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Ask Fragland nr.3
Here it is, sorry for being a bit late, but the good weather is keeping me outside! :) Fragland nr.3 is the longest Ask Fragland ever! 7 questions are answered by Fragland in this feature, but of course, it have to be more in number four ;)
Start sending questions to askfragland @ fragland . net for Ask Fragland nr.4. This time you can send them till 7th August 2004, since I'm going to go on holiday. When I'm back I stay home for a loooooong time, so you can be sure Ask Fragland will appear every week then.
Anyway, have fun reding nr.3, and start sending those questions for part 4 to askfragland @ fragland . net !
< - - - - - >
Kul Mital:
Will there be a Monkey Island 5?
Will there be a Gabriel Knight 4? (bweh, I think I know the answer and it's no :()
Will there be a Broken Sword 4? (God i hope so !!)
Will there be another Heroes of Might and Magic and is there a pack with part 4 and the expansions?
What do you think of Bethesda developeing another Fallout?
Fragland:
There are many mysteries about Monkey Island 5. There are interviews where employees of LucasArts tell us there will be a MI5 komt, but since those are from 2002, and there wasn't any other info since then, it's quite possibly MI5 is cancelled. The fact that Sam&Max 2 and Full Throttle 2 will not be released make the chance even smaller. Here are the quotes though, maybe you're interested (quotes are from 2002!):
You're absolutely right about Gabriel Knight 4; you can't find a thing about it, except some petitions from desperate fans, and one site that wants us to believe he has exclusive info about the game,
but since /GK4_April_Fool's_Day/ is in the URL, you have to be quite stupid to believe that.
There are a lot of doubts surrounding Broken Sword 4 too. One would think that a fourth game would be a logical step, but the sales of part 3 were disappointing, which could influence the decision in making another one. A lot of people out there think (better yet: 'hope') that Revolution Games -the developing studio- is working on a sequel for Beneath a Steel Sky first. Broken Sword 4 would have to wait untill that job is done before going into production. Furthermore, BS4 would start off where BS3 ended. But RG is not willing to share the least bit on info on this subject. We'll have to wait and see.
Now, about Heroes of Might & Magic: I could not find a 'package-deal' with part 4 + expantion-packs. There is a packet with part 3 + expantions and a gigantic box-set with parts 1-2-3 + all expantions. You can find these on Amazon but be wary of the price - it is not cheap. Furthermore, do not get your hopes up too high for another sequel. The last one, part IX, dates back from 2002 and nothing has been heard of Heroes of Might & Magic since... There is one more lead though: the publisher was 3DO and the developer New World Computing. 3DO has gone bankrupt, and New World Computing was in corporate with 3DO...
I can only say one thing about Fallout: the more games, the better!
- - - - -
Olivier Szrek:
Is the "commander" in Battlefield 2 someone constantly being in a sort of spectator mode, or can he, just like anyone else, join the fight and run around, shoot, drive vehicles,...?
Fragland:
The commander mode in BF2 will be quite the same as the commander in Savage. You get the full map of the battlefield and you have to co-ordinate everything. You won't be able to take part of the action yourself, but it's your responsibility that everyone returns home alive!
- - - - -
Coz:
Cyberlore was supposed to be working on a sequel to Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim, the interesting little RTS released back in 2000. The sequel was apparently going to be called Majesty Legends, but I haven't heard any news on it in over a year. Do you have any idea of the status?
Fragland:
Well, Majesty Legends (Majesty II) is being made but for now it had to step aside for... boobs! Cyberlore wants to finish Playboy: The Mansion first, and they hope to get some fame with the boobie-game, and it might just work. That fame is necessary to get a publisher for Majesty II, they don't have that yet because part 1 didn't sell too well. This info is directly from some people at Cyberlore, so you can trust it. I think you can expect some news on the game when Playboy: The Mansion is released.
- - - - -
Tom Ruelle:
What's up with the new XBox. When will it be available + What new features will it have? + Maybe if you find any other interesting info.
What are the minimum pc specs for Doom3 ?
Fragland:
There hasn't been very much reliable info about Xbox 2 or Xbox Next (or whatever you want to call it). Microsoft would want to release the machine at the end of 2005, but if this is only in the USA, or also in other continents isn't known. And whether MS is CAPABLE of releasing it then is even less known. You will find a lot of rumours about new features. Xbox 2 wouldn't have a Hard Disk, since the developers don't use the current one in the Xbox. I wouldn't believe all the rumours if I were you, because you can be damn sure 80 % of it is a lie. Just wait till the next big event, info will pop out soon enough.
Here are the Doom 3 specs:
You can go this way for more information. It's also known that people with Windows 9x or Windows ME won't be able to play the game.
- - - - -
Ragnarok:
There's a lot of information about CS : source. But what's up with DoD : source? Are they developing it? Do they only start whel HL2 is released? Or won't we see it at all?
Fragland:
Short answer on this one. It's coming, yahoo! But not with the release of Half Life 2, you'll have to wait a bit longer. This info was on the official DOD site, so you can trust it :).
- - - - -
Silentbomber:
I have been hearing news that Shenmue 3 is in the works, I heard at E3 Yu Suzuki was asked about it and all he said is "You'll see", does that mean he
is making it or is he just having a laugh with us? I also heard that Shenmue 3 is the last one with the last 16(?) chapters being put into the game, is this news confirmed? And can you tell me any other S3 news I dont know as well.
Fragland:
There are different things that make you think Shenmue 3 is being made, or at least planned, I'll tell you a few:
Yu Suzuki did say "You'll see." on E3 when then asked if Shenmue 3 would come or not. Of course it's possible that they're not going to make the game, and maybe they want to surprise us with something completely different. Shenmue 3 was announced by Sega-AM2 in November 2001, but that's way too long ago to still trust it. Yu Suzuki left Sega-AM2 though, and he started Digital Rex, and on the site of Digital Rex is a link to the site of Shenmue, which is completely renewed. It seems quite stupid to me to redesign a site when your series won't even continue. In an interview with a gamemag, Suzuki answered the same question, but then he said: "Not Yet". The gaming-industry is complicated, I'll just say what I have to say so many times; wait, hope, and so on...
- - - - -
GamerThomas:
I have 2 questions:
1. I've seen a good monitor at crazycamel.be; the IIyama HM903DTA 19inch 130KHz Diamondtron M2 2 D-sub. Now I've seen an ad for a LaCie 19" monitor too (<www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10037>;) for 350 euro. It claims to have freq up to 110KHz and a dot pitch of 0.24mm. My dad says it's the ultimate monitor for graphical purposes like photography (he is a professional photographer) because of it's accurate colors. Now my question is: what is the best (19") monitor for gaming under 400 euro's?
2. I'm planning on buying a new computer with christmas (I'm going to order the parts and build it myself). The Radeon X800 is definitively going to be in it; but how long will it approximately take for it to get a price cut? (my budget will be 1500 euros without the monitor and I'm planning to buying all high-end stuff, so plz keep up with the 'Fragland High-End' column!!!)
That's it. Thanks a lot in advance!!
Fragland:
Because my personal knowledge of hardware isn't all that good I will leave this question to the hardware freaks in the Fragland-crew.
I can assure you that your father is right. The Iiyama HM903DTA (aka Vision Master Pro 454) is the ultimate 19" CRT monitor. I personally consider CRT's are much better than TFT screens, especially when it comes to gaming. And when it comes to CRT's, the HM903DTA is still the best you can get.
Now about the price cut: usually the prices drop when new chips are being released. Because there are budget cards available for almost every chip I don't see a big drop in the prices in the near future, unless nVidia and ATI want to have a real price battle (what they haven't done until now so we can't expect that to happen anytime soon). If we should follow the "normal" evolution we should see a "boosted" version of the recent hi-end cards in about 6 months and this will cause the prices to drop. Because both ATI and nVidia have released their supercards at the moment (the 6800 Ultra Extreme and the X800 XT Platinum wich will replace the 6800 Ultra and the X800 XT) it is the question whether we will see new cards and chips in 6 months.
To make a long story short: price cuts are unpredictable and most definitly in these ages where PCI Express is going to take over AGP.
Start sending questions to askfragland @ fragland . net for Ask Fragland nr.4. This time you can send them till 7th August 2004, since I'm going to go on holiday. When I'm back I stay home for a loooooong time, so you can be sure Ask Fragland will appear every week then.
Anyway, have fun reding nr.3, and start sending those questions for part 4 to askfragland @ fragland . net !
< - - - - - >
Kul Mital:
Will there be a Monkey Island 5?
Will there be a Gabriel Knight 4? (bweh, I think I know the answer and it's no :()
Will there be a Broken Sword 4? (God i hope so !!)
Will there be another Heroes of Might and Magic and is there a pack with part 4 and the expansions?
What do you think of Bethesda developeing another Fallout?
Fragland:
There are many mysteries about Monkey Island 5. There are interviews where employees of LucasArts tell us there will be a MI5 komt, but since those are from 2002, and there wasn't any other info since then, it's quite possibly MI5 is cancelled. The fact that Sam&Max 2 and Full Throttle 2 will not be released make the chance even smaller. Here are the quotes though, maybe you're interested (quotes are from 2002!):
Simon Jeffrey:
And what about a new Monkey Island game? Are you guys interested in doing that still?
At some point in the future, there will undoubtedly be more Monkey Island games. No doubt about that.
--
Tom Sarris:
Are there any other popular franchises that LucasArts will re-visit?
There'll definitely be another Monkey Island game. You've seen four incredibly well-done versions of Monkey Island, and there's an immense amount of stories that remain to be told within that series.
--
Tom Sarris:
Is it possible that we will see a Monkey Island 5 in the future or have you definitely closed the book on that franchise?
They are definitely going to make Monkey Island 5 since it is their most popular franchise. However, we shouldn't expect it in the near future.
And what about a new Monkey Island game? Are you guys interested in doing that still?
At some point in the future, there will undoubtedly be more Monkey Island games. No doubt about that.
--
Tom Sarris:
Are there any other popular franchises that LucasArts will re-visit?
There'll definitely be another Monkey Island game. You've seen four incredibly well-done versions of Monkey Island, and there's an immense amount of stories that remain to be told within that series.
--
Tom Sarris:
Is it possible that we will see a Monkey Island 5 in the future or have you definitely closed the book on that franchise?
They are definitely going to make Monkey Island 5 since it is their most popular franchise. However, we shouldn't expect it in the near future.
You're absolutely right about Gabriel Knight 4; you can't find a thing about it, except some petitions from desperate fans, and one site that wants us to believe he has exclusive info about the game,
but since /GK4_April_Fool's_Day/ is in the URL, you have to be quite stupid to believe that.
There are a lot of doubts surrounding Broken Sword 4 too. One would think that a fourth game would be a logical step, but the sales of part 3 were disappointing, which could influence the decision in making another one. A lot of people out there think (better yet: 'hope') that Revolution Games -the developing studio- is working on a sequel for Beneath a Steel Sky first. Broken Sword 4 would have to wait untill that job is done before going into production. Furthermore, BS4 would start off where BS3 ended. But RG is not willing to share the least bit on info on this subject. We'll have to wait and see.
Now, about Heroes of Might & Magic: I could not find a 'package-deal' with part 4 + expantion-packs. There is a packet with part 3 + expantions and a gigantic box-set with parts 1-2-3 + all expantions. You can find these on Amazon but be wary of the price - it is not cheap. Furthermore, do not get your hopes up too high for another sequel. The last one, part IX, dates back from 2002 and nothing has been heard of Heroes of Might & Magic since... There is one more lead though: the publisher was 3DO and the developer New World Computing. 3DO has gone bankrupt, and New World Computing was in corporate with 3DO...
I can only say one thing about Fallout: the more games, the better!
- - - - -
Olivier Szrek:
Is the "commander" in Battlefield 2 someone constantly being in a sort of spectator mode, or can he, just like anyone else, join the fight and run around, shoot, drive vehicles,...?
Fragland:
The commander mode in BF2 will be quite the same as the commander in Savage. You get the full map of the battlefield and you have to co-ordinate everything. You won't be able to take part of the action yourself, but it's your responsibility that everyone returns home alive!
The Commander mode is an example of a new feature that expands on the Battlefield experience. The battlefield commander can play the battlefield experience in a different way ... he has the ability to see the game map top down and do such things as issue orders to squads, call in artillery strikes, order satellite sweeps, and communicate with his forces via VOIP. All of these activities support a greater set of teamplay activities that players can engage in. The player with the highest rank can be the commander, or teams can decide who will be the commander before the round starts.
- - - - -
Coz:
Cyberlore was supposed to be working on a sequel to Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim, the interesting little RTS released back in 2000. The sequel was apparently going to be called Majesty Legends, but I haven't heard any news on it in over a year. Do you have any idea of the status?
Fragland:
Well, Majesty Legends (Majesty II) is being made but for now it had to step aside for... boobs! Cyberlore wants to finish Playboy: The Mansion first, and they hope to get some fame with the boobie-game, and it might just work. That fame is necessary to get a publisher for Majesty II, they don't have that yet because part 1 didn't sell too well. This info is directly from some people at Cyberlore, so you can trust it. I think you can expect some news on the game when Playboy: The Mansion is released.
- - - - -
Tom Ruelle:
What's up with the new XBox. When will it be available + What new features will it have? + Maybe if you find any other interesting info.
What are the minimum pc specs for Doom3 ?
Fragland:
There hasn't been very much reliable info about Xbox 2 or Xbox Next (or whatever you want to call it). Microsoft would want to release the machine at the end of 2005, but if this is only in the USA, or also in other continents isn't known. And whether MS is CAPABLE of releasing it then is even less known. You will find a lot of rumours about new features. Xbox 2 wouldn't have a Hard Disk, since the developers don't use the current one in the Xbox. I wouldn't believe all the rumours if I were you, because you can be damn sure 80 % of it is a lie. Just wait till the next big event, info will pop out soon enough.
Here are the Doom 3 specs:
Minimimum System Requirements:
1.5 GHz Intel Pentium 4 chip or AMD Athlon 1500, 384 MB RAM, 2 GB hard disk space, nVidia GeForce 3 graphics card or better; or an ATI Technologies 8500 or better
1.5 GHz Intel Pentium 4 chip or AMD Athlon 1500, 384 MB RAM, 2 GB hard disk space, nVidia GeForce 3 graphics card or better; or an ATI Technologies 8500 or better
You can go this way for more information. It's also known that people with Windows 9x or Windows ME won't be able to play the game.
- - - - -
Ragnarok:
There's a lot of information about CS : source. But what's up with DoD : source? Are they developing it? Do they only start whel HL2 is released? Or won't we see it at all?
Fragland:
Short answer on this one. It's coming, yahoo! But not with the release of Half Life 2, you'll have to wait a bit longer. This info was on the official DOD site, so you can trust it :).
- - - - -
Silentbomber:
I have been hearing news that Shenmue 3 is in the works, I heard at E3 Yu Suzuki was asked about it and all he said is "You'll see", does that mean he
is making it or is he just having a laugh with us? I also heard that Shenmue 3 is the last one with the last 16(?) chapters being put into the game, is this news confirmed? And can you tell me any other S3 news I dont know as well.
Fragland:
There are different things that make you think Shenmue 3 is being made, or at least planned, I'll tell you a few:
Yu Suzuki did say "You'll see." on E3 when then asked if Shenmue 3 would come or not. Of course it's possible that they're not going to make the game, and maybe they want to surprise us with something completely different. Shenmue 3 was announced by Sega-AM2 in November 2001, but that's way too long ago to still trust it. Yu Suzuki left Sega-AM2 though, and he started Digital Rex, and on the site of Digital Rex is a link to the site of Shenmue, which is completely renewed. It seems quite stupid to me to redesign a site when your series won't even continue. In an interview with a gamemag, Suzuki answered the same question, but then he said: "Not Yet". The gaming-industry is complicated, I'll just say what I have to say so many times; wait, hope, and so on...
- - - - -
GamerThomas:
I have 2 questions:
1. I've seen a good monitor at crazycamel.be; the IIyama HM903DTA 19inch 130KHz Diamondtron M2 2 D-sub. Now I've seen an ad for a LaCie 19" monitor too (<www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10037>;) for 350 euro. It claims to have freq up to 110KHz and a dot pitch of 0.24mm. My dad says it's the ultimate monitor for graphical purposes like photography (he is a professional photographer) because of it's accurate colors. Now my question is: what is the best (19") monitor for gaming under 400 euro's?
2. I'm planning on buying a new computer with christmas (I'm going to order the parts and build it myself). The Radeon X800 is definitively going to be in it; but how long will it approximately take for it to get a price cut? (my budget will be 1500 euros without the monitor and I'm planning to buying all high-end stuff, so plz keep up with the 'Fragland High-End' column!!!)
That's it. Thanks a lot in advance!!
Fragland:
Because my personal knowledge of hardware isn't all that good I will leave this question to the hardware freaks in the Fragland-crew.
I can assure you that your father is right. The Iiyama HM903DTA (aka Vision Master Pro 454) is the ultimate 19" CRT monitor. I personally consider CRT's are much better than TFT screens, especially when it comes to gaming. And when it comes to CRT's, the HM903DTA is still the best you can get.
Now about the price cut: usually the prices drop when new chips are being released. Because there are budget cards available for almost every chip I don't see a big drop in the prices in the near future, unless nVidia and ATI want to have a real price battle (what they haven't done until now so we can't expect that to happen anytime soon). If we should follow the "normal" evolution we should see a "boosted" version of the recent hi-end cards in about 6 months and this will cause the prices to drop. Because both ATI and nVidia have released their supercards at the moment (the 6800 Ultra Extreme and the X800 XT Platinum wich will replace the 6800 Ultra and the X800 XT) it is the question whether we will see new cards and chips in 6 months.
To make a long story short: price cuts are unpredictable and most definitly in these ages where PCI Express is going to take over AGP.
In other news:
3 Comment(s)
de Mustang (old)
I'm a professional photographer too , and was considering to change my Hercules LCD into a Lacie screen, for professional reasons. But when you've looked at an LCD for about 15 minutes you get quite infected by the sharpness of the image. Even seeing some of those (Exellent) Lacie screens in practice doesn't changes that feeling; they have this, euh, old school "blur". So if you plan to buy a screen just for gaming you better stick to LCD, even if it will cost you some more to get to the desired amount of inches.
DoubleD
1. for what it is worth, I know de Mustang personally and he is not only professional - he researches his shit *very well*. Listen to him, I know I do.
2. I have a IIyama Vision Master Pro 454 and I run it at 110Mhz constantly. Works like a charm. I bought it about two years ago now at www.snogard.de (because it was €120 cheaper than any shop here in Belgium). You can't go wrong with this screen.
3. good idea to read the 'Fragland High-End system' page :)
Deleted user 2
Guess i'll have to upgrade my pc :/