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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."
Wow...a demo of NW for the OS X folks and a shipping version for the Linux team.
Not a bad week in gaming for those who have strayed away from the flock.
-Barkeep, a draft of your most hazardous brew, for the world is slowly stepping into focus, and I don't like what I see.
Hell freezes over
The human condition is to not accept the human condition.
This news forces me to reconsider how appropriate I believe the title Neverwinter Nights is.
Perhaps Eventuallywinter Nights, Finallywinter Nights, or Tookadamnlongtimewinter Nights.
Sharpies don't just sniff themselves.
I wouldn't call a client that unlike the Windows version lacks both movie playback and a toolset "complete".
ppffttt
Certainly not what we were led to belive we were getting when Bioware first announced a client.
Both the Mac and Windows versions get movie playback, what do we get? Nada.
Not only that the jackballs at Infogrames/Atari jacked up the the Linux installer included on the Shadows of Undrentide expansion disc by saving all the shell scripts using DOS line endings.
...and to think I almost went in to work today.
This made my year. How sad is that?
Let's hope they plan on releasing the installer separately so I don't have to buy another copy of the game.
I've been playing it with no problems. I think the likely cause of the excessively long delay to release is due to some good QA people at Bioware.
So far everything in the game has worked flawlessly. With this and ut2003 native linux clients, Tux finally can be a gamer.
I recommend downloading Gentoo's Unreal Tournament bootable CD if you want to demo native Linux gaming for some non-believers... Sorry, can't find a direct link... It's in their livecd folder...
Also I recommend transgaming for Windows games on Linux. Warcraft 3, Ghost Recon, Max Payne to name a few games that run under Winex3...
I hope more game development companies want my money, cuz from now on the only way their getting it is if the game has a native Linux client... Unless it's a ps2 game of course..
My Linux Command of the Day site : LCOD
- shazow
unless I have completely missed something, I dont think there is any reason not to expect D3 on *nix. All other ID games do, why not this?
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?
The expansion pack Shadows of Urdentide even ships with a Linux installer on the CD
Almost...
It seems that the CD mastering tool BioWare/Atari used converted all the text files - that includes shell scripts, mind - to Windows-style text, and when you try to run the installer /bin/sh chokes on all the ^M characters.
Happily, there is a workaround. See HERE
Note to all single-player-campaign people - pick up the SoU expansion pack and install it concurrently with NWN. The expansion pack adds many more spells, classes, feats etc and they work with the original game, plus some minor bugs are fixed in the process (the SoU expansion patches the original game content too)
Huh, I submitted this as a story this AM, and it was rejected in favour of this. Go figure.
DG
Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
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...
The NWN community has been getting broader and more interesting, perhaps mainly due to the VAST number of third-party modules out there, and the new module content that Bioware puts out as well. Think of it as another manifestation of the miracle of Open Source; a lot of things that were added to the latest NWN expansion pack actually came from the community and were added in.
From your post, it's obvious to me that you know nothing about this, and the only reason I'm replying is because it pains me to see such an uninformed post sitting at +5.
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.
Off topic, but it would be nice if someone that has the completed client resource files create a bittorrent link and allow for quicker distribution than to wait in line in fileshack. Just a thought...
The poster seems to have left out the fact that the Linux installer in the expansion is full of ^M characters and dies on syntax errors (Refer to the nwn linux forum). Oh well, you can easily install the expansion by just unzipping 4 zips into your NWN root directory. Still funny that they never tested the installer before shipping it though.
The Win32 version has requirements: ...
450 MHz CPU
128 MB RAM (win2k/XP), 96MB (Win9x)
1.2 GB HDD (Minimum Install + OS etc.)
16 MB OpenGL 1.2 GFX
Note that NWN has had problems w/ ATI cards all from the start. I'd suggest using a GeForce 2 MX card and a 1 GHz CPU for fair performance.
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
Now, if Adobe could just employ the same common sense as Bioware and start porting their line of applications to Linux it would send the Linux Desktop soaring!
What the hell are you waiting for?
OS X NWN Demo Story on Slashdot
-- SegFault
"One day, some time ago, something important happened."
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
With the Linux and Mac versions being so late, there's probably not nearly as many people still playing it now as there were, say, a year ago.
Good news! You're wrong.
The community is still hella strong -- scope out www.neverwinterconnections.com for all your multiplayer matching needs. Nobody plays the official campiagn; it's always user mods, and usually ones the DM himself whipped up. You won't have to worry about people having played through the content already and then left the community.
You can download hundreds of good mods (amoung thousands of average ones) at nwvault.ign.com. Aside from movie playback, which is rarely used and almost always optional, you'll be able to play the same single player or multiplayer mods windows users have been enjoying.
Trust me, it's not too late to jump into NWN. If anything, you have the advantage of not being around during the early days when mods were really clumsy and new. Now you have multiple polished masterpieces to pick from and some thriving match services./p
Both linux gamers will enjoy this tremendously! ;-)
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur
any chance they finish their BeOS port?
"2. CD-Key: You will have to purchase a copy of the game to get a valid Neverwinter Nights CD-Key. Of course, with this purchase you also get a lovely Neverwinter Nights mapkin, a spiral-bound game manual, and three plastic-coated aluminum-reinforced W1nd0z3 brand coasters."
Kazaa NWN keygen (he he he he.....)
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
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)
Bioware got a lot of press around these parts for their promise of concurrent Linux and MacOS releases. They screwed up. Badly. Not only did they miss a concurrent release... but they've missed it by over a year (considering the MacOS isn't 1.0 yet and the caveats with the Linux version).
It is also a valid point that they got further delayed by technology they didn't own. Borland, Bink, and InstallSheild didn't help. But then, Bioware is supposed to be a professional outfit. Where was the process that ensured the technology being used would be cross platform?
Bioware's savings grace is that they've slogged through the experience and are finally delivering... more or less. It seems they are trying to make good, despite obvious inexperience in doing this kind of thing. Maybe they've learned enough to make the next time (and I hope there is a next time) go smoother. After all, other game houses have managed to pull this off.
The Bioware guys seem to be honest enough to admit to their mistakes and take the criticism. And they deserve that criticism. Keep in mind that they are selling commercial software. If their Windows release had the same issues as the Linux version, they'd get the same criticism and more. You wouldn't have people saying "we should all buy this despite how rough it is... after all, they could have just made a version for the PS2 and ignored Windows."
Having said all that - there is that saving's grace. Its a good game. They're trying. And they're doing a decent enough job at delivering. I'll be buying my copy today after work. I'll even buy the expansion set if its available.
But I'll still point out when and where they screwed up. As well as where they succeeded.
Nobody is above contructive criticism.
Try the release candidates at:
. html
http://www.schneider-digital.de/html/download_ati
They work find with 4.3.0
And a little research on the NWN linux boards would have pointed you in the right direction.
Dinivin
No native toolset and the game client won't play the movies from the official campaign and first expansion because they're in .bik format.
The toolset works fine under wine though.
Since you're using vim, why not just do it this way:
:set ff=unix
:w
The advantage is that you learn more ways to use the tool. It would be kludgy to reverse the process your way, but my way, you'd just do this:
:set ff=dos
:w
Eh. Just a thought.
A host is a host from coast to coast...
Unless it's down, or slow, or fails to POST!
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.
I suspect the reason why Linux gaming hasn't taken off is because alot of "users" have Linux installed on a pos secondary computer stashed somewhere in the corner of the laundry room and not on their main system where the serious hardware is.
Neverwinter Nights (as sweet a game as it looks) will need some serious power to run it, and a significant number of units sold for it to be worthwhile.
SEO Copywriter. Just Say ON
After reading all your responses I hope that the anticipation of this release will not be dampened by the frankly poor single player game.
Limited plot, gameplay and modules. Not to mention the sheer annoyance of having to deal with a sidekick that has a mind of it's own.
BUt I know you lot :) It's the multiplayer your after isnt it? Well in this respect the game is considerable stronger with module building tools and what not.
Don't say you werent warned about the single player...
my other sig is written in brainfuck
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.
An installer for a Linux product!
Ben
Work Safe Porn
There was a hack to get ATI cards working early on (which worked great) and subsequent betas fixed the issues with ATI cards.
I've run it on RH 8 and 9 with a Radeon 7500 and had no issues whatsoever with the ATI card.
You might want to turn off DRI in the X config, it makes things run better.
I don't have a solution, but I certainly admire the problem.
Yes, you are right, it is not a linux version, it won't run on PS2 and Zaurus! Let's not forget all the other linux devices! Down with Never Winter Nights! Only support TRUE linux developers!
Now that I got that sarcasm out of my system, may I suggest that anyone who wants to see more Linux games buy NWN, even if you won't play it. I am not into that game, but I feel that I should support it, so I am buying the Linux version.
If it does well enough, it might convince other developers to make linux versions of their games.
Then through hope and the grace of God we might be free of the Microsoft beast!
Or am I just crazy?
Side note: Never buy Microsoft Windows 666.
The linux client has been on their page for months now, at least I've been playing it for months on my linux box. So it's not like the game is "just out" on linux. (ps. is uses SDL and OpenGL if you're wondering).
The thing this article talks about is that NWN has an actual installation program, so you don't have to install it under Windows then copy it to your Linux box.
It's big news to people who don't have some Windows machine they can borrow. Most of us have a neighbor or girlfriend with one, so it's not a terrible thing.
Besides, PLEASE, how hard can it be to write an INSTALL program?
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Err...you mean Shadows of Undrentide? It shipped with linux binaries for the player and DM clients (sadly, no toolset). Small issue being that the install script got pooched during the CD mastering process, so it's in DOS format rather than UNIX format - but there are workarounds.
Check out http://nwn.bioware.com - all the info is there, or in the forums.
BitTorrent link with the resources and the client. I've not even unpacked it, let alone tested it. I'm just hoping that Fileshack gave me a good copy.
Forward, retransmit, or republish anything I say here. Just don't misquote me.
It's one of the only times a company has made an in-house port of the game. Not just another 3D Tetris or something, but a real gamer's game.
Tribes and Heavy Gear certainly were great thanks to the efforts of Loki, don't get me wrong. And we have SDL, Loki_update, and some other great tools thanks to Loki.
However, when Loki went out of business, support for most of their games got dropped as well. You could not call up a company like Sierra and ask for Tribes 2 support for Linux. Patches were also discontinued. In the case of Tribes 2, it was just luck that Sam Lantinga was working for Sierra (Blizzard, to be more specific) and was allowed to patch the Linux version as well.
Bioware has made a commitment. They will always support Linux. They will, not a third party who may go out of business at some point while the game is still being developed. In-house porting is what makes the Linux port of NWN so signifficant.