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Direct3D on Linux?
An Anonymous Coward writes: "Newsforge [?] has a story about TransGaming
Technologies releasing a patch to support the
Direct 3D gaming API to Linux. It sounds like this
could have the potential to greatly improve gaming
in Linux." We've done a story about this already, but it looks like they're starting to make progress. It would be very impressive indeed to be able to run all new-release Windows games without Windows...
Superiority of OpenGL?
Ah I sense we're in the lair of OpenGL worshippers.
Listen, MS was incensed that game developers chose to write their games to OpenGL (and Glide) rather than their earlier versions of D3D.
So, Microsoft tried to squash 'em, threaten 'em, and cajole 'em. They bought the rights to the OpenGL ICD win32 source code. They "partnered" with SGI to come up with "Fahrenheit"...the "successor" to OpenGL.
Finally, they threw money, effort and programmers into making D3D better...and they've SUCCEEDED!
Direct3D has out-evolved OpenGL. Now, after years of development, it's a much better 3D API. It has effects that OpenGL simply cant be made to do.
Tim Sweeney of Epic Megagames (Unreal, UT), has said as much..."OpenGL...blahblahblah...is obsolete"
Note that ATI, and NVIDIA design their cards around the DirectX/D3D spec, not OpenGL.
Carmack continues to plug away at OpenGL, but I suspect it's because he has a soft spot for Macs, and (to a lesser extent) Unix workstations. He wants portability, but in all reality, in any business sense, the Windows market is all there is.
Microsoft did the same for D3D as they did for MSIE. They started with a poor, nonstandard product and through years of effort, have made it the true standard...the best implementation there is.
Hate microsoft if you like, but it's the truth.
Have everyone forgotten, why we switched from Atari and Amiga(*) to PC? What was the reason learning DOS, learning to configure interrupts, loading drivers into HighMemory areas, learning to install Soundcards? We all bitched and moaned, but we did it!
It was because of the games. The PC had cool games and we couldn't get those for our old Home-Computer.
Everybody of our friends were switching to PC too. We had lot's of trouble learning all those things we didn't need to know before. But we were able to ask a friend. We were a community of people who switched to PC and after half a year we knew most of the things we need to know to get things run smoothly.
We need the same thing for Linux. Make Linux a gaming OS and people will happily learn all those quirks of this wonderful OS.
(*)Yes, there is a reason why I mention Atari first ;)
Of course, Draeker doesn't seem particularly interested in doing business with me, seeing as how I can't find anyone who wants to sell me his port of Tribes 2...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
If that is not a testament to cross-platform gaming, I don't know what is.
.oO0Oo.
MAME
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
I was absolutely amazed 6 months ago when I downloaded & compiled wine with no probs, installed Starcraft + Expansion CD and started playing. Since then I've had varying success with Office 97 & 2000. I can't for the life of me install either into a non-windows setup, but parts of Office 97 run OK run a Windows installation. I'm haning out for 3 things ...
1) A freaking configuration utility for a non-windows setup.
2) Office to install into above setup.
3) Something other than Starcraft working. To be fair, I've almost gotten half-life to work, and I had IE 5.5 going too. But no 3dmark 2000, or anything else I throw at it. Maybe it's me.
I like the idea of wine though. I don't think it will impact the development of Linux software. ALl those who were going to write for Linux still are. We're just attracting the attention of those who previously wouldn't have had that option. And if the wine libs prove to be more stable (heh) and faster than Windows - which is quite possible - then we'll really have something to make a noise about.
Crank on wine!
Well you know what, I run both windows and linux, really I would prefer to be in linux all the time. I believe the only thing keeping linux from taking over is crappy linux fonts. It was the first thing my wife noticed, "ewww.. I cant read that" was her first comment when she tryed to us my system.
So, if you want to take over the world and be a real hero, put together a font package and give it to all the distro's!
Who cares if OpenAL and OpenGL are seperate downloads? Are you saying that users and developers will ignore an entire API because it comes in 2 files as opposed to whatever form DirectX comes in?
I don't think you can count DirectX as one library either. It is made up of several seperate components; DirectDraw, Direct3D etc may have similar names but developers still have to understand each library seperately.
OpenGL may lose a little momentum sometimes, but all it takes to get moving again is some new extensions to keep it up to date with what 3D hardware can do.
Yes - Id did give a huge boost to OpenGL, but they did so for a reason. It's a more portable API, that's very easy to write code for. I wouldn't say that OpenGL wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Id - OpenGL is not only for games. It's used a lot in 3D modelling packages.
Our goal is to achieve 100% compatibility and full performance for off-the-shelf games. Both applications need to be installed on a Windows partition and transfered over to a Linux partition manually, since Wine currently doesn't work with installers made with the latest version of InstallShield.
Perhaps someone should get cracking on the installer problem, it seems quite like chicken or the egg to me. If the goal is eliminating the windows environment shouldn't some effort be put into creating a method of install that does not rely on one having a windows machine|partition?
Neverwinter Nights will prove to the Gaming Companies that releasing games under multiple platforms is a good thing. I will buy the linux version of the game upon release. My friends will buy the Windows version. If they are not on the same CD? Since Neverwinter Nights is being made in OpenGL they can use the same code base and just modify for the different OS's when problems come up.
I have a feeling Neverwinter Nights will be huge, esp in the Linux crowd since a lot of us are Role-Players. It is being released on Windows, Linux, Mac AND BeOS. If that is not a testament to cross-platform gaming, I don't know what is.
Arathres
I love my iBook. I use it to run Linux!
stainless steel
IMHO if this gets too good it could backfire and we will have no Linux games:
Company Wants to Port to Linux
Company has two options, Port it or WINE it.
Company figure WINEing will be cheaper
WINEd game is released.
It's slow and gets bad reviews
Linux Game doesn't sell well
Company hates Linux.
When an OS relies on the API of anouther OS (paticularily a Microsoft one) it can really be hurt be API changes... Think OS/2. It's DOS & Windows API layer was perfect so no-one wrote native apps for it. M$ releases Win32 OS/2 gets no more new apps. How long until Win64 is released and WINE becomes obsolete?
--Volrath50
Tim Sweeney of Epic Megagames (Unreal, UT), has said as much..."OpenGL...blahblahblah...is obsolete"
What an incredible misquote. Tim turned around and hired Daniel Vogel, the guy who wrote an amazin OpenGL renderer for UT under Linux. Epic has not abandoned OpenGL specifically because of it's cross platform availability.
Besides, if you've ever run UT using this OpenGL renderer, and compare it to the D3D one, you'll never want to play the game in D3D again.
Dinivin