F R E E P L A Y ! Multiplayer Internet Gaming Newsletter Vol 1.12 - Dec 16, 1996 Home Page - http://freeplay.home.ml.org Archives - ftp://ftp.etext.org/Pub/Zines/FreePlay (also at WWW site) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Murphy's Law of Lag: You will always freeze as soon as you need to avoid something. Murphy's Second Law of Lag: No matter how lagged you are, you can always be lagged more. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Editor - Mark Shnayer Associate Editor - Scott Grattan Copy Editor - Leann Shnayer (no email id yet, im working on it :) Reporter - Andy Hartwell Webmaster - Orog Ork Sections ----------- Announcement - Goodbye Geocities and we got TWO FTP sites. Editorial - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Rambling On - By Scott Grattan. Gaming News - All the multiplayer news you can use. Hot Links - Bookmark these now! Resources - To make multiplayer gaming a heck of a lot easier Updates - Take old bugs out, put new ones in. Previews - The Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Review. PBEM Games - Play By Email Games Online Games - Multiplayer Internet Games you can play NOW Humor - Something to make you laugh while you are gaming Details - How to subscribe, back issues, legal junk ************************************************************************ Announcement ------------ We have a new copy editor! -------------------------- After re-reading and spellchecking this newsletter three hundred and eight nine times (but, who's counting), I have drafted my wife into becoming our official Copy Editor. She says "under protest" because he is NEVER getting off the &#(^%$ computer otherwise! Among her other duties are rubbing my sore back from leaning over and staring at the computer monitor for hours on end! Goodbye to Geocities. --------------------- The FreePlay WWW site is moving to Dragonfire. The new address will be http://www.dragonfire.net/~freeplay It will hopefully be up there early January. It would have been there already but they just suffered a major disk crash. (on Friday the Thirteenth, wouldn't ya know, with me in the middle of uploading my html stuff for my WWW pages!). Once they replace their crashed ftp drive I will archive the FreePlay newsletters at my anon ftp site there and get the FreePlay WWW site up There will also be a mirror ftp at ftp.etext.org just in case. But keep your bookmark set to http://freeplay.home.ml.org As soon as the WWW stuff is moved to the .org URL will automagically send you to the new and improved FreePlay home page. FreePlay Newsletter is now archived at ftp.etext.org --------------------------------------------------- Issues #1 thru #9 of the FreePlay Newsletter in .zip format are now available at ftp.etext.org. Click on ftp://ftp.etext.org/Pub/Zines/FreePlay if your email reader supports clicking on URL's or using your favorite ftp client go to the above. I will be uploading issues Vol1.10, 1.11, and 1.12 shortly. ************************************************************************ Editorial - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! --------- Isn't anybody RELEASING any multiplayer games??? It is getting damn hard to find recently released online games. Instead, the preview section of this newsletter has overtaken the online game section! It used to be Microsoft was THE company to hype their software years in advance with previews and rumors and private beta tests. They were accused of issuing vaporware, rumors, and press releases just to try to control or stop other companies from developing in a specific market till they got their product released. Now, its every and all the gaming companies pulling the same stunt. If this keeps up I will have to rename the newsletter to the FreePlay Preview of Multiplayer Games newsletter! We are taking a Holiday Break, so no issue on Dec 30. The next issue of the FreePlay newsletter will go out January 13,1997. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! ************************************************************************ Rambling On - By Scott Grattan. http://www.gj.net/~scotti ------------------------- Well, I finally got tired of putting together web pages for other people and get something up for myself. If you are looking for something entirely unexciting, this is the place to go! I haven't had much time to put into it, but I'll be working on it, so check in a month or so. If it still hasn't changed, please email me and tell me to get my ass moving on it. Diablo has hit the shelves in some areas, but not here. I've got every store in town on auto-dial, in case they forget to call me when it comes in. If you've got it, I'm jealous. Magic: The Gathering has been a much anticipated item, and MicroProse finally managed to squeeze out a demo! I think the competition they're getting from Acclaim to release M:TG is lighting a much-needed fire under their butts, and hopefully we'll see something before Christmas. Read more about it in my reviews in this issue (in the online gaming section). Computer Player, a magazine (you people DO still read, don't you?) is a mag that I never really paid much attention to until recently. They're getting better and better about their reviews and content of articles. Now, they're changing their name to Computer & NET PLAYER, and as far as I know they're the first to claim NET gaming savvy-ness (a word? it is now!). I found myself agreeing with MOST of their reviews, and they manage to get some real juicy stuff dug up. In addition to changing their name, they're also allying themselves with OGR (online gaming review (http://www.ogr.com)), a well-known source of information when it comes to up and coming gaming news. Check them both out! SkyNET has been taking quite a bit of my time lately. If you checked out Future Shock, and weren't impressed, join the club. But SkyNET has a lot more playability, and is net-able! I haven't found anyone to play yet, but when I do, I'm sure I'll have to sacrifice even more of my sleep /eat/work time. Between everything else that's coming out, we're going to have to start lobbying for longer hours in the day! If you do have SkyNET, here's a few things for ya to try: SkyNET Cheat Codes ------------------ Hit ALT and \ at the same time to be able to enter these codes: GARBLE Garble cheat codes toggle SUPERUZI Get the Super UZI ICANTSEE Show viewscreen WHOAMI Shows your name COUNTERS Shows current co-ordinates VERSION Shows version HELLO Shows message: Hello? If you're REALLY bored, try shooting the moon. Those guys at Bethesda must have a lot of free time on their hands! Go to their homepage (http://www.bethsoft.com) for the latest patch. No more dying from sliding! Well, time to get back to acting like I'm working. Next time I'll have something to say about Diablo (didn't I say that last time?), as well as a bunch of other things that are looming on the horizon. '97 is going to be an awesome year for games, but I'm sure I'll wind up having to buy all kinds of neat gizmos for them too. Such is the burden we gamers face, but the ride is worth the price of admission! ************************************************************************ Gaming News - All the multiplayer news you can use. ----------- Happy Puppy http://happypuppy.com ---------------------- A web site for video game players, last Wednesday Happy Puppy announced it will shift its editorial coverage to focus exclusively on consumer gamers. Coverage of the gaming business, of interest primarily to people within the gaming industry, will be discontinued. (FreePlay: the heck with them , I hate all that yellow background on their WWW pages, and I *HATE* the way the left frame is constantly pushing banner ads and other ads in your face.) Programmer fired for unauthorized content in computer game ---------------------------------------------------------- 12/06/96 - 10:03 AM ET By The Associated Press_ SAN FRANCISCO - Buxom beauties are fine but buff hunks aren't, a gay programmer discovered when he got fired for adding some muscle men in swim trunks to a computer game. Jacques Sevrin, who worked at Maxis Inc., slipped the unauthorized characters - who kiss each other on some days - into the new action game SimCopter, a follow-up to the popular SimCity 2000 game. In the new game, players fly rescue missions through a complex 3-D city with tiny characters in the background. "The artist that was working on it made them these standard female computer-game bimbos, really skimpy shorts, big breasts - what you'd expect," Sevrin said Wednesday. The male figures were "really dumpy, little squat middle-aged types," he said, so he threw in some beefcakes. The game was released Nov. 20 and 78,000 copies were shipped before the company discovered the additions. Sevrin was fired the next day for "adding the unauthorized content," a violation of company policy, Maxis spokesman Patrick Buechner said. The additions also went unnoticed by even hard-core devotees of the game, said WiredNews, an on-line news service that first reported Sevrin's firing. New versions of the game, which will ship starting next week, won't contain the hunks. Sevrin, 33, said since the company doesn't object to images of scantily clad women, studly men also should be allowed. He said there was nothing overtly sexual about his characters. "These boys in swim trunks just walk around - very rarely, I might add - except on certain days of the year," he said. On those dates, which the program automatically reads based on the computer's internal calendar, include Friday the 13th and Sevrin's birthday, Sept. 30, as well as Aug. 22, his ex- boyfriend's birthday. "On those days, all kinds of things happen. There will be boys kissing, there will be a greater number of bimbos, there will be Elvis impersonators. It's really hilarious," he said. Despite being fired, Sevrin said Walnut Creek-based Maxis was a fine employer and he never felt any homophobia at the company. "I didn't do it out of anger, just kind of 'Why not?' I can't quite figure out why they would be so angry. It's not a game for kids, it's for 20-year-olds, " he said. "But you put gay and kids anywhere in the same sentence and people explode." ************************************************************************ Hot Links - Bookmark these now! --------- Command & Conquer - Red Alert -=Data Downlink=- http://health2.uwsp.edu/c&c/DataDownlink/RedAlert/ Submitted by Orog Ork -------------------------------------------------- This area is dedicated to information resources on Red Alert. It has a message board, file area, scenarios and utilities to download, and just about everything and anything to do with Westwood's Red Alert. The Cheater's Guild http://www.thecheatersguild.com/ -------------------------------- The Cheater's Guild Motto I came, I tried, I lost, I tried again, I cheated, I won. This is simply the best and most up to date WWW cheat page for multiplayer and other games it has been my pleasure to surf into. The Quake Weenie Tactics Site http://www.msn.fullfeed.com/~agiesler/quake ------------------------------------------- Bullies kicking sand in your face? Whomped more often than you whomp? Wonder why you spend so much time lying on the ground looking up at other Quake players as they run by? From the author of the Descent Weenie Tactics Site, the Quake Weenie Tactics Site will help you to move yourself from utter humiliation to mere embarrassment. Tactics, statistics, console basics, and more. We're growing, so stop by and submit your Quake deathmatch tips. "You know... you suck a little less than you used to." Can't you hear it already? Quad City http://www.mind.net/worksj/quake/mainmenu.htm --------------------------------------------- The most complete guide for Quake on the Internet. Almost everything you could ever want to know about setting quake up for network, and local playing. Step by step instructions make it simple enough to get anyone fragging along in no time. The Official Doom FAQ http://sync.mpx.com.au/wizards-lair/MAC/doom/index.html ------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the post-release v5.7 of the "Official" DOOM FAQ. ************************************************************************ Resources - To make multiplayer gaming a heck of a lot easier --------- Audssey Mailing List http://www.psnw.com/~henrich/00-index.txt ----------------------------------------- Audyssey is a mailing list for the Audyssey Gaming Magazine. The bimonthly publication offers reviews and information about games that are usable by the blind, i.e., text-based games. You do not, however, have to be blind to join the list. if you are interested in nongraphical games, by all means, subscribe to the list. The list is a one-way list. Only the magazine and administrative messages will be sent to its subscribers. The magazine is edited by Michael Feir. To subscribe, send a message to jmeddaug@cris.com with the words 'subscribe audyssey' in the subject or body. Note that this is not a listserv address and that several other lists are run through this address. Thanks to Paul Henrichson , you can download back issues at: http://www.psnw.com/~henrich/00-index.txt SHAREGAMES on Sonic@Fan.net --------------------------- SHAREGAMES is an unmoderated, games distribution list. There will be games distributed almost everyday but at least once a week. People who belong to the list are welcome to contribute games to the list. This is a shareware games list, everything possible will be done to stop any commercial game from being passed through the list but since this is an unmoderated list, there are no guarantees that this type of activity will never occur on the list. People can also talk about new and old games out there. If you really like games, then this is a list for you. To subscribe to SHAREGAMES, send email to Sonic@Fan.net and in the subject and body of the message, place the line SUB SHAREGAMES your-email-address For example: SUB SHAREGAMES luke@isp.net ************************************************************************ Updates - Take old bugs out, put new ones in ------- Links LS Patch http://www.accesssoftware.com/patch.html ---------------------------------------- Links LS update version 1.30 now available! CHANGES AND FIXES IN LINKS LS VERSION 1.30 Fixed a sound library edit bug. Fixed a bug introduced by ver 1.10 that stopped the Links LS icon from working correctly. Fixed a 'view saved shot' bug. Fixed a rare ball flight bug caused by a FIFO buffer overflow. Made a change to allow a 9 hole match play game to finish as soon as the winner is determined. Pirates - The Quest for The Seas http://www.mountainside.com/ -------------------------------- Originally reported in Issue #4, the game has been updated. The next version of PIRATES is: Version 2.0 (NO LONGER A BETA!!!) It will be released on or before: December 15, 1996 Some of the features that will be included in this new version are: Ability to BUILD YOUR OWN SHIP, name it and customize it the way you like it! Trade cargo space for firepower, trade crew for cannons, increase the speed and visibility, add an iron hull for strength, and more! Improved battles! Movie clips instead of moving cannon balls! Ships will have "hit points" instead of simply judging the victor by the number of cannons they have. Each battle will have a cannon round and a crew round.... Ability to navigate the directories on your PC when opening / creating PIRATES files. No longer will it be necessary to place all your PIRATES files in your PIRATES directory! Ability to store treasure in a fort of the territories that you govern. No more losing EVERTHING when someone pillages your ship! You will be able to order your crew to attack any ship that passes by when it's not your turn. This will allow you to barricade certain territories, or just become a real menace to society. When attacking a ship and you lose, the winning player's ship will suffer some damage. Also, you can do damage to a fort even when you lose. Smarter computer players...you'll even be able to tell the game whether you want the computer players to be able to attack each other, or whether they form an "alliance". This should make them a lot tougher! Plutonium PAK v1.4 to v1.5 Patch http://www.apogee1.com/catalog/duke3d/dukefix.htm#pak15 ------------------------------------------------------- Please note that if you do not already have the Plutonium PAK v1.4 CD-ROM, you cannot use this patch. On December 12th, 3D Realms released the Plutonium PAK v1.5 patch. This small update to v1.4 fixes some bugs in the game, as well as corrects an install program problem for people with computers that have 64Mb of memory or more. This file is available right now!. You can download it here!. Please note that this will only update a game that has already been updated with the Plutonium PAK. If you do not already have the Plutonium PAK CD-ROM, this patch is not for you. SubSpace by Virgin Interactive Entertainment (review by Scott Grattan) http://www.vie.com/subspace --------------------------- Another version has been released, and with it several new arenas! Most of the changes are purely cosmetic, with new artwork for all the ships. Two new arenas have been added, so there's sure to be something to keep you happy in the SubSpace universe. Here's what the latest news.txt has to say. ----------------------------------------------------------- Version 119. -New ship graphics. (new web art available for those with sites) -New help/tutorial screens. -Teammates now give you no points if you kill them. -Suicides now impossible but you CAN damage yourself severely. -Packetloss scheme implemented to even out connections. This should allow people with bad connections to stay logged on in all but FLAG ZONES. -Names containing naughty words now blocked ,you bad people :) -Flags now do not appear until after the first minute you enter the game. -Subspace.exe now separated from art & sound files. I future revs this will allow for much smaller updates. -In some zones you will get a %of you own bounty added to your kill(10-20%). This is an incentive to stay alive with high bounty. -Packetloss is now much more tolerant for spectators. -loads of bug fixes as per usual. And here's the info on new zones: SPEED ZONE This new zone is for the player who does not have much time but wants to be able to win a game. The game lasts for 1 hour and after that time the person with the highest score wins. In this game the following commands are available.?time = time left in game ?best = your personal best. To speed up gameplay players start with 30 bounty in this zone. When you enter game or the game ends your score is reset but your best is recorded. These bests will be posted in the biweekly winners table. TURF ZONE (this one will take some fine tuning) This strategic zone is similar to the game "risk" in concept. 200 fixed flags are distributed around the map. 20 man teams compete to grab and defend territory. Every 10 mins or so you get points depending on how many flags your team owns. The map is designed to be able to make defensive "fronts" thus good squads (even small ones) can stake out their turf and defend it. We hope that this game will be a good start for ownership subgames. We will see. Webgames http://www.eden.com/~springer(W,W95) http://www.eden.com/~springer/download/gammon10.zip(download) --------------------------------------------------- Webgames BACKGAMMON is ready to play ! If you already have Webgames v2.2 with Hearts you can simply download the backgammon client Unzip it and run setup.exe If you don't have v2.2 then go to www.eden.com/~springer/download and follow the instructions to first install the basic system with Hearts and then get the add-on game Backgammon. CRIBBAGE will be the next game available on Dec 30, 1996 In the news... Webgames Online will be joining the company Network Entertainment Inc. Our web page will be moving (and getting a much needed facelift !) soon and you'll be able to find it at http://www.igames.com More new games & features on the way in January and February including: o Chess o Checkers o Private Conference Rooms with generic role playing game support o Bulletin Boards that you can create & manage yourself o A Face Builder! For those of you who remember the ImagiNation Network (tm) and our "toons" you'll be happy to know we'll have something very similar (but better & faster of course) for constructing a unique face & upper body that others can see whenever they point the windows cursor at your name in the Webgames Chat Room. ************************************************************************ Previews - The Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Review. -------- Air Warrior II (W95) http://www.imagicgames.com/aw2.dir/aw2.html ------------------------------------------- From Interactive Magic and Kesmai Air Warrior II is the single-player game specifically designed by Kesmai Corporation to bring to stand-alone gamers the winning tactics and strategies played out every night online with Air Warrior. This is the opportunity gamers have been waiting for: a chance to join the squadrons who've been flying the unfriendly Air Warrior skies since 1987. Now you can practice maneuvers and fly with the same skill and strategies that real-life fighter pilots use. Air Warrior II gives players the tactical flight practice and exposure to various aircraft options they need to defeat even the most seasoned online veteran. Air Warrior II includes more than 25 historic aircraft to fly in over 100 detailed missions spanning three eras: WWI, WWII, and the Korean War. Air Warrior II features single-player and head-to-head modem play, as well as online multiplayer access. Fly over 25 combat aircraft in more than 100 detailed single-player missions Introductory training level makes Air Warrior II accessible to everyone Authentic, dynamic flight models recreate the warplanes of WWI, WWII and Korea with incredible realism Multiple screen resolutions up to 1024 by 768. Single-player, head-to-head modem, and online play System Requirements Windows 95 486DX/50 Mhz CPU or faster SVGA video card 2X or faster CD-ROM drive 8 Mb RAM Supports most popular joysticks Supports most popular sound cards Taking flight in Early '97! Blood (Dos,W,W95) http://www.blood.com -------------------- Blood will immerse you in a world of horror unlike any you've experienced before. Brace yourself for a nightmarish battle against the bloodthirsty minions of an ancient, forgotten god bent on wiping humanity from the face of the earth. As a former member of the Cabal, you have a good idea of what you're up against, and the odds aren't in your favor. But the hunger for revenge can be a powerful ally--and you've got some old debts to settle. System Requirements unknown at this time. (FreePlay: There's been a lot of hype that like Unreal, this will be the next Quake killer) Claw Homepage (W95) http://www.captainclaw.com/ --------------------------- Claw is the world's first up-to-256-player, internet capable, arcade-style action adventure game for the PC!!! The networking in Claw is REVOLUTIONARY. We can't give you all the details right now, but when we release a demo, you'll see what we mean. We can tell you that the networking in Claw is DirectPlay based, which means you'll be able to play Claw over a lan, on the net, or head-to-head via a modem--all through Windows 95 and DirectX. You'll also be able to find other players in our Claw Game Lobby, so hooking up for a multiplayer game takes all of about 10 seconds. Multiplayer online gaming has never been this easy or this fun. Trust us. General Gameplay Features Claw is a high-res (640x480 256 color) arcade-style action adventure that runs under Windows 95 and utilizes DirectX technology for superior performance. Claw features 16 levels, nearly 50 enemies, and close to 20 minutes of hand-drawn animated cutscenes. Interactive Football League (Play By Email) (W,Mac,Amiga) http://www.team17.com/cgi-bin/ifl-idx.pl ---------------------------------------- Interactive Football League (or IFL to it's friends) is a new development from The Games Room, the multi-player games division of Team 17 and RW Software, one of the worlds leading play-by-mail companies. It's a football management game, but it's not like any other football management sim you may have come across. Instead of playing against a badly programmed computer controlled manager, IFL lets you play against other real people. Instead of playing for no reward, you could win big cash prizes... What sets IFL apart from the rest is that you are in full control of all aspects of your team and make all the key decisions affecting its performance. The client software comes with a hassle-free graphics user-interface (take a peek at the screenshots) with plenty of help pages and tutorials to guide you along. Expert or beginner, you'll find the game both challenging and fun to play. You can either play over the Internet, or by disk. Launch: Early 1997 Platforms: PC, Mac & Amiga Interactive Magic's iF22 ASF (W95) http://www.imagicgames.com/f22.dir/f22.html -------------------------------------------- The Definitive Simulation of the F-22 Air Superiority Fighter The Lockheed-Boeing F-22 Lightning II -- the most lethal jet fighter ever designed. Combining advanced stealth capabilities with superior dogfighting and air-to-ground strike capability, this multi-role fighter will dominate the skies of the 21st century. Only an elite few will have the chance to fly the F-22 ... and you can be one of them! Features Over 250,000 square miles of photorealistic terrain rendered from real satellite photos and elevation data of Bosnia, Ukraine, and Kuwait Truly dynamic campaign system -- never the same missions twice Active Cockpit -- on-screen switches and controls are not just for looks, they're fully functional Instant action, single mission, and campaign play Huge variety of planes and vehicles, all actively participating in the ground and air war Multiple levels of difficulty for novices and aces alike Modem and network support -- declare war on your friends! System Requirements Windows 95 Pentium processor SVGA video card 2X or faster CD-ROM drive 16 Mb RAM Taking flight in Early '97! Interactive Magic's Great Battles of Alexander (W95) http://www.imagicgames.com/alexander.dir/alexander.html ------------------------------------------------------- Part One of the Ancient Battles Series From Interactive Magic and Erudite Software It begins here... The armies of ancient Greece are amassed against you. On the rocky battle plain at Charonaea, you and your father stand against seemingly insurmountable odds. Defeat will doom you to obscurity. Victory will herald the beginning of the most spectacular military campaign in history, one that will carry you from Greece to Africa and Asia. The entire known world can be yours to conquer! Features Spans Alexander's entire career from Prince of Macedonia to conqueror of the Western world Every unit fully animated in movement and combat -- see and hear them come to life (and death!) 10 stand-alone battles plus a campaign game in one package Detailed artwork and accurate battle simulations true to the era of Alexander Real, detailed units like the Macedonian Phalanx and Indian War Elephant Solo and multiplayer options --match wits with your friends via modem, local network, and the Internet System Requirements: Windows 95, 486DX2/66 MHz processor or faster, 8 Mb RAM (16 Mb recommended), SVGA video card, 2X or faster CD-ROM drive, Supports most popular sound cards. Conquering your world in Early '97! Into the Void (W,W95,Play By Email) http://www.playmatestoys.com/pages/pie/itv.htm ---------------------------------------------- Into the Void is a space strategy game that allows players to build their empire by exploring remote star systems, colonizing new exotic worlds, and building fleets of starships. Along the path of conquest, alien races will make contact and try to prevent your civilization's rise. Increase your technology by researching. As your technology grows, so too will your reach into the stars. The dark uncharted reaches of space are yours for the taking. At risk is your entire civilization. As you venture...Into The Void. With the development of the first rudimentary "Hyperspace Portal", faster -than light space travel has become a reality. You must create a galactic empire by building fleets of starships. Exploring remote star systems and colonizing new exotic worlds. But your are not alone. Other races in the galaxy have the same desires. In the race to populate worlds you must choose from a number of different options. You may need mighty forces to fend off an enemy attack or to take another planet by military force. Perhaps powerful negotiation would produce better results? A statesman's approach may also be useful...or perhaps covert espionage. The ultimate success of your race depends on you. Fully networkable for up to ten players via local area networks or the internet, through e-mail. Super VGA Graphics with high resolution 3-D rendered starships and facilities, combined with challenging strategic gameplay. Create a galactic empire by designing and building fleets of starships to explore remote stars and colonize new worlds. (No hardware specs or playable demo available at this time). Myth (W95,MAC) http://www.bungie.com/prpages/myth.html --------------------------------------- Bungie PULLS THE LID OFF...Myth A river of blood runs through it CHICAGO, IL - December 5, 1996 - What does a company known for 3D, first-person action games do when they want to make a game depicting the clash of armies, the wheeling of formations and the savagery of melee? They make Myth. Bungie's upcoming game Myth is the first example of a fully multimetric realtime tactical game, and it will stun gamers with the full-on experience of epic battle. Free of a static isometric view, Myth players orbit around the heads of their units, zoom in for a closeup on a melee, pan past a long column of troops and fly over the landscape in any direction. The action takes place in a world of truly 3D terrain and objects. From the moment players see drifting clouds reflected in the water or the ground ripple and deform from the shockwave of an explosion, they will know they are in a place no computer game has gone before. The gameplay focusses on tactics. Instead of spending time collecting resources and building up structures and armies, players command groups of units who are thrust into battle with enemy forces. Mastery of formations and disciplined unit movement is critical to survival, where large scale maneuvers end with the fury of hand to hand combat. Myth depicts the carnage of the battlefield in all its awful glory, with fountains of blood coating the landscape, heads rolling down hills and chunks of meat and bone flying through the air trailing goreŅall according to the most detailed and realistic physics model of any game on the market. Cross-platform networking will allow players to battle with small strike teams or mighty legions, while Bungie's MetaServer makes playing over the Internet as easy as over the office LAN. Myth will include maps designed specifically for network play, and alternate networking scenarios like Assassin, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill and more. The game is easily customized with a user-programmable scripting language based on Java(TM) that will allow users to write their own scripts to reprogram monsters, change game constants, even change the rules of netgames. Myth will require a Pentium with Windows(R) 95 or PowerPC running Mac(TM) OS, 16-bit color and a CD-ROM drive. The game will be released in 1997. This is the only accurate information available about its release date. For the latest on Myth, stay tuned to www.bungie.com. The Tone Rebellion (W,W95) http://www.tonerebellion.com/ ----------------------------- They say it is darkest before the dawn. The Tone Rebellion provides no exception as you start out alone and isolated, struggling for deliverance on one of the 15 remaining islands. As a floater, you begin mining Tone, rebuilding bases and resources for the ensuing battle for deliverance from the hands of the Leviathan. The Leviathan immediately seeks to defeat the resurgent clans. If you are successful, your efforts will lead to the discovery of mystical links to other lands where you'll find other floater species. Cooperating with other floater clans, you will be able to build on each other's strengths to further your cause against the Leviathan. And yet, the Leviathan's strength grows with each success you achieve and the dawn is still a distant dream. With superior animation, incredibly detailed graphics and a powerful original sound track, The Tone Rebellion promises to surpass other real time strategy games. This, combined with a multiplayer option, makes The Tone Rebellion a sure thing for gamers seeking a new age of entertainment. Requirements not available at this time. Ask for The Tone Rebellion starting in April, 1997. ************************************************************************ PBEM Games - Play By Email Games ---------- Electronic Knockout - An Internet Boxing Game(any WWW browser) http://www.vivi.com/eko/ ------------------------ Electronic Knock Out, or "EKO", is a boxing simulation game run over the Internet. You create fictional fighters and manage their careers. You begin by creating a stable of fighters. Different fighters have different abilities. You keep "re-rolling" a fighter until you get a set of abilities you like. Then you give him a name, a description, and tell him how to fight in each bout. Every weekend your fighters are matched against other players' fighters. You are notified 5-7 days in advance so you can scout your opponents and devise strategies. All fights take place off-line -- you get the results by email. This includes a blow-by-blow account of the fight and how the fight was scored. Results of every fight are on-line and can be viewed with your web browser. There have been 13,485 bouts between 4,981 fighters managed by over 1,400 players! Every fight in EKO history, and every fighter ever created can be viewed on-line. Fighters are ranked in each weight division and each region. Your goal is to push your fighter as far up the rankings as possible and, ultimately, to create a "World Champion". Managers role play between bouts by issuing press releases. EKO is currently free. Each manager can manage up to three fighters. In the future, EKO will be partially commercialized -- each manager will be allowed to manage one fighter for free, but will be charged a fee for additional fighters. Saratoga-e - Star Trek Role Playing Game ---------------------------------------- saratoga-e on majordomo@columbia.phy.wfu.edu The list saratoga-e was formed with a new concept in RPG's (role playing games). The Final Frontier... The Klingons... A Space Station DS11... and the Saratoga-e. Saratoga-e is a RPG based on Star Trek. Many exciting things are always happening on the Saratoga. To subscribe write majordomo@columbia.phy.wfu.edu with the commmand subscribe saratoga-e There is no digest at this time. ************************************************************************ Online Games - Multiplayer Internet Games you can play NOW ------------ Armageddon (any Java capable browser) http://www.starbelly.com/armageddon/ ------------------------------------ Keep in mind that Armageddon is a two player game, so you might have to wait if there is not already an opponent waiting to play. (The longest you should ever have to wait is 13 minutes.) Once you login, you will be in the queue to play, so go ahead and play a single player game at Starbelly Gaming, the game will start when an opponent connects. Fallen Haven (W95) http://www.imagicgames.com/fhaven.dir/fhaven.html ftp://ftp.imagicgames.com/pub/demos/fhaven/fhdemo.exe(download) ------------------------------------- This is a playable demo of Fallen Haven. It is a self-extracting, self-installing archive. Just download the file and run it. The demo requires Windows 95, a 486/66, and 8MB RAM. A paradise lost ... two races at war ... and a world whose fate hangs in the balance The planet New Haven was supposed to be a paradise, an idyllic, peaceful new home for colonists from Old Earth. But that was before the wars broke out, before the provinces turned on one another ... and before the aliens arrived ... Fight your way through multiple scenarios, each spanning fifteen disputed territories. Wrest control of provinces from your enemy or from neutral forces, then develop your territory to gain wealth and power to fuel your war efforts. Build your might until you are ready to take the offensive and strike deep into the the heart of enemy territory -- capture the capital, and victory is yours! Features Strategic and tactical levels of gameplay Build structures, research technologies, and fight battles Play as humans or aliens, each with unique strengths and weaknesses 15 territories to conquer in each scenario. Interactive Magic has released a demo of Fallen Haven, its upcoming futuristic turn-based C&C-style strategy game. Magic: The Gathering for Windows '95 by Microprose (review by Scott Grattan) http://www.microprose.com/gamesdesign/magic/magic.html ------------------------------------------------------ Magic: The Gathering, based on Wizards of the Coast, Inc.šs popular trading card game of the same name, is now an interactive computer game. Not only can you duel the computer AI and fine-tune your decks, but a new Sid Meier-designed strategy card game environment provides an introduction for new players while challenging the most experienced Magic:The Gathering fans. The demo is available (14M), and the computer is a very worth opponent. However, it is rumored that this will not have the options to play online, which was going to be a big deal for all us M:TG players! I couldn't find any mention of this (to either confirm or deny), but I'll let you know when I do! However, MicroProse took too long, because someone else has come along to pick up the Magic gauntlet and accept the challenge... Magic: The Gathering - Battlemage by Acclaim (review by Scott Grattan) http://www.acclaimnation.com/acclaimnation/twitch/interactive/magic/MAGICinter.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ (how's that for an easy to remember URL?) A maniacal warmonger, Six powerful wizards, and legions of magical beasts.... Welcome to Magic: The Gathering - BattleMage A devastating planeswalker war rages across the continent of Corondor. Ravidel, a mighty planeswalker, has gone insane from grief and betrayal. He now seeks the destruction of all other planeswalkers and the conquest of the land itself. Sound good? Check out the URL above, and read the entire thing! It sounds like an incredible journey, with two modes of play available. The Duel mode allows up to four player (computer or human) to build decks and slug it out (via LAN, modem, or internet). Acclaim is porting this to the Sony Playstation and the Sega Saturn, and they can use split-screen to play. Although, how you keep someone from seeing your cards I can't imagine. The campaign mode allows you (a planeswalker) to conquer territories and acquire artifacts and spells, and to interact with "more than 90 beings from the Magic: The Gathering universe". I can tell you that (as a recently recovered M:TG'er, I'm more interested in the Acclaim version, simply for the multi-player and 'nettable aspect. MicroProse has taken entirely too long, even with the addition of Sid Meier to design their playing environment. I've been waiting for MicroProse to get this thing out for more than a year now. I didn't even KNOW Acclaim was working on something until just the last month, and they're saying it's being released this week! More on that later! Tsarwars http://204.194.39.10/ --------------------- Tsarwars is a multiuser, multiplayer, space/war/strategy game. Within the game there are only about 30 commands. Learning to play is easy. You will start out in a "sector" of space. That sector will connect to other sectors which you can enter by clicking on their sector numbers. You can dock at ports and make money trading. When you encounter other players you can attack them. You can build starbases and deploy fighters to guard sectors or spy on passersby -- or charge them tolls. You can travel to other galaxies via wormholes, pulsars, or hyperspace, and try to take one over, make it your personal kingdom, and defend it from other players. Or, you can wander the Universe like a nomad, going wherever the wormhole takes you, trading, gambling, and amassing your own personal fleet of fighters. You can enter into an alliance with others and attempt to rule the entire Universe.... Ultimate Warrior http://134.83.128.48/~empgdda/ad/uwhome.htm ------------------------------------------- Ultimate warrior is a new Strategic Weapons Combat Fighting Game. Set in the mid 14th century, your character battles for the right to fight the evil Warrior of Mukia. Although at first, it could be mistaken for a typical fighting game, that is far from the truth. This is one of the best 2D fighting game you will ever see or play. All our efforts have been built on previous experience to make this so. For example there are around 10 different warriors to choose from, however, weapons and amour can be changed, providing a net total of over 1000 (yes one thousand) different character configurations. Nobody has ever come even close to achieving this kind of feat in a fighting game. Gameplay has been given as much consideration as the graphics, each character has a novel move combo construction system which provides each one with over 120 different combo moves. This means that each character moves exactly how you would want it to and exactly when you want it to. The moves are all carefully designed to provide the best in gameplay and feel. Ultimate warrior is not just another fighting game. It is a unique concept incorporating a number of novel features, providing an original game experience which will undoubtedly prove popular amongst all game players. ************************************************************************ Humor - Something to make you laugh while you are gaming ----- (originally posted in Issue #4, but we have so many new subscribers who haven't seen this and I thought it was appropriate after the news release about the programmer who got fired from Maxis for putting those cute Easter eggs in the release of SimCopter Posted with permission from Corey Lewis Top Ten New Games That Maxis is Considering to Produce 10. Sim Vaporware - (to win you must spend months developing a game, while at the same time relentlessly advertising it, only to pull the plug when customer anticipation is peaked) 9. Sim NFL - (must get through 10 seasons without being busted for drugs, wife beating, solicitation of prostitutes, steroid abuse, DWI, or child molestation --- reportedly is going to be a very tough game.) 8. Sim Widget (become the world's largest and most powerful widget mogul.) 7. Sim Televangelest (speaks for itself) 6. Sim Solid Waste Treatment Facility (Dive in to this one and experience life at its most pungent) 5. Sim Park Ranger - (Yes, you too can live the exciting life of a Forest Park Ranger. Experience the surge of adrenaline as you ticket people for unlicensed fishing and for cutting trees for camp firewood.) 4. Sim Homeless - (Prowl the streets, and never worry about paying rent. Make decisions such as should I eat the Beets and Corn soup at the shelter? Or should I search the dumpster behind the Pizza Hut?) 3. Sim Porn Video Director - (see #7 above) 2. Sim Junk Yard - (organize ad campaigns to bring in loyal customers so they will see that your junk is better than the competition. Bonus points for recycling and separating plastics, glass, and aluminum.) 1. Sim City 2000 *Ghetto Edition* - (create the inner-city hell of your dreams. Gang shootings, turf wars, crack houses, government project housing facilities...all this and more. May be a "Crip" and "Blood" option for added replay value.) ************************************************************************ Details - How to subscribe, back issues, legal junk ------- All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Mention of a product in this publication does not necessarily imply endorsement of the product. How to write to FreePlay: Send your suggestions, comments, contributions to freeplay@snet.net How to get back issues: Back issues can be found at http://freeplay.home.ml.org or If possible get them there to preserve the sanity of the editor. You may request them thru email to freeplay@snet.net only if you do not have www access of any kind. One issue per email request please. This document is copyright 1996 by Mark Shnayer. Re-distribution of it by any means is both permitted and encouraged provided that such action is for strictly non-commercial purposes, the content remains whole, unedited and otherwise unmodified and this statement remains intact. Though not strictly required, you are asked to inform the author of any such distribution. Please send requests for permission to publish this commercially to freeplay@snet.net How to subscribe: Send email TO:Majordomo@marit.cypronet.com SUBJECT: TEXT: subscribe freeplay To remove yourself from the FreePlay mailing list, Send email TO:Majordomo@marit.cypronet.com SUBJECT: TEXT: unsubscribe freeplay