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Postal III, Source Engine Still Coming To Linux

Posted by Soulskill on from the better-late-than-never dept.

An anonymous reader writes "It appears that the Source Engine Postal III game is coming to Linux as was originally planned and is slated for release in May, according to the Running With Scissors CEO. 'Yes we are still planning a Linux release. We, that is RWS, are waiting for a final beta from our production team in Moscow. Like you and yours, we are anxious and frustrated. ... It looks like May if all goes well. We are hopeful to reach a distribution deal at GDC and [worst] case we go [direct download] and will find another team [for] Linux.'"

90 comments

  1. and they say by Nyder · · Score: 2

    linux don't get good games.

    --
    Be seeing you...
    1. Re:and they say by Warma · · Score: 1, Redundant

      Are you seriously implying that the Postal series have been considered good games?

    2. Re:and they say by miffo.swe · · Score: 1

      Cant agree more, i love the Postal games. Especially multiplayer was hilarious in Postal 2. I loved the movie even more but sadly it was denied any form of distribution because it wasnt PC.

      --
      HTTP/1.1 400
    3. Re:and they say by amnesia_tc · · Score: 1

      The Postal movie was the best movie adaptation of a video game ever. It was everything a movie based on Postal should have been.

    4. Re:and they say by Saint+Gerbil · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Quite frankly I'd say that the Postal series is actually bad for gaming they are normally quite poor, and create a lot of controversy which the developers nor publishers address.
      Which is just plain bad for the medium.

    5. Re:and they say by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      For a Uwe Boll movie, that thing was a fucking masterpiece.

    6. Re:and they say by Tom · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I disagree quite heavily.

      Postal is the only game series where your quest is to buy some milk, and then you go out and kill everything that moves. Does that kind of remind you of your typical MMO quest, except it's a lot more honest about the "yeah, we only make up a thin excuse of a story so you don't feel like it's mindless killing" part?

      They also made fun of terrorists back when everyone else was afraid of them.

      It's certainly not a masterpiece, but there's a bit more in it than what you make out, and it rightfully has its fans.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    7. Re:and they say by Richard_at_work · · Score: 1

      We don't know if Postal III is any good yet....

    8. Re:and they say by miffo.swe · · Score: 1

      Uwe Boll has surprised me a lot and made movies that are very good actually. Rampage is a must see if you havent seen it already. With Uwe Boll as both writer and director you probably expect a turkey but its really good. Same with darfur, had to check two times who directed it.

      --
      HTTP/1.1 400
    9. Re:and they say by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 1

      Badger in a harness.

      Badger.

      IN A HARNESS!

      --
      Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
    10. Re:and they say by Schadrach · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The funny part being that it possible to get a significant part of the way through the game, if not complete it, without killing anyone. Which just shows you how bloodthirsty you really are. =p

    11. Re:and they say by DrXym · · Score: 1

      We don't know if Postal III is any good yet....

      Anyone who has suffered through the previous Postal titles would be surprised if it was.

    12. Re:and they say by Tim+C · · Score: 1

      On the contrary, I for one quite enjoyed Postal 2. Yes it's just an excuse for committing mindless violence, but so what? So is just about every other FPS, MMO, etc when you get right down to it. There's something refreshingly honest about it.

      Besides, just because you can shock people with a taser, set them on fire then piss on them to put them out doesn't mean you have to. You decide how violent you want to be.

      --
      It's official. Most of you are morons.
    13. Re:and they say by DrXym · · Score: 1

      On the contrary, I for one quite enjoyed Postal 2. Yes it's just an excuse for committing mindless violence, but so what? So is just about every other FPS, MMO, etc when you get right down to it. There's something refreshingly honest about it.

      I had no issue with the violence in Postal 2. I like games where enemies are reduced to giblets as much as the next person. But I had plenty of issue with the horrific loading times, the badly designed levels and the mindless repetitiveness of it. I still recall the nausea I felt after playing, wandering around maze after maze of boxy levels. I just thought it was a bad game.

    14. Re:and they say by Nimey · · Score: 1

      Don't know about you, but I was unimpressed with Postal II. Completely aside from the gratuitous violence, it just wasn't a very good game.

      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
    15. Re:and they say by Fri13 · · Score: 1

      Give me funny, innovative and good games like Magicka with price 10-20 euros for Linux and it as gameplatform would rise like a phoenix (Magicka).
      Even if now posting a Source engine to Linux and Valve would give all its own games for Linux, Windows would suffer a lot, while Mac and Linux would start gaining even more popularity in homes.

    16. Re:and they say by somersault · · Score: 1

      Ah, I'd been completely avoiding anything he did after reading negative things about him here. Thanks :)

      --
      which is totally what she said
    17. Re:and they say by elrous0 · · Score: 2

      Say what you want, but Postal 2 was one of the most hilarious games I've ever played. The shootout involving Gary Coleman capped off what had to be the funniest sidequest in videogame history.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    18. Re:and they say by elrous0 · · Score: 2

      Postal was the first Uwe Boll movie that seemed consciously funny. It was actually pretty funny.

      And Postal 2 was hilarious. I don't care if the game was technically great or not, it was funny as hell. I got way more entertainment out of that and Apocalypse Weekend than I ever got out of any award-winning game. Fuck Master Chief, I'll take The Postal Dude any day.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    19. Re:and they say by Desler · · Score: 1

      Even if now posting a Source engine to Linux and Valve would give all its own games for Linux, Windows would suffer a lot,

      Why would windows suffer? The source engine doesn't cover the other 99.999% of games that still don't run natively in Windows.

    20. Re:and they say by Desler · · Score: 1

      "Natively in Linux".

    21. Re:and they say by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Postal2 was a great game unless you were tighter than the queen's cootch..

    22. Re:and they say by amicusNYCL · · Score: 1

      I won't comment on the level design other than saying I thought it was fine for the time, but they did release an update pretty soon after retail that reduced the loading times by a lot.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    23. Re:and they say by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Ah, I'd been completely avoiding anything he did after reading negative things about him here. Thanks :)

      It's a trap!

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    24. Re:and they say by calmofthestorm · · Score: 1

      Postal 1: Really? I never managed to make it five minutes in someone chasing me around with a shotgun, even when (as far as I know) I did everything peacefully.

      --
      93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
  2. And they're right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's because it doesn't. Postal 1 & 2 aren't exactly masterpieces

  3. Yes!!! by miffo.swe · · Score: 1

    I love you running with scissors!!!111omgponies!!!!!

    --
    HTTP/1.1 400
  4. woot, Postal 3 by Tom · · Score: 2

    Didn't even know it was coming. Very cool.

    Looking forward to a game that makes no stupid excuses. Let's shoot some innocents in the head. It's a game, after all.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    1. Re:woot, Postal 3 by i20AuLion · · Score: 0

      In videogames, you play against your own competence or against other players. The one which shows the most mastery at the game win. The goal of the game is competition. In simulators, you get to do something you could not because it would be too dangerous to attempt in reality. Driving a race car, an airplane, a train, ship, etc. The goal of the game/simulator is to procure an experience otherwise impossible or not convenient. I didn't get to play a lot of Postal. I don't remember if it was the first or the second but I remember the developers saying "it's a life simulator, the game doesn't require you to kill people. If you kill innocents, it's your own choice." Kind of hypocrite to give player guns and nothing to shoot. I guess Postal ain't a game, it IS a simulator: a civilian killing simulator. Let the game developers do what they want, but when they produce tasteless crap like Postal, don't support them. God damn, even GTA was a fucking masterpiece compared to that postal crap. And I don't like GTA.

    2. Re:woot, Postal 3 by Tom · · Score: 1

      In videogames, you play against your own competence or against other players. The one which shows the most mastery at the game win. The goal of the game is competition.

      That is an extremely simplified view. While many people compete in sports for the very same reason, others use sports to feel better, excercise, be with friends - and competition enters very late, if at all. In my final school years, I was in a local Volleyball team. We went to competitions every now and then, and usually lost horribly. It didn't matter to us, because the fun, and being with the same group of people you liked regularily, was what counted most.

      Same with games. Some games you play to win, some you play because you enjoy them. Some for the story and some for the challenge, and some just because you want an activity you can share with your 200 km away girlfriend.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  5. What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Did hell freeze over? Is it april fool's already? Am I dreaming?

    1. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, it's the same site that said Steam linux was coming soon.

    2. Re:What? by WorBlux · · Score: 2

      Steam on Linux? *Shivers*

  6. Running With Scissors CEO. by bronney · · Score: 1

    It's ok "Running With Scissors CEO". We will be too busy playing Duke Nukem Forever anyway.. wouldn't we?

  7. Never mind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought you were talking about Portal II.

  8. I'll believe it when I see it by LingNoi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is coming from the same site that said Steam was coming to linux too. Don't get too hyped up just yet..

    1. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by IronSight · · Score: 1

      Nuff said. I swear, someone needs to filter out these moronix stories. It feels like they get their stories from a nine year old telling rumors to the geek table at the lunch room. "Hey man, it's official, microsoft is porting halo to linux!!! ZOMG!!! I heard from a bobby who told johnny who told jamal! It must be true!"

    2. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Granted there was very compelling evidence. But yes, they did overhype it and grantee things that were never announced officially.

    3. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by vadim_t · · Score: 1

      Why would I want Steam on Linux? Hell will freeze over before I'll install that.

      What I do want is a proper package repository.

    4. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by DrXym · · Score: 2

      Why would I want Steam on Linux? Hell will freeze over before I'll install that.

      To play commercial games on Linux? Steam already works through WINE but the game support is pretty ropey - some games work others won't even start.

      I'm surprised that Codeweavers or Transgaming hasn't approached Valve to produce a a free but supported version of Steam for Linux with games running under emulation. They'd get a % cut of the sales for supporting the product. Transgaming's Cider is the tech that most OS X game ports use anyway.

    5. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To play commercial games on Linux?

      No. Steam doesn't play games. It's a form of package manager for a certain OS that lacks a good native package manager, combined with heavy DRM.

      Ported steam would be useless without ported games. If the games are running under Wine anyway, there's no point in having a native Steam. Run it under Wine (and get Wine fixed if that's where the problem is).

      And native games would not depend on releasing Steam for Linux, part of the porting process is to make the game run with what's available on the target platform. PS2 ports don't need Steam either.

    6. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by Desler · · Score: 1

      What compelling evidence? That there were a couple of ifdefs with Linux in them and an official statement from Valve was that they WEREN'T working on it? Yeah that's mighty compelling. One also has to remember that Michael first made this Steam for Linux claim back in 2008 which was a completely overblown thing and turned out wrong. Then he claimed last year in May that it was coming by the end of the summer. Then when that failed he kept claiming that it "was coming soon" and here we are 6 months later with still nothing. That anyone still gives Larabel any credibility is hilarious.

    7. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by vadim_t · · Score: 1

      To play commercial games on Linux? Steam already works through WINE but the game support is pretty ropey - some games work others won't even start.

      Steam isn't a virtual machine. To have games on Linux they need to be ported to it, and for that Steam is entirely unnecessary.

      Steam is a distribution platform and DRM. For distribution it's not needed because there are package managers. For the DRM part, I simply refuse to accept it, and won't buy any game that uses it.

      I'll happily buy games on Linux, so long they're native and don't have any crap like Steam attached. Humble Bundle being a nice example of that (got both)

    8. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by DrXym · · Score: 1

      Steam isn't a virtual machine. To have games on Linux they need to be ported to it, and for that Steam is entirely unnecessary.

      I never said Steam was a virtual machine. I said it works through WINE and when you launch a game that also works through WINE. i.e. you can install WINE, install Steam for Windows and run both Steam & downloaded games on Linux. The Steam client works pretty well, unfortunately games are hit and miss - some games work, some don't.

      And no, games don't have to be ported to Linux and its unlikely that many ever would be. Not even OS X gets as many ports as people think - most of them are recompiled Win32 apps linked against Cider which is Transgaming's equivalent to winelib for OS X.

      Realistically that's the only way you're ever going to ever see commercial games appear in any quantity on Linux - digital download platforms + games running over wine WINE or linked via winelib. If not Steam then Impulse or some other digital download infrastructure. Companies, e.g. Loki have already tried releasing native Linux ports and the venture failed miserably.

    9. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Steam DRM is usually never noticeable unless you're one of those weirdos without an internet connection. But feel free to be an ass to prove a point that nobody but you will care about though, we shall nod in your honor.

    10. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by vadim_t · · Score: 1

      Steam DRM is usually never noticeable unless you're one of those weirdos without an internet connection. But feel free to be an ass to prove a point that nobody but you will care about though, we shall nod in your honor.

      I'm one of those weirdos with a laptop that's not perpetually hooked to an internet connection, because sometimes it's used in the underground, on a plane, or in a foreign country where I have a hard time getting access everywhere.

      But feel free to be an ass to prove a point that nobody but you will care about though, we shall nod in your honor.

      No loss. I either spend less money, or spend it on rewarding developers that don't insist on releasing their games with crap attached. Either way, a good thing.

    11. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by vadim_t · · Score: 1

      Wine is very unreliable and not officially supported. I might give it a try for a free game, but I'm not paying one cent for that end-user experience.

      And no, games don't have to be ported to Linux and its unlikely that many ever would be. Not even OS X gets as many ports as people think - most of them are recompiled Win32 apps linked against Cider which is Transgaming's equivalent to winelib for OS X.

      That's different in that it constitutes official support, even if done in a half-assed way. If it breaks you'd expect them to fix it.

      Realistically that's the only way you're ever going to ever see commercial games appear in any quantity on Linux - digital download platforms + games running over wine WINE or linked via winelib. If not Steam then Impulse or some other digital download infrastructure.

      Nope, no go. Native, no Steam, no Impulse, no crap like that, or no sale.

      Companies, e.g. Loki have already tried releasing native Linux ports and the venture failed miserably.

      Loki appeared in 1998 and went defunct in 2001. That's a decade ago. Linux was barely starting to become viable for gaming and was nowhere as polished as it is now. I heard the company had management problems as well.

      Also, Steam didn't exist back then, yet go figure, games sold for Windows and Mac fine without it. Steam is entirely unnecessary.

    12. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah yes, the classical "I refuse to accept that Steam has a 'Go Offline' mode" argument. Learn about it before commenting again please.

      And grow up. Steam works amazingly well, is unobtrusive and would be an amazing boon for Linux. You aren't going to get high development cost games that are trivial to copy anymore - fast internet and the dishonesty of a huge number of people put an end to that. Steam isn't perfect, but it's a damned good compromise - I give up a little (accepting their DRM) and in return I get a RAPID download of any game I own onto any computer I choose whenever I want it.

    13. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by vadim_t · · Score: 1

      Ah yes, the classical "I refuse to accept that Steam has a 'Go Offline' mode" argument. Learn about it before commenting again please.

      Sure, but it still requires a connection at some point, no? Still don't like it.

      And grow up. Steam works amazingly well, is unobtrusive and would be an amazing boon for Linux.

      Nope. I use Linux in part because it lacks crap like this, so no, I'm not going to appreciate its addition.

      You aren't going to get high development cost games that are trivial to copy anymore - fast internet and the dishonesty of a huge number of people put an end to that.

      Well, what can I say, they'll have to make do without my money then.

      Also, BitTorrent is full of Steam games, so I fail to see the point.

      Steam isn't perfect, but it's a damned good compromise - I give up a little (accepting their DRM) and in return I get a RAPID download of any game I own onto any computer I choose whenever I want it.

      Nope. No compromise on this point. Mandatory Steam == no money for you, dear developer. Certainly not in exchange for "RAPID download", which I have no clue why you're so impressed with, when every game I bought was very much rapidly downloaded without Steam.

  9. We are anxious and frustrated... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    ...not something you want to hear from people who think up games like Postal.

  10. Foreign program team? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanks for letting me know that you outsourced the game to foreigners. So you can pay them nothing compared to an American programmer.

    Another game I refuse to buy.

    1. Re:Foreign program team? by cosmas_c · · Score: 0

      and ... you score

      Another comment I refuse to write

    2. Re:Foreign program team? by elrous0 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Russian programmer just fine. You like much. You like much or Yuri break arm.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    3. Re:Foreign program team? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Your clothes are made in china, as are most of your electronics (or Taiwan, South Korea, etc) your food comes from all over the place (that which IS US based is heavily subsidized). The oil you burn comes from the middle east, and all your phone support lines route through India. But please, don't let them take VIDEO GAMES!

      I'll support you in boycotting foreign made games the moment you refuse to wear foreign made clothes, buy foreign made electronics and drive a foreign car powered by foreign gas. Now that its happening to your industry, don't come crying to the rest of us who you gladly helped bury to save a few dollars on that big TV.

    4. Re:Foreign program team? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      You don't buy any games not written in US?

      Do you also not browse any foreign websites?

  11. The best thing about Postal III... by _Shad0w_ · · Score: 1

    ...is that Uwe Boll is actually going to be in it via the magic of motion capture. If you get to shoot him then I think a large number of critics may buy the game just for that.

    Mind you it apparently also has Ron Jeremy, a Playboy bunny and the original cowboy from the Village People, which is an interesting combo.

    --

    Yeah, I had a sig once; I got bored of it.

    1. Re:The best thing about Postal III... by __aaxtnf2500 · · Score: 1

      Especially because those same critics are afraid to face Boll mano a mano IRL.
      http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/ragingboll.html

  12. I think we all know exactly what this means. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It means it's going to be an extremely crappy game.

  13. Epic said there was going to be a Linux client. by gslavik · · Score: 1

    After the Epic scam, any news of anyone releasing any game for Linux is to be taken with a grain* of salt.

    * grain the size of the Moon.

    1. Re:Epic said there was going to be a Linux client. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A little background? At least game name? I'm interested, though unaffected (i only run linux headless)

    2. Re:Epic said there was going to be a Linux client. by __aaxtnf2500 · · Score: 1

      Epic released information for several years on the development of a Linux client for Unreal, which in many gamers eyes meant that any engine games would be easy to port to linux, and open up real tier-one gaming on the OS. This was all a long stream of FUD, however.
      http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ODI1OA

    3. Re:Epic said there was going to be a Linux client. by TheGhostface · · Score: 1

      A little background? At least game name? I'm interested, though unaffected (i only run linux headless)

      He's talking about the Unreal Tournament 3 linux port that was going on for years. They even released screenshots but eventually canceled the project after years without having anything released.

      However you should consider that both Postal 1 and Postal 2 (which ran on Unreal Tech) have been released with native linux support (client + server side), so have a little faith :)

    4. Re:Epic said there was going to be a Linux client. by VGPowerlord · · Score: 1

      However you should consider that both Postal 1 and Postal 2 (which ran on Unreal Tech) have been released with native linux support (client + server side), so have a little faith :)

      Postal 1 and Postal 2 were also on platforms where Epic actually did release a Linux port, though... so it's a case where someone else already did the majority of the work.

      --
      GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
    5. Re:Epic said there was going to be a Linux client. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have seriously confused a few things here...

      Epic did give the sources to UT to Loki. Loki ported it and afterwards Epic continued to give out updates to it. Also People made it possible to run Unreal with the UT binary.

      Then Epic released UT 2k3. They gave the sources to Ryan 'icculus' Gordon who ported the game and gave out updates as Epic released newer versions. Then came UT 2k4. Same thing happened.

      Then (or in between? i don't know) came Unreal 2. At no point did Epic state that there would be a linux port. No port was ever produced either.

      Then came UT3. Epic said there'd be a linux client. Ryan Gordon was working on it, even showed a screenshot of it, but IIRC for legal reasons of a 3rd-party library it was never released. Shame really; though i'd heard it was not nearly as good as the first one i'd have bought it.

    6. Re:Epic said there was going to be a Linux client. by kalirion · · Score: 1

      I've only played the first Postal game, which I won in some internet contest. Hated it, traded it away for The 7th Guest.

      And yet, I will say that it is extremely cynical to judge any developer/publisher by something that the soulless entity that is Epic did.

    7. Re:Epic said there was going to be a Linux client. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      postal 1 had nothing todo with epic, I am not exactly sure if RWS wrote the engine but I assume so. Also source + steam now runs on mac plus they already hinted at linux builds so it is not far fetched

  14. The real question is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... will it run natively or are they going to bundle it with WINE?

  15. They are desperate.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So desperate for paying customers they'll even put up a linux version.

    The multiplayer is full of people who make halo players look mature. Along with the company itself and it's support and forums.

    Most people will only buy 1 postal game. And then they grow up and want something better.

    It is funny. but funny only goes so far.

  16. Direct to digital video by tepples · · Score: 1

    I loved the movie even more but sadly it was denied any form of distribution because it wasnt PC.

    Then why not just distribute a politically incorrect movie on the PC, such as to the kinds of people who rent from Netflix Watch Instantly or buy from iTunes? Plenty of erotic film studios have chosen that route.

  17. Linux doesn't have package manager with DRM by tepples · · Score: 1

    It's a form of package manager for a certain OS that lacks a good native package manager, combined with heavy DRM.

    Which OS does have a native package manager combined with heavy DRM, other than the Mac App Store that Mac OS X just recently added? Popular package managers used on GNU/Linux, such as apt or yum, don't have any form of DRM, not even password authentication before downloading; they assume that any non-free package is still free to redistribute. Without DRM, any publisher big enough for retail will stick to the consoles. It's happened to Epic, and it's happened to Capcom (Street Fighter IV isn't getting updates on PC).

    Run it under Wine (and get Wine fixed if that's where the problem is).

    Except most companies make no effort to "get Wine fixed" because they think the (minuscule) added market wouldn't be worth the cost.

    PS2 ports don't need Steam either.

    Because they have the PS2's built-in DRM, which typically needs an illegal modchip to circumvent.

  18. Big Mac Index by tepples · · Score: 2

    Thanks for letting me know that you outsourced the game to foreigners. So you can pay them nothing compared to an American programmer.

    Then perhaps the problem is with foreign farmers, who are paid nothing compared to an American farmer. Cheaper food means cheaper land, and both mean a foreign programmer can earn less and still live in reasonable comfort. Are you comparing wages using exchange rate with U.S. dollars, as I suspect, or are you comparing them using purchasing power parity measures such as the exchange rate with Big Mac sandwiches? If the former, all you're telling me is that some foreign currencies are temporarily undervalued vs. the U.S. dollar.

  19. How is Wine not native? by tepples · · Score: 1

    Wine is not an emulator. Wine is an executable loader and an implementation of the Win32 toolkit. Saying a Wine application on a GNOME- or KDE Plasma-based distribution is "not native" is like saying a Qt application running on a GNOME-based distribution is "not native", or a Gtk+ application running on a KDE Plasma-based distribution is "not native".

    1. Re:How is Wine not native? by atomic-penguin · · Score: 1

      Last time I checked GTK and QT apps do use native ELF executable formats. Win32 PE is a foreign executable app, the Linux kernel can't load these directly like they can with ELF. Its really not the same thing at all.

      Wine has improved quite a bit over the years. However, there is still a performance gap when running foreign Win executables through Wine. Performance issues aside, there are still areas where Wine has not yet fully implemented the Win32 API.

      The post to which you replied never said anything about emulation. Until the day I can check a box in my kernel config to natively load Win32 PE binaries, its a foreign executable format.

      --
      /^([Ss]ame [Bb]at (time, |channel.)){2}$/
  20. Can't wait for this one. by santax · · Score: 1

    The day it comes out I am gonna rent a a complete fanfare to accompany me to the store where I will buy the game :D

  21. Portal by fahlesr1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I read the story title and thought it said "Portal III, Source Engine Still Coming to Linux". I was so full of happiness and joy! A triple hit! Another Portal game, Source and Linux IN THE SAME STORY. Perhaps, once Portal was on Linux valve would port Counterstrike Source and I could forever abandon Windows! I saw a vision of a broken window, and through it poured fresh, pine scented air and butterflies and hypo-allergenic puppies. It was the happiest moment of my life.

    Then I read the title again and I cried.

    1. Re:Portal by Desler · · Score: 1

      You should have known something was fishy just by the fact that it's a Phoronix link. Michael Larabel has been beating the "Steam for Linux coming soon!!!" drum for going on 3 years now.

    2. Re:Portal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Portal works fine for me on Linux under Wine. So does TF2. (Except some mic issues.)

    3. Re:Portal by santax · · Score: 1

      *make a hole in the wall and step through it* vs *kill a fanfare and gary coleman* And yet he choses Portal... *sigh*. "Those who give up Postal for Portal deserve neither" - Santax.

    4. Re:Portal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, I thought the same thing. The only thing that has kept me running windows is game compatibility. WINE notwithstanding.

  22. This fits perfectly with my plans by Daniel+Phillips · · Score: 1

    This fits perfectly with my plans to dump Sony. That is, no new console from Sony, ever. I am tired of being frustrated and humiliated by Sony, and I am out hundreds of dollars of repair bills for their defective products.

    Mind you, my replacement for Sony will not be Microsoft (way too evil) or Nintendo (way too cutesy). It will be a Linux game box, and as far as I am concerned, any game that does not run on Linux from then on does not exist. It's not like I have time to play all the games I have now anyway.

    I also intend to do my part to help the nascent indie/open Linux game industry get off the ground. There will be a project announcement in due course.

    --
    Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
  23. How is userspace executable loading not native? by tepples · · Score: 1

    Wine is an executable loader and an implementation of the Win32 toolkit.

    Last time I checked GTK and QT apps do use native ELF executable formats.

    What practical effect does the choice of ELF or PE executable format have on an application's performance? In the MS-DOS era, were protected-mode applications compiled with DJGPP (such as Quake) considered not native because they used COFF instead of the built-in, real-mode-only MZ executable format?

    there are still areas where Wine has not yet fully implemented the Win32 API.

    "Wine is incomplete" is a valid criticism, but it's far from "Wine is not native".

    The post to which you replied never said anything about emulation.

    "Emulated" is the opposite of "native" in some senses.

    Until the day I can check a box in my kernel config to natively load Win32 PE binaries, its a foreign executable format.

    Graphics are not handled in the kernel; they're handled by X, a user-space process. Accessing an NTFS-formatted drive is not handled in the kernel; it's handled in FUSE, a userspace process. Likewise, printing and scanning are not handled in the kernel; they're handled by CUPS and SANE respectively. So why must executable loading be handled in the kernel in order to be "native"?

    1. Re:How is userspace executable loading not native? by atomic-penguin · · Score: 1

      You tried to argue that Wine being foreign to the Operating System is like arguing that Qt and GTK are not native to Linux. If Win32 PEs were native to Linux, you wouldn't need Wine to run "Windows native executables".

      Graphics are handled in the kernel and user space. File system drivers are handled by the kernel and user space. CUPS and SANE are system daemons and have nothing to do with the kernel, and your point is? You know what all your straw man arguments have in common, all those bloody things aren't Win32 PE executables.

      --
      /^([Ss]ame [Bb]at (time, |channel.)){2}$/
    2. Re:How is userspace executable loading not native? by tepples · · Score: 1

      You tried to argue that Wine being foreign to the Operating System is like arguing that Qt and GTK are not native to Linux.

      When the X Window System was first introduced, it was uncommon and therefore foreign to UNIX. When Microsoft Windows was first introduced, it was uncommon and therefore foreign to MS-DOS. It was thought that the command line was "native", and GUIs were for Macs. Heck, Windows apps even used a different executable format from MS-DOS.

      If Win32 PEs were native to Linux, you wouldn't need Wine to run "Windows native executables".

      I stated earlier that "Wine is an executable loader and an implementation of the Win32 toolkit". If Linux, kFreeBSD, and other kernels on which Wine runs could load PEs, this would eliminate the former but not the latter component. Wine would still need to be installed, just as Qt needs to be installed to run ELF executables that dynamically link to Qt.

      your point is?

      My point is that you haven't yet shown that it matters whether executable loading is handled by the kernel or by a user process, except in the strictest of W^X environments such as iOS. In fact, Wikipedia's article about Mac OS X's dynamic linker states that "most of the machine code that make up the dynamic linker is actually an external executable".

  24. pretty much stopped at by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "final beta from our production team in Moscow"
    "our production team in Moscow"
    "Moscow"

  25. yeahh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it is going to be released along side with and Steam for Linux, right?

  26. Re:Moscow? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

    Yes! Just think of those commies, touching your hard-earned dollars with their mucky fingers, defiling the portraits of American leaders. Yuck!

    Make sure you also don't hit a foreign web site while browsing - those commies are sneaky, and will insert ads in their sites, so as to lay hands on your cash in a roundabout way. Say no to terrorism - filter out all IPs outside of good old USA!

    God bless America!

  27. wholesale new era hats by chenyan636 · · Score: 0

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