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Guild Software has added a new feature for its massively-multiplayer online space strategy game, Vendetta Online. The latest update introduces War Convoys, a new series of blockade convoys spawned daily based on the win/loss ratio of respective nations in Deneb. The convoys travel grayspace to blockade against the entrance of enemy ships.

The War Convoy concept comes from a Suggestions Forum post, and is mostly implemented as suggested, with a few tweaks. The number of ships per convoy is currently reduced, and there is a cap on the total number of ships that any nation may have in a blockade sectors.. this is to prevent "runaway" blockade behaviour with extreme numbers of ships. Additionally, for the Serco side, there are two Itani convoys: a normal-sized one that blockades Ukari B5, and a smaller fighter-only contingent that blockades Helios O12.

It is a certainty that the War Convoy concept will require some testing and tuning. We may have too many ships showing up (even with the cap), or unwanted convoy behaviour, or various other issues cropping up. We'll address them as they arise, so please report major implementation problems via the Bugs forum, and abstract design improvements via Suggestions. Thanks, and we hope it's a lot of fun!

Vendetta Online News

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Vendetta Online (add to watch list)

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Computer and Video Games has posted some new comments from Valve Software's Gabe Newell about the iconic Gordon Freeman, protagonist of the popular Half-Life series. The developer promised that any new games featuring Freeman would remain true to the character's roots.

When Edge asked Newell if he wanted to give Freeman a greater sense of 'embodiment', he said:

"We haven't had a reason to change that. Most of what I've seen to date has been gimmicky and is entertaining for just a minute or so."

When asked if he'd consider giving Freeman a voice (he's been mute in every Half-Life so far) - he added:

"We're not philosophically opposed to this, but we don't have any good reasons to do it. Right now making your companions more interesting and compelling seems a more fruitful avenue to explore."

CVG: Gordon Freeman To Remain Silent

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Independent software developer In-Poculis recently announced In-Poculis Mahjong 3.00, an update to the 3D solitaire game for Mac OS X and Windows. In-Poculis Mahjong is a memory game in which players have to select identical tiles to make them disappear. The main constraint is that they have to be on the layout's borders. All of the Mahjong pieces must be cleared to win. In-Poculis Mahjong features 120 levels and 6 themes.

This Mahjong Solitaire game also referred as a Shanghai game, features 120 levels and 6 fun themes, including Christmas, Halloween, Asian, Easter, Wonderland and Future. Each theme has its own levels, graphics, musics, sound effects as well as an easy-to-read statistics panel where scores from themes' levels can be quickly observed. To get users started, a 5 step, in-game tutorial is displayed the first time the game is played. Players may also post their scores and photo on the game's website.

Feature Highlights:

• Standard and Expert Mode
  
• Christmas, Halloween, Asian, Easter, Wonderland and Future themes
  120 levels
  
• Built-in 5 step, in-game Tutorial
  
• Post Scores and Photo on In-Poculis's website

Minimum Requirements:

• Mac OS X Version 10.4 Tiger, 10.5 Leopard or later
  
• Windows Seven, Vista, XP and 2000
  
• Universal Binary for PowerPC and Intel
  
• 53 MB Hard Drive space for Mac and 126 MB Hard Drive space for Windows

In-Poculis Mahjong

In-Poculis

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Co-Optimus recently published a new preview of Two Worlds II, the upcoming fantasy RPG from TopWare Interactive and Reality Pump. The game will send players to the unexplored land of Eastern Antaloor and will feature detailed graphics, an active combat system, and a complex storyline.

The spell system, which was the one thing people seemed to enjoy in Two Worlds, looks really nice. Like the original it's based on a card system, but Two Worlds 2 has taken it to a new level. You could augment, buff, or tweak your spells to pretty much whatever you wanted. At first we were shown a simple ice spell, which was then augmented with a multiply card. It suddenly turned into two ice shots. Then a reflect card was added to the spell - suddenly our two shots were reflecting off walls. Next up? An ice golem card which summoned some minions to do your bidding which occurred alongside your dual reflecting shots of ice. The class system is supposed to give players a lot of flexibility with character creation. That is to say, each character has the ability to mix and match their skill sets to play however you feel like playing at the time throughout the game.

They did mention that the depth of the main game was basically customizable to the player. Whether they wanted to get into all of the back story and read every book, or skip every cutscene or narrative dialog and just plow through. This may or may not apply to the co-op mode, giving us a happy medium as far as fantasy experiences together go for hardcore and less-hardcore gamers - because let's face it, the fantasy genre tends to be overwhelming at times.

Co-Optimus: Two Worlds II Preview

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