Well this was unexpected! 3D Realms is back, teaming up with Voidpoint for a brand new FPS named Ion Maiden [Steam, Official Site] and the first part is now available in Early Access with Linux support.
It's using an upgraded version of their "Build engine" to include bigger levels, more colour support and many more modern features. However, they said it's being built using original old-school tools and methodologies. They say it's the "true successor to classic shooters such as Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior and Blood".
Direct Link
From the press release I got sent today:
Ion Maiden laughs at the idea of constant checkpoints and straight paths through shooting galleries. But just because this is a true old-school first-person shooter doesn’t mean there won’t be all the good new stuff the last two decades have brought. Headshots? Hell yeah. More physics and interactivity? You betcha. Widescreen, controller support, and Auto Saves? 3D Realms and Voidpoint took the best of both worlds and cooked it all into a bloody stew.
3D Realms and Voidpoint are proud to bring back the Build engine, which powered Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, and Shadow Warrior, in all of its hand-crafted pixelated glory. They’ve spent a lot of time tinkering under the hood to take advantage of new technology and techniques. Bigger levels, hundreds of new colors, and morphing maps that transform mid-level are all just a few of the advancements made to the engine.
On top of crafting an oldschool FPS with modern touches, they are also hinting at some form of multiplayer too.
"Bringing back classic build-engine shooters has been our aim for years, so we’re diving right into a spiritual successor to the games which put 3D Realms on the map,” Frederik Schreiber, Vice President, 3D Realms. "The team assembled for this project knows exactly how to execute our vision, and we couldn't be more excited to finally bring back a true 3D Realms shooter."
Pretty nice that it has full Linux support—exciting! The current version is a "polished exclusive multi-hour preview campaign", with a plan for the full game to be ready in "Q3" of this year.
You can grab it from Steam, or from their official site for a fully DRM free build. From what I understand it will also head to GOG sometime as well, but I've not been told when.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
It's cool if it's not your style of game, but I don't think it's fair to dismiss an entire style of FPS that's currently woefully underrepresented just because this particular one has pixels.
It is not clear whether GOG.com is ever going to get the preview campaign. All it says is that owners of Bombshell Digital Deluxe Edition already have it and that "the game will fully launch in Q3 2018".
Quoting: Comandante ÑoñardoI am very tired of these "retro" games with really outdated graphics that use the homage to the old school as an excuse ...You're looking at it as a technical issue but it mainly isn't, it's an aesthetic issue (even the gameplay considerations Hamish describes are ultimately aesthetic issues--a matter of what style you are interested in). It's like, there can be reasons to make a black and white movie or take black and white photographs in the modern world.
In those days, the devs did what they could with the few hardware resources they had at hand ..
Today there is no technical excuse for those archaic graphics.
If it's not your taste then it's not your taste (it basically isn't mine either), but that doesn't mean people who have that taste are wrong. Framing it as some kind of technical failure that makes the people doing it simply at fault, is itself a category error.
De gustibus non est disputandum. Personally, the way I feel about this kind of enthusiasm for older styles is kind of the way I feel about jazz music--I think the idea is cool and wish I enjoyed the actual results more.
Meanwhile as to the game . . . cute name.
Comandante Ñoñardo Mar 1, 2018
After Installed, the game runs, but it crash after a few seconds...
*** Error in `./IonMaiden_Linux.bin': free(): invalid next size (fast): 0x0000000004022740 ***
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x4aad0d]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(+0x36cb0)[0x7fdddde85cb0]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(gsignal+0x37)[0x7fdddde85c37]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(abort+0x148)[0x7fdddde89028]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(+0x732a4)[0x7fddddec22a4]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(+0x7f82e)[0x7fddddece82e]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x440351]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x4429ed]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x507912]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x41c3ed]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x4aa635]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x4aac87]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x4aad34]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(+0x36cb0)[0x7fdddde85cb0]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(gsignal+0x37)[0x7fdddde85c37]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(abort+0x148)[0x7fdddde89028]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(+0x732a4)[0x7fddddec22a4]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(+0x7f82e)[0x7fddddece82e]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x440351]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x4429ed]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x507912]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x41c3ed]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x4aa635]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x4aac87]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x4aad34]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(+0x36cb0)[0x7fdddde85cb0]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(gsignal+0x37)[0x7fdddde85c37]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(abort+0x148)[0x7fdddde89028]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(+0x732a4)[0x7fddddec22a4]
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6(+0x7f82e)[0x7fddddece82e]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x440351]
./IonMaiden_Linux.bin[0x4429ed]
Violación de segmento (`core' generado)
Luke_Nukem Mar 1, 2018
Quoting: Comandante ÑoñardoToday there is no technical excuse for those archaic graphics.
Except you know, time and money... I don't think 3DRealms has the luxury it used to have.
rustybroomhandle Mar 1, 2018
The value in keeping these older art styles is plenty. Working within the limitations causes you to think about how to present things, fundementally changing the way you communicate ideas. They are forms of art and we should not let it die.
Last edited by rustybroomhandle on 1 March 2018 at 3:00 pm UTC
Quoting: Luke_NukemI read the whole article as "Iron Maiden"... Doh!This comment made me realize it is NOT actually Iron Maiden :D
I was wondering the whole time how they got the license to use the name...
Quoting: KithopI like how the system requirements listed on Steam are... just stupidly way higher than I think they actually are.
Does this *really* need 2GB RAM and a 1GB video card?
Hmmmm. ;p
Depends how much work they did on the build engine i would be interested to see if they are using the original code or have they picked a community free code and adapted that.
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