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I used to play Crossfire on DEC Ultrix boxes 20 years ago. http://crossfire.real-time.com... Not as in depth as Dwarf Fortress seems to be, but a good hack and slash game, that is still being worked on.

How much poor gameplay will players suffer through in exchange for utterly amazing graphics?

For my part, not a lot. I think modern computer games (modern movies) are far too focused on "amazing effects" and too little on content; as it is, I still find the old COLOSSAL CAVES (it that old, so it requires all caps) game better than things like WoW. A good game should challenge you, it should stretch your imagination, it should be witty, intelligent, engaging and imaginative.

Here is what I would like to see in a game:

The game universe should be physically plausible - ie, things thrown should follow a path determined by plausible, physical forces like gravity etc. Just imagine the possibilities in simulating a radically different physical reality - relitivistic or quantum effects, or possibly one where gravity is not of the standard, Newtonian shape, or a non-istropic universe.

The environment should be plausible - I find it quite off-putting when biology, characters or cultures are nothing more than objects to smash or navigate around/over/through.

It would be good if the game universe is one you would like to explore, even without actually playing the game. And it would be good if there wasn't just one game plan, but a number of different, possible games that would function on their own, but all happen in a setting where they occasionally brush against each other.

A good exampe of something that has many of the features is Crossfire (see http://crossfire.real-time.com/) - it also illustrates that graphics don't have to be very good to make a game enjoyable. It isn't a physically plausible universe, but it scores on many of the other points I mentioned.

I am apparently the only one to play this game; although there does seem to be other players about. It is very basic in terms of graphics, but I can't think of any other game as packed with features. Lots of maps, lots of character races, stats etc etc. It is not the easiest games to get going in, but I find it grows on you. It is free, BTW and networked, of course:

http://crossfire.real-time.com/

It is the only game I have kept coming back to over the years.

Wow, conspiracy theory, flamebait, and outright lies. Impressive.

Show me the original post then. Prove to me that the pagination of the output of slashcode is not broken. Prove to me the original post was not deleted. You cannot.

I learned Linux on Fedora

Fedora is NOT Linux, it is some sick abomination of it. You did not learn Linux, you learned Redhat.

I spent lots of time in the user groups and searching Google, and never heard of anything like what you report

Right...:
http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/redhat-fedora-lin ux-help/43558-constant-disk-activity-x86_64.html
Hit #2 on a Google search for "constant disk activity Fedora Core 2", and its not my post.

Here's another:
http://mailman.real-time.com/pipermail/tclug-list/ 2004-May/011211.html

Another:
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/archive/index.php/t- 100719.html

Searching the FedoraForum.org forums directly for "disk activity" yeilds plenty of hits, some of them are linked below:
http://fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3007 1&highlight=disk+activity
http://fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=6335 8&highlight=disk+activity
http://fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5843 9&highlight=disk+activity
http://fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1007 19&highlight=disk+activity
http://fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7799 5&highlight=disk+activity
http://fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1472 88&highlight=disk+activity
http://fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1460 01&highlight=disk+activity
http://fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1467 44&highlight=disk+activity

it goes on and on... FUD? I think not. Many of these complaints are like mine, nothing running, yet constant disk activity.

I'll dig a bit and see if I can find my original post on the Fedora support forums, though it has probably been pruned by now, as most forums cannot retain their full database and perform at a reasonable speed (though I can manage it on a fully functioning OS). In that original thread, seasoned RedHat users informed me that RedHat/Fedora is nothing like a genuine standard linux, I concluded much the same after testing a few more distributions, hell, even the BSDs are more Linux standards adherent than Fedora.

It looks like the original forums there are gone, and a new version is there since I posted about FC2.

How about over at linuxforums.org:
http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/redhat-fedora-lin ux-help/43558-constant-disk-activity-x86_64.html?h ighlight=disk+acti

Shameless plug.... http://crossfire.real-time.com/

Isn't Crossfire our answer to Crossfire?

However, there are some good GPLed 2d games. Battle for Wesnoth is one. Another one that is good is crossfire

The DevTeam is asked that question frequently, and thus it is the FAQ. There are graphical multiplayer "spiritual" descendants (http://crossfire.real-time.com/, for example), but no telnet games that use the grid and have multi-play that I know of. This is a shame, because the "graphics" in the multiplayer games are, um, lacking.

The real enduring beauty of Nethack though is the turn based nature, which translates poorly into multi-play and the character set "graphics" which engage the imagination far more than the "graphics" mentioned above.

> Hexus checks out Crossfire using an X850 Crossfire setup,
> Hexus also examines how Crossfire works, how easy it is to setup

Strange, I checked out crossfire: http://crossfire.real-time.com/ without any dedicated setup, and it was fine; the source package is autoconf based, and there are lots of binary packages available too.

You can still possibly still find a small number of Quetzcoatl near the city of Scorn and other areas.

http://crossfire.real-time.com/

And this one actually is free! It's open source under the GPL: Crossfire

Admittedly, the graphics are a bit dated looking, but you're more interested in gameplay anyway, right? And this game is bulging with gameplay.

...is to include a way of making the game fun besides the usual level-grind. While I'd personally like a game of this nature, since I don't enjoy level grinding one bit...

Crossfire has been around for years. It is not a clone. The graphics aren't great, but like I said, it's been around for years. The gameplay is awesome. If you like nethack and the older Ultimas, you'll probably like this gauntlet-like MMORPG.

How about Icehouse or Mahjong?

A couple times a week my coworkers and I get together at lunch to play these games. Icehouse is an abstract gaming system where you can play many different games. Our favorite Icehouse games include Pikemen, Martian Chess, and RAMbots.

The hardest part about playing Mahjong (the real Mahjong, not Mahjong solitare)is finding a place that sells the pieces. It is fun and addictive, but you need 4 people to play.

are there any MMORPGs for Linux?

...i nearly always install on new systems:
CoreWar: simulation game where a number of warriors try to crash each other while they are running in a virtual computer.
Battle for Wesnoth: fantasy turn-based strategy game.
BZFlag: multiplayer 3D tank battle game.
Crimson Fields: tactical war game in the tradition of Battle Isle.
Crossfire: cooperative multiplayer graphical RPG and adventure game.
Enigma: inspired by Oxyd on the Atari ST and Rock'n'Roll on the Amiga.
FlightGear: Flight simulator.
FreeDroid: clone of the classic game "Paradroid" on Commodore 64.
Frozen Bubble: puzzle-bobble clone.
Globulation 2: Real-Time Strategy.
LinCity: city/country simulation game.
LBreakout 2: breakout-style arcade game in the manner of Arkanoid.
NetHack - Falcon's Eye: mouse-driven interface for NetHack that enhances the visuals, audio and accessibility of the game, yet retains all the original gameplay and game features.
netPanzer: online multiplayer tactical warfare game designed for FAST ACTION combat.
Pathological: enriched clone of the game "Logical" by Rainbow Arts.
Project StarFighter: xy-axis star fighting game.
SuperTux: classic 2D jump'n run sidescroller game.
XKobo: astpaced multiway scrolling shoot-em-up.
XRick: clone of Rick Dangerous.
XScorch: Scorched Earth clone.

Have fun!

Crossfire of course! The graphics are a bit simple, but it's got nearly as much depth as nethack, and it's a MMORPG. Gameplay is a bit similar to gauntlet, but with CRPG elements.

IIRC, GNOME added it around the same time (earliest reference I could find to the feature).

Windows XP's version of the feature was publically known as early as November 2000.

This is no big news to me, I pointed it out years ago on the Coccon user group.

Yep!

mangband! It's kind of like a realtime, multiplayer nethack. Not quite as advanced as nethack in terms of creatures and items, but a huge amount of fun nonetheless. And I promise your graphics cards will handle it.

For something a little more flashy there's Crossfire, which takes the graphics all the way from Nethack levels to Gauntlet levels. I've had some problems at LAN parties with the Windows client, but if you're all Linux you should be OK.

These games prove that fancy graphics aren't necessary to make a game fun. Plus, call me a wuss if you want, but I like that they can be played cooperatively.

I'd suggest a related method using netcat, sometimes called Ghetto Ghost.

Try http://crossfire.real-time.com or http://daimonin.sourceforge.net/ They're both open source, and they both run under *nix and win32.

No, not at all.
Kmail downloads mail from two accounts, everything goes through SA. SA could care less what account is what.

Just make a few extra folders, one for spam that SA missed and one that SA flagged as spam but really isn't.
http://support.real-time.com/open-source/spamassas sin/kmail.html
Try here too,
http://www.softwaredesign.co.uk/Information.SpamFi lters.html
You can tweak the levels that trigger it, I've set mine at 3.5 and it seems to work much better than the default of 5.0

Here's a SA configuration generator, it's a HUGE help when you're first getting started..
http://www.yrex.com/spam/spamconfig.php

As you find mail that SA flags the wrong way, move it to the missed-spam or not-spam folders then use sa-learn --ham or --spam options to train it.
Also run sa-learn --ham on your normal mail folders that contain KNOWN GOOD emails.

If I can do it, anyone can..

Every single app that I would want to run is already available and runs under Linux natively. For example:

mozilla, neverwinter nights(w/ expansion pack), gcc, gdb, make, gnuplot, bc, gimp, icebreaker, valgrind, electric fence, Crossfire, LyX, angband, Nethack (falcon's eye), vim, XFree86, pekwm and netpbm.

There are few apps that I run that are not on that list. Really, if you think about it. On any computer system the top 90% of the apps you run could probably be counted on one hand.

But I'm one of those unusual people who has his laser printer working in Linux and only has a windows box to test the software I write. I compile the windows version on Linux of course. (using these scripts to build the cross compiler).

There exist a networked graphical game inspired by nethack called Crossfire

"Crossfire is an open source, cooperative multiplayer graphical RPG and adventure game. Since its initial release, Crossfire has grown to encompass over 150 monsters, about 3000 maps to explore, an elaborate magic system, 12 races, 15 character classes, a system of skills, and many artifacts and treasures. Crossfire is based in a medieval fantasy world and is similar to other games of this genre."

Sadly it lacks Nethacks humor but othereiwse it is playable.

The Wired story is just about free trials for online games.
Nexon's Shattered Galaxy ... is now available as a free download from the company's website, and for the first three months, players won't be required to pay ... nonpaying players won't have access to certain features, ...
<plug>If you want a real free online game, try Crossfire</plug>

Try Crossfire. It's open source too.

What I would love is a MUD with a roguelike interface.

You mean a cross-platform, GPL game with vast worlds, lots of development, and years of content under their belt? Free to play?

I believe that looking for the Crossfire webpage. A bit more Gauntletish than I'd like (contains monster generators), but other than that, good.

And while I haven't played it (and I don't know if it's as far along, there's also the more modern WorldForge, which has some screenshots of the various clients.

Why does it always have to be the station wagon full of tapes? Why is it always across the continental U.S.?

What is it about the credit card that makes it the ideal object with which to compare the size of a new product?

Why are unimaginably large storage devices measured in Libraries of Congress?

Let's change it up a bit: A Segway rider, traveling 15 miles across town in three hours with 1 TB in his backpack will be running faster than OC12.

I'm gonna get marked redundant just for the subject, aren't I?

Anyway, contributing to an old project is a great way to increase your coding skills, play with coding a game, and NOT have to deal with all of the stupid stuff, because it has already been done by someone else. Take Crossfire (http://crossfire.real-time.com/) as an example. You have a stable multiplayer online RPG that's been around since '92 or even longer. It runs on many un*x variants, and has some win32 stuff too, although no fully supported win32 client. If you're interested in monster AI, go ahead, code that. Everything else works perfectly fine. If you're interested in writing a new client, go right ahead. You can even take the networking code from the current clients, and write only the GUI. Hell, there have even been three Perl based 'bots that I know of. Network code, but no GUI.

The point is, if you contribute to an existing project, you can skip straight to the part you enjoy the most, and you're much more likely to finish.

all i have to say about this post is:

Ben is an idiot

I'm not sure how closely this relates, but Crossfire is a nice open source online CRPG. And being open source, it has an open source mapmaking utility or two.
ObDisclaimer: I'm more than just a player, but not a full-fledged developer.

And maybe the graphics, in this case.

The big problem with non-commercial games is the lack of press.

What other GPLd games are out there?

My friends and I wasted so many quarters on this game...[insert nostalgic interlude here]...

This is one game I'd LOVE to see an "open source" equivalent for. Crossfire is the closes thing I've seen, and it's not really close at all - it's far more of a Multiplayer Ultima V than a Guantlet (still looks fun, though, from what little I've played with it.) Anybody know of any "Gauntlet-like" game projects going on?

try this one.