DescentWorld 7-26-99
Interceptor
The weekly newsletter from DescentWorld.com
http://www.DescentWorld.com
Vol. 1, No. 9
July 26, 1999
Greetings from the Internet's Descent information source!
Welcome to all of our new subscribers!
Thanks in advance for recommending our E-zine / newsletter to your friends
and associates. Our subscriber base continues to soar and we appreciate your
help!
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There is always something going on and we always let you know what it is!
This edition is packed with info!
Interceptor - Webmaster
(Unsubscribe instructions are at the bottom of this newsletter.)
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CONTENTS
1. Developer's Corner
2. Feature Story
3. Recent News
4. Contests & Tournaments
5. Reader Poll
6. Descent News
7. FreeSpace News
8. Pilots License
9. How to subscribe / unsubscribe to our newsletter
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1. Developer's corner
Jeff Slutter from Outrage just posted a new tutorial at
www.warpcore.org/~d3sdk/ . It deals with mixing OSIRIS into a multiplayer
mod, and the basics of OSIRIS object scripting. In the mod I create a simple
multiplayer bot (don't expect anything smart with this guy) using the Black
Pyro (from Level 4 fame).
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2. Feature Story
ZoneAlarm
Zone Labs announces the immediate availability of ZoneAlarm
http://www.zonelabs.com/zonealarm.htm , the Internet security utility that
lets users closely track and monitor applications' Internet use.
With ZoneAlarm users can discover how and when applications use the
Internet. Its advanced Internet Lock features give users control of their
Internet connection.
ZoneAlarm offers protection for individual computers from attacks and
information theft over the Internet. Zone Alarm is much easier to use than
traditional firewalls and is an ideal security product for home users. Just
download a free copy now.
We installed ZoneAlarm on our systems and found it to do everything that it
says it will do. It is a good solution for those of us that live on the
Internet. You can download it and find out more at:
http://www.zonelabs.com/download_za.htm
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3. Recent News
Descent 3 Audio Taunt Archive
Here you can post or download Audio Taunts for Descent 3 Multiplayer. Audio
Taunts are played when you set them to use in Descent 3 by going in to your
Multiplayer options and importing .WAV sounds (or you can import a .OSF
file. Currently our auto-uploading format of this page is not done, so if
you would like to submit any taunts please e-mail them to
ora...@gamestats.com . Also, with some browsers, you may have to "Save
Target As" on the file downloads.
Check it out at: http://descent.gamestats.com/D3/taunts/index.shtml
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Tip of the day:
To run multiple Descent 3 servers on one machine you must specify the
following two command line parameters:
-tempdir [directory]
-gamespyport [port num]
where [directory] is an empty directory not being used where D3 can store
some temp files. and [port num] is the port number for D3 to listen to
GameSpy on. - Jeff Slutter "Outrage"
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4. Contests & Tournaments
Interplay and Peter Telep bring you the Descent: Equinox Contest.
This contest will be dedicated to Robert Berzins of Interplay Productions.
Peter Telep continues to support the Descent community with book after book
and contest after contest. Check out Peters web site for the up to the
minute information about this contest and others.
http://www.earth-netone.com/descentequinoxcontest.htm
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5. Reader Poll
I have received overwhelming responses to have the poll in a online version.
You will no longer have to email your results in. Starting this week you
will be able to post and view your results online. More about that in the
next newsletter (or check our website)
Results of last week's poll
What is your "idea" for the max amount of people that should be allowed on a
multiplayer game like Descent 3 on PXO? We run our servers set to 8 people,
others have them set to other values. We want your feedback!
a) 4 people - 6%
b) 8 people - 76%
c) 12 people - 3%
d) 16 people - 5%
e) Other - 10%
100% based on 2197 responses.
Send your poll to mailto:inter...@DescentWorld.com?subject=Poll and let
us know your vote.
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6. Descent News
Jason Leighton to Leave Outrage
Jason updated his devnotes today with some not-so-good news:
This is my second to last devnote update. Why? Because I'm packing my bags
and moving to northern California. I've lived in Michigan most of my life
and now its time to move on. My last day at Outrage will be Friday, August
6th. After that I'll be found in the employ of Infogrames North America.
Once I get some more info on email and such I'll post it here in case anyone
needs to get in contact with me.
We wish Jason all the luck in the world! You can keep up to date with what
Jason is doing here: http://www.outrage.com/notes/Jason.html
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How to play Entropy in Descent 3 - by Tman tbmi...@easystreet.com
Entropy is a type of game that you may have tried to play, but were so
confused (the manual is basically worthless on explaining this) you might
have left. Here are the basics so that now you understand what is going on!
1. There are three types of bases each team owns:
a. Virus Centers - This is where the viri are made. If all your virus
centers are taken, one of the other bases will be converted into a viri
center and if so, it cannot be unconverted (you can re-take it, but it will
remain a viri center)
b. Repair Centers (wrench & cross in the room). This will repair your
shields to 100 much like a energy center (it goes slowly and you get a
similar sound) -> When you're getting low on shields, visit this place to
get back up to 100.
c. Energy centers - Where you get energy
2. Your goal is to "capture" ALL the bases of your enemy. You do this by
carrying at least 5 viri (that you get from YOUR virus center) to THEIR base
and STAY COMPLETELY STILL for 3 seconds. (a counter will begin counting down
to zero).
3. In order for you to carry virus, you need to kill people WITHOUT GETTING
KILLED. If you kill one person, you can carry 2 viri. If you kill two
people, you can carry 4 and so on. This is called CARRYING CAPACITY and your
CURRENT Capacity & Load is noted under the team stats displayed on the right
hand portion of the screen during play.
SPECIAL NOTE: Here is the kicker--> in order for you to take over a base,
which means you must carry at least 5, you must kill at least three other
pilots WITHOUT BEING KILLED. Once you get killed, you start over.
4. You can pick up viri whenever you get a kill, but you can't take over a
base until you have at least 5.
5. You can re-take one of your bases that the other team has captured by
carrying 5 of your viri to that base and staying still for 3 seconds.
6. The game ends when either time runs out or one team is successful in
capturing all the enemies' bases.
Hopefully now you'll know about the game & be able to understand what it is
all about. Definitely on the "A" list of types of games to be played if you
like strategy instead of just killing other pilots.
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DescentWorld Servers
Here is a quote from one of our readers:
Hey Interceptor!
"I just finished playing Descent 3 on one of the DescentWorld Servers."
"It had the very best levels and the games ran just great. I really enjoyed
the game and plan on going back often. And you can print that in your next
newsletter as a quote from CyberCop"!
Thanks CyberCop! We run up to 6 dedicated servers for Descent 3 right now.
It is great to have positive feedback. All of our servers show up on the
GameSpy network and on PXO's game lists.
Catch you online! - Interceptor
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7. FreeSpace News
The FreeSpace 2 web site, http://www.freespace2.com has been relaunched!
Check out the new look today!
We're also pleased to announce the launch of the Volition Bulletin Board.
Fans are encouraged to actively participate and post on this board. Volition
employees will also be participating!
http://www.volition-inc.com/cgi-bin/ultimate.cgi
Adam Pletcher at Volition has let us know that there is a OEM version of
FreeSpace called Darkness Rising. It's bundled with lots of hardware & new
computers.
To get the fully featured game, you'll have to buy FreeSpace from your local
retailer, or from any online software store. So if a friend tells you that
he has this version of FreeSpace, he is telling you the truth!
There is a glowing preview of FreeSpace 2 written by Thomas Crymes today on
CNN interactive. http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9907/22/freespace.idg/
Mike Mengler's FreeSpace 2 preview is available at exxtreme3D.
http://www.exxtreme3d.com/reviews/freespace2pre/
There is an interview with FreeSpace 2's producer, Jim Boone, on PC Paradox.
http://www.pcparadox.com/Interviews/Freespace2/Freespace2.shtml
"... this game has the best sense of scale we've ever since in a space
shooter to date."
FreeSpace 2 is currently the feature preview at PC.IGN.COM. The preview has
information about FreeSpace 2's features, ships, and also has numerous
screenshots. http://pc.ign.com/previews/12033.html
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FreeSpace 2 Preview:
Check out http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/27.html for the latest information
about this eagerly awaited sequel.
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8. DescentWorld "Official" Pilots License
The BEST place on the Internet to find other pilots!
Don't get caught flying without a license. All Pilots should register with
DescentWorld for an Official Flying License. CyberCop is out on patrol and
has already made a few arrests. Those who resisted were shot down on sight!
To get your Official Flying License from DescentWorld, you need to create an
account to become a Licensed Pilot. Click on the link below and get your
license today before it's too late!
http://www.descentworld.com/pilot_license.html
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9. How to subscribe/unsubscribe to our newsletter:
You are receiving this DescentWorld Newsletter because we have received a
subscription request for your email address, or because
someone you know has sent it to you. To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE to this or
other newsletters, please visit us at this link:
http://www.DescentWorld.com/dwnews.html
*A technical note for our readers*
If you get an error page when you click links in this newsletter, please try
copying the entire link (including the ".html") and then pasting it into
your browser's URL field. There are a variety of email clients in use by our
subscribers, and because each client handles links differently, broken links
sometimes occur. We are working on solving this issue and appreciate your
patience.
--
Tim Favreau
A.K.A. Interceptor
ICQ 1133660
http://www.DescentWorld.com