The guys at 3DFiles have gotten permission to post the 300meg demo of Ultima IX for download. Last I checked it was just about impossible to get a hold of the thing. But if one of you guys happens to get so lucky please share a mirror with the rest of us in the comments? Keep in mind this demo was not intended for the net, and a somewhat smaller sized demo should be released in a few weeks.

The demo version of Age of Empires2 can be downloaded over at GameSpot. I've spent a pretty large share of time playing the full version of the game (bought it when it hit the shelves) so I recommend you guys check it out. Cool game if you're into RTS stuff. I dug up a few mirrors for you guys: Gamespot UK , PCZone UK , VoodooExtreme , WON.net , and FilePlanet

A lot of you monkeys seemed like Ages of Empires 1, so this seemed good news. Gamespot is releasing the demo of Ages of Empires II today, so hit their page a few times. Got that from the guys at TheOxygenTank

The Truegamers.net guys have gotten a hold of a few Q3 1on1 demos showing off CPL qualifications going down in Dallas and a couple of other cities.

It's just crazy game demo day today eh? Hot on the heels of that Tombraider4 demo release we have Nerf Arena. The latest game to be released to license the Unreal engine technology from Epic games. I've been pretty curious about this one for a while so it should be interesting to finally see. You can grab it from 3DFiles or WON.net and I'll add other mirrors as I dig them up if you guys need any or you guys post them in comments.

Wee, the Tombraider4 demo has been released. Have a look at Lara's butt in her latest and greatest still not high poly enough glory. Grab the demo from GameSpot , or you can also snag it from 3DAG. Also, the Mac Tombraider3 demo has been released. What are the chances Tombraider4 is actually a fun game?

A playable demo of SpecOps2 has finally been released. You can grab it from this file page over at the SpecForce website or 3DAG (Thanks RicZ) The page is pretty darn bogged down but hopefully someone can get a hold of it and post some comments to tell us if it's worth it?

Epic has just released their Linux Unreal Tournament client. You can grab it from this url over at FilePlanet. Here is the Epic page giving you some more details on the release.

Also, Epic had a slight problem in the original 348 release of UT that busted demo playback. It's not really needed for most people unless you like to playback demos. Grab the file here.

The Spookhouse guys have scored yet another Nocturne demo. The new demo is a revised version of the original 1st demo but even a larger download! Cuz we know you modem guys were all quite pissed off that the last demo wasnt over 100 megs. Well here's a treat kids, 127megs! Yeah!

The second Nocturne demo has been released over at the Nocturne home page. Supposedly this new demo should give you guys less problems on 3dfx hardware. The first step would of course be to actually work. Thanks Spookhouse

Some follow-up on the Nocturne demo that was released yesterday. It seems some problems have come up. Most notably the initial release was missing a file, and currently does not work with 3dfx cards in accelerated mode (to be fixed soon). Also, according to some comments I've seen the demo does work with DirectX7, contrary to earlier speculation. Well Spookhouse has a seperate download of the missing file for you guys.

The guys at Spookhouse have word of a new demo for Nocturne that was released with PCGamer this month is now available for download. You can grab it over at fileplanet, it's like 80 megs or something crazy though.

Gamespot has a new 31mb multiplayer (Internet, LAN or modem) enabled Mechwarrior 3 demo for download right here. It has 3 mechs, 2 multiplayer levels and some more stuff. Is it any fun? Be sure to leave your comments.

The Odium demo from Monolith Productions has been released. Here is the description they sent along, you can grab the file here, and if you wish to mirror the file you can add your link of the mirror here. For more information check out this page. I grabbed a couple of screenshots for you guys as well. Here is [shot1] [shot2] and [shot3]

In Odium, you command an elite team of government soldiers investigating an abandoned Russian spy-training facility. Unsubstantiated reports of violent hybrid creatures in the local area are being perpetrated by the media, and these unfounded claims will be swiftly disproved as you command your men to root out the source of this campaign of misinformation. Expected resistance is low, the mission will go strictly by-the-book...(yea right!)

Missed this one yesterday while I was out, but the Unreal Technology page has word that the patch for the 3dfx demo to the latest UT doesnt include OpenGL support, you have to grab the full demo download for that one. Here is the release post.

Following the Unreal Tournament demo release, the UT Technology page has been updated with a few known issues for those of you with questions about the demo. Check this stuff out yo.

Direct3D
- You need DirectX7 to use Direct3D.  Get it on Microsoft's Download Page.
- Some users of Windows 98 + Sound Blaster live cards + NVidia video cards are finding the demo locks up on exit, sometimes with the music looping.  Restarting the computer or killing the TournamentDemo.exe application gets you free.
- In 16-bit color, weapons may interpenetrate walls when you get real close.
- If you have any problems, make sure you have the latest Direct3D drivers for your card.
Networking
- Occasionally when the server switches levels, users with high-ping connections may see the "Connecting..." screen appear twice, and reconnect to the server twice.
- When picking up a weapon, sometimes the animations flicker.
- In 3dfx Glide, if you alt-tab away from Unreal while connected to a server, you will time out and be disconnected. If running a listen server, all other clients will time out.
- We have many reports that internet gameplay performance sucks with all games for users with WebTV installed (particularly the version bundled with the Voodoo3 3500). Uninstall it.
Audio
- A3D support is back. For A3D support to work properly, you need the latest drivers from Aureal.
- EAX support is back.
Cosmetic
- Ping doesn't always align right in the scoreboard.
- Ping doesn't show up in scoreboard if resolution X size is less than 640

Here you guys go, word from the Unreal Tournament page of the full UT demo release which works with Glide, Direct3D, and OpenGL acceleration. Not to mention a software renderer for those of you who are 3D challenged. You can of course check out all of the changes made here. The Gigex guys have posted one of their download tools which are usually super fast. You can also grab the patch Make sure and check out the Shack Unreal Tournament messageboard.

update: A few more locations for the full demo. WarZone FilePlanet 3DGamers Unreal Universe 3DFiles and the patch: 3DGamers Unreal Universe FilePlanet. Thanks Blue

The full version of the new demo (55Mb) is now released. Modem users can download it from Gigex here - this is a resumable download so if your modem connection dies during the 55Mb download you can still get the file without starting the whole download over. Those using really fast connections and those behind firewalls should try here which is a more normal FTP-style download.

The patch for the existing 3DFX demo (10Mb) is also available now. Modem users can download it from Gigex at here - this is a resumable download so if your modem connection dies during the 10Mb download you can still get the file without starting the whole download over. Those using really fast connections and those behind firewalls should try here which is a more normal FTP-style download. 

Win some UT goodies: If you download either version through Gigex, and provide your email address, you could be one of 50 lucky winners (chosen at random) to receive a long-sleeve, black UT T-shirt or be the one lucky winner to get a very exclusive Unreal Tournament leather jacket! Details appear with the download.

Also, as many of you guys know AVault, and subsequently myself are responsible for posting a patch release which apparently was not intended for release. Sorry about that one, here is word from GreenMarine on that whole episode:

A few versions of the final demo that were not intended for release have been released on various news sites. We made these builds of the demo so that server operators could set up servers. Unfortunately, a few unscrupulous server operators decided to release these builds on webpages. This only causes to create confusion. We have been working with GT on synchronizing a release and have been working on final issues with the demo. Specifically, a test patch for upgrading the 3dfx only version of the demo was made available. This patch worked, but lacked the new DeathMatch map being released with the final demo. We pulled the patch, but various news sites had already made it available without our authorization.

File: UTDemo338.exe Size: 55,603,712 bytes Description: This is the final demo.
File: UTDemo338cPatch.exe Size: 9,892,864 bytes Description: This is the patch to update the 3dfx demo to the final demo.

The Unreal Tournament D3D/OpenGL demo should be released pretty shortly. The guys at AVault have word that mirror sites are being set up at this very moment. You'll be able to grab the full download, or if you have the 3dfx demo version there will be a patch available which should be about 7megs or so. Any minute now... or something. Will get the mirror list up here as soon as possibel for you guys. Of course guys on the UT board are posting stuff already though, doh! What is new in this demo you ask? Epic has posted a changelog to answer just that.

update3: Um, we'll just act like this never happened or something. Take a look at the official release update.

For those of you sitting there hitting refresh just waiting, here is word from Tim Sweeney on the D3D / OpenGL Unreal Tournament releasefrom the Unreal Tournament page:

Our plans right now are to release the Linux Server-only version of the Unreal Tournament Demo tonight, do some exhaustive overnight testing (and potentially a bug fix if it's needed) and then give the demo to GT to release tomorrow morning if everything goes OK. There are still a few known issues (Tim Sweeney will post a list tonight on the Unreal Technology Site) that won't get addressed  in time for the demo release but otherwise we think it will be pretty solid and D3D users should be pleased. 

As well of course as the previous quote from Tim Sweney, which Billy got:

We've gone through 4 "release candidates" in the past 2 days and just started testing version version 338 internally now. If everything looks good, it's a go...but it's hard to tell whether it will be tonight or tomorrow.

The Mutation Device is posting all kinds of nifty mods for the 3dfx Unreal Tournament demo. The latest mods being a hacked up rocket arena style mod.