Sunday, April 30, 2000

Linux Driver Project Update -- 8:59 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I dusted my Linux box and installed a fresh copy of Red Hat 6.2 tonight. I attempted to install the XFree86 4.0-0.6 RPMs but kept getting all kinds of dependency warnings. If anyone has some good suggestions on how to install this and which warnings I can safely ignore, please let me know. I'm still pretty new to all of this.

WON Eastern Server is Down -- 7:17 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The Shugashack is reporting that the eastern WON.net server is down, making it impossible for anyone to play Half-Life or any other game that uses WON authorization. There is a temporary work-around described here. They aren't sure what the problem is, nor do they have an estimate on when it will be fixed.

New TFC Coming Soon -- 2:50 pm CST, Update by The Master

An article in PCGamer on a new version of TFC coming soon has been summarized over on PlanetFortress. Here's the scoop:

• Expected by PCGamer (read: not necessarily Valve) to be out in a month.
• Will be called Team Fortress 1.5
• Three new levels: Warpath, Epicenter, and Dustbowl.
• Uses the same netcode as Team Fortress 2 (this is an update for all of halflife-so mods like actionhalflife, counterstrike will have the sleek code too.)
• Contain a new Internet control system dubbed VGUI. (I have no idea what this is)
• "Dustbowl" is a map with a new game mode we've yet to see in TeamFortress Classic. In it, one team must carry their flag into the other teams base within a certain time limit, while the other team defends. -- Sounds a lot like assault with the clock timing each side.
• Valve also announced that a new version of Worldcraft would be released, bringing it up to version 3.3.
• A new Half-Life software developer kit (HL SDK 2.0) will also be released. Both applications will have a slew of new features and options.

History Today -- 1:46 pm CST, Update by The Master

• 1789: George Washington takes office as the first President of the United States.
• 1803: The Louisiana Territory is purchased by the U.S. from France.
• 1812: Louisiana enters the Union as the 18th state.
• 1945: Adolph Hitler and his wife Eva Braun commit suicide in the Berlin Bunker.
• 1975: The South Vietnamese Capital, Saigon, falls to NVA forces.

Saturday, April 29, 2000

More Linux Adventures -- 8:42 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

If everything goes according to plan (ha ha!), I'm going to be dusting my Linux box and installing a fresh copy of Red Hat 6.2 early next week. I have downloaded the new NVIDIA drivers, the XFree86 4.0 RPMs, and the Linux Quake III Arena demo. Hopefully I'll be able to report back on how good these drivers are by the middle of next week. Who knows? Maybe I can convince Hyperion to send me a review copy of their Linux port of Shogo when it comes out. Stay tuned . . .

History Today -- 11:02 am CST, Update by The Master

• 1429: Joan of Arc enters the city of Orleans after the victory over the English in battle.
• 1861: Maryland votes against Secession from the Union.
• 1862: New Orleans falls to the Union army.
• 1945: Dachau concentration camp is liberated by the American Army. In addition, Adolph Hitler marries Eva Braun and designates Admiral Karl Doenitz as his successor.
• 1983: Harold Washington sworn in as first black Mayor of Chicago.
• 1992: Rioting ensues in LA after a jury acquits 4 LA Police Officers of most charges in relation to the Rodney King beating.

Carmack: Give Me 64 Bits! -- 10:03 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Just when 3dfx finally catches up with the rest of the world and provides 32 bit rendering, id's John Carmack updates his .plan saying what we REALLY need is 64 bits. His arguments are compelling (and yes, I did follow his train of thought . . . mostly). As usual the update is lengthy and very deep. Prepare for your brain to hurt :)

The Master comments: The only argument I have AGAINST this one is how in heck are video card manufacturers going to keep framerates up with a doubling of required data transfer rates? I hope Intel can get AGP 4x SOLID real soon-that's the only way I can think to allow this improvement to fly.

A.T. Hun comments: Well, fillrates are now getting to the point of being completely ridiculous. The GeForce 2 GTS can do almost 60 fps in Q3A at 1600x1200x16. The main problem to be solved right now is the memory bandwidth bottleneck. Once some faster memory becomes available and economically viable, I think 64 bit rendering could become a reality. I would say that we will see it on a video card within two years, especially if Carmack pushes it as "the next big thing" like he championed OpenGL.

Past Two Days' News

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