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Half-Life 2 - A Linux User's Lament
jvm writes "If you're a gamer with a pulse, you've probably heard about the impending release of Valve's Half-Life 2. As a gamer and a Linux user, I always get a little stirred up about the whole Half-Life situation, where we have a dedicated server but no client. So here's my reflection on the sad situation, past and present. How will the rest of the Linux gaming community react to the release of Half-Life 2? Boot into Windows? Wait for WINE or WineX support? Get the Xbox version? With so many Half-Life servers running on Linux, will the same be true for Half-Life 2?"
I swear it was like watching your dog get hit by a car as he returned from the pound.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
Linux has a strong hold in the server market, but not so much with clients. It would seem be holding true here too, but not for the same reasons.
This does raise a good point. I pointed this out later, but the Linux community is VERY VERY happy to support those who take time for them. Your right about what you say "you make a game for us, we won't forget." Then again, it is not like Valve doesn't care about this segment of the market, it is a case where they have only so much time and they are doing what they can to get what they can out there.
Who knows, maybe we will see a native Linux version, but you can't hold your breath for it.
It is human nature to take shortcuts in thinking.
They chose the easy and cheap way out... cancel the port
Time for some tasty Shiner Bock!
I'm a little disappointed with Valve about now. Strike one is the DRM nitemare called Steam that they're shoving down the gaming community's throat. OMG! What a fiasco that is. Strike two is the shutting out of linux users. If Id can support linux, why can't Valve?
What I don't fully understand is why Valve went with DX9 over CG and openGL, especially since DX9's HLSL is essentially identical to CG. CG offers cross-platform compatibility. DX9 limits the portability of HL2. So why do it?
When all else fails, run.
Welcome to earth. Nice to have you here.
This has been an issue in computing for the last decade: PC game companies write games for Windows. That's the way it was, that's the way it is, and unless something drastic happens, that's the way it's always going to be. Gamers use Windows because it's the platform the majority of PC games are on, and PC game companies target Windows because that's where the vast majority of their audience is.
This isn't a Linux-specific issue either. As an OS/2 user for the last 12 years (and Linux user for the past 4 or 5), I've seen it first hand. The only thing that will potientiall change the situation is if the game companies either see a huge decrease in the sales of their Windows titles, or feel there is sufficiently pent-up demand for Linux-based titles.
Personally, I don't see that happening anytime soon. My advice to you is to do what I did -- leave your PC for serious work, and go out and buy a PlayStation 2, a good TV, and a surround sound system. Add in the network adapter and the PS2 Linux kit, and you have a kick-ass game system, DVD player, and Linux box all in one nice black box, leaving your PCs available for more serious computing tasks.
Yaz.
As others have mentioned, the problem is that Valve embraced DirectX 9 as the only API they would use to run the game.
The stupid thing is, they couldn't even just say they would code pure DirectX 9, because Nvidia in their wisdom decided to implement DirectX 9 in their own proprietary way, thus leading to the current public spat with Valve saying they had to code separate paths to have Nvidia hardware work with the game anyway!!
It really is time that a game protocol is made that is truly able to be used as a cross-platform API. I mean, game developers must surely realise that if they were able to code in one API and have it compile under Windows, Linux, Xbox, PS2, GameCube etc, they would make way more money servicing all the market segments, not just one, and save on development costs to boot!
OpenGL 2 is touted as being all that DirectX 9 is and more, plus it is an open protocol, but game developers need to use it and help formulate it for it to be a success.
I use Windows because of the games. That's the ONLY reason. Linux is more than capable of being my primary OS for web browsing, email, office work etc. But without developers coding for Linux, it will never gain the crucial support of the younger generation whose first question will be "What games run on it?" And if you don't hook 'em while they're young, then you will lose another generation to Microsoft's grasp.
ATI and Nvidia both supply 3D drivers for their cards, so why aren't they trying to get developers on board to actually code or port GAMES for the Linux market???
Someone really needs to write a GameOS version of Linux, and basically give it away as open source. If one or two top games like Half Life 2 or Doom III were able to run on it, it would soon saturate the market and provide developers with a free alternative to developing purely for Microsoft. Heck, why doesn't Sun write it? It could be a whole new line for them and firmly establish them as a true competitor to Microsoft. Just make it an open source game protocol is all I ask.
Visceral Psyche Films
Too bad Steam is already proving to be DRMified shit. I don't have very high hopes for HL2 anymore. I'm sick of Gabe Newell whining about why he can't get his shitty code to work with nvidia cards when everybody else doesn't seem to have any problems. On the other hand, ID has always done right by me. They kinda invented the whole Genre and their games ALWAYS blow everyone away. So I'm pretty sure Doom3 and Quake4 will rock intently. I hope UT2004 is at least as fun with instagib as UT2003 is. It's not a terribly great game.
For every annoying gentoo user, are three even more annoying anti-gentoo crybabies. Take Yosh from #Gimp for example.
Oh, please. Look how irritable and angry you are. You have a chip on your shoulder.
SDL is nice, and so are a lot of other freeware graphics/audio libraries, but most every developer will tell you they still don't stand up to the massive suite of DirectX technologies. You've probably never even bothered with a DirectX app or an SDL app. I have done both.
None are equivalent to the speed and power of DirectX. Hate Microsoft all you want, but that's just something you have to cede at this point in time. Why don't YOU do "research" before spouting off and insulting people for giving their opinions on the poor state of Linux gaming development?
"Sufferin' succotash."
I paid 50 bucks for my tin box edition Linux quake3 and installed it on FreeBSD. I paid 40 bucks for my Linux version of RTCW. I paid 50 bucks for UT2003 and it installed on Linux. I paid like 20 for UT because I came it late.
You might have done - but you are not representative of the games market as a whole. If you were, Loki would still be in business.
So valve is familiar with how to write code for linux and they use it to make money. Bioware didn't but they did support linux, sure it took them time but they did it. Thanks.
So is it really that stupid to expect a company like Valve to give something back for all those linux machines that have helped make their game great?
Remember that the the cost of the engine, the bit that would need porting, is minor nowadays to the cost of creating the world, the art, wich doesn't need to be ported.
So the real problem the poster has is not that valve like the fast majority of game companies ignores linux. They made gratefull use of linux by running their game servers on it. Is it then really that odd to expect that they would this time also allow all those linux users who helped made their game great to be able to play it as well? It is not like the cost of porting is all that big. They know how to write for linux and considering it comes out on x-box they know how to port.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Let's put it this way.
Ut2003. I bought 4 copies of it BECAUSE it works with linux.
I gave out 2 of the copies to friends with a copy of redhat.
I also used to do the same with the other games available from loki, and constantly told people to go to loki.
I ave over 20 commercial games that work on linux on my shelf. Many more games than I ever have bought for windows, and I know that I am not alone.
Linux gaming is at the point where Mac Gaming has been for the past 10 years, hopefully it will increase in the future, but the only way to do it is to be good advocates and make noise with our wallets AND tell the companies that you bought their product BECAUSE of the linux version.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
My Ti4800 running nVidia driver version 1.0-4496 disagrees with you. I average 80fps in Enemy Territory at 1280x1024. I don't think I'd do much better in Windows.
I assure you, Linux Game Publishing, Hyperion, and others would be more than happy to help w/the testing, tuning, etc. with a game company. And we'd not be mis-managing the situation like Loki did.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Loki didn't go out of business because there wasn't a market. Loki went out of business because the upper management was utterly clueless.
Scott bought some 50k units of those stupid tins, etc. and delayed the release of the Linux version (which SHOULD have went out only a week or so AFTER the Windows version) by nearly a month. Worse, he wasted the money on the massive production run when he should have done something more reasonable like 5k units to limit his losses. Had he done that, the margins per unit would have been smaller, but the game might have broke even.
Loki bit off more games than they could comfortably afford and did pathetically stupid business decisions with the ones they DID have.
THAT is what killed Loki.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Wasn't Half Life the first big game that required a unique key for each player that was submitted back to the mothership before allowing online play?
;-)
Sounds like Activation to me.
I haven't bought HalfLife
But no, its not "real" Activation. real activation is where the program will not work at all (or only for a brief period) before you need to communicate with the mothership, and get authentication keys based on your hardware/software configuration.
You can play single player HalfLife forever. You can play LAN games of HalfLife forever.
I'm not sure you can play on the internet without your CD key being validated by WON servers though - this is borderline, but not quite as bad since its just a key you got when you bought the CD(and not something calculated based on the system set) - of course you have the problem if the servers go down, or gets taken down. As we can see now, they are changing to their new EvilWare system "Steam" and will remove the Won servers, at that point most people will be forced to use steam (or quite likely someone will hack the game so it can play without)
ID as usual did it better, they had a CD key as well, but if the game was unable to authenticate with the server it would still allow you to play (presumably there was some other penalty, such as you couldn't join some servers who insisted on a validated id)
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating