The FM archive is still down. We're working on a PERMANENT solution to make sure that our own bandwidth does not almost kill us ever again, and naturally this is taking longer then a quick fix would. Please bear with us, the FM archive -will- be back again. If you have send me new FMs or FM reviews, please be patient, these will go up as soon as I am able once the FM archive is back online. The solution I have planned involves several mirrors and bandwidth caps. Hopefully it will work out better for everyone involved. You can also count on the new ASP FM archive launching when the FM archive does go back online. What this means is that you will now be able to sort and browse the archive using several different options, rather then just a huge chunk of FMs all on one page listed by order of release date. Bronze/Silver hammer distinctions will also be a thing of the past (though the hammers themselves will still be bronze/silver in coloration).

Things are getting stretched pretty thin for me these days as I try to manage large staffs for two major projects (TTLG as a whole and CoSaS for Thief 2) as well as my personal life outside of it all. In case you are curious, CoSaS is currently in the "lets get these bloody maps ready to be scripted pronto" phase as well as the "lets get these bloody cinematics put together yesterday" phase. We're making great progress every day, but as they say, the last 10% of the project always takes 90% of the time. Egads, Gad Zooks, and Zoiks of all things!

I never really have made much of an official announcement about it, so this is as good a time as any. The TTLG Staff has grown by leaps and bounds. As many of you already know, Hanse and Gingerbread Man are now Admins of our forums. DeusEx-Machina.com is currently being mastered by James Webb and Eberon, and they've been doing a fantastic job. SShock2.com is being kicked back to life like a drunk horse by BigDave, Undert0w, and Fat-Burrick. The thriving but temporarily crippled Circle is in the capable hands of Oisin Rood as well as Jyre "Dashjianta" (we're glad to have you back, old friend!). Sneaking around in the shadows, much like his mentor Saam, is Cratus, who has done a handsome amount of work making the ASP FM archive I talked about a reality. A huge hand of thanks goes to MsLedd, our new server admin. She's done an insane amount of work helping us with server-related issues, and is certainly one of the most valuable members of the new team. It would be sinfull to forget Hanse and Gingerbread Man, our new Forum Admins. They have both served above and beyond their titles to do far more then we've asked of them.

And in case you have forgotten about our two planned new sites, Stygian Abyss and Citadel Station, we have not. These sites will not be opening until TTLG is back running full force (the bandwidth monster has not been killed completely yet... not by a longshot). When they do open, I hope that everyone will be as enthusiastic as I am about the newly expanded and ambitious TTLG.

Oh, and by the way... these days, if someone asks me how I am doing, I always have the same answer: Fantastic. That answer is totally the truth. I has never been easy, but the rewards are more then I dreamed possible. A huge thanks to everyone who have made this state of being a reality. You know who you are. :)

"Hey people we now have our own ICR Channel, i suggest you download mIRC and use that but to get to us you will need to follow these steps.

1. Open Up mIRC
2. On mIRC Options Click Add
3. Now call it what you like but put irc.enterthegame.com as the server and port 6667
4. Choose a nick and CONNECT!
5. /join #deusex"

Head into their #deusex channel and check them out.

"Well, it appears that our site seems to be getting less and less updated as the days role on by, and we are looking for some more people to join our little band and help keep this site up to date. If you are interested, please e-mail me at jonp@deus-ex.org with "News Editor Application" in the subject line. You must know some basic HTML (how to bold, italicize, underline, etc..) and have good writing skills. Daily updates are required. Thank you, and I hope to hear from a lot of you."

Lets all help Deus-Ex.org stay alive and well so that they'll be here for the community for years to come.

"Well, maybe it was destined, but Elite Ops is gone. The problem was that most of our team was poorly chosen. They either didn't want to work, or their work wasn't very good, or they just signed on and dissapeared. We've been working on the mod for about 5 months and all we had to show was a couple of maps, a model, and some concept art. But from the ashes of Elite Ops, some of the team members are putting together another mod. We might get hosted by deus-ex.org, but PlanetDeusEx is a serious comptetitor. Good thing we all have a sentimental attachment to www.deus-ex.org. Well, see ya. It was fun, wasn't it?"

I'm sorry to see another Mod disappear, but I'm sure this isn't the last one that will fall before us. Putting together a good team, that works good together, and understands the common vision of the whole team is a very hard thing to do, and this is the ultimate reason why most Mod's do not see the light of day.

Good luck Nuke345, and the rest of the Elite Ops team in your future endeavors.

Thief: To The Next Level

The interview is with two of the biggest and most promising Mod's that the Thief community has ever seen, and it is definitely a one of a kind. The two projects included in the interview are CoSaS (Circle of Stone and Shadow), and the community based Mod known as T2X: Shadows of the Metal Age. Both these Mod's have tremendous potential and I look forward to bringing the fans a unique interview and look into the thief universe.

Please stay tuned for the launch of a three part interview titled 'Thief: To The Next Level'. The first part will be posted tomorrow, Saturday, February 24th. The second portion of the interview will be posted next Friday/Saturday, and the third part of the interview will be posted the next Friday/Saturday after that. The interview includes plenty of questions from both Mod Leads, pics, and screenshots.

Thanks for your patience, understanding, and patronage to the TTLG Network, and especially your favorite site of them all, DeusEx-Machina.com.

The Mod Formely Known As Esserdarius closed it's doors a while back. I am now glad to say that Esserdarius, now known as the Taxi Wars, will be part of the Modus Moriendi Mutator System for Deus Ex! We welcome ColdPenguin on board!

IGDA Award for Community Contribution-Warren Spector
Excellence in Game Design-Harvey Smith & Warren Spector-Deus Ex (game design)
Game of the Year-Deus Ex (ION Storm Austin)
Game Spotlight Awards-Deus Ex (ION Storm Austin)

The whole slew of games that are nominees in their respective categories is simply amazing. There's so many top notch games in all the nomination categories, and I wish the best for all of them. Cheers, and good luck to Deus Ex and the Ion Storm Austin crew as well.

Progress Update - Pink Castle FaceLift - Ok. I got a sneek preview of Kamikaze's work on the Disco. It looks really cool and using some great effects like the particle generator. Now, we argued a bit about the style of the Disco but it ends up I will be changing the name and external building of the Disco to better fit the theme Kamikaze is creating. Not to cry over it..... You will LOVE the new facelift. :) The new name as not been decided as yet.

Age of Empires II: The Conquerors
Asheron's Call
Baldur's Gate II
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
Deus Ex
Diablo II
Disney's Magic Artist 3D
EverQuest: Ruins of Kunark
FIFA 2001
Links 2001
MechWarrior 4
No One Lives Forever
RollerCoaster Tycoon: Loopy Landscapes
Sacrifice

As you can see, there are many good games, but the one that should stick out to you, is our favorite of the bunch, Deus Ex.

"hey, I guess we flew under your radar when Edge of Dark made the change from homestead to planetdeusex, but we did and I noticed our link in your community section still points to our old site. Our new site is www.planetdeusex.com/edgeofdark

Thanks much, and keep up the good work you guys!"

When I read this email I looked at the address he was giving me very carfully. Then out of nowhere it hit me. "Oh crap!", I said. I totally forgot to switch the web address for all sites that are now hosted by PlanetDeusEx. Below is a list of all the sites I corrected in our Community section.

Edge of Dark
Chemscape: Legion
Deicide
Essedarius
Modus Moriendi
Deus Fortress
Cold Hearted
Rawbeefskin
Terrorism
Warzone
Weapon-X

Before you look at the poll and decide on your answer, take note of the final results from our previous poll which are posted below. There were a total of 134 votes for this poll.

What is your favorite Heavy Weapon?

Plasma Rifle....... 10.4% (14 votes)
Flame Thrower... 13.4% (18 votes)
Gep Gun.............. 76.1% (102 votes)

"Just putting the final bits on the site. I'll drop you a final line when it all goes live - should be at some point this evening when the full links page and armoury are stuck up."

Be sure and put their URL in your favorites folder, because this is a Mod that you'll definitely want to follow.

I am so stoked at the unveiling of this site, because although they are hosted by us, DeusEx-Machina, I haven't seen any content since the preview build Kieron showed me about 3-4 weeks back. You all can be reassured that Eberon and myself will be giving you updates on a regular basis on the status of their Mod, and we'll also be bringing you some EXLUSIVES from their project as well.

www.deusex-machina.com/cassandra-project

Also, my French friend Skaarj has asked me to take Antena-DeusEx out of our Community section because they are currently in the process of moving their website to a new URL. At his request, I have done so, and will post the new link when he sends me word of it.

"Deus Fortess (deusfortress.com) would like to announce that our long in comming site redesign is finally online. To celebrate, we've decided to announce 10 map shots from new and old maps, 3 pictures of weapon models, 2 new people joining the team, and a special DXF feature - JC Denton in the Sims, which will be a month long feature while we reveal more of JC's life throughout the weeks :)"

Get over there ASAP and checkout the new stuff they're giving us.

"As you may have noticed, there haven't been many updates here lately :p. This is because Deus Ex Central is going to 'merge' with DeusEx.Org (well, it's not that simple, but you get the idea). So just watch for us to be moving soon."

On a totally separate note, Deus Ex Center is back up and providing the community with plenty of news. Public Enemy of Deus Ex Center wanted me to let you all know that they "...just had a massive files update, about 8 mods have been added to DXC!". Deus Ex Center has also been added to our fine list of DX sites in our Community section.

Speaking of our Community section, I have also changed Deus Ex Incarnates' name, reflecting their transfer over to the Gamespy Network. If you've been a hermit lately, or have been in the hospital and haven't had time to catch all the news, Deus Ex Incarnate is now known as Planet Deus Ex.

Which brings us to Warren Spector, who gave up a life as an academic at the University of Texas in order to go work for TSR, the company that actually invented D&D. That career move, all by itself, would be enough to elevate Spector to some kind of όber-geek pantheon forever. But then he abandoned the world of pen-and-paper games and went to the computer game company, Origin, where he was part of the teams that produced the now-classic Ultima VII, Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Wing Commander 1. All four of these titles invariably show up on "Best Games Ever" lists, largely because of their commitment to telling a story, to using then-current cutting-edge technology not simply for fireworks, but to create a world you could believe in. And that's Warren's influence; again and again, he's been part of teams that manage the delicate balancing act between narrative and adrenaline rush better than anybody else.

I'm sure glad PlanetDeusEx posted this, otherwise, I probably wouldn't have caught it.

If you haven't already done so, please check out the latest interview that we have conjured up from the DX staff at ISA. The interview can be found right here. Speaking of interviews, we have another major interview in the works with the two very big Thief Mod projects. The interview will be posted no later than next weekend, so please stay tuned for a great behind the scenes look at two of the most anticipated projects ever in the history of TTLG. If you'd like to wet your appetite a bit while waiting on the interview, then be sure to check out CoSaS (Circle of Stone and Shadow), and T2X (Shadows of the Metal Age).

Keeping with the above rhetoric, I will also tell you all to be looking for my 'BackDoor's Ramblings' shortly. I am very sorry that I haven't gotten it out yet, but I've been extremely busy, and I need to do some editing on it. Also, because of another Editorial I will be doing shortly on the Avaults (www.avault.com) Developers' Corner column, I've had to re-examine how I want to go about writing 'BackDoor's Ramblings'.

Thank you all for your support thus far, and I ask you to keep supporting us, because we have some great things instore for you all.

"Woohoo! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES - to the downloads section!! New version of EdGann's popular UC mod!! This one lets you play the original game with the UC Mod changes. Download it here ;)
(This version of the UC mod requires the MP Patch and the Mod Loader below.)"

www.deusex-machina.com/cassandra-project

For all you fans out there, I also want to thank you for giving us the motivation to go out and get such an inteview. Keep supporting us here at DX-Machina, and we'll keep bringing you what you want. Simply click the link below to head into a truly unique experience brought to you from the Ion Storm Austin office.

Behind the Scenes of the Making of Deus Ex with Ion Storm Austin

I'm not hyping up this interview just because it's on DX-Machina, but it truly is a UNIQUE piece that you're not going to want to miss. Please stay tuned, and I promise, you won't be disappointed when it is posted tonight.

Eberon, my newly found, charismatic, dependable assistant, is the one who conjured up the questions for the interview and I am truly amazed at the response we got from the Ion Storm Austin Office.

This is the interview that the community has been waiting for. It's unique, it gives the fans plenty of background information, and gives reasons why certain things/people were implemented into the DX world. Stay tuned for the best interview yet to come out of ISA. This is one interview that you definitely don't want to miss.

Sawed-Off Shotgun....... 3.6% (13 votes)
Assault Shotgun............ 6.3% (23 votes)
Assault Rifle.................. 7.9% (29 votes)
Sneaksie (stealth) Pistol 8.5% (31 votes)
Pistol............................. 13.7%(50 votes)
Mini-Crossbow............... 19.1%(70 votes)
Sniper Rifle................... 41.0%(150 votes)

Now.....be sure and vote on what you think is the best Heavy Weapon. It's in the same place as usual, so you have no excuse for not finding it and voting.

At any rate though, we are still looking at the options, but things are looking on the bright side, fortunate for us. I will keep everyone posted. Thanks for all your kind support!

Best Sound in a PC Game
Best Action Game for PC
PC Game of the Year

You can catch the awards and the write ups for the awards RIGHT HERE

BTW, I owe Harvey Smith a 'Thank You' for the heads up on these awards.

The only solution I can see is for us to find someplace willing to host our server for a reasonable price, with unlimited bandwidth... or..

Cut the forums in half... cut the fan mission archive in half... close down some daughter sites... basically, amputation.

We need help! anyone? please? this thread is open for community discussion of this dire situation.

On the same note of 'Coming Attractions', stay tuned for a behind the scenes look at Deus Ex presented by Eberon. He has asked Harvey Smith some very interesting questions, and though Harvey is busy, he has agreed to answer the questions. Stay tuned to DX-Machina for more information regarding this unique look behind this wonderful game.

The patch is still in test and we're still addressing issues -- minor ones, I admit. As soon as we're confident it will pass muster with the fans we'll release it. But, as I've said to execs at a variety of companies, if you can tell me how many bugs there are and how long it'll take to fix them, I'll tell you when we're releasing it.

I wish I could give you a better answer than "soon" but that's about the best I can do.

BTW, thanks for your support. The site looks cool (though to say my French is "rusty" is an understatement!).

Warren

I know us fans are anxious, but lets all sit back, play a little more with DX and the Beta MP, and give Warren and crew time to pump out a quality product. That's what they're known for anyways, isn't it? I'm willing to wait while they finish correcting all the bugs and tweaking it for the greater whole, and I hope all you fans out there stand behind me on this.

DeusEx Machina: Have you been contacted to do music for Unreal 2? To what extent is your role in Deus Ex 2 going to be? Thief 3?

Alex: I was asked to do Unreal 2's music, yes, but someone else will do it… I asked someone else to do it and I wish I could say who, but he's in an evaluation period with Legend right now so it may not be final. Sucks, cuz the guy totally rocks and is one of the coolest musicians I know. As for DX2 and Thief 3, I'm responsible for all the audio, and in terms of WHO will do it all, I'm not sure… I know that I'll be doing quite a bit in both but definitely not everything.

To get the whole interview, sipmply click on the link below.
Alex Brandon Interview