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Over the past few months I have attempted to totally remove Windows from use in any of my lab machines. With a mixture of Debian and Ubuntu systems on all my machines I found the need for windows quickly fading into the distant pass. What keeps the bond to my Windows XP partition? The games of course! Apparently with a mixture of Wine and VMWare playing windows games are possible, yet I find the hassle to be in excess. Time to hunt down some fun strategy (Native) Linux games! Here is a resource list of some games that my Wife (On Debian) and I (On Ubuntu) play quite feverishly. Many can be install (on both Linux distro.) via apt-get/synaptic.

FreeCraft

Ubuntu Package | Debian Package

FreeCraft is a clone of the real-time fantasy strategy game WarCraft II from Blizzard Entertainment, although it could be used to build other games similar to C&C or AoE. It is nearly feature complete compared to the original game, and includes a handful of Neat New Features, such as queuing peon/fighter production, finding out idle workers, and a completely new AI. It also has network connectivity for up to 16 players.

On June 2003, a cease and desist letter was received from Blizzard Entertainment, who thought the name Freecraft could cause confusion with the names StarCraft and Warcraft, and that some of the ideas within the engine were too similar to Warcraft II. The project halted on June 20, 2003.

Soon the developers regrouped to continue the work by the name of Stratagus, with a change in the aim: former interest in using the data-files from StarCraft had diminished; the project using the data-files from Warcraft II was split-off into the new and separate project Wargus and the free media set imitating Warcraft II was discontinued. Now the focus is on original free games using the software engine.

Stratagus (w/ BoS: Battle of Survival)

Ubuntu Package | Debian Package | Home Site

Stratagus is a free cross-platform real-time strategy gaming engine. It includes support for playing over the Internet/LAN, or playing a computer opponent. The engine is configurable and can be used to create games with a wide-range of features specific to your needs. Battle of Survival is a real-time strategy game using the Stratagus game engine.

Bos Wars is a futuristic real time strategy game (RTS). In a RTS game, the player has to combat his enemies while developing his war economy. Everything runs in real-time, as opposed to turn-based games where the player always has to wait for his turn. The trick is to balance the effort put into building his economy and building an army to defend and attack the enemies.

Bos Wars has a dynamic rate based economy. Energy is produced by power plants and magma gets pumped from hot spots. Buildings and mobile units are also built at a continuous rate. Control of larger parts of the map creates the potential to increase your economy throughput. Holding key points like roads and passages allow for different strategies.

It is possible to play against human opponents over LAN, internet, or against the computer. Bos Wars successfully runs under Linux, MS Windows, BSD, and Mac OS X.

Bos Wars aims to create a completely original and fun open source RTS game.

Battle for Wesnoth

Ubuntu Package | Debian Package | Home Site

"Battle for Wesnoth" is set in a fantasy environment, where players can build an army of different kinds of fighters from races such as elves, dwarves, orcs, trolls, and more. It is a turn-based strategy game on a hex grid with single-player campaigns and multi-player matches.

SAVAGE: The Battle for Newerth

Savage SFE Mod How-To (Newest) | How-To Entry (Archive) | Home Site Choose to be a commander and you will play an in-depth RTS managing the stronghold, or choose to be a warrior and you will play an intense game of first person combat. With the creation of a new game play genre, RTSS (Real Time Strategy Shooter), Savage expertly redefines the first-person shooter and real-time strategy genres by combining elements of both into one cohesive experience. As the commander in RTS mode, you will tackle resource management, develop a robust tech tree, plan your assault and lead real human players into battle. As a warrior in action mode, you will master many unique weapons, powerful units, and siege vehicles to fight a fast paced battle.