Widelands

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Widelands

Widelands icon 128x128.png
Widelands-svn3311.jpg
The barbarian people in Widelands
Basic data

Current  version Build 20
(May 4, 2019)
operating system All 32 bit and 64 bit Linux , FreeBSD , macOS , Windows and (unofficially :) ZETA , AmigaOS
programming language C ++ , Python , Lua
category Real time strategy game
License GPL ( free software )
German speaking Yes
widelands.org

Widelands is a free real-time strategy game licensed under the GNU General Public License . It uses many ideas from Blue Byte's The Settlers series and is very similar to The Settlers and The Settlers II ( remake ). It is always in development and is therefore subject to constant changes.

overview

Similar to the games in the Die-Siedler series, the focus in Widelands is on building and coordinating a functioning economic system. The military component is deliberately kept small.

The worlds on which the game is played resemble the board of a board game with clearly defined structures and rules. For example, buildings can only be erected in certain places, whereby there must be space for at least two route sections between two buildings (compare the structure of the cards from The Settlers of Catan ). The most important component of the economy are the streets, which consist of street sections and flags as junctions and also have to follow a grid pattern. Road sections must be at least two sections long and have a flag at the beginning and end. The goods are transported by carriers that are each assigned to a road section and carry the goods from one flag to the other.

The military part of the game consists of military buildings and soldiers who inhabit these buildings. If the player wants to attack another player, he selects an opposing military building and gives the order to attack. The only option here is that the number of soldiers to attack is adjustable. The player has no further influence on the further course of the fight. In particular, there is no way to control the soldiers directly.

Although Widelands started as a clone of The Settlers II , it also has some features that the original does not. Mention should be made of the network and internet multiplayer support, a pronounced internationalization with translations into several languages ​​and the support of a large number of operating systems such as Linux , BSD , macOS and Windows .

Functions of the model such as an introductory campaign and a map editor are also available in Widelands. Cards of the game The Settlers II can be loaded and used in Widelands.

development

According to the developer, Widelands is a game that evolves bit by bit ("[...] is (and will always be) under heavy development"). This is also reflected in the versioning of the previous releases, which are named Build 1 to Build 20 and are considered beta . As part of this continuous development, each of these versions has known errors and missing, desired functions and graphics. The further development of the game takes place in close cooperation with the gaming community, who contribute ideas and suggestions for improvement in the forums and the bug tracker of the program.

reception

Widelands was peer-reviewed by the Linux Journal which noted:

“Delve into this game, and there's much that lies beneath the surface. It has simple things that please, like how the in-game menus are very sophisticated and solid, with none of the bugginess you get in many amateur games. But, it's the complete reversal of hyperspeed in its gameplay that I really love. I always want to get back to building my base when playing most RTS games, but I'm constantly drawn away by fire fights. This game lets you keep building, and places serious emphasis on how you do it. "

“Immerse yourself in this game and there is a lot under the surface. It has simple things that I like, like how nifty and solid the menus in the game are, without the bugs that come with many amateur games. But it's the complete reversal of the hyper-speed in their gameplay that I really love. I actually always want to just build my base when I play RTS games, but am constantly being prevented from doing so by various sources of fire. This game lets you keep building and it really values ​​how you do it. "

The Linux user magazine devoted a three-page article to Widelands in its 4/2008 issue. The c't magazine added a Windows version of Widelands Build11 to their magazine DVD in its 4/2008 issue. The French free software website Framasoft wrote:

“This 2D game with a top-down view is a classic RTS remake, with simple graphics, although functional and efficient. We quickly found the happiness of the old Settlers series with the management of different sized sites, the positioning of the roads which bring resources and advancing your zone of influence with different military buildings. "

“This top-down 2D game is a classic RTS remake with simple graphics, although functional and efficient. We quickly got the happiness of the old settlers series by managing locations of different sizes, positioning the roads that bring in resources, and advancing your zone of influence with various military buildings. "

Web links

Commons : Widelands  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ GunChleoc: Widelands Build 20 Released. In: news. widelands.org, May 4, 2019, accessed on May 6, 2019 (English, quote: implemented over 400 features, code cleanups and bug fixes ).
  2. ↑ Begasus: Widelands ( s ) In: The New Portal for ZETA , BeOS and Haiku . zeta-games.com. March 20, 2007. Archived from the original on March 28, 2009. Retrieved on November 29, 2016.
  3. ↑ Article in Amigafuture magazine about Widelands
  4. ↑ a b c launchpad.net . In: Launchpad . (accessed on September 22, 2016).
  5. ↑ Widelands Art Ethics , which emphasize the peace-loving nature of the game
  6. ↑ English forum posts in which the developers of Widelands write about the creation
  7. ↑ From the General Info page from the project's wiki
  8. ↑ Widelands translation section on Launchpad.net
  9. ↑ FAQ from Widelands
  10. ↑ Home page of the Widelands website
  11. ↑ "General Info" from the project's wiki
  12. ↑ Changes since the beginning of the project and planned changes for the future
  13. ↑ Bug tracker and "desired functions" list of the project.
  14. ^ John Knight: New Projects - Fresh from the Labs . May 1, 2009. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 28, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.linuxjournal.com
  15. ↑ Erik Bärwaldt: Strategy game Widelands . LinuxUser. April 1, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  16. ↑ Article from c't 4/08, p. 152, on Widelands Build 11 . heise online . April 1, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  17. ↑ Widelands . April 4, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2012.