GamrCred to become….whatever you choose

Sep 17, 2012

A few days ago, as they are still known as GamrCred, received a “cease and desist” order from the lawyers of a company who took offence to them playing on the term “streetcred.”

They write:

After hours of deliberation with $1,000/hr lawyers who actually said we had a good case against said company but, the reality is, we also know that these battles can be long, messy and require lots of money… Money and time that we could use to make GamrCred the best and most credible community of gamers on the planet!

So we decided that it would be much better, more fun and more in keeping with how we see the world to have a fun game where you get to choose the new name of GamrCred! So we’ve created the “Gamr? Name Game”!

“A game?” I hear you say! That’s right — choose one of the great robot heroes who represents your favored name to fight the ugly demon! The more votes the robots get, the higher they go and the winning robot gets to….well….

You get one vote as a member of GamrCred, and at the end of next week, we will start the process of changing our name. 100 random folks will get the first 100 t-Shirts off the line with the new name.

The game will finish on Tuesday the 18th @ 12pm Mountain.

So what will the future of GamrCred be? Go play the Name Game and let us know!

Help them out, will you? Go vote!

Some Clarity on What Happened in Greece with ArmA III Devs

Sep 17, 2012

This is a follow-up to my story last week about the detained employees of Bohemia Interactive. Now, they’ve updated their information.

Since last Sunday, when two Bohemia Interactive, a.s. employees, were arrested on the Greek island of Lemnos, much speculation about what happened has circulated online. It’s been rumoured that they entered restricted military areas or gathered photographic references of military bases in order to improve the visual fidelity of Arma 3, a PC game currently under development by our company. Far in advance of any formal charges – only hours after they were detained by the local police – many media outlets immediately suggested spying and, only one day later, specifically referenced Arma 3.

Having travelled there, and after meeting personally with them both, as well as their lawyer who is fully acquainted with the Greek authority’s investigation file in detail, we can assure you that these insinuations are completely false and without substance. These employees – our friends, Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar – visited the island as tourists. Their holiday was a product of their interest in the island, triggered by their work on Arma 3 over the past two years of development.

They took photographs and videos in public areas, as countless tourists arriving to enjoy the beauty and hospitality of Greece may well do. These included a short video as they drove through the main road passing around the international airport, where in one short part of the video off in the distance some hangars and other buildings of the complex can be seen. It’s very likely that many tourists may have pictures similar to those taken by Ivan and Martin in their own family albums, without being aware that they put themselves or their families at risk.

We sincerely hope that the whole situation is no more than an unfortunate and deep misunderstanding. The in-game Limnos is close to completion, and it’s far from an identical replication of the real place. It was heavily modified to fit the game’s backstory, a purely fictional 2035 setting. It was rescaled to only 75% of the real island, and it does not attempt to display any real world military installations situated on the island of Lemnos.

To summarize the situation:

• They visited Lemnos on their holiday as tourists.
• They did not enter any military area.
• They did not take any pictures of any military objects to be used in Arma 3.

Martin and Ivan, currently being detained in Mytilene, relayed this message to their friends and family:

“The conditions are tough, but the people we meet treat us fairly and correctly. It is all a completely absurd misunderstanding that will certainly be quickly explained. We mainly think of you, our families; you have to stay calm and not to worry about us. We hope we will meet soon.”

We apologize for any possible delay or lack of communication regarding this important matter. At present, all and every possible effort goes towards supporting Ivan and Martin, their families, and to getting the guys safely back home. Any form of support for our imprisoned colleagues and friends will be more than welcome.

Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition – New WiiU Screenshots

Sep 13, 2012

Following today’s Wii U announcement, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and WB Games Montreal are excited to share several new screenshots for Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, the enhanced version of the award-winning blockbuster videogame coming exclusively to the Wii U this holiday season.

Worms Revolution available to pre-order now on Steam!

Sep 13, 2012

Team17 are proud to announce that Worms Revolution is now available for pre-order via Steam. Worms Revolution will be available to download for PC via Steam on October 10th 2012.

Pre-purchase now and receive a copy of fan-favorite, Worms Armageddon (previously unavailable on Steam) to play right now. Plus, get exclusive in-game content for Worms Revolution.

The Worms Revolution Pre-Purchase Offer Includes:

• Full Game – Worms™ Armageddon – fan-favorite, available to download and play right now.
• Worms™ Revolution Bonus Campaign Missions – test your skills even further with five extra single-player missions.
• Worms™ Revolution Exclusive Fort – add an exclusive fort to your collection.
• Worms™ Revolution Exclusive Hats – customize your Worms with either devil horns or a halo.
• Worms™ Revolution Exclusive Gravestones – mark where your heroic worms have fallen with either lightning bolt or angel wings gravestones.
• Worms™ Revolution Exclusive Speechbanks – change what your worms say, choose from Wild Life Documenter or Reality TV Talent Judge.

There is also a Season Pass available to pre-purchase which includes access to four brand new DLC Packs for Worms Revolution as they become available. The Season pass costs an additional £11.99/$14.99/€13.99, but currently carries a 10% discount.

Handyman Studios’ Spacey Sandbox Adventure, Edge of Space is coming

Sep 13, 2012

Reverb Publishing has announced that it will be publishing developer Handyman Studios’ upcoming sci-fi 2D sandbox terraforming adventure game, Edge of Space. Having recently reached successful funding on Kickstarter and set in the vast reaches of outer space, Edge of Space invites players to explore a dynamic open-world sandbox, building, creating, molding, and working to survive in the deepest, darkest, weirdest, and possibly most interesting part of the known universe.

“Handyman Studios is thrilled to be working on our dream project of melding the vast reaches of outer space with terraforming, survival, and sandbox exploration,” said Jake Crane, founder and CEO of Handyman Studios. “Teaming up with Reverb on realizing our fantasies of cybernetically-enhanced laser sharks in space is definitely awesome.”

[youtube=http://youtu.be/3xtNPs9rrh8]

Double Dragon: Neon Soundtrack is FREE to Download

Sep 13, 2012

As of now, you can beat down goons with twins Billy and Jimmy in Double Dragon: Neon, as WayForward brings this classic franchise into the 21st century with all of the hyper-saturated gloss from the ’80s.

Now you can go download Double Dragon: Neon’s soundtrack, heavily inspired by the wailing guitars, manly falsetto, and general epic-ness (as tight as a pair of black leather pants!) from the electric ‘80s. It’s truly, truly outrageous, and you can download it now – for free! – at DoubleDragonNeon.com, the official place for all things Billy and Jimmy!

ArmA 2 rearms Take On Helicopters in free DLC

Sep 13, 2012

Armacopters – With the release of update 1.06 (codenamed Downtown), Bohemia Interactive has rearmed its latest game Take On Helicopters. Aside a large number of fixes, improvements and optimizations to the core engine, the new Downtown update also implements a major new free DLC called Take On Helicopters: Rearmed. This DLC offers a convenient way for people owning titles suchs as Arma 2, Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead, Arma 2: Combined Operations to get that content into Take On Helicopters.

Take On Helicopters Project Lead Joris-Jan van ‘t Land about the Rearmed initiative:

“When we initially developed Take On Helicopters, its focus was on civilian flight. We still believe in this non-combat gameplay, but of course our studio’s origins lie in military gaming. By using some clever ways of merging installed products, without the player having to tweak manual settings, it is now possible to combine the two worlds. Take On Helicopters gets an incredible amount of new content, while many of the improvements are applied to it as well. I love flying a helicopter over Chernarus, bathed in improved lighting and covered by the beautiful clouds. Takistan is a more detailed part of South Asia and the ideal playground for combined arms desert operations.”

Additionally, a number of fixes and improvements to the core technology, which had recently been applied to other Bohemia Interactive games via the Operation Arrowhead beta patch program, have been ported across to Take On Helicopters – resulting in a significant performance boost when flying over densely populated areas such as Seattle Downtown, plus increased stability in the multiplayer code.

Last but not least, aspiring pilots might like to know that the price of Take On Helicopters, and the Take On Helicopters: Hinds DLC, has been significantly reduced. It means people can now start flying for up to 37% less than the original price.

To apply the Downtown update (including the free Rearmed DLC), players can download the installer from the updates section on the game’s official website. The Steam version of Take On Helicopters will be updated automatically.

Patch highlights:

• Take On Helicopters: Rearmed
• Disappearing cockpit bug fixed
• Stability and performance tweaks merged from Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead

Raptr – New Rewards for Valve Collection and Joe Danger 2, Q&A with Jeff Green of PopCap

Sep 12, 2012

Raptr is continuing with bringing quality content as not only a service, but as a provider of free goodies…and quality content with Q&A (similar to AMA).

Train Simulator 2013 now available for Pre-Order

Sep 12, 2012

RailSimulator.com Ltd., the market-leading train simulation developer, announced today that Train Simulator 2013, the sequel to the multi award-winning and best-selling Train Simulator 2012 is now available for pre-order on Steam. The game will launch simultaneously worldwide on September 20.

As a special promotion, customers who place their orders before the 20th will receive a 10% discount. Please visit http://store.steampowered.com/app/220110/ for more information.

Train Simulator 2013 continues the unprecedented legacy set by the franchise by promising to be the most advanced train simulator in the world. Every aspect of gameplay and the in-game environment is designed to make the player feel like they are controlling a real locomotive. As well as a more immersive experience, improved graphics and additional content, new control options make the simulator easier than ever to operate. For the first time, Train Simulator 2013 will boast Microsoft Xbox 360® controller compatibility, enabling players to get away from their desks and drive in front of their TVs. Players around the world will also be able combine efforts to complete scenarios via Relay Play.

Also for the first time, Steam Workshop™ will be fully integrated into Train Simulator 2013, allowing users to create and share content with players from all over the world.

In addition to further-enhanced graphics and performance, Train Simulator 2013 features exciting new local content including highly-detailed locomotives and routes, each painstakingly recreated to offer hours of driving challenges. A new interface makes it simpler to select and drive trains on different routes, complete with improved weather effects.

Rise of the Triad has a low price for 24 hours on GOG.com

Sep 12, 2012

No time for pleasantries; this deal is going to self-destruct in less than 24 hours.

Rise of the Triad — the original landmark shooter, not the instant-classic remake we’re working on — is 60% off at GOG.com today (and today only!)… so that’s one of the craziest classic shooters for just $2.39, DRM-free and packed with the soundtrack and 7 extra levels.

Buy the game here: http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/rise_of_the_triad__dark_war

Sale ends Thursday, September 13 at 10:59 AM GMT.

There’s also a new Rise of the Triad coming, read about it here and here

Open Letter from Bohemia Interactive’s CEO on Arrested Employees

Sep 11, 2012

If you’ve read/heard about the employees working on ArmA III who were “spying” on a military base in Greece, I just received a letter from the CEO of Bohemia Interactive. This is what he has to say on the issue:

Hello,

We can confirm that two Bohemia Interactive employees, our colleagues and friends, were arrested during their holiday trip to Lemnos. They visited the island with the sole purpose of experiencing the island’s beautiful surroundings.

Since its establishment in 1999, Bohemia Interactive has created games based only upon publicly available information. We always respect the law and we’ve never instructed anybody to violate the laws of any country. The same is true for Arma 3.

Currently, all our effort goes towards supporting the guys over there, as well as their friends and families affected by this difficult situation. We sincerely hope that this is an unfortunate misunderstanding of their passion as artists and creators of virtual worlds.

On behalf of the Bohemia Interactive team,

Marek Spanel, CEO

 

 

 

Bohemia Interactive a.s.

Czech Republic