Sunday, October 31, 1999

Edited Chat Transcript -- 11:29 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I got sick of wading through the "noise" on the Riva3D chat transcript from their chat with Chris Donahue. Thus, I edited the file down to just the questions and the appropriate answers and HTML-ized it. You can check the chat log out here as a part of our brand new Tips and Tricks section which will have a lot of cool stuff in it soon!

No News = Good News? -- 9:19 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Whelp, I end up being away from the site for about a day and I miss . . . nothing. Anyway, a couple sites are reporting seeing release dates for both Unreal Tournament and Quake III Arena right before Thanksgiving (November 25 here in the U.S.). Most likely those dates are worthless, but it wouldn't surprise me for both titles to be on shelves by Christmastime. That would certainly be a kick in the rear for John Romero and the boyz (and girlz) at Ion Storm who plan to get Daikatana out then. We shall see!

Happy Halloween Reformation Day! -- 9:05 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I'd just like to wish a happy Reformation Day to all my fellow Lutherans out there!

Update on Blair Witch Games -- 8:57 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I saw this press release on VE regarding the Gathering of Developers multi-game deal to incorporate the "mythology" of the Blair Witch Project into severl games. Here's a snip:

Developer driven computer and video game publisher Gathering of Developers announced that the company has secured the exclusive, worldwide computer and video game rights to The Blair Witch Project license from Artisan Entertainment and Haxan Films. The Gathering will publish multiple games for the PC and at least one console system based on the immensely popular Blair Witch property.

This could either be really cool or really stupid. G.o.D. has said that the games will not be Students Running Aimlessly, though. The Nocturne-engine-based game that I mentioned a couple days ago will actually be an add-on pack for Nocturne.

Update: I just saw on VE that the Nocturne engine game will be a stand-alone game and not an add-on pack. I'll let you know when this gets more confusing.

NVIDIA Chat Log -- 8:15 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Riva3D has posted a log of their chat with Chris Donahue that was held on Thursday.

Friday, October 29, 1999

Hercules Purchased -- 1:09 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Guillemont has announced that they have bought Hercules for the paltry sum of US$1.5 million. Hercules is one of the originals (if not the original) in the video card business. It's at least nice to know that the name won't go the way of the Edsel. Thanks Frans.

Another Reason to Hate Coke -- 12:25 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The good folks at Ars Technica posted a link to this article on the San Jose Mercury News, stating that Coke is working on technology that would cause vending machines to increase prices automatically in hot weather. Here's a snip from Coke's CEO, M. Douglas Ivester:

The desire for a cold drink increases during the summer heat, Ivester said, so "it is fair that it should be more expensive. The machine will simply make this process automatic."

Just another case of technology benefitting mankind, as long as you define mankind as "money-grubbing, multi-million-dollar corporations." To be fair, Coke is just researching this and currently has no plans to implement it.

This is yet another reason why Pepsi is the official cola of The Haus. The Master and I both drink it in massive and probably near-lethal quantities.

UT Demo for Mac Today -- 10:44 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

3dfxgamers will be releasing the Macintosh version of the Unreal Tournament demo sometime today. It is compatible with the PC version, but the standalone server code is a bit flaky (so don't try it). This version only supports 3dfx and software rendering, an OpenGL and Rave version will be out soon. Hopefully Gigex won't barf this time when both of the Mac gamers with 3dfx cards try to download the demo!

CL Annihilator in Stores? -- 10:37 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Riva3D is reporting that Creative Labs' GeForce-based Annihilator video cards are beginning to show up in Electronics Boutique and Best Buy (insert standard disclaimer).

Riva3D also is promising to have a log posted of the chat yesterday with NVIDIA's head of Developer Relations, Chris Donahue.

Another Strike Against Savage 2K? -- 10:29 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I was just thinking about this last night. My biggest concern with S3's new Savage 2000 is not the chip itself (which sounds about as cool as the GeForce), but with their board manufacturer. Diamond is notorious for producing, um, less than optimal drivers (The Master and I could drone on for hours about that with our Stealth II S220s). This could really end up being the Savage 2K's Achilles' Heel. But who knows? Maybe Diamond will surprise me . . .

Rendition News -- 10:22 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Björn is reporting that his long-time contact at Rendition, Chris Dunphy, is leaving the company to work for Amiga. I don't think anyone worked harder at promoting Rendition-based products than Chris did. He always provided invaluable information on Björn's site, which The Master and I checked religiously when we both had Stealth II S220's (based on the Rendition Verité 2100). Now the big question: will Rendition ever produce another consumer 3D chip/chipset? If not, what are all those engineers they hired doing?

You can read Chris' official announcement here.

No Old News

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