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LGP Announces Majesty is Complete
michaelsimms writes "Linux Game Publishing have just received their first stock of Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim. This is the first game ported completely by LGP. Kudos to the lead developer, Mike Phillips, for much hard work to get us all a great game!"
The game is a few years old, but is an excellent title. Play the demo, which is downloadable from their site.
I ordered mine a while back. $37 isn't too much to ask. It's a very high quality port of a great game.
Simms- I'm looking forward to the future titles!
It's good to see someone keeping the porting alive since the demise of Loki...
Unfortunately some of the more prominent applications that people use are Microsoft applications (i.e. ms word, excel, outlook, etc) and will not likely see the light of day for any Linux porting since this would only contribute to the Windows demise.
Will be very interesting to see what the future holds and how the market might react/shift to alternatives such as Linux or even BSD.
I'm not a game developer, but it seems to me that the amount of effort required to make something run for, say, Linux, may be somewhat high...but once you do that, the additional effort to also build it for the BSDs and for MacOS-X is minimal. Compilers, libraries, and all that, all the hard work is mostly done.
It'd be interesting to see if this sort of trend could be encouraged.
When they said that the minganalio was herfeterious, they were right! Glad they have come through.
With all of the comments about Linux catching up to Windows, there are still some front where there is very slow progress, gaming bieing one of them. This is a small step towards catching up, especially from an end user perspective.
Remember, if we realy want to overtake the leader, we must do everything they do and do it better. While that might gall the "power users' out there, it is a fact of life none the less. Ms must be overwhelmed by a superior product before Linus is taken serisouly as a viable choice by the end user.
WAR TUX!
I spend so many hours playing this game. There was something VERY addicting about recruiting rangers, elves, thieves, warriors, wizards, paladins, healers, monks, etc and watching them run around killing beasts and buying things.
I loved how that economy worked... The houses and inns would just automatically generate money, and heroes could earn money slaying monsters, then spend it at the market, blacksmith, Wizards' Guild, etc. Then your trusty tax collectors went around collecting money.. It's pretty simple, but it's fun to watch.
I recommend you pick it up if you haven't yet. It kept me glued for weeks, and the wife and I come back to it every couple of months. Well worth it. I've been emulating it in WineX and it's been spiffy.
"WineX! Oh no! Support linux gaming, man!" Well, I'd love to. It's just too bad I already paid for the game once. $80 for a $40 game? I mean, Majesty's good, but not *that* good.
Ditto with Kohan, the Sims, Neverwinter Nights, etc... I'm all for the parallel development though - go UT2003!
Slashdot the site...
Something about this game is really cute. I bought it when it came out on Macintosh last year. The game itself is not that hard to beat, tho- but definitely a lot of fun. The idea of indirect control over your heroes is interesting. Spells are fun to watch, animations and sound are high-quality.
Many linux machines out there are older desktops and laptops with limited system resources (certainly not 3-D!) The best games for Linux are either venerable classics (nethack) or cutting edge ports (MOHAA, UT2003). Let's not forget older games, made back in the days when People Were Nice, and Money Wasn't Everything. Anyone up for a port of MOO2?
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Together, we will drive the rats from the tundra.
I never see "kudo's to the developers on creating great Windows programs"...
Yes. ;)
So the game is 4 years old already. If it is a good game, then it doesn't matter.
screens: http://www.cyberlore.com/Majesty/screens.htm demo: http://demos.linuxgamepublishing.com/majesty/majes ty_demo.run
Why do I care a game has been ported to GNU/Linux? Because I like playing games and don't have any MS-Windows boxes.
I don't dedicate the time to play a lot of games, but if a good title becomes available to me I'll probably buy it.
Doug Alcorn
The games with the least portable code I've ever seen took about 6 months. Most take less than 2. I find it interesting that our native ports at Loki took about as much time (or less) than transgaming's "ports" to winelib.
Majesty is a great game, and well worth 40 bucks. It's a little on the short side, but has a really interesting multiplayer component (nothing like placing a huge reward on your opponent's buildings and watching his own heroes destroy them). I'd advice anyone who hasn't played it to do it.
Fervus and Krypta together... a match made in heaven... or was it hell?
;-)
.:|Jon|:.
P.S. That's Fervus, the temple in Majesty, not Fruvous as in Moxy Fruvous
This space for rent, inquire within.
Sweet, a bitter bitch!
Chapter one, your first period...tell us all about it! Read the comment. I make that exact point, that one game does NOT make that much of a difference, but since the demise of Loki there have been NO GAMES except those developed on the Linux platform itself.
As far it losing out on the server side, most server side projects that I know of currently in development are Linux or BSD as thier base, not Windows, due to the high price of dealing with Redmond. You never know when MS will try to claim your idea as "thiers". No small Development shop will fight them, and all of the big ones are trying to switch internet appliance development to POSIX based platforms in order to avoid that situation.
In the grand scheama of things, no, one Windows games is not realy that inportant. However, it could open the way for others to follow should they chose. That is why it is looked upon as a positive.
The only constant in the universe is change. Some folk just don't like that...
Man, if you don't see the big deal, then you have never played Majesty! I recently bought the Gold edition for windowz, and love it. I've been eagerly awaiting the linux release!!
This space for rent, inquire within.
Here's some non-anectotal info about where the server market is going. And it's not to Windows.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
LOL! That was great =D
This space for rent, inquire within.
"For CPU intensive games, the OS is even in the way, hurting performance. Yes, Linux as well, albeit maybe marginally less than Windows."
Also, in Linux, you can run a "barebones" Windows Manager (twm, blackbox, WindowMaker, etc.) when you play games in order to minimize use of resources - this can give an extra performance edge against Windows.
"There is a reason you don't find many games under Linux. Graphic card drivers are much better optimized for Windows systems."
Well, that depends on the video card. For NVIDIA cards, the Linux drivers are as optimized as the Windows ones. It's the ATI ones that lag behind, IIRC.
Reminder: find a new sig
- Which display card?
- Which sound card?
- Which distro gets them to work without tweaking, or at least with minimal tweaking?
There is a reason you don't find many games under Linux. Graphic card drivers are much better optimized for Windows systems. Porting a graphics intensive game to Linux is a waste of resources.
That's the reason, huh? And it doesn't have anything to do with Linux being relatively young, having only recently broken out of the server-os category, and still being on the shallow end of the desktop growth curve?
Anyway, it's not a concern, there are already more games coming out on Linux than I have time to play.
Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
Cyberlore, the developers are already in the the process of making the sequal. screenies which can be viewed here: http://www.cyberlore.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ub b=get_topic;f=4;t=000099
If this port sells well cyberlore might even work first hand on the linux version. Lets hope hope they don't charge too much for it and a lot of dosh changes hands because on pc majesty is dirt cheap.
The Rebuttal
Whats bad about it? Try to be a bit more positive
about this, its the first linux port dude!
Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
Porting a graphics intensive game to Linux is a waste of resources.
Maybe so (I disagree), but if game designers/programmers wrote the game from the ground up to work with Linux (as well as Windows) the "waste of resources" would be minimal. And on top of that, I don't have to boot into Windows just to play computer games.
I remember when legal used to mean lawful, now it means some kind of loophole. - Leo Kessler
It's the ATI ones that lag behind, IIRC.
Not really... The R200 & R300 cards are supported by ATI's FireGL drivers, and really kick ass. UT2003, NWN, etc. are as playable as they are under Windows (and look just as good). Earlier cards have pretty decent support with open source drivers. The Rage128 cards have even been benchmarked higher under Linux than windows (don't know if that's still true). The R100 radeon cards are well supported, but the open source drivers don't support S3TC, making ut2003 and Neverwinter Nights not so nice looking (though still playable).
Dinivin
KDE the desktop of choice for AC's.
Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
This is what Linux really needs: games that run natively on Linux not trough an emulator (wine).
Still, Id prefer getting the game on Linux at the same time when it is released on Windows. For that, we need to send well written comments to companies and do pr job at games official message boards. Ask for Linux games at store. You never know, someday you just might get the hottest Go-Kill-Em-All game on Linux.
As much as a kudos from Slashdot is worth, this company will only make it if you buy their product. If you have this game for windows, or don't want this game but another, the only way it will get published by LGP is if they stay in business. They only way that will happen is if their products are purchased, so buy the game to support Linux companies to get more games on Linux.
I don't really care if Linux overtakes Windows or not. I use Linux exclusively and I think it's way better than Windows in almost every respect. I'd like to see Linux (on the desktop) get around a 25% share. I think this is the critical mass required to compel application vendors to put out ports for Linux of their main apps.
I don't really want to see Linux go beyond the 25% number because then clueless dipshits like yourself will start using it and inevitably dumb-it down. Linux does require a level of computer savviness, at least from an administration perspective, above that which most Windows users display. I'm not saying there are no computer savvy Windows users, just that the vast majority of them wouldn't know the difference between a driver and and application if you explained it to them twice. I think these clueless masses should stay with Windows and keep up the good work surfing porn, sniffing glue, and huffing PAM.
Oh, and about the server market, Windows will wither and die there. You really need to lower your crack dosage if you think otherwise.
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws-Plato
I bought Majesty a couple of years ago ... great game for laptop'ing on a plane. This was before I switched over to Linux on my clients. I wouldn't mind playing it on my linux boxes, but I'm not going to pay more money for it.
... I never finished it. With that and NWN I'd be set for a long time.
I don't require full parallel development, I can wait 2-3 months for a game to come out on Linux. However, I'm not going to pay full for it twice.
The only game I might consider paying full again would be Black and White
I -would- be willing to pay $10 to enable Linux on some of my old games like Majesty. I can't pull up their site right now to see if this is possible. Or perhaps just copying the full version data over to the Linux demo version if there is one.
It is more productive to voice thoughtful opinions (reply) than to judge (moderate) others.
still being on the shallow end of the desktop growth curve
Not only that, but the quality of the desktop seems to be increasing exponentially.
6 months ago - I would have placed Linux on the desktop at the Win95 level. Mostly functional and ugly.
The latest Mandrake is simply kick-ass. It's beautifull, integrated, feature filled and stable. It's well past Windows XP on almost every level.
Ive had the joy of placing it on two friend desktops and they *love* it. I thought that they would grudgingly tolerate it, but they *love* it.
The're starting to act like Mac users: ther're rabid, I tell you!
Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.
wow, that rebuttal is awesome. I'm not "gay/doctor/investment banker/another doctor". I think I'd like majesty because of that. =D
This space for rent, inquire within.
Frankly, when this game came out I ignored it because it sounded really dumb. (Ooooh, "the fantasy kingdom sim!") Plus it didn't have a lot of ads in game magazines, which is how I judge games.
Good to know that the media forcing opinions into our heads is the only way to go about forming individuality.
A pretty devastating combo. I use it a lot in my play when they're available- Priestesses generate a LOT of animated skeletons and the Cultists charm all the roaming nature monsters (such as bears, etc.)- you end up with a much larger army than you'd have otherwise. Good against things like Dragons, etc.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Considering that LGP ported the game and not Cyberlore, I doubt that you'll be able to get an "upgrade". They have to pay for the privilege to port the game in most cases and pay royalties usually for each unit sold. $10 to just convert might work out okay for someone like Id (though they're offering that service for free with their games...) who ported the code themselves. It cost them nothing more than the effort to port and to provide a means to obtain the Linux version. In LGP's case, they have to recoup all of the royalties involved, cover the costs of producing the version in a retail box, and paying the employees something. I seriously doubt $10 would cover royalties, pay, and the framework to provide it to you.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Screenshots at Majesty Dragon.
http://www.s4biturbo.com/
Yes, they did get the Mac-n-Trans codebase.
While I didn't do any of the porting work (I'm working on Ballistics from Grin right at the moment...), I did do a little side project for them to see if the blitters were an issue for performance on the PPC version. By the way, thanks for the cool game.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
The demo played pretty well for a few minutes, and attempt to play (it's pretty different than any other game I've played--now how do you get your heroes to protect you? They always just walked AROUND the demon that is destroying my castle....), and then crashed with a stacktrace...
It was incredibly stable until it died though. (and then of course X-windows decided that it wanted to stay in 640x480 mode....gr...)
The game was a little interesting, but the demo seemed a little too limited for me to judge whether to buy it or not...
I've ordered this addictive high quality game. Well, I'm still waiting for NWN in an acceptable quality.... Loki was just too good, my exspectations are high :-)
Cool. Now all the Linux gamers can enjoy a game which was released for Windows way back in 2000. Maybe with some advances, they can play current games by 2005.
Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.
The initial review there is the worst attempt at a game review I've ever seen, including the ones people write on Amazon.com. The rebuttal is a little better, but not much.
It's a very good game where you hire heroes that act like PEOPLE, not disposable shock troops like in most RTS games. If they're hurt, or think the monsters are too tough, they try and run home, or to the nearest inn to recover. It's Warcraft II crossed with The Sims. They get money from the monsters they kill, spend it on better equipment and healing potions, and take the rest home to their guild halls, where a cut gets picked up by tax collectors and taken to your treasury. You spend the money on building construction, hiring more heroes, some tech research, and certain spells that the temples make available for a gold cost per spell.
The main strategic part of the game is picking the heroes that are right for your current mission goals. Large map to explore? Get rangers, they love to explore. Wolves and bears? Get Cultists, they charm nonintelligent monsters so that they fight for you. Dragons? Get Priestesses, the skeletons they animate are difficult to hit with ranged attacks, including dragon fire. Minotaurs? Wizards have the long range heavy firepower, if you can protect them.
"Common Sense Ain't" -Unknown
That's the sequel, which word of only started leaking out this week. No official word on it, including which platforms it will be developed for.
"Common Sense Ain't" -Unknown
Agreed. The breathless and rambling writing sytle makes both of them sound like ten year olds with ADHD and on speed who just finished off a pot of coffee and are now starting in on a few lines of coke.