''AssaultCube'', formerly ''ActionCube'', is an open source

first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...

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, based on ''

Cube A cube or regular hexahedron is a three-dimensional space, three-dimensional solid object in geometry, which is bounded by six congruent square (geometry), square faces, a type of polyhedron. It has twelve congruent edges and eight vertices. It i ...

'' and uses the same engine, the ''Cube Engine''. Although the main focus of ''AssaultCube'' is multiplayer online gaming, a

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consists of computer-controlled

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. ''AssaultCube'' utilises efficient bandwidth usage, allowing the game to be run with connection speeds as low as 56kbit/s. It can run on older computer hardware as well. ''AssaultCube'' is available for free on

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and Android. The

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, but parts of the accompanying game media, such as the graphics, are released under non- free licenses, the CC BY-NC-SA

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, which makes the overall game

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Gameplay

''AssaultCube'' was designed to be more realistic and team-oriented than ''Cube'' while keeping ''Cube''s distinctive fast-paced gameplay. In comparison to other games, ''AssaultCube'' is slower-paced than '' Quake'' but faster-paced than ''

Counter-Strike ''Counter-Strike'' (''CS'') is a series of multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video games, in which opposing teams attempt to complete various objectives. The series began on Windows in 1999 with the release of the first game, '' Counte ...

''. There are two different teams in ''AssaultCube'', called the "Cubers Liberations Army" (CLA) and the "Rabid Viper Special Forces" (RVSF). ''AssaultCube'' retains a movement bug from ''Cube'' that allows players to utilize straferunning to move at a faster speed. This was left intentionally unfixed by the developers because it was considered an enjoyable feature of ''Cube'', similar to

bunny hopping Strafing in video games is a maneuver which involves moving a controlled character or entity sideways relative to the direction it is facing. This may be done for a variety of reasons, depending on the type of game; for example, in a first-pers ...

in '' Quake''. Another feature of the game is the potential for using the recoil of the weapons (which pushes one backwards) to reach and perform moves that were previously impossible. This was also included intentionally, allowing players to achieve faster movement and jump higher. This feature was inherited from ''Cube'', though it was absent in the original release of ''AssaultCube''. ''AssaultCubes weapons are all fictional and fill the basic niches of a modern first-person shooter: the assault rifle, sub-machine gun, sniper rifle, carbine, shotgun, pistol and knife. Despite its simplistic graphics and gameplay, ''AssaultCube'' maintained a consistent player base of hundreds of players, with over 60 user-run servers online at any given time around 2009. ''AssaultCube'' had several gaming clans, some of which participate in organized tournaments. ''AssaultCube''s engine is an improved version of ''Cube''. These improvements include several features from the '' Cube 2 Engine'', such as more menu features and the possibility to set

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in scripts with the syntax ''variable = value'' (the old syntax, ''alias variable value'', still works).

Mapping

''AssaultCube'' retains an in-game mapping feature from the original ''Cube'' game, resulting in a variety of custom maps. The diverse nature of the ''Cube'' engine's mapping feature allows for creativity and almost endless possibilities for custom maps. Another aspect of ''AssaultCube'' is the ease at which custom maps can be shared. These created maps can be played online fairly easily if they comply with quality pre-requisites.

Game modes

''AssaultCube'' has over a dozen different gamemodes, such as deathmatch, capture the flag and variations thereof.

Development

''AssaultCube'' started out as ''ActionCube'' in July 2004 by a few members of the ''Cube'' community. The first official release was in November 2006. The plan was to create an entirely new game incorporating ''Cube''s simplicity and movement style in a more realistic environment. In May 2007, ''ActionCube'' was renamed to ''AssaultCube'' due to a request from the developers of '' Action Quake''. Version 1.0 was released on November 21, 2008. Version 1.2.0.2 was released on November 10, 2013. The game received no updates until version 1.3.0.0, which was released on December 4, 2021. The latest version is 1.3.0.2, released on April 1, 2022.

Reception

''AssaultCube'', then under the name ''ActionCube'', was named "Free Game of the Month" by the German

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''PC Action'' in February 2007. ''AssaultCube'' was downloaded between 2006 and March 2017 alone over

SourceForge SourceForge is a web service founded by Geoffrey B. Jeffery, Tim Perdue, and Drew Streib in November 1999. SourceForge provides a centralized software discovery platform, including an online platform for managing and hosting open-source soft ...

7,456,000 times. The game was forked into a version with a built-in gaming portal named ''ActionFPS'' in 2017. Features include an authentication system and a match client.

References

External links

*
''AssaultCube''
project page on

GitHub GitHub () is a Proprietary software, proprietary developer platform that allows developers to create, store, manage, and share their code. It uses Git to provide distributed version control and GitHub itself provides access control, bug trackin ...

''AssaultCube Mobile''
project page on

''AssaultCube''
former project page at SourceForge.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Assaultcube 2008 video games AROS software Creative Commons-licensed video games First-person shooters Free game engines Free software programmed in C++ Linux games MacOS games Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer online games Open-source video games Portable software Windows games