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PayPalSeven Kingdoms Ancient Adversaries holds a special place in my heart, as one of the earliest strategy games I played. Back in the days when you used to actually go to a shop to buy a PC game, something about it caught my eye and many hours were lost.
It continues to live on now it's open source and a fresh release is out.
It's pretty ancient by today's standards (released in 1997), but it's still a surpisingly great game with some mechanics that hold up pretty well. The 2.15.0 release is the first update in well over a year. Here's what's new:
- Enabled multiplayer sync checking by default
- Added experimental multiplayer game recording and replay (use ‘r’ at main menu screen after playing a match)
- Enhanced localization support
- Properly support system locales including UTF-8 codesets
- Added Russian fonts
- Added Russian translation
- Improved 64-bit platform support
- Upgraded to SDL 2.0.8
- Improved mouse control and full-screen interaction
- Fixed obscure crashing bug with the Caravan interface
- Added game manual
To get the latest release, you can find the source on GitHub (build instructions are here). Older versions are available in a number of distributions repositories.
I do wish more classic games were open sourced, there's so many great titles out there that could do with updating that would easily be fun on modern systems. I'm glad some developers and publishers let it happen, it's a shame for them to go to waste.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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9 comments
Yeah, that was one of my first RTS games as well. Definitely lots of charm.
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Quoting: GuestSo it’s very similar to Civilization? (except realtime).Eh... honestly, it is a very unique thing, hard to directly compare to another game.
It is from a time before every RTS game tried to copy either Command & Conquer, Warcraft 3 or Starcraft.
Last edited by TheSHEEEP on 30 September 2018 at 10:12 am UTC
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Quoting: GuestFor anyone wondering like me what kind of game it is…
QuoteSeven Kingdoms is a real-time game of epic strategy and empire building. Players compete against up to six AI opponents or other players for control of land, trade, and peasants.source
Wage open warfare on your rivals, or forge alliances with them. Send spies to infiltrate their ranks, or hold your spies back to guard against your enemies' prying eyes. Mine ore and manufacture goods, then build markets and establish trade routes to bring gold flowing into your coffers. Have your scientists research new weapons of war, or turn from science to the mystic arts, and seek the ultimate power: the ability to summon the aid of the gods.
So it’s very similar to Civilization? (except realtime).
No, it was a fresh air in strategy games. From wikipedia: Seven Kingdoms made departures from the traditional real-time strategy model of "gather resources, build a base and army, and attack" set by other RTS games. The economic model bears more resemblance to a turn-based strategy game than to the traditional "build-workers, and harvest-resources" system in games such as Command & Conquer, StarCraft, and Age of Empires. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CniHqWwJPPw
If you want to try to play by internet, or talk about the game, the most important web from fans of this game is: https://7kfans.com/
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Hmm , sad there is no love for Seven Kingdoms 2.
I loved the Frythans. Though , given how simplistic they were compared to the human gameplay I can see why.
I loved the Frythans. Though , given how simplistic they were compared to the human gameplay I can see why.
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The game developer wanted to do a full-commercial re-release of 7K2 in HD. The original 7K2 game engine had made available in open source before then, and had some work in porting, but the game assets remain commercial. With the developer decision, I do not wish to diverge the two code bases by working on our code separately, so I am not working on it. As you might understand, if there is a future project on 7K2, it would be best to keep the community united, and spending the little time I have on the area of the most impact, which would be on 7K1. Bringing 7K2 up to date should be easy once I finalize what I want with 7K since they are based on the same code. There are not any current plans for 7K2 in open source, but I hope what we get done on 7K can serve us in 7K2 in the future.
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Quoting: the3dfxdudeThe game developer wanted to do a full-commercial re-release of 7K2 in HD. The original 7K2 game engine had made available in open source before then, and had some work in porting, but the game assets remain commercial. With the developer decision, I do not wish to diverge the two code bases by working on our code separately, so I am not working on it. As you might understand, if there is a future project on 7K2, it would be best to keep the community united, and spending the little time I have on the area of the most impact, which would be on 7K1. Bringing 7K2 up to date should be easy once I finalize what I want with 7K since they are based on the same code. There are not any current plans for 7K2 in open source, but I hope what we get done on 7K can serve us in 7K2 in the future.Oh hello, thought I recognised the username from somewhere! Thanks for keeping my old love alive :)
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 1 October 2018 at 10:07 pm UTC
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Quoting: the3dfxdudeThe game developer wanted to do a full-commercial re-release of 7K2 in HD. The original 7K2 game engine had made available in open source before then, and had some work in porting, but the game assets remain commercial. With the developer decision, I do not wish to diverge the two code bases by working on our code separately, so I am not working on it. As you might understand, if there is a future project on 7K2, it would be best to keep the community united, and spending the little time I have on the area of the most impact, which would be on 7K1. Bringing 7K2 up to date should be easy once I finalize what I want with 7K since they are based on the same code. There are not any current plans for 7K2 in open source, but I hope what we get done on 7K can serve us in 7K2 in the future.
Would it be legal to create new assets but keep the naming conventions ?
Just curios if you could use some open assets but keep the unit names the same , or if that would be illegal ?
In any case , really amazing what you have done with the project and thanks for answering my question in such detail :)
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Oh cool, thanks for that. It was definitely a cool game and I loved playing it. The economy and the different factions was kinda unique to me back then. I'll look into it. :>
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Quoting: razing32Would it be legal to create new assets but keep the naming conventions ?
Just curios if you could use some open assets but keep the unit names the same , or if that would be illegal ?
In any case , really amazing what you have done with the project and thanks for answering my question in such detail :)
You'd not be able to play the game even with applying open assets. All the unit stats, attack stats, names, and more are in the game resource files which would need to be recreated from scratch. Then you would also not be able to call the game Seven Kingdoms 2, since it is not officially sanctioned, and wouldn't be the same game anyway. Then you wouldn't be able to play multiplayer with the official version of the game either.
If you purchased 7K2 on gog in the last ten years, I think you will have a free upgrade to the HD version. If you purchased the original CD back in the day, you don't have that option, but don't take my word on that officially. I think the best route is to buy the 7K2:HD version and get the game assets. Then voice your support for a linux port of the HD version on our fan site. Perhaps use the steam option to state you are looking for a linux port if you are on steam. As it has been said, there is no plans for other operating systems in HD, but with strong support showing, maybe something could get done.
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