Xonotic is a free, open source multiplayer First-Person Shooter for Windows, Linux and Apple Macintosh released in 2010. It's a Spiritual Successor to Nexuiz, after the name "Nexuiz" got bought by IllFonic. Like its predecessor, it also runs on the Darkplaces Game Engine, a heavily modified fork of the idTech1 engine.
Much like Nexuiz, the game is an Arena Shooter. You start a match with a weapon (the Laser Gun) and earn victory by fragging your opponents, picking up weapons and items in the way. The game streamlines the weapon and map roster of its predecessor, leaving only 9 in the main roster (with other 7 being available via a mutator).
The game contains 17 gametypes to choose from (Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Domination, Key Hunt, Keepaway, Race, Freeze Tag, Last Man Standing, Nexball, Race CTS, Clan Arena, Invasion, Onslaught, One Flag CTF, Assault and Duel) and 25 playable maps, with 9 main weapons (and 16 weapons in total) which the players can use to frag their enemies. The game also has an arcade-like single-player campaign using the same maps from multiplayer but with specific goals and conditions.
The game's latest version as of 2024 is 0.8.6, and can be downloaded from its official site
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Xonotic, as of version 0.8.6, shows examples ofnote :
- Artificial Stupidity: The game makes use of the waypoint system, like Nexuiz before it, which means that bots are still predictable and will get stuck in some unpathed areas. Thankfully, though, the AI has improved since Nexuiz.
- Batman Can Breathe in Space: Several maps take place at floating platforms (Xoylent, Implosion) or facilities floating in space (G-23) where it's possible to fight outside of it. None of the characters sport anything resembling a space suit.
- Book Ends:
- The campaign begins and ends with two six-way matches. Excluding the Brutal Bonus Level.
- Of sorts. Stormkeep is both the second and the last level of the campaign.
- Boom, Headshot!: Shooting someone in the head with the Vortex or the Rifle triggers a "HEADSHOT!" announcement.
- Brutal Bonus Level: Remember Level 17: Stormkeep in Laser Guided Missile mode from the 2.0 Ladder back in Nexuiz? It's back, with a vengeance, and as the last challenge of the campaign. Have fun!
- Capture the Flag: The eponymous gametype. The scoring system, unlike in Nexuiz, doesn't take frags in consideration.
- Charged Attack: The Blaster can be charged for extra damage or higher jumps.
- Combos: The game encourages weapon comboing within its very mechanics, as the refire rate of weapons is longer than the weapon switching.
- Convection, Schmonvection: There are several lava/magma/molten metal levels such as Stormkeep (a foundry), Final Rage (a castle) and Fuse. You can pass near it and not take damage at all.
- Demoted to Extra: Only the Laser (renamed as Blaster), Shotgun, Machinegun, Mortar, Electro, Crylink, Nex (now rechristened as Vortex), Hagar and Rocket Launcher (now the Devastator) remain in the main weapon roster. The rest of the weapons which made the cut were demoted to "Toy" status, only accessible via the "New Toys" mutator: the Mine Layer, the HLAC, the Rifle, the T.A.G. Seeker, the Grappling Hook and the Port-O-Launch.
- Gotta Catch 'Em All: The Key Hunt gametype involves collecting all of the other teams' keys in order to score points.
- Grappling-Hook Pistol: The Grappling Hook. Unlike other games, there's a limited amount of shots you can do, so you might want to restock when it respawns.
- Grenade Launcher:
- The Mortar's secondary fire launches grenades.
- The Electro's secondary fire works the same as the Mortar, but launches instead small, bouncing energy balls which explode on contact with enemies (and Electro primary shots).
- High-Altitude Battle: Dance takes place in a facility rising above the earth.
- Hold the Line: The Invasion gametype pits you and the rest of the players (forming a single team) against monsters, and the objective is to resist wave after wave.
- Hollywood Acid: The level Afterslime features plenty of pools with a cyan-ish liquid. Taking a bath in these pools is NOT recommended.
- Interface Screw: Unlike its predecessor, there's a slight damage blur whenever you're shot.
- Level Editor: Same deal as with Nexuiz and plenty of other games running under modified idTech engines: NetRadiant can be used in order to create levels for the game.
- Lightning Gun: The Arc, which acts as a point-hurt beam weapon much like Quake's own Thunderbolt.
- Mêlée à Trois: Like Nexuiz, the game features several gametypes where multiple teams can duke it out, such as Domination, Team Deathmatch and Key Hunt.
- No Plot? No Problem!: The campaign only serves to prepare the players for the online battles. There's no plot to talk about.
- Nostalgia Level: A few levels made the cut from its Spiritual Predecessor, namely Runningman (plus the CTF version), Darkzone (a.k.a. DM6), Final Rage, Stormkeep, Warfare and Xoylent (formerly Soylent).
- Player Elimination: The game features some gamemodes where player eliminations are a key element:
- Clan Arena splits players in two teams, and every player gets one life. Fragged players stay in limbo/spectator status until the next round begins. A round ends when all players in a team are fragged.
- FreezeTag is a round-based mode where players are frozen rather than killed (unless they die because of the game world's hazards such as void or a slime/lava pit which they couldn't escape). Frozen players can be thawed by their teammates (they must stand a certain amount of time near their frozen teammate), after which they return to the battlefield. A round ends when all players on one team are frozen.
- Recoil Boost: The Laser Gun, a starter weapon that deals pitiful damage but can be used to travel throughout the levels using a Rocket Jump-esque attack that deals less damage than the usual examples.
- Ring Out: One of the rungs in the campaign requires players to use the Blaster in order to push other players away from the map. Fittingly, the rung takes place in a floater.
- Rocket Jump: Using the Blaster gun, one could reach new heights. You can even detonate rockets beneath your feet midair to gain some extra height!
- Scenery Porn: Cutting out the crap turned out for the best. Several of the game's maps now sport beautiful visuals (even more than the already impressive Nexuiz), helped by the fact that Darkplaces has seen a lot of new graphic innovations since this game was announced.
- Secondary Fire: Same deal as with Nexuiz, every weapon has two fire modes.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: The Shotgun. The Crylink is a slower but more damaging Shotgun, and projectiles can bounce off walls.
- Shout-Out:
- Inside the mutator system, there's a Relic mutator which acts like the one in Unreal Tournament, randomly placing some mutator-specific powerups which can give you different combat bonuses.
- Keepaway is the Mutant gametype from Unreal Tournament 2004 without the Bottom Feeder feature.
- Nexball is inspired by the Unreal Tournament mod Soccer Tournament.
- The Xoylent rung in the campaign, where you need to use a weapon with highly pushing properties in order to push people outside of the map, is reminiscent of Super Smash Bros..
- Single Player Gauntlet: The game has a straightforward Gauntlet system meant to guide the players through the different gamemodes and options the game has. It's used mostly to prepare the player for online play.
- Sniper Rifle: The Vortex. There's also an Instagib-specific weapon, the aptly-named Vaporizer.
- Splash Damage: Several of the game's weapons do this. In fact, it's easier to mention which weapons don't cause this.
- Stat Overflow: The game's health doesn't really have a cap, so players could pick up plenty of health items and reach big HP numbers, at the catch that the bigger the number is, the faster the health degenerates to the default 100 HP after some seconds passed without picking up items or being attacked. The reverse is also true, as health regenerates if it's below 100 (but players will still be fragged the moment it reaches zero or less) and some seconds pass without picking up items or being attacked.
- Video Game Flamethrowers Suck: Subverted, as it fires a fireball which hurts upon proximity, and is, in this game, classified as a Superweapon.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: The last match takes place in Glowplant... or so you thought. It turns out that it's Stormkeep, and in All Rockets mode, to boot. Have fun!
