Linux game exemplifies new 'free' software

I discovered a third kind of free software recently. We've all heard of "free as in beer" software. It doesn't cost any money, and it may or may not be free according to the Free Software Foundation's definition. The FSF definition is for the "free as in speech" variety, which may or may not cost you money. The new kind of free software is "free as in crack." It doesn't cost any money, but it's deadly addicting. The first example of this new kind of free software that I've found in the wild is Enemy Territory (ET), developed by Splash Damage, published by Activision Inc., and produced by Id Software Inc.

How addictive is it, you ask? Well, consider this. The final version of ET was released at the end of May, and according to GameSpy.com statistics, it is already the second most popular on-line game out there. It trails Half Life, but has more on-line players than such well-known first-person-shooter titles as Battlefield: 1942, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Unreal Tournament 2003, Quake 3: Arena, America's Army, and Neverwinter Nights.

Some people say that ET is a mod of Return to Castle Wolfenstein (RTCW) that has somehow morphed its way into becoming a standalone game. Others say that it is still just a mod of RTCW, but a full conversion mod. I don't know enough about it to argue one way or the other, but here is what I do know. ET is based on RTCW. The game play is very similar. However, you don't need RTCW to play ET, and as noted above, you can download the full version for free.

For you newbies out there who have not played RTCW, this column is especially for you. If you've played RTCW, you probably know more about it than I do already, so skip ahead or just go download the game and play.

I want to give credit to a new IRC friend who has helped me immeasurably in learning about ET. His nick is LittleZakkie. He is a junior high student from Fresno, CA, and not only is he a skilled game player and an on-line diplomat, he knows just about everything. I'm fortunate he took me under his wing to show me the ropes, to mix a metaphor.

First tip from LittleZakkie is to read the FAQs. Right, FAQs as in plural. Read the RTCW FAQ, the RTCW glossary, the RTCW etiquette, and then the ET FAQ. They are very informative and fun to read. Here is a sample definition from the glossary:

Lamer

A person who demonstrates their utter uncoolness by taking cheap shots, acting in a unsportsmanlike manner, or who is so good they refuse to let me kill them every once in a while.

Reading the FAQs before you begin to play will not only speed up your enjoyment of the game, it will make the game more fun for your teammates. Did I mention that ET is a team game? It is. There are two teams: the Allies and the Axis. There is not much difference between the two, other than the uniforms and weapons. As far as I can tell, each side wins its fair share of the battles. In some maps (or levels), the Axis seems to have the advantage, and in others, the Allies get the home cooking. C'est la guerre.

After you've finished the FAQs, download and install the game. There are mirrors just about everywhere. The mirror list from the Splash Damage site is given in Resources. Installation is simply a manner of running the download as a script. Be sure your system meets the minimum requirements for RTFC before you start.

Minimum requirements? Ha! Linux users laugh at them

But wait. Some documents list the minimum requirements as being Windows 98/ME/2000/XP only, with a 100-percent Windows compatible systems, and Direct X 8.1 or higher. Take those requirements, wad them up into a tight little ball, and throw it in the general direction of Redmond.

Here are the minimum requirements for Linux, as given on the TuxGames.com Web site:

- 2.2.x or better Linux kernel with glibc and X-Windows, Pentium II 333-MHz, 64 MB RAM, 1.1-GB disk Space (600 MB after installation), 4x CD-ROM, Linux supported 3D graphics card

Actually, I don't believe the CD-ROM requirement applies in this case, since you will not be installing the game from a CD.

After the installation is complete, you should find the executable file as /usr/local/bin/et, so if /usr/local/bin is in your path, all you need to do to start the game is enter etfrom a command line prompt. When you do, and after the introductory movies have stopped, you will find yourself at the MAIN menu, shown below. To stop the movies and go directly to the menu, just hit the ESC key.

Start playing!

To get started playing, select OPTIONS->GAME from the MAIN menu, then set the Player Alias to your nom de guerre. Then click on BACK and select Controls. Familiarize yourself with the movement and weapons-related key bindings and change them to suit your taste. I made only one change to mine, adding Mouse 3 to the forward movement selection. Click BACK again and then select SYSTEM to check one more thing. Under NETWORKING, make sure your connection type is correct, then click APPLY, and then BACK to the MAIN menu. You're ready to play. Click PLAY ONLINE and find a server.

The PLAY ONLINE screen is all about finding you a place to play. There are eight ways you can filter the servers the master server at Id Software has found. The filters allow you to exclude servers which are either empty or full, password protected (private) servers, servers which do or do not allow death by friendly fire, servers which limit the number of times you can be killed, servers that limit available weaponry, servers that use PunkBuster to keep out cheaters, servers that allow modem players, and servers that enforce balanced teams. The only filter I have activated is the one that excludes full or empty servers.

The largest panel on the screen is the Server browser, which shows the Server name, the map name currently in use on the server, the number of actual/allowed players on the server, the type of game in progress, the ping time to reach the server, and the filter settings for the server. The ping time is the most critical, of course, for online play, and by default, the available servers are sorted in ascending order by ping time. Everything else being equal, always choose the server with the lowest ping time. By the way, the image in the upper right hand corner of the screen is a snapshot from the map being played.

Along the bottom of the screen are buttons you can click to refresh the list, connect to a specific IP address, get additional information on the selected server, and enable/disable PunkBuster. The final two choices are BACK, which returns you to the MAIN menu, and JOIN SERVER, which connects you to the game in progress on the server you have selected.

When you first connect to the server and pass whatever screening they may do, the map/current game is downloaded to you. While it is, a map (shown below) appears which shows the three maps that comprise the current campaign. You may be in the Central Europe or the North Africa campaign. Each has three levels. Any experience points you acquire in the campaign go with you from one level to the next, but not from one campaign to the other.

Once the download has completed, you see the Command Map, shown below. I saw this map discussed briefly in an online interview about Enemy Territory at PlanetWolfenstein and it briefly discusses the map and how you can use it to your advantage. A link to interview is provided in Resources. The basics to the map are that you are shown inside a yellow circle. All your teammates are shown in their team color, as are all the opponents.

Battle flags

The flags on the map represent spawn points. Those are the locations where you reappear to rejoin the battle after having been killed. According the interview, you can click on a flag to change from one spawn point to another. That could get you back into action a lot quicker than otherwise. The command map appears and disappears during game play when you press the L key.

To the right of the Command Map is a panel that allows you to select which team you want to be on, the class of player (soldier, medic, engineer, field ops, or covert ops) you want to be, and the type of weapon you want to carry. As mentioned earlier, you can also choose to spectate instead of participate. Not a bad idea the first time you play.

When you click OK, you are dropped into the game wherever the default spawn point is located. A timer ranging from 1 to 30 seconds tells you how much time before you're in. You can follow another player by hitting the space bar while you wait. Then you're in. It's kill or be killed. Remember, it is a team game with team members and objectives. If you TK (short for Team Kill, killing someone on your on team) too often, the team may vote you out of the game.

I had hoped to tell you more about why Id Software, Activision, and Splash Damage decided to make this complex, fun, and addicting standalone game for free, but each declined to comment. My IRC buddy LittleZakkie said they are giving me the cold shoulder because in the past I have questioned why the Linux versions of some games are hidden away and not advertised, or why their Web sites proclaim the games are Windows only. But that's close to some kind of conspiracy thinking. I prefer to think they were all simply too busy to reply. In any case, the Linux version of ET seems to be getting equal billing on the Splash Damage Web site.