I was looking for information about the single player content in Trackmania United Forever (which is available for 50% off all week via Steam - Aug 4th to Aug 10th 2009); looking to see if there was an AI included so that I could race agains other cars and discovered that the forever version of the Freeware game Trackmania Nations was available for download via the Steam client. yhat makes several games you can now download for fee if you have the a Steam client and for some of the free games either an NVidia or an ATI graphics card.
The games that I know are free so far are listed below. I've starred those that require you to have one of the above mentioned graphics cards:
1).....Trackmania Nations Forever
2).....Coil (you can read aboout coil here http://playthisthing.com/coil I may include it in tomorrows free games)
3).....Mightier (You can find this one in the games synopsis as well - a weird but interesting puzzle game)
4).....Half Life 2 - Deathmatch *
5).....Half Life 2 - Lost Coast *
6).....Peggle Extreme<s/trong>
7).....America's Army 3 (This is the first ever multiplayer only game I played, though it was a version 2.4 at the time - It's a brilliant shooter that does have a very small element of single player in it. That is the basic training. you have to do boot camp where you learn the basic moves, go on the firing ranges initially to fire off the basic weaponry that's a soldiers bread & butter, than an advanced weaponry course that gives you such rifles as the Barrett Sniper rifle to try out. there's a medics course and a Special forcrs course as well as an airborne course. all packaged up in a single player boot camp. They added coop play a few years ago, so there may be a possibility of single player eventually. I highly recommend this one
8).....Sam & Max Episode 104: Abe Lincoln must die
9).....Play Andy Priaulx Crowne Plaza Raceway (Only available if you already own the game Race 07)
10).....Codename Gordon (see Knifethrowers post below for info about this game. You won't find it in Steams extensive lists of games, but he's described a method that enables the game on the Steam clients games list
N.B.
* = requires an NVidia or ATI graphics card
If you know of any more games that you can get free via Steam, please do post details here. Thanks.
If you have some commercial games such as Half Life 2 or Red Orchestra you can also download loads of free modifications (called Mods in the gaming community), some of which add loads of original content. for example the Half Life 2 game jas a a brilliant online mod called Age of Chivalry, that converts the game into a medieval game with several playable levels. There are loads of other mods available as well that include both multiplayer and single player mods and cover such wars as the American War of Independence and Waorld war II plus others a little more wacky such as smashball and a prison break mod. There's a brilliant marble rolling mod for HL2, but the name escapes me at the moment; unfortunately, it's not available via Steam (I think). The following are all available via the steam client. There’s lots more available for Half Life 2 . You’ll probably find mods for loads of games available via Steam, but I think it would take me weeks to post about them all. Just for the Battlefield 2 game (which isn’t available via Steam unfortunately) I have a one Terabyte external hard dive which is almost full of Battlefield mods of which nearly 350Gb are for Battlefield 2 as well as a DVD case with 100 discs full of BF2 mods and maps. Most of the discs are full so that’s approximately another 450Gb of free content for that game. There’s nearly as much for Unreal tournament 2004; and many other games have modifications which adds lots of free content, that extends the life of the game; so I’ll leave it to you to find them. (lol). Anyway, here is just a small selection of Half Life 2 mods (all of which are available via Steam)
:
Smashball:
Smashball is a fast-paced, ultra violent first-person sports shooter. Two teams use super-human maneuvers, a real-physics grappling hook and high-powered weaponry to try to get a single ball into their opponent's goal. On the league web site, players can see match stats, create teams and participate in our cash tournaments!
Key features:
INCREDIBLE MOBILITY! Smashball players can use their Turbo Moves to amp up their speed. The Grappling Hook can be used to swing across open areas and wrap around corners. Combining the two allows for supreme feats of acrobatics. INTENSE ACTION! Play is focused on The Ball. Every second has to be used to score Runs or Shots on the enemy goal. Players in four different Positions run plays with trick Passing while trying to knock each other out. All weapons have infinite ammo, and players Regenerate Health. A brutal Charge is the best way to knock out or kill a player.
CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION! Players get XP for playing, and can buy special Skills when they gain Levels. Skills are used in-game to tailor your character's capabilities for specific roles. There is an entire dimension of strategy in picking the right combination of skills.
BUILT-IN LEAGUE PLAY! When you play, the game will automatically register you for the Intergalactic Smashball League. Through the league web site you can create or join Teams and compete in Tournaments for Prizes! The league site can also be used to schedule matches and automatically start servers!
Zombie Master:
Zombie Master is a multiplayer Half-Life 2 modification, centered around a zombie-apocalypse, which throws all but one player in the shoes of human survivors. Pitched against a relentless tide of rotting flesh, they must scavenge for weaponry and equipment just to stay alive. But that one player, chosen randomly at the beginning of the round, is not bound by mortal restraints.
To speak his name is to invite the wrath of hell — but most call him the 'Zombie Master'. He is nigh omnipotent. His invisible hand controls the legions of undead like puppets on strings; slowly closing the net on the humans while they run to and fro like rats in a maze.
Dystopia:
Dystopia is a total conversion of the Source Engine, continuously under development by Team Dystopia, which places the player into tense combat situations in a high-tech world spanned by computer networks. As either the Punk Mercenaries, or the Corporate Security Forces, the player will fight through the physical world to gain access, via jack-in terminals, to cyberspace.
Cyberspace is a three dimensional representation of the world's network. Inside cyberspace players will launch programs to hack into systems linked to the physical world while fighting off enemy hackers and defending critical systems. Gameplay progressess through inter-linked physical and cyberspace objectives, some are completed in either the physical world or cyberspace, others only by a well timed combination of the two.
The player will be immersed in action packed battles, whether the player is a heavily augmented combat mercenary armed to the teeth with the latest in firepower, or a twitch reflex cyberdecker racing to infiltrate a cyberspace node; they'll be immersed in an action packed battle. Only through skillful use of the high tech arsenal we're making available and intelligent team play will players truly jack-in and kick ass.
Team Dystopia is a collection of dedicated and talented gamers who are creating an action packed multiplayer game. Dystopia draws on the themes and concepts of the cyberpunk genre and implements ideas born out of years of gaming experience. With a diligently designed gameplay system, we hope to produce the next step in online multiplayer gaming.
Dual layer gameplay; interlinked realworld and cyberspace
A highly detailed futuristic "realworld" environment
A 3D "cyberspace" computer network environment
Unique player configuration system
10 assault style maps
4 footbal-esque Phistball maps
12 high powered primary weapons
14 player selectable implants
Eternal Silence:
Eternal Silence is a science fiction mod that pits two capital ships against each other in a seamless blend of space warfare and tactical infantry combat. Pilots coordinate strikes with invading infantry in order to take down the behemoth capital ships from both the inside and out.
Cinematic Battles between Capital Ships on battlefields as large as 32768 cubic kilometers
Four game types providing great gameplay variety
Choose between ataining victory on foot by capturing the enemy's subsystems, or be a pilot and bomb vital systems from space.
Fast and Furious dogfights between Fighters and other Tactical Craft in deep space. Escort you gunships to deliver a squad of marines to the enemy hangar.
A True Space Experience. Cut your ship's engines and drift in the frictionless void of space.
Action-Packed ground battles. Seize decks of your enemy's ship, controlling or disabling their shields, weapons... Fight off the enemy and work as a team, fulfilling the role of one of many classes with an array of unique weapons at your disposal.
Achieve Victory by destroying the enemy capital ship inside and out.
A Complete Story behind the Eternal Silence universe, released chapter by chapter as a novella is available online
Insurgency (Modern Infantry Combat) :
Grab your rifle, join your team mates, and enter the fight. Take to the modern battlefield and engage in intense, realistic battles. Choose your side between a highly organized conventional army or the partisan insurgents. Teamwork, tactics, bravery and discipline are the keys to your success in a deadly and treacherous modern war environment.
INSURGENCY: Modern Infantry Combat represents the modern battlefield on the individual and tactical levels. Only the best players will become commanders and get the chance to lead its entire team towards victory. This is a game where real-world squad and guerrilla tactics are necessary to stay alive and repel the enemy, and is geared towards clans and organized teams of players.
Zombie Panic source:
Zombie Panic: Source is a cooperative survival horror Half-Life 2 Modification, the sequel to the popular Half-Life Modification "Zombie Panic". As a member of a party of survivors you find yourself without provisions or any military support. Fending off the undead has never been more difficult, but with a large variety of fire arms, explosives, and unique items, the task is not impossible. This time through we introduce you to new characters that you can control, numerous weapons including a large list of melee weapons, and the Carrier zombie which can turn friend into foe. We started it all and are happily continuing the fight!
Synergy:
Synergy is a Half-Life 2 multiplayer modification with multiple gameplay modes, mainly focusing on cooperative play. Get together with friends and fight your way through individual levels or play through campaigns, including Half-Life 2.
If you prefer competition, play the Teamplay or Deathmatch game modes. In Teamplay games, you join the Combine or Rebel team and fight against the opposing team with friendly players and NPCs.
Fortress Forever:
Fortress Forever expands on the classic Team Fortress action as well as introduces new elements to improve accessibility for players new to the genre. If you ever find yourself antsy waiting to get back into the action in other multi-player games, then this is the game for you. It's not all instant gratification though; within the game there are classes to suit every player's style, be it stealth, finesse with movement, precision aim, the joy of wielding a ridiculous amount of explosives - or simply brute force. Even within these classes (10 total, 9 standard) you can go about developing your own playstyle.
Empires Mod:
Empires is a Half Life 2 total conversion combining the best aspects of the First Person Shooter and Real-Time Strategy genres. Players will choose between fighting for the Brenodi Empire or the Jekotian resistance known as the "Norther Faction" under the direction of each team's designated commander.
Commanders will play from a traditional RTS view from above the battlefield and is in charge of issueing orders to players, placing base structures and defences, researching new weapons and vehicles and managing the team's resources.
Standard players will aid in securing and constructing bases for the commander and waging war with one of 4 customiseable infantry classes or using one of 7 different and fully customiseable vehicle classes. The goal of the teams are to either kill the enemy commander or reduce the enemy team's reinforcements to 0, rendering them unable to respawn.
Features: FPS/RTS hybrid featuring comprehensive tech trees, base building and resource management
Large maps for combined infantry, vehicle and base building gameplay
Customiseable vehicles from engines, armour to weaponary
Customiseable infantry classes
In-game promotion and unlockable skill system
Unique squad system, rewarding teamwork with extra abilities and passive bonuses for sticking together.
Riot Act – A single player mod:
In Riot Act you play the role of Jamil Lee, a young member of the civilian resistance, taken by the Combine and currently imprisoned in Nova Prospekt.
Revolt: The Decimation:
8v8 Clan Combat focused on E-sports and the true competitor. This multiplayer modification pits red vs. blue in a field positioning strategic shooter with pin point recoil based weaponry. A focused objective match draws the lines of battle where teams who cap the middle determine their offense to score goals on the enemy's post. The mechanics of shooting feels so natural, once you get used to the weapons, you'll wonder why this new breed of shooter hasn't been realized. The pace is just right. And in public play, the dynamic field can either be a play ground for the frag-happy, or a plotted map of objective execution for the advanced gamer. What kind of gamer are you?
The Revolt Iron-Sighted Recoil based Weapon System
Power Weapons to fight for field Positioning
Symmetrical Maps and identical options for each team
Realistic looking environments ranging from urban to wooded areas
A 2-stage objective plays like a sport where positioning is key
A scoring, player tracking, tournament system like none ever seen before.
Awakening:
Awakening is a Half-Life 2 singleplayer mod where the player discovers what happened to Adrian Shepard (Half-Life: Opposing Force), what happened a bit before Gordon Freeman arrival at City 17, and where the antlions come from.
Note that future official releases on the Half-Life 2 story might contradict with this mod.
The mod should have a playtime of roughly one hour leading you trough a intro and 5 playable levels. Starting at an underground complex much like Black Mesa, leading you trough a outdoor snow environment into a Russian submarine base, an early combine citadel structure and a ancient location that the combine is researching.
Pirates, Vikings and Knights:
Relive the Norse legends of the mighty vikings. Explore the Caribbean islands as a scurvy pirate dog. Protect your powerful knightly kingdom.
Pirates, Vikings, and Knights II pits each of these three teams against each other in a never-ending epic battle for power, dominance, and above all- booty! So strap on your peg leg and pick up your sword, because PVK II is the only sequel to bring you these three unique trimetrically opposed teams in continuum!
Rock 24:
A Singleplayer mod - After a disastrous rescue attempt to free Richard G Newell, a renowned rebel scientist, Dr. Gordon Freeman awakes to find himself locked in a holding cell on a mountainside prison facility dubbed 'Rock 24'. His new mission, locate and free the rebel scientist and escape the collapsing combine prison.
Source Forts:
SourceForts is a Half Life 2: Deathmatch mod where Combine and Rebels face off in capture-the-flag action with a big twist. Players build bases and other structures with blocks and plates in the "build phase" to protect themselves and their team's flag (which is actually a ball), and then fight it out and try to capture the enemy's flag in the "combat phase". Once the combat phase has ended, it's back to build, where players can repair, improve, and change their creations to ready them for the next combat phase.
MINERVA:
A single player mod - MINERVA, by Adam Foster, takes you to a remote island under the control of Combine forces. Something is going on here. Your goal is to uncover what that is and destroy it. Oh, yes, and try to survive.
Battle Grounds 2 - This one looks really cool:
BattleGrounds 2 (new version for the Source engine) places you in the time period of the revolutionary war in America. American rebels are fighting for their freedom and the troops of the british crown are trying to keep control of the colonies.
Half Life 2 - Capture the Flag:
The action here is fast and furious -- Combine soldiers and rebel citizens are pitted against each other in a classic battle. Each side must defend its own flag from the enemy, while trying to steal the other side's flag and return it to their base. This game is not yet officially released, but the beta is already lots of fun.
Hidden Force:
Deep within a secret labratory he was known as Subject 617. Now that this invisible mutant is on the loose, they call him "The Hidden". He's armed with a knife, superhuman strength, and an unquenchable thirst for blood. The mercenaries of the IRIS squad have one mission: use teamwork and their high-tech weaponry to eliminate him -- or die trying.
This unique action/horror HL2 multiplayer mod allows one invisible Hidden to face off against eight elite IRIS agents.
Get ready...the hunt is on!
Frontline Source:
In Frontline Force, players are divided into two teams, "Attackers" and "Defenders" with various "capture point" objectives. The attackers will try to capture points found strategically placed around the map and will receive points for their team. The defenders role is to prevent them from accomplishing this.
Plan of Attack:
Plan of Attack is all about game play; Strategic game play. Players are faced with important decisions each round that affect themselves and their team. What objective to attack, planning your defense, acquiring money or experience, bankrupting the enemy team, choosing your skill class, and planning your path to victory.
International Online Soccer:
International Online Soccer: Source is a third-person online multi-player soccer mod. The focus of the mod is to create the ultimate online team play soccer experience. With various real life stadia and team kits, it is both visually attractive and game play-rich.
Alien Swarm: Infested:
More outlying human colonies have fallen to Swarm attacks this month, the most notable of which being the research base of Tau Ceti 5. This base was known for its intensive research on the alien threat, having produced a number of papers on their behavior and biological makeup, information the ISAF paid a great deal for. It's unknown whether the attack on this base was caused by the recent presence of a number of recently captured live bugs or whether it was just a random attack.
