.gif)
Sauerbraten (game)
Encyclopedia
Cube 2: Sauerbraten is a cross-platform
, Quake-like first-person shooter
that runs on Microsoft Windows
, Linux
, FreeBSD
and Mac OS X
using OpenGL
and SDL
. The game features single-player and multiplayer gameplay and contains an in-game level editor
, its main feature. The game engine
is free and open source software
, under the zlib License
, with commercial support available from the developer's own business counterpart, Dot3 Labs. The game media is released under various non-free licenses. The aim of the project is not to produce the most features and highest-quality graphics possible, but rather to allow map-editing to be done in real-time within the game, while keeping the engine source code small and elegant.
The game started as a redesign of the original Cube game engine, and its first, developer-only, release was made on February 27, 2004. The latest release, dubbed the "Justice Edition", debuted on July 19, 2010, adding two new player models, thirty new user-created maps, several new game modes, including Efficiency CTF, Efficiency Hold, Efficiency Protect, Hold, and InstaHold; a mini-map, clock, and crosshairs, among various other things.
) world model. An octree, in Sauerbraten, is a cube that can be split into eight smaller cubes that can then be done the same to. This allows much more complex level geometry and easier editing.
Each cube-shaped node in the octree
represents a renderable volume, simply referred to as a cube, where each edge of this cube can be lengthened or shortened to deform the cube into a variety of other shapes. Corners of cubes can also be "pushed" or "pulled" to create crude curves. The what you see is what you get
realtime editing has enabled level designers to add a lot of detail to maps, while reducing the time spent on actual creation. This is in contrast to traditional modern polygon soup
3D engines which take a model generated as an essentially random batch of triangles from an external modelling program and attempt to spatially subdivide the model's triangles after the fact by splitting them to fit into tree structures, such as a BSP tree
or even an octree
, that require costly pre-processing to build. Cube 2s novelty thus lies in that the world representation is the octree
structure itself, from which efficient triangle batches are generated for the graphics processing unit
to render, without need for expensive and time consuming pre-processing.
is designed around modern graphics processing units, which perform best with huge batches of geometry already stored in video memory
. Lighting is precomputed into lightmap
s—image files that correspond to geometry as textures—for efficient batching, with an additional stored directional component, that allows for efficient shader-based lighting effects. The original Cube engine's rendering engine assumed that overdraw (where polygons that do not appear in the final scene are occluded via the z-buffer
) was more processor-intensive than sending new streams of triangles to the graphics processing every frame, which vastly limited its performance on more modern hardware where memory bandwidth
is a greater limiting factor. The most recent releases (starting with "CTF Edition") support a precomputed visibility system (PVS) for graphics cards that do not support hardware occlusion.
, rifles only), Capture (where teams fight for control of points on the map, all weapons allowed), Capture the Flag (two teams fight to capture the other's flag and return it to their base), Teamplay (defeat the other team's players to score points for your team), Tactics (FFA, but players spawn with random equipment), Efficiency (FFA, but players spawn with all equipment) and Protect (teams try to touch each others' flag). Insta, regenerative weapons ("regen") or Teamplay versions of some of the game modes are available, as well as cooperative map editing, even online—one of Cube 2s most interesting and popular features. There are also single player modes featuring both episodic gameplay and deathmatches on multiplayer maps with AI bots
instead of human opponents.
television commercial
. It also received four out of five stars in a MacWorld UK review and was mentioned in Issue 3 of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine
(as well as their 101 Free Games Article), where it was described as being "perfect for both stingy and creative gamers alike".
The "CTF Edition" was reviewed positively by Phoronix
, a Linux-focused hardware and software review website, as well as Linux.com
, a website providing news related to free and open source software
.
Cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
, Quake-like first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
that runs on Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, FreeBSD
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
and Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
using OpenGL
OpenGL
OpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
and SDL
Simple DirectMedia Layer
Simple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform, free and open source multimedia library written in C that presents a simple interface to various platforms' graphics, sound, and input devices....
. The game features single-player and multiplayer gameplay and contains an in-game level editor
Level editor
A level editor is a software tool used to design levels, maps, campaigns, etc and virtual worlds for a video game. In some cases the creator of a video game releases an official level editor for a game, but other times the community of fans step in to fill the void...
, its main feature. The game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
is free and open source software
Free and open source software
Free and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code...
, under the zlib License
Zlib License
The zlib License is a permissive free software license which defines the terms under which the zlib and libpng software libraries can be distributed. It is also used by other free software packages....
, with commercial support available from the developer's own business counterpart, Dot3 Labs. The game media is released under various non-free licenses. The aim of the project is not to produce the most features and highest-quality graphics possible, but rather to allow map-editing to be done in real-time within the game, while keeping the engine source code small and elegant.
The game started as a redesign of the original Cube game engine, and its first, developer-only, release was made on February 27, 2004. The latest release, dubbed the "Justice Edition", debuted on July 19, 2010, adding two new player models, thirty new user-created maps, several new game modes, including Efficiency CTF, Efficiency Hold, Efficiency Protect, Hold, and InstaHold; a mini-map, clock, and crosshairs, among various other things.
Technical details
Cube 2: Sauerbraten shares most of its design goals and philosophy with its predecessor, but using a new 6-directional heightfield (or octreeOctree
An octree is a tree data structure in which each internal node has exactly eight children. Octrees are most often used to partition a three dimensional space by recursively subdividing it into eight octants. Octrees are the three-dimensional analog of quadtrees. The name is formed from oct + tree,...
) world model. An octree, in Sauerbraten, is a cube that can be split into eight smaller cubes that can then be done the same to. This allows much more complex level geometry and easier editing.
Realtime editing
Octree
An octree is a tree data structure in which each internal node has exactly eight children. Octrees are most often used to partition a three dimensional space by recursively subdividing it into eight octants. Octrees are the three-dimensional analog of quadtrees. The name is formed from oct + tree,...
represents a renderable volume, simply referred to as a cube, where each edge of this cube can be lengthened or shortened to deform the cube into a variety of other shapes. Corners of cubes can also be "pushed" or "pulled" to create crude curves. The what you see is what you get
WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. The term is used in computing to describe a system in which content displayed onscreen during editing appears in a form closely corresponding to its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product...
realtime editing has enabled level designers to add a lot of detail to maps, while reducing the time spent on actual creation. This is in contrast to traditional modern polygon soup
Polygon soup
A Polygon soup is a group of unorganized triangles, with generally no relationship whatsoever. Polygon soups are the default output format when geometry is exported from a 3D modeling package, such as Maya or Blender. As soon as any kind of hierarchical sorting or clustering scheme is applied, then...
3D engines which take a model generated as an essentially random batch of triangles from an external modelling program and attempt to spatially subdivide the model's triangles after the fact by splitting them to fit into tree structures, such as a BSP tree
Binary space partitioning
In computer science, binary space partitioning is a method for recursively subdividing a space into convex sets by hyperplanes. This subdivision gives rise to a representation of the scene by means of a tree data structure known as a BSP tree.Originally, this approach was proposed in 3D computer...
or even an octree
Octree
An octree is a tree data structure in which each internal node has exactly eight children. Octrees are most often used to partition a three dimensional space by recursively subdividing it into eight octants. Octrees are the three-dimensional analog of quadtrees. The name is formed from oct + tree,...
, that require costly pre-processing to build. Cube 2s novelty thus lies in that the world representation is the octree
Octree
An octree is a tree data structure in which each internal node has exactly eight children. Octrees are most often used to partition a three dimensional space by recursively subdividing it into eight octants. Octrees are the three-dimensional analog of quadtrees. The name is formed from oct + tree,...
structure itself, from which efficient triangle batches are generated for the graphics processing unit
Graphics processing unit
A graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory in such a way so as to accelerate the building of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display...
to render, without need for expensive and time consuming pre-processing.
Rendering engine
Cube 2s rendering engineRendering (computer graphics)
Rendering is the process of generating an image from a model , by means of computer programs. A scene file contains objects in a strictly defined language or data structure; it would contain geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, and shading information as a description of the virtual scene...
is designed around modern graphics processing units, which perform best with huge batches of geometry already stored in video memory
Video memory
Video memory is a term generally used in computers to describe some form of writable memory, usually RAM, dedicated to the purpose of holding the information necessary for a graphics card to drive a display device...
. Lighting is precomputed into lightmap
Lightmap
A lightmap is a data structure which contains the brightness of surfaces in 3d graphics applications such as video games. Lightmaps are precomputed and used for static objects. Quake was the first computer game to use lightmaps to augment rendering. Before lightmaps were invented, realtime...
s—image files that correspond to geometry as textures—for efficient batching, with an additional stored directional component, that allows for efficient shader-based lighting effects. The original Cube engine's rendering engine assumed that overdraw (where polygons that do not appear in the final scene are occluded via the z-buffer
Z-buffering
In computer graphics, z-buffering is the management of image depth coordinates in three-dimensional graphics, usually done in hardware, sometimes in software. It is one solution to the visibility problem, which is the problem of deciding which elements of a rendered scene are visible, and which...
) was more processor-intensive than sending new streams of triangles to the graphics processing every frame, which vastly limited its performance on more modern hardware where memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth is the rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by a processor. Memory bandwidth is usually expressed in units of bytes/second, though this can vary for systems with natural data sizes that are not a multiple of the commonly used 8-bit bytes.Memory...
is a greater limiting factor. The most recent releases (starting with "CTF Edition") support a precomputed visibility system (PVS) for graphics cards that do not support hardware occlusion.
Gameplay
The game currently has singleplayer and multiplayer. Multiplayer functionality is possible with LAN, local, and online play. The online play gets its server listings from a master server. Offered gameplay modes are Free-For-All (everyone for themselves, all weapons allowed), InstaGib (deathmatchDeathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
, rifles only), Capture (where teams fight for control of points on the map, all weapons allowed), Capture the Flag (two teams fight to capture the other's flag and return it to their base), Teamplay (defeat the other team's players to score points for your team), Tactics (FFA, but players spawn with random equipment), Efficiency (FFA, but players spawn with all equipment) and Protect (teams try to touch each others' flag). Insta, regenerative weapons ("regen") or Teamplay versions of some of the game modes are available, as well as cooperative map editing, even online—one of Cube 2s most interesting and popular features. There are also single player modes featuring both episodic gameplay and deathmatches on multiplayer maps with AI bots
Computer game bot
A bot, most prominently in the first-person shooter types , is a type of weak AI expert system software which for each instance of the program controls a player in deathmatch, team deathmatch and/or cooperative human player. Computer bots may play against other bots and/or human players in unison,...
instead of human opponents.
Media coverage
The game has been shown in a Burger KingBurger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
television commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
. It also received four out of five stars in a MacWorld UK review and was mentioned in Issue 3 of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine
Games for Windows: The Official Magazine
Games for Windows: The Official Magazine was a monthly computer game magazine published by Ziff Davis Media, licensing the Games for Windows brand from Microsoft Corporation. It was the successor to Computer Gaming World. The first issue was released in November 2006...
(as well as their 101 Free Games Article), where it was described as being "perfect for both stingy and creative gamers alike".
The "CTF Edition" was reviewed positively by Phoronix
Phoronix
Phoronix is a technology website that offers product reviews, Linux distribution screenshots, interviews, and news while maintaining a pure Linux orientation. Phoronix was started in June 2004 by Michael Larabel, who currently serves as the owner and editor-in-chief. The name Phoronix is a...
, a Linux-focused hardware and software review website, as well as Linux.com
Linux.com
Linux.com is the name of a website owned by the Linux Foundation. The site is currently a central source for Linux information, software, documentation and answers across the server, desktop/netbook, mobile, and embedded areas. Linux.com offers free Linux tutorials, news and blogs, discussion...
, a website providing news related to free and open source software
Free and open source software
Free and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code...
.
See also
- Cube (video game)
- Platinum Arts Sandbox Free 3D Game MakerPlatinum Arts Sandbox Free 3D Game MakerPlatinum Arts Sandbox Free 3D Game Maker is a kid friendly World & Video Game Creation Tool based on the Cube 2: Sauerbraten game engine. The focus of Platinum Arts Sandbox 3D Game Maker is on Game Creation and ease of use so that it is accessible even to young children but also viable to create...
- Red EclipseRed EclipseRed Eclipse is a multi-platform, free, and open source first-person shooter that runs on top of the Cube Engine 2. The game is predicated around multiplayer based action, but can be played offline against bots as well....
- First-person shooterFirst-person shooterFirst-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
- List of free first-person shooters