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LGP Announces Two More Titles

dolson writes "Earlier today Linux Game Publishing announced the next two titles that they will be porting to Linux. They are both made by Grim, a Swedish development company, and they are called Ballistics and Bandits: Phoenix Rising. One is a high-speed racing game, and the other is a driving/action game."

8 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Do Linux Games Sell? by tealover · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What is the best selling linux game of all time and how does that compare to the best selling PC games?

    Just curious. I myself bought the Quake 2 games for Linux but that was a couple of years ago. I primarily play console games now.

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    -- You see, there would be these conclusions that you could jump to
  2. Not really, but picking up the pace... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting
    One industry insider compares the community to the Macintosh community ("Small but fanatical", in his words). Apparently, while the Mac community is still considered a reasonable investment for many companies, the perception of rampant piracy among Linux users was largely bourne out in Loki Software's books. He explained that a niche programming company needed something like 24% penetration at normal game pricing to achieve a reasonable return, but that the last three 'blockbusters' got anywhere between 2%-5% of the estimated Linux base, which was rather surprising given the quality of the software he said (comparatively, they got between 10%-16% of the Windows market, which factored heavily into the design considerations for future product).

    I pointed out that there isn't much point to running Quake and whatnot on a server, and he agreed, saying that if Linux ever really makes it to the desktop these companies that were just targeting it in the first place because it was "the next big thing" will revisit it.

  3. LGP :) by StarTux · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I know many people will bemoan the fact that they cannot get some brand new highly known game to run on Linux. The reason why is simple: Economics.

    OTH, having LGP port lesser known games has opened up a whole new world to games I would never have known about, because they don't have the publisher to spam all the well known gaming magazines with reviews etc. Also, not having the huge publisher gives the smaller developer a chance to release the game they want :). And also lets the customer actually have more of a voice...

    I'll be getting these games for sure, a little more expensive than the Windows versions, but thats a small price to pay in terms of having to run on an OS I don't like to use.

    StarTux

  4. Some Ballistics info by wpmegee · · Score: 5, Informative

    On the Win32 side, Ballistics was one of the first games to use DirectX 8 vertex and pixel shaders, which where introduced with the Geforce3.

    Here's a Maximum PC review. It got a 7, with gorgeous graphics but not too much content. Interestingly, it only listed for $30.

  5. Re:Should I care? by wideBlueSkies · · Score: 4, Insightful

    >> since when did a linux user care what's in some mainstream windows centric pc gaming magazine?

    Since the LINUX user in question happens to use multiple operating systems for both work AND gaming.

    This kind of comment really pisses me off. Grow up bud. LINUX is a tool, not a religion or a way of life. The same can be said for Windows or any other hunk of software.

    It's a tool provided by a very generous group of people, and one extremely generous individual. They deserve our support, and our thanks. But even they know, I think, that LINUX isn't everything. Nor can it be everything.

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    Huh?
  6. Open your minds by be-fan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I keep hearing "oh, these games aren't AAA titles, they must suck. Well, some of the most pure fun games I've played are obscure titles like these. They have nice graphics (not bleeding edge, but pretty) and fun gameplay. They not be the deep, sweeping experience of something like HalfLife, but they're still good entertainment. If the price is right, this games might be a good buy.

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    A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
  7. The developer is named Grin... by OnyxRaven · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ballistics and Bandits are games that take a unique spin to current games. Ballistics could be called the first supersonic racing game, where your insane speed turns a game of reaction into more of a game of pattern. The developers at E3 2001 were able to complete most of the courses at full supersonic speed, where we could barely make it at subsonic speed.

    The game is one of the first to introduce pixel shading and other features of the GeForce 3.

    Bandits I know less about, sadly. I've been sitting around waiting for word of Grin's ever-in-development game, Vultures. The guys at Grin were nice enough at E3 2001 to give me their concept-art posters they had posted in their booth (Kentia Hall). From what I remember the game has gone under a couple design revisions, but the detail they paid in the rendered weapons and the concept art I have is amazing. It should be a game I wont be able to miss. That is, if it ever does get released.

    So what if these arent Popular games? They use cutting edge technology and were probably easy to get a hold of (Grin is full of nice guys), so maybe the lessons learned from porting these games will enable LGP to publish those games you are clamoring for?

    Again I'm taken back to my argument that people shouldnt purely deride games. If they are supported through either fans or at least constructive criticism, the whole industry benifits.

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    --onyx--
  8. Why are some people feeling threatened? by core+plexus · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Many of the negative remarks directed at Linux I see from time to time here are from apparent windows or other proprietary OS users who exhibit signs that would indicate they feel threatened. Could it be because they feel that one of the last obstacles to Linux becoming more popular is in the area of gaming (among others)? That assumption doesn't answer the question. Why? I know why I strongly dislike microsoft, or at least their products and practices, and it isn't because someone else is using it. Frankly, I have made a boatload of money fixing windows screw-ups, but I also have fixed screw-ups on everything from a home box to an IBM mainframe.

    I'd be interested in learning the opinions and observations of others. Meanwhile, I shall continue to support the developers of Linux products, as opposed to megacorporate closed-source proprietary/predatory fat cats.

    Computer geek peddles bootleg porn from city hall