LINUXGAMES

Version 0.1.1 of xBaK, a fan-made remake of the computer RPG classic “Betrayal at Krondor”, has been released. Changes in this release includes:

• Slightly improved the 3D engine.
• Preferences dialog is completed, and some preferences are effective.
• Configuration file can be loaded and saved.
• Added a few more drawing primitives.

Download: [ xBaK 0.1.1 ]

Version 0.9.34 of Wine, the free implementation of Windows on Unix, has been released.Changes in this release include:

• Support for Xcursor.
• A range of fixes for various installers.
• New builtin xcopy tool.
• The usual assortment of Direct3D fixes.
• Lots of bug fixes.

Download: [ Wine 0.9.34]

What’ve you been playing of late on Linux?

As for myself, it’s just been DEFCON and, after reading about Spacewar again, KSpaceDuel.

ATI has released a newLinux driver revision; changes in version 8.35.5 include the addition of a beta Catalyst Control Center and a fix for a laptop X-Server termination issue.

Also of note: this is the last release in which the packages will be made available for XFree86 version 4.3 and X.org 6.8. Additional information can be found in the release notes;there’s also the requisite FAQ page.

Moreover, the Linux hardware review site Phoronix has already posted a review of this driver build (thanks Ant).

Download: [ amd.com ]

Quake-related news from recent daysof note:

• Shacknewspointed out that pre-orders for EnemyTerritory: Quake Wars began in the US this week. The username registrationreferred to in the pre-order is just for stat-tracking; it’s not your in-gamenick.
• OpenArena is an open-source contentpackage for Quake III: Arena licensed under the GPL, makingQ3A a stand-alone free game. Character models, maps, sounds, and textures areincluded.
• World of Padman is anotherstand-alone Q3A-based game project; they anticipate releasing it later thisweek. In the meantime, you can play the mod version of the game, whichrequires baseq3.
• Yet another Q3A-based stand-alone game which began as a mod, Urban Terror, will see a release in thenext week as well.
• A new version of DarkPlaces, an engine basedon Quake 1, wasreleased with various bugfixes.
• The map repository ..::LVL has addedsections for DOOM 3 andQuake 4.
• The newly-launched QuakeUnity.comhas posted an interview withid’s Marty Stratton and Steve Nix from GDC. Engine licensing, digital distribution,and other topics are discussed.

Frictional Games has released a beta demo of their upcoming horror-adventure game Penumbra: Overture for Linux. Discussion and troubleshooting for the beta can be found in this forum thread.

The demo is for Episode 1; Penumbra: Overture focuses on story, immersion, and puzzles with a first-person viewpoint. There are also preview videos at their media page. Frictional’s Edward Rudd also posted the following regarding the retail version:

Currently, however, for episode 1 the linux and mac versions will be separate from the Windows versions, and be available as download only. For Episode 2 we will hopefully have a unified CD with all three OSes on the CD.

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [ frictionalgames.com ]

PyScrabble version 1.6.2 has been released; changes include:

• Fixed server to properly delete games
• Fixed a variable namespace issue on the server
• Fixed an issue on the server that permitted users to login more than once

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

Tribal Trouble has now been released in version 1.8. In this update to the RTS, the devs have optimized the 3D engine and the game structure, and fixed some bugs:

• Optimized triangle rendering for the GPU cache.
• The game logic has undergone spring cleaning for even better performance and a more suitable structure for future updates.
• Fixes in the pathfinding deadlock solver, the camera and the bug reporter.

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

Wah!Cade v0.19 is out; changes include a new option for launching external screen savers, and fixes for some screen redraw and memory related bugs. Wah!Cade is a front-end for the MAME emulator.

Screenshots: [ View ] Download: [anti-particle.com ]

Version 0.1.1 of Loemu (note: the site is down for me as of this writing), a free PyGTK application that provides a simple front-end for various game emulators, has been released. This release resolves Debian package dependencies, tests for required libraries on installation from the source tarball, and now reads config files from the config directory.

Download: [ pegueroles.com ]

Version 0.70 ofDOSBox, an x86 emulator forrunning DOS, was released.

• Speed up the dynamic cpu core (certain games get much faster).
• Added a dynamic fpu on x86 hosts.
• Improved the cycle guessing code (and make it default).
• Better and more configurable joystick support.
• Improved the image and fat drives.
• Added nullmodem emulation.
• Various win 3.x enhanchments (video/audio/ems/win32s).
• Improved CDROM detection and support.
• Speed up the screen drawing code.
• Added support for different keyboard layouts.
• Various fixes to the (C/E/V)GA emulation.
• Extended and improved all types of emulated memory. (umb/ems/xms)
• Dynamic core should work on Intel Macs.
• Various timer related fixes.
• Added a few more graphic scalers.

There’s a list of compatiblegames; it’s also noted that some of the default settings have beenchanged, so update your configuration files.

Download: [ sourceforge.net ]

Fish Fillets – Next Generationis a Linux port of Fish Fillets, anescape-themed puzzle game. The current build, 0.7.4, includes many levels andsupported languages.

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

Found a neat game we haven’t mentioned yet: Doom – The Roguelike, aroguelike heavilyinspired by the classic first-person shooter DOOM.Only binaries are available at present, but the FAQ mentionsthat source code should be made available in the future. DoomRL was developedwith Free Pascal and the Valkyrie library.

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

Version 0.5.1 of KardsGT has been released. Changes:

• Bug fix: In Cribbage, the computer player’s hand would continue to be shown if the computer was the dealer and won the stake in his hand count.
• In version 0.5.0, the DCF file failed to be updated.
• Added Old Maid.
• Bug fixes in the libraries.
• New back images for the cards.
• Bug fixes in the make file.
• Now can sort your hand by random.
• Made the skill rattings more consistant.

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

The team behind the Thousand Parsec project, which is creating a framework for 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate) space strategy games, sent in the following:

We are happy to announce that this year we are also participating in Google Summer of Code as a mentoring organisation. We have prepared a special page with information and ideas for students, who would like to work on a task for Thousand Parsec. Join us, it will be fun, you’ll gain a new experience, learn something new, play games and if you finish successfully you can even get 4500$. The deadline for submissions of student applications is 24^th of March.

Version 0.9.33 of Wine, an Open Source implementation of the Windows API on top of X and Unix, has been released. Changes in this release include:

• Many Direct3D fixes and performance improvements.
• More comctl32 tests and some bug fixes.
• Compatibility improvements in cmd.exe.
• Still more fixes to builtin OLE.
• Support for process control on Solaris.
• Lots of bug fixes.

Download: [ Wine 0.9.33]

Name/Version: Bos Wars 2.3
Summary: Bos Wars is a futuristic real-time strategy game. It is possible to play against human opponents over LAN, internet, or against the computer
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Bos Wars 2.3 ]

Name/Version: CAVEZ of PHEAR 0.5
Summary: CAVEZ of PHEAR is a Boulder Dash / Digger like game for 80×25 consoles/terminals using ncurses.
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ CAVEZ of PHEAR 0.5 ]

Name/Version: Tactics Squad 0.3
Summary:
Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Tactics Squad 0.3 ]

Name/Version: Warp Rogue 0.7.4
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 0.7.4 ]

The organizers of PyWeek let us know that their fourth challenge is has been scheduled the first week of April. The exact dates are 00:00UTC Sunday 1st April to 00:00UTC Sunday 8th April. Visit the PyWeek website to sign up or read the rules. The PyWeek challenge:

• Invites entrants to write a game in one week from scratch in Python either as an individual or in a team,
• Is intended to be challenging and fun,
• Will hopefully increase the public body of python game tools, code and expertise,
• Will let a lot of people actually finish a game, and
• May inspire new projects (see some games from previous challenges)

Version 0.58 of Stendhal, a MMORPG developed using the Arianne game development system, is now available. Changes include long-distance travel via the minimap, chat bubble clearing, and a vampire sword quest.

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

NVIDIA has released 1.0-9755 of their Linux display driver for 32-bit and 64-bit architectures. Changes:

• Added support for Quadro FX 4600 and Quadro FX 5600
• Added initial support for NVIDIA SLI with GeForce 8800, Quadro FX 4600, and Quadro FX 5600

If you have questions or issues, NVIDIA directs you to check their Linux discussion forum, or e-mail linux-bugs@nvidia.com.

Download: [ nvidia.com ]