NewsBits

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

I like NewsBits because they're not as big as normal news items and they stay crunchy in milk:

• gaill.ard sent us some pictures showing the changes that have been made to the para in the cs 1.6 beta. take a look at the way the regular 1.5 para compares to the new 1.6 beta para. you'll notice changes in the bullets, the lines on the model, the hands themselves, and other modifications. thanks, gaill.ard.
  
  
  
  
• over at jolt there is a new review of the steelpad, a mouse pad that is actually made of steel. i think i'll wait for a titanium mouse pad before make the switch to metals, but don't let my skepticism put you off. read the review of the steelpad and decide for yourself.
  
  
  
  
• counter hack, the excellent anti-cheat website, has posted an interview with fargo, the head honcho from gamespy daily. they discuss cheating, valve's efforts, the future of cheating, and other cheat related issues in the counter hack interview.
  
  
  
  
• i was just told that my script for transmitting wav files through the voice communication to your teammates in cs is available for download from fileplanet. the file includes instructions and a sample wav file. i will be the first to admit that my script is not nearly as cool as disk2's half-life sound selector, which is a program that lets you choose from multiple wav files. check that out.

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

I finally saw Lord of the Rings.

• chic0! has posted a psa for all you cs fans who like to play music in the background using winamp. first of all, don't download ogc lite or anything like that (vac might call you a cheater). first, download shortcutter. if you're using winamp 2, you're done! if you're using the newly-released winamp 3, grab this winamp 2 plug-in loader.
  
  
  
  
• 7 months after the original status: owned! movie, a sequel has been released. they're "skill" movies: lots of impressive/lucky shots to make you feel worthless. thanks, drage.
  
  
  
  
• a new version of the free teamspeak has been released for those of you who don't like the in-game voice communication. thanks, sandman_jr99.
  
  
  
  
• griffinrun has updated their site with an interested tidbit. one player in another state actually got a 2 ping to the their runarena server. remember, that's ping, not latency.

First of all, I can't believe they're adding another 30 minutes. Second, there was no actual ending, but it didn't ruin the movie. Finally, it is impossible to sound cool and have a discussion about Orcs and Elves.

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

Yes, that's right. The newsbits are back and better than ever. I'll be taking you on a winding road through bits of news that really aren't related to each other in any way. Kinda like your cousins that married, but swear they aren't related.

• we are experiencing some problems with the cs-nation cs store, so some of you trying to pick up the 2003 mr bond calendar may have gotten a error page. if you're one of those poor souls, click here for the correct link (this text is that correct link).
  
  
  
  
• hicks with sticks is holding its first ever trivia contest. word has it that they've baked up over 500 cs questions waiting to be answered. tons of goodies and prizes are waiting for you, so hop in their mirc channel at #hicks on irc.gamesnet.net, or check out the post on their official website.
  
  
  
  
• jaden, formerly of riot-squad, 3d, eminence, and darkside has retired from counter-strike. in a letter to the community, jaden claims that he'd like to focus more on schoolwork. so, if you're a fan of jaden, a fan of any of the clans he's been in, or just a fan of esports, check out his farewell letter.
  
  
  
  
• word has it, than in this month's issue of pcgamer, there is an article on counter-strike: condition zero that contains a small interview with erik johnson of valve. johnson reportedly states that there will be plenty of new content introduced, and that the release date is still planned for 2003. for more information, i suggest you head on over to your local brick and mortar store and pick up a copy of this excellent magazine, or check out pcgamer's site.
  
  
  
  
• ign.com has posted up the top 100 pc games. the list is based on the most wanted games of 2003. interestingly enough, counter-strike: condition zero ranked in at #21. the somewhat "hush hush" half-life 2 fell into the 75th position, and good old, regular counter-strike is surprisingly ranked 99th, beating out worms 3, which is #100. on the xbox side of things, counter-strike is listed as 57th. so, if you're into pc games, click this little linky, or if you prefer games of the xbox flavor, click this line of grey text. choose one or the other, but not both.

So, we twisted and turned through the valley of bits, but made it through in one piece. Thanks to everyone who submitted news, you should be awarded a medal of honor or something. Insert your own witty comment here, and stop making me think of things to say.

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

We're still digging our way out of the holiday dry-spell of news, so bear with us. In unrelated news, the mailbag will be posted late tonight or early tomorrow. Some code is broken and I need to fix it before doing anything else. Well, except this:

• efnex over at domain of games has posted a new angel munoz interview. angel heads the cyberathlete professional league, of course. the interview doesn't have a whole lot of substance, but that's fairly typical for interviews with the cpl brass. i guess they like to keep their future open, check it out.
  
  
  
  
• greensoftline has posted a free activation key for cstuner, a program which helps you customize your cs experience. the key will expire on the 3rd of the next month, so consider this a short-lived christmas present. nice way to try out the proggie, though!
  
  
  
  
• 2c, aka the second coming, will have to wait for a third coming because the cal-i team has broken up. there isn't a cal-i void, however, since just before the 2c's fall, gamers-x was invited to join cal-i play. gamers-x had a nice cpl run and will skip the usual cal-main test; a good rationale being that they norrowly lost to team rival, last season's cal-i champions, in double overtime during the cpl event. to clear up any confusion, gamers-x was once a cal-i team but they then disbanded. so this is like the second coming of gamers-x. the irony is just oozing.
  
  
  
  
• #eradio on quakenet has opened, replacing another radio station, called cs.radio, that they claim was the most popular gaming radio station in the uk. apparently the room and station got into some legal troubles dealing with phone numbers and some trouble-making idlers. so if you liked cs.radio, check out #eradio on quakenet.

I've recently added a few new news posters so hopefully news will be more plentiful all around. Try to help them out in the comments with any advice and feel free to point out errors on the like.

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

This time it wasn't NightStalker! :0

• one of the members from evolved clan has taken a good chunk of time and complied two of their best players into a good movie. check them out at #evolved and grab the movie here.
  
  
  
  
• pcf|herman d and his clan are trying to start a league for counter-strike beginners. pcf beginners league information can be found here. for all the clans just starting out, take a look. it might just be the stepping stone you need.
  
  
  
  
• gamers.nu has interviewed sk|brunk. registration is required, but is free to sign up.

  there has been a lot of talk about maxrounds 12 being "random", do you think the cpl should consider a move to something like mr15? do you think it would be practical for big events like the cpls in america?
  
  
  
  sk|brunk: yeah, mr15 or 16 would be better, then it doesn't depend so much on the pistol rounds. i mean, if a clan wins both pistol rounds on a map they get 6 rounds, since most clans do 2 ecos and you don't often win ecos.

• half-life manager has released beta version 0.406 to the public. half-life manager is a server tool like hlsw, gamespy, ase, etc. the newest version adds support for many other games, bug fixes, and more goodies. thanks thor2488.[break="click for changelog"]
  • v0.406pb - 01.12.2002
    
    
  • added support for quake3
    
    
  • added support for battlefield 1942
    
    
  • added support for battlefield 1942 demo
    
    
  • added support for return to castle wolfenstein
    
    
  • added support for quake 3 arena
    
    
  • added support for unreal tournament 2003
    
    
  • added support for unreal tournament 2003 demo
    
    
  • added support for st: elite force
    
    
  • added support for soldier of fortune 2 mp
    
    
  • added support for jedi knight ii
    
    
  • added first step to allow users to define their own filters
    
    
  • added multi-language support (german and english available currently)
    
    
  • fixed: main-window and rcon part is resizeable again now
    
    
  • fixed: clearing icq awaymessages after playing (icq stores them)
    
    
  • fixed: rcon-player parsing with enabled hltv
    
    
  • reworked toolbar
    
    
  • reworked filter-layout

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

Go grab another cup of coffee, use the restroom, stand up and stretch, it is going to be a long one today.

• flying_donkey has released an update(15mb) to the donkey pack. it changes all players skins and some weapons with their sprites/vgui/sounds.
  
  the aim of this add-on is not to be realistic but to give more fun to your cs, hi-quality being always the rule. the pack is available for download here or check out some screenshots here.
  
  
  
  
• sk|heaton was recently interviewed by izn0 over at gamers.nu. they discuss about sk.swe's recent losses, as well as many other topics.

  bearing schroet kommando sweden's just mentioned losses in mind do you regret replacing dark and xeqtr with bengan and kush? would you make the same decision again if you knew what you know now?
  
  
  
  sk|heaton: yes, the problem was not the skills or the people, it was just that they live so far away from us and we want to play a lot more lan than we could with them, since it's very expensive to fly from norway to sweden.

• sebastain over at cs central has decided to create another map pack since their first pack had so much success. right now he is taking submissions at the official counter-strike mapping forum so far three maps have been chosen; de_morningstar by blazeeer, but the other two are still secret. thanks, thesilence.
  
  
  
  
• angel munoz has once again been interviewed. their site is real slow for me so this is all i could get.

  lan-z: ten years ago the www didn't exist and 5 ago the cpl was founded. in your opinion, what is going to happen with cpl and game tournaments in the next five years?
  
  
  
  angel muñoz: gaming will continue to be a driving force in the lives of many people and computer game competitions will continue to grow in number of participants and spectators, cash prizes, media coverage and interest from the general public. the reach of interactive entertainment is now being experienced globally, and the trends have been established. there is no going back. we envision that cpl will remain at the forefront of this powerful trend.

  thanks, =[lost]=supermonk and flek0

Land, ho!

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

NewsBits is back, and it's really liquored up and pissed off!

• thorin from gamers.nu has written up another excellent interview. this time the subject is |mafia|bullet, a legendary swedish player and one of the co-founders of former cpl world champions ninjas in pyjamas. membership is required with gamers.nu, but if there's ever a site besides csn worth registering for, it's gamers.nu. check it out here.
  
  
  
  
• onlinecups.info is a new site with an objective of making it easier for players to find cs cups to participate in. cups, a.k.a tournaments, and specific details such as prizes, number of participating teams, etc. can be viewed from the site's cup list. click here for a visit.
  
  
  
  
• yet another option is available for clans looking for free site and logo design. int3rnil has started int3rnil's graphics den, and he's looking for new assignments to fill his portfolio. free is always good.
  
  
  
  
• a new gaming community has launched. the real time gaming community has their new site up, and they're looking for staff memers who can post news, review stuff, and more. give them a click for more info.
  
  
  
  
• streak is planning on making a new plot-based action movie within the hl engine, but he still needs actors, music, and camera control scripters. if you think you can help, email him at streak54@hotmail.com and let him know.

NewsBits. Better than nibbling on poo.

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

Aye!

• cs clan zone has written up some glock strategies. be sure to check out our glock guide, written by securityguard many moons ago.
  
  
  
  
• over at symantic's anti-virus site you can read about a worm that disguises itself as a hl cd-key generator. poetic justice, perhaps, but still very lame. thanks to chickeninabiskit for the submission. the worm itself is fairly useless right now as the web component of it links to dead files.
  
  
  
  
• ogirc version .4 has been released. no, it's not an irc cheating program! what it does is create an overlay on your screen so you can use half-life to chat on irc. it's not directly integrated like disk2's program, so it probably won't be vac-blacklisted any time soon. check it out and tell us in the comments if the program is any good!

Arr!

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

Greetings! I bring fresh bananas.

• here's some new news on the release date for counter-strike: condition zero. apparently, amazon.com has changed their release date from the original march 30, 2003 date to a much more pleasing february 1, 2003 date. gamestop.com even has the date as january 21st. again, this isn't "official" news, but it is a very good sign. let's keep our fingers crossed. thanks, some1_call_911.
  
  
  
  
• halflife.org is offering free logo and header design to any half-life community site, including us crazy cs folks. all design work will be done by mike, the halflife.org designer. apply now, as space is limited.
  
  
  
  
• clan zex has won the recently held east coast lan. first prize was $500 and some kind words. also, you can check out the 45mb movie the east coast lan folks made, culling the best frags of the competition.
  
  
  
  
• speaking of movies, you might want to download penguin[zer]'s newest scout movie, death by scout 2, which features some excellent scout action (no, not the friggin' cat). the movie is hosted by the good folks at redphive.org and runs 3:13. also, check out penguin's original death by scout movie.
  
  
  
  
• counter-hack is sponsoring a class in cyber crime investigation taught by als, a member of unitedadmins' intelligence team. if you're interested in helping to shut down illegal cheat sites or are an admin who would like to learn more about laws and policies concerning server attacks, then this might be right up your alley. the class is held in irc on channel #cci on irc.gamesnet.net at on tuesdays and thursdays. get more information here.

Bananas are an excellent source of potassium.

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

Yay! Newsbits!

• msnbc has written an interesting article about a 46 year old mother who plays computer games such as counter-strike with her 13 year old son. read more here.
  
  
  
  
• thc-stats version 2.0 has been released. thc-stats is a client-stat program for cs. note: it not a server-stat program. it works with the hl-console-command "condump". check it out here! thanks to :::thc:addict:::
  
  
  
  
• a new counter-strike ladder site called squadgames has been created. the ladder system is fully automated and hosts many different games. click here to learn more.
  
  
  
  
• kcsa is having a 2v2 tournament and are looking for 16 more teams to join. the tourny starts november 4th and will include clans from all over the world. click here for more information.

Finished!

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

How about some NewsBits? Here we go:

• a new league has been created called pure gaming league. pgl is currently looking for clans to sign up and get the first season underway. for more information head on over to irc.gamesnet.net, #pgl or the official pgl site.
  
  
  
  
• n00binator has written a cs article called "counter-teamwork?" over at klankarf.net. it talks about how the lack of teamwork has affected the counter-strike community. read more!
  
  
  
  
• is your clan tired of looking for scrims? wait no more! a new irc channel for has emerged called practice clan wars. it can be found on irc.quakenet.eu.org, #findpcw. be sure to check it out and get some clan wars going! thanks to preston for the news.
  
  
  
  
• are you looking for a pug? or a ringer? if so, be sure to check it #findpug @ irc.gamesnet.net. click here for more information.

Thats all folks.

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

This heaping bowl of NewsBits™ is sponsored by aeflux:

DeLog, a CS stats analyzer, has been cranked up to version 0.7. This new version adds greater log file size support and fixes a few nasty bugs. At the moment, DeLog only works with cs_ (hostage rescue) maps.



The Ping of Death-Bot has been released. This bot, the author claims, supports advanced AI features that make it more realistic than other bots. Shake some clicks over here if you want it.



And the Swedish girls over at cs.nu have remixed Britney Spears's "Baby One More Time" to a nice HL/CS camping tune entitled "Camper One More Time". If you can actually stand the real song, you might want to give the remix a shot.



And Ditlew has released the beta 1, test 3 of the NNBot (Neutral Network Bot). Shake your bon-bon this way if you need your dosage of single player CS action.

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

Operating NewsBits™ OS, version 3.1.337.

pcnyt.dk had a Q & A session with MysticMart, operator of the Counter-Strike Art for Amateurs site. I especially like the part where they call scud an "arrogant bastard."



If you're wondering how the Danish CS National Team did in the Olympics (since they placed first in the virtual water polo competition, it might be interesting), take a gander at their site, freshly translated into English (minus the main page).



And you can get your winamp skin fix over at Counter-Place. They've updated with a Winamp skin tutorial and another skin for it.

/me wonders where cl30f is.

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

NewsBits™ version 4.69.20 charlie, supplied by Halflife.net.

AGBbot updated to version 0.7, featuring numerous improvements and better support for de_ scenarios.



K-Query has been updated to version 2.2.0, fixing buckets of stuff.



Skinetics has posted the final part of their basic skinning tutorials, everything you need to know on skinning is here.

Me and aeflux are now hiring for NewsBits™ Co, spam him with e-mails and send me money. That is all.

[CSN NewsBot]

NewsBits

This sexy edition of NewsBits™ is brought to you by my speedy new DSL connection. Let's get this square dance on:

Genestealer has made a CS bot launcher. Put some feedback in the comments on whether this thing works well or not, I'd like to know.



Some things hint at the decaying of society as we know it. Pro wrestling, school shootings, and RzE's fat ass. Another example would be this article entitiled "Bruce's Story: A Tragic Tale" over at the Forge.



gamingnews.net has lovingly interviewed Anarchy of map.core (remember Anarchy Design?). It covers a few issues about map.core and more (I rhyme!), so catch that whole interview here if you're interested.

Because I have a fat pipe, I don't need lube for my downloads anymore! Praise DSL, for it owns you.