LINUXGAMES

Stella, the multi-platform Atari 2600 emulator, has been updated to release 2.3.5. Major changes are as follows:

• Greatly improved cartridge bankswitch type auto-detection.
• Added auto-detection of display type (NTSC or PAL).
• Improved emulation timing when exiting one ROM and starting another.
• Added toggle for PAL color-loss emulation.
• Added rudimentary support for configuring the UI palette and ability to change the size of the launcher window (will be expanded on in future releases).
• Reworked options menu so it’s now accessible from the ROM launcher as well as while playing a ROM.
• Improved emulation for games using Keypad controllers.

Download: [ Stella 2.3.5 ]

Previously only available as a multiplayer game, Pengupop, a clone of the highly addictive Frozen Bubble, now offers a single player mode in this new release This release also fixes a rule where you will now never receive more than 4 hostile balls at the same time.

Download: [ Pengupop 2.2.1 ]

We have received a press release for a new DropTeam demo exactly a month ago:

Battlefront.com and TBG Software are pleased to announce the availability and release of an updated DropTeam Demo. This new demo now offers both Single and Multiplayer gameplay and includes all of the dozens of improvements and new units added since the game was originally released, earlier this year. Of course, that includes the new infantry units that were part of a recent update! The demo allows you to play with all the same units as the full game, but is limited to just a single map, the radioactive wasteland of a moon known as Hopewell.

Two fanmade ingame tutorial videos are now available as well.

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ DropTeam demo ] Download: [ DropTeam tutorial videos ]

Version 0.4 of KardsGT is now available; changes include the addition of Cribbage, Hearts, Spades, and War. There are also 5 AI opponents.

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ gnu.org ]

Name/Version: Offender 0.2
Summary: Offender is a 2d space shooter written in C using the GTK+ and Glib libraries (1.2) for linux. In offender the player battles through numerous levels of teeth-grinding grade combat (restricted to the x-axis). Occasionally power-ups will pop out of dead enemies’ corpses and, if obtained, give the hero ability to fire heat seekers or rockets (note: press ‘c’ to change weapons). And our alien fighter will need them… for the game is long with many a peril.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Offender 0.2 ]

Name/Version: Pang Zero 1.0
Summary: Pang Zero is a clone of Super Pang, a fast-paced action game that involves popping balloons with a harpoon.Changes in this release include: This version introduces a new kind of balloon: the mighty Earthquake ball, which can really shake up the players. Also, there are new game background images after every 10 levels, better joystick support, a help which explains the gameplay, and several other tweaks and visual improvements.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Pang Zero 1.0 ]

Name/Version: Warp Rogue 0.7.2b
Summary: Warp Rogue is a gothic science fantasy roguelike game. It is based on pen and paper RPGs and features complex game mechanics and a consistent theme.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Warp Rogue 0.7.2b ]

It’s been a long road getting from there to here (there being… well, here – CS was hosted by LinuxGames back in the day), but Crystal Space has now reached version 1.0!:

After nearly 10 years of development we are very proud to release version 1.0 of Crystal Space. Crystal Space is an Open Source and portable 3D engine framework which runs on GNU/Linux, Windows, and MacOS/X. It is fully featured with support for vertex and fragment shaders, dynamic lighting and lightmaps, skeletal animation, physics, 3D sound, terrain engine, python support and much more.

Together with Crystal Space 1.0 we also release Crystal Entity Layer 1.0. This is a game layer on top of Crystal Space which makes it easier to develop games. Crystal Entity Layer is heavily oriented towards scripting (but also works in plain C++) and adds features like customizable third person camera, movement system, quest system, rule system, path finding and so on.

We would also like to announce a relatively new project called CELstart. To use Crystal Space and Crystal Entity Layer effectively you need to make your own C++ programs. If you download CELstart then you can start making full powered Crystal Space games by using only XML and/or Python scripts. It is by far the easiest way to make 3D games using Crystal Space.

Download: [ crystalspace3d.org ]

S.C.O.U.R.G.E., a rogue-like game with graphical front-end, has been updated to release 0.17. The long changelog has full details of this release.

A reader wrote to let us know about the latest release of Vendetta Online, version 1.7.14. This marks Guild Software’s latest step in their journey towards the 2.0 milestone for this impressive space-combat MMO. Among the new features added over the last few months are:

• Linux AMD64 now openly supported
• The Player Contribution Corps – Users may create / submit missions
• New user interface
• New capital ships
• New small-scale fighters and variants
• Ion Storms are now heavily fogged
• All-new tutorials and improved new user experience
• New missions (single and grouped)
• Updater redone for GTK+ 2.0
• Graphics enhancements on Linux/OpenGL

As always, the game is a free download with a free trial, no personal information or credit card required.

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ Linux trial client 32/64 bit ]

Since I’m pretty sure you have already downloaded and listened to the “Chinese Water Torture Episode” of the LinuxGames podcast, you probably know there were certain words of affection spoken towards Tribal Trouble and its creators, Oddlabs. The game is fun and Oddlabs keep releasing new versions, addressing any outstanding issues while bringing in new features. Some of the new 1.5 version’s highlights include:

• Italian: Tribal Trouble is now available in the Italian language, courtesy of the fine folks over at liupgames.com.
• Smooth Camera: The camera has been improved so the movements are more smooth and pleasant to look at.
• Chat readability: In-game chat messages are now shown in a small box making them easier to read.
• … and several bugfixes.

Check out the official site for more details.

Download [ Tribal Trouble 1.5 demo ] or Buy [ full version ] from TuxGames ($30)

Real-time strategy games fans who happen to own the fabled GP2X handheld video game console rejoice at the (now somewhat stale) news of Up Multimedia‘s (= Luke Miller’s) new RTS game Retrovirus RTS being avaliable now from their favourite GP2X online store for the equivalent of $15.

The game takes you on a journey into the human body’s microcosm (somewhat in the spirit of Innerspace, or, in the unlikely case you can actually remember, Fantastic Voyage). Your specially trained cells harvest proteins, multiply, upgrade and, most importantly, fight alien patogens which invaded the bodies of three hapless astronauts. The game boasts 22 level in 3 campaigns, advanced enemy AI and a special system of rewards which is said to greatly attribute to Retrovirus’ overall replay value. The game appears to be written in the Python programming language, with a demo version available for those who like to try before they buy (don’t forget to place the retrovirusRTS directory in the root directory of your SD card, otherwise it won’t work). Retrovirus RTS comes free of any DRM restrictions.

Download: [ Retrovirus RTS free demo | screenshots ]

Version 0.17 of Wah!Cade has been released. This front end for the M.A.M.E. arcade game emulator has the following changes:

• Support for newer (>0.106) versions of Mame.
• Some bug fixes.

Download: [ Wah!Cade 0.17 ]

Version V0.8 Release 2 of Blob And Conquer, a 3rd person action game, is now available. This release was released to fix bugs in the version 0.8 release that was rushed out due to the holidays.

Download: [ Blob And Conquer 0.8 Release 2 ]

Version 0.1.0 of xBaK, a fan-made remake of the computer RPG classic “Betrayal at Krondor”, has been released. Changes in this release includes:

• Added a minimal 3D engine.
• Added terrain and the illusion of movement to the main game view.
• Added geometrical classes.
• TBL files can be loaded and partly interpreted.
• OBJINFO.DAT file can be loaded (mostly interpreted).
• Several bug fixes.

Download: [ xBaK 0.1.0]

Several readers wrote in to let us know about ATI releasing version 8.33.6 (release notes) of their Linux display drivers. Release highlights:

• X.Org 7.2 Support
• Linux Kernel 2.6.19 Support
• Enabling Stereo on a FireGL V5000 no longer results in corruption being noticed on the X-Windows desktop. Further details can be found in topic number 737-25218
• Running through the package gerneration installation of the ATI Proprietary Linux driver no longer results in the continue button remaining greyed out when selecting a package to be generated. Further details can be found in topic number 737-25219
• The ATI Control Panel no longer gets installed when running through the Custom Installation and de-selecting the Control Panel component. Further details can be found in topic number 737-25220
• Connecting two display devices and switching the overlay to the secondary display device no longer causes aticonfig to fail. Further details can be found in topic number 737-25221

Known issues:

• Attempting to install the ATI Catalyst™ Linux software suite on distributions that have updated certain 3D components outside of the stock XOrg 6.8.2 may result in the driver not initializing 3D applications properly. Further details can be found in topic number 737-20868
• Loading the XVideo Extension on 64-bit Xorg 6.9+ systems causes the X Server to segfault on launch with Radeon X1K products. Further details and the workaround can be found in topic number 737-22837
• A system hang may occur when attempting to resume from hibernation mode. Further details can be found in topic number 737-22059

Download: [x86 | x86_64]

Version 0.9.29 of Wine, the open source implementation of the Windows API on top of X and Unix, has been released. Changelog for this release includes:

• More work on the new Direct3D state management.
• Debugger support for Mac OS.
• Many OLE fixes and improvements.
• Audio input support on Mac OS.
• Lots of bug fixes.

Download: [ Wine 0.9.29 ]

Linden Lab issueda press release this morning to announce that their 3D virtual world Second Life client source code has beenreleased under the GPL:

“Open sourcing is the most important decision we’ve made in seven years ofSecond Life development. While it is clearly a bold step for us to proactivelydecide to open source our code, it is entirely in keeping with thecommunity-creation approach of Second Life,” said Cory Ondrejka, CTO of LindenLab. “Second Life has the most creative and talented group of users everassembled and it is time to allow them to contribute to the Viewer’sdevelopment. We will still continue Viewer development ourselves, but now thecommunity can add its contributions, insights, and experiences as well. Wedon’t know exactly which projects will emerge – but this is part of thevibrancy that makes Second Life so compelling.”
Linden Lab intends to incorporate certain code changes and enhancements intothe official version of the Second Life Viewer, which will only be availablefrom the Second Life website. All code developed outside Linden Lab’s in-houseengineering team will be thoroughly reviewed to ensure quality standards,stability and security. Support will continue to be given for the officialversion of the Viewer only, with third party projects unsupported by LindenLab.

Initial projects may include: bug fixes; improvements to compatibility withless common hardware configurations; support for additional multimedia types;User Interface changes; and potentially new look and feel ‘skins’ for theViewer itself. Timeframes for these enhancements will vary depending on thescale of the project and project team.

There’s also commentary on the move from FortuneMagazine and the LindenBlog:

While this initial step will open up what is essentiallythe user’s window into Second Life for modification, it will leave Linden Labin control of the proprietary software code for all Second Life’s backendservices – the server software that makes the world exist. However, executivessay that the company’s eventual intention is to release an open source versionof that software as well, once it has improved security and other corefunctions. They say they have been preparing for the open source move forabout three years.

There’s been an alpha version of theLinux client for Second Life for a while now; presumably this move willallow it to eventually achieve parity with the other platforms.

Documentation and the source code itself can be found at http://secondlife.com/developers/opensource.

A reader pointed out this article @Linux.com reporting HoplonInfotainment is developing a science-fiction MMOG calledTaikodom:

Hoplon runs Linux exclusively on its servers and on themajority of developer workstations. The production environment runs on a IBMSystem z mainframe running Linux virtual servers. Hoplon’s server farmincludes virtual machines running SUSE 10 on the mainframe, and standaloneservers running Debian, Fedora, and Red Hat. “There are also those of us whoare fond of Ubuntu for personal use,” says Hoplon CEO Tarquinio Teles.

Teles says the company has been building the Taikodom infrastructure sinceearly 2005. Building an MMOG on open source software isn’t without challenges.”I must say, open source covers a lot of ground,” says Teles. “There areexcellent, blow-your-head-off applications you fall deeply in love with, andunfortunately, there are poorly architected and documented solutions. You haveto pick and choose.”

They also mention several open-source tools they utilize for development:

• Crazy Eddie’s GUISystem
• SDL
• Open Dynamics Engine
• OpenGL
• Eclipse

The article and the Taikodom website don’t seem to mention a Linux client (I can’tread Porteguese though so I may have missed something), but given the emphasison the Linux platform on the production-side, I would be fairly shocked if itdidn’t happen. Either way, I’ll try and find out for y’all :)

The latest Linux Games Podcast episode is up. Podcast 7 brings you another informal interview with Michael Simms. Including a special new game announcement from LGP! As a special bonus for Ogg Vorbis fans, this episode is encoded straight from the source file.

Joining myself on this episode are: Micks, and Marv! Remember to send your advertisements for free-as-in-either-beer-or-speech games to zacharyslater@gmail.com.

URL dump from this episode:

• Linux Game Publishing
• TuxGames
• Ankh
• Tux Games Game Machine
• Tribal Trouble 1.4

iTunes users can click the iTunes Only link below, or drag and drop the feed link to iTunes, or click Advanced – Subscribe to Podcast and copy the feed url there, or just hit update if you’ve already subscribed. The podcast is also in the iTunes Music Store. For any other podcasting programs, you’ll need to insert the feed url into it.

Enjoy, leave feedback here, in the new forum, on iTunes, digg it, and tell your friends!

Linux Games Podcast 7 Download: [ iTunes Only | MP3 RSS Feed | Straight MP3 | Straight Ogg]

glChess, 2D/3D chess that makes uses of Python, GTK+ and Cairo, has been updated to release version 1.0.1. Changes in this release include:

• A castling logic error was fixed.
• The window manager is now told to mark the window when a human player is able to move.
• The main window title was changed to “Chess – game name”.
• Difficulty levels for AIs were added.
• A 2D rendering bug was fixed.
• The program now works on X servers without OpenGL support.
• GConf is used for configuration when available.
• Game and UI preferences are remembered.
• A dialog about 3D mode is brought up if libraries are not installed.
• The translations were updated.

Downloads: [ glChess 1.0.1 ]

Name/Version: ctris 0.42
Summary: ctris is a colorized, small and flexible Tetris(TM)-clone for the console. It also has some small special features.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ ctris 0.42 ]

Name/Version: DeSmuME 0.5.0
Summary: DeSmuME is a Nintendo DS emulator running homebrew demos and commercial games.
Download [ DeSmuME 0.5.0 ]

Name/Version: duckmaze 0.1
Summary: duckmaze is a game about a duck that is in a maze. The duck can move walls, but only if there are no walls in the way (it makes sense when you try it).
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ duckmaze 0.1 ]

Name/Version: Goblin Hack 0.92
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 0.92 ]

Name/Version: Space Commander 0.4
Summary: Space combat simulation with pseudo-realistic physics and settings to follow in the footsteps of classics like Elite Frontier First Encounters, and Wing Commander Privateer, but with aspects of Trade Wars type games from the BBS days of yore.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Space Commander 0.4 ]

Name/Version: Yabause 0.8.0
Summary: Yabause is a Sega Saturn emulator under GNU GPL.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Yabause 0.8.0 ]