Thursday, April 18, 2002

Mozilla 1.0 RC1 Released -- 9:36 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Release Candidate 1 of Mozilla 1.0 has been released! While you are downloading, you can read the release notes. For those of you living under rocks, Mozilla is a cross-platform, open-source web browsing suite that is the basis for Netscape 6.x among other things. Almost to 1.0! Sweet!

SoF II Multiplayer Test Released -- 5:24 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Raven has released the multiplayer test for Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix. You can get the relatively small 51M file from any of Blue's list of mirrors. In case you are wondering what is included, GameSpy Daily interviewed Raven's Rick Johnson and Kenn Hoekstra to get the full scoop.

DX Continuity Bible -- 2:07 pm CST, Update by The Master

Blue and ShackNews both mentioned the posting on the Deus Ex Continuity Bible on Gamespy. This document is a snippet of the design docs used within Ion Austin to create Deus Ex. If you've already played through the game, give this a read, it's full of good stuff.

Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast Review -- 12:46 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Yes, believe it or not, we present some original content *gasp*! Check out my review of Raven and Lucasarts' new game Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. JKII is one of the best games I've ever played. Read on to find out why it earned my first ever perfect 10-out-of-10 score!

After you're done reading it, why not check out the rest of our reviews section?

J.t.Qbe comments: Hey A.T., have you seen the news that Transgaming has released a new version of WineX, now with support for JKII? Looks like you could skip that Windows reboot. . .

A.T. Hun comments: Just downloaded the source from CVS. Wish me luck.

IE Back Button Exploit -- 12:37 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Wired brings word of another Internet Explorer vulnerability that can be activated simply by hitting the back button. Here's the problem:

When a Web page fails to load, Explorer displays a standard error message. This message is set to operate in the "Local Computer Zone" security setting, which by default allows scripting to run automatically.

Any code inserted in the original URL is handled as if it comes from the same security zone as the last URL viewed. So a URL containing malicious JavaScript that might be blocked by default if a user visits the site directly, will be automatically triggered when the user presses the back button.

While it sounds like it would be somewhat difficult to exploit, I was surprised at M$'s response to the one who reported the problem:

A Microsoft spokesman said the Microsoft Security Response Center thoroughly investigated Sandblad's report "and determined that because the proposed exploit scenario is dependent upon specific user interaction as a prerequisite, it does not meet our definition of a security vulnerability."

"The proposed exploit scenario requires the attacker to compel the users to click on the back button while visiting a malicious website. This scenario does not constitute a viable threat to users following standard best practices," the spokesman added.

Some users were surprised to find out that Microsoft believes that using the back button is not a standard, best security practice.

Apparently they are now in the business of redefining terms too. How can clicking the back button not be a "standard best practice"? Almost too bizarre. Thanks HardOCP.

The Master comments: That's okay--once a Microsoft staffer hits a back button on the right site and some hacker pulls down all their secure info, then they'll change their tune.

UT2003 Hands-On -- 12:32 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Barry's World reported on their hands-on experience with Unreal Tournament 2003. It sounds like they've addressed one of my biggest gripes with UT: the sniper gun. It seems like everytime I've seen UT played at a LAN party or online it's just a constant refrain of "Head shot!" At least you won't be able to camp with it any more. Hopefully they also make the pain sounds louder so I can actually tell I'm being hit. Thanks Blue.

FiringSquad JKII Review -- 9:31 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The FiringSquad posted their review of Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, giving it a total score of 92%. This is the first review I've seen that has said that the single player was too easy. Once I discovered what they did (namely, make use of Force Speed a lot), the single player experience became much easier. One quibble: they complain that you cannot block Force Push or Pull in multiplayer. Actually you can, you just have to know how <evil grin>.

The review includes some console commands to make 'saber kills do more, um, obvious damage :) Try them, you'll like them.

Wednesday, April 17, 2002

UT2003 for Linux? -- 9:10 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Linux Games found a little blurb in an Epic chat log that indicates that Unreal Tournament 2003 will definitely have a Linux server and likely a Linux client too. Here's the scoop:

[19:36] MarkRein[Epic]: any word on a client
[19:36] Irix--> Don't know yet about a client but it will probably happen eventually
[19:37] Irix--> We'd definitely like to see it and I know Dan Vogel is talking with some friends of his who would like to do it.

Dan Vogel ported the original UT for Loki and later moved on to Epic. Go Dan!

Pondering the Imponderable -- 5:49 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I just finished Jedi Knight II. Again. Yes, the single player is that fun. It was much easier the second time around since I have better 'saber control. I may just crank up the difficulty and try again. For now, I've been fighting some bots and trying to get my multiplayer abilities up, which are sorely lacking.

J.t.Qbe comments: So THAT'S where you've been lately. Your wife keeps saying that you're "gone" or "in a meeting". HA!

In other news, it's a great day for Detroit sports! Tonight the Red Wings begin their quest for the Stanley Cup. Yesterday, the Pistons clinched second place in the East. Even the Tigers got off the schneid and won their first game! Now we just have to see how terribly the Lions can botch this year's draft.

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