Smokin' Guns
Encyclopedia
Smokin' Guns is a first-person shooter
video game. Smokin' Guns is intended to be a semi-realistic simulation of the American Old West
's atmosphere and was developed on id Software
's Quake III Arena
Engine. Gameplay as well as locations are inspired by Western
movies, particularly those from the Spaghetti Western
genre.
Smokin' Guns’s codebase
is free and open source software
, distributed under the terms of the GPL
; it is built upon ioquake3, an upgrade of the original Quake III engine
. The artwork and other media are licensed under a proprietary
non free license.
The game differs in many aspects from similar games which are based on Quake3:
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...
video game. Smokin' Guns is intended to be a semi-realistic simulation of the American Old West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
's atmosphere and was developed on id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
's Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena , is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game released on December 2, 1999. The game was developed by id Software and featured music composed by Sonic Mayhem and Front Line Assembly...
Engine. Gameplay as well as locations are inspired by Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
movies, particularly those from the Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
genre.
Smokin' Guns’s codebase
Codebase
The term codebase, or code base, is used in software development to mean the whole collection of source code used to build a particular application or component. Typically, the codebase includes only human-written source code files, and not, e.g., source code files generated by other tools or...
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...
, distributed under the terms of the GPL
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
; it is built upon ioquake3, an upgrade of the original Quake III engine
Quake III engine
id Tech 3 is a game engine developed by id Software for Quake III Arena and has been used in many games under the Quake III Arena engine and Quake III: Team Arena engine branding. During its time, it competed with the Unreal engine; both engines were widely licensed.id Tech 3 is a substantial...
. The artwork and other media are licensed under a proprietary
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
non free license.
Gameplay
Smokin' Guns is a semi-realistic simulation of the "Old West's" atmosphere. The game is a so called total conversion which was developed on the Quake3 engine. It includes new weapons created with historically correct information about damage, rate of fire, reload time, etc. Moreover, it includes new gametypes and maps inspired mostly by movies as well as a custom soundtrack.The game differs in many aspects from similar games which are based on Quake3:
- It is not possible to regenerate health. All damage taken remains until a player finally dies and is revived.
- Weapons have to be bought with money which is given as a reward ("bounty") for defeating opponents. The amount of money depends on the rank of both players involved.
- Defeated players lose their weapons and other equipment which can be picked up by others. There are only very few weapons lying around in maps (in contrast to normal Quake3).
- Money pick-ups can be found in several maps (Depending on gametype).
- It is possible to play in Akimbo-Mode, that is, with two pistols in parallel. The pistols do not necessarily have to be of the same type.
Gamemodes
The following game modes are included in Smokin' Guns:- Bank Robbery: The goal of this game type is robbing the bank. One team has to attack the bank and steal the "money bag". The robber's team is equipped with two sticks of dynamite each, which allows them to blow a hole in the building and proceed to the money. After grabbing the money, they have to head back to the escape point with it to win. The second team is protecting the bank and will try to prevent the other team from getting in. While a robbery might be more difficult to pull off, it will be more profitable than defeating the defending team.
- Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch: This mode resembles the classic Deathmatch gameplay. Players spawn at random areas of the level and must compete against other players in a wild west shootout. The winner is the one who defeats the most opponents in a set time or kill limit. The levels have money and weapons that the player may pick up, and more money is awarded when the player defeats an opponent. This allows the player to purchase new and better weapons. In Team Deathmatch mode, the players are divided into two teams. The winning team is the one who defeats the most opponents in a set time limit. Levels remain the same as normal Deathmatch mode.
- Duel: The duel mode resembles classical western shoot-outs using only pistols. This game type is suitable for 2, 3 or 4 players and also for 2 player teams. The duel maps are huge maps divided into several parts. Separate Duels can be performed in each part of the map (up to 16 players are supported per map). The details of the duel are as follows: The combatants stand opposite each other while a musical clock starts to play. When the music stops the duel begins. The holstered pistols have to be drawn, it will take a few seconds until one can aim precisely (this will be indicated by the crosshair gradually fading in). During this time the player can decide whether he wants to face his opponent (with poorer chances to hit) or seek cover. The winner of the duel gets money and usually stays on the map part he "won" where he will meet the next challenger.
- Round Teamplay: This mode is a cross between Bank Robbery and Deathmatch. Players are divided into two teams. A point is awarded to the team who defeats the opposing team. The winning team is the first to reach the set amount of points or has the most points in a set time limit.