The Castle 1.0.1

Image from "The Castle"
Image from "The Castle"
Image from "The Castle"

1. Overview

"The Castle" is a first-person shooter style game in a dark fantasy setting. Your main weapon is a sword, so the fight is mostly short-range. 3 main levels included, packed with creatures, items and sounds.

Also a couple of bonus levels are available, for fun and to show off some engine features. In particular, there's the classic DOOM E1M1 level — I know you always wanted to have a sword and a bow in DOOM :) Enjoy !

2. Download

See news for the list of changes since last release.

This is free software, so if you're interested you're also welcome to download game sources.

2.1. Installing

  • Linux, FreeBSD:

    To hear game sounds you should install OpenAL and VorbisFile libraries using your Linux distribution package manager.

    Installing actual game: extract the downloaded archive anywhere. Run the game by running the binary, like ./castle.

    If you don't want to always run the binary from the game's directory, you can also put the game binary anywhere on $PATH (e.g. $HOME/bin or /usr/local/bin) and extract the data to to $HOME/.local/share/castle/, or /usr/local/share/castle/, or /usr/share/castle/.

  • macOS:

    The game requires X11 server, libpng and (if you want to hear sound) OpenAL with vorbisfile. See macOS dependencies for simple instructions how to get them.

    Installing actual game: extract the downloaded archive anywhere. Run the game by running the binary, like ./castle. You can also install / symlink in special directories, see above Linux notes.

  • Windows:

    OpenAL and vorbis libraries are already included in the archive. So you don't have to install OpenAL yourself.

    Installing actual game: extract the downloaded archive anywhere. Run the game by running castle.exe.

    Note that from the game you will be able to choose various audio devices (see menu Sound options). I advice to check both devices. Under Windows Generic Software device often sounds better than the default one. On the other hand, as far as I know, only Generic Hardware can produce sound better than stereo, if you have more than 2 speakers.

2.2. Uninstalling

Just delete the directory where you unpacked the game. You may also want to delete configuration file:

Unix (Linux, FreeBSD, macOS)$HOME/.config/castle/castle.conf
Windows >= NT / 2000 / XP Documents and Settings\<UserName>\Application Data\castle.conf
Windows 95 / 98 / ME <program's directory>\castle.conf

3. Movies

Short gameplay sequences, and playing around with shadow volumes.
Spoiler alert: the first half of the movie shows levels you will see later in the game.

Playing through The Castle (walkthrough) by "qubodup".
Spoiler alert: this is a complete walkthrough :) Watch if you get stuck, or if you don't want to play the full game!