Linden Lab has come out with the newest Release Candidate for Second Life with 1.19.0. This new version features a host of bug and security issue fixes as well as reverts back to the same XUI-based login code in the previous version. You can check out the rather extensive changelog of the game in the full article.

The collaboration between CCP and TransGaming, Inc. we reported on a couple of months back has finally borne fruit. CCP's interstellar MMORPG title, EVE Online, is now available on all three of the most widely used operating systems in the world: Microsoft Windows, Macintosh and Linux. Gamers can now enjoy cross-OS play with other EVE Online players around the world. Learn more at the full article.

CCP Games just posted an announcement over at the official website of MMORPG EVE Online regarding their Power of Two offering. This particular offer allows current subscribers to purchase a second account and enjoy the first six months for a reduced price.

Today, the company mentioned that the deadline for the Power of Two offer has been extended until November 12 in anticipation of the Mac and Linux clients. The "read more" link below leads to the full details and information about this offer.

Thanks to a deal with TransGaming Inc., CCP games has announced that it will be bringing EVE Online to Mac and Linux platforms later this year. The game joins a growing list of titles available for the Mac platform.

"EVE Online has always ranked highly with our Linux users and there is significant demand for it among other platforms, including the rapidly growing Mac base," said Vikas Gupta, CEO of TransGaming Technologies.

"As EVE takes place within a single-server persistent universe, it's vital that the game is identical in every way across different platforms. This challenge is what makes the partnership with CCP both important and rewarding."

The game is already playable on Linux through the use of TransGaming's Cedega Windows compatibility layer. The new Linux version will have Cedega directly integrated into the game, while EVE Online's Mac version will utilize TransGaming's Cider portability engine.

 

Some players have complained about a problem with regards to the handshaking process in World of Warcraft. Those who have been affected by it shouldn't despair though as Bloodshot from the Death and Taxes guild and Triselly posted a fix on this for users who use XP, Macs, and Windows Vista. Sorry Linux people, if you're being plagued by the handshaking problem, just flush your DNS cache and hope for the best. Anyway here's the fix:

For Windows XP:

1. Close the game.
2. In Windows click Start, run..., in the window type cmd and press enter.
3. In the new window type: ipconfig /flushdns

Alternate Fix: Go to "My Computer" -> "Control Panel" -> "Network Connections" -> right click your LAN or Wireless Connection -> Select Disable, then re-enable it.

If you are still unsuccessful, reset your modem/router, then perform the instructions again. As explained below in the thread, some ISP's hold the cached DNS data for longer periods of time; therefore, this will not work for you, YET. There isn't much you can do apart from trying again later.

Mac version (Triselley)

1. Close WoW.
2. Open Terminal.app in /Applications/Utilities
3. Type: lookupd -flushcache

For Windows Vista:

1. Click the Microsoft Vista Start logo in the bottom left corner of the screen
2. Click All Programs
3. Click Accessories
4. RIGHT-click on Command Prompt
5. Select Run As Administrator
6. In the command window type the following and then hit enter: ipconfig /flushdns

That said go forth and play your problems should be solved. If not, then you'll have to contact Blizzard on this one. Keep checking back here for more news on World of Warcraft.

Keep this up and the PC Gaming section here at QJ might have to drop the Windows tag. Well, might. CodeWeavers' CrossOver Linux application allows Linux users to enjoy Windows-exclusive programs on their OS. Sort of like PlayStation gamers being able to enjoy Xbox-exclusive titles (and from here we say no more, lest we brew up someone's wrath by the mere suggestion).

Their latest version of CrossOver Linux, v6.0, is also the first to offer official support for Steam-powered Windows-based games. Yes, this includes Blizzard's World of Warcraft and Valve's Half-Life, among others. Steam-downloaded demos of these two, along with Heroes of Annihilated Empires and Medieval II: Total War have been tested and found working.

Quite the interesting find. CrossOver Linux 6.0 comes in Standard for US$ 60.00, and Professional for US$ 70.00. Version 6.0 has "moderate hardware requirements, and most Linux distributions should satisfy its software requirements". Aside: wonder if this will work in PS3 Linux? If the thought of WoW working on Wii would cause Blizzard's Jonathan LeCraft to toss his cookies, the potential thought of having it run on a PS3 via CrossOver Linux might just give him a heart attack.

Team Warhammer Online was nice enough to answer several questions from Slashdot readers. Since we think that you guys aren't really interested with the questions that people had to ask, we just cut the fat and stuck to the meat. Here be the pertinent details surrounding WAR from the answers given by the Warhammer devs. Enjoy folks!

CRAFTING - Sorry but for now they can't release any details on crafting mechanics. Wait six-months.

PORTS - They didn't do a straight tabletop port because they decided to treat Warhammer like Batman. You all know how many flavors Batman comes in: from oddly jolly Adam West to amusingly hoarse Christian Bale. This is the MMO version of the world the tabletop strategy war game.

GRINDING - What they did to help get rid of grinding is to allow players to level not only via PvE but also through what they call Realm vs Realm game-play. RvR lets you jump into Skirmishes, fight for control of landmarks in Battlefields, run through Scenarios, or capture land and sack cities in Campaigns.

The full article awaits after the jump!

PC gaming reached its peak back in 1999 following the release of Half-Life. The game actually sold around 2.5 million copies, boosting the overall sales of PC games at US$ 1.9 billion just for the American market alone. Unfortunately for the business, everything followed a downhill trend after that. Last year, records show that revenues connected to PC gaming barely broke the one billion mark.

Now, the big question is why. Is it a case of the PC being overshadowed by consoles? Admittedly, even we here at QJ just opened a PC blog as opposed to the long running sections for PSP, Xbox 360, PS3 and even the new Wii. So what really happened? Amusingly, it can be traced back to the day Microsoft challenged the gaming world with its Xbox.

Before you get jumpy, we very well know that there are other factors as well such as piracy. To be quite precise, it could even be PC Gaming's worst enemy given the fact that protection for PC games are much easier to bypass as compared to any console. Next is the rise of handhelds DS and PSP. Of course, it is reckless to combine sales of all console platforms then compare it with PC gaming sales. But the point is, there has been a most noticeable decline.

Going back now to Microsoft, the corporation needless to say, takes care of both the Xbox consoles and operating system Windows. Over the last few years, Microsoft has been focusing on console-related services with nothing new for gaming on the Windows platform. Of course there is Vista, but aren't young people more interested with its connectivity with the X360 over its own merits?

Also, there is no denying that console games are more versatile, most especially now with the industry triumvirate (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo) all out for backwards compatibility. Gamers can still play their age-old titles with the new consoles without any complication. Plug and play, or so they say. On the other hand, PC games need installations, setting configurations, patches and the long list of to-do-first goes on.

And so in the end, the song "Video Killed the Radio Star" comes to mind:

Rewritten by machine and new technology,

and now I understand the problems you can see (Oh, oh!)

Consoles killed the PC Game star.

Actually, we don't think it would come to that. While we're seeing it now in a rather low point of its career, PC gaming will bounce back. It will evolve, metamorphose and become attractive and lucrative once more. Linux when it entered the scene, shook Windows to its very foundation. Hmm, now Linux Games definitely sounds good...

Great news for Linux-using World of Warcraft players! If you heard about WoW's banning of Cedega users, then you can imagine how annoying the whole experience must have been for the Innocent gamers who were only meant to play the game through Linux. The good news is that they've unbanned the Cedega users and apologized for the error.

According to a WorldofWar.net post, Blizzard and TransGaming, Cedega's development team were able to figure out what was going on. Apparently, their anti-cheating software mistakenly read Cedega users as cheaters, causing their accounts to be flagged as third-party software users.

Blizzard has since apologized for the error and the trouble the ban has caused Cedega users, and have reinstated the banned accounts related to the fiasco. As a peace offering of sorts, Blizzard has also credited each unbanned Cedega account with 20 days' free play.

We've posted Blizzard's email for you so you can read the apology and the resolution. In the meantime, Cedega users who are still suffering a ban from WoW ought to check the TransGaming website (sourced below) in order to let your name and account be known by TransGaming and subsequently unbanned.

Interested in the apology letter? Click on "Full Article".

This does not bode well for Linux gamers, and it's a weird coincidence that we hear about this a few days after announcing Wine on the site. It seems that Linux-using World of Warcraft players are getting banned left and right.

Current speculation among the members of the WoW community, Linux and non-Linux alike, is an attempt to ban users of third party software who use said software to cheat the game. Unfortunately, users of Cedega, a Windows programs portability app for Linux, has been picked up as a cheating application by Blizzard, leading to the closing of many accounts of Linux users.

Discussion has been ongoing in the forum of TransGaming, Cedega's developer. Currently, Transgaming is working with Blizzard's engineers to resolve the problem and hopefully get the unjustly banned accounts back into a state of gaming readiness. Till then, however, all we can do is wait for TransGaming and Blizzard to do something about it.