Portal 2 Release Date Announced

More information regarding the release of Portal 2, and the agreement with EA PartnersValve can be found in the EA Press Release.

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BF: BC2 Update a’coming.

Server – Some potential sources for lag/rubberbanding have been eliminated
Server – The old reserved slots has been replaced by a kick-on-demand system like in BF2
Server – Log file for server admins: all remote admin interface commands/events are logged
Server – Log file for server admins: major server events + all chat messages are logged
Server – Idle kick is controllable
Server – Profanity filter can be disabled
Server – Teamkill-kick system is controllable
Server – Ticket counts and bleed rate are controllable per-level
Server – Infantry only mode available per-level
Server – Initial spawn delay and respawn delay are adjustable
Server – Server description can be up to 400 characters, and use “|” for line breaks
Server – Banlist can contain up to 10.000 entries
Server – reduced latency in packet handling

Admin Interface – fixed the player.onKill spam that occasionally happened
Admin Interface – ensured that player.onJoin events always report the player name
Admin Interface – events triggered when people spawn
Admin Interface – much more info on kills
Admin Interface – detailed stats are reported at end-of-round

Gameplay – Various minor level bugfixes
Gameplay – Helicopter handling has been tweaked
Gameplay – Weapon tweaks have been implemented based on PC public feedback
Gameplay – Fixed technical hang when a crate was armed outside of the combat area
Gameplay – “Victory is near” message was shown for the wrong team on Valparaíso, this has been fixed
Gameplay – Countermeasures can be fired when driving a helicopter
Gameplay – The brightness of the pilot view in the Russian helicopter has been reduced
Gameplay – Advanced Spotting scope works better
Gameplay – Knifing people in the back works again (we backed out the change that we had done for Server R11)

Server Browser – Servers are sorted into 3 categories: Normal, Modified, Hardcore depending on their settings
Server Browser – Added support for retrieving update progress
Server Browser – Now refreshes information
Server Browser – Join queue system when attempting to join a full server
Server Browser – all settings are automatically saved between sessions
Server Browser – Pings are sent via an alternate mechanism, which should work for non-Administrator users as well

Client – Fixed DX9 issue, which likely caused graphics glitches and perhaps crashes
Client – Fixed some crashes
Client – Toggle/hold crouch is user controllable
Client – Toggle/hold zoom is user controllable
Client – Vsync bugfixed for DX10/DX11
Client – Rewritten how settings are written to disk; this should reduce/eliminate the spawn lag
Client – Fixed bug where a player could join a server before the stats has been downloaded causing faulty stats in “EOR- unlock progression”-screen
Client – New chat system allows chatting when dead (but not during end of round) and keeps a 100 lines log
Client – Improved Play Now functionality
Client – Removed K/D ratio and Skill Level filters in the leaderboards
Client – Any points you get while being dead will be added to your score
Client – Reduced negative mouse acceleration
Client – More informative disconnection/kick reasons

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Medal of Honor due Oct 12th

“Medal of Honor is an authentic look into today’s war. Inspired by real people and real events, the game puts players in the boots of today’s warrior—from the infantry ground pounder to the Tier 1 Operator,” said executive producer Greg Goodrich.

With this new addition to “modern combat” themed titles it seems to be getting rather crowded, with the Battlefield series, Call of Duty series and now revamped the Medal of Honor serious all focusing on the same thing.  Like World War II games that all of these franchises started off as, it might not be too long before gamers really get sick of the modern combat idea and want something a little different.

Via:  Shacknews

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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 patched

The full list of  changes are as follows:

• MP – New Server browser
• MP – Added 15 second spawn timer for Conquest/Rush gamemodes at the start of round to prevent high end machines getting the upper hand before other machines load in.
• MP – Crash fixes relating to ALT+TAB at different times throughout the game
• MP – Hang fix when trying to connect to a full server multiple times
• MP – Deletion of soldiers now possible through the account pages in game
• MP – Removed screen flash during loading
• MP – Added support for colour blind players
• MP – Fixed crashes relating to faulty server banners
• MP – Servers closing during connection no longer cause the client to hang
• MP – Auto team swap reflects correctly in the scoreboard
• MP – Fixed scoreboards when switching teams before spawning
• MP – Rush scoreboards fixed
• MP – Veteran ranks no longer display as “12″
• MP – Isla Innocentes MCOM building fixed where knifing the fence would destroy the building
• MP – Logout/Login button correctly reflects the player status
• MP – Added minimum number of players needed to start a round (you can play and take objectives but you will get no score until 4 or more players join the server)
• MP – Isla Inocentes welcome message on the loading screen now fits the text box area
• MP – Reduced the brightness in Russian vehicles
• MP – Medic gadgets now display correctly if the defib is not unlocked
• MP – Server filter options are remembered
• MP – Punkbuster filter now works as intended
• MP – Scroll bar no longer overlays the Join Server button in the friends list panel
• MP – CANCEL server refresh is implemented
• MP – Zooming in on a friendly using the SAIGA no longer causes the crosshair to disappear
• MP – The chat no longer displays the incorrect player name when appearing
• MP – FoV switches to the default value of 55 when entering vehicles to prevent graphical glitches caused by wider FoV settings. The custom FoV returns when exiting vehicles.
• MP – FoV no longer causes the UAV station to rotate
• MP – Fix to correctly display the unlock progression at the end of round
• MP – Chat functionality will no longer freeze after writing a partial message at the end of round
• MP – One account can no longer connect to the same server multiple times
• MP – Squad Death Match is correctly named during loading
• MP – Server browser no longer gets a bad FPS when filtering Conquest
• MP – Server info banners correctly clear between displays
• MP – Setting display settings which the system hardware can not handle no longer makes the game unusable
• MP – Correct camera collision for vehicles’ heavy machine gun
• MP – Game no longer crashes if the player sends a message in the loading screen
• MP – Trying to join a full server no longer causes the game to hang on Please Wait message
• MP – Most server filter options are remembered it doesn’t remember the setting in dropdowns
• MP – Kit/gadget loadout saved between sessions
• MP – Window on static guns is now transparent on DirectX 9 systems
• SP – Fixed crashes when patching and trying to resume a campaign (there is now a message that you need to re-play the latest mission from the beginning)
• SP – Fixed a crash after the “Upriver” mission end cinematic
• SP – Supply create at “Resupply at Flynn’s create” objective now supplies weapon ammo
• SP – Hang fix when reaching the objective “Destroy Enemy Zu23″
• SP – Fixed hang after “Storm Cockpit” objective
• SP – Changed melee attack raycast to be detailed
• SP – Game no longer crashes when transitioning between SP_03B to SP_04A when installed in Polish
• SP – Game no longer crashes when killed by the first two enemies in the trenches on SP_01 when installed in Italian
• SP – Updating to R7 will invalidate your single player save game. If you update you will need to play your last mission from the start. If you do not update you will not be able to play multiplayer.

Now get back to it!

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C&C 4 – Tiberian Twilight

I love the beta of this game.  I’m massive C&C fan .. hell I’ve been playing Westwood RTS’s since Dune 2.  This is a complete deviation from the standard resource mining and base building effort though.  Remember RA3?  Remember how it sucked hard?  C&C4 takes all the suck from RA3, spits on it and then sets it on fire.

I’m not going to go into a lot of detail here, but suffice it to say the multiplayer (once properly balanced and stabilised) is going to be mad.  All the cheap tank rushing tactics are easily countered, and it’s impossible to completely eliminate an opponent until the end of a match.

The game is due out in March, but if you can get hold of a beta key I highly recommend having a go.

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3FL Servers for Battlefield: Bad Company 2

We expect the beta client to be released shortly.  If it’s available on Steam, our WA server will very likely have a copy.  We’ll also be putting the standalone client up on the 3FL download page as soon as we can get our hands on it.

Now I just need a beta key really..

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