Unigine OilRush On Linux Nears Gold

OilRush, the first game developed in-house by Unigine Corp, the developers of the impressive multi-platform Unigine Engine, is nearing its official release.

Unigine Corp announced the release of OilRush build 0.81 to the pre-order beta testers earlier today. This new public build succeeds OilRush build 0.80, which was released nearly one month ago with massive performance improvements, improved network synchronization, initial Steam integration, Linux RPM packages, and greater AI speed, among other changes.

OilRush 0.81 adds in three new music sound tracks, a "follow the fleet" feature, increased targeting module speed, fixes a bug with mirage objects inside fog of war, improved fragments and shatters, and fixed unit flickering.

Aside from the game changes, OilRush 0.81 has support for Desura and completed integration with Valve's Steam software. The Steam support in OilRush includes lobby, match-making, game sessions, and achievements support. The game will be available on Steam for all users once the official release is made. Using these electronic distribution methods comes at no extra cost to OilRush gamers.

I'm told by Unigine Corp that they are hoping to officially have the OilRush game ready for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X in November. However, right now they're still finishing up last-minute negotiations with their partners. The bulk of the game and engine are in good standing, they're just polishing up the game-play and some other minor areas.

I've also heard from Unigine Corp that the Unigine Valley tech demo is a bit further out (by several weeks) due to being busy with finishing up OilRush and taking care of other business.

OilRush can be pre-ordered from the Unigine Store for just $19.95 USD, which also provides instant beta access to these latest game builds. For those not familiar with this game that has first-rate Linux support, one of the OilRush trailers is embedded below.