Buy Just Cause 2 and all DLCs at 50% OFF now through end of Sunday, August 1st, 2010.

Source Continue reading Just Cause 2: 50% Off Weekend Deal →

Updates to Serious Sam HD: Second Encounter have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

• Added automatic reconfiguration of menu and HUD on extra wide screens (e.g. ATI Eyefinity).
• Fixed “FlagThief” achievement not being awarded.
• Fixed “HeavyWeightChampion” achievement taking much more time to achieve when playing on a server with higher
  framerate (like dedicated servers).
• Players now drop chainsaw and sniper weapons in deathmatch (and other versus modes).
• Added workaround for occasional crash inside XAudio2 sound interface when using 5.1 speaker config.
• Renamed demos would refuse to play back with a “version mismatch” error. Renaming now properly adjusts the
  demo info.
• Fixed glitching in game overlay menu that happened if scrollbars appeared.
• Fixed wrong output of player names containing characters ‘<' and '>‘.
• Updated string input to make it usable via controller. Previously, it was possible to activate the input menu
  via controller but then player had to use keyboad/mouse for exit.

Source Continue reading Serious Sam HD: Second Encounter Update Released →

Updates to Monkey Island™ 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge™ have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

• Adjusted timing delays for certain puzzles
• Fixed missing music in Dinky Jungle
• Fixed music synching issue with the Bone Dance sequence
• Fixed various music cross-fading issues
• Addressed Cursor issues when using an XBox360 controller
• Added intro and outro credits sequences to the Classic version
• Added acceleration curve to cursor speed
• Increased volume level of “Classic” Chester

Source Continue reading Monkey Island? 2 Special Edition: LeChuck?s Revenge? Update Released →

Worms™ Reloaded is now available for Pre-purchase, with bonuses including a 10% discount, 24 hours early access to the game, and exclusive in-game items to enhance your chosen team.

From humble beginnings, the original Worms™ titles took PC gaming to new levels of popularity and mass appeal. Selling in excess of 25 million copies over its 15 year lifespan, Worms™ has taken its wholly unique brand of addictive gameplay, hilarious humour and wild weaponry across almost every console possible, and on Thursday 26th August 2010 it will be returning to the format that made it most successful; the personal computer.

“Worms Reloaded has been a labour of love for the team given the legacy of 2D PC Worms™ titles such as Worms 2, Worms Armageddon etc. It has been almost 10 years since the last 2D game was released on personal computers”, said Martyn Brown, iconic figure in the world of Worms™ and Business Development Director at Team17. “In bringing Worms Reloaded to PC, we’ve reintroduced so much of what gamers loved about the good old days, and it’s fitting that it is also the first Worms game we’ve self-published since the early games. We are very much looking forward to supporting the game through the community on Steam as well as our own Facebook page.”

Indeed, while the most celebrated features of the series are present and correct, Worms™ Reloaded also sports a large amount of new additions to almost every facet of the gameplay experience. Over 60 single-player missions (including new Warzone Campaign and Bodycount Mode), a fully featured landscape creator, 45+ plus weapons spanning the entire Worms™ series and a huge currency based customization system – all wrapped up in HD quality visuals – means that Worms™ Reloaded will be a highly enjoyable experience, whether playing alone or with friends.

Source Continue reading Worms? Reloaded Now Available for Pre-Purchase with Bonus Offer →

This afternoon Corey Peters suddenly yelped and jumped out his chair claiming that a Creeper had gotten into the new training map he was working on and that it was blocking his ability to get any work done. This was followed a few minutes later by Jon Lippincott claiming he couldn’t finish up his code because he had run out of Iron Ore. Even as I write this I can hear Dave Riller telling a story about how he beat a sheep to death with his bare hands to make a new set of pants and a woolly hat.

It seems, dear friends, that our development team has succumbed to Minecraft addiction.

Minecraft is an amazing little (read: freaking huge) world building sandbox game by Markus Persson, aka Notch…the very same Notch that developed Left4kDead a couple years ago. In Minecraft you carve out your own little empire in the wild, building just about whatever you want while the natural world tries to slaughter you every nightfall. The game’s box-like representation of reality is cute and definitely charming…until a horde of cute box-like skeletons rip your cute little box-like arms from your cute little box-like body in a spray of cute little box-like blood and gore.

Yes, you should play this game.

Apparently we aren’t the only ones to fall prey to the lures of Minecraft. A number of you in The Community have also discovered the game and, as we have come to expect, you immediately went out and imported it into our game, Team Fortress 2.

Check out this Payload Race map developed by some Minecraft fans:

I have a feeling we’ll be “playtesting” this map once it’s available.

You can check out the latest updates for Minecraft by reading Notch’s Blog.

Source Continue reading In that an Equalizer in your pocket? →

This afternoon Corey Peters suddenly yelped and jumped out of his chair claiming that a Creeper had gotten into the new training map he was working on and that it was blocking his ability to get any work done. This was followed a few minutes later by Jon Lippincott claiming he couldn’t finish up his code because he had run out of Iron Ore. Even as I write this I can hear Dave Riller telling a story about how he beat a sheep to death with his bare hands to make a new set of pants and a woolly hat.

It seems, dear friends, that our development team has succumbed to Minecraft addiction.

Minecraft is an amazing little (read: freaking huge) world building sandbox game by Markus Persson, aka Notch…the very same Notch that developed Left4kDead a couple years ago. In Minecraft you carve out your own little empire in the wild, building just about whatever you want while the natural world tries to slaughter you every nightfall. The game’s box-like representation of reality is cute and definitely charming…until a horde of cute box-like skeletons rip your cute little box-like arms from your cute little box-like body in a spray of cute little box-like blood and gore.

Yes, you should play this game.

Apparently we aren’t the only ones to fall prey to the lures of Minecraft. A number of you in The Community have also discovered the game and, as we have come to expect, you immediately went out and imported it into our game, Team Fortress 2.

Check out this Payload Race map developed by some Minecraft fans:

I have a feeling we’ll be “playtesting” this map once it’s available.

You can check out the latest updates for Minecraft by reading Notch’s Blog.

Source Continue reading Is that an Equalizer in your pocket? →

The image above is from our friends at the IP Factory. This Friday they are releasing their Left 4 Dead 2 range of strictly limited high end collectibles. First up is the Tank. Pre-orders go live Friday July 30th.

Today’s update covers quite a few subjects so we thought we should touch on a few of them.

When we did our blog poll on rage quitting we mentioned we would be working on some of the underlying issues. Left 4 Dead 2 doesn’t have a more rage or less rage button – well not directly?

We checked some stats, did some testing, checked more stats, and did more testing. We have many more changes we are working on, some ideas failed, some were exploitable, and some were just bad ideas. What we are releasing today is not the sum of our answer to the problem but simply some of the updates that are ready to ship. More are coming.

While we were testing other changes with the Charger, we were bothered that doing the right thing did not give you the best score. New players were often confused by this lack of feedback, so we fixed that.

• Charger now receives 300 points for any Survivor that is insta-killed.
• Charger now receives 100 points for any Survivor that is insta-incapped by a charge.
• Any infected that causes a Survivor to stumble into a “ledge hang” situation will receive 50 points.

Friendly fire is never fun, especially when it really isn’t friendly fire. So in both Versus and Co-op we wanted to remove those times when you receive a friendly fire warning for shooting through an infected.

• Bullets that first pass through an infected character before striking a Survivor are now ignored as friendly fire.

Failing at the Tank is miserable experience. We all know the feeling when you are trying to explain to your team – but he was already on fire! So we did some work there.

• Tanks go into a stasis when they spawn and leave stasis when the human player takes over.
• Tanks do not attack when they are in stasis.
• Tanks in stasis are invisible but still show a glow to the infected team.
• Tanks in stasis cannot be set on fire.

The updates aren’t over and you should expect to see some more shortly. As for the blog, besides the regular Friday update, next week we will be going into details on the Mutations, why Realism Versus was made permanent and other Mutations have not been. Plus what gets played more – Versus, Co-op, Survival, Single Player, or Scavenge?

Source Continue reading The Invisible Tank →

Updates to Stargate: Resistance have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Patch Notes 1.1.13.4

Newness:

• Introducing gametype King of the Hill! Engage in frenetic battle to maintain control of the Temple on Amarna.
• Earth-SGC now fully supports the Team Deathmatch gametype in addition to Conquest.
• New Interactive Launcher! The new game launcher delivers patch notes, news, maintenance announcements and more. Its skinnable interface allow players to create their own unique looks.
• Objective screens now display information specific to the gametype you are playing.
• Performance improvements to graphical materials.

Characters:

• Ambient lighting has been adjusted for better visuals, mostly noticeable on the Soldier BDUs.
• The unlockable animating Jaffa helmet now has audio to accompany the animation.

Piramess:

• Performance enhancements on the Piramess map.
• Enhanced environmental ambiance on Piramess.
• Some piles of snow will now react to gun fire; shoot the ground to see some flurries!

Security:

• Enhanced security around login information.

UI:

• The System Lords icon has been updated

Bug Fixes:

• SGC Icons will now show up for the Conquest gametype upon login.
• Network issues while logging in to servers have been resolved.
• A stats display bug which was rarely causing equipment lockout has been addressed.

Console Commands:

• All Field of View values have been clamped to be between 65 and 115.
• The console command “closemenu” has been disabled to prevent certain exploits from being performed.

Stargate:

• The event horizon has been adjusted to not draw over certain particle systems like the Goa’uld Shield or Staff Blasts.

Weapons:

• While inside the sniper scope, a player will not be able to change their Field of View settings.

Source Continue reading Stargate: Resistance Update Released →

New in Version 1.6

Quarantine:
A plague has wiped out the peaceful Gorillas of Monkeytown. Alpha Titus is looking for clones to uncover the origins of the lethal disease while the Techs and Vistas try to clean up the area and prevent the plague from transitioning from simian to human.

Quarantine adds all new missions, with an instance for level 30, 40 and 50 and a repeatable town event with new item rewards

Vehicle Color Customization:
Want to give your wasteland wheels that true personal touch? Using the garage manager and paint kits that are crafted or found in the expansive wilds of Fallen Earth, you can create your own signature color combination. All vehicles can be painted with the exception of Promotional Vehicles.

Minor Respec:
Unspend 5 AP to adjust your character’s stats and skills. These special Recombinant Injectors are available on level-appropriate Mutagenics merchants throughout the Province.

PvP Flagging:
It’s now possible to flag for PvP combat anywhere you want in the world of Fallen Earth!

New Extended Tutorial:
After completing the main tutorial, players arriving in their starter towns will discover a new action-driven series of missions that serve as an extended tutorial. You’ll be thrown right into the fight against deadly bandits and thugs threatening the LifeNet regen pods. Through the course of the mission series, you’ll learn some useful skills and earn your first horse!

Clan Wars:
Added a new effect called Clan Wars Immunity for when players are killed during a Clan War. This effect is visible to players, removable, and only lasts 3 minutes. When a player is killed three times in a row, they become an invalid Clan War target until it expires or the player removes the effect by right-clicking on it.

World PvP Flag:
Now players are able to flag for PvP anywhere in the wasteland. Enable this by typing /pvp in the chat bar.

Vehicle Speed increase:
Vehicles will not travel at an increased rate of speed while on road surfaces.

Bloodsports:
Increased the DeathToll awards for Deathmatch, Survival, and Assault.

Sector 3:
Gaia:

• Increased the chance for snakes in Gaia to drop Wasted Venom Sacs for the mission Compost Critters 3.

Creatures:

• Changed town guards so that they no longer attack players with low Townsperson faction.

Items

• Fixed Reading Glasses so that they can now be sold.
• Changed Can of Flavored Seltzer to properly use the Drink effect slot.
• Adjusted Crude Brawler’s Best Shot so that it now increases Coordination and Strength instead of Dexterity and Strength.
• Reduced crafting time for Crossbow Bolt and Zip Gun Ammunition.
• Fixed Impure, Average, and Improved Antiseptic Foam so that they no longer interfere with eating or drinking.
• Added Tech Master Technician’s Helmet to the appropriate merchant.
• Fixed Acolyte’s Regen Tea so that it is now only usable by those with high Lightbearer faction, but can be traded.
• Adjusted Kaibab Vines so that they now count as Weak Botanic Chemical.
• Adjusted Primal 3 Research so that it now requires Missing Link 2 Injector to craft
• Fixed Vehicle Weapons so that they no longer degrade.
• Adjusted Liquid Armoring Solution so that it now grants 150 to primary resists.

Effects/Abilities:

• Changed Attribute descriptions to Perception, Coordination, and Willpower to adequately reflect their involvement in formulas.
• Fixed Mind Over Matter to no longer override secondary mutations.
• Modified Vile Strike to correctly cause weapon damage in addition to the DoT.

Clans:

• Added functionality so that the correct server response message is sent when removing a clan member from the war group.

Mounts:

• Fixed a bug with not being dismounted properly when teleported.

UI:

• Created a Radar Map Marker for Treasure Nodes, which are no longer tied to the scavenging skill.

Art:

• Removed clutter objects from Odenville train tracks.
• Removed pylons in Pass Chris tunnel to alleviate pathing issues.
• Removed pylons from beside smoke stacks in Blackridge.
• Removed garage doors from weapons workshop in Chemtown.
• Fixed Spider Hill Street lights so that they now display properly during the night cycle.
• Fixed the Los Alamos canal so that it no longer vanishes at certain viewing angles.
• Fixed collision on crossbeams to high tension power lines.
• Added collision to back wall of Science facility in Rothium Ridge.
• Fixed Spider Hill Street light so that it no longer projects a square of light onto terrain.
• Remodeled and textured Zanesville LifeNet level.
• Fixed stuck issue in Kingman Prison parking deck.
• Fixed stuck issue for motorcycles in Wasted Woods drainage ditches.
• Lowered floating traffic cones at abandoned storefronts encounter area near Blaine.
• Raised buried swing set in Odenville encounter area.
• Lowered floating gravestones at a Judge encampment in the Northern Plateau.
• Lowered several floating junk piles fixed in Pass Chris.
• Lowered floating guard tower at the Gallows.
• Fitted door into its frame in Spider Hill.
• Fixed tower at White Crow encampment in Northfields Wastes so that nodes are reachable.
• Lowered floating trash pile near Haven.
• Fitted a door in Pass Chris to its frame.
• Added collision volumes to meter boxes attached to buildings in Old Kingman.
• Added scrub exclusion to sleeping bags.
• Fixed the hands from showing when wearing the Tech Journeyman Gloves.
• Changed the muzzle flash on the Slugthrower to represent an air blast instead of fire.
• Remodeled and textured the creeper.
• Created a Tech-built LifeNet anchor.
• Added textures to support custom coloring on all vehicles.

Audio:

• Monkeytown – New music, ambience and sound effects
• New bonfire sound
• Updated Creeper sounds
• New UI sounds – Spend AP, Confirm window, PVP active, PVP deactivate, Generic button, Action activated
• Added new high gear sound for all vehicles
• Fixed Achievement Particle/Sound
• Updated Tutorial starting area ambience
• Airguns no longer play shell casing sound
• Corrected air rifle sounds
• Changed VO for Extended Tutorial NPCs
• Improved overall mix of game music

Source Continue reading Fallen Earth Updated →

The Guild II Renaissance is now available on Steam and 10% off until August 4th.

For centuries Europe has been dominated by the church and nobility. On the shoulders of ordinary people the servants of god and the noble families justified their power and wealth. This was the incontrovertible, divine world order. A truly dark era?

In the 14th Century the world order is beginning to transform itself. Due to trade and commerce an increasing middle class obtains more and more power and wealth. Entire towns purchase their freedom and more privileges from the nobility. Reading and writing is no longer the domain of the nobility and the clergy and the invention of printing information may eventually be spread everywhere. This is the beginning of the renaissance…

Source Continue reading Now Available – The Guild II Renaissance →

Trainz Simulator 2010: Engineers Edition is now available on Steam.

Build and operate the railroad of your dreams.

Trainz Simulator 2010: Engineers Edition of (TS2010) includes everything you need to build and operate your own dream railroad. You can build a fun layout in minutes, faithfully recreate a steam railroad from days gone by or develop a fully fledged 100+ mile prototypical route; the choice is yours.

Source Continue reading Trainz Simulator 2010 Now Available →

Experience the demo, Pre-order now, and Save!

Play as two of gaming’s most disturbing and realistic criminals; Lynch – a self medicated psychopath – and Kane – a disillusioned and desperate ex-mercenary, in a gritty and brutal crime shooter from IO Interactive.

Source Continue reading Kane & Lynch 2 – 10% Off Pre-Purchase Deal →

Mutation Week 14: Healthpackalypse!, What else are you playing?, Pick Your Mutation, extra updates.

Healthpackalypse!

No health in this versus game.

Grind down the Survivors and don’t worry about them bouncing back. With no Health kits in Versus, their permanent health is on a one way ride to zero.

What else are you playing?

Last week we asked, what else are you playing? On the Left 4 Dead 2 team, our own poll winners are Modern Warfare 2 and Team Fortress 2. Red Dead Redemption would have won a few weeks ago.

With None of these Winning the PC poll and coming in second on the Xbox, what else are you playing? Let us know in the forums or on Facebook.

Here are your votes by platform.

Pick Your Mutation?

It’s time to pick your favorite Mutation! Vote for next week’s Encore Mutation.

To vote enter the game, view the in-game blog, and click to vote.

Extra Updates

PC players will also be getting some Versus updates this coming week. We have more updates coming so don’t think this is all we are going to do. These changes will show up on the Xbox 360 in a later update.

Next week’s Mutation: ????

Source Continue reading WEEK 14 →