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NWN Linux Screenshots
Gabe writes "Looks like the NWN linux client page has been updated with screenshots!.
Finally, some decent proof that Bioware is coming through for us linux folks. Maybe it's time to open my copy soon :)" My replacement CPU fan is here,
so I theoretically can now play NWN. Can't wait for the good modules to start
being developed. In the meantime, we should use it as the prettiest IRC
server ever... where you can kill your friends instead of just kickbanning
them :)
If they didn't think they could at least recoup the price of porting the client, they would and should not port the game to our platform.
In an unrelated but still game-oriented vein: Has anyone else noticed that Civ3 under WineX, while "working" is so slow that it's unplayible? I'd have thought a Althlon 1.2 ghz with a gig of RAM would have been enough...
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
... that Bioware uses KDE too?
?-|||-----x<*))))><
Actually I think it is just that Civ3 is too slow to be playable. I gave it up on my G4 after I timed that it took 30 seconds to access the advisor screens and a minute to resort the city lists.
To stay on topic though:
It is good to see that bioware is porting but I think they have lost my money. I planned to wait for the mac port but I have found myself unimpressed with the game. Sad because I was waiting for NWN for three years now but at least I didn't rush to buy it.
I think I'm going to give my money to a company that makes an actual effort to release my platform's port with the windows release. Warcraft III here I come!
Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.
I have a correction to make:
Looks like the NWN linux client page has been updated with screenshots!
Should read: has been updated with a screenshot!
I've allready bought the Windows NWN client. Anyone know if Bioware plans to charge us again for the linux client?
Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
I'll be at CompUSA purchasing NWN the day the Linux client comes out (assuming I can buy the Windoze package and download the Linux client gratis).
Thank you for the screenshot. Progress is good!
Thank you for porting your game to Linux, and when you're done, I'll reward you with my business.
Sincerely looking forward to NWN on Linux,
Zoward
"Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?"
I know there are a lot of us here waiting on that client. Let's show them their linux support was worthwhile. Head out and buy the game the day the linux client is released. You'll get to play the game you want and they'll see a nice large bump in the sales and go "whoa".
Liberty.
better watch out for those -i (minus eye) people!
I'm the Devil the Windows users warned you about.
I can run the NWN Client under Linux *right now* in Wine. The only thing you need to make it work is the nocd crack, because Wine doesn't like the direct CD-ROM access that the copy protection uses.
But other than that it works decently; it crashes occasionally, but so does the real thing, right? At least this doesn't bring your whole system down...
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.
Maybe someone doesn't want to take the hassel to reboot. Why dont you try to convince transgaming (the makers of winex) that linux is the wrong mrket for games. Face it, many people, including me, will pay in REAL money not just code for linux games. Winex does a good job and it is growing FAST, you think some other open source project can grow check out one thats getting an income of REAL money.
unzip; strip; touch; finger; mount; fsck; more; yes; unmount; sleep
Getting to the shot was a pain in the ass. Actual link to screenshot is here.
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
No, see, I don't have any Windows boxes and I don't plan on purchasing any in the future either. I would, however, really like to play good games on Linux. I plan on purchasing a copy as soon as it's available.
Just wondering if anybody knew what sort of specs you'd want for your Linux box to run NWN.
It shouldn't be that different from the Windows specs, seeing as they're running on the same hardware. From the Neverwinter Nights page:
Now, if you want a playable game that runs faster than one frame per second:
<exaggeration><!-- Some of these devices don't actually exist yet -->
- Intel Pentium 5 or Athlon Clawhammer processor
- 1024 MB RAM
- 4.7 GB HD space
- CD-ROM drive fast enough to shatter CDs
- NVIDIA GeForce 5 video card or equivalent
- T1 Internet connection
</exaggeration>Will I retire or break 10K?
This is great to see this screenshot but there are still some outstanding questions that need to be answered. The first is. How will us Linux folks be able to install this game. As far as I know certain game data is in an Installshield exe on the windows cd. Bioware released the Linux dedicated server binaries but you have to install the game on windows and patch it on windows than copy the files over to Linux. Since there's no tool to extract the game data out of the exe for Linux how can we get the gamedata off of the cd? I've been reading the nwn forums and as far as I 've read, there is game data in an Install shield exe so this could be a big problem. Another thing is how will we be able to update the game. Will Bioware port their autoupdater to Linux or will we have to install the game on windows and patch it on windows than copy the game data over?
That's me!
I purchased NWN several weeks ago. I've been busy doing real work in linux, and the NWN box has been sitting on the table right next to the monitor for about a month. I even opened it and peeked at the 3 cds and manual (mostly a list of spells). I keep telling myself "I should really reboot and give it a try sometime, just to see what it's like".
Rebooting is a hassle. Often times I'll leave things running on my linux desktop, including ssh sessions with remote machines. I design with embedded processors (usually 8-bit) and often times I'll leave "seyon" running, logging data that some embedded board is sending to my serial port. Rebooting is very disruptive to my work environment.
Then again, getting "hooked" on NWN for a few weeks will be too.... but I'm expecting that NWN will be fun. Rebooting is not.
PJRC: Electronic Projects, 8051 Microcontroller Tools
The game content is still NOT free, and you'll have to buy a windows NWN cd to get it. This client only lets you play the content you've already bought in Linux.
I'm the stranger...posting to
You suggest that the GNU/Linux-using community as a whole is somehow hypocritical when it comes to free software. Most free software advocates (and I count myself as part of this number) acknowledge that there are certain software markets where free software simply may not make sense. These include computer games and applications with massive development cost and tiny markets (dozens of users or fewer).
Supporters of free software run the whole gamut on their opinions, and this is simply my own. There is no hypocricy, as you suggest, because the community is composed of millions of individuals with their own opinions. I personally believe that the approach used by some companies (id Software, Sleepycat Software, etc.) of releasing the source code to older versions of their products, while keeping newer versions proprietary until they have recouped the cost, is an excellent approach that could be profitably mimicked by many more companies.
Matthew P. Barnson
I learn what I think when I read what I write
You are quite correct that it could be insecure! However, that's a completely different issue from whether or not it is free software. Yes, free software code auditing would be good for the community running the servers, but would probably be disastrous right now for Bioware.
I would take the following precautions with *any* NWN server running on GNU/Linux:
* Run it in a chrooted environment
* Run it as an unprivileged user
* Run it only on a machine dedicated for the purpose, with no other important services running on it (i.e. a game server running 2 or 3 different games is OK, but running NWN alongside your CVS repository probably isn't.)
* Put it into a dedicated DMZ with no "friendly" relations to neighboring machines
* Put it on a switched network.
Me, the way I'm running my NWN dedicated server? Leasing a box at Serverbeach for $99 a month. This way, it's completely isolated from any of my important network services. I don't have any user account on the system that's common to any other system of mine. It seems a fairly ideal solution... if the box is cracked, one phone call to Serverbeach and the box is restored to its original pristine condition. This makes life much easier. I hear Rackshack is good for this too... lots of bandwidth, reasonably powerful machines, crappy tech support so you'd better know what you're doing.
Most systems administrators are required to run proprietary code in-network with other code. A machine is as secure as you are willing to make it. That one service may be insecure, sure, but if you take precautions you can avoid a root-level compromise of your system by being sane in your usage, and sufficiently isolating the box you know may contain vulnerabilities. Heck, I remember running a system we *knew* to contain some significant security vulnerabilities for over a year at one point, hanging out on the Internet. Sure, it was unsafe, but the reality was we had no time to keep the antiquated code up-to-date, and some customers demanded the service. Therefore we put the box isolated on its own network, with no special identifying information, arranged a secure log server to receive syslogs from it, and watched our daily reports for any hacking activities. When someone would attempt to exploit vulnerabilities (this was some code unique to this box, so it wasn't like someone would write an automated tool to scan the Internet for this problem), we'd simply ban their IP. After a year, we eventually migrated customers to another system.
IMHO, no Internet-connected system can withstand the attacks of a dedicated system cracker. They *will* find a way in, it's simply a matter of time. Your goal is to keep your life easier by keeping out the script kiddies that comprise 99.999% of the "cracking" community, and make the remaining intelligent system crackers' lives harder by using smart tools to discourage entry (portsentry is a *wonderful* thing! Port-scan my box one time, and you are now perma-banned). And then keep up-to-date on security patches, watch your logs, keep up-to-date on security announcements so that you are aware of potential vulnerabilities, and try really, really hard not to intentionally piss off dedicated system crackers. Even then there's no guarantee. Life is risk. Learn to manage it, and it can work for you. Fear it, and never accomplish anything.
Dang, I cannot seem to post anything to Slashdot shorter than a hundred words lately!
Matthew P. Barnson
I learn what I think when I read what I write
Granted, these dev tools require Windows but so does the Aurora toolkit for NWN.
I know at least one person who has gotten the NWN tools to work with wine. He even provides an RPM for those who don't want to tackle configuration.In my opinion its far better than what you're saying, single player is not that bad imho.
Actually tried Dungeon Siege, nice graphics, but with much more repetition than NWN. DS is far more monontonous than NWN.
Maybe load screens do not bother me as much, as long as the rest of teh game is good.
StarTux
Ok, so where's the troll here? Is it the fact that I can run the NWN Client in Wine, the fact that you need the nocd crack, or the fact that the NWN Client crashes sometimes?
Oh, it's the $3 crack; I'm sorry... can I have some?
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.