Without a doubt I will say that I've never had a problem with the TomTom software on either the treo or the regular hardware unit. I assume the same is true for the pocket pc.
This is exactly why I love the instant-gratification of Thumbs-Downing web sites just like I do TV shows on my tivo, with stumble upon (http://www.stumbleupon.com/) in firefox.
This joke was a reference to an old saturday night live episode wherein Phil Hartman explains that the customers at "Change Bank", a bank where all they do is give you change for other denominations of money makes money via "volume". Of course now that I've explained the joke it is no longer funny, you insensitive clod.
The gentoo cd games don't currently work, for example: their america's army cd isn't compatable with the newest versions of america's army. Modern graphics cards aren't as well supported, if at all, with the older nvidia drivers on the cd, etc.
No, none are being made with commercial, full games, from the original developers and not some new guys. You'll note that the gentoo boot cd games haven't been updated in over a year. No activision, EA, or even Linux Game Publishing titles come out on boot cds. Computers aren't consoles, and nobody gives a damn about booting into Linux just for one game.
Step 1) Don't let average joe user do it, he doesn't actually have a clue about the difficulty involved in porting a game. So many times I've seen John Q. Linuxguy think he can go off and make the most awesomest counter-strike clone EVER. What he usually ends up making is a random arcade game clone starring Tux, and breaking the next rule many times over.
Step 2) By the same line of thought, investigate what this person has done before. A simple rule of thumb is: Blue supernova effects in any game they've worked on, indicate that they are horrible horrible people who figured out how to make a game based on the gimp's supernova effect. Unless this person is Bill Kendrick, who is an excellent coder besides his lack of creativity in the art department, the code skills follow the effort in the art.
Step 3) If you want it done right... learn SDL and make your next game with SDL handling the input/window/etc. Even if you don't port your next game yourself, the SDL stuff is great for porters. Similarly, you'll notice that most people who licensed the Quake 3 engine almost immediately switched to OpenAL for sound output. Next to zlib, this is probably the second piece of open-source most widely used in the non-indie game industry.
Step 4) Stay the heck away from fmod and other per-platform licensed things. They'll charge you a second time when you want to release your game on any other platform.
Step 5) Google for articles on writing portable code. Especially those by Brian Hook and Ryan Gordon.
Step 6) Post on your regular website that you're looking for someone to port your game to Linux. They'll come if your game is popular at all, and you're more likely to get the people who are really interested and will follow through. Even if it is the friend of somebody who is really interested.
This is ridiculous, boot cd games are a total failure. To my knowledge none are being made, and it doesn't help with a Linux port at all. People who are in Windows should be running the Windows version of the game, people who are in Linux will want the Linux version.
I've been wanting to emulate more Windows software, I hate Evolution and FireFox so much; back to Internet Explorer and Outlook Express I go! THIS IS SUCH A BIG WIN FOR LINUX!
They post this PR, and won't let you download the damn product. The downloads page on the main site sends you to the index of the main site when you click on the download links. I'm trying to download your stupid widget factory, not look at the cartoon of how awesome you are for re-doing widgets on the desktop, you insensitive clods!
Could not initialize display means either you're trying to run the game as root and X as a user, or you've not got your video drivers working properly.
This is a problem that anyone has to think about this kind of thing. I'm not saying it isn't, just that at the moment those games you listed aren't having a huge problem.
I know lots of windows games have problems as well, especially running on modern versions of Windows. I recall trying Half-Life 1 on windows 2k and getting a BSOD each time it ran.
I do think there is a serious problem with standard libraries not working with older binaries, and that problem mostly lies with (I think) gnu/oss people hating closed-source software, or at least thinking "it is their problem, not mine". There is also the real problem that glibc/gcc are being run by entirely commercial interests (embedded software companies throw forth the gauntlet that says We need X Y and Z, and none of X Y and Z require binary compatability.)
SDL doesn't really have a problem, you bundle Y version of SDL with your application (that is, put the libsdl binary in your application directory), the user may very well replace that libsdl binary with their own if they desire, but anyone with the knowledge to do that has already gone beyond grandma's capability. The same goes for gentoo, if you're using it, you've gone beyond grandma's set of skills.
So, yes people need to take binary compatability seriously, no distros currently are to the best of my knowledge. This is a huge headache for anyone trying to release commercial software that works with these distributions. I've done some work distributing (making installers for the developer) of commercial software myself, and it is indeed a huge headache, especially if you make an installer before a technology leap. Like the Candy Cruncher installer I made was before amd64 was a concern, now I have to try and support amd64 users. I could go on for hours about the endlessly differening support of amd64 in various distributions. I'm sure a real programmer would have even more problems to report than I.
None of: Quake 3, Unreal Tournament 2003, Unreal Tournament 2004, are compilable (except for mods). Modern patches exist for all of these games, and they are all runnable, gentoo even has ebuilds for each one. Yes binary compatability is a huge problem, it is just that the things you've pointed out here aren't. For what little help people need with them, there is excellent documentation in the form of the Linux Gamers' FAQ.
Mostly you don't need help until you want to install a mod or something. I should also note that Quake 3 will at some point in the future have the entire source code released, as soon as id stops licening it out to companies who are paying for it. I'd guess it might be as early as Quake Con or Christmas this year. I'm just guessing though, I do not know for sure when, I do know it will come out eventually.
However, the main thrust of your argument seems to be that even games with source released won't run? I don't understand that, Quake 2 for instance compiles and runs fine, and even better than the last id-released version since you don't need zinx's hack in Linux to make the mouse smooth.
While this may be implied, it sure isn't clear that this was his intention. It was also irrelevent to the discussion at hand, which is Doom 3. Doom 3 is a single player game. It is like comparing Katamary Damacy to Algebra Blaster.
From TFA: "...and the upcoming Unreal Tournament 3" So if he is talking about Unreal Tournament 2007, that would be Unreal Tournament 4 in the numbering scheme of how many Unreal Tournaments there have been. 1 would be Unreal Tournament (1999) 2 is Unreal Tournament 2003, 3 is Unreal Tournament 2004. Finally 4 is Unreal Tournament 2007.
Steve Bowler is certainly entitled to voice his opinion on whatever forum he likes; but I know I enjoyed Doom 3 and the expansion pack. If he didn't, well, too bad. The game isn't going to appeal to the kid who plays counter-strike solely (not that CS and CS:S are bad, they just aren't the only type of game), and it isn't going to appeal to the most jaded gamers. Monster closets are obviously a problem with Doom 3, but that is about it. It does something modern new games like Battlefield 2, and all of the Unreal Tournaments don't do; deliver a single player experience with a good modern engine. BF2 has bots, and UT2004 has better bots, but they don't have any kind of good linear single player experience. Far Cry might, I haven't played it beyond the demo. HL2 certainly does deliver on that. Show me another modern engine that runs on your computer and delivers a reasonably good single player FPS experience right now, I'd certainly point to HL2 and Doom 3.
I think the real problem here is that most of the technical folks who are bad with grammar, just don't have any interest at all in learning; or even worse, are vehemently against learning. I'm not the best, but I'm far from the worst at learning. Perhaps if they picked up books from people like Bill Walsh, they might be entertained whilst learning.
I meant that if you put a GBA cart into the DS to play versus another player on a DS or GBA, you can't. While, yes, Nintendo has a track record of porting popular properties to every platform they make, some people might like to play Advance Wars 1 or 2, instead of the future DS version.
Slashdot Mirror
Try getting a reservation at Fry's now!
Without a doubt I will say that I've never had a problem with the TomTom software on either the treo or the regular hardware unit. I assume the same is true for the pocket pc.
This is exactly why I love the instant-gratification of Thumbs-Downing web sites just like I do TV shows on my tivo, with stumble upon (http://www.stumbleupon.com/) in firefox.
When you troll on Slashdot, you troll with Osama!
My laptop has an excellent intel ipw2200 chipset (B+G) and the ipw2100 is supported as well. Intel makes a pci version too, though it is hard to find.
My desktop has a netgear WPN311 with an athereos chipset, which works with the madwifi driver.
This joke was a reference to an old saturday night live episode wherein Phil Hartman explains that the customers at "Change Bank", a bank where all they do is give you change for other denominations of money makes money via "volume". Of course now that I've explained the joke it is no longer funny, you insensitive clod.
Here at YouTube, we get a lot of satisfied customers, and some of them ask us how we stay in business and give away free bandwidth.
The answer is simple, volume.
The gentoo cd games don't currently work, for example: their america's army cd isn't compatable with the newest versions of america's army. Modern graphics cards aren't as well supported, if at all, with the older nvidia drivers on the cd, etc.
No, none are being made with commercial, full games, from the original developers and not some new guys. You'll note that the gentoo boot cd games haven't been updated in over a year. No activision, EA, or even Linux Game Publishing titles come out on boot cds. Computers aren't consoles, and nobody gives a damn about booting into Linux just for one game.
You sir are unable to recognize a joke, please read timedoctor.org and try again.
Step 1) Don't let average joe user do it, he doesn't actually have a clue about the difficulty involved in porting a game. So many times I've seen John Q. Linuxguy think he can go off and make the most awesomest counter-strike clone EVER. What he usually ends up making is a random arcade game clone starring Tux, and breaking the next rule many times over.
Step 2) By the same line of thought, investigate what this person has done before. A simple rule of thumb is: Blue supernova effects in any game they've worked on, indicate that they are horrible horrible people who figured out how to make a game based on the gimp's supernova effect. Unless this person is Bill Kendrick, who is an excellent coder besides his lack of creativity in the art department, the code skills follow the effort in the art.
Step 3) If you want it done right... learn SDL and make your next game with SDL handling the input/window/etc. Even if you don't port your next game yourself, the SDL stuff is great for porters.
Similarly, you'll notice that most people who licensed the Quake 3 engine almost immediately switched to OpenAL for sound output. Next to zlib, this is probably the second piece of open-source most widely used in the non-indie game industry.
Step 4) Stay the heck away from fmod and other per-platform licensed things. They'll charge you a second time when you want to release your game on any other platform.
Step 5) Google for articles on writing portable code. Especially those by Brian Hook and Ryan Gordon.
Step 6) Post on your regular website that you're looking for someone to port your game to Linux. They'll come if your game is popular at all, and you're more likely to get the people who are really interested and will follow through. Even if it is the friend of somebody who is really interested.
Step 7) ???
Step 8) Profit!
This is ridiculous, boot cd games are a total failure. To my knowledge none are being made, and it doesn't help with a Linux port at all. People who are in Windows should be running the Windows version of the game, people who are in Linux will want the Linux version.
I see no point, we can open a gate to Hell here on Earth. I assure you the research I've done proves that the risk is perfectly acceptable!
If you would just increase my funding and personnel there would be fewer accidents.
--Dr Bertregur.
I've been wanting to emulate more Windows software, I hate Evolution and FireFox so much; back to Internet Explorer and Outlook Express I go!
THIS IS SUCH A BIG WIN FOR LINUX!
They post this PR, and won't let you download the damn product. The downloads page on the main site sends you to the index of the main site when you click on the download links. I'm trying to download your stupid widget factory, not look at the cartoon of how awesome you are for re-doing widgets on the desktop, you insensitive clods!
Could not initialize display means either you're trying to run the game as root and X as a user, or you've not got your video drivers working properly.
This is a problem that anyone has to think about this kind of thing. I'm not saying it isn't, just that at the moment those games you listed aren't having a huge problem.
I know lots of windows games have problems as well, especially running on modern versions of Windows. I recall trying Half-Life 1 on windows 2k and getting a BSOD each time it ran.
I do think there is a serious problem with standard libraries not working with older binaries, and that problem mostly lies with (I think) gnu/oss people hating closed-source software, or at least thinking "it is their problem, not mine". There is also the real problem that glibc/gcc are being run by entirely commercial interests (embedded software companies throw forth the gauntlet that says We need X Y and Z, and none of X Y and Z require binary compatability.)
SDL doesn't really have a problem, you bundle Y version of SDL with your application (that is, put the libsdl binary in your application directory), the user may very well replace that libsdl binary with their own if they desire, but anyone with the knowledge to do that has already gone beyond grandma's capability. The same goes for gentoo, if you're using it, you've gone beyond grandma's set of skills.
So, yes people need to take binary compatability seriously, no distros currently are to the best of my knowledge. This is a huge headache for anyone trying to release commercial software that works with these distributions. I've done some work distributing (making installers for the developer) of commercial software myself, and it is indeed a huge headache, especially if you make an installer before a technology leap. Like the Candy Cruncher installer I made was before amd64 was a concern, now I have to try and support amd64 users. I could go on for hours about the endlessly differening support of amd64 in various distributions. I'm sure a real programmer would have even more problems to report than I.
None of: Quake 3, Unreal Tournament 2003, Unreal Tournament 2004, are compilable (except for mods). Modern patches exist for all of these games, and they are all runnable, gentoo even has ebuilds for each one. Yes binary compatability is a huge problem, it is just that the things you've pointed out here aren't. For what little help people need with them, there is excellent documentation in the form of the Linux Gamers' FAQ.
Mostly you don't need help until you want to install a mod or something. I should also note that Quake 3 will at some point in the future have the entire source code released, as soon as id stops licening it out to companies who are paying for it. I'd guess it might be as early as Quake Con or Christmas this year. I'm just guessing though, I do not know for sure when, I do know it will come out eventually.
However, the main thrust of your argument seems to be that even games with source released won't run? I don't understand that, Quake 2 for instance compiles and runs fine, and even better than the last id-released version since you don't need zinx's hack in Linux to make the mouse smooth.
Uh, Unreal Engine 3 is made by Epic, not id.
While this may be implied, it sure isn't clear that this was his intention. It was also irrelevent to the discussion at hand, which is Doom 3. Doom 3 is a single player game. It is like comparing Katamary Damacy to Algebra Blaster.
I'm already aware of Unreal Engine 3, but that isn't a game alone.
From TFA:
"...and the upcoming Unreal Tournament 3"
So if he is talking about Unreal Tournament 2007, that would be Unreal Tournament 4 in the numbering scheme of how many Unreal Tournaments there have been. 1 would be Unreal Tournament (1999) 2 is Unreal Tournament 2003, 3 is Unreal Tournament 2004. Finally 4 is Unreal Tournament 2007.
Steve Bowler is certainly entitled to voice his opinion on whatever forum he likes; but I know I enjoyed Doom 3 and the expansion pack. If he didn't, well, too bad. The game isn't going to appeal to the kid who plays counter-strike solely (not that CS and CS:S are bad, they just aren't the only type of game), and it isn't going to appeal to the most jaded gamers. Monster closets are obviously a problem with Doom 3, but that is about it. It does something modern new games like Battlefield 2, and all of the Unreal Tournaments don't do; deliver a single player experience with a good modern engine. BF2 has bots, and UT2004 has better bots, but they don't have any kind of good linear single player experience. Far Cry might, I haven't played it beyond the demo. HL2 certainly does deliver on that. Show me another modern engine that runs on your computer and delivers a reasonably good single player FPS experience right now, I'd certainly point to HL2 and Doom 3.
I think the real problem here is that most of the technical folks who are bad with grammar, just don't have any interest at all in learning; or even worse, are vehemently against learning. I'm not the best, but I'm far from the worst at learning. Perhaps if they picked up books from people like Bill Walsh, they might be entertained whilst learning.
I meant that if you put a GBA cart into the DS to play versus another player on a DS or GBA, you can't. While, yes, Nintendo has a track record of porting popular properties to every platform they make, some people might like to play Advance Wars 1 or 2, instead of the future DS version.
or even multiplayer portions of GBA games.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2002-11 -25&res=l