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Q3A for Linux Hitting Stores Today
Matt writes "Saw over at Ars Technica that Loki Games has announced that Quake 3 Arena for Linux is hitting stores like EB and Fry's today! I will certainly have to run by EB after work to see if this is true. Man, screw the egg-nog action - I'm gonna need some fraggin' if I'm going to survive a day with the in-laws."
How come people were saying they got it in the mail two weeks ago if it just came out today? I'm confused.
p.s. first post! woohoo!
"Software is like sex- the best is for free"
-Linus Torvalds
Woo! I'm there - hopefully the marketing peeps will realise that there's money in Linux games after this.
Chris.
Loki sent me Quake3Arena for Linux last week. I have been playing it ever since then, and it's WAY faster then the Windows version. But I still haven't gotten the box yet, just the CD and the CD-Key. It's a great thing that Quake3 for Linux will be sold in the stores!!
but what is EB and Frys?????
Am rather new to the states and have no clue...
Just now CompUSA and Best Buy, both of which
are not the above mentioned
Wow, it totally rocks on a G400!!
http://glx.on.openprojects.net/. A big thanks to johnc and everyone who worked on the G200/G400 GLX drivers!
I mean, seriously, what is the percentage of the gaming community that runs Linux? It's going to be very interesting to see how many copies they sell for Linux vs. for Windows (and, I suppose, for the Mac). It will be a big indicator of things to come. If this sells well, expect to see more Linux games. If it doesn't... Well, we'll see.
who's idea was it to bring out, what sounds to be a soon-to-be-very successful game on christmas-eve-eve? did they have devolpement problems or was it just bad timing on behalf of the marketers? i dunno, you tell me
Also, there are secret areas with Chris Evans and David Beckham naked and petrified.
If you can, try to find the petrification ray and the megajiz cannon!
Spice Man
Rumor was a copy of SuSE Linux was going to be packed in with the game, but there are kernel requirements listed on the site. Did they opt not to include a distro? I thought that would have been a GREAT way to get more users . . .
Thought? Anyone with a box want to comment?
Bad things often happen to good people,
It is up to them to see that they remain good.
I'm happy to see that Linux software, in general, is definitely getting more shelf space in retail stores.
This afternoon I took a stroll into the local "Software Etc" franchise store in midtown Manhattan. They had an entire shelf space stuffed with Red Hat 6.1 Deluxe boxes (plus a handful of Mandrakes and SuSE boxes).
Last time I was there was about a month ago. They did have a handful if Red Hat boxes tucked away, but that's about it. Now, they have an entire shelf up front near the entrance, which is not too shabby. Keep in mind that this is midtown Manhattan, where retail estate is pretty expensive, and stores tend to be really tiny (this Software Etc store was about as large as a medium-sized living room). Shelf space is at a premium.
--
EB Online has it here. Interestingly enough, they put the Linux version under Buissness Software!
Anonymous Hay goes in and I come out...
Well, I'll be buying this right after xmas - I've waited all this time, I can wait a few more days. What I'm miffed about is why it took so #$@! long. They should have released simultaniously - ID even said they would do this when they made the final release... they DID do concurrent releases during the demos / test builds. My only conclusion is that somebody wanted to see linux stumble alittle or skew the purchasing statistics. But if someone has a more simple explanation, that would probably be the correct one. Call me paranoid, but I think some big report will come out within the next three months pointing to the "failure" of Q3A for linux.
But Man was I surprised!
Apparently, Electronics Boutique only shipped one copy per store!
Here in Albuquerque, NM there are only two EB locations and they were the only stores in town to get a copy. Each store recieved only ONE box! Oh well, at least I got mine. To all the other geeks in town, I'm sorry guys... I needed my fix, guess you'll have to order yours online.
Forgive the rant, but the Linux retail release coming out now is kind of pointless. If idsoftware really wanted to get an accurate measure of how well linux games will sell in the marketplace they should have released simultaneously across both the win32 and linux platforms.
Why, you ask? Simple. Pretty much every diehard Quake fan has already purchased the win32 release and downloaded the linux client and server binaries. Why wait for a later linux retail box when the client and server are available for free download on the web?
I know I would have bought the linux retail game if it was on the shelves when the windows version was released, but that wasn't the case. I expect to see disappointing q3a linux sales along with a questionable market value for future releases... Thumbs down idsoftware.
QUAKE servers would be a logical market for this version of the game. Since multiplayer combat is the game's greatest strength, organizing a gaming group around a fast Linux server would make a lot of sense.
As far as timing: I would make a modest bet that a lot of computer games are sold in the week following Xmas, as gaming geeks cash in their gift certificates. So this might be a useful test of the popularity of Linux-based games.
Honesty. Loyalty. Kindness. Laughter. Generosity. Magic!
I was one of those who couldn't wait -- sorry to all diehard Linux fans -- and bought the Win32 version. Getting the demo to run in Win95 was a 5 month feat (mostly because it didn't work when I first tried it, and 5 months later I finally tried again..), in the meanwhile I fragged in Linux, and fragged often.
/.'s user's comments (and maybe some comments from those at Loki / Activision / id).
Now that the full version is out, I have a bigtime question. Is distributing the binaries for either platform considered Warez, even if no crack, CD Key, or PAK file is included? I can only assume that pak0.pk3 is Unchanged from the Wintel / Macintosh / Linux versions, so if I have that and my own valid CD key, am I legally entitled to download the binaries for another platform (in this case, Linux); or would it be considered illegal?
This is fuzzy ground, and I'd really like to hear some
(Please note that for now, I have no plans for pirating Q3 on any platform)
They had 3 in stock when I got mine. In the front of the store too where the latest greatest games go. Too bad I can't get it to run.
.q3a direcotry and it won't wirte a new file. Writes a new .q3a, but leaves it empty. And the it won't run from the CD even though I mounted the CD with th e-o exec option(says it can't find a binary)
It won't write a default config file for me. Have mine from the demo and it won't read it. Even deleted my
Hope someone here can tell me why, doesn't seem to be an answer on any of the forums(loki, linuxgames.com, etc.)
Wish my first experience with a retail linux game was better. But I'm sure it will work eventually.
linux-mags linux howto can be found here
I downloaded the demo and can't get it to run on my box. I have a voodoo2 and installed the drivers off linux.3dfx.com, but q3arena says glide.so not found or something like that. The test3dfx program works fine. Any advice? -doog
Now to undo the evil you have done. You will have to buy one copy of Q3Linux to neutralize your previous buying decision, and another copy of Q3Linux to cast your vote for the new millinium
-Scott scott@surrealistic.org
As if John is going to have any trouble selling these things. People will buy them. Myriads of people will buy them. People will buy anything that he has so much as sneezed on, which is not to say that he doesn't produce amazingly rendered 3d snot. Selling it a couple days before Xmas won't hurt his sales any, as it means a few more people are going to have to make a last-minute trip, which is common around Xmas, and that doesn't even account for the people who already got it via mailorder.
Remember, we're talking about people who respond to Carmack's posts like this, thereby appropriately earning responses like this. And that's just when he posts to slashdot, much less comes out with an actual product that they can pay money for. Products like his just don't need marketing anymore, with such an enormous fanbase.
"If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
I must say I have not been very happy with Quake III's level designs. I know how cool it is to most of you athiests to look at giant petegrams, and 666 markings, but for me and sure several others dont really want to look at those. The old quakes where so much better then that.
Okay, I know you guys are probably sick of reading my religous postings. I promise I'll stop whining after the holidays are over. :-)
Energy Flow
-D0n'+ h$+3 M3 b3C0u5e 1'M 4 1337 Hax0R!-
Will this likely ever show up at Best Buy? I'll be very dissapointed if it doesn't. For Christmas I'm getting a $500 gift certificate for there and I was looking forward to getting Q3/Linux.
If retailers like Best Buy don't carry Q3/Linux, then I think id is going to be a tad dissapointed with the number of Linux purchases.... there's just too many factors going against it. Thank god for Loki to offer it online early.
I was rather dissapointed to discover that when I picked up my tin box edition at EB today, it didn't come with SuSE 6.3 included inside, as this article on slashdot originally mentioned.
I guess it isn't all that big of a deal for me (am downloading it right now though the cable modem) but it would have been a much better deal if the CD's for SuSE 6.3 were included. Afterall, the Windows version only cost $39.99, while my Linux edition was another $10 on top of that.
I mean come on now, re-distribution of Linux is free, even if they weren't going to include SuSE (which is admittedly quite a few CD's) they could have released the Redhat 6.1 iso or something like that.
At least that way, any kid whose parents messed up and bought them the wrong version for Xmas would at least have a chance of playing their new game on Christmas morning, and learning something new along the way...
--Steve Castellotti
"You are aware that this is the Linux ver--"
"--of course! I wouldn't buy it if it wasn't!"
(c:
Your Brain + EEG + LEGO Robots = Brainstorms
$ quake3
Q3 1.11 linux-i386 Nov 24 1999
----- FS_Startup -----
Current search path:
/home/homerj/.q3a/baseq3
./baseq3
----------------------
Running in restricted demo mode.
----- FS_Startup -----
Current search path:
/home/homerj/.q3a/demoq3
./demoq3
----------------------
----- CL_Shutdown -----
-----------------------
----- CL_Shutdown -----
-----------------------
Error: Couldn't load default.cfg
that's what I get, I dunno why it won't write one. I don't know why it wants to try and run in demomode either, the binary it's running is the one that installed from the CD.
Any ideas?
Fed up as we are of not being able to get movies a a decent time (I.e. on release) at the same time as you lot in the USA, us Euros are behind you again. I went around Woolworths today, while waiting for the coach to this years Ladbrokes Social Club Christmas Dinner & Dance (which if you're remotely interested will be at http://www.notout.demon.co.uk/cdad99/ and found the usual complete lack of games that said anything other than 'Requirements: 100% compatible Windows 95/98/NT system'. Not knowing exactly what a 100% compatible windows 95/98/NT system is (given that Windows 95 is not 100% compatible with Windows 95 (or atleast seems that way)), I didn't buy anything.
So, if you are seeing items in store for linux, you're far ahead of us euro-types.
Anyhow, I need sleep. I'm overdue for about a week's worth... One day the revolution will come. Keep working on it guys, we all know it's the right thing to work towards. It's 01:50 now, so I'm going to start catching up on ZZzzzzzz. Goodnight.
I haven't bought Q3A yet, but plan to. I'd like to support the Linux game numbers, but right now the only machine I have capable of playing Q3A is my Windows box.
I plan to upgrade my Linux machine in the next month, and at that point would play the Linux version.
If I buy the Linux version now, will I find the Win32 EXEs on it? Or will I have to wait until 1) id releases the patch; 2) I upgrade my Linux?
I'm getting anxious...
You know, id has been a big factor in pushing consumers to adopt new technologies over the years:
Doom: All of a sudden, kids had to persuade their parents that they need a 486.
Quake: Required a Pentium 60mhz at least. I'm not suggesting that Quake was the main reason for early Pentium sales or anything like that, but I remember that me and my friends' shopping decisions were definitely influenced by watching other kids play Quake and I'm sure many of you out there felt the same.
Quake 2: You couldn't run this unless you had hardware 3D acceleration. Nowadays, you can't tell me about a video card without some sort of 3D acceleration.
And now... Quake 3. John Carmack's meeting with Steve Jobs in 1998 was the main reason why Apple now has an official implementation of OpenGL. Quake3 (and contemporary 3D gaming) for the Mac was made possible because of that, and an almost-simultaneous release of Win32, Mac and Linux versions has added legitimacy to the idea of gaming on alternative platforms.
What do you guys think... am I crazy for thinking this?
had WordPerfect 8 for Linux stuck in the "Technical" section. Go figure.
They even carry some food items and soda. That way, if you're really hard core, you can just do all your shopping there. :-)
They tend to have a much better selection of parts (CPUs, cases, tape drives, etc.) than CompUSA or other non-geek-oriented stores. If you want to see a real geek parade, get into the checkout line after about 8:30 PM on a weeknight. I think some Fry's in California are even open 24 hours.
The problem ending up being that the install didn't set the symlink from /usr/local/games/quake3/baseq3 to /mnt/cdrom/baseq3
I set that and it runs great. I guess that was the problem from the install script. Hope this helped out other people that bought q3a.
BTW: I was happy to see that someone from Loki replied. Upped my respect for Loki up a few points. Thanks.
I'll be glad when the day comes that I can get the CD on CheapBytes for just $3 or $4. The thrill of Linux is not having to pay anything for software including games.
For those in the Wellington, NZ region, Quay Computers is taking names of those interested in the Linux Q3A in preparation for when it hits the country. I've put my name down in antisipation (pant, pant, seen the tin box (Win* of course), pant pant).
Bill - aka taniwha
--
Leave others their otherness. -- Aratak
At my local EB they only had one copy, and it was the special "elite" limited edition tin box version. It was also more expensive than the win9x ver.
I'd buy the Linux version, if it wasn't (mostly) for 3dfx cards... I have a TNT2-Ultra, and I've tried pretty darn hard to get Q3Demo to run on it, to no avail... (I did get it to run on my Diamond Monster 3D - Voodoo Graphics 4MB... it was pretty bad) Anyone have any luck getting it to work on a TNT2? Does it get "decent" performance? Hopefully Xfree86 4 will make 3D games more viable on various unices.
What I was afraid of came true. All the retail stores carry win32 version of Q3 but *none* of them carry the Linux version. I already checked out Future Shop, Compu Centre, and a few others (even Radio Shack). No Linux. The only way you can get it is if you order online, which is *much* more expensive.
___
If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it.
11/17/99
.plans for a couple years now. For those of you who haven't I would recommend them.
Linux version tomorrow night, if nothing horrible happens.
Some advance warning about something that is sure to stir
up some argument:
We should be handing off the masters for all three platforms
within a day or two of each other, but they aren't going to
show up in stores at the same time. Publishers, distributers,
and stores are willing to go out of their way to expedite the
arrival of the pc version, but they just won't go to the
same amount of trouble for mac and linux boxes.
THE EXECUTABLES FOR ALL PLATFORMS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR
DOWNLOAD UNTIL AFTER CHRISTMAS. This means that if you want
to play on the mac or linux, don't pick up a copy of the pc
version and expect to download the other executables.
Our first update to the game will be for all platforms, and
will allow any version to be converted into any other, but
we intend to hold that off for a little while.
We are doing this at the request of the distributors. The
fear is that everyone will just grab a windows version,
and the separate boxes will be ignored.
A lot of companies are going to be watching the sales
figures for the mac and linux versions of Q3 to see if
the platforms are actually worth supporting. If everyone
bought a windows version and the other boxes sold like crap
in comparison, that would be plenty of evidence for most
executives to can any cross platform development.
I know there are a lot of people that play in both windows
and linux, and this may be a bit of an inconvenience in
the short term, but this is an ideal time to cast a vote
as a consumer.
Its all the same to Id (I like hybrid CD's), and our continued
support of linux and mac (OS X for the next title) is basically
a foregone conclusion, but the results will probably influence
other companies.
11/18/99
--------
Linux version isn't going to make it tonight. We got
too busy with other things. Sorry. Tomorrow.
* shrink zone, grow hunk
* flush memory on an error
* fixed crash pasting from clipboard
* test all compiler optimizations -- 5% speedup
* fixed major slowdown in team games with large
numbers of players and location markers
I didn't see him specify when the linux version was actually sent to the presses. I apologize for the quoting all of this, but I felt like it was necessary for everyone to read what the man actually said instead of all the hearsay and speculation. I've been reading Carmack's
www.bluesnews.com
Does anyone know if there will be versions for non-x86 systems? Specifically Alpha?
Thanks!
LONG LIVE ALPHA!!!
Play along with me here:
Doom: Pushed adoption of 486's.
Quake: Pushed the first crop of Pentiums. I'm not saying it was the main reason anyone bought Pentiums or anything like that, but how many of you first saw Quake and whined to your parents until they bought you a Pentium?
Quake 2: Hardware 3D acceleration. At first I thought, that's insane! Who would buy a $250 Voodoo2 card to play a game? Nowadays you can't find a video card that doesn't have some sort of 3D acceleration.
Now we got Quake 3. Carmack's meeting with Steve Jobs back in '98 is why Mac's have OpenGL and Quake3 now. The almost-simultaneous release of Q3A for Win32, Linux and Mac has been a big boost of legitimacy for gaming on alternative platforms. I'd say Carmack isn't just the biggest influence on linux- and open-source gaming, I'd say he had a pretty big influence on the computer industry in general.
Am I talking out of my butt, or does it sound like it makes sense?
my mom got me quake 3 for christmas, but she got the windows version... so would someone put the linux binary up on a free www site or ftp so i can play it or you can email it to me at no0ne@midsouth.rr.com;) i don't want to wait till the first patch is released so that i can use it in linux...
i gotta agree. carmack is probably one of the most important and influential people in the computer/gaming/internet sector. i think someday way in the future when we all exist inside the machine we will look back on carmack as one of the great revolutionaries advancing humanity out of the organic era and into the era of digital existence. john carmack kicks ass. this sounds kinda joking and sarcastic but i am serious about this, carmack has done so much for computers, he deserves way more credit than he is given.
Eh? Why the doubt? As a fellow Christian, I find it almost amusing that you love a game like Quake but quibble about the satanic markings on the walls. Stop wasting your time! There is nothing profitable about 3d killer games, even less so for a Christian! If you must play games on your computer, play something that will expand your intellect while you waste your time, like chess. Seriously. You only have one life you know.
Merry CHRISTmas!
id's games do contain many similar elements but calling them derivitive is a little narror minded. rather than reinvent the wheel elements which work are recycled into the next game and elements which don't are altered. technologically every new game is incredibly innovative. the leap from doom style sprite based engine to quake was a giant leap forward for computers, and from there to 3d hardware acceleration, again another huge leap. gameplay wise it's more of an evolutionary process. the ultimate goal, to create the perfect FPS engine. ultimatly carmacks goal is to create the engine that will be the basis for the metaverse. his advancements in rendering technologies have progressed to the level where it is posible to begin work, networking technologies are almost there. we have some great times ahead of us :)
I shouldn't have expected much, seeing as how they had both the 6.0 and 6.5 versions of "The Complete Linux" (Mandrake) on the shelf right next to each other.
that is, the mac version is here.Hello? Santa? Can you hear me? :)
You can order Q3A for Linux (in the metal box, of course!) from Handeye.com for US$47.99. We're quite a bit more supportive of the Open Source movement than, say, Electronics Boutique. Jab jab.
Ooh, right, we wrote a review, too. Read all about Q3A here.
One little question - is the game really 500mb? yeesh! Back in my day... :)
I've bought the Linux version of Quake III from Loki using the preorder thing. I got my CD a few days back. I have no intention of running it under Linux though. I bought the Linux version for 2 reasons:
a) Support Cross-Platform Games
b) Cool Tin Box
Its amazingly easy to run it under Win32. All you need is a quake3.exe from one of your Windows buddies (844kb). Dump it in a directory with the BaseQ3 directory and then run quake3.exe. That simple.
And i'd like to congratulate id on a kickass game.
I already have quake ]I[ for linux about 7 days!
2. Uninstall q3demo using its uninstall script
3. Reinstall quake3
Q3A ist so damn lousy that it took me one hour just to figure out how to install it. Even worse, the paths on CD and in the install script are messed up somehow (it doesnt look for bin/x86/glibc-something), and I had to build a new CD in order to make tty install (setup.sh) work.
While the game itself might be one of the best things ever for the Linux community, its installation is bad, bad, bad (did I say bad) promotion.
Does *anybody* know where and when there will be a UK retail version? I tried asking about it in Game, Virgin and a few others, but none of them had heard of Linux, let alone Q3A for it. I'd really like to support getting Linux games into retail, but it doesn't look like it's going to be easy...
-Dom2
...about such a crappy game... Not gonna rant about UT's domination... q3 falls flat on its own...
probably the same physics that applies to hossman's gut.
Boojum
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
I'm a little confused now: what exactly are they shipping ?
If I understood correctly, Loki secured the rights to worldwide distribution of Q3A for Linux. On the Loki website, they only talk about a "tin box special edition" that is "for Linux users only".
But I remember from previous reports on Blue's News etc. that the tin box (also called "Elite Edition" I think) was going to be a limited edition for hardcore fans with the Linux binaries thrown in as a bonus.
So are there actually two different tin boxes ? Or is the tin box advertised on Loki's site the same "Elite Edition" and a regular Linux package will follow ? If the tin box contains both Linux and Windows binaries, those sales won't show up in the Linux statistics I guess.
Someone is wrong on the Internet!
Heh, cool.
:/
I just happened to visit Fry's Electronics last night and on my way to get some memory, I saw the Linux tins. It was $50 but I bought it anyway.
Fry's (in Tempe, AZ) has a whole rack at the end of an aisle filled with the Linux version. I didn't see any missing when I took one.
I'm also in Albuqueraque NM.
New to this beautiful town, by the way, and loving it. Totally addicted to running in the Sandia Foothills behind my house....
As Quake is traditionaly a X-Mas gift (while diablo is a valentine's day gift) I expect to get the windows version Xmas day, BUT I planned on returning it for the Linux version ASAP.
Oh well.
If there are any other Albuquerque sources of quakeIII let me know at trikster2@hotmail.com
Keep on Keeping on....
"
Man, screw the egg-nog action - I'm gonna need some fraggin' if I'm going to survive a day with the in-laws." "
I too have experienced benificial effects of doom/quake when attempting to survive trying social situations.
Has ANYONE heard of any scientific studies documenting this effect???
Everything in the news about doom/quake is bad bad bad, isn't it obvious? Just look at the exploding bodies, must be evil.
However when confined at a remote research station I observed (on myself and friends so not exactly objective) a totaly opposite effect. My daily dose of Doom probably saved lives, not ended them.
I felt so strongly about this that I suggested research of Doom's benificial affect on isolated populations to some psycologists observing us as a part of a study for NASA.
Wow, just had a image flash in my mind. An elemetry school Does the "Pledge of Allegiance" has a moment of silence, then sits down for 20 minutes of Fragging, I mean anger diffusion...
Keep On Keeping On!
Gave the Win version to my brother ( and played on his computer ) until my Linux version arrived. And, as everyone already pointed out, I didn't want to wait until the Linux binaries were available for download -- so I pre-ordered my CD and got it in the mail not long after.
Just waiting for that tin box. :)
The only thing that it didn't do properly was generate a q3 config file. I needed to edit that by hand to get it working well ( it worked before, but would crash when switching res ) on my V3.
Go to www.nvida.com. Suppport, then drivers (I think ). But it is defenitly on the nvidia website somewhere. Or go to www.mesa3d.org, which links to those drivers, and RPMS for them.
Personally, I think Unreal Tournament is the better game. It runs great on my Debian 2.2 box and is more smooth, and more FUN, than Quake 3. Of course, that's just my personal opinion. I've already sent off for the full version of Unreal Tournament and I can't wait to play it on my Linux box!
How does the Lucy model _run_ with those??? :)
:) She's got an iron boobsack -- metal
;)
Easy.
can, theoretically, withstand such stresses and
strains, and any ligaments naturally supporting
those (since she's cyborg) can be made of
super-strong, non-ductile alloys -- no excessive sag.
Mechanical Engineers, help me out here.
Lynnaea
The principle of aggrandizement is the fundamental law of every government. - Frederick the Great
Although ID is correct, they often take down their older products in order to hype their newer ones. Carmack, in PC Gamer in the Quake 2 feature issue, called Quake one's development 'a competition to see who could make the best deathmatch map'. Quake Two was described in Gamespot's recent article as having tons of mapfixes up to the final hour before it went gold.
:)
Everyone from the Quake Talk days knows of the quotes that describe Quake making Doom look like pong.
This strategy works for ID, because their games are great, and pole vaulting off of them gets the expectations even higher.
When Doom Two came out, for another example, it was cited as having maps better suited to deathmatch than Doom one.
I'll speculate that Quake 3's distribution of separate versions will be cited by ID when their next game comes close to shipping. Also, in order to hype their new product, they might describe Quake 3 as having to force detail out of the maps because the curves were a new technology and took a lot of triangles. Hardware will be newer, and it won't be such a big deal. Hence the cooler maps.
Furthermore, the bots will be improved upon, and mentioned in hype.
I'll bet you, internally at Id, this is a promoted strategy for hyping their games.