Cube (video game)

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 gameplay includes twelve modes:[8]

• "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 free-for-all and duel games.
• "Teamplay": Like Free For All, only allied with those whose team variable is the same as the player's.
• "Instagib": All players spawn with full rifle ammo and 1 health. No items are available (non-teamplay and teamplay).
• "Efficiency": All players have two ammo packs each with 256 health (non-teamplay and teamplay).
• "Insta Arena": When fragged (killed), players stay dead until there isonly 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).

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.[9]

• Intel ported the game to OpenGL ES to demonstrate a new mobile 3D chipset at the Game Developers Conference in 2005.[5][10]
• Cube was used in a computer science course at Brown University 2006.[11]
• 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.[12] A free game based on that game called AssaultCube Reloaded[13] was released in December 2010.[14]
• 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.[15][16]