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Half-Life 2 - A Linux User's Lament

Posted by simoniker on from the why-oh-why-oh-why? dept.

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?"

2 of 792 comments (clear)

  1. Re:why not support the companies that support us? by sql*kitten · · Score: 0, Redundant

    If HL2 can be ported from Win32->OSX, it can run under Linux ... so why isn't it?

    Obviously, because the company believes it can recoup the cost of porting via OSX sales, but that it could not recoup the cost via Linux sales. Just because something can be done theoretically, it doesn't mean it would be practical to do so. Porting and testing aren't free for the company, after all, neither is providing after-sales support which is likely to be far more expensive on Linux than it is on OSX, where there is only on hardware/software combination to worry about.

    Linux on the PC is simply not a viable games platform. That's not to say Linux on a console couldn't be - but on the PC there is too small a market and too many variables to realistically test or support.

  2. Re:I have a lament too by ryanvm · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Yes, even if you copied that windows CD and Gate$ gets no money from your HL2 experience. What you're doing is sending a message to game authors that it's OK to ignore Linux forever.

    Solution: Copy the game too. ;)