Thursday, January 8, 2015
Monday, December 15, 2014
Godot Winter Game Jam
Godot winter icon
A game dev jam to create a winter-themed open source game was community-initiated at the Godot forums. The (vote-determined) winner will get a budget of USD 50 to have donated to an open source project of their choice.
What is Godot?
Godot editor
Godot is a game engine. No wait, it's actually a game development IDE with its own Lua-based scripting language.
As far as I can tell, it's a promising project that is a bit buggy, especially when it comes to mobile exports. It has some UI flaws (subjectivity warning) but still, open source Godot is more appealing than proprietary Unity 3D.
If you want to try making a game in Godot, I recommend this official tutorial as a starting point. Good luck & great success to you!
What else?
Another way to support Godot: "like" it as a Unity 3D alternative on alternativeTo.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Strife: Veteran Edition
Just in case you can stand having Steam DRM installed in your system, I recommend taking a look at Strife: Veteran Edition. Strife is a Shooter/RPG based on the Doom Engine and dating back to 1996. The developers for this new remake had the wits and sensibility to use the Chocolate Doom engine as the main code base, which is, of course 100% licensed under the GPL. With so many top quality Free Software engine remakes around here, it really astounds me why so few developers choose to use them on modern HD remakes and ports (I'm looking at YOU, upcoming remake of Heroes of Might and Magic III not using VCMI).
As mentioned, so far the game is available exclusively on Steam, but I'm pretty sure a DRM-free GOG version will eventually follow, as it usually does.
Code License: GPLv2 + LGPL
Assets License: Proprietary
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Xonotic community frag movie and other FOSS arena FPS news
Very nice new movie from the Xonotic community:
It gives a pretty good idea about the vanilla game mode, although the very popular (some say too popular) "Minstagib" (one shot kills) and the total conversion mod Overkill (All new player-models and weapons, with team-spawn etc.) are also shortly shown.
Not shown are the popular vehicle mod and the recently added lightning gun (still WIP), but you can try everything yourself easily by getting the auto-downloader of the latest development build here.
As with most FOSS games, they are looking for more developers (& players) and if you have some cash to spare you can currently also pledge for the creation of some NPC characters for a single-player or COOP-mode here.
Speaking of FOSS crowd-funding, another great FOSS arena shooter, Red Eclipse this currently preparing a campaign for porting their somewhat aging Cube2 engine to the much nicer Tesseract (which is technically something like Cube3).
Oh and a new version (1.5) but still with the old engine should be out very soon ;)
Happy fragging!
It gives a pretty good idea about the vanilla game mode, although the very popular (some say too popular) "Minstagib" (one shot kills) and the total conversion mod Overkill (All new player-models and weapons, with team-spawn etc.) are also shortly shown.
Not shown are the popular vehicle mod and the recently added lightning gun (still WIP), but you can try everything yourself easily by getting the auto-downloader of the latest development build here.
As with most FOSS games, they are looking for more developers (& players) and if you have some cash to spare you can currently also pledge for the creation of some NPC characters for a single-player or COOP-mode here.
Speaking of FOSS crowd-funding, another great FOSS arena shooter, Red Eclipse this currently preparing a campaign for porting their somewhat aging Cube2 engine to the much nicer Tesseract (which is technically something like Cube3).
Oh and a new version (1.5) but still with the old engine should be out very soon ;)
Happy fragging!
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Stunt Rally version 2.5 released
To celebrate tomorrow's big movie launch, I am nicknaming it Interstellar edition :D
Get the all the details and download links here!
Get the all the details and download links here!
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Terminal Overload 0.3 released + support the developer on Patreon
The very innovative and awesome looking (+ fully FOSS) multiplayer FPS Terminal-Overload got a new release today. Edit: By now there is actually already a 0.4.0 release, get it here.
One of the new features is a charged jump that lets one take big leaps to reach good sniping spots or evade an enemy etc. Other changes for this release:
While it is is quite awesome looking and playable already, it obviously still needs a bit of further development. Since the funds of an earlier crowd-funding drive have been used up, the developer is now looking for other ways to survive. If you like what he is doing, you can head over to his new Patreon page to support him with a monthly payment.
Yes, YOU! Right NOW! ;)
Developer contributions to code and art are of course also welcome.
 |
| Charged x-jump on the new ETH5 map (3rd person camera turned on) |
The new GUI looks like this:
- New map: ETH5 - Prettier GUI - Replace re-jumping with instant & charged x-jump. - Tweak CAT movement speeds. - Simplify disc controls. - ETH mode: Each class only has one type of offensive disc. - SMG changes: Increase firing rate, decrease damage, shorter range. - MGL changes: Remove recoil, decrease firing rate, fire only one projectile. - MG changes: Projectiles are affected by gravity. - Remove etherboard from class #4 (Minigunner) loadout. - Remove SG2 from class #2 loadout. - Improve responsiveness of mouse look while in CAT form. - New projectile visuals (except discs & grenade).
 |
| New menu graphics with options window |
Yes, YOU! Right NOW! ;)
Developer contributions to code and art are of course also welcome.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Annex 4.0 RTS released!
We mentioned it a few days ago, but you can now download the latest 4.0 version of the RTS Annex: Conquer the World.
Changes:
P.S.: Unrelated, but Unvanquished also got a new Alpha 32 release just now.
Changes:
– 2 New Factions: Alliance Renegades and NEO RepublicIt's especially great to see them switch to a fully FOSS licensing model!
– Shadow Organization units: Vixen (hero) and Sentinel
– New Tilesets: Apocylapse, Metropolitian, Overcast, Brightland, and Outland
– Increased Level cap, unit re-balancing and refined gameplay.
– New Technology tree options: Simple Battle, Simple Deployed, Ready for War, and Insanity.
– All Technology trees now have a (D) Double Damage or (H) Half Damage variation.
– Improved graphics, lighting, and particle effects
– Save + load game feature
– New maps and scenarios
– New soundtrack, voice overs and sound effects.
– FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) license
P.S.: Unrelated, but Unvanquished also got a new Alpha 32 release just now.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Citadel makes big promises
There's a new big remake effort a-brewing in the Free Software world, this time for prominent shooter/RPG, System Shock. under the shape of project Citadel. According to project description, the goal is to recreate the original game using the widely known GPLed platform Darkplaces Engine, upgrading the game's graphics to full 3D but keeping game aesthetics close to the origianl game. Added modding capabilities and cooperative multiplayer will also be a part of the project.
Details, however, are somewhat scarce, so far, as development is happening behind closed doors, and creator Josiah Jack just announced the existence of the project itself after months of programming in secret. While the code will certainly be all GPL or GPL-compatible due to Darkplaces licensing requirements, the game appears to rely on original proprietary assets, as well as using its own whose license nature is yet to be disclosed.
With a release date planned for the the 23rd of December, System Shock's CD release anniversary, I guess we'll have to wait and see if this project will deliver.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Annex:CTW RTS version 4.0 close to release
The MegaGlest based RTS Annex: Conquer The World is very close to a major update as version 4.0. Strait from the developer's mouth:
He also recently stated that the new release will be fully FOSS, i.e. not only GPL source-code but also all artwork under a FOSS compatible creative-commons license (most likely CC-by-SA).
It's just a pity that the new much improved GUI code from MegaGlest seems to be not yet ready for the release.
P.S.: Also check out this Tower Defense mod for MegaGlest.
Yes! We are so close we can almost taste it.He also posted a game-play video of the current development version:
He also recently stated that the new release will be fully FOSS, i.e. not only GPL source-code but also all artwork under a FOSS compatible creative-commons license (most likely CC-by-SA).
It's just a pity that the new much improved GUI code from MegaGlest seems to be not yet ready for the release.
P.S.: Also check out this Tower Defense mod for MegaGlest.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
A potpourri of open-source engines for old(er) games
Yep, not much updates on the blog, but I thought I throw up a list of (mostly) obscure open-source news:
Big tease: Icculus works on open-sourcing a game and it seems to be a relatively new title as it includes steamworks support.
Please comment below if you know of other recent open-sourceing efforts ;)
- Original Keen Dreams source-code liberated
- Also check out: CloneKeen, Omnispeak & Commander Genius
- CaveExpress liberated (2d physics game)
- Pixel Dungeon RogueLike open-sourced (Android only)
- X-Com: Apocalypse engine reimplementation
- Libre content replacement project for Gish
- Stein's Gate Visual Novel Engine reimplementation
Big tease: Icculus works on open-sourcing a game and it seems to be a relatively new title as it includes steamworks support.
Please comment below if you know of other recent open-sourceing efforts ;)
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Let's play Unvanquished
Ok we are a bit slow with updates currently, but I still wanted to share these cool Let's Play videos created for the Linux Game Award winner of last month Unvanquished:
This is actually the second part, and you can see the first part here (it is mainly about the new menu and playing a tutorial though).
This is actually the second part, and you can see the first part here (it is mainly about the new menu and playing a tutorial though).
Sunday, August 10, 2014
FreeGameDev.net Outage (Fixed)
**Update 2014-08-12 22:17**
It seems all is back to normal! Thanks 123-reg for sorting out it quickly although nobody emailed me or updated the support ticket, but stellar support nonetheless.
If you want a domain name host, then I can happily recommend 123-reg after this experience.
**Update 2014-08-12 11:14**
I've been in touch with 123-reg and was told the following:
I asked if it would return to as-was once this is phase is completed and if they could do anything to speed it up, response:
So it is being escalated. I'll keep this post updated.
**Original Post**
I'm not sure (as I've not heard from anybody, really) of the exact extent of the freegamedev.net outage (especially the forums which projects/people depend upon) but it is currently down for me and others if isup.me is to be believed.
I forgot to renew the domain. I would cite lots of excuses but I don't have any!
Don't panic! It is now renewed, but perhaps because I renewed it after it expired (on the 9th - I noticed the forums down this morning which is the 10th) it seems I don't have access to the admin tools and it hasn't recovered yet. They have taken my money though so I expect normal service to resume soon and my provider (123-reg) says the 16th at the latest.
To everybody that this impacts, I am sorry. It'll be back soon. Also, it should auto-renew next year.
- Charlie
It seems all is back to normal! Thanks 123-reg for sorting out it quickly although nobody emailed me or updated the support ticket, but stellar support nonetheless.
If you want a domain name host, then I can happily recommend 123-reg after this experience.
**Update 2014-08-12 11:14**
I've been in touch with 123-reg and was told the following:
This domain has entered in a renewal phase at the registry, it will be completed on the 15-Aug-2014, during this phase you cannot make any DNS changes.
I asked if it would return to as-was once this is phase is completed and if they could do anything to speed it up, response:
Yes, they will return to the original ones, we have encountered these situations before and we can speed up the renewal process.
I will need to escalate this chat to a support ticket to have my colleagues assist you further, is that ok?
So it is being escalated. I'll keep this post updated.
**Original Post**
I'm not sure (as I've not heard from anybody, really) of the exact extent of the freegamedev.net outage (especially the forums which projects/people depend upon) but it is currently down for me and others if isup.me is to be believed.
I forgot to renew the domain. I would cite lots of excuses but I don't have any!
Don't panic! It is now renewed, but perhaps because I renewed it after it expired (on the 9th - I noticed the forums down this morning which is the 10th) it seems I don't have access to the admin tools and it hasn't recovered yet. They have taken my money though so I expect normal service to resume soon and my provider (123-reg) says the 16th at the latest.
To everybody that this impacts, I am sorry. It'll be back soon. Also, it should auto-renew next year.
- Charlie
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Stunt Rally now comes with spaceships and cool ancient cities!
Stunt Rally 2.4... talk about feature creep, but I am not complaining ;)
See more pictures of the release here, and don't forget to give some feedback on our forums.
Oh and you can now browse cars and tracks online.
See more pictures of the release here, and don't forget to give some feedback on our forums.
Oh and you can now browse cars and tracks online.
Friday, August 1, 2014
First public release of Terminal Overload!
You might remember the crowd-sourcing campaign from the beginning of this year to make a fully FOSS remake of a rather unique game.
Well, a bit later than promised, but really awesome never the less:
Note that this is a really early alpha and most of the art still has placeholder quality. It is quite playable multiplayer game already though, and there is a Linux and a Windows version for download on their website.
Please don't forget to give feedback on our forums (also if you are interested in helping out).
This is by the way to my knowledge the first FOSS game utilizing the open-sourced version of the Torque3D engine and also the only one that uses the work in progress Linux port so far.
Well, a bit later than promised, but really awesome never the less:
Note that this is a really early alpha and most of the art still has placeholder quality. It is quite playable multiplayer game already though, and there is a Linux and a Windows version for download on their website.
Please don't forget to give feedback on our forums (also if you are interested in helping out).
This is by the way to my knowledge the first FOSS game utilizing the open-sourced version of the Torque3D engine and also the only one that uses the work in progress Linux port so far.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Support the development of the Terra Centauri RTS
Not exactly hot of the press, but the developer behind the MegaGlest based RTS Annex: Conquer the world has started a new project:
He is also running a funding campaign on Patreon and you can give feedback on the Megaglest forums.
Speaking of Megaglest: while development has slowed down a bit lately, the work on the CE-GUI based new menu and HUD is looking great.
In a lonely planet circulating a distant star, a war of survival rages on. There a sentient race, the Valkyries struggle to protect their world and themselves against the parasitic organisms Devourers. Explore large maps for resources, treasure, and other advantages to fight back the relentless horde of Devourers.
Terra Centauri: The Last Stand is a new unique MG based game. While game shares a similar art style to Annex, this game has radically different gameplay and much higher quality models.
He is also running a funding campaign on Patreon and you can give feedback on the Megaglest forums.
Speaking of Megaglest: while development has slowed down a bit lately, the work on the CE-GUI based new menu and HUD is looking great.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Duck Marines, FOSS remake of ChuChu Rocket
Thanks to Tangram Games for pointing out to us that they just released version 1.0 of their local multiplayer game Duck Marines.
They describe it as:
For those not familiar with the original on the Dreamcast here is a small description of the gameplay:
They describe it as:
Duck Marines is a cross-platform free software PC remake of Sonic Team’s ChuChu Rocket.But see for yourself:
Duck Marines attempts to recreate the magic from the local multiplayer of ChuChu Rocket while adding new elements like mini games, a level editor, colorful pixel art and more.
For those not familiar with the original on the Dreamcast here is a small description of the gameplay:
The goal of the game is to get as many ducks into the submarine of your color. Gray ducks give you one point, gold ducks give multiple points and pink ducks will trigger an event or mini game.Source-code (zlib) can be found here, assets are licensed under the CC-by-NC-SA/ND. Build with the great Lua 2D game framework LÖVE by the way.
Guide the ducks towards your submarine by placing arrows on the ground. When walking over an arrow ducks will instead walk in the direction the arrow is pointing.
Beware of the blue predators. Predators love to eat ducks and will kill a large number of your ducks if they reach your submarine. Try instead to guide the predators to the other players’ submarines using your arrows.
Saturday, July 5, 2014
DevCorner: GameDevelop goes open-source
Thanks to GamingOnLinux for pointing out that this crossplattform *no-programming* 2D game development suite has gone fully FOSS.
It can export games to HTML5 and native code (x86 Linux and Windows).
Read the original announcement here. The github repository is here.
License infos:
& you can find some example games here.
----
By the way: I also recommend to have another look at the Godot engine which has had many improvements since it became open-source a few months ago.
It can export games to HTML5 and native code (x86 Linux and Windows).
Read the original announcement here. The github repository is here.
License infos:
Here is a small video to get you started:
- The IDE (in the IDE folder) is licensed with GPL v3.
- The Core library, the native and HTML5 platforms (respectively Core, GDCpp and GDJS folders) are LGPL v3.
- Extensions (in the Extensions folder) are using zlib/libpng license.
- The name, Game Develop, and its logo are the exclusive property of Florian Rival.
& you can find some example games here.
----
By the way: I also recommend to have another look at the Godot engine which has had many improvements since it became open-source a few months ago.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Winner of the Linux Game Awards PotM July 2014 announced!
See full announcement here.
Congrats to Unvanquished, they are doing a great job for sure!
While they won by a clear lead, the follow-up projects are also very much worth mentioning:
Congrats to Unvanquished, they are doing a great job for sure!
While they won by a clear lead, the follow-up projects are also very much worth mentioning:
Saturday, June 28, 2014
May the source be with you
I'm a big advocate of the phrase, "Release Early, Release Often." I think it is by far the best way to keep or gain community interest in a project.
Of course, that simple phrase doesn't quite sum up what you actually must do - simply uploading a release and announcing it on your mailing list is unlikely to attract interest. For example, who knew about Lincity-NG 2.9beta in lieu of the intended Lincity-NG 3.0?
Lincity-NG is in a bit of a mini-crisis. A victim of the shutdown of the Berlios developer services, all the web material is in a bit of a mess. Its home page is now on fedorahosted.org but still links back to the defunct Berlios page. There are entries on Google Code and Github that are up to date with the source, as well as an imported Sourceforge project* which is the only place you can currently find the beta, however all are unofficial / back up for now.
(* Not to be confused with this redundant redundant project)
Another game project which suffered was Battles of Antargis. It has re-emerged on Github and development seems to have resumed with C++ replacing the Ruby bits which previously encumbered the game. For a web presence, you have to use the Internet archive for its old Berlios page or external sites e.g. the LGBD entry or on Libregamewiki.
It's not just Berlios that throws a spanner in people's works. Sourceforge has setback the oft-setback Extreme Tux Racer by closing down their hosted apps. The main communication medium was phpBB but now it is completely gone. They did manage to get an updated 0.6.0 release online before this, at least.
Since there doesn't appear to be any project communication channel for ETR, I have contacted them suggesting a FreeGameDev forum.
Speaking of FGD forums, there's plenty of activity amongst the projects there. Stunt Rally continues to gain more strings to its bow. Sci-fi hovercrafts! That ought to be interesting. Despite being one of the prettiest open source games and incredibly put together almost by one person, CryHam - well, not quite; it took VDrift's physics and Ogre3D's jazz - the project doesn't seem to get the attention it deserves.
You can browse the tracks online. Check out this fun looking track with pyramids and chasms galore.
Another project gaining momentum is OpenDungeons. It's had its ups and downs, but seems to have gotten its footing now with regular test releases and several active contributors. The new website is coming along, but more importantly so is the game as especially Yohann Ferreira aka Bertram (of Valyria Tear fame) has come in and steadied the ship. I look forward to seeing creatures like this golem trudging dark, damp and dangerous dungeon corridors.
Of course the reality of open source game development is that it is not an overnight job. It takes years of perseverance to realise the goals of many projects. Over the course of that time, occasionally the rug may get pulled from under you. You just have to be prepared to dust yourself off, get up, and keep going.
Or you could just call it quits.
Of course, that simple phrase doesn't quite sum up what you actually must do - simply uploading a release and announcing it on your mailing list is unlikely to attract interest. For example, who knew about Lincity-NG 2.9beta in lieu of the intended Lincity-NG 3.0?
Lincity-NG is in a bit of a mini-crisis. A victim of the shutdown of the Berlios developer services, all the web material is in a bit of a mess. Its home page is now on fedorahosted.org but still links back to the defunct Berlios page. There are entries on Google Code and Github that are up to date with the source, as well as an imported Sourceforge project* which is the only place you can currently find the beta, however all are unofficial / back up for now.
(* Not to be confused with this redundant redundant project)
Another game project which suffered was Battles of Antargis. It has re-emerged on Github and development seems to have resumed with C++ replacing the Ruby bits which previously encumbered the game. For a web presence, you have to use the Internet archive for its old Berlios page or external sites e.g. the LGBD entry or on Libregamewiki.
 | |
| Battles of Antargis |
Since there doesn't appear to be any project communication channel for ETR, I have contacted them suggesting a FreeGameDev forum.
Speaking of FGD forums, there's plenty of activity amongst the projects there. Stunt Rally continues to gain more strings to its bow. Sci-fi hovercrafts! That ought to be interesting. Despite being one of the prettiest open source games and incredibly put together almost by one person, CryHam - well, not quite; it took VDrift's physics and Ogre3D's jazz - the project doesn't seem to get the attention it deserves.
 |
| Sci-fi overcrafts now in Stunty Rally |
Another project gaining momentum is OpenDungeons. It's had its ups and downs, but seems to have gotten its footing now with regular test releases and several active contributors. The new website is coming along, but more importantly so is the game as especially Yohann Ferreira aka Bertram (of Valyria Tear fame) has come in and steadied the ship. I look forward to seeing creatures like this golem trudging dark, damp and dangerous dungeon corridors.
Of course the reality of open source game development is that it is not an overnight job. It takes years of perseverance to realise the goals of many projects. Over the course of that time, occasionally the rug may get pulled from under you. You just have to be prepared to dust yourself off, get up, and keep going.
Or you could just call it quits.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
OpenRA also has a new release
OpenRA is a Free Software recreation of the famed Command & Conquer engine, and it aims to support and enhance all Westwood games originally built upon it, namely Tiberian Dawn, Red Alert, and Dune 2000. However, unlike most engine remakes, OpenRA isn't a simple 1:1 recreation with a little streamlining here and there, as the project also aims to optimize and rebalance the gameplay for purposes of online multiplayer. The project has recently released the latest stable version, fixing a lot of bugs and adding plenty of new features, as seen on the following release trailer:
Interestingly enough, in order to play all the games supported by OpenRA, you are not forced to own an original copy of any, given that all three ones were released gratis a few years ago. Though the package comes without any of this data, it immediately invites the player to download it from the project's own repositories, thus making all the games readily available to play.
The campaign mode is still not fully supported by OpenRA, with only some missions available for playing and no cinematics support at all, but we can only hope this will change in the future. In the meantime, you're free to enjoy all the supported games in skirmish mode, or play online against friends. So here's to the OpenRA team, and keep up the good work.
Code license: GPLv3
Assets license: Free-as-in-beer (available gratis, but still subject to copyright, as the C&C franchise is still intellectual property currently owned by EA)
