HeadlinesBriefing favicon HeadlinesBriefing.com

Open‑source Cube‑engine FPS revives classic multiplayer shooter

Hacker News •
×

GitHub hosts the hatearena project, a multiplayer FPS built atop the classic Cube engine. The repo revives the 1990s‑era shooter by extending its source with modern networking, customizable maps, and licensing. Developers can clone, compile, and run the game on Windows, Linux, or macOS with dependencies. The project also bundles sample assets and a simple server binary, allowing users to host matches without third‑party services.

The original Cube engine, released in 2001, pioneered true‑volume rendering and an in‑engine map editor, features that hatearena leverages to lower the barrier for modders. By preserving the engine's C codebase, the project avoids heavyweight dependencies, enabling hobbyists to experiment with gameplay tweaks, AI bots, and network code. Its low CPU footprint makes it suitable for low‑end hardware and educational settings.

Because the code is publicly available under an MIT‑style license, contributors can submit pull requests that directly affect the game's core mechanics. The repository includes a CI pipeline that builds binaries for all three platforms, ensuring consistent releases. As a result, hatearena offers a ready‑made sandbox for developers seeking a fast, extensible FPS foundation.