RIP Games for Windows Live, we hardly knew ye. On second thoughts, we knew ye pretty well, and we hated your malodorous guts - good riddance. Of course, with Microsoft's hated games service going the way of the passenger pigeon (I was going to say dodo, but a load of animals have sadly been made extinct since then), there's the little matter of what's going to happen to all the games infested with GFWL. Will they be playable after July 1st, when the service is being taken out to the woodshed to be shot in the head? It's still unclear, but it doesn't seem likely - unless developers take it upon themselves to patch their games.

So far, only Fallout 3, Bioshock 2, the Arkham games, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet and Toy Soldiers have extracted the service, leaving a few dozen games with the sword of DRMacles hanging over their heads. Thanks to Joystiq, we now at least know which developers and games are aiming to follow suit.

There's good news and bad news. Mostly bad, I'm afraid. The good news is that Super Street Fighter IV / SSFIV Arcade Edition, DiRT 3, F1 2010, F1 2011, Red Faction Guerrilla and Ms. Explosion Man will all replace GFWL with Steamworks (or in the case of RF:G, perhaps a DRM solution of its own), their respective developers have confirmed to Joystiq.

The sorta-good news is that Namco Bandai are "exploring options" to removing GFWL from Dark Souls and Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. If they don't remove it from the former at least, I imagine there'd be one hell of a stink come July 1st.

The bad news is that the Dead Rising and Lost Planet games, Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter X Tekken, Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising and Red River, Iron Brigade, Fable 3, Gears of War, Halo 2, Blacklight: Tango Down and quite a lot of other games currently have "no plans" to remove GFWL. See my 'one hell of a stink' comment from earlier and insert the word 'massive' in there somewhere.

Joystiq are "still awaiting response" about GTAIV, Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 2, Bulletstorm and a few other games. You can read the full list of games here. Thanks, Joystiq!

Codemasters have announced that they're launching a free-to-play Formula One game called F1 Online. Powered by the Unity engine, it'll be browser-based and will let players manage a Formula One team and then clamber into the cockpit to race against friends. It will feature all the official drivers, teams and circuits from the 2011 Formula One season, and well let drivers compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship, and race in individual Grand Prix events, complete with their own qualifying rounds.

There's very little information available beyond that at the moment, but there is a new website where you can sign up for a newsletter. There are also a few work in progress screenshots, which you'll find below. F1 Online is due out early next year.

In the wake of F1 2010's recent BAFTA win, Codemasters have announced that they're working on a follow up. Codies say the game will feature "vastly extended competitive and co-operative multiplayer," along with the full roster of drivers, teams and manufacturers for the next Formula 1 season. The game will also include the new Indian Grand Prix, and will include the return of the Nürburgring course. FM 2011 is set for release on Septermber 23. Head to the FM 2011 Facebook page for more information.

The eagerly awaited first major patch for F1 2010 is imminent. Codemasters have posted a list of the fixes included in the next update, and they look to be addressing almost all of the concerns raised by fans when the game was released. Read on for details on the major alterations.

Those who have experienced corrupted saved games will be pleased to hear that this issue should be fixed with the next patch, thanks to the discovery of "an over-zealous anti cheating check". Codies say that this should allow people to load previously corrupted saves. The game has also been optimised for multi-core machines and if you have a DirectX 11 card, F1 2010 will now be able to take advantage of the extra juice with it's 'ultra' graphics settings.

The centrepiece of the update is an AI overhaul. AI cars will now always pit on dry courses where previously they'd just keep racing. The AI will now take damage properly as well, and damage will affect them more, causing them to slow down and pit when repairs are needed. The damage modelling has also been tweaked to make even minor damage more visible.



On release the racing AI in F1 2010 was so erratic that many questioned whether the cars on the track were even racing at all. A lack of split times and unpredictable finishing positions were the reasons for these suspicions. The good news is that after the update, split times will be included in F1 2010. Codemasters also say that they've "addressed some issues in driver behaviour balancing that were causing occasionally unrealistic finishing positions".

For the full patch list head over to this Codemasters forum post. Codies report that the patch has been cleared and is ready to go, so we can expect the fixes to be with us shortly. For our verdict on F1 2010, check out our F1 2010 review.

Nature abhors a vacuum. Conspiracy theorists love 'em. Codemasters have taken their time in responding to rampant speculation about F1 2010's AI, and in that time all kinds of damaging hypotheses have appeared: When AI opponents disappear from view, they blip out of existence, reappearing semi-randomly when the game thinks you're in need of excitement! The speed of AI cars has nothing to with their design, engine quality or driver skill, and everything to do with their position in the field!! Pieces of Sebastian Vettel's front wing were found embedded in the back bumper of Ted Kennedy's Oldsmobile after the Chappaquiddick crash!!! What's true, what's tosh? Thanks to an official statement issued yesterday, we now know. Sort of.



It turns out a lot of the most alarming rumours were groundless. AI cars are "all physically driving the race just as the player does" their performances influenced by a swarm of factors like tyre state, engine condition and driver abilities. The way these factors influence lap times appears to be causing the perturbation, poorly balanced variables meaning drivers sometimes lap at unlikely rates. Factor in a timekeeping bug, and you've got ideal conditions for a bumper crop of 'Codies are lying scumbags!!' threads.

The statement doesn't answer nagging questions about design choices (like "Why aren't split times available?") nor does it answer perhaps the most obvious question this regrettable affair has thrown-up: "If there really was nothing to hide, why on earth did Codemasters let the suspicion fester for so long before speaking out?". Opening my well-thumbed copy of the Developers & Publishers Handbook  (leather-bound 2009 lectern edition) at page 37, I read the following wise words: "A swift acknowledgement or explanation can transform a baying critic into a stoic supporter in a matter of seconds. Good communication with your audience, especially in the febrile weeks following a launch, is massively important. On some occasions, it may even be politic to apologise."

Do the Golden Joysticks do a 'Forumite's Friend' award? If they don't, they bloody-well should. Devs and publishers that listen diligently to us, and respond rapidly and meaningfully to our questions, need to be acknowledged and encouraged. Your nominations for possible 2010 winners please.