LINUXGAMES

Version 0.2.6 of the Gameboy Advance emulator BoyCott Advance/SDL has been released; changes include:

• in sync with BoyCott Advance 0.2.6
• BAM movie recording/player support
• support for 10 savestates per GBA ROM image
• fixed a small bug in the OpenGL code
• redid timer for more accurate emulation
• added new filtermodes for software rendering
• code cleaning and migration to C++
• added selection of OpenGL GL_TRIANGLE or GL_QUAD texture rendering
• bugfixes

BoyCott Advance/SDL 0.2.6 download: BoyCottAdvance-sdl-0.2.6.i386.linux-glibc22.tar.gz

Version 0.80.0 of the economic and transport sim Simutrans (screenshots: 1 | 2 | 3) has been released; changes include:

• enhanced responsiveness to user input
• reduced stalls/freezes and jerky behaviour
• enhanced durability under high load
• the vehicle and the new station list window are vertically resizeable
• bugfixes

Simutrans 0.80.0 download: simutrans-0_80_0.tar.gz

Version 0.5 of the ZANAC-type game Grande (screenshot) has been released; changes since version 0.2 include:

• special attack was canceled and the charge shot was added
• chain explosions can occur
• Stage 3 & 4 have been added

Grande 0.5 source: grande-KXL-0.5.tar.gz

Version 1.11.2 of the DOOM engine source modification Vavoom has been released; changes include:

• fixes a problem with Hexen where you were able to play only with fighter
• fixes “slow motion” bug
• added bots to Hexen

Vavoom 1.11.2 source: v111_2_src.zip

Version 0.8.8 of the Bomberman-ish game Bomber Instinct (screenshots) has been released; changes since version 0.8.21 include:

• new level
• RPM archive format
• partial code rewrite
• new sound effects and music
• enhancements in gameplay
• bugfixes

Bomber Instinct 0.8.8 downloads: @ harpe.dptmaths.ens-cachan.fr

Version 0.5.4 of the game SDK ClanLib has been released; changes include:

• datafile & resource fixes
• fullscreen possible under GLX
• X11 put_display fix
• backported sockets from ClanNet2 (fixes some bugs)
• added “tab next” support
• added “tab id” support
• fixed automatic sizing of CL_CheckBox
• fixed keyboard and mouse event routing
• removed many memory leaks

ClanLib 0.5.4 source: ClanLib-0.5.4-1.tar.bz2

LG’s staff member Marv pointed out that version 0.1.0 of the NES emulator FakeNES has been released. This is the first mature public version of the emulator.

FakeNES 0.1.0 source: fakenes-0.1.0.tar.bz2

Version 0.9.0beta12 of the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture has been released; changes include:

• Intel8x0 driver fixes and experimental joystick support
• added PM support for ES18xx
• fixed compilation problems with newer GCC (__FUNCTION__)
• CMIPCI driver updates
• fixed RME9652 code
• more Audigy support in EMU10K1 code
• fixed AC3 forwarding with EMU10K1 (SB Live!) cards
• fixed oops in CS4231 library
• improved peak detection in aplay
• arecord without -d works again
• sbiload requires ALSA kernel headers, added support for –with-kernel and –with-soundbase

ALSA 0.9.0beta12 downloads: ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/

Version 0.6.4 of the 3D table tennis sim Cannon Smash (screenshots: 1 | 2 | 3) has been released; changes include:

• I18n support
• added function to show tutorial during play
• bugfixes

Cannon Smash 0.6.4 source: csmash-0.6.4.tar.gz

Bill Kendrick wrote in to announce that version 0.2.0 of the Kaboom! clone Mad Bomber (screenshots) has been released; changes include:

• included an ‘embedded’ target (suitable for Compaq iPaqs or Sharp Zauruses)
• updated the libSDL library URLs in README.txt
• added info on the embedded version to README.txt

Mad Bomber 0.2.0 downloads: http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/madbomber/download.shtml

Version 2.2.2 of the breakout-style arcade game LBreakout (screenshots: 1 | 2 | 3) has been released; changes include:

• if a ball has an invalid target it returns to the paddle (instead of exiting the program)
• own graphics and sounds my be used as a theme
• autoreturn of balls is now optional
• updated trouble-shooting
• fixed a bug where the bonus floor didn’t disappear after the bonus expired

LBreakout 2.2.2 source: lbreakout2-2.2.2.tar.gz

Public beta drivers have been released by PowerVR for the KYRO graphics chipset. The release consists of a README and numerous RPMs for SuSE, Red Hat, and Mandrake. From the README:

The Imagination Technologies Linux Driver kit provides 2D and 3Dacceleration for PowerVR KYRO family of graphics chips running in 16 and 32 bpp depths. The drivers are based on the standard DRI mechanism shipped with XFree86 > 4.0.

General comments and queries can be sent to linux@powervr.com.

Numerous folks alerted us to the release of Candy Cruncher for Linux. Candy Cruncher is a puzzle game from Pyrogon, founded by former id programmer Brian Hook. They’ve released a demo, and Candy Cruncher can also be purchased on-line for $14.95.

Version 0.9.9 of the thin graphics library DirectFB (screenshots) has been released; changes include:

• mice fixes
• optimizations
• more code documentation
• added OpenQuicktime video provider
• added Imlib image provider

DirectFB 0.9.9 downloads: http://www.directfb.org/download/

Version 0.3.2 of the free RPG project Adonthell (screenshots) has been released; changes since version 0.3.0 include:

• autodetection of SWIG at configure time
• compiles with gcc 3.0.x
• fix for a bug that caused some animations to display pink noise
• new ability to build Debian packages
• code was made endian independent

Adonthell 0.3.2 downloads: http://adonthell.linuxgames.com/download/

Version 0.96 of the Nebulous rewrite Tower Toppler (screenshots) has been released; changes include:

• first adaptions for background music
• fixed potential bug with robot drawing when a mission has more than 8 towers
• remove nosound option in config file, use -s option if you need it
• fixed bug with some elevators that didn’t work properly
• better depth ordering in output of tower, should be always right now

Tower Toppler 0.96 source: toppler-0.96.tar.gz

Version 0.3pre4 of the Dragonrealms front-end Warlock Front End (screenshots) has been released; changes include:

• perl script support
• depends on GTK+ instead of gnome
• script blocks
• wizard macro compatability
• new images
• logging
• draggable bars
• Druid, a Dragonrealms Game Entrance
• GNU standardized configure/make/make install

Warlock Front End 0.3pre4 source: warlock-0.3pre4.tar.bz2

Speaking of IGN, they’veinterviewedthe developers of the sci-fi MMORPG Trade Wars: Dark Millennium,a sequel to the classic BBS game. The Trade WarsFAQ states the following:

We will initially release on PCs but have been developing Macintosh and Linux compatible versions that will be released shortly thereafter.Realm will be working to release on new internet-enabled consoles in the future.

Realm is building Trade Wars from the ground up with cross platform compatibility in mind. Cross platform development issues are being dealt with NOW,not at the end of the development cycle after the game is complete. This means Macintosh and Linux game players will have a home in the MMPOG world.

PC.IGN caught up toBioWare to discuss the current statusof Neverwinter Nights, which they state is ontrack for an early summer release.

Moreover, in a recent Q&A forumpost, thepossibility of trying the NWN tools under Winecame up:

Q: The lack of the toolset for Linux and Mac is unfortunate but understandable. It has been speculated whether the toolset is runnable under variousemulators; specifically my hope lies with Wine, a Windows API emulator for Linux. What I’d like an answer to is whether anyone at Bioware has tried running the toolset under Wine, and what happened. Did it work at all? Maybe worked well? And if you managed to get it to run, will you post tips/instructionson what settings are needed for Wine to manage it?

[Greg] We have yet to try this. We’ll have someone here run it and see what happens.

Slashdot.org pointed out thisarticleat Tom’s Hardwareby Dr. Jon Peddie which looks at the developing architecture ofOpenGL 2.0. You can find additional documentation from3Dlabshere.