Thursday, June 8, 2000

Carmack on Keygens -- 6:36 pm CST, Update by The Master

John Carmack made a very brief post over on /. with his views on the Q3A key generators that supposedly create usable game keys for playing Q3A online.

The "key generators" are all fakes. Some of them look like they work for a while because servers you have visited with a valid key keep a cache to let you in again.

As far as we know, there are no real key generators. If there were, we would have much more significant support issues.

We certainly will drop the CD-in-the-drive-for-single-player check in a future patch, that is our standard procedure after a game's primary sales are over.

Half-Life Ded. Server 1.1 Available -- 12:41 pm CST, Update by The Master

The Half-Life version 1.1 dedicated server binaries are available for downloading. Here's some links:

• Win32 Dedicated Server Upgrade
• Linux Dedicated Server Upgrade

Thanks Blue.

Half-Life Update Available -- 12:38 pm CST, Update by The Master

Unfortunately, it's only via the Sierra Auto-Update interface, but for most people that's fine :-) When I can find a link to the files I'll be sure to get a list online here.

Update!Here's a list of download locations for all the various releases:

• Client
  • Shugashack (full-38mb/patch-22mb)
  • Stomped (full and patch)
  • Blues News (Full/Update)
  • 3D Unlimited (Both)
  • Sierra FTP Patch
  • 3D Gamers (Both)
  • OxygenTank (Update/Full)
  • Gameaholic (Update/Full)
  • ZDNet (Update/Full)
  • Gamecenter (Update/Full)
• Counterstrike 6.5 Beta
  • Shugashack (Full (55mb)/Update from 6.1(29 mb))
• Firearms 2.0
  • Firearms Website

New CS Linux Server Released -- 8:14 am CST, Update by The Master

There's a new version 6.5 of the HL Counter-Strike mod for Linux available on the Counter-Strike Homepage. You will need to download the entire 50mb patch, since there is no patch available.

History today -- 8:12 am CST, Update by The Master

• 1783: Iceland's Laki volcano began erupting. It was one of the most violent volcanic eruptions recorded.
• 1789: The Bill of Rights, which led to first 10 amendments of the U.S. Constitution, was proposed by James Madison.
• 1953: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that restaurants in the District of Columbia could not refuse to serve blacks.
• 1967, Israel attacked the U.S.S. Liberty without warning.
• 1968: James Earl Ray, wanted for the assassination of Martin Luther King, was arrested in London.
• 1990: After four decades of Communist rule, Czechoslovaks gave a sweeping election victory to former dissidents of the Civic Forum movement.
• 1994: An 8.2 magnitude earthquake rocked a remote area of Bolivia.
• 1996: China carried out a nuclear explosion at the Lop Nor test site in northwestern Xinjiang.

Wednesday, June 7, 2000

Half-Life 1.1 -- 9:14 pm CST, Update by The Master

Valve has announced that the Half-Life 1.1 patch has been completed, and will be released tomorrow at 11 am PST. What's new, you ask? Here ya go:

• Team Fortress 1.5
• Half-Life SDK 2.0 (Full and Standard versions)
• Worldcraft 3.3
• Counter-Strike Beta 6.5
• OpFor CTF
• Firearms 2.0
• New Networking System. This release includes the TF2 networking system and is compatible with all Half-Life games and MODs. The new networking system improves play for all players regardless of their connection
• VGUI Interface. The Valve GUI (VGUI) is a set of general purpose, extensible user interface APIs for displaying and manipulating user interface elements in-game. Available to mod authors in Half-Life SDK 2.0, the VGUI is exploited in this release via new in-game menus that allow players to change class, communicate with teammates and more by simply clicking through this customizable menu system-and subsequently eliminating the need to move your fingers off critical keys during the heat of battle. The new menu system is also designed to help new players get into the game, removing the need to know any extra keys beyond moving and firing.

Thanks, J.

Microsoft to Break Up! -- 4:32 pm CST, Update by The Master

It's official-Microsoft must be broken in two, an article on CNET News, indicates the final judgment has been handed down, and Microsoft is to be broken in two.

As part of a strongly worded decision, Jackson said the court "has reluctantly come to the conclusion...that a structural remedy has become imperative: Microsoft as it is presently organized and led is unwilling to accept the notion that it broke the law or accede to an order amending its conduct."

He added that Microsoft "continues to do business as it has in the past and may yet do to other markets what it has already done to the PC operating system and browser markets."

Jackson also said Microsoft has "proved untrustworthy in the past." He said Microsoft should not be surprised by the ruling, either. According to Jackson, Microsoft had sought "months of additional time" in further hearings regarding a breakup.

A.T. Hun comments: J.t.Qbe and I were at our favorite pub, Sherlock's Home, to toast the ruling with a couple pints of Bishop's Bitter. It will be interesting to see how the appeals go. I think it goes without saying that this case will be heard by the Supreme Court, if not soon then certainly later.

J.t.Qbe comments: And it was good Bitter too! But the toast was merely a formality--wasn't it obvious what Jackson's ruling would be? I hope that the Supreme Court takes it on soon and gets this finished.

Sweeney on Unreal Petition -- 10:48 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Epic's Tim Sweeney made a PlanetCrap message boards about the recently announced petition for Epic to finally release the $#@^&*% Unreal patch! Here's what he had to say:

Some of these petitions are really good ideas.

A bunch of gamers saying "we are your customers, and we believe you should do the following to support your product..." is way more effective than randomly slamming companies and products on message boards. When looking at flames, it can be hard to distinguish good ideas from maniacal rants. But a petition shows well-thought-out, widespread public suport for a cause.

Game developers who ignore this kind of thing do so at great risk.

The Unreal patch petition is certainly the #1 issue on our radar screen at Epic right now.

No, we're not issuing a response to the petition...after all, the petition wasn't asking us to put out a press release talking about what we're going to do, it's asking us to FINISH AND RELEASE THE DAMN PATCH, so...

-Tim

Hopefully they'll actually get this bad-boy done. I almost bought it at the Mall of America the other day. I may just pick it up anyway . . .

Arrrggghhh! -- 8:28 am CST, Update by The Master

Okay, you MUST be able to tell that A.T. is away from his machine this week-because I'm gonna rant right here.

Does anybody else around here wish there was a law allowing people to hunt down and destroy spammers with extreme prejudice? I'm absolutely SICK of having to pump 30 emails a day through SpamCop (excellent service-even though ISPs whine like crazy about it) in a vain attempt to reduce the volume. Pardon me while I send the contents of my in box to SpamCop. Jeez.

J.t.Qbe rants: Destroy all spammers. Get rid of them all. Last night I ran at least a dozen emails through SpamCop. I don't care that it took 20 minutes. If I can hurt them, I will. I think my favorite is was "Pay $50 to learn which email systems can be used as relays," or "60 million email addresses for $149. . . To be removed from our mailing list, reply to this email." Uh huh. On the upside, a number of states are allegedly passing laws which allow you to sue spammers, and some have even collected on it. I'll look for details and post them later.

A.T. Hun comments: Sorta like I had to explain to my inlaws today why someone sent them a link to a pr0n website on the first full day on ICQ. Morons. I think that the only fitting punishment for such folks is an acetylene torch to the face. Slowly and painfully, of course. A carrot peeler might work in a pinch too.

History today -- 8:11 am CST, Update by The Master

• 1654: Louis the XIV was crowned King of France in Rheims.
• 1776: Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental Congress a resolution calling for a Declaration of Independence.
• 1848: French postimpressionist painter Paul Gauguin was born in Paris.
• 1864: Abraham Lincoln was nominated for another term as president at his party's convention in Baltimore.
• 1929: The sovereign state of Vatican City came into existence as copies of the Lateran Treaty were exchanged in Rome.
• 1939: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived at Niagara Falls, N.Y., from Canada on the first visit to the United States by a reigning British monarch.
• 1942: The Battle of Midway came to an end, inflicting the first major naval defeat of the war on the Japanese.
• 1948: President Edvard Benes of Czechoslovakia resigned, rather than sign a new constitution which legalized the country as a communist state.
• 1981: Israeli aircraft attacked and destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor near Baghdad, Iraq.
• 1988: Bangladesh, the world's third largest Muslim nation, made Islam its state religion as riot police went on alert to prevent protests against the law.
• 1990: The Warsaw Pact formally abandoned its role as guardian of Kremlin power in eastern Europe and committed itself to radical democratic change.

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