbox as a media center. This was the most compelling reason for me to mod my Xbox. Using software like the Xbox Media Center, you can use your Xbox to play movies (DVDs, AVIs, etc.), music, display photos, read RSS feeds and show local weather. All of these things can be done off of the local Xbox drive, from your PC drive across the network or even streamed over the internet. You can also use XBMC as a dashboard replacement.
3) Upgrade the Xbox hard drive. After modding your Xbox, you'll quickly discover how inadequate 8GB is for your needs. Installing an alternate dashboard will allow you to mirror the existing drive (keep those saved games!) onto a much larger drive to store movies, games, music, etc.
4) Play emulated games. There are a number of emulators available for a modded Xbox (NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, MAME, Atari, etc.). From the comfort of your couch, you will be able to play these old ROMS on your uber console using the Xbox controller (we're assuming you obtained them through legal channels...)
5) "Backup" your games. Pull games straight from the original DVD/CD onto your Xbox hard drive. This will decrease load times and reduce disk swapping to change games. Some of the more nefarious folks might use this feature to take advantage of Blockbuster's unlimited game rental plan, but of course we don't condone such a practice...
6) Run homebrew software. There are a number of development projects to create Xbox-specific games and applications. With a modded Xbox, you can customize it to your own needs.
7) Run Linux. Now that you've got this nice PC, you can run Linux and everything that comes with it. Use it as a file sharing server, web server, IRC client, you name it.
How do you mod your Xbox?
There are 2 routes to go once you decide to make the leap.
1. Soft mod. Soft modding is way of taking control of your Xbox without modifying any hardware. The most famous example of this is the 007: Agent Under Fire exploit. This exploit takes advantage of a flaw in the game, in which buffer overflows are not checked when loading saved games. Discovered by "Habibi-Xbox", this clever chap was able to send code through to the system allowing him to install his own dashboard.
You can read more about some of the other Xbox soft mod exploits on Prime 1.
2. Mod chip. Mod chipping is the practice of installing an additional chip onto your Xbox that allows you to run alternate BIOSes. The beauty of running a modchip is that most modern chips allow you to easily drop back into the standard Microsoft Xbox BIOS in order to run Xbox Live. (Don't try running Live with your modchip active as MS will detect it and ban your Xbox from using the service)
There are a number of companies that sell modchips with a variety of features. Modern modchips (known as generation 4 chips) have several MBs worth of storage and allow you to run multiple BIOSes. Some companies also sell solderless kits in case you're not comfortable with weilding a red hot soldering iron. You can read more about the features of these generation 4 chips here.
I decided to go with a Xenium Ice solderless kit. I made this choice based on a) good reviews b) my lack of a soldering iron and c) the fact that the Xenium comes with an onboard OS for managing your BIOSes.
Impressions
Overall, the process went much smoother than I expected. I was able to get up and running with an alternate BIOS in a few hours, and was playing MST3K episodes over my network less than an hour later.
Hardware Installation
Really quite simple. Taking apart my Xbox took about 10 minutes and I had no troubles at all. There are a number of guides available instructing you how to do this (here's one).
Installing the chip was also straightforward. You're going to need to get up close and personal with your box to see the contact points, but once you've got everything identified it's a piece of cake.
Upgrading my drive to a larger version was also painless. The Xenium OS has a built-in disk copy tool (make sure you're using the latest version of the Xenium OS before you do this, the older versions have problems with disk copying! You can find the latest version here.), which made the setup a 5 minute task. Note that you'll need a hard drive power splitter to do this. A splitter can be found at Radio Shack for around $5.
Chip OS upgrade
I had read that the first thing I needed to do is get the latest version of the Xenium OS. I did come across some difficulty here. The Xenium site lists two versions of the latest OS 2 binary, a CD/DVD version and a hard drive version. Since my network was up and running, I decided to use the drive version; which only requires you to copy the relevant files to your box over the network and reboot in recovery mode. After doing this, I was prompted by a disturbing HALT error, with a cryptic explanation. After a few more attempts, I hit the forums and found that the most part the hard drive version of the OS does not really work. Uggh. I downloaded the CD/DVD version, burned a disk and followed the procedure for upgrading. I again was promted with a HALT error. Frustrated, I walked away from it for a bit. After power cycling by Xbox, I was shown an upgrade success message. I guess the Xbox can be finicky when dealing with burned disks, and previously couldn't find the upgraded binary.
Additional BIOS install
After getting the Xenium OS upgraded, the next step was to add the MS Xbox BIOS to the OS so that I can maintain a non-modded Xbox. After that, I installed an additional BIOS that would enable me to launch a modified dashboard. I chose the EvolutionX M8 BIOS. After that, I made sure to do 2 VERY IMPORTANT things. 1) set the correct date and time on your MS Xbox BIOS 2) backed up the EEPROM from within the Xenium OS.
Dashboard install
Intalling an additional dashboard gives you the power to launch additional applications and manage your modded Xbox. I chose the EvolutionX dashboard due to the positive reviews I read on the forums.
Applications install
After getting the dashboard up, you've basically got everything you need to get rocking with your modded Xbox. I then installed Xbox Media Center, downloaded and installed some emulators, moved some movies around and started backing up my Xbox games.
One of the difficult aspects of installing applications is finding them. Most applications need to be compiled with the Microsoft Xbox Development Kit (XDK), which is a big no-no from Microsoft's point-of-view. Therefore, you're unlikely to find any compiled binaries on the websites you visit. You'll have to look into alternate channels to get them (IRC, Usenet, etc.). With the recent release of OpenXDK, hopefully this situation will change soon allowing freely distributable Xbox applications.
As I said, the process had a few hiccups, but nothing too challenging. I'm definitely happy with the end result; a very powerful gaming and multimedia center sitting under my TV. As you dig in, you'll be overwhelmed with the number of people involved in the community and spectrum of available applications.
If you're interested doing some modding, you'll want to visit Xbox-Scene.com, which is the definitive resource for all things related to Xbox hacking.
Posted by jb at 03:21 PM
October 04, 2004
Bored! Send Help!
I've hit the lull. This is the scary time when I think that I'm done being a gamer. It comes around every year, usually sometime between the Jerry Lewis Telethon, and my birthday. This year has been a little bit of a disappointment. Because I'm only following a few select titles for the remainder of the year, and I have an undying dedication to our reader, lets look at the first 3 quarters of the year in review:
Battlefield Vietnam Yep, we loved it. We drank every precious drop of thirst-quenching FPS goodness, and asked for more. Helicopters? I love 'em. Thank you EA for allowing that incorporation that made our illicit love affair so much the sweeter while it lasted. Still a great game, but after playing several hundred hours, doesn't have the magic anymore. Perhaps the release of some new maps would help, perhaps not.
Joint Operations I read the reviews and picked this up the day it was released. I only played for a few weeks, and my strongest impressions were as follows. Big Ups: Sniper rifles have to be ranged to be accurate (where has this been for the last 2 years?); using an ammo supply allows you to change weapons; and a waiting que for joining a full server. Yeah neat huh? Unfortunately, every step forward this game took, it took 2 steps backward: helicopters that behave like flying cars (personal sore spot); directional audio was a nightmare; maps the size of Wyoming; 3 year old multiplayer interface; mystery scoring system. I hope we see some future works that incorporate the "what worked" section.
I was looking forward, really looking forward, to, Doom III. JB no doubt clued you in that we were watching that title like children with our noses pressed against the glass of the front window of Macy's in December. And like the spoiled child, I played with it for a day and forgot about it. Yes, great graphics, neat ideas for interface, but after that, I'm running around in the dark shooting monsters, again. Don't the Monsters know they can't win?
Anarchy Online was not released in this last year, but I spent some time with it in the Spring when they gave 2 free weeks of account time to previously cancelled accounts. As it was when I left the game: great graphics and potential, bogged down with linear play, repetetive content (go to the cave/ship/temple/house and kill everything), and lack of any ability to be different from anyone else while being effective in the least.
Star Wars Galaxies was another from last year that I picked up this year. Content wise, it has much more support for people who don't want to play cookie-cutter characters. Despite this, it still falls victim to a lack of low-level play for casual players. Your time invested in the game yeilds you very little. Did you know that Verant originally wanted to charge by the hour for people to play EverQuest? It's sad that there are still game elements that harken back to the call of time-sink design. One thing that I'm looking forward to is the expansion pack coming called "Jump to Lightspeed" - as I have wanted "X-Wing vs. Tie-Fighter" to come back for years now. The expansion, which will cost $30, grants you access to the space sections and flight related combat. It does not, however, gurantee that you'll have anything to fly. Check back in another month, I'll be whining about it again.
Posted by at 01:44 PM
