AssaultCube

AssaultCube
Developer(s) Rabid Viper Productions
Initial release 1.0 / November 21, 2008 (2008-11-21)
Stable release
1.2.0.2[1] / November 10, 2013 (2013-11-10)
Repository https://github.com/assaultcube/AC/
Written in C with the Cube engine
Platform Windows, OS X, Linux
Type Single-player, multiplayer First-person shooter
License zlib license[2] (source code)
CC BY-NC-SA[3](content)
Website https://assault.cubers.net

AssaultCube, formerly ActionCube, is a free and open source software first-person shooter video game, based on the Cube engine. It takes place in realistic environments, with fast, arcade gameplay. Although the main focus of AssaultCube is multiplayer online gaming, a single-player mode consists of computer-controlled bots.

AssaultCube utilises efficient bandwidth usage, allowing the game to be run with connection speeds as low as 56kbit/s. It can run on older computer hardware as well.[4]

AssaultCube is available for free on Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux.[5] The game engine is free software, however parts of the accompanying game media, such as the graphics, are released under non-free licenses, the CC BY-NC-SA Creative Commons license,[3] which makes the overall game Freeware.

Gameplay

A screenshot of AssaultCube

AssaultCube was designed to be more realistic and team-oriented than Cube while keeping Cube's distinctive fast-paced gameplay. In comparison to other games, AssaultCube is slower than Quake but faster than Counter-Strike.[6] There are two different teams in AssaultCube, called the "Cubers Liberations Army" (CLA) and the "Rabid Viper Special Forces" (RVSF).

AssaultCube retains a movement bug from the original Cube engine that allows players to utilize straferunning to move at a faster speed. This was left intentionally unfixed by the developers because it was considered an enjoyable feature of Cube, similar to bunny hopping in Quake.

Another feature of the game is the potential for using the recoil of the weapons (which pushes one backwards) to reach and perform moves that were previously impossible. This was also included intentionally, allowing players to achieve faster movement and jump higher. This feature was inherited from Cube, though it was absent in the original release of AssaultCube.

AssaultCube's weapons are all fictional and fill the basic niches of a modern first-person shooter: the assault rifle, sub-machine gun, sniper rifle, carbine, shotgun, pistol and knife.

Game modes

AssaultCube has fourteen different gamemodes excluding bot game modes and the in-game level editor:

  • Deathmatch (Known as Free-For-All in other games) and Team Deathmatch
  • One Shot One Kill and Team One Shot One Kill (Fight with no pickups and 1 hp with only sniper rifle and knife)
  • Last Swiss Standing (Knives and grenades only) and Team Last Swiss Standing
  • Survivor and Team Survivor (Teams fight until opposing team is eliminated)
  • Pistol Frenzy (Pistols, knives, and grenades only) and Team Pistol Frenzy
  • Capture The Flag
  • Keep The Flag and Team Keep The Flag (Find the flag and keep it as long as you can)
  • Hunt The Flag (Known as VIP in other games)
  • Against Computers in many difficulties

Single-player modes are:

  • Bot Team Deathmatch and Deathmatch
  • Bot One Shot One Kill[7]

Development

AssaultCube started out as ActionCube in July 2004 by a few members of the Cube community. The first official release was in November 2006. The plan was to create an entirely new game incorporating Cube's simplicity and movement style in a more realistic environment.[8]

On May 6, 2007, ActionCube was renamed to AssaultCube due to a request from the developers of Action Quake.[9][10]

Despite its simplistic graphics and gameplay, AssaultCube maintained a consistent player base of hundreds of players, with over 60 user-run servers online at any given time around 2009.[11] AssaultCube also has several gaming clans, some of which participate in organized tournaments.[12]

Although it is based on the Cube engine, AssaultCube's engine has been highly improved compared to the original Cube, and even incorporates features from Cube 2.

Version 1.0 was released on November 21, 2008.

The latest version, 1.2.0.2, was released on November 10, 2013.

Mapping

AssaultCube retains an in-game mapping feature from the original Cube game, resulting in a variety of custom maps. The diverse nature of the Cube engine's mapping feature allows for creativity and almost endless possibilities for custom maps. Another aspect of AssaultCube is the ease at which custom maps can be shared. These created maps can be played online fairly easily if they comply with quality pre-requisites. They can also be easily shared with others through community sites such as Akimbo and Quadropolis (all Cube engine games). Several maps from other games have been remade for the Cube engine by players. However, only one remake is included in the official release (remade for AssaultCube by the original author).

Reception

AssaultCube, then under the name ActionCube, was named "Free Game of the Month" by the German video game magazine PC Action in February 2007.[13]

AssaultCube was downloaded between 2006 and March 2017 alone over Sourceforge 7,456,000 times.[14]

See also

References

  1. releases
  2. "Source code is available under a zlib-like open source license." on github.com
  3. 1 2 "AssaultCube - License". assault.cubers.net. Archived from the original on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-30. Assault Cube is Freeware [...] The content, code and images of the AssaultCube website and all documentation are licensed under "Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported" Creative Commons
  4. "AssaultCube - Features in a Nutshell". assault.cubers.net. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  5. "Assaultcube Platforms". Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  6. "Assault Cube @ Abandonia Reloaded". reloaded.org. Archived from the original on 28 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
  7. "Assaultcube Gametypes". Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  8. "Cube Engine Games". cubeengine.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  9. "History". assault.cubers.net. Archived from the original on 2010-12-25. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  10. "AssaultCube 0.93 - MacUpdate". macupdate.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  11. "AssaultCube Master Server". masterserver.cubers.net. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
  12. AssaultCube league and ladder in the ESL
  13. Bertits, Andreas (February 2007). "Gratisspiel des Monats- Umsonst ist hier der Tod" (in German). 2. PC Action. Retrieved 2009-02-26. Review of AssaultCube (ActionCube) in the magazine, see cover.
  14. timeline?dates=2004-11-02+to+2017-03-08 on sourceforge.net/projects/actiongame (2017)
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