SuperTuxKart

SuperTuxKart

Original author(s)	Steve and Oliver Baker
Developer(s)	Joerg Henrichs (Hiker) Marianne Gagnon (Auria) Jean-Manuel Clemençon (Samuncle)
Initial release	August 6, 2007 (2007-08-06)
Stable release	0.9.3 / November 19, 2017 (2017-11-19)
Repository	github.com/supertuxkart/stk-code
Platform	Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Android
Type	Racing
License	GPLv3 (code) GPL, CC BY-SA or more permissive (assets)
Website	supertuxkart.net/Main_Page

SuperTuxKart (STK) is a free and open-source kart racing video game, distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, version 3. It features mascots of various open-source projects. SuperTuxKart is cross-platform, running on Linux, macOS, Windows, and Android systems.^[1] The latest stable version of the game is version 0.9.3 and was released on November 19, 2017.^[2] As of version 0.9, SuperTuxKart features an all-new graphics engine called "Antarctica".^[3]

SuperTuxKart started as a fork of TuxKart, originally developed by Steve and Oliver Baker in 2000. When TuxKart's development ended around March 2004, a fork as SuperTuxKart was conducted by other developers in 2006. SuperTuxKart is under active development by the game's community.

Gameplay

Screenshot of version 0.9 (2015).

Split-screen 4-player multiplayer in SuperTuxKart (2017, 0.9.3)

Screenshot showing character selection screen (2018).

SuperTuxKart's gameplay is similar to that of the Mario Kart series, but also has distinct elements, such as collecting and using cans of Nitro. The game features the mascots of several open source projects. For example, Mozilla Thunderbird plays the referee, flagging the start of the race and saving players when they drive off the course. The game supports single player and local multiplayer mode. Both WAN and LAN online multiplayer is scheduled to be released with version 0.10.0.^[4][5]

Plot

Unlike Mario Kart, STK has a story associated with gameplay, similar to Crash Team Racing. Story mode is used to unlock tracks and characters for single and multi-player modes.

GNU and Nolok in the beginning story of Story Mode in STK

At the beginning of story mode, Gnu, the king of the open-source world, is captured by Nolok, the villain in STK, with his spaceship. Nolok then visits Tux and tells him that he has kidnapped Gnu; unless Tux and his friends could defeat Nolok, the 'King of Karts', Gnu would become his supper.

After the player defeats Nolok in Fort Magma, the final track of STK, Tux rescues Gnu from his prison.

History

TuxKart - Tux Tollway

SuperTuxKart is based on TuxKart, a project initiated by Steve Baker in April 2000. Due to TuxKart project internal disagreements the development stalled and collapsed ultimately, and the project was abandoned in March 2004. The project was forked as SuperTuxKart, but remained in an unplayable and unmaintained state. In 2006 Joerg "Hiker" Henrichs^[7] resurrected the project and, with the help of Eduardo Hernandez "Coz" Munoz,^[7] released the game in a playable state.^[4] In 2008, Marianne Gagnon (aka. "Auria") joined the project and eventually replaced Munoz as one of the project leaders after his retirement.

Historically licensed under version 2 of the GPL, in 2008 the game's source code was relicensed to the GPLv3.^[8]

The game's assets (textures, models, sounds, music, etc.) are licensed under a mixture of free content and DFSG conforming licenses: GPL, CC BY, CC BY-SA, and Public Domain.^[9]

SuperTuxKart 0.7, the first version to use the Irrlicht Engine

In 2010, SuperTuxKart switched away from using SDL and PLIB libraries (used through version 0.6.2) for graphics and started using the Irrlicht Engine. This change was released in version 0.7.^[4] In 2013 and 2014, the game participated in Google Summer of Code as a mentoring organization.^[10] The migration of the code repository from Sourceforge to GitHub was officially announced on 17 January 2014^[11], though the assets repository and downloads remain on Sourceforge^[12]. On April 21, 2015, version 0.9 was released which used a highly modified version of Irrlicht,^[13] including an entirely new graphics renderer dubbed Antarctica.^[14] This enabled much better graphics with features such as dynamic lighting, ambient occlusion, depth of field, real-time shadow mapping, and more. In early 2018, Antarctica switched to using PBR in the git version of the game. ^[15]

In March 2017 SuperTuxKart was greenlit on digital distributor Steam.^[16]

Reception

In 2004, TuxKart was selected by The Linux Game Tome to be their "Game of the Month" project. In 2007 Full Circle Magazine named SuperTuxKart as one of the top five racing games available for Linux, describing it as the game to try if you're "tired of realistic driving".^[17] Linux Journal also praised the game, saying that "the courses in SuperTuxKart are fun, colorful and imaginative" and that "If you've played the original, you'll be impressed by the new, hugely improved, SuperTuxKart."^[18] Although it did not make it into the APC Mag top five free games, it received an honorable mention in 2008.^[19] In 2009, TechRadar cited it as one of the best games to put on a Linux netbook.^[20] In 2016, OMG! Ubuntu! called SuperTuxKart "[T]he best kart racing game to not feature Mario, Toad or Diddy Kong".^[21]

Since August 2007 SuperTuxKart has been downloaded over 2.8 million times from Sourceforge.net alone.^[22]

See also

• List of computing mascots
• List of open-source video games
• SuperTux, another game featuring Tux and friends
• Tux Racer, another racing game that features Tux

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SuperTuxKart.

• Official website