Squidpunch.com

Well about 5:30 PM EST today it seems that the Game Title for Shadowrun changed from “Shadowrun” to “Shadowrun EPD Service”.  When viewing your Achievement summary and on your gamercard the game still displays as “Shadowrun” but when viewing the actual achievment list for the game - or your online status it will say you are playing “Shadowrun EPD Service”.  So why the random title change, and why now, or is it just some random thing that went wrong?

Edit 09/13/07: well this morning its back to normal, so it seems like it was just a small blip I guess.

With the release of Shadowrun (May 29, 2007) for the first time ever Vista gamers can connect to Xbox 360 gamers in a corss-platform battle royal.  I think it’s pretty cool, but don’t have vista installed yet - anxious to hear about Live on Windows for anyone who has gotten their hands on it.

To sweeten the deal Halo 2 is considered live today on windows vista as well.  Which boasts improved graphics, a map editor and the ability to gain achievements (but no you cannot connect to xbox live members like shadowrun).

If you all ready have an xbox live account (and vista) you all ready have a Games ofr Windows - LIVE account, its the same gamertag and friends list that you all ready own.

Being a PC gamer over the past years, it should be interesting to see how PC gamers match up to XBox gamers in a FPS like shadowrun - so many of my PC gaming friends are convinced FPS play is for the PC, and will give an extreme advantage of the console gamers - what do you think?

After seeing Shadowrun at the Gamerscoreblog Road Trip DC stop I have to say I was impressed with the final graphics, compared to beta.  As of today you can go out and get yourself a copy (on xbox360 or windows) and give it a spin yourself. 

The Xbox 360 version will cost you about 60 bones ($59.99 MSRP) or you can save yourself ten bucks getting the Vista version ($49.99 MSRP).

 Not sure you want to drop that much cash on this ground breaking cross platform title?  Well you are in luck (if you are an xbox360 gamer), a demo is coming your way June 6th.

Official press release to follow:

Starting today, humans, elves, dwarves and trolls can join the cross-platform revolution with “Shadowrun” at the estimated retail price of $59.99 (U.S.) for Xbox 360™ and $49.99 (U.S.) for Windows Vista. “Shadowrun” is rated “M” for Mature by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB). “Shadowrun” is also part of the Games for Windows® initiative, offering reliability, compatibility and enhanced experiences on Windows Vista®.
Additionally, Xbox 360 gamers can get in on the action with the official “Shadowrun” demo on June 6. The demo will be available for download via Xbox LIVE® Marketplace.
The innovative first-person shooter (FPS) gameplay of “Shadowrun,” developed by FASA Studio, thrusts gamers into strategic battles that utilize magic and technology. Players must vie for supremacy, playing as a human, elf, dwarf or troll. Cleverness, cunning and split-second improvisation are rewarded through a unique combination of modern weapons, ancient magic and advanced technology. As the first game to support Microsoft’s Games for Windows – LIVE service, “Shadowrun” gives players on both Xbox 360 and Windows Vista a chance to compete, cooperate and communicate across both platforms with an Xbox LIVE Gold or Games for Windows - LIVE Gold account*.
“Shadowrun” will ship with nine unique maps and an additional three map variations, showcasing dynamic environments set in a futuristic Santos, Brazil, and its neighboring ancient Ziggurat. “Shadowrun” includes six training chapters, letting gamers fine-tune their strategy and lethal combinations against the intuitively smart and talented A.I. bots. Gamers can also play with bots at four levels of difficulty on every map and with every game type.

Shadowrun has gone gold once for Windows Vista and also for Xbox 360. For the first time ever the windows gamers and xbox 360 gamers unite over the LIVE service on available on May 29.

Official Press Release:

Cross-Platform Innovator “Shadowrun” Goes Gold, Twice, For Windows Vista and Xbox 360
Gaming communities on Xbox 360™ and Windows Vista™ will come together for the first time over Xbox LIVE and Games For Windows – LIVE, when “Shadowrun™” teleports to retailers May 29
Microsoft Game Studios today announced that the eagerly awaited and innovative first-person shooter (FPS) “Shadowrun” has gone gold and will begin hitting retailers throughout North America on May 29.
From renowned developer FASA Studio, the team that brought you the Xbox LIVE launch title “MechAssault®,” and the lead designer behind the original “Halo®,” “Shadowrun” incorporates ancient magic and advanced technology into strategic and clever teambased gameplay for an unparalled combat experience.
Utilizing both the Xbox LIVE and Games For Windows – LIVE network, “Shadowrun” tears down the walls between friends and gamer communities on the Xbox 360 and Windows Vista-based PC by letting as many as 16 gamers play together, regardless of platform*. Not only does “Shadowrun” bring these communities together, it also extends the features gamers love on Xbox LIVE, such as gamertags, achievements, friends lists and integrated voice communication, onto the PC through Games for Windows — LIVE. “Shadowrun” is optimized for a multiplayer online experience – which requires an Xbox LIVE Gold account on Xbox 360 or Silver account on Games for Windows – LIVE.

I recorded two quick videos in Shadowrun last night for you my loyal readers! I haven’t played the game much, so I spend alot of time dead - but you get the idea

Also as stated before, the video footage is from beta which is not a representation of the final product. Not to mention that I have to record in SD, etc etc etc…

Well they just lifted the Shadowrun NDA Agreement - so if I get some time tonight I will try and put up some video and screenshots of the current state of the game. As requested in the official notice - anything I post is based on the current beta status -but you can check out the planned finished product shots Here.

Here is a copy of the notice I recieved via email today.

Hello!

Been enjoying the Shadowrun beta? Great. Now share the news! We’re lifting the NDA on coverage for and around the beta as of today. Feel free to post as much information as you like about the game. A couple of things to note, however:

· The beta is not representative of the game in its final form, as improvements are being made on a daily basis to balance the game, tweak levels, polish the interface and characters, etc. We are continuing to implement player feedback into the system and are putting the finishing touches on the title so we ask that you please keep this in mind as you share your thoughts on the beta. This is not final code.

· The art is not final in the beta and is therefore not indicative of what the final game will look like when it is finished, so in all fairness, we ask that you please make note of this in any mentions of the graphics. If you would like to point people towards more accurate art please send them to http://shadowrun.com/media/screenshots/

· Feel free to take your own screenshots to share with your readers. If you would like additional assets, feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to provide you with what you need.

Please let us know if you have any questions!

Cheers,

Piett

Play and Win Shooter / Gears of War

Well I finally got an achievement last night during my Gears of War session last night. It was one of the pretty simple achievements - Mix it Up - where you just need to be on the winning team of the 3 different game types. It was also brought to my attention that even though I thought I was going to get a 100 kills with a [insert weapon here] achievement, that there is not one for shotgun kills - which was what most all my achievements were based on, and the one I assumed was going to rack me another achievement, so that wasn’t very wise of me I would say. Thanks to Antediluvia for bringing this to light. This concludes the dates that you can recieve an entry in the Play & Win Shooter Contest, and I believe I should get an entry for each of the 3 days . . . winning is a long shot - but it doesn’t hurt to try (and those prizes are pretty smooth).

Shadowrun Beta

I recently recieved my beta invitation to Shadowrun, but haven’t dedicated a ton of time to it as of yet. Of course in the invitation the NDA was restated that not much else can be said except “Yes, I am playing the beta”. So until the NDA is lifted dont expect to hear a ton more about that. You can keep track of my play time on the game in my Live Eye Profile as you can see at the moment I have only played about an hour or so. Over at 360friendspot we have about 62 current live eye members in the beta and being tracked by our tool, you can see an overview of those users at the Shadow Run Beta Profile Page

360Friendspot / LiveEye

Speaking of 360friendspot and The Live Eye, last night I spent a good amount of time updating some queries after seeing a bunch of sleeping records in the SQL Activity Monitor. This was a hope that what might be causing the slowness or hanging of the site was related to SQL table locks - since I was definately getting time out errors and transactions were hanging out here sleeping. If that resolves, or at least partially resolves the performance issues - I am going to be extremely pleased, but also upset that I didnt find it sooner. I am sure there are more things to optimize - but maybe I am at least going in the right direction at this point.

Crackdown All Nighter, and Rumors

Finally - Happy St Patricks day, and look for an update from my all nighter activities at a later date. Achievements and random video goodness will most likely come of it. There is A rumor posted in my comments about this all nighter being a time that they release some new content or the final 100 points - no clue what that user based it on - but I am all for it!

Well once again the Live Eye has broken a story (at least for me). It seems two of our members have recieved a beta key for Shadowrun, and have played a total of 3 hours thus far. Maybe I will get in on one of the later waves =/

Previously we found some activity by Fry playing Pimps at Sea a while back - which gave 360friendspot quite a bit of new traffic, for those of you not aware, this is the working title of the Halo 3 Alpha. Looks like 2 of our members have access to it at the moment - I am jealous.

Looks like Shadowrun is going to provide beta accounts. A day late on the news story - but looks like another game you can try and get beta access to - I just filled out the application and joined the forums, game will be available sometime in December for beta accounts.

Xbox Live’s Major Nelson : How to sign up for the ‘Shadowrun’ Beta

screenshots from the Official Site