Version 0.8.0 of FreeCol has now been released. FreeCol is a free/open source turnbased strategy game based on Colonization which in turn was based on Civilization.
You can build new colonies in America, interact with the natives and struggle for domination against other European nations.
The largest change introduced by this release is the ability to define gameplay mechanics using XML-files. You can easily change the rules you don't like or create a different game similar to FreeCol. Take a look at the chapter Changing the Rules in FreeCol's user manual if you would like to know more.
Other changes include:
* Units now slide between tiles while moving.
* New terrain graphics.
* Menu music added.
* Sound effects for dragoons, artillery capturing a colony, building complete, church and blacksmith.
* New sound effects for artillery and buying/selling goods.
* Short music clips for Aztecs and fountain of Youth.
* Named regions and nicer placement of native settlements.
* New nations added: Portuguese, Swedish, Danish and Russian
* Games with up to eight European players are now supported.
* A lot more new features and bugfixes.