New Patch & Editor Oddity?
Anyone else having trouble loading custom track .tdf files that were created pre-patch? Since I wasn't really having problems with the game anyway, I uninstalled Re-Volt to get rid of the patch's handiwork and reinstalled - the old tracks once again are loadable.

New Tracks
Added a few new tracks to the appopriate subpage.

Submitted Links
I've received a handful of submitted Re-Volt URLs over the last few days, and while I'm fairly confident that I've managed to remember to include them all I'm not 100% positive. If you have a Re-Volt website that you'd like to have listed here please send am email my way!

Put The DreamCast Down!
As the proud owner of the time-wasting device known as a DreamCast, I've been somewhat... occupied recently :) I've pulled myself away from it's evil influence long enuf to update MV a tad, changing the entire page to the BonB scheme and adding a custom track to the pile. All I need do now is combine these two hobbies of mine into one - can't wait for the DC Re-Volt!

Weapons Subpage Updated
Just in case you're like every other visitor to MV and can't seem to find anything in this HTML mess of mine, the Weapons subpage has been updated for your viewing pleasure. It's not much to look at, but I did manage to add a little more to the weapon's description than the standard fare. I'll probably move the entire site to the same BonB color scheme as well.

I Hate Netscape
I'm no big fan of Microsoft, but at least they make a product that works. It aggravates me to no end that when I design a webpage, I essentially must design for two different HTML standards - the right way and the Netscape way. I was under the very mistaken assumption that properly-formatted HTML would simply work :) Instead, I had to go back and redesign the website to account for Netscape's quirks and oddities. Apologies to everyone who visited MV using Netscape and were greated with onscreen gibberish. The problems are fixed and shouldn't occur again.

Re-Volt For The Dreamcast!
Several online gaming websites (notably IGNDC) have discovered that Re-Volt will be coming to the Dreamcast! Sega's new gaming console, which coincidentally goes on sale today, will receive a port of Acclaim's supercool RC racing simulation game sometime in 4th Quarter '99. Makes me glad I held back from picking up a copy of Re-Volt for the Playstation :)

Custom Tracks Now Available
Just in case anyone missed it, I've placed a coupla custom tracks in the (surprise!) Tracks subpage. Working on a few more tracks which will be available shortly, as well as preparing to upload the first hosted tracks. Stay tuned!

alt.games.re-volt
My own newsserver doesn't seem to have updated yet, but word from over at Re-Volt Headquarters is that alt.games.re-volt is finally starting to appear on folk's news readers. I'm most glad to hear that it's propogating correctly, as it didn't seem to be doing so on my end even tho I was the person responsible for sending out the create newsgroup command. A quick check shows that agr-v is accessible via Deja.com if anyone else is encountering the same problem.

Duplicated below is the control message sent out, credited to my alt.config pseudonym "mrslamm@topeka.com" - any actual questions should be sent to my real email address :)

For your newsgroups file:
alt.games.re-volt    the new RC racing simulation game by acclaim

BOOSTER MESSAGE:
This is a booster message for the creation of alt.games.re-volt, sent immediately after the initial message (as is customary usenet practice).

COMMENTS:
A proposal message was posted to alt.config on 08/23/99, was discussed briefly and supported by a majority of the responders.

CHARTER:
To provide a locale specifically for discussion of Re-Volt, the new RC racing simulation game by Acclaim Entertainment This group covers the discussion of the game independent of platform, be it for the PC, Playstation, N64, or any forthcoming translations. Topics not related to Re-Volt (and binary postings) are considered off-topic.

JUSTIFICATION:
There is currently a large amount of interest in Re-Volt, an interest that continues to grow day by day.

Hope everyone has fun with the group, and maybe I'll be seeing you there real soon!

secuROM To Blame?
While my unchecking of the DMA switch for my DVD drive did improve the odds of Re-Volt running successfully, it still seemed to not launch correctly some 50% of the time. I can only guess that the copy protection scheme used on the CD (which looks to be the secuROM method) is the true culprit. A round of applause to Acclaim for including copy protection so secure that even the actual owners hit a roadblock :) The fix that Re-Volt @ Racers Point posted recently works for this user, and seems to either turn off or soften the secuROM security check. The patch can be found at Racers Point, or a local copy right here at MV.

Soon To Come, A Real Update!
Who has time to work on HTML when one has a shiny new game to play? Attempting to "solve" Re-Volt and making custom levels, I haven't had much to say for the last coupla days. Sometime this evening the Tracks section will begin its hosting career with a half-dozen or so tracks, and if some time remains perhaps some filler info for the rest of the website will be added as well.


September 3rd 1999

Track Editor: First Impressions:
Back in the Commodore64 era I spent a goodly amount of time playing a title called Racing Destruction Set. I wasn't (and still am not) a big fan of racing games in general, but RDS held my attention more due to the excellent track editor that was part of the game and less due to the actual racing of the tracks I designed :) Will Re-Volt and it's bundled track editor prove as entertaining?

My first impression is "no". Re-Volt's editor is quite a powerful little tool, but simply isn't powerful enuf to do the job correctly. The basic problem is the limited amount of source tiles that we're given to work with. While having only a dozen or so tiles to choose from definitely makes the editor user-friendly, utility ends up being sacrificed for ease-of-use. The annoying part is that variant tiles could have been grouped under the basic tiles, out of sight until needed. After only an hour or so of editor experimentation, I felt I'd already hit the ceiling of design capability. Not a good sign. As it stands, the editor cannot come anywhere close to reproducing any of the tracks that come with the game - that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it wouldn't hurt to be able to duplicate some of the most basic elements! Wouldn't you like to be able to include the piano-keyboard floor section found in Toy World that is reminiscent of the classic scene from Big? Or simply make the track texture something besides the two default choices of asphalt or wood?

I dunno, maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps I've missed a large part of the track editor's functionality somewhere and will discover it after additional playtesting. If such is not the case, the only way Re-Volt's track editor will ever be truly functional is if Acclaim releases a larger tileset.

DVD-ROM Fix?
Reportedly some users are having difficulty launching Re-Volt after it's initial install. One of the common denominators seemed to be the use of a DVD-ROM drive, and I can attest that I've encountered the same launch problem and am using a DVD-ROM drive as well. Suspecting that the quirky DMA setting might be the cause, I turned this switch off and restarted my system... Re-Volt now works! Whether or not this is the source of everyone's install problems I do not know, but it's definitely worth checking out if you are using a DVD-ROM drive. Simply go to into Windows 95/98 Device Manager, choose your DVD drive and click Properties, and uncheck the DMA option if present. Again, hope this helps someone else!

Re-Volt Arrives!
Despite some difficulties in shipping (EBworld managed to skewer the shipping address), Re-Volt finally comes into the possession of this enthusiastic fan! Haven't had a chance to play the game yet due to the apparently-common installation "bug" or whatever, but hopefully I'll figure out a work-around (or Acclaim will release a patch) shortly. I hope everyone else is having fun with the game!