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3D Freeciv-Web (Beta) Released (freeciv.org)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the popup-city dept.

It's the open source web version of the classic Linux strategy game, and now Slashdot reader Andreas(R) -- one of its developers -- has an announcement. Now the developers are working on bringing the game to the modern era with 3D WebGL graphics [and] a beta of the 3D WebGL version of Freeciv has been released today. The game will work on any device with a browser with HTML5 and WebGL support, and three gigabytes of RAM... It's a volunteer community development project and anyone is welcome to contribute to the project. Have fun and remember to sleep!
The developers of Freeciv-web are now also working on a VR version using Google Cardboard, according to the site, while the original Freeciv itself has still been maintained for over 20 years -- and apparently even has its own dedicated port number.

5 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. Feedback is welcome! by Andreas(R) · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm one of the developers of Freeciv-web. Please post your questions and feedback here or on the Github issue tracker. This is a beta-version, so there are many things to improve in the game. If you are a good developer or 3D artist perhaps you would be interested in helping improve the game also. Creating an open source game like this can be a lot of fun!

    1. Re:Feedback is welcome! by Andreas(R) · · Score: 2, Informative

      The game itself uses about 800 MB of RAM on a typical map. On mobile devices with just 2GB of RAM the game will crash. 3 GB of total RAM always works without any problems. Most gaming devices have more than 3 GB of RAM these days anyway.

  2. Re:3 GB of RAM?! Does it work in FF? by Andreas(R) · · Score: 3, Informative

    The game works nicely in Firefox and any other modern browser. It requires that your computer or mobile device has at least 3 gigabytes of memory, and will not work so well if you have less.

  3. Re:React? Angular? NoSQL? by Andreas(R) · · Score: 4, Informative

    The client is using JavaScript, jQuery, jQuery UI and the Three.js 3d engine. The server is running a Java web application on Tomcat, the Freeciv server is implemented in C and there are processes which use Python.

  4. Re:AI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Dunning-Kruger in full effect.

    Good graphics are not easy. The results are not always obvious (e.g., shaders on TF2 or Civ6 are believed to be simplified but are rather complex in order to do a lot of trickery with the environment such as FOW representation and reveals)

    And if you believe no one spends time on AI, go to http://mobygames.com and look up your favorite AAA title. For most, if not all games that have a 70 or higher on Metacritic and require a computer to make decisions, there is at least one, if not a few, programmers dedicated *just* to AI.