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Open-Source Cube Engine Gets Major Update

Posted by simoniker on from the beerness-next-to-goodness dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Cube, the Open Source (ZLIB) multiplayer and singleplayer FPS game and engine for Windows/Linux, has finally put out a new release. New features include demo recording/playback, new arena multiplayer modes, jumppads, improved mapmodel physics and configurability (bridges), mp3/ogg playback and a completely new cube soundtrack, many cool new maps and more! Get this 'Doom/Quake-style [engine] with some uncompromising brutal oldskool gameplay' at cubeengine.com."

27 comments

  1. Still v1? by __aatgod8309 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm waiting for Sauerbraten before i start getting excited. ('Oldskool' doesn't do anything for me, anyway...)

    1. Re:Still v1? by aliens · · Score: 1

      You'll be waiting for Duke Nukem Forever before Saurbraten comes out.

      Considering on their site it says development has been stalled for over a year.

      == Dead

      --
      -- taking over the world, we are.
  2. i don't want to sound harsh by metalmario · · Score: 2, Insightful

    but isn't this engine a bit too old? i mean, we've seen millions of boring quake 3 clones. why yet another more?

    1. Re:i don't want to sound harsh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      It doesn't play a bit like Quake 3. Did you even play the game?

    2. Re:i don't want to sound harsh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Plus the engine itself isn't anything like Quake 3. It's hard to think of anything that it is like - possibly a ridiculously advanced Wolfenstein 3D with teeny-tiny blocks, but I'm not sure if that's a good way of describing it...

    3. Re:i don't want to sound harsh by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      That discription works great actaully.

      but I would clarify truly 3D wolfenstien 3d.

      Of course I didn't quite realized hpow it works, so I mat have the total wrong impression.

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    4. Re:i don't want to sound harsh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Well, for starters, in cube, you can change the scenery while the game is ongoing. Static "level maps" feel very boring when you've got an accomplished "cube dungeon master" logged in on a multiplayer server, and other players have to contend with walls and scenery changing shape and appearing/disappearing.

    5. Re:i don't want to sound harsh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Drake,

      Hi there.

      If I had my way, you wouldn't have made it one day outside of the hive. But you did. So, now it's daddy's turn. I will have my revenge. I will eat you alive. Literally.

      -svickps

  3. nice source by illumen · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Quite tidy source. Lots of fun macros to decode.

  4. So dark by superpulpsicle · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What is wrong with FPS nowadays, every game gets darker and darker. I have my brightness maxed out on my monitor and gamma way up.

    I heard a myth that game engines can generate more polygons in the dark. Can someone verify if this is complete BS?

    1. Re:So dark by JFMulder · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well, less hardware lights means light calculations, but since games rarely use more than two hardware light source. (even games like Spinter Cell use only a light or two, everything else is lightmaps)

      I think it's just a trend that started back a few years ago to have dark environments instead of colorfull worlds.

    2. Re:So dark by Kyouryuu · · Score: 1

      It could also be the notion that darkness conceals things in the distance in a way not unlike fog does. Hence, it's conceivable that you can put more details directly in front of the player considering that the visual distance is reduced.

    3. Re:So dark by mabhatter654 · · Score: 1
      yes, I've noticed that 3D games seem to focus on simple models and complex textures rather than high poly counts with simple to no textures [i.e. Mario or Zelda on GC]

      I'd love to see some truly colorful original!] games for the PC that are on par with some of nintendo's offerings...the dark-n-drap FPS is really getting boring

    4. Re:So dark by Black+Hitler · · Score: 1

      Serious Sam was pretty bright. Not very visually interesting or detailed, though, which might support the parent and grandparent's theory.

    5. Re:So dark by mabhatter654 · · Score: 1

      and I liked both episodes immensely because of it...but the engine has much more potential for interesting games!

  5. OS X by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Any news of a mac port for this?

    1. Re:OS X by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Check the forum on the site... In the release feedback thread "12-23-2003" I think someone submitted a patch to make it run on OS X (although they say it is a quick and dirty job).

  6. Ogre? by Hard_Code · · Score: 1

    How does this fare against Ogre (http://www.ogre3d.org/), the other major open source rendering engine?

    --

    It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
    1. Re:Ogre? by Ramses0 · · Score: 4, Informative

      In the simple case, Ogre is an engine, Cube is a thing.

      """ ...posted some new screenshots of their upcoming curling simulation, Granite 2004, which uses OGRE for rendering. We have to say it's looking very nice indeed.
      """

      Ogre doesn't do anything by itself except spit out Javadocs or Doxygen, or whatever. Cube is like quake. It runs, it does stuff, you can use it to build other things. At it's core it has a 3d engine that you could probably use for other projects (this is what Ogre is), but even without any extra work, it's a game in it's own right.

      Ogre is going to have all the: "call this function to set up view-frustrum culling" or "call this function to update the in-game camera position" or "call this function to have your game instantiate an object oriented 3d object which the physics engine that you write can manipulate". (All apologies for my crappy explanations, any Ogre developers ;^)

      Basically, each project's end-product is targetting different levels. Ogre is designed to be general purpose 3d rendering library, Cube is designed to be nifty, fun, extensible, editable game thingy.

      --Robert

  7. open source + quake3 by slackergod · · Score: 2, Interesting

    while there's a thread on the subject of opensource fps engines...

    QFusion is an open source quake3 client, written from scratch.

    Just thought i'd post a link to it,
    cause it's an impressive accomplishment,
    and the source code is beautiful...
    and the engine's speed compares favorably to the real Q3 client.

    1. Re:open source + quake3 by KAMiKAZOW · · Score: 1

      written from scratch? looks like a modified version of the Q2 engine to me (screenshots).

    2. Re:open source + quake3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's how it might look, but you'd be wrong. The in-game (while playing!) editing gives it away as being a completely original engine, working quite differently to quake.

    3. Re:open source + quake3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      he was talking about the open-source quake 3 engine, not Cube, genius.

  8. If you need help by va3atc · · Score: 2, Informative

    Pop onto channel #cube on server: irc.gamesnet.net
    for help and finding other players to duel with.

    --
    Candle burns its brightest in the dark
  9. Re:GBA options by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can buy pre-written ROMs for the GBA in many shops, and they're guaranteed not to have any compatibility problems.