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Re: Free alternatives to classic games
Posted: September 15th, 2021, 2:20 pm
by MrFlibble
MrFlibble wrote: ↑August 4th, 2011, 7:18 pm
Warcraft II
Recently I discovered that the latest version of
Aleona's Tales (bundled with
Wargus 2.4.3) does no work out of the box - in fact, no 2.4.x release does.
I figured out that this is caused by errors with PNG files, which I was able to correct and threw together a fix for the latest version:
tales-2.4.3-fix.zip
To use, first install the 2.4.3 release from GitHub, then unzip the contents of the fix archive, overwriting the files.
Re: Free alternatives to classic games
Posted: October 21st, 2021, 7:34 am
by MrFlibble
Re: Free alternatives to classic games
Posted: October 24th, 2021, 12:57 pm
by MrFlibble
Here's a little hotfix for
Aleona's Tales sprites:
tales-quick-fix.zip
It repairs some extra transparency in Peasant, Fawn, Knight and Gryphon sprites, and adds shadows to Footman and Archer sprites. Additionally, I replaced Footman and under attack voice with higher quality alternatives by David Slimp which I found in the old CVS repo, plus attempted to repair some other speech and sounds with clicks and noise using Audacity.
Re: Free alternatives to classic games
Posted: November 25th, 2021, 3:33 pm
by MrFlibble
Another update for the
Aleona's Tales fix:
tales-fix-update.zip
It supersedes the one in my previous post. Unzip and overwrite all files. It restructures the scripts to add custom unit and building names and tooltips, adds shadows to most Feral buildings and recolours the new water tiles. Some new icons and sounds too.
Re: Free alternatives to classic games
Posted: February 7th, 2022, 5:49 am
by MrFlibble
Homeworld
Master of Orion
Re: Free alternatives to classic games
Posted: May 2nd, 2023, 2:54 pm
by MrFlibble
I've just updated the list in the first post. It's a complete overhaul, with a simplified presentation and less categories. Basically, now we have either similar games/clones, or some kind of authorised remake or outright source port -- provided that the game has become free that way. I've also added quite a few more titles.
The previous version of the list is quote below, for reference.
MrFlibble wrote: ↑August 4th, 2011, 7:18 pm
Not long ago I've become interested in freeware games whose authors seem to consciously imitate well-known classics, or at least closely follow them in design. If a commercial game of this kind could be considered a "clone" (made to repeat the original's success on the market), freeware games usually aim for accurate recreation of the game's atmosphere and mechanics, as people behind them are more often that not dedicated fans of the originals. Many of these are open source games, but not all of them, so there's only a partial overlap with
Open Source Game Clones.
Update from 2021/07/27: A complete overhaul of the lists, using new groupings, which are hopefully more informative.
1. Original engine + free/libre game data
These are games based on the original code of their inspirations. Often, a free/libre game data set (levels, graphics, music) is created as a replacement for the original proprietary game data, while the playing mechanics remain the same, but sometimes, other aspects of gameplay undergo considerable alterations, which is reflected by the [mod] suffix in the list below.
In some cases, the source code/engine is still not public, but has been provided by owners to the community so that new free games or mods may be created.
Yet another case when the code is not available are various game construction sets that allow users to freely distribute games created with them. These are marked with the [toolkit] suffix.
Abuse
Alien Shooter
The Bard's Tale
Crayon Physics
Doom II
Duke Nukem 3D
Freespace 2
Heretic
Hovertank 3D
Lethal Tender
Quake
Quake II
Quake III Arena
Steel Panthers
Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles
Super-VGA Harrier
The Ultimate Doom
Wolfenstein 3-D
2. Engine recreation + free/libre game data
Very similar to the above, but the original game source is not available in any form, so an attempt is made to recreate it from scratch and/or by means of reverse engineering. Usually such projects start by requiring the original game's data, and then a free/libre replacement data set is created by the community.
In some rare cases, the author of a recreation received permission from the copyright holders of the emulated game to use original proprietary game data, characters, title etc. These projects are marked with the [authr] suffix in the list.
Atomix
The Bard's Tale Construction Set
Chip's Challenge
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Commander Keen (second trilogy)
Digger (Windmill Software)
Flight Sim Toolkit
M.A.X.
Panzer General
Supaplex
Total Annihilation
Transport Tycoon Deluxe
UFO: Enemy Unknown
Warcraft II
3. Clones and remakes that faithfully recreate original mechanics
This is likely the most common type, with many projects being not only accurate reproductions of the original game mechanics, but often also trying to follow the original "look & feel" of their inspirations. At least some of these projects are motivated by the desire to create a FOSS alternative to a proprietary game for Linux users, or to fill in what is perceived as an empty niche for modern platforms.
Note that some of these games actually make rather drastic changes compared to the original titles they emulate, such as the transition to 3D graphics from 2D, or a cosmetic/thematic overhaul by using free software mascots as game characters for example.
A-Train
Age of Empires
Alien Breed
Anno series
Arkanoid
Battle Isle II
BlockOut
Blood
Bomberman
Boulder Dash
Bust-a-Move/Puzzle Bobble
Carrier Command
Castlevania 2
Civilisation V
Columns
Command & Conquer
Crimsonland
D/Generation
Diablo
Doom
Duke Nukem 1
Dungeon Keeper
Elasto Mania
Elite
Empire Deluxe
Escape Velocity
Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures
The Great Giana Sisters
Herzog Zwei
Homeworld
King's Quest series
Knights and Merchants
Lemmings
Lode Runner
The Lords of Midnight
The Lost Vikings
Magic Carpet
Master of Monsters
Master of Orion
Mechwarrior series
Minecraft
Mortal Kombat
Nibbles
OutRun
Oxyd
Pac-Man
Panzer General II
Puzznic
Rise of the Triad
RPG Maker
Secret Agent
Sensible (World of) Soccer
The Settlers II
The Settlers of Catan
Sid Meier's Civilisation/Civilisation II
Sid Meier's Colonisation
SimCity
SolarFox
Sonic the Hedgehog
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
StarCraft
Stars!
Stunts
Super Hexagon
Super Mario Bros.
Super Monkey Ball
Tetris
Thief: The Dark Project
Total Annihilation
Trailblazer
Transport Tycoon
Trugg
Turrican II
Ultima I
Ultima IV-V
Ultima VI
Warcraft II
Warlords II Deluxe
Wing Commander
Wizardry VII
Worms
X-COM/UFO
Re: Free alternatives to classic games
Posted: March 25th, 2024, 5:47 am
by MrFlibble