Feb 2005 Source Update

At about 5:30pm on February 24, 2005 Valve released an update for Counter Strike: Source. This was probably the most extensive update released for Source so far. This updated included two new maps, cs_compound & de_train. I've had a chance to play them both and so far would have to say I like the remake of de_train better than cs_compound. That may change as I play cs_compound more and learn my way around a little better. You can vote on your favorite new map in our forum poll, Feb 24 Source Update.

Microsoft Lands Final Fantasy Creator

Microsoft has landed the creator of Japan's most popular fantasy game to produce titles for the company's next-generation Xbox which is due out in November of 2005.

Hironobu Sakaguchi, the guy who created the Final Fantasy game series, has agreed to make two role-playing games exclusively for the next version of the Xbox, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The move appears to be a bid to win fans for its game consoles in Japan, the world's second-largest videogame market. Xbox could use a little help here in the states to...a lot of the games for the current Xbox quite frankly, well, suck.

Half Life 2 Expansion Rumors Run Wild

Pretty much every Counter Strike / Half Life 2 news source is talking about the speculation surrounding an upcoming Half-Life 2 expansion from Valve. Among the more popular rumors are assertions that you'll be able to play Alyx, wield a multi-functional weapon called the Alyx Gun, and interact with a dog called Dog.

It seems the source of these rumors is UK mag PC Gamer, who is running a speculation piece on the expansion pack's content in its new issue. The article includes a quote attributed to Doug Lombardi of Valve: "We're interested in telling more about the universe we have created and therefore we will continue making sequels to the game. At the moment we're working on a game where you play as Alyx and her well-known robot dog - Dog... I can't tell you more at the moment." Mark Donald, editor of PC Gamer, feels some have misinterpreted the views held within the piece as fact. "The information in the article was based on what we as fans would like to see in the expansion pack from our reading of Half-Life 2's storyline and the sub plots it included," said Donald. "The features discussed are no more than speculation from excited Half-Life 2 players."

In reaction to the rumors now doing the rounds Lombardi has officially stated "Despite the rumors, Valve has not announced any plans for an HL2 expansion."

So, as usual when it comes to Valve, we'll just have to sit and wait until they decide to make an announcement. The whole Alyx thing looks extremely likely though, and the Alyx Gun - said to be a cross between a pistol, an SMG and a sniper rifle has shown up within the game's Source code. The inclusion of Dog wouldn't be surprising, although PC Gamer's piece speculates he won't be playable, but rather an interactive NPC.

Discuss the expansion in our Half Life 2 Forums.

Source Update Tomorrow

This is great news from Valve. I can't wait for cs_compound and de_train. It's about some new official maps come out.

I'm also anxious to see what fixes they have for the bots. I've seen the bots seemingly join and drop over and over again for 5 minutes in a row. When they die they leave their weapons (pistols) which is mildy amusing. The down side is a lot of times it seems that causes the server to hang. Hopefully the "fixes" Valve releases tomorrow will fix this problem.

From Valve
"We're still on track for releasing an update to Counter-Strike: Source tomorrow.While we've been talking for a number of weeks about the new hostage rescue map we've been working on (cs_compound), Turtle Rock Studios has also been working on getting de_train converted over to Counter-Strike: Source. Along with cs_compound, we'll be including the new version of de_train in tomorrow's release.

Along with the two new maps, there are a number of fixes to the bots in Counter-Strike, an enhancement to the radar to display your current location in the map, and a fix for Half-Life 2: Deathmatch where players are disguising themselves as headcrabs, filing cabinets, and other invalid models."

Half Life 2 Expansion Pack Coming

It looks like the Half-Life 2 expansion pack chatter is picking up volume. Gameshout claims that verification of the expansion has already been reported to PCGamer Magazine, though no official word yet on what we can expect.

More Half Life 2...I like it.

Mani Admin Plugin Installed

On February 20 we added the Mani Admin plugin to the server. This is an important admin mod that will help limit any friendly fire or team killing on the server, as well as give your admins better tools to deal with people who are ruining the game play in any way shape or form.

Some of the tools/commands available to our admins are:

-Slay
-Kick
-Ban
-Slap
-Blind
-High Ping Kicker
-Reserve Slot Management
-Autokick/ban of players with offensive names
-War Mode for clan wars with overview_mode enforcement
-Weapon Restrict (per map or default for all maps)
-Play Sound (unlimited sounds)
-Explode effect-Say (from console or in game using @)
-Admin only Say (from console or in game using @)
-Rcon commands and menu lists-Plug-in control
-Execute commands on player clients or whole teams via menu and client console
-Restrictions on what admins can do
-Word filtering in chat messages

Some of the general features include:

-Adverts
-Nextmap (console or from say command)
-Listmaps (console)
-Votemap (console or from say command)
-TheTime (console or from say command)
-Timeleft (console or from say command)
-ATAC style team kill/team wound protection (compatible with bots)
-Statistics (top/rank/statsme) also dumped to text file
-Talk directly to admins in game using @ message
-Compatible with bots
-Map specific features-Restrict weapons on map load

This admin mod should make the game play on an already great server even better.

See you on the server!

Xbox Power Cord Recall

As if it wasn't bad enough Mr. Gates does his best to ruin my computernow his Xbox team is trying to burn my house down! Microsoft Corp. announced today that it is recalling 14.1 million power cords for itsXbox game because they can catch fire. Overall, the recall affects about70 percent of the approximately 20 million consoles sold, Microsoftsaid.

The software company said 30 customers have reported fire damage. SevenXbox users burned their hands, while 23 reported smoke damage or damageto their carpets or entertainment centers.

Peter Moore, a corporate vice president, said the company has knownabout the problem for some time and spent the past several monthsgearing up for the recall by producing more cords and making otherarrangements. Maybe that exaplains the sudden shortage of the Xbox atall the major retailers. I've been trying to pick one up at Best Buy for a month + and they are always "sold out".

Customers can order a free replacement cord by going to www.xbox.com.Until a new cord is delivered, Xbox users should turn off their gameplayers when not in use, Microsoft said. I say leave the Xbox on and sueMicrosoft when your house catches on fire.

You can comment on the Xbox power cord recall in the forum.

New Stats Coming Soon...

As you most likely noticed Psycho Stats has been, well, horrible since 2005. This is due to many coding errors by PS2 creator. If you check out his website you will see his last post was a few months ago and he stated he will not be fixing the bugs and he is taking a break fro a while. We understood the frustration on the PS2 bugs so we were proactive in finding a replacement. We believe we found a accurate stats system that not only works for half-life based games but also many other game engines as well. The new stats are being tested & I imagine we'll move over to themin th next 30 days or so...if not less.

Example: http://vsp.xgs-rules.com/themes/bismarck/index.php

SixSteam Stealing Account Information

Just noticed this over at the Steam forums and figured it was worth mentioning here as well:

"We've tracked a recent rash (ok...more like a plague) of account hijackings to the SixSteam Hack that's floating around on the Internet. We are still looking into exactly how this is being accomplished. If you are using SixSteam (BTW...a violation of the Steam Subscriber Agreement...just in case you are wondering) and you still have access to your account change your account password immediately, then delete SixSteam before you login again (or else you run the risk of having your new password stolen as well). If you have had your account disabled you need to create a Support Incident by clicking on the Support link above and for in your subject title it "SixSteam Hijack", we will get to these as time permits. "

Stear clear of SixSteam...

Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Update

Some good news for Half Life 2 fans, Valve will be releasing an update for Half-Life 2: Deathmatch. This update will include two new weapons, the StunStick and the Slam, as well as the return of the crowbar. Valve is also going to release a new map called "Steam Lab". The update I read said they were aiming to have this release out on the 17th. Here are a few screen shots of Steam Lab:

CS Game Zone Stats Update

I ran a test on the stats last night to start enforcing decay and a higher minimum number of kills being required to be displayed on the stats.

I set the minimum number of kills at 200....it's a little to high. I also set decay at 5%, it was at 0% previously. Ouf of 12,000 something players only 68 rank. I've adjusted the minimum kills required to 50 and that guidline will be in place with the stats update that runs at 9:00 pm.

In case you don't know what "decay" is in the Counter Strike Source stats... it removes a % (in this case 5%) from a players skill every day they do not play. Skill won't drop any farther than 1000 based on decay alone.

Playstation 3?

I have to admit, I've been X-box fan since it first hit the shelf. I've never owned a Playstation, although I have seen them in action at friends house's/ stores.

It looks like PS3 is going to be released this year before Xbox 2 will be…which begs the question; will Xbox fans dump the Xbox for a few months and give the new Playstation 3 a try. It is going to be an awesome gaming console - the first piece of technolgy to use the "cell" chip that was just announced by IBM, Sony & Toshiba.

Unless it's more than $500 (which it very well may be) I think I'll pick up a Playstation 3 and give it a run for a few months while I wait for Xbox 2.

Are you going to buy a Playstation 3?

Popular Counter-Strike Servers

Late last night after way to much wine I found myself staring at HLSW and a packed Counter Strike Server. 24 people playing at about 11:00pm and I didn't recognize any of them. In my wine induced thought process I started wondering what exactly makes some counter strike servers popular and others vacant 99% of the time?

I came up with a short list…

Ping/Latency. This is important. No one with a broadband connection is going to enjoy playing on a server where everyone else is pinging in the 30 - 40 range while they are pinging 100+. That just makes the game suck and every time you die you think "damn lag".

Admins present. Another important aspect. With the limited availability of a reliable Admin mod at this point in time having an admin in the game is important. I've seen TK'ers clean out a packed server in less than 5 minutes. A server that has a couple admins online usually has a group of players too.

Dedicated. CS servers should be dedicated, I'm not going to play on Joe's server he's running at his house with his 256K up Comcast connection. Maybe that's fun for a 1 vs. 1 game, but who in the hell wants to play 1 vs. 1 in Counter Strike? The servers I play on are available24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If I want to plat at 3:00 am on Tuesday I expect the server to be up and running, not down because Joe's mom needed to check her e-mail and shut down CS:S.

Regulars. I think the most popular servers have "regs", people that play on a regular basis. I don't know about you, but the more I play with certain people the better I get. I learn their tendencies and they learn mine - we work better together. Not to mention I sometimes like to shoot the shit with people I know while I'm dead and waiting to start the next round.

Website. Most of the popular servers have a website/forum where the people who play on the server can go hang out, check stats and shoot the breeze with their fellow CS'ers.

That's the list I came up with after a bottle of wine:-)

Fell free to discuss what makes a great Counter Strike server in our gaming forums.

V-Sports & V-Sports Commentators

The popularity of online gaming is increasing every day. Gamers who play in leagues are starting to get fans and some of the competitions even have cash prizes that total thousands of thousands of dollars. Online gaming events are even getting a "name", V-sports.

With the increased popularity comes all the "stuff" that surrounds normal sports. Fans, promotion, and even commentators. The commentators need a sound & concise grasp of the maps for the games they are announcing for - and with some games involving more than 32 players they also need to be able to read a situation quickly and communicate it to the listeners clearly and quickly. Many of the commentaries resemble a typical American sports broadcast - but at 10 times the speed. When you have 32+ players all directly involved in the action it's a lot harder to announce than a typical sporting event where 1 or 2 players are involved in each play. In Counter Strike for example, you can have people spread all over the map completing objectives, hiding in wait for the opposing team or just flat out rushing through the map fraggin' everyone in their path.

I'm an avid gamer, but have never really embraced the concept of watching other people play. A lot of people watch traditional sports because they can't play. They are out of shape or just lack the physical ability to compete at a high level. Video games on the other hand...anyone with two hands and a set of eyes can play. To me, watching someone play a game is one of the most frustrating things one can do, especially if I know the game already. I get and uncontrollable urge to yell out "go that way" or "shoot at the head" every time I watch someone else play.

Professionally organized leagues and competitions are fun but if you're like me you have a lot more fun hanging out in front of your pc fraggin' away without thousands of people watching you and a commentator announcing your every move.

Here's some more reading on the subject if you're interested.

Half-Life or Half-Life 2?

Many people in the video game industry claim that Half-Life 2 is one of the most revolutionary, groundbreaking games of all time. While I wouldn't argue that Half Life 2 is a big step forward for the gaming community, I would say there's a game that could challenge Half-Life 2 in terms of being "groundbreaking" or "revolutionary" for the gaming industry. The game I'm referring to is the original Half-Life.

Half-Life 2 was being hyped and the expectations laid out years before it ever even hit the shelves. While it made an impact in the gaming community, wasn't everyone already expecting it to? In other words, it wasn't a surprise. We knew what was coming, and so did all of the competition, before it ever even hit the shelves.

On the other hand the original Half-Life was to gamers what the movie the Matrix was to movie fans - a surprise. Half-Life took the gaming industry by storm and changed the way games are made & how they are marketed. It was truly an awesome spectacle for the gaming community at the time.

So I ask, which game made the biggest impact on the gaming industry as a whole; Half-Life or Half-Life 2?

Feel free to stop by the forum and place your vote.

Half Life 2 Sells 1.7 Million Retail Copies

Valve's critically acclaimed first-person shooter Half-Life 2 has racked up almost 1.7 million retail sales since its launch less than two months ago, according to the latest information from publisher Vivendi Universal Games.

The game doesn't appear to have seen its sales dented by a long series of delays which afflicted its development, which saw the release date being pushed back by more than a year in a number of highly publicized slips.

Outside of the United States, sales of the game have been particularly strong in European territories like Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Scandinavia. Senseless video game killing is popular everywhere:-) The US continues to sell more retail copies than any other country.

What hasn't been made public (at least that I can find) is how many copies of Half-Life 2 have been sold via Valve online purchases. I'd be willing to bet that it's twice the number of retail sales. I'm willing to bet that when it's all said and done Half Life 2 will be the #1 selling game of 2005, despite the fact that it was released in 2004.

You can discuss Half Life 2 in our Half Life 2 Forum.

New Playstation 3 Chip

Sony, IBM and Toshiba are set to unveil the new chip which will power the Playstation 3. Full details on the new chip will be on display at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco later today.

The chip has been described as a mini Supercomputer; in part because of the way it will distribute processing tasks. The cell structure of the chip means instead the whole device working on the same task it can distribute its power to many separate tasks. In a real world example it means that two Playstation 3's connected via a LAN or the Internet could use the others processor to perform CPU intensive tasks if the other was fairly idle. Looks like it's going to be pretty cool.

It's like cooperative gaming at the hardware level. I wonder if Microsoft will try and utilize something similar for the upcoming X-box 2 that's due November of this year?

Half-Life 2 : Lost Coast

On February 4, 2005 Valve software announced a couple new things that will be available soon, the coolest of which is the inclusion of High Dynamic Range lighting, or HDR. HDR is an effect that gives light a very realistic glow.

Valve plans to show off this new technology on a map called "The Lost Coast". From what I've been reading they will scan your computer configurtation to see if your machine is capable of running of the game. As of yet, no specific hardware requirements have been announced. It will be interesting to see what the requirments will be.

If Valve isn't pulling our leg we should see The Lost Coast become available later this month.

cs_bank_b3

I came across a copy of cs_bank_b3 and uploaded it to the server. I played for a couple minutes against the bots and everything seemed to work fine. I'm going to test it out some more but you may want to download it from our counter strike source map downloads page when you get a chance.

cs_compound

I’m really looking forward to the release of cs_compound. The latest news I saw indicated it would be out sometime in February 2005. Here are a couple of screen shots to hold you over:

Up & Running

Welcome to the CS Game Zone gaming blog. As the title suggests this site will keep you to date on a wide range of topics that relate to video games.

We’re just getting underway today so expect some updated content over the next few days.