LINUXGAMES

Stomped noted that the Anarchy Online site added new screenshots from the beta version of the MMORPG which will be released for Linux using the QT widget set. 11 shots of the various environments characters can explore are included.

Sam Lantinga noted these releases on the main Simple DirectMedia Layer page:

• Dungeon Game (screenshot), being developed by John Watson as a 3D dungeon exploration adventure game. The current source is available from here.
• Tunnel (0913 source snapshot), in which players “control a ball going down a tunnel, trying to avoid other balls in the way”.

Soldier of Fortune news:

• Raven’s Eric Biessman and Rick Johnsonhave written a SoF postmortem article for Gamasutrawhich examines the development process which led to the release of theirmercenary title. Thanks to Blue for the headsup.

• Moreover, Rick Johnson made a .plan update concerning SoF Gold, thefree downloadable add-on pack for SoF:
  

  The SoF Gold patch should be out next week. The patching process is going through QA (as we want to make sure you can upgrade from any prior version).

  The Linux version of SoF Gold is still in testing, but here are a few screenshotsof the new content/features from the Linux beta:
  

  Deathmatch with bots
  Raven’s Brian Raffel player model
  Conquer the Bunker map – Cargo plane
  Conquer the Bunker map – Submarine
  Control map – Unclaimed control point
  Control map – Captured control point

• id CEOTodd Hollenshead updated his .plan earlier this week on what futureQuake 3: Arena releaseswill entail after mixed reaction to the last Win32 beta patch. Here’s some of the relevant information:
  

  Global Rankings – This is a cool new statistics and ranking feature that has been incorporated into Quake III Arena. If you would like more information on Global Rankings, please check out the website at http://www.globalrankings.com/quake3arena/ As more information and documentation becomes available, we will pass it along and include it with releases.
  
  Physics – There has been quite a bit of confusion regarding the physics fix that was incorporated into the 1.25beta release. Simply stated, in the original Q3A PC release (using .qvms) there was an inaccuracy in the way player movement occured when compared to other versions of the game (including compiled .dlls and other platforms). This was a bug. It is our position that all platforms should yield the same gameplay mechanics and physics. We are working on a fix that would return the “feel” of rocket jumping and strafe jumping to the original release, while still “fixing” the bug in the .qvm builds.

  CTF Scoring – In the 1.25beta release we made a modification to CTF scoring. While we will use a similar scoring system in Quake III: Team Arena, in the next point release we have decided to return to the original CTF scoring system that was included with the retail release.

  …

  Demos – Prior demo files are not compatible with 1.25 and above. This is due to the change in the network protocol and encryption layers.

  …

  We are also working on fixes for a number of smaller bugs that have come to our attention including various problems with sound, callvoting, global rankings and a few other miscellaneous items.

• Moreover, the Mplayer-owned (who also runthe new GlobalRankings service)Quake3World launched theirQuake 3: Team Arena section,which provides information on the upcoming Q3A mission pack.

The Breakout clone LBreakout is up to 000928 today. Changes include a couple of bug fixes and a fullscreen option.
LBreakout 000928 source:
http://lgames.sourceforge.net/lbreakout/lbreakout000928.tar.gz

Despite the delay (thanks Hex) whichSierra announced earlier this week, Dynamix has confirmed what Dave Georgeson hinted at previously: Tribes 2,a sci-fi multiplayer team-oriented FPS, will have both a Linux client and dedicated server,being developed by Loki Entertainment Software.Thanks to {SiR}Mojo_Tooth for forwarding the current edition of the Tribes 2 newsletter(Tribes 2 Beacon) whichmade the revelation:

Q: Will there be Linux support ?

A: You bet. By popular demand, we’ve contracted with Loki, a companythat has done many Linux conversions for other games. The server code isnearly done and they are making great progress on the client code (whichwill ship separately from the regular game). The server code will shipwithin the regular retail box.

Furthermore, the delay will likely allow for a simultaneous Linux and Win32 release, giving the Linux gaming community a second chance to make their presence known this holiday shopping season.

Slashdot noted today that3D chipset/card manufacturer 3dfxhas joined the OpenGLArchitectural Review Board asa voting member, meaning they will now have a say in how OpenGL’s features developover the coming years. More information now how the ARB oversees the API can be foundin the FAQ.

Michael Bartl wrote in to announce the initial release of FreeLords, a “turn-based strategy game similiar to W*rl*rds” (screenshots). If you’re interested in helping with development, feel free to write Michael at gnosticus@gmx.at.

FreeLords 0.0 Source:
http://download.sourceforge.net/freelords/freelords-0.0.tar.gz

• Epic overhauled the official Unreal Tournament site, including the Linuxsection, which links Loki’s UT page.

• Andy Piper wrote in to the OpenUT mailing list to note thathe updated the project site with links, new utility scripts, and CVS instructions. Furthermore,Andy also commented on future directions for the effort, such as enhancing existing tools or creating additional ones to take advantage of new UT features.
• Linux3D.net noted that the mod developers working on Strike Force (specifically, Optimizer) have requested that someone create a Linux installer for their UT total conversion project. If interested, e-mail Optimizer at optimizer@planetunreal.com.

Mike Simms of the onlineLinux retailer TuxGames wrotein to let us know that SimCity3000 Unlimited, the city simulation from Maxis, is now shipping to resellers. You can orderdirect from Loki, orfrom TuxGames.A list of retail distributors can also be found here.

Leonardo Zide let us know that he’s released version 0.93 of WolfGL (now hosted at SourceForge), the OpenGL-based portof Wolfenstein 3D.

WolfGL 0.93 Download (Spear of Destiny Demo, Wolfenstein 3D Demo, Spear of Destiny Retail, Wolfenstein 3D Retail):
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=11904&release_id=12670

Vicarious Visions has releasedpatches to bring their their sci-fi space combat sim Terminus up to version 1.81. Changes include:

• Fixed bug when binding aux keys to multiple gadgets of same type
• Added self destruct timer to spy probes to prevent probe buildup
• Prevent players without careers from entering player storage on network disconnect
• Removed Sim2 from frame rate counter — not used

Terminus 1.81 downloads: www.vvisions.com/terminus/downloads_frame.htm

Version 0.4.1 of Loki‘s open source MPEG playback layer SMPEGhas been released. Changes include:

• Added VCD and URL playback support to plaympeg.
• The example OpenGL player uses hardware scaling and filtering.
• Added YUV filter plugin architecture.
• Added software bilinear filtering option to gtv and plaympeg.
• Improved error recovery – plays many more movies than before.
• Updated for SDL 1.1.5, with improved hardware acceleration.

SMPEG 0.4.1 download locations:
3ddownloads.com
ftp.lokigames.com

Loki’s Sam Lantinga has released version 1.1.5 of the Simple DirectMedia Layer, which is utilized in many open-source and commercial game projects. Changes include:

• New HTML and man documentation from the SDL Documentation Project.
• Alpha now works like it does in OpenGL, representing opacity.
• Alpha blending can now take advantage of RLE acceleration.
• Added an API for gamma correction (not supported on all hardware).
• Improved YUV video overlay support.
• Split display palettes to allow color cycling while blitting.

SDL 1.1.5 Source:
http://www.libsdl.org/release/SDL-1.1.5.tar.gz

The bomberman/quake a-like Bomber Instinct has reached version 0.8.21. It now has some english translation in the menus(make LANGUE=english), a README in english, and joystick support.

Bomber Instinct 0.8.21 source:
http://harpe.dptmaths.ens-cachan.fr/U/gesbert/dl/BomberInstinct-bin-0.8.21.tar.gz

Jean-Michel Grimaldi has put out the first release of gSoko. This game is a is a gtk+ clone of the famous Sokoban game. There are pre compiled binaries and source code for the game.

Binaries:
http://www.via.ecp.fr/~jm/gsoko/gsoko-0.1-bin.tar.gz

Source:
http://www.via.ecp.fr/~jm/gsoko/gsoko-0.1-src.tar.gz

• Dave from SystemLogic wrote in noting that they’ve posted a piece which attempts to answer “Why Linux?“

• AgentGray made his last update to the Heavy Gear News Network, which will be opened up for use by the Heavy Gear community atlarge.
• In addition to his previous article, Linux.com’s Brian Richardson wrote an articlegiving the specifications for a monster Linux gaming machine for those with no budget limitations.
• Speaking of Linux.com, Ryan “Dance, Dance, Dance Machine” Gordon of Loki fame wrote an article which gives an overview of porting Win32 apps which use Microsoft Foundation Classes for widgets to the Gimp Toolkit.
• GarageGames, founded by ex-Dynamix employees, including Tribes 2 programmerRick Overman,has officially launched their site. Intended as an independent game developer resource, services include a Game Ideas Forum and Game Services Marketplace.
• David “Zoid” Kirsch, who maintained the Quake Linux ports and created QuakeWorld Capture the Flag before leaving id, made a laconic update to the Threewave CTF site, which would seem to indicate that a new Threewave CTF mod for Quake 3: Arena will be released to complement the existing CTF gametype.
• Other Slashdot stuff:
  • John Carmack made a few comments recently regarding theGeForce 2 versus workstation OpenGL cards andDoom rendering passes/3dfx architectural decisions.

  • The OpenSim project we commented on recently was mentioned on /., along with a similar effort called eBattlefield.
• Admin Central has a brief guide to setting up a Q3A dedicated server.

Angband Newsupdated with some info on the ZAngband development team. First, a coupledevelopers (Remco and Gwidon) have left the team due to a lack of interest.Secondly, the ZAngband CVS repositoryhas moved to Sourceforge. Along with the typical Sourceforge features, some mailing lists havebeen created for ZAngband announcements, discussions, and CVS commitlogs.

Version 4.48 of the server log parser AEstats has been released. This version includes a fix for UT and some changes to the HTML-header files.

AEstats 4.48 download: AEstats-v4.48-Linux.zip

Slashdot is taking questions now fora future Ask John Gildred feature. John is the CEO of Indrema, the company working on producing a Linux-powered gaming console. Be sure to visit the links Slashdot has listedbefore posting a question asking about an exhausted topic.