Old World Blues Available Today!

Beginning today, you can purchase New Vegas’ latest and greatest DLC, Old World Blues, on Xbox LIVE, Steam, and PSN. To get you ready for all the crazy fun, here’s a short diary from Old World Blues’ lead brain, Chris Avellone.

Take it away, Chris!

There is an expression in the wasteland called “Old World Blues.” It refers to those obsessed with the past they can’t see the present, much less the future for what it is. Their eyes are like pilot lights, guttering and spent, the realities of their world continuing on around them as they stare into the past.

Old World Blues is built around the history of Fallout games we’ve worked on. It’s history-that’s-created-history, with a dash of what might have been from past games, media, and design documents from Fallout 1, 2, and past Fallout projects given new life. From Lobotomites, DNA splicing, Cazadores, Night Stalkers, where-the-hell-did-those-plants-in-the-Mojave-come-from, the scientific enclave of Big MT itself, Proton weapons, and giant robotic scorpions, all of these things formed the nucleus of taking a trip into the past-is-present Fallout universe to see a slice of the Old World that’s been fenced in and feeding on itself for far too long. We wanted you to see the context and homages to the Fallout universe in a scientific preserve, both from the distant Fallout past to more recent adventures in New Vegas and the DLCs. As you’ll discover, Big MT (or the Big “Empty”) is filled with what-might-have-been… and all that was lost that potentially could have made a better world for all. There’s an undercurrent of the blues all around Big MT… but if you’re strong enough, you can change it, and the whole meaning of Old World Blues forever.

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Brink PC: Stats Site and game update live!

Starting today, PC players can track their stats on the Brink stats site located at http://battle.brinkthegame.com/ (for info on getting started, visit the site’s FAQ page). Additionally, a new PC update has gone live on Steam. Some of the highlights are below:

  • Server admins can set up a custom welcome message for their server that will show up on the loading screen when players connect
  • Fixed Aquarium map from logging only one objective as being completed
  • Incremented networking protocol
  • Added objective timing info to the Stopwatch review screen
  • Fixed player nametags disappearing despite not being affected by flashbang
  • Fixed having a players’ weapon stuck in iron-sights for the entire refire duration when needing to perform an auto-reload
  • Added support for showing player health bars for spectators when looking at the player
  • Fixed issue with caltrop models not always being updated properly
  • Added automatic scrolling when typing in chat boxes
  • Added ability for spectators to watch a current objective’s progress
  • Server admins can increase the defending team’s spawn timers in Stopwatch
  • Players can verify people’s Steam identities so they can verify people’s Steam IDs
  • Spectators can see player names colored by team (red vs. blue) rather than white
  • New filter capability so players can view by their preferred server type which translates into dedicated servers offering better performance
  • Now force a refresh of the notifications screen each time it is activated
  • Hacking terminals are now easier for the attacking team
  • Added 10 seconds to each defending team’s spawn time in Stopwatch mode
  • Fixed issue with caltrop models not always being updated properly

That’s all for now. As soon as we have more information on the titles updates for PS3 & 360, as well as the release date for Agents of Change, we’ll let everyone know.

QuakeCon 2011 Tournament Line Up Announced

With QuakeCon just over two week away, we’ve got details on this year’s tournaments. Get the full scoop in the press release below…

QUAKECON 2011 TOURNAMENT LINE UP ANNOUNCED

July 18, 2011 (Rockville, MD) – The world’s very best QUAKE LIVE® players will once again gather in Dallas, Texas to take part in intense online tournaments at QuakeCon® 2011, being held August 4-7, 2011 at the Hilton Anatole. Top professionals will compete in the Intel-sponsored QUAKE LIVE Duel Invitational Masters and the Intel® QUAKE LIVE Team Deathmatch Invitational Masters and contend for a share of over $40,000 in prize money.  Also new to this year’s QuakeCon®, up-and-coming players will have the opportunity to prove their gaming expertise in the Brink™ Open Championships.

This year, players competing in the tournaments will all be using the same kind of computers thanks to Dell. Players will be using the Alienware Aurora, which combines the latest in gaming technology to deliver a premier gaming experience to even the most demanding hard core gaming fan.

QuakeCon, which is free and open to the public, offers an opportunity to see the greatest players in the world compete in highly-competitive tournaments. Matches will also be broadcast live each day of the competitions on large screens with play-by-play commentary from this year’s shoutcasters who will capture all of the energy, excitement and behind-the-scenes drama, with live match coverage, player interviews and expert analysis.

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QuakeCon 2011: Announcing the “20 Years of id Software” panel and contest!

Attention fans of id Software: you will not want to miss QuakeCon 2011!

To mark two decades of gaming excellence, key figures from id are coming together for the “20 Years of id Software” panel, a lively look back at one of the most storied studios in gaming.

John Carmack, Todd Hollenshead, Kevin Cloud and Tim Willits will all be on hand to tell their tales on the main stage, with G4TV’s Morgan Webb hosting the proceedings. Following the hour-long panel, the id guys will stick around for a signing session with fans. It’s all going down at 2:30pm on Friday, August 5 in the Grand Ballroom.

But before the panel even begins, we’re giving you a chance to participate. Are you a collector of id-related materials? Did you have your picture taken with John Carmack once — or did you get your Quake box signed by the dev team? Send in QuakeCon photos, pictures of your id game collections, your favorite screenshots — anything related to id — to “bethblog@bethsoft.com” under the subject “id 20th” and you may see your image featured on the big screen during the event. We’ll be giving away id-related posters to the people with our favorite contributions, so good luck!

For more information on QuakeCon, head to the brand-new QuakeCon.org.

Around the web (updated)

Whaddya do when your back is too burnt to enjoy the Bahamas? In my case, it’s the perfect opportunity to do a web roundup.

While (web) surfing on my trip, I spotted this story on Joystiq about artist A.J. Hateley’s book covers inspired by video games. Above is his tribute to Fallout 3. Check out all his covers here.

Following Game Informer’s announcement of Dishonored, you’ll want to keep an eye out for extended coverage on their dedicated hub for the game. Beyond covering Arkane’s newly-announced game, their staff seems to have been bitten by the Oblivion bug, as they have new features on their favorite Oblivion fan videos and why they love the game.

Elsewhere, IGN looks back at both Oblivion (#18) and Fallout 3 (#6) in their list of the Top 100 Modern Video Games. Check out the full list here.

Has Fallout 3 ever made you wonder how to prepare for a post-apocalyptic lifestyle? If so, read 1Up’s How to Survive the Fallout Apocalypse.

In addition to these features, check out these links…

  • Learn a fun fact about how the Dragon language was created for Skyrim at 1Up
  • IGN shows how taking suggestions can go terribly wrong. You won’t see these dragons in Skyrim
  • The Wall Street Journal put up a video featuring Fallout 3 and Pete Hines prior to the big SCOTUS decision (hooray, video games!)
  • As we close in on QuakeCon 2011 (just over 2 weeks away), Kotaku has a piece on the early days of id Software
  • Kotaku writes about our first game, Gridiron!, after learning that we’re celebrating 25 years of excellence

After the break, find more coverage for Prey 2, Skyrim, and RAGE.

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QuakeCon 2011 Hotel Information

QuakeCon is around the corner, and if you’re planning to come from outside the area, hotel rooms are going fast. To make sure you’re not left out in the Texas heat with your LAN setup strapped to your back, book your discounted room at the Dallas Hilton Anatole — the site of QuakeCon 2011 — today.

Booking a reservation is simple:

In addition to the discounted room rate of $154 a night, staying at the Hilton also guarantees you a break on parking to $8 a day.

The show runs from August 4-7, so plan your reservation accordingly. See you there!