Tribes2 Patch for Linux Out

Tom writes "After Dynamix went under, Tribes2 was unsupported for a while, then Sierra signed a contract with GarageGames (the company formed by several Ex-Dynamic guys), but only for the Windows version. Those of us who bought the Linux version ported by Loki were left out in the cold -- until today. Linuxgames has the story. Sam Lantinga of SDL fame did the port/patch."

Comments

Petition

[dybdahl]

There was a petition out where you could sign up for demanding a Linux version of the upcoming patch, and I'm sure this has been one of the reasons why they will support it.

The Tribes 2 community has proven very, very strong, and even long after Dynamix (the creator) was closed by Sierra, Tribes 2 still lives on.

Tribes 2 is a game that is VERY different from most other 3D shooting games - it's almost closer to football than Quake once you've learned to play it right. Teamwork is everything, and it's almost unsuitable for playing without a clan membership.

Dybdahl
-=EEF=-Offence leader
http://www.euroeliteforce.net/

Re:Petition

[Brian Kendig]

Tribes 2 is an *excellent* game. After a year, I'm still addicted to Siege, which is a capture-the-flag variation where one team is entirely on defense and the other team is entirely on offense (and then when D captures the flag, they swap places).

It's got great balance to it; there are no powerups or BFG's or invincibility to mess up the game dynamics. And people who focus on deploying and repairing equipment can make as much or more difference than people who act like cowboys.

And the 3-D nature of the game, the ability to fly around with a jetpack and head as far as I want in any direction across the terrain, means I'll never again play one of those games where I'm stuck to the ground in a claustrophobic dungeon.

Tribes 2 is a terrific game. I'm really disappointed Dynamix was scuttled. I'm ticked at Sierra in general for lots of other bad decisions, such as killing off the Mac versions of Tribes 2 and Half-Life when they were all but ready to ship, and also for cancelling Babylon 5: Into The Fire.

(If you play Tribes 2, look for me! I'm 'wow! scotfox'. My tribe, 'wow!' aka Wookies Of War, has been the #1 ranked Siege tribe for most of the time since T2 was released.)

Hats off to Blizzard

[Edgewize]

Slashdot conveniently forgot this, but Sam works for Blizzard Entertainment now. Yes, the evil DCMA people who sued bnetd.

But Blizzard gave the goahead for Sam to work on the Tribes 2 Linux patch during work hours. So Blizzard supports the Linux community! But they're Evil! But they're Good! *smoke*

Re:Hats off to Blizzard

[NanoGator]

"But they're Evil! But they're Good! *smoke* "

Yep, they're evil for shutting down a service that let unauthorized people play Battle.Net games and leaked copies of the Warcraft 3 beta.

They are such bastards for creating AAA games and taking steps to protect them.

You are far better off hating the DMCA than hating Blizzard. Is the real problem that Blizzard sued to stop a questionable service, or that the DMCA gave them the power to do it?

explanation

[emkman]

all patches, FAQs, newsgroups and other online support services will continue to operate with a third party host. The Loki domains will be redirected to point to the new host, so you won't need to make any changes to continue to use these services.

Went under?

[reconn]

Dynamix didn't exactly 'go under'. They were profitible in fact; it's just that when Vivendi bought Sierra, they decided that it'd be even more profitable to not pay Dynamix anymore, and keep all the Tribes 2 sales money for themselves. Hurray for quarterly earnings reports!

It's a beta

[dybdahl]

It's a beta patch, so it won't show up when you update normally. In fact, do not install it unless you know what you are doing.

Dybdahl.
-=EEF=-Offence leader
http://www.euroeliteforce.net/

WIndows version is bug central

[ZaneMcAuley]

UE's still, Netcode is laggy... No regular drops... Still waiting and waiting on drops that never arrive to test. Whats the point of beta testing if there are no regular drops?

REQUEST: Somebody code a T2 mod for UT2003 engine, PLEASE!

Once its out sierria can do nada.

Re:FINALLY

[NanoGator]

"When will Loki be resurected!?

Never. Not unless they make new games for Linux.

The problem is that the game market is a novelty market. Lots of companies make games that will be interesting for about a month and then move on. If memory serves, Loki ported games that had already been out for a while.

The problem is that this means Loki will never really hit mass market. The people who buy the games buy them right away. If it takes a year (for example) to port the game, then it's lost nearly all of it's value, even if it's a classic like Quake 3.

What we need is for a couple of risk taking companies to start making games strictly for Linux. (Maybe port to PC a little later...) Get the game market started on that OS, and you'll start to see more concurrent development.

As the Mac has already proven, an OS is not going to get lots of 'me-too' games. If Linux users really want to play games, I'm sorry to say it, but they're going to need to build a Windows box.

Re:FINALLY

[NanoGator]

"Why, then, is there a linux version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein?"

Because the only absolute in our world is that all humans require oxygen to survive.

*sick of people acting like I'm either extremist or absolute.*