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This is going to be awesome, 3D Realms along with KillPixel and 1C Entertainment have revealed WRATH: Aeon of Ruin their new retro-FPS. It's also releasing with Linux support and soon too.

While Steam only lists Windows system requirements, if you hop on over to the official site there's a Linux "tux" icon to show it will support Linux and the press release sent out by 1C Entertainment has also confirmed this. Need more? Okay, how about the fancy trailer which also shows it:

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Powered by "Quake 1 Tech", it's not just a retro-looking FPS since it's powered by some of the same stuff the classics were. Thanks to this, it's also going to be easily moddable for new levels, weapons, characters and so on. They've said the tools used to create WRATH: Aeon of Ruin will be available to all from day-1.

The single-player sounds pretty good with "3 hubs and 15 enormous, interconnected levels crawling with hordes of enemies, lore and ancient secrets" making use of 9 deadly weapons each having multiple modes of firing. It will have multiplayer support too, powered by the QuakeWorld netcode which will include 4 player co-op, LAN and online play as well.

"WRATH’s dark fantasy horror, core gameplay and classic feel, is something we feel is often imitated, but rarely matched. It’s something sorely missing from today’s games," said Frederik Schreiber, Vice President of 3D Realms and Producer on WRATH.  "Alongside our team of Quake scene developers who are masters of their craft, and the game visionary, Jeremiah ‘KillPixel’ Fox, the haunting journey they are creating is going to be incredible."

As for the soundtrack, it's being done by Andrew Hulshult who worked on Quake Champions, Rise of the Triad, Dusk and Amid Evil as well as Bjorn Jacobson who worked on CyberPunk 2077, Hitman and EVE Online so you know your ears are going to be in for as much of a treat as your eyes.

You can follow it on Steam. According to the Steam page, it will be available this Summer.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: FPS, Retro, Steam, Upcoming
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28 comments
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Botonoski Mar 7, 2019
I'm really loving this recent-ish influx of retro style FPS games. There is something almost indescribable about pixelated low-poly 3D graphics that I find oddly captivating.
axredneck Mar 7, 2019
... something almost indescribable ...
It's nostalgia about Doom 2, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake 1 or PSOne/PSX.
Leopard Mar 7, 2019
From FAQ page on Steam:

Which platforms will WRATH release on?
WRATH will be playable on PC this Summer, while the full version will release on PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch, early 2020

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1000410/discussions/0/1835685838066712893/

This indicates Linux will get builds on early 2020. Not this summer.
Liam Dawe Mar 7, 2019
From FAQ page on Steam:

Which platforms will WRATH release on?
WRATH will be playable on PC this Summer, while the full version will release on PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch, early 2020

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1000410/discussions/0/1835685838066712893/

This indicates Linux will get builds on early 2020. Not this summer.
This seems to contradict the two press emails I got about it, with both saying this:
Get your first taste of WRATH in Summer 2019, for Windows, Mac, and Linux, with Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®4, and Xbox One following in early 2020.
Got another press email only minutes ago which states that same, that consoles are later. Will seek to clarify.
Gobo Mar 7, 2019
With so many Quake 1 engine forks floating around I'd be really surprised if they messed up so badly that a Linux release suffered delays.

And while the level design and details is a noticeable step up from Dusk, it does not seem to reach the heights of the Arcane Dimensions master class. Nevertheless, they have my attention ;)
jarhead_h Mar 7, 2019
Hmmmmmmm....... something that I had never considered for indie game development - a major developer deliberately choosing to use outdated engines for cheap new games. Quake is fully open sourced, and if memory serves is a straight C++ affair.

I bet this saves a lot of time. And they can focus on art direction, voice acting, etc. Because those are the things that you notice after a few hours of gameplay.


Last edited by jarhead_h on 7 March 2019 at 4:16 pm UTC
TheLinuxPleb Mar 7, 2019
If it works on gma4500mhd i will buy it. Then it's retro enough for me. ;)
Cybolic Mar 7, 2019
I will definitely be keeping an eye on this, but I'm not really feeling the monster designs (the original zombies in Quake looked creepier than this) and the sprite trees in the beginning just look odd in the Quake engine.
ageres Mar 7, 2019
Quake is fully open sourced, and if memory serves is a straight C++ affair.
C.
Botonoski Mar 7, 2019
... something almost indescribable ...
It's nostalgia about Doom 2, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake 1 or PSOne/PSX.

I don't think I actually have many nostalgic memories attached to any of those things really.
I was pretty narrow-minded and poor in my youth and, if I wanted to video play a game at all, just played SimCity 2000 in my free time, otherwise I'd just read a book or something. It's only been the past decade that I've been broadening my scope and have been trying things I'd ignored prior.
dpanter Mar 7, 2019
Sigh.
Added Wrath to the wishlist along with Ion Maiden, Dusk, Sigil (Romeros upcoming new Doom episode)... did I forget some? When am I going to get the time to play all of 'em?!
Deeper sigh.

Game looks hella cool tho.
Whitewolfe80 Mar 7, 2019
I am so jaded that i see that tux on their website and instead of thinking great a native port am thinking they are going to say "fully supported by steam play"
Ninmi Mar 7, 2019
... something almost indescribable ...
It's nostalgia about Doom 2, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake 1 or PSOne/PSX.

I don't think I actually have many nostalgic memories attached to any of those things really.
I was pretty narrow-minded and poor in my youth and, if I wanted to video play a game at all, just played SimCity 2000 in my free time, otherwise I'd just read a book or something. It's only been the past decade that I've been broadening my scope and have been trying things I'd ignored prior.

You can't really make games like these if your graphics are at Doom2016 level. I assume the reason why Doom2016 was much slower compared to the originals was partly due to the amount of effort put in to detailed levels, and you can't just have the player skipping through it all at 500km/h. I just want more super fast FPS bullet hell games like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D, and I'm stoked for this and Ion Maiden.
sub Mar 7, 2019
Great! :)

Btw, do they have to pay license fees to id/Bethesda?
I know that the Quake engine is oss for a long time.
But how about commercial projects?
Luke_Nukem Mar 7, 2019
I am absolutely amped for this. Looks like it should be good, and after Dusk I'm craving more of the same.
Cybolic Mar 7, 2019
Great! :)

Btw, do they have to pay license fees to id/Bethesda?
I know that the Quake engine is oss for a long time.
But how about commercial projects?

Well, Steel Storm: Burning Retribution was based on the Quake engine as well and didn't need to pay. I'm fairly certain that since the code is free as in free and licensed before Bethesda got involved with id that there's no risk of needing to pay a license fee.
iiari Mar 7, 2019
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I don't think I actually have many nostalgic memories attached to any of those things really.
Having lived and gamed in that era and played those games, I have nice memories, but no nostalgia for them at all. I find this whole pixel art and retro gaming phenomenon completely baffling. I spent that era wishing we had the graphics, services, and gameplay that we now enjoy today. So, I guess I'm living for the gaming momemt...
Jollt Mar 7, 2019
OHH this is amazing ahhh! Already a fan of Ion Maiden and Dusk, geezzz, I love this one.
Smoke39 Mar 8, 2019
I don't think I actually have many nostalgic memories attached to any of those things really.
Having lived and gamed in that era and played those games, I have nice memories, but no nostalgia for them at all. I find this whole pixel art and retro gaming phenomenon completely baffling. I spent that era wishing we had the graphics, services, and gameplay that we now enjoy today. So, I guess I'm living for the gaming momemt...
I really dislike how many 3D games look these days. Harsh lighting and shadows, annoying post-processing effects, environmental detail devolving into visual noise that's hard to parse. Earlier 3D games were primitive, but a lot easier on the eyes imo.

Dusk I feel used its retro aesthetic a bit as a crutch (which I can forgive from a small indie dev), but with Ion Maiden and it looks like with Wrath, too, I think 3D Realms has struck an excellent balance between old-school aesthetic and fidelity. It's said that art is as much about what you leave out as what you put in, and with games like these I feel like artists are actually free to do that - picking and choosing which details are important and which are not - whereas old games were limited by technology, and modern AAA games are blindly obsessed with similar visions of cinematic photorealism.
Samsai Mar 8, 2019
Great! :)

Btw, do they have to pay license fees to id/Bethesda?
I know that the Quake engine is oss for a long time.
But how about commercial projects?
Quake engine is just GPL, so there are no limitations or licensing fees for commercial use. The only catch is that you need to provide the source code to the modifications you make to the engine under GPL.
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