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Project lead Lee Vermeulen has announced the availability of Nexuiz, an online multiplayer FPS that has been in development for quite some time. The full package is available currently for Windows and Linux clients, with Mac OS X support coming in the next few days.

Nexuiz is a FPS that focuses on the multiplayer elements of the genre. The game engine and all assets are covered under the GPL license. The engine is also very modder friendly. This combination should provide the perfect platform for some great freely available modifications.

Nexuiz is built on the power of the Darkplaces engine, which is a heavily modified version of the original Quake. Darkplaces features realtime lighting and stencil shadows, bumpmapping, gloss, bloom, and totally rewritten network code that supports up to 64 players on a single server. While quality gameplay was our primary goal, it's graphics technology and artwork allows the game to compete with the current quality of commercial games.

Nexuiz

MacGameStore.com has two new offerings today including Feral's Family Fun Pack 2 and Freeverse's Big Bang Board Games. Both items are in stock and ready to ship.

Family Fun Pack 2 contains Feral's Rayman 3, Worms 3D, Ghostmaster and Children's Britannica (2004 edition) and is available for $39.95.

In Big Bang Board Games you can play Checkers, Chess, Reversi, Mancala, Backgammon, 4-in-a-Row and Tic-Tac-Toe against the animated computer opponents, via email with friends, or online with new friends from around the globe. It is available for just $24.95.

MacGameStore: Family Fun Pack 2

MacGameStore: Big Bang Board Games

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IMG has posted a review of DanLab's hot new racing game, Jammin' Racer. Here's a clip from the review:

But because of the excellent track design, practice makes pleasure in Jammin' Racer. No two tracks feel alike despite the fact that the game contains 24 courses divided into six thematic racing circuits. As is typical with these games, winning circuits will open rewards like further tracks, karts, and other bonus goodies. None of this quality and attention to detail sacrifices variety, which as any promiscuous French citizen knows, is after all the spice of life. Your driver and his/her kart are customizable down to the paint job and accessory kit, including spoilers, fenders, roll cages and mountable bull horns. Its a whimsical and enticing aspect that more games should incorporate.

IMG Review: Jammin' Racer

DanLab Games

Jammin' Racer

With a new week come new topics in the IMG forum, and with new topics come new reasons to skip saturday morning cartoons (or at least open a few new browser windows on the sly at work). For some decent human interest with a touch of gaming, check out these popular topics:

The blame game

Nintendo 64 emulator's for Mac?

first to fight performance

Dr. StrangeIMG

Game characters you really like

IMG Forum

Due to popular demand, Macgamestore.com has added support for American Express and the Discover Card. Card holders can now purchase items through the store with those cards. In addition to the new cards, shoppers can use Visa, Mastercard, or Paypal to purchase products from the store.

For more, visit Macgamestore.com.

Macgamestore.com

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Feral Interactive has launched a new redesigned web site. The new site puts more focus on Feral's weekly news and provides more eye candy in the form of bigger game trailers. The new site now includes an RSS newsfeed service to keep up-to-date Feral happenings, plus a search function.

Feral has also launched a new mini-site dedicated to their latest upcoming game, Colin McRae Rally 2005. In other news, Feral has also announced that the Commandos Battle Pack has begun shipping everywhere (editor's note: unfortunately the game is still not available in the United States).

In related news, IMG and Feral are once again teaming up for Ask Feral, a feature on IMG where you, the Mac gamer, can send in a question for Feral. Feel free to ask about the company, their games, and more. Please send your questions to this email address with Ask Feral in the subject. We'll post the questions and answers on an upcoming date.

Feral Interactive

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With the release of The Sims 2 rapidly approaching, Aspyr today released The Sims 2 Body Shop, a stand-alone, character-creation tool. The tool is available for download from Macgamefiles.com and weighs in at 205 MB.

Here's more from the press release:

Get ready for the Sims 2 with the Sims Body Shop, a character-creation software tool. Customize a Sim with tattoos, hair, clothing and more, including facial expressions editable in 50 ways.

The Sims 2 Body Shop allows players to design unique Sims that can be used within the game and shared with other players.  The Body Shop allows players to select a Sim’s skin tone, eye color, hairstyle, facial hair, makeup, clothes and more!

This tool gives players a detailed level of control over a Sim’s look through a wide range of facial types and sliders that will fine tune each feature including nose length, eyebrow thickness, lip curl and chin shape.

What's New in Sims 2

• Use genetics. Now your Sims can pass genetic traits, from physical
characteristics to personality, from one generation to the next.
• Fulfill dreams. Now you can assign aspirations to your Sims — fame,
fortune, family, knowledge, or romance.
• Push the limits. Will your Sims be headed for the altar or for the
psychoanalysts couch? Will they be rich beyond their wildest dreams?
• Try new Create-A-Sim. Draw on a vast selection of facial features,
hairstyles, and outfits. Create dream homes and entire neighborhoods.
• Make it a movie. Add drama with the new movie-making feature and capture
the drama of your own screenplay.
• Share it through iDisk. With the "Save to iDisk" feature built directly
into The Sims 2 Body Shop, you can easily share your newly created Sims 2
characters with your friends.

MacGameStore.com is currently taking pre-orders for The Sims 2. It is scheduled to ship in mid-June.

Maxis

Aspyr Media

The Sims 2

MGF: The Sims 2 Body Shop 1.0

Buy The Sims 2

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Gamespy has posted a preview of Myst V: End of Ages. The preview covers the changes from Myst IV to Myst V and the shift from a first-person view to third-person view.

"WE'RE WRAPPING IT UP," proclaims Rand Miller, co-creator of the Myst series. "This is the last one, the grand finale."

At the moment, decked out in a plaid shirt and blue jeans, Miller is looking rather unlike the patriarchal figure of Atrus he's played for the past 10 years in various Myst games. We're at the annual E3 spectacle in Los Angeles, where Miller is showing us what will reportedly be the series' final installment: Myst V: End of Ages. There are some changes in store, but don't expect the series to go out in a flurry of Jerry Bruckheimer-like explosions.

Myst V Preview

Gamespy

Cyan

Myst V: End of Ages

Buy Myst V: End of Ages

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New on the a new patch for the Unreal Tournament 2004 mod Red Orchestra has been released. The mod is a total conversion to World War II weapons and physics. The patch will update the bots' abilities and makes many problem fixes and balance changes.

The additions are:

• Added new player momentum system. Players take a little time to accelerate to full speed and a little time to slow down. This is especially apparant when strafing as the player can no longer instantly change strafing directions.

• Added new system for directional movement speed. The player will move slower while strafing and will move very slow while walking backwards.

• Bots will now listen to vehicle voice commands in a very rudimentary fashion. Bots will actually stop the vehicle when ordered to stop. They will then continue on thier way if given any other movement command. They do not follow direct movement commands however.

• Bots can now be ordered to get out of a vehicle and they will leave.

Red Orchestra Patch Notes

Red Orchestra

Digital Extremes

MacSoft

Epic Games

Unreal Tournament 2004

Buy Unreal Tournament 2004

Richard Bannister, best known in the Mac community for his various emulators, has posted a special offer for his shareware program Emulator Enhancer. Until the end of June, interested buyers can use a special coupon code to get a 20% discount on the normal $25 registration fee.

In addition, the future of another piece of shareware, ROM Organizer, will be decided by how many folks purchase Emulator Enhancer:

• If more than 100 people take up this offer, each will receive a coupon code for 50% off ROM Organizer.
  
• If more than 200 people take up this offer, each will receive a coupon code for a free copy of ROM Organizer.
  
• If more than 300 people take up this offer, then ROM Organizer will be rereleased as freeware.
  
• If more than 400 people take up this offer, then ROM Organizer will be rereleased as open source software under the GNU General Public License.

Bannister.org - Latest News

Emulator Enhancer

ROM Organizer

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Battle.net has posted a news item stating that it has closed additional accounts and canceled registration keys of Warcraft III players tied to the use of cheating programs on the Battle.net servers.

Blizzard posted this on the nature of the closures:

In keeping with our aggressive stance against cheating, we have permanently closed 53,928 Warcraft III accounts. 8,168 of the Warcraft III CD keys used with the now-closed accounts have been banned from ladder play for one month, and 3,331 more have been banned from ladder play permanently. Repeat offenders risk having their CD keys disabled, which will result in the permanent removal of their copies of Warcraft III from Battle.net.

Battle.net Website

WarCraft III

Blizzard Entertainment

Buy WarCraft III

Alan Berfield has released a Mac OS X version of the Java remake of the classic RPG Dungeon Master, originally developed by FTL/Software Heaven.

Dungeon Master features graphics that simulate a 3D dungeon environment. The graphics for this remake have been both taken from the original and its sequels, and rendered new in POV.

Gameplay is very similar to the original, with real-time action, 90-degree turns, and step-by-step movement. One major change from the original is that monsters are not "stuck" in groups: they are completely free to wander, sometimes occupying a square with other monsters and sometimes not.

Dungeon Master Java

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IMG's Brad Custer is back with an all-new desktop. This week's desktop features Colin McRae Rally 2005, the upcoming racing simulation from Feral Interactive. Here's what Brad had to say about his latest desktop:

Since the announcement that Colin McRae Rally 2005 would be brought to the Mac by Feral Interactive, my email has had a similar theme. I'm always more than happy to honor requests and help clear out my inbox. So, this week I ventured into the realm of racing - rally style. I created this selection with the help of Codemasters and the internet.

IMG Desktop: Impreza

Feral Interactive

Zonic

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The irreverent folks at Freeverse have recently released Jared in widget form. The iconic bane of Mac desktops everywhere, Jared has been bringing pain with his atonal wailing for years, and can now be easily pulled up whenever it's time to make unwanted house guests leave.

Jared has long been an affront to the senses, an insult to the diatonic scale, an inappropriate "yo-mama" joke told over-loud at the elegant dinner party of internet culture, but never has Jared been as much of a waste of hard drive space as he is as a widget.

Freeverse News - Free Jared Widget Available

Freeverse - Jared Widget

Freeverse

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