Multiplayer requirements:

A full version of the original Medal of Honor Allied Assault game will be required. Please note that these are just preliminary system requirements, and may change when the expansion pack gets released.

Aspyr is currently taking pre-orders for the game on their website - the game will retail for $29.95, and is expected to be available in May. Stay tuned to IMG for further news on this title as it develops.

[Update]: Westlake's Duane Johnson has brought it to our attention that the level-editing tools will not be included as part of the game (though neither did the PC version). Amity Lesko of Aspyr also wrote in to IMG News this morning to confirm the fact. Thanks for the clarification, Duane & Amity!

Asypr Media: Medal of Honor Allied Assault - Spearhead

Aspyr Media

Westlake Interactive

Medal of Honor: Spearhead

Buy Medal of Honor: Spearhead

Having torn out eyes away from detailed explosions and calculated flank manuevers, IMG got a chance to talk shop with Big Time Software's Martin Turewicz and the rest of the lads responsible for bringing the incredibly detailed Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin to the Mac.

Here's a snippet from the interview:

IMG: Why was Combat Mission released as a Classic application and is an OS X-native version in the works?

Big Time Software: The core of Combat Mission's 3D engine was created before OS X, when Apple used RAVE as its 3D system software.  This was before Apple switched to OpenGL, which is the 3D software used by OS X.  Unfortunately, RAVE is not supported in the OS X-native environment, which means that Combat Mission cannot be OS X-native.

Soon we will begin work on an entirely new graphics engine which will be based on OpenGL and fully native on OS X.  This engine will be used in our future products.

IMG Interview: Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

IMG Review: Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

Battlefront.com

Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

Due to popular demand, the IMG Store now has the Black & White Platinum Pack in stock. The pack contains Black & White and the Black & White: Creature Isle expansion pack. If you're a MacGames CD subscriber, you can pick it up for $37 while non-subscribers can order it for just $42.

Black & White - In Black & White you can be the god you want to be. Will you rule with a fair hand, making life better for your people? Or will you be evil and scare them into prayer and submission? No one can tell you which way to be. You, as a god, can play the game any way you choose.

Black & White: Creature Isle - Bring your Black & White Creature to a completely new land, where he'll face Trials, foes and tests like never before. If he's got it in him, and if you're good enough as well, he'll make it into the fabled, coveted Brotherhood. From that moment on, he'll be different. He'll have more power. He'll be an elite, and whether you keep playing with him on the Creature Isle or take him on-line, everyone will know what he has become.

System Requirements

To order your copy today, head over to the IMG Store.

Liquid Destiny Games, a group of volunteer gamers working on creating a new engine and a game called The Crimson Deep, recently made an update to their webpage. For those who are unfamiliar with their project, The Crimson Deep is to be a futuristic sub game, with many advanced graphical and gameplay features, along with multi-player gameplay. The update to their website doesn't really provide any new information on the game, but does provides some info on the team, and puts out a call for people to help out with the project.

Here's the Update:

It is a long road we walk. And you know...there are some pretty big pot holes in it and we have hit every one. But like an old penny we keep popping up and doing what we have to do to get out of the next hole in the road.

As part of our continuing efforts we are once again looking for people to fill out now open positions. If you are interested in being part of this project and seeing more of what we are up to then please do drop by the help section and see what position you would like to fill.

On the bright side of things, the work on the engine has been progressing very well and the engine specs have been updated in the projects section. For the latest list of currently installed and planned engine features drop by the projects section. Or you can just click this link.

Liquid Destiny Games

About a year and a half ago Inside Mac Games launched a unique and extremely popular sponsorship program. More than just "advertising", the sponsorship gives companies the flexibility they need to effectively market their product, services, and brand name. In addition to mainstream advertising, we work closely with our sponsors to provide them with hosting services, a broad range of advertising campaigns, and extensive support, all for a nominal flat fee.

Here are just some of the benefits of sponsoring Inside Mac Games:

Inside Mac Games

Click to enlarge

Bill Romanowski of TQworld wrote IMG over the weekend with news about his company's psychedelic 3D internet-powered game Tranquility.

First off, TQworld is extending their special holiday pricing for the game until the end of February. The title, which usually sells for $24 US, is being offered at a 25% discount - $18 US.

Secondly, fans of the current version will be interested in learning that TQworld are currently working on the sequel, Tranquility 2. Currently scheduled for a second quarter of 2003 release, the new version of the game will be OS X-only, and will feature an extensive re-tooling of the current version:

tranquility2 ... will feature deep multi-player capability, integrated IRC chat in a fully 3D environment, the ability for users to customize the music system, including using their own audio samples and share them with other players, and a completely new geometry system that incorporates lighting, reflections and other visual effects.

MacGameFiles: Download Tranquility Demo

IMG: Tranquility Review

TQworld

Tranquility

Click to enlarge

As many people awaiting the release of Shadowbane know, one of the key features of this upcoming MMORPG is the ability to lay siege on rival cities. Given the fact that sieges can involve large numbers of players, extensive and tweaking during the beta testing phase has resulted in a streamlined city siege system that is explained in depth in a recent news article at the official Shadowbane site.

Though attacking one force with another is certainly part of the siege process, it also contains various other complexities that include economic models, challenge phases, and timing, which ensure that playing smart can be just as important as playing strong:

The city sieging system has been dramatically streamlined to be more inline with a number of our original design goals: increasing the ability to cripple neighboring states through the use of economic pressure, extending the time of a siege to minimize the effectiveness of "4am raiding", making the system more intuitive and easier to manage, and increasing guild participation on behalf of both attacker and defender.

[Q]. What is to stop the defenders from simply healing up their walls after I break through by repairing them with gold?

[Warden]: Nothing, other than money. Think of the equation this way : once you have the bulwarks up, you have (effectively) an infinite supply of damage you can deal out to the town. The defenders have a specific amount of healing they can do (based on the gold they have accumulated.) So in that light, my answer to your question is "nothing but money" -- but I think the money will be enough.

Shadowbane - The Shadowbane City Siege System

Shadowbane - The Shadowbane City Siege System Q&A

Shadowbane - Screenshots

Ubisoft

Wolfpack Studios

Shadowbane

HomeLan recently ran a preview of the upcoming NASCAR Racing game. NASCAR Racing 2003. The preview goes into many of the new features of the upcoming game, along with sadly reporting that it will be the last NASCAR game that Papyrus Racing Games and Sierra will be making. The game includes many new little graphical touches, as an example, dirt and grime will gather on your windshield over time and impair your view.

Here's a snippet:

Other neat features in our press demo of the game included a more populated pit road, the huge number of camera angles you can view the game with (including a helicopter view) and a full featured demo editor which will allow you to impress your friends with cool movies showing off your driving skills. While the game's multiplayer mode was not implements in our press demo, we have been told that there have been a few admin tools for NASCAR Racing 2003 server operators, including the ability to throw flags. There will also be a voting system in place to vote out players that are deemed troublesome.


The game also has a couple of features that make NASCAR Racing 2003 more true-to-life. For instance, the movement of air around the cars has been modeled more accurately so that if, say, you find a car moving up behind your bumper the air from the rear might push you into the wall if you are not careful. With assistance from official NASCAR tire provider Goodyear, the game has tires affected by heat from the track, including whether or not there is cloud cover on a sunny day.

NASCAR 2003 Preview

Aspyr Media

Westlake Interactive

Nascar Racing 2002

Buy Nascar Racing 2002

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