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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."
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
is that sort of like Windows Security?
Karma: Chameleon (mostly affected when you come and go, you come and go)
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
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.
because Mac users have been playing Neverwinter Nights and UT2003 for months and us Linux users have been waiting for so long... Oh, wait...
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.
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.
Gah, if you consider futzing about with drivers and patches a "game", then sure. Imagine the typical blog of a "Windows gamer":
If you want to play games then you get a console. They Just Work.