Multiplayer Test For Return To Castle Wolfenstein 375
Mandelbrot-5 writes "From the Activision Wolfenstein web site:
"The multiplayer test is OUT! You can find it at www.castlewolfenstein.com, www.gamespy.com, as well as a few other places. Here is a list of other mirrors in case you're among the many who are fighting to grab it:
FilePlanet
3D Gamers
Blue's News
Return to Castle Wolfenstein multiplayer pits players in a team-based Axis versus Allies contest for front-line domination, where multiple player classes must mobilize and work together to accomplish mission objectives. The multiplayer element of Return to Castle Wolfenstein is currently in development by Nerve Software with assistance from id Software and Gray Matter Interactive.'"
NEED MORE MIRRORS (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hmm... (Score:5, Insightful)
You really need to think hardware before you say such things.
System Requirements (Score:3, Insightful)
* Windows® 98/ME/2000/NT 4.0 (with Service Pack 3) OS
* 100% Windows 98/ME/2000/NT 4.0 compatible system (including all 32bit drivers)
* Intel Pentium® II 500Mhz processor or better
* 128 MB RAM
* 16 MB video card
* Microsoft® Direct X® 8.0a (not included)
* 70 MB free hard disk space for game files
* 100 MB free hard disk space for swap files
* 100% fully OpenGL® compliant 3-D video card
* For internet play, 100% Windows 95/98/ME/2000/NT 4.0 compatible 56.6k modem or better internet connection. 56.6k modem play is not recommended for games with more than 8 players total; broadband players should be able to handle up to 32 depending on their connection with the server on which they're playing.
Geeze, I'm still gaming on a Celeron 400 with Voodoo 3 3000. It's great for Unreal Tournament at 800 x 600, but I think RtCW is going to kill my system.
Will this be the next "big game" that will force users (er, gamers) to upgrade in order to bathe in it's FPS glory?
RtCW's potential goodness? (Score:4, Insightful)
Personally, I don't see a lot of potential for games like RtCW, and for that matter much of the future lineup of id-endorsed games (which now includes Quake IV as well as Doom 3) and a large part of the FPS genre as a whole (I'm singling out the id games mainly because they have a lot of publicity and they are the first to come to mind). I think these games might not be taking the genre in the right direction. Clearly there is a lot of interest in team-focused multiplayer shooters, like Counterstrike and Team Fortress, and I definitely see a lot of room for growth there, but I want to focus on pure first person shooters - the direct offspring of Doom and Quake. (Of course, RtCW has team-based multiplayer, but AFAIK it's pretty much just team DM rather than more heavy-duty TF type stuff - correct me if I'm wrong, in which case I'm sorry but I think my comments will still apply to other games..)
For most new games of any kind to succeed, they need some kind of hook - a reason to make me stop playing whatever game I'm currently playing and move on to the next of its kind. Graphics have of course been a big one in the past, as have innovative story-telling techniques as found in Half-Life (which I have problems with as well but I won't get into those). Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament had their focus on deathmatch at its purest, while Max Payne (though not first person I would categorize it with these games) has a terrific story. However, I fear that games like RtCW, Doom 3, and Quake IV are going to rely entirely on the success of their prequels, without offering anything new to the genre. As I see it, there is no reason to buy a traditional FPS for deathmatch anymore - the Quake series and Unreal Tournament were the pinnacle of deathmatch, with graphics far beyond the level needed (in making Quake 3 Carmack emphasized that deathmatch games have more of an emphasis on speed and less on magnificent visuals). I see no areas left to improve, short of moving on to other styles of play. That leaves a compelling single player experience as the main reason to buy a new traditional FPS, and I fear that these new games might end up being the same shoot-anything-that-moves and I-don't-give-a-shit storyline found in the early games of the genre. Though I loved Wolfenstein and Doom, playing the same game again with prettier graphics would not be very fun.
I think the best way for the genre to move forward would be to leave pure deathmatch to Q3A/UT. Multiplayer games will have to offer a unique style of gameplay, most likely along the lines of Team Fortress in order to succeed, while singleplayer shooters should consider themselves to be interactive action movies. I can imagine in the future developers releasing new single player shoooters two to three times a year, with minimal engine enhancements and shorter (under 10 hours of gameplay) but more interesting storylines, costing more in the range of $10-20 than $40-50. Gamers can buy the game, play through it in a few weeks, enjoy the story and the action, and move on to the next one. While Max Payne is the first step in this direction, I fear that RtCW, Doom 3, and Quake IV will be a few steps backward. Hopefully id, Raven, and all the other great FPS developers will prove me wrong.
You Can Play As The Nazis? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:You Can Play As The Nazis? (Score:4, Insightful)
My kids also play Barney, doesnt make them a purple diaosaurs.