The fine folks at Mechwarrior Living legends have posted their 18th weekly update on the progress of the game. This week they are showing us four variants of their Inner Sphere hawk Moth, (a 25 ton VTOL!), as well as a glimpse at an awesome looking base on SA Inferno and the usual round-up of play testing screenshots from the week. The screenshots just keep getting better and better. This game is really shaping up nicely. I can't wait to get my hands on it.

_{Posted by Vam, Friday, 07 August 2009 13:50}

"In preparation for the FREE release of Mechwarrior4 we have been working on our MekMatch service. Recently, we have learned that community members are unable to access the Multiplayer aspect of Mechwarrior4: Mercenaries with various versions of the game installed. Due to the architecture updates being included in 'Mechwarrior4 FREE' we are unable to remove these updates to MekMatch but are rather exploring solutions to fix any problems for 'legacy' players using out dated versions of Mechwarrior4: Mercenaries. If you are using a third party update for the game not developed by MekTek please contact the developers of that third party update. Once our MekMatch legacy service is restored we will let the community know and any changes third party developers need to make to their application for it to functi ...

A nice little video showing off MWLL's game play.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGGmmI4QGDA

In honor of BattleTech's 25th anniversary, Smith and Tinker has authorized MekTek.net and MekTek Studios to distribute MechWarrior 4 (along with its expansion packs) completely free. For years, MekTek.net has been the central point for online distribution of MechWarrior 4 expansion packs. Now they can provide the core game free to the fans as well. Keep an eye on BattleTech.com – the free download will be available soon!

MekTek's Response:
We are very pleased to announce that Smith & Tinker has authorized us (MekTek.net) and our professional studio (MekTek Studios) to distribute and package a worldwide free release of MechWarrior4 and all of its expansions.
This free release of MechWarrior4 that commemorates BattleTech’s 25th anniversary as well as MekTek’s 10th anniversary, and will allow BattleTech fans an chance to re-discover MechWarrior, as well as help us bring in a ...

MechWarrior fans have been hoping, praying and anticipating a new game in the famed franchise ever since the last expansion pack for MechWarrior 4 was released in 2002. Now, seven years later, their prayers have been answered. IGN has the very first details about MechWarrior reboot that is currently in production at Smith and Tinker and Piranha games. Yes, that's right, reboot. Instead of this game becoming MechWarrior 5, the developers have decided to completely re-launch the entire franchise, calling this new title MechWarrior.

We spoke to the two main players involved with MechWarrior. First there's Jordan Weisman, co-founder of Smith and Tinker and co-founder of FASA, the company that created the BattleTech universe that MechWarrior is based upon. Second is Russ Bullock, president of Piranha Games. (For an in-depth discussion of the reboot and how it fits in the franchise, check ...

Microsoft shut down its wholly owned FASA Interactive studios earlier this year, muddling the fate of popular FASA gaming adaptations in the MechWarrior and Crimson Skies series. But hope of new gaming installments from FASA properties has been restored, as electronic entertainment rights to MechWarrior, Shadowrun, Crimson Skies and other FASA works have been licensed by FASA founder Jordan Weisman's new venture, Smith & Tinker.

An announcement on Smith & Tinker's website revealed the news today, which had few details other than the licensing of the aforementioned properties from Microsoft. "We're not quite ready to announce our plans for each property, but please be assured that our goal is to surprise and delight old fans, while welcoming new fans to these fantastic worlds," the announcements reads.

A prolific entrepren ...

Mitch Gitelman posted this on the official Shadowrun forums:

"It is my sad duty to announce that FASA Studio has officially closed its doors. Today was the official last day of employment for those of us who had not moved on to other positions within Microsoft Game Studios. While the rumors have been circulating forever, we chose to wait on an official announcement because we didn’t want people’s attention distracted from our last product, Shadowrun, a game we love.

As a testament to the team's commitment to Shadowrun, we released three title updates to improve the product even after the team learned we were losing our studio. We have kept our Community Manager and Technical Support Manager on the job to aid and support you and will continue to do so while people continue to play our game. I am pleased that about half of us have found great positions elsewhere in MGS and M ...