Over the last few days we have seen a flurry of traffic, downloads in four-digit numbers and quite a few interested developers making contact on our forums and on IRC. Some of them have already started tinkering with the code and offering patches, which makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Welcome!
Next, Chris Tozzi from WorksWithU once again outdoes himself and most of the rest of 0 A.D. coverage, eloquently explaining 0 A.D.'s significance from a broader perspective:
Whether you’re a programmer or gamer–of even if you don’t play games at all–0 A.D. represents something vitally important for the Ubuntu and Linux communities. In many senses, gaming represents the final frontier for desktop Linux: Free software has proven itself competitive in all other major computing niches, from office productivity to video editing, but the number of commercial-quality games available for Linux can be counted on one finger. With its incredible art and intelligent gameplay, however, 0 A.D. stands poised to change all that, by demonstrating that an open-source project powered by volunteers can produce a modern, cross-platform game on par with the expensive Windows-only packages developed by commercial houses.
Last but not least, some notices about the official 0 A.D. social media addresses:
A few days ago we got a vanity URL on Facebook: facebook.com/play0ad. If you already like us on Facebook, no changes are needed, and all the old links still work.
Also, yesterday we changed our Twitter name from @0adgame to @play0ad. If you already follow us, you do not need to do anything, just address us with our new name in your tweets please. The links to the previous name broke, though, so if you find any broken links, please let us know.
Similarly, the YouTube account we have just uploaded our alpha video to (youtube.com/0adgame) will not be updated anymore, and from now on the official 0 A.D. YouTube account will be youtube.com/play0ad.
These changes are meant to strengthen the 0 A.D. brand, spread the word more effectively, attract more volunteer developers and make the game we're all waiting for get done sooner. Which is a good thing.
Although we've just announced our own alpha version, these news still had to be shared: A new game in the Age of Empires series, "Age of Empires Online", has just been announced. They invite people to join their closed beta.
Marrying fresh features with classic RTS gameplay, Age of Empires Online pays tribute to the original game while incorporating a new look, feel, and approach that appeals to long-time fans, newcomers, and everyone in between. [...] There is no offline play. [...]
Q: Why the new look? What was wrong with the graphics before? It looks more “cartoony” now. A: Age of Empires includes a refreshed art style with an unprecedented level of detail. The new design is fun and approachable, and we believe it will help invite a brand-new audience to experience this classic franchise. It will still offer gameplay depth for fans of the franchise as well. Q: The “Age” franchise has an incredibly loyal fan base. Do you think this new iteration will alienate any of your fans? A: Absolutely not. Age of Empires Online stays true to its roots with traditional RTS gameplay, a deep player-versus-player mode and detailed historical settings. From the creation of your capital city, to resource management and competitive matches, Age of Empires fans will feel right at home.
Wildfire Games proudly announces the release of the first alpha version of 0 A.D., a free, open-source game of ancient warfare. After 9 years since the concept of 0 A.D. was designed on paper, we have a close approximation of a playable game. This release comes with aggressive units that attack enemies on sight, lifelike animals that escape danger, two new maps, in-game multiplayer chat and much more. Alpha releases of 0 A.D. will each get a number and a name, so this one is "Alpha 1 Argonaut".
Easy Download and Install Download and installation instructions are available for Windows, OS X and Linux. 0 A.D. is free of charge and always will be. No registration, no advertising, no catch.
New features in this release:
Maps: Added new maps "Arcadia" and "Hellenized Egypt", improved the "Multiplayer demo" map; Added textual descriptions to maps.
AI: Added animal AI (walking around, running from danger). Redesigned unit AI: added order queues, auto-attack, auto-gather.
GUI: Added in-game multiplayer chat; Fixed GUI stretching on widescreen resolutions; Improved selection outline rendering; Many other GUI changes, such as buttons and cursors; Changed camera controls.
Graphics: Added floating decorative objects, such as lily pads; Added building collapse and corpse decay; Tweaked animation speeds.
Installation and compatibility: Added Windows installer using NSIS; Added Linux packages for many distros; Improved compatibility when 3D acceleration is missing; Improved FHS compatibility for Linux installations.
Miscellaneous: Added terrain smoothing tool to Atlas map editor; Added some sound effects; Improved performance; Fixed bugs.
Room for improvement:
There are no victory conditions implemented yet.
There is no computer opponent AI yet. In single-player games the enemy does nothing.
There is no random map generation yet.
There is no fog-of-war yet.
Many unit stats are still unbalanced.
Many planned gameplay features are not added yet: There is no research, no auras, no rank upgrades, no settlements and territories, no resource dropsites, etc.
Many bugs and small missing features.
There is no multiplayer matchmaking service. You have to connect by IP address. (More convenient ways may be implemented in the future).
An overview of the gameplay feature status is on our wiki, and as you can see, there is still a lot of work to be done. If you want to be part of this effort too, you're welcome to get involved!
Why "Argonaut"? From now on we will name our releases according to development status ("Alpha" or "Beta"), successive release number (1, 2, 3, ...) and a word relating to the ancient world, in alphabetical order ("Argonaut" for A, ...).
The Argonauts were a band of heroes in Greek mythology who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, the Argo, which was named after its builder, Argus. "Argonauts", therefore, literally means "Argo sailors". (Source: Wikipedia). To celebrate Alpha 1 Argonaut, we included a recreation of the Golden Fleece, which can be found on the "Hellenized Egypt" map.
Referring to the original Jason mentioned in Greek mythology, the word "Argonaut" is a tribute to our former project lead, Jason "Wijitmaker" Bishop, who managed the game's development between 2002 and 2008. 0 A.D. would have never made the transition from an idea on paper to a piece of software that runs on your machine without the countless hours of work by this gifted leader. Thanks, Jason.
Long Time, No Siege Wildfire Games will continue releasing new versions of 0 A.D. periodically. Watch our news feed to keep updated, or follow us by e-mail, RSS, Facebook or Twitter. And you're always welcome to join the 0 A.D. community on our forums.
The Ha'aretz article is part of a PR campaign for Israel's premier Linux & FOSS fan conference, August Penguin (in Hebrew), where Wildfire Games team member Aviv ("Jeru") Sharon will be giving a talk about 0 A.D. See you there!
• Free and Open Source Software • Cross-platform • Historically based • 6 unique civilizations • Provinces and territories • Realistic maps/terrain • Realistic naval warfare • Comprehensive editor • Several multiplayer modes
