Clonk

Clonk is a single player and multiplayer computer game series. The games feature a mix of the action, real-time strategy and platform game genres. Developed between 1994 and 2014 by RedWolf Design the games of the series were originally released as Shareware and became around 2008/2014 Freeware and open source software. The game's community develops since then the series under the name OpenClonk. The game series was compared and described as mixture of Worms, The Settlers, Tetris, Lemmings and Minecraft.[1][2][3][4] The game was noted for the easy game "extension" mechanic with an integrated editor and developer mode, which allows experienced players to create their own modifications directly into the game.[4]

Clonk
Screenshot of a Clonk Endeavour round
Developer(s)RedWolf Design / Matthes Bender
Platform(s)Windows 9x/ME/2K/XP/7/8, Linux, Macintosh (and more)
ReleaseMay 5, 2014
Clonk Rage (4.9.10.7)
Genre(s)Various
Mode(s)Single player, Multiplayer (Internet, LAN & Split-screen)

Gameplay

In Clonk, the player controls small, humanoid beings - the so-called Clonks - within a two-dimensional, dynamically modifiable landscape using keyboard or mouse. Clonks interact with their surrounding landscape, animals, weather, buildings and objects. The game can be played alone or in multiplayer in split-screen or via local network or Internet. Four different keyboard settings, combined with the option of using a mouse or gamepad, result in allowing up to six players on one computer. The game goal depends on the scenario being played, varying between melees, in which players fight each other, strategical team siege scenarios and cooperative missions.

Extensions

The expandability of the games is a core gameplay aspect and feature of the Clonk series. Several extensions were made over the years and offered for the registered users of the game. There are medieval (Knights), futuristic (Hazard), fantasy and "Cowboys and Indians" (Western) themed packs available. An elaborated scenario extension is Far worlds which features the deep sea, jungle and Arctic. The Western object pack was originally created for a design contest, but has been developed into an official extension.

Community made extensions

Additionally, many unofficial extensions have been created by players. One example is the modern military-combat extension called "Codename: Modern Combat", which includes various weapons, vehicles, and scenarios in a modern-combat setting.

Since the release of Clonk Planet, players may start a development of their own extension by using the integrated developer mode. It's possible to add new objects (such as Clonks, weapons, buildings, etc.), scenarios or complete packs such as the official Extensions. Many players have used these options and created extension packs, which can be downloaded from the fan sites.

The Comprehensive Clonk Archive Network (short: CCAN) is one of central hubs for the Clonk community[5] to share self-made extensions for the game. Also, extensions for older (freeware) versions of Clonk can be downloaded there.

History
Release timeline
1994Clonk 1 (for PC / MS-DOS)
Clonk 2 Debakel
1995Clonk A.P.E. (Advanced Player Edition)
1996Clonk 3 Radikal
1997
1998Clonk 4 / Clonk World (first Windows game)
1999Clonk Planet
2000
2001Clonk Extreme (3D, no development, unreleased)
Clonk Planet: Golden Wipf Edition (unofficial)
2002
2003
2004Clonk Endeavour (based on Golden Wipf Edition)
2005
2006
2007
2008Clonk Rage (cross platform)
2009
2010OpenClonk (open-source community continuation)

Between 1994 and 1996 RedWolf Design, with the German lead developer Matthes Bender, created four Clonk games for the MS-DOS/PC platform. The games of the series were released and commercialized as Shareware.

In 1999 RedWolf released their first Windows Clonk game, Clonk 4 (in retail release under the name Clonk World).

Starting from 2001, RedWolf Design stopped development of the 2D engine based Clonk Planet and started developing Clonk Extreme with the Torque Game Engine. "Clonk Extreme" - short "ClonkX" - was supposed to transform the game principle of Clonk into a 3D-game. It is also the first game title that doesn't support the digging mechanic. On the development end of Clonk Planet, the source code of its 2D engine was released, which attracted a team of players who developed Clonk Planet: Golden Wipf Edition - short GWE. Within this fan-project, several sorely missed features have been implemented, such as more editability and modern 32-bit color graphics.

Revival of the series

Later, in 2003, RedWolf Design revived the series 2D branch by collaborating with the GWE team and derived the next official Clonk title called "Clonk Endeavour" from the previous GWE 4. The new Clonk title Clonk Endeavour got positive attention when it was presented on the Games Convention in Leipzig and won a newcomer contest held by GIGA TV.[6] Clonk Endeavour was sold in the CD version for €25 and as digital download for €15.[7]

The development continued, and several extensions such as a new network architecture for faster internet games and a fullscreen menu system were being developed. The development led to a new sequel, Clonk Rage, which became the officially current version on May 5, 2008. Its predecessor, Clonk Endeavour, was released as Freeware a couple of days later.[8]

The other 3D development branch, Clonk Exreme, progressed slowly, and in 2008 only early alpha versions, some screenshots[9] and one preview video[10] of the game were available. Clonk Extreme was announced with a release date in 2050, but it was later found to be an April Fools' Day joke. However, In 2009 RedWolf Design's leader Matthes Bender announced he would be working on other projects, and the Clonk Extreme development was frozen without probable continuing development.[11]

Development of Clonk Rage has been continued until May 2014. In 2014 the forums of Clonk have been closed,[12] and on end-of-support of all available Clonk versions, their engine source and game content have been released under open-source licenses to the community.[13]

Specifically, Clonk 1 to 3 Borland Turbo C++ code, Clonk Planet v4.65 & Clonk Endeavour v4.95.5 (engines only) VC6 code and Clonk Rage's current development prototype were released under the "Clonk Source Code License (ISC License)".[14]

The content of all the games in the series was released under the CC BY-NC Creative Commons license,[15] making them freely shareable and downloadable Freeware.

OpenClonk Community continuation
Main article: OpenClonk
Logo of OpenClonk

OpenClonk is an open source continuation based on "Clonk Rage" by a community of Clonk enthusiasts and former Clonk developers alike. It is not officially developed by RedWolf Design.

OpenClonk is licensed under the ISC license with the content under CC BY-SA (or more permissive).[16]

OpenClonk is the first Clonk game not to support backwards compatibility for previous expansion packs. Since the requirement for backwards compatibility has been dropped, many new features have been implemented into OpenClonk. Some features include 3D graphics, traditional Run and Gun controls, a zooming camera, and a completely redesigned base objects pack. Though OpenClonk supports 3D graphics, the game world remains a 2D platformer. Development happens on a git repository and is of March 2017 active with regularly releases and nightly builds.[17]

Reception

In 2004 Clonk Endeavour got some attention when it was presented on the Games Convention in Leipzig and won a newcomer contest held by GIGA TV.[6]

In 2007 German computer magazine Computerbild.de lists Clonk Planet with 4/5 stars.[18] German gaming website gbase.de reviewed Clonk Rage in 2009 and gave 7.5/10 points.[19]

A Russian game magazine's review called Clonk Planet "a plotless masterpiece" comparable with Tetris and Lemmings.[2]

The game was reviewed by several other German game magazines.[20][21][22][23]

See also

References
  1. "Clonk Series Review". Games Finder. 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
  2. САЙТ GAMELAND ONLINE (www.gameland.ru) Журналы : CD №17 (98) "This game has no plot! [...] It would be appropriate in this respect to compare with "Tetris", "Lemmings" and other "plotless" masterpieces. But the game has a name - "Clonk"." (archived)
  3. Matthes Bender packt aus (echt jetzt!) on rebell.at by Sigfried Arnold (in German, February 26, 2007)
  4. 5 open source remakes of classic PC games you won't want to miss by Mike Williams on betanews.com "2. OpenClonk is a free, open-source multiplayer version of RedWolf Design’s "Clonk". [...] (think Minecraft, Terraria, Worms or Settlers), it’s great fun if you’re a fan of those games, and OpenClonk’s powerful customization tools means it’s easy to extend the program with new maps and scenarios." (May 2015)
  5. "CCAN". ccan.de. 2014-06-28.
  6. Indigo (GC) 2004: Games Convention Tag Sechs on Developia by Mathias Kanitz and Alexander Krug (in German, August 24, 2006, archived)
  7. Clonk Endeavour 4.95.4: Mit Drachen und Zauberei in die vierte Runde on openpr.de (in German, October 17, 2005)
  8. clonk.de Clonk Endeavour freeware announcement Archived 2014-06-29 at Archive.today (dead link)
  9. Clonk Homepage CX screenshot section
  10. YouTube CX early hoppers
  11. Stellungnahme von Matthes Bender zur CX-Entwicklung im clonk.de-Forum (in German)
  12. clonk.de Clonk forum closing (dead link)
  13. clonk.de Clonk Rage goes open-source Archived 2014-06-29 at Archive.today (dead link)
  14. Source Code on clonk.de "The complete source code of the following Clonk versions is available: Clonk Rage (current version) (engine, tools, and editor, VC6/VC7/VC9/MinGW/gcc/xcode) Clonk Endeavour 4.95.5 (engine only, VC6 or MinGW) Clonk Planet 4.65 (engine only, VC6) Clonk 3 Radikal (MS-DOS, Borland Turbo C++) Clonk 2 Debakel (MS-DOS, Borland Turbo C++) Clonk 1 (MS-DOS, Borland Turbo C++ [...] Clonk Source Code License (ISC License) Copyright (c) 2001-2014, RedWolf Design GmbH" (accessed 2017)
  15. Developer on clonk.de "Clonk Game Content License Clonk game content is available under the following license. This applies to graphics, audio data, scripting, and text found in the game release packages (usually packed inside c4f, c4g, and c4d group files). Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)" (accessed 2017)
  16. What_is_the_license_for_OpenClonk on openclonk.org
  17. openclonk.git on openclonk.org
  18. Clonk planet on computerbild.de (in German)
  19. Clonk Rage: Review on gbase.de by Daniel Schneider (in German)
  20. PCGames 2003 dead link, but was verified on the deletion request 2007
  21. Shareplay2004 dead link, but was verified on the deletion request 2007
  22. SuperPCSpiele2005 dead link, but was verified on the deletion request 2007
  23. PC GAMES 9/2003 ClonkPlanet4.65 on PC Games magazine (in September 2003)
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