LINUXGAMES

Version 0.7.11 of the GNOME-dependant Tetrinet client GTetrinet has been released; changes include the following items:

• Fix a long-standing hang/crash when executing GTetrinet for the first time (Loïc Minier, #114425).
• Remember game mode setting (Lucas Nussbaum, #344522).
• Fix compilation without libesd (Ricardo Setti, #312995).
• Fix a crash on NetBSD/Sparc64 (#338712).
• New and updated translations: Nepali (Pawan Chitrakar), Catalan (Jordi Mallach), Welsh (Dafydd Harries), Dutch (Wouter Bolsterlee), Swedish (Daniel Nylander).

Download: [ GTetrinet 0.7.11 ]

Release candidate 3 of the 1.0 branch of glChess has been announced. Changes and new features in this release include:

• Support loading of multiple games from the command line.
• Don’t autosave games that were loaded from/save to a file.
• Ask user which loaded/saved games to save on quit.
• Added “Save As” menu option.
• Registers with Gnome if Gnome libraries installed.

View: [ Screenshots ]Download: [ glChess 1.0RC3 ]

Quetoo, a security consciences port of the Quake 2 engine thats source code was released by id Sofware, has been updated to release 0.5.1. Changes and enhancements in this release include:

• -Refuse connections for clients with empty or invalid userinfo strings.
• -Refuse connections for clients stuffing xFF in userinfo strings.
• -Refuse connections for clients stuffing IP address in userinfo strings.
• -Fix bug where valid clients can be overwritten by reconnect challenges.
• -Drop clients who provide empty or invalid userinfo.
• -Drop clients who stuff xFF into userinfo or stringcmd.
• -Drop clients who request negative baselines or configstrings offset.
• -Drop clients who request illegal download offset or filename.
• -Drop clients who issue multiple begins when spawned.
• -Drop clients who issue illegal player movement commands.
• -Catch buffer overflows in command token parsing.
• -Added SV_KickClient(client_t *cl, char *msg). NULL msg is fine.
• -Added SV_ClientAdrToString(client_t *cl) for printing client IPs.
• -Removed checksum validation of player movement.
• -Dedicated servers may now host demos.
• -Added s_ambient to toggle ambient (world) sounds. Defaults to 1 (on).
• -Fixed gl_texturemode default value.

Download: [ Quetoo 0.5.1 ]

QMC2 0.1 beta 6, a M.A.M.E. catalog and launcher, has been released. Changes and new features in this release include:

• fix: widgets disabled during gamelist reload not re-enabled if parser prematurely stopped
• fix: ROMs with attribute runnable=”no” removed from gamelist (caused incorrect counters)
• fix: total game count determination didn’t cleanly return in case of an error
• fix: build: check qmake version for ALL targets
• fix: ROM check: don’t rely on full lines from sub-process, buffered output might be truncated
• imp: some code-cleanups
• imp: removed log entry for loading of preview images
• new: selectable criteria and order for gamelist sort (case insensitive) - note that Qt 4.2.0+ performs much better due to the new “stable sort” for QTreeWidget (and other item views)
• new: when emulators are still running when QMC2 is about to exit, the user can decide to kill them or keep them alive
• new: options Frontend/Gamelist/SortCriteria, …/SortOrder, Frontend/GUI/KillEmulatorsOnExit and MAME/FilesAndDirectories/ROMPath added
• new: SDLMAME-support, including new options template (use “make SDLMAME=1″ to enable support for SDLMAME, default is XMAME!)
• new: setup-wizard: checks valid configuration and asks for MAME executable if neccessary
• new: added ROM state M(ostly correct) for verification result “best available” (indicated by a yellow-green sphere)

Download: [ QMC2 0.1.b6 ]

Fans of the popular Final Fantasu, which i believe is Final Fantasy 12 now, might be interested in a project to remake Final Fantasy 7 engine for Linux called Q-gears You can check out their latest alpha level release and more information on this project on their webpage.

Screenshot: [ View ]Download: [ Q-gears 0.0.9 ]

Version 0.5.2 of FreeCol, an open-source Colonization clone, has been released. Changes in this release include

• The time and memory required for loading/saving a game have been reduced.
• More efficient transmissions of large network messages.
• Savegame sizes have been reduced.
• Many other savegame related bugs have been fixed.
• Autosaving has been added as an optional feature.
• A new menubar border has been added.

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ FreeCol 0.5.1 ]

Versoin 2.1.0 of Frozen Bubble, a popular game where you throw colorful bubbles up and build groups to destroy bubbles with the same color, has been released. Changes in this release include:

• 1-player multiplayer training: ability to activate chain reaction
• world map: you can view the amount of playing players, which helps chosing a server
• world map: you see playing players as green dots
• network game lounge: you can toggle fullscreen
• network game lounge: the game creator can activate chain-reaction and set a victories limit through options
• network game lounge: you can request server info
• network game lounge: chat is timestampped
• multiplayer: you can view who’s attacking you

Download: [ Frozen Bubble 2.1.0 ]

Wine 0.9.26 has been released. Changes in this release of this free implementation of Windows on Unix are the following:

• Better support for Unix locale settings.
• Improved X11 keyboard support.
• Various MSI fixes.
• Winecfg improvements.
• Lots of bug fixes.

Download [ Wine 0.9.26 ]

Version 0.21 of Warsow, a qfusion-derived first-person shooter focused on fast-paced multiplayer action, was released last month. Changes include bug fixes and anti-lag tweaks.

View: [ Screenshots ] Download: [ warsow.net ]

Name/Version: Goblin Hack 0.7
Summary: Goblin Hack is an opengl-based smooth-scrolling ASCII graphics game! Inspired by the likes of NetHack, it opts for a simple interface that appears to appeal to kids (and adults) and fires the imagination in today’s world of over-rendered games.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Goblin Hack 0.7 ]

Name/Version: Master of Pain - Snake 0.3
Summary: mop(e) snake is a classic snake game which pits you against all the pain in the world. You can try the innovative one-finger control method, or stick with a more traditional style of play - it’s up to you - just make sure you eat the pain!
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Master of Pain - Snake 0.3 ]

Name/Version: Neitris 1.0beta
Summary: Neitris is a competitive, network multiplayer version of Tetris. The game features lots of bonuses and powerups used by players against their “victims”. Only the best, fastest and smartest one will stay alive in the end.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Neitris 1.0beta ]

Name/Version: Quarry 0.2.0
Summary: Quarry is a multi-purpose GUI for several board games, at present Go, Amazons and Reversi (a.k.a. Othello.) It allows users to play against computer players (third-party programs, e.g. GNU Go or GRhino) or other humans, view and edit game records.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Quarry 0.2.0 ]

Version 0.15 of Wah!Cade has been released. This front end for the M.A.M.E. arcade game emulator has the following changes:

• Improved Layout Editor including multiple selections
• More keyboard actions supported (eg. Find Game, Add Game to List, etc)
• Ready for translation - Send an email if you want to help.
• You can now use a mouse with Wah!Cade. Just check the mouse option in the Setup Editor
• More bugs squashed

Download: [ Wah!Cade 0.15 ]

Sony has opened the Open Platform for PlayStation 3 site, which contains the “Other OS Installer” needed to install Linux on the new game console system. If you’re one of the lucky few who bought one this past Friday, instructions for installation are also available, as well as a FAQ.

There’s already detailed Fedora-specific installation instructions at QuickJump; the one major limitation to be aware of right now is that there’s no GPU driver (the PS3 uses a NVIDIA-developed GPU similar to the one in GeForce 7XXX products), so you’ll be using the framebuffer for graphics.

Some abbreviated instructions by way of NeoGAF (thanks gofreak):

Preparation:

1) Download and burn Fedora Core 5 to a DVD
2) Download and burn the PS3 Linux Add-On Packages CD
3) Using a USB stick (or other storage option, like CD/DVD/BD etc.) create a folder at the top level called ‘PS3′. Within that folder create a new sub-folder called ‘otheros’. In that folder you need to put to files:

otheros.bld (bootloader - found on the Add-on Packages CD in the ‘kboot’ folder)
otheros.self (Sony’s “Other OS Installer”)

4) Create a Linux partition on your PS3 (via the XMB format utility)
5) Connect the USB or other storage from 3) to your PS3.
6) Start the “Install Other OS” Utility. It will scan for the otheros.self file, and when it has found it, will display its location. Select that and it will install the bootloader.
7) Set the default OS to be “Other OS” in the XMB system settings.
8) Reboot the machine. It will now automatically boot the bootloader from which you can install your OS.

Installing Fedora Core 5:

The bootloader will have a command prompt. To install type the following command:

install-fc sda

It will prompt you to insert the Fedora Core 5 DVD. Put it in if you haven’t already, and hit ‘y’.

It will then ask you if you want a minimum or full install, enter your preferred option. It will warn you that data on the linux partition will be erased - just hit ‘y’ to continue.

When finished, the DVD will eject. It will then prompt you to enter the Add-on Packages CD. Just pop it in and hit ‘y’. It will eject to finish, and that’s the installation complete. Just enter ‘reboot’ to start Linux or ‘halt’ to turn off the machine.

There’s also already a video up at YouTube with PS3 Fedora being put through its paces. Also, one of the Gentoo developers is working on an overlay for the console.

I’ve also added a PS3-specific forum for anyone interested in coordinating or discussing their efforts.

Kamran Yaqub of the Helsinki Institute forInformation Technology sent in notice that users are needed forperformance and stability testing of the Host Identity Protocol. Distribution images and open source games for testing are available @ http://felwood.hiit.fi. I’m not certain what exactly is needed as far as testing goes, but there’s also a contact page if you’re interested.

A reader pointed out this thread at the Cedega forums where World of Warcraft players who use the tool, which allows some Windows games to be run on Linux, have been reporting they’ve been banned from the massive multiplayer roleplaying game. The bans appear to have been accidental, as the individual e-mails from Blizzard refer to “third party automation software” (I guess farming bots and what not - if a WoW player can add further clarification please do so). TransGaming posted the following in response:

We are continuing to investigate issues reported by Cedega users with World of Warcraft. Some of the tests have shown textbook botting behavior while other Cedega users are still able to play and are not at risk of being banned. We have tested a large number of scenarios and they come up clean, but we are still looking.

We are asking that users provide some details about their setups so we can attempt to find a link between all of the ban cases. Please visit the information page and let us know about your system setup so we can find the problem. The information on this page may be shared between TransGaming and Blizzard but will not be given to third parties.

If you have previously submitted your information in the forums or in to transgaming.com through other means please resubmit this information through the information page.

We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers and we will continue to work on the problem.

Oddlabs sent in the following update concerning their award-winning RTS Tribal Trouble:

Since the release of Tribal Trouble, Oddlabs has improved a lot on the game. Besides increased stability and initiatives against multiplayer exploits, here are a few of the latest improvements which may be of interest to your readers:

- Cheat codes: Now it is possible for yourself to decide what units you want and when you want them! When cheat mode is enabled, you can create or destroy units with a single keypress. You can also view the island the way only the developers have been able to until now! Learn more here: http://oddlabs.com/blog/?p=56

- Peon hiding: Now you no longer have to spend minutes scouting for that last peon your losing enemy has hidden in the forrest. If the enemy has no buildings left, the remaining units will be revealed in the map mode!

Other features:

• Battle your computer or test your skills against other players online!
• Help out the Vikings and Natives in the campaigns - lots of challenging missions await!
• Frantic tribal warfare - up to 6 players and hundreds of units at the same time!
• Endless supply of autogenerated islands to raid!

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ Demo | Full Version ($29.95 USD) ]

Phoronix has posted an article examining the latest ATI display driver:

Coming out two weeks after the fglrx 8.30.3 display drivers is now 8.31.5. But what is new for these ATI display drivers? Well, it is primarily another bug fix release, but at Phoronix today, we have all of the fine changes detailed as well as a performance comparison. Some of the documentation has also been updated to reflect AMD’s acquisition.

PyScrabble has been updated to release 1.5. This online, multiplayer scrabble program written in Python has the folllowing changes :

• The server now uses (and requires) ZODB as a backend for storing user/stat/game information. This should vastly improve the integrity and portability of the data. Run the db_upgrade script to upgrade the old database to the new one.
• Added server version to server info
• Improved logging
• HTTP Proxy Support
• Support for adding additional hosts to list when registering
• Improved locale handling
• Renamed pyscrabble.py to pyscrabble-main.py to avoid naming conflicts
• Fix for 1564444. Improved unicode support
• New german words
• Serbian translation

Screenshots: [ View ]Download: [ PyScrabble 1.5 ]

Panda3D, a 3D engine written in C++ with Python bindings, is now at version 1.3.It is a modern engine supporting advanced features such as shaders, stencil, and render-to-texture; it also emphasizes a short learning curve, rapid development, and extreme stability and robustness.

Download: [ panda3d.org ]

Version 2.1.7 of ZDoom, a Doom engine port, has been released. New features in this release include:

• Alias commands can now do parameter substitution. If you have %x, where x is some number, in an alias command, it will be replaced by the appropriately numbered parameter passed when the alias is used, with %0 being replaced by the name of the alias itself.
• A new MapMarker actor has been added that you can use to mark points of interest on the automap. If its first argument is zero, the map marker itself appears on the automap, otherwise it is drawn on top of any actor with a TID matching that argument. If the second argument is one, then the map marker will only be appear if the player has previously seen the sector it is one. You can use Thing_Activate and Thing_Deactivate on markers to turn them on and off. To make custom markers, all you need to do is subclass MapMarker with DECORATE.
• Added the SetActorPitch ACS command to set an actor’s pitch.
• You can pass multiple jump targets to the A_Jump DECORATE function, and it will choose one of them at random if it jumps.

Download: [ ZDoom 2.1.7 ]

AMD has released version 8.31.5 of their ATI display driver for 32-bitand 64-bit Linux architectures. Changes:

• Setting the displayresolution to 400×300 or less no longer results in the mouse pointer not beingable to move across the entire desktop.
• The graphics driver nolonger hangs the system shortly after the X Server is started on Red Hatenterprise Linux 3 system running Uniprocessor kernels.
• Playing a media fileunder any distribution with X Server 6.9 or greater no longer results in abrief pause or video tearing when resizing the video window or running themouse pointer over the video player window.
• Using aticonfig to setthe TV format to PAL-COMB-N no longer fails to update the X Serverconfiguration file.

Additional info can be found in the releasenotes; there’s also a FAQ page.

Download: [ amd.com ]