Gamernode: Latest PC News

Want Crysis to run on Very High? Got $1800?

And that's just for the triple SLI setup alone. Seems the lads over at PC Games Hardware wanted to get Crysis to run on Very High with a decent frame rate, and it looks like they just might've done it.

They managed to get Crysis to run at an average FPS of 37.9 on Very High settings with 1xAA/1xAF, but the rig they used wasn't any ordinary system. They had to put together an Intel Quad Core system (Q6850 @ 3.00GHz) with 2GB of RAM, a triple SLI setup utilising 8800 Ultra's and a 1200W PSU just to do it.

Judging by the benchmark results, it's going to be a while before your average gaming rig will be able to handle Crysis on Very High.

It's pretty crazy to think that you need a system that costs as much as a good second-hand car just to run a game on the highest settings. The same thing happe...

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Windows Vista SP1 to bring over 300 fixes

With the release of Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista just around the corner (Q1 2008), Microsoft have been quite the busy little bees over the past few days.

Yesterday saw the release of the Vista SP1 RC open beta, allowing users of the Vista operating system to download the service pack before it is officially released.

They've also made available a 47-page document detailing over 300 hot-fixes that will be included in Service Pack 1. The list isn't completed, so you can expect more fixes to be added before the official release next year.

Entries in the list range from a fix for a problem in which optical disks turn blank after being formatted with Vista's Live File System, to a patch for a glitch that generates an error message when large files are copied from one Vista-based computer to ...

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Blizzard "confirms" development on next-gen MMO

So we've heard about it over and over that Blizzard is working on something secret. During the past month or two, job positions were posted specifically looking for helpers on a next-generation MMO but of course, they're labeled as top secret.

Well, to add more fuel to the fire, Blizzard employee and community representative Drysc confirmed on the World of Warcraft forums that Blizzard is working on a next-generation MMO, but it doesn't have to do with World of Warcraft.

So how about that, Blizzard is working on a next-gen MMO, so what could it be? I'm still waiting for Diablo III and/or World of Diablo.

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New Command & Conquer FPS revealed?

Thanks to a perceptive C&C forum member, the upcoming January magazine issue of Game Informer reveals a new FPS set in the Command & Conquer universe. As of writing, details are scant since the issue just hit the stands, but here's what we know:

1. The C&C FPS is called "Tiberium" and is set 11 years after the events of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars.2. You play a GDI commander named Ricardo Vega.3. "Just think of it as GRAW + Battlefield + R6: Vegas in the C&C universe."4. Potential enemies include the Scrin and NOD.5. Special powers include "Orbital Slug."6. Squad-based combat.7. You'll lead a squad called R.A.I.D. (Rapid Assault and Intercept Deployment).

Other than that folks, not much else is known. It's assumed EALA is handling the game's development since they've basically handled...

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Trade your privacy for free software?

If you aren't paranoid about being spied upon by big companies, you can now officially be spied upon by signing up with Microsoft in a venture named the Windows Feedback Program, which helps Microsoft to improve their products.

What this entails is giving up your privacy to let Microsoft track your computer habits for three months automatically. Of if you are uncomfortable with this, you can also manually send in your feedback. You'll also have to fill out surveys at specified intervals as well.

The payoff? You get your choice of selecting one of the following software programs, free of charge, if you fully participate in the Windows Feedback Program:

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Fury MMO is now free

Fury, a fast paced arena based MMO created by Auran will be free of any monthly charges. With the next patch, players that chose to play the free mode called "Chosen" are exempt from paying subscription fees, enjoying almost every aspect the game has to offer.

"As one of the Chosen, players can access all game types, equip all weapons and unlock all 400 abilities - and they can play as much as they like absolutely free. This is a fantastic opportunity for players to jump into battle with their mates and discover the frenetic pace of the fastest RPG combat ever. Chosen will earn less gold and essence, and will not be able to trade with other players" said Tony Hilliam, CEO of Auran.

If you are willing to spend a little bit of cash you can unlock "Hero" mode which gives you more essense and g...

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Borderlands trailer

Four-player co-op, thousands of combinations of guns, full customization of vehicles and a level randomization system; these are just four excellent points that got my attention about Gearbox Software's upcoming sci-fi/FPS/RPG Borderlands. The game is basically a mix of Mad Max and Diablo with guns. Unfortunately, Borderlands is coming out fall 2008 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, so we have some waiting to do. In the meantime, here's the debut trailer:

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Saving Private Ryan, Team Fortress 2 style

I always hate having to leave my IM and MSN names logged on when I'm working on a paper because people feel the need to send anything gaming related to me, even if I'm set to busy or away. Most of the time, they'll get a polite "Thanks!" followed by me not looking at it until I have free time. When someone says "Watch this video, it's Private Ryan but with TF2 sounds," though, all previous obligations are pushed aside to watch.

You may remember when Battlefield got the same treatment with Saving Private Ryan; that's no surprise, given the obvious influences the movie has had on WW2-based shooters. This, though, I didn't think of. Even when I got told what it was my mind went, "It'll be okay, but it won't be that good." I was wrong. It's that good. Click the full story and bask in its glory...

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AMD Phenom CPUs are broken

The new AMD Phenom and Barcelona Opterons are broken and the only avaliable fix will cost Phenom buyers anywhere between 5% and 50% in performance.

The problem is with the CPU's translation lookaside buffer (TLB) and L3 cache, and can cause system crashes and even data corruption. AMD have released a patch to fix the problem.

Specifically, Erratum 298 will be described as follows: "The processor operation to change the accessed or dirty bits of a page translation table entry in the L2 from 0b to 1b may not be atomic. A small window of time exists where other cached operations may cause the stale page translation table entry to be installed in the L3 before the modified copy is returned to the L2.

In addition, if a probe for this cache line occurs during this window of time, the processor may...

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December 6th GameTap releases

Hey, isn't this a surprise, another week, another GameTap update, yay!

There are three new subscription games this week on GameTap. First up is a decent RTS game called Perimeter, which was released in 2004 from Codemasters and K-D Labs. A follow-up expansion pack was released in 2006, but it received less enthusiasm than its parent game.

Next up is a 2004 action game from Majesco called Blowout. The story is pretty simple; you play a mercenary in space and you shoot things. The last new subscription game is Carrier Air Wing from 1990. Capcom developed this action arcade game where you can choose from three different jet fighters and destroy generic enemy military units.

GameTap is feeling pretty jolly this season because the list of free-play titles has been expanded to 68, which equals to 1...

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Feast eyes on first Star Trek Online screenshot

In light of putting Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising on indefinite hold, developer Perpetual Entertainment has its phasers set to amaze with Star Trek Online by releasing the first screenshot to the space MMO.

In an accompanied DevLog, Perpetual's Mike Stemmle explained the game's Interaction System. As Stemmle put it, "In a nutshell, the Interaction System controls every non-combat, player-to-NPC interaction in the game."

"If you want to talk to a Ferengi shopkeeper, it goes through the Interaction System. Need to get some additional phaser training at the local Starfleet Academy? That's the Interaction System. Want to beam down to a planet? Interaction System. Responding to a distress call from a crippled starship? That's the Interaction System, too."

When implementing the Interaction System, P...

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Top 10 best selling PC games for November

The NPD Group has been nice enough to release the latest list of the top 10 best selling PC games in the US, for the week ending November 24:

Coming in at number one is the amazing Orange Box, reviewed here, by GamerNode, which is actually quite impressive since NPD Group numbers do not take Steam sales into account. Secondly, and rightly so, is Call of Duty 4, reviewed here, Infinity Ward's pearl of a shooter; it's a great addition to the CoD family.

This next one had me stumped. I actually had to Google the title to work out what it was. Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst, is the latest in a series of point-and-click-adventure-puzzle-solving games by Big Fish Games. Props for being the 3rd highest selling game!

Next are the MMORPGs, Guild Wars and World of Warcraft, capable of eating your soul...

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Dell reveals WoW flavored laptop. Only $4500...

Dell has unveiled the new "XPS M1730 World of Warcraft Edition notebook PC", or "Super-Nerd Edition notebook PC" as I like to call it--a laptop made especially for WoW fans.

The laptop comes pre-loaded with the original World of Warcraft, along with the expansion, The Burning Crusade and is available with either Alliance or Horde artwork to adorn their system.

On top of that you get a backpack full of WoW-related items, including the following:

You also receive a special "Quest Envelope" with these exclusive rare items:

Pricing starts at just under $4,500 USD, so you'd better start saving those pennies if you want this any time soon!

[via Gaming Today]

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Too many beta testers hurt Tabula Rasa game

While maintaining a decent sized following, NCSoft's relatively new MMORPG, Tabula Rasa, hasn't garnered the overwhelming response the studio was looking for.

During the 2007 Independent Game Conference in Austin, Tabula Rasa creator Richard Garriott gave his opinion on what was right and wrong about his MMORPG.

First, Garriott admitted that there were too many beta testers, which may have hurt the game's potential since there wasn't enough implemented content to entertain them at the time.

"We invited too many people into the beta when the game was still too broken. We burned out some quantity of our beta-testers when the game wasn't yet fun. As we've begun to sell the game, the people who hadn't participated in the beta became our fast early-adopters."

Garriott went to praise the Guild Wars...

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Windows Vista Service Pack 1 on the way

A lot of people I talk to about Microsoft's Windows Vista all seem to take the same stance on when they will start using it: Service Pack 1. It's like some magical point in the development of Windows Vista when the OS will suddenly become acceptable to use.

eWeek has taken an in-depth look at this issue, and they've discovered that this same train of thought is widespread throughout many large companies.

"A big psychological blocker inside many large companies is the belief that Microsoft products shouldn't be adopted until after the first major patch or service pack has been released," said Lee Nicholls, global solutions director at Getronics, a workspace management services company. I see a good deal of companies holding back until they feel the product is stable and fixed."

This is obviou...

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Firefox 3 Beta 1--the details

A couple of weeks ago Mozilla released the first beta of Firefox 3, the newest version of their highly succesful web browsing alternative to Internet Explorer. PCMagazine has gone over the beta release with a fine tooth comb and reported their findings.

The basic gist of it is that the new Firefox 3 beta looks pretty much identical to the previous iteration, but once you get under the hood you'll find that it is a very different beast indeed.

One of the bigger changes is the implementation of Gecko 1.9, which brings a myriad of bug fixes, implements new web APIs and makes Firefox 3 the first Mozilla browser to pass the Acid2 test.

There is going to be more room than ever for custom add-ons and third-party extensions. Developers will also get new graphics and font-handling capabilities and co...

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BioShock patch now live, details revealed!

So you're waiting for the upcoming BioShock patch, right? For us PC BioShock owners, this will mark the first official patch for the game while it'll be the third patch for Xbox 360 gamers.

But if you're wondering what will be included within the patch, don't worry because The Cult of Rapture has since been updated with the full patch details. For one thing, you don't have to wait too much longer because the patch will go live tonight at midnight PST.

Juicy PC patch details include additional plasmids and gene tonics, widescreen fixes, a fix for rebinding keys, the ability to turn off Vita-Chambers and a fix for the awkward pause before accessing the interface and hacking minigame. One of the big fixes I've been waiting for are to the game's subtitles and it looks like the patch will fix the...

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UT3 patch to bring myriad of fixes

Unreal Tournament 3 has been out for a little over 3 weeks and Epic Games is already working on a patch for the game.

Although no official patches have been released, Epic has already released beta patch 101 along with a change log, as well as the change log for a second beta patch. There are a huge number of changes, additions and fixes in both patches, with one of the main issues, the somewhat lacklusture UI, being addressed in both patches.

It's good to see Epic jumping right into the patch stage so soon after the release of the game, hoping to squash as many bugs as quickly as possible. From previous iterations of Unreal Tournament, it's pretty easy to see that Epic really do try to deliver the best experience to the end-user, months, and ever years after their games have been released.

A...

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Valve Store updated in time for the holidays

In case you haven't noticed yet (and I'm sure on this site many of you have), Valve's store has been updated with some new things, including Aperture Laboratory Holiday Greeting Cards (pictured below) just in time for the holiday season. Here's the release:

"If Portal's Weighted Companion Cube and cake could express holiday cheer-and we remind you that they cannot-they'd send an Aperture Laboratory Holiday Greeting Card. This limited-edition pack includes 15 Portal-themed greeting cards-three each of five different sets, each with a unique holiday greeting inside. Slip in a new Aperture Laboratories parking sticker, available separately, to warm the heart of your favorite Portal jumper."

Also new is a shirt or two, a couple posters, and three new lithographs. I myself am going to be picking...

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Deus Ex 3 to use Tomb Raider engine

Hot off the announcement of Deus Ex 3, Developmag snagged an interview with Eidos' Montreal studio head Stephane D'Astous. He revealed some preliminary details for the game.

First, Deus Ex 3 will utilize Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider engine, which was most recently used in Tomb Raider: Anniversary. Presumably the engine will be modified to suit a first-person view instead of a third-person view, along with general visual enhancements.

"We chose the Crystal engine because we plan to help develop this engine more and then share it back with the rest of the company, the other Eidos studios. Having that technology from the start gives us a great advantage and foundation for our coders - there are no doubts about the approach, and we have few uncertainties."

In regards to Eidos Montreal solely foc...

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