Aug 12, 2011

VALVE ANNOUNCES COUNTER-STRIKE: GLOBAL OFFENSIVE (CS: GO)

Announcement - Valve

Next Gen Console, PC, and Mac Release Targeted for Early 2012

Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO).

Targeted for release via Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam (for PC and Mac) in early 2012, CS: GO will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched exactly 12 years ago (CS beta 1, August 1999).

CS: GO features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust, etc.). In addition, CS: GO will introduce new gameplay modes, matchmaking, leader boards, and more.

"Counter-Strike took the gaming industry by surprise when the unlikely MOD became the most played online PC action game in the world almost immediately after its release in August 1999," said Doug Lombardi at Valve. "For the past 12 years, it has continued to be one of the most-played games in the world, headline competitive gaming tournaments and selling over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise. CS: GO promises to expand on CS' award-winning gameplay and deliver it to gamers on the PC as well as the next gen consoles and the Mac."

CS: GO is being developed by Valve in cooperation with Seattle-based Hidden Path Entertainment. The title is targeted for release in early 2012 and will be playable at this year's PAX Prime and Eurogamer Expo 2011.

For more information, please visit the CS: GO Steam page

Aug 11, 2011

Star Ruler Update Released

Star Ruler - Valve

Fixes:

Multiplayer clients could not create treaties.
Multiplayer clients could not retract treaties.
The subsystems that are linked are now correctly loaded and imported and will no longer change based on overlap.
Obsoleted blueprints would not be removed from various build lists until a blueprint was added/updated.
Second planet granted by "Developed Empire" trait now has regular amounts of HP.
Using modifiers on armor no longer causes the armor to take up space.
Explosion sound would play for multiplayer clients for silent destruction (colony ship, scuttle/retrofit).
Page Up/Down keybinds would not save.
Auto-colonize planet now works for multiplayer clients.
Auto-colonize lists are saved/loaded.
Undock all from the right click menu now properly removes auto-dock orders (unless forced) so ships won't immediately re-dock.
AIs are no longer prevented from expanding when the minimum ship size limit is set higher than their scout blueprint.
Planet rings/moons are saved/loaded and work for multiplayer clients.
Disabled ships are removed from control groups.
Research automation toggle is saved/loaded.
Selecting a planet after a ship with an obsolete blueprint no longer shows the planet as obsolete in the object information panel.
Fix system window becoming unresponsive after dry docks or planets got destroyed.
Fix selected object list scrolling to the top automatically.
Ships could stop moving altogether for multiplayer clients in high-lag situations.
Ore isn't erroneously shown in mouse overlay for ships with cargo bays.
Multiplayer clients would not always receive blueprints when capturing enemy ships.
Weapons with MultiPulseCost (Missile Racks) now have their reload progress displayed correctly.
Race profiles could not be saved for mods installed in My Games.
Number of owned planets listed in the system window for home systems to multiplayer clients was off by 1.
Governor dropdown in system window could be opened underneath other GUI elements.
Various display glitches related to structure removal and renovation for multiplayer clients.
Planetary conditions removed by the natural terraformers trait would still appear for multiplayer clients.
"Game Lost" message would not show up for multiplayer clients.
Asteroids created by planets being destroyed would not show up for multiplayer clients.
"Continue" main menu option did not work for mods installed in My Games.
AI could not properly cope with high starting technology levels.
Shipyard labor pool scaled asymptotically instead of exponentially, leaving labor severely throttled at high tech.
Changed:
The current value for stats are displayed on the object information window without hovering.
Balanced:
External mounts are now equivalently massive to the hull.
Added:
Complete, official, german translation of the game.

Aug 11, 2011

Pirates of Black Cove Update Released

Pirates of Black Cove - Valve

Features:

Configurable keymap: My Documents/Nitro Games/PiratesOfBlackCove/Keymap.xml
Added command line option "-windowed", which forces the game to start in windowed mode
Support for German, Spanish and French languages

Breakers:

Fixed a crash when leaving world scene
Bloated savegames will now load

Missions:

Fix for Corsair FM6 possible crash when killing some of the ships before mission ships start moving
Fix for Buccaneer FM7 (Paddy Paws)
Pirate FM 7 Chiefs Chowder: If the whaler is outside of the map it travels back to the map
Monkey cannon works
Buccaneer fm6 fix
after exiting from land before mission zone is captured
Buccaneer fm7 fix
fail after killing petes ship
Corsair fm1
Steal the Luxury Ship from Port Cancun bugfix

Misc:

Settings are now properly saved
Characters won't get stuck into LZ signs/firestands/roadsigns/lamps
Buildings should now drop items only to accessible positions
Fixed issue where speech bubble would jump strangely when sinking a ship with mortar.
Fixed issue where player ship info would show too many empty unit slots if last row was full.
Fixed Resolution change popup not to go under other windows!
Correct flag for Black Cove ships
Selecting a dead hero now shows units under its command
Cannons of cannon towers no longer disappear after re-entering a town
Reset radar & healthbars after resolution change
Multiplying artifacts no longer multiply when selecting them from inventory
Now there's 15 badges visible on character screen, instead of them being only 13
Santto Domingo -> Santo Domingo
Fixed clipping ingame messages

Aug 11, 2011

Kalypso Anniversary Weekend

Tropico 4 - Valve

In celebration of Kalypso's 5 year Anniversary, save big on the Kalypso Anniversary Pack, now through August 15th 10am Pacific Time.

To refine your skills and prepare for the new Strategy hits, Tropico 4 and Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, pick up the Kalypso Anniversary Pack + Tropico 4 or the Kalypso Anniversary Pack + Jagged Alliance: Back in Action. Save even more when you buy all 3 together in the Kalypso Anniversary Pack + Tropico 4 and Jagged Alliance: Back in Action pack.

If you just want a few of these titles to fill out your collection, they are also available for 66% off individually (except the Commandos franchise and Tropico 4).

Aug 11, 2011

Dead Horde Update Released

Dead Horde - Valve

Updates to Dead Horde have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Dead Horde

Added: revive kit for co-op games
Added: game paused in single player if player is in menu or shop
Improved: collision sounds of vehicles with mutants
Improved: hit detection if shooting from higher position
Improved: sensitivity of controller usage in menu
Improved: dogs are less sticky during attack
Fixed: rare spawn issue in mission 'village'