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Doom 3 for Linux Released

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the come-get-some dept.

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."

84 of 411 comments (clear)

  1. questions by mirko · · Score: 4, Insightful
    1. does this means this uses OpenGL instead of DirectX ?
    2. has somebody any clue when the osx version will be released ?
    --
    Trolling using another account since 2005.
    1. Re:questions by Dogers · · Score: 5, Informative

      id have ALWAYS used OpenGL for the graphics rendering. But they use DirectX for sound on windows, which is what will take time to convert to *nix..

      --
      I am a viral sig. Please copy me and help me spread. Thank you.
    2. Re:questions by Evangelion · · Score: 2, Informative

      Since GLQuake, id has always used OpenGL instead of Direct3D.

      But on Windows, it might perfectly well use other parts of DirectX that aren't Direct3D.

    3. Re:questions by Xetrov · · Score: 3, Informative

      It uses OpenGL in windows.
      OpenGL and DirectX aren't equivalent anyway, you must be thinking of Direct3D, which is the graphics library.

    4. Re:questions by julesh · · Score: 2, Informative

      OpenGL and DirectX aren't equivalent anyway, you must be thinking of Direct3D, which is the graphics library.

      Direct3D has been renamed "DirectX graphics". Weren't you paying attention to that announcement? :)

    5. 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.

    6. Re:questions by static0verdrive · · Score: 2, Funny

      Actually, id didn't make GLQuake. But thanks to whoever did!

      --
      ========
      77 77 77 2e 6d 65 6c 76 69 6e 73 2e 63 6f 6d
    7. Re:questions by Sj0 · · Score: 2, Informative

      There is no DirectDraw API any more. Programmers are encouraged to use the DirectGraphics API instead.

      --
      It's been a long time.
    8. Re:questions by Sj0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Neither glQuake nor Quake 2 will run if you don't have DirectX installed. They use it for a few things, including sound and input.

      OpenGL is just a graphics library.

      --
      It's been a long time.
  2. 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 TrancePhreak · · Score: 3, Informative

      The earlier article on /. about the Linux 3D performance tests show that you are incorrect. They do, however, show that 3D gaming is nowhere near unbearable in Linux.

      --

      -]Phreak Out[-
    3. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by noselasd · · Score: 2, Informative

      In respect to games, the OS doesn't have _that_ much to say.
      It's mostly CPU and GPU burning. Quality of the GFX drivers are very important.

    4. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by dweezil-n0xad · · Score: 3, Informative

      you can benchmark Doom III ingame:
      open the console: [~]
      type: timedemo demo1
      my results: 2148 frames rendered in 68.2 seconds = 31.5 fps
      system specs:
      AMD XP2000+
      512 MB DDR266
      GeForce3 MSI StarForce 822 ViVo 64MB DDR
      KT400 chipset

      os: Gentoo 2.6.9-rc2/NPTL/Prelinking/gcc 3.4.2
      driver: nvidia 1.0.6111-r2

      obviously my old graphics card is the bottleneck. I don't have a windows box here, but maybe someone who has a dualboot can test this benchmark.

    5. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by gowen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's pretty sad that when you say something even slightly critical of linux, you feel the need to defend yourself from the moderators by parading your linux qualifications to prove that your really truly one of the cognoscenti.

      (Beowulf Boy, this isn't a criticism of you, but the mentality of moderators)

      --
      Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
    6. 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.

    7. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by JudgeFurious · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's the way the system works. Say nothing critical of Linux, Acknowledge nothing positive in Windows, and you take your chances when making a comment on OSX. That is of course because you never know which moderator you're going to get. It might be the Apple zealot or it might be the guy who's so sick of Apple zealots that he slams you down for daring to mention it.

      At least with Linux and Windows you know where you stand. ..."all your Beowulf clusters in Soviet Russia belong to us for Profit!!!" may be the only truly safe ground in here.

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
    8. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      At least with Linux and Windows you know where you stand.

      You're not even safe there. I've been modded down multiple times for saying Windows98 was unstable.

    9. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by kmike · · Score: 2, Informative

      Copy-pasting my post from under the earlier story about Doom3 Linux release:

      Using the same config (1280x1024, High settings, 8xAF, no AA, all effects on) on Athlon XP 1.4GHz /640mb RAM/GeForce FX 6800, timedemo demo1 precache:
      Win98se/Forceware 61.21: 30.1 fps
      Linux 2.6.7/NVidia drivers 61.11: 28.9 fps

      So perfomance is very close, which probably attributes to slow CPU. One difference is that Windows Doom3 version is 1.0 - I didn't bother to download 1.1 and hack it to work in Win98 (shame on id for yielding to MS and dropping win98 support!).

      On the other hand, I didn't bother to quit whole bunch of terminals and Mozilla and vicq and what not when running Linux version :)

    10. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by pe1rxq · · Score: 3, Funny

      You weren't modded redundant by any chance?

      --
      Secure messaging: http://quickmsg.vreeken.net/
    11. 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?
    12. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by FooBarWidget · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yeah so tell me, why do so many EXTREMELY Linux-critical posts on Slashdot get modded up? Even posts that claim that Linux-critical posts will get modded down, are modded up. You are either very ignorant, or lying.

    13. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by Rico_Suave · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "(shame on id for yielding to MS and dropping win98 support!)"

      Why? Win98 is ancient and deserves to be dropped - the sooner the better.

    14. 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?

    15. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by TelJanin · · Score: 2, Insightful

      All it means is that ATI sucks for 3D Linux gaming of any sort. For example, my printer spews out random ASCII characters every time I try to print from it in Windows. That doesn't mean that Windows sucks for printing, it means the printer's driver sucks.

    16. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by TelJanin · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Being closed-source has never stopped NVidia's drivers from being great.

    17. Re:I wonder if the hardware specs are the same... by wheany · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, if Linux only has shitty drivers for one brand of cards, that kind of diminishes the suitability of Linux for games. No matter who makes the drivers.

  3. Nothing for you to see here. Please move along. by Realistic_Dragon · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, yes, but isn't that what the duct_tape_flashlight mod is for?

    --
    Beep beep.
  4. Errm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Game patch for WIndows, Linux version. Can someone tell me what the difference is?

    1. Re:Errm by mirko · · Score: 2, Funny

      Linux is a patch aimed as a Windows replacement for PC users ;)

      --
      Trolling using another account since 2005.
  5. Decent info here. by will_die · · Score: 3, Funny

    DUP and the really bad thing is that they are posted right after each other as seen here.

  6. ATI Drivers by kaleco · · Score: 5, Informative

    The ID release information suggests that ATI might finally get their finger out and are working towards decent Linux drivers. This would surely be a great contribution to Linux, even for non-Doomers ;)

    --
    Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped. Calvin Coolidge
    1. Re:ATI Drivers by sundru · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yeah i got a ati 9800 pro and the fglrx drivers suck big time , quake 3 comes up with a black screen with something like ascii symbols moving.

      Have a look at
      http://www.petitiononline.com/atipet/petition.html /

      to meet other frustrated people . i even sent a couple of emails to ATI folks

    2. Re:ATI Drivers by wowbagger · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I will beleive ATI will release decent drivers when I load the driver on my machine and it works.

      X.org V6.8 has been out for how long now, and in pre-release for how long, and yet, ATI does not have a build of their drivers for it. All the major distros have gone to X.org over XFree86, and yet ATI is not supporting the current release of X.org - this would be like them not supporting DirectX 9 for Windows.

      Their drivers do not support the tuner subsystem on their cards, nor is it possible to get the GATOS stuff to work with their drivers. Y'know, the tuners that are one of the big differentiators between the ATI cards and the nVidia cards?

      In many ways, the only thing worse than no support is support which hath only one buttocks, to paraphrase the Boomer Bible. If you know you will get NO support, you can at least eliminate them from the list of cards you will get. But half-assed support makes you think that, just perhaps, if you give them another chance, they might just support you enough this time - like victim of spousal abuse giving their partner "one more chance because they really do love me, honest!"

      It is truly unfortunate - you have the choice of binary-only support from nVidia, binary support from ATI, or source support for old cards.

      --
      www.eFax.com are spammers
    3. Re:ATI Drivers by Skevin · · Score: 2, Informative
      Even though my general experience is that ATI drivers have traditionally been a little dodgy, I've gone with SuSE because they have their own special fglrx drivers and instructions which don't involve quite as many steps as the normal methods of installation... plus you don't have to recompile the whole thing. My experience with games on ATI is as follows:
      • FLGRX 3.7: Screensavers work fine, but that's about it.
      • FLGRX 3.9: Winex still crashes, UT2004 still crashes, but Neverwinter Nights runs fine, with a few bugs.
      • FLGRX 3.11 (what I use currently with a mobility FireGL T2): NWN runs beautifully with all the bells and whistles (1024x768 at 32 bit). UT2004 runs okay at 1024x768x32 with some high quality textures and dynamic lighting @ ~28 FPS (UT2004 used to crash a lot on my ATI-based setups, but it seemed to stabilize with the UT2004 3323 patch). Winex still barfs on me
      • FLGRX 3.14.1: This is the latest and greatest(?) driver you can get for SuSE. Prelminary testing shows Alien Swarm runs decent now, but Winex still barfs on me. I will try the Doom installer later today, and respond with my own benchmarks on a 2GHz T42 Thinkpad with 2G and a 128MB Mobility FireGL T2.

      • If you just follow SuSE's instructions at the link I provided, you should be fine.

        Solomon Chang
      --
      "Twice half-assed makes an ass whole." --Solomon K. Chang
  7. 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.

  8. DUP! by JDizzy · · Score: 4, Informative

    I swear! The editors cannot search, and shame on Taco since he knows better!

    http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/0 4/ 2122236&tid=127&tid=106

    --
    It isn't a lie if you belive it.
    1. Re:DUP! by Hieronymus+Howard · · Score: 2, Informative

      The first one wasn't posted to the Slashdot front page. Since I, for one, don't usually read games.slashdot.org, I this was the first that I saw about it.

  9. Who cares??? by Isldeur · · Score: 5, Funny



    "the Linux edition of Doom 3 has been released by ID Software."

    Who cares about Doom?! I've been playing Duke Nukem Forever here on GNU Hurd for months!

  10. A few special notes by GweeDo · · Score: 5, Informative

    Be sure that your X Server is set to 24 bit mode. 16 bit mode won't workie. Also, it uses OSS for sound output. So all of us ALSA users had better have OSS emulation. Hope those two things help.

    --
    Unstable Apps: Our Android Apps Don't Suck
  11. Re:Jon Carmack, eh? by mirko · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Carmack could have been working for NASA or the US military, but instead he simply sits around coding violent computer games.

    Seems that you should have taken another example...

    --
    Trolling using another account since 2005.
  12. Linux for games? Hahaha-hey wait. by Faust7 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This ought to go a long way towards legitimizing Linux as a gaming platform. It's Doom 3, for god's sake. Hard to get bigger than that. As long as they're able to standardize installation across some of the most popular distros.

    --
    The coolest voice ever.
  13. 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?|
    1. Re:oh no, not again... by pgrst · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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 $$$.

      you say that like it's a bad thing. ID is a business, not a charity. The economics are probably very simple. The Windows version will likely turn a profit several orders of magnitude larger than a linux version.

      If I worked for ID I know which version I would concentrate on.....

  14. Do I have to pay twice? by a_nonamiss · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Please forgive my ignorance, but would I have to buy a seperate version for Linux, or does my serial number for the Windows version somehow allow me to download the Linux binary?

    Not that this question isn't entirely academic, because my Linux box isn't capable of running Doom 3 anyways, but I am just curious how they are handling this.

    --
    -Arthur
    Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
    1. Re:Do I have to pay twice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      does my serial number for the Windows version somehow allow me to download the Linux binary?

      There's no serial number check - anyone can download the game binary. However it's useless without the game data files which you'll have to copy from a windows install or from the CDs.

    2. Re:Do I have to pay twice? by rpdillon · · Score: 2, Informative

      To answer your question, the install*does* go through without asking, but the first time you play *online* it asks you to provide the serial number.

  15. 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.

    1. Re:Dumb question by DrXym · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Yes, but in this instance has a CD key in addition to copy protection. What's it matter that I have the disc inserted thereafter, so long as I've fed the thing a validated key.

      If it wants to verify the disc is copy protected it can do it during the key validation. Thereafter it should really make no difference.

      Besides copy protection is a joke. It takes literally a few hours at most for someone to crack a game - I'm sure Doom 3 is already available over P2P in cracked versions - and I know there are cracks on GameCopyWorld. But I'd rather trust ID to produce a CD-free version that Joe R00t. If

      As I see it, copy protection at play time is a pain in the ass, especially as so many games require a key or serial number to play.

  16. 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
    1. Re:Whither OS X ?? by blakespot · · Score: 4, Informative
      Well...let's see.

      The day the G5 arrived at my home I installed 2GB of Crucial PC3200 RAM (four 512MB DIMMs), bringing the total system RAM up to 2.5GB. I also installed a 74GB WD Raptor 10,000 RPM SATA HD, delegating the existing 250GB Maxtor for use as a "data" drive while the Ratpor takes on the boot / application storage role. I plugged my trusty external, FireWire 250GB Maxtor in to use as a backup drive.

      A few weeks later I added a 3.3v PCI FireWire board with 3 ports. I've got a couple iPods, an iSight web cam, an external FireWire HD, and my DV cam to mate with the G5 from time to time. The extra ports make things a little easier.

      Right now the machine has a Radeon 9600XT in the AGP 8x slot, as I'd mentioned in the original post. In the next few weeks I should be getting a GeForce 6800 Ultra which I will swap in for the Radeon. There's another upgrade.

      I am trying to think what else I might wish to upgrade but will be unable, due to the difficulty you cite in upgrading Macs. I've got a 1250MHz CPU bus, and so I probably won't be wishing I could upgrade my motherboard anytime soon - but that would be a hard thing to do, granted. The two 2.5GHz, liquid-cooled CPU's are on a large daughterboard that connectst with the motherboard through dual CPU jacks. This would seem to allow 3rd parties to offer CPU upgrades down the road. They've certainly done so for the G3's and G4's in the past. I guess we'll have to wait and see. And it would be difficult to add another internal optical drive, I'll grant you. Given that this is a DVD writer capable of burning CD's, I've not go a great need for an additional unit that I can see. I suppose copying a DVD or CD would require caching to disk with just one drive, but I can probably squeeze that data somewhere amongst the G5's 575GB of on-line storage.

      So I've got bluetooth, integrated modem, GHz ethernet, 5 FireWire 400 ports, 1 FireWire 800 port, 2 USB 2.0 ports, analog audio in/out, digital (optical) audio in/out, an additional headphone jack, AirPort 802.11g as an option, dual screen support via digital outputs, and 2 empty PCI-X slots. How am I held back again?


      blakespot

      --
      -- Heisenberg may have slept here.
      iPod Hacks.com
    2. Re:Whither OS X ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
      How am I held back again?


      No Doom 3. ZING!

    3. Re:Whither OS X ?? by snuf23 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Damn. I've never felt so dirty reading someone describe their computer before.
      You don't by any chance were a black beret, have a goatee and show up on Penny Arcade from time to time do you?

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
  17. Re:Jon Carmack, eh? (Butterfly Effect) by Reverant · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Let's suppose for a moment that your points are true; and that because of Doom/Quake/etc, 100 people have been killed worldwide in events like the one you menton.

    Now, let's suppose that Carmack worked for "the US military" instead. He could have developed a new incredible cluster bomb, that was first tested en masse in Iraq and killed 1000s of people.

    Never forget the Butterfly effect. You can NEVER predict what your actions may trigger as a result. I'm sure Einstein didn't see it coming when his nuclear research was used to build the nuclear bomb and killed 100,000 people in Japan during WWII.

  18. Re:Well.. by gerddie · · Score: 3, Informative

    Hmm, slashdot bug perhaps.
    Certainly not - not all articles make it to the main page. Maybe what's missing is an "All sections" page.

  19. It worked fine by tod_miller · · Score: 4, Funny

    until all hell broke loose, then I hit alt-ctrl-~, did a ps -aux and hit kill -9 on everything I could find.

    I think I must have been out of ammo or something, because it kept giving me stick about command not find.

    I tried apt-get and still nothing.

    No seriously, everything works fine, except all the PDAs on the base don't work right, because I guess linux on the PDA is a bit immature for the martian market :-)

    --
    #hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
  20. Linux vs Windows performance by yoyhed · · Score: 5, Informative

    During the intro level, I get around 45 fps average in Linux, and 60 fps in Windows. My guess would be just that nvidia's Linux geforce driver hasn't had as much time put into it as their Windows one.

    But I did notice it started up faster, and was smoother/faster in the menus in Linux than in Windows. And the whole computer wasn't slow for 30 seconds after I exited out of the game in Linux.

    By the way, this story is a dupe, it was posted in the Games section yesterday (by a different submitter) so if you want more info check that out too.

    WinXP Pro / Slackware 10
    800x600 Medium Quality
    AthlonXP 2800+
    512mb ddr400
    Geforce FX 5700 Ultra

    --
    WHO NEEDS SHIFT WHEN YOU HAVE CAPSLOCK/ DAMN1
  21. Hrmmph by Cirrius · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well damn, the linux version of here I can't complain anymore. Oh wait, hey id where's the damn MAC port huh?? There's like 27 people waiting for it, chop chop!

  22. Why not use SDL? by Izaak · · Score: 4, Insightful

    id have ALWAYS used OpenGL for the graphics rendering. But they use DirectX for sound on windows, which is what will take time to convert to *nix..

    I've heard this said before and wondered why they don't use a combination of SDL/Alsa/OpenGL to keep it cross platform. I've been doing that and have a single code base that compiles to Linux, Windows, and Mac with no nasty piles of #ifdef'ed code.

    --

    The Bolachek Journals

    1. Re:Why not use SDL? by Dogers · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not knowing much (read: anything) about SDL and ALSA on windows, my guess is they dont want to be stuck supporting that if theres any problems with it. Why bother with that hassle when the numbers of people donwloading and actually USING the linux version are so small compared with that of windows?

      --
      I am a viral sig. Please copy me and help me spread. Thank you.
    2. Re:Why not use SDL? by brendan_orr · · Score: 3, Informative

      I think you mean OpenAL instead of Alsa
      Aside from that, I agree with you wholeheartily

    3. 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.

    4. 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).

      --

      The Bolachek Journals

    5. 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.

  23. Next on Slashdot by imr · · Score: 5, Funny

    -Doom3 Linux binary released. by Timothy.
    -Release of the Doom3 Linux version. by michael.
    -Linux Doom3 finally released. by Cliff.
    -A look at the socio-economics behind the Linux Doom3 release. by JKatz
    -The Doom3 Linux server is included in the Linux Doom3 release. By CowboyNeal.
    - Doom 3 for Linux Released. by CmdrTaco who doesnt even read his own stories.

    1. Re:Next on Slashdot by jaredbpd · · Score: 2, Funny

      Now I'm glad I filter out Jon Katz! I just couldn't handle that many Doom 3 stories, LOL

    2. Re:Next on Slashdot by ExoticMandibles · · Score: 3, Funny

      Don't forget, in two months we'll get "Doom 3 Now Available On Linux" as submitted by Roland Piqualle!

  24. Re:Is Doom 3 free ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    The Linux binaries are a free download, but you still need to buy the CD that contains the rest of the game.

  25. Re:Jon Carmack, eh? by Begossi · · Score: 4, Funny

    I still remember the good days when we didn't have computer games, and thus no violence at all.

    --
    Friend of the Wise, Brother of the Brave.
  26. BitTorrent by chadruva · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm glad they provide a bittorrent for it, their FTP server has been full for a while!

    --
    C-x C-c
  27. Works great ... but ... by bushboy · · Score: 5, Informative

    Tried it today on slack 10, 2.6.7 kernel, 6111 drivers.

    Got pretty much exactly the same timedemo benchmark as win32 (same box), although I could swear it felt smoother and sharper somehow.
    I think I can coax a bit more out of it - I could with Linux Quake3.

    Pity about the 5.1 sound - I really hope they get a patch for that soon as it's a big part of what makes the game fun.

    For the record, it seems you have to be running X in 24bit mode - unsure if that was the case for quake3 too ?

    Another thing, which would only apply to the small percentage interested - no editor support under linux.
    No idea if this is planned for a future patch, but GTKRadiant now supports Doom 3 (without the render preview in the current build)

    Still, kudos to id software for supporting Linux !

    --
    A slashdotting - you get the stick first and then the carrot !
  28. id Bittorrent tracker by O0o0Oblubb!O0o0O · · Score: 5, Informative

    This should get you playing in no time.

    http://zerowing.idsoftware.com:6969/

  29. Linux gaming benchmarks on Anandtech.com by IronChefMorimoto · · Score: 5, Informative

    As a nice companion to this Doom3 Linux release, there's also a Linux gaming benchmark article on Anandtech.com this morning:

    http://www.anandtech.com/linux/showdoc.aspx?i=2229

    It's more of an AGP GPU on Linux comparison, but the information on some of the setup was, for a Linux newbie like me, a little informative. I had considered doing a Linux installation on my A64 gaming machine (using a separate hard drive) and installing some of the Linux versions of games that are mentioned in the article.

    I'm curious, though -- do most of the mainstream game Linux versions come on the CD-ROM or have to be downloaded from the developer? Doom3, for example, requires the Windows CD for adding some files to the Linux installation. Enemy Territory is standalone. What about Jedi Knights: Jedi Academy, as mentioned in the Anandtech article? On the CD-ROM? Or a free download without requiring anything from the original Windows CD-ROM?

    Anyway -- a good article. I enjoyed seeing information about gaming on Linux. Now, I just gotta get an Nvidia card so I don't have to struggle as a Linux newbie with the ATI driver installation.

    IronChefMorimoto

  30. Hmm.. interesting, but with a number of gotchas.. by d_jedi · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Linux version only requires a P3 1.0GHz, while the Windows version needs a P4 1.5GHz (although with the P4's incredibly long pipeline, the difference isn't as big as you might think..)

    But look at the FAQ for a number of gotcha!s..
    - No AMD64 build (this would have been sweet.. but, oh well.. not a showstopper)
    - Won't run on ATI cards using the fglrx driver! I don't know.. is this the driver used by ALL ATI cards for Linux? If so, this is a major issue for anyone wanting to play the game on Linux..
    - No 5.1 sound.. considering that the eerie sounds are a good part of what makes the game..

    In all, I'll be sticking to using the Windows version of the game :->

    --
    I am the maverick of Slashdot
  31. ATI drivers and running under FC2 by bernywork · · Score: 4, Informative

    AWESOME!!!!

    There were some new drivers released the other day.

    I installed these applied the fedora patch and it runs just fine on a Radeon 9600. Not that fast mind you, but it certainly works.

    BTW, if you are attempting to download, try the Bitorrent network, I pulled down the installer in about 30 seconds.

    --
    Curiosity was framed; ignorance killed the cat. -- Author unknown
  32. Re:Hmm.. interesting, but with a number of gotchas by shadow303 · · Score: 3, Informative

    The fglrx driver is the only driver which provides 3d support for anything newer than a radeon 9200. The specs for cards up to (and I beleive including) 9200 were released and there is 3d support using open source drivers.

    Yes, the ATI problem is a major issue, but at this point, we are used to getting the shaft from ATI.

    --
    I've got a mind like a steel trap - it's got an animal's foot stuck in it.
  33. 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.

  34. Re:Simple thanks by rpdillon · · Score: 2, Informative

    Just download the client. They've already said there won't be a Linux box set.

  35. Does this mean we can now run it on -this- pc? by sserendipity · · Score: 2, Funny


    Cray XD1

  36. Re:Simple thanks by sloanster · · Score: 2, Informative

    tuxgames.com will be packaging the linux binaries with the data files and a linux installer - I've got doom3 for linux on order with them - if you want a doom 3 for linux boxed set, you might consider giving them your business.

  37. It's pretty obvious why by Laebshade · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Monkeys. Lots and lots of monkeys with high UIDs. And mod points.

  38. Historically speaking by babybird · · Score: 2, Informative

    iD has always done this with the windows version after several patches. They only have the copy protection in the codebase for the first several versions of the software. But I doubt they'll remove the serial number requirement.

    I think Quake 3 lost the CD protection around version 3.12 or 3.17 or something like that. It was the same with Quake 2. CD protection always goes bye bye in the Windows version in a later patch.

    --
    Keith D.
  39. Works for me... by Dimensio · · Score: 2, Informative

    I use the pistol-flashlight mod, and I have no problems. In fact, I was able to simply copy over the pak file addons that I use (some new SFX, a gore mod, pistol flashlight and a chaingun tweak) and they all work.

    --
    STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
  40. Re:Simple thanks by MikeBabcock · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I much prefer going to a big computer retailer and asking for Linux software.

    Not because I like paying Electronics Boutique prices, but because it makes them tell the publishers "we're getting requests for Linux software".

    --
    - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)