Medal of Honor Linux Beta Released

DF5JT writes "Icculus has finally released a preview of his current work on the Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault Linux port, in the form of a Beta executable. He says 'It's playable, but the sound is wonky and has other issues.' You'll need an installed Windows version of the game to start the binary."

Comments

Torrent file

[DJFelix]

Click here for a torrent link. This little site will probably die pretty quick.

Meta info

btshowmetainfo 20021207 - decode BitTorrent

metainfo files

metainfo file.:

mohaa-lnxclient-beta1.tar.bz2.torrent

info hash.....: fb4b1166a74f080cfb15347625e5a0b6fd8f62e3

file name.....: mohaa-lnxclient-beta1.tar.bz2

file size.....: 7142911 (27 * 262144 + 65023)

announce url..: http://prologic.no-ip.com:6969/announce

Windows version

[olderchurch]

What's up with "you need an installed Windows version"? Why can't they have a normal beta?

That said, I'm all for Linux games. Great work guys! Gaming is the only reasion my best PC is still Windows.

Re:Windows version

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sorry, but it needs to be said: RTFA.

Why can't they have a normal beta?

"They" don't have any linux version at all. This is a third-party piece of software unsupported by EA for making MoH:AA work in linux.

Re:Windows version

[Doomdark]

Sure, you can clone Office if you try hard enough. But try to make something that actually requires intellect like managing a 3D pipeline.

Right. And I assume you are more familiar with gfx than office application development. So of course it must be trivial to do latter, but hard to do former.

Grow up kid. There are any number of things that are challenging to implement properly (cleanly, efficiently, within time limits etc. etc.); implement a full Office suite happens to be one such task. And creating full-blown commercial quality game (or just components needed by one, such as rendering sub-systems) is another one. No need to underestimate either task.

Re:Windows version

[darkextremes]

I can't play some PC games on my Mac OSX. My Mac made me cool. It also made me gay

who cares?

[Anonymous Coward]

i'm wondering if there's really that much demand out there to play moh:aa now, since that game was released over a year ago, and i personally haven't heard of any friends playing it lately. insert your diatribe below...

Re:who cares?

[notque]

I play with a bunch of people during our lan parties. I personally don't like the game (too used to Rainbow Six, and when I point at something it dies.)

I thought there was no demand for it, but for how many people that whine when we are gaming to play it, I think that it is relatively high.

Re:who cares?

[notque]

Get a realism mod. I used to be a Tom Clancy junky but this game's muliplayer with a realism mod is much more fun, IMO

What exactly does the realism mod do? I would assume by realise mod that it means increasing the inaccuracy (I.E. Realistic Physics in Tony Hawk).

Does it make shots more accurate? Further more, does it decrease some of the movement when firing a weapon? The only way I can ever successfully kill anyone is when I camp (sniper rifle) or go insanely sneaky with grenades. (Yet I was pretty good at Rainbow. R4L!)

Re:who cares?

[kfg]

I'll try to go gentle with my "diatribe."

Solitaire is so 19th century, yet it seems to have a fairly sizable following.

A good game is a good game is good game and if you follow a decent emotional development pattern somewhere about the time you have to take your pants off to keep counting your age you'll suddenly realize that the phrase "so last year" is doofy.

KFG

Re:who cares?

[Anonymous Coward]

No. It makes everything (almost) one-bullet kills, makes some weapons have more recoil, and usually reduces the number of grenades. If you want all that you have listed, stick with Tom Clancy games.

Re:who cares?

[bogie]

Umm maybe linux gamers will care? How about people who still play MOH and use linux but now have one less reason to boot into Windows.

"and i personally haven't heard of any friends playing it lately. insert your diatribe below..."

No diatribe, just a link to a page showing what a dumb AC you are. http://www.gamespy.com/stats/

Gamespy shows 2084 servers and 2873 players currently(2:50amEST), of course its late so earlier there are probably more players online.

So yea there are just a few people playing this one year old game.

Re:who cares?

[notque]

No. It makes everything (almost) one-bullet kills, makes some weapons have more recoil, and usually reduces the number of grenades. If you want all that you have listed, stick with Tom Clancy games.

That sounds better regardless. Thanks for the info, I'll be convincing others via force to use it for a least a test run :)

Re:who cares?

[mrm677]

i'm wondering if there's really that much demand out there to play moh:aa now, since that game was released over a year ago, and i personally haven't heard of any friends playing it lately. insert your diatribe below...

Yeah, and nobody plays Counterstrike anymore either.

In multiplayer popularity according to Gamespy, MOHAA is the second most popular behind Counterstrike (although a distant second).

Personally, I've purchased numerous other first-person shooters since buying MOHAA over a year ago. I've tried, but I keep going back to MOHAA for my daily fix of multiplayer action.

Re:who cares?

[13Echo]

I care. This was THE peice of software that I didn't want to ditch when I ditched Windows almost 2 years ago. It's an incredible game, and it's loads of fun online.

Re:who cares?

[NomNet]

Umm maybe linux gamers will care? How about people who still play MOH and use linux...

Yeah, you're right. Now all three of those people will probably be very happy !

Considering there's usually somewhere around 3000 people playing it online at any time, that's probably a pretty accurate figure :)

Woah

[getitconnected]

Now wait. Can I run this over SSH on my Red Hat server? Now that might slow down my hosting clients and they might yell but who cares?? It's Medal of Honor. No GUI, No Problem.

Actually...

[cliffy2000]

It's $699!!
[insert SCO-related joke here, along the lines of "In United States, SCO sues YOU!", but funnier]

Mmm... gotta love the warmth of my karma burning. Feels good on a cold night.

If only all Linux ports worked this way

[SpiffyMarc]

I don't want to have to buy CivIII for Windows AND Linux.

Re:If only all Linux ports worked this way

[r00zky]

Pirate the windows version... only pay for the essential

Re:If only all Linux ports worked this way

[notque]

Is CivIII for linux out? And what about Play the world?

Just questioning as you mentioned it. Warcraft 3, and Civ III ptw are the only reasons I run Windows.

Re:If only all Linux ports worked this way

[notque]

Pirate the windows version... only pay for the essential

Depending on the type of crack that was used, would that always work?

Basically, is there a general file, or a type of thing that the linux verison would be looking for to verify that you indeed have the windows verison?

Could you just add that piece of the puzzle, and then it would allow the Linux version to work?

Re:If only all Linux ports worked this way

[Gaccm]

Just telling you, Wc3 works perfectly fine with the free version of winex. I played through the entire single player, and I played constantly on B.net, and it all worked fine. The ONLY differences i've noticed is that, the mouse becomes a crosshair, instead of a hand (No clue why, but it doesn't bother me). I have no experience with Civ3 though.

Re:If only all Linux ports worked this way

[mattite]

I'm sure what you really meant was that you'd like to see multiple ports of a game all in one box, in which case I agree with you.

Re:If only all Linux ports worked this way

[notque]

Just telling you, Wc3 works perfectly fine with the free version of winex. I played through the entire single player, and I played constantly on B.net, and it all worked fine. The ONLY differences i've noticed is that, the mouse becomes a crosshair, instead of a hand (No clue why, but it doesn't bother me). I have no experience with Civ3 though.

Does that work with the WC3 upgrade? And I can only assume that over a lan connection (as opposed to battle.net) it works fine.

Re:If only all Linux ports worked this way

[Erwos]

No, not in the way you're thinking. You need the Windows versions of these games because the Linux port _doesn't_ come with such essentials as sound and texture files. However, if you were to pirate the Windows game and then install the Linux version using those files, it would still work fine. Well, except that you still need the CD-key.

However, I must add that pirating Windows software for the Linux version of a game is a sure way to kill any future ports of other games to Linux (why port if it _raises_ piracy?). Play it clean - besides, how much is MOHAA now anyways? $20? You're not going to break the bank buying it.

-Erwos

Re:If only all Linux ports worked this way

[narfbot]

No, the game runs perfectly with wine. It worked when the beta came out (on battle.net of course!) when I patched opengl. To play WC3 in wine:
1. Install any recent wine. Anything later than Jul 2003 works almost perfectly.
2. Switch the wine windows version to win2k.
3. Run the War3 install
4. Don't start the game, and move/delete the "Movies" folder. You won't see the movies in game, but you don't have to watch the movies in the game so it doesn't matter.
5. Start the game using the "-opengl" switch. Multiplayer lan/battle.net works as does single player custom. To play single player, copy in a real msvcrt.dll.
That's about it. Of course this assumes you got a good opengl set up. Also note that the game may not run if you are running it off of "ide-scsi". Unload ide-scsi and if it hangs while loading, killall wine and wineserver and try it again. Then it will work.

Re:If only all Linux ports worked this way

[notque]

Will Try, and adding you as a friend. Thank you.

Re:If only all Linux ports worked this way

[13Echo]

Ravage's installer didn't require a CD key. That's quite interesting, actually, because I was playing online without a CD key. I wonder if the Linux beta has been programmed to not make use of one.

Linux Games Sales

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder if games sales/use for Linux would be greater if the Linux port were released at the same time as the Winodws version. It seems to me many people do not bother with the Linux version or patches because by the time it comes out for Linux they have been playing it in Windows for months and don't feel like moving it over. This was the case for me with NWN.

If the major games were released for Windows and Linux at the same time though there would never be a need to install on Windows.

Re:Linux Games Sales

[notque]

I wonder if games sales/use for Linux would be greater if the Linux port were released at the same time as the Winodws version. It seems to me many people do not bother with the Linux version or patches because by the time it comes out for Linux they have been playing it in Windows for months and don't feel like moving it over. This was the case for me with NWN.

If the major games were released for Windows and Linux at the same time though there would never be a need to install on Windows.

There wouldn't be a need for Windows. (In my case.)

Yes, Linux sales would be much higher, as well as Linux usage. No one wants to run a system that won't allow them to make use of the programs they want to use.

Hopefully we will get to that point soon. I'm just happy to get to the point where when I want to use a program I can expect it to function properly, and not have to do a whole lot of configuring to it.

Re:Linux Games Sales

[blwrd]

As I'm not usually that fanatic player of these "new" games (nwn, mohaa, etc), I only win with this situation; By the time linux binaries get released, the original games are moved from the "new games" shelf, to the "half price" one.. ;)

Re:Linux Games Sales

[Anonymous Coward]

"playing it in Windows for months"

Months? I was playing this years ago!

"If the major games were released for Windows and Linux at the same time though there would never be a need to install on Windows."

I'm sure companies chose platforms as part of a campaign to promote OS x on behalf of the developers, than to make money. Making money is always a secondary concern in a capitalist society, I find.

Re:Linux Games Sales

[DarkSarin]

I for one would purchase it. Also, I would be much happier if the Linux version came on separate disks, unlike what UT2k3 did.

Porting games from Windows to Linux

[chevelleSS]

Why is it so hard to port games from Windows to Linux?? Is it just the connections to interfaces (graphics cards, keyboard, joystick mouse) or does it have more to do with compilers and incompatibilities??

Re:Porting games from Windows to Linux

[eddy]

The problem seems to be that developers take multi-platform code as an afterthought. "We'll write the windows version and then we'll put some junior dev on porting it".

Few seem to realize that developing multi-platform from day one is a) not harder, b) shows professionalism and c) is one of the greatest ways to accomplish good bug free code.

I'm sure Carmack agrees. :-P

Re:Porting games from Windows to Linux

[Slack3r78]

The difficulty comes from short-sited code written by developers who seem the think DirectX is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Porting something that has been built with the heart of its architechture around one platform takes far longer and is usually kludgier than a system that has had portablility in mind since its inception. The disaster that has been the NWN port is a key example - the game was built around proprietary file formats and libraries that didn't have a linux (or mac) equivalent. Really, there's no excuse for this in my mind, especially on a project that was intended to be that big from the start.

Re:Porting games from Windows to Linux

[tjwhaynes]

Why is it so hard to port games from Windows to Linux?? Is it just the connections to interfaces (graphics cards, keyboard, joystick mouse) or does it have more to do with compilers and incompatibilities??

Partly. But if that were all of it, it still wouldn't take so long. The real reason is that most software companies writing Windows software never consider any other platform at all during the design stages and so the code is written in the idiom of the target platform.

If you want to write cross-platform (or even just plain good simple) code, you probably want to:

• use definite sized types such as unsigned 32bit integer rather than native int.
• segregate all platform distinct functions in separate layers
• have a general graphics interface through which all graphics are done - all graphics interface (direct 3D, open GL, funky personal 3D lib as found in various consoles) work is done on in a library implementing this general interface.
• have a general audio interface so that you can plug A3D, EAX, OpenAL or whatever in on the far side according to the eventual target.
• have all input devices run through a general interface so that you can plug Directplay, libSDL or whatever into the far side as needed.
• choose a specific endianess for all saved files and convert if necessary when saving/loading (this allows you to switch files between Windows and Max, or Linux Intel to Linux Alpha, etc.

Given all that, and certain other caveats about threading, forking and other process model distinctions, you'll find that you can have multiple platforms up and running fairly easily. Your code won't be making specific assumptions about its platform architecture and most nasty bugs will either be shallow for one of the platform/lib combinations or limited to one of the platform specific libraries (such as the Direct 3D driver, etc) where you can hack/fix/workaround it in that library alone.

Of course, robust code isn't necessarily always a priority for Windows games and at the moment, a Windows-only company is only cutting off 7% or so of it's possible market by being Windows only. That will change given time. Linux is here to stay and it's presence on the desktop will only increase from here. As people get used to the idea that Windows is not the only option, Mac OS may also pick up new converts.

Cheers,

Toby Haynes

Re:Porting games from Windows to Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

It only took Ryan this long because he had more important things to do.

Re:Porting games from Windows to Linux

[sshack]

You're new to this industry aren't you?

Re:Porting games from Windows to Linux

[HBI]

Linux is here to stay and it's presence on the desktop will only increase from here. As people get used to the idea that Windows is not the only option, Mac OS may also pick up new converts.

You are an optimist. People buy home machines because they look like what they are used to at work/school/whatever. Hence, most purchases are Windows boxes.

Breaking that requires breaking into schools and businesses with Linux on the desktop, and that isn't happening anywhere significant in the US. Cited issue is 'the users are used to what we have, why change'. You might have a better shot in Europe. Even the specter of huge licensing costs doesn't seem to have made much of a dent here.

Macs even had a toehold in education once - it's pretty much faded far as I can see: most community colleges seem to be all Win32 now. Only the well funded private schools provide labs full of Macs anymore. Who knows how long even that will last.

The window (no pun intended) for breaking Microsoft's desktop monopoly has passed. IBM had the last big shot back in the 93-95 timeframe with OS/2 and blew it for various reasons. I don't think we are going to see much luck here, now or in the future.

I must sadly note that OS/2 had about as slick a desktop compared to Win31 as KDE or GNOME compare to Win32 today. Within close striking distance but not quite as good. The parallels to that situation back then are fairly striking. Big complaints back then were 'difficult to get vendor drivers for' 'new hardware isn't supported' 'lack of applications' - 2 out of 3 apply today. If you turn the third one to 'lack of commercial quality applications with a consistent interface', you have 3 out of 3.

This one has been beaten to death by trolls in the past, but sheesh, when history repeats itself do we all have to stay dumb and watch things go south without comment? Huge expenditures of time and effort by both paid and volunteer coders are being made to match Microsoft's commercial application/os juggernaut. I have been watching this industry for 20+ years. I have seen companies come and go, and technologies follow their arc. I can't see a longterm plan where the current Linux model works to take over the desktop, however.

Paradigm shift required.

Re:Porting games from Windows to Linux

[DF5JT]

" Why is it so hard to port games from Windows to Linux?? Is it just the connections to interfaces (graphics cards, keyboard, joystick mouse) or does it have more to do with compilers and incompatibilities??"

The master himself answers your question here:

• http://icculus.org/~icculus/writing/pyrogon.com/ devdiary.html

Well worth reading it if you want to get some background on porting in general and games in particular.

Re:Porting games from Windows to Linux

[NeoSkandranon]

Only the well funded private schools provide labs full of Macs anymore.

You had better tell that to the University of North Carolina (Charlotte) so they can clear out their graphic design labs full of macs. They might even get rid of the engineering labs that run Sparcs too

Re:Porting games from Windows to Linux

[tjwhaynes]

Linux is here to stay and it's presence on the desktop will only increase from here. As people get used to the idea that Windows is not the only option, Mac OS may also pick up new converts.

You are an optimist. People buy home machines because they look like what they are used to at work/school/whatever. Hence, most purchases are Windows boxes.

I'm actually a realist. And a realist with access to a large amount of business information through various sales channels. For a large segment of the population, what you say is currently absolutely correct, at least in the US or Canada. In Germany however, the user is more and more likely to be working on a Linux platform AT WORK. Across Europe and Asia, the chances of working on a Linux desktop are going up pretty much day-on-day. That will translate pretty directly to more linux boxes at home. There is also another important side effect of this increase in Linux desktops in a work environment - people become aware that Microsoft is not the only provider of operating systems. Most Joe/Jane User people out there have little or no idea that there are any alternatives. A lot of people would not consider buying Apple systems because thats 'not a PC'.

Breaking that requires breaking into schools and businesses with Linux on the desktop, and that isn't happening anywhere significant in the US. Cited issue is 'the users are used to what we have, why change'. You might have a better shot in Europe. Even the specter of huge licensing costs doesn't seem to have made much of a dent here.

Really, it doesn't matter to me where it starts. For many reasons, the US looks like it will be playing catch-up further down the line as it's margins get undercut by other IT players not funnelling a large chunk of their revenue via a certain company in Redmond. There will still be IT costs - those won't magically disappear just because Linux is widely deployed, but they will be a smaller percentage of the financial capital being laid out for expenses. And the base cost of the OS really is mostly irrelevant to companies - the BIG dollars come from paying for staff or support companies to keep tabs on the servers. Downtime, crashes and unfixable behaviour are BIG factors in working out the costs of an operating system and Linux is generally more stable, has better uptimes, has a proven track record in business , is easier to maintain and manage remotely and is a consistent environment for any UNIX admin to come in and work with. RedHat charges considerably less for it's Advanced Server support than comparable Windows-supporting companies, and for companies with decent UNIX admins, Linux is a comfortable fit into the system without external support.

But to come back to your point about education. Schools probably come top of the table for people who are strapped for cash. Projects like K12LTSP are a godsend for schools if they are prepared to bite the bullet. Many students entering university have Linux skills (from surveys I've seen, those figures are increasing year-on-year).

Linux gaming will be about the last area for Linux users to see even 10% of the games market support Linux from release. But it will happen, and probably within the next 5 years at most.

Cheers,

Toby Haynes

Re:Porting games from Windows to Linux

[Slack3r78]

The main stumbling point for the Mac and Linux ports was the use of bink video format and the Miles sound system. Thank you for playing, try again later

Re:Porting games from Windows to Linux

[Chris_Jefferson]

Having works in a games company, I can at least tell you what may opinions of why that wouldn't work are. Most games do start with a nice seperated interface, but the it gets destroyed for 3 main reasons.

1) Performance - you want to squeeze every last bit out of the latest shiny card that has come out and you suspect the reviewers will be using.

2) Driver problems - similarily, you have to work around the problems that there are in most directX drivers (and don't suggest doing openGL only, because the openGL drivers are often worse!)

3) Deadlines - in that last month, it's a case of slap in anything to make it work.. and if it's a choice between slipping a couple of weeks or dumping linux (which it almost certainly will be), the dumping linux it will be

4) connected to 3, with windows "all" you have to do is check windows 95,98,ME,2000,XP (which is still a lot!) With linux there isn't really a limit to the number of versions you could have to test on...

Re:Porting games from Windows to Linux

[tjwhaynes]

Having works in a games company, I can at least tell you what may opinions of why that wouldn't work are. Most games do start with a nice seperated interface, but the it gets destroyed for 3 main reasons.

I work on DB2 UDB (which runs on more platforms than I care to remember). While I don't have to worry overly much about graphics or sound libraries, everything else requires similar care to make sure that I write once and it must work everywhere.

1) Performance - you want to squeeze every last bit out of the latest shiny card that has come out and you suspect the reviewers will be using.

Performance is pretty key for any program out there. If you are using function pointers to glue your external libraries onto the base code and you are calling those function pointers a lot, you are probably hosed using this approach. Of course, this isn't the only solution. You can have each seperate library use the same function call names and make the dynamic library linker pick up the one you actually want for your current config. Or you can get the C/C++ preprocessor rewrite your code for you using each distinct target. Given that the code on a CD/DVD is a small fraction of the actual product, this approach is not a problem. Any extra performance you might be able to wring out of any one interface by hard coding is probably only a few percent and not worth the worry.

2) Driver problems - similarily, you have to work around the problems that there are in most directX drivers (and don't suggest doing openGL only, because the openGL drivers are often worse!)

Industry support for OpenGL isn't as good as it should be - NVidia does a decent enough job, ATI sucks some of the time... Others are various. Having never worked with Direct X, I can't comment. But only one console implements Direct X. I have no idea how many of the consoles (if any) have OpenGL libraries (PS2/Xbox running linux excepted...).

3) Deadlines - in that last month, it's a case of slap in anything to make it work.. and if it's a choice between slipping a couple of weeks or dumping linux (which it almost certainly will be), the dumping linux it will be

Deadlines are THE KILLER when it comes to product quality. They basically force things to be patched to some 'reasonable' level and the product is booted out the door. If the user is lucky, patches and fixes will follow.

4) connected to 3, with windows "all" you have to do is check windows 95,98,ME,2000,XP (which is still a lot!) With linux there isn't really a limit to the number of versions you could have to test on...

I don't really buy the 'There are less versions of Windows than Linux' argument. In either case, it boils down to kernel versions, central system library versions and support library versions. Fundamentally, Windows is no different to linux in this regard. It would be nice to see some framework emerge where you could download a system analysis tool (maybe like autoconf) onto a clients computer, test out the key libraries to see that they behave in the expected manner, and then either allow the customer to download the correct product or give the customer the 'this won't work on your system' message. Be nice to see this for both Windows and Linux - I've had a couple of Windows games that never worked on Win 98 despite the protestations on the side of the box that this was a supported platform. DLL hell exists anywhere on the planet. At least with Linux, you can quickly tell what the dynamic linker is going to throw in your direction.

So, I'm not totally disagreeing with you. But I'm not convinced by your points either. At the end of the day, managers often seem to decide that the short runway to the deadlines in the gaming industry means one product on one platform That id software manages to release a Linux version of a well tested, carefully crafted engine and make a lot of Linux gamers happy is something I am profoundly grateful for. I also hope that one day it actually pays the folks at Id some cash back for their efforts and support.

Cheers,

Toby Haynes

WHen?

[Microsofts slave]

When is it that game developers are oging to finally realize that people who use linux (and *nix) are also games not just code junkies? Or there gonna be a Fud capaing like sco is trying?

Re:WHen?

[notque]

When is it that game developers are oging to finally realize that people who use linux (and *nix) are also games not just code junkies? Or there gonna be a Fud capaing like sco is trying?

I would assume that profitability vs time/development costs to port would have something to do with it.

If anyone has more information regarding this, please repond. I'd love to hear about it.

Re:WHen?

[sys$manager]

I think when Loki tanked, that sent a big message to the mainstream publishers that there is little to no market for Linux ports.

Re:WHen?

[sys$manager]

None of that matters though, it's a matter of image. The big companies just see Loki tank and say "look, no money in Linux."

Business is rarely based on fact.

Re:WHen?

[zakezuke]

When is it that game developers are oging to finally realize that people who use linux (and *nix) are also games not just code junkies? Or there gonna be a Fud capaing like sco is trying?

Hell, how long did it take the Myst folks to make a windows NT version? You ask them about it and they say, "Windows NT is for the office". They honestly didn't think it was worth their while.

Re:WHen?

[Stephen Samuel]

Besides the .bust and possibly bad management, I think that Loki might have just been a bit too early into the Linux desktop arena. Right now, the Linux desktop universe is probably at least 5 times what it was in 2000, and may be starting to grow exponentially.

Even so, one big problem that Linux games have is the prevalence of dual-booting. Too many Linux users are willing to keep Windows/wine running, if only to run games. Under such conditions, making a Linux version splits the market more than it expands it.

If we really want to encourage game companies to start making Linux versions, we're going to have to start boycotting the Windows version, and wait until the Linux version comes out (if it ever does) to buy new games.
Short term pain for long term gain..

Re:WHen?

[sys$manager]

That's totally unrealistic, but feel free to not play games in order to make your point.

I'm going to keep playing BF1942 on my Windows box.

Re:WHen?

[heli0]

"If we really want to encourage game companies to start making Linux versions, we're going to have to start boycotting the Windows version, and wait until the Linux version comes out (if it ever does) to buy new games.
Short term pain for long term gain.."

You expect this from the crowd that lambastes the MPAA one day, and then creams their pants when a Matrix/LOTR/SW/ST story is posted on the front page the next?

Re:WHen?

[Stephen Samuel]

You expect this from the crowd that lambastes the MPAA one day, and then creams their pants when a Matrix/LOTR/SW/ST.....

I'm not saying that I'm necessarily expecting it, I'm just saying that it would make a big difference in getting game companies to seriously take on doing games on Linux.

What people do with the suggestion is up to them (and how important we think it is to have games running native under Linux).

Re:God has heard me....

[bluesoul88]

"Now(or very soon) I shall be windows free."

"You'll need an installed Windows version of the game to start the binary."

You're not Windows-free yet, son.

Because they're idiots.

[Anonymous Coward]

Because they rely on the installer to have extracted all the funky resource files from the CD.

See, game companies love to hide all their data-files in propritary containers and put them on the CDs together with a closed source script-interpreting binary to unpack and install them.

Nobody knows why they continue to do this even though developer after developer has been burned (see also: Bioware). Our best guess is that they're simply stupid.

You wouldn't believe the stupidity you can find in the source code when it comes to portability issues, but that's another rant.

Re:Because they're idiots.

[IamNotWitchboy]

Probably because that relies on the publisher instead of the developer. Most CD Copy Protection are the publisher's responsability, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case with the packaging of the Retail Games.

If your going to troll...

[Anonymous Coward]

At least get your dates right:

01/24/2002 Medal of Honor: Allied Assault *STORE FINAL*

surefire way to get linux into homes

[Anonymous Coward]

If we're serious about getting linux much more widely adopted, linux needs a killer game that isn't available on windows...

Just imagine if Doom III was shipped as Linux-Only.

(hey, one can dream right?)...

Re:surefire way to get linux into homes

[notque]

If we're serious about getting linux much more widely adopted, linux needs a killer game that isn't available on windows...

I think a better way would be releasing both games at the same time on both systems. A console war isn't what Linux needs. It can handle itself on it's own with a fair playing field.

Re:surefire way to get linux into homes

[eggarsuit]

This brings up the catch-22 of Linux gaming. The only way that developers will create games for Linux is if they see widespread acceptance of Linux as a gaming platform; they need to eat after all. Unfortunately, the only way that Linux will gain widespread acceptance as a gaming platform is if great games are released for it. And so, as the post above suggests, developers need go out on a limb and publish kick-ass Linux (only?) games before the vicious cycle can be broken.

I wouldn't recommend holding your breath.

Re:surefire way to get linux into homes

[Spy Hunter]

Just imagine if Doom III was shipped as Linux-Only.

That would do way more to kill Doom III than it would to boost Linux (unless it came with something like Knoppix on the CD, but rebooting is still a pain, and then people wouldn't have to install Linux, which is the point right?)

Maybe if the Linux port was released like 3 days early, it might make some people try to install Linux just to get the game early, but I hardly think those people would get a good impression. I can hear them now: "KDE? GNOME? XFree86? Partitions? Ext3? ReiserFS? WTF? All I want is to play my Doom III dammit!"

Re:surefire way to get linux into homes

[yellowcord]

This is true... to a point of course. Anybody remember buying an Amiga just for Lemmings? It happened lots. Same idea as current consoles, Xbox - Halo, GC - Mario games, PS - Grand Turismo dynasty...

Re:surefire way to get linux into homes

[a_n_d_e_r_s]

3 days is too short a time to bother for most people.

I think if the Linux cersion was out 4 weeks before the PC version it would make a difference.

But I doubt that anyone will have the guts to do that. Maybe if someone had the guts to make a beta version or demo avaibale for Linux only - that would be fun.

Re:surefire way to get linux into homes

[Peyna]

Just because Linux users install Windows to play certain games doesn't mean that Windows users will install Linux to play certain games.

Re:surefire way to get linux into homes

[Spy Hunter]

I think you underestimate the fanaticism of some gamers ;-)

I was at Fry's the day before the Warcraft III: Frozen Throne expansion was released, and people were lining up outside the store, while it was still open, playing their gameboys, waiting until the store re-opened at midnight for an hour specifically to sell the game. That crowd would definitely install Linux to get a game 3 days early. OTOH, maybe those are the guys who already have several Linux boxes at home :-)

Re:surefire way to get linux into homes

[Peyna]

Actually I just accidently replied to the wrong comment.

Re:surefire way to get linux into homes

[Li0n]

Actually I remember that the first Quake 3 Test was available for download for linux before windows (1 day of 2 only). Many people in the community installed linux to be able to play it but most of those attempts did not have a happy ending.

Mirror

[MrBiiggy]

I have it mirrored: mohaa-lnxclient-beta1.tar.bz2

Re:Dudes!

[Buzz_Litebeer]

its one of the most played games on the internet for FPS shooters, at least using gamespy stats. at any one time it can often have more players than UNreal 2k3, as it is right now it is number 5.

Live Stats
Game Players Game Players
Half Life
73661 Battlefield 1942
7584
Americas Army: Operations
4938 Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
4693
Medal of Honor Allied Assault
4014 Unreal Tournament 2003
3966

all gleaned from gamespy stats

Just curious

[JVert]

Havn't tried the game emulated but does the windows version run better in wine then the beta port?

Re:Just curious

[blitzoid]

Oh good god NO!

I spent many an hour trying to get it to work with both Wine and the pay version of Winex.

Are You Kidding Me?

[Petersko]

I've always believed in the old adage that even bad publicity is good publicity, but this article has proved me wrong.

Trumpeting that a year-old game has finally been ported, but you still need Windows and the sound is iffy merely serves to perpetuate the idea that linux isn't really a serious home operating system

Re:Are You Kidding Me?

[NeoOokami]

However.. they're not. This is more a, "We're working on it, it's not done but here's what we've got so far." It's not meant to perpetuate linux to anyone, just to let the linux users waiting on the port see what's done so far and even give it a go.

Re:Are You Kidding Me?

[antiMStroll]

Somehow, "serious home operating system" defined as "gaming platform" comes off as an oxymoron. Linux does most things well except for gaming. Universal home operating system? Not yet. Serious? Plenty.

Re:Port requires installed Windows version???

[Istealmymusic]

If you do not "have" windows, then you would not "have" this game, would you?

Way "to" go, genius.

and then..

[spineboy]

Hey You said it, not me.

Whoops - directed at great grand-parent

[spineboy]

prev post directed at great grand-parent. I gotta stop reading at 0 threshold

Re:Port requires installed Windows version???

[blitzoid]

ARGH, I am sick of all these STUPID linux users.

"And lo, the land of Slashdot split open, and the Anonymous Coward tumbled towards the center of the earth and landed in a pool of hot magma. And the lord said unto the land "Thou shalt not trash talk Linux, or else I shall mod you down to hell to suffer forever and ever.", and the peasants rejoiced." - Book of Slashdot 12:23

Re:Some how I don't think Id wants to go bankrupt

[jonabbey]

Unreal Tournament 2003 and Enemy Territory play plenty fine on Linux, and they're fairly modern.

Neverwinter Nights, Tribes 2, Quake3 and oldschool Unreal Tournament are the others I play much of.

Kudos

[WHudson]

Kudos for just requiring the Windows version of the game. Except for some older DOS games that are being ported to work in OSX natively, it's a pain to buy two copies of my favorite games just because I have two different operating systems. I wouldn't mind paying a reduced fee, but shelling out for what is essentially a new binary -- the data content is largely the same -- seems to be a bit silly.

Re:Port requires installed Windows version???

[Gherald]

He ain't trashing Linux, he's trashing it's users. And he makes a good point.

One of the last Barriers!

[Qacker]

Soon more and more games will be ported to Linux and the tide will start to turn, the moon will start to wax, and the Sun will begain its daily walk upward into the sky.

Oh No!!

[mojo17]

One of the reasons I boot to Linux is to force myself to stop playing MOHAA and get some real work done. I guess this trick won't work anymore. My existence is doomed.

Re:Oh No!!

[Spoing]

One of the reasons I boot to Linux is to force myself to stop playing MOHAA and get some real work done. I guess this trick won't work anymore. My existence is doomed.

There's always *BSD...no, wait, that can run Linux binaries. You're screwed!

Re:free software wankers

[noldrin]

If I game on linux is open source it can be easily hacked and made into new games. A game on a PS2 is basically only going to be that game on the PS2.

Installer for Linux

[GiMP]

Ravage's Installer for Linux.

Has anyone installed it yet?

[thesuperjason]

I'm away from a Linux box at the mo... anyone tried it out yet?

TSJ

Re:Has anyone installed it yet?

[13Echo]

I've played it a bit offline and online, and so far, it's pretty good. It seems to be a tad bit faster and smoother than the Windows version... However, there is still one problem. As Icculus noted, the sound is still borked. He had to rewrite the Miles Sound System code to use OpenAL instead. That code is not yet complete, but the rest of it seems to be running great. Sound does work, but panning effects seem a bit off (often too loud). Some stuff loops longer than normal as well. This is just a beta though, released only because people couldn't wait for Icculus to finish it.

If you want to use it, I suggest using Ravage's MOH:AA installer. It worked like a charm for me. It includes the biaries as well, and it seems to patch it to the recent version.

If you play in single player mode, subtitles are a must. Sound gets skipped sometimes, since the sound code isn't perfect yet.

http://icculus.org/~ravage/mohaa/

Re:CmdrTaco EXPOSED!

[InvaderXimian]

That's CowboyNeal you insensitive clod!

More like a..

[Migrant Programmer]

surefire way to put id Software out of business. You don't spend what they spend on making games to target less than 1% of the gaming market.

Re:More like a..

[Migrant Programmer]

Just a quick pre-emptive reply: I know that id Software ships for Windows, Linux and Mac at the same time, usually (which is great). So they are targeting that part of the market, just not *only* that part. And it doesn't take much effort for them to be cross-platform because that's how they work!

Really Powerful Stuff.

[Mulletproof]

"You'll need an installed Windows version of the game to start the binary."

"That's right! Linux-- Bringing up the ass-end of gaming for over a decade!"

Re:Really Powerful Stuff.

[Captain Large Face]

It may be the ass-end, but at least it's a part, eh? :)

Re:Really Powerful Stuff.

[13Echo]

Actually, you *DON'T* need the Windows version to be installed. Icculus wrote that before Ravage wrote an installer, as I noted a few posts above yours.

Re:Really Powerful Stuff.

[Mulletproof]

Which does not alter or nullify my post in the least.

old != bad

[Hatta]

Nor does unpopular. Here's a link to prove it.

mouse trouble

[Majin Viper]

anyone else having mouse trouble (copied my dads install directory over) i can look about 30 degree's to the right and 20 degrees to the left with the mouse but thats it. sound (voices) are rubbish but thats mentioned on the site.

Re:mouse trouble

[Majin Viper]

in which file do i set this, or is it a config file in a .pak?

Re:mouse trouble

[13Echo]

I did. Enable your console in the game's options. Then, while in the game, pul your console down with the "`" key. (That's next to your number one key, also used for the tilde character).

In the console, type:

"in_mousegrab 1"

This fixed the problem on my machine. You may need to do it each time you play, at least until this beta is updated.

Re:mouse trouble

[13Echo]

You can also enter it into the config file in $HOME/mohaa/configs/

There is a section in the middle with various options, for mouse, soundrate, etc. Add the line in the format, matching the other stuff. Put quotes areound the number "1" as was done in the other examples.

But that isn't how we'll do it

[The Revolutionary]

"If we're serious about getting linux much more widely adopted, linux needs a killer game that isn't available on windows..."

These games might be fun to some, and the developers might seem "cool" to some younger Slashdot readers, but let us stop fooling ourselves. What we are talking about when we speak of these games, is in nearly all cases, software which no more Free than is Microsoft Word.

It was for a time, and perhaps still is worthwhile to provide for Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, and perhaps other widely valued proprietary software to run under Free systems or in Free environments, because when we do this, we do so knowing that it is a compromise only for a short while longer as we finish Free alternatives to these products, which shortly now will overtake them one by one.

With proprietary games, there is no such hope. We are not on the verge of replacing these propreitary software products. There is no indication that providing for these proprietary software products to run under our Free systems and in our Free environments will motivate or move these proprietary software producers to do anything but smile at their increased sales.

If proprietary game producers want their non-Free products to run under Free systems and in Free environments, they will get no help or support from this developer.

If they want it, they can pay for it. It would be an insult, but I realize we must sometimes bear such things as the consequences of and retribution for mistakes we have made in the past, mistakes which have made us dependent upon them and their money. Let it some day not be like this.

"I would rather have a quart of Free Software than a gallon of proprietary software."

Re:But that isn't how we'll do it

[__past__]

Actually, "we" haven't been able to create a free competitor to Photoshop or Office either. There still is no free professional quality graphics program, and OpenOffice.org exists just because Sun bought a proprietary product and decided to relicense it.

Re:But that isn't how we'll do it

[The Revolutionary]

Yes, I agree that this is a promising thing; one of the few exceptions.

Re:Can install with WineX

[Doug Neal]

I've managed to install it with stock WINE. Worked pretty much perfectly except for a few odd crashes here and there. But for the most part it's very playable.

Re:Can you say...

[Kynde]

Quake3 Arena? Full retail box linux and windows versions available on the same day.


Not true. It was supposed to be that way, yes, BUT q3 came out for windows mid December and and the linux version hit the stores late January.

When they said that the linux version was pushed after the Xmas holidays, the choice was easy for me back then. People had been waiting for Q3 to come with such anxiety, that asking for one month more at that point was not an option.

And Carmack even had the nerves to complain about the linux sales.

Gladly, Carmack is still making a linux version of Doom3 (not because it's profitable apparently, but "because it's the right thing to do", he said), only this time it won't be sold separately.

Enemy Territory

[Kynde]

And guys if you want a good solid multiplayer game for linux which doesn't require any prior windows version, try Enemy Territory.

Wolfenstein (and thus also Quake3 based) addon, which was supposed to come out as a full new game ended up being canceled, inspite of that they released the multiplayer part of it for free.

It runs beautyfully on linux and is quite a good game!

Hell's bells

[praedor]

I just finished the set: Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and Spearhead. If I had known this was going to happen I would have held off until the binary was available. As usual, too late. I am ready to move on to the next game.

To ensure it is acknowledges as a Linux sale...

[michaelsimms]

For anyone who wants to make sure your MOH game gets registered as a Linxu sale, instead of a Windows sale, order from Tux Games, and as always we ensure that the rights owners know that your sale was for Linux.

The Lowdown on MOHAA or Why I Play It

[Anonymous Coward]

MOHAA is the second most popular online game, surpassing all others except Half-Life and its mods and variants...Statistics: (from Gamespy and in game server browsers)
MOHAA (Sunday) 2751 servers 13,661 players online
HALF-LIFE 55,201 servers 102,651 players online

I have been playing this game on my windoze box since the week the demo came out, and I still play it all the time...Why? Because the FUN factor is about 9 out of 10, and because this game suffers from much less in the way of lag issues than most shooter games I have played online. I used to be a CS addict, and have at various times been heavily into UT, UTK3 and RS flavas, as well as GR, AM, TFC, FireArms, DoD etc.

The only WWII game that is in the same league is Return To Castle Wolfenstien: Enemy Territory, but I find that game, while great, is not as much fun as MOHAA due to lag issues. This is a problem with all modern shooter games...the better the graphics and the larger the maps, the less players can actually get into a game and play effectively before it starts to lag badly. I loved BF 1942 but found it almost unplayable when it first came out, and even now with the latest patches it still lags with a fast computer alone on a cable connection when you are in a game with over 16 players. EA has dedicated servers up on OC-192 connections and it still lags. MOHAA suffers from this much less than others. I have played in games with up to 50 players and still been effective: my best score was 63 on The Bridge in a 20 min match. Kudos to the network gaming coder who kept this game playable for 56k users and able to actually handle more players than any other.

The MOHAA world has been split by the release of the add-on pack Spearhead. The graphics were upgraded, and many new game play types introduced such a maps with multi objectives of different types for each side. But the network code is a bit laggier than regular MOHAA, making it unplayable online for modem users. Spearhead online is a victim of its own popularity, with an average of 12 players per server online last nite...It needs more fast servers, anyone got bandwidth and a box to spare? For about 420 servers there were around 5000 players, with the result that every game was full and it is hard to get into any of the good servers. Spearhead servers ususally have 24 or less playing slots, as opposed to MOHAA which has some with 64 and many with 32. Due to most hardcore MOHAA players buying Spearhead or going to BF 1942, the number of MOHAA players has declined slightly lately, but there are still many servers to choose from, some that are always full with highly skilled players. Another great feature of this game is the ability to lean while moving in MOHAA, changed to leaning only while standing still in Spearhead. If you can lean, run and jump well you can often avoid being shot while reloading or when you have the wrong weapon ready. If you don't like the shotgun and rocket launcher in MOHAA as many don't, then try Spearhead where these weapons have been reduced in effectiveness. The sounds and hilarious voice taunts are just superb on a good set of speakers with subwoofer.

I play either game all the time, Spearhead when I am on broadband, and MOHAA on slower connections or comps. The game is quite playable on my old PIII 533 box with a GeForce MX2 400, but looks great on my XP 2000+ with Radeon 9700 with all effects cranked. Spearhead looks even better, but sacrifices some playablility for it. I would consider the overall graphics to be slightly better than BF 1942 in MOHAA, and a lot better in Spearhead...but I havent played Road to Rome so I can't really say for sure, to me they look better.

To sum it up, this game is a class act in every aspect and just looks and feels so right and fun you will wonder where all those hours went.

I know some will sneer at my modem comments, but for many rural users like me (who will probably never get broadband at my house) the 56k modem is still a fact of life, and no there is no wireless alternative either, only satellite which is useless for playing online games. Maybe when 802.16 becomes widespread I will see high speed but not before then.