FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"THE RIFT" WILL TAKE REAL-TIME STRATEGY GAMERS TO ANOTHER WORLD (HUNDREDS, ACTUALLY)

SEATTLE, WA, February 3, 1999 -- Coming this fall, PC gamers will get to experience the galaxy in all its wonder in "The Rift" from ThrushWave Technology. "The Rift" is a 3D real-time strategy game for PC gamers set in solar systems across the galaxy, from our nearest neighbor Proxima Centauri (destination of the first human colonists) to Antares, some 522 light years away.

The game chronicles the player, as Jacob Viscero, stowaway on one of the first colony ships to Proxima. When the colonists arrive at Proxima after their 15 year journey, the habitable planet promised them by Earth's deep space probe doesn't exist. To make matters worse, an alien race shows up through a wormhole, or Rift, wreaking havoc on the struggling colony. Jacob must take command and guide the fleet though a series of Rifts, doing battle along the way with other humans and two space-born alien races unlike anything yet seen in a 3D space game.

"The Rift" uses a custom state-of-the-art physics based 3D engine, allowing immense battles within solar systems with thousands of objects and hundreds of ships. Every attention has been paid to detail, from the belt-fed spinning barrels of the Gunship, to the hurricane visible from space on the surface of Regulus 7, to the glowing bridge lights as the player takes one of his Cruisers into a dark nebula.

The interface is true 3D, allowing players a new degree of freedom in tactical maneuvers. James Thrush, lead programmer for "The Rift", stated, "We've stuck firm to established real-time strategy interface methods that people are familiar with, then extended those methods in ways that are non-intrusive to the beginning player, yet powerful and easy for gamers to pick up when they're ready." He cites as an example unit movement, which, as in traditional real-time strategy games, is accomplished by selecting a unit, then right-clicking on a destination. To accommodate 3D movement, the user simply holds down the right button and drags up and down, creating an elevation line above or below the solar plane.

Currently, ThrushWave Technology is looking for a publisher for "The Rift", which it plans to release this fall. ThrushWave Technology is a small software development company founded in 1996 to create compelling 3D environments and games. "The Rift" is ThrushWave's first independent venture. More information on ThrushWave Technology and screen shots of "The Rift" can be found at http://www.thrushwave.com.

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