Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Mandrake Linux Gamer Edition

Posted by michael on from the emulate-this dept.

JWhiton writes: "According to Blue's News, Mandrake and TransGaming are going to ship a new distribution of Mandrake Linux specificially aimed at gamers. It comes with The Sims and TransGaming's WineX for compatibility with Windows games. Apparently it's going to ship on November 9th."

11 of 232 comments (clear)

  1. This is awesome! by DavonZ · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Finally there may be a distro that can capture the gamer and the techie. I hate dual booting! This could be the answer I have been looking for. I agree that I am not too hot on the Mandrake distro, but this does have potential.

    LD

    1. Re:This is awesome! by btellier · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Forget it, man.. It's a noble effort but until the software companies start actually dual-developing Linux games and releasing them SIMULTANEOUSLY with the windows distro this will never happen. If simultaneous dual platform development was ever going to happen it would've happened with the Mac 5 years ago. Macs still have a bigger marketshare on the PC than Linux, but game companies refuse to take the extra expense to do the ports for them.

      Linux has it's use with the person who wants total control over his OS, not with the person who needs the latest/greatest games. Until Linux gets a >10% market share on the home PC market we're not going to progress any further on the games front.

  2. This is why... by kikta · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...Mandrake is important to gaining a foothold on the desktop and with the average user. Are they the most stable distro? No. Even though I love Mandrake, I won't even try to pretend otherwise on that issue. However, do they have a shit-hot installation routine, lots of pre-loaded goodies, excellent configuration tools, and a strong focus on giving the end user what they want/need? Hell yes.

    I always hear Mandrake derided by a signifigant portion of the /. crowd, but for what faults it may have as a distro, it is also the missing link. RedHat will take servers, SuSE the scientific/engineering community, Debian the ubergeeks, and who on the desktop? That's right, Mandrake. This will help to increase the foothold they have already started. (Hopefully!)

  3. Silly for the non-nerds by grub · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Interesting idea, and I applaud the developers, but I really think it's not going to make any new Linux users.

    Little Billy gets a new WinXP machine for xmas all ready to run *every* new Windows game with potentially less headaches than keeping a Linux box upgraded with the kernel du jour and the patch of the week.

    Like it or not, Windows Update is much easier to use for the Unwashed Masses than is cvs (now my FreeBSD||OpenBSD bias is showing :))

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  4. Why this is a great idea by MBCook · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think that one of the things holding Linux back is games. Yes there are some good games, but none of the phenominalo games (such as HL/CS/TFC/etc) are availible, or they come out a year plus later than the Windows version, so most people will have already played it if they're going to. Sure you can buy WineX, but then you have to hope you can set it up correctly. But to bundle that with a great distro like Mandrake (my favorite non-debian distro) is ingenious. To include The Sims is also smart. Good going guys, I look forward to the reviews. Maybe this will help Linux become more mainstream, IMHO. I mean, what's a desktop OS without Counter-Strike? Nothing! He he he.

    --
    Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
  5. the sims? seriously... by laymil · · Score: 2, Insightful

    i'm sure they could have come up with a better game to package than the sims...a game that demonstrates the capabilities of the software. however, the biggest mistake here seems to be the lack of an 'gaming expansion pack' sold seperately...i know you can probably download it somewhere, but i think thats what should be on the shelves rather than a 'gaming distribution.' what about the whole already installed userbase? hmm...

  6. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  7. A message to TransGaming. by jfisherwa · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Linux, being free, wants to be free. Don't force people to buy it.

    "The Sims" won't be free anytime soon, so here is my humble idea for making this successful:

    They create a 'standard' game/application management and installer program for these type of applications. The entire package as a whole can be compatible with the standard add/remove for a distro, but to control the contents requires using its own tools.

    They distribute the application manager/control panel part for free, and keep it opensource. An installer kit is developed *specifically* for installing these type of packages, which is also kept open. Anyone can go out and buy a game, get it to work, and create an 'installer' and distribute this freely to whomever they want.

    License "The Sims" from Maxis for a reduced cost - 30-50% of MSRP. Include a single "Transgaming Kit," either in the box for The Sims or as an extra shrink-wrapped CD + manual on the outside (think magazines that come in plastic bags with posters and CDs) - the kit contains a distro, packages to install their application/game management on any of the popular distros, and the installer to install "The Sims" into their application/game management system. They sell this for the regular cost for The Sims +10-20%.

    What if you already own The Sims? IANAL, but you shouldn't have to purchase it again. You download the toolkit for free, and if someone has freely released an installer for The Sims, you're in luck -- for free. If there isn't, or you don't want to go through the trouble, you go to their web site and pay them .. $4.95 - $9.95? You receive two things: the installer for The Sims and a coupon for $2.95 - $8.95 off your next purchase of a full-packaged game from TransGaming -- the goal being that if you do purchase another game from them, that installer kit download ultimately only cost you $2 - $3.

    This will encourage repeat business and allow them to recover some logistical/management costs without stifling the freedom of free software.

    Many gamers use Linux at work, at home, but don't use it for games because it often won't run the games we want to play. If I were to pick up a game, and TransGaming could atleast compete in price for these new releases, I would purchase from them *just to support the cause* - regardless of whether I planned to play it on Linux. Why not? Their price competes. They get to keep things flowing. I get the same package either way, but now I also get the kit that will allow me to easily play it in Linux without killing myself.

    ..

    But please, do not sell full-priced distributions with every copy of a game that you release. You're only doing this to justify the cost, not as a true value-add. How many of us are going to dump our current setup just to install that special gaming edition distro? 5%? How much of that full price are you trying to justify as being for "that special gaming distro?" 50%?

    IANABM. (.. .. business major)

    Good luck,
    Jason

  8. I don't know which is funnier... by Blaede · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...the Linux jihad complaining that Windows users can't see the light about Linux, or the other Linux jihad complaining that now all these Windows users will start using Linux!

  9. Re:Great move by MrBogus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You like games, so Windows "major major asset" is games.

    Fred is a DBA, so Windows "major major asset" is DB modeling tools.

    Sally is a project manager, so Windows "major major asset" is project tools.

    Biff is an accountant, so Windows "major major asset" is spreadsheet software.

    Conculsion 1 : Games are just a piece of the puzzle.

    Conculsion 2: Together, Fred, Sally and Biff buy as many games as you do and run them on Windows because that's where the rest of their action is. If another platform (Linux or Amiga) was better for gaming, it still wouldn't be attractive to them.

    --

    When I hear the word 'innovation', I reach for my pistol.
  10. This is not really a great thing. by memyselfandmyhand · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Games do not run as well under wine as they do nativly. There are graphics glitches, and countless flaws that cause problems. People will go out and buy windows games, and find that they run slowly, or badly, and assume it's just because Linux is terrible at games. This will also deter companies from porting to Linux because the games already run under wine.

    BUT, native Linux games do run really well. All the native Linux games I've played (Quake1,2,3, Tribes2, UT, sof, etc) run really well. As for raw framerate, they are about the same (In heavy benchmarks Linux scores roughly 10% higher, but this isnt that noticeable in real gameplay). The benefits come from things like loading time, etc. Starting quake3, loading levels, etc run 3-4 times faster in linux than in windows, and it also handles heavy loads a lot better. It just overall feels more responsive.

    So while wineX is a good way to increase linux gaming support, it will not really make developers port there games to linux.