With the end of May and the release of Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 inching ever closer, several more previews have appeared in the mysterious tubes also known as the internet:

• PSW Magazine
  "One thing is certain; Enemy Territory is going to be a blast. It looks fantastic, 'plays more intuitively since the console revamp' claimed a fellow journo who poured hours into the PC version, and packs in reams of vehicles and weapons. And with twelve huge maps there's going to be plenty to do."
• Worthplaying
  "What's here is an amazingly faithful translation of the game that plays just as well, if not better, than the original. FPS haters will want to avoid it, but those with lesser-spec computers will likely flock to the store when the console ports hit shelves at the end of next month."
• VideoGamer
  "Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is shaping up very nicely on consoles. The key to the game's success will undoubtedly rest in how accessible it is, and strides are certainly being made here. While the PC original did a great job at getting new players involved, it's even easier on consoles."
• Fragland
  "I haven't been able to play the whole game of course, but from what i've seen, i am very pleased. Nerve Software seems to be doing an excellent job at porting the PC version of ID Software and Splash Damage to console. Something like this can only be seen as a positive thing!"

We've always known that the Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Limited Collector's Editing was Cool Looking™, but now it's officially an award-winning design! For those who are incredibly confused, allow me to explain: The MI6 Game Marketing Conference took place in San Francisco last month and among a number of talks and panels about game marketing, the event also recognized outstanding achievements in product design, promotion, and marketing with a number of awards. The Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Limited Collector's Edition was bestowed the Silver Muse for Best Wrapping - Product Packaging and joined a number of other high profile titles such as Halo 3, Assassin's Creed, and Bioshock in this year's line-up of winners. You can see a small picture of the awards statue on the right - click the Read more link for a larger version!

Work on the 1.5 game update for Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is steaming ahead at full knots and we're now testing the latest version of it internally to see if there are any glaring issues left to fix. Even more exciting, we've put together the final changelog for the update, which you can find concealed somewhere within this blog update. In a smallish nutshell, 1.5 brings a number of new features and customization options to ETQW and fixes all of the issues left over from 1.4. Let's have a look:

 ETQW 1.5 Changelog

Consoleversion Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

Release 30 may 2008

Hot on the heels of the release date announcement, we've also got a few Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars console previews for you to peruse. All of these guys and gals were able to spend a few hours with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game and have put together their impressions at the links below:

• 1UP
• Gamespy
• GameZone
• Gaming Trend
• IGN
• Playstation Universe | Interview
• Team Xbox

ETQW-client-1.4-1.5-update-beta

This is the beta version of the new Enemy Territory: Quake Wars v1.4 to v1.5 patch. Read the notes below for all the details.

The ETQW Competition Mod contains several new features and cvar settings to better adapt the game for competition and tournament play, where smaller team sizes are common. The Comp Mod Beta has already been covered extensively in this blog update, so feel free to peruse that for all the dirty details.

We've also got a comprehensive outline of the new settings and how to use them here in the Splash Damage Wiki. Please note that the final version of the Competition Mod will contain a few more features and fixes that so far aren't listed there.

A few things you should be aware of:

* This is an unsupported Beta release. Neither id Software, Splash Damage, or Activision will provide technical assistance.
* The ETQW Competition Mod BETA only works with ETQW 1.4. If you are planning to install the 1.5 BETA (see below), you will need a second game install for that.
* Since this is a Mod, only Unranked ETQW servers can run it.

1.5 Game Update BETA

Of course, the Competition Mod isn't the only thing we've been working on here in the rolling Splash Damage APC of Doom Quake. The 1.5 game update is nearly ready for release and we're planning to have a Public Beta phase to make sure we catch as many stability and other issues as possible.

The 1.5 BETA is restricted to Unranked servers, so you will be able to run your own or play on one of the servers provided by our GSP partners. Please note that participation in this beta is completely voluntary and that the 1.5 BETA is not backwards-compatible with ETQW 1.4. In other words, once you've installed the 1.5 BETA, you will not be able to play on ETQW 1.4 servers unless you have a second game install. If you don't feel like testing, you can just skip this release and wait for the final version – 1.4 servers will continue to work normally until then.

I should also point out that, once again, this is an unsupported Beta release that you're installing at your own risk. Neither id Software, Splash Damage, or Activision will provide technical assistance.

With all that out of the way, let's huddle around the camp fire and look at the changelog together. Please note that we have several other fixes planned for the final release, including a fix for the recent server crashes some people have been seeing.

* HUD Players will no longer receive warning VO for incoming enemy artillery
* Added g_aptWarning for toggling APT warning on the HUD
* Restricted the g_mineIconSize cvar to values between 0 and 20
* The Fireteam menu will now not show 'next page' unless there are 9 or more players (instead of 8)
* Fixed Buddy Player Arrows showing up as the incorrect colour if that player had a Clan Tag
* Fixed the Objective Bar sometimes changing colour
* Fixed Magog warning spam
* Ranked Servers Locked si_maxPlayers to 24 on Ranked Servers
* Fixed being able to start a match on a Ranked server with less than 6 players
* Map Loads, Auto-Downloads, ETQW:TV Fixed downloading modifications from the server not working with Vista and UAC
* Fixed the intro movie overriding the Accept Download prompt for mods on game restart
* Fixed the map loading music continuing to play after the load had completed
* Fixed the server crash when clients are downloading files
* Fixed ETQW:TV Relays crashing when clients tried to connect too early
* Player Statistics Fixed certain Achievement stats, such as Vehicle and Deployable kills, not being counted
* Fixed ranks above Supreme Commander displaying as ##### or emptyname
* Fixed Mining Laser objectives giving an additional 40 Soldier XP to the constructor
* Fixed XP Save not working on reconnects
* User Interface Fixed the 'Press F3 to Ready Up' tooltip not always displaying
* Fixed the 'Most Vamptire Damage' typo in Personal Achievements
* Fixed the final Objective in a map not counting towards the Most Objectives Completed end-game reward
* Fixed Player Ranks not showing in-game or on the Scoreboard
* Fixed spectators seeing a defaulted string in the end-game scoreboard
* Fixed transparency options for Tooltips and Subtle Motivators not always saving
* Fixed video options not always saving if a player is using a 'Set as Default' profile
* Tooltips Fixed the Tooltip frame being completely white on first map load
* Fixed decoy tooltip not always playing
* Fixed Strogg Hack tooltip not playing on Volcano

* Fixed players not turning to face final objective on Outskirts during tooltip
* Fixed not resetting proficiency upgrade VO when resetting tooltips
* Fixed Exploits Fixed clients having incorrect spread values for the Scoped Assault Rifle whilst unscoped
* Fixed exploit that allowed GDF to get past Strogg Energy Shields
* Fixed being able to complete certain objectives at a distance
* Fixed clipping hole in Refinery that allowed players to get underneath the map
* Bots Fixed potential bot freeze issue with enemies & hunting
* Fixed Medics not seeing obstacles when giving supplies
* Fixed Anansi pilots getting stuck chasing Icarus players around the map
* Bots will now avoid vehicles 'booby trapped' with Charges, unless it's the MCP
* Bots will now stop and give engineers time to repair their vehicle
* Bot Oppressors will use their Energy Shields more effectively
* Bots can now use all seats in the Bumblebee
* Removed some debug prints
* Other Miscellaneous bot fixes
* Miscellaneous Fixed unintentionally skipping through multiple weapons and tools when using the mousewheel
* Fixed the 'Aborting Bombardment' VO not playing when the Airstrike/Violator beacon is in an invalid location
* Fixed spectators sometimes hearing hit-beeps when switching between players
* Fixed player landing sound sometimes playing multiple times
* Fixed some cases of vehicle wheels occasionally being above the ground when they spawn
* Fixed a disguise spotting issue
* Fixed lock-on issues when the MCP is disabled
* Fixed visual MCP deploy issue where it would sometimes come in sideways
* Fixed objects sometimes showing up in the wrong place when playing back demos
* Known Issues The game will not start for users running the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Beta
* Some empty folders are left behind by the ETQW 1.5 uninstaller
* Capturing the Energy Cells on Quarry gives no XP
* Intermittent server crashes for some users
* Additional map holes in Refinery and Salvage

DOWNLOAD: http://forum.i3d.net/downloads.php?do=file&id=805