id Software and Splash Damage’s team-oriented sci-fimultiplayer first-person shooter Enemy Territory: Quake Wars has beenreleased for Windows in Australia and Europe; the game also ships this coming week inNorth America. The initial patchnotes include a fix for Linux client compatibility, as the nativeexecutables are in beta testing.
That said, the retail Linux dedicated server has been released; you candownload it and find additional documentation at the ETQW GNU/LinuxFAQ:
It comes in two flavors: You can either grab the complete package includingmedia files, or you can get just the server binaries and copy the requiredmedia files off the ETQW DVD.
There have also already been several reviews posted online; many have beenaggregated here at the ETQW CommunitySite and at GameRankings.
In a recent chat withXfire, Splash Damage addressed the client’s development:
Question: Pazy: Was creating a Linux client a hindrance to the project or wasit more ‘natural’?
Answer: [SD]jRAD: idTech 4 is already setup to insulate most of the game fromwhat OS it’s running on, so overall the process is fairly straightforward(TTimo at id is in charge of handling the Linux versions of the game.) Theoverall quality of everything is usually improved because it’s run throughseveral different compilers and build processes.
Question: Pazy: Will the Linux/Mac versions have an on-disk installer or mustit be downloaded?
Answer: [SD]jRAD: The Linux and Mac versions will be available for download,shortly after the release of the PC version.
1up.com has aportion of a print interview with Splash Damage’s Paul “Locki” Wedgwoodonline, during which Locki mentions his Linux roots:
I started playing Quake, and at work, a workshop engineer said, “You can playthat on the Internet.” And I said, “What, you mean like Doom?” And he said”Yeah.” So I said, “Where do I get this ‘Internet’?” [Laughs]
Well, actually, I think I’d [gone] on holiday to Spain, and I took a laptopwith me. This was back in…gosh, this must be 1996 or something. I went overto Spain with this laptop and I bought Linux from America. They sent me thisbig book and the seven CDs and I decided I was going to build myself a TCP/IPInternet router using my laptop and Linux and a PCMCIA modem. So I spent mytwo weeks on holiday with all of the discs, reading this Linux Bible [fromYggdrasil]…and I got this laptop running with full support for this PCMCIAmodem card and a TCP/IP router installed and network address translation andeverything. I went into the office and I set it all up, and then I went intothe core control center and I said, “You guys have got the Internet now via myrouter!”
Planetquakewars.net alsoposted a lengthy interview with Locki, which mostly covers the game’s genesis.Finally, there are some new videos from the retail version up at PC.IGN thatdemonstrate class-specific abilities.
