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BB Rally Pro

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I've always enjoyed Rally Racing simulation games.  On the consoles, the Dirt series has given me a lot of satisfaction.  On the Android, the only racing game that I've spent any real time with is Need for Speed Shift which isn't exactly an off road simulation.  When I was given the opportunity to review BB Rally Pro I was excited as I generally enjoy racing games.  Installation was a snap and

Double Trouble

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Hallow thar Free Gamers!

Warmux, the project formerly known as Wormux, is dying. (It amuses me how "formerly" sounds like "formally", doesn't it? Or is that my colloquial pronunciation?)

The current development version has rather minor changes: improved game mode (ie including weapon), new "squad" play (teams can ally). But there's little more coming. What this means is that the next version - if any - of WarMUX, might be the last. At least, it is most probably over for the author of these words.

Who knows. It was not long ago that the PARPG lead was calling that dead (and I scolded him for it, did I). The great thing about Free software is that it can live on.

Moving on to more vibrant projects, and ToME4 beta 29 30 31 is in the wild. The current development pace is quite astonishing. More graphical tiles, bug fixes, play balancing, and some useful optimizations - don't get addicted!


zzoxx

In a similar vein, the author of Scourge has embarked on another project: a HTML/JS isometric graphical rogue-like called zzoxx. It is intriguing, though not yet really playable. What's the best Free browser-based game you know of? Comments encouraged, let's talk about how Free software gaming is engaging the browser as a platform - and if it is a good idea or not.

Freeciv 2.3rc1 (NEWS) was released a few days ago. This major release of Freeciv is focused on multiplayer features including longplay. I just had a quick go and Freeciv is really well done these days. There's a few kinks still, but this is the best release yet. It still misses some of the charm of the original, and there's a few ways in which is not friendly to new users (no direct link from the city screen to the help content, in case you want to know what a wonder or building does, for example). I'd love to see some dedicated community members put together an introduction and a palace and/or throne screen.

There's also been a Freecol bugfix release. Freecol 0.10.1 fixes many of the issues with version 0.10.0 which was a fairly major release for the project.

There's been other stuff I forgot about. It's a funny time of day. Speaking of fun - here's a rather fun video of Stunty Rally 1.2 mishaps doubled up with music I found fitting. There are several points where it seems like those two videos are deliberately synchronized!

Gurk (and Gurk II)

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It was the mid-80s when Ultima IV hit my home computer. I had just started writing computer software to make a little money and purchased this game in part because I thought Ultima III looked and sounded (it had a great audio track) cool. And I played Ultima IV for months jotting little notes on wrinkled up scraps of paper to help me remember my quests, where nightshade (a spell ingredient, if I

SuperTuxKart 0.7.2: Add-on manager release

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SuperTuxKart now has an add-on/DLC/community-content manager, which allows you to download tracks and karts from inside the game, without having to move or unzip files. I am very excited about this feature, which hopefully will be a strong motivation for community members to create new content for the game.


Suzanne's kart

One example of the advantages of this feature: a few days after the release of 0.7.2 the amazing Suzanne (Blender's mascot) kart was finished. Instead of having to manually download and install it or wait for 0.7.3, players can simply get the kart in the add-on manager. [edit: unfortunately right now Suzanne is only in SVN and not yet in the add-on manager (to be fixed)]


Here's a video of some of the content you can get via the add-on manager:


In case you are on Linux or OS X, consider getting the 0.7.2a release, which should perform much better [info here].



Beastie



Two more content addition in this version are:


  • New Beastie Kart
  • New Snow Peak track by Samuncle

NOLF2 source released but to what end

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The commercial abandonware 2002 game No One Lives Forever (trailer) has been released under the GPLv2.

The NOLF2 source code has been released under the GPLv2 by Touchdown Entertainment. Along with the game source code, you will find the engine source code, as well the tools behind it. It's great news for the entire NOLF2 modding community, since now we'll be able to keep the game alive!

I have uploaded the package to free services since the Touchdown Entertainment website is down: http://www.multiupload.com/WBO4EQHRAE

It isn't yet clear what license the assets are released under, but as with most commercial game source releases I suspect that it is not part of the source release.

Do these commercial source pseudo-Free releases have any merit beyond giving loyal followers a way to keep their fun alive? It has been of great benefit to have had the ID engines released as Free software, but they were the platform for a number of very significant free projects that would later transition from freeware mods to true Free software.

If the source release is a way to say thanks to the fans, why not bundle the media too?

The same recently happened with the more popular Arx Fatalis. The Arx Liberatis developers are doing a valiant job of cleaning up with the ultimate goal being a native Linux port (currently WINE reliant) but is this just a commercial company using the open source community to keep a dead game alive and milk the last few drops out of their dying cash cow?

I'm not impressed by decade-old game source releases that do not include the full media for the game. It's still not Free, even worse, it's still not free. If anything, it is arguably a negative for the open source community because it reduces the pool of developers who might otherwise contribute their skills to a more worthy cause.

*grumbles*

Doodle Fit

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Doodle Fit combines the overdone 'doodle' style of graphics with the well represented 'fit the pieces together' style of puzzle. Couple that with a lot of polish and we've got a nice little game on our hands.
Simple as pie... Doodle Fit is basically a tangram style of puzzle where you place tetris shaped object onto the predesigned pattern in attempt to exactly (no more, no less) cover all of

RIOT Game Coding Competition

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RIOT is a game coding competition for Caanoo, Wiz, Pandora and Dingoo's Dingux developers. In the future, probably also for nD devs, unless that one turns out to be vaporware.


The contest entry dealine is over but votes are running until July 22 2011.


Four RIOT entries that provide source


So far, four of the entries provided their source, you can filter them out here.

Contract Killer

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If you've been reading MeAndMyDroid.com for long you know that sniper games are high on my list when it comes to shooters. I much prefer the silent, strategic kill versus the frantic, running, and jumping kill. Contract Killer is all about the snipe...
Contract Killer, from Glu Mobile, is a sniping game turned RPG with a lot of story, the need to purchase and upgrade equipment, and it's not on

Press Release: Puzzle Game “Domino Run” Released for Android

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Dorset, UK, July 11th 2011 – Independent game developer Shiny Egg Studios announced today that its puzzle game “Domino Run” and the demo version “Domino Run Lite” have been released through Android Market. Launched on July 7th, the demo application has already received over 4,000 installs and given an average 4 out of 5 stars by users on Android Market.
Domino Run is a puzzle game where players

HTML5 2D Game/Engine crowdfunding: Time Hammer

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When I was looking for last post's link to Justin's portraits, I found a collection of b/w portraits and a new crowdfunding game project: Time Hammer.




What is Time Hammer?
  1. A game where you run, jump, fall and die, try again, smash enemies, and have fun (hopefully!)  It's a retro, 8-bit throwback to an earlier time, but with some modern touches that we just couldn't help but include.  Low gravity, destructible environments, a kickin chip-tune soundtrack... yeah, it's a blast!
  2. A gaming engine built from scratch in HTML5 / Javascript. Time Hammer will be the first fully-featured, plot-driven game featuring the HTML5
  3. An indie community dream come true. The game engine will be released open-source on GitHub - meaning that anybody can download it, improve it, and use it for any purpose, free of charge.
"Which license?" was my first thought and question.

I haven't actually researched the nuance of those licenses, and honestly some of the kickstarter money would be used to get a lawyer to recommend one. Two strong contenders are the GPL and MIT license.
Isn't there a group of free software lawyers, who might consult for free beer or less? Supporters can voice their opinion to this topic on the comments page.

Going for USD 8,500

I was reassured, that flash will not be used at all, not even for sound.

Death Worm

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To be or not to be a Death Worm. That is the question. For whether it is... Shakespeare? Death Worm? Nothing in common. Death Worm is pure, adrenaline pumpine, arcade action. You're always moving... always sliding back and forth through the earth. Always, that is, until you surface with enough speed to shoot into the sky like a rocket ship. However, such trips are short lived and its back into

Candy Swipe is for sale... No, Really... The WHOLE game on eBay!

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Edit: I got this in my Inbox this morning and I'm always interested in such things. $500,000 is the asking price for the full rights to this game that generates $X,XXX+ per month. I'm not sure if that's more than $X+ per month or not. It does state that roughly 3,300 copies have been sold for about $10,000 minus the 30% the Market takes for a total of $7,000. $500,000? I think not.

One of the

Flare 0.14 Characters, Quests and HD video

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The last version of Flare that Free Gamer took a look at was 0.11. The newest version is 0.14.

Character customization in Flare

Title and savegame loading screens now exist, adding to immersion.

Character customization (gender, portrait and name) is now possible. (Note how much depth this part of starting a game can acchieve in some cases). The character portraits are a product of Justin Nichol's fantasy portrait marathon.

Joystick support, conversations, vendors, quests, a new area and many more smaller additions included. It is now possible to configure keybindings and resolution, which leds to my first 720p HD video of Flare gameplay:


Clint Bellanger, main developer of Flare, posted a reflection on game progress in Flare, which includes some simple but interesting statistics.


You can show Flare some pocket love via Flattr.

BackStab

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BackStab from GameLoft hit the Android Market earlier this week and, given its steep price of $6.99, I decided to bump it in the review queue. Actually, it's amusing that $6.99 is a steep price for a top tier game having paid $30 and up in the past for games that arrive on little, plastic discs. The other side of this story is that this marks the fifth premium GameLoft titles to hit the Android

BackStab now available in the Android Market

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BackStab was one of those hot Xperia Play (Playstation Phone) exclusives, but it's now available for all (most?) in the Android Market.
As an aside, I finally got to try out the Xperia Play the other day and 'Wow!' is that control pad small for my giant, American hands. I'm glad I didn't wait for that... never mind about no 4G.

Press Release: G5 Entertainment games are now available on Android

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Edit: While I'm always happy to see new Android games from new companies and I'm all for paying for a quality game, I'm mixed on the whole "in app" unlocking. I guess I wish the Android Market had a place for paid games, a place for free games, and a place for game demos. Please note that all of these 'free downloads' are trial versions.

Five time management and puzzle hits are released on

Warzone2100 art revolution project

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I've been following the Warzone 2100 art revolution project for some time now... but after years of displaying only nice renders of cool new models, it finally seems to be getting closer to an actual game integration with the recent integration of GLSL normal-maps etc. into the latest Warzone2100 snapshot.



More awesome (very much work in progress) screen-shots can be found in the Warzone2100 art dev forum (especially this thread) and on the art revolution forum. And while there is still a lot of things to do... an actual Warzone2100 release with a massive graphical update seems not too unlikely in 2011! Lets hope for the best ;)

Death Worm is on sale for $.99 (Updated)

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Down from $2.99 to $.99, Death Worm is having a 67% off sale. In a nutshell, you are the Death Worm and you slither (and fly) about consuming and destroying everything in sight. The game garners quite good feedback in the Android Market and looks like a steal at this price.

I actually got a chance to try it out for myself this afternoon. It's a cute, fast paced game where you use the on screen

Script Blocks: 3d visual programming(?)

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Yesterday we wrote about Java3d-based Callie. This project is also Java-based but uses the jMonkeyEngine.

Script Blocks is a 3D .. environment, in which you can place blocks that produce or modify signals and blocks that react to them by changing color or by moving for example.

I assume that the project is inspired by Minecraft's Redstone Circuits. And I think it's a great virtue that instead of yet another attempt to implement Minecraft, this project focuses on one (complex) mechanic and extends it.

The video below is much better at explaining what the project is about:


Can Knockdown 2

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Mode 3 of the game play. Note the
TNT can in the lower left of
the pyramid.
How do you turn a dexterity oriented game into a digital version of the same? When I reviewed Jenga the answer was "you don't", but Can Knockdown 2 shows that there's more than black and white to this question. Can Knockdown 2 is an Android adaptation of the old, carnival game where you're tossing balls at various

Callie: 3D Action

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Callie is an in-development 3D action game with jumping puzzles and guns. It runs using Java WebStart.

This is Amy

There are a few common problems with the project: animations are missing, the camera is hard to handle in the level environment, license info is missing for both assets and code. One very nice thing the developer did is providing this simple control scheme.

The use of Java3D in the project, lead to complaints and might discourage developers from contributing code. Apparently the problem is that Java3D is not an active project.

Callie 0.4 gameplay

All Mighty RTS July 4 Sale

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Just a quick note that while Apple owners rejoice with countless sales that we Android owners seem to be all too often overlooked when it comes to holiday sales.

However, the All Mighty RTS is on sale for $0.99. Not a huge deal given that the game is normally just $1.49, but it's more than GameLoft or EA did for us while their 99 cent deals abound on the 'other side'. There's also a free version

Some random news from our forums etc

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Yes, big summer hole here in FG... luckily we get at least some guest posts from Bart (aka the OpenGameArt founder).

So, maybe today we just make a small summery of recent news that popped up in our Freegamedev forums (boring for the forum regulars I know :p ):

First of all (as we mention that project way to little), find a release candidate of the latest SuperTuxKart version in this thread.

In our showcase forum you can also find a nice (but low-fi) turn based strategy game called Strategic Initiative, which is made by the same guy who was also behind the classic Empire (well I didn't know it before ;) ). Also don't miss the updates on The Legend of Edgar.

Back in the section of out hosted projects, the user Skorpio has been showcasing some nice Mechs for Linwarrior3D lately, which are now being integrated into the game:



At the Red Eclipse forums an interesting collaboration project to make a mod loosely based on Team Fortress (classic?) recently showed up, with the user John_III making a lot of progress on the first map (and a very recent small WIP by me too ;) ):



Oh and the work that is currently done to redesign the look of OpenDungeons as seen in this thread, is looking rather fantastic too.

In other words, don't miss the action in our forums (and on the FG planet), during this time of little blog updates ;)

Settlers of Catan Released

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The Android version of Settlers of Catan made its debut today in the Android Market at the 'introductory' price of 3 euros (or about $4.33 US) under the app name of 'Catan'. Early reviews in the market seem mixed, but that's mostly rthe usual 'worked/didn't work for me' stuff versus how good it actually is when it works (although I agree that I'd have expected thorough testing to ensure it works

Cut the Rope

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Edit: Cut the Rope is the third in a series of reviews covering the three puzzle games: Nano Panda, Burn the Rope, and Cut the Rope.

My first exposure to Cut the Rope was on Apple's platform. It, like Angry Birds, really didn't do much for me at first and didn't make me decide to purchase it. However, both arrived on Android for free (as ad supported titles) and after giving it time I came to