Doom was, and still is, the only game I've ever played that made me feel pure terror.
I think id must have stumbled into this, because Quake and Quake 2 do not have the level of immersion that Doom has.
There are some goofy things about Doom, like running 200 mph with your head bobbing 10 feet vertically, but it's still the only game that I've played that makes me feel like I've actually been in the levels, and not just played through them.
I hope id eventually figures out how to do this again.
There have been hints of a game called 'Doom 2000' being the next thing that Id Software creates after Quake 3.
I read a few months ago (on Blue's or Redwood's, probably) that id registered the doom2000.com domain name, so obviously they're seriously thinking about it.
I'd like to see a true 3D cyberdeamon; I still get that rush of terror when I hear the first roar.:-)
"Everything that is powerful is complex. Things that aren't complex suck, and it really bothers me when new users complain about things that I consider mundane. Oh yeah, Red Hat sucks too because it's not complex and they use marketing phrases to describe their product."
Linux (and UNIX in general) is complex, and that is perhaps its greatest weakness. Larry Wall says that the universe is complex, but it's usefully complex (paraphrase). Sometimes Linux isn't usefully complex; it's just complex. Linux is the best OS currently available (IMO, of course), but it wouldn't look so good if Windows didn't suck so bad.
We are certainly not responsible for *everything* a clueless user may do, but if we do not care at all about clueless users, then Debian will never be for newbies.
Clueless users?
If I were a new Linux user, this kind of arrogance would be enough to make immediately pass by Debian and find another distro.
If you want to increase the size of your user base, then get a clue!
Because they won't understand the GPL (even if they've read it), piracy will probably run rampant -- as in cases where GPL'ed software gets taken proprietary without so much as a thank you to the authors. I'd be stunned, frankly, if this hasn't already happened.
The interesting thing about this is that the GPL covers the code, not the algorithms that are implemented by the code. It wouldn't be that hard (for someone with a _lot_ of time) to study the source for Linux and reimplement the entire kernel without using a single line of GPLed code.
It seems likely that a "Linux split" will occur before the end of the year.
Most of the people coming into the community today don't care that much about the principles of free software -- they are the "water in the wine" of free software. The people who do hold strong beliefs about free software are becoming increasingly strident, and I suppose that they will eventually get mad and "renounce" Linux, or fork the development tree, or use Hurd, or start something new
I guess the rest of us are destined to become parasites.:-|
TedC
why windows is to blame for my buggy video driver
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Gaming on Linux
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· Score: 1
..but a driver is in kernel space is it not? Therefore the OS can't really do anything if the driver is flaky
That's the problem; Windows is only as stable as the weakest link, which is often the video driver. This explains why some people never have a bit of trouble with Windows, and others like myself have an install-fest every Friday night.:-(
Actually, this turned out to be a good thing for me. I originally installed Linux so that I could port DOOM back to DOS, and in the process I discovered that I really liked Linux.:-)
TedC
why windows is to blame for my buggy video driver
on
Gaming on Linux
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· Score: 1
Of course, an OS that crashes just because of a buggy video driver is no kind of OS to bring home to mother:).
You're exatly right, it's a buggy video driver. In my case it's a RIVA 128, and I was using the beta version for OpenGL games because the "production" version was so dark in Quake that I couldn't see. There are several work arounds for this problem, but none of them are very satisfactory.
At this point most people say something like "well, you can't blame your operating system for a buggy video driver" -- but I do.:-)
One of the functions of a modern operating system is to prevent running prosseses from violating the address space of other processes; this would certainly include preventing a flaky video driver from hammering the kernel. By this definition Windows 95 is not a modern operating system, and Windows NT became suspect when they moved the video subsystem into the kernel.
You don't blame 3 year old kids for tearing around a store -- you blame their parents for not keeping them under control. By analogy Windows is a irresponsible parent.
I think this article is a reprint from a ZDNET article that ran last week. It might have even been posted on/. before. Anyway, I think we should give Red Hat the benefit of the doubt until they actually do something "bad" -- being quoted out of context by ZDNET isn't a crime.
But while IP gaming is getting more compelling than ever, there is one thing that makes the gaming experience frustrating: system crashes.
Nick, you hit the nail on the head that time.
I usually have 3 or 4 system crashes a night playing Quake 2, and after 30 or 40 of these windows is so corrupted that it will no longer run. I have reinstalled Windows so many times that I can do complete sections of the installation with the monitor turned off by counting key presses. I finally gave up about 3 or 4 months ago; I decided that it wasn't worth the hassle anymore. Since I wasn't using Windows for anything but games, I just formatted the partition, and things have worked fine ever since.:-)
TedC
PS. I'm waiting for Quake 3 for Linux with much anticipation.
How about something like DirectX?
on
Gaming on Linux
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· Score: 2
How about creating something like M$'s DirectX?
Direct-X and Direct-3D are build around Microsoft's COM object model, so creating a Linux equivalent would be a non-trivial task. I haven't used Direct-X since version 3, but back then it was a bitch to program for. It might be better now, I don't know.
In any case, OpenGL/Mesa is the way to go for Linux IMO. We already have it, it's an industry standard, and it's easy to use and powerful.
Moderation will never be perfect, since it relies on human judgement, and anyone can have a bad day and make some mistakes. Overall, though, I have have noticed that the quality of comments has improved dramatically since the moderation system has been implemented. Hopefully this will enhance the reputation of the Linux community a bit in the mainstream press.
Remember that Windows languished for some time before it took off, and it only took off when certain applications (mainly Word and Excel, *gag*) created crirical mass.
The apps were important to Window's success, but one thing that's sometimes overlooked is that Windows didn't take off until OEMs started bundling it with their systems. This happened in early 1990 when MS released Windows 3.0.
Isn't using templates in code to be compiled by gcc still a little questionable?
I've used STL under gcc 2.7.2.3, and it seems to work fine, with a few exceptions. I never noticed any performance problems, although the binary can get pretty big. I think gcc might not be very smart about reusing template code.
Commadore killed Amiga. The only reason it lasted as long as it did is that it was way ahead of it's time, and people would put up with Commadore just to own one.
If you can survive honest, open, unfettered criticism, you must be doing pretty dang good.
I'd rather have that than spend my days playing the tactful-nice game and not getting anywhere.
Wouldn't you?
Larry Wall has some good things to say about this in the O'Reilly Open Source book that was just published -- I wish that I could remember what they were.:-) Something about being liberal on your input, and careful about what you output...
Several weeks ago a Microsoft employee sited KDE as a competitor to Windows in federal court. It's interesting that Bill still thinks that Linux doesn't have a "graphics" interface. Is it possible that he knows less than most of his employees, or is it his intent to deceive people? These are the only two possibilities that I can think of.
Anyway....anyone know where I can find an UNBIASED comparison of WinX/Linux.
There are three chapters covering BSD UNIX, Linux, and Windows NT in detail in "Operating Systems Concepts" fifth edition by Silberschatz and Galvin. The material is pretty good, but you should either have prior experience in operating systems, or time to read the entire book.
UNIX has a very steep learning curve, and a lot of us dont have the time to learn it.
Probably the biggest shortcoming of UNIX is also it's greatest strength: it contains a lot if different ideas from a lot of different people. The command syntax varies anywhere from elegant simplicity to unfathomable complexity, but in general it's not particularly hard to use once you learn it. After a while the frustration of not knowing how to perform a certain task will be replaced by the satisfaction of getting more out of your computer with less effort.
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I think id must have stumbled into this, because Quake and Quake 2 do not have the level of immersion that Doom has.
There are some goofy things about Doom, like running 200 mph with your head bobbing 10 feet vertically, but it's still the only game that I've played that makes me feel like I've actually been in the levels, and not just played through them.
I hope id eventually figures out how to do this again.
TedC
I read a few months ago (on Blue's or Redwood's, probably) that id registered the doom2000.com domain name, so obviously they're seriously thinking about it.
I'd like to see a true 3D cyberdeamon; I still get that rush of terror when I hear the first roar. :-)
TedC
TedC
Linux (and UNIX in general) is complex, and that is perhaps its greatest weakness. Larry Wall says that the universe is complex, but it's usefully complex (paraphrase). Sometimes Linux isn't usefully complex; it's just complex. Linux is the best OS currently available (IMO, of course), but it wouldn't look so good if Windows didn't suck so bad.
TedC
Clueless users?
If I were a new Linux user, this kind of arrogance would be enough to make immediately pass by Debian and find another distro.
If you want to increase the size of your user base, then get a clue!
TedC
The interesting thing about this is that the GPL covers the code, not the algorithms that are implemented by the code. It wouldn't be that hard (for someone with a _lot_ of time) to study the source for Linux and reimplement the entire kernel without using a single line of GPLed code.
TedC
Most of the people coming into the community today don't care that much about the principles of free software -- they are the "water in the wine" of free software. The people who do hold strong beliefs about free software are becoming increasingly strident, and I suppose that they will eventually get mad and "renounce" Linux, or fork the development tree, or use Hurd, or start something new
I guess the rest of us are destined to become parasites. :-|
TedC
That's the problem; Windows is only as stable as the weakest link, which is often the video driver. This explains why some people never have a bit of trouble with Windows, and others like myself have an install-fest every Friday night. :-(
Actually, this turned out to be a good thing for me. I originally installed Linux so that I could port DOOM back to DOS, and in the process I discovered that I really liked Linux. :-)
TedC
You're exatly right, it's a buggy video driver. In my case it's a RIVA 128, and I was using the beta version for OpenGL games because the "production" version was so dark in Quake that I couldn't see. There are several work arounds for this problem, but none of them are very satisfactory.
At this point most people say something like "well, you can't blame your operating system for a buggy video driver" -- but I do. :-)
One of the functions of a modern operating system is to prevent running prosseses from violating the address space of other processes; this would certainly include preventing a flaky video driver from hammering the kernel. By this definition Windows 95 is not a modern operating system, and Windows NT became suspect when they moved the video subsystem into the kernel.
You don't blame 3 year old kids for tearing around a store -- you blame their parents for not keeping them under control. By analogy Windows is a irresponsible parent.
TedC
TedC
But while IP gaming is getting more compelling than ever, there is one thing that makes the gaming experience frustrating: system crashes.
Nick, you hit the nail on the head that time.
I usually have 3 or 4 system crashes a night playing Quake 2, and after 30 or 40 of these windows is so corrupted that it will no longer run. I have reinstalled Windows so many times that I can do complete sections of the installation with the monitor turned off by counting key presses. I finally gave up about 3 or 4 months ago; I decided that it wasn't worth the hassle anymore. Since I wasn't using Windows for anything but games, I just formatted the partition, and things have worked fine ever since. :-)
TedC
PS. I'm waiting for Quake 3 for Linux with much anticipation.
Direct-X and Direct-3D are build around Microsoft's COM object model, so creating a Linux equivalent would be a non-trivial task. I haven't used Direct-X since version 3, but back then it was a bitch to program for. It might be better now, I don't know.
In any case, OpenGL/Mesa is the way to go for Linux IMO. We already have it, it's an industry standard, and it's easy to use and powerful.
Now what to do about sound...
TedC
TedC
The apps were important to Window's success, but one thing that's sometimes overlooked is that Windows didn't take off until OEMs started bundling it with their systems. This happened in early 1990 when MS released Windows 3.0.
TedC
I don't gets it. :-)
TedC
I've used STL under gcc 2.7.2.3, and it seems to work fine, with a few exceptions. I never noticed any performance problems, although the binary can get pretty big. I think gcc might not be very smart about reusing template code.
TedC
Commadore killed Amiga. The only reason it lasted as long as it did is that it was way ahead of it's time, and people would put up with Commadore just to own one.
TedC
He's probably referring to commercial UNIX (Solaris, HP-UX, Digital Unix, SCO, AIX) and mainframe/mini operating systems.
TedC
I'd rather have that than spend my days playing the tactful-nice game and not getting anywhere.
Wouldn't you?
Larry Wall has some good things to say about this in the O'Reilly Open Source book that was just published -- I wish that I could remember what they were. :-) Something about being liberal on your input, and careful about what you output...
Does anyone have that book handy?
TedC --
I didn't think of that -- could be.
I did think "graphics interface" was a sort of odd, but I think it's probably just more FUD.
TedC
TedC
There are three chapters covering BSD UNIX, Linux, and Windows NT in detail in "Operating Systems Concepts" fifth edition by Silberschatz and Galvin. The material is pretty good, but you should either have prior experience in operating systems, or time to read the entire book.
TedC
Probably the biggest shortcoming of UNIX is also it's greatest strength: it contains a lot if different ideas from a lot of different people. The command syntax varies anywhere from elegant simplicity to unfathomable complexity, but in general it's not particularly hard to use once you learn it. After a while the frustration of not knowing how to perform a certain task will be replaced by the satisfaction of getting more out of your computer with less effort.
TedC
The problem with calling people clueless is that everyone is clueless about something, and of course don't even realize it. :-)
TedC
It would be especially cool if the poster could write their own huristic algorithm to determine what gets filtered.
TedC