Monday, April 4, 2005

Quake IV MP at QuakeCon -- 10:55 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Gamespot quoted id CEO Todd Hollenshead saying that people who attend QuakeCon will be able to play Quake IV multiplayer. No further details were given. I'm sure that a lot more news on this will be forthcoming. Here's a quote:

Hollenshead also teased the crowd with information about the upcoming QuakeCon, the annual id-sponsored frag-fest scheduled for this August 11 to 14 in Dallas. Namely, he revealed that the next installment in the conference's titular franchise will indeed be on hand, a fact omitted from last month's official lineup announcement. "We'll have Quake IV multiplayer to play," he said "And because it's also the 10-year anniversary of QuakeCon, we'll have a few other surprises as well."

Pondering the Imponderable -- 10:32 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I powered my computers down Saturday night because I knew I wouldn't be using them until at least Sunday night. When I powered everything back up, my cable modem wasn't able to sync up. This morning, we were able to get everything straightened out. The good news is that since I'm a beta tester, hopefully that's one less bug that can bother the official roll-out. Other than that minor snafu, I've been pretty pleased with it (and crazy enough to put a cancel order through on my DSL).

I actually got to see my Tigers on T.V. this afternoon for their opener. They won 11-2 with Dmitri Young getting three homers. He's on a pace to get 486! I think that'd be a record or something. Granted, it was against the Royals, but maybe this is a sign that I can start wearing my Tigers cap without a paper bag over it.

I also had the "privilege" of taking my dog to the vet for the first time for something other than her regular check-up. She got into something that, umm, gave her the trots. Thankfully, she takes her pill well in a bit of peanut butter. The liquid medicine is a different issue. I think I'll need to keep out some old clothes when I try to give her that from now on. I got it all over me. I guess that since this is the first "issue" with her in the eight-plus years I've owned her, I should be happy.

Doom 3: ROE Gold -- 1:06 pm CST, Update by The Master

Activision has announced that the Resurrection of Evil expansion for DOOM 3 has gone gold.

TRUE EVIL NEVER DIES: ID SOFTWARE'S DOOM 3 FOR THE XBOX DOOM 3: RESURRECTION OF EVIL EXPANSION PACK AVAILABLE NOW

Santa Monica, Calif. - April 4, 2005 - DOOM's day has arrived. id Software™ and Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today set soul-thirsty demons loose across the globe with the release of the most terrifying game ever, DOOM 3® for the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft and DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil™, the official expansion pack to DOOM 3, the fastest selling first person PC action game ever. Both titles are rated "M" for Mature (Blood and Gore, Intense Violence) by the ESRB.

"Prepare to travel to the undiscovered depths of Hell in these two new chapters in the DOOM 3 experience:," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "Xbox gamers have been anxiously awaiting their chance to experience the terror of DOOM 3 and now the wait is over. For PC fans, Resurrection of Evil delivers tougher demons, faster action, new weapons, and the same unrelenting terror that has shocked millions of players worldwide."

Thanks to Blue for the press release.

A.T. Hun comments: Hmmm . . . and I just happen to be going to Green Bay tomorrow. Hmmm.

Saturday, April 2, 2005

Shadow Warrior Port to Linux -- 9:06 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Well, that didn't take long. Ryan "icculus" Gordon managed to get Shadow Warrior running in Linux. It's very basic and apparently very buggy, but it works. He set up a page for the port and commented on it his .plan. I'll be keeping an eye on this one. Thanks Linux Games.

Best Buy to Drop Rebates -- 5:34 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that Best Buy will drop rebates within two years. While I have a hard time buying the argument that rebates are too hard or cumbersome, rebates are still one of the world's biggest rip-offs. I had to enter all my rebate information as a to-do in my PDA so I could keep the companies honest. My favorite line came when I called to inquire why my rebate was several weeks past the 6-8 week time frame. The person said, "It has been approved; we'll expedite it for you." Hey, Johnny, why didn't you just send it out in time? Why did it take a phone call for you to "expedite" it?

Companies like rebates because many people just forget to send them in. I've had some rebates that were almost impossible to send away for because they both required the original UPC from the product. In another case, the UPC was rendered illegible by a big sticker slapped on there by a Best Buy trained monkey. Not long ago, a Best Buy higher-up had the unmitigated gall to complain about rebate fraud (people would buy things, send in for the rebates, and then return the product). Suffice it to say, I didn't shed many tears. Thankfully, this process is going the way of all flesh. Thanks Slashdot.

The Master comments: Retailers like gift cards pretty much for the same reason. Most of the electronic retailers have established shell companies in states that allow them to reclaim unused gift card balances as profit after they expire. Nice. They must hate me, since I spend those babies the day after I get them. My current gift card application will be a Sony 400-disc CD Changer. That new model is VERY sweet :-)

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