Slashdot Mirror


Linux Gaming after Loki

mahdi13 writes "Linux Hardware has a great story about the past, present and future of Linux Gaming in 2003. They briefly touch on the commercial games available and what will be available for Linux in the near future. It is a good read and contains excellent information to keep the Linux Gamers satisfied with what is commercially available."

223 comments

  1. Satisfied? by use_compress · · Score: 3, Insightful

    keep the Linux Gamers satisfied with what is commercially available

    Come on! No Linux gamer with his stuffed penguin would say that it is possible for him to be satisfied with what is commercially available for Linux.

    1. Re:Satisfied? by Lumpy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      excuse me? I am VERY satisfied that UT2003 was release with the linux client on the install disks. Granted I wanted to BEAT THEM for not supplying install instructions... I.E. "linux users look at disc 3 first" footnote in the manual.

      but I bough 2 copies of ut2003 and let them know that I bought it because they made a linux client.

      Now if we can get more good games released for linux (no not that sims crap) like ghost recon or splinter cell (Doubt it as that company is full of MS fanboys.) we will have to only have the wares of ID and the others that are foreward thinking enough to release linux clients for their games.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    2. Re:Satisfied? by AKnightCowboy · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Come on! No Linux gamer with his stuffed penguin would say that it is possible for him to be satisfied with what is commercially available for Linux.

      The only thing that is more pathetic than a Mac gamer is someone who claims to be a Linux gamer. Let's face it, if you want to play games then you need to run Windows. Like people in the TiVo thread keep saying... why waste time building a homebrew PVR when you can just buy a TiVo? Use the best product for the job. Windows is the absolute best OS out there for gaming at this point unless you want to play on a console.

    3. Re:Satisfied? by t0ny · · Score: 1

      You mean running NeverWinter Nights at 20fps isnt good enough for you?

      --

      Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.

    4. Re:Satisfied? by sporty · · Score: 1

      Or buy a console. But that's another philisophical battle.. consoles or computer (pc/mac/freebsd) games.

      --

      -
      ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only

    5. Re:Satisfied? by slux · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I play games occasionally. There's no way I'm buying Windows and booting to it just to play a few games sometimes. I'm happy with the Linux games currently available. In fact, they're more than I need.

      I might not be a "real gamer" (used to be though), but I do play a bit and strongly object to "if you want to play games you need to run Windows". Sure, if you absolutely have to get all the latest ones that got 90%+ in game mags, then you need Windows, but the titles that you can purchase for Linux are just fine for someone who does more things than just gaming on his computer.

      We've got Heroes3, Kohan, FreeCiv, Alpha Centauri, ASC, Lgeneral - all those games have a huge replay value so I think the strategists are covered.

      We continuously get the latest in first person shooters thanks to Epic and ID.

      And now, for those who like RPG's, there's NWN which has a great multiplayer, can be written mods for. Shouldn't get old too soon.

    6. Re:Satisfied? by DWIM · · Score: 1
      Yeah, he mentioned that:
      Windows is the absolute best OS out there for gaming at this point unless you want to play on a console.
    7. Re:Satisfied? by Cyno · · Score: 1

      I am satisfied with what is commercially available for Linux. I would and do buy all the Linux games I see on the store shelves, as well as any new additions to the GTA series. But I don't care if companies don't want to sell me stuff.

      That's perfectly fine with me. I got plenty of new free stuff to keep me busy for a long long time.

    8. Re:Satisfied? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Absolutely right, Win98 cannot be beat for gaming. Sure it has some minor stability issues but it's lean and the selection of games is unmatched. It really is a shame Microsoft chose to break with the lean and mean Win-on-Dos format with the pathetic turd of molasses they call XP. I'll be one pissed off ex-customer when they desupport Win98.

    9. Re:Satisfied? by Karn · · Score: 1

      "Windows is the absolute best OS out there for gaming at this point unless you want to play on a console."

      Not everyone uses software for what it currently is. If this were the case, noone would have ever used it for anything, since it started out as practically nothing. If everyone shared your attitude, there would be no point in doing anything new or competetive, because there is already something out there that does the job.

      No, wanting to do the things you love in the OS you use isn't pathethic. What's pathetic is the fact that you were modded up for your ignorant, close-minded post.

      Too bad Microsoft didn't take your advise when they were developing Direct3D. If they had, running Windows games under Linux would be much better, since Wine's Direct3D support seems to suck compared to it's OpenGL support. Of course, you can't be the best gaming OS if you allow a little competetion, right?

      --


      Why do I keep typing pythong?
    10. Re:Satisfied? by friedmud · · Score: 2, Interesting

      WTF are talking about?

      NWN runs BETTER in linux than it does in windows. Maybe you are using some POS videocard - but there is no reason at all for 20fps.

      I have a fairly standard rig and it runs fine:

      1.2 Ghz Athlon
      512MB RAM
      Geforce4 Ti4200

      NWN is great! Since the linux client has come out it has totally taken all of my time (yes the built in modules aren't that great - but the user created content that is out there is INCREDIBLE).

      Derek

    11. Re:Satisfied? by mahdi13 · · Score: 1

      20fps? What are you running...an ATi card? You know they have drivers available so it will use the 3D acceleration

      --
      "Some things have to be believed to be seen." - Ralph Hodgson
    12. Re:Satisfied? by StarTux · · Score: 1

      !Ding! Wrong...

      This is along the lines of, "if you want to use office apps, use Microsoft Office", or in the early days, "if you want to use a networking aware OS you Windows NT".

      Mac or Linux games would not get anywhere if you throw in the towel in and accept that fate. Sure neither are as good as the Windows landscape, but then companies aren't shy in admitting that they have to market Windows with its 90% share of the market, makes business sense.

      Commercial Linux games are fine, indeed its coming a point where one cannot afford to buy them all...

      This has not got much to do with the right tool for the right job, this seems to get many positive mod points here; That saying is great for things like databases where effects of scale come in.

      Plus, you have a lot of personal preferences. Some people only really play 3D shooters, and in this respect Linux is well represented. In the arena of Simulations, yes Linux is lagging...But even on Windows there is so few new decent simulations coming out its depressing. Even games have slowed down.

      Overall, why should people to be forced to buy extra for an OS just to runa few games? Makes no sense...

      StarTux

    13. Re:Satisfied? by Cyno · · Score: 1

      Because Tivo will never let you save a local copy of a TV show, edit out the commercials and reencode it to MPEG4 for permanent storage. Time shifting is legal. What I just described is legal. But Tivo will never let you do it. Why? Ask them..

      I'm their customer and I think they should be giving me the products I want, not the products the movie or music industry would prefer me having.

      Remember what happened with DAT? I sure do. And I hate it! The MPAA and RIAA deserve ALL the piracy they get!

    14. Re:Satisfied? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >The only thing that is more pathetic than a Mac gamer [redvsblue.com]
      >is someone who claims to be a Linux gamer. Let's face it, if you want
      >to play games then you need to run Windows.
      >
      >
      No. You need to buy a PS2. "Windows/PC Gamer sound just as much like a disease as "Linux Gamer"

    15. Re:Satisfied? by yem · · Score: 1

      Nonsense. Windows has far more games available, so its good if you like to buy (or more likely warez) LOTS of games. Is that what makes a "real gamer"?
      If the games I like to play (Quake3 + mods, UT2003, etc) are available for my platform what's the problem?

      PS: Tivo is only available in the United States.

      --
      No, I did not read the f***ing article!
    16. Re:Satisfied? by theLOUDroom · · Score: 1

      The only thing that is more pathetic than a Mac gamer [redvsblue.com] is someone who claims to be a Linux gamer. Let's face it, if you want to play games then you need to run Windows.

      Not if you want to play Linux games :P

      Seriously, he said "linux gamer" for a reason. If he ran windows he wouldn't be a linux gamer anymore, now would he?

      BTW, it a lot easier to run windows games under linux, than linux games under windows. That, and some gamers actually use their system for other things too.

      Windows is the absolute best OS out there for gaming at this point unless you want to play on a console.

      No, it's the most popular OS for gaming. Big difference. Best is a subjective choice which depends on the actual games you want to play (among other things).

      --
      Life is too short to proofread.
    17. Re:Satisfied? by nathanh · · Score: 4, Funny
      Let's face it, if you want to play games then you need to run Windows.

      Gah, if you consider futzing about with drivers and patches a "game", then sure. Imagine the typical blog of a "Windows gamer":

      9:30am Back from EB with the latest WarNerds 50000. Can't wait to play it!

      9:34am Installer crashed. Downloaded the revised installer from the WarNerds website. Only 167MB! How did people get revised installers before the Internet?

      9:54am Revised installer doesn't support my video card. Luckily I have both an nvidia and an ATI card just for such emergencies. I'll swap the ATI in. Will only take a minute!

      10:37am Phew, that took longer than I expected. My water-cooling pipes were in the way of the AGP slot. I should invest in a fan-forced nuclear cooling system like everybody has at the LAN parties.

      11:12am Yay! Installer finished. Needed to switch out the nvidia drivers and install the ATI drivers first. Thankfully Windows makes this all so easy!

      11:13am Hrm, game crashed. Says my ATI video card isn't supported if I want to play with VR headsets. Oh well, I guess I'll swap the nvidia back in.

      12:22pm Lunch-time.

      1:45pm Confused!? I swapped the nvidia card back in but it still complains about my video card. I guess I'll read the WarNerds forums.

      3:12pm Ahhh! Seems I need point release 316 with hotfix 76 because I'm using Windows 2005 with SP2 BUT because I'm using an nvidia revision 4 s/n 1287461 I need to retrograde the drivers to INFUSOR 2003. Of course! How stupid of me.

      4:05pm Ok, got the INFUSOR 2003 drivers installed and game starts now, but crashes at the menu. Getting closer! I can almost taste the gameplay.

      4:57pm Hrm, don't know why, but seems removing my Firewire scanner makes it get past the menu. Strange, because the scanner wasn't even turned on. But I'm playing WarNerds 50000 right now!

      4:58pm OHMYGODTHISGAMEISGREAT. This is the world's greatest game!!! I'm so glad I bought it!!! It's like I'm living the world's greatest dream!!! It's everything they said it would be!!!

      5:18pm Finished WarNerds 50000! That game was brilliant. I'll have to get the sequel.

      If you want to play games then you get a console. They Just Work.

    18. Re:Satisfied? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whos forcing you to buy windows to run games? The point is that most gamers out there WILL buy (or steal) windows so they can run games.

      JC, whats the point of waiting 1/2 a year or more for a buggy, underperforming port that MIGHT work.

      The simple fact is that windows IS the only real choice when you want to have the best selection of games on the market, period.

    19. Re:Satisfied? by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 1

      Like people in the TiVo thread keep saying

      You seem to be missing the same point here that the TiVo posters keep ignoring as well. Using the best product for the job is logical, but there are more jobs out there than the one you're interested in! If I want to be able to archive my shows to a CD in ogm format, and don't care about the recommended shows feature, than a computer will do a better job for me than a TiVo. A hundred people screaming that I should be using TiVo doesn't change the fact that they're confusing what's an important feature for them, with what's an important feature for me.

      The same goes with games on Linux. If I only buy one or two games per year, and they run on the operating system I use, why should I waste my drive space with another operating system in order to have the ability to play games I neither own nor care about? I'd get a considerable disadvantage, and the only plus I'd gain from it is being able to say I'm "a gamer" rather than just someone who enjoys playing computer games every now and again. If there's no real advantage for me, and several disadvantages, how can Windows possibly be the right tool for the job in my case!

      --
      Everything will be taken away from you.
    20. Re:Satisfied? by Max+von+H. · · Score: 1

      Exactly what I'm thinking. My trusty old Celeron with a GeForce 2MX does everything I want for my line of work (sysadmin/webdesign), but it chokes on most recent games. A good console (I'm thinking about a Game Cube or a PS2) would be cheaper in the long run since they usually last for quite awhile, with huge amounts of games designed just for your platform.

      Of course, it doesn't beat the latest FPS on a bigass PC, but if you have limited funds it's a good idea... and console games are cool too :)

      --
      -- It's always darker before it goes pitch black.
    21. Re:Satisfied? by testadicazzo · · Score: 1
      I mostly agree with you, but I am far from satisfied with Linux gaming. It's not getting any worse since Loki went under, and I'm grateful for that. In fact with NWN, UT, and CW, I think it's better.


      Will be, or is Unreal2 available for Linux


      I'm too busy to game like I used to when I was 18. But the collection of games I have does get a bit stale. FreeCiv is kind of clunky. Yes great game, but after you've played civ3 on widows it tough to go back. A-C is great. Still kill productivity with those.


      But man sometimes there's games out there I really want to play. Black & White was one, though I was actually disapointed. Max Payne was brilliant. You might find your interest in gaming rekindled after playing that. What a superb game.


      And I'm sure there are more that are equally great, that I didn't play cuz I resent booting into that windows partition.


      Wouldn't it be great if more companies started using cross-platform libraries? I bet if they did this, you'd see a lot of development groups offering to port just for a portion of the Linux sales. If Linux can grab enough of a market share (I like to think that it will eventually), you might see this become quite common, to the point where microsoft would have to make all of it's libraries avalaible cross platform in order to gain adoption.


      But that's getting into wishful thinking. But I don't think it's impossible.

    22. Re:Satisfied? by vsprintf · · Score: 1

      Use the best product for the job. Windows is the absolute best OS out there for gaming at this point unless you want to play on a console.

      Twenty years ago, that comment would have been: To get the best gaming OS, buy Commodore or Atari - not that unsupported DOS thing. We can only hope that Windows shares the same fate. The consoles will survive. :)

    23. Re:Satisfied? by Blondie-Wan · · Score: 1
      No, you don't "need" to run Windows. It's true there are more games for Windows than for any other platform; there might even be more games for Windows than for all other platforms combined - perhaps not, but I'll admit I wouldn't be surprised if it were the case. That said, there are still far more games available for the Mac, far more for any console, and perhaps even far more for Linux than any one person has time to play (do you play every single game that comes out for any given platform???). I don't know about Linux, but there have been thousands of Mac games, and at any given time there are probably over a hundred games available. I don't have time to play them all, and neither do you.

      Just because you can't fathom how someone can play games on an OS other than Windows doesn't mean nobody can do it. I don't even have time enough to play all the Mac games I've got, much less the time and money for all the new ones out there. Yeah, I'd have 10x + the selection if I were running Windows, but that doesn't automatically mean there aren't "enough" games for the Mac (or Linux, or whatever), whatever the hell "enough" means. I'm sorry if you don't want to admit it or can't understand it, but I for one manage to have a pretty satisfying gaming experience on my G4.

    24. Re:Satisfied? by Brissie_lad · · Score: 1

      The lack of linux ports for most games does not make windows the best gaming OS, Quake3 runs better on linux for me than it did on windows, and I suspect that would be reflected with most games if they came with a native linux client.

      --
      Slackware - because apt is for the lazy.
    25. Re:Satisfied? by SynKKnyS · · Score: 1

      That is a horrid overexaggeration. Most Windows games install via InstallShield or MSI (which is based upon InstallShield), both of which are very stable and have gone through multiple generations of bug fixes. The only games I can think of that don't use this install system are Fallout 2, Blizzard's Windows games, and the Unreal series. None of these crashed either.

      The fact to the matter is, if you are running something so unstable that you get results like that, your hardware is probably to blame. If my computer were to crash and act up like that I would not trust it for data in either Windows or Linux/*BSD.

      Although consoles are great, they cannot effectively play the latest generation of FPS games. Also, a real PC gamer would buy a PC with the best parts and do his research so that he would never run into anything close to the scenario above. Consoles are more appropriate for those who aren't extremely serious in PC games or people who lack the knowledge and don't care.

    26. Re:Satisfied? by nathanh · · Score: 1
      The fact to the matter is, if you are running something so unstable that you get results like that, your hardware is probably to blame. If my computer were to crash and act up like that I would not trust it for data in either Windows or Linux/*BSD.

      Cripes, it was a joke, laugh a little :-)

    27. Re:Satisfied? by master_p · · Score: 1

      You are unfair to Windows. The problems you mention are not problems of Windows themselves, but problems of the developers.

      In fact, using Windows ME and an Athlon 650/GFTi4200, I don't have any stability problems or crashes. Everything goes quite smoothly, and I only run Linux because I like OSS, Linux has some great tools to work on (it's an environment more developer-friendly with more open tools than Windows) and I like the do-it-yourself attitude.

      To tell you the truth, most people are unfair to Windows. The Windows environment is a complex one, I have to admit, and it is not easy for a developer to grasp all the concepts at once; personally, I admire the job done at Redmond: if you think about it, they manage to maintain a vastly complex O/S (Windows NT) while at the same time and up until recently they managed to maintain compatibility with all software written the last 20 years for the PC (Windows ME). That's pretty amazing.

      Console games lack the depth of PC games. I play console games, but I also play PC games. I've got the best of both worlds and I enjoy Evolution Pro 2 as much as any good PC adventure/rpg. They are different forms of entertainment, but it is variety that keeps me going. Although I have to admit that the level of satisfaction from finishing a PC game is more than finishing a console game, simply because the PC game usually has more depth.

      The PC also has a keyboard, that along with the mouse makes a killer combination for a game controller, especially for FPS games.

    28. Re:Satisfied? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, but why do Linux advocates always have to behave like parodies of themselves? There's a lot of criticisms to be made about Windows, but suggestions that it's easier to install programs on Linux is _not_ one of them. Consoles are certainly the easiest, but Windows isn't that far behind; most CDs will auto-run and pretty lead you through the required steps, which certainly hasn't been my experience of Linux. (You only have to look at the set of Linux instruction for my USB pen drive to realise any widespread acceptance of Linux as a desktop machines is years away).

      P.

    29. Re:Satisfied? by nathanh · · Score: 1

      Uhhh, did I say Linux *anywhere* in my post?

    30. Re:Satisfied? by sbaker · · Score: 1
      Windows is the absolute best OS out there for gaming at this point


      That's a true statement - but it has to be carefully qualified:

      • It's NOT the best because it has technical features that make it the best.
      • It IS the best because you can buy more games for it than for any other (non-console) OS.

      That distinction is critical because:
      • ...if it's the best (for the second reason), it follows that more gamers will use Windoze than Linux, BSD, MacOS or the others that are out there.
      • ...if pretty much all gamers run Windoze, games manufacturers will target that OS - to the exclusion of all others.

      Hence, 'Windoze is best for games' is simply a vicious circle. It could be broken quite easily if just a handful of major games companies would take the step of releasing Linux clients at the same time and price as the Windoze version.


      At that point, Linux's natural TECHNICAL and PRICE superiority would kick in and the market could flip-flop to the point where no games would be released for Windoze and all gamers would run Linux.


      No - it's not going to happen - but we can dream.

      --
      www.sjbaker.org
    31. Re:Satisfied? by SubtleNuance · · Score: 1
      Like people in the TiVo thread keep saying... why waste time building a homebrew PVR when you can just buy a TiVo?

      The reasons i will never buy a TiVo:

      It requires a subscription.

      the 'features' are really the dictate of the MPAA/RIAA media-barron cartel... tivo is not liberated to implement the features people DO want from there tivo because they are subordinate to the aformentioned crooks.

      a "pc" as a device means upgradability and options for change, an electronic device (i know its a damn pc in essance...) just means that you get it how it comes... having a general PC as a bed for MythTV or Freevo means that the software moves from general device (usually recycle-center bound machines anyway) to general device. less coupling(hw/sw) == more vibrant development.

      building your own is much cooler.

    32. Re:Satisfied? by t0ny · · Score: 1
      Quoted from this previously mentioned articled:

      I made one final tweak that you might find interesting -- or maybe not, if you are a hard-core gamester. The beta default is full-screen mode. I wanted a window. Serious players like to shut down X completely, then run xinit and start the game. That way, no cycles are wasted on other GUI apps. This technique seems to speed up the number of frames per second, while windowing the game slows it down, at least at higher resolutions. I saw between 24 and 31 fps running NWN from xinit at 800 x 600 resolution. In a window under Red Hat 8.0's Bluetooth GNOME with a resolution of 1024 x 768, the fps ranged from 14 and 20, which I found a little slow. Staying with the window but running at 800 by 600, the fps was steady at 24, which is fast enough for me to play a game of this type.

      I dont know about you, but I generally like to see frame rates that are consistenly OVER 30 fps, not just on the high end of the average.

      You may want to bitch at the person writing the article. I only know what I read: Im not one of those pathetic people trying to be a "Linux Gamer" or a "Mac Gamer", and I dont pound in nails with a flat rock, either.

      --

      Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.

  2. Loki Games by feed_me_cereal · · Score: 5, Informative

    Another great place to find loki games that wasn't mentioned in the article is used bookstores. I'm not sure if they're a nation-wide chain, but Half-priced books in columbus, OH usually has a bunch of loki linux games that I guess people probably bought thinking they were windows games. You can get most of them for a buck or two. I also found copies of quake3 a year ago at microcenter for $3! Though, I suppose at this point thats probably what you would expect to pay anywhere...

    --
    "Question with boldness even the existence of a god." - Thomas Jefferson
    1. Re:Loki Games by nutsy · · Score: 1

      Half-Price Books is not nationwide, but does have locations in eleven states (WHQ is in Dallas). As a fellow Columbusite, I second FMC's complimentary post. As with most used book stores, though, you have to purchase what you can get when you find it, 'cause the next time you visit, it might be gone!

    2. Re:Loki Games by rmohr02 · · Score: 1

      I'm in Columbus too, and also at OSU. Is there a "Half-Priced Books" near campus?

    3. Re:Loki Games by feed_me_cereal · · Score: 1

      I'm in Columbus too, and also at OSU. Is there a "Half-Priced Books" near campus?

      Yes, it's a little west of campus on Lane Ave. I think it's a little west of Kenny Rd.

      --
      "Question with boldness even the existence of a god." - Thomas Jefferson
    4. Re:Loki Games by rmohr02 · · Score: 1

      Cool.

    5. Re:Loki Games by jmertic · · Score: 1

      I got Quake 3 as when Microcenter had it for $3 here in Cleveland, OH. I picked up Myth 2 for $1 last week and they still have Heretic 2 and Railroad Tycoon 2 both for $5; theres alot still there so. They had Descent 3 and Civ: Call to Power, but they are all sold out.

      BTW, Myth 2 seg faults immediately when I run it under Red Hat 9; anyone have any ideas on why?

  3. "Linux Gaming" by huntz0r · · Score: 5, Funny

    is that sort of like Windows Security?

    --

    Karma: Chameleon (mostly affected when you come and go, you come and go)
    1. Re:"Linux Gaming" by DRO0 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Except there's no icculus.org for Windows security...

  4. Also... by levik · · Score: 0, Interesting
    I hear tic-tac-toe is coming to Linux as well...

    Let's face it... being a gamer on Linux today is just a bit behind being a gamer on Mac...

    And we've all seen THAT "Switch" commercial.

    --
    Ñ'
  5. like such classics as by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    gnibbles and gstones.

  6. New record. by Mullen · · Score: 1, Funny

    This must be a new record, /.'ed with only 3 +1 commments!

    Linux Hardware not having enough hardware, how ironic.

    --
    Linux O Muerte!
    1. Re:New record. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      holy shit, does this mean some people actually read the article before posting?

  7. Bring it on. by dolson · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Let's hear all the complaints about how I didn't list any free games or WineX or anything.

    I have my mouse over the X of my browser window so I can close it any second now.

    Oh yeah, and I forgot RTCW, my favorite Linux game, don't know how I did that. :\

    1. Re:Bring it on. by wurp · · Score: 1
      I have a complaint -- you didn't list any Java games.

      I am the lead server developer for Magicosm, a java/java3d persistent online world. Sun showcased us at the Game Developer's Conference last year. There are also several very nice java games by FullSail as well as a few others.

      Magicosm won't be available for purchase for at least a year, but we hope to have a closed beta test late this year or early next.

      Come visit our forums and say hi.

  8. yeah.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The only reason I have a M$ box is because of gaming... Can't wait until the day I can live free without MR GATES...

    1. Re:yeah.... by stratjakt · · Score: 1

      1) Buy a gamecube or PS2

      2) Just accept the fact that PC games means Windows games. This wont change anytime in the near future. Linux just doesnt make even a decent gaming platform, let alone a suitable replacement for Windows and DirectX.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    2. Re:yeah.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How about you trolls just accept the fact that Linux gaming, while not quite so popular now, is gaining momentum. None of you trolls who say you have to run Windows to game are going to change it.

  9. The Article - Unformatted For Her Pleasure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Past
    Loki has undoubtedly become a synonym for "Linux game." While the company is long gone, their legacy lives on. Many of their works can still be had for a fair price at online vendors such as TuxGames, or at local shops which still carry older stock. I have found a number of my Loki titles at Electonics Boutique, including a tin box version of Quake 3 Arena. So which Loki-ported games were released? Which ones are still available? Well, the first question has an easy answer. If you look in the table, any game title that is still in stock is a link to its respective page on TuxGames. If there is no link, then the game is out of stock. This is not to say that you can't find it anywhere, but just that TuxGames no longer carries it.

    Alpha Centauri Civilization: Call to Power Descent 3 1
    Deus Ex 2 Eric's Ultimate Solitaire Heavy Gear II
    Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2 Heretic II Heroes of Might and Magic III
    Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns MindRover: The Europa Project 3 Myth II: Soulblighter
    Postal Plus Quake 3 Arena 1,3,4 Railroad Tycoon II Gold
    Rune Rune: Halls of Valhalla SimCity 3000 Unlimited
    Soldier of Fortune Tribes 2 Unreal Tournament 1,3,4
    Legend:
    1 - expansion available
    2 - unreleased
    3 - still in print, not by Loki
    4 - downloadable binaries
    As you can clearly see, there are still a good number of Loki games available. These titles won't last long, so you should order them as quickly as you can. TuxGames is not the only place that sells Linux games, but they do only sell Linux games, and game-related merchandise. It is possible that some of the titles that are no longer available can be found elsewhere. And there's always eBay, if you are comfortable with online auctions. It is unfortunate that we never got Deus Ex, but circumstances and fate prevented the game from ever being completed.

    Rune
    Some gamers don't want to buy these games, and that is fine. Not everyone appreciates every genre, and some people refuse to buy games that don't get shoved down their throats on television and Internet ads. However, for the majority of Linux gamers, the series of Loki ports includes some of the best games ever created. There is no telling what games Linux users could be playing if Loki were still around today.

    Tribsoft ported a game called Jagged Alliance II to Linux, and has since disappeared from the scene. Their domain name even points to some weird site in British Columbia now. I imagine they won't be porting any more games, but if you want a good strategy game with adventure and role-playing elements, something like Fallout, then look no further than Jagged Alliance II.

    Xatrix Entertainment developed a game called Kingpin: Life of Crime. They ported it to Linux, and if you can find a copy of the game anywhere, you may like to check out the unofficial installer, made by ravage, of icculus.org. It's worth checking out, if you like violent first-person shooter games that revolve around organized crime.

    So now that we have a good idea of what has happened in the past, let's take a look at what is going on right now in the world of Linux games.

    The Present
    So we know where Linux gamers got their roots from, but where will they go tomorrow? What is there to fill the seemingly large void left by Loki? Well, as you may have heard, there is a newer company called Linux Game Publishing, often referred to as LGP. What they do is, well, they publish Linux games. This includes titles that they port, and titles that are ported by others, just as Loki did.

    So what does LGP have in store for us? Well, for starters, Majesty has gone gold, and should be available any day now. You can pre-order it already. The game looks and plays like a cross between the best parts of Lords of the Realm 2, Total Annihilation: Kingdoms, and Age of Empires. It brings back those same feelings I used to get, and I can get lost in the gameplay for hours on end. definitely keep your eye on this game. Click here for some screenshots.

    L

    1. Re:The Article - Unformatted For Her Pleasure by malelder · · Score: 1

      Yikes...Bad Formatting gave me quite a scare..

      I really want Deus Ex 2, but not if its called "Deus Ex 2 Eric's Ultimate Solitaire Heavy Gear II"!

      --


      Yuma, AZ...You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.
  10. Freely Available by blazer1024 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've always been more into the freely available games out there when it comes to Linux.

    For big flashy commercial 3d games and such, I generally prefer Windows anyway since I know it'll work right off. (Well, usually anyway :)

    In Linux, I like those games made by people with creative minds, but not the money to try to produce a big budget game. These games are frequently much more interesting, and sometimes even more graphically appealing.. (I like cheezy 2d graphics better sometimes, especially if it's a fun game)... in fact, one of my favorite Linux games ever, Koules, had very simplistic graphics, but four of us would huddle around the KB and a joystick and play that game for hours!

    I bet you that game had a budget of $0. Development tools, graphics programs and all sorts of useful apps exist for free in Linux.. so anyone with an idea and enough spare time can make something that could be more fun to play than a game with a 10 million dollar budget.

    1. Re:Freely Available by oever · · Score: 1

      I agree completely. I use to play TNT (a simple and ugly dynablaster clone) a lot with my friends. This post actually make me find the game on the web. here it is

      --
      DNA is the ultimate spaghetti code.
  11. Majesty Gold will be fun by tuffy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Give the playable demo a try and see for yourself. Though most of my Linux gaming involves xmame or zsnes, when I'm not doing actual work.

    --

    Ita erat quando hic adveni.

  12. Yeah by dolson · · Score: 5, Funny

    because Mac users have been playing Neverwinter Nights and UT2003 for months and us Linux users have been waiting for so long... Oh, wait...

    1. Re:Yeah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good point, but I be you couldn't pick couple of more examples.

    2. Re:Yeah by dolson · · Score: 1

      Cold War is one, and I have no clue about the stuff that LGP is porting.

    3. Re:Yeah by mahdi13 · · Score: 1

      Didn't they cancel the Mac port after they realized they were over their head with the Linux port?

      --
      "Some things have to be believed to be seen." - Ralph Hodgson
  13. There's plenty of games for Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    You can download zSnes and play supernintendo games, there's Mame so you can play arcade games, theres a ton of NES-emulators and... oh wait... you are talking about _new_ games? Sorry. Never mind.

    Oddly enough, i can't remember more than 2-3 games worth playing from last year, at least not for the PC.

    1. Re:There's plenty of games for Linux by Mitchell+Mebane · · Score: 1

      Seriously, though, 95%+ of the games I play, even on Windows, are old games with an emulator. The only PC game I regularly play anymore is Age of Empires 2.

      Just about all I use is zSNES, MAME, and for Windows, N64 and PSX stuff.

      Oh, and bit of trivia: somewhere in the manpage for zSNES is the name The Khan Artist as the original author. That's me. ;)

      --

      The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.
      --Aristotle
  14. What about Transgaming by jandrese · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What, no mention of Transgaming? Sure they don't actually port the games to Linux, but if it works it works. The only big problem is that the Transgaming versions have to deal with all of the copy protection crap the Windows users have to deal with. Has a CD Key ever kept someone from pirating a game? Do any games with SafeDisc (which don't work in my computer) actually avoid being 0-day Warez? How many hours of my life have I wasted installing games only to realize that it's got another CD protection scheme that breaks in my DVD drive? How many hours of tech support time have I wasted with these problem (at least Blizzard fixed it in a patch, unlike most companies that just ignore you)[1]?
    I think Loki got it right. Too bad they were probably a bit too early (not enough users with cash) to make money. It's a shame, because the Loki versions usually ran better than the Windows versions on my machine.

    [1] Well, not too many, I usually just return the game instead.

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
    1. Re:What about Transgaming by ConMotto · · Score: 1
      What, no mention of Transgaming? Sure they don't actually port the games to Linux, but if it works it works.

      Sure, it works, but the larger issue is that you are not directly supporting the development of Linux ports. Developers may not opt to make a Linux port because Transgaming will make it run for them. I *think* Baldur's Gate is an example of this.

    2. Re:What about Transgaming by dolson · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The article was about Linux games, not Windows games.

      The chances that Transgaming has had to produce native ports have gone to shit. The Sims and Kohan are WineX-based crap. I've compared their Kohan against Loki's Kohan, and Loki's doesn't crash, it's faster, smoother, and the sound doesn't ever get messed up. Not to mention that the Linux version is an actual Linux version, and doesn't require that I connect to the Internet to install or run the game.

      Sorry, but I use Linux and Linux software, not Linux and Windows software. If I wanted to run Windows software, I'd just install Windows because it runs a hell of a lot better than Wine and WineX do.

      I used to be a subscriber, and I tested over 70 of my Windows games in it. Guess how many actually ran? Seven. Guess how many locked up and forced me to reset my system? The majority. It's not worth it. I don't agree with subscription-based software, for one thing, and I don't agree with Transgaming, for another. They are bad open-source citizens, and they blatantly lied to me when they said that after a certain number of subscribers, they would release their source code to Wine. I don't care what excuses anyone makes for Transgaming; the fact is that they said it, and now they don't.

      They also lied when they said that they won't be testing games that are being ported natively... Medal of Honor is being ported to Linux right now, just as my article says, and yet Transgaming brags about how it runs in WineX. I can't count the number of people that run Quake 3 Arena in WineX... I've talked to them myself, so I KNOW that it's true. I just don't understand this.

      Furthermore, WineX hurts Linux's chances of getting native ports. Aside from the Sacrifice port which they killed, they are creating a Linux gaming community that relies on Windows and Windows software... Transgaming is always a few steps behind Windows, and always will be. What happens in a few years from now, when WineX is good enough that it can run a lot of games, and then Microsoft sues Transgaming? They aren't loyal to Linux at all - look at Gav's track record. Does Corel support Linux anymore? No. Will Transgaming? No. They simply saw a potential for cash, and they stepped in. That's all this is. What if Microsoft changes their architecture so much that Wine and WineX are rendered useless with new software? They have to start all over... And what will become of those "hardcore gamer" Linux users? They'll crawl back to Windows on their knees. And if you don't agree that one of these scenarios will happen, then you can't deny that it will hurt or kill LGP. Linux users are NOT loyal to Linux - ask what was Tribsoft or someone from Hyperion, two companies who stopped porting to Linux because so-called Linux users are too fucking cheap to buy native games, and they'd rather buy the 20-discount bin Windows versions and then use WineX or dual-boot. At least Amiga and Mac users are loyal to their operating system. They don't buy Windows software at all. They buy software for their platform. Hell, the majority of Linux users don't even pay for their distro. Hyperion has a deal now, but if they will port to Linux remains to be seen.

      The future of Linux gaming is NOT bright when you keep getting bombarded with emails and comments about WineX and playing Windows games in Linux.

      When we can run Windows games on Linux, there is no need for native ports. It's a sad, sad day. I'm very glad I bought a Playstation, because I can't see Linux gaming surviving much longer.

    3. Re:What about Transgaming by dolson · · Score: 0, Troll

      The real example is Sacrifice. It was going to be ported, but then WineX was sorta almost running it so they cancelled it.

    4. Re:What about Transgaming by Jaysyn · · Score: 1

      That's funny (& wierd) as hell, in the short time I played around with Lycoris Desktop (or maybe it was Lindows, I get em mixed up) I got more games to run, just playing around, than you did. No, I don't game on Linux, like I said I was just testing the distro out.

      Jaysyn

      --
      There is a war going on for your mind.
    5. Re:What about Transgaming by NotAnotherReboot · · Score: 1

      CD keys for online games are VERY effective in stopping piracy. Since it checks the key each time you connect to an online server, it won't let you play with a pirated key, even if your game thinks it's real.

      For single player games, I'd have to agree, but gaming is becoming much more internet oriented these days.

    6. Re:What about Transgaming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And, if I recall the interview on LinuxGames with Michael "TuxGames" Simms correctly, Wizardry 8 also had a port squashed because of WINE.

    7. Re:What about Transgaming by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 3, Insightful
      The chances that Transgaming has had to produce native ports have gone to shit. The Sims and Kohan are WineX-based crap ... Loki's doesn't crash, it's faster, smoother, and the sound doesn't ever get messed up.

      I think you'd have more credibility for this opinion if you didn't obviously have a grudge against TransGaming. If you were a subscriber, you should have clearly known that not all games would work, in fact, probably only the ones they support would work. This is made very clear at every stage.

      They are bad open-source citizens, and they blatantly lied to me when they said that after a certain number of subscribers, they would release their source code to Wine. I don't care what excuses anyone makes for Transgaming; the fact is that they said it, and now they don't.

      I believe they said they'd release their code when they reached 20,000 subscribers. Gav did set a figure, I think that's what it was, not 100% sure. Clearly they are a long way off that figure at the moment. I'd note that TransGamimg have released large amounts of code back to WineHQ - not all of it no, but quite a bit. A lot of the DirectDraw code, the SHM wineserver (though for various reasons that wasn't merged), DCOM code etc etc.

      I can't count the number of people that run Quake 3 Arena in WineX... I've talked to them myself, so I KNOW that it's true. I just don't understand this.

      Who cares? APIs are just a set of rules about how to invoke system services. Are you going to crusade against games that don't use SDL next, for not being pure enough? You clearly don't understand the nature of the Win32 APIs if you think MS can "break" them - sure they can introduce new things, and remove things, but so can Wine, and randomly removing or changing interfaces in an OS update would just break all their customers software - they cannot do this, and never have.

      If Q3 Arena works great under WineX and they want to use it, why not? For all I know, it's easier than installing it under Linux - if they have the CD next to them, why not use it?

      Furthermore, WineX hurts Linux's chances of getting native ports.

      Nobody has ever actually proven this, it's merely conjecture. A Tale In The Desert was ported to Linux despite the fact that people were running it in Wine just fine months before the official port was ready.

      What definately does hurt Linuxs chances of native ports however are a lack of gamers. Wine can only help that situation.

      What happens in a few years from now, when WineX is good enough that it can run a lot of games, and then Microsoft sues Transgaming?

      Your paranoia is bizarre. What, pray tell, would Microsoft sue TransGaming for? Reimplementations of other companies technologies is legally established as being just fine. Wine has been around for nearly a decade, the most MS have done is put slightly dubious things in the EULAs of their own software - things that probably wouldn't stand up in court either.

      The fact is, you appear to be horrendously ill informed, paranoid and blame the economics of Linux gaming on users being "too fucking cheap". Right.

      Let me ask you this. If a game works just fine in Wine what in gods name is the justification for producing a version that uses "native" APIs? Let's conveniently ignore the fact that SDL is cross platform, hardly Linux "native". Microsoft has no control over its own APIs you realise - the most they can do is extend them, in which case new games may use technology Wine doesn't implement for a few months, but for older games they cannot be broken.

      You appear to take for granted that "native" ports are better than a version that uses the Win32 API, despite the fact that there are virtually no Linux-specific APIs around. X? Cross platform. SDL? Cross platform. GTK? Cross platform. Even GLIBC is cross platform. Your position makes no sense at all, and your wild fatalism just spreads FUD whether you intend it to or not.

    8. Re:What about Transgaming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's conveniently ignore the fact that SDL is cross platform, hardly Linux "native".

      So what you are saying is that if I write a game using SDL, compile it in linux, it's not really native, even though the code compilation was designed for linux? How does this work?

      I'm not disagreeing about your whole argument, but if you are going to call a bullshitter a liar, then you can't use bullshit yourself.

    9. Re:What about Transgaming by dolson · · Score: 1

      You're a Wine developer, aren't you?

      I've argued with Wine developers before, and they all sound the same to me, and you sound like one. Apologies if you're not.

      You can dismiss my arguments as whatever you like, I don't really care. They're my opinions, and last I checked, everyone was entitled to their own.

    10. Re:What about Transgaming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I agree with your points about Transgaming and WineX.


      However, I must respectfully disagree with your comment about Linux users, for I am one, and have been since 1994. I have paid for Myth II: Soulblighter, SimCity 3000 Unlimited, Alpha Centauri, Heavy Gear II, Civilization: Call to Power, Descent 3, Descent 3: Mercenaries, Heroes of Might and Magic III, Heretic II, Shogo: Mobile Armor Division, Quake 3 Arena, Postal Plus, Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns and Return to Castle Wolfenstein. I paid my money in full over a month ago for Doom III and Neverwinter Nights, and yet I still don't have them in my hands.


      Oh yeah, I also bought full release of Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 for x86, PowerPC, Alpha and source. I demand quality and I'm willing to pay for it; I also demand freedom and I'm willing to fight for it. I will never pay for a Windows or Mac OR Amiga game, because those platforms limit my freedoms. And while the games I've paid for for Linux may not be open source, I will continue to support them because I like playing them and I believe it will help encourage other companies to port to Linux. If there was an open source game for sale, I would buy it.


      So please don't give me this bullshit about how "the majority of Linux users don't even pay for their distro" and all Amiga and Mac users are little angels who are loyal, because both statements are false.

    11. Re:What about Transgaming by runderwo · · Score: 1
      Wow, that's an easy way out of defending your reasoning! Attacking the person, then asserting that your views stand on their own and are thus not subject to scrutiny.

      I'll have to try that myself sometime.

    12. Re:What about Transgaming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      If Q3 Arena works great under WineX and they want to use it, why not? For all I know, it's easier than installing it under Linux - if they have the CD next to them, why not use it?


      I don't see how it's possible for WineX to make installing Q3 easier than id's self-extracting shell scripts.

    13. Re:What about Transgaming by Spoing · · Score: 1

      Dolson, don't go overboard. If you disagree, there's plenty to comment on. Attacking the messanger doesn't help!

      --
      A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
    14. Re:What about Transgaming by dolson · · Score: 1

      You can't ignore the fact that if someone develops on a project, they will have total extreme views about it... Think about it. If I hated Wine and thought it was harming more than helping, would I be smart to contribute to it? No... And all Wine developers that I've discussed these issues with DO sound the same. It's not about attacking a person, I'm just saying that there's no sense in arguing with someone like that because they're just as stubborn as I am, and we'll get nowhere. MY opinions won't change, HIS opinions won't change.

    15. Re:What about Transgaming by dolson · · Score: 1

      So I guess you and I make up the majority then?

    16. Re:What about Transgaming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      You missunderstand the Main reason for Transgamming to exist. They exist to get more people onto linux, the casual user, but hardcore gamer will not switch to linux unless he can game, period. Transgamming is going to get more people off windows and onto Linux. And that is good for Linux in general. The more people on linux the more potential customer for native linux games. It's all about percentages. Only 50% of the current linux users would pay for native linux ports. Lets make up some number just for an example.

      1 million people use linux, and only 50% of them would buy native ports now. But Transgaming, Wine and Crossover Office get that number up to 10 million linux users. and still 50% of them willpay for native ports. Game companies will not cater to the needs of half a million people, but they will cater to the needs/wants of 5 million people. Once more people are on linux Transgamming will die out, because people will start developing native apps and games, period.

      Linux gaming can't grow until linux in general grows. Please respond and let me know what you think.

    17. Re:What about Transgaming by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 1
      You're a Wine developer, aren't you?

      Indeed, I contribute patches occasionally.

      You can dismiss my arguments as whatever you like, I don't really care. They're my opinions, and last I checked, everyone was entitled to their own.

      Opinions on their own, while acceptable, are generally worthless, especially when you try and convince others using them. You stated many things as fact "Wine hurts Linux", "Linux users are too cheap" etc, and if you're not going to back them up with credible arguments we might as well ignore you - what else can we do?

    18. Re:What about Transgaming by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 1
      Well, if you compile it using SDL in Linux you have a binary that links against glibc and SDL, and uses ELF as its binary format. Quite a few forms of UNIX can do that (well, not sure about the glibc part, but libc interfaces are mostly standardised). You'd need to somehow hack symbol versioning off, but that's doable.

      It should be source code compatible with other platforms though. So the binary may be Linux native, but the program itself really is not.

  15. all I want to know is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    will they have Star Wars Galaxies? I'd like to RTFA but its /.ed.

    1. Re:all I want to know is... by dolson · · Score: 1

      It was pasted above... not really hard to look... it's that long-ass comment up there...

  16. I'm glad your dead--LGPL violator by linux11 · · Score: 0, Troll

    Anyone remember in the movie Batman when the business exec gets burned by the Joker? If only that could be Scott Draeker. Every Loki game distributed a copy of the game binary that was statically linked against glibc. Every Loki game displayed on start-up a banner/credit screen including copyright information. EVERY Loki game failed to include the required text stating use of glibc. When I notified Loki of the LGPL requirements being violated, Scott Draeker explained that Loki is an "important contributor" to SDL and other LGPL projects. But, to date, Scott Draeker has failed to explain what part of the LGPL excludes "important contributors" from having to include notice of a LGPL work when a banner/credits/copyright information is displayed. Considering that Loki failed to publish ANY game without fully honoring all the terms of the LGPL, I think it is a step forward for Free Software that they are now dead. If only Scott Draeker would be kind enough to die too. :)

    1. Re:I'm glad your dead--LGPL violator by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Yes, that's a very mature viewpoint to take. Wanting someone dead for dealings in business? You might be trying to exagerate for some type of effect, I'm not sure what that might be, but it's really inappropriate. When someone dies there are serious consequences and I don't think it's right to make jokes about death.

      --
      I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
    2. Re:I'm glad your dead--LGPL violator by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And what about the dynamically-linked versions of the binaries?

  17. Last real area by rf0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I really see gaming as the last area where Linux is seriously behind Windows. We have things like WineX which allows some games to be run and of course people like ID activly support Linux. However I have a number of games that I like to play that force me to reboot into Windows just to play them.

    Ask anyone and they will say that the availability of games, and even decent graphics drivers on Linux is really behind that of Windows. So if you have the ocassional home user who want to play a games, even a demo off a cover disk they aren't going to be going for Linux are they? Mind you they could just as easy go for a PS2 :)

    rus

    1. Re:Last real area by mojowantshappy · · Score: 3, Informative

      Actually, the nVidia drivers are overall considered better for linux... well at least by many people I know and by observing the game benchmarks over the years with UT 2003 and Q3. Also, WineX still doesn't work very well in my opinion. Usually it is only the very big games that work, or games that are based off of the Quake 3 engine. Games like Morrowind or Black and White I have found to barely work at all. To add to that, you have to pay for WineX and it is a pain in the ass to set up.

      --

      This page was generated by a Barrel of Circus Midgets, and that is the way I like it!!!

    2. Re:Last real area by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The "last" area?

      How about desktop usability, and consistency. Have you ever tried to cut and paste with any linux based desktop rig?

      How about device support, or being able to create a new driver for a new device without a kernel recompile?

      There are a METRIC SHITLOAD of areas where linux lags behind Windows and OS/X. There are few where it actually excels.

      Unless you dont count usability, functionality, compatibility, and all that kind of shit and compare OS's based purely on hippie ideals.

      Think of this, if Windows was free, as in no-money, not as in open source, would ANYONE use linux on the desktop?

    3. Re:Last real area by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How stupid can you get? Since it's nearly impossible to buy a computer that doesn't have Windows on it, the issue of OS cost is irrelevant. The majority of Linux machines had Windows installed until someone decided to put Linux on there instead of or in addition to Windows.

    4. Re:Last real area by Deacon+Jones · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I really see gaming as the last area where Linux is seriously behind Windows.

      I don't feel that way.

      Let's see, OpenOffice is still a dog compared to M$ Office. It takes forever to launch, and many times just doesn't handle things as smoothly (even the positioning of bullets) that M$ Office can. Its nowhere near as robust. Granted, one can see its on track, and M$ has had quite a long time to get where it is in comparison to OpenOffice, but it is still behind.

      As well, don't forget that with any windoze program, I double click, and it installs, and finds the libraries it needs (or just installs them itself). One click. I don't have to tar xzvf filename, and then compile it. Or rpm -i filename, or urpmi -prayitfindsfilename, or whatever.

      And most linux distros are way behind font-wise. A few lately seem to have "caught up," and I would contend RH 9 is actually better looking than windoze, imho.

      Now, these issues don't make linux "behind" for me personally, as I feel that my learning (slowly) Linux has taught me more about my computer itself. But in a commericial/home user sense, Linux still has a way to go.

      And yes, games are a big deal. One could successfuly argue that upgrade mania only exists due to games, since a great majority of business apps really could have frozen their features years ago, without the "perty" looks.

      --
      I pulled a jack move to cop this sig
    5. Re:Last real area by vsprintf · · Score: 1

      As well, don't forget that with any windoze program, I double click, and it installs, and finds the libraries it needs (or just installs them itself). One click. I don't have to tar xzvf filename, and then compile it. Or rpm -i filename, or urpmi -prayitfindsfilename, or whatever.

      And during installation, it opens all the ports, doors, and windows, so you're comfy and feel right at home. As they say, ingnorance is bliss. :) There are linux distros (Mandrake for instance) that have GUI software installers to take care of those pesky details for you.

    6. Re:Last real area by Deacon+Jones · · Score: 1

      You obviously completely missed my point. Again, read what I was responding to before you open your mouth. I'm running slack, and have no issues with compiling downloads.

      --
      I pulled a jack move to cop this sig
    7. Re:Last real area by Deacon+Jones · · Score: 1
      Oh, as well, before I forget, did you even think before you wrote? How does Mandrake cause Open Office to perform on a level equal to that of M$ office? (hint: it doesn't)

      And as well, Mandy is the urpmi that I was talking about (its their install tool). Geez.

      --
      I pulled a jack move to cop this sig
  18. Not too happy... by Lethyos · · Score: 1

    Still no stable NWN client. On top of that, WineX 3 is horribly broken. On my system (at least) GTA3 no longer works and WC3 performs worse.

    No major advances and a few steps back as far as I am concerned.

    --
    Why bother.
    1. Re:Not too happy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      is winex free? where can i get it?

      thanks.

    2. Re:Not too happy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      pirating bastard, people like you make this world what it is...a shitbag of flith and psudeo-matrialistic ignorance.

      Use the fucking CVS if your too much of a cheap ass to buy something

    3. Re:Not too happy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CVS does not have the copyprotection stuff need to make some games work.

      So fuck you... I will pirate anything I want, from software to your momma's pussy.

      SUCK ME COCK

    4. Re:Not too happy... by WWWWolf · · Score: 2, Informative
      Still no stable NWN client.

      Oh yeah, but it runs already, sort of. Like just today I totally quit playing NWN on Windows and switched to Linux, because I got my accelerated graphics working and got far better performance than the 5 fps I pulled earlier. It was like, adding "export LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libGL.so.1" to the nwn shell script with vim because it used the Mesa library for some reason instead of the nvidia-glx libGL.so

      I mean, it's so simple. I can't see why anyone's still using Windows for gaming.

      (Yeah, I'm inspired by that... whatever switch ad parody it was out there in the great web. But really, I'm happy that it now works and I get really amazingly smooth game. =)

    5. Re:Not too happy... by Jerk+City+Troll · · Score: 1

      I feel utterly compelled to participate in this thread, given my trollish nature.

      You sir, I think are a fucking moron. You need to get a life and realize that software piracy helps software companies.

      Look at Microsoft.

      (Consider yourself trolled.)

    6. Re:Not too happy... by Ozric · · Score: 1

      Wussie... I had to have boot disks and striped down config.sys and autoexec.bat files. Not to mention pharlab extender. And who can forget our friend the ixp driver and mscdex.exe and eveyone's favorite, set blaster statement.

      All that and, as I recall the stores were chock full of games for DOS.

    7. Re:Not too happy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OMFG THANKS A LOT!!! Isn't that tweaking possibilty in Linux make it worthy for gaming?! :)

    8. Re:Not too happy... by WWWWolf · · Score: 1
      All that and, as I recall the stores were chock full of games for DOS.

      Yeah, and as far as I can tell, Linux gaming is just about as easy as DOS gaming - somewhat confusing at first, but definitely easy with some dedication.

      I'd even get farther by saying it's actually far easier than DOS gaming. DOS games had a page of install instructions and two for making boot floppies and fixing the startup in general, but the Loki games generally had just that one page of install info =)

  19. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  20. The Final Barrier by Tighe_L · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I am completely switched to Linux & FreeBSD for my home PCs, but my co-worker will not switch (he wants to) until he can play games like DAOC, EQ, BF1942, PlanetSide (Yes I know you can use Wine and WineX) in linux. I think the syngergyst (sp.) that could cause a switch would be a Linux Based Gaming Console. Games are the only thing keeping home M$ Windows sales up.

    1. Re:The Final Barrier by Rican · · Score: 1

      Yes...I wish to break away from the M$ collective, but until popular PS game titles start being published for Linux as well as Winblows I am afraid that resistance will be futile. :(

    2. Re:The Final Barrier by Moloch666 · · Score: 1

      I've got two linux boxes and and a high end windows box just for games. I dream about switching to linux and adding my Athlon 1800 to the openMosix cluster. I'm tired of Windows it has been a thorn in my side for too long.

      --
      Understanding is a three-edged sword. -- Kosh Naranek
    3. Re:The Final Barrier by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Insightful

      " Games are the only thing keeping home M$ Windows sales up."

      That's not really true. Though I agree games are an extremely attractive feature of Windows, the fact is that it's a decent OS. Lots of apps, easy to use, easy to install, lots of places to get help with it, etc. (Note: I only speak of Windows 2k and even XP, Windows 95, 98, ME, and related are complete garbage. I will not defend those flavors.)

      Linux has arguably gained ground in most of those areas, but it's still got its rough areas. It's strength in the home market is not it's CLI or it's automation or remote administration capabilities. Frankly, nobody gives a rat's ass about that. What they do care about is beinng able to do lots of stuff with their computer. They want to go to the store and buy a new game or an app. They want to buy a new doohickey like an MP3 player and connect it all up and make it work. The problem is if you go to CompUSA, there's virtually no mention of Linux.

      Linux may be superior in nearly every aspect compared to Windows, but not necessarily in the areas that are important to mass-market audiences. Frankly, I think just getting a few apps on store shelves that are just for Linux would go a long way. You'd be surprised how much perception plays a role in all this. It's not that surprising, though. For people to climb any learning curve, they need to be interested in it.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    4. Re:The Final Barrier by BrookHarty · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Switching to Linux/Bsd/OSX full time is easy, the only time I ever go back to my windows box is for games. Pushing linux/osx on a windows gamer is the wrong direction to go. Pushing linux/osx on a person who is a desktop user is postive experience. WineX (while good) is geared towards the more techincal user, and is not yet "install and play" simple.
      -
      Do you use CS Skins?

    5. Re:The Final Barrier by Trogre · · Score: 1

      It won't be much of a barrier for long.
      Microsoft is trying to kill off gaming on the PC.

      - Halo nearly ready for release to PC, bought by MS, and shelved in favour of an XBox port.
      - iD Software approached by MS, offered a stack of cash to sit on Doom3 for PC in favour of an XBox port.

      Microsoft don't want people playing games on 'their' PCs, that much is clear. That's what the XBox is for (well, that and a test bed for DRM content). They're trying to permanently separate PCs and games consoles.

      If Microsoft really goes for it, and stops supporting DirectX on windows, then we'll have them. The only way people will be able to play games on PCs will be with Linux, which will (hopefully) result in PC game houses looking at the platform more seriously.

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    6. Re:The Final Barrier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      [Customers] want to go to the store and buy a new game or an app. They want to buy a new doohickey like an MP3 player and connect it all up and make it work. The problem is if you go to CompUSA, there's virtually no mention of Linux.
      ...
      I think just getting a few apps on store shelves that are just for Linux would go a long way.


      The classic double-edged sword: In order to get popular developers to write software for a lesser known OS the OS has to become more popular. But without popular software available for the lesser known OS it can't become more popular.

    7. Re:The Final Barrier by DeadScreenSky · · Score: 1

      Then why would MS be doing this?

      Microsoft don't want people playing games on 'their' PCs, that much is clear.
      PEOPLE, generally, don't want to play games on PC when they could rather do it on a console. PC gaming has for years been doing a great job committing suicide all by itself. Only the most casual games (Zoo Tycoon, Sims) or the most hardcore games (UT2K3, etc.) have any place right now, and even that is disappearing. MS' 'help' isn't needed.

      And you need to double-check your sources. iD was never offered a deal to make DoomIII not come out for the PC. And Halo was not almost ready for PC, either.

      --
      There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. -- Francis Bacon
    8. Re:The Final Barrier by Trogre · · Score: 1

      PEOPLE, generally, don't want to play games on PC when they could rather do it on a console. PC gaming has for years been doing a great job committing suicide all by itself. Only the most casual games (Zoo Tycoon, Sims) or the most hardcore games (UT2K3, etc.) have any place right now, and even that is disappearing. MS' 'help' isn't needed.

      Really?

      I wasn't aware that any console had an input interface as well-suited for FPS games as a keyboard/mouse, or that they could make my television set deliver the 100 fps required for real-time gaming. At a decent (>1280x1024) resolution.

      Where are these magical consoles?

      You haven't played any PC games recently, have you?

      The only reason MS is putting effort into the PC for gaming is as a test bed for the next generation XBox (think of it as a hardware implementation of DX9). You can bet that their PC efforts will be refined in the XBox version, then phased out on the PC.

      And iD is being harassed to sit on the PC version of DooM 3.
      And yes, Bungie did have a release date for PC/Mac Halo shortly after when they were bought out.

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
  21. Return to Castle Wolfienstien mods coming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The article seems to have missed RtCW and its MOD's
    One notable one is http://www.wolftactics.com due for release this coming Friday wiht a Linux client included.
    Horray.

  22. Best linux-box gaming... by Trurl's+Machine · · Score: 1

    ...would come from a Playstation 2 running Linux. Or am I wrong? At least that's what I suppose, personally I don't use neither.

    1. Re:Best linux-box gaming... by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Oh, you're not wrong. It slices, it dices, it edits, it prints, it runs Mozilla, it runs Everquest Online Adventures. It's the can do, go to, fun do, black box of wonder.

  23. Java Games, Puzzle Pirates by danieljames · · Score: 1

    Whilst the field of Java gaming is pretty sparsely planted, there are a few efforts.

    We're developing our game Puzzle Pirates on Linux in Java 1.4. It also runs on Windows and OSX (sorta, pending apple's swing fixes). It's an MMP based on Pirates and uh Puzzle games, in free alpharrr testing.

  24. Personal Unix by ishpeck · · Score: 1

    Back in the day, the only games you ever found on a Unix system were the hacks/hobbies of the system administrators.

    The Personal Computer is where we disovered commercial game software. Until recently, the line between Unix and the PC was very distinct.

    Linux is torn between the Unix world and the PC world. On every turn we see people trying to pull it entirely one way or the other: Linux on the Desktop! Linux as the uberserver for $dirt!

    There must be a boundary before we can set expectations.

    --

    "If I were to ask you a hypothetical question, what would you like it to be about?"

    1. Re:Personal Unix by Lxy · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's like I always say: `Kill -9 first. Ask questions later.'"

      Yes, but it doesn't roll off your tongue quite the same way.

      --

      There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
      :wq
    2. Re:Personal Unix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There must be a boundary before we can set expectations.

      Says you.

  25. Mutant Storm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Both Mutant Storm and Space Tripper by PomPom are great games with top-notch graphics. And both are available for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. I don't need anything else.

    1. Re:Mutant Storm by SunPin · · Score: 2, Informative
      Clearly, you didn't look at the site and should be moderated offtopic. I don't normally respond to ACs but the point has to be made:

      The subject is commercial games.

      I'm amused by trolls when they are clever. Guess that counts this AC out.

      --
      Laws are for people with no friends.
    2. Re:Mutant Storm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So they're commercial, as in some guys trying to sell them. It doesnt mean he'll make any money, and it doesnt make linux look like a 'gamer machine'.

      They're STILL just an R-Type and a Robotron clone. Novelties. Not fodder for a 'real gaming platform'.

    3. Re:Mutant Storm by dolson · · Score: 1

      Both games were mentioned in the article. I liked Space Tripper better, but that's just me.

      Both are great games, and yeah, they are worth the money.

    4. Re:Mutant Storm by dolson · · Score: 1

      You clearly haven't tried either of the games.

      They are actualy high-quality, and they aren't Linux-specific.

      I suggest you not run your mouth about things that you know nothing about.

    5. Re:Mutant Storm by SunPin · · Score: 1

      You are an idiot. Windows and Macintosh versions are available. These guys just want to make good games, not get slandered by ACs.

      --
      Laws are for people with no friends.
  26. BZZT! Wrong by gatesh8r · · Score: 2, Informative
    --
    Karma whorin' since 1999
    1. Re:BZZT! Wrong by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      Thank you for playing! [transgaming.com] "

      A step in the right direction, but not perfect.

      a.) Doesn't work with all games.

      b.) Lots of complaints about stability.

      Make Windows jokes if you like, but I've had 4 Windows 2000 machines and one XP machine over the last 3 years. All of them played games just fine. The most 'painful' thing I've ever had to do was install an updated Direct X. The only thing painful about that was having to reboot. Bummer.

      Is it really that hard to dual boot with Windows?

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    2. Re:BZZT! Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ever tried to remove a software package from UNIX with all its various /bin and /etc and /var componets scattered about?

      UNIX was not designed to be adding/removing shit on the fly because you're sick of some game.

    3. Re:BZZT! Wrong by Dasaan · · Score: 1

      And how exactly is making native ports less likely to happen a 'step in the right direction'?

      A step in the right direction would be to email, or better yet, write to the game developers staing that you'd like them to release the game for linux. Most importantly of all if you ask for a game to be released natively be damned sure to go out and buy it if it is released!

      --
      XP is basicly 98 with a lot more extra features to hunt down and disable. --Dram
    4. Re:BZZT! Wrong by gatesh8r · · Score: 2, Interesting
      There are some of us too that don't want to pony up the $200 for a half-decent Windoze XP Pro -- that just for the upgrade, or in my case, $300 because I dumped Windoze a few years ago and since I don't have 98, ME, or 2000, I'm not eligable for the upgrade. XP Home just doesn't cut it. There are those that don't want Windoze because of the privacy concerns, the security concerns, etc. For what I'd have to pay in Windoze software to help guard my system, plus the cost of the licence (which if I don't upgrade when MS wants, I pay for dearly) I can get a hell of a lot more hardware!


      One thing's for sure: TG has the balls to come out and make their product for those who would much prefer not to deal with a MS product for whatever reason. I've seen MS give the shaft to a lot of people and business in my professional carrer, and they rightfully deserve the "M$" monkier. Give TG time, and issues with it will hammer out. They've expanded the Linux gaming library quite a bit more than Loki has, along with icculus.

      --
      Karma whorin' since 1999
    5. Re:BZZT! Wrong by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      " XP Home just doesn't cut it."

      Um, what's wrong with XP Home for gaming? I've been using it for months and it's fine.

      "There are those that don't want Windoze because of the privacy concerns, the security concerns, etc."

      If you're just booting into it to play games, what's the BFD? It's not like XP can read the Linux file system.

      "For what I'd have to pay in Windoze software to help guard my system, plus the cost of the licence (which if I don't upgrade when MS wants, I pay for dearly) I can get a hell of a lot more hardware!"

      Bullshit. I've been running XP naked (firewall's been down a while) and except for that stupid message that came through until I stopped the messenger service, nothing's happened to it. All ya gotta do is update your patches etc once in a while, and XP does the hard work for you. You just have it hit 'ok'. You don't need other software etc. You'd be smart, though, to not use Outlook Express as your mail client. I won't defend it.

      The only piece of hardware I'd recommend is a firewall. You should have one of those anyway even if you're running Linux.

      You'd only be out $200, the cost of a game console. Then you'd have access to thousands of games. Yeah, that'd be a real rip-off. *eyeroll*

      I can't help but think you were deliberately trying to gain a +1 Insightful here.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    6. Re:BZZT! Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, guys. The right tool for the job. I love Linux like the next guy. Love working with it and developing for it. But when I'm looking to play the latest and greatest games, I run Windows. And clearly the free market has spoken or else the latest and greatest games would support Linux out of the box, no? And I don't mean the one or two games a year that do that.

    7. Re:BZZT! Wrong by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "And how exactly is making native ports less likely to happen a 'step in the right direction'?"

      I don't think there's any reason here to think that this would make direct ports less likely to happen. If anything, it'd make them more likely to happen. It shows that Linux users really want to play games, no matter what hoops they have to jump through (short of dual booting into Windows like any sane person would do) they still want to play games. That's good news because nothing sucks worse than having your customer say "aww I have to install it? What a gip!"

      "A step in the right direction would be to email, or better yet, write to the game developers staing that you'd like them to release the game for linux. Most importantly of all if you ask for a game to be released natively be damned sure to go out and buy it if it is released!"

      I completely agree with you here. The Linux Community needs to be noisy about it.

      However, realism needs to be part of the game. If memory serves, Loki's idea of a successful game was like 10,000 copies. Granted, that might be a couple of hundred grand of profit (under idea situations...) but unless the game is developed right initially, it could cost more than that to port it.

      At least you could get the ball rolling, though. The game you like may not make it, but the next game the company makes might be made in a more portable way. I mean, if you think about it, a lot of the hard work is already done. Level design, artwork, voice talent, etc.

      So yes, I agree. I just wanted to nit your first point a little bit. :)

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    8. Re:BZZT! Wrong by dmaxwell · · Score: 1

      How do you know nothing happened to your "naked" XP? It could be spraying spam or DOSing somebody right now. Is there a file integrity checker of some sort you didn't tell us about? BTW, unless you're booting from known clean media and running the checker from that, it isn't too reliable either.

    9. Re:BZZT! Wrong by black+mariah · · Score: 1

      but unless the game is developed right initially, it could cost more than that to port it.

      It isn't costing Icculus a couple of hundred grand to port Duke3d, Quake, Doom, UT, Serious Sam, America's Army, ROTT, Hexen, or AvP. Hell, as long as you don't use DirectX in your game, or at least have an OpenGL mode, there's not much code yo have to change.

      --
      'Standards' in computing only impress those who are impressed by things like 'standards'.
  27. ut2003? by phre4k · · Score: 3, Informative

    I see no mention of ut2003 in this article. It is one of the best ports i have seen. It runs nativily on linux. The installer is even included in the retail, which imho is great.

    /Esben

    --
    "Nobody really checks their email any more. They just delete their spam"
    1. Re:ut2003? by LinuxFreakus · · Score: 0

      actually it is mentioned. you must have missed it ;)

    2. Re:ut2003? by Nikkos · · Score: 1

      "Ryan Gordon was contracted to port a number of games to Linux. He has already released Serious Sam: The First Encounter, and Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, both originally by Croteam, as well as the port of Unreal Tournament 2003 which Epic Games managed to squeeze into the box before release time. The FAQ on their website explains why Linux isn't mentioned on the box."

      RTFA.

  28. Mostly FUD by jbellis · · Score: 1

    "What if Microsoft changes their architecture so much that Wine and WineX are rendered useless with new software?"

    They can't change their architecture to break Wine w/o breaking apps on windows 2000, too. MS isn't willing to do that.

    1. Re:Mostly FUD by dolson · · Score: 1

      You don't think so? I guess we'll find out, won't we? They broke DOS, and they'll break everything else eventually.

    2. Re:Mostly FUD by stratjakt · · Score: 1

      They can add to their architecture, as they do constantly.

      How long until DirectX 9 extensions work in WineX? There's still a ton of DX8 stuff that doesnt work.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    3. Re:Mostly FUD by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "You don't think so? I guess we'll find out, won't we? They broke DOS, and they'll break everything else eventually"

      They didn't break DOS, they phased out of it.

      That was probably the worst example you could have used to prove your point, heh.

      MS isn't going to mess with WineX. There's no benefit to it. MS does, however, have every interest in making sure that game developers have a good development to work in. Linux developers would be wise to cater to the gaming Community in a similar way.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    4. Re:Mostly FUD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Isn't this going against history? Now, MS probably won't target WineX perse, but they will throw a monkey wrench every once in a while to keep people from running MS apps on non MS OS (even before I learned of Linux, I was so suspicious about the stupidity of just about all MS save formats -- huge, bloated, error prone, and of course incompatible with everything else. Oh, and it didn't seem like incompetence, since as far as I could tell this kept getting worse not better).

      Incompatibility is about the only thing MS knows how to do -- I guess I have to disagree and say (just as always in the past) that it's just a matter of time.

      Unless this really catches on, and it will then probably be legislated, not just made difficult with obfuscated Word/Excel/Whatever formats.

    5. Re:Mostly FUD by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "Incompatibility is about the only thing MS knows how to do -- I guess I have to disagree and say (just as always in the past) that it's just a matter of time."

      Gimme an example or two so I can understand your point pls?

      No, I'm not setting you up for a troll or debate, Im genuinely curious. I don't think we're using the same definition of 'compatible'. (Give me credit, at least I'm trying to understand what you mean instead of just blindly debating with ya!)

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    6. Re:Mostly FUD by jbellis · · Score: 1

      that's totally different than "breaking" it in some unspecified but underhanded way like what's-his-name was suggesting.

    7. Re:Mostly FUD by Minna+Kirai · · Score: 1

      Well, for one thing, Windows 2000 wasn't targeted as a home/gamer platform. ME (briefly) and then XP were. I don't really think Microsoft would care if users can't run newer games on Win2k installs- they might even enjoy it as a way to push XP upgrade sales.

      They can't change their architecture to break Wine w/o breaking apps on windows 2000,

      Really? Don't they have some kind of "Microsoft-Update" internet-based system to push patches onto desktops? Couldn't this repair Windows2000 installations to track any incompatibilities a new DirectX version introduces? (Or, of course, tell the game vendors to include patches on the install CD)

      Maybe you are discussing "changes" as if they had to be something fundamental to the software architecture, rather than a few new/removed API calls. That might be too big a change for Win2k to be patchable, but it's a lot of effort for questionable reward. (The WineX hackers will eventually catch up, heating off an arms race that will collaterally damage game customers in "DLL Hell")

      A better approach for Microsoft could be a legal one- give game developers a new feature with a DLL they must distribute, under license terms so that no one can use it "Except in conjunction with Microsoft Windows(tm)". That's the tactic they're using to stop FoxPro applications from running on Wine (as has been reported in 2 separate Slashdot stories this week)

    8. Re:Mostly FUD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      They've done it before (they broke OS/2 for Windows and OS/2's Windows compatibility with a driver change in Windows for Workgroups).

      Also, a lot of their technology is covered by patents, and they won't be afraid to use them.

      As just one example, three key pieces of DirectPlay (the pieces which cover the specifics of game connection and negotiation!) are patented. Don't believe me? Go do a patent search...

      Doesn't matter how good WineX gets, it can't use DirectX's networking without endangering it...

    9. Re:Mostly FUD by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 2, Informative
      As just one example, three key pieces of DirectPlay (the pieces which cover the specifics of game connection and negotiation!) are patented. Don't believe me? Go do a patent search...

      Luckily quite a few top name game developers refuse to use DirectPlay as it requires Windows servers and too many game servers run on Linux these days to ignore.

      There could be problems with patents yes, but that's an issue for the whole of Linux (mp3, ntfs etc) not just Wine. And as SDL is simply DirectX done again, patents would cover similar Linux technologies also.

    10. Re:Mostly FUD by vsprintf · · Score: 1

      "Incompatibility is about the only thing MS knows how to do -- I guess I have to disagree and say (just as always in the past) that it's just a matter of time."

      Gimme an example or two so I can understand your point pls?

      I can't be sure what the parent poster's intent was, but I can supply examples of intentional incompatibility: MS Word with every new version. The file formats are not backwards-compatible. In my experience, even trying to save as a older version won't work if you have anything other than plain text. Not hardly user friendly.

  29. Console games suck by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 1
    Far in the future mind you... If you are a true gamer, as in the kind who likes to play with friends who are physically in the same room while drunk and/or stoned, you stick to the console.

    Yeah, that's true...and I have spent many a night playing Gran Turismo drunk as an Irishman. But for different sorts of games...like RPG's? (No, final fantasy doesn't count). First person shooters? RTS's? All these are fun games to play, and those of us who are married (see fellow geeks! You *can* get laid!), playing all-night drunken-playstation ain't an option, so some solo gaming will occur. And then what? Because as you point out, the strength of the console is multi-player.

    1. Re:Console games suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Married != sex

    2. Re:Console games suck by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, but (geek)&&(!(married)) == !(laid)

  30. Re:This seems appropriate... by slide-rule · · Score: 1
    If you want games, buy a machine that has games.
    Parent seems to have been modded 'flamebait', maybe for this statement, but what I think is meant to be said is fair enough. Maybe it'd have been better to have said "if you want games [now], buy a machine made for (or that provides a platform for) games", with an implicit corollary that "if you want games anywhere else, fine, but don't gripe in the meantime".

    After all, I wouldn't pick windows to run a server that needs to be rock solid, I didn't get a PS2 since I thought it could run photoshop, why would I pick a nice developer-friendly *nix box to run games? Sure, having a big collection of games native to Linux would be nice, but I got into Linux knowing that wasn't likely to be the case for a good while. (Heck, if I can get XFree86 to come up with the new video card I got -- to play game(s) under windows -- to check mail and surf the web, I'll be happy enough.) It is starting to sound like the 'beggars being choosers' thing.
  31. Mutant Storm by SunPin · · Score: 1
    Easily the best action game ever in my book... it's a Robotron psychedelic 2D shooter on a 3D engine... absolutely gorgeous... it was developed by PomPom Games in the UK.

    I saw their first title, Space Tripper, in an old /. article about Linux Games but, IMO, Mutant Storm is much more deserving of some publicity.

    --
    Laws are for people with no friends.
  32. Orbz 2.0 for Linux will be out any minute now by Dave_21-6 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    21-6 Productions is one of the studios developing games with the Torque Game Engine offered by GarageGames. It's a bit of a shameless plug, but today is the launch day for our title Orbz 2.0, which is being released for Linux, Mac, and Windows simultaneously, along with a demo for each platform.

    We really believe in developing fun and interesting games for both the Linux and Mac platforms. We don't just believe in doing so just because it's "the right thing", but also because there is money to be made. The article mentions Marble Blast, another TGE-powered title, and the Mac and Linux sales have been substantial. Certainly nothing for a small, independently-financed game studio such as ours to turn our noses up at.

    1. Re:Orbz 2.0 for Linux will be out any minute now by Dave_21-6 · · Score: 1

      Speak of the devil, the demos are now posted to Fileplanet for both the Linux and Mac versions of the game.

      Now if they'd just activate the button that allows you to actually BUY the game. ;)

    2. Re:Orbz 2.0 for Linux will be out any minute now by dolson · · Score: 1

      hey, sorry about not mentioning Orbz... I looked for the Linux logo on Garage Games, but the only ones that it turned up on were Marble Blast, Torque Engine, and Think Tanks.

      I'll spread the word about this game.

      Unfortunate that the demo is on fileplanet only... That site sucks. ;)

    3. Re:Orbz 2.0 for Linux will be out any minute now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The demo is spreading...
      Check http://www.21-6.com/orbz_downloads.asp for an up to date list...

  33. Re:Play Station by NanoGator · · Score: 1

    "Linux on the Play Station, which is already available, is one step of something many predict will only become bigger."

    Hardly. You can't even burn a disc and play it on the PS2. The only way you can get a game to somebody else is if they have the $200 Linux kit for PS2. Sorry, Linux on the PS2 gets you nowhere into making games a bigger market for Linux.

    Linux gaming could happen, but it takes a great deal of effort to make it interesting. The first step would be to make a dev enviornment interesting to gamers. Something like Director for Linux would go a long way. Make it easy for somebody to pick it up and make their own games. Then, get a few games passed around via shareware. Be persistent, and suddenly it becomes interesting to people to have Linux available to play with these games. Imagine going to Ham fests handing out free CD's with a Linux gaming distro on them.

    The problem is that we're talking years of development here. Frankly, though, until Linux appears on millions of desktops, it ain't gonna happen.

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  34. Re:gentoo for me:) by Fizzol · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    >Let's hear all the complaints about how I didn't list any free games or WineX or anything.

    >I have my mouse over the X of my browser window so I can close it any second now.


    Thanks for the warning. I just used the X on my browser window on your article.

  35. Re:gentoo for me:) by dolson · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    > Thanks for the warning. I just used the X on my browser window on your article. No sense keeping the article opened after you're done reading it.

  36. Re:This seems appropriate... by dolson · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    I agree. If you want to play all the games that you think you *need* to play so badly, use Windows or Mac or Xbox or whatever it is that they are coming out for. The article wasn't one of these "Linux is everything" and "you must run Linux because it has these games" but rather it was pointing out what is out there, and what will be out there in the future.

    I have a Playstation and three Linux computers. I like to know what games will come out for Linux, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, and hence I wrote the article.

  37. Re:This seems appropriate... by blibbleblobble · · Score: 1

    "If you want games, buy a machine that has games."

    Sounds reasonable... $33 for a game, and $293 for an operating system to play it on. Now why didn't I think of that when I was choosing software?

  38. Re:Linux and Gaming? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ................../=Gaming
    Linux=Server=Geek= ..................\=Porn
    Next!

  39. Re:Play Station by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 1

    I believe the future of games as we think of them now is consoles. There was a huge gap between console games and PC games for a while, and there is still currently a gap, but it's shrinking.

    How many people own a PS2 versus and up to date capable of running Doom 3 PC?

    I'm sick of FPSes (which I hate on consoles due to lack of mouse for aiming) and that's about all that gets released for the PC of any caliber anymore (with some exceptions) or rehashes of older games and genres that don't add much (Diablo vs Nethack) except for fancy graphics that I don't care about and won't until we hit photorealism.

    I don't even touch my PC for gaming anymore, which is why I run single-boot Linux on everything in the house. My PC is for work, coding, hobbyist stuff, and tinkering. I can do anything with it, modify software to suit my needs, etc. My consoles are for gaming (PS2 and a Gamecube). I don't need to install stuff, I don't need to worry about it working or not working, or even check the box for hardware requirements. I don't need to buy a $300 video card to eek more performance out of it or to run the latest games (I got both consoles w/memory cards used for about the cost of a new Nvidia or ATI card!).

    --
    The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
  40. Tzar by StarTux · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "A while ago, Hyperion Entertainment ported both Sin and Shogo: Mobile Armor Division to Linux. While they haven't ported any games to Linux recently, they were considering porting Tzar, but Linux gamers rejected that idea. That is sad, because Linux doesn't have an overabundance of real-time strategy games at the moment. I think that we shouldn't be so choosy when it comes to what we get ported, as we are a very small market as it is. I would have liked to buy Tzar, or any RTS game for that matter. I hope that Hyperion find something to port in the near future, as well as a publisher willing to support them. The more games we get, the better!"

    Shogo had clipping issues, pretty large ones....Tzar was rejected because we're getting Disciples 2, wehich is similer but much better. Tzar didn't really offer anything unique.

    StarTux

    1. Re:Tzar by dolson · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      So then we should reject every FPS game, since we've already got Quake 3 Arena, and every sports game because we've got Stoned, and every racing game because we've got TuxRacer?

      Get a grip. Do you want more games for Linux or not? Why is choice bad? Why can we have 80 desktop environments and window managers, but we can only have one RTS game?

    2. Re:Tzar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, Tzar is closer to an RTS (and Majesty does it better, and has wizards too), and not a very good one at that. Disciples 2 is more of a turn-based hero strategy game, somewhat like Heroes 3. It should serve the same group of users/players well...

  41. MODERATE PARENT DOWN!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    pirating bastard, people like you make this world what it is...a shitbag of flith and psudeo-matrialistic ignorance.

    the parent poster are a moron!!!!! he would flapping mouth shut up and good world make better!!!!
    software is free!!! software is free!!! nigga aint no thing!!!!!!
    i understand no why people make no copies of software is free????

  42. SOFTWEAR PIRATES BURN IN HELL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Softwear pirates are DOOMED to BURN in HELL!! You FAIL IT and you will BURN IN HELL!! Die you softwear pirate!!

    The power of PONCH COMPELS YOU!

  43. Re:can i score a copy? by elwing · · Score: 1

    if i score, you score ;)

    Fuck you bitch, he's mine! *smack!*

  44. Re:can i score a copy? by Lethyos · · Score: 1

    You can have WineX hon. :-)

    --
    Why bother.
  45. They are coming down the pipe! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I'm holding out for Java3D games like Magicosm. Windows, Linux, Mac gamers unite!

    1. Re:They are coming down the pipe! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There certainly is something to be said for Java3D. A lot of demonstrations have shown great results without any performance problems. The tough thing is to get the major developers sold on the advantage of writing their game in Java. Once a few good Java games gain popularity, the option will be taken much more seriously.

  46. THIS THREAD ARE NEED BITCH SLAPPED by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i think this thread are in big need of editor bitch slap
    editor are better slapping thread soon!!!!!!!

  47. About docking station by 42forty-two42 · · Score: 1

    It's possible to hack DS to work without the servers: Use the login disabler at http://mainframe.chani3.com/

  48. Why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does the term "Linux Gamer" sound like it's some sort of disease?

  49. Did you read the footnote?! by slovin8 · · Score: 0

    "Dana Olson is a Computer Network Engineering Technologist who also maintains The Mandrake eXPerience, even though he's a Debian user"

    1. Re:Did you read the footnote?! by dolson · · Score: 1

      What about it? I don't see the significance of that....

  50. New stuff from Hyperion by An+Ominous+Cow+Erred · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Hyperion just completed an agreement with IncaGold to bring their games to Amiga, MacOS, and Linux, the first title being Midnight Racing. Here's to giving Linux another shot. ::raises glass::

    1. Re:New stuff from Hyperion by RdsArts · · Score: 1

      They're still alive? They haven't updated their GNU/Linux page in 2 years. I'd honestly assumed they died, as last I had heard of them they were working on the SiN port. In fact, other than their Amiga page, it seems their entire main site is pretty much at a stand still.

  51. Re:This seems appropriate... by slide-rule · · Score: 1

    Yeah, inflate your point by linking to the "Pro" version. The thing is, sh|t generally costs money. The alternative is to take what you can get for free or do it yourself (the latter of which isn't strictly free, accounting for your time being worth something). You sound like you either:
    1) think the world owes you something (get over it; life isn't fair) based on your choice of OS
    2) didn't do your homework when you bought the game

  52. For big flashy commercial 3d games and such... by TheRealRamone · · Score: 1

    I generally prefer Consoles anyway - because even if a games doesn't work right (xbox-007), it can still be useful (hacks around drm features).

    --TRR

    (also a fan of cheesy 2d stuff - yay frozen crystal!)

  53. Exile III by spiderweb software by ggwood · · Score: 3, Informative

    A small company called Spiderweb Software released a game for Linux called Exile III - it is similar to the classic Ultima IV or Ultima V style. It is shareware, so you can try before you buy (even for Linux). I am kind of disapointed they only released one game for Linux as they released so many for both the Mac and the PC - including scenerio design tools - and this was way before Neverwinter Nights. Sure the graphics are not overwhelming but worth a look. Here is a link to the game.

    I personally bought and played Exile I-III on the PC around 1998 and was very satisfied. Currently, there is NWN and Everquest and many others to choose from, but I felt it was the best comptuer RPG at that time.

    But the reason I bring this up is that apparently it did not sell well under Linux - perhaps it was piracy, perhaps just not enough of a user base (note: I did not play under Linux maybe it is ultra buggy or something) but for whatever reason an ideal candidate for producing Linux games was turned off.

    --
    a war on terrorism? How can we end a war on a method?
  54. BULL by ike6116 · · Score: 0

    This is rediculous, nothing about this comment is flame bait, just because you don't agree and the other person's arguments are valid, which dolson's are, doesn't give you the right to dismiss it as bait. Grow up and argue intelligently.

    Linux is a great platform for games, lets have more of them, more LINUX games.

    --

    Are you secure enough in your masculinity to run 'man touch'?
  55. But in Nevada ... by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 1

    ... Gaming takes on a whole different meaning, where Windows Gaming is not what anybody wants...

  56. Sorry. by NoMoreNicksLeft · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You are incredibly, unbelievably wrong.

    Windows is not "the best OS for gaming". It is the worst, and will continue to be the worst for many years to come.

    It simply has the most commercial games available. That is important, don't get me wrong. But it's easy to imagine many of those, if not all, having superior stability and/or available resources on anything other than windows. Windows is a bad joke, and I wish you subhuman microsoft groupies would quit telling it.

    1. Re:Sorry. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is not insightful... The poster does not offer any evidence as to why Windows is an inferior OS. This is just a troll who has tailored his illogical rantings to appeal to Slashdot moderators.

  57. Unreal 2 for linux by Nurgled · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Since UT2003 is available for linux, the engine has already been ported so Unreal 2 should be an easy port. The only reason why they may not publish it for linux is due to an estimated lack of demand making it not financially worthwhile, but I suspect that even then it should be possible to just borrow the engine from UT2003 and use the Unreal 2 data and game code to play the game, since the developers seem to write everything in UnrealScript these days.

    All uninformed speculation, of course.

    1. Re:Unreal 2 for linux by MrResistor · · Score: 1

      According to ryan Gordon, who did the Linux port of ut2003 and has reportedly seen the code for Unreal2, the version of the engine used in unreal2 is different enough that a port would not be a simple matter. Sadly, he said that there's little chance that it will be ported at all, since it was not written in such a way as to facilitate porting. This was on the ut2003 Linux mailing list a few days ago.

      --
      Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
  58. A few comments to your post... by Svartalf · · Score: 1

    I distinctly remember the conversation about DirectPlay amongst major developers being about both sides of the equation- server and client side. It was as much about console support (DP8 only runs on Windows- hence it's an X-Box only play from the console world...) as it was about servers. Sadly, there's a lot of nifty/cool games out there produced by smaller studios that just can't afford to roll their own network layer code and don't know/care that there are several cross-platform layer libraries that are as good or better than DP8.

    SDL is more of a wrapper layer for the underlying API's that correspond to Joysticks, Sound, etc. If it were DirectX again, as you put it, it wouldn't run on GGI, DirectFB, X, DirectX, with the same level of performance and ease that it does.

    --
    I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
  59. Relatively unknown... by Svartalf · · Score: 1

    I knew about it because I had played the Windows version and caught the beta announcement on LinuxGames. The main problem with sales is that they're nearly unknown with a game only the hardcore RPG crowd would want. It's a 2D map game that has simplistic graphics. While the story's really pretty good, it competes in a space occupied by at least 71 other (as listed in The Linux Game Tome) games in the genre, most of which are free.

    I doubt it was piracy or a lack of a userbase- it's more likely something more along the lines of a lack of advertising and a lack of desire for the game. Shareware works best if it's on something akin to a BBS or is a very popular thing like PKZip was. This, coupled with the very real fact that they're not much different in quality or eye-candy to a LOT of free alternatives... You get the picture.

    --
    I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
  60. Galactic Civilizations by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I run Galciv in Wine CVS. I've written a how-to and posted it on Gentoo forums, Frank's Wine Site and Galciv site. It's based on installing first on a Windows machine.

    It runs great in Linux. It's not Linux-native BUT I was running it days after it was released and a WEEK before it arrived in Canadian stores! (they sold direct by download as an option)

  61. Loki's Best Port Ever... by rinkjustice · · Score: 1

    I gotta say, of all the Linux games I've tried, Alpha Centauri is most tight. Not only was there no messing around trying to get the thing to run, it's a big fat game with good graphics that will keep you busy for a long time.

    If you want to check out the demo, you can download it here.

  62. ps2, then xbox, then game cube, then windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From an inside view of the industry: the way the business is run is to focus on the ps2. The ps2 rules the thinking of the industry and the only ratings developers really care about are the ps2 ones.

    There are some diehard pc only games and companies too (like Blizzard). But they are changing too and are likely to follow this structure (as long as the game isn't mouse centric)

    The reason for this focus is because ps2 outsells xbox and game cube by a factor of 5 and windows trails well behind. e.g. a reasonable game will sell:
    * 1 million copies on PS2
    * 200k on xbox
    * 150k on gamecube
    * 70k on windows
    * ?? on linux (I'd guess 20k).

    There becomes a point when you decide that you've done enough ports and would be better off making that second ps2 game.

  63. Q3 in WineX -- WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How can someone have the wherewithall to know what WineX is (and even make it work) and not know that Q3 runs natively on Linux?

    1. Re:Q3 in WineX -- WTF? by dolson · · Score: 1

      Because people are not told about native ports, and they are led to believe that WineX is the only solution for gaming.

      I didn't understand it the first time someone messaged me on ICQ asking for help to get it running, but the third person to ask me for help, now that's just ridiculous.

      On top of that, I checked on PlanetQuake the other day, and I saw this:

      WineX 3.0 For Linux Gamers
      Community News | 4/17/2003 | 5:52 PST - Jube
      I noticed on 3DAP that WineX 3.0 for Linux has been released, giving gamers access to more Windows games in Linux, with greater ease. The WineX user ratings for Q2 and Q3A are both high. You can find a full list of WineX 3.0 updates here.

      Now, last I checked, the Quake 2 and Quake 3 icons on my desktop launch the native ports...

  64. reverse porting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Wouldn't it be most logical/cost effective to take a look at companies like Aspyr? They port Windows games to OS X, and to judge by the (relative) ease with which I can run Linux or other Unixes' software on my Mac - tools like Fink and X11 lending a helping hand - it surely wouldn't be too hard to do the same thing in the opposite direction, licenses permitting.

    Must be better than converting Windows to *nix twice over, surely. And the Mac gaming scene has far more titles than the Linux one (currently), so you'd get a higher release rate.

  65. Come on by pommiekiwifruit · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hunt the Wumpus and Hangman should be enough for anyone.

  66. Return to Castle Wolfenstein by wilper · · Score: 1

    Didn't see any mention of RTCW in the article, but it works great on Linux. You have to buy the Windows version and then download the linux binaries though.

    On my system the Linux port is more playable than the Windows dito, as it doesn't crash and freeze randomly.

  67. Re:This seems appropriate... by blibbleblobble · · Score: 1

    "Yeah, inflate your point by linking to the "Pro" version"

    Is there a problem in comparing like with like? I used WinXP pro as the comparaison, because it's most similar, in terms of networking capability and security features, to GNU/Linux. If you're just buying a games machine, you might use the WinXP home, but many people building a computer may have plans to eventually use it as a server, or as a multi-user machine. (remember, XPHome is derived from toy operating systems, as opposed to XPPro, which was derived from NT which was designed to compete with Unix)

    GNU/Linux is competing (quite favourably) with the $300 version of Windows in terms of features. Of course, it also competes with the toy version, and even unpaid versions of Windows in terms of price.

  68. Games by kernelfoobar · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Here's my two cents:
    - PC/Windows is currently the most popular non-console platform, I don't know what's the status of the Apple/MacOS platform, but I susptect that it's not as big.
    - Linux is an Operating System made for a different purpose then games

    Fact is, games, at least the most popular, are hardware hungry, Linux is not dssigned to let user applications have it's way with the hardware, and for good reasons: stability and security, which Windows lacks in comparison, but is better for games. Linux is for long run stability, Windows is for short term performance. Still Windows is crap and is unfortunatly the best solution for non-console games.

    I think what we need is a NEW OS, DESIGNED just for games. It should be more stable the Windows, have better hardware access/performance then Linux and of course have decent security. This "gaming OS" should be able to play current Windows based games for compatibility, but should give better performance/stability if they are developped natively for this OS.

    --
    Here we go again!
  69. Re:Satisfied? Maybe a middle ground exists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I use S.u.S.E. Linux and have been a loyal user ever since OS/2 essentially bit the dust
    a few years ago. OS/2 f**ked the monkey because
    they just did'nt have the gift for programming
    sound support into their system.
    I have SuSE on all of my machines in my home
    network. These machines also can boot Win98
    or win2K but nothing newer from micro$ will
    ever be loaded on them. Also, the win versions
    have to live with LiLO as the master booting
    program. Linux can see all that windows does
    but windows does not know green shit about
    Linux. The only thing the windows operating
    environments do is play games. We trust NO
    valuable data or grafix, certainly no music
    or video to such a spy in one's house. Incidentally, 'Suzi' has one other very nice
    attribute. She can joyfully and thoroughly
    obliterate and 'shredddddd' all those windows
    and especially win2k files that those other
    pretend operating systems and environments
    refuse to even delete.

    Standing Bear

    never allow winXP in your house....if a computer has EVER had XP on it, consider
    it contaminated waste!