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The State of Linux Gaming

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the games-people-play dept.

Srikant_Chaudhry writes "CTZ has an interesting article that talks about hardware and software problems, along with others, that is limiting Linux gaming as a whole. Here's a quote from their concluding paragraph: "As of this moment, gaming on Linux is still a little like the Wild West. It's somewhat chaotic, random and empty, but it can be very exciting too. As time progresses and the market matures, we will see a plethora of games on Linux. Right now, many distributions are concentrating on other materials, like making their distributions easy to use, and making sure they work well with all the different hardware. Once the Linux desktop has stabilized to a certain extent, you can expect to see developers turn their energies to better gaming support under Linux. That's when the Linux gaming market will really take off."

9 of 540 comments (clear)

  1. I'm willing to change by October_30th · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Give me tactical shooters like Operation Flashpoint, Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six and I'll get rid of Windows on my home computer.

    --
    The owls are not what they seem
    1. Re:I'm willing to change by kg_o.O · · Score: 5, Informative

      There you go

    2. Re:I'm willing to change by plover · · Score: 5, Informative
      Seconded! America's Army is The One True Game.

      The gameplay is brilliant: no "instant respawn". You die, well, you get to sit there and watch your buddies try to complete the mission. Since your opponents are also equally motivated to stay alive, they're usually much more challenging. The weapons and ammo aren't unlimited, you don't find Big Kegs O' Health laying on the ground, and you don't get powerups. There's no such thing as turning friendly fire on or off -- don't shoot your buddies or you'll get booted from the server and wind up in Leavenworth (worth exploring in cheat mode once or twice, by the way.) The graphics (especially since the 2.x release) are among the best in the industry -- great attention to detail. Most of the maps are fairly well balanced. And while you don't play an ongoing "character", your performance is still tracked, and counts for a little bit in selecting your position on each squad.

      Relatively few bugs, and PunkBuster to keep the cheating reduced to a playable level. All that and it's free -- you don't even have to sit through a "Join the Army" lecture to get it.

      I've played all the other FP shooters, and I keep coming back to AA for every one of those reasons above. I've not played it on Linux, so I can't swear to the performance on that platform, but if it can run on a crappy Windows box, it should run fine for you.

      --
      John
    3. Re:I'm willing to change by DenDave · · Score: 5, Funny

      Who cares about gaming? When you have a linux box you can have fun resolving dependancies, building packages and simply netcatting your little brothers porn traffic!!!

      --
      -if at first you don't succeed, stay the heck away from paragliding.
  2. Dupe! by nicholasharbour · · Score: 5, Funny

    I swear I read this EXACT story 3 years ago.

    --

    Nearly half of all people are below average
  3. Current state of my Linux gaming by JamesD_UK · · Score: 5, Funny
    ----+--
    |`....|
    |..f?.|
    |..@..|
    -------
    Lameness filter be gone! Lameness filter be gone! Lameness filter be gone!
  4. I can't agree with the statement... by cnelzie · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...that once the Linux desktop is easier to use that LInux Gaming will 'take off'.

    PC gaming 'Took Off' without PCs being easy/simple to use devices. Just remember back to the days of DOS with games like the original Wing Commander, not necesarily very easy to get running, when compared with installing and getting modern games to run under Windows.

    Linux gaming shouldn't be an afterthought, it should be a current thought, going along with the development of an easy to use desktop operating system.

    --
    If you ignore the other uses of a tool, does that make the tool less useful, or you less useful?
  5. Let's pick on the Linux community today! by HarveyBirdman · · Score: 5, Interesting
    GAME PROGRAMMER: How about we do a version for Linux?

    GAME COMPANY CEO: That's that OS used by those people who are rabid about not paying for anything involving software, right?

    GP: Yeah.

    GCC: Get back to work, dumbass, or I'll cut your balls off.

    Hey! I tease!

    --
    --- Ban humanity.
  6. Re:America's Army rocks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    AA:SF is cool. Can someone help me with the later missions. I've toppled the statue, and am holding my own against the insurgents, and I've seen the "Mission Accomplished" splash screen... but I can't seem to find the WMD anywhere? Is there a secret button I need to push somewhere?

    God be with you,
    George.