Hi and welcome back to another rare post from your favorite open-source games blog :) Oh and yes I am also in quarantine due to Covid-19... stay save and stay at home!
So these days I had *some* time to check out recent developments in the probably most "just another turn" time wasting genre: 4x space strategy games.
But did I say "faithful"? Yes, this is game-play wise a pretty much exact copy on the 1993 classic. Not your cup of tea? Then maybe it is time to revisit FreeOrion.
Art assets are apparently not available yet due to some non-free placeholders, but I hope this will be changed soon. Also no multiplayer, but that might be possible to fix.
Also really cool would be a Occulus Quest VR port via the already available and quite awesome Darkplaces VR port called QuakeQuest.
So make sure you don't miss Sealed Bite, a fun little/short jump and run:
Obvious inspiration comes from the very popular Celeste game.
You can find the source code here, and not all that surprising it utilizes everyone's favorite Godot Engine :) Sadly the graphic assets are quite a bit less free (CC-by-NC-ND).
Have you heard of Hedgewars? What began as a simple attempt to clone Team 17's Worms Armageddon has evolved into one of the most polished and community driven libre game projects on the scene. After more than ten years of continuous development the project is finally celebrating the release of version 1.0.0.
Boasting full campaign support, several online multiplayer modes, full customization, and mod support, Hedgewars is without a doubt an impressive endeavor that rivals its source of inspiration in many levels. So whether you are a Worms Armageddon fan or if you are just looking for some online turn-based fun, we definitely recommend a download. Code license: GPLv2 Art license: GFDLv1.2 and GPLv2
Yorg, the Panda3D based arcade racer has been updated to version 0.11 which includes some long awaited features. Most notably split-screen multiplayer:
Really cool is also the new controller support and awesome particle effects (a pet-peeve of mine in previous versions ;) ). Add to that some significant performance improvements due to an update to the latest version of Panda3d.
Time for another overweening list - the SEO godesses demand it!
Tremulous has 1.1 stable, 1.2 dev and 1.3 third party dev versions. It's a mess. Getting bots to run is a mess. Yet I love this game. I am only capable of playing 50% (can't handle moving aliens at all) yet I had the most fun building bases in Tremulous.
So you want to download and play Tremulous? HA! HA I SAY! Pick your poison:
Unvanquished is Tremulous 2.0 and a little more complex and hardware requirements. If you can find a better-looking FOSS game I'm all ears and eyes. Uvq has bots built-in.
OpenArena is Quake 3 Arena with strictly freely licensed assets, some of which likely satisfy niche fetishes. Who doesn't know OpenArena?
Rexuiz is really interesting because it takes care to not split the community. Assuming Nexuiz classic has a community? It also publishes on itch.io and any open source FPS is at least 10 times better than any Unity3D-made FPS on itch, so that's a really smart move - if your team has the time to make nice thumbnails/screenshots.
I really gotta compliment on the music in Xonotic. And the visuals.
Red Eclipse is still in development and has movement that is quite different from all the Quake descendents thanks to its doublejump and innovative weapons. I can't get over the blurry look though (I guess it's mostly the particle effects, maybe I could tweak them to be... sharper?). Additional microrant: some of RE music I like, some not much.
I like Trepedation's original game mode (Trepedation) but I have yet to try it against human players but at least the characters and levels seem to be hand-made for the project.
Sauerbraten is today minus 2013 years old and still popular, by comparison. And I gotta say: instaCTF is fun! To heck with the "flag dropped" sound though. Sauerbraten is partially non-free-as-in-freedom asset-wise.
FreeDoom is an entire single-player campaign. So is Blasphemer. Amazing amount of content! Once configured with mouselook and advanced sprite upscaling, it's nearly as good as an actual 3D FPS.
Last updated 2019-08-22 (see bottom of this article).
The title says it all. Warfork is the revival of Warsow. Warsow is cool (and super hard to master) but does not have servers running and no development ongoing.
Warfork is an ironically-named fork of Warsow, has CC0 art assets and is for now only released on Steam. The source supposedly is mostly based on qfusion, the source code is supposed to be available as a DLC.
I recognized one of my own CC0 sounds in the game (dong.wav) without attribution (which is totally fine both legally and morally) but it's too bad that assets (especially the nice announcer voice) can't be re-used/re-shared with voluntary attribution without digging around for it first.
Some art is limited by containing trademarked logos. Would be cool to have clean versions if anybody plans on packaging Warfork for official distro packages eventually.
Shortly after launch time there were around 50 people on all servers, later it was even more. Let's hope it ends up being a success and that many other open source games will dare following!
To my knowledge, the Warfork team is not required to publish the source, the offer to provide the source in the license included in the Steam release might suffice. Somebody who cares enough might try to contact them and ask for the source. [Oh wait somebody already did]. This worked when I asked for the source of an OpenArena Android port on the Play Store years ago.
I was wrong about Warsow not being under development - Its Beta was updated just days ago. However I'm there are no regular servers available for players.
Looks like FOSS game development with Godot is a breeze :)
SuperStarfighter is a fast-paced local party game for up to 4 players. Outmaneuver and shoot your opponents in a 2d top-down arena, and become an intergalactic champion!
Shoot Your Goo is (despite its name) a family friendly puzzle platformer made in just 48h for the GMTK Game Jam 2019. It could be described as a mix of Angry Birds and mini-golf, but see for yourself:
The amazing libre 3D modeling tool Blender needs no introductions at this point. Suffice to say that what began as a humble Free Software alternative to most heavy-duty proprietary 3D software is slowly becoming a new industry standard. The newly released version 2.80 is a testimonial of this.
The new release adds not only a much needed upgrade to the UI, but along comes an improved real time renderer and much more. All new features and improvements can be checked here.
Finally, some of you might have already heard in the past few weeks the gaming industry titans Epic Games and Ubisoft have officially began sponsoring the Blender foundation with grant funds. These are welcoming news since it means Blender will only see better and more regular updates from increased sources of income. Even if the money comes from proprietary software business, libre developers alike can also reap the benefits.
Blender can be downloaded for free on its official download page. Code license: GPLv2
For this month’s interview we sat down with Alex Gleason, creator and developer of Vegan on a Desert Island, an upcoming libre action/puzzle RPG. The game follows the story of Rachel, a vegan girl who shipwrecks on an island, and becomes embroiled in a quest to uphold her own conflicted values against the interests of the island’s many talking animals. A newcomer on the scene, we spoke with Alex on what inspired him to create this project, along with his views on activism, software freedom, game development, and of course, life.
FG: Tell us a bit about yourself and your project to begin with.
Alex: My name is Alex Gleason and I'm making a game called Vegan on a Desert Island (VOADI). It's a puzzle-adventure game with emphasis on art, music, and storytelling. The game is about Rachel's journey, which I modeled after some events in my life involving animal rights activism I organized in real life, including all its conflict and turmoil. It's a linear story meant to be experienced once and leave a lasting impression.
FG: At a first glance, a vegan stranded on a desert island seems like an unusual concept to make a game about. Could you elaborate on how your experience in activism motivated you to create this project?
Alex: In conversations about veganism people often ask if we'd eat animals under dire circumstances, such as being stranded on a desert island. It's a ridiculous question that deserves a ridiculous answer, which is why I decided to develop VOADI.
The true answer is coconuts. In The Real Castaway, a woman in real life was stranded on an island for 9 months and survived entirely off of coconuts. To answer to the deeper question, it's the same question as if you'd be fine eating another human on a desert island. I believe that animals are people and there is fundamentally no difference. It's impossible to know what you'd really do, but it's not a black-and-white situation. It's okay to not have all the answers.
While developing the game I started to feel like a "vegan on a desert island" in a different way. The animal rights organization I founded collapsed on me. They took my home and crushed my dreams. I was the villain in their story and they were the villains in mine. This inspired me to create a more meaningful story in VOADI, reflecting what happened to me.
I redefined the character of Greybeard from being a classic evil-doer to an ambiguous villain. You're never sure whether he's really good or bad. Good vs evil is a false dichotomy that doesn't exist in real life and I wanted to reflect that in VOADI.
FG: Why did you decide to translate this particular experience of yours into a video game?
Alex: Unlike books or movies, video games force you to experience something yourself. I want players to take a step in my shoes for a minute. The downside is that I cannot guarantee they will actually enjoy it. Successful games make people feel happy, but a lot of VOADI is about misery. Some gameplay elements are even intentionally antagonizing to the player. I think this is balanced a bit by CosmicGem's cheery music and Siltocyn's meticulous pixel art. At the very least, I hope players will always be wondering what's coming next.
The game conflates serious ethical topics with ironic humor
FG: What you just mentioned highlights a certain tendency in the video games industry to reward and empower players in a way they will feel good about themselves, which is a bit contradictory to the idea of art as a form of self-expression. Based on that, do you think there's enough interest or room for dissemination for this type of project?
Alex: VOADI is not a game for everyone, but a few people will deeply resonate with it. If that happens I'll consider the project a success.
FG: For such a personal background, so far the game has been presented as having a cheeky and humorous façade, with an ironic twist to it. Could you elaborate on the role of humor and how it has shaped the game so far?
Alex: I think humor itself is antagonistic. It's about subverting expectations, meaning there is a conflict between what your mind expects and what's really there. "Vegan on a desert island" is a ridiculous premise met with a sarcastic answer. The game is funny precisely because it's antagonistic. Part of that antagonism is in the way the game is presented: a cutesy colorful game about talking animals where very serious things happen.
FG: The project itself has been openly publicized as being a Free Software and Creative Commons endeavor. How did you first became familiar with both of these movements and how have they affected the development of VOADI?
Alex: Software freedom is a boycott, much like veganism. There's a lot of overlap between the communities because it's people who understand the concept of sacrificing something for the greater good. I still use copyleft licenses for all my works. It's a deep conviction I'll never change, and you can be sure everything we put out there will free culture approved.
Linux was a groundbreaking discovery because it defied everything I knew about people's incentives to create things. I thought software freedom didn't go far enough. Later I discovered Nina Paley, a copyright abolitionist, and her view that "copying is not theft" really resonated me. She is a personal hero of mine and an inspiration. In some ways I am quite literally following in her footsteps.
In terms of project impact, being Free software helped VOADI garner more widespread support. Daniel Molina is an amazing volunteer who joined the project to advance software freedom for gaming. I've received support from the sidelines as well, with people donating money and others doing small but important tasks like updating wiki pages and mirroring assets. It's pretty incredible how much people will help you without being asked if you put yourself out there and are willing to give back.
FG: Eventually this has taken you to present your project at LibrePlanet last March. How did that come to be?
Alex: I've been a member of the LibrePlanet community for years but never gave a talk. Last March the stars aligned. I didn't intend to give the talk originally, but I felt empowered by the people there. Lightning talks seem like a low-pressure way to showcase something you've been working on, and VOADI was received very well! Lightning talks at LibrePlanet are open to anyone on a first-come-first-serve basis after the conference starts. All you have to do is add your name to a list.
FG: Switching to more technical matters: You have been using the Solarus engine as a main development platform. How did you first hear about it and how has it helped making VOADI a reality?
Alex: Solarus has a map editor GUI making it a great tool for beginners. The Solarus community is vibrant and generous, always eager to help. It was developed by Christopho as a reimplementation of the game engine from Zelda: A Link to the Past, a game I was already very familiar with. I highly suggest Solarus to anyone new to the free gaming scene, looking to create their own games!
I used to love Zelda, especially the Game Boy Color titles. Nintendo is notorious for cease-and-desisting fan created works, which I think is unjust and counterproductive to a healthy society. I struggle to enjoy the games from my childhood because I'm too distracted by the fact that society would punish someone for deriving or extending works that they care deeply about. I see Solarus as a stepping stone towards creating a new ecosystem of free games that can hopefully touch people's hearts in a way that they'll want to extend and remix the game, and they'll be allowed to do so.
FG: VOADI notoriously bases most of its graphics style on a Creative Commons tileset (Zoria), but it also features original additions of its own, as well as original music. How did you go about sourcing an adequate free tileset, along with finding artists to fill in for the remaining necessities of the artwork pipeline?
Alex: Zoria tileset was found on OpenGameArt. I had been trying to make my own tileset, but knew I couldn't match that level of quality on my own.
Later I commissioned our tileset artist, Siltocyn, through an ad I posted on the /r/gameDevClassifieds subreddit. CosmicGem, our chiptune musician, was found through Fiverr. This has worked out really well for VOADI. It's amazing how much you can do with a small amount of money.
In both cases we switched to free platforms (email and Matrix) for communication. Reddit was the most effective at garnering attention for our gigs.
Originally I planned to make all contributors sign a waiver similar to the Apache contributor agreement, transferring their copyright to me. But the freelancers wanted to maintain their privacy (they didn't want to sign their name and address). So instead now there's a policy where all contributors must put the license on the deliverable file itself, or distribute it in a ZIP with the license.
For graphics we created these stamps that say stuff like "Siltocyn CC BY-SA 4.0" in a tiny font in the corner of the files
A glimpse into the development process
FG: When are you planning to release the game, and in which formats will it be released?
Alex: I'm planning for a 2020 release for Linux, MacOS, and Windows. We'll consider more platforms depending on the reception (although anyone will be free to port it if they have the skills).
I'm planning to distribute the game on some proprietary platforms like Steam, Humble Bundle, etc. Those versions will have a price associated with it. I think of it as a "proprietary tax." Users in the free world will play the game gratis.
I'm also planning for a limited physical release on CD, which I'll cobble together at home using LightScribe disks, booklets I print myself, and used jewel cases from eBay. I mostly just want something to hold in my hands.
FG: Any tips for other Free Software or independent developers out there?
Alex:
Put yourself out there.
Good art and music goes a long way.
Start it and don't stop.
FG: Alright, thank you very much for your time Alex.
Alex: Thanks so much for the opportunity!
Vegan on a Desert Island is set to be released in 2020. The project's code is licensed under the GPLv3, and al of the art assets are being released under CC-BY-Sa 4.0. If you would like to contribute to the project you can join development talks at VOADI’s Riot channel or check their repository at Gitlab. You can also donate via the project’s Patreon or Liberapay.
All of the images on this article are courtesy of Vegan on a Desert Island, released under CC-BY-SA 4.0.
A new tool named CoreCtrl aims to be the first friendly libre GUI application to customize CPU, GPU and other hardware settings for GNU/Linux. This is exciting news for all gaming enthusiasts and developers who seek a way to optimize hardware efficiency without having to go down and dirty into console commands or accessing the BIOS directly.
The developer Juan Palacios describes the app succinctly:
CoreCtrl is a Free and Open Source GNU/Linux application that allows you to control with ease your computer hardware using application profiles. It aims to be flexible, comfortable and accessible to regular users.
You can use it to automatically configure your system when a program is launched (works for Windows applications too). It doesn't matter what the program is, a game, a 3D modeling application, a video editor or... even a compiler! It offers you full hardware control per application.
Support-wise, only AMD GPUs seem to be on the list for now, but different vendor cards are planned for the future as well, according to the roadmap. CPU support is only basic at this point. While I haven't tested the application myself due to compiler errors, this seems to me as a very promising project to keep an eye on for the future.
The developer also has a Patreon page for all those wishing to contribute towards development. Code license: GPLv3
Cortex Command is a mess, but in a good way. This bizarrely entertaining strategy blend has been undergoing continuous development since the early 2000s, having had its first main release in 2012. Seven years later, its creators decided it's time to let the community have a say.
Just one day ago developer Data Realms announced on the game's Steam page it was freeing the game's code under the GNU Affero License v3. While this release does not include any of the game's data or graphics, meaning you still have to purchase a full copy or replace them with your own, it is nevertheless welcoming news to see game studios embracing Free Software licensing, enabling users to modify the game at their own will.
The game itself is as fun as ever. An ungodly hybrid between X-COM, Terraria, and Starcraft, Cortex Command is one of those games whose chaotic approach to physics simulation can lead to some pretty hilarious moments. The game pits several factions in a messy planetary war for resources. The rest is up to the player to discover and go bonkers.
So if you do not mind about the proprietary data, by all means have a try. You can currently purchase the game for about 20 USD on the developer's website (linked above). The code can be accessed on the github page for the project.
One of our affiliate websites OpenGameArt (OGA), a free repository for public domain and copyleft licensed art, has just begun hosting this year's Summer Game Jam. To all libre developers looking for a challenge, this is your call to arms.
The rules are simple: participants are to create a game which independently of length and genre must use 6 art assets already available at OGA. The type of engine or code license used is up to the creator, but any artwork from the repository employed, along with any derivates, must comply with the specific licensing of each.
While this does not mean any game submitted to the jam will be libre, there's a good chance some will be, so regardless of whether you are a game developer or not, it would be wise to keep an eye on the contest results. It is also worth applauding OGA's initiative as a way of fostering usage and creation of Creative Commons licensed assets, and to spread word of the cultural benefits of open development.
Further information regarding regulations and prizes can be found on the jam's official page here.
OpenGameArt is ran entirely as a volunteer effort. Should you wish to contribute, you can check their forums for volunteer openings or help support server costs by donating to their Patreon.
Comments and questions? Post them on our forum thread.
FS-UAE is one of the newest Commodore Amiga emulators on the scene, and perhaps the only true multiplatform emulation project for the system still in development. It has had astounding progress since it was originally released in 2011, and last week it announced the release of version 3.0.
The changes in the newest release are many and varied, so feel free to check the full changelog available here. FS-UAE has garnered a very good reputation for being a quality emulator focusing on ease of use and multiplatform support. The developer also maintains the OpenRetro Database, where users can submit information and configuration files to help running the games easier.
The FS-UAE launcher tool
The Amiga is one of the home computers originally developed by Commodore back in the 1980s. During its heyday it was considered to be a revolutionary platform, notorious for its user friendliness and the quality of its sound chipset. Its game library, although found to be meager by some nowadays, has maintained a solid fanbase over the years. Games like The Secret of Monkey Island, Sensible Soccer, and Lemmings, were all originally developed on the Amiga, and many other titles for the platform have ever since attained cult status among gaming communities.
All the code for FS-UAE is, of course, Free Software, and its main repository can be found on Github here.
For the first time I heard of Vegan on a Desert Island I assumed it was some kind of bad joke, and frankly this impression lasted with me for a while. However, through some amazing persistence and determination from the developers, this upcoming title is slowly capturing the hearts of the libre development community through sheer charm and wits.
Determination might really be the key word here; lead developer Alex Gleason claims he's set out to answer one of humanity's most sought after existential questions: "What would a vegan do if stranded on a desert island?"
Taking it from there, the game promises action, puzzle solving, and more drama and plot twists you can (literally) shake a stick at, because everyone knows that the best way of getting answers for some real world problems is through the semblance of a Zelda-like RPG.
Yes, you read it right, this game will be an action RPG at its core, and this should come at no surprise; after all, Vegan on a Desert Island is being developed with the Solarus engine under its hood, meaning we can expect some solid Zelda-like mechanics to go along with the formula.
We have all been there.
The game is also notorious for using a considerable amount of recycled Creative Commons artwork sourced from Open Game Art. Notably its level assets are almost entirely consisting of the Zoria Tileset, which has been ported to Solarus since the last major release. All unique art crafted exclusively for the game will also be licensed under Creative Commons.
While the game hasn't yet seen an initial demo build, it attracted considerable attention (and laughs) after a short presentation by Gleason himself on Libre Planet, last March. The effort and dedication being put forward to sell a seemingly absurd concept have it stand out of the crowd, and for that, it deserves much needed credit. As for the rest of the game, it will remain a mystery for the time being, unless, of course, you wish to go ahead and compile one of their source packages.
A release is estimated for later this year, although no fixed dates have been presented yet. So let's hope this one turns out to be worth the wait, unlike most vegan food.
It has been a while since we last spoke of KeeperRL. The hybrid blend of dungeon building sim with roguelike features seems to be doing rather well, with a growing community and regular progress updates. The latest alpha has just been released, and this time it has a flavor for modding.
Aside from the regular bugfixing and gameplay improvements, this build adds upgraded mod support and an in-game downloader for community content. As with most roguelikes, the developers seem to have realized customization is key to maintain community engagement, a very positive assessment in our regard. You can read the full changelog here.
For those who are not reminded, KeeperRL comes in two versions: a gratis package with plain ASCII graphics and no sound, and a commercial package including pixel art graphics and soundtrack, available for 12.99 EUR on a variety of digital stores. The program code is entirely Free Software, licensed under the GPLv3.
With city builder games climbing back into popularity, it was about time for a serious libre project to tackle the genre once again. After many years of abandoned efforts, it is now the turn of Cytopia to try to scratch that itch.
The project had its inception in 2018, when now lead developer JimmySnails announced in a forum post the intention of creating an engine that could replicate most of the functionalities of the classic SimCity 2000, a game still near and dear to many players up to this day. Ever since then, Cytopia evolved into what appears to a fully-fledged independent game-in-progress, with its own graphics, features, and even an editor planned down the line.
Aside from the obvious SimCity 2000 influences, the game also appears to draw inspiration from the recently released TheoTown, with main graphics artist KingTut101 crafting assets in a very similar style.
Whether Cytopia will deliver where others have failed remains to be seen, but as usual we encourage you to download the initial tech demos and show support for the project.
The developers also have an official Patreon to help support hosting expenses.
Code License: GPLv3 Assets License: Unspecified (reverts to same license as the code, by default)
It's been a long and winding road for mascot racer SuperTuxKart, but after more than ten years of continuous and dedicated progress, the team has finally announced the release of build 1.0, marking an important development milestone for the project.
Yes, if you have followed our development a bit, that might be a bit of a surprise. But we have been asked why we don't call this release 1.0, and the majority of us developers discussed this and decided that indeed this release is a major milestone that deserves the big 1.0 number.
Indeed a nice surprise and definitely a big step forward with the inclusion of online multiplayer!
See more new features in the official release video:
The hide-and-seek simulator The Dark Mod (TDM) has had a new release as of last week. For those who don't remember, TDM is a Doom 3 mod-gone-standalone that aims to recreate a similar game experience to that of Looking Glass Studio's Thief series. It is known amongst both stealth game aficionados and free software enthusiasts as a project of exceptional quality, with a dedicated community of content creators. The latest release 2.07 focuses on stability and performance.
Since we last reported on this amazing project, the game has progressed leaps and bounds both in content and quality. The extensive loading times and performance irks that plagued the initial standalone releases, from the project's early emancipation from Doom 3 game asset and codebase requirements, are now mostly a thing of the past, and are set to be improved even further, as multi-core support has finally been added to the engine (albeit as an experimental feature). Future updates will bring the game to OpenGL 3.3, transferring processing power from the CPU to the GPU.
On the graphics department, the implementation of advanced shadow maps promise near real-life shadow behavior. Improved antialiasing will generally upgrade looks for those with more powerful machines.
The release has also seen the addition of more Creative Commons licensed assets (under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) and map modules, which are free to use in either TDM fan missions or in any other mod or game project. Many fan missions are available under the same license, with incoming releases almost every month. They can be downloaded through the in-game GUI or by accessing the mission portal.
For further information you can access the full changelog here. Code License: GPLv3 Assets License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Some of you might remember previous coverage of Solarus, the Free Software Zelda-like ARPG engine that comes with its own complete game creation suite and a pretty impressive palette of Zelda fan games already available under its wing. As of last December, version 1.6 has been released, and while the changes under the hood are too many to number (check the full announcement and changelog here), it is worth highlighting the package now includes a more varied amount of libre tilesets, meaning developers now have available a wider choice of default non-proprietary graphics to use on their own creations. While the community is still very much focused around Zelda fan-games and their respective copyrighted graphics, this is an important first step to attract more developers and spark future libre game projects.
The Ocean's Heart tileset, now part of the Solarus package.
One such project is Ocean's Heart, the brainchild of Solarus community member Max Mraz. The game follows a gameplay structure similar to classic Zelda games transported to a Viking age-inspired setting. It features an entirely original story and a beautiful pixelated tileset, which Max was kind enough to license under a Creative Commons license for integration with the Solarus suite. Upon completion it will become the first true libre Solarus-made ARPG in code and assets, which makes for very exciting news.
Stay tuned for further developments on this, and be sure to check the Solarus website for news on their upcoming game projects, along with complete instructions and tutorials on how to create your own game using the development tools.
Code License: GPLv3 Assets License: Mixed (most sprite packages copyrighted by Nintendo, original Solarus assets under CC-BY-SA)
Bos Wars is still a nice fast-paced and somewhat lightweight RTS for you to enjoy, even though the sound mixing is still brutal but getting your hands on the latest Version for Windows is not as straightforward, as it was in 2010.
Thankfully, you can get a working version for Windows from Portableapps.
The cool 3D pixel soldier in the thumbnail above is from OpenGameArt by the way. Still kicking, old design and all.
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