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Scorched 3D

Scorched 3D is a free and open-source turn-based that serves as a three-dimensional remake of the classic game Scorched Earth, featuring destructible landscapes and support for up to 25 players (one local and up to 24 others) in multiplayer battles. Released initially in 2001, Scorched 3D was developed by Gavin Camp as a cross-platform title programmed primarily in C++ using for graphics rendering, and the latest version is 44, released in August 2014. The game is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2 or later, allowing for free distribution and modification, and it is available on Microsoft Windows, , and macOS operating systems. In gameplay, players control tanks on procedurally generated or custom 3D terrains, taking turns to select weapons, adjust aim and power, and fire projectiles while accounting for factors like wind, gravity, and environmental destruction that alters the battlefield in real time. Key features include a wide array of weapons such as missiles, lasers, and nukes; an economic system for purchasing upgrades and shields; animated elements like birds, water, and exploding effects; and modes like the Apocalypse mod for intensified, simultaneous combat. The game supports both single-player against AI opponents and online multiplayer via public servers, with a tutorial mode to help newcomers learn its mechanics, emphasizing strategy in resource management and tactical positioning over the course of matches that can last from minutes to hours. Its enduring popularity stems from its accessibility, nostalgic appeal to fans of , and active community contributions to maps, mods, and servers, making it a staple in the gaming ecosystem.

Gameplay

Core mechanics

Scorched 3D is a turn-based where control positioned on a landscape, taking turns to aim and fire projectiles at opponents. The primary objective is to destroy enemy over a standard match of 10 rounds, with victory awarded to the player or team achieving the highest score based on kills and damage inflicted. adjust their tank's , , and firing power while accounting for factors like , , and terrain elevation to calculate accurate trajectories. The game's arsenal includes a variety of weapons, ranging from basic missiles that follow parabolic paths to more advanced options with specialized effects. Basic missiles deliver direct damage on impact, while weapons like the Funky Bomb release secondary bomblets upon to cover a wider area, and MIRVs deploy multiple submunitions in mid-air for across a . Other examples include land-hugging Rollers that roll down slopes toward targets, strikes that incinerate areas over time, and weapons like tactical nukes that create large craters with high blast . Each weapon has unique properties, such as damage output, splash , and flight , requiring to select based on , , and defensive setups. Defensive tools allow players to evade or mitigate incoming attacks, enhancing survival in prolonged engagements. Shields absorb or block damage from most projectiles, with variants like magnetic or force shields capable of repelling or reflecting shots back at attackers. Parachutes deploy to slow falls and prevent damage from heights, while devices enable instant repositioning to safer terrain. Batteries provide repair functionality to restore health between turns, and automated defenses can activate shields or parachutes reactively. These mechanics emphasize tactical positioning, as damage reduces a tank's power output and mobility. An in-game economy governs , where players earn prize money each round proportional to damage dealt and enemies eliminated—typically starting with a base amount and scaling with performance. Funds are spent on weapons, defenses, and mobility items like for tank movement, with costs varying by item potency; for instance, basic missiles might cost minimally, while advanced nukes or shields require substantial investment. This system encourages strategic budgeting, as unspent money carries over but limited per-round earnings force trade-offs between offense and survival. Earning rates can be customized, but standard play rewards aggressive play with higher yields for kills. Environmental interactions add depth to combat through a fully destructible 3D terrain that deforms from explosions, creating craters, trenches, or collapsed hillsides that alter lines of sight and trajectories. Water bodies affect shots by slowing or redirecting projectiles, while animated elements like jets, birds, and naval vessels can intersect paths, potentially blocking or influencing fire. Tanks can move across the landscape using fuel, allowing repositioning to exploit new terrain features formed by prior blasts, which integrates destruction as a core tactical element.

Modes and features

Scorched 3D supports multiple game modes to accommodate various play styles, including single-player campaigns against opponents, hotseat multiplayer for local play, and network-based multiplayer supporting up to 24 players combining human and computer participants. In single-player mode, users can engage in turn-based battles on generated maps, while hotseat allows players to share a single device for offline multiplayer. Network play enables online sessions via public servers or local area networks, fostering competitive matches with customizable player counts. The game incorporates elements alongside its core turn-based mechanics, such as simultaneous actions in multiplayer scenarios and counter-weapon accessories like shields to defend against incoming attacks. Players can deploy tactical items during turns to disrupt opponents, adding layers of strategic depth beyond simple aiming and firing. These features encourage proactive defense and resource management within the flow of combat. Map generation in Scorched 3D includes random procedural terrains that create diverse landscapes, alongside support for user-designed maps to enable scenarios. Environmental conditions are highly customizable, with variables like wind strength and levels affecting projectile trajectories and overall gameplay dynamics. This flexibility allows players to tailor matches for different challenges, from high-wind skirmishes to low- environments that alter aiming precision. A built-in tutorial mode guides new players through essential mechanics, covering controls for aiming, movement, and weapon selection to build foundational skills. Additionally, the game bundles the mode, which expands on standard play with enhanced weaponry tiers and access to custom maps for more intense, destructive battles. Visually, Scorched 3D features detailed tank models with customizable appearances and realistic projectile animations, complemented by destructible landscapes that respond dynamically to explosions. Stunning explosion effects include particle-based debris and environmental deformation, enhancing the immersive quality of impacts. Audio design contributes to the 3D experience through contextual effects for weapons, movements, and destructions, providing auditory feedback that reinforces the spatial depth of battles.

Development

Origins and history

Scorched 3D's development began on April 29, 2001, when lead developer Gavin Camp initiated the project as a simple 3D landscape generator for Windows platforms. The tool was designed to create destructible terrains, but Camp soon pivoted the focus toward transforming it into a complete artillery game, drawing direct inspiration from the classic MS-DOS title Scorched Earth to modernize its turn-based mechanics with three-dimensional graphics and enhanced interactivity. This shift emphasized fully destructible environments and strategic weapon deployment, aiming to retain the original's addictive simplicity while appealing to contemporary audiences through visual depth and multiplayer potential. The first public release occurred later that year, marking the game's transition to a playable experience hosted on SourceForge.net, where it has remained available as an open-source project. Early milestones included cross-platform compatibility expansions by 2003, enabling support for and other systems alongside Windows, which broadened its accessibility and encouraged initial community testing and feedback. Over the subsequent decade, development progressed through iterative updates, with major stable releases such as version 43.3d on March 5, 2012, introducing bug fixes, new features like improved networking, and refinements to gameplay balance. Version 44 was released on August 1, 2014, adding minor enhancements to rendering and mod integration while maintaining the core framework. Released under the GNU GPL-2.0-or-later license from its inception, Scorched 3D's open-source nature facilitated community contributions, including bug reports, translations, and custom content shared via forums and the project's repository. However, periods of developer inactivity, particularly after the 2014 release, posed challenges, leading to reliance on user-driven patches and unofficial adaptations to address compatibility issues with newer operating systems and hardware. In March 2025, an unofficial fork released version 44.2, integrating community patches from 2014–2024 to improve compatibility with newer systems. These dynamics underscored the game's evolution as a collaborative effort, with Scorched Earth's influence persisting through features like economic weapon purchasing and environmental destruction, elevated by 3D elements such as animated scenery and multi-angle views for strategic depth.

Technical implementation

Scorched 3D is developed in C++ to ensure cross-platform compatibility across Windows, , and macOS systems. This choice allows the game to leverage low-level system access for performance while maintaining portability without platform-specific codebases. The core graphics and input handling rely on the (SDL) library, which provides cross-platform abstractions for audio, keyboard, mouse, and joystick inputs, as well as basic 2D rendering capabilities. For the user interface, is employed to create native-looking menus, dialogs, and configuration panels that adapt to the host operating system's style. Three-dimensional rendering, including the visualization of destructible landscapes, utilizes for hardware-accelerated graphics, enabling smooth display of complex scenes with particle effects and environmental animations. The game's physics simulation is implemented customarily, without reliance on external physics engines, focusing on essential mechanics. Projectile trajectories are calculated using to model parabolic paths influenced by initial , launch angle, and environmental factors such as and variable forces, which alter direction and speed in real-time. Terrain deformation occurs through voxel-based or modifications upon impact, allowing landscapes to crumble realistically and create craters that persist across turns, enhancing without compromising simulation speed. Networking supports both and multiplayer via a server-client architecture, accommodating up to 24 players in sessions that blend human and opponents. The implementation synchronizes game states, including tank positions, weapon firings, and terrain updates, using for efficient packet transmission to minimize latency in turn-based exchanges. To maintain performance on low-end hardware, the engine incorporates optimizations such as level-of-detail rendering for distant animated elements like jets and surfaces, which use simplified shaders and reduced counts. Particle systems for explosions and debris are culled based on visibility, ensuring frame rates remain stable even during intense multiplayer battles with dynamic environmental interactions.

Release and community

Versions and platforms

Scorched 3D began development with an initial alpha release in April 2001, marking the start of its evolution as a cross-platform artillery game. The project saw steady updates through the 2000s, culminating in stable version 43.3d released in March 2012, which included minor feature enhancements and bug fixes. This was followed by preview version 44 in August 2014, introducing further refinements to gameplay and rendering while maintaining compatibility with existing systems. The game supports native builds across multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS (formerly OS X), , and other Unix-like systems such as , , and BSD variants. Portable versions are also available, allowing execution from without full installation, enhancing flexibility for users on varied hardware setups. is straightforward, with download sizes around 37 MB for version 44 binaries, suitable for or dial-up connections. emphasize support for 3D rendering, enabling operation on modest hardware including older processors and graphics cards, though a dedicated GPU improves performance. On , installations can leverage package managers like RPM for distributions such as and , or DEB packages for and , simplifying dependency management. Distribution primarily occurs through , where and pre-built binaries are hosted under General Public License version 2.0, ensuring free access and modification rights. Additional builds appear in official repositories, such as Fedora's package updates in early 2025 and Debian's stable inclusions, providing integrated installation options for those ecosystems. As a and open-source title, Scorched 3D imposes no , allowing unrestricted sharing and play. Its lightweight design, relying on efficient implementation, supports execution on legacy hardware, broadening accessibility for users without high-end systems.

Modding and multiplayer

Scorched 3D includes built-in support that enables players to create and integrate custom weapons, maps, and scenarios, extending the base with . The game's map editor allows for the design of personalized landscapes and environmental setups, while the modding system supports alterations to economy mechanics, weapon behaviors, and overall game rules. This framework facilitates the addition of new features without requiring external tools beyond the game's interface. The Apocalypse mod, bundled with the core game installation, exemplifies this system by introducing apocalyptic-themed landscapes and an expanded arsenal of advanced weaponry, including team-based gameplay options updated for version 41 compatibility. Community-driven mods further diversify the experience; for instance, the Sniper mod, released for version 40.1, emphasizes precision targeting mechanics, while , also tailored for version 40.1 and added to the community's in 2006, incorporates resource scavenging elements into matches. The Best of Scorched3D pack once compiled select community mods but was discontinued following updates to version 40.1. These mods, hosted on dedicated project , demonstrate how the leverages the game's open-source structure under the GNU General Public License version 2.0 to innovate on core artillery dynamics. Multiplayer in Scorched 3D is facilitated through public online servers accessible via scorched3d.co.uk, supporting up to 24 simultaneous players in turn-based battles across destructible 3D environments. Local play options include setups for networked sessions and hotseat mode, where players alternate turns on a single device, blending human and opponents on custom or random maps. tools, such as the phpBB2 forums historically linked from mod repositories, served as hubs for sharing custom content, discussing server configurations, and coordinating development. The latest official release, version 44 from August 2014, maintains compatibility with existing mods from earlier versions like 40.1 and 41, ensuring seamless integration of community content into its extensions, where players can deploy countermeasures like shields alongside . This version preserves the infrastructure while incorporating the game's dual turn-based and elements, allowing mods to enhance strategic depth without breaking prior customizations.

Reception and legacy

Critical reception

Scorched 3D received positive coverage in early reviews for its innovative 3D take on classic . A review on Dedoimedo highlighted the game's lively destructible landscapes, support for up to 24 players in multiplayer modes, and superb dynamics, describing it as "huge fun" that elevates turn-based community gaming. The following year, .com awarded it an 8 out of 10, praising its ease of learning, comprehensive documentation, and status as one of the best games available, while noting minor annoyances with camera controls during play. Subsequent evaluations continued to commend the game's core strengths in multiplayer engagement and environmental destruction, though some pointed to areas for refinement. In a 2011 revisit, Dedoimedo lauded the simple yet effective visuals, diverse weapons, and cross-platform accessibility, voting it the best of 2010 despite critiques of overly challenging difficulty levels on higher settings and potential for excessive damage from special weapons. Reviews consistently emphasized the appeal of its open-source nature, enabling broad adoption across Windows, , and platforms. Quantitative metrics underscore its popularity within circles. On , the game holds a 4.9 out of 5 rating based on 22 user reviews, reflecting sustained appreciation for its strategic depth and replayability. Recognition as a leading open-source clone of has appeared in community compilations of notable libre games. Later assessments, particularly around version 44 released in 2014, affirm the game's stability and enduring mechanics without major graphical updates, maintaining its niche as a reliable multiplayer title amid critiques that its visuals feel dated by modern standards. The project's ongoing availability and occasional forks, such as a 2025 unofficial update to version 44.2, indicate continued relevance in free gaming communities.

Community impact

Scorched 3D has maintained a dedicated since its , with forums historically available on the official website since for discussions, mod sharing, and player interactions. Community-driven mod creation persists, exemplified by collections of like enhanced weaponry packs available through dedicated repositories. The game supports public servers for multiplayer sessions with up to 24 players, blending human and opponents. The game's legacy extends to revitalizing the artillery genre, serving as a modern 3D successor to the 1991 classic and inspiring nostalgia among longtime fans through its destructible environments and strategic depth. It has contributed to open-source modding education by providing a GPL-licensed framework that encourages users to experiment with custom maps, weapons, and rules, fostering skills in game modification within communities. This accessibility has helped sustain interest over more than two decades, evidenced by unofficial forks such as version 44.2 released on March 1, 2025, which address compatibility issues for contemporary systems. Player engagement is bolstered by integrated systems for tracking statistics, global rankings, and achievement medals, which are displayed on community platforms to promote competitive play and replayability. These features have cultivated a loyal user base focused on both casual and tournament-style matches, contributing to the game's enduring appeal in open-source gaming circles. On a broader scale, Scorched 3D has supported free gaming ecosystems by offering a high-quality, no-cost title under the GNU GPL-2.0-or-later license, encouraging and adaptation across platforms. Its cross-platform design, including native support, has aided in promoting Linux adoption among gamers seeking accessible artillery experiences without proprietary restrictions. The project also inspires indie developers through its model of community-maintained evolution, demonstrating how open-source principles can sustain a niche game long-term. As of 2025, Scorched 3D sees continued downloads via , with the game downloaded over 2.2 million times between 2003 and May 2017, and integration into Linux distributions such as Fedora's rebuilds for version 44 in 2025. Despite no major official releases since version 44 in August 2014, community efforts like the 44.2 maintain vitality, underscoring the game's resilient user-driven ecosystem.

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