| Friday, December 10, 1999 |
New @ COMBATSIM.COMRogue Spear Mods on RSdBCustom Panel Designer Microsoft's FS2K & CFS- Abacus has announced that their custom Panel Designer is now FS2000 compatible (and CFS-compatible too). CPD now recognizes FS2000 and CFS style "clustered gauges" and has been expanded to handle up to 100 gauges per panel. CPD's drag-and-drop design is now available for all three of Microsoft's flight sim platforms - FS2000, FS98 and CFS. Registered users can upgrade to V2.0 for FREE by download from their website. Click here for more info.
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| Thursday, December 9, 1999 |
New @ COMBATSIM.COM- Preview: JANE'S F/A 18 Multiplayer and Avionics 1
A first attempt at online connection works with great success. Here also is another look at some of the avionics modeled in F/A 18. To place a rough value on the expansion of gameplay as compared to F15, I would guess we have between 150 and 200% of the game value here.
- Feature: European Flight Sim Convention
The European Flight Sim Convention was held in Birmingham on December 4th and 5th. All the latest releases of flight sim software and hardware were on hand, and the big name producers were strutting their stuff.
- NEWS: Another Take on the Hasbro Layoffs
- Download: MiG Alley 1.1
Empire has released the version 1.1 patch. This patch enhances navigation and improves wingman A2G performance, as well as adding MPlayer support.
Rogue Spear Contest- The Rogue Spear Database is giving away three copies of Prima's Official Rogue Spear Strategy Guide in their "I'm Horrible at Rogue Spear" Contest. To enter go to the Contest Section of the RS Database site and tell them why your a bad RS player and need the strategy book. The threeworst players will be rewarded with a free copy of the strategy book to help them become a better RS player!
- Also new at RSdB are several new mods:
- Killas Map Pack v1.0 - 6 server-side maps designed for sniping, assault, recon and rushing.
- Ding's Weather Pack - 5 server-side maps which all have weather effects different than that of the regular map (ie: 747 w/snow).
- New Nihon Installer- the new installer is much more effective than the original one.
New Multiplayer Game - Hexadome- Hexadome is a new massive multiplayer persistent on-line strategy game which, in contrast to most other games in the genre, requires no client-side installation, and works through firewalls. The UI is graphical top-down view, and most interactions with the game are through common drag and drop operations. All units have movement points which determine how far they can move. Units can support each other in both attack and defence, and they improve their skills as they win more victories. Click here to read more.
Jane's Defence Weekly for 8 December 1999- DoD considers joint rapid response forces
The US Department of Defense (DoD) is considering establishing permanent joint rapid reaction forces to assist service efforts to develop new force concepts and capabilities.
- South Africa signs orders for $5 billion
The South African government has signed firm orders for five major equipment programmes ending 13 months of negotiations which began after it announced its preferred suppliers at the November 1998 Dexsa exhibition.
- Dutch minister reaffirms stance on defence White Paper
Dutch Minister of Defence Frank de Grave has formally presented his Defence White Paper 2000 outlining Dutch defence efforts for the next 10 years.
- Funding blow to tighter security at nuclear labs
Insufficient funding is causing the delay in tightening security procedures at US national nuclear laboratories in the wake of allegations that China successfully stole atomic secrets from Los Alamos national laboratory, according to the US Department of Energy's top security official.
- Canadian Navy to adopt tiered readiness system
The Canadian Navy is planning to keep 13 ships and three submarines at high readiness, while reducing overall readiness for the rest of its fleet.
- Eurofighter, Norway in offset value wrangle
Norway's conservative approach to offset arrangements and its resistance to multinational mergers and ownership in its defence industry are limiting Eurofighter GmbH's efforts to work out an industrial strategy as a basis for its bid for 20 Eurofighter Typhoons for the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
- Russia wants to convert banned weapons facilities
Russia is seeking approval from the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to convert three former chemical weapon production facilities for peaceful purposes rather than destroying them, as required under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
- IAF Jaguar order
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has ordered 17 Jaguar fighter aircraft fromHindustan Aeronautics Limited which is to build them in collaboration with the UK's BAE Systems.
- Pakistan to build and export Agosta 90B submarines
Pakistan is planning to start commercial production of the Agosta 90B submarine, under licence from France's Direction des ConstructionsNavales (DCN), with negotiations under way with three countries as potential buyers.
- Israel decides on F-15I attrition buy
Israel plans an attrition buy of at least another five F-15I strike aircraft from Boeing in order to maintain its 25-unit squadron of the strategic fighter aircraft.
- Lebanon pullout to make Israel 'an armed camp'
Israel Prime Minister Ehud Barak is reviewing a military plan for a withdrawal from south Lebanon that critics say will turn Israel's northern region into an armed camp.
- DD-21 receives Phase 2 funds
The two teams bidding for the US Navy's multi-billion dollar DD-21 Land-Attack Destroyer programme have both received $100 million to continue developing the futuristic ship and battling for a contract the navy will award in April 2001.
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| Wednesday, December 8, 1999 |
New @ COMBATSIM.COM- Review: Spec Ops II
Zombie has released the follow on, SOII: Green Berets almost 2 years after the original. While SO could be considered a ‘ground-breaker’ in the shooter genre by being the first realism based shooter, SOII does nothing to surpass its parent product and instead is ‘just another shooter.’ - Preview: JANE'S F/A 18 Training
JANE'S F/A 18 comes with a full suite of training missions, including voice narration prior to the mission and an instructor guiding you through essential steps within the mission.
Hasbro Lays Off Falcon 4 Team- Hasbro has laid off the Falcon 4 team. While the 1.08 patch will be the final patch, there will be no future F15 or other products, and there may never be another flight sim product from Microprose after Gunship.
But in spite of being "the best of sims, the worst of sims," F4 has gained a dedicated following of military combat enthusiasts from around the world. Easily the most complex PC simulation ever released, F4 will remain a classic and a benchmark for PC simulations. The new 1.08 patch promises to give Falcon 4 new life and a legacy that will continue.
In the meantime, we sincerely wish continued success to the scattered team, and hope and pray that they will find places in simulation design teams the world over. Thanks to the dedicated crew who remained faithful to a vision through challenging times, adding depth to the genre and providing for countless hours of hobby fun to sim fans the world over.
Falcon 4.0 1.08 Patch- Microprose has released the final patch for Falcon 4.0. Click here to download from 3Dfiles.com (18 Megs)
Roger Wilco Mark 1c Beta - A new beta version of Roger Wilco has been released. This new RW beta (version 0.53) contains various improvements and code fixes. Click here to download from MPath Interactive. (360kb)
Delta Force2 Updates- Novalogic has released an updated demo for the Delta Force2 AND another patch for the retail game. Use the auto-update feature inside the game to download.
SpecOps II Demo- Zombie has released a playable demo for SpecOps II. Click here to download from SpecOps2.com. (36 Megs)
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| Tuesday, December 7, 1999 |
New @ COMBATSIM.COM- Preview III: JANE'S F/A 18
COMMS in JANE'S F/A 18, followed by a mission report based on the first campaign mission. - Review: Armored Fist III
Novalogic has recently released the third installment in their Armored Fist series. Novalogic is a developer known for their melding of military simulations with hot gameplay to make fun, accessible games anyone can pick up with a minimal learning curve.
New Rogue Spear Mod- RogueSpear Database has posted a new weapon mod, Morgana's Miscellania. It contians 17 new primary weapons, 15 new secondary weapons, 17 new ammo types, huge c4, concussion grenades and extra zoom for the first five SMG's in the normal list. Click here to download.
Game Commander MX- On December 15, in addition to the standard Game Commander, there will be an MX version ($39.95 downloadable) which can run simultaneously with voice chat programs such as Roger Wilco and BattleCom. Switching between voice commands and voice chat is facilitated by a user-configured push-to-talk key. Users of the standard Game Commander can, from Dec. 15 - 31, download an "upgrade" from the standard version to MX for $5. Click here for more info.
Benchmark Your Gaming Machine!- 3DMark2000 is a new utility that can benchmark your gaming machine by MadOnion. Click here to download from 3DFiles.com.
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