Review of Linux Gaming Using WineX 2.0

Ceyx writes "Toms Hardware ist running an Interesting review of DirectX Gaming under Linux using WineX. An interesting point is that the native Quake3 Arena runs faster with Linux then with windows." I had the good luck to play Jedi Knight Outcast and Return To Castle Wolfenstein at my friend's house, and it was really pretty good. The numbers show just how good the Linux drivers from nVidia are, so mad props to Mark V and his co-workers ...

Comments

Not Exactly A Win For Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

This is part of a continuing pattern that I've noticed. The major corporate entites which are embracing Linux aren't normally leaving some variant of Windows behind but instead are dropping Unix. The stranglehold Microsoft has on Office and the problems introduced by switching from Windows to Linux (in terms of a possible inability to access old files) is really hurting Linux in the War against Windows. But what these companies need to realize is that they can convert their old files into plain text files, using the very version of Office which is trying to tie them into an ugprade cycle of doom, using some simple batch scripts. This would be quite a chore, obviously - but in the long run companies would save. I don't know why this solution isn't being offered to companies. From what I understand, many companies are hesitant to drop Windows for this very reason: loss of access to old files. But again, Bill Gates doesn't really lose on this one. Linux gains some but not in the area where I'd like to see it.

Re:Not Exactly A Win For Linux

[Znork]

This is exactly why real documentation is, has been, and will continue to be, written in SGML. Maintaining documents written by hundreds of people containing hundreds of thousands of information elements in dozens of languages isnt done in Word or Office. I've yet to see any 'real' documents in Word; nothing that is even remotely related to actual products that are to be sold can be kept in formats so prone to time-degradation.

The switch isnt that hard. Junk the info and learn the lesson; people didnt write documents they wanted to last in lipstick on toilet paper before computers, and Word (or other word processing formats) are the computerized equivalent of lipstick on toilet paper.

You might lose a lot of formatting info, but that's the price you've got to pay. In education the old phrase 'do it again, and do it right this time' should carry some weight.

Re:Not Exactly A Win For Linux

[EastCoastSurfer]

Your post shows so little knowledge of the business world. "Real documentation" is the notes, memos, etc... that flowed between key people while a project was executed on. Frequently these data elements are brought together in some sort master file at the end of a project though.

Junk the info and learn the lesson;
LOL, yea let me throw away all the knowledge my business has accumulated because it was written in word. I don't think anything more needs to be said here.

I am all for getting people to switch to linux, but telling businesses to
-dump all their old info
-convert word docs to text
-convert .xls to csv files
-etc...
is laughable at best.

Just think of it this way

[cscx]

Windows 98 Full Version : $100

20 Month subscripton to Transgaming: $100

New nVidia video card (cause you have to throw out your ATI Radeon et cetera): $150

Somehow this just doesn't add up. This makes as much sense to me as buying a copy of Windows 2000 Advanced Server so you can "run Apache on it." Just use the right tool for the right job!

Would you rather play Nintendo games through an emulator, or that NES attached to the TV in the corner?

Re:Just think of it this way

[joshua_doesnt_know]

Those games barely scratch the surface of openGL features needed to play most commercial games. When I was working at Loki we had a bit of a time with FAKK2 and the radeon cards doing some very annoying graphic glitches which made the game unplayable. It was hard to poke the developers and get them to actually look into the problem or even fix it. Also, if you have ever seen a game like Tribes2 on both an Nvidia card and a Radeon you will really see the difference. The radeon may get decent framerates but it renders certain surfaces wrong and occasionally creates odd artifacts. Besides, the only part of the Nvidia drivers which are closed source is the openGL library which is why it does look so good. This is because DRI cards use mesa as an openGL implementation which works but just doesnt produce the same results as the real thing. This brings us back to the topic! Running the games in wine or winex may work, but it is not as good as the real thing. It is like going to McDonalds; It will fill you up, and it does the job of satisfying your hunger but if you want a real meal you go to a real resturaunt.

Re:um

[Anonymous Coward]

>Not to mention the fact that the linux version is ahead of the Windows version in terms of patches and bug fixes

More patches and bugfixes can be a bad thing -- it can mean the company has released software that isn't ready for prime time.

Of course, it often means the company is looking after its users.

So, which is it? :)

Re:um

[Anonymous Coward]

Simple, Tom wanted to benchmark it both natively and running in WineX.

Re:um

[DeathPenguin]

That's exactly it. He wanted to compare the native Linux version with the WineX emulated Windows version and the native Windows version. As you can see from the benchmarks, the native Linux version was quite a bit faster.

WineX kernel module?

[sanermind]

I'll be content as long as the kernel module is open source. I don't over-mind running untrusted code as an untrusted user [occasionaly possible [but quickly patched] local root exploits asides], but kernel mode is ring 0, baby. That's bigger than root. I don't like the idea of a propriatary kernel module one bit.

Re:um

[Daengbo]

Probably, if fact, it's the drivers, not hardware. I used to run a Via socket 7 chipset that wouldn't boot windows with an AGP card. Hardware problem? Maybe in part, but the same hardware setup would run under Linux with no problem, and VMWare without a hitch. Ultimately, the problem for that setup was the driver-Windows interaction. Which do you blame?

Re:but WineX vs. Windows

[Tom]

your lengthy rant can be disproven with one line:

http://www.videolan.org

doesn't that make you feel a little stupid? :-)

Re:but WineX vs. Windows

[spunkykuma]

I watch DVD movies under Linux with absolutely no problems at all, even audio syncs just fine. I use mainly Ogle, but there's Videolan, MPlayer and Xine, among several others. I don't know what kind of hardware you have or such, if you have an older Celeron or Pentium 2- you will definately need a decoder card to help DVD playback. But what does this topic really have to do with WineX anyhow?
Speaking of WineX, I even poked at PowerDVD under Wine, and it sure doesn't like to run properly, I have had less luck with WineX than Wine.

Yet another example of the DMCA sucking

[dh003i]

This is yet another example of a good project being hindered by the meritless DMCA. Because they feel that it would be against the DMCA for them to open up their source, due to copy-protection crap, they have to split from the LGPL'ed project.

Yep, that DMCA sure is helping innovation.

Yet Another Win For Linux

[MsGeek]

throw away key pieces of software which are vital to their business like PDF generation

Here's another fun way to use Linux to eliminate yet another proprietary solution, kids!

1. Save file you want to convert to a PDF as a Postscript (.PS) file.
2. Use ps2pdf to magickally convert the .PS file to a full-fledged .PDF file.

You wind up with a proper .PDF, openable in Acrobat Reader, that is made without tithing to Adobe! W00t! Linux wins again.