Two creative forces in the game making industry have just joined forces to create an exciting new game. Bethesda Softworks, that is currently developing Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC), decided to go into a joint effort with Splash Damage to explore new areas and come up with something fresh. More details after the jump.

Enjoying the team-based multiplayer fragfest that is Enemy Territory: Quake Wars for the PC, Sony PS3, and Microsoft Xbox 360? Then you'll be glad to know that Splash Damage, the game's main developer, is now working on a completely new IP that should not only be deeper than ET: QW, but also a bit more newbie-friendly. Check out all the details in the full article.

During the QuakeCon 2007, id Software has finally confirmed the release date for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Well, for the PC version, at least. Via press line, we learn that Europe will be getting the title earlier on September 28 of this year, while North America gets it a few days later on October 2.

No news yet on the release dates for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, as they're currently still being developed by Activision and Nerve Software respectively (the PC version is being done by Splash Damage).

What we do have, however, are screens for the game. This batch hails from Shacknews and, though there's just four of them, they pack quite a walloping punch in the graphics department. And mind you, these screens are HIIIYYUUUGE (given that you click on the thumbs, of course).

  

After seeing that slaughter gameplay montage for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC), we're sure you're left wanting more. You're in luck as we have uncovered eye candy for you, courtesy of WorthPlaying.

Activision and Splash Damage's Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is currently undergoing a public beta test and even if you've been gathering moss under that rock, you can still get a beta key. Anyway, the batch of screenshots we have today are from the beta but they still look pretty, though not as pretty as some players would have liked. In the screens, we see some of the maps that we'll be brawling in when this FPS title comes out.

We also get a peek at the lobby where players can choose which side they'll fight as (Strogg or GDF), and what unit they choose to be. We also see a spectator button smack in the middle of the two factions' icons which will be nifty if you want to check out your next opponents.

Anyway, enough babble from us. We'll keep you updated on more news regarding Enemy Territory: Quake Wars as they happen. In the meantime, check out the screenshots.

More Enemy Territory screenshots right after the jump!

Publisher Activision eyed a late June release for the can't-miss prospect Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, but has earlier announced that the game will instead ship sometime between July and September across American stores.

This didn't come as a surprise because online retail services like GameStop let the cat out of the bag by posting release dates of mid-July. Players who have followed id Software titles for years will tell you not to be surprised because the team always sets the release date "when the game is done."

The twist in development this time is that the boys of id Software are now acing as overseers for three separate groups working on the same title for three different consoles. Splash Damage is busy with the PC version of Quake Wars, Nerve Software is doing the Microsoft Xbox 360 port, and Z-Axis is is all over the Sony PlayStation 3 iteration.

On a side note, it's been revealed that the next few games for id will be based on a brand-spankin' new engine. Few details have been shed, but knowing id and its line of winning game engines, it should be quite a spectacle when the mysterious thing comes out. We'll keep you posted.

Attention all you artists who want to break into the gaming business: Splash Damage, renowned makers of such high-profile games as the Wolfenstein franchise and the upcoming blaster Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, is recruiting artists who can help them out with the development of current and upcoming titles.

The development team wants to hire some enthusiastic and driven artists who can bring energy and fresh concepts to the table. If you have at least a couple of years of experience, you might be eligible. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to have been in a team that's been developing some top-tier content through the years.

The employment package is pretty nice and is open to international application with relocation assistance and VISA sponsorship. You'll even have a total of 20 days of vacation and eight days of bank holidays.

Knowing how development teams are paid, this deal should be a sweet one. Nothing beats drawing up big guns, aliens and demons for a living. The only thing they didn't include in the package is a retirement plan in the Bahamas. Follow the read URL to see the full requirements, job description and application procedure.

Forgive them. Because to whom much is given, much is expected. Compared to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, the workload in Enemy Terrotory: Quake Wars (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) is huge. By Splash Damage estimates, each map in Quake Wars is around "four times as much manpower as a single (Wolfenstein) map," creative director Paul Wedgwood tells Gamespot in an interview.

Essentially what we were doing is we were taking the Doom 3 engine, which is a linear, first-person, single-player, indoor shooter and creating an outdoor-terrain-rendering multiplayer game with vehicle physics. As a team we were very familiar with id technology but what we really needed to do was something completely new.

Ken and I have talked about this quite a lot. I think if we wanted to we could have put the game out in 2006 and had every map be quite similar. But the problem was it wouldn't have given you that unique gameplay experience at the level of the objective, not just the map itself, but every objective feeling like it's a really different, interesting take on the way that you play. And that was something that we really wanted to achieve.

Different and interesting. Paul's description of the gameplay possibilities in Quake Wars suggests the strategic and replayability depth they really want to build into the multiplayer-only game - again explaining the "when it's done" mantra. Of course, "when it's done," Quake Wars will definitely have to make its mark in a shooter-heavy industry - particularly against fellow multiplatform fragfest Unreal Tournament 3 and, in the Xbox 360, Halo 3 - but you get the drift from here, right?

If it takes that long to make a shooter of distinction, then it takes that long, grumblings aside. Read more at the Read link.

 

Quake Wars">Splash Damage thought that cross-platform on Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) at this point onward "might be a bit premature." But interestingly enough, in an interview with CVG, big boss Paul Wedgwood also pointed out that there was a technical inequality with the control scheme that would lend PC gamers a better edge on foot, while the console gamers a better edge on wheels. More appropriately, he said:

The guy on the analogue controller has an advantage over the PC with vehicle control because he doesn't have the 'on-off' acceleration and steering, and the guy on the keyboard and mouse is able to turn faster and slightly more accurately.

Wedgwood made it clear from the get-go that the idea to drop cross-platform spurred from the fact that the game was never designed with the concept of "we have to have players on the PC play against players on the Xbox" - or something like that. Although you can suggest that they use the close dev studio communication to make cross platform work, Wedgwood would still decline. Defending his stand, he said:

What I do think is we would've had to have nerfed gameplay in some way or another to get it to a point where it was equally level for both sides, and that would've meant that both sides suffered because of our arbitrary goal of getting them to play together - which we weren't convinced they wanted to do in the first place.

For future games it may well be the fact that that's the most important thing, that everybody's really used to the idea and you have guys on PS3 that drive the vehicles, soldiers running around on PC, but I'm not really sure.

And let's also make one thing clear: he isn't an advocate of "FPS PC pwns FPS console." According to him, the edge issue is often situational. Games set up optimally for consoles will lend more advantage for consoles, while games set up more for PCs will always give the PC player the killing edge. With Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, that's something id Software probably wants to avoid.

And no, it's not done yet. id Software's elusive Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is still in development by a trio of developers, including Nerve Software, Z-Axis and Splash Damage, each one catering to a different gaming platform (the PC, the Xbox 360, and the PlayStation 3). If you haven't heard the news yet, Quake Wars went multiplatform after id Software slapped buckaneers' hands for making them do it.

 

Splash Damage is responsible for the PC development side, and have been in close collaboration with the other developers and with id Software to solve problems occurring on each platform. It's starting to become a ping-pong game of favors, as Splash Damage's Paul Wedgwood revealed:

We do as much as we can to support their focus, but Splash Damage is not an experienced console developer. When it comes to queries about the engine or what we can do to optimise the game for those platforms we'll do that, and in return companies like Nerve Software (working on the 360 version) are helping to develop two of the maps. So it's a very collaborative process.

Currently, Wedgwood has highlighted in an interview with CVG that the game was designed with a focus on "map uniqueness." Going unique all the way, it seems that Splash Damage won't be focusing too much on vehicles to add more longevity to the game.  As Wedgwood said, "We've always had this design philosophy that you shouldn't nerf gameplay in an attempt to make gameplay more accessible. We wouldn't want to make something simple just to attract more players."

So players specializing in a certain profession should have more than one way of climbing up the ranks, even if they don't fire a single shot. Wedgwood also revealed that maps in Quake Wars highlight the turning points in the Human vs. Strogg War, just so objectives can be outlined on who is defending and who should be attacking. Modders rejoice, because Splash Damage is planning to also serve your needs well. Wedgwood said:

As soon as we're done with the PC version we're going to be working on the SDK which is really releasing the source code, the documentation that we've maintained over the last couple of years, the artistic media level designers are going to want for putting together big megatextures and getting that out into the community so that mod makers and level designers can get a start on creating their content. Once we're done with that we'll look at the plans that Id Software has.

Is iD Software is indeed planning to turn Enemy Territory as a potential franchise, completely separate from the whole Quake universe? Well, we just got word that the very influential game development company is currently accepting applications from active FPS clans that will beta test Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (360, PS3, PC).

The closed beta will be for the video game's multiplayer functionality. According to the announcement, the clans will be very instrumental on improving the title that is currently under heavy development. The Xbox 360 version is being taken care of by developer Nerve Software, while the PS3 version is with Z-Axis. The PC version is being handled by iD itself with the help of Splash Damage.

Interested parties can send in their application to "etqwbetatest@activision.com" with the following information:

• Clan name
• Number of 'active' members
• Games played regularly
• Games played competitively
• Clan website
• Clan IM details
• Clan email

It's good to hear that despite the problems being faced by Quake Wars even this early, the game is coming along nicely. Check back here at QJ for future developments about the game.