by jesse
Today I’m going to cover Cube2: Sauerbraten as the first FPS (First Person Shooter) in our Linux Games series. Sauerbraten is a free (as in opensource) multiplayer/singleplayer follow-up to the original Cube FPS. According to their website, “the aim of Sauerbraten is to allow map/geometry editing to be done dynamically in-game, to create fun gameplay and an elegant engine.”

With its first version released on May 6, 2004, Cube 2 has brought various improvements to the original engine. This includes a new 6-directional heightfield world model which allows much more complex level geometry and easier editing. Some features like online cooperative map editing or server-side demo have not yet been seen in commercial online games.

Sauerbraten Screenshot-1

Sauerbraten has several singleplayer and multiplayer modes. If you find no opponent or just want to get in the game you can play deathmatch against AI bots or try DMSP (fight a monster invasion on any DM map). Online play via LAN or Internet offers deathmath, last man standing and a capture the flag gametype. There may be also instagib versions available. In-game there are 7 weapons ‘ tuned for maximum satisfaction’: double barrelled shogun, rocket launcher, machine gun, rifle, grenade launcher, pistol and your fist. If you enjoyed games like Quake, Doom or Unreal Tournament you will immediately embrace the ‘oldskool fast & intense gameplay’ of Sauerbraten.

Sauerbraten Screenshot-2 

Sauerbraten runs on Windows, Linux, FreeBSD and Mac OSX. See sauerbraten.org for downloads and make sure you don’t miss the documentation, wiki and forums for lots of mods, tweaks and performance guides.