On Monday, 3rd of March, the next NGL ONE and NGL TWO Season will start with Matchday #1. As usual five clanwars per league will be played within 2 weeks - the matches have to be scheduled until Saturday, 23:59 CET. Beside the used times 15, 17, 18 and 20 CET teams can now choose 16 CET and 19 CET too. The last Match in the NGL TWO Qualifier will be held on Sunday - Australia United or NoWAYouT will complete the NGL TWO teams.

Matchday #1
NGL ONE	NGL TWO
BeT vs. hoorai	SRS vs. wNv
MYM vs. Gravitas	Alternate vs. iP
Delta vs. PGS	n! vs. Lyra
SK vs. mTw	Raptor vs. tba
mouz vs. Wicked	Thermaltake vs. ieS

Source ： ngl-one.com

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Gameplay blog:
This past week while playing a Terran versus Terran mirror game, I discovered a new unit option from the Factory. This new unit is known as the Jackal, which is a fast vehicle like the Vulture, but instead wields a rail gun, which does an area of effect damage in a straight line at ground units.

My opponent built the standard Marines & Medics (M&Ms) composition while I bunkered my choke point and teched straight to a Factory with a Reactor add on, which allows me to build two Jackals at one time from a single Factory.

After I built a group of 6 Jackals, I rolled onto the field with my Jackals broken up in two groups with 3 Jackals each. I engaged his M&Ms with my first group, having the Marines line up around my Jackals as they naturally do while firing. Quickly, I brought in my second group of Jackals along the side to flank the M&Ms and the line attack did the rest, killing up to 2-3 units with a single focus fire command. With a little micromanagement, I was able to decimate his whole group of 15 or so units, while only losing two Jackals. That battle gave me a significant military advantage, which eventual led to a relatively quick win.

StarCraft II Q&A Batch 31

How will Marines mount into a pod? Is this done via the barracks, or an entirely unannounced building, or Dropship-like airship yet to be revealed?

Terran infantry currently load into the Shadow Ops building (prerequisite for the Ghost). A Ghost can then launch drop pods, which originate from that building.

Can a player order a Ghost in a Bunker to call Nukes and Drop Pods?

Yes, Terran infantry currently have all abilities except the SCV repair ability available for use while inside a bunker, including the use of Nukes and Drop Pods.

What spells are specifically affected by the Nullifiers ability? Will physical spells like the Marines Stim Pack, the Ghosts Nuke, or Reaper Mines be disabled? Also, will spells cast before entering the area (I.E. Ghosts cloak) be disabled upon entering the area?

Only abilities which require energy usage will need be unable to be cast while in the Null Voids area of effect. Additionally, the Null Void ability will disengage cloak by units such as the Ghost. It also currently reveals burrowed Zerg units, but this is still being debated in terms of balance.

Last we heard, Veterancy was active for the Terran but we havent heard anything about it since and are quite curious is it still in the game?

Veterancy will likely be seen in the single player campaign, but will not be in the multiplayer game.

In StarCraft, some units had instant attack animations (Corsiar, Mutalisk, Vulture). This allowed people with good micro to make these units move and shoot. In contrast there were units that had an attack animation which required the unit to stop and shoot. This allowed people with good micro to dance (move, shoot, move shoot, maximizing the distance travelled without the unit losing any shooting time). In Warcraft III, units tended to have attack animations which took as long as the cooldown for the attack, making micro actions such as these non-existent.

Will units in StarCraft II have attack animations that last as long as the cooldown for their attack, similar to Warcraft III? or will players be able to dance (moving in between shooting) like in StarCraft? Also, will there be any units with instant attack animations that can be micromanaged to move and shoot like in StarCraft?

Balance will be the first priority when determining the animation duration for units. With that said, there will be certain units that players will be able to dance with, and there will be other units which will force the unit to stop and fire. Some units in StarCraft II will not only need to stop and fire, but will do additional damage to a target while it focuses. All of these characteristics which determine how a unit will be used in competitive play will be chosen based on balance.

When a unit is cloaked or burrowed, can the sensor tower still see the unit in the fog of war?

Yes, the Sensor Tower will reveal all units in the fog of war, including cloaked and burrowed units. Sensor Towers are currently a staple to any Terran defense or offensive.

 Relevant information ：  Official Starcraft II Forums

 Source ：sk-gaming

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In the today’s conference the ESWC Chinese committee has finally announced the first city with which the qualification will start as well as the rest of the dates and cities which will participate in the ESWC fever.

The ESWC Chinese finals will be played July 14-th and it will take place in the same city which the qualifiers started Wuxi.

 

More details regrading rules and prizes it will follow in the upcoming days.

Source ：GosuGamers

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Isamu Kamikokuryo discussed the process of making art for Final Fantasy in a crowded Q&A panel at this year’s Game Developer’s Conference. At first, Kamikokuryo reminisced about how he got his job at Square Enix. It wasn’t particularly romantic: he followed a simple call for applicants, and submitted a resume with a photograph of one of his oil paintings. He got a call back, and got a job that many fanboys would kill for.

Eventually, the discussion moved on to the high quality graphics that Square Enix has been able to produce in its pre-rendered movies. Asked how the team copes with "the uncanny valley problem," Kamikokuryo noted that it’s something everyone on the team is constantly thinking about. "In terms of the uncanny valley, that is something we have to fight against. We can’t go there -- that’s basically how we feel about it. For all the things we create, many of the section creators get together and we make adjustments so this uncanny valley phenomenon doesn’t happen. We don’t usually use that phrase, because all the staff has this in mind while we do our work."

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Nintendo's Takashi Aoyama took the stage this morning in front of an enormous crowd to talk about the development of the Wii Menu interface, and the concurrent development of the system's features. The major news at this presentation is branding and confirmation of some pay content online (including, possibly, fee-based online play), video of a WiiWare game, and confirmation that the Everybody's Nintendo Channel (which offers videos, screenshots, and also DS demo downloads) is still planned for release in the U.S. and Europe for an unspecified time.

One of the first WiiWare games from developer Frontier is called LostWinds and is a side-scroller controlled by the Nunchuk. The Wiimote pointer controls gusts of wind that can affect the character, enemies, and onscreen items. The visual style is very green and sort of Crystal-Chronicles-like. No information about release date or cost was given, but a video was shown.

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Although Take-Two has twice rejected bids from leading publisher Electronic Arts, Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick told Reuters that he hasn't totally ruled out a deal with EA just yet.

"We didn't slam the door, we just said look, the price is not right and the time is wrong," said Zelnick, who would not comment on what price he thought Take-Two should command. Although EA had been hoping to acquire Take-Two prior to the April 29 launch of GTA IV, that's not looking likely – at least not as part of a friendly negotiation. "We have to see what steps they take, and we have and will continue to operate in the best interest of shareholders. If something happens that creates a reason to do something different, it's our job to do something different," said Zelnick.

If EA gets antsy and grows tired of Take-Two's rejections, the company may enter into a hostile bid. When asked by Reuters, if EA would actually consider a hostile takeover of Take-Two, CFO Warren Jenson seemed open to the possibility. "Our objective is to make this friendly deal but we have to keep all options open," he said.

"One reason we are offering the premium we are is that we want to close quickly to capture synergies," he noted. "To the extent it is delayed, it becomes less valuable."

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Tottenham Hotspur lifted their first trophy in nine years after beating Chelsea 2-1 in the Carling Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.

Jonathan Woodgate headed the winner four minutes into the first period of extra time to give Spanish manager Juande Ramos a trophy just a few months into his maiden season at the north London club.

The trophy, first since 1999 League Cup, also secured a spot in Europe's UEFA Cup next season, which would have been unlikely for Tottenham via its 11th place in the 20-team Premier League standings.

"This is a beautiful experience," said Ramos, who replaced Martin Jol early this season.

"It's tremendously satisfying to get the title and the trophy for the fans and the club. It's a long time since we achieved success and for such a big club like Spurs it seems even longer."

Ramos took the helm at Tottenham in October with the club struggling near the bottom of the Premier League. He has since lost only five of his 28 games in charge, winning 15 times.

Didier Drogba curled home a 20-yard free-kick six minutes before the interval to break the deadlock for Chelsea, winners of both domestic cups last season under former boss Jose Mourinho.

Chelsea were leading until 20 minutes from time when Dimitar Berbatov coolly rolled in the penalty awarded after Wayne Bridge handled the ball under pressure from substitute Tom Huddlestone.

Suddenly Spurs were in the ascendancy but the efforts by Berbatov and Didier Zokora were made in vain as Petr Cech's good saves forced an extra time.

Spurs only had to wait four more minutes to take a lead they would not relinquish, with a bit of luck though.

It seemed as Cech punched a Jermaine Jenas free-kick right on to Woodgate's head and the rebound trickled into an empty net.

"The penalty put them back in the game and that turned the match, " said Chelsea's manager Avram Grant.

"The second goal was from a set piece so we are disappointed."

The defeat ended Chelsea's quadruple hopes in Grant's first season as Blues boss, though they are still in the hunt for the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

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Argentine David Nalbandian on Sunday defeated compatriot Jose Acasuso to win the Buenos Aires Open, his eighth Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) title, with a set score of 3-6, 7-6 and 6-4.

The result pushes Nalbandian back into the world's top 10 as he earns 175 points from the victory, which takes him to the eighth from 11th in the world rankings.

The match, played on the clay courts of the Lawn Tennis Club in Argentine capital Buenos Aires, lasted two hours 43 minutes.

It was the first win for Nalbandian, 26, at the Buenos Aires Open. He also won 74,000 U.S. dollars.

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2007 Game of the Year
Portal (Valve)
Kim Swift，Erik Wolpaw

2007 Best Game Design
Portal (Valve)
Kim Swift, Realm Lovejoy, Paul Graham

2007 Best Visual Art
BioShock (2K Boston/2K Australia / 2K Games)
Scott Sinclair, Shawn Robertson, Andrew James

2007 Best Technology
Crysis (Crytek/Electronic Arts)
Cevat Yerli, Douglas Binks, Timur Davidenko, Martin Mittring

2007 Best Writing
BioShock (2K Boston/2K Australia / 2K Games)
Ken Levine, Emily Ridgway, Joe McDonagh, Susan O'Connor

2007 Best Audio
BioShock (2K Boston/2K Australia / 2K Games)
Eric Brosius, Pat Balthrop, Emily Ridgway, Justin Mullins

2007 Best Debut
Crackdown (Real Time Worlds / Microsoft Game Studios)
Ramon Gonzalez, Violetta Sanchez, Rafael Diaz, Jose Guerra

2007 Innovation
Portal (Valve)
Kim Swift, Erik Wolpaw

2007 Best Handheld Game
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo / Nintendo)
Eiji Aonuma

2007 Best Downloadable Game
FlOw (thatgamecompany / Sony Computer Entertainment)
Kellee Santiago, Jenova Chen, Martin Middleton, Hao Cui, John Edwards, Nick Clark 

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Wei Liang "Fly100%" Lu will not be attending the NGL One finals in Berlin. The tournament starts on Friday and the Chinese player was forced to stay home due to visa issues.

The Mousesports player did not even get as far as London on his way to Germany. He would not be allowed to transfer to a different airport terminal to board his flight to Berlin. Fly100% did not have a transit visa to the U.K. which the airport officials claimed he needed to have in order to travel between airport terminals.

Mousesports tried to find another flight for their player but they were fully booked. The lack of Fly100% is a heavy blow for the team. The Orc was a key player for Mouz at the previous NGL One finals, where Mouz took second place.

Mousesports will be represented by Dennis "HasuObs" Schneider, Kim "SaSe" Hammar, Dmitriy "Happy" Kostin and Yoan "ToD" Merlo at the finals.

Source：Sk-gming.com

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Riding high on its successes with The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, Turbine announced an extension on the agreement with Tolkien Enterprises that will allow the massively multiplayer online game developer to create more offerings based on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings book franchises (Turbine does not have rights to the film series). The new agreement, extended to 2014, also opens an extension option to 2017.

"We’re thrilled with the global success of The Lord of the Rings Online since its launch in 2007," said Jim Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine. "With the recent announcement of what are sure to be two blockbuster films based on The Hobbit and a sequel, we expect the success of the license and our relationship with Tolkien Enterprises to grow for years to come."

While there were no announcements regarding when new games would become available, given that the The Hobbit film is due in 2010, one might expect Turbine to make sure any game based on the book license is available for hyped up moviegoers.

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Capcom announced today that Devil May Cry 4 has shipped over two million units worldwide. The game is available now in North America, Europe and Japan for PS3 and Xbox 360. Capcom expects to release a PC version of Devil May Cry 4 in the months that follow.

Devil May Cry 4 is the latest game in the stylish action series that has sold over nine million units to date. The latest game in the series features a new protagonist in Nero, who mixes up gameplay with his Devil Bringer arm and the Exceed system. Devil May Cry 4 is considered to have some of the best graphics and biggest bosses in the series’ history.

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NaturalMotion today announced that they have signed a licensing deal with CCP. Under terms of the agreement, CCP will integrate the morpheme animation middleware into EVE Online and upcoming unannounced projects. morpheme allows developers and animators to author and preview blends, blend trees and transition graphs in real time.

"Deeply immersive visual experiences facilitated by high-fidelity motion graphics are the hallmark of our virtual worlds," said Thor Gunnarsson, Vice President of Business Development at CCP. "As a valuable addition to our technology arsenal, morpheme will support CCP’s drive to deliver vivid expressiveness to the avatars populating EVE and beyond."

"CCP has shown that they have the ability to take virtual worlds to new places," said Andy Payne, NaturalMotion’s VP of Sales, Europe/Asia. "With NaturalMotion’s morpheme technology, CCP will be able to blaze even more trails through the MMO space."

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Havok announced today that it has released Havok 5.5 during the 2008 Game Developer’s Conference. The latest version of the technology and artists tool suite features enhancements to Havok Physics, Havok Animation and Havok Behavior.

"With each new product or version of Havok that we release we take time to listen to customer comments and strive to help development teams create enjoyable and realistic games more efficiently," said David O’Meara, Managing Director of Havok. "Havok 5.5 represents the most innovative version of our suite of products to date, and with it Havok will help drive the next generation of bestsellers and award-winners."

Havok also unveiled Havok Cloth and Havok Destruction for the first time ever. As the names would imply, these two products provide artists with increased control over interactive cloth and destructible objects within games.

"With the release of Havok Cloth and Havok Destruction, the company adds both depth and breadth to our market-dominating suite of physics tools," said O’Meara. "Innovative and easy to utilize, Havok Cloth and Destruction are powerful, flexible tools giving art teams more control in the design process, resulting in a more realistic interactive experience for gamers."

"Havok Cloth and Havok Destruction will further increase the standard of realism and immersion in games," said David Coghlan, Vice President of Development for Havok. "Havok Cloth enables scalable clothing that will significantly enhance the visual impact of on-screen characters. Havok Destruction will drive high-adrenaline action scenes with unprecedented levels of physics mayhem."

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Xbox Live has become a highly popular gaming network and is among the primary reasons that many users play their Xbox 360. Microsoft may not be resting on their laurels, however, and has revealed in a job posting (which has been taken down) the possibility that a new Live may be coming. Whether this will be something like Sony’s PS3 Home is unknown.

"Join the server-backed games team, part of the Xbox Live team that’s responsible for creating a completely new way for mainstream audiences to enjoy the Xbox and Live," read the job posting. "We’re building the games, the console interface and logic, and the server support for a totally new Live experience. Both the games and the dashboard experience will be deeply paired with dynamic server support to create a compelling, fresh scenario each time."

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