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Tuxracer 1.0 Retail Version Finished

Posted by timothy on from the snow-games-are-the-best dept.

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."

8 of 244 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Open To Closed by dreamchaser · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  2. 'Real Work' by EnglishTim · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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?

    1. Re:'Real Work' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

    2. Re:'Real Work' by EnglishTim · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

  3. They should have changed the name by codexus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    --
    True warriors use the Klingon Google
  4. I'm kinda sick of Franchise Racer by now... by lightspawn · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.

  5. Re:More Screenshots by Nailer · · Score: 5, Funny

    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!

  6. Re:TROLL A MINUTE!!! by PhilHibbs · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.