Spent Christmas with code, computer games, and movies. Uploading some The Settlers 7 screenshots to mark the occasion.

Blizzard Entertainment® Offers Players a Choice of Multiple Payment Models**【April 9, 2010, Taipei】**Blizzard Entertainment® announced today that the highly anticipated real-time strategy game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, in its Traditional Chinese version, is coming to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, priced at NT$1,950 (HK$488). After purchasing the game, players can join the newly updated Battle.net® for online matches at no additional cost. In addition to buying the product package, Blizzard Entertainment will also offer players a choice of other payment options so they can enjoy StarCraft II, with details of the relevant payment plans to be announced later.

StarCraft 2 is the RTS game I’ve been looking forward to most this year. Recent news says the open beta will be downloadable this month — I’m thrilled. Then I saw this: RT @StarCraft: #StarCraft2 beta will be released later this month! #SCUpdate

EA is fast in that crowd-pleasing sort of way. It announced that Command & Conquer 4 would arrive in 2010, and less than a year after we first heard the news, we can already play the demo. The LA studio seems to have a real soft spot for Japanese flavor — after Red Alert 3 they only got more hooked, and even Kane in the C&C4 pre-order promo art is done up as an Imperial warrior. 《命令与征服4》multiplayer demo Note: This demo requires a genuine Red Alert 3 Special Edition serial number (CD-key) to activate before you can get into the game.

It’s been a long time since I last played an RTS. Yan asked me how to deal with the aliens in Kane’s Wrath, which got me reminiscing about Red Alert 3 and Tiberium Wars all over again.Along the way I remembered a one-line tip I once gave to a newbie — let me share it:

Lately I’ve been playing classic strategy games like The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth. Playing off a pirated disc naturally gives you the self-destruct treatment:

News source: China Court Network. Blizzard Entertainment, the well-known American game company, applied to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China to register the English name of the new StarCraft title — STARCRAFT: GHOST — as a trademark for esports services and other items. The application was rejected by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board on the grounds that the name involves promoting feudal superstition. Blizzard then filed suit with the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court, asking the court to overturn the Board’s decision to reject the review of the “STARCRAFT: GHOST” trademark application. This morning, reporters learned from the court that Blizzard’s claims were not upheld.

Public notice: I occasionally show up on Jingwutai (http://www.garena.cn/) Looking for someone to spar with… up for the challenge? Screenshots below :) (Re-posted log)

On October 28, 2008, Red Alert 3 was released in Hong Kong. As of today it’s already available for download on verycd:

Lately Bear has started actively asking to play Tiberium… Damn it, back when I was at school I’d have to beg you to play and you’d still haggle over it (no to this, no to that…), and now that everyone in the dorm has gone their separate ways, you’re the one who wants to play. Orz. A few old screenshots: