id Software and Inside Mac Games are teaming up on an amazing giveaway-- readers who sign up before the end of the day today will be entered in a random drawing to win a genuine M72 LAW "Sloof" rocket launcher!

"Sure, we could have given away the usual: an autographed copy of Quake III, or an official id baseball cap," comments id Software co-founder John Carmack. "But we wanted the prize to be something that really got to the core of the first-person shooter experience. And love it or fear it, the rocket launcher has been the signature weapon of first-person shooters ever since the original Doom."

Inside Mac Games Editor-in-Chief Tuncer Deniz admits, "We'll be reluctant to part with this prize; we've been toasting squirrels with it for the last few weeks just to make sure it works. But our loss will be the gain of one of our lucky readers!"

To enter in the drawing, click the link below.

id/IMG Giveaway

Gaming super-site GameSpy is running a week-long series of articles devoted to exploring the history of computer role playing games. Part one focuses on the earliest days of RPGs, from their inception as tabletop, pen-and-paper dice games, to their inevitable move to the digital realm where we play many of them today. Early pioneer games that are mentioned specifically include Wizardry, Bard's Tale, Might & Magic, and, of course, Ultima.

Also given mention are their direct ancestors, the tabletop games Chainmail, Dungeons & Dragons, and Call of Cthulhu.

Role playing games were among the very first games to make the leap to home computers, and helped to popularize the early PC as a viable platform for games.

Here is an excerpt from part one of the article:

"Wizardry was the game I bought my first Apple [computer] for," says Bethesda's Todd Howard. A sentiment echoed by almost everyone I spoke to, including myself. We all cited Wizardry as a seminal influence. Not just because it was first, but because it contained a gem of a story surrounded by a confounding maze of corridors. It had a book full of spells with strange names like Mahalito (a basic fireball), a surprisingly deep character-generation system, lots of variety and characters that could even change class at high level. It had hordes of monsters and an innovative interface that put a 3D corridor in a small window. As you moved the bar graphics, walls would simulate movement. A static (and very crude) drawing would pop up to indicate an encounter. It featured hours and hours of play and influenced almost every CRPG that followed...

"The Ultima series fundamentally reinvented itself with each game. The graphics, sound, and gameplay improved significantly with each installment, but what remained consistent was the focus on creating as immersive, as 'realistic,' a gaming world as technology permitted at the time," says Desslock. "The gaming worlds of the Ultima games were richer, and seemed more alive, as they weren't just fleshed out to the minimum extent required to tell a story, which is the case in many inferior RPGs."

GameSpy- History of CRPGs: Part One

Canadian software company Alias/Wavefront has drastically reduced the price of it's two 3D animation software packages. Starting April 4th, the retail cost for both Maya Complete and the expanded version, Maya Unlimited 3d have fallen to $1,999 and $6,999 respectively. Although these new reduced prices may still seem steep, the previous cost for each package was $7500 and $16,000 respectively.

The preferred 3D software package of 3DF artists everywhere, according to the company, Maya for Mac OS X was released in September of 2001 and the free Maya Personal Learning Edition™ in February of this year.

AliasWavefront: Maya Price Drop

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Mac users waiting for OS X-friendly IntelliPoint drivers need wait no longer. Microsoft quietly released OS X drivers over the weekend that provide full functionality for many of its mice and trackballs.

The following products are supported:

• IntelliMouse Optical
  
• IntelliMouse Explorer
  
• Wheel Mouse Optical
  
• Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer
  
• Optical Trackball
  
• Trackball Explorer

Microsoft - IntelliPoint Drivers Download Page

Microsoft

IntelliMouse Optical

Microsoft - IntelliPoint Drivers Download Page

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Jack Doolan, the Lead Skinner for the upcoming WWII Unreal Tournament mod "The Third Reich" recently informed IMG that the mod has reached the first playable stage and should be shipping soon. Doolan also added that the mod will not only be Mac compatible, the mod can be played on any Mac without the need of a "launcher application".

Here are some of "The Third Reich" features:

Real physics for ballistics calculations: bullets are affected not only by gravity, but also by atmospheric variables such as wind, temperature and altitude.

Iron sights on weapons: to prevent point and click targeting, iron sights have been implemented for all weapons. The weapons have recoil and the aim has to be re-adjusted after each shot for optimum accuracy.

Real damage model: different hit locations have separate health levels -tracked separately by the HUD- and consequences when hit, from instant death to limb crippling. All wounds result in the loss of blood (at different rates depending on the number and type of wounds) which continues until the player is bandaged by a medic. Low blood levels affect the player's movement and, like leg damage, can get him to fall to the ground, forcing him to get up. Massive blood loss or leg damage can make it impossible to get up again.

Great movement freedom: the player can crouch, go prone, jump, walk, jog and sprint. All movement is limited by a stamina level, which becomes specially relevant in big maps.

A rich environment: large outdoors maps featuring mortars, mines, fixed gun positions with limited ammo, strafing and bombing planes that can be shot down, flags and trees that wave in the wind, bushes that provide concealment for ambushes, etc, all providing a unique atmosphere.

Advanced role system that allows the player to choose the kind of soldier he will be and the loadout he will carry.

Different game modes with realistic objectives that affect the course of multiplayer games.

Epic Games

MacSoft

Westlake Interactive

Unreal Tournament

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Players of the MMORPG Lineage: The Blood Pledge should be happy to hear about the latest addition to the Lineage website. Titled LinWeb, this service allows players to pull up various character details such as statistics, inventory, and spells without logging into the game itself. To aid in team coordination, players can also adjust permissions and give the URL for their characters to other players.

In addition, the castle control map has also been updated:

Additionally, we’ve updated the Lineage castle control map – an interactive map that allows you to view the current castle owners on any US Lineage server. You can check the current tax rate, last siege, and upcoming siege times as well.

Lineage - Introducing LinWeb

NCsoft

Lineage

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