LINUXGAMES

Jeremy White of CodeWeavers has announced the release of a public beta of version 6.0 of their Wine-based CrossOver product for GNU/Linux. The significance of this release is official support for Blizzard’s World of Warcraft and Steam-based games like Half-life 2 and Counter-Strike.

CodeWeavers is the leading corporate backer of the Wine project. The Wine project attempts to create Windows-compatibility on GNU/Linux and MacOS X (on Intel). CodeWeavers claims that every improvement to Wine that they’ve created for their products has been offered back to the official Wine project, presumably as Free software. The CodeWeavers products, like CrossOver, are proprietary (non-Free) software wrappers around Wine which attempt to make running Windows-compatible programs easy on GNU/Linux and MacOS X (on Intel).

Download: [ CrossOver 6.0 Beta for GNU/Linux ]

Lux Delux, game that was inspired by popular RISK game, has been updated to release 5.5. This release adds a requested feature being map preview area in the new game window. Also included are improvements for network hosting andplaying games with large numbers of armies

Download: [ Lux Delux 5.5 ]

Toribash, a rather interesting turn-based fighting game, has released their 2.0 version last weekend. This commercial game, which can be purchased for $19.95, has the following changes:

• Dojo size option (anything touches outside the dojo leads to instant DQ)
• Sumo mod
• Visual updates to the GUI (new font)
• Impersonation prevention
• mod, server and replay launcher (by Rens2sea)
• remote server administration for clan matches
• Volume option
• PageDown, PageUp support in menus
• Some more mod options (world and color)
• Fixed naming of replays that didn’t stick properly

Download: [ Toribash Demo 2.0]

The 0.2 release of SuperTuxKart has been announced. This is an enhanced version of TuxKart, a kart race game. No offical changelog was provided with this release.

Screenshots: [ View ]Download: [ SuperTuxKart 0.2 ]

GFire, an gaim plugin which connects to the XFire network, has been updated to release 0.6.0. Changes in this release include:

• Added support for building against gaim 1.5.x
• Typing support, you can see when native xfire clients are typing to you.
• Auto-tools configure script changes for easier builds
• Added –with-gaimversion to configure script
• Configure now supports either libssl.pc or openssl.pc for openssl
• Fixed issues with gaim 2.0 escaping HTML entities in chat buffers
• Fixed presence notification for buddies coming online and being set away, when they really weren’t.
• Changed protocol version to 62
• Added protocol option (checkbox) to not delete buddies (on by default) even if gaim requests us to delete them. Â Check box must be unchecked for buddy deletion to work.
• - gfire_games.xml is now downloaded from sf.net if it doesn’t exist.

This plugin is not offically supported by XFire team.
Download: [ GFire 0.6.0 ]

Version 2.7.5 of Lost Labyrinth, a roguelike computer roleplaying game, has been released. This release has the following changes and bug fixes:

• Secondary flaws (give us only one point each):
• Weak arms (No weapons)
• Weak fingers (No bows)
• Disfigured (No armor)
• New skill: Swift fingers (picking up items does not cost the turn)
• The inventory screen also displays Life and Manapoints now
• Less Nailpits (only 1 to Levelsize*2)
• Bugfixes: Knight has been transparent, Cancel from spellist can’t be saved on a key, Limited spells (like heal) did not end players turn when we try to cast them too often, Message for hidden treasure only once

Download: [ Lost Labyrinth 2.7.5 ]

Version 0.2.7 of GemRB, the free re-implementation of BioWare’s 2D Infinity Engine, used in Planescape: Torment and the Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale series has been released.
New features:

• Large animations
• Worldmap travel
• Dialogue portraits
• Translucent shadows option
• Personal space of actors
• Combat
• Many new effects
• Overlay animations

Improved features:

• Script fixes
• Action menus
• TextScreen
• Doors
• Animated overlays
• New actions

Download: [ GemRB 0.2.7 ]

Version 0.5.1 of FreeCol, an open-source Colonization clone, has been released. Changes in this release include

• The installer now adds a shortcut for starting the game in windowed mode.
• New graphics for displaying unit paths.
• Borders for the main menu.
• Some of the panels have been improved.
• Tons of bugfixes.

Screenshots: [ View ]Download: [ FreeCol 0.5.1 ]

This occured some time back but a new release of ReactOS has been brought forward. This alpha release of this independant implementation of the win32 API operating system has been in development for some time and offers original hardware driver compatibility and application support without using MicroSoft Windows directly. Linux Users can give this a try under VMware or Qemu

Download:[ Vmware - ReactOS ] [ Qemu - ReactOS ]

If ATI is not exactly your cup of tea and/or you don’t actually believe their drivers will see any kind of radical improvement in the foreseeable future any more than you believe in the eventual success of Lightkey’s world domination plans, you might be interested in the recent release of the first beta of NVIDIA‘s 1.0-9xxx display driver series, namely the 1.0-9625 Linux drivers for x86 (readme) and x86-64 (readme) hardware architectures.

Some of the notable features (many of which were anticipated by Phoronix‘s Michael Larabel in his article on the upcoming 1.0-9xxx driver series) include:

• Initial support for GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap
• New “Display Configuration” page in nvidia-settings
• Support for Quad SLI
• Support for OpenGL 2.1

Download NVIDIA Driver 1.0-9625 Beta [ x86 | x86-64 ]

Lightkey has recently left us in an attempt to conquer several countries in Central Europe on his new bicycle, therefore I step in to bring you the news about the latest ATI display driver, version 8.29.6. If you happen to own one of the following products

• Radeon® 8500/9000/9100/9200/9250
• Mobility™ Radeon® 9000/9100/9200
• Radeon® IGP 9000/9100/9200

you can forget about downloading, as the support for these older cards has been cancelled and there seem to be no plans for anything of the NVIDIA‘s legacy driver sort, so you can either stick to the previous release or choose the free-as-in-speech drivers provided by your favourite distribution.

In other news, the 2.6.18 kernel is now officially supported and several bugs have been resolved. The fine folks over at Phoronix have some warm, affectionate words on the driver to share, so you might want to look at those as well.

Download: [ ATI Display Driver 8.29.6 ]

A German review of Gorky 17 has been submitted to us here at LinuxGames. A google attempted translated can be found here.Gorky 17 is a horror conspiracy game mixing elements of strategy and RPG gameplay.

SuperTuxKart is an enhancement project aiming to build on the foundations of the original TuxKart game by Steve Baker (which was in turn inspired by the Mario Kart series). Several new features have been added already, such as new characters, tracks and a new interface. The game shows a lot of promise even if it does not exactly deliver the level of fun Mario Kart (or, for that matter, Wacky Wheels) enthusiasts might expect just yet.

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ SuperTuxKart 0.2 RC2 ]

Name/Version: Eggibault 1.2
Summary: Eggibault is a logical game. The goal is to collect all of the fish on each level and get back to your starting point.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Eggibault 1.2 ]

Name/Version: Multiplication Station 1.3
Summary: Multiplication Station will teach your child to add, subtract, and multiply.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Multiplication Station 1.3 ]

Name/Version: Snake 3D 0.9
Summary: Snake3d is a variant of the snake game (or worm game, depends on when you where born). You are a snake in a 3d world trying to eat as many icosahedrons as possible, which makes your tail longer. To make things worse, there are other snakes in the world
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Snake 3D 0.9 ]

Name/Version: TkHearts 0.80
Summary: TkHearts is an clone of the Hearts card game.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ TkHearts 0.80 ]

Name/Version: Tux Math Scrabble 3.0.2
Summary: Tux Math Scrabble is a math version of the popular board game for education. The game challenges young people to construct compound equations and consider multiple abstract possibilities.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Tux Math Scrabble 3.0.2 ]

Name/Version: Yabause 0.7.2
Summary: Yabause is a Sega Saturn emulator under GNU GPL.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Yabause 0.7.2 ]

If you run your own open-source, or free software, or hell, even binary only but free-as-in-beer software: You can send me a brief (20-40 second) audio only advertisement in mp3 only for your open-source/free software game. You must own or not include any audio included in your advertisement. So this means no Iron Maiden songs, or creative commons. This is all CYA stuff so we don’t get in trouble, and you don’t either.

If you have a problem with the mp3 nature, don’t write in, or comment.

If you have any other suggestions for the podcast in general, put them in the forum.

If you have suggestions for these short ads, put them in the forums or this post thread. We reserve the right to refuse ads for games that suck, and any that you aren’t really part of the team on, without consent from their team/maintainer/whatever. The deadline for entries for this weekend’s podcast are Friday the 22nd, my apologies for announcing this so late. Any entries late will be considered for future podcasts. If we air your advertisement and you decide you don’t want it aired in the future, e-mail me again. This is a free service provided solely for free-as-in-beer games to get better exposure in a simple way. Please use the highest quality audio files possible when making your mp3 so that the end result doesn’t sound poor. Thanks!

After a month wait, a new release of Stendhal is upon us. Stendhal, an multiplayer online role playing game, makes use of Marauroa, which is a multithreaded server with a Mysql backend.New features in Stendhal includes:

• added regrowing grain fields which can be harvested
• added a windmill and an NPC who mills flour from grain
• added a bakery and an NPC who bakes bread from flour
• gave archer elf and archer kobold something to shoot
• made iron casting take time

Download: [ Stendhal 0.53 ] [ Marauroa 1.33 ]

A bug fix release of glChess has occured. This release fix the accidental removal of the dependency on DBUS/Avahi.

Screenshot: [ View ]Download: [ glChess 0.9.8 ]

A remake of the classic, “The Goonies” game has been released. The original game was made by Konami in 1986 for the NES and MSX. This remake is based on the MSX version of the game as part of the Retro Remakes Competition 2006

Download: [ The Goonies 1.0.1 ]

A PyGTK frontend for X Mame, PyXmame has been released. PyXmame allows you to search, browse and launch games from a GTK interface. Changes in this release include:

• Improvements in the graphical interface.
• Eliminate the dependencies with pexpect.
• Eliminate the installation interface.
• Define a list of sets of images.

Screenshots: [ View ]Download: [ PyXmame 0.4.0 ]

Fans of 2D motocross games might be interested in the new release of X-Moto. This release, version 0.2.1, has the following changes:

• ppc computer can now read and write x86 replays (patch by Dave Vasilevsky)
• upload highscores from the game
• webrooms configuration
• Man pages (from debian package)
• desktop files and icon for kde/gnome (by SnowBear)
• -nowww option to force xmoto to not connect on the web
• -testTheme option to test your themes
• new functions for scripted levels
• grip parameter for blocks (to make ice blocks for example)
• auto-adaptation of the camera (depending on the gravity/wind)
• uglyer ugly mode (for slower computer ; press F1 to switch ugly mode)
• translations [french] (for unix only)
• collision between body and sprites
• level preview animation before playing (patch by Frederic Huard)
• Some minor improvements
• Several bugs fixed.

Screenshots: [ View ]Download: [ X-Moto 0.2.1 ]