Alien Arena 4.0 - Free standalone online dm game
polycounter lvl 18
Well it's actually been out for a couple of weeks, but I thought I'd mention my game here, since I post here a bit. You can't blame a guy for pimping in the hopes of making more people aware, right 
Also, because six months ago I posted a beta copy here, and few people tried it out. The beta paled in comparison to what it is now...
This is a full, standalone, completely free online deathmatch game, with 18 maps(4 of them are CTF), 9 player models, 9 unique weapons of both human and alien origin, numerous powerups, and new for version 4.0, is the All Out Assault mode, in which players can hop into flying vehicles.
Players can play offline against the in-game bots if they wish. Bots are fully configurable, and can do things such as rocket jumping and camping areas.
You all have seen a number of the characters and artwork posted here, but for those who don't know, the game is based on a retroesque sci-fi atmosphere.
The engine is a heavily modified Q2 engine, with nice goodies like stainmaps, dynamic vertex lighting, hi-res 32 bit texture support, in-game server browser(and an external too), textured particles, mouse driven gui, water caustics, and shaders. (The default is for most of it to be turned off, so you can turn on the things you like) The game is smooth and fast, and new maps are being created as I write this(one was released today).
Well hopefully I don't sound like a salesman...god I hate salesmen.
But I digress - get the game(134mb) or check out the media, at http://www.planetquake.com/cor/codered I would also highly recommending downloading the new level too, "The Probe".
If anybody has suggestions on the game, I'm always open to them.
Also, because six months ago I posted a beta copy here, and few people tried it out. The beta paled in comparison to what it is now...This is a full, standalone, completely free online deathmatch game, with 18 maps(4 of them are CTF), 9 player models, 9 unique weapons of both human and alien origin, numerous powerups, and new for version 4.0, is the All Out Assault mode, in which players can hop into flying vehicles.
Players can play offline against the in-game bots if they wish. Bots are fully configurable, and can do things such as rocket jumping and camping areas.
You all have seen a number of the characters and artwork posted here, but for those who don't know, the game is based on a retroesque sci-fi atmosphere.
The engine is a heavily modified Q2 engine, with nice goodies like stainmaps, dynamic vertex lighting, hi-res 32 bit texture support, in-game server browser(and an external too), textured particles, mouse driven gui, water caustics, and shaders. (The default is for most of it to be turned off, so you can turn on the things you like) The game is smooth and fast, and new maps are being created as I write this(one was released today).
Well hopefully I don't sound like a salesman...god I hate salesmen.
But I digress - get the game(134mb) or check out the media, at http://www.planetquake.com/cor/codered I would also highly recommending downloading the new level too, "The Probe".
If anybody has suggestions on the game, I'm always open to them.
Replies
win2k SP4, gf2gts 64mb, Athlon 950
Is it just those two particular menu options? What happens if you go into the single player menu and try to start a game there?
PS - thanks for trying it out
I would love to try it, but where is the Linux version?
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Good question. Really. I had a guy awhile back who volunteered to compile it for linux, but he disappeared into the void.
I don't have a linux box at the moment, so I have no way of compiling or testing, but I am making that a priority in the coming weeks, first by setting up a linux system on one of my spare computers. Should be interesting...
Anyways, you could contact these guys : www.liflg.org
They are doing the Loki-installers and are generally really nice guys, who will surely help you with the linux version (also by hosting it).
Btw what licence is the artwork released under? I am one of the admins of this site : http://freegamearts.myexp.de/
and we would love to add your game to our database (if the content falls under a 'free' licence).
The artwork, that is not GPL. Though I might release some of the texture sets once I get an online portfolio up and running(one of these days
That's a nice site you have there.
I haven't downloaded it yet, but i will once i'm in my dorm again (unlimited, albeit slow, internet)
I always thought it looked terribly dark, has that changed at all?
edit: I don't want this to come across as being hurtfull, but the interface screams "programmer art".
Maybe you could have that given a proper once-over by someone who's good at it? While a lot of people think of it as being very secondary to the ingame-graphics, it's in every screenshot, and it's a lot brighter than the actual game, so people do tend to notice.
congratulations on finishing it!
Not an easy feat, for sure.
Dark, yeah, some levels are, some aren't. It's not as dark as Doom 3...but not as bright as Q3...I'd say it's probably slightly darker than Q2 overall. But, you can use a flashlight.
No offense taken on the interface. That was the second thing I'd ever drawn by hand, and it's also on my list of things to improve in a patch.
Cheapalert: I think I have an idea - try deleting the m_banner*.tga files from both the arena/pics and data1/pics folders. These banners are fairly large, 512x256 masked tga files. I haven't had any problems reported before, and I have a GF2 on one machine that it's running on, but it's just a hunch that maybe these could cause a problem?
The artwork, that is not GPL. Though I might release some of the texture sets once I get an online portfolio up and running(one of these days
That's a nice site you have there.
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It doesn't have to be GPL, these are the supported licenses:
http://freegamearts.myexp.de/licenses.html
There should be something fit for everyone
But if you want to release a pack that is fine too, just contact us.
Oh and thanks
Sorry for the map rotation - having that 1v1 map in there wasn't such a great idea, LOL. I changed the rotation, moved the main server to a heftier computer, and set up a 1v1 only server.
If so, i might have a go at customising it, if i like the actual feel of the game.
Still, haven't been able to download it yet, sorry.
Are the models/textures easily changeable?
If so, i might have a go at customising it, if i like the actual feel of the game.
Still, haven't been able to download it yet, sorry.
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It's about as easy as it gets, really. Everything is in md2 and tga format.
Looks like a linux version might be coming real soon - the guy who had been working on it before contacted me, and he has compiled it. We have some kinks to work out regarding some C++ functions I had added for filestreaming, but it's very minor. I'm going to set up a linux box this week hopefully, and give it a test run.
Thanks again to everyone who has given it a try
I thought i'd just pimp this in here as well
I tried it, and i quite liked it, as well!
The bots are a bit annoying in ctf, but for the rest: top notch job.
It's all so dark, though... And the ingame gamma-controls don't work for me
Dark, yeah, probably the most common complaint. I'm keeping that in mind for the new level pack, though you'd never know it from the first level I finished. But the level I'm working on now, much more lit up. And it's a bit more of a gothic/alien mix.
Thanks for taking the time to download and play it. Must have been hell on dialup..
I do have to work on the CTF portion of the bots. It does get annoying when your team members follow you or get in the way. I thought that would be useful at first, but I was sadly mistaken
I'll see if i can find the time to finish this skin, and when i do, i'll surely send it to you (although it looks rather poor ingame, i'll need to darken it a lot, i think.. and add some darker lines to the brain. It's just a flesh-coloured stain in the player setup screen. haven't actually seen it ingame yet
And yeah, the bots always find a way to get in your way, and when he has the flag, and you're fighting off anyone that would follow him... he sticks around and waits for you