In an interview on Unreal Center Mark Poesch of Legend Entertainment cleared things up a bit. Below is the question and answer from the interview.

Q. A lot of people are wondering what the Differnce between the UW engine and the U2 engine is? Such as Niko 65 pointed out, not a lot of people know this, could you explain?

Mark’s Answer: Unreal II is based on the latest version of the Unreal engine - sometimes called the “Warfare engine” in the press and in the community. Many of our subsystems have been modified and augmented to an extent that our engine and Epic's are different. But, at its core, Unreal II is powered by the Warfare engine.

Now that that's cleared up, you also have to remember that ISA will be implementing...ooops, can't go there.

To further your knowledge of what the boys in that Austin based hell hole (Can you imagine working for Warren Spector? What a bummer ;) are working with, here's another piece of the interview that was also answered by Mark.

Q.Now Mike, we are wondering, How is it, as Hors 24 pointed out, that the U2 engine can handle up to 10 times more Poly’s than the UT engine, is there any technical specifics you want to spew forth here? Is Direct X 9 already an issue in your , i presume totally directX 8 optimised U2 engine ? Without havin' to inform us what specificly, is there any access already for you guys regarding DirectX 9 specs ?

Mark’s Answer: The original rendering pipeline used in both Unreal and UT was optimized for software rendering. It was optimal for creating high-quality scenes on systems with minimal or no 3D support. Unreal II and the Warfare engine have cut software support, and embraced the capabilities offered by GeForce and higher-performance cards. This means that instead of computing lighting for every poly, we can set up the lights, and dump raw polys at the card at a tremendous rate, and let the card do much more of the work.

Well, I guess that just puts the icing on the cake for us all...at least for the time being.

David Walsh, president of National Institute on Media and the Family, a nonpartisan organization that looks at the impact of entertainment on children, contends that underage mod makers are the moral equivalent of teenage pornographers. He thinks the game industry should apply the same rating system used on games to the mods themselves and restrict kids' access to Web sites where mods are posted.

The issue is starting to catch the attention of Congress. "This is a whole new problem," says Dan Gerstein, communications director for Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut. Lieberman is the author of a bill that would authorize the Federal Trade Commission to penalize companies that intentionally market adult-rated entertainment directly to children. But the legislation is finely tailored to address deceptive marketing rather than prohibit kids from making mods for mature-rated games, Gerstein says.

Game companies say they are essentially powerless to regulate mods since they're usually written by people in their homes and posted on Web sites. (The companies' games, on the other hand, usually can't be downloaded from the Web but instead must be purchased from retailers.) Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games Inc., the Raleigh, N.C., developer of Unreal Tournament, says people are getting upset about mods when the problem is that parents let their kids have the games. "If you don't have the game, the mod is worthless to you," he says.

Indeed Mark, indeed. It's amazing how far a little common sense can go these days. If parents would pay closer attention to what their kids are doing, and regulating what they play, there's no reason for any restriction. Or...maybe congressmen are trying to force their views on other people. Has it ever occured to those congressmen that the parents don't care if their kids make, or have access to a Mod? I don't want the Congress telling me how to raise my children. Either way, it's a thin line to tread, but one that the United States Congress has no right to cross.

The Cassandra Project is one of the most intriguing DX Mod projects going right now. their site is utterly cool. I hope to see their stuff shaping up soon. (or, as the Narcisistic Entity might say, 'Coalescence of core data has prime affinity.')

Well, it looks like Kieron and the rest of the gang's got a big head right about now. If you haven't heard of The Cassandra Project, you need to get your butt on over to their site and catch up on what you've been missing

Unless I am mistaken, and I may very well be, he also did music for the Crusader series, but I may be getting him mixed up with his cohort Necros, also of Straylight productions.

Alex Brandon will be doing the music for Thief 3 and Deus Ex 2.

Another stunning effect is projective textures. Projective textures are used to create, among other things, soft-edge ultra-detailed real-time shadows that cast on the world as well as the objects and characters within it. In the example shown here there is a fan with mesh blades. The intricate shadows not only render over the characters and the environments but also over the particles as those particles are blown around by things flying through the air! DE has also implemented detailed character shadows that grow and shrink realistically as characters move around within the world and had UC up and running on Xbox before released the first Unreal Engine build with Xbox support.

[Epic Games was] so impressed with DE's particle system we implemented similar features in our own particle system which shipped to licensees ...

Today's Taffer's Post is the first part of a three part series, called System Shock: A Digital Vision. In it I revise the System Shock series into a trilogy, using ideas I have put together over the years. The first part of the series deals with System Shock 2, and the game it could have been.

So, those of you who I have not alienated yet (brace yourselves ;), stroll on over to the Taffer's Post and take a look! (You have been warned.)

Forum flavor, so you can post replies, is here.

I suppose it’s best to establish one fact before we go any further: Deus Ex is among the greatest games ever created. It is the first game which offers you freedom on two levels, and it does both better than anything else. Two levels of freedom? Yes, well I’m not really sure what it means either, but it’s the best way to sum up one of the most complex features in one of the most impressive programming feats of recent times. The first level is on the large scale - this is the freedom to make plot-related decisions at frequent intervals, and to alter the direction of the game. Do you obey your superiors or your conscience? Deus Ex constantly forces you into decisions of this magnitude, and then proceeds to rip apart your moral fibre, highlighting startling character flaws, not in your character, but in you. You.

To read the whole thing, if you feel so inclined to do so, hit up the The State's review of DX.

The story starts you off in the year 2017. Technology is striving and many are coming up with devious plans which utilize the improved technology. Your goal: to eliminate the head of a secret underground military base that is being used as a nuclear launch site. Their goal: to elimate everyone on the face of the earth. You are hired by General Simmons. He sends you to infiltrate their base and cause havoc and in turn decipher the code to their nuclear bomb that is about to launch in 1 hour. The game player will have to go through many obstacles such as 3 boss fights, and several patrolling officers located in the military base. The main character remains nameless until you play the game, which will span several exciting levels as you try to achieve your goal. The title Blood Like Venom can be more understood when you reach the ladder (sic) part of the game.

I invite you all to read it here.

If any of you wish to send a message, please do so on this thread in the Comm Chat forum. I plan to print out and share this thread with my Grandmother next week after things have quieted down. It should make her smile to know that so many strangers all over the world have been thinking of us. Everyone's condolences and support has been deeply appreciated, and has helped me cope in this difficult time. Again, thank you.

Eidos management has apparently gone to most of its development teams (both internal and external) and asked the teams to implement technology to mimic Max Payne features on many of its console games. This will cause delays to many of the projects, but Eidos execs believe the tradeoff (features vs. schedule) is a sound one. 3D Realms and Remedy should be proud of the game they have developed. It could have the same affect The Matrix movie had on the TV and movie industry--everyone was copying it to be "on the cutting edge." Is flattery the sincerest form of imitation? Or is it just plain laziness?

The key words in there are "console games". While some of you think this might not pertain to Thief 3 and DX 2, remember, they are being developed for the console market as well. I'm sure this could cause lots of debate in the TTLG community, but I'm sure ISA will make the right decision in how to incorporate, or not to incorporate said technology. Besides, who knows, maybe they thought about this beforehand.

Note** This is just a rumor going around. Nothing has been confirmed.

Hello DX Mod Makers --

We are opening up a mail address just for you.

dxmods@ionstorm.com

Why are we doing this? We'd like to know about you. What your status is. Where your project is heading. AND - If you need any of our help. If we can give you that little push (or kick) to help you keep going, we want to be there for you.

When you send mail, please include the name of your mod, a brief summary, a timetable for completion, who the project's main contact is and about how many people are working on your team.

Thanks --

Bill Money
Producer ISA
Team Deus Ex