Computer Games for Windows magazine(used to be Computer Gaming World) has a article this month with short reviews and links to 101 free games…I just got it a few days ago inthe mail, so it may not have hit newstands yet.
There is a semi-good game at bbc.co.uk as well.
Those who like Transcendence should check out Digital Eel’s Infinite Space games. They’re not free–$15 for the original, $25 for the sequel–but they are open source and also feature 2D randomly generated maps.
These games are great, but I don’t think they’re open source.
Wow, it’s been open source for 15 months now. And it’s been ported to use libsdl. How’d I miss that?
Good stuff.
I’m pretty sure this thread alone has paid for the next six years of my subscription to the Dope.
'Course, this thread will probably get me fired too 
Three more I have sitting on my hard drive.
Rocks ‘n’ Diamonds is an open-source, cross-platform Boulder Dash clone with Supaplex and Sokoban modes. You can create your own levels using the built-in level editor. Recent additions give it ZZT-like custom elements for even more flexibility. There are a metric buttload of fan-submitted levels available for download.
Xye is a clone of the old Kye puzzle game. It’s another pushing-blocks game with real-time elements.
Eternal Daughter is another RPG-ish platformer game.
I should hang around the systems a bit more and check this stuff out. I’m usually too keen to blast things to pieces and loot the wrecks for upgrades and things to sell :smack:
Curse you, metonymic.
Must… stop… playing… Cave Story…
Wait, wait, wait! I just started this game last night and just sort of cruised around. Is someone saying that there’s more than blasting and looting?
Any suggestions on what to keep and what to sell early on?
(Sorry if this is a hijack, but this game seems really good from the little bit I’ve played so far.)
I don’t know if this site has been mentioned yet, but it’s got a collection of free games.
Yeah, me!
Whenever you find an ice asteroid that has a base, stock up on everything you can and head for the nearest commodity trader. You’ll earn a few grand in no time! I just wish these mines would replenish their supply over time.
You can pick up damaged weapons and sell them at arms dealers, and damaged armor at armor dealers. Leave the illegal and military stuff until you find a smuggler port that doesn’t mind trading with you.
I’m getting better at this, got 6 systems in and a score over 6K last time I died.
:aside: Makes me wish I still had a machine that can run Elite Plus at a reasonable speed :aside:
Cool! Will do.
I hate the ships that I refer to as the dildo ships. The cylinders that come to a point and you can’t get a good head on shot at. Man I hate them.
Investing in an omnidirectional laser does wonders.
I loves me a good omni. I always start out as the cargo ship. It’s a bit sluggish, but carries a crapton of stuff and comes pre-equipped with an omnilaser and at least a visual display enhancement chip and/or a targetting ROM. Later in the game, you can get your hands on other omni turrets that will absolutely save your hide.
As for selling illegal and military goods, there’s more than one way to skin a cat early in the game (…he says mysteriously…)
The omni is good in a fix, there’s another twin laser you can pick up that blasts hell out of everything with a terribly long range. Handy for sitting back and blasting at an armoured station and its sentries before going in quick and hard to polish them off 
I was inspired enough by the game to quickly patch together a Wikipedia page for it too. The creator of the game seems to have had a quick look at it too since I made it 
How do you change what you start out as?
On the title screen, click on the ship icon at the center top of the screen. You have three choices - the Wolfen is a small, fast and well-armed ship; the Sapphire is the middle-of-the-road wonder that is the default; and the third one is the slow and big cargo ship that I love but whose name escapes me.