LINUXGAMES

Thanks to the developers of Free Awale for letting us know that version 1.3 of the strategy game has been released:

• Rules of game can now be configured in order to match to other standard rules
• Permanent save of language
• Cyclic end game has been implemented

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ nongnu.org ]

Splash Damage has posted the changelog for the upcoming version 1.5 patch for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars:

• User interface improvements - “new customization options for turret lock-on warnings… mine trigger warnings can similarly be toggled on or off”
• New customization CVARs - “it’s now possible to set mouse sensitivity on a per-vehicle basis… new cvars for quickly switching spawn points”
• Ranks and statistics - “in-game scoreboard once again correctly displays player ranks”
• Bot improvements - “bots now understand the battlefield even better than before and will act more like a human player would”

There’s also a blurb about the work involved to get it out the door:

We’ve completed internal testing of the update and we’re now coordinating with all the other companies that are part of the actual release process. This is actually a tad more complicated than it sounds since we’ve got quite a few moving parts there. 1.5 has to be coordinated with id Software (Windows and Linux), Activision, Aspyr (Mac version), Valve Software (Steam version), DemonWare (online accounts), and all the game server providers to make sure they update their servers in time for release. But fear not, we’re currently coordinating with all of the involved parties to figure out the best release timing for the update. As soon as we’ve nailed down a date, we’ll announce it here in the blog.

S.C.O.U.R.G.E., a 3D graphical roguelike where the player controls a four character party, is now at version 0.20. Changelog:

• Full German and Italian translation
• New trees for outdoor terrain
• Each level now starts in a village with its own set of npc-s
• A new UI theme with nicer cursors
• Lots of new icons and models
• Ambient sound (footsteps, torches, wind, etc.)
• Outdoor weather (rain, fog, thunder)
• Many small features and bugfixes

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ sourceforge.net ]

Industry Entertainment updated their foosball simulator Master Kick recently (thanks Linux Game Tome):

• Dutch (Netherlands) language localization added
• Danish (Dansk) language localization added
• Improved Norwegian localization
• Smaller Linux executable

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ indus3.org ]

id Software sent in the following press release:

Mesquite, TX - May 7, 2008 - id Software announced today that production has begun on DOOM 4(TM), the next journey into the legendary DOOM universe. id Software is expanding its internal team and is currently hiring to work on this highly anticipated title.

“DOOM is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth,” said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. “It’s critical for id Software to have the best creative minds in-house to develop games that meet the standards synonymous with our titles.”

The DOOM franchise is one of the most recognizable and important in gaming history, having been named “one of the ten most influential games of the decade” by PC Gamer and “the #1 game of all time” by GameSpy. DOOM 4 will join the award-winning series which has consistently topped sales charts throughout the world.

id Software is looking for talented, ambitious and passionate individuals eager to join its accomplished team of developers working on the industry’s most innovative and anticipated games. For a complete listing of available positions, visit www.idsoftware.com. Resumes can be submitted via email to jobs@idsoftware.com. All applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.

I’m hoping the “on Earth” reference means this will be an adaptation of DOOM II: Hell on Earth, much as Doom 3 was an adaptation of the original DOOM storyline. In any case, I’m guessing we’ll get a tad more information on the project at QuakeCon, but the game is probably at least several years away.

Frictional Games has released their adventure horror game Penumbra: Black Plague for the Linux operating system on the heels of the recent demo. It can be purchased online for $19.99 US. If you’re interested in reading more about the game, there’s this review @ 1up.com.

The previous game in the series, Penumbra: Overture, was also released for Linux, and Frictional Games also just announced an upcoming expansion for Black Plague:

Last week an expansion to Penumbra: Black Plague was announced dubbed Penumbra: Requiem. This short but sweet expansion will give the players some final gritty details on the Penumbra story as well as a concentrated batch of puzzle solving. We are currently working away on the expansion and as we get further into development more details will be released, at the moment a July 2008 release date is the goal.

Linux Journal has posted the results of their annual Readers’ Choice Awards, and once again Frozen Bubble has walked away with the Favorite Linux Game award. The runners up were DOOM (which source port?) and Tux Racer (which hasn’t been maintained in years, you’ll want Extreme Tux Racer for a modern version).

A new patch for The Battle for Wesnoth, a fantasy-themed turn-based strategy game, has been released to update various translations. It’s also asked that player report any bugs they encounter.

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ wesnoth.org ]

I noticed earlier this week that evilsake posted a few helpful links in the Something Awful forum’s Dominions 3: The Awakening thread for players of Shrapnel Games‘ fantasy-themed strategy game:

• Dominions 3 Unit Reference: Has screenshots of almost every unit in the game listed by unit number and title. Very handy for figuring out if that summon is worth your time.
  
• Magic Path Booster Guide: An excellent guide on getting the most out of your mages without having to waste gems empowering. This guide might be helpful as well in that regard.
  
• Strategy Index: Along with Kanos’ helpful guides above this should really help you familiarize yourself with nations you haven’t played before.
  
• Dominions 3 Database: I’ve never found this one too helpful but I’ve heard it can be of good use if you’ve lost your manual or something.
  
• Patch Progress Page: Drive yourself nuts with me waiting for the next cool additions and fixes to the game.

Demo Download: [ atomicgamer.com ]

Linux Game Publishing’s image competition has ended and the correct answer was Sacred: Gold, which includes Sacred, the add-on Sacred: Underworld, a world map, and the soundtrack on CD.

Sacred is a CRPG by German developer Studio II of Ascaron and has been widely regarded as an updated Diablo II. The estimated release has been set for August 2008 as the port has been worked on for some time already, although personally I am sceptical that they can meet that ETA.
The system requirements are fairly low, with a 1 GHz CPU, 256 MB RAM and a 32 MB 3D card.

Sacred: Gold can be pre-ordered at Tux Games for 50 $.

A reader pointed out Alice, a cross-platform 3D programming environment from Carnegie Mellon University intended to teach students object-oriented programming:

In Alice’s interactive interface, students drag and drop graphic tiles to create a program, where the instructions correspond to standard statements in a production oriented programming language, such as Java, C++, and C#. Alice allows students to immediately see how their animation programs run, enabling them to easily understand the relationship between the programming statements and the behavior of objects in their animation. By manipulating the objects in their virtual world, students gain experience with all the programming constructs typically taught in an introductory programming course.

Instructors can also order a textbook and view teaching materials online.

Videos: [ View ] Download: [ alice.org ]

Random Quake-related news:

• Version 1.46 of the Quake III: Arena competition mod Challenge Pro Mode Arena was released.
• ESReality mentioned this map for Q3A, Sodomia, with a unique puzzle-oriented layout.
• Func_Msgboard posted a neat Quake 1 singleplayer map, Tower of Dal Gurak.
• There’s a new alpha release of the Enemy Territory: Quake Wars zombie mod Dusk at the community forums.
• Finally, Wired pointed out that Wolfenstein 3-D was released on today’s date in 1992. The only Linux source port I’m aware of is WolfGL (edit: zakk pointed out this port as well).

Edit: Splash Damage updated their blog with a preview of two community-made ETQW maps: Comm Link and Meltdown. Also, while fighting to prevent mankind’s extinction in the game, you can also assist Splash Damage in preventing the extinction of the tapir, an endangered animal.

Vince Desiderio from Running With Scissors has mentioned in one of his infamous interviews that Linux is among the supported platforms for Postal III, which is currently in development by RWS and Akella and estimated for a release in 2009.

It would be nice to have the series followed through on Linux but how they plan to support Linux when the game is based on Valve’s Source engine is up in the air.
RWS has previously stated they will try to support Linux again this time but we have not reported on any definite word until now it seems, so it may not be new to everyone, sowwy. Thanks to Slacker for the heads up.

The Super Mario-inspired platforming game Secret Maryo Chronicles is now at version 1.5 with new features, including a new world, new sprites, and enemy swaps.

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ secretmaryo.org ]

The open source real-time strategy game project Globulation 2 has been updated to increase network stability and add other bugfixes.

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ globulation2.org ]

Incursion, a roguelike role-playing game which utilizes D20, the Open Gaming Licensed version of the base Dungeons and Dragons ruleset, has a new release with a revised encounter system.

There’s also an online manual and a whitepaper which delves into roguelike development.

edit: Woops, this release isn’t out for Linux yet - apologies :(

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ incursion-roguelike.org ]

The Linux Game Tome pointed out that Grubby Games has released The Amazing Brain Train, a collection of educational minigames:

• Search - Find the solution, and your hidden talent!
• Planning - Think ahead, to victory!
• Spatial - You’ll be a master of mental manipulation!
• Memory - Make the most of your powerful memory!
• Numbers - Become a numerical ninja!

A demo is available; the full version can be purchased online for $19.95 US.

Download: [ grubbygames.com ]

Version 0.9.61 of Wine, the Open Source implementation of the Windows API on top of X, OpenGL, and Unix, has been released.
Items that are new in this release includes the following:

• Automatic updating of the WINEPREFIX directory.
• Winhelp now uses Richedit as display engine.
• Many RichEdit fixes.
• More improvements to IME support.
• More quartz fixes.
• Implementation for many more Gdiplus functions.
• Lots of bug fixes.

Download: [ Wine 0.9.61 ]

Linux Game Publishing asserts that they have learned their lesson with the last Image Competition that got cracked rather fast by comparing images over time.
In the new Image Competition, the goal is again to guess the name of an yet unannounced title from LGP (while the picture shown changes every minute with about 60 correct pixels more each time, revealing a screenshot of the game in question) and win the first copy when it has been released if you send back the right answer before anyone else.

Frictional Games has released an updated demo of Penumbra: Black Plague. Changes include new puzzle solutions and bug fixes including the following:

• Fixed some very important rendering issues with new ATI cards and drivers
• Other fixes like crashes on certain configurations or even new solutions to some puzzles.

Download: [ Penumbra: Black Plague 1.0.1 Demo ]