5 ms·

0 A.D. A free, open-source game of ancient warfare

141 points by jonbaer 5y ago

SavantIdiot 5y ago
Ok why have there been 5 open source games on HN today? EDIT: No really, why? Is there some bigger event I missed?
- ajoseps 5y ago
  I think the first one got popular (Total Annihilation?) and people started posting similar ones
  - ekianjo 5y ago
    OAD was just on HN first page again last week, seeing it agai now that sounds like too much for no reason.
    - ajoseps 5y ago
      It was up last week since they just released a new version after a while, whereas this post seems to be in relation to the other OSS games that were posted today. I do think it's not a bad thing though. I learned of new interesting OSS games to try out!
- codetrotter 5y ago
  My best guess is that one post gained traction and people were talking about other open source games in the comments and then other people learned about those games and decided to post about them. I think it’s nice when stuff like this happens. It’s like an impromptu theme day :)
  - xkeysc0re 5y ago
    I quite enjoy when that happens. Often there'll be a deeply-nested comment with a great link that makes its way to the front page.
- astlouis44 5y ago
  Wondering the same.
- ibotty 5y ago
  What were the other open source game posts?
  - rwmj 5y ago
    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28203940 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28203940 Endless Sky https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28201265 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28201265 Beyond All Reason: Open-source RTS reimagining Total Annihilation I'm not sure about the other two.
    - zem 5y ago
      widelands: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28196178 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28196178
- mclightning 5y ago
  it is a relief to find someone else is curious about this too
- riggsdk 5y ago
  Back when Autodesk crippled Fusion360 it spawned a similar wave of posts about open source parametric CAD software. I don’t mind these either.
awb 5y ago
For those new to 0 A.D., it's been in development for years and just released a new version (Alpha 25) last week. Alpha is an understatement IMO as this game has great cross-platform support, a multi-player lobby, pretty balanced gameplay and amazing graphics, plus a ton of other features too numerous to mention. There's also a huge scripting component in JavaScript, so it's pretty easy for most devs to contribute maps and make gameplay PRs. There was also a long delay between v23 and v24, but now the team seems back on track and committed to a 6 month release cycle. To play: https://play0ad.com/ https://play0ad.com/ To contribute: https://trac.wildfiregames.com/ https://trac.wildfiregames.com/
detaro 5y ago
also had a discussion just last week: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28107670 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28107670
Abimelex 5y ago
I played it a few years ago and it was really not ready, just full of bugs and lagging all the way. But I'll give it another shot, because I really like supporting open source games!

141 points by jonbaer 5y ago

SavantIdiot 5y ago

Ok why have there been 5 open source games on HN today? EDIT: No really, why? Is there some bigger event I missed?

ajoseps 5y ago
I think the first one got popular (Total Annihilation?) and people started posting similar ones
- ekianjo 5y ago
  OAD was just on HN first page again last week, seeing it agai now that sounds like too much for no reason.
  - ajoseps 5y ago
    It was up last week since they just released a new version after a while, whereas this post seems to be in relation to the other OSS games that were posted today. I do think it's not a bad thing though. I learned of new interesting OSS games to try out!
codetrotter 5y ago
My best guess is that one post gained traction and people were talking about other open source games in the comments and then other people learned about those games and decided to post about them. I think it’s nice when stuff like this happens. It’s like an impromptu theme day :)
- xkeysc0re 5y ago
  I quite enjoy when that happens. Often there'll be a deeply-nested comment with a great link that makes its way to the front page.
astlouis44 5y ago
Wondering the same.
ibotty 5y ago
What were the other open source game posts?
- rwmj 5y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28203940 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28203940 Endless Sky https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28201265 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28201265 Beyond All Reason: Open-source RTS reimagining Total Annihilation I'm not sure about the other two.
  - zem 5y ago
    widelands: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28196178 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28196178
mclightning 5y ago
it is a relief to find someone else is curious about this too
riggsdk 5y ago
Back when Autodesk crippled Fusion360 it spawned a similar wave of posts about open source parametric CAD software. I don’t mind these either.

awb 5y ago

For those new to 0 A.D., it's been in development for years and just released a new version (Alpha 25) last week. Alpha is an understatement IMO as this game has great cross-platform support, a multi-player lobby, pretty balanced gameplay and amazing graphics, plus a ton of other features too numerous to mention. There's also a huge scripting component in JavaScript, so it's pretty easy for most devs to contribute maps and make gameplay PRs. There was also a long delay between v23 and v24, but now the team seems back on track and committed to a 6 month release cycle. To play: https://play0ad.com/ https://play0ad.com/ To contribute: https://trac.wildfiregames.com/ https://trac.wildfiregames.com/

detaro 5y ago

also had a discussion just last week: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28107670 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28107670

Abimelex 5y ago

I played it a few years ago and it was really not ready, just full of bugs and lagging all the way. But I'll give it another shot, because I really like supporting open source games!