Activision sent out an email saying Return to Castle Wolfenstein 1.1 will be released some time today, updating the multiplayer side of things. Here's a quick overview of the fixes/changes, check the readme for full details

- Zombie Clients issue resolved
- Lieutenant grenade spamming solved
- Issue with loading single-player maps fixed
- Various server stability issues implemented
- Link to easily find future updates
- Added Voice-Chat abuse fix

1.1 and 1.0 are compatible, and the patch also doesn't affect your single player save games.

Christian Antkow from over at id Software updated his .plan file with news that the release candidate for Return to Castle Wolfenstein 1.1 is being tested. The .plan lists a few of his test servers which you can play on to test the code.

There is a Q&A with Tony Ray of Even Balance on Wolfenstein Xtreme, where he answers a few questions about Punk Buster for Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The guys at Wolf Xtreme ask him what its been like working with id and Nerve, how many people are working on Punk Buster, how the RTCW version of Punk Buster will work and the size of the eventual patch.

The Adrenaline Vault is reporting that Activision has shipped more than one million copies of Return to Castle Wolfenstein worldwide. A few people must be very happy indeed.

I was going to wait on the rest of the Shack servers to come online before announcing these on the front page, but with the new ShackDSL offer and all I figure what the heck. There are currently ShackDSL/Speakeasy servers for RTCW and Quake3 CTF available which ShackDSL customers in those areas should ping like 5ms to. Here you go:

RTCW:
Shack RTCW [NYC] SPEAKEASY.net 216.254.95.136:666
Shack RTCW [DFW] SPEAKEASY.net 64.81.127.136:666
Shack RTCW [CHI] SPEAKEASY.net 64.81.159.136:666
Shack RTCW [SFO] SPEAKEASY.net 64.81.79.136:666
Quake3 Threewave CTF:
Shack CCTF [CHI] SPEAKEASY.net 64.81.159.136:3333
Shack CCTF [DFW] SPEAKEASY.net 64.81.127.136:3333
Shack CCTF [NYC] SPEAKEASY.net 216.254.95.136:3333
Shack CCTF [SFO] SPEAKEASY.net 64.81.79.136:3333

There are more servers on the way including the long awaited SSCSSOD. (Counter-Strike) in 4 locations. I'll also put together a permenant page with a listing of all the servers. For now you can bookmark this page.

Thanks to the people who let us know that the Punkbuster site has been updated with the news that the guys behind the software (Even Balance), announced they are working on Return to Castle Wolfenstein support. And this time they got actual developer support as they were actually contracted by id to integrate their anti-cheat tech. Here's a bit from their announcement.

We are working hard to get the integration code written and tested for an upcoming patch to the game. Based on preliminary work, we fully expect to be able to support and enhance all areas of the PunkBuster system and sustain only a brief beta period with RTCW. The PunkBuster software will still be a separate and optional addition but will be directly integrated with the game when it is enabled by players and server administrators. As always, there will be no direct cost to players and server admins for non-commercial use of PunkBuster and we fully intend to support the clan and league communities, as well as mods that develop around RTCW with both free and premium support services and add-on software.

It will be interesting to see what these guys can come up with now that they have actual support from id, as Punkbuster for Half-Life never really worked the way it should.

Little close to midnight surprise tonight. The Linux builds of Return to Castle Wolfenstein have been released. v.1.1 they are calling this and it includes the mp_trenchtoast (cool map!) release for Linux multiplayer goodness. Here are the descriptions and files

- wolfmpdemo-linux-1.1-MP.x86.run:
complete Return To Castle Wolfenstein Multiplayer demo for Linux includes all the files needed, to run the client and to run a dedicated server.
- wolfmpdemo-linux-nomedia-1.1-MP.x86.run:
lightweight version of the Return To Castle Wolfenstein Multiplayer demo for Linux, if you already have the demo for win32. You will need to copy manually demomain/pak0.pk3 after install. see here for details
- wolfmp-linux-1.1-MP.x86.run:
this is the updated installer for owners of the full game. bug fixes and new map pack (mp_trenchtoast) included.

As promised, Activision has released the new Return to Castle Wolfenstein multiplayer demo (Shack download, free user account required). This contains the previous beach assault map and the new Checkpoint gameplay map Trenchtoast, which is a terrain based map which should fit up to 32 players. Besides the new 66mb demo, there is also a 4mb download with just the new map for those of you who have the retail version of the game. Blues News has a mirror for the demo, as well as the individual map. The files can also be found at 3D Gamers.

update: You can get the ZIP file here from Fileshack for people who have re-installed their OS etc and are getting the "Game not found" errors.

Yikes, just got home from playing NHL Hitz all night with Jack and Berenger, didnt realize it was so late. Well here's some new screenshots of the Wolfenstein map that should be released this afternoon/evening assuming everything goes as planned by Nerve:

[more screenshots]

We had a story about this a while ago (Sorry Xian) that there would be a free add-on for Wolfenstein released on the net, and it looks like it'll be released tomorrow now according to this email we got from Activision:

Nerve Software has not rested on their laurels now that Wolfenstein has shipped -- instead, they've been working on the game, and in particular have finished a new free map that we're releasing both publicly and as part of the multiplayer demo, coming tomorrow. The demo includes the beach assault map as well as this NEW map called "TrenchToast", a Checkpoint gameplay map (the same type of gameplay as the hugely popular Destruction map in the retail release). The map is not available in the MP test previously released. TrenchToast is a terrain based map that should fit up to 32 players. While the map will be included in the MP demo, the map will be released for FREE to the public -- the developers wanted to give a holiday gift to their fans. I'll have more details on when the demo will be released, but look for it tomorrow!

There's a Return to Castle Wolfenstein walkthrough on Planet Wolfenstein, helping those stuck in Gray Matter's game. It has info for all the levels and bosses.

As promised, the single player demo for Return to Castle Wolfenstein has finally been released. You can grab the 114mb file from Fileshack, Blues News or 3D Gamers. As always, free registration is required for the Fileshack download. The demo contains two levels from the full game, Escape from the Castle and Survive the Catacombs.

For all of you still waiting on a single player demo of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, good news, as it's being released tomorrow. Though there's no specifics at all when it comes to filesize or content, it should be available around 1PM CST. We'll have a mirror once it comes out.

Todd Hollenshead from over at id Software updated his .plan file with a warning for those RTCW pirates. There seems to be a cracked server out there that allows people to run a Return to Castle Wolfenstein server without having a legit copy of the game. The IPs of these servers are being tracked though, and you can expect a visit from the Goatse.cx guy unless you stop running the server.

It's a simple thing to just run a Test server instead if you don't want to pay for the game or can't afford it or just want people to be able to come and play on your server without having to buy the game. Besides, at $30, it's cheap (see my 12/9 update ... ).

The Gray Matter Studios website has been updated with the news that they are looking to hire a few programmers. They are looking for senior as well as junior programmers, hit the site for more info.

As noted in a .plan update from Todd Hollenshead, RTCW from GrayMatter/Nerve is on sale in a couple locations. Circuit City has it for $29.99 and CompUSA has it for $39.99.

id's Paul Jaquays made this post on Forumplanet, offering help to those who are having problems with their Return to Castle Wolfenstein CD-Keys. There are several fixes, and of course this does not apply to warezed versions of the game. Thanks Blues News.

XGR is citing an unnamed source concering the alteration of the German version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The German version, due out this week, will have a cult called The Wolves instead of Nazis, and Heinrich Himmler is called Heinrich Höller. I contacted id CEO Todd Hollenshead about this and here is what he had to say on the matter.

As you probably know (since you're not all that far away), you cannot legally sell a game in Germany where you fight Nazis. That type of content, along with Swastikas, the Deathshead symbol, and lots of other Nazi iconography is strictly taboo there: it's effectively the *legal* equivalent to a drug like marijuana here in the U.S. It would be illegal to sell, or even possess any game that contained that content. So the real choice for RTCW for the German market is to either change the content, or simply not sell it.

None of this is any secret to the German gaming press or consumers, as I've had numerous discussions with the magazines there about content modifications required for the German market. They know the rules and the laws and understand the situation with the game.

While I may disagree with the German ban on Nazi iconography (the easiest way to allow history to repeat itself is to forget your mistakes, imo), I respect their unique situation and their sensitivities to the subject matter. I also have no desire to encourage our distribution partners to knowingly and willfully violate local laws that carry stiff penalties. I know at least some of our fans in Germany would like to play the U.S. version of the game, but I believe they would prefer to play a "German" version to playing no Wolfenstein at all. And I'm certain that gamers in Germany understand the local distribution issues better than at least one website ;-)

The last Penny-Arcade Wolfenstein tip has been posted on the game's official site. The tip shows you what not to do as an engineer.

id artist Kevin Cloud updated his .plan file with info on an upcoming new multiplayer demo for Return to Castle Wolfenstein, as well as the status of the single player demo along with several other Wolfenstein related things.

Wanted to make a quick update on Wolf. I've noticed some online buzz about new mp maps for Wolf. We'll be releasing the multiplayer demo with a new checkpoint only map called Trenchtoast. Trenchtoast will also be posted for use with the full game as well. We're staggering the testing so the singleplayer demo will be released first. Expect the multiplayer demo to be out within the next few weeks.

Just to let everyone know, we will be releasing source for the mod teams. It will take some time to pull this together and currently both teams are working on the demos. This will hopefully be released later in December. ...