Tuxracer 1.0 Retail Version Finished

Nailer writes "Tuxracer 1.0 is complete Version 0.6 has been downloaded over a million times, and 1.0 looks like it will kick its older siblings arse. This latest version has a massively improved set of features compared to the earlier versions, including multiplayer support, far more detailed tracks, new hazards (giant boulders, better trees, vehicles, and entire towns with roads, houses, castles, fountains, etc) new players (a girl tux, a funky polar bear, and others), split screen multiplay, internationalization, and probably a whole bunch of other stuff. Take a look at the screenshots and trailer movie. The initial release of the game will be proprietary for Windows and Linux (and perhaps Mac), but some of the code from 1.0 will be released as Open Source. Sunspire are still looking for a publisher, but should be taking direct orders soon. And when they do, I'm buying it."

Comments

Great

[dreamchaser]

I've been following the development of this, and it's nice to see a game being developed simultaneously for Linux and Windows, rather than being released on Linux a year or more after the Windows counterpart.

I also like the fact that the binaries for all platforms will be on one CD. I'm tired of buying two copies of games if I want to run them on both Linux and Windoze.

Hopefully they will find a partner and be successful. It could be a good shot in the arm for Linux game development. It will be hard for them to say who is running it on what platform though, but I can live with that in return for getting all of the binaries in one box.

Re:Open To Closed

[dreamchaser]

I understand your sentiment, but it is hard to put food on the table if you give your product away. There is room in this world for both open source and proprietary software.

Of course, I expected to see at least a dozen comments like that. Not everything can be free, guys. People need to live and eat and take care of their families. That being said, open source is here to stay, and as I said above I think it can easily coexist with commercial software.

'Real Work'

[EnglishTim]

The 'real work' in a game is pretty much split 50/50 between programming and things like artwork, level design etc. I'm sure there are exceptions (Final Fantasy could be one), but that's been pretty much the way it is on the games I've worked on.

This is one of the reasons I can't agree with RMS. Why is it that someone who creates some music, a level design, some textures or a model deserves compensation for their hard work, but somehow someone who spends just as much energy writing code does not?

Re:'Real Work'

[Anonymous Coward]

They don't. Artwork and music should be free too. In fact, all intellectual property should be free. Artists could make up for it by painting cathedral ceilings or doing portraits of rich Italian bankers. Musicians can make their money by selling t-shirts and doing concerts.

Anyway, Open Source is a fun concept as long as people don't push it to the extreme. If someone wants to do an open source project because they love it and it's a hobby and they want to share their work, more power to them. Demanding that all software be open source and that people should someone try to make money by selling support for it (and competing with 20 other companies selling support for your product too if it's good enough) is just plain whiney on our part. People deserve to make an honest day's wage.

Personally I don't think I'd buy Tuxracer as it got boring after about 5 minutes of playing the different levels, but it might be fun for a child.

Re:'Real Work'

[MartinG]

You seem to have directly equated "compensation for their hard work" with "financial compensation for their hard work." That is a very broad and incorrect assumption to make.

The "compensation" I get when I write code is not primarily finincial, because I do it for the love of it, not just to make money. Similarly some of my friends write music for the same reasons. I can't say I have friends who do graphical artwork, but I imagine there are people who do it for fun.

Maybe the question you should ask is:

If there are coders who work very well for the love of it and produce excellent code, and they do not demand money for their efforts, then what gives musicians the right to make similar demands?

Re:'Real Work'

[EnglishTim]

Obviously there are many people who code/make music/create art who do not ask to be compensated. Fair enough! that's their choice. But there are many who, although they still enjoy practising their art/skill, wish to be financially compensated for their work. Any time/work *is* worth money. To claim otherwise would be to reduce everything to the bare cost of the materials involved, which would not allow anybody to make a living from anything but farming and mining.

When you pay for software (and this applies to music and art as well...), you are effectively paying for a service - the service of someone writing the code instead of you having to do it. As a result of many people paying for it, you don't have to shoulder the entire cost of that development by yourself.

They should have changed the name

[codexus]

TuxRacer started as an open-source game and as such it was right to use Tux. But as a commercial game I feel like little Tux has been betrayed.

Remember what Tux stands for. It's Tux not Mario or Sonic. He's a free animal and I want it to stay this way. I won't buy this game.

I'm kinda sick of Franchise Racer by now...

[lightspawn]

Race with the Super Mario characters.
Race with the Disney characters.
Race with the Looney Tunes characters.
Race with the Hanna Barbera characters.
Race with the Donkey Kong characters.
Race with the Star Wars characters.
Race with the Austin Powers characters.
Race with the South Park characters.
Race with the Muppet Show characters.
Race with the Disney characters again, except something went wrong and only three disney characters are there.

You know where were heading, don't you? Mary-Kate and Ashley mall racing, that's where.

God help us. God help us all.

Re:More Screenshots

[Nailer]

More cool screenshots can be found at this link :

http://www.sunspirestudios.com/images/

Indeed - check out the new competitive team based mode, with voice commands and enemy taunts!

Re:TROLL A MINUTE!!!

[PhilHibbs]

The GPL is a grant of additional rights, that you the user has. It in no way restricts the original copyright owner from exercising their right to exploit their copyright in other ways. So long as no-one else contributed to the current code base, the fact that prior versions were GPL is irrelevant.

Re:Open To Closed

[Nurgster]

No, he doesn't.

I've had an at length discussion about this matter with RMS, and his stances is that either the developers write free (using his definition) games (of a lower quality) while working at jobs who pay them to write free applications, or they don't write games at all.

Email me (me@thisisnurgle.org.uk), and I'll forward you the emails if you don't believe me...

Kickass feature to have..

[letoram]

Didn't see it anywhere on the site, but most competitors in the down-hill snowracers business (as in snowboard games & the likes although few on the PC) always features a bunch of tricks you can preform to obtain higher scores. Something that really increases the replay value. Or why not add weapons and downhill-deathmatch?

Imagine a 360-inverse-tux-flip or perhaps a tux-slide.. There's no end to the possibilities =)

That put aside, the linux version wil be mine.