LINUXGAMES

Thanks to the many readers who let us know that 2D Boy has released World of Goo for Linux, the acclaimed puzzle/construction game featuring hundreds of Goo Balls.

The game was previously available for Windows, Mac OS X and Wii, and was very well received (for example, IGN called it Best Puzzle Game for PC as well as Wii Game of the Year 2008).

The full game costs $20, but the first chapter is available for free as a demo, so you may want to check that out first.

Download: [ 2dboy.com ]

Linux Game Publishing let us know that new patches are now available for Knights and Merchants, Candy Cruncher and Ballistics. These address issues with PenguinPlay, and a library issue on CandyCruncher.

Just a quick reminder that the game client for Vulcando Games’ 4X MMOG title Celetania is now available for download; it comes with 14 days of free game time.

Version 3.2.1 of Glest, an award-winning open-source 3D RTS project, has been released:

With version 3.2.1 we’ve fixed a few issues, however we always need everyone’s help to try to fix any remaining bugs. If Glest crashes on your computer please tell us, and if possible give us information about the machine(s) involved, and what were you doing in the game when it happened. If you are playing under windows please send us the “dmp” file that gets generated in the root folder, since that will help us a lot.

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

The next version of the FreeLords Java port, an open source turn-based strategy game project inspired by the Warlords series, is out. The most important change is probably the idea that all players now move their units simultaneously:

• added preferences dialog
• various bug fixes
• commented more code
• many new graphics
• implemented seamless drawing of tiles
• implemented item backend and an item dialog
• gold display on main map
• implemented crude roads
• implemented simultaneous movement of all players
• tons of new graphics, especially unit images

Download: [ sourceforge.net ]

A new update for Tribal Trouble 2 has been released:

Once again Oddlabs has released more updates for Tribal Trouble 2 beta. Among these updates is the new quest, Southern Vegetables, that continues the story of your abducted friend Sigurd the Sponge, where you travel to the tropics and meet the native Africans. The shop has been expanded with new upgrades that will increase the number of peasants at the start of each game and make it possible to raise the ceiling on the total number of units and resources. Chat is no longer limited to the chat rooms, but is now possible in the game by pressing the enter key.

• New quest: Southern Vegetables
• In-game chat
• Three new products: Larger quarters, larger armories and extra peasants
• Boot Camp, Oyster Invasion and Rotten Eggs made easier for beginners
• Warriors returning to an armory will now attack enemies on the way
• Bug fix: Website failed to load occasionally in Safari and Firefox in Mac OS X
• Bug fix: AI tried to train a Lur Blaster without a quarters building

Play: [ tribaltrouble2.com ]

Thanks to vadi4 for pointing out Blokt, an Adobe AIR-based game with an emphasis on problem-solving. You can try the game online, or purchase a stand-alone version for $4.99 US.

Vulcando Games sent in the following announcement:

We`re glad to disclose that after several years of development, Celetania is finally available for purchase.

The retail version will be spearheading the start and will be available in many shops with several bonuses. Rondomedia is offering a whole month of game time, a great DIN A3 poster as well as a very useful hotkey table within the box.

A little later, this Friday the 13th of February, you will also be able to download the free of charge client which comes with 14 days of free game time.

New on the webpage is the so far not published information and videos about the buildings of the S.E.C.C.T.S. As usually we hope you enjoy rummaging through the new content!.

We have also added an interview with subtitles done by GIGA, a German tv channel, which was held with a developer of Celetania. The interview shows some in game action as well as gives you a more in-depth view of the game. To watch the interview and see Celetania to the full extent, click here!

Spring, an open source real-time strategy engine project inspired by Total Annihilation, has had a bugfix release:

• fix for game refusing to speed up after a slowdown
• set MaxSpeed to 20 on (test)singleplayer
• fix insta-gameover vs. AIs
• fixed the server to run away from the local player on high gamespeeds

The most popular mod for Spring seems to be Balanced Annihilation, which you can get here. There’s also a newbie guide at the SA forums. You can also watch a commentated match on the ‘tube.

Download: [ clan-sy.com ]

Conquest, a simultaneous turn-based online multiplayer strategy game set in a futuristic dystopia, is at version 0.12.1:

• Added F2 hot key for alliance colors.
• Improved join server panel.
• Battles with equal powers now results in both armies dying.
• Defeated players now stay in game.
• Statistics are no longer displayed to players before the match ends.
• Spectators no longer see alliance colors.
• Introduction panel is now paged.
• Updated language file.
• Fixed AI not dropping in cities at the start of a match.
• Fixed total control calculation in alliance matches.

Download: [ conquest-game.com ]

Neverball is a puzzle game involving the manipulation of an obstacle course.

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

Stella is a multi-platform Atari 2600 emulator; 2.7.3 adds a rendering fix among other things.

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

LinuxLinks.com let us know that they’ve continued enumerating entertainment titles for our platform of choice:

Over the past 4 months we have continued to receive a steady stream of emails from individuals recommending games that were not included in our previous free game articles.

After much testing, we have whittled down these users’ recommendations to a list of 21 highly addictive Linux games, covering as many different types of game genre as possible. Hopefully, there should be something of interest here for all types of gamers! All of these games are great fun to play.

We have also compiled the Top 100 Free Linux Games.

The authors of Epic FreeFall let us know that their puzzle game, where the player must avoid rising death traps, is now available.

Download: [ blogspot.com ]

The developers of Underworld Hockey Club (video) let us know that their arcade hockey game needs beta-testers:

UHC is looking for people running 32 and 64-bit linux to help beta test the linux versions. Please visit the forums at www.underworldhockeyclub.com and make a post in the “Beta Testers Needed” thread to get a link to the game.

Apparently not enough of the 45,000 simulataneous players were running Linux, so unfortunately the pretendulation-enabled EVE Online client for Linux is kaput. Says the developer, CCP:

Hello,

My name is Arend Stührmann, also known as CCP Whisper, and I am the producer in charge of the project bringing EVE Online to the Mac and Linux operating systems. As you may know, we have been working in partnership with Transgaming Technologies, utilizing their Cider engine to allow EVE Online to run on the Mac OS and their Cedega engine to enable operation under Linux. This project went live in late 2007 and in that time we have seen the same slow, steady growth in the numbers of users of the Mac client that has characterized the growth of EVE Online throughout its history. However we have not seen a similar growth in the numbers using our Linux client.

It is for this reason that I am sorry to have to announce that from the 10th of March onwards CCP will no longer be officially supporting the Linux operating system. The low amount of users of the Linux client did not justify the degree of additional complexity having three operating systems imposes on our development and release schedules. There is the matter of maintaining the hardware infrastructure to facilitate the development work, spending man-hours on testing and diagnosing faults in the client as well as regression testing. While we did embark on this project with the aim of being one of the few MMOG’s on the market offering a game client for all of the major operating system architectures, we feel that the time and resources that were being spent on the Linux client would be better utilized in areas where more players would benefit from them.

Read the rest of the release after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

Conquest: Divide and Conquer, a simultaneous turn-based online multiplayer strategy game, has been updated to version 0.12.1. Changes in this release includes the following items:

• Added F2 hot key for alliance colors.
• Improved join server panel.
• Battles with equal powers now results in both armies dying.
• Defeated players now stay in game.
• Statistics are no longer displayed to players before the match ends.
• Spectators no longer see alliance colors.
• Introduction panel is now paged.
• Updated language file.
• Fixed AI not dropping in cities at the start of a match.
• Fixed total control calculation in alliance matches.

Download: [ Conquest: Divide and Conquer 0.12.1 ]

The fourth telling of A Tale in the Desert, a community-oriented MMORPG set in ancient Egypt, has launched. A “telling” of ATITD is a unique iteration of the game with an eventual endpoint, each adding new features, skills, and technology. New players will want to peruse the wiki; there’s a free 24-hour (game time) trial period, after which it’s $13.95 US a month.

Download: [ atitd.com ]

The Rock, Paper, Shotgun blog has a brief review of the freed real-time strategy game Warzone 2100 Resurrection:

It really does make you think: visually we’ve come a long way, but Warzone 2100 does so much that RTS games still struggle to get right today. There’s lots of gaps where excellent GUI design and player feedback fill in for modern games, but it’s still challenging, playable, and instantly comprehensible.

Koonsolo has announced the release of their puzzle game Mystic Mine:

Koonsolo is pleased to announce the release of “Mystic Mine”, a refreshing game for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. In Mystic Mine you guide a gold car through a mine, switching rails with a single button. You can only go down, but thanks to an optic illusion in the levels, you can always reach every point. Play this game alone or invite some friends and play against each other. The game supports up to 6 people on one keyboard. You’ve never played a game like this before!

Mystic Mine features:

• Family friendly gameplay for all ages.
• Single-button gameplay.
• Multiplayer with up to 6 players on 1 keyboard.
• Accessible to people and children with limited mobility.
• Adapts the difficulty to your skill.

Demo Download: [ koonsolo.com ]