Linux Games

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inferyes

Spaced In
Aug 16, 2009
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Because paradoxes are fun. Been playing SC2 non-stop since it's one of the few games that runs well.

[SCREENSHOT]http://inferno.codebrainshideout.net/Images/sslolol.png[/SCREENSHOT]

Fedora 15 here, any one else masochistic enough to be a linux gamer here? :lol:
 
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GreatEmerald

Khnumhotep
Jan 20, 2008
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Lithuania
Nope, I use Linux as a gaming platform as well. I have SuperTux that runs natively, Arcomage that I'm developing (that of course runs natively :p ), Unreal 227 that runs natively, and I use Unreal II XMP, Unreal Tournament, Heroes Chronicles and Star Trek: Bridge Commander through Wine. I also have Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum running through DOSBox (Using DBGL to manage my DOS games, it runs natively). I also record my playthrough of it, the recording and video editing facilities in Linux are way superior to those on Windows in my opinion.

Too bad I couldn't get Mass Effect working here. It seems that it hates ATI drivers, although reportedly the new FGLRX update fixes some of that. Once Wine 1.3.20 gets deprecated (in two weeks), I'll update and try it out again, hopefully with better luck. Also it seems that the keyboard bindings are somehow off on some Wine programs, no idea why. I'm running a custom build of openSUSE 11.4 KDE.
 

IronMonkey

Moi?
Apr 23, 2005
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Moi.

Over the last 6-9 months, I've been playing through the golden oldies -


  • Quake (Darkforces engine - it's in the F15 repos, all you need is the original install disk for the game data or you can let the game engine download the demo data), both the mission packs. If you hunt around you can find the high and ultra-high res texture pack for the game. It looks pretty fine.
  • Doom (also in the repo and the same original disk/demo option exists) and the TNT and Plutonium mission packs
  • Nexuiz is a fully formed game and good fun. Based on a modified Darkforces engine. Somewhat similar to Q3A in the progression but with more variety.
  • Q3A (install disks/demo applies)
  • OpenArena (Q3A but with free data). It's in the repo.
  • Alienarena - top notch shooter fun.
  • Diablo II (Wine)
  • Warcraft II (Wine)
  • Unreal (native, with S3TC textures and 227 patch)
  • UT (Wine and native with S3TC textures)
  • UT2004
  • KPatience is always a keeper.
  • Warzone 2100 (in the repo iirc)
  • Various little Strategy/RPGs (e.g Glest, Boswars, Freeciv)
  • One must never forget Battle for Wesnoth (in the repo).
  • Any number of 2D platformers, chess, go, risk, card game versions in the repo
  • Beneath a Steel Sky is there if you like adventure.
  • Lost Labyrinth for a coffeebreak dungeon-crawling game.
  • I have heard that WoW can be persuaded to run under Wine with satisfactory results.

Still on my to-do list is digging out the updated version of DukeNukem - new engine, old data and resurrecting QII.
 

Sir_Brizz

Administrator
Staff member
Feb 3, 2000
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Gaming on Linux is awesome, if only games worked better in Wine. I only really use Windows at all because so many games don't work in Linux.
 

inferyes

Spaced In
Aug 16, 2009
504
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Nope, I use Linux as a gaming platform as well. I have SuperTux that runs natively, Arcomage that I'm developing (that of course runs natively :p ), Unreal 227 that runs natively, and I use Unreal II XMP, Unreal Tournament, Heroes Chronicles and Star Trek: Bridge Commander through Wine. I also have Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum running through DOSBox (Using DBGL to manage my DOS games, it runs natively). I also record my playthrough of it, the recording and video editing facilities in Linux are way superior to those on Windows in my opinion.

Too bad I couldn't get Mass Effect working here. It seems that it hates ATI drivers, although reportedly the new FGLRX update fixes some of that. Once Wine 1.3.20 gets deprecated (in two weeks), I'll update and try it out again, hopefully with better luck. Also it seems that the keyboard bindings are somehow off on some Wine programs, no idea why. I'm running a custom build of openSUSE 11.4 KDE.

I'm running almost everything through wine except Amnesia and minecraft. I had a Radeon HD 5850 before but I just recently replaced it with a sexy as fuck EVGA GTX 560 TI and everything is running great on it.

I'm also developing a game with Ethan on LWJGL right now too.

Moi.

Over the last 6-9 months, I've been playing through the golden oldies -


  • Quake (Darkforces engine - it's in the F15 repos, all you need is the original install disk for the game data or you can let the game engine download the demo data), both the mission packs. If you hunt around you can find the high and ultra-high res texture pack for the game. It looks pretty fine.
  • Doom (also in the repo and the same original disk/demo option exists) and the TNT and Plutonium mission packs
  • Nexuiz is a fully formed game and good fun. Based on a modified Darkforces engine. Somewhat similar to Q3A in the progression but with more variety.
  • Q3A (install disks/demo applies)
  • OpenArena (Q3A but with free data). It's in the repo.
  • Alienarena - top notch shooter fun.
  • Diablo II (Wine)
  • Warcraft II (Wine)
  • Unreal (native, with S3TC textures and 227 patch)
  • UT (Wine and native with S3TC textures)
  • UT2004
  • KPatience is always a keeper.
  • Warzone 2100 (in the repo iirc)
  • Various little Strategy/RPGs (e.g Glest, Boswars, Freeciv)
  • One must never forget Battle for Wesnoth (in the repo).
  • Any number of 2D platformers, chess, go, risk, card game versions in the repo
  • Beneath a Steel Sky is there if you like adventure.
  • Lost Labyrinth for a coffeebreak dungeon-crawling game.
  • I have heard that WoW can be persuaded to run under Wine with satisfactory results.

Still on my to-do list is digging out the updated version of DukeNukem - new engine, old data and resurrecting QII.
I'm replaying Nox and Diablo 2 right now, planning on doing the quake series next. Wine supports old games better than windows does sometimes haha.

Gaming on Linux is awesome, if only games worked better in Wine. I only really use Windows at all because so many games don't work in Linux.


^^ I still have a windows partition for IL2 Cliffs of Dover because it won't run in wine. I can't believe anyone would use .net framework for a game, such a fucking awful platform. :(
 

inferyes

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why's that?

I don't know anything about Linux.

Because it's not Windows. Honestly I thought linux gaming was a joke until Ethan convinced me to try it. Now I run Arch on the Minecraft server and Fedora on my tower. I'll probably convert my netbook to Debian when I get the chance as well.
 

IronMonkey

Moi?
Apr 23, 2005
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I'm replaying Nox and Diablo 2 right now, planning on doing the quake series next. Wine supports old games...

There no need to run Quake in Wine. Darkplaces runs natively and you can install it directly with Yum on F15.

It's worth remembering that Quake did have a distinct Linux version that was available at retail as a separate purchase.

I had forgotten about Nox. That was quite good fun. Must dig it out.
 

GreatEmerald

Khnumhotep
Jan 20, 2008
4,042
1
0
Lithuania
I'm replaying Nox and Diablo 2 right now, planning on doing the quake series next. Wine supports old games better than windows does sometimes haha.
Yea, I hear that NVIDIA drivers are overall more friendly than ATI's. But ah well, I'll manage.

One thing that I don't like is that GLC won't work with Wine64, and there seem to be no more game recording software that would produce good framerate and good quality videos. FFmpeg with Motion JPEG is the closest it can get, but since it doesn't use OpenGL acceleration, it's still pretty slow. Though I will be able to use it to record Unreal, I believe.

Indeed, I really like some features of Wine, especially virtual desktop. On Windows, if you have a game that could basically fit on your screen in windowed mode, but it's just a few pixels too big, it will fail, while Wine allows you to set as big a resolution as you want.

why's that?

I don't know anything about Linux.

It actually comes down to a lot of little things. Linux is just built with more consideration. For instance, there is package management - you don't have to go through Google to find all your programs, you just enter a name into the package manager and boom, it's installed. You can find basically 50% of all Linux programs in your package manager once you configure it properly. About 45% more are found in the Open Build Service, also in a very easy to install format. Plus when you install programs, then uninstall them, Windows totally doesn't keep track of libraries and so they accumulate (much like intallers of all your programs you install there), while Linux does and removes them in case no program requires them. Then there is the fact that you don't need to defragment your drive. Then there is the fact that your data won't be eaten for lunch by NTFS. Then there is the GRUB bootloader that makes it very easy to switch OSs or distributions. The list goes on and on.
 

inferyes

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Yea, I hear that NVIDIA drivers are overall more friendly than ATI's. But ah well, I'll manage.

One thing that I don't like is that GLC won't work with Wine64, and there seem to be no more game recording software that would produce good framerate and good quality videos. FFmpeg with Motion JPEG is the closest it can get, but since it doesn't use OpenGL acceleration, it's still pretty slow. Though I will be able to use it to record Unreal, I believe.

Indeed, I really like some features of Wine, especially virtual desktop. On Windows, if you have a game that could basically fit on your screen in windowed mode, but it's just a few pixels too big, it will fail, while Wine allows you to set as big a resolution as you want.

Yeah I still do video editing with Sony Vegas on my windows partition. There isn't ANYTHING to do video editing with on linux. :rolleyes:

And speaking of wine. As I showed in that screen shot, I have it set up to run starcraft2 in separate gnome3 viewport. It's so awesome.


It actually comes down to a lot of little things.

^^
All of this and more. Personally I love that I can manage every aspect of my system on linux. You can tweak or change anything from terminal, package managers and the like make it even easier too. And the speed, Fedora15 boots ridiculously faster than Windows 7. It's amazing.
 

GreatEmerald

Khnumhotep
Jan 20, 2008
4,042
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Lithuania
Actually, there is, Kdenlive. I use it all the time and it's much, much better than any video editors I have ever used. It handily beats Camtasia Studio in performance, features and stability, not to mention that it's free and opensource. It can produce WebM videos, too, and YouTube loves them.

And yes, the performance on Linux is indeed better. Whenever I boot into Windows, I can't believe how sluggish and freezy it often gets. The fact that NTFS is eating system files and that it needs a whole lot of programs running just to be adequate probably doesn't help things.
 

Jacks:Revenge

╠╣E╚╚O
Jun 18, 2006
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somewhere; sometime?
Because it's not Windows.
well sure, but I've personally never had any problems with gaming on Windows OS.

...aside from Games for Windows Live :p
but that's just because I hate bloatware of any kind.

if a game requires GFWL (like Fable 3, for instance) would you even be able to run it on Linux? one thing I know about Linux is that it can run Microsoft programs to some extent.
It actually comes down to a lot of little things...
The list goes on and on.

ok that's great and all, but you mention stuff like package management, NTFS, GRUB bootloader, and other things that mean nothing to me at this point.

I may be tech savvy, but I'm not technically savvy; if that makes sense. I've built my PC's from scratch but I'm not versed when it comes to the inner workings and programming details. for someone who isn't concerned with advanced configurations of their PC's data and peripherals, I would have to learn how all of that stuff works just to take advantage of it. right?

maybe I've been lucky, or maybe ignorance is bliss.
but I take pretty good care of my computer in terms of regular maintence and ensuring that I'm protected from viruses, malware, and the like. using Windows doesn't bother me as much as it seems to bother a lot of other people.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is this: I've often considered switching from the big commercial OS's to something like Linux or Ubuntu. the concept is appealing to me. when it comes down to it however, I'm always apprehensive and fail to go through with it. I recognize the problems inherent within Microsoft products and the instability they breed when it comes to compatibility issues stemming from hardware/software drivers, etc.

at the end of the day though, these things have never really affected me enough to push me into taking the Linux/open-source plunge. when it comes to gaming, any OS-related problems I might have had were resolved without much time or headache.

maybe I'm just lucky :eek:
but if I wiped my system and installed Linux tomorrow, would I even notice a difference in performance? assuming I'm using the same hardware?

quad-core @ 2.8GHz
4 gigs RAM
Radeon HD 5870 1 gig
 

inferyes

Spaced In
Aug 16, 2009
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maybe I'm just lucky :eek:
but if I wiped my system and installed Linux tomorrow, would I even notice a difference in performance? assuming I'm using the same hardware?

quad-core @ 2.8GHz
4 gigs RAM
Radeon HD 5870 1 gig

Performance? Depends. Running programs in wine usually takes a bit of a performance hit but in terms of native programs and the OS itself, "Yes definitely" is the answer.

Though ATI drivers on linux are horribly unstable so I wouldn't suggest switching unless you were willing to either deal with the drivers or buy an Nvidia card.
 

SleepyHe4d

fap fap fap
Jan 20, 2008
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And the speed, Fedora15 boots ridiculously faster than Windows 7. It's amazing.

Untrue. :con:

And yes, the performance on Linux is indeed better.

Where do you guys get this stuff from. :lol:

Try posting proof.

but if I wiped my system and installed Linux tomorrow, would I even notice a difference in performance? assuming I'm using the same hardware?

You wouldn't. At all. Only reason to use Linux is if you're a masochist or extreme geek.

Source: Using Linux distros for a couple weeks each to see what the fuss was about. Apparently it's that elitist geek syndrome kicking in like when some geeks compare Android to iOS. ;)

I recognize the problems inherent within Microsoft products and the instability they breed when it comes to compatibility issues stemming from hardware/software drivers, etc.

Strange, cause windows is the best OS for this kind of stuff. :con: If you think that's bad you don't know Linux. :p
 
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inferyes

Spaced In
Aug 16, 2009
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When I log in on my windows partition I usually leave the room for 2 or 3 minutes to let it warm up because windows is sluggish as hell on startup.

Fedora only takes about 10 or 15 seconds to get running and start all of my applications (skype, steam, empathy, dropbox etc etc)

Though from bios to login screen they are about the same with fedora being a bit faster but this is due to the speed of my hard drive. If I had a SSD I could get much more accurate boot times.
 
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Sir_Brizz

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Feb 3, 2000
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WTF? The best you could say is that they both boot in roughly the same amount of time. Not a glowing review for Windows there.
Where do you guys get this stuff from. :lol:

Try posting proof.
Are you joking? Try using Google, there are billions of comparisons of ext3/4 with FAT32/NTFS. I am sure you can guess who always wins.
You wouldn't. At all. Only reason to use Linux is if you're a masochist or extreme geek.

Source: Using Linux distros for a couple weeks each to see what the fuss was about. Apparently it's that elitist geek syndrome kicking in like when some geeks compare Android to iOS. ;)
This just seems like you haven't ever used Linux except perhaps from a Live CD/Live USB. I've been using Linux in various forms for over a decade, and it has always been better than Windows in lots of ways. The big one? It's absolutely free. You don't have to be masochistic or a geek to use Linux at all. I know lots of computer inept people who ONLY use Linux.
Strange, cause windows is the best OS for this kind of stuff. :con: If you think that's bad you don't know Linux. :p
WTF are you talking about? Software that was written 25 years ago still runs on Linux. I challenge you to show me one piece of 25 year old software that will run on Windows without an emulator of some sort.