GamersCircle

Goodbye, Compuserve

andy — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:51:23 +0000

After 30 years, Compuserve has decided to shut down. Not the whole thing, though, as Compuserve 2000 will still be around. Still, this marks the end of an era.

Compuserve started as a dial up service in 1969. That is long before the Internet and World Wide Web were even thought of. In the 80’s it changed hands and became the biggest information and Networking services in the world. They were the first to offer Internet access (in limited fashion) via dial up.

Here is the official email to customers:

Dear CompuServe Classic Member,
After many years of providing online services, we regret to inform you that as of June 30, 2009 the CompuServe Classic service will no longer operate as an Internet Service Provider. We hope this does not cause you an inconvenience.

Note that this shutdown only relates to the CompuServe Classic service. The CompuServe 2000 service will continue to operate as it does today.

We’re aware that this change may raise several questions for you.
Here’s what this will mean:

DO YOU NEED AN INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER?

* If you need dial-up Internet access, there are two options you may wish
to consider.
Netscape Internet Service
AOL

ACCESS AND BILLING INFORMATION:

* The last day you will be able to access your CompuServe Classic account will be June 30, 2009. Your dial-up access will no longer be available after this date.
* We urge you to immediately forward, back up, move or otherwise copy to a location outside the CompuServe Classic system any stored data you wish to keep. This data will be inaccessible after the CompuServe Classic service is closed on June 30.
* The CompuServe Classic Ourworld “homepage” service
(http://ourworld.compuserve.com) will also close on June 30. After that date, you will be unable to access or retrieve any images, files, or other material stored in the Ourworld service. Any content you wish to retain must be saved to a new location before June 30.
* Your final monthly charge for the CompuServe Classic service will occur on your June billing date.

EMAIL AVAILABILITY:

* We are creating a new email system where you will be able to continue
using your existing CompuServe Classic email address. This new email
service will be available to you at no charge – but you will need to
provide your own Internet access.
* Some of the benefits of the new email system include:
+ Unlimited storage lets you keep as many messages as you want
+ Ability to receive large messages (up to 16MB per message)
+ Industry leading spam and virus protection to help eliminate
threats and hassles
+ Mail filters that allow you to store and organize mail
+ Open accessibility and compatibility with IMAP & POP3
+ Seamless integration w/ AIM for instant messaging
* The transition to the new mail system will occur in mid-May. More
information will be sent to you shortly concerning the migration
of your mailbox to the new CompuServe Classic mail system.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS?

Member Services phone support will remain available for the
CompuServe 2000 service, and can answer any billing questions
about CompuServe Classic.
Should you have questions about the termination of this service,
please contact CompuServe Member Services at:

Tech Support

We thank you for being a CompuServe Classic member over the past years.

Sincerely,
CompuServe Member Services

Source

TweetCraft

andy — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:51:25 +0000

TweetCraft is an in-game Twitter client that works in World of Warcraft for your tweeting pleasure. Word is there are also plans for a version to work within Champions Online

Left 4 Dead 1 DLC Announcement Coming Soon

andy — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:49:19 +0000

Though Left 4 Dead 2 is slated to arrive on PC and Xbox 360 come November 17, developer Valve has reaffirmed that it will continue to support the original editions of the cooperative zombie shooter with as-yet-unspecified downloadable content.

"More info will be coming shortly on the [Left 4 Dead 1] DLC," Valve’s Chet Faliszek told Shacknews, adding that the ongoing support will also include new functionality, such as the promised addition of team-based matchmaking to the first Left 4 Dead.

"We plan to keep supporting Left 4 Dead 1," Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi recently told CVG. "I think folks took our [E3] announcement [of Left 4 Dead 2] as a sign that we were dropping Left 4 Dead 1 and that’s just not the case."

Lombardi noted that "there will be some announcements coming before summer’s out about what’s coming there," explaining that the internet’s vocal opposition to Left 4 Dead 2 and the subsequent boycott "really didn’t change our plans at all."

Despite that backlash and 37,335-member strong boycott against Left 4 Dead 2, Lombardi informed Eurogamer that "pre-orders are currently double what they were for Left 4 Dead 1 at this point in time away from launch."

"Once everything’s been out for a while and everyone’s had time to see the complete product of Left 4 Dead 2 and see continued support for Left 4 Dead 1, they may sort of see what we were up to and what the method of our madness was there," he told CVG.

Valve is "still looking at other ways to make the [Left 4 Dead] community cohesive in an elegant fashion," with the recent L4D mod tools allowing user-created content to be played in both PC releases, but hasn’t "nailed down all the final details on that just yet."

The studio further confirmed plans to provide a pre-release multiplayer demo of Left 4 Dead 2, much like it did with the PC and Xbox 360 original. "With Left 4 Dead in particular we’ve found that word of mouth really is the strongest thing," Lombardi told OXM. "With Left 4 Dead 2 we plan to do a demo before the game comes out that’ll have multiplayer in it. And hopefully we can continue the free weekends with the full game post-launch."

Source

‘Predators’ to Release next July

andy — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:43:38 +0000

Predators, the fifth film of the franchise, will premiere on July 7th 2010, with Nimron Antal directing. Antal directed the horror film Vacancy. Robert Rodriguez is producing; he also produced one draft of the script.

Alex Litvak and Michael Finch produced the script. Both have worked on comic-based movies.

Resident Evil 4 Arriving in Late 2010

andy — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:32:09 +0000

ShockTillYouDrop.com reports that Sony’s Screen Gems is eyeing a September 17, 2010 release for the fourth "Resident Evil" installment, to be titled Resident Evil: Afterlife . The ending of the third film, Resident Evil: Extinction , left the door wide open for another sequel.

Source

Chew #1 Second Printing Sells Out

andy — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:26:57 +0000

Immediately upon release John Layman and Rob Guillory’s CHEW has experienced an immediate sell out for both issue #2 and the second printing of issue #1.

"I’m shocked, pleased and flabbergasted by the enormous positive response we’ve gotten from CHEW," Layman said. "I can’t put into words how gratified I am for the readers and retailers who have helped spread the word about this strange and unique little book. I’m also grateful to Image for taking speedy action to help get this book into as many readers’ hands as possible. Thanks, everybody! The best is yet to come!"

Windows 7 Beta Shutdowns Start Today

andy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:59:39 +0000

So you are going about your business, playing a rousing game of whatever on your gaming rig running Windows 7 and wham! Your PC turns off, what gives? Well, chances are you are running the beta version of Windows 7, which begins automatically shutting down every couple of hours today. Your beta license has expired and it is suggested that you install Windows 7 RC1 instead. However, be warned that that version will begin doing the same thing on March 1st of next year.

Captain America Reborn #1 Is A Hit

andy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:53:59 +0000

It’s the Marvel Comics story that has everyone from the New York Times to MTV buzzing and the verdict is in: Captain America Reborn #1 is a hit! The superstar dream team of Eisner-winning scribe Ed Brubaker (Captain America, The Marvels Project, Incognito) and red-hot artist Bryan Hitch present the return of Steve Rogers to the Marvel Universe! Plus, be sure to catch the dynamic covers by acclaimed artists Bryan Hitch, John Cassaday and Alex Ross!

Battlefield 1943 Release Date Next Week

andy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:57:13 +0000

EA and Dice have announced that Battlefield 1943 will be available on July 8, 2009 on the XBox Live Marketplace, and on July 9, 2009 on the PSN Store. The cost will be $9.99 for the FPS which is the semi-sequel to Battlefield 1942. Click read more for the full info.

PRESS RELEASE

Guildford, UK – July 2, 2009 – DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced that Battlefield 1943™ will be available on July 8th on Xbox LIVE™ Marketplace and July 9th on the PlayStation®Network. Battlefield 1943 is an all-new download-only action game that brings DICE’s first-class vehicular warfare to gamers for just £9.99, or 1200 MS Points.

MS Says Ads Won’t Interfere With Xbox Live Experience

andy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:56:34 +0000

Microsoft has responded to concerns over its recent announcement that the addition of the MS Silverlight software (the Microsoft equivalent of Shockwave) will allow ads to interfere with Xbox Live functionality. Major Nelson reassured gamers on his website that MS only intends to enhance the ad service with Silverlight, not interfere with or revamp it totally. He claims we do not have to worry about a huge influx of advertising on XBL. We really hope not, Larry, because it would be a shame to pay for XBL Gold and get swamped with ads, too. Especially when PSN is free and relatively ad-free.

Asteroids to Become Blockbuster Hollywood Flick

andy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:54:16 +0000

With the movie rights for Pac-Man and Joust already snapped up, the bidding war for the privilege to adapt Atari’s old-school rock-buster Asteriods into a film has come to an end.

Universal won the four-studio competition, according to The Hollywood Reporter, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra) attached as a producer and Jeff Kirschenbaum (Wanted, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) overseeing. The script is to be written by Race to Witch Mountain (2009) scribe Matthew Lopez.

Source

‘Green Hornet’ Debut Set for July 9th, 2010

andy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:03:43 +0000

Sony has decided to move the debut date for the Seth Rogen/Stephen Chow Green Hornet from June 25th, 2010 to July 9th, 2010 in order to make room for the Adam Sandler buddy comedy, Grown Ups. According to Variety, Sony decided to move Grown Ups, which also stars Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade and Rob Schneider, from its previous slated premiere in March because of the enormous success of The Hangover, another multi-buddy movie comedy.

Pixar’s Toy Story 3 is currently slated to open on June 18th. Although no other major movie is set for June 25th, Grown Ups will face competition from the second Twilight movie, which opens 5 days later (there go the teenage girls) and M. Night Shyamalan’s adaptation of Nickelodeon’s The Last Airbender, which opens on July 2nd.

SciFi Rebooting ‘Alien Nation’

andy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:02:32 +0000

The SciFi Channel is developing a new television series based on Alien Nation, a 1988 science fiction movie that spawned a TV series and a handful of made-for-TV movies. Written by Rockne S. O’Bannon, the Alien Nation movie was a dark police procedural with a science fiction twist. Aliens known as “Newcomers” who crashed in the California desert formed a colony of sorts in the Los Angeles area, and a human policeman (Matthew Sykes) teams up with an alien cop (Sam, later “George” Francisco) to investigate a number of crimes in the Newcomer community.

According to Variety, the cable channel sees Alien Nation, with its prominent police procedural elements, as being more than just hard sci-fi, and thus a perfect choice for the network, which is trying to “widen its footprint” as it prepares to re-brand itself as the SyFy Channel starting next week in what has become a controversial marketing maneuver.

Tim Minnear, who has worked on Angel, The X-Files, and Firefly, is creating the backstory and mythology for the new Alien Nation. The series is likely to take its cue more from the Alien Nation TV series, which was essentially a series of morality plays about the evils of racism with the Newcomers standing in for racial, ethnic, and even gender minorities, than from the original feature film.

The TV series only lasted on year on Fox before it was cancelled (along with all the other dramatic series on the fledgling network because of a cash crunch), but it made a definite impression. It developed a cult following and inspired a number of spin-offs including a series of novels, a comic book from Malibu’s Adventure Comics imprint that was published from 1990-1992, and five made-for-TV-movies, which Fox began airing in 1994.

Star Trek Online: Bridge Crews

andy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:59:48 +0000

MMORPG.com’s Carolyn Koh reports from a recent IRC chat about bride crews in Cryptic’s upcoming Star Trek Online MMO

In Star Trek Online, every player is the Captain of his own ship, but like the characters in the TV series, there are career choices. Captain Jean Luc Picard was a diplomat and archeologist, and players similarly will develop skills. Apart from the character development, players will recruit their Bridge Crews throughout the game. These are actually Bridge Officers; the Communications Officers, Science Officers and the like, your Spocks, Chekovs and Scottys, a distinct difference from your Ship Crew, which are your hundreds of nameless crew that help run and repair the ship. The gameplay mechanic for your Bridge Officers is somewhat akin to minions and pets. They are the "phat lewts" of the game and will be earned, leveled and can be traded, although some will be bound to you.

Craig Zinkievich, Executive Producer of Star Trek Online at Cryptic Studios was on hand at a Developer’s Chat on IRC earlier this week to answer questions and tell us more about this important game play feature.

"Bridge Crews give your character some of the cooler powers in space. You start off by yourself," said Craig, "but you’ll get your first Bridge Officer very early on, within the first hour or two [of play]."

Players will have full control of their Bridge Crew, being able to customize them with names, appearance, species and uniform of each member. You will also equip them, level them and choose their skills.

Starfleet/KDF will grant players Bridge Officers, but players will also be able to recruit them from planets after they have completed missions there. "There will be rare Bridge Officers," said Craig, "some that you’ll only get access to when you do high-end content, some you’ll get through luck and exploration."

Officers can be cross-trained once you obtain one with a skill you wish for another to have, Craig imparted. "If you get a wicked cool new Tactical Bridge Officer who’s got a power or skill you want, you can choose to either recruit them to your crew, or train up one of your existing crew with the new skill."

This means that players can have, if they wish, skills for races that traditionally are unique to other races. A full crew of Klingon or Ferengi is possible. It might take some dedication and time on a player’s part, but it is possible. Bridge Officers will have a number of skills that will open up as they rank (level) up, but Captains may only command Bridge Officers that are one rank lower than they are. So although crew members are transferrable, Captains aren’t "twinkable" with high ranking Bridge Officers. Crew promotions are managed by you, the Captain, at the cost of Starfleet Reputation - a system of skill points gained while playing the game.

On the ship, the Captain is responsible for most of the buffs and the Bridge Officers provide the powers, but on a planet it is reversed, with the Bridge Officers you bring on your away team providing the buffs. Craig explained, "The Bridge Officers have special skills on the ground." It is still up to the player however to equip and direct the away team.

Bridge Officers are not just dumb pets either. "One of the main ways that information gets to you as captain will be through your Bridge Officers," Craig continued, "The majority of episode text is "spoken" to you by your crew, they are always scanning, contacting other ships or otherwise helping to move the story along."

Players will recruit a pool of Bridge Officers and train them to perform different roles. There are only a limited number of slots for Bridge Officers, depending on the size of the ship and you will want to change the make-up of your Bridge Crew depending on the role of the ship.

"The different ship configurations have different number of stations on the bridge. Each station (slot for your Bridge Officers) has a type - either Tactical, Science or Engineering," said Craig, "Given the configuration of ship - you’ll be able to activate different permutations of Bridge Officers. For example - the Defiant will have more Tactical stations than an Olympic configuration."

Over time, players may wish to train different Bridge Crews for effectiveness in space and planet side. While on the ground, players will be able to direct the team individually or as a group. Players grouping for planet exploration will choose which officers to bring with them as away teams consist of five characters whether players or Bridge Crew.

"We really want to give you guys the freedom to build up a staff of officers that allow you to customize your gameplay," said Craig. "Maybe today you’re outfitting your Sovereign class ship with a lot of Tactical guys - but tomorrow, you’ll play more of a support role. Depending on what Bridge Officers are on the bridge - your role and gameplay experience will change."

As Craig informed us, Bridge Officers will not be lost through death in battle. "Your Bridge Officers are a very important part of your "character" - you’ll invest a huge amount of time developing these guys - we don’t want to be killing them on you. Three months of work gone in a minute - yeah, not fun for most." They will be saved in the nick of time. Beamed into sick bay or something like that. Not that they won’t be removed from the scenario, just no perma-death.

What Was Cut From “Star Trek?”

andy — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:58:27 +0000

Fans of “Star Trek,” may be wondering what we can expect when the Blu Ray and DVD hits stores later this year (right now, uncomfirmed reports indicate it will be October).

Web site TNMC has tracked down an original version of the script and compared it to what we eventually see on-screen. The report details several scenes that were cut or trimmed in the final cut of the film, including the birth of Spock and a scene that shows Kirk’s older brother George on-screen (and eliminates one of the continuity errors that bugged me when I saw the film).

Here’s a little snippet about what one particular sequence we missed:

The scene where Uhura catches Kirk fooling around with her room mate has a little bit we didn’t see in the final film. Kirk tells Gaila that he sent her a message that she has to open at a precise moment. This is how he hacks the Kobayashi Maru test. It is a virus of sorts that she opens during the test, unleashing it to rewrite the test to be winnable. I’m not exactly sure why this was pulled. The sequence makes a bit more sense like this and would only be a fraction longer. There is one more scene later where Kirk mistakes another green girl for Gaila. This was wisely cut.

Also cut was a subplot involving Nero’s ship being captured by Klingons after destroying the Kelvin in the opening moments of the film. The crew was sentenced to labor on Rura Pente, which should be familiar to most “Trek” fans from “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.”

If you want to read about the rest of the trims and cuts and get an idea of what we may seen in the deleted scenes section of the Blu Ray and DVD release, check out the original article HERE.