''Xconq'' is an

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

computer

strategy game A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal decision tree-style think ...

. This

multiplayer video game A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

was first posted to comp.sources.games on 9 July 1987. ''Xconq'' is released as

free and open-source software Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software available under a license that grants users the right to use, modify, and distribute the software modified or not to everyone free of charge. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term encompassing free ...

under the terms of the GNU GPL-2.0-or-later.

Gameplay

Originally a straightforward clone of ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'', later versions included the ability to define rulesets for different kinds of games, first using a

Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotl ...

-like syntax, then a more powerful version based on

Lisp Lisp (historically LISP, an abbreviation of "list processing") is a family of programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized Polish notation#Explanation, prefix notation. Originally specified in the late 1950s, ...

syntax. It was also ported to other computer systems, including

Macintosh Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

, and

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. ''Xconq'' is designed to be

portable Portable may refer to: General * Portable building, a manufactured structure that is built off site and moved in upon completion of site and utility work * Portable classroom, a temporary building installed on the grounds of a school to provide a ...

and re-definable. The default ruleset is similar to ''Empire'', but the ruleset, graphics, and maps can be altered to represent different time periods and strategic scales. Example rulesets provided with the game include Napoleonic strategy, Beirut guerilla fighting, World War II grand strategy, and

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

destroying Tokyo. It can be played by multiple human or AI-controlled players over a network or via hot seat play.

History

Stan Shebs started working on a simple ''Empire'' clone in 1986, initially using

Curses A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular ...

for its interface, then adding an X10 interface. He posted this version to comp.sources.games in July 1987. It used a map based on squares rather than hexes, and supported multiple players by exploiting X's capability for a single program to open windows on multiple displays, although it accepted input from only the player whose turn it was; other players could not even scroll their map display. Even this first version included support for three rulesets (the "standard" Empire-like game, a Napoleonic-era game, and ancient Greeks), but they were defined by C structures and had to be compiled in. Shebs switched the game to use hex-based maps, added a postfix language to define the ruleset to be used when a game started, and changed the X interface to allow all players to interact simultaneously; these versions were numbered 2, 3, and 4, but were not released widely. After the addition of an

X11 The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems. X originated as part of Project Athena at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1984. The X protocol has been at ...

interface written by Chris Peterson, version 5.0 was posted to comp.sources.games (as "xconq5") in June 1988. 1989 saw the first attempt at a client/server version, ''uconq''. The Macintosh

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

was developed in 1993. Although work had started on version 7.5, there has been little development since 2004, with the last CVS commit made in 2007.forum_name=xconq-cvs
on

sourceforge.net 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 softw ...

References

External links

Official site

Downloads and info
on

{{Video game engines Computer wargames Turn-based strategy video games Open-source video games Strategy video games 1987 video games Windows games Unix games Amiga games Linux games Classic Mac OS games MacOS games Video game clones 4X video games Video game engines Video games developed in the United States Free software that uses Tk (software)

Gameplay

History

See also

References

See also

External links