LINUXGAMES

ATi has released version 3.14.1 of their Linux driver (Release Notes, FAQ, installation guide, feedback form). Notably, this release adds acceleration for the All-in-Wonder Radeon 8500DV, FireGL V5100/3200/3100, the Mobility 9800, the integrated Mobility Radeon 9000/9100 IGP series, and the Radeon X600/300. It also fixes a variety of problems, including one with the VIA Apollo KT400 motherboards. See those relnotes for more. Thanks to a reader for letting us know about this release.

ATi 3.14.1 Linux Driver Download [ ati.com ]

Gary has informed us of the inital relase of AA Helper Library, which is a set of libraries to assist in the development of AA-Libgames/applications. It currently provides a few graphics primitives and a render-to-frame function so you can get a normal image out of AA-Lib.

Download: [ AA Helper Library 0.1 ]

Oh so French Worms clone (version 0.4.0), Wormux was reviewed by staff member Cybrid. Here is a piece of what he had to say:

Replay value for this game remains fairly low. Without the inclusion of opponent AI, or the ability to network a game, there is not much reason at this point to replay, unless you want to test out different environments or characters. As I understand it, these features are being worked on, so it is simply a matter of time before this will become a non-issue, but for the time being it is sorely lacking.

Wormux review by Cybrid

One of our forum posters pointed out that Strategy First, publisher of Guild Software’s Vendetta Online and Introversion’s Uplink, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection:

Strategy First, the company which publishes “Uplink:Hacker Elite” in America and Canada, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as of late August, reporting a debt of over $5 million. The company suspended all royalty payments to Introversion Software during Spring 2003, and we have not received anything since.

At this date Strategy First owe us tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid royalties. We have decided to announce this now that their financial situation has been made public. Although this has placed considerable financial strain on Introversion it will not affect the release of Darwinia as we have known about this information for over a year and have planned accordingly.

Introversion will survive to put Darwinia on the shelves, but your support along the way is greatly appreciated.

Darwinia, Introversion’s next title, has a Linux port planned, as evidenced by their Linux forum and this FAQ:

> Will Darwinia be Linux compatible, from-the-box?

We don’t know the answer to this yet. Mac and Linux versions will be coming, but we’re not sure when. Again it’s all down to time.

Uplink is a neat game; I recommend trying out the demo if you haven’t already.

I wrote Guild Software to determine how this will affect the release of Vendetta Online, which went gold recently. John Bergman sent the following reply:

We’ve been aware of Strategy First’s difficulties for some time.We don’t anticipate it negatively impacting our game. SFI is exclusively aretail-distribution and marketing partner, and only in North America. Wedirectly handle all recurring billing income, so in the worst-casescenario, we simply are left in an online-only distribution model. Thegame will still go on, as long as we have subscribers.

Also, for what it’s worth, Strategy First has been very supportiveof us, thus far. They’ve bent over backwards to help us out and get thingsdone for us, despite their difficult situation. They also have quite anumber of games launching this fall, so I think there’s a good chance thatthey’ll pull themselves out of their economic state.

Strategy First also released the Jagged Alliance 2 source code earlier this year, as noted last week.

This release announcement came in earlier today:

The Wyrmkeep Entertainment Co. announces the release of Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb™ for Linux. This classic adventure game tells the tale of Rif the Fox and his attempt to prove his innocence in the theft of the Orb of Storms, a relic of the ancient Humans. The player guides Rif and his companions/guards Okk the Boar and Eeah the Elk in discovering clues, overcoming challenges, and exploring a land of intelligent, humanoid animals. “We are pleased to make Inherit the Earth: Quest for Orb available to Linux devotees for the first time,” declares Joe Pearce, the company president.

Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb is currently available for purchase on CD-ROM for Linux, Mac OS X or Windows directly from the publisher’s on-line store at http://www.wyrmkeep.com. The Linux version requires Linux 2.4 or later, an x86 CPU and X-Windows. A playable demo of the game can be downloaded from the same site.

Version 2.2.5 of PrBoom, a DOOM-engine source port, has been released. Changes:

• fix crash caused by long messages in HUD
• live monster counter on HUD
• notify server if client quits during startup wait
• improved response file parser
• fast forward to given map # in demo playback
• fixes for various sound bugs
• fix doom2 demos at levels with >10 deathmatch startsand more compatibility and demo fixes
• support higher-turning-resolution demos from v1.91
• fix compilation with gcc 3.4.x

Also, a new development release, version 2.3.1, is now available; please provide feedback if you build and test it.

PrBoom 2.2.5/2.3.1 Download: [ sourceforge.net ]

Version 4.21 of Lux, a strategy title based on the classic boardgame Risk, is now available. Changes:

• Smoothed the corners of shapes.
• Eliminated a bug that caused the map to become ‘squished’ sometimes.
• Shortened the initial loading time (offloaded it to the first timeyou view cards on a board).
• Improved the selection of the default button based on the gamesituation.
• Stopped the chat sound from getting played twice.
• The explosion levels are now used correctly (few to nuke ‘em) and therefresh rate was sped up.
• The border size preference is properly respected.
• The positioning of the army boxes is better.
• All text is now properly handled as UTF-8. This should allow accentedcharacters to work properly in the chat.

Lux 4.21 Download: [ sillysoft.net ]

PlayLINUX.net (Italian) noted that BioWare, the developers of Neverwinter Nights, has announced that they have licensed Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 for a future title. As mentioned previously, Ryan “icculus” Gordon anticipates being able to maintain a Linux fork of the UE3 codebase, which would make a port easier on BioWare should they choose to pursue that option again.

AnandTech has posted anarticle concerning a new benchmarking utility for Linux they’ve developed:

When we sample data from a timedemo and format it into an average frames per second, we lose all sort of valuable data, such as what the lowest frames per second was, what the highest was, when the largest dip in FPS had occured, what the image looked like, and the list goes on. There have been a few attempts to convey more than just an average FPS in video benchmarks, most notably with FRAPS. FRAPS does not entirely address the issue of reproducibility and FRAPS runs on Windows only.

Fortunately, we have been graced with some very talented programmers who worked with us to build a benchmarking utility similar to FRAPS (on Linux) that we may eventually port over to Windows as well. Consider this to be our experiment in advancing our benchmarking methods while using Linux as our guinea pig. Eventually, we anticipate releasing the benchmark complete with source to the public.

The utility can benchmark games which utilize OpenGL or SDL; sample benchmarks and screenshots of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, the free multiplayer game produced by id Software and developed by Splash Damage, are included.

Couple more mod release notices from BeyondUnreal:

• The UT99 mod Infiltration has a new bonuspack available for version 2.9; seven new weapons and six new maps are amongthe items included. (Download)
• The Star Wars-themed UT2004 mod Troopers: Dawn of Destiny is now atversion 4.1; multiple gametypes (objective, CTF, team DM) are supported. (Download)

Also, BeyondUnreal’s Onslaught keyguide section has been updated with the Editor’sChoice Edition maps.

linuX-gamers.netnotedthat RC3 of the Savage EnhancementProject has been released. The announcement can be found here, whichincludes the changelog. The SEP is a community-developed update for Savage, the RTS/FPS-hybrid game fromS2Games.

Savage Enhancement Project RC3 Download: [ shaw.ca]

BioWare updated their site to mentionthat Neverwinter NightsPlatinumEdition is now in stores, which includes theShadows of Undrentide andHordes of the Underdarkexpansion packs among other content. BioWare’s Andrew Gardner stated in a forumpost yesterday evening that Linux installation instructions for Platinumowners will be posted (along with a package containing the required updates)with the 1.64 patch. In the meantime, this forumthread contains user discussion on how to install from the Platinum disc(s).

Version 3334 of the Unreal Tournament 2004 demo has been released; this version includes two additional maps (one Onslaught and one CTF), so it’s worth checking out even if you’ve played the original demo but don’t already own the retail version.

Unreal Tournament 2004 Demo v3334 Download: [ 3D Downloads | icculus.org ]

A reader pointed out this story at the Inquirer concerning an ATI event in Cyprus at which a senior product manager elaborated on their future Linux plans. I don’t know how reliable the Inquirer is, but the main points raised were:

• ATI’s Linux support is proportional to the userbase, which they estimate as being four percent of the overall market.
• The Linux driver team has grown, and the testing process is being optimized.
• Support for AMD64 and PCI Express is being prioritized.

In addition to Dark Horizons, GarageGames also sells several other games for Linux: earlier this month, the award-winning 2D platformer Gish became available for purchase from GarageGames, which we unfortunately neglected to mention sooner. Gish was first released for Linux this past summer.

Gish Demo Download: [ garagegames.com ]

BeyondUnreal pointedout that EBGames now lists theEditor’s Choice Edition of UnrealTournament 2004 as available for shipping. The EC Edition includes newcontent created by Epic (including three new vehicles and four new Onslaught maps) and severalcommunity-developed mods, such as:

• Air Buccaneers
• Alien Swarm
• Clone Bandits
• Frag.Ops
• Red Orchestra

As reportedpreviously, a Linux installer is on the first disc in the retail box.

Epic has also released the EC bonus content (screenshots) for existing UT2004 owners; thepackage has a .exe extension but can be decompressed with an unzip utility.When I tested it out earlier this evening I was able to copy the files into myUT2004 directory and mess around with the new maps and vehicles without anyapparent issues. If a Linux-specific EC installer is released in the nearfuture we’ll be sure to make a note of it (I’d repackage it for download rightnow, but I’m not sure if the EULA allows that).

Edit – Friday Sep 24 14:53:24 2004 – Ryan Gordon has released a Linux package containing the EC bonus content and the version 3323 patch.

Edit – Friday Sep 24 17:20:03 2004 – Ryan Gordon has posted an article discussing the various installation and patch (the latest is still version 3323) options available for UT2004 owners at present, which includes a download link for a Linux package of the ECE bonus pack.

UT2004 Editor’s Choice Edition Linux Bonus Pack Download: [ 3D Downloads | icculus.org ]

GarageGames, the independent game publisher/developer (who also licenses the Torque engine used in Tribes 2), sent in the following press release today:

GarageGames announced today the release of its hardcore game Dark Horizons: Lore for Linux-based distributions.

Dark Horizons: Lore is a breakneck-speed first-person shooter based in a universe where the unfolding history of a war-torn Earth is revealed before the player’s eyes. Warring factions in the year 2155 pit cybernetically-controlled mech-style machines of war against one another in savage team-based combat on a dark 3D Earth. Ferocious squad vs. squad action takes place as you and your teammates struggle to hold ground and complete objectives against enemy forces.

One of Dark Horizons: Lore’s many compelling features is the sophisticated online tracking of player data and history which opens ladders, tournaments and rankings to the Lore gamer. This powerful “backend” aspect of Dark Horizons: Lore is the one of the focuses of the online MavLympics competition currently taking place at www.mavlympics.com.

“It’s great to announce the Linux release of Dark Horizons: Lore while we are still in the early adopter stage. This has allowed us to build in great play balance across all the platforms,” says Adrian Wright, President of Max Gaming Technologies. “We’re hoping to see all the new Linux squads out on the battlefield during MavLympics and beyond.”

“It’s always encouraging when we see independent developers breaking into new areas,” says Jay Moore, GarageGames Evangelist. “With Dark Horizons: Lore now available on Linux computers, it provides a great native hardcore gaming experience for Linux gaming aficionados.”

A free time limited trial version is available for download for Linux as well as both Mac OS X and Windows. The online retail version is available for $24.95 at www.garagegames.com.

Dark Horizons: Lore Demo Download: [ garagegames.com ]

This news appears to be kind of old, but it should be documented somewhere.

Recall my post in February about Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire (by Strategy First) coming with the Jagged Alliance 2 source code on the CD. Well, it appears that the license does indeed allow redistribution and this forum is dedicated to the development and compiling of the source code. It even provides a download of the source code.

I have emailed Strategy First just now about the main question: is the interpretation of the license correct? If yes, then I’m going to ask for an official copy of the source code archive, since it would be nice to know that it was obtained directly from the owner and not from a random bulletin board on the Interweb. If anyone knows a contact at the company, please drop me a line, or have them contact me, regarding these kinds of issues. (Mathieu Pinard still around?)

All this said, I haven’t seen evidence of a GNU/Linux build of this game from the released source. Also, it appears that it probably depends on some third-party libraries, which might need to be replaced before the game could be built on another platform. If the source is out there, an enterprising individual or group could pick it up and work on a port. And if you could find Pinard, he might be able to help give some tips on getting it ported to GNU/Linux specifically.

Thanks to che (in #icculus) for the tip and Crusader for passing it along to me.

Slashdotpointed out Irrlicht, an open source (license) 3D renderingengine. The feature list can be found here, which includessupport for pixel shaders and stencil buffer shadows. There’s also a development tableshowing progress towards the next planned release and tutorials.

Irrlicht Engine 0.7 Download: [ sourceforge.net ]

John Bergman of Guild Software sent in the following concerning Vendetta Online, the massive multiplayer space combat RPG:

Our publisher has shipped the final box art and gold master off to manufacturing earlier this week. It will be in stores on October 26th. I thought I would pass along the picture of our box art.. I thought it was kind of cool to see this sort of prominent Linux support on a game box.I don’t know that we’re the first, but I still find it novel anyway:

Here are the final minimum system requirements as of launch time:

Linux Minimum System Requirements:

• Glibc 2.2 or better
• GTK+ 1.2
• 1ghz Pentium III or Athlon processor
• 256MB of RAM
• 3D Hardware Accelerator – Fully OpenGL compatible 32MB videocard with
• Hardware Transformation & Lighting (T&L), and latest drivers.
• OSS-compatible soundcard
• Keyboard/Mouse and CDROM
• 200MB of harddrive space
• 56k internet connectivity