MAY NEWS Week 1

Friday 7th May 1999
Server Change - Daniel
We have just moved servers and reorganised the site (but the page shouldn't look much different). Please tell me if there are any problems or dead links on any of our pages. Also, please update your bookmark with our new URL:
http://nonpareilnation.com/explosion
PCG Top 100 - Daniel
The PC Gamer UK Top 100 Games Awards 1999 (whew) has just arrived at my door, along with the rest of the magazine. Anyway, this is bad news I'm afraid. Red Alert was at the measly number 38! It's slipped 20 places since last year's chart, and is now well below it's number 3 score of 1997.
Mind you, it is over two years old now, but I still think it's a great game and deserved a better rating. Civ 2 is also over 2 years old, and they had that at number 3, only beaten by the excellent Quake 2, and of course Half-Life, which was number 1.
Other RTS Titles which beat Red Alert (but only just) included Starcraft at number 31 and Total Annihilation at number 29. Hopefully, next year, Tiberian Sun will top the chart!
New PCG Image - Daniel
This image is from the TS Adver in the May 99 issue of PC Gamer. Rainman from TS Center has scanned the image. Click on it for a larger (and I mean large) version:
New Cutscene Movie - Daniel
Proclone from CC4Ever has made a 34 second fake cutscene called 'The First Shots'. It is an 8.5Mb AVI file and a 2.5Mb MPEG file. It features two NOD Banshees flying over a desert then attacking and destroying a hidden GDI base. Download it at CC4Ever.
New TS Pic - Daniel
TiberianSun.de have got a good quality image of the TS Ad released recently. Here it is (click for a larger version):
Saturday 1st May 1999
Sorry - Daniel
Sorry the news has been a bit slow this week but I've been doing my exams! I dont' know what Alex has been up to, an English project I think. Anyway, hopefully we'll be better organised over the next few weeks while I'm busy doing the rest of my exams. Here is all the news for this week: (there's a lot of it)
TS Going Gold in May - Daniel
TS Command Center have received confirmation from Rade that TS will be going gold in May and it will be available in the shops shortly after that! Excellent!
Current Events on Official Site - Daniel
You may have noticed that Westwood have been using current events in the world for their GDI news updates on the official TS site. RSN have written an article on this, here is one of the examples they give:
TS: "Among the survivors was the driver of the supply truck who said he was alerted to the fire when oncoming traffic flashed their headlights about four miles into the massive twelve mile tunnel."
Washington Post: "Gilbert Degraves, driving from France to Italy, said he was alerted to the fire when oncoming vehicles flashed their headlights, about four miles into the tunnel. (The tunnel is 7 miles long in total length)"
Map Editor and Expansion Packs - Daniel
Tiberian Zone asked Adam Isgreen, lead TS designer, a few questions. Here are two of them:
Zed: Just how much does the map editor need to be changed to make it good for release to the public? We'll go a long way to figure out the map editor just as long as we get it.
Adam: The editor is very esoteric and NOT user friendly. We're familiar with it, but I would not subject it to the general public in the state that it is in. There is a map generator for multiplayer maps that will let you completely customize all kinds of variables (generates really cool maps, too), but the full editor will not ship with the game. We'd rather finish the game and make it great than spend time on making the editor easy to use. :(

Zed: Are there plans for a TS expansion? How many expansions? And would there be new units for the expansions?
Adam: We are always thinking of expansions. There will be new units in it if we do one. I don't know how many there will be.

Molly Culver Info - Daniel
Molly Culver is the actress who plays NOD Officer Oxanna Kristoss in Tiberian Sun. Here is some more information and a pic from TS Center:
Yeap! She's "Tasha Dexter," the smart, sexy sidekick to Pamela Anderson on the hot, new syndicated series, VIP. A former model, Molly Culver has graced runways and magazine covers in Paris, New York and Sydney. Her big-screen credits include Slide Man and Love Stinks. On the small screen she has appeared on Saturday Night Live and USA Network's Pacific Blue.
Adam and the TS LOL3 Realm - Daniel
TiberianSun.de asked Adam Isgreen about the TS world in Lands of Lore 3, where there is a NOD temple. Louis Castle, President of Westwood and producer of LOL3, said that this was all Adam's idea, but here is what Adam said:
Adam: I can't take credit for having the NOD-influenced realm put in LOL3. If I suggested it, I completely forgot I did. Most likely it was Jeff Fillhaber, the lead designer on LOL3, that came up with the idea. As for information about it, suffice it to say that there's a realm in LOL3 called "shattered desert" (I believe that's the correct name) that has some structures in it that bear some striking similarities to NOD style-wise. In that realm you may even get a sneak peek at a certain computer entity that you'll meet in TS.
Release Date - Daniel
TCC discovered this suprising information on the release date:
"I went over to my local retailers Software First in Manchester and asked them about the TS release date. They then directed me to a piece of paper on the front desk which had all the release dates on for big games coming out over the next 3 months. I went down the list to look for TS expecting to see it say June/July and to my suprise I saw the following: 7/02/99. I then asked the shop owner were he gets the release dates from and he told me straight from the game publishers, in this case EA. I remains to be seen if this is the real confirmed date but it is first time I've seen an exact day for TS."
Westwood Studios have, however, been saying that TS will go 'Gold' sometime in late May, and would be released in June. Hopefully, Software First made a mistake. I hope this doesn't mean the game's coming out a few weeks later in the UK though!
Disruptor Beam or Obelisk? - Daniel
Ben Dickorson sent an e-mail to BGTS concerning the following screenshot. He has quite an interesting theory, here you go:
Click to Enlarge
[The Disruptor Tank in the pic] has a 'coffee stain' looking beam coming out of it. It is possible that it is the ingame effect disrupter beam.It doesn't look like it should, as it is orangey brown, and does not look as cool as the blue/white beam from the FMV; however there is evidence that makes me think that it is:
1. It is pointing at the Obelisk of Light
2. There is some debri in its path
3. It looks like it refracts the ground underneath; the lines on the road are not in line with the rest of the road, indicating a transparent beam - that would be cool and more realistic.

Of course, it could be the Obelisk beam fading out, but I do not think so; it is much wider than the obelisk beam. It not straight either, it waves slightly from side to side.

The final explanation I thought up was that it could be the disrupter beam dying out..

PC Gamer Info - Daniel
TiberiumSun.com found some TS info from the June Issue of PC Gamer. Here is a small part of the preview:
In a Nutshell: After what seems like an interminable wait, arguably the most infuential real-time strategy game of all time finally gets the sequel it deserves. Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun's impressive new feature set includes newly diversified GDI and NOD forces, multi-level terrain complete with real physics, spectacular lighting effects (check out those night missions) and an all-new isometric view of the action.
Potential: Original Command & Conquer and Red Alert designer Erik Yeo is back at the helm for this sequel, and everything is in place to make the game as spectacular as its reputation demands --- the new units and features look great so far. And don't forget the sonorous James Earl Jones, who should add some resonance to the cinematics.
Pitfalls: Starcraft raised the bar for the real-time genre considerably --- Tiberian Sun faces the classic sequel challenge of evolving enough to compete in a more sophisticated market, while staying true to the original to satisfy the hardcore fans. meanwhile, a twice-delayed release date has fueled speculation about what's happening behind the scenes --- is Westwood merely taking the time to make everything perfect, or are the delays evidence of real design problems?
The Bottom Line: Delays or not, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun remains one of our most eagerly anticipated games of the year --- and with good reason.
Release Date: July


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