eufloria posts

• There are new automatic updates on Steam for Star Ruler, Ion Assault, Eufloria, Clones, and Farming Simulator 2011.
• Wacky video number one: Watch someone play an MMO on a really big screen.
• Wacky video number 2: Watch someone play Minecraft via a Kinect controller.
• It's not really PC game related but it's still pretty cool; The Unreal Engine 3-based iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch game Infinity Blade is due to be released on December 9.

It's been an interesting week so far. Civilization V came out, a web site said it was shutting down and then came back and Grey's Anatomy had its season premiere. Oh wait, that last one didn't have anything to do with games. Our bad.

• The indie game hit Eufloria will be ported over to the Mac (along with the iPhone and iPad) in early 2011.
• The downloadable expansion pack Escape to Barnacle Bay for The Sims 3 is now available from the game's online store for 1,650 Sims Points.
• Bungie co-founder Peter Tamte challenges Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick to release just the online portion of Call of Duty: Black Ops for a fair price. Yeah, we are not sure why either.

Yep, it's yet another PC game sales news post (hey, they are time sensitive). This time we want to alert you to a new indie games bundle deal from developer Lazy 8 Studios. The deal will either net you six or 12 acclaimed indie PC game titles for one low price. You can actually take your pick of two bundles that are each priced at $19.99 each, which is a savings of at least 70 percent off.

One bundle has the titles AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, BrainPipe, Cogs , Captain Forever, Saira and Space Giraffe. The other bundle contains And Yet It Moves, Auditorium, Osmos, Aztaka, Eufloria, and Machinarium. If you can't decide you can get both bundles and save even more money overall. The mega bundle prices all 12 games together for $29.99. The bundle sale ends on September 22.

Comic-Con is in full swing now. Lots of A, B, and Z-grade celebs, lots of cosplay and lots of cool stuff to buy in the dealers room. How we wish E3 had a dealers room now. Darn it.

• Quick. Alert the media. Someone found out Half-Life 2 Episode 3 is still in development after three years.
• VoodooPC's founder says Microsoft killed a cross platform Xbox 360-PC multiplayer project that was 'under wraps". Um, you mean this "under wraps" game? Or maybe this one? Or this one?
• Speaking of Microsoft they have added World of Conflict: Complete Edition and Dawn of Discovery to the list of games available to purchase on Games For Windows Live's On Demand service.
• Steam has put the indie game Eufloria on sale for 50 percent off its normal price until July 29.
• Also Steam has put the Deck Collection DLC (22 items in total) for Magic The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers on sale for over 50 percent off.
• Jace Hall, former game developer turned Hollywood big shot, will be the master of ceremonies at Sony Online's Fan Faire in Las Vegas in early August.

This patch updates Eufloria to v2.05 and is available for both the full game and the demo. It fixes a number of bugs and modding issues, but most notably, adds Achievements and Community Map Pack 1 to the game. Full patch notes can be found after the jump. The playable demo can be downloaded here.

"Eufloria is an ambient game of space exploration and conquest that employs surprising themes of plant growth and bio mechanical evolution.

The game allows the player to explore a beautifully realized universe rendered in a style that is both unique and compelling. Gameplay revolves around conquering asteroids in space and using their resources to literally grow and nurture new semi-organic plants and creatures to do the player's bidding."

Read the Eufloria Review
Download Eufloria v2.05 Patch (772 KB)
Download Eufloria Demo v2.05 Patch (652 KB)
Download Eufloria Demo (22 MB)

This year has been a tremendous year for the growth of the indie scene. Many freeware and commercial indie games have seen the light of day, and thanks to the efforts of publishers such as Meridian4 and platforms such as Impulse or Steam, these indie games are getting more and more exposure to a broad audience. We think it's only appropriate that, after last year, we continue the tradition of naming our favorite indie games of the past year. We had to cut the list down to ten, and while this doesn't necessarily represent all of our favorites (that's practically every indie game!), it serves as a good cross-section. If you're looking for some excellent indie games to get yourself started on the treasure trove that was 2009, look no further than these games right here.

A year has gone by, and we find ourselves once again looking at our family and wondering just what to get them for Christmas. While you can certainly get them such stellar titles as Dawn of War 2, you may want to shift your focus to some cheaper and more interesting games. For the price of three indie games, you can get one triple AAA title, and many of these games exceed the games put out by major studios. Excellent gameplay at a third of the price always sounds like a deal to us, and with massive sales going on in the spirit of Christmas, the deal is even sweeter. We have 15 indie games that we think you or someone you love will absolutely adore this holiday season, and most of them run around or under a $20 price tag. Take a glimpse at some of these titles, and see if you want to go back to the big budgets of more mainstream games. After all, every year indie gaming only gets better.

We've followed the game Dyson all the way from its origins as an entry in the TIGsource procedural generation competition. It stole our hearts, and later went on to make itself into a freeware game with some added features. Finally, a year later, it has been released under the new title Eufloria. While the title has changed and the gameplay has been tweaked, this is still the Dyson we know and love from so long ago. It's just received a facelift and the trappings of commercial, retail release. While it may appear to be a strategy game on the surface, it's actually something much different, and sets itself apart through its liberal use of procedural generation and an incredibly unique atmosphere.

This is the playable demo for Eufloria (aka Dyson). System requirements are shown after the jump.

"Eufloria is an ambient game of space exploration and conquest that employs surprising themes of plant growth and bio mechanical evolution.

The game allows the player to explore a beautifully realized universe rendered in a style that is both unique and compelling. Gameplay revolves around conquering asteroids in space and using their resources to literally grow and nurture new semi-organic plants and creatures to do the player's bidding."

Download Eufloria Demo (22 MB)

This week gamers can be a evil Sith apprentice, a ruthless dictator and other roles in two retail releases and three downloadable titles.

Tropico 3: Publisher Kalypso Media revives this sim game franchise that was first started by 2K Games. Developer Haemimont Games created this third title in the series which puts the player in charge of an island nation. Will you be the typical island tyrant or a more benevolent leader? As usual there are pros and cons to both choices.