Cube (video game)

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 in November 2006.
A sequel has been made called "".
Gameplay.
As of the August 29, 2005, release, there were 37 single player maps and 65 deathmatch maps, for a total of 102 maps.
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:
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.
Reception.
"Cube" was reviewed positively by LinuxDevCenter in 2002 and awarded with the "Happypenguin Award" for "Best Free 3D Action Game" by The Linux Game Tome in 2003. In 2005 in an 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.