As I had mentioned earlier this week, Splash Damage will be releasing the Quake Wars PC demo on Monday. Today we get to know a little more about what to expect come Monday.

The Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars PC Demo comes with the final version of Valley, one of the larger battlegrounds in the game. Set in Yosemite, California, Valley has the Global Defense Force on the attack, as they attempt to foil a Strogg contamination plot centering on a water treatment facility. Valley features a great blend of close quarters infantry action, vehicle battles and aircraft dogfights, and the varied terrain combining mountains, waterways, tunnels and industrial structures allows for many different playing styles. To top it all off, there’s a multitude of optional side missions and plenty of opportunities to try out the various defense turrets, artillery and radar deployables – Valley is a prime example of the frantic and diverse action you’ll find in Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars.

So we’re getting just a single map to play, albeit one of the bigger maps in QW. While we are waiting for the eternity known as Monday to arrive, Splash Damage have provided a nice Valley Map Guide for our perusal (and you know the boy scout motto). The demo will also show the final XP and weapon balance, player movement, and vehicle handling. For those of you who were in the last beta, the Valley Map itself has been tweaked for balance now.

For those shy or broadband challenged souls, fear not, the Quake Wars demo will feature bots. The bots can also be summoned to online games to fill those empty slots. For those who are a little more savvy, Splash Damage is also including a standalone server and server launcher tool. LAN play is also supported.

Splash Damage have also finalized the system requirements for Quake Wars. So if you are curious as to your PC’s worthiness, have a look-see after the break. Finally, Splash Damage is inviting the public to join them in their IRC demo launch party. Mention of a Quake Wars demo tournament was also given.

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Badman, the Community Relations Manager for Splash Damage Ltd., has now made the release date of the ET: Quake Wars demo public knowledge:

The PC version of Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is currently slated to ship on October 2, 2007 in North America and September 28, 2007 in Europe and Australia.

The Windows PC demo is going to be released on September 10, 2007.

Based on the community feedback the game’s beta(s) have received so far, I’m definitely requiring a demo before I plop my $50 (or so) down. Plus, the system requirements are still not official. You know you are poor when you actually pay attention to those mundane facts.

So there you have it. Mark your calendars, guys and gals. Be on the lookout for some downloadable goodness here at FileFront next week.

Via ET:QW forum

This is certainly turning into the “golden week” as some major titles are being announced as ready to ship. The latest of these is the PC version of the upcoming shooter, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, whose developers have just announced is locked, loaded, and ready to go:

“After months of testing, tweaking and balancing Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars, I’m pleased to finally be able to say ‘It’s Done!’” said id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead. “We’ve had a ton of fun getting the game ready for the masses and I’m looking forward to seeing the massive battle for the top of the online leaderboards begin!”

The game functions as a prequel to the popular Quake II, pitting the Earth’s Global Defense Force against the invading alien Strogg. The title and has already received several awards and has become one of the most anticipated titles for the fall.

“The opportunity to develop Enemy Territory QUAKE Wars has been mind-blowingly cool!” said Splash Damage Owner and Creative Director Paul Wedgwood. “The passion and effort put in by our team at Splash Damage, combined with the amazing direction and mentoring we’ve received from id Software has lead to an award-winning game that we’re incredibly proud of. Our team can’t wait to join fans across the globe to fight in Earth’s battle for survival!”

Versions are already in development for the PS3 and Xbox 360 as well, but you can expect to see the PC version to hit Europe and Australia on September 28th before making it’s way stateside on October 2nd.

Coming out of the Leipzig Games Convention is yet another trailer for an A-List title. This new trailer for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars shows off some gameplay footage for the highly-anticipated title. So far, the graphics look gorgeous and the gameplay looks to contain all the high-octane action the Quake series is known for. Stephany discussed some of the details for this game a couple weeks ago, and this is definitely shaping up to be among the top multiplayer games of for this year. Look for this title to hit the PC early this October, with releases on the PS3 and Xbox 360 to arrive later on.

A week ago I mentioned Shacknews had scored an interview with id software’s Tim Willits and Todd Hollenstead regarding Rage. Seems they have finally shared that interview with the community. It is quite an informative interview, practically devoid of any tech talk (I guess they’ll leave that for “The Carmack” interview). The primary focus is on Rage and how they came up with the idea for the game. Tim Willits pretty much confirmed id’s departure from the dark corridor shooter genre of its past. Rage evidently will be a Death Race meets Mad Max type game with racing elements being an integral part of the experience (Willits mentioned Motorstorm being a big influence). The shooter element will still be there; however, id’s focus seems to be on making Rage a collection of many types of game genres (shooter, racing, adventure, RPG). Willits toys with the idea of RPG elements such as an inventory system where you can packrat around “phat loot” much like Oblivion or more recently, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

…which brings me to the crux of the matter. It seems like id is toying with a lot of ideas here. The vibe I got from the interview is one of an experimental nature. It doesn’t seem like id has any sense of direction with Rage right now. The story they are shopping is something straight out of a Mad Max movie:

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With Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) based games dominating the market lately (Stranglehold, Bioshock, Mass Effect, etc.), id Software has largely been under the radar. One only has to look back less than a decade and note that they were unquestionably the dominant engine licensee. Indeed, how times have changed.

What handful of titles that were made using their last engine (Doom3, Quake4, Prey) will eventually exist as minor footnotes in gaming history. One can easily speculate “What went wrong?” Technology fumble? Your guess is as good as mine. Regardless, it looks like id is ready to move on and take back that spotlight. Enter id Tech 5. The UE3 killer? Not this year.

Chris Remo over at Shacknews recently sat down with id’s head honcho Todd Hollenstead and pumped him for information about the so called id of new. The read is interesting even if it’s a teaser of sorts. The thing that caught my eye was Hollenstead basically taking a shot at the widespread usage of UE3, saying, “In terms of an engine licensing philosophy–and you can read this anywhere, I’m not going secondhand here–Epic has a philosophy to license to everyone they can. That will not be our strategy. We will go with a lower number of what we think are high-value licensees and games, and try to service those, and not overcast our resources in providing support.”

Check me if I’m wrong here, but isn’t the whole idea of licensing an engine to make money? If that is indeed the case, isn’t it better to have more licensees instead of less? Maybe I’m wrong, but it would seem so to me. Of course, I could just suck at math.

Via Shacknews

Peace, Love and Rockets is what QuakeCon is all about, and it drew thousands of attendees to Dallas, Texas this weekend. And when I say attendees, this may or may not include hard-core nerds.

“I may have a limited circle of friends in the real world,” Dennis “SpinDoc” Gedeon told the Dallas Morning News. “But when I’m here, I have thousands of guys to talk to and hang out with. Everyone comes together with their own kind.”

To give you an idea, there was an official deodorant request, and it seems that it was obvious that most of the attendees weren’t used to, you know, interacting with the outside world. But being a hard-core gamer sometimes means devoting your life to something else besides society as we know it.

“These guys are entertaining for us to watch,” Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software, told the DMN. “They are so enthusiastic. Some of them put it into the color of their hair. Some show it with how they modify their computers.”

And building computers, indeed. John Mangus, a gamer from Stoystown, Pennsylvania, showed his devotion by building a 6′ 10″ life-size Optimus Prime computer, from the loveable Transformer series. It was playable, and he competed as other gamers stopped and stared. At least from the picture the DMN has provided, it was a sight to behold.

I don’t know what I’ll say for myself now that I have a disposable income when Starcraft II comes out, but until then my Dell is in its standard black box.

via The Dallas Morning News

id Software and Activision announced at QuakeCon that Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars for the PC will hit European shelves September 28 and US shelves October 2. The game, in development by Splash Damage, pits the armies of Earth’s Global Defense Force against the alien Strogg in a multi-player strategic shooter where players engage in a new war for Earth.

Offering objective-based multi-player action online or off with bots, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is set in the QUAKE universe in the year 2065. Gamers can choose sides as the human GDF or alien Strogg in one of five character classes, choose a from a myriad of weapons, vehicles and armaments, and engage in a test of skill and coordinated teamwork through a series of combat objectives. Persistent character growth and achievements reward players for teamwork, while mission and class objectives guide new players to contributions on the battlefield.

Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is also currently in development for the Xbox 360 and the PS3.

Starting today, Steam users will be able to download full versions of the complete DOOM series and QUAKE I – III, including mission packs, as well as Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny, Heretic, and HeXen. These releases are part of the id Software “Welcome Celebration” on Steam, and select id packages are being offered with a 10%, limited-time discount thanks to id Sofware and Valve who are apparently in a very good mood due to the success of this year’s QuakeCon.

“Valve pioneered digital delivery of video games with Steam,” said Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software. “As a game developer themselves, Valve understands what developers and game players want and need in an online distribution system, and Steam delivers.”

“We can’t overstate our admiration for id, its games, and the technical advancements the company has delivered to help move the industry forward during the past 15 years,” said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. “Like many other studios, Valve was born when we licensed the QUAKE engine to build our first game. We’re proud to welcome id to Steam and give people around the world an easy way to play the games that have inspired everyone here at Valve.”

The new games added to Steam include:

Individual Games

• Commander Keen, Episodes 1 through 5
• Wolfenstein 3D
• Spear of Destiny
• Return to Castle Wolfenstein
• Ultimate DOOM
• DOOM II
• Master Levels for DOOM II
• Final DOOM
• DOOM3
• DOOM3: Resurrection of Evil
• QUAKE
• QUAKE Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon
• QUAKE Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternity
• QUAKE II
• QUAKE II Mission Pack: The Reckoning
• QUAKE II Mission Pack: Ground Zero
• QUAKE III Arena
• QUAKE III: Team Arena
• Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders
• HeXen
• HeXen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel
• HeXen II

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

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Amongst the many new tidbits of information revealed at this year’s QuakeCon was one from id Software regarding the highly secretive development project Rage. John Carmack (co-founder and programmer) was happy to admit that id Softwware is trying new gaming genres by stating: “Everybody knows we’re going to do a good job with the run and gun action stuff…but we are branching out”. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and where your character will be driving across an open world from settlement to settlement blasting away the government, monsters, and mutants – and who out there does not love to blast mutants! The game will supposedly take roughly 20 hours to complete, and you will be able to revel in co-op mode with your buddies as well as customize your vehicles.

So far the developers have stated that the game will ship when it is finished, but they have given some details on what consoles will lay claim to Rage. The PS3 version of the game will of course be on Blu-ray, and the PC, Mac, and Xbox 360 versions will be on two DVDs with potential Blu-ray distribution for the PC and Mac versions. Not much more was revealed regarding gameplay, style, or plot – so stay tuned for more juicy details as they arrive, and in the meantime head on over to Shacknews where they have a fabulous teaser trailer posted for Rage. The game looks great so far, everything really looks top-notch. While watching it I half expected Mel Gibson and Tina Turner to come waltzing onto the screen a la ‘Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome’ – but all silliness aside, this is looks to be another must play for me.