View source for Lincity

{{Short description|2004 open-source video game}}
{{Infobox software
|title     = ''Lincity''
|screenshot     = LinCity.png
|screenshot size = 250px
|author = I. J. Peters
|platform = [[Cross-platform]]
|released  = {{Start date and age|1995|df=y|p=y}}
| latest release version = 1.12.1
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2004|08|14|df=y|p=y}}
|genre     = [[Single-player]] [[City-building game|City-building]]
|license   = [[GPLv2]]
|website = {{url|https://lincity.sourceforge.net/}}
|replaced_by = LinCity-NG
}}
'''''Lincity''''' is a [[Open-source video game|free and open-source]] [[construction and management simulation game]], which puts the player in control of managing a city's socio-economy, similar in concept to ''[[SimCity (1989 video game)|SimCity]]''.<ref name="cnn">{{Cite news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022005107/http://edition.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/07/21/linux.fun.games.idg/|archive-date=2012-10-22|url=http://www-cgi.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/07/21/linux.fun.games.idg/index.html |work=[[CNN]] |title=Procrastinate with these Linux games |last1=Barr |first1=Joe|date=2000-07-21 |access-date=2015-01-21 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The player can develop a city by buying appropriate buildings, services and infrastructure. Its name is both a [[Linux]] reference and a [[Word play|play]] on the title of the original [[city-building game]], ''SimCity'', and it was released under the [[GNU General Public License]] v2.
== Gameplay ==
[[File:Lincity.png|thumb|A screenshot of the original ''Lincity'', showing the [[Top-down view|top-down]] gameplay]]
''Lincity'' features complex [[2D graphics|2D]] and [[Top-down view|top-down]] gameplay.
The simulation considers population, employment, basic water management and ecology, goods (availability and production), raw materials (ore, steel, coal), services (education, health, fire protection, leisures), energy (electricity and charcoal, coal with finite reserves, solar and wind power) and other constraints such as finance, pollution and transports. The player has to take care of population growth and various [[socio-economic]] balances.
''Lincity'' can be won in two ways: reaching [[sustainable development]], or evacuating the entire population with [[spacecraft]]. The ''Lincity'' homepage has a [[Hall of Fame]], listing players who have succeeded in one of these two goals.<ref name="cnn"/>
== History ==
''Lincity'' was created around 1995 as ''[[SimCity]]'' [[Video game clone|clone]] for [[Linux]] by I. J. Peters and hosted on [[SourceForge]] in 2001.<ref>[http://lincity.sourceforge.net/ ''Lincity''], at [[SourceForge]]</ref> ''Lincity'' was originally designed for [[Linux]], but was [[Source port|ported]] later to [[Microsoft Windows]], [[BeOS]], [[OS/2]], [[AmigaOS 4]], and other operating systems. [[Mac OS X]] is supported when compiled from [[source code]] using [[GNU Compiler Collection|GCC]] and run using [[X11.app]]. It uses [[SVGALib]] or [[X11]] as its graphics interface [[Application programming interface|API]] on Unix systems. As ''Lincity'' does [[software rendering]] it requires no [[3D graphics card]] and also has very low demands on other computing resources, e.g. much [[random access memory|memory]] or a fast [[central processing unit|processor]]. Since [[1999 in video gaming|1999]] there have been only minor changes to ''Lincity''; the last update was in August 2004.
==Critical reception==
In 2000, a [[CNN]] article on Linux games highlighted ''Lincity''{{'s}} sophistication.<ref name="cnn"/>
It was [[The Linux Game Tome]] Game of The Month for January 2005.<ref>{{cite web
|url         = http://happypenguin.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1692&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=c923a88129c8f145461163d317e8528c
|title       = Lincity - Game of the Month for January
|publisher   = [[The Linux Game Tome]]
|date        = 2005-01-05
|access-date  = 2007-08-30
|url-status     = dead
|archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927211213/http://happypenguin.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1692&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=c923a88129c8f145461163d317e8528c
|archivedate = 2007-09-27
}}</ref>
''Lincity'' was 2008 a featured [[freeware]] title on [[1up.com]].<ref>[http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=3&cId=3165201 101 Free Games 2008 - Another round of the best games money can't buy.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913102501/http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=3&cId=3165201 |date=2011-09-13 }} on [[1up.com]] (2008)</ref>
''[[The Washington Post]]'' featured ''Lincity'' in 2009.<ref>{{cite news |last=Harac |first=Ian |date=2009-07-21 |title=Freebie LinCity-NG Builds on the Classic City Sims |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/17/AR2009071702911.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=2020-12-30 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
==Successor==
{{Infobox software
|title     = ''LinCity-NG''
|screenshot = Lincity-ng.png
|website=https://github.com/lincity-ng/lincity-ng/
|license   = [[GPLv2]]
| latest release version = 2.11.1
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2024|07|19|df=y|p=y}}
}}
In 2005 significant development continued with the [[Fork (software)|fork]] ''LinCity-NG<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mielewczik |first=Michael |date=2007 |title=Rückkehr der Klassiker. Remakes von Colonization und SimCity. |journal=PC Magazin LINUX |language=German |volume=3/2007 |pages=75–76}}</ref>'', which was later transferred to [[Google Code]]<ref>[http://code.google.com/p/lincity-ng/ ''Lincity-NG''], at [[Google Developers#Google Code|Google Code]]</ref> and then to [[GitHub]].<ref>[https://github.com/lincity-ng/lincity-ng/ lincity-ng] on github.com</ref> ''Lincity-NG'' uses [[Simple DirectMedia Layer|SDL2]] and [[OpenGL]], and features an [[isometric projection|isometric view]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mielewczik |first=Michael |date=2007 |title=Rückkehr der Klassiker. Remakes von Colonization und SimCity. |journal=PC Magazin LINUX |language=German |volume=3/2007 |pages=75–76}}</ref> based on ''[[SimCity 3000]]'', and graphics which resemble ''SimCity 3000's''.
== See also ==
{{Portal|Amiga|Free and open-source software|Video games}}
* [[List of open source games]]
* ''[[Simutrans]]''
* ''[[OpenTTD]]''
* ''[[OpenCity]]''
* ''[[Micropolis (video game)|Micropolis]]''
== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Lincity}}
* [http://lincity.sourceforge.net/ ''Lincity''], at [[SourceForge]]
* [https://github.com/lincity-ng/lincity-ng ''Lincity-NG Source''], at [[GitHub]] ([https://notabug.org/lincity-ng/lincity-ng mirror])
* [https://sourceforge.net/projects/lincity-ng.berlios/files/ Lincity-NG downloads] ([https://bintray.com/lincityng/LinCity-NG/LinCity-NG alternate])
{{Sim series|simcity=yes}}
[[Category:1995 video games]]
[[Category:AmigaOS 4 games]]
[[Category:BeOS games]]
[[Category:Open-source video games]]
[[Category:City-building games]]
[[Category:Fan games]]
[[Category:Linux games]]
[[Category:OS/2 games]]
[[Category:Video game clones]]
[[Category:Amiga games]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in C]]
[[Category:MacOS games]]
[[Category:SimCity]]
[[Category:Unix games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Video games with isometric graphics]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:SVGAlib programs]]