Warsow is a multiplayer 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...

 computer game first publicly released on June 8, 2005. The game is in active development.

Warsow’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 Qfusion, an advanced modification of the Quake II engine

Quake II engine

id Tech 2, also known as the Quake II engine is a game engine developed by id Software for use in their games, most notably Quake II. Since its release, the Quake II engine has been licensed for use in several other games....

. The artwork and other media are licensed under the 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...

 Warsow Content License, which allows the contributors of this media to use the work in a "personal portfolio" but not in any other game.

Warsow is loosely based on the E-novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 Chasseur de bots by Fabrice Demurger. The novel is the basis of the game's cyberpunk

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...

 visual style, which is achieved by combining cel-shaded

Cel-shaded animation

Cel-shaded animation is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make computer graphics appear to be hand-drawn. Cel-shading is often used to mimic the style of a comic book or cartoon. It is a somewhat recent addition to computer graphics, most commonly turning up in video games...

 cartoon

Cartoon

A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...

-like graphics with dark, flashy and dirty textures

Texture mapping

Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture , or color to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:...

. Since visual clarity is important in maintaining competitive gameplay, Warsow tries to keep effects minimalistic, clear and visible.

Gameplay

The very competitive

Competitiveness

Competitiveness is a comparative concept of the ability and performance of a firm, sub-sector or country to sell and supply goods and/or services in a given market...

 gameplay of Warsow focuses heavily on movement and trickjumps. Many of the tricks in Warsow, which originate from the Quake series

Quake (series)

The Quake series is a line of first-person shooter video games produced by id Software.-Overview:The Quake series is somewhat unusual in that its focus changes frequently; the story of Quake II has nothing to do with Quake, and Quake III Arena has little to do with either of its predecessors...

, include circle-jumping, bunny hopping

Bunny hopping

Bunny hopping, or bunny jumping, is a term used in video games to describe the basic movement technique in which a player jumps repeatedly, instead of running, in order to move faster.-Concept:...

, strafe-jumping

Strafe-jumping

Strafe-jumping is a form of trickjump used to increase a player's speed in computer games based on the Quake engine and now the Doom 3 engine...

, double jump

Double jump

Double jump may refer to:* Double jump , performing the same jump twice in a row in cheerleading* Double jump , Two revolutions in a figure skating jumps* Double jump...

ing, ramp-sliding, and rocket jumping

Rocket jumping

In first-person shooter computer and video games, rocket jumping is the technique of pointing a rocket launcher or other similar explosive weapon at the ground or at a wall then firing and jumping at the same time. The rocket's explosion propels the player to greater heights and distances than...

. Warsow also gives players the ability to dash, dodge or wall jump

Wall jump

This article is about the video game move. For its real-world counterpart, see wall flip.A wall jump is a technique players can execute in several video games.-Technique:...

, tricks that were originally possible in the Unreal series. It uses a separate button for most of the special movements, making it easier to use them while doing other things at the same time. The various movement tricks combine to add an extra dimension to the gameplay; as the player's proficiency at moving increases, they are able to collect health, armour and weapons more quickly, and to overpower less capable enemies. The variety and flexibility of the physics has spawned an entire community dedicated to competing on the various Race maps that the game offers.

Warsow also has a unique power-up

Power-up

In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...

 system for weapons. In addition to regular ammunition, ammo boxes found on the map contain strong ammunition. Strong ammo either increases a weapon's power or modifies its behaviour to make it more effective. Weapons are restricted to using strong ammunition until depleted, at which point it would switch back to using regular ammunition. Unlike Unreal, Warsow weapons do not have an "alternate fire" option (pressing a different button to use different attacks with the same weapon).

Mentions in the media

Warsow was mentioned on ABC's

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

 TV program Good Game

Good Game

Good Game is an Australian video gaming talk show television programme created by Janet Carr and Jeremy Ray currently on ABC2. It premiered on ABC on 19 September 2006...

 in the episode on 14 April 2008 in a segment listing the best free to play games available.

Competitive play

While Warsow is still beta software, it has been accepted as a competition-worthy game by several large online leagues such as the Electronic Sports League and ClanBase.
In addition to acceptance by large leagues, many specialized Warsow cups have emerged. Well-known examples are Bamboocha, a Europe-based Warsow Duel Tourney, and ESW : WARSOW, a Japanese Warsow cup. In 2007, several LAN

Local area network

A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...

 tournaments featuring Warsow have emerged such as Crossfire Devotii Challenge 3, Warsow.nl LAN, and E-SPORTS STADIUM 2007.

Additionally, Warsow has been featured on the German TV-channel GIGA Television

GIGA Television

GIGA was the brand name of a digital TV channel and several German television shows. The channel ceased operations in 2009.-Early Days:...

 several times, namely in GIGA eSports and its sub-shows Skill Sunday and Free For All and the Pay TV

Pay TV

Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...

 ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 station GIGA 2, also produced by Turtle Entertainment.

External links

• Warsow.net – official website
• Análisis de Warsow en español