| SuperTuxKart | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Game of the Month team, Joerg Henrichs, Marianne Gagnon. and Constantin Pelikan |
| Version | 0.7.3 |
| Platform(s) | Cross-Platform |
| Release date(s) | November 14, 2011 |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multi-player |
SuperTuxKart is a Mario Kart-inspired[1] arcade racing game featuring the Linux mascot Tux. As known as STK, the game was originally conceived as an enhanced fork of TuxKart, but with other internet mascots by the Game of the Month team consisting of Ingo Ruhnke, Charles Goodwin, and several others,[1] eventually evolving into a largely original game.[2] The latest version of the game is version 0.7.3 and was released on November 14, 2011.[3]
It is written in the C++ programming language and uses OpenAL for sounds. It used the libraries SDL and PLIB for graphics until milestone 0.7, when the project switched to the Irrlicht Engine.[4]
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Charles Goodwin proposed the original project for Game of the Month. The Game of the Month project was started with the original developer of TuxKart on board, Steve Baker. However, the project went nowhere as the Game of the Month volunteers lacked either the ability, time, or interest for achieving the goals. From there, the work preceded in a disorganized fashion.
Eventually, in December 2004, the project was considered dead by Ingo Ruhnke and the work forked off.[5] According to Steve Baker, the Game of the Month development team didn’t know anything about 3D graphics and refused to take his advice. They broke the game, leaving it in an unusable state.[6] Later on the project was picked up by a new team around Joerg Henrichs, Marianne Gagnon and Constantin Pelikan who developed it to the state that it is in today.[7] The first official release of the game by the new team was in September 2006 as version 0.2. The switch to the Irrlicht Engine (graphics engine) was done on in version 0.7.[8] The project has a milestone page planning several versions ahead and a forum at FreeGameDev.net to coordinate the development effort.
Full Circle Magazine named SuperTuxKart as one of the top five racing games available for Linux, describing it as the game to try if you're "tired of realistic driving".[9] Linux Journal also praised the game, saying that "the courses in SuperTuxKart are fun, colorful and imaginative" and that "If you've played the original, you'll be impressed by the new, hugely improved, SuperTuxKart."[10]
Linux Format also commented that "there are many tracks with interesting features in the scenery" and that the games multiplayer can take "you back to the joy of 8-bit console games."[11] Linux Links listed it in the arcade section of its "Top 100 Free Linux Games"[12] and although it did not make it into the APG Mag top five free games, it received an honourable mention.[13]