New Demos and Patches

Croteam today announced the availability of a Serious Sam: Double D demo, giving players a chance to try out the indie side-scrolling shooter. The demo is available to download  through Steam, Get Games, Impulse and Direct2Drive.

"Serious Sam: Double D is full throttle action filled to the brim with trademark Serious Sam awesome and the ridiculous creativity of developer Mommy’s Best Games:

• 80, 640 Gunstacker combinations
• 18 jaw-clenching campaign levels
• 3 brutally awesome time periods
• 25 bizarrely monstrous creatures
• 70 secrets hidden across the game
• ginormous boss encounters
• 12 gut-punching challenge levels
• 30 Steam achievements
• Occasional bewbs"

For more info visit: http://www.mommysbestgames.com/serioussamdoubled.html

Heatwave Interactive today announced that a free trial is now available for Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, giving those interested a free go at the MMORPG by Perpetual Entertainment (dissolved) and Heatwave.

"The free trial unlocks the Gods & Heroes experience – it's our invitation for anyone passionate about mythology and legend to immerse themselves in this epic adventure of ancient Rome ," said Anthony Castoro, Heatwave CEO.

"Players can download  Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising and play for free for three days from  www.trygodsandheroes.com. Trials are limited to one per account, but players get to keep their accounts if they upgrade to a full version during the trial period."

CD Projekt Red today released the version 1.3 update for "The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings", which includes the free "A Slackful of Fluff" DLC.

"The update includes a plethora of fan-requested improvements, including difficulty adjustments for the game’s Prologue, support for a variety of aspect ratios and a host of other gameplay tweaks and fixes. The Witcher 2 1.3 Update is available at thewitcher.com and directly through digital distributors like GOG.com, Steam, Direct2Drive and others.

“A Sackful of Fluff” is a new quest in Chapter 2 of the game. To start the quest, players must visit the eccentric Elthon, who inhabits a solitary hut near the quarry outside Vergen. The quest will prove most rewarding to those who demonstrate patience.

Key improvements in the 1.3 Update include:

• Game now supports 4:3, 5:4, and 16:10 aspect ratios.
• Item storage has been added. Players can now store items from their Inventory at inns. To leave items in storage or collect previously stored items, talk to innkeepers.
• A ‘Junk’ panel has been added to the Inventory to provide greater clarity in item classification.
• A new menu option has been added under ‘Extras’ – this enables players to view in-game animated sequences (flashbacks, memory flashes, dreams stolen by harpies) outside of the game.
• ‘Dragon’ section of Prologue does not become available until after all assault-related sections have been completed, thereby softening the difficulty curve at the start of the game.

The full list of fixes and tweaks can be found at www.thewitcher.com/patch1-3/"

Valve today announced that "Team Fortress 2" is now free to play. In addition, the Uber Update has been released along with details on updates to the medic class.

"New players interested in experiencing what PC Gamer calls "the most fun you can have online" will have access to training and offline practice modes, so they can hone their skills before jumping into the ever-expanding TF2 universe.

TF2 is now Free to Play for PC & Mac players via Steam.

For more information on Free to Play, please visit http://www.teamfortress.com/freetoplay."

Meet the Medic:

"Dr. Frankenstein. Dr. Moreau. Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman. Any time a physician starts messing around creating life, trying to improve the species with a giraffe neck or two, or taming a cowboy's heart, you can bet things are going to end badly. The moral of these stories? Play God, and there is a 100% chance you will be mauled to death by leopard men.

To that we say pshht. The real moral of Frankenstein is: If you're going to bring a guy back to life with lightning, maybe don't give him the brain of a serial killer. Try a vegan librarian. If you're stitching together animal-man hybrids, how about not jumping straight to ravenous hyenas? Start with hamsters, see how that goes, and work your way up the food chain.

Never toil in God's domain? Good advice if you're an idiot. If you know what you're doing, though, toil away. Why not give the Demo a couple extra livers? Why not replace Sniper's spine with a giant piece of sheet metal? Why not stitch a mouth onto Scout's backside so he can literally talk out of his ass?

Which brings us to our point. Not every mad doctor lives in a castle surrounded by villagers with pitchforks. Sometimes they live in the trenches, where there's plenty of spare parts flying around and a pressing need to get inventive with them.

Let's Meet the Medic."

A "Dungeon Siege III" demo was released on Steam today, giving players a chance to try out the anticipated upcoming sequel by Obsidian.

"The Dungeon Siege III Demo is now available via Steam. Experience a small taste of Dungeon Siege III in single-player and 2-person local co-op play modes. (co-op requires two controllers)

Dungeon Siege III seamlessly blends intuitive action gameplay, a robust RPG system featuring a large selection of abilities, an extensive multiplayer component and the depth of story Square Enix and Obsidian Entertainment are known for creating."

As promised yesterday during the CDP Summer Days broadcast, patch version 1.2 has been released for "The Witcher 2", which includes more than 30 significant additions, improvements and fixes.

"Version 1.2 of The Witcher incorporates several downloadable content packs. A highlight is the completely new “Barbers and Coiffeuses” DLC, which adds the option to use hairstyling services in the game, and thus the possibility for the main character to have a total of six different looks.  A video showing these haircuts may be viewed at http://en.thewitcher.com/the-witcher/2/videos/gameplay/  In addition, six previously released DLCs are now automatically installed as natural parts of the game. Some of these provide equipment and other items that can be quite helpful right from the start of play in the Prologue.
 
Adam Badowski, Development Director at CD Projekt RED, commented, "Making a very good game is, in my opinion, equalled in importance by the need to offer strong ongoing support, especially on a platform as complex as the PC. I hope providing two major patches within barely more than two weeks after release demonstrates our dedication to supporting The Witcher 2 over the long term. What’s more, this is just one small sign of our commitment to this guiding direction.  PC gamers can expect more goodies from us in the future. And of course, we won’t charge for them since we feel it’s our duty to improve and enhance the game for both current and future players."
 
The game now patches to version 1.2 automatically during a fresh installation, or through the auto-patching option from the Game Launcher if version 1.1 is already installed. Any players who installed and also activated their games but did not apply patch 1.1 should do so manually from http://www.en.thewitcher.com/patch/; this will enable auto-patching to the latest version. In addition, patching from version 1.1 to 1.2 can be done manually via http://www.en.thewitcher.com/patch1-2/ Users who purchased the Steam digital version must use the Steam patcher.
 
The Witcher 2 was released internationally for the PC in mid-May.  It has been received exceptionally well by gamers and media alike, and sold through 400,000 copies in its first week.

Additional information is available at the recently re-launched official site, www.TheWitcher.com."

CD Projekt RED today announced the release of patch v1.1, which brings improvements, fixes, and the removal of DRM for the versions that had it. For the GOG version of the game, there is a download available on GOG.com. Steam users should use the Steam auto-patching system.

"Other notable improvements include frame rate increases of approximately up to 30%, especially noticeable on DRMed versions and low spec systems, better stability, and non-problematic installation of free DLCs (the first free DLC, the "Troll Trouble" quest, is incorporated into the patch), the possibility of inverting the mouse and re-mapping directional control on the keyboard, and more.

Adam Badowski, CD Projekt RED Development Director, commented, “Our goal is to make our fans and customers happy and to reward them for buying our game and DRM schemes does not support our philosophy as they might create obstacles for users of legally bought copies. Our approach to countering piracy is to incorporate superior value in the legal version. This means it has to be superior in every respect: less troublesome to use and install, with full support, and with access to additional content and services. So, we felt keeping the DRM would mainly hurt our legitimate users. This is completely in line with what we said before the release of The Witcher 2. We felt DRM was necessary to prevent the game being pirated and leaked before release. This purpose has been served, so we are pleased to let our users enjoy the full freedom of game usage they deserve.”

Badowski also explained CD Projekt RED’s stance on DRM from another perspective, "It’s important to remember that the PC platform is far more complex than consoles. DRM adds another layer of complication and potential problems. We saw this clearly in our game. Pre-release tests showed only small performance differences compared to the DRM-free (GOG.com) versions.  We were unpleasantly surprised when some of our fans reported much larger differences, up to 30% lower framerates. This was another clear signal that we had to remove DRM as soon as possible – the quality of our users’ gameplay experience is absolutely our number one priority!"

Regarding the other fixes and improvements, Badowski further stated, "Patch 1.1 is also very important because it overcomes the major technical obstacles some of our customers encountered with installation and activation. We believe that after installing the patch, practically all users will be able to enjoy the game without flaws. At the same time, I would like to assure everyone that we will continue working on post- release support. Therefore, if there are things that still bother users with certain system configurations, they can expect them to be resolved soon as well. What is equally important, we are constantly reviewing feedback from our fans and looking through their requests and we will be adding new functionality and enhancements to the game to make sure gamers can enjoy the most out of the Witcher 2. We are also pleased to advise our fans who purchased the Russian-language edition that (contrary to what we communicated earlier) Patch 1.1 will function for them.”

The Witcher 2 users may download Patch 1.1 only via manual download from here (Patch 1.1 will not download through auto-patching system from the game Launcher)"

Paradox Interactive today announced the release of "Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword", the new stand-alone installment in the series by TaleWorlds and Sich Studios. In addition, a demo for the game has been released.

"With Fire and Sword, the third stand-alone title in the acclaimed Mount & Blade series, gives players the freedom to decide who both their allies and enemies are as they create their own world inspired by Henryk Sienkiewicz’s 1884 cult classic novel "With Fire and Sword." Players will plan tactical takeovers, scheme which castles to siege, and battle rival armies with traditional weapons found in previous Mount & Blade titles, as well as newly introduced firearms such as muskets and pistols. With plenty of new quests for players to partake in and a deep, immersive campaign mode, Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword continues the tradition of giving players an open-world experience like no other.

Features:

• Enhanced siege mechanics: storm the castle, blow up the walls, bribe an officer or poison the well/food to get past the defenses!
• New army and castle/town upgrade system
• The addition of firearms and explosives¨
• 15 new multiplayer maps and a new multiplayer mode, Captain Team Deathmatch in which players will command a squad of soldiers
• A setting based off the cult novel “With Fire and Sword” (1884) by Nobel- prize winner Henryk Sienkiewicz
• Multiple endings for high replay-ability

The game is a stand-alone game created by the independent developers Sich Studios together with Taleworlds Entertainment based on the Mount&Blade: Warband engine.

Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword is now available on all leading digital download platforms for $14.99, with a retail release following shortly. The retail box price will vary on different markets depending on retail box content. "

gamingo today announced the release of a new patch for "Black Prophecy", which adds 10 new missions and includes other minor fixes and improvements.

The highlights of this patch are the ten new missions in open sectors, available to players on different levels. A number of other smaller improvements have also been made:

• Performance in all sectors has been improved.
• Bugs in the ship status display have been fixed.
• Damage distribution has been changed slightly. Damage is now distributed evenly to all active ship parts. This is done proportionally to the part's durability percentage in relation to the entire ship. The part that gets hit directly (unless it's the cockpit) will receive slightly more damage than the other parts.
• Repair kit durability is now distributed evenly to all active ship parts. This is done proportionally to the part's durability percentage in relation to the entire ship.
• The amount of points repaired by higher level repair kits has been increased.

The complete patch log can be read here.

Players can look forward to new content each month in the future.  More information about the game can be found on its official website.

Paradox Interactive and Battlegoat Studios today announced a large game update for "Supreme Ruler 2020 Gold" along with a price cut to $9.99.

“Update 8 for Supreme Ruler 2020 Gold features a variety of improvements, enhancements and new additions including ones suggested by the active Supreme Ruler player communities. The update includes:

• 20 new MOD scenarios
• New units and technologies
• Dozens of new AI additions and improvements
• New unit commands
• Game performance improvements including reduced memory usage and smaller save game files

Not only will “Update 8” be provided free-of-charge to all existing Supreme Ruler 2020 and Supreme Ruler 2020 Gold owners, but all owners of Supreme Ruler 2020 will receive a full update to bring them up to date with the latest Supreme Ruler 2020 Gold edition which includes all content released since the game launched."

Focus Home Interactive and Pendulo Studios today released a demo for "The Next Big Thing", giving players a chance to try out the adventure game that's scheduled to be released next week.

"The demo puts you in the shoes of young Liz Allaire, one of the game’s two playable characters, in the midst of a journalistic investigation with her colleague Dan Murray. The Horror Night Ceremony is in full swing, and while our journalist duo is covering the event, Liz stubmles upon some suspicious activity. She witnesses the famous Hollywood monster-actor Big Albert breaking into the office of his boss, Fitz Randolph, who also happens to be the biggest horror movie producer in the biz.

The demo will give adventure fans a taste of the crazy, funny adventure to come. The Next Big Thing is loaded with wacky characters and puzzles of all types.

The Next Big Thing is slated for release in retail stores and digital download for PC April 21st."

The 792MB demo is available to download from Focus Home Interactive, Atomic Gamer, BigDownload, FileShack, Gamer's Hell, Strategy Informer, or Worthplaying.

Bohemia Interactive today released a new patch for "ArmA II", bringing the war simulation game to version 1.09. The announcement also mentions that ArmA II: Reinforcements will be released in April.

Fixes:

• I2 – mission is no longer failing before the takeoff
• C1,I1 – SD pistol mags were missing
• C5 – high command icons were not loaded
• C6 – task waypoint for transporting important POW is fixed
• C3 – smuggler not shooting
• I1 – Shilka was too strong
• I1 – Razor is hunting down one enemy on the whole of Chernarus
• Minor fixes in (CZ/RU) dubbing protocol

The update is available on the game's home page:  www.arma2.com.

Paradox today released a new patch for "Cities in Motion", updating the recent city building simulation game by Colossal Order to version 1.0.13. The patch will be automatically applied to retail versions of the game and the digital distribution version will be updated through that provider.

Patch notes:

• Fixed bug: Crash while saving game on certain configurations.
• Fixed bug: Random crash when using tree brush in map editor.
• Fixed bug: Tram line cannot be built through the track piece turning
• diagonally to a 4 lane road.
• Fixed bug: Lines are always visible when loaded saved game.
• Fixed bug: Ticker message about a car accident is removed too quickly.
• Fixed bug: Old pre-set buses in scenarios have wrong capacity.
• Fixed bug: Achievement "Four corners of the earth" can be unlocked only in sandbox mode.
• Improvement: Some optimizations when saving game.
• Improvement: Number of private cars depends on the difficulty setting (Slider for the custom difficulty).
• Improvement: Slower economy changes.
• Improvement: Shortcut key for underground view (default: U).
• Improvement: Jammed cars are removed faster.
• Fixed bug: Stops show wrong passenger count after a line is deleted.

A new v1.11.0 patch for "Ryzom" will be released next Wednesday between 9:00 and 11:00 GMT, which will bring a new free-to-play system to the MMORPG.

"We are pleased to announce that from now on, players that create a new account can play Ryzom without time or place limits. Instead, free trial accounts are now limited to a maximum level of 125 in all different skills, enabling everyone to sample all aspects of Ryzom and to discover what makes this MMO unique. When you reach level 125 in a skill you can still continue playing, but you will gain no more experience points. The second limitation is storage: you cannot own any mektoub packers, use the inventory of your apartment or take any items from a guild hall.

For more information visit: http://forums.ryzom.fr/showthread.php?t=35224"

The promised "Crysis 2" multiplayer was released today, giving players a chance to try out the online portion of the upcoming sequel by Crytek.

"All versions of the new demo will include two maps, “Skyline” and “Pier 17”, as well as two modes “Team Instant Action” and “Crash Site”. Crysis 2 multiplayer will include six intense, action-fueled gameplay modes: Instant Action, Team Instant Action, Crash Site, Capture the Relay, Extraction and Assault, set across 12 maps in Crytek’s visually stunning recreation of the Big Apple. Players will advance through a deep progression system of 50 levels, earning a variety of upgrades along the way for weaponry and the Nanosuit itself, rewarding long-term players with tactical advantages that increase their speed, strength and stealth abilities even more."

The Demo is available to download from Steam, AtomicGamer, Gamer's Hell, GameUpdates (torrent), Strategy Informer, or Worthplaying.