LINUXGAMES

Version 0.2.10 of the 3D Scorched Earth-ish tank game n.a.t.o.w. has been released; changes include:

• changed smoke trails
• improved plasma code
• added cursor-controled element in plasma
• added scale variations in cursor controled element
• added some mouse controls in video-configuration screen
• changed the ugly cursor
• added UP and DOWN symbols in font.rgb
• added plasma drawing in key and video config
• added plasma detail option
• changed plasma look

n.a.t.o.w. 0.2.10 source: natow-0.2.10.tar.gz

Version 1.55 of the OpenGL space combat RPG framework glElite has been released; changes include:

• fixed building problems
• added collision detection, weapon and samples
• added internal OpenGL subset renderer

glElite 1.55 source: glelite.sourceforge.net/#downloads

The Tux of Math Command staff sent out the following announcement regarding their educational math tutor game:

In light of the horrible events of Sept. 11th, 2001, we have been wondering if we should change the animation in our game, and if so, what should we change that animation to. We want the game to be a positive experience for children, and we do not wish to be damaging or harmful in any way.

Please take a moment and stop by our web-site to fill out this online poll:http://www.geekcomix.com/dm/tuxmath/poll.shtml

The results from this poll will help us decide what the best way would be to proceed.

Version 0.55.2 of the Multi Arcade Machine Emulator X11 port Xmame has been released; changes include:

• added special-cased fast 2×1 and 3×1 scaling to the blit core
• added several AdvanceMAME effects, available via -effect/-ef
• added mame-listmissing to contrib/tools
• fixed compilation errors reported in snprintf.c

Xmame 0.55.2 source: xmame-0.55.2.tar.bz2

Version 0.6.5 of the electronic boardgame front-end Q Universal Boardgame has been released; changes include:

• removed default tooltip from boards
• changed number of templates to 10, as most of them were unused
• fixed a couple build problems
• added utility ‘gcomlauncher’ to launch gcom files in their own windows, without the use of QUB
• gmaker can now read in gcom creation arguments from stdin, which means a HUGE decrease in gameset build time

QUB 0.6.5 source: qub-0.6.5.tar.bz2

Version 0.9.0b8 of the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture packages have been released. As usual, there have been changes to each of the packages.

ALSA 0.9.0b8 downloads: ftp.alsa-project.org/pub

Version 1.9.3 of the multiplayer turn-based strategy game Advanced Strategic Command has been released; changes since 1.5.15 include:

• working AI
• first maps of a campaign have been included
• new revision of the Standard MK1 unit set is included
• new terrain types with graphics are included
• units that can move after attacking don’t lose movement points during the attack
• updated terrain and objects
• updated buildings
• cleanup of pulldown menues and hotkeys
• added online help for game parameters
• weapons can now have different efficiencies against different unit classes
• multiple BI3 import tables possible
• added map transformation to mapeditor
• fixed bugs

ASC 1.9.3 source: asc-linux-1.9.3.tar.gz

Release 20011004 of Wine, the freeWindows implementation for UNIX systems, has been made available; changesinclude:

• Beginnings of shared window handles.
• Much improved typelib support.
• Tons of new code in quartz dll.
• Lots of bug fixes.

Wine 20011004 source: Wine-20011004.tar.gz

Quick FYI: The id Software Linux FAQpages forQuake III: Arena andReturn to Castle Wolfenstein have been updatedsince the releases of version 1.30 and the multiplayer test for each game, respectively.

Loki Software has also released a new patch for theirport of Heretic 2; changes:

• Fix for dedicated server administration from a local console
• Dynamic libraries to allow modding

Again, the new patch can be applied via Loki Update.

Loki Software has released a new patch for theirport of Heroes of Might and Magic III; changes:

• Updated libraries, the game should be more robust
• Fixed input problems.
• Fixed networking crashes.
• Fixed volume settings.
• Fixed random seed generation.
• Fixed problems with map dragging.
• Fixed movie lockups
• Fixed save game editing keys
• Fixed crash on exit
• Adventure map will not scroll when the mouse leaves the window
• Fixed a problem with map loading/saving, should help with mapcompatability
• Fixed the issue causing problems with large maps/lots of playersin internet games
• Fixed text on the scenario completion screen
• Worked around an issue with extremely unstable network links

You can update your copy of Heroes of Might and Magic III via Loki Update.

Version 2.4e of the CLI server browser QStat has beenreleased; changes:

• Descent 3 support
• -htmlmode (same as $HTML, but for -raw mode)
• Fixed Tribes 2 queries
• Fixed $SHIRTCOLOR when no color names are used

QStat 2.4e Download:
http://www.qstat.org/qstat24e.tar.gz

id Software’s Timothee “TTimo” Besset sent ina release announcement forGtkRadiant version 1.1.1:

GtkRadiant 1.1.1 is a level editor for Quake III Arena, Quake III: TeamArena and all Quake III Arena modifications. It includes the latest toolsand documentation to build game levels for mods, net play and bot play.

Setups for windows and linux are available.

This is by far the most stable and complete version of GtkRadiant to date.The complete changelog is available at the following URL:
http://www.qeradiant.com/gtkradiant/changelog.txt

The most noticeable changes since last stable release (1.1-TA) are:

• noclip-type camera movement
• per face patch and models selection (instead of Bounding Box)
• lots of UI improvements (mouse wheel, behaviour of the inspectors)
• OpenGL lighting (great with the camera movement)
• generic support for mods editing

This new version is the result of several months of improvements and QA.I’d like to thanks all the contributors for their involvement in thisrelease:
http://www.qeradiant.com/credits.html

The GtkRadiant project is now heading towards a version 1.2 which willbring the editor to a whole new level, mostly with multiple games support.

GtkRadiant 1.1.1 Download:
http://www.3ddownloads.com/?file_id=152455

Doomworld receivedword fromTeam TNT’s (who madethe episodes in Final Doom)Ty Halderman that Digital Riverhas closed access to the DOOM and Quake community archives @ CDROM.com,which were quite extensive,”due to unusual bandwidth needs”:

It may take us a bit of time to completely implement our plan for hosting and mirroring the official archives, but we will inform you of the new situation as soon as everything is in place.

Rest assured that we have now, as we have had for years of volunteer efforts, the best interests of the id Software community in mind. We may ask for some assistance from other members of the community as we finalize our plans, and appreciate your patience in the meantime.

On a side note, if you’ve never had a chance to pick up DOOM before, Collector’s DOOM has been released in stores, which includes Ultimate DOOM, DOOM 2, and Final DOOM all on one CD. It’s also rather Linux-friendly in that the WAD files for each game are available uncompressed on the CD, so you can just copy them over and use them immediately with your GPL‘ed source port of choice, such as PrBoom.

GarageGames’ Peter Riley Osborne sent in the followinglast week:

It’s Official; GarageGames has renamed their ‘V12 Game Engine’ SDK to the’Torque Game Engine’. A few weeks ago GarageGames was notified that ‘V12′infringed on a trademark held by a Canadian software company and were askedto stop using it …or else. Whatever. So after tons of input from thegaming community and a lot of brainstorming at GarageGames they havere-christened the SDK, the ‘Torque Game Engine’. The SDK and source codewere released in August 2001 and are available from GarageGames for only$100. This is the same game engine that powered Dynamix’s AAA multiplayerhit, Tribes2.GarageGames already has hundreds of developers using the SDKto make games, learn new tricks and just have fun.

As stated above, you can licensethe Torque engine (with some restrictions on publishing your game) for just $100 US.

A reader let us know that there’s a new method for installing Loki’svarious game demos:

Ximian Red Carpet has a new “Loki Demo” channel (atleast when used on RedHat 7.1), to which you cansubscribe.

This allows you to install/uninstall/update the LokiDemo’s.

Staff member Marv provided a screenshotof the new channel; if you don’t have Ximian Red Carpet, you can still download viaLoki’s Demo Launcher.

A reader let us know that Ryan “icculus” Gordon updated his .plan file to note his latest project:

Serious Sam:

Yes, I’m porting it. No, there’s no timeframe right now. Email me with questions, and I’ll start a FAQ or something.

Serious Sam is the fast-action FPS released to critical acclaim earlier this year by Croteam.

Loki Software sent in the following news:

NEW LOW PRICE FOR TRIBES 2

The MSRP for Tribes 2 is now only $29.95! Purchase it from ourwebstore at www.lokigames.com/orders or from one of our resellerslisted at www.lokigames.com/orders/resellers.php3.

DEMO CD AVAILABLE

You asked for it, and now we have it! The Loki Demo CD is availablefor $5 from our webstore at www.lokigames.com/orders.

SUPER LOW CLEARANCE!LEARNING DEBIAN GNU/LINUX BOOK WITH DEBIAN CD

We’re also offering the “Learning Debian GNU/Linux” book as a specialclearance bundle with a Debian distribution on CD for the super lowprice of $14.95. This book retails elsewhere for $34.95! We have alimited quantity of these available so order now before they’re gone.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.

Steven Wilcoxon sent in the following:

TerminusPoint with permissionfrom VVisions has released a patchedand upgraded version of Terminus called TPE for use of licensed ownersof Terminus. TPE is a product of TerminusPoint, not VVisions. Fixes andextensions will continue to go in. Currently versions for Windows and Linuxare available.

Currently the changes are biased heavily to bug fixes & Server side changes.Bandwidth has been reduced so that modem play doesn’t lag as much as before.

Terminus is a space combat RPG/sim with military campaign and mercenary commerceelements; you can download the demo from TerminusPointhere.

TerminusPoint Edition 0.0.3 (README) Patch:
http://www.TerminusPoint.com/terminuspoint/downloads/TPE/index.shtml

HellcatV sent in notice thathis Wing Commander-inspired space combat sim Vega Strikeis now playable (screenshots). Features include:

• You can design missions, fight against kats
• Stars fly by the scene, adding the mood
• Explosions tear starships in half
• Hide in the dock to save yourself from enemy fire
• Customize the AI to your liking
• Shelton slide is active (“q” key)

Also, if you create any good AI scripts, send them to HellcatV at hellcatv@hotmail.com.

Vega Strike 0.0.9 Source:
ftp://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/pub/vegastrike/vegastrike-0.0.9_src.tar.gz

Vega Strike 0.0.9 Data:
ftp://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/pub/vegastrike/vegastrike-0.0.9_unixdata.tgz