Relicnews: the definitive source for all things Relic

Relic’s released two new screens from their free Impossible Creatures Multiplayer Mod, Insect Invasion.

Shot 1.
Shot 2.

IGN’s got a feature up for the top 100 games of all time. Homeworld’s clocked in at #79 on the charts.

Check it out here.

With all the good news lately, it figures that it just had to balance out. Looks like the IC Mod for the HW Universe, Homeworld: Eternal Vengeance has been cancelled by its mod crew. I will let them do the talking.

Subliminal Games announced today the cancellation of their RDN Level 2 MOD for Impossible Creatures due to lack of finances. “Its a sad thing when a project has to be cancelled. Financially speaking, we simply had no other reasonable option.”, said SG Creative Director, Eric Dieter. “We simply didn’t have what we needed when we needed it and the reality of the modding scene is that you’re doing work for free while the bills keep mounting so time is of the essence. Time is money and without an infusion of cash assets or financial sponsorship to keep these talented people from becoming homeless, we simply could not continue.”

Subliminal Games had begun its relationship with Relic Entertainment as far back as December 2000 and had been working on the team-based strategy MOD in cooperation with the Vancouver game developer for the last 6 months. “As early as February we knew we were sitting on a powder keg and had begun talking with Relic about various possibilities that might keep the project going, unfortunately we just weren’t able to come up with a workable solution.”, said Dieter.

As far as the modding scene goes, Dieter is hopeful for the future. “Eventually a game developer will provide a turn-key program that incorporates the realities of modding.”, he said. “A comprehensive program that covers these realities is required to usher in a new age of ‘Retail Mods’. My current bets are on Valve and their forthcoming Half-Life 2 as they have the strongest track record in the industry for modding but you never know who’s going to step up to the plate. I’m hopeful that someone is going to have an epiphany and realize the inherent benefits of such a comprehensive program. The FPS genre seems to be the strongest area of growth for modding and thus has the most potential for that to happen.”

Subliminal Games has ceased all production on the MOD and has officially closed its doors effective Friday April 25th.

Zeus did attach some of their concept work, which you can check out here.

The Homeworld 2 trailer is released! You may need the latest divx codec to view it.

Preview Homeworld2 by Relic Entertainment, provided exclusively in full screen by DivX.com. Continue the epic saga of Homeworld with the sequel to PC Gamer’s 1999 Game of the Year. Cinematic-quality video, stunning special effects, brilliantly rendered ships and an innovative interface combine to create an immersive 3-D experience. Welcome home.

For best results with the full sized video, we recommend a fast computer, using the DivX player. If you have a slower computer (PIII 500ish) then we recommend using one of the medium sized (30MB) versions. I was amazed at how many frames a PIII 500 missed when playing the full size trailer in Windows Media Player. Watching this trailer on a PIV 2.26 Ghz machine was a much better experience.

Links:

-DivX.com (large version 64mb)
-FileShack (large version 64 mb)
-Worth Playing (medium version 30mb)
-FileShack (medium version 30mb)
-Worth Playing (smaller version 4.3mb)
-3dgamers.com (3 versions)
-Gamer’s Hell (30 MB Version)
-Happy Puppy (registration required)

Streaming Versions:
- Windows Media Player cable or better, 300K, 56K.

- Quicktime 300K, 56K.

From the rampant speculation department comes this bit about Take Two being offered VU Games for 1 Billion.

Please, please, please whatever happens, don’t mess with Homeworld2.

Looks like Relic has a deal with THQ to publish some (two) titles. See the official press release.

CALABASAS HILLS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 28, 2003– THQ Inc. (Nasdaq:THQI - News) today announced that it has entered into a two-property, multi-year publishing agreement with world-renowned PC development studio Relic Entertainment Inc. Creators of critically acclaimed real-time strategy (RTS) titles Homeworld and Impossible Creatures, Relic is regarded as a leader in the RTS genre. Homeworld won PC Gamer magazine’s “Game of the Year” honor in 1999 and has franchise sales of more than 1.3 million units worldwide since its release.

The first of the two projects included in the agreement is currently in development at Relic and scheduled to release in the second half of 2004. More details on this project will be released later this year.

“We’ve identified the RTS category as a strategic imperative for THQ as we begin to compete more aggressively in the high-end PC market,” said Jack Sorensen, executive vice president of worldwide studios, THQ. “A two-property agreement with Relic, a developer widely regarded as a leader in the RTS genre, is the perfect entrance into that category.”

“Choosing a strategic partner for these two projects meant finding a publisher with global brand management expertise, tremendous influence at retail, and above all, a strong commitment to product quality,” said Alex Garden, CEO, Relic. “THQ was the ideal choice and our new alliance means strategy gamers worldwide can look forward to two, all-new rich entertainment experiences.”

The interesting facts. Homeworld has sold 1.3 Million franchise copies (this most likely means HW and HW:C). THQ and Relic are focusing on an RTS, high-end PC Game. One title is in development now for a 2004 release (this would be a Next Secret Project), with more information about it later this year.

THQ’s news release page has a run down of the properties they have been involved with. There are some interesting properties mentioned, along with a mishmash of platform and more ‘light-weight’ titles. THQ is like Sierra or Microsoft Games in that they seem to be mostly a publishing house. It does not appear that the game is on the THQ Release Schedule.

Let the speculation begin!

They’re not new screens, but rather larger versions of the ones that IGN.com showed the other day. Get them here.

Thanks to Evilavatar.com for the heads up.

There’s also a Homeworld 2 video interview up at IGN.com. It’s for IGN insiders only, and apparently is about 10 minutes long.

There have been 4 new Homeworld 2 videos added to their Homeworld 2 media page. From that page, you can only stream one of the videos, and the other 3 are shown as only available for Gamespot complete users or to purchase on CD.

The last news note and this one come about because HW2 was shown at the Pre-E3 show yesterday.

The latest article is yet another IGN one. Check it out and note there are new screenshots (which apparently are old, but include some that haven’t been seen before). There’s some shots of Resource collector/worker units doing their thing to some asteroids, and of a Controller/mobile refinery taking hits.

Note the article mentions that they should have a video up sometime today (Friday). Should be able to download it from the Homeworld 2 Media Page.

Thanks to GreG for the heads up.