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Daily News
By Gail Helmer

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Friday, December 1, 2000


Best Buy Recalls HP Pentium 4 Machines!
Best Buy Retail outlets have pulled the first wave of Hewlett-Packard computers loaded with Intel's Pentium 4 processor off their shelves, according to Best Buy spokesperson Jim McManus. "Apparently there was an issue with the [Pentium 4] and the BIOS upgrade," McManus said. "We had found out about this from HP. And I know that the Pentium 4 [computers] were taken off the shelf, but I don't have a timeframe as to when they are going to be back." Full story at: InfoWorld.com

IL-2 Development Update!
Oleg Maddox has posted this weeks development update at: IL-2 Forum

Oleg has also provided a download of an explosion sequence in 5 shots, click here: Explosion Sequence Download



Thursday, November 30, 2000


Aces High 1.05 Update!
HiTech Creations is nearing completion of Aces High version 1.05. This will be their biggest version change to date. For details on the new version visit: HiTech Creations

Infogrames Seeking to Acquire Hasbro Interactive!
Hasbro Interactive's future could be resolved within the next few weeks, with Infogrames known to be in advanced discussions to acquire the troubled publisher. Infogrames shareholders are understood to favour a cash-based deal, but negotiations have apparently been delayed due to "the deal not being as straightforward as expected". The challenge for Infogrames appears to be how it acquires the interactive arm of Hasbro, yet still maintain the rights to publish games based on the numerous brands.

2001 Codie Awards!
The 2001 finalists for the annual Codie Awards have been announced. The Codie Awards, handed out by the Software and Information Industry Association, seek to honor excellence in a broad range of software categories. Nominees in the game industry include Crimson Skies for Best Action, Adventure or Arcade Game and Combat Flight Simulator 2: World War 2 Pacific Theater for Best Strategy or Simulation Game. The Codie Awards ceremony will be held on March 21 in San Diego. For the full list of catergories and nominees go to: SIIA - Codie Awards

Email Group for Swedish Simmers!
COMBATSIM.COM has received a note that a new mailing list has been set up for you Swedish simmers to get in touch with each other for LANs etc. The email address is: [email protected]


Wednesday, November 29, 2000


Battle of Britain Demo Available!
Empire Interactive has released the Battle of Britain demo. This is a 46mb file and can be downloaded from the Supply Depot at: Battle of Britain

Combat Mission Patch!
Battlefront has released a beta version of its long awaited tcp/ip patch for Combat Mission. Please make sure you read the docs, all the instructions, and tools for reporting bugs are in there. A great game has gotten better!!! The docs and instructions are available at: Battlefront Forum
Download now: Battlefront Patch.exe Windows Version
Download now: Battlefront Patch.exe Mac Version


Tuesday, November 28, 2000


B-17 II Movie!
As a special treat to all B17 fans, Hasbro has been able to make available for download, the complete 'official' B17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty Eighth opening movie sequence. For the first time, you will be able to experience the awe and magnificence of these mighty bombers in flight. This is a 20mb file. Go to download department at: B17 Flying Fortress

WWII Online Update!
Cornered Rat Software, developers of World War II Online, have released another mp3 formatted news break. This time we hear from Russell "Hoss" Mirabelli about the state of development on the Macintosh version of WWIIOL. Hoss covers such topics as OpenGL for Mac game developers and how CRS is committed to building the Mac version in tandem with the PC version of WWIIOL, not a port of the PC version. To listen to the news break click here now: Playnet MP3 Download

Battle of Britain Gold!
Empire Interactive has announced that Battle of Britain has gone gold in the UK. This means that the game is completed and is expected to hit store shelves in the UK by mid-December. The North American release date will be early 2001.


Monday, November 27, 2000


X-35a Breaks Sound Barrier!
Just 25 hours and 25 flights into its airborne test program, the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter X-35A broke the sound barrier Nov. 21, continuing an aggressive program of flight-envelope expansion.



Test pilot Tom Morgenfeld lifted off from here and took the X-35A to 25,000 feet altitude, reaching Mach 1.05. Earlier in the day, on the X-35A's 24th flight, Morgenfeld demonstrated the aircraft's ability to land on an aircraft carrier during six practice carrier landing demonstrations, previewing the aircraft's low-speed carrier approach handling qualities in advance of upcoming tests with the second demonstrator, the X-35C. He said controllability in the carrier landing profiles was excellent as he used a Fresnel lens on the ground for pilot cues during his approach to a simulated carrier deck outlined on the runway here.

"These results were accomplished by our team's approach to tackle technical challenges up front," said Tom Burbage, executive vice president and general manager of the Lockheed Martin JSF program. "This aircraft has allowed us to concentrate on validating those flying characteristics that cannot be adequately proven through modeling and simulation." With its flight testing now complete, the X-35A returned to Lockheed Martin's nearby Palmdale, Calif., facility to be fitted with a shaft-driven lift-fan propulsion system. It will be renamed the X-35B and will begin ground testing in preparation for its short takeoff/vertical landing demonstrations. "In flight-testing the X-35A, we've been gathering information on the STOVL X-35B model since the up-and-away performance is the same," said Harry Blot, vice president and deputy program manager for the Lockheed Martin JSF team. "We also have completed engine runs on the X-35C -- the Navy configuration -- and expect it to take flight by mid-December."

The conventional-takeoff-and-landing X-35A, designed to meet Air Force specifications, is externally identical to the STOVL X-35B, the U.S. Marine Corps/ British Royal Air Force and Royal Navy JSF demonstrator. Consequently, much of the X-35A's flight-test data will satisfy government requirements for the X-35B. "All three of these aircraft are very close representations of the planes we're proposing for full-scale production," Blot said. "When you see our flight-test data, you're essentially seeing data that the production aircraft would generate." (Courtesy of the Air Force Flight Test Center News Service)

Flanker 2.5 Screenshots!
Mark "Stinger" Shepard has posted some spectacular Flanker 2.5 screenshots at the Official Flanker Forum. Check the screenshots out at: Flanker Forum

Project IGI Gold!
Eidos Interactive has announced the upcoming game "Project IGI: I'm going in", has gone gold. The game should hit the selves the 8 December. For more on this title go to: Project IGI

Fighting Steel Project V2.0+ Released!
Fighting Steel Project V2.0+ has been posted! This latest installment brings up the number of data enhancements to over 550 including over 200 scenario data changes! This project is designed to further enhance the excellent Fighting Steel game. More news on future work for this game will be posted sometime later this week. For more info: Naval Warfare



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