Section 8 Message Board

I like to think of Paul Pepera's art as the realisation of childhood dreams. Rendering what we imagined our LEGO constructions to be in our heads, not as they actually looked, all clunky and basic and sharp. Now an artist at Valve, Pepera has also worked at places like 343 Studios, id Software and Timegate, on projects such as Halo 4, Section 8 and Red Orchestra 2. There's a selection of his 3D work below, but to see more you can head to his personal site and CGHub page. To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the “expand” button in the bottom-right corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you're in the business and have some concept, environment, promotional or character art you'd like to share, drop us a line!

Texas district Judge Keith Ellison has invalided an arbitrator's ruling that ordered Section 8 developer Timegate to repay the game's publisher, SouthPeak, $7.3 million in allegedly misused development funds. The ruling also rewrote Timegate's publishing contract with SouthPeak, granting SouthPeak a permanent license for Section 8's IP and its sequels.

The arbitrator's decision was thrown out on the grounds that the rewritten publishing contract did not match the intent of the original document. Arbitrators are allowed to rewrite legally binding agreements, but only so long as the resulting agreement matches the spirit of the original document. Timegate and SouthPeak's original publishing agreement was very clear that Timegate would retain all IP rights for the brand -- changing this was beyond the scope of the original contract's intent and was therefore inappropriate.

This all started back in the neolithic caveman days of 2009, when Timegate sued SouthPeak, claiming that the publisher had altered revenue reports in order to retain royalties meant for Timegate, which is embezzlement.

SouthPeak countersued, claiming that Timegate fraudulently misrepresented itself in order to convince SouthPeak (which acquired Gamecock) to enter into the publishing agreement. It also claimed that Section 8's lackluster retail performance was solely Timegate's fault, and that Timegate had failed to contribute a required $2.5 million in development funds, misused the $7.5 million in development funds provided by SouthPeak, and failed to give SouthPeak revenue from Section 8's PC sequel and PS3 port.

This tale is likely far from over, however, as SouthPeak still has the ability to appeal Judge Ellison's ruling.

Sugar Land, Texas - TimeGate Studios announced their new first person shooter, Section 8: Prejudice, will make its presence felt at the 2011 Penny Arcade East Expo (March 11 13 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center). With three locations on the show floor, gamers have multiple chances to meet and play against the developers, as well as win exclusive prizes...

Aims to corner digital FPS market.

Greetings PlayStation.Blog! I’m here with two exciting announcements for PS3 players. First, I’m thrilled to confirm that we’re bringing our new title, Prejudice, to the PS3 in 2011! We’ve been working really hard to take our sci-fi shooter series to new heights; no easy task considering players literally drop into combat from 15,000 feet above the battlefield. Using all of the great feedback from our fans we’ve created a new experience that is guaranteed to blow you away. Here are some new screenshots and our debut announcement trailer:

Prejudice comes with epic multiplayer maps, new game modes and missions, and a huge arsenal of weapons. The all-new single-player campaign follows the story of Captain Alex Corde and the 8th Armored Infantry–known as Section 8 for their willingness to take on extremely dangerous missions. Old hatreds run deep for the enemies of Section 8. A war of prejudice is coming…

Second, we are permanently slashing the price of the original Section 8 on PlayStation Network to just $14.99. The new price takes effect October 12th in North America, giving you lots of time to catch up on the story and practice your multiplayer skills before Prejudice drops onto the PlayStation 3. Not only is this the best price for a new copy of Section 8 on any platform, but the PlayStation Network version also includes three extra multiplayer maps at no additional cost.

To aid your advancement up the multiplayer ranks, we’ve placed a tutorial/strategy video just below. Even if you’re a Section 8 veteran, you’ll still want to watch this.

In addition to the lower price, there’s also a free trial of Section 8 and its 32-person multiplayer available through PlayStation Network, so download your free copy and stay tuned for more information on Prejudice. Until then, catch you in the comments!

TimeGate Studios has just announced a sequel to its multiplayer-focused 2009 multiplatform FPS, Section 8. Titled Section 8: Prejudice, the game -- destined for yet-unknown platforms, though the original hit PC, 360 and PS3 -- is targeted for an "early 2011" release.

Based on the first trailer (which you can find after the break), we're looking at new abilities, locations and weaponry. The title, as the clip's narrator so gruffly puts it, comes from the fact that in the game's universe, wars are being fought based on -- wait for it -- prejudice.

In this universe, we do our best to combat prejudice through tolerance, understanding and generally not pre-judging people. We don't need fancy power-armor, though it's admittedly pretty damn cool.

TimeGate and Southpeak have taken serious measures to help move their download-only PS3 version of Section 8 -- for the next week, the game's price will be dropped by fifty percent. For $14.99, you can pick up the full version of the game and its three DLC multiplayer maps on the PlayStation Store. It's hard to say no to that price -- especially since you'll need to absorb the game's rich backstory in order to have any idea what's going on when you play Sections 9, 10 and 11.

Like in North America, TimeGame Studios' jetpack-powered FPS will be making an exclusive run on the PlayStation Network in Europe. While Section 8 was originally a PC/Xbox 360 retail game, the PSN version adds extra features, like maps not found in the original game.

Section 8 will be available during next week's European PSN Thursday update, on April 15th, for €24.99.

We brought word yesterday that Section 8 was on its way to PS3, and that's simultaneously gotten more and less solid -- a phenomenon we're pretty sure would freak even Bill Nye out. While we know concretely that it will arrive on Sony's console this spring, we also learned it won't be arriving in a solid form at all, as the title will be exclusively available on PSN.

Moreover, this new version will include three exclusive maps and the ability for players to host games on their PCs (as seen in the Xbox 360 version). We worry that a bit too much time has passed to get PlayStation owners interested in Section 8, but putting it on PSN seems like a darn smart way to do it. We also suspect that a certain legal commotion might have a little involvement with the decision.

The possibility of jetpack-rich, Tribes-esque action on PS3 just got a little less nebulous. Speaking with IGN, a TimeGate spokesperson said that the developer's Section 8 would be coming to PS3 at some point, though no formal release window has been settled on.

The news shouldn't come as a surprise to the Joystiq faithful, as we reported last December that TimeGate had alleged that publisher SouthPeak entered into an unauthorized PS3 licensing deal for the game with Russian company 1C. Whether or not the suit will keep the game in legal limbo (and for how long if so) remains to be seen.

Developer still planning a release on Sony's platform.

Three new maps and ten new achievements on the way.

New maps and new achievements become available in the new downloadable content online.

360 players must be jealous of their PC brethren no longer, as they can now finally download the "Seek and Destroy" DLC for Section 8, which PC players have been exploring since late November. Despite the passage of time, the pack, which adds three new maps -- "Devil's Backbone," "Hornet's Nest," and "Azure Basin" -- and 10 new achievements, is still priced at 560 points ($7). That seems a little steep for a game we haven't seen a lot of people playing online lately ... or ever. Don't you think?

Chalk up another frustrated party accusing SouthPeak of wrongdoing. The company has been sued by Section 8 developer TimeGate, which alleges that the publisher has withheld royalty payments and entered into a PS3 licensing deal on the game with Russian company IC, an arrangement that TimeGate claims SouthPeak had no right to make. In legal documents obtained by Joystiq, TimeGate also alleges that this SouthPeak T-shirt promotion was unauthorized, that the publisher had mislead TimeGate about sales figures and that the publisher has stated it should not have to adhere to TimeGate's original agreement, as it had been made with Gamecock, which SouthPeak purchased in late 2008. If you prefer your language far more formal, the lawsuit puts it like this: "[SouthPeak] failed to provide a sufficient sales report, withheld royalty payments and did not adhere to the obligation to act in good faith and fair dealing when they established the sham transaction in order to deprive TimeGate of royalties despite the special relationship between the parties and being in a position of trust." No specific amount is mentioned in the suit, with TimeGate asking only for "compensatory damages in an amount to be determined" following an independent audit of Section 8's sales.

Timegate has released a title update for Section 8, which should fix several bugs in the game and tweak a few things. The main fixes include improved matchmaking, a fix for faulty Achievements and improved tank controls. AI bots will now also follow and defend human players, and the update also fixes latency problems and lost stats. There's a host of other smaller tweaks and changes as well, which you can read about on the Section 8 forums. Likely not fixed by the patch, a precipitous drop in players since November 10.

A better way to shoot aliens.

Can this futuristic title stand up among the shooter ranks?

Dynamic Combat Missions adapt to your performance.

Get to know Section 8 up close and personal.

Take a stroll through Section 8 using the Xbox 360.

Your power armor opens near infinite possibilities.

Did you order express delivery with your gun turret?

Traverse huge terrains in combat with friends and foes.