Cube is a first-person shooter video game that shares the name of its free and open-source engine (zlib-licensed). The engine and game were developed by Wouter van Oortmerssen.
It runs on a variety of operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, OS X, AmigaOS 4, AROS, iPhone, Wii and Pocket PC devices with 3D acceleration such as Dell Axim x50v. It uses OpenGL and SDL. Cube features both single-player and multiplayer gameplay. The game contains a built-in level editor.
The game was originally released in 2001. The first release with single-player mode was in January 2002. The latest update of Cube was released on August 29, 2005. A popular spin-off called AssaultCube was released on November 2006.
Gameplay
As of the August 29, 2005, release, there were 37 single player maps and 65 deathmatch maps, for a total of 102 maps all together.
Multiplayer uses a networked game code and a thick client/thin server model.
Single-player
The single-player game play includes two modes. A plain single-player mode in which items and monsters do not respawn and have a fixed position; and a deathmatch-style mode (where there is a fixed number of monsters, ten per skill level) and items respawn.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer gameplay includes twelve modes:
"Free For All": Often used for prewar and setting up teams.
"Coop Edit": Players can edit a map with others in real time.
"Free For All": non-teamplay, meant for ffa and duel games.
"Teamplay": Like Free For All, only allied with those whose team variable is the same as yours.
"Instagib": All players spawn with full rifle ammo and 1 health. No items are available (non-teamplay and teamplay).
"Efficiency": all players have 2 ammo packs each with 256 health (non-teamplay and teamplay).
"Insta Arena": when the player is fragged (killed), he/she stays dead until there's only one player remaining, and then a new round begins; each player only has the rifle and fist (non-teamplay and teamplay).
"Tactics Arena": Like Insta Arena, but each player randomly gets two out of the four possible weapons (with fist), and two ammo packs each (non-teamplay and teamplay).
Development
Game engine
The Cube engine was designed as an outdoor engine, i.e. it's designed for maps that are outdoors rather than Doom and Quake, which are optimized for indoors. It utilizes a pseudo-3D world model similar to the Doom engine, based on a 2D height map. This imposes some limitations (e.g. no rooms above rooms), but does permit slopes and 3D props, which in turn can be used to make up for most limitations, for example, to create bridges with a passage below.
The engine is based on zero-precompilation philosophy—all map data is interpreted dynamically, with no need to recalculate such as shadowmaps or BSP data. This makes realtime in-game map editing feasible. Cube supports multi-user, realtime map editing.
The engine is compact and relies on simplicity and brute force instead of fine-tuned complexity.
Further development
Intel ported the game to OpenGL ES to demonstrate a new mobile 3D chipset at the Game Developers Conference in 2005.
Cube was used in a computer science course at Brown University 2006.
A new game and engine based on Cube, called Cube 2: Sauerbraten, has been developed.
A free game based on the Cube engine called AssaultCube was released in November 2006.
A Cube port, intended as a technology demo was submitted to the iPhone in 2008, and was released to the iPhone App Store on November 18.
Reception
Cube was reviewed positively by LinuxDevCenter in 200 and awarded with the "Happypenguin Award" for "Best Free 3D Action Game" by The Linux Game Tome in 2003. In 2005 in a O'Reilly article on "Open Source Mac Gaming" Cube was recommended. MacUpdate rated the game's latest release 4.5 stars out of 5. Cube was downloaded between 2004 and May 2017 alone from Sourceforge.net 2.7 million times.
