| Alien Arena | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | COR Entertainment, LLC |
| Engine | CRX Engine (Quake II engine withODE) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows,OS X,Linux,FreeBSD |
| Release | October 2004 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer |
Alien Arena (initiallyCodeRED: Alien Arena) is anopen-source, stand-alonefirst-person shooter video game. Begun by COR Entertainment in 2004, the game combines a 1950s-erasci-fi atmosphere with gameplay similar to theQuake,Doom, andUnreal Tournament series.Alien Arena focuses mainly ononlinemultiplayer action, although it does contain single-player matches againstbots.
Alien Arena has been released forMicrosoft Windows,OS X,Linux, andFreeBSD. While the game's content isproprietaryfreeware, prohibiting commercial re-sale, the CRXengine isopen source. In 2013 the assetslicense was loosened somewhat, which allowed the game package to be included in certainLinux distributions, such asFedora,Debian andUbuntu.[1]
Since July 2023, Alien Arena is available on the Linux App Store Flathub. Since August 2023, Alien Arena is also available for free on the indie games website itch.io.
The game features an internal server browser for finding other players online, and the externalGalaxy program performs the same function without having to launch the game, akin toThe All-Seeing Eye. It also serves as anIRCclient for chat between players. The game uses modifiedQuake II physics. MostQuake IItrickjumps, such asstrafejumping, will work inAlien Arena. However, dodging, which isn't found inQuake II, has also been added to the game.
Although it had been in development since 2003,Alien Arena was first released as abeta in August 2004, with the titleCodeRED: Alien Arena. The first stable version was released in October. Twosingle-player,campaign-style games,CodeRED: Battle for Earth andCodeRED: Martian Chronicles, were released during 2003. Following these games,Alien Arena received greater development focus. The final upgrade to the two single-player games was made available on February 18, 2005. The "CodeRED" title continued to be used untilAlien Arena 2006 was released in November 2005, promoted as a "sequel" to the old CodeRED version.[citation needed]
In September 2012,Alien Arena was also made available as an online version throughRoozz. By installing a small plugin, players can play the game in any browser on the Windows operating system.
The game is powered by theQuake II-based CRX game engine, which has been rewritten to include support for such features as 32-bithigh-resolutiontextures, 3D models used as architecture in maps,GLSL per-pixel lighting effects,parallax mapping,normal mapping, ragdoll physics using the Open Dynamics Engine, server-sideantilag code,shaders (GLSL and rscript), texturedparticles, semi-true reflective water with per-pixel distortion shaders, reflective surfaces on entities,light bloom, real-time shadows, overbright bits, real-timevertex lighting, and other graphical effects, all of which can be turned on or off in the menu. As of CRX version 7.30,OpenAL is used for sound on all platforms.[2] Physics support was added in version 7.50 using theOpen Dynamics Engine.
Alien Arena has been compared toQuake III andUnreal Tournament, and is considered one of the best free first-person shooters.[3][4][5]GameSpot noted the use of 1960s-style sci-fi imagery and good selection of weapons and maps in 2008.[6] In 2008APCMag.com namedAlien Arena among theTop 5 best (free) open source games.[7] In a 2009 review ofLinux Format Alien Arena was rated 8/10.[8] Alien Arena was selected in February 2014 as "HotPick" byLinux Format.[9]
On November 3, 2017 COR Entertainment releasedAlien Arena: Warriors of Mars on Steam for Windows and Linux platforms.[10]
