Nexuiz

NOTE: This article refers to the original libre game “Nexuiz” created by AlienTrap from 2005. There's also a proprietary game called “Nexuiz” by IllFonic. This article is concerned with the libre game.

Nexuiz (also called “Nexuiz Classic” for disambiguation) by AlienTrap is a multiplayer 3d first person arena shooter, based on Forest Hale's DarkPlaces engine.

Gameplay
It's a classic arena shooter with a science-fiction theme and many game modes known from other FPSes like classic deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, domination, but it also features the unique key hunt mode in which your team must collect all keys to score. The game can be customized further by so-called mutators, little rule changes like low gravity or a grappling hook.

The weapons have a primary and secondary fire mode and include the shotgun, machinegun, various unique energy weapons, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, and more.

In the arenas, you find collectible weapons, ammo, health and armor. Special pick ups are Strength (which increase the damage dealt), Shield (you take less damage) and Speed (increases walking speed).

The health/armor system in this game is a bit different than in other games: Your health will tend towards 100 with a higher rate of change the further away your health is from 100. Your health could theoretically go very hight, but it will be hard to maintain for long.

The game features a simple singleplayer campaign which is mostly meant for practice. The “real” game happens in online multiplayer.

History
The first version was released in 2005. Version 2.5 was released in October 2009. The latest version is 2.5.2, after which no more updates came.

Following a 2010 controversy, the game has been forked under a new name Xonotic, which is now actively developed. . Xonotic is regarded as the spiritual successor to the (libre) Nexuiz. See the Xonotic article for the full story. Another fork exists entitled Rexuiz.

Naming confusion and the IllFonic remake
There's another game that is called “Nexuiz”, created by the company IllFonic in 2010. IllFonic's Nexuiz is proprietary and a completely different game written from scratch in CryENGINE3. This game just loosely resembles some elements of the libre Nexuiz. It does not share any source code, artwork or maps of the original Nexuiz, only the name is the same, and otherwise the both games couldn't be more different.

When people in the free software community talk about “Nexuiz”, they usually mean the libre game, not IllFonic's remake.

The original libre Nexuiz is distributed as “Nexuiz Classic” on.

To summarize:


 * Nexuiz, created 2005 by AlienTrap, is the original libre game. This game is also sometimes called “Nexuiz Classic” nowadays. This article is about this game.
 * Nexuiz, created 2010 by IllFonic, is a proprietary game. It is a completely different game, independent in its own right and only very loosely resembles the original.