LINUXGAMES

Version 1.3.1 of the multiplayer and networked Mah-Jong game has been released; changes in 1.3 and 1.3.1 include:

• fixed bug in option parsing in graphical client
• changed tiletip positions
• move tiletips, claim popups, and animation into the main window
• fixed bug in uniconification of auxiliary windows
• added options for fully and partially concealed hand scores
• added (deprecated) option to allow losers to score pure and concealed doubles
• protocol version now 1032
• on new game panel, allow specification of robot names.in graphical client

Mah-Jong 1.3.1 source: mj-1.3.1-src.tar.gz

Version 0.6.5 of the shufflepuck game TuxPuck has been released; changes in the last few versions include:

• compile problems fixed
• sound support added
• new opponent added
• redesign of animation system
• flicker problems fixed
• TrueType font support added
• FPS display
• puck speed adjustments
• Tux animation was added
• a scoreboard has replaced printing to stderr

TuxPuck 0.6.5 source: tuxpuck-0.6.5.tar.gz

Version 0.5.3 of the game SDK ClanLib has been released; changes include:

• fixed resource path bug introduced in 0.5.2
• default videomode is windowed, and not fullscreen
• resource-overview updates
• configure fix for gcc 3.0
• fixed CL_DirectoryScanner
• ClanPNG Makefile fix for installing

ClanLib 0.5.3 source: ClanLib-0.5.3-1.tar.bz2

The Trangaming site has been updated with some information regarding (once again) how polls from previous months will be handled. Since TG will not likely complete some of the top vote-receiving tasks in any given month, there has been some debate as to what should be included in the following month’s poll. Some of the key decisions are as follows:

• all new polls will be added to the voting area at the same time, in the middle of the month
• top-ranked polls from the previous month will be carried into the new month
• if a poll is not carried over into the following month, it can still be accepted as a ‘new’ poll if certain procedures are followed
• a development status page will soon be added where subscribers will be able to track the progress of the TG team on implementing the features that were voted for
• a “negative voting option” will be voted on in a separate poll this month to determine, presumably, if subscribers will be able to vote on projects that they do not want TG to spend time on

Lastly, the TG site update mentions that they will be releasing data regarding the quantity of subscribers that they have. This information will be released in approximately one month.

Version 0.4.3 of the 3D chess program glChess has been released; changes include a fix for the bug that occurred when the engine was not installed and the move rules have been improved.

glChess 0.4.3 source: @sourceforge.net

Version 0.3.3 of the Sierra On-Line classic game engine interpreter FreeSCI has been released; changes include:

• sound subsystem restructured
• ports to PPC and ARM Linux
• LRU resource manager
• graphical configuration tool
• bug fixes
• some versions of KQ4, Colonel’s Bequest and Conquest of Camelot can now be completed
• documentation updates

FreeSCI 0.3.3 downloads: freesci.linuxgames.com/download.html

As I continue to wade through some old news submissions that I overlooked…

Bakemono wrote in to announce that he has started an open-source game development team called Little Green Men Entertainment. They are currently working on an RPG engine called Proteus and are looking for other people to help out with the project. If you are interested, fire an email over to bakemono@scurvypenguin.net.

I missed this news from a while ago, but Alex Bierbrauer from polyfrag.com wrote in to let us know that they have released the source to Gunocide II EX (screenshot 1 | 2). Gunocide was a commercial shoot’em’up game that was released a year ago, but the code is now released under the GPL.

Gunocide II EX downloads: www.gunocide.polyfrag.com/downloads.htm

Bernd Ritter from Holarse wrote in to let us know that they have posted an interview (english version) with David Trowbridge and Colin Bayer, two BZFlag developers.

Peter Jay Salzman wrote in to let us know that he has uploaded version 0.9.2 of The Linux Gamers’ HOWTO to the Linux Documentation Project. The document covers game type definitions, libraries, video cards and terminology, and troubleshooting.

Version 1.0 of the Tetris clone LTris has been released; changes include:

• menu improved
• graphics improved
• added AI
• added three-player mode
• rewrote engine (c++ –> c)
• removed assembler code
• fixed some minor warnings

LTris 1.0 source: ltris-1.0.tar.gz

Version 2.1.2 of the breakout-style arcade game LBreakout has been released; changes include:

• disabled double-click for confirmation
• increased sensitivity of the reflection check-up introduced in 2.1.1
• fixed a bug that caused reflection on an already removed brick
• added a grid to the editor for easier editing
• added advanced option ‘Key Speed’ to modify speed of keyboard input
• energy balls pulsate faster
• ‘exploding brick’ list cleared when initiating next level
• using new backgrounds from the Arianne project

LBreakout 2.1.2 source: lbreakout2-2.1.2.tar.gz

Version 1.32b4 of the enhanced Doom source port Doom Legacy has been released; changes include improvement in the OpenGL renderer and bug fixes. This version is supposed to be the last beta before the final 1.32 version is released.

Doom Legacy 1.32b4 source: legacy_132beta4_src.tar.gz

subnet_rx pointed out that version 3.9.6b of Open Sound System, the commercial implementation of the OSS/Free drivers included in the Linux kernel, has been released; changes include:

• new Virtual Mixer features:
• new SBLive! drivers
• beta Sound Blaster Audigy support

OSS 3.9.6b demo download: www.opensound.com/download.cgi

Version 0.24b of the Gameboy Advance emulator BoyCott Advance/SDL has been released; changes include:

• In sync with BoyCott Advance 0.24b emulation core
• implemented OpenGL rendering (scaling/fullscreen)
• implemented YUV 1:2 overlay rendering (scaling)
• implemented configuration file
• joystick/keyboard configuration
• redone sound support: sound is now about the same quality as the official WIN32 release
• several optimizations and bugfixes

BoyCott Advance/SDL 0.24b download: BoyCottAdvance-sdl-0.24bR1.i386.linux-glibc22.tar.bz2

Rob Seace wrote in to let us know that Illmind has released a version of their Quake speed-run movie Quake Redone Quick that supports Linux installation. The qrdq.txt file has some Linux-specific install instructions.

Quake Redone Quick for Linux: qrdq_linux.tgz

theGREENzebra wrote in to announce that he has released version 0.4.0 of his Pygame-based Dance Dance Revolution clone pyDDR (screenshot). PyDDR supports the special input mat so you can truly bust-a-move, but you can also play with the arrow keys on your keyboard.

pyDDR 0.4.0 source: pyddr-0.4.0.tar.gz

Vlatko Primorac wrote in to announce version 2.5 of his Perl/Tk board game Kugel (screenshots). The game is similar to the DOS game Lines.

Kugel 2.5 source: kugel-2.5.tar.gz

Dan “theoddone33″ Olson wrote in to announce that version 1.2.0 of the Hexen II source project Anvil of Thyrion has been released; changes include:

• fixed bug with too long extension list of NVIDIA cards
• savegames fix
• ~/.aot support (-> installation possible in a read only directory)
• brightness correction support
• midi music support (needs SDL_mixer)
• GL library choice at runtime with –gllibrary arg
• better handling of ~ and `, unicode support in console
• aot gtk launcher, along with statically binaries distribution for easier installation- miscellaneous little fixes

Anvil of Thyrion 1.2.0 downloads: aot.linuxgames.com/downloads.php

Gabriel Danks wrote in to let us know that the TeamSpeak team has posted a poll to gauge interest in a Linux TeamSpeak client. TeamSpeak allows you to hold audio conversations over the Internet while playing multiplayer games.