i installed cube 2 sauerbraten (a fps game) on my ubuntu computer. a slightly newer version came out and i downloaded it but i cant seem to get the synaptic package manager to install the newer version. should i uninstall the first?

I think you downloaded it from the origin, not with apt-get or synaptic, is that right? If so, the problem is that synaptic only deals with software packaged specifically for ubuntu (or whichever debian-based distro), and that only from trusted sources. Just one of the reasons linux doesn't get botted as much as the competition :-)

Again if it's something you fetched yourself, you'll have to hunt down install instructions from where you got the package. There's a small bunch of different ways, easier to just go to the people who know exactly which way is the right one. If it came in one file that happens to end ".deb" it'll be very easy.

I'm pretty sure you did fetch it yourself, because Synaptic _should_ just automagically take care of everything for you otherwise. That system's more or less rock-solid. But post back if you're still having trouble after hunting down and trying the instructions on the project's site.

if you want to keep your settings before uninstalling application go to home directory and pres ctrl+h and search for settings. However uninstaling application should keep settings present.