Slashdot Mirror
Neverwinter Nights for Linux
Marshall writes "Today I received an email from Tux Games that I never thought I'd get: confirmation that they were shipping me Neverwinter Nights complete with Linux installer! I didn't believe my eyes, so I checked out bioware's web page, and it was confirmed, the linux client is complete. Also check tuxgames.com which states that they are completing the installer and plan to ship games on Monday, 23 June."
I may just go from being the guy who only boots up his linux partition once in a blue moon to being a real live linux user. Becoming more familiar with *nix and linux in particular has been on my list of things to do for a few years now. However when I get home from a full day of coding on a wintel box, about the only thing on my mind for my home PC is gaming. With NWN on Linux, win4lin 5 out, and then considering that Doom3 and HalfLife2 will probably run on Linux either out of the box or (hopefully) quickly after release, my last real obstacles to turning my box into a dedicated linux machine are dissappearing. I figure I'll need win4lin so my wife can do office docs and we can continue to use Quicken and some other apps for a while. Now if only the Total War and Warlords games would support Linux I'd be all set.
;)
Who knows, maybe I'll even register here
just last week i downloaded beta 6 and the gameplay was SLOW(read unplayable -- though it works find under Windows). I've got a Radeon 7500, which I'm guessing is a pretty damn common video card. So, question is, did they fix the client or is it still an nvidia-only club?
Or just the client. I'd be happy with either, but I'd obviously prefer the toolset as well. This may revitalize my gaming, since it's a pain to switch from Linux to Windows just to play a game (yeah I'm lazy). Of course I could buy a new machine...
Damn, forgot this in the parent post. SlashDot needs an "edit" feature...
The Linux game client binary on the SoU expansion CD is V1.30, where the game client on their website is V1.29. So the SoU version is NEWER than this one.
I can confirm that the "sticky mouse" problem that showed up on some resolutions is fixed with V1.30. I actually finished the game at 800X600 with 1.29B5. I tried running at 1024X768 with B5, and got the "sticky mouse". Tried it again with 1.30 after I installed SoU, and it worked - although I seem to have hit the bandwidth limits of a PCI-based GeForce MX400, 'cause it was a little slow.
At 800X600, Athlon 2100+, RH8, latest NVidia drivers, 32Mb textures, game was nice and snappy.
I expect that with a more modern, AGP-based card, the game would scale better to the higher resolutions.
I didn't get very deep into the SoU single-player campaign last night, but the little bit I did shows that it is MUCH improved from the original. The BioWare module people are getting very good. Lots of nice little touches. This is a game worth picking up.
DG
Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
Bunch of new toys/fun stuff, just in time for the summer vacations... Harry Potter, end of the US LZW pattent, new PowerMacs and now a NWN Linux client.
Ceci n'est pas une signature
Sure, this version lacks some features, which is grotty. Sure, it's horribly late, which will massively reduce interest in it. Sure, it's very unlikely you'll see this version hitting the stores (which is where you need the Linux versions!) but it's better than nothing. Just.
Am I over-dramatizing all this? Can games really make that big of a difference? Well, yes, they can. To use a term I detest, but it's all-too-accurate, it's all about mindshare. Every time someone sees a Linux title on the shelf, every time someone sees Linux placed alongside the mainstream choices, Linux gains mindshare. People consider it as a real option. Something they can actually use.
At the moment, it's generally seen as a "fairy-tale" OS - something that sounds all magical and unreal. That's because it gets mentioned a little but sightings are still rare. It becomes the computer version of Bigfoot.
Now, you start seeing stores stocking Linux software - not just the distributions, but actual applications, games, utilities, etc - then you will see a gradual dawning on people that Linux actually does exist, and actually does something.
The games market is key, though. Companies are loath to change what they use, but students are less likely to care, so long as it's cheap, simple, and covers the same titles as Windows. Younger kids certainly won't care, so long as they can make things go splat.
To get to these people, you need to get titles in the stores. Current titles. Hot-selling titles. Stuff that people will gravitate towards, not just glance at. The Linux port of NWN is not that, by a long way, and I doubt I'll see it stocked on the shelves anywhere soon.
But, it is a step in the right direction. It has got the company aware of what it takes to write Linux code, and it now has their graphics engine ported. Both of those are essential ingredients in the brew that'll get the company releasing titles for both Linux and Windows at the same time. However, they are just two ingredients. It's got to be clear to these people how to write Linux code well, how to make money from it, and how to promote it.
We're not seeing any of those, here. We've not really seen any of them from any other porting effort. Without those, companies won't bother.
Here's the kicker, though. Once teens & students switch to Linux in a serious way, the more visible Linux will become to everyone. The more visible Linux is, the more mindshare it'll grab. The more mindshare, the more it'll be used.
Nobody wants a system they can't use, but equally nobody wants to be seen as an ignorant has-been. There is a "critical mass" of people which, if you can reach it, the popularity will massively explode. Below that point, usage will stabilize and eventually fizzle out. The reason people use Microsoft has nothing to do with quality, it's because: (a) they know others use it, (b) they know about it, (c) it's easy to get and (d) it does what they (think) they want.
You need titles on shelves. Preferably games titles, as those sell more than office suites and other "big" applications. You only need one word processor, but most games-players have more than one game.
NWN, Quake, et al, are all great in that people are learning what it takes to get these games onto Linux. The skills are valuable. But that's not enough. The day Linux titles are stocked by corner stores, video stores (they rent computer games), Wal-Mart and all the other major outlets, then Linux will become a mainstream OS and (in turn) more profitable for companies to write for.
As of right now, Linux looks destined to dominate t
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
I would suggest that you're missing a LOT of what NWN if you focus on the game client alone. After all, the stand-alone module that comes with the game is a nice introduction to the environment. But it is hardly a compelling game (and not up to the standards of other Bioware releases like Baldur's Gate).
NWN is not just a game. It is a complete gaming arhictecture package. The ability to create, edit, and run one's own modules is a major part of that.
The gaming world is a tough place. Games often become passe in less time than it takes to develop them. But there are exceptions.
One noticeable exception is Quake. There are STILL people playing with the origional Quake engine. Its not because Quake was such an amazing game that no others could take its place. Its because iD made the engine accessible. Quake could be, and was modifiable. Mods built a community - one that still exists, even if it is shrinking. And an approximate 7 year run is pretty impressive for any game.
What Quake was for first-person shooters, NWN could be for computer RPGs. It is more than just a client.
For those of us who play NWN on a practical daily basis and have enjoyed a ton of custom modules, we say a BIG THANKS...
I am exceptionally happy with the way the Linux client has evolved. Anybody bitching is either a Troll or clueless.
Signed: One happy Bioware customer and Linux user who is looking forward to getting his hands on Shadows of Undrentide.
Do not spread "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0" over the internet, thank you.
There is a petition to port Half Life 2 to Linux on
riblet that would be given to Valve. They have about 3000 confirmed entries by now. This is a good way to show how much interest there is to port games to Linux.