LINUXGAMES

The ETF site was updated with word that a patch is in the works to address the sniper bullet issue, the key binding problem, the server crash bug, and the low framerates with the JapanC map.

There’s also a HUD editing guide available if you’re inclined to tweak the element layout.

Thanks to Lightkey for pointing out that a demo of The Labyrinth of Time has been released by Wyrmkeep Entertainment. Labyrinth is a classic first-person adventure game recently ported to Linux (screenshots).

Labyrinth of Time Demo Download: [ wyrmkeep.com ]

Version 1.1.8.4 of the space combat MMORPG Vendetta Online has been released for subscribers; changes include bugfixes and game balance adjustments. The release announcement also notes that they expect to complete this phase of ship rebalancing by early next month (February).

Moreover, several players have launched a Wiki devoted to the game; the requisite FAQs and guides are included.

Rush2005 0.2.9 is now available:

• Game is a full 4 quarters
• Interceptions added
• Fumbles added
• Statistics now kept for everything but kick returns

There’s also a bounty on a crashbug.

Rush2005 0.2.9 Download: [ sourceforge.net ]

A reader fired in a link to an interview with Timothy Miller at KernelTrap.org concerning his Open Graphics Project, an effort to develop an open graphics card specification/design. The project’s origin, obstacles, planned features, and drivers are among the topics discussed. There’s also a link to a petition for users to let Tech Source know they’re interested in such a card.

A minor release of TripleA, a clone of the popular Axis and Allies boardgame, has been released. The following items has been fixed:

A PBEM (play by email) bug which occurred when rolling for AA Hits wasfixed. Saved games are compatible between v0.5.1 and v0.5.1.1.

Download: [ TripleA 0.5.1.1 ]

A reader pointed out the following post on the Wine development mailing list from Oliver Stieber:

Hi,
I’ve been tinkering for a week or so and D3d9 isalmost their (well except for shaders)

Along with Pirates I can now run Axis and Alies andMyst4 is looking promising

Most of the demos from here
http://www.codesampler.com/dx9src.htm

Swap Chains only runs in one window, Shadow Volume isstill a very flaky and some of the textures havestrange offsets, but everything runs.

Apart from the slightly bad texture offsets wineshould be able to run more DirectX 9 applications thanCedega if only I could get them installed!

I’m going to do some more debugging, cleaning up and post some screenshots on a web site and start sendingpatches against head (in smaller chunks that the lastlot!)

OutGun, a game previously reviewed here at LinuxGames, has released their 1.0 version. Changes from the last beta consist of the following:

• Better automatic handling of firewalls and NATs. Also added are options for manual control of ports in the form of command line arguments -cport and -sport.
• Some keyboard filtering to make it easier to leave the player pointing diagonally when stopping moving, especially on Linux.
• Minimap players are drawn differently. Most notably, players stay visible for a while and then fade out, when not seen any more. The information about players’ positions is also sent twice as often as before, making the minimap smoother and more useful even in large games.
• A flag icon is drawn on the scoreboard whenever a player is carrying a flag.
• You can now choose to automatically see player statistics instead of team statistics. (suggested by detonador)
• Option to use arrow keys for moving the player instead of choosing the stats, when a statistics screen is open.
• A precompiled binary package for Linux, only extract the package and go.
• For those who want to or have to use the source package, a script by ThOR27 which downloads and installs the dependencies as well as compiles Outgun.
• Included two new maps by Huntta: Pikatie and Oikotie.

Version 1.8.4 of the portable game library PLIB was released recently; changes over the last version include bugfixes and various enhancements. PLIB is utilized in several open-source projects.

PLIB 1.8.4 Download: [ sourceforge.net ]

The WorldForge Project sent in word that they’ve released version 0.3.8 of Cyphesis, a small to medium scale server for WorldForge games. This version includes the demo game Mason and is intended for server admins wishing to run a Mason server or anyone wishing to work on serverside game development. Other changes:

• The database code was modified so that the server can be run entirely without connecting to the database in demo mode, loading rule data from files instead.
• Support was added to the AI code to allow NPCs to answer questions based on their Knowledge.
• The natural language processor was modified to be more tolerant of differences in sentence structure.
• Reference counting was implemented for all entities, and used to massively improve the efficiency of broadcast operations.
• Add support to configure to link most of the libraries statically to make a redistributable binary.
• Lots of bugs were fixed.

WorldForge Cyphesis 0.3.8 Download: [ sourceforge.net ]

Version 0.1.0 of REminiscence, a rewrite of the engine used in the game Flashback from Delphine Software, has been released. The original game’s datafiles are required; the first level is completable with this release.

REminiscence 0.1.0 Download: [ lycos.fr ]

A new build of the id Software engine level editor GtkRadiant was released last week. Changes include:

• Realtime Doom 3 lighting preview in the camera-view.
• 1.4.x-style texture pickup/apply with middle-button and resizing of patches with the ‘QE’ tool.

If you’re interesting working on the project, check out the TODO list; info on the mailing list can be found here.

GtkRadiant 1.5.0 2005-01-16 Download: [ idsoftware.com ]

calimer of the Last Man Standing project let us know that they’ve released a video showcasing their cooperative multiplayer testing; coop is slated to be included in a future release of the DOOM 3 mod:

As a note this was recorded near the beginning of January so we have already improved gameplay well beyond this. By the way these movies were shot from AO’s perspective, but if you are curious as to which one is me you can tell because I’m the one running around like a maniac. I’m also the one who AO does his “lol” at and also I’m the one holding off the imps at the end. I hope you enjoy the movie!

You can try the project’s gameplay in single-player with the Beta 0.1 release.

Our comrade-in-arms Liberated Gamespointed out that Bungie hasfreely released the data files for their original first-person shooter series,Marathon. The source code forMarathon 2 was released some time ago; consequently, you can use Aleph One(downloads)to play these classic action games; note that you’ll need to use theM1A1conversion to play Marathon 1 with Aleph One.

Marathon Data Downloads: [ bungie.org ]

Version 8.04 of the venerable flight sim X-Plane was released; changes since the last stable release include new flight systems, failure modeling, new instruments, and several other changes/fixes. Although the patch is for registered users, it does act as a demo if you haven’t already bought the game.

X-Plane 8.04 Download: [ x-plane.com ]

A new version of the popular multi-platform flight simulator , FlightGear has been announced. The changelog includes the following items:

• Added an encoder and transponder to the available avionics modules.
• Updates to the AI traffic manager.
• Updates to the submodel system. This allows things like contrails, payload dropping, projectile firing, and aircraft carrier landings.
• Added some controls for aircraft carrier operations.
• Updated to sync with latest JSBSim developments.
• YAsim adds support for contra-rotating propeller pairs as well as crude models for ITT, Oil Temp and Oil Pressure in the jet turbine engine model.
• Instruments, avionics, and subsystems are now configurable per aircraft. You can assemble the correct componets available for each particular aircraft.
• Updates to the wet compass to make it behave much more like a real wet compass including various errors and motion effects.
• Make display list usage optional since these can be a net performance loss on some older or low memory platforms.
• Make sound inaudible until after the scenery is loaded.
• Move radio stack and avionics code from cockpit library to instrumentation library.
• Added several digital filters to the autopilot: exponential, dobule exponential, moving average, and noise spike. These are available to aircraft designers via the autopilot config file.
• Make sure the ATIS reports surface winds at airports above sea-level
• Default C172 3d model has been completely reworked and many things have been fixed or sized or placed more accurately.
• Replace old basic.dat.gz and runways.dat.gz with apt.dat.gz (x-plane format)
• Fix a crash that could occur when the joystick config specified more buttons or axes than the physical hardware provided.
• Fixes to make FlightGear work with 16bpp visual depth.
• gcc 2.95 and 4.0 fixes.
• Updated aircraft: 737, A-10, AN-225, B-52, BAC-TSR2, Concorde, Spitfire, BO-105 Helicopter, F-15 (updated flight control system), Fokker DR1 (triplane), Fokker 50, Fokker 100, Seahawk made carrier capable (working arresting hook)
• New aircraft: Cessna Citation-II (wip), Beech 1900D, DHC-2 Beaver (on floats)
• Updated KAP140 autopilot instrument (used in default C172.)
• Updated Nimitz model (aircraft carrier), updated radio tower models, added Oracle head quarters to bay area scenery, added Dumbarton bridge at the south end of the SFO bay, added a model of Alcatraz

Download: [ FlightGear 0.9.8 ]

A reader has submitted this news item concerning the release of RiotBall:

IronCode Software have released the linux version of their popular game, RiotBall. RiotBall is a hardcore arkanoid style game with fun new twists.

Break bricks, bounce coins, collect gems, fight bosses, and make a big score in this new breakout game. RiotBall is more than just breaking the bricks with the ball.

Bounce coins to get lots of points, but don’t take eyes off the ball! Collect the green gems to play bonus levels, and collect the red ones to play bosses! Try to score as much as you can in the bonus levels, but be wary of the paddle jammer. Hit the boss with the ball, but be careful about the items he drops! Pull off tricks with the ball and the paddle to gain extra bonuses!

RiotBall is available at IronCode Software for $19.95

Download: [ Riotball Demo ]

Hexen II: Hammer of Thyrion version 1.2.3 has been released for general public consumption. The vast changelog can be viewed here.

Download: [ Hexen II: Hammer of Thyrion 1.2.3 ]

The latest beta of Freeciv has been released. There are still bugs to track down in this release which is hopefully the last release before 2.0 final.Please report bugs to bugs@freeciv.org. Changes since Beta 6 include the following items:

• Fix for using “nb” as the Norwegian translation (as well as “no”).
• Some portability fixes to the compilation code.
• AI doesn’t overvalue techs so much.
• Fix a potential crash when bribing cities.
• Fix a potential crash in the AI ferry code.
• Fix a potential crash when an exploring unit dies.
• Don’t show empty helptext for techs.
• Fix some compilation problems on C99 compilers.
• Fix a bug when transferring embassies.
• Fix a bug with fog-of-war code in the GTK-2.0 client on windows.
• Fix numerous bugs in the win32 client.
• Fix a crash when researching future techs.
• Make some server commands have different access levels during pregame.
• Fix some bugs when breaking alliances.
• Fix some bugs with observers.
• Fix some major bugs with autosettlers (the new autosettlers should be a lot more usable).

Download: [ Freeciv 2.0.0 Beta 7 ]

Fans of American football will be happy with the announcement of Rush 2005. This game, which is under the BSD-license, follows the tradition of Tecmo Bowl and NFL Blitz and uses the very popular SDL.

Download: [ Rush2005 0.2.2a ]