The Hold Steady: “Stuck Between Stations (Live)”

The Hold Steady have posted some live footage from their forthcoming live CD+DVD. The record is titled Positive Rage and is due out April 7, 2009. The video features their track, “Stuck Between Stations,” The song comes from their acclaimed 2006 Vagrant Records debut, Boys and Girls in America.

Check out the video of the performance here.
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HORSE the band hit the studio, working with Xiu Xiu

HORSE the Band have entered the studio to begin work on their new record, Desperate Living. The album is the band’s fourth and debut for Vagrant Records. The band is recording at White Buffalo Studios in Los Angeles with producer Noah Shain.
The group is aiming for a mid-Summer release. The band also recruited Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu who will be helping with sound construction. Stewart explained:

Horse the Band has asked me to try to help them make a dying robot, an exploding keyboard, a dream laugh and a melted, drastic flute of redemption. Lucky for you and for me hey have the wit and creativity to turn these things into music.

The group issued A Natural Death in 2007.
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Jughead releases statement on Screeching Weasel reformation

John “Jughead” Pierson, co-founder of Screeching Weasel and member of Even In Blackouts has released a statement regarding the recently announced Screeching Weasel reformation. He had this to say::

Ben and I started a band together called Screeching Weasel, we both spent all our days making that band a home for ourselves, and 18 years later we put it to rest. This along with the statement made by both me and Ben on many occasions that the band wouldn’t be Screeching Weasel without either of us, makes me assume that this band playing isn’t Screeching Weasel, because I don’t recall having kicked myself out of the band. So it seems logical that this is not Screeching Weasel.

If it were I would have to admit that I longer have friends named Ben Foster or Dan Schafer. As for people like Ben Weasel, Dan Vapid, or even John Jughead, I have nothing to say, because they never really existed, they were just made up names for a bunch of friends that tried to do something different in order to survive and make a living in this world. And I imagine they are all still trying to make a living somehow, seeing that their band’s prominent “leader” never wanted to tour in order to make it financially viable to continue on.

The full statement can be read by following this link.
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Greg Graffin (Bad Religion) talks about faith and his new book

Doug Elfman from the Las Vegas Review-Journal spoke to Bad Religion frontman Greg Graffin in his UCLA office last Thursday.

Elfman’s in-depth interview has Greg philosophizing on the nature of faith in society and relationships, naturalism and luck in Las Vegas. Also, he talks about his upcoming book, which is targetted at mainstream audiences (not academic circles) and will look into naturalism and supernaturalism.

Greg notes:

We’re gonna have to decide if we want to be a fact-based society, or if we want to hold out for this supernaturalism – if there’s any place for it in our society. I’ll tell you what. There certainly isn’t any place for [supernaturalism] when it comes to climate change and ecological catastrophes, because those things require good decision-making based on cold hard facts, and you’re not gonna get those facts from religions.

You can read the full interview here.
Source Continue reading Greg Graffin (Bad Religion) talks about faith and his new book

Musical based on Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ set for 2009-2010 season

A number of you wrote in with the news that Green Day‘s rock opera, American Idiot, will soon be premiering as a live musical. Set to run from September 4th through October 11th, the musical was adapted by the band with Michael Mayer, the Tony Award-winning director of “Spring Awakening.”

The show will be featured at the Berkeley Repertory Theater in California. The group themselves are a little shocked to see it come together with frontman Billie Joe Armstrong commenting:

It doesn’t make a lot of sense. but that’s what I love about it. When people see it, it’s going to be my wildest dream.

For more details including comments from the director, check out the New York Times article here.
Source Continue reading Musical based on Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ set for 2009-2010 season

Rancid announce “Let The Dominoes Fall” for June

Rancid have announced a title and release date for their highly anticipated new full length. The record is titled Let the Dominoes Fall and is due out June 2, 2009. The record is the first new full length since 2003’s Indestructible. In the intervening years, the band remained active with extensive tours as well as a number of solo and band releases like B Sides and C Sides and The Music Videos: 1993-2003 DVD.

The band recorded at George Lucas’ Skywalker Sound Studio, with production by Epitaph Records founder/Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. It promises features nineteen new songs, all written by Rancid. Special guest and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Booker T contributes Hammond B3 organ on one track, “Up To No Good.”

The band will be supporting the record on a co-headlining tour with Rise Against and supported by Rancid / Riverboat Gamblers and Billy Talent.
Source Continue reading Rancid announce “Let The Dominoes Fall” for June

Company of Heroes & Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts Update Released

Updates to Company of Heroes & Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Online

  • Reduced latency, improved connectivity, memory leaks.
  • Fixed permissions for some of the Lobby UI.
  • -port (port #) command line extension. With this command you can specify the port Company of Heroes uses to connect. This is especially helpful for players on the same LAN.
  • Updated BugSplat. Anti-virus programs should dislike it less now.
  • Resolved some network issues with joining games.
  • Fixed the ping display in the game list to update correctly.
  • Relic Downloader is now active. (It can be located in your system tray, and is only active while the game is running.)
  • Fixed a number of issues with the Network Library. Connectivity should be improved.
  • Resolved an issue that would cause simulation to pause and sync errors in-game.
  • Host Proxy added.
  • Fixed multiple network related crash bugs and connection issues.
  • Fixed server exception that occurred when resetting an account password if the password had at least one Unicode character.
  • Fixed for a crash that occurred when joining a game that was quickly created and destroyed by the host.
  • Tuned automatch to adjust skill ratings faster when players beat much higher rated opponents.
  • Failure to find an automatch control record is now a fatal error when automatch polling, and is handled correctly by client.
  • Fix for bug that accidentally deleted the automatch control record when attempting to join an automatch.
  • Fixed a bug where the automatcher would not use the correct skill ratings for random searches.
  • Fixed memory leak inside the network library when posting game results to the server.
  • Joining a game or automatch team now forces the ping to always be retested (Fix for a join failure causing all further attempts to fail for the next 60 seconds).
  • Fixed a crash caused by an incoming chat message while still loading the Main Menu after coming back from a game.
  • Fixed a crash that occasionally occurred when sending a chat message.
  • Fixed multiple random crashes (and trailing random characters) that occurred when sending/receiving whispers.
  • Fix for having a banned key of a product that prevented you from adding a new key of the same product.
  • Fix to allow a user with an unbanned product to play even if a previous product was banned.
  • Fix to allow adding a key to your account even if you are banned.
  • Gamelisting screen consolidates events and will only update the UI at most once per tick (making it much more responsive).
  • Gamelisting screen now updates immediately whenever pings change (as opposed to only when the user clicks refresh).
  • Fix for Stats not counting when someone ends the RelicCOH process using Task Manager.
  • Fix for Inviting people to a team too quickly adding a ghost version of a player.
  • Fix for UI not updating to show stats changes for team wins or losses right away.
  • UI updates the ping in the game setup screen every 5 seconds.
  • Arbitration message now shown to someone who disputes the game results.
  • Fix for changing chat channels too quickly putting a user into a bad state.
  • Chat channel list now show in alphabetical order.
  • Fix for the stats popup sometimes not opening when clicking on a player’s name in the game listing screen.
  • Fix for the game getting stuck ‘consolidating players’ when multiple people drop simultaneously.
  • Fixed a crash that occurred when a chat message was received while transitioning from game setup screen to game loading screen.

    Fixes

    • General
    • Fixed planes spawning from center of map.
    • Planes will no longer path along the ground killing squads.
    • When receiving VP Ticker warnings and the opponent team has multiple Armies in it the player will no longer receive multiple Ticker warnings simultaneously.
    • Fixed a number of quite obscure in-game crashes.
    • When crushing Tank Traps,tanks will now receive a speed reduction on the specific tank that crushed the Tank Trap.
    • Streamlined the voice configuration options to 32, 64 and 128 voices.
    • All mine and Goliath drop abilities can now be used on bridges.
    • All mine and Goliath drop abilities now use a ghost preview instead of a circular UI element prior to placement.
    • Vickers Nests will no longer leave behind a ‘no fire’ zone when destroyed while a unit is in its line of fire.
    • AI will no longer dodge artillery impeccably.
    • Added a number of anti-cheat measures.
    • Fixed issue with garrisoning windmills.
    • Windmills can have demolition charges placed on them properly.
    • Some small footbridges have been tuned to ensure that they are properly destroyable.
    • British and American Infantry will properly repair points that have been Scorched by Panzer Elite squads.
    • Soldiers trapped by defenses (sandbags, barbwire, etc.) will no longer become non-functional when ordered to man an emplacement.
    • A team will no longer turn all one color after a skirmish/multiplayer match is over if the team color is selected.
    • AI no longer uses abilities such as such as sector artillery, gliders, etc in illegal situations.
    • There was a small inconsistency among about 10% of null points that had a different capture speed than the majority. These have been brought up to the standard capture time.
    • Fixed a bug where planes would not exit the world map.
    • Fixed a bug where resources would not be generated in counter-attack missions during the campaigns.
    • Fixed a bug where hills would prevent artillery from firing.
    • Fixed an exploit where some artillery could have its cost refunded after use.
    • Some abilities which had finicky range issues will now be less finicky (repair, booby traps, etc.).
    • Unconstructed buildings no longer briefly increase their sight range on death.
    • Units with ‘extended sight’ such as the Vampire will now detect camouflaged units on the mini-map.
    • Fixed a bug with Goliath accuracy against American Airborne Infantry to match all other infantry.
    • Moved UI elements from In-Game screen such that objectives, chat text, and alerts do not overlap.
    • Fixed an issue where reinforced squad members were not receiving veterancy bonuses.
    • American
    • AI improvements to the Americans.
    • Fixed an issue where the 105mm Howitzer Team firing range is shown incorrectly on the mini-map.
    • Riflemen will now be affected by Rapid Response.
    • Airborne Strafing Run no longer favors firing to one side.
    • Fixed a bug that enables multiple squads of Riflemen with differing veterancy levels able to throw Sticky Bombs without selecting them separately.
    • Fixed a bug that reimburses munitions spent on Armor Piercing Rounds for Browning HMGs, if they pack up the MG before the ability runs out.
    • Fixed a bug that refunded the cost and resets the cooldown of the Airborne Bombing Run if the bomber was shot down before releasing its payload.
    • Clicking repeatedly on the Supply Yard will no longer select American M10s.
    • Sniper veterancy does not block out the camouflage ability anymore.
    • American mortar teams can use US halftracks as transports.
    • Wehrmacht
    • AI Improvements to the Wehrmacht.
    • Wehrmacht Vehicle veterancy received accuracy while moving modifiers now scales to the size of the vehicle.
    • Wehrmacht Puma ‘received accuracy while moving’ modifiers from veterancy now reduced.
    • Wehrmacht Halftrack ‘received accuracy while moving’ modifiers from veterancy reduced.
    • Repair Bunker’s Repair Pioneers will now repair AT Guns and Flak 88 cannons.
    • All Wehrmacht Captured Weapon teams will obtain veterancy when researched from the Kamptkraft center for their respective veterancy types.
    • Knights Cross Holders will now retain veterancy bonuses after reinforcing.
    • Fixed a bug when Wehrmacht Grenadiers would sometimes lose the ability to upgrade to Panzerschrecks.
    • Fixed the minimum damage range of V1 rockets.
    • Wehrmacht medical kit moved to a different slot in the UI to prevent conflict with the rally point in Garrisoned building.
    • Fixed an ownership issue with the Firestorm ability.
    • Fixed a bug where Registered artillery could be cast on unconstructed buildings.
    • Nebelwerfer will properly get veterancy modifiers to barrage recharge time when recaptured.
    • Fixed issues with V1 not dropping properly on a specified location.
    • British
    • Over Repair ability will now display spinning wrench FX on the target if it was injured and is under repair.
    • Over Repair has been affected in the following ways:
    • The health bonus maximum has been reduced.
    • The rate at which the bonus health decreases (decay) has been increased.
    • The threshold at which decay no longer applies has been lowered.
    • British Over Repair will now Over Repair different health amounts depending on the size of the vehicle.
    • 25 Pounder Emplacements set to Counter-battery will not fire on infantry that use grenades.
    • British Resource modifiers will no longer give an unintended munitions bonus to points that were not munitions points.
    • British Priest Barrage now uses the same mini-map and tactical-map icon as the standard 25 Pounder version of the Overwatch Barrage ability.
    • British Command Tank Creeping Smoke Barrage will now indicate ability range on the mini-map.
    • British Emplacements captured by other armies will no longer obtain veterancy.
    • British Troops will not retreat to the British HQ while it is mobile.
    • Fixed corrupted fuel and munitions resource rates when a British Captain with 3rd level of veterancy moved from one territory to another.
    • When the British Forward Observation Officer’s is killed, his Artillery will continue to fall. The Officer must remain stationary for 2 seconds after casting the ability.
    • Cromwell Flank Speed now requires the engine to not be damaged or destroyed.
    • Infantry will receive the proper fatigue modifiers after the effects of Heroic Charge wear off.
    • Overwatch projectile will not explode below the ground any more.
    • British Sandbags are now treated the same as all other sandbags with regards to crushing.
    • Fixed an issue with Overwatch and some British buildings that caused the shells to impact the buildings before arriving at the target destination.
    • British Recon squad now only detects mines when stationary.
    • Overwatch cancel on Mortar emplacements shows the correct icon.
    • British Lieutenant has his shortcut key fixed for Heroic Charge.
    • Fixed a bug with the Captain’s modifiers that allowed them to stack when moving through friendly territories.
    • British Command Tank’s Creeping Smoke Barrage, once triggered, will no longer refund resources if canceled.
    • British gliders can no longer crush infantry.
    • Fixed cooldown modifiers on British Creeping Barrage Company Commander bonuses.
    • The firefly no longer uses the Sherman vehicle wreck.
    • Churchill’s Tank Shock has been fixed to work much more consistently. It is now a timed ability that suppresses infantry around it for a given duration.
    • Minor changes to the movement modifiers for the recon Infantry Section.
    • Numerous Wehrmacht and Panzer Elite upgrades, buildings, and squads were not revealed by the Ultra Decryption ability on the British Royal Commando Commander Tree. This has been fixed.
    • Panzer Elite
    • Kettenkrads no longer run away from Jeeps. This fixes the exploit of players using Jeeps to block Kettenkrad movement.
    • Multiple Squads can no longer booby trap the same building.
    • Panzer Elite Group Zeal will no longer affect enemy and allied infantry.
    • Panzer Elite Overdrive ability now requires an engine that is not damaged or destroyed.
    • The Vampire now toggles properly when ownership of a territory changes while active.
    • Panzer Elite cannot delete their base defenses.
    • Panthers for both the Wehrmacht and the Panzer Elite use the correct model when rebuilt by Bergetiger.
    • Panzer Elite Sector artillery cannot be targeted on your or your ally’s HQ territory.
    • Removed Goliaths’ ability to gain or provide shared veterancy upon destruction.
    • Panzer Elite Marder III now has its Site Main Gun shortcut key re-enabled.
    • Fixed veterancy not applying to the Hummel Barrage cooldown at level 3.
    • Fixed a bug where Panzer Elite Henschel attacks were auto-firing both weapons instead of auto-firing one and auto-targeting with the other.
    • Fixed Panther Battlegroup button visibility when Panzer Elite HQ is destroyed.
    • Advanced repair upgrade now affects the Kettenkrad’s repair ability.
    • Fixed issue where garrisoned squads inside the 250 Halftrack would receive area of effect damage when they should not.
    • Audio

    • Fixed incoming projectile sounds.
    • Collisions between physics objects now produce material-specific sounds. *this system is not perfect, and is meant to supplement the regular destruction audio (ie: a sound will not play for every collision, only those with a large enough velocity/mass). It’s fun to push around debris with vehicles though.
    • Nebelwerfers have new and much improved sound FX.
    • Reduced volume on BAR to sit better in the mix, as well as many other smaller mix refinements.
    • Tweaked and changed some of the large cannons back to previous firing sounds based on community feedback.
    • Fixed the firing volume of Greyhound.
    • P47 Fixed bug where plane engine sounds continued after the plane was shot down.
    • Firing sound for Off-map Artillery has been added.
    • Artillery explosions now heard at distance.
    • Added ‘wet road’ surface sound for vehicles driving in the rain (and squishy footsteps).
    • Fixed the Halktrack Quad 50 and 20mm Flakvierling firing sound.
    • The Vampire Halftrack now shuts off its engine while stealing resources.
    • Echo’ has been fixed. Try the reverb again, it’s been tweaked (Dual Core+ Only).
    • Tiger engine turned down.
    • Volksgrenadiers and MG42 have had their speech fixed.
    • Sherman 75mm and 76mm fire sounds replaced and are now awesome.
    • Many sound improvements have been made to the Tiger, Jagdpanther and King Tiger.
    • Menu now randomizes music between two original Company of Heroes pieces and Opposing Front’s main theme.
    • Radio effect modified no more piercing resonance!

    Gameplay

    • General
    • A team-resource modifier has been added to all teams. Teams of two share 99% resources; teams of three share 98% resources; teams of four share 97% resources.
    • Tank Traps under construction have had their health reduced.
    • Distance reduced in which Tank Trap ‘ghost’ is replaced with the actual object under construction.
    • Weapons will now auto-target defenses (Barbed Wire, Tank Traps, Sand Bags) while they are under construction.
    • All Tank Main Guns now have an equal chance to target the crew of a Towed AT Gun as they do of targeting the AT Gun directly. Prior to this they would consistently choose the AT Gun itself as the main target, dramatically reducing the life expectancy of the AT Gun in a head-to-head confrontation with a Tank. Tank Guns that prefer infantry in general (Ostwind Flakpanzer, 20mm cannons, etc.) will still prefer to fire at the Infantry rather than the AT Gun itself.
    • Anti-tank class weapons (specifically the 37mm Pak 35, 50mm pak 38, 75mm pak 40, 17 pounder, 57mm) are now less accurate against infantry.
    • Infantry Anti-tank class weapons (specifically Bazookas, Panzerschrecks, Recoilless Rifles) previously had a flat 50% damage reduction vs. Wehrmacht targets upgraded with Armored Skirts, this has been changed over to a 25% damage reduction and 25% penetration reduction.
    • Tank gun targeting priority increased significantly vs. Marder IIIs.
    • Mine and Butterfly Bomb short and medium range accuracy and area of effect accuracy increased.
    • Mines are deadlier to retreating units.
    • Vehicle dropped mines (i.e. M8 Greyhound) short and medium range accuracy increased.
    • On-map artillery weapons (British 25 Pounder, American M2 105mm, Hummel) and Off-map artillery (Rocket Barrage, Firestorm, Forward Observer Artillery) now have standard penetration values against the rear armor of a number of armored vehicles.
    • AT guns (Wehrmacht Pak 38, American 57mm, etc.) are less accurate versus other AT guns.
    • Tank Guns, Artillery, AT Guns, and Rockets do slightly less damage (-10%) to Wehrmacht and Panzer Elite tanks with armored Skirts.
    • The time it takes to repair a Scorched strategic point has been increased, with the exception of engineer types (Engineers, Sappers, Pioneers, and Panzer Grenadiers) who take less time to repair a point than before.
    • The guns for the Bofors, Flak 38, 222 Armored Car, and 234 Armored Car all have decreased accuracy against infantry garrisoned in buildings.
    • Barbed Wire and Sandbags can no longer be scuttled.
    • American
    • American Rangers and Airborne ‘Fire-Up’ ability now causes a 10 second exhaustion after use. Exhausted units move slower for the duration and have a slower rate of fire.
    • American Anti-tank and MG gun Armor Piercing Round abilities only show up for an American Player.
    • Browning HMG damage modifier vs. Panzer Elite, British soldiers increased by 33%.
    • Sherman Calliope Barrage ability cooldown is reduced by 5 seconds for each level of veterancy.
    • American Strafing Run ability arrival delay increased by 1/2 a second.
    • American Sherman and M3 Halftracks now benefit from vehicle cover.
    • Paratroopers and Rangers have their upkeep increased by 20%.
    • M10 main gun range increased by 12%.
    • Some upgrades now increase the rate at which Riflemen gain veterancy (specifically: BARS, Sticky Bombs, Supply Yard production).
    • American War Machine from Armor Company Commander cost decreased from 250 to 200 munitions.
    • American Self Repair from Armor Company Commander cost decreased from 200 to 150 munitions.
    • 90mm Pershing main gun area of effect increased 66%.
    • 90mm Pershing main gun effectiveness vs. Panzer IV and Panther armored skirts slightly reduced by about 5%.
    • 90mm Pershing HVAP main gun area of effect increased by 50%.
    • 90mm Pershing HVAP main gun has increased penetration versus Panzer IV, Panther, and Stugs with armored skirts.
    • 90mm Pershing HVAP main gun has increased penetration overall, by about 10%.
    • American Machine Gun nest cost adjusted to 200 manpower and 15 fuel from 240 manpower to 10 fuel.
    • American Machine Gun nest weapon does marginally increased suppression.
    • American Machine Gun nest weapon cooldown is marginally shorter.
    • American 76mm Sherman main gun area damage tuned.
    • American .30 Cal HMG squad veterancy requirements reduced for level 2 and level 3 veterancy.
    • American 60mm Mortar damage modifier increased by 75% vs Panzer Elite and British soldiers.
    • American 60mm mortar weapon health has tripled (this is the gun, not the entire squad).
    • American Airborne can now upgrade their Recoilless Rifles in enemy-owned or neutral territory.
    • American 57mm AT gun penetration modifier vs. Jagdpanther increased by 10%.
    • American M10 main cannon penetration increased 20% vs. Jagdpanther.
    • American Sherman 76mm upgraded gun penetration increased 20% vs. Jagdpanther.
    • American Mortar Smoke Barrage ability fires more rounds than before.
    • American Pershing gets increased penetration (approximately 35%) on its main gun when the 76mm Gun upgrade is researched at Tank Depot (note, help text has not been localized).
    • American Fire-up ability time increased from 60 seconds to 90 seconds, but is reduced by 15 seconds at each level of veterancy.
    • American M3 Halftrack health increases by 20% when upgrading to the Quad .50 cal.
    • American Bazooka damage reduced vs. Wehrmacht Halftracks, 234 Armored Cars, M8 Greyhounds, American M3 Halftracks by about 20%.
    • American Bazooka accuracy vs. moving armored vehicles modifier is slightly reduced.
    • American 60mm Mortar Barrage’s scatter was tuned.
    • 105mm Howitzer Barrage ability’s firing cone reduced by 68% and range reduced by 9%.
    • Wehrmacht
    • Reduced cost of Firestorm to from 200 to 160 munitions.
    • Firestorm damage over time modified to have a decreased radius, but a longer minimum duration and much lower damage frequency.
    • Firestorm is less accurate and less damaging to all buildings.
    • Firestorm falls more quickly after being requested.
    • Firestorm sight radius reveal timer reduced.
    • Improved the MP40 medium range accuracy by 225%.
    • At veterancy level 2, Volksgrenadiers get a +10 meter sight range addition.
    • Wehrmacht 234 Armored Car weapon range bonus at veterancy level 2 replaced with a sight range bonus.
    • Wehrmacht Panzerfaust damage modifier reduced (-45%) vs. American and British heavily armored vehicles.
    • Wehrmacht Knights Cross Holders now capable of camouflaging (for when they re-capture a Pak 38), but they do not have a new ability.
    • Wehrmacht Knights Cross Holder squads reinforce time down from 30 seconds to 15 seconds per soldier.
    • Nebelwerfer burning ground does not damage heavy armor and has significantly reduced damage to light armor.
    • Nebelwerfer burning ground damage does not kill heavy or light armor.
    • Minimum burning ground damage duration on the Nebelwerfer increased to 10 seconds.
    • Nebelwerfer can be repaired.
    • Stormtrooper suppression recovery now matches that of a Grenadier squad, previously they had recovered from suppression roughly 4-5 times slower.
    • Wehrmacht Sdkfz 234 Armored Car first level veterancy bonus changed from a -15% received enemy accuracy bonus to a -15% received damage bonus.
    • Wehrmacht 234 Armored Car max speed increased by 10%.
    • Wehrmacht Flammenwerfer upgrade cost reduced from 100 to 75 munitions.
    • Panzerschreck chance to drop decreased by 50%.
    • Wehrmacht infantry retain their veterancy on recaptured Wehrmacht weapons (Nebelwerfers, MG42 HMGS, Mortars, Flak 88s)
    • Werhmacht Stuka rockets damage reduced against British and Panzer Elite targets by 25%.
    • Panzerschreck accuracy vs AT guns reduced.
    • Panzerschreck damage vs Panzer IVs reduced.
    • Wehrmacht Mortar Smoke Barrage ability fires more rounds than before.
    • Wehrmacht Stuh with armored skirts benefit from the same frontal armor improvements as regular Stugs.
    • Wehrmacht Stug main gun tracking speed increased by 66%.
    • Wehrmacht Stuka Halftrack rocket barrage increased from 60 seconds to 90 seconds; it decreases by 10 seconds for every level of veterancy.
    • Wehrmacht 8cm mortar weapon health has tripled (this is the gun, not the entire squad).
    • The Stug has its front armor improved by roughly 20%.
    • Panzerfaust damage vs. Bren Carriers reduced by 13%.
    • Wehrmacht and Panzer Elite tanks with armored skirts are more resistant to infantry AT.
    • British
    • British 25 Pounder Howitzer Overwatch Barrage now has a 1 second increased delay between firing rounds.
    • Slowed British 25 Pounder Overwatch projectile.
    • British 3″ Mortar supercharge range reduced by 15%. Overwatch set to the same max range.
    • British Overwatch Barrage now has 40 second duration and 40 second recharge time.
    • British 25 Pounder emplacements and Priests have their supercharge and Overwatch ranges reduced by 10%.
    • Reduced cost of British Glider HQ from 340 to 200 manpower.
    • British Anti-tank Armor Piercing Round ability only shows up for British players.
    • British Captain’s Victor Target ability must now be targeted within 45 meters of the Captain.
    • British Tetrarch main gun area-of-effect radius slightly reduced, slightly reducing effectiveness vs. infantry targets.
    • British Tetrarch Littlejohn Adapter has increased penetration rates vs. all Armor by 20%.
    • British Sherman Firefly Tank Commander upgrade cost increased from 10 to 30 munitions.
    • British PIAT launcher scatter radius reduced.
    • British PIAT reload tuned.
    • Artillery Barrage cooldowns have been increased across all British Artillery. Note, most upgrades for Royal Artillery reduce these incrementally.
    • British Creeping Barrage cooldown increased by 15 seconds. Range reduced to 225 meters.
    • Doubled the amount of fuel drain required by Flank Speed.
    • British Churchill 6 pounder Gun has 30% better penetration vs. Hummel, Jagdpanther, and Hetzer.
    • Area of effect range on Churchill 6 pounder gun reduced by about 66%.
    • British Churchill damage vs Marder III reduced by 12%.
    • Churchill Crocodile uses its tank gun instead of its flamethrower for attacking ground.
    • British Commando PIAT squad cost increased from 255 to 325 manpower.
    • Buttoning speed modifiers on British Infantry squads are dependent on squad size. Small squads apply fewer speed penalties, large squads apply full speed penalties to enemy targets.
    • British Bren Carrier Vickers weapon has its ‘moving while firing’ accuracy multiplier reduced by 33%.
    • British Bren Carrier Vickers weapon close range accuracy reduced by 40%.
    • British Resource upgrades no longer share with teammates. Secured Resourcing, Captain’s veterancy resource bonus, and improved Command Truck resource bonuses only apply to the player performing those upgrades.
    • Commando demo charge can be targeted and killed by small arms fire.
    • British Captain’s territory health bonus to emplacements reduced by an appropriate amount.
    • British Royal Engineer Improved Emplacements health maximum modifier reduced by 17%.
    • British Royal Engineer Improved Emplacements received damage modifier removed and replaced with a received penetration modifier that decreases penetration by 10%.
    • British Commando Concealing Smoke starts recharging when the squad is recruited. The ability is not available until it has undergone one cooldown cycle.
    • Anti-aircraft weapons have improved damage and accuracy vs. landing British Gliders.
    • Timer tuned on Overwatch Cancel.
    • Lieutenants area of effect bonuses had an unintended side effect of slaughtering retreating infantry. These values have been modified so that this does not happen anymore, but still maintaining the efficacy of the Lieutenant’s leadership bonuses.
    • Lieutenants now enjoy long walks on the beach.
    • British Churchill Tank Shock recharge timer increased from 60 to 75 seconds.
    • British Commando Sten SMGs are less effective vs. Knights Cross Holders.
    • Improved British AI command truck setup.
    • The Priest and the 25 Pounder Barrage and Supercharge cooldown increased by 15 seconds.
    • British 17 pounder emplacement has had its scatter increased.
    • Small Arms, Light and Heavy MG penetration against British Mortar Pits and Howitzers has doubled.
    • Tuned Bren Carrier weapon and modified Bren Carrier Button Down ability so that it more reliably shoots at the specified target.
    • Button Down ability targets the coaxial guns on the vehicles first, giving the main weapon a 5 second delay before it will stop shooting as well.
    • Panzer Elite
    • All Panzer Elite vehicle veterancy curves now escalate (previously many obtained veterancy level 2 much slower than they would obtain veterancy level 3).
    • All Panzer Elite Soldiers obtain veterancy level 3 at a slightly slower rate.
    • Panzer Elite Marder III damage vs. the American M10 and M4 Sherman reduced by 25%.
    • Panzer Elite Scout Car will now detect snipers at half the radius of a Jeep or Motorcycle.
    • Panzer Elite G43 Rifle long range cooldown penalty reduced to 25% from 50%, overall cooldown increased by 25%.
    • Panzer Elite Kettenkrad Camouflage ability now reduces both Sight Radius and Camouflage Detection radius by 30%.
    • Panzer Elite Suppressive Volley Fire will slow retreating squads to normal movement speed temporarily.
    • Updated the Wirbelwind UI unit ratings.
    • Panzer Elite Armored Car 20mm cannon effectiveness reduced vs. American Riflemen.
    • Panzer Elite Armored Car’s ranged increased by 15%.
    • Doubled the fuel drain of the Panzer Elite Armored Car 222 Overdrive.
    • Panzer Elite Hummel cost reduced by 650 to 600 manpower.
    • Panzer Elite Vehicles shared veterancy radius reduced by 10 meters.
    • Panzer Elite vehicle and infantry veterancy sharing tuned.
    • Panzer Elite Jagdpanther health reduced by 11%.
    • Panzer Elite Marder III Site Main Gun sight bonus reduced by 75%.
    • Panzer Elite Kettenkrad has its sniper detection radius increased by 30%.
    • Bergetiger recovery manpower cost per minute has doubled.
    • Panzer Elite Fallschirmjager will reveal themselves after 3 shots instead of 4 and time to revert back to camouflage has increased by 20%.
    • Panzer Elite Infantry Halftrack MG42 is less effective vs. squads in light cover. Damage has been reduced by 25%.
    • Tuned suppression on the Wirblewind.
    • Panzer Elite Vampire acceleration increased by 33%.
    • Panzer Elite Hummel artillery barrage ability increased by 30 seconds.
    • Panzer Elite Hummel artillery barrage ability decreases by 10 seconds for every level of veterancy.
    • Panzer Elite Wirblewind has increased penetration vs American Halftracks and M8 Greyhounds.
    • Panzer Elite Wirblewind deals more deflection damage against armored targets.
    • Previously when a Bergetiger recovers a vehicle, it came back with 50% of its of max health, the vehicle now returns with 40% of its max health.
    • Axis armor recovered by the Bergetiger is more likely to return with either a damaged engine or destroyed main gun.
    • Maps
    • Fixed some building locations on Angoville Farms.
    • Fixed a control point issue on Beaux Lowlands.
    • Etavaux has a couple of world objects that have incorrect player ownership association and revealed some small areas in the Fog of War.

    Source Continue reading Company of Heroes & Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts Update Released

  • Spin talks to Chris Conley (Saves the Day, Two Tongues)

    Spin Magazine recently spoken with Saves The Day/Two Tongues guitarist/vocalist Chris Conley about his favorite book. Conley discusses “A Path With Heart” by Jack Kornfield. Conley said:

    “This book has definitely made me more calm, and Saves the Day has always been overly dramatic to the point of being uncomfortable to listen to. And that was a reflection of how uncomfortable it was to be me in my skin. The more comfortable I get with myself, the more comforting the music will be. That doesn’t mean I’m going to write music for meditation, but Saves the Day will probably have less of a grating edge since I don’t feel so tangled up inside.”

    You can check out the entire interview here.
    Source Continue reading Spin talks to Chris Conley (Saves the Day, Two Tongues)

    March 29th, 2009

    Hello everybody and welcome to Navel Gazing: your look back at the week in Punknews. I’m Adam White and I’ll be your guide through some of the most popular, notable, and otherwise attention getting stories of the past seven days. Each and every Punknews story is built from tips contributed by you fine folks, and here’s what got the community talking this week…

    The People Must Have Something Good To Read On A Sunday
    This week’s most popular stories

    The line up for the 2009 edition of the long running Warped Tour has been announced. The summer trek will feature the likes of Bad Religion, Anti-Flag, the Bouncing Souls, Flogging Molly, Less Than Jake, NOFX, Gallows, and the Ataris. Two members of Blackheart Records’ indie/punk outfit Girl in a Coma were arrested in Houston after an altercation with police. Musician John Mellencamp contributed his voice to the chorus of commentators discussing the sorry State of the Music Business. His lengthy article appeared on the Huffington Post earlier this week.

    NOFX has released a new song from their upcoming record, putting “The Quitter” online for preview. Dinosaur Jr. detailed their new record, the album is titled Farm and is due out June 23rd. A 39 song Kid Dynamite tribute is set for release and will feature the Ergs, No Trigger and This Is Hell. Green Day discussed their new record with Rolling Stone as well. Universal Records subsidiary, Original Recordings has commissioned Bernie Grubman to remaster Nevermind, In Utero and MTV Unplugged in New York for reissue on 180 gram vinyl. The Offspring has announced a tour of the US and Canada that will feature Alkaline Trio, Street Dogs, Shiny Toy Guns, Sum 41, Pennywise and the Dropkick Murphys. Propagandhi have added more US dates with Bridge and Tunnel this May. No Use For A Name have an upcoming tour of South America. The first batch of bands have been confirmed for the Sound and Fury Festival 2009 in Oxnard, CA. Look for Betrayed, Ceremony, Cold World and Trash Talk among the bands performing. Metallica have a tour of North America on the way. This week the band also described Guitar Hero as “new model for the music industry.” Speaking of the popular video game, there was word this week that it would see expansions featuring the Pixies, Nirvana, and Motorhead. Richmond, VA’s the Riot Before have released their video for “We Are Wild Stallions.” A live recording surfaced of the Gaslight Anthem performing the Replacements classic “Left of the Dial.” Blink-182 also teased their summer tour in a new video.

    This week we said goodbye to the Cute Lepers guitarist Travis Criscola (1985-2009).

    I Can’t Control My Fingers I Can’t Control My Brain
    New feature content, weekly columns and exclusives

    Punknews.org is proud to present a new feature from Mike Hale (Gunmoll, In The Red). Having packed up his belongings, moved out of his apartment, and committed himself to living as a touring musician, Mike will have some tales to tell. Check out Episode 1, 2, 3, 4 and now Episode 5 of For Those Still Standing.

    As always we brought you new Streaming Music including San Jose, CA’s pop-punk outfit Pillowfights, Richmond-based Foundation (the latest work from Rob Huddleston of Ann Beretta and Inquisition), Detroit’s Fireworks, and the new EP from Hartford, CT-based Make Do and Mend. So what’s coming up this week? Look for new releases from In The Red, Big Business, Pansy Division, Pulling Teeth, Silverstein, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Strung Out with tours kicking off from Agnostic Front / Ruiner (US), Fall Out Boy / All Time Low / Cobra Starship (US / Canada), Have Heart / Shook Ones (US west coast), Death By Stereo (Europe), Riverboat Gamblers / Fake Problems / William Elliott Whitmore (US), No Use For A Name (South America), and Greg Attonito of the Bouncing Souls and Vic Ruggiero of the Slackers (US east coast).
    Source Continue reading March 29th, 2009