USkaarj version .09 released

The USkaarj2k4 team has announced the release of version .09 of their USkaarj2k4 RTS mod for UT2004, which includes all the staple elements of the genre: base-building, resource collection and controlling units on a battlefield.

A finalist in phase four of the Make Something Unreal contest, USkaarj2k4 revolves around an intergalactic battle between Humans and the Skaarj, allowing players to build and command various units such as commandos, Skaarj fighters, tanks, bombers and the deadly Skaarj Queen.

More information on the USkaarj2k4 RTS mod can be found here.

Be there or be Cubed

Fans of the low-budget Canadian film franchise "Cube" may be interested to hear about the release of the Hypercube Source mod for Half-Life 2.

The film Cube involved seven complete strangers waking up in a giant contraption full of deadly puzzles and traps; obviously something developer "CubeDude89" has tried to recreate in the Hypercube mod. This multiplayer mod will see players trying to navigate a series of trapped rooms in order to escape via one of three exits, and to make things more difficult, only one exit is activated at time.

Cube-inspired traps featured in Hypercube:
- Laser beam trap
- Spike trap
- Teleportation trap
- Explosive trap
- Gas trap
- Swinging wire trap
- Fire trap

Staying faithful to the film, players will be able to use their boots to test out the various traps in order to determine the best strategy to bypass them.

The general consensus is that Hypercube: Source is a little buggy, although that shouldn't stop Cube fans from checking out this neat little mod.

Anticipated Half-Life 2 mod folds

The highly anticipated singleplayer Half-Life 2 modification Nightwatch has officially been terminated, according to this news item on the Nightwatch website:


The Nightwatch mod was described as a single player experience "set parallel to the events of the original Half-Life, allowing the player to experience a completely new side of the Black Mesa disaster with a compelling storyline, unique characters, new weapons, and stunning visual environments".

Ryan "Professional Victim" Desgroseilliers, the project director and programmer for Nightwatch, posted a rather honest developer diary about the mod's cancellation and the factors leading up to the decision. Definitely worth a read for anyone who has even a passing interest in what goes on behind the scenes of a mod team.

Striders ruin Gordon Freeman's block party

A wise man once said, "People are afraid of new things. You should have just taken an existing product and put a clock on it or something". Extrapolating this piece of wisdom to the mod scene, creating an enjoyable game modification can often be as simple as taking a tried-and-true gamemode, then imparting your own twist on it. A good example of this can be found in the recently released "Pilotable Strider: Titan's War Reloaded" mod (what a mouthful), developed by the Strider Mod team.

The "Pilotable Strider Mod" takes the standard Half-Life 2: Deathmatch gameplay, then spices-up the action by tossing a couple of player-controlled Striders into the mix. That's right - Striders! Those big ol' nasty three-legged things from Half-Life 2 singleplayer.


Okay, I'll admit that pilotable Striders aren't exactly new to Half-Life 2 mods, but this mod definately has all the right elements, in all the right amounts. Limited weapons and ammunition. Enemies everywhere. Helicopters. APCs. Pilotable Striders. Bring it on!

Additional information on release 0.3.5.1 of the Strider Mod can be found here.

The assault continues

Run to the cupboard and dust off your copy of Unreal Tournament 2004 - the team from Tactical Ops have announced the release of Tactical Ops: Crossfire 1.2.

Update 1.2 contains all the fixes from version 1.0, as well as three brand new maps; the eye candy of OBJ-Salsa, the Japanese-inspired OBJ-Bushido, and the fast-paced OBJ-Dagger.


Tactical Ops: Crossfire was inspired by the Unreal Tournament counter-terrorism mod TacticalOps, and aims to use that profile to bring Crossfire to a whole new audience via Unreal Tournament 2004.

What the heck are you waiting for? A terrorist to sneak into your bedroom and smack your bottom while you're asleep? Download Tactical Ops: Crossfire 1.2 now!