FreeCiv 1.12.0 Released

wmulvihillDxR writes "For you Civilization addicts, check out FreeCiv. They have just released version 1.12! Highlights of changes include the isometric view we all know and love. You can download here(gz) or here(bz2). This project is a great example of the things open source can accomplish."

Comments

Re:bahaha

[evilquaker]

Let's see, Civilization (Sid Meyers) release date: 1991
Open Source version: 2001

I know it's a troll, but I'll bite:

Civilization II Gold (first multiplayer version): 1999
Freeciv multiplayer: 1998

Open Source

[gorf]

This project is a great example of the things open source can accomplish.

This is fine for games like freeciv, where the game is mainly gameplay and not fancy graphics; the goalpost isn't being moved.

But what about things like first-person shooters? These games are always pushing the boundaries of hardware, and so it needs a lot of time and effort just to keep up. Can open source keep up with this?

Another issue is with map design; in a game like Half-Life (for example), a huge amount of effort has to go into designing the story, and you can only play it once, unlike freeciv. This means that there would be have to be a single point where the game would be considered complete and released; otherwise both the designers and the gameplayers would lose interest.

So games like freeciv are fine, but what about the rest of the computer game market? Is it practical for open source development to continue? Or are companies like Loki going to be producing most of our decent games?

isometric view needs better graphics

[goodmanj]

I love freeciv, but I'm disappointed with the isometric view. The graphics are muddy and indistinct compared with the old Trident tileset. All the land types look the same, and the units blend in with their backgrounds.

I recommend people try starting the client with --tiles=trident, to get the old view. It would be nice someone should draw some new, improved isometric graphics.

Re:Not such a great open source example.

[D_Gr8_BoB]

Actually, FreeCiv is a great example of what open source can accomplish. Sure, Civilization is a few years old, but its follow-ups in the same style (Colonization, Civ II and Alpha Centauri) were all very good and sold well. That Civilization is a classic and among the best computer games ever made is a fact nearly undisputed among experienced gamers. In any case, your point is moot because, for example, nobody complains about the GNU Chess people wasting their time on a centuries-old game rather than writing exciting 3d engines.

Besides, it's not so much just the fact that you can play Civilization for free that makes FreeCiv a triumph of the open source community. What really makes it great is that people who wouldn't normally have access to game source code can see inside the guts of the game, learn how it works, and make changes. The alterations could be as sweeping as an entire new ruleset which could be distributed over the net or as simple as altering a few #DEFINEs just to see what happens, but in any case, the ability to work with the source of a project like this is invaluable.

Hacking this sort of project is a big part of what the open source movement is all about: having a good time, growing intellectually, and inviting others to do the same.

Serious question

[jchristopher]

Having never played the original "Civilization", I just downloaded the pre-compiled Windows version to try on the machine I'm on. Unfortunately, I've found that "FreeCiv" suffers from a common problem in open source software - crummy interface.

This seems to be a recurring trend in open source software - it's very stable, low/no cost - all ideal qualities! Except the interface blows.

Something tells me that in the original "Civilization", the end user would not have to use a command line to configure and play the game. Why couldn't they "clone" the setup process?

Why does all open source software tend to have bad user interface?

civ3 website was launched today!

[pezpunk]

http://www.civ3.com

this game looks incredible! god i can't wait

Not such a great open source example.

[mkozlows]

This is a great example of what open source can accomplish? A (not-quite-primetime) clone of a decades-old game that's already been re-implemented several times commercially with better graphics and gameplay?

No, I don't think so. This may be nice to have around in the game-poor Linux world, but it's not an example of what open source can do. For that you'll want to look to Apache, to Postgres, to BIND, and to any of the other programs that do what they do _better_ than the comparable commercial alternatives.