Latest News

Merry Christmas

May your holidays be team-stacked and none of your presents require $2.49 keys!

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Assault -N- Battery HalloWeen Update

Valve and their team of underpaid and undoubtedly under-exercised programmers have been hard at work cramming their Halloween update full of costumes, hats, and a giant severed eyeball. HL2.exe may have stopped working, but we at Assault -N- Battery never do and we're proud to announce our first ever Halloween update!


AnBservers TF2 Backpack!!




Tired of visiting third party sites or logging into Steam to glance at your goodies? Assault -N- Battery forums now feature backpack access!





To use this new feature, open the drop-down menu next to your name in the top user bar, select "Associate Your Steam Profile" in the menu, and whenever you click "TF2 Backpack" in your profile, your backpack is instantly accessible. Bragging about your hats has never been easier!


Contests!


Did we mention free stuff? Nothing says Halloween like a sack of swag and these freebies don't require you extorting candy from your neighbors or robbing your children while they sleep off their holiday sugar highs.

Assault -N- Battery is proud to announce our first two holiday game contests. (Stay tuned for more information)


The Death Cam Contest
Visit here for more information.


Send in your best kill cam shots, and compete in categories such as "Funniest Shot" and "Most Gruesome."


The Best Replay Contest


Want to show off your spy kills? Scare off the competition with a legendary chain-kill display? Send in your best replays and get rewarded with more than the awe of the community!


Prizes


Prizes will consist of games like...

Nuclear Dawn


Counter-Strike Source


WarHammer 40,000: Dawn of War II


Left 4 Dead 2


Defense Grid: The Awaking



Help a Server Out!


Assault -N- Battery servers are catapulting up the rankings, but all that bandwidth doesn't come for free!

Make a donation today and keep our community one of the best places to play around!

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Steam Trading is live

Welcome to the official launch of Steam Trading, which allows you to exchange In-game items and Gifts with everybody in the Steam Community.



Now you can trade Steam Gifts and in-game items from Valve games Team Fortress 2 and Portal 2, as well as from Spiral Knights, the cooperative adventure from Three Rings and Sega. We’re working with other developers to incorporate Trading and Inventories into their games, so keep an eye out for future announcements in the coming months.

Your Steam Community profile now has an item inventory, and you'll be able to view the Inventories of every public profile in the Steam Community.

Click over to the Steam Trading FAQ for more information, and get trading!

View the full article

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Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II Raffle

Avy has most generously taken the time to set up a raffle for Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.

For more information and to sign up check out his forum post here.

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TF2 Free to Play/Meet The Medic

Industry trade website Develop-Online has revealed in an interview with Valve’s Robin Walker that Team Fortress 2 is now permanently free to play, and will solely be supported by in-game item purchases.

TF2′s switch to F2P was rumored and expected, but perhaps not this soon. Walker says that Valve had been exploring the idea since September 2010. “We’ve been toying with the idea of making Team Fortress free-to-play ever since the Mann-conomy update,” Walker said. “The data we got back from that update leads us to believe that TF2 would be more successful as a completely free product.” Read the rest of the interview with Walker at Develop-Online.

Prior to today, Team Fortress 2 was in the middle of a “free week.” The game’s Über Update should deploy later this evening.




Meet The Medic was also Released.



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PS3, PSP Welcome Back Program Now Available at...

Orginal article from Punchjump

Sony Corp. this week said the Welcome Back Program is now available in the U.S. post restore of the Playstation Network in the U.S.

All PSN customers can select two PS3 titles for 30 days after the Playstation Store is restored. Titles include Dead Nation, Infamous, LittleBigPlanet, Super Stardust HD, and Wipeout HD + Fury.

PSP owners can download two titles for 30 days after the Playstation Store is online. Titles include LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers, Pursuit Force, and Killzone Liberation.

In addition, PSN users will receive select rental movie titles, 30 days of Playstation Plus membership, 60 days of free subscription for existing Plus members, 30 days of free premium subscription to Qriocity Music Unlimited Premium Trial subscription members, 30 days plus time lost to Music Unlimited Premium/Basic subscription; and 100 free virtual items for Playstation Home.

Sony June 2 fully restored all Playstation Network services, including the Playstation Store and Qriocity divisions in the Americas, Europe/PAL territories and Asia.

Full restoration of services include the Playstation Store, in-game commerce, ability to redeem vouchers and codes, Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3, PSP, Vaio, and other PCs, and Media Go functionality.

The company said users can now purchase and download games and video content from the Playstation Store on the PS3 and PSP.

Restoration of Video on Demand and Music Unlimited services powered by Qriocity will be announced later.

Details for Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea remaining services on Qriocity will be announced as they become available.

The company said it has implemented considerable enhancements to the network infrastructure, in addition to testing payment and commerce functionality.

The Playstation Store has been unavailable since an external intrusion crippled PSN and Qriocity services in late Apr.

Sony May 15 restored the Playstation Network division in the U.S.

In addition, the service was restored in the UK, Ireland, Middle East, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and South America .

The company restored partial service to Japan and select Asian territories May 28.

Restoration includes sign-in to the Playstation Network and Qrocity division, including password reset; restoration of online gameplay across the PS3 and PSP; playback of rental video content; access to third-party services like Netflix and Hulu; Friends functionality, and Playstation Home.

The company said it has implemented new and additional security measures, including updating and adding advanced security technologies, additional software monitoring and penetration and vulnerability testing, and increased levels of encryption and additional firewalls.

The new Firmware 3.61 is a mandatory update that will require PSN users to change their password prior to login of the network.

The company expects to have service fully restored by the end of May.

Access to the Playstation Network and Qrocity divisions has been crippled since Apr. following an external intrusion that compromised consumer data.

The company said it is taking steps to prevent future attacks, including enhanced levels of data protection and encryption; enhanced ability to detect software intrusions, unauthorized access and unusual activity patterns; additional firewalls; establishment of a new data center in an undisclosed location; and the naming of a new Chief Information Security Officer.

Sony in May began sale of the PS3 160GB Call of Duty: Black Ops Bundle, which includes the PS3 160GB hardware, a copy of Activision Blizzard Inc.’s Call of Duty: Black Ops, the Call of Duty: Black Ops First Strike DLC Pack, and a Dualshock 3 Controller at $299.99.

Sony in May began sale of the Limited Edition PSP Entertainment Pack, which includes the PSP-3000 handheld, 2GB Memory Stick Pro, Gran Turismo, and MLB 11 The Show at $199.99.

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TF2 Double Drop Week

Double Drop Weeks Starts Today!!

And for your Idling pleasure we put up two idle servers.


216.231.142.5:27016


This is a public server. To use the reserved slots either type "connect 216.231.142.5:27016" or download and use the server desktop shortcut I created below. You must also be apart the of AnB steam Community. Join here.

216.231.142.5:27017


This is an AnB community Server only. To join this server you must be join the AnBservers steam community group here.

To easily connect to the trade/idle server(s) I have created some simple desktop shortcuts that will force a connect to the game server and allow you to connect into one of the hidden reserved slots. As long as you a member of the Assault -N- Battery Community Group.

Download Server Shortcuts here!

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PSN full restore; PS3 Store, Qriocity back onli...

Original article from http://news.punchjum...k-onlne-june-2/

Sony Corp. this week said it will fully restore the Playstation Network service, including the Playstation Store and Qriocity divisions, Thurs. June 2.

Territories include the Americas, Europe/PAL territories and Asia.

The company said the Welcome Back initiative will be announced from each region.

Sony shut down the Playstation Network June 1 for several hours for final maintenance procedures.

Full restoration of services include the Playstation Store, in-game commerce, ability to redeem vouchers and codes, Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3, PSP, Vaio, and other PCs, and Media Go functionality.

The company said users can now purchase and download games and video content from the Playstation Store on the PS3 and PSP.

Restoration of Video on Demand and Music Unlimited services powered by Qriocity will be announced later.

Details for Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea remaining services on Qriocity will be announced as they become available.

The company said it has implemented considerable enhancements to the network infrastructure, in addition to testing payment and commerce functionality.

The Playstation Store has been unavailable since an external intrusion crippled PSN and Qriocity services in late Apr.

Sony May 15 restored the Playstation Network division in the U.S.

In addition, the service was restored in the UK, Ireland, Middle East, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and South America .

The company restored partial service to Japan and select Asian territories May 28.

Restoration includes sign-in to the Playstation Network and Qrocity division, including password reset; restoration of online gameplay across the PS3 and PSP; playback of rental video content; access to third-party services like Netflix and Hulu; Friends functionality, and Playstation Home.

The company said it has implemented new and additional security measures, including updating and adding advanced security technologies, additional software monitoring and penetration and vulnerability testing, and increased levels of encryption and additional firewalls.

The new Firmware 3.61 is a mandatory update that will require PSN users to change their password prior to login of the network.

The company expects to have service fully restored by the end of May.

Access to the Playstation Network and Qrocity divisions has been crippled since Apr. following an external intrusion that compromised consumer data.

The company said it is taking steps to prevent future attacks, including enhanced levels of data protection and encryption; enhanced ability to detect software intrusions, unauthorized access and unusual activity patterns; additional firewalls; establishment of a new data center in an undisclosed location; and the naming of a new Chief Information Security Officer.

Sony in May began sale of the PS3 160GB Call of Duty: Black Ops Bundle, which includes the PS3 160GB hardware, a copy of Activision Blizzard Inc.’s Call of Duty: Black Ops, the Call of Duty: Black Ops First Strike DLC Pack, and a Dualshock 3 Controller at $299.99.

Sony in May began sale of the Limited Edition PSP Entertainment Pack, which includes the PSP-3000 handheld, 2GB Memory Stick Pro, Gran Turismo, and MLB 11 The Show at $199.99.

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Sony: ‘Full PSN Services’ return this week, inc...

Original article taken from zdnet.com

Sony on Tuesday announced that it will fully restore all PlayStation Network services in the US, Europe and parts of Asia by the end of the week. The “Music Unlimited” streaming service from Qriocity will also resume for PS3, PSP and PC users.

Full service for Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea is still up in the air; Sony said that details for those areas will be announced as they become available. Some services came back online in Japan this past weekend.

Multiplayer gaming for PSN has already been restored, but other services including access to the PlayStation Store have been offline, ever since Sony brought PSN back online following a hacker attack in April. The first phase of the network reboot began on May 15, 2011.

Sony claims to have “implemented considerable security enhancements to the network infrastructure, as well as conducted testing of the payment process and commerce functions.”

In April a hacker or hackers overcame Sony’s security to gain access to more than 100 million user accounts and the personal information therein. No one has claimed responsibility for the break-in, though in a letter delivered to a U.S. Congressional subcommittee, Sony Computer Entertainment president Kazuo Hirai implicated “Anonymous.”

“Anonymous” is a loose hacker collective which sought retribution against Sony earlier this year for court proceedings against George “Geohot” Hotz, a programmer who had sought to restore the PlayStation 3’s ability to install a Linux operating system variant. But according to the information offered at the time, Anonymous’ coordinators sought to disrupt Sony services through a denial of service attack, rather than an attempt to steal PSN user data.

In addition to PlayStation Store access, full service means users will be able to use in-game commerce; vouchers and codes should work; and the “Media Go” video and audio player should work again.

It behooves Sony to get the PlayStation Store and other PSN-related services online before the weekend is up. Next week marks one of the biggest events in video gaming: E3 Expo in Los Angeles, an annual game industry trade show where Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and other big players gather to show off their latest hardware, forthcoming games and more. Sony is expected to use E3 to officially unveil the NGP, its next generation PlayStation Portable handheld console, when it holds a press conference on Monday, June 6.

After the PlayStation Store is back online, PSN users eligible to download free games and service as part of Sony’s “Welcome Back” package should be able to do so.

There was a glimmer of hope that the PlayStation Store would be back online earlier this month after a confidential Sony memo leaked which suggested a May 24th date; Sony later discounted that communication, indicating the date was still in flux.

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PBS falls victim to hackers with false Tupac Sh...

Original Article Taken from guardian.co.uk

Hackers the Lulz Boat said they were 'less than impressed' by PBS's documentary on WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange, pictured. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Computer hackers on Monday broke into the website of the US public service broadcaster PBS and published a fake article claiming rapper Tupac Shakur was alive and living in New Zealand.

A group named the Lulz Boat claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming it was retribution following the network's recent documentary on Julian Assange and the whistleblowers' site WikiLeaks.

PBS on Tuesday said three of its websites – NewsHour, Frontline and PBS – "remain under attack by hackers" and that it was attempting to restore normal service.

The article about Tupac, who was murdered in Las Vegas in 1996, was removed from the broadcaster's website – but login information for two internal PBS sites was stolen and published online.

David Fanning, the executive producer of the PBS Frontline programme, described the attack as "irresponsible and chilling".

He added: "From our point of view, we just see it as a disappointing and irresponsible act, especially since we have been very open to publishing criticism of the film … and the film included other points of view."

The PBS WikiLeaks documentary, called WikiSecrets, attracted criticism after it first aired last week from those sympathetic to the site's founder, Julian Assange.

The pro-WikiLeaks group of hackers have previously claimed responsibility for attacks on Fox, Sony and the US X Factor website. A message – which has now been removed by PBS – posted by the group on the broadcaster's website during the hack attack read: "Greetings, Internets. We just finished watching WikiSecrets and were less than impressed.

"We decided to sail our Lulz Boat over to the PBS servers for further … perusing. As you should know by now, not even that fancy-ass fortress from the third … Pirates of the Caribbean movie (first one was better!) can withhold our barrage of chaos and lulz.

"Anyway, unnecessary sequels aside … wait, actually: second and third Matrix movies sucked too! Anyway, say hello to the insides of the PBS servers, folks. They best watch where they're sailing next time."

The group also managed to create a new page on the PBS website, called "lulz", where it wrote "Free Bradley Manning fuck Frontline".

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