LINUXGAMES

Tom’s Hardware is reporting that XGI has committed themselves to a source release for Linux users:

XGI also announced that it has released its source code for Linux. “To support the large and growing Linux community, XGI Technology released the source code to X.Org, XFree86.Org, and Kernel.Org for its desktop, notebook, and server products,” the company said in a statement.

The press release from XGI can be found here; included are URLs for obtaining the source code.

Edit – Wednesday Apr 13 13:51:27 2005 – As readers have pointed out, the code XGI submitted to the X11 and Linux kernel projects only covers their 2D drivers.

Version 4.3.1 of Cedega has beenreleased to subscribers by TransGaming Technologies. Changes include preloader fixes for older distros, and a World of Warcraft fix for ATI users. Thanks to linuX-gamers.net for the heads up. The front-end application Point2Play has been bumped to version 1.3.3. for subscribers as well. Cedega (formerly known as WineX) is a fork of the Wine project devoted to game performance/compatibility.

Battle for Wesnoth 0.9.0, a turn-based strategy game with a fantasy theme, has been released; new features include: multiplayer code rewrite, graphical improvements, unit balancing, support for asian languages, and many additional bug fixes. The release announcement has some additional info and can be found here.

Battle for Wesnoth 0.9.0 Download: [ wesnoth.org ]

Version 1.98r8a of No Gravity, a 3D space shooter, has been released (please note that you’ll need libpng and Ogg Vorbis in order to compile the source). Changes:

• Fixed Episode 4 “Missile” crash bug
• Fixed Episode 5 “Space wars” crash bug
• Some improvement in the sound streaming
• Fixed centering text problems at the end of the level

No Gravity 1.98r8a Download: [ sourceforge.net ]

GamersInfo.net has posted reviews of two GarageGames titles:

• Marble Blast Gold – a 3D title where puzzles are navigated with a rolling marble
• Zap! – a 2D multiplayer shooter with a map editor and teamplay

The four official tournaments for QuakeCon have been announced:

• DOOM 3 1v1
• Enemy Territory 6v6
• Ms Quakecon Quake 3 1v1
• Quake 2 1v1

Tournament rules and prizes will be announced at a later date; if you plan on attending, don’t forget that registration begins this Friday, as it tends to fill up fast, especially for the BYOC.

The RenWerX team sent in word that they’re parting ways with the Legends team, but will continue developing their Tribes-like multiplayer game (with a Renegades game mode) independently. Moreover, aid from the community is being requested:

We want both Base and Renegades to be formed by the Tribes community, and to do so have put together a custom living design plan for both. If you are interested in making sure the next tribes-like game or Ren mod plays like you want it to, please see our design introduction page.

In addition we plan to keep the Renegades name for our Mod, however need a name for the Base/ the game overall. We have put together a voting / suggestion process on our forums in this thread, and would appreciate anyone interested in contributing doing so.

They go on to state that, in addition to the game itself, the created content (scripts, models, and maps) will be openly released. There’s also a page listing open positions on the project.

eGenesis’ Andrew Tepper was interviewed lastmonth by GamersInfo.net about recentadditions to the community-oriented MMORPG ATale in the Desert II, such as player Challenges designed to encouragesocial interaction. Player skills and tests are also discussed.

You can find reports about recent game events (like the Test of Safariand April Fools Day) anddetailed guides to the game at the official Wiki.

ATi has released the 8.12.10 version of their Linux driver (release notes/FAQ.) This version brings a variety of fixes, listed here:

• Unreal Tournament 2004: Intermittent hesitation is no longer noticed while playing Onslaught
• Moving or resizing pseudocolor windows no longer results in corruption being noticed on the desktop
• The name and version number of the X.org server is now detected correctly at runtime.
• Attempting to launch any application, while Viewperf 7.1.1 is running in the background, no longer results in the Red Hat Enterprise 3.0 version 2. operating system failing to respond
• 64 bit system with 4 GB or more of system RAM no longer fails to intialize 3D graphic acceleration
• The ATI FireGL™ V5000 now uses the DDC information correctly and no longer mis-identifies Low Voltage Differential Signal (LVDS) as Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS)

ATi Linux Driver 8.12.10 Download: [ ati.com ]

The Doom 3 modifcation Last Man Standing‘s team member Calimer sent us news regarding their mod. Basically:

• The new expansion (Resurrection of Evil) will be supported.
• Actual Resurrection of Evil content won’t be supported in 0.4
• Hopefully the next Doom 3 patch and SDK will be available before the next LMS release
• “As a note the 0.4 release is going to be almost completelyabout map polishing and improvement.”
• The LMS about page is updated with news of magazine features
• Running a poll to find out if you would buy an LMS Tee-Shirt

Frag.Ops 2.16 has been released with two additional maps and updates for existing levels; the rest of the changelog can be perused here. Frag.Ops is a UT2004 modification set in the near-future; gameplay is described at the FAQ page. Thanks to BeyondUnreal for the heads up.

Frag.Ops 2.16 Download: [ frag-ops.com ]

The author of the DarkWorld let us know that he’s made version 0.1.0 of his space-based massive multiplayer RTS available; this is an alpha build, but testing and feedback are requested.

DarkWorld 0.1.0 Download: [ sourceforge.net ]

Version 1.17 of Vavoom has been released. Vavoom is a Doom/Heretic/Hexen/Strife source port that features oftware, OpenGL and Direct3D rendering, a scripting language, slopes, 3D floors, a Quake-style lighting engine, and a pure client/server architecture.

This release adds Boom level editing support, a fix for Linux mouse issues, and other various improvements.

Vavoom 1.17 Download: [ vavoom-engine.com ]

The third beta release of UMark, an open source utility for configuring UT2003/2004 benchmark tests, is now available:

• Added support for Timedemo benchmarking (retail UT2003 and UT2004 only).
• Added support for UT2004 demo version, included UT2004 demo in data install script.
• Added a configuration dialog for choosing custom .ini files to prevent main window clutter.
• Fixed UMark to run benchmarks in windowed mode when the fullscreen option is not checked.
• Filtering out map combobox, so only playable maps or movie type .ut2 files will be displayed.
• Removed Gnome widgets and dependencies, now using pure Gtk+ 2.x (163KB smaller binary).
• Removed showhud commands from exec .txt files (it was actually hiding the hud).
• Removed flyby warning dialog box when 0 bots are selected (it started crashing).
• Renamed many widgets in the Gtk+ interface code.
• Cleaned up destroy process on the presets dialog.
• Updated Perl script for creating .ini file hashes.
• Updated readme, installation notes, and a new faq.
• New dialog message boxes with the UMark icon.
• New about dialog box.

UMark Beta 3 Download: [ unrealmark.net ]

Version 1.0.3 of XQF, the QStat-based game server browser, has been released. Changes:

• New games: Half-Life 2 (wine)
• All icons are now themeable
• Now uses GTK2 colors and Raleigh theme by default in GTK1 version
• Added –nomapscan command line parameter
• Fixed UT2004 and Doom3 master query not working after starting XQF
• Fixed saving of Quake2 passwords
• Fixed Doom3 protocol detection
• Fixed Q1/QW/Q2 skin list update
• Fixed crashes in GTK2 version

XQF 1.0.3 Download: [ linuxgames.com ]

The Urban Terror ET site has been updated with a few new screenshots from the upcoming Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory modification. It’s also noted that they’re currently shooting for twelve maps with the initial release.

A reader pointed out that Introversion has dropped the price of Darwinia (demo) for European and US residents; the price is now £19.99 in the United Kingdom (+ £1.50 shipping/handling), 29.99 euros in the rest of Europe (+ 2 euros shipping/handling), and $29.99 (+ $3 shipping/handling) in the US:

We are in the process of building a new online Introversion store, which will be coming online soon. We’ve relied on Worldpay for long enough and we all feel its about time we had a proper shopping system with cart, checkout, order tracking etc etc. We actually have a number of different products for sale over the Introversion site now (Uplink, UplinkMac, UplinkDevCD, Darwinia, DarwiniaPoster), and more to come, so it really was a requirement. We’ve seperated the delivery costs out for the first time (normally we include them directly in the price), because the new store will be dealing with seperate delivery costs allowing people to order multiple products and save a little money.

Additional info about ordering the Linux version can be found here. Moreover, IGN recently posted a review of the retro-inspired RTS.

id Software’s Todd Hollenshead spoke with GameSpot recently, where it was mentioned that Raven’s Quake IV will appear at this summer’s QuakeCon event:

Hollenshead also teased the crowd with information about the upcoming QuakeCon, the annual id-sponsored frag-fest scheduled for this August 11 to 14 in Dallas. Namely, he revealed that the next installment in the conference’s titular franchise will indeed be on hand, a fact omitted from last month’s official lineup announcement. “We’ll have Quake IV multiplayer to play,” he said “And because it’s also the 10-year anniversary of QuakeCon, we’ll have a few other surprises as well.”

Several readers wrote in to point out that the team which developed Tactical-Ops has announced their latest project: TO: Crossfire:

Inspired by TacticalOps, a game based on Epic’s awardwinning UnrealEngine, a group of friends took an ambitious step, creating a sequel to their favorite game on a new level of UnrealTechnology.

Led by the people behind TacticalOps and TOST, backed up by a bunch of artists, modellers, mappers and supporters, the team behind TO: Crossfire pushes the limitations of Epic’s Unreal Engine 2.

Linux support is included in the system requirements; it’s also noted that although the game is not far from completion, there’s no release date at present.

A reader pointed out that the Atriarch site has been updated with news that a Linux client is in development for the sci-fi MMOPRG:

We are working toward getting the GNU/Linux client of Atriarch ready in time for our Worst-First Testing that begins in July. We’ll keep you posted to let you know if it will be ready in time. So far, it is right on schedule.

Screenshots can be found here; additional info can be found at the FAQ page.