|
 |
Some History
 In Scott Miller's plan entry today is some background info about himself and George Broussard in the days before Apogee was even a thought, and some of the things they used to do back then.
From Scott's .plan update:
 In '82, we formed the NVGPA (National Video Game Players Assoc.), and we were writing a newsletter, but then the opportunity came for us to write a strategy book on how to beat the top arcade games of the day, so we pursued that. too. We really thought the book was going to make us rich. I remember running the book's potential sale's figures though my mind: In each of the top 250 cities there must be a least an average of 10,000 game players, and if just 100 of them bought our book that would be 25,000 sales, plus in all the remaining cities we should count on at least 5 more books sold in each, which should add another 25,000 sales. And with each sale George and I get $1 each. Wow, that's more money than we can make in 5 real years of work--we'd be rich!
The book that Scott refers to is entitled Shootout: Zap the Video Games, and is about how to beat various arcade games that were popular at the time of the book's writing (1982). You can see the cover here, as well as an ad for the NVGPA Scott speaks of (don't try to join, it's no longer in existence!) :)
This book is virtually impossible to find, as only a very small number of copies were printed. If you want to try and track it down, the ISBN number for the book is 0941982017. The back of the book also features a picture of Scott & George from 1982 that I've been ordered not to put online. :)
Update July 20, 2007: This book was released on the net for free as a pdf file. Here is a link to the updated story.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Supernova Released as Freeware!
Back on March 10th, we released one of our really old games as freeware (Beyond the Titanic). Due to this release, we've been getting a lot of requests for us to release it's sister game, Supernova, as freeware.
Well, your answers have been heard. Today, Supernova has been released as freeware. Like Titanic, Supernova is a text based adventure game done by Scott Miller (this time with some help from a friend, Terry Nagy) before he founded Apogee. Supernova is one of the two programs ever released that weren't under "The Apogee Model" (Supernova & Titanic had the whole game released in shareware, instead of being split up like "The Apogee Model" does). This program has long since been deleted, and we thought that we'd release it now as freeware.
The Story:
Working 14 hours a day in the core of some dusty, smelly mine is not your idea of the perfect lifestyle. Barre-An is a dust ball in space, its only salvation being that it is rich in precious barre-an metal. Or used to be. Nowadays the mines don't seem so generous, which is why you're looking for a more profitable venture. A break, that's all you ask for, maybe today you figure...
You can download Supernova here. Enjoy! Just remember, the program is freeware, and is not registerable. Please do not call us about this, we are not offering any support on this program. If you missed it, you can download Beyond the Titanic by clicking here.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
When It's Done
 The UK version of PC Gamer has a monthly chart tracking the readers' most wanted coming games. The April '98 issue shows that Duke Nukem Forever is their readers' most wanted game, with a 35% rating. Prey also scores well on this list, at position number five. The article states, "Duke Nukem Forever has leapt straight into your hearts, got the bivouac out and settled down for a very long stay, leaping, as they say, light years ahead of Tiberian Sun, who sits and sulks at number two (15.5% share)." Click on the image to the right to see a large version of this article.
In all, there are six first-person shooters on the list, showing quite clearly the popularity of this style of game.
There hasn't been a lot shown of Duke Nukem Forever (or Prey), but we just got finished sending a bunch of screen shots to several top magazines. These magazines should appear around the time of E3, late May. Don't expect the hype machine to crank into full gear for either Prey or Duke until a few months before each game's release. With all the surprises we have in place for each of these games, the last thing we want to do is spoil them early.
When will they be released? All together now.. When it's done..
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paul Schuytema's Writing
Several of you have been Emailing us asking about Paul Schuytema, the producer of Prey. Specifically, in regards to this following text which appears in the press release from October 1996 detailing Paul's hiring by 3D Realms.
Schuytema's educational background includes a technical degree in computer electronics and programming as well as a master of fine arts degree in science fiction writing from the University of North Carolina.
Several people have asked if Paul actually has published any books. I asked Paul this yesterday, and he said:
Here's an overview of what I've had published so far:
* about 200 non-fiction articles (on computers, computer games, books and science)
* 4 hard-core academic papers
* 15 science fiction short stories, which includes the first 2 chapters of a not yet published novel)
* 2 computer game books
The two computer books Paul was involved in were "Microsoft Arcade: Official Strategy Guide" (ISBN 1-55958-724-5), and "Aces Over Europe: Official Strategy Guide" (ISBN 1-55958-520-x). If you'd like to purchase these books, you can do so by clicking on the name of the book, which will take you to Amazon.com entry for that title.
As a side note, this isn't the only time someone here has been involved in the publication of a book about video game strategy. Before Scott Miller founded Apogee in 1987, he and later partner George Broussard wrote a book when they both worked in arcades. The book was called "Shootout: Zap the Video Games", which was a hint guide/cheat book/strategy guide for video games that were popular when the book was published back then. This book has LONG since been out of print, and is generally unavailable.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Max Payne Update
Petri Jarvilehto of Remedy Software has updated his plan file asking for your input on Max Payne.
Petri's plan update: Been working on Max Payne weapon system for some time now, and I'd like to get some feedback on that from all of you guys out there. As you know, Max Payne setting is a crime story in N.Y. City and we're going for a realistic setting here. Therefore you can count on the fact that you will have to manage with real-world weapons... you won't be saved from a tight spot by an alien-supergun-from-another-dimension. Max is a fugitive on the run and he'll have to manage with whatever weapons he can wrestle from his opponents. Also, personally I think that the hard-hitting clack of an empty desert eagle clip is much more satisfying than an electric whine from a 'magic-gun-from-Mars' :-)
Anyway, considering the real-life setting, I'd like to hear what kind of weapons you would get kicks out of.... Handguns? Baseball bats? SMG's? Sniper Rifles? Armscor grenade launchers? Laser sights? Explosives? There's plenty of stuff that Max will be picking up along the way, but before we get to the point where we finalize everything, your input can still make a difference.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Shadow Warrior Poem
From Joe Siegler: In going over some old Email, I found this Shadow Warrior poem that a user (Kristofer Kurtis) had sent me some time ago, and I forgot about. I thought I'd share it here. Kristofer calls it The Shadow Warrior Shareware Rap. Enjoy! :)
I like big weapons; make it easy to kill.
When everybody dead, I happy as hell.
Of all this endless killing, one must tire,
But I yell, "Burn, baby, burn!" when the flames-a-geet-a-higher!
There's lots of flora, fauna, secret passages, and how!
Let me check here, oh damn, I'm running into walls now!
And then there are the lapins with there unusual habits.
They explode for no reason, then have sex-- horny rabbits.
Anyway, I'll come getcha, and when I do
I'll say you look like a stupid and shtink like dead baboon!
I frag you again! Did I break your concentration?
Apparently you're in the midst of serious masturbation.
Quit jerking off, come fight me; you think you're so slick,
But I'll just say you not fight well with hands-- try dick!
I say I'm Lo Wang, then your brain go splat
And everybody dead-- I like that.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It's Time Again
for a Duke Nukem: Time to Kill preview. This time the review comes from videogames.com (thanks to 3D Portal for telling us about it), and is the first in a series of development updates. This first entry is how the game came to be conceived, as well as some screenshots. Check it out here.
Also, in a news exclusive, we found that Duke may have been indirectly involved in the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912 while on a chase across time, and that an iceberg didn't sink the big oceanliner. How so? Check out this telegram that we received at 3D Realms HQ yesterday. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
For those of you who can't recognize the joke, this is not real, of course. This is one of the "Marconigrams" you can send someone over the internet on the Titanic Movie Web Site at http://www.titanicmovie.com. However, the videogame development report IS real.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Duke Nukem: Time to Kill Update
A few developers from n-Space visited 3D Realms last Friday to give us a full demonstration of DN: T2K for the Playstation platform. From what we saw it's a fairly safe bet that this game is going to be a giant hit. In the game Duke travels through several time zones chasing aliens who are trying to defeat Duke by changing history. Duke battles in present day locations, and goes back in time to scenarios such as the Old West and the Roman Era. The game is slated for release later this year.
Led by Erick Dyke, n-Space is surely one of the up-and-coming development houses to keep an eye on, with several other top-notch games also in progress.
However, there's a little concern about n-Space's game playing ability, at least if Ted Newman, one of their key designers on DN: T2K, is any indication. Scott Miller, head of Apogee, made the challenge that he is invincible at Mario Kart 64. Ted, claiming he was the best MK64 player at n-Space, keenly accepted the challenge, and was soundly beaten on each and every track raced, with an average ranking of 7 (of 8), while Scott mostly ranked number 1 during the many races. Some said it was Scott's trash talking that disrupted Ted's play style, while others opined that Ted just sucked!
A rematch has been set for E3 on one of the big video walls at the GT booth. Ted was last seen practicing during his lunch hour. And for the rematch, Scott promises not to play some of the tracks with the controller upside down, which seemed to distract Ted noticeably from his game plan.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
People keep talking about Balls of Steel
Here's some more reviews of Balls of Steel, the pinball game that everyone's raving about. If you haven't tried it yet, visit our Master Download Page!
1. Gaming Edge
2. Electric Playground
3. Hyperactive.com
Hyperactive had this to say... "Balls of Steel is a highly creative title, filled with swish graphics and excellent animation."
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3DFX Patch for Mac Shadow Warrior Released
MacSoft released the much anticipated 3Dfx patch for the Macintosh version of Shadow Warrior yesterday, along with an updated v1.01 non-3Dfx version. Here are the download links. If you'd like more information, please visit MacSoft's Shadow Warrior Page.. (3D Realms did not make this patch).
Patch links removed due to being not available anymore. If this changes, they will be restored.
NOTE: These are FTP links. If you're having trouble downloading, visit our FTP Help Page.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beyond the Titanic Released as Freeware!
By now we're sure that most everyone has seen the James Cameron film, Titanic. It occurred to me that we had released a game a long LONG time ago about the Titanic. It's called "Beyond the Titanic", and was one of Scott Miller's really old programs that he wrote. It's one of the two programs ever released that weren't under "The Apogee Model" (Beyond the Titanic had the whole game released in shareware, instead of being split up like "The Apogee Model" does). This program has long since been deleted, and we thought that we'd release it now as freeware.
Our game was originally released back in 1986, and is a text adventure game where you have to make your way off the Titanic as it's sinking and get home before you die trying. This re-release is being put out for fun, and as such, we are not taking any registrations on it, nor are we offering any kind of support or hints on it. Click here to download the program.
Also, if you'd like some information on James Cameron's movie, you can click on the banner below.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nick Shaffner's "Cheat-O-Matic"
From Nick Shaffner's .plan file:
Well, earlier this week, several people (65+ I've heard) were using the 'Cheat 'O Matic' utility I wrote to do some serious cheating on Sierra's online game "The Realm". The cheaters in question were able to use Cheat 'O Matic to give themselves a huge amount of negative manna, and indirectly convert it into enormous sums of gold. Anyway apparently this had the effect of decimating the Realm's virtual economy, and Sierra had to shut it down on Tuesday to fix the problem. I had actually warned Sierra about this potential problem shortly after the Realm's initial release (not wanting potentially malicious Cheat 'O Matic users to destroy an otherwise nifty multiplayer game), but the online GM ignored my warning and promptly banned me from the Realm. Well, at least I tried... In any case, soon after Sierra had fixed the bug, I found that Geocities had canned the Cheat 'O Matic site, stating that they reserved the right to boot 'anyone for any reason' - hmmm..... Luckily, George was kind enough to let me use the company web site as Cheat 'O Matic's new home, so look for it up there in a few days.
You can read more about the incident in the Realm's online newspaper here: http://www.public.usit.net/nrspears/news.html (See the 3/3/98 and 3/2/98 entries)
What exactly is "Cheat 'O Matic"? Here's some info from Nick about the program:
Cheat 'O Matic is an extremely easy to use universal cheating program designed to allow you to automatically cheat on any game (or other program) that will run on Windows '95, '98 or 'NT (including DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows '95, Windows '98 and Windows 'NT games) - and do so as the game actually runs! Additionally, Cheat 'O Matic allows you to cheat on programs that don't have cheat codes, or in completely different ways that cheat codes may not exist for, and perhaps the game's programmers never intended.
Cheat 'O Matic is a freeware and automatic cheating program for *any* DOS/Windows game. It runs under Windows 95/98/NT along side your favorite game, and allows you to easily (no hex here) modify ANY value in the game - as the game runs!
You can now download Nick's "Cheat O Matic" program from our downloads page, or direct from this link.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TEN MILLION!
On 2:23PM Central Time on March 3, 1998, our web site passed 10 Million visitors. That's a lot of people that are interested in us and our games. We thank you greatly for coming here! Ever since Apogee was first formed 11 years ago, we've strived to bring you something that you will like, and the fact that so many people come here seems to indicate that this is true of our web site!
Our site has grown from a few simple pages to a site comprising over 650 HTML pages, 2,900 files (of all kinds; sound. html, graphics, music, etc..), and the most action packed exciting games around! We're glad you came here, and we hope you'll stick around to be part of the next 10 million!
As you know, we recently implemented Forums here, as well as Online Ordering. Some of our other attractions include the Virtual Tour (which is currently being redesigned) of our Headquarters, the Camera Captioning Contest, and our Caught on Camera! area.
 Some of the milestones for our site:
* 10,000,000 visitors - 2:23PM @ March 3, 1998
* 5,000,000 visitors - November 30, 1996
* 1,000,000 visitors - March 18, 1996
* 500,000 visitors - February 10, 1996
* 100,000 visitors - October 1995
* 1 visitor - July 7, 1995
Our site has looked quite different over the time it first came online in July 1995. There's the current "Apogee98 Look", the "Green TV look" of 1997, as well as a few others. There was the "Brown & Grey Look" that came right before the Green TV site in early 1997, and the somewhat boring "Black Text" site from the latter stages of 1996. Before that, it was mainly text based from the site's genesis in 1995 until November 1995, when we started using Dan Linton's "Web BBS" software until mid 1996 when we dropped that software. It's come a long way in the time it's been online, and it will continue to evolve and expand with more features that will keep you coming back!
A plea from Joe Siegler: If anyone happens to have any of the following screen captures, could you let me know? In writing this news item, I noticed I didn't have screen captures of all of our site's "looks". The ones I'm looking for are a color capture of the Brown & Grey Look (the picture here was scanned in from the Shadow Warrior Shareware manual), Dan Linton's Web BBS software login screen, or before that in 1995. Thanks.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gameslice likes our Balls of Steel
Gameslice Weekly's Editor, Geoff Keighley, likes our Balls of Steel
In today's "Editorial Nugget" Mr. Keighley says, "Balls of Steel delivers more content than any other pinball game on the market. The tables are well designed with a lot of interesting puzzles. Most of all, the animation takes advantage of the interactive nature of a computer as compared to a conventional pinball table."
To read the full Editorial, visit: http://www.gameslice.com/#ed (This editorial is only available for reading today--it changes every week day.)
More Balls of Steel Reviews
The reviews for Balls of Steel keep rolling in! We just found two more over the weekend:
1. Gamepower's Review of Balls of Steel
2. Electric Playground's Review of Balls of Steel
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
