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Doom 3 for Linux Released

edawg writes Linuxgames reports that "the Linux edition of Doom 3 has been released by ID Software. Although it didn't ship with a Linux version on the install CD, its still nice to see they release Linux binaries around the same time as their first game patch. Here is Information directly from ID Software."

18 of 411 comments (clear)

  1. I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by drunkennewfiemidget · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've always found *nix to be a lot better at properly utilising its hardware than Windows. This is not a Windows flame message(tm) it is what I've found in the past.

    I wonder if Doom 3 can be successfully played on lesser hardware if played in linux...

    1. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by Beowulf_Boy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Funny, I've played FPS games side by side in linux and windows, and I'd say the windows box was a slight bit faster. I was playing Quake 3 and Soldier of Fortune.

      Not that I'm trashing linux, I use it daily. I have 2 boxes, with Synergy setup between them. One is linux, the other windows. I use the linux box for websurfing, AIM, and as a file server, and the windows box (since it has a bigger monitor) for doing any programming homework and playing games. I just find that linux isn't quite there yet for gaming. Hopefully soon though, its came a long way.

    2. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by strider44 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      yep, it depends solely on your system setup as to which operating system will be better. Basically a new ATI card you're stuffed with linux, NVIDIA is slightly lower on most, slightly higher on some.

    3. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by Karn · · Score: 4, Interesting

      To be fair, Quake 3 is basically the only platform-independant game that isn't disadvantaged on Linux in some way (pure OpenGL, not a Direct3D port/afterthought), and he was claiming something that is contradicting what benchmarking sites like Tomshardware have shown, that games can run faster in Linux than in Windows. For example, Tom has a benchmark page here that shows Linux outperforming Win2K on Q3. The difference is probably not noticable to a casual gamer, but benchmark junkies who tweak their machine to milk an extra 5fps out of their rig will.

      So basically, it isn't sad that the guy had to put a disclaimer in there, because what he said does in fact contradict popular belief, as well as somewhat recent published benchmarks.

      (Disclaimer: I'm not one of these dillusional people who claim Linux can run Windows games faster than Windows itself under Wine. The only game I recognize as running equal or better in Linux is Quake3.)

      --


      Why do I keep typing pythong?
    4. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by wheany · · Score: 2, Interesting

      And having to to choose one kind of display card instead of another because one kind doesn't work well under Linux just proves your point, doesn't it?

  2. The only reason I haven't switched by Jakhel · · Score: 3, Interesting

    from XP to linux is the lack of game developers support for linux, the rest of the software (excluding photoshop) that I use is free open sourced. Now both ID and Epic have released linux versions of their games. If valve and others follow suite, I will definately be switching OS sooner.

  3. Had it yesterday. by Sp4c3+C4d3t · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I got it yesterday. It performed a lot better (smoother looking) than on Windows, so I was happy.

    --
    Happy New Year, it's 1984!
  4. Re:questions by Jagasian · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Id Software has used OpenGL since the original Quake, when they released a free OpenGL based Quake patch. Note that Id Software did the most public experimentation with the original Quake. They released Windows versions of Quake for free (Quake was originally DOS), they released versions with improved network code, especially network prediction... this was the most famous Quake upgrade called "Quakeworld". I am sure I am leaving out some of the other Quake experiments.

  5. oh no, not again... by nappingcracker · · Score: 4, Interesting

    once again Linux seems to get the short end. Im was (and am) really pleased that iD was supporting Linux, but it seems that once again Linux is the afterthought. Stereo sound for Doom 3? It was fine for the original quake, throw on some stereo headphones and get scared stiff; stereo sound does not cut it with this game. No 64bit build? cut off Linux's nuts a bit more, why dont you?

    time will tell, and maybe these things will come, but most of the time these things loose steam as the team loses motivation and counts $$$.

    Isnt it easier to develop for Linux, and port to windows? This way everything works in Linux, and if it works in Linux it cant be that hard to tie into windows? Easier said than done, sure, but easier than porting from windows to Linux.

    I hope they take time to polish the Linux release and do not half ass it.

    --
    |plastic....or gasoline?|
  6. Dumb question by DrXym · · Score: 3, Interesting

    But since the Linux version doesn't care about copy protection, shouldn't ID release a patch that also allows the Win32 version to run without the CD? Make it so you have to have the CD and a valid key to apply the patch, but after that it works without it.

  7. Whither OS X ?? by blakespot · · Score: 5, Interesting
    So where is DOOM 3 for OS X? My new dual G5 2.5 is just itching for something to challenge it. Of course...until Apple ships the GeForce 6800 Ultra I ordered as part of the bundle, I'm using the interrim Radeon 9600XT - not sure how well that will push DOOM 3 at high resolution....


    blakespot

    --
    -- Heisenberg may have slept here.
    iPod Hacks.com
  8. Re:ATI Drivers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    ATI better provide drivers that _work_ for a chance.

    I've read the anandtech article about Linux GPU performance and honestly, I still do not know how to get my ATI Radeon 9700 Pro to work properly under SuSe. It's a pain in the butt!

    I've never had such problems with the NVIDIA card I had before.

    Basically ATI has been an infinite source of frustration for me, because I cannot get their card to work with opengl acceleration properly.

  9. Re:Jon Carmack, eh? (Butterfly Effect) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Yes he did. He weighed the possible consequences of his actions against the possible consequences of his inaction (mostly, Nazi Germany getting it first), and decided reluctantly that it was the lesser evil.

    Later in his life, he came to change his mind and regret his decision. Fortunately we had some real amoral go-getters like von Neumann and Kissinger around, so we didn't have to worry about needing that pansy Einstein, except for licensing his image to a score of motivational-merchandise manufacturers.

  10. Re:Why not use SDL? by Watcher · · Score: 5, Interesting

    id has always had a healthy NIH (not invented here) syndrome that they learned from mess with the original Doom sound library they used. The thing never quite worked right, and caused no end of troubles. Even though SDL is open source, id has their own debugged code laying around that has been used for years that does the same thing-there really is no gain for them to throw out code they know and trust for someone else's work.

    I've tried out SDL a few times, and although I've found it pretty workable, when you bring multithreading in it has troubles, especially if you don't want to render in your main thread.

  11. Re:Jon Carmack, eh? (Butterfly Effect) by MondoMor · · Score: 0, Interesting

    Actually, Einstein encouraged the US to develop an atomic bomb, because he feared the Germans were far ahead of the Americans. While he did not approve of its use, he saw the deterrent value of an atomic weapon, and was well aware that it would probably be used eventually.

    It turns out the Germans had sqandered their lead in atomic research, allowing the Americans to develop and test an atomic bomb first. After Germany's collapse, and the realization that Japan would never surrender (fighting with religious fervor to the last man, woman and child), the Americans decided to use the weapon in the Pacific to force Japan to unconditional surrender.

  12. Better Support with Cedega(WineX) by Bruha · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I havent verified it yet but Cedega IIRC did fully support the game. In face full sound worked and all that other jazz that we expected but did not get in the full release for Linux.

  13. Re:Why not use SDL? by Izaak · · Score: 2, Interesting

    id has always had a healthy NIH (not invented here) syndrome that they learned from mess with the original Doom sound library they used. The thing never quite worked right, and caused no end of troubles. Even though SDL is open source, id has their own debugged code laying around that has been used for years that does the same thing-there really is no gain for them to throw out code they know and trust for someone else's work.

    I assumed it was something along those lines, as ID actually has a longer history than SDL. The nice thing about SDL, however, is that the Windows version acts as an abstraction layer to the very same DirectX calls they are probably using anyway. They could take some of the programming effort they are currently spending on their own code base and use it to improve SDL and probably be much farther ahead in time-to-market terms.

    I've tried out SDL a few times, and although I've found it pretty workable, when you bring multithreading in it has troubles, especially if you don't want to render in your main thread.

    I've been using SDL for quite a while now, and I am very impressed with speed of improvement and current level of quality. I originally had some stability problems with OpenGL/SDL integration, but those appear to be completely fixed now. I have not run into the multithreading issues you describe, but then I tend to do all my rendering in one thread just as a matter of good game design (using other threads for sim and net code).

  14. Re:Why not use SDL? by Cereal+Box · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've heard this said before and wondered why they don't use a combination of SDL/Alsa/OpenGL to keep it cross platform.

    Perhaps -- and I know this may be shocking to some -- iD doesn't find SDL to be as advanced as DirectX when it comes to sound and input.

    Besides which, since SDL sits on top of DirectX (note that this does not necessarily mean that SDL can do everything that DirectX does), that means they've got to deal with one extra level of abstraction, which hinders speed, if even slightly.