Superbug has created a patch to fix segfaults and to get some more games running for Gcube Linux.

http://www.emuboards.net/index.php?showtopic=268 ...

DVD block driver Scream|CT finally committed his GameCube DVD block driver. In its current form, it allows raw access to original GameCube disks. The code is available on CVS.

http://www.gc-linux.org/ ...

A new glutton release of the daily FreeSCI Dreamcast Builds heres whats posted on the site:

2005-04-05 Lars Skovlund
• src/engine/savegame.cfsml: Remove stuff related to the old VM.
• src/engine/scriptdebug.c: Re-enable console commands for saving and restoring games.

http://freesci.linuxgames.com/dc/ ...

Source = http://www.dc-france.com/

Translated via Babelfish

Speud has just given infomations on the future left its version 8 from its software VMU Tool. Veiled the future changes: - many bugs corrected - definitely improved graphic interface - possibility of playing mini-plays VM on the tele one using an integrated emulator - read/write of the files to the format nexus DCI - read/write of dumps VMU to the format nexus DCM - better interactivity PC/DC Official site: http://bswirl.kitsunet.org/frame.php?lg=fr (you will find images of future the version) The station of dcreload.

Heres some screens ...

Hot on the heels of yesterday's report on Ourcolony.net comes further evidence that Microsoft is waging a viral marketing campaign to promote its next-generation console.

During his 2005 Game Developers Conference keynote address, Microsoft corporate vice president and chief XNA architect J Allard showed off some of the features that will be part of the next iteration of Xbox Live. One of those features was the "Gamer Profile," an online profile that will feature basic information like a person's Xbox Live tag, stats, gaming achievements, and motto.

The Gamer Profile will also include a picture of the gamer. When Allard demonstrated the Gamer Profile in action, he showed his own profile. Next to his Gamer Tag--"Hiro Protagonist," named after the main character in Neal Stephenson's cyberpunk novel Snow Crash--was a photo of Allard sporting a green T-shirt. On the front of the T-shirt was a large white ant with a distinctive mark on its abdomen that resembled an "X."

As can be seen in a side-by-side comparison, that same ant is also the emblem of Ourcolony.net, a Web site that appears to reward players of an alternate-reality game with partial pictures of the next-generation Xbox. Although it has been up and down almost all day today (presumably due to increased traffic), the site does display the same ant prominently on its home page underneath the password field and in an intermittent circular image. The ant is also the emblem that appears on the anonymous fliers that have been popping up all over major cities in the US and UK.

The addition of the photographic link to an already existing pile of evidence all but cements Ourcolony.net to a next-generation Xbox teaser campaign. However, Microsoft dodged the assertion that the site is another alternate-reality game/marketing tool in the vein of Ilovebees.com. "J [Allard] is a gamer and there are a lot of gamers playing Ourcolony.net," was all a spokesperson for the company told GameSpot.

However, Microsoft's implication that Allard is just a player of the game is somewhat undermined by a few facts. Though the Ourcolony.net URL was registered on February 4, 2005, the first comment in its forums is dated April 5, 2005. So unless the forums had been cleared or launched at a later date--unlikely, given that they are key to recruiting players to join the site's group-centric game--Ourcolony.net launched on April 5. Allard's GDC presentation was given on March 9. Together, the facts beg one big question: How could Allard be a fan of Ourcolony.net nearly a full month before the site went live? ...

With just over a month remaining until Microsoft reveals its next-gen console at E3, the company has unveiled what it describes as an "all-star line-up" of publishers already committed to Xbox 2, including the likes of EA, Rockstar, Ubisoft and Vivendi.

Microsoft says the new hardware will "deliver on the company's vision of the HD Era" by offering "high-definition graphics, extraordinary benefits of constant connectedness and exceptional personalization abilities."

In order to achieve this, Microsoft says, it has assembled a line-up of heavyweight publishers who have already collectively sold more than half a billion copies of titles for the current Xbox, and approximately 70 per cent of all console games sold in 2004.

"The key to bringing the vision for the HD Era of gaming to life is our partners: world-class publishers and developers that have molded and shaped the history of interactive entertainment for tens of millions of gamers worldwide," said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of Xbox global content and marketing.

"This stellar lineup of publishers and developers is poised to deliver games experiences our customers only dreamed were possible, and is ultimately committed to elevating video games to be the No. 1 form of entertainment."

The full list of publishers is as follows: 2K Games, Activision, Atari, Bandai, Bethesda Softworks, Buena Vista, Capcom, Codemasters, Eidos, Electronic Arts, FromSoftware, InterServ, KOEI, Konami, LucasArts, Majesco, Midway, Namco, Phantagram, Rockstar, SCi, SEGA, Tecmo, THQ, TWP, Ubisoft, Vivendi and Webzen.

Microsoft Game Studios - whose stable includes Bioware, Bizarre Creations, Bungie, Epic, FASA, Lionhead and Rare - will produce exclusive titles for Xbox 2. As will legendary Japanese developers Yoshiki Okamoto (Resident Evil, Street Fighter), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez, Lumines) and Hironobu Sakaguchi (Final Fantasy), all of whom have recently announced their commitment to the platform.

"The next-generation Xbox titles will provide exhilarating entertainment experiences that will drive the HD Era," said Microsoft.

"Gamers can expect technological advancements such as multichannel audio fidelity that will plunge them into a world so realistic, even the faintest enemy footsteps can be heard.

"These advancements will be fueled by richer online communication and by an abundance of on-demand content delivered by the Xbox Live service."

Microsoft went on to add that the announcement did not mean it was no longer committed to the current Xbox. "This year alone, Xbox publishers and developers will deliver more than 200 games to the platform," the company said. "Gamers can expect an amazing pipeline of titles into 2007." ...

The first time we laid our mitts on the piece of mini-genius that is Yoshi's Touch and Go was last E3. Holed up in the quiet media bit of Nintendo's booth, away from crowds and Z-List celebs, we were quickly charmed by the genius use of a thing as simple as a stylus pen, guiding the fall of a nappy-wearing baby Mario by way of drawing clouds for him to slide down on.
Now the concept has gained an extra limb by way of newly implemented shooting sections. Think of a two screen-high version of Yoshi's Island, then change the control scheme to one of tapping the screen to shoot, drawing on the screen to create clouds for Yoshi to walk on, and tapping Yoshi himself to make him jump and float in the air. Dead simple and painfully addictive.

The premise of the game is simple - you play a series of levels that are split into two key sections; the first section comprises of Baby Mario falling; the second section is the Yoshi shooting and jumping section. Players have to guide Baby Mario, then Yoshi, into as many coins as possible whilst avoiding obstacles and enemies on-path.
To destroy enemies, players must draw a circle around them, which in turn transforms them into a coin trapped within a bubble. The faster the enemy moves, the bigger the coin they become. Trapping multiple enemies at a time gifts a super coin. You can also tap onto a bubble and then launch it toward Baby Mario or Yoshi, so that they instantly collect the coin, though in Baby Mario's level this has the added implication of bouncing him upward, and possibly off or on-path.

Yoshi also has the benefit of being able to jump on top of non-spiked enemies to kill them, but Baby Mario is defenceless.

From what we've played - the Japanese language does somewhat confuse us - your task is to rescue baby Luigi from the clutches of those little wizard fellas from Yoshi's Island. The game seems to be split across four distinct stages, with us only being able to reach the third at time of going to press.

The third level is especially unique as it introduces a pinball-like mechanic that bounces Baby Mario off-path in the falling section, meaning you have to watch the two screens far more feverishly than before. The clouds you draw also last for a shorter period of time. Heaven only knows what lies in the forth level.

To summarise, the game - we're playing the complete Japanese DS version - is wonderfully simple and purist friendly. We fear some may miss the genius clothed in the cute and quirky visuals; and being how short it is in length, we doubt many people would be willing to pay more than 15 for it.

So far we absolutely and unreservedly adore it, but the question remains as to whether Joe and Joanne Public and their shiny pounds will adore it too.

Yoshi's Touch and Go is currently sheduled for release in Europe on May 6. Whether Europeans will receive some kind of tweaked version remains to be seen. Oh, and it's out now in Japan. ...

Last year, Microsoft intrigued some and infuriated many with a viral marketing campaign to help hype its now-multi-platinum Xbox shooter, Halo 2. The software behemoth tapped 4orty2wo Entertainment, a company that specializes in "immersive, entertainment-based alternative marketing campaigns."

In particular, 4orty2wo's forte is alternate reality games (ARGs)--what it alternately calls "search operas"--a form of interactive mystery which draws people into a narrative via hidden clues and cryptic messages. The first major ARG was called "The Beast," and was used to hype Steven Spielberg's film A.I. in 2001. It was cooked up by Jordan Weisman, then a creative director at Microsoft, his fellow employee Elan Lee, and novelist Sean Stewart.

The Beast centered on a murder of one Evan Chan, the mystery surrounding which could be solved by a series of clues. These clues were scattered across "Web sites, faxed documents, phone calls, e-mails, newspaper clippings, TV ads, clues from celebrities, and physical locations," according to 4orty2wo. The company claims that eventually three million people participated in The Beast, which earned its makers numerous plaudits in marketing and advertisement circles. Details of the thought process behind The Beast and ARGs in general can be found on Stewart's Web site and in 4orty2wo's case studies section.

So successful was the Beast at reaching consumers through the clutter of advertising that, in 2002, Weisman and Lee left Microsoft--to form 4orty2wo Entertainment. Their first major project was to help their former employer promote Halo 2. The result was Ilovebees.com, a Web phenomenon which grabbed headlines and caused headaches through out the summer of 2004.

The Ilovebees.com ARG centered on its titular URL, which appeared at the end of the theatrical Halo 2 trailer. Though it only flashed across the bottom of the screen for a split second, the URL drew millions of visitors to a site for a California bee farm that appeared to have been the victim of a bizarre hacker attack. However, over the course of weeks, the site began to reveal tidbits of the back story behind Halo 2's opening sequence, when Earth is attacked by the Covenant.

The most noticeable feature on the ilovebees.com site was a large timer on the page counting down to August 24. In the weeks leading up to that day, it began spitting out GPS coordinates to payphones, where small crowds of diehard ARG players gathered at the appointed hour. They were treated to a recorded message which drew them further into the ARG. Those who worked their way through the entire ARG eventually congregated at a series of events on November 4, where Microsoft officials thanked them for participating in easily the most cost-effective marketing campaign in game history.

Given the success of ilovebees.com--which won 4orty2wo Entertainment an innovation award at the 2005 Game Developers conference--it wouldn't be much of a surprise if Microsoft tried a similar trick in the future.

Well, it appears "the future" is "now."

This week, word began to spread in the forums of various Xbox sites about a new Web site called Ourcolony.net. Though the URL is registered to one "U Enzo" at a Chicago PO box--much like Ilovebees.com was registered to a rented San Francisco mailbox--the copy on the site's front page certainly bears the pretensions of prior 4orty2wo campaigns. "You made it to our colony, this is where the game lives, breathes and evolves," read the page. "Colony isn't about alternate reality gaming it *is* reality" (emphasis in the original).

Then there's the site's logo--an ant, which, like a bee, is an insect which lives in a hive or colony. As evidenced in a photo gallery on the ourcolony.net site, flyers that sport the ant and the word "colony" have been appearing all over various major American and English cities, often by game stores. Several such fliers were also plastered around the Sony Metreon in San Francisco right around the time of the PSP launch. The fliers are a classic example of a "teaser" campaign, where a cryptic billboard or flyer stirs interest in a product or service--in this case, ourcolony.net.

Another similarity between ourcolony.net and ilovebees.com is the prominent countdown clock on its home page. The countdown will ends at 8pm PDT on Thursday, May 12, nearly four days to the hour before Microsoft's pre-E3 presentation on the evening of May 16. What will happen on May 12 remains unclear. But, during his keynote at GDC last month, Chief XNA Architect and Corporate Vice President J Allard confirmed Microsoft would use the May 16 presentation to unveil its next-generation Xbox. Unconfirmed reports also say Allard sported a t-shirt with an ant logo on it while at GDC, though no such logo was visible during his keynote address.

That said, there does appear to be more than one direct connection between ourcolony.net and Microsoft. First, one of the distorted images on the ourcolony.net home page features an Xbox power button. When ...

Those rumors about Nintendo opening up a flagship store in Manhattan—rumors that were based almost entirely on a single job listing somebody dug up—turned out to be true. They’ve confirmed plans to follow the lead of Apple and Sony (and hopefully not Gateway) and open the very first Nintendo World Store in Rockefeller Center sometime this spring, just a few blocks away from the SonyStyle flagship store at Madison and 55th (which means that Sony fanboys and Nintendo fanboys might be forced to interact with each other in the real world rather than in their preferred field of battle, Internet message boards). ...