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In what might be confusing news, it seems Black & White may now finally be Gold, and a patch could be available soon for those who already own the game. Dair Grant of Zonic, the company who ported the game for Feral Interactive and GraphSim, posted to the IMG Forum with the good news this morning. Remember that while Black & White was available for sale at this month's Macworld Expo, it was then put back under final testing before going into worldwide distribution.

Those who obtained the game at the expo will need the upcoming version 1.1.1 patch to fix some things, and those ordering it normally will have the fixes in their boxed version. Here's the scoop from Grant:

If you're seeing B&W lock up the machine on 9, or unexpectedly quit on X, then that should be fixed by the 1.1.1 patch—this has been signed off as the GM by Lionhead, and fixes a couple of bugs since the 1.1 Macworld release.

There will be an update that'll apply the patch to the 1.1.1 release—I don't know an exact release date, but it shouldn't be too far off.

IMG Review: Black & White

Black & White

GraphSim: Black & White

IMG Forum: Black & White Status

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At Macworld Expo this month, Graphic Simulations debuted Black & White, the long awaited "god game" from Lionhead Studios and Feral Interactive. IMG's Kit Pierce got his hands on a copy, and today we bring you his review:

The god-game from Lionhead Studios, Black & White, needs little introduction. Designed by Peter Molineaux, who some call legendary with credits like the groundbreaking Populous under his belt, Black & White is a god-game like no other. It blends complex strategic gameplay with resource management, puzzle solving, and an advanced AI system for a wonderfully immersive gaming experience.

IMG Review: Black & White

Black & White

GraphSim: Black & White

Westlake Interactive president Glenda Adams posted to Usenet newsgroup comp.sys.mac.games.action late Friday with brief updates on Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Unreal Tournament, Rune, and Klingon Honor Guard.

Here's what she had to say:

Not sure when RtCW will hit the shelves, but its getting close!

A bit of good news on the UT X front—I fixed the problem with command/control/shift keys not working in the engine (this was a bug that showed up in Harry Potter too), so at least that will be fixed in UT once I fix the loading bug.

And no promises, but now that Rune HOV is finally finding an outlet, maybe I will reconsider re-opening Rune someday to put X support in it. It may depend how HOV sells, since I have to gauge how popular the game still is. We WON'T be doing Klingon Honor Guard for X. :)

Westlake Interactive

Usenet: comp.sys.mac.games.action

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Late last week, MacPlay released a new update for Aliens vs Predator, bringing it up to version 1.0.1a. The patch specifically targets issues with Mac OS X 10.1 and 10.1.2, including the following:

• Fixes issues between Aliens vs. Predator and Mac OS X 10.1.2
  
• Fixes flickering of cursor
  
• Fixes gaming going into window mode in 10.1

Those interested in downloading the release version 1.0.1a patch can find it at MacPlay's web site via the link below, while those interested in beta testing the version 1.0.2 patch can find it at MacGameFiles.

IMG Review: Aliens vs Predator

Aliens vs. Predator: Gold

MacPlay: Aliens vs Predator 1.0.1a Patch (7 MB)

MGF: Aliens vs Predator 1.0.2 beta Patch (1.4 MB)

Glenn Lortscher over at Tuplay.com has posted an editorial analyzing the multiplayer aspects of Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Glenn makes the case that the game marks the first real advance in first-person shooter team play in years.

In the beginning, there was deathmatch. Then for a long time, there was nothing. But soon enough, out came Capture the Flag, and its smarter brother TeamFortress, and the multiplayer community was established. Then there was Counter-Strike. And again, for a long time, over two and a half years, there was nothing.

Then, almost two months ago, Nerve Software brought us multiplayer Return to Castle Wolfenstein.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Tuplay.com: Wolfenstein MP: A Revolution?

Buy Return to Castle Wolfenstein

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MacCentral's Peter Cohen has written an article celebrating the iMac's great leap forward as a gaming machine. While the new iMac lacks the expandability and customizability that some gamers crave, it nevertheless represents a new baseline for gaming on the Mac that far surpasses the old.

At last, it's the iMac this gamer has been waiting for. Sexy and sophisticated, Apple's new consumer computer doesn't compromise performance for a small footprint. With Nvidia GeForce2 MX-based graphics, up to 1 GB of RAM and the best looking digital flat-panel display in its class, the iMac is absolutely certain to appeal to a lot more gamers than its predecessors.

iMac 2002

MacCentral: The New iMac from a Gamer's Perspective

Last week saw the release of Coldstone from Ambrosia Software. Now it seems there is a new competitor in the field of game development programs: BlitzMax. Joseph Humfrey informed us of an update on the BlitzBasic web site (featuring a deceptively OS X decor) which shows that programmer Mark Sibly is intending to expand and upgrade his existing Windows-reliant BlitzBasic programming language to offer severe game programming power to users of Mac OS X everywhere. While not quite as simple as Coldstone, the rewards it offers are impressive. The easiest way to explain Blitz is by quoting from their web site:

Blitz is an easy-to-use, yet powerful and flexible programming language designed for the sole purpose of writing slick, playable video games!

The web site lists some extremely interesting features, including fast 2D support, simple (and impressive) 3D support, a very customizable interface for the program, and an enormous potential for a lot of quality games to be produced.

While this may not be a tool for every gamer, it certainly means that users of Mac OS X can look forward to a number of new games. BlitzMax is aiming for a September 2002 release, and its creator Mark Sibly believes that 99% of the existing games for BlitzBasic will work with BlitzMax. Be assured that Inside Mac Games will keep you informed of any developments.

BlitzMax

MacSoft has released a version 1.0.1 update for Vampire: The Masquerade—Redemption. The patch makes the following changes:

• Connecting via GameRanger will now work reliably.
  
• Storytellers will now have access to the Long List of items in Storyteller mode. Note that to display the Long List you will need to click the Short List/Long List button, which is the second button down on the right side of the Place Object pane.
  
• Game now requires InputSprocket 1.7.1.
  
• In 16-bit mode on ATI graphics cards, blood will appear blue. This seems to be a driver issue but we will continue to look into the problem.

IMG Preview: Vampire: The Masquerade—Redemption

MacSoft: Vampire: The Masquerade—Redemption

MGF: Vampire: The Masquerade—Redemption 1.0.1 Update (116 KB)

Buy Vampire: The Masquerade

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