Linux Gaming after Loki

mahdi13 writes "Linux Hardware has a great story about the past, present and future of Linux Gaming in 2003. They briefly touch on the commercial games available and what will be available for Linux in the near future. It is a good read and contains excellent information to keep the Linux Gamers satisfied with what is commercially available."

Also...

[levik]

I hear tic-tac-toe is coming to Linux as well...

Let's face it... being a gamer on Linux today is just a bit behind being a gamer on Mac...

And we've all seen THAT "Switch" commercial.

Re:Satisfied?

[Lumpy]

excuse me? I am VERY satisfied that UT2003 was release with the linux client on the install disks. Granted I wanted to BEAT THEM for not supplying install instructions... I.E. "linux users look at disc 3 first" footnote in the manual.

but I bough 2 copies of ut2003 and let them know that I bought it because they made a linux client.

Now if we can get more good games released for linux (no not that sims crap) like ghost recon or splinter cell (Doubt it as that company is full of MS fanboys.) we will have to only have the wares of ID and the others that are foreward thinking enough to release linux clients for their games.

Freely Available

[blazer1024]

I've always been more into the freely available games out there when it comes to Linux.

For big flashy commercial 3d games and such, I generally prefer Windows anyway since I know it'll work right off. (Well, usually anyway :)

In Linux, I like those games made by people with creative minds, but not the money to try to produce a big budget game. These games are frequently much more interesting, and sometimes even more graphically appealing.. (I like cheezy 2d graphics better sometimes, especially if it's a fun game)... in fact, one of my favorite Linux games ever, Koules, had very simplistic graphics, but four of us would huddle around the KB and a joystick and play that game for hours!

I bet you that game had a budget of $0. Development tools, graphics programs and all sorts of useful apps exist for free in Linux.. so anyone with an idea and enough spare time can make something that could be more fun to play than a game with a 10 million dollar budget.

What about Transgaming

[jandrese]

What, no mention of Transgaming? Sure they don't actually port the games to Linux, but if it works it works. The only big problem is that the Transgaming versions have to deal with all of the copy protection crap the Windows users have to deal with. Has a CD Key ever kept someone from pirating a game? Do any games with SafeDisc (which don't work in my computer) actually avoid being 0-day Warez? How many hours of my life have I wasted installing games only to realize that it's got another CD protection scheme that breaks in my DVD drive? How many hours of tech support time have I wasted with these problem (at least Blizzard fixed it in a patch, unlike most companies that just ignore you)[1]?
I think Loki got it right. Too bad they were probably a bit too early (not enough users with cash) to make money. It's a shame, because the Loki versions usually ran better than the Windows versions on my machine.

[1] Well, not too many, I usually just return the game instead.

Re:What about Transgaming

[dolson]

The article was about Linux games, not Windows games.

The chances that Transgaming has had to produce native ports have gone to shit. The Sims and Kohan are WineX-based crap. I've compared their Kohan against Loki's Kohan, and Loki's doesn't crash, it's faster, smoother, and the sound doesn't ever get messed up. Not to mention that the Linux version is an actual Linux version, and doesn't require that I connect to the Internet to install or run the game.

Sorry, but I use Linux and Linux software, not Linux and Windows software. If I wanted to run Windows software, I'd just install Windows because it runs a hell of a lot better than Wine and WineX do.

I used to be a subscriber, and I tested over 70 of my Windows games in it. Guess how many actually ran? Seven. Guess how many locked up and forced me to reset my system? The majority. It's not worth it. I don't agree with subscription-based software, for one thing, and I don't agree with Transgaming, for another. They are bad open-source citizens, and they blatantly lied to me when they said that after a certain number of subscribers, they would release their source code to Wine. I don't care what excuses anyone makes for Transgaming; the fact is that they said it, and now they don't.

They also lied when they said that they won't be testing games that are being ported natively... Medal of Honor is being ported to Linux right now, just as my article says, and yet Transgaming brags about how it runs in WineX. I can't count the number of people that run Quake 3 Arena in WineX... I've talked to them myself, so I KNOW that it's true. I just don't understand this.

Furthermore, WineX hurts Linux's chances of getting native ports. Aside from the Sacrifice port which they killed, they are creating a Linux gaming community that relies on Windows and Windows software... Transgaming is always a few steps behind Windows, and always will be. What happens in a few years from now, when WineX is good enough that it can run a lot of games, and then Microsoft sues Transgaming? They aren't loyal to Linux at all - look at Gav's track record. Does Corel support Linux anymore? No. Will Transgaming? No. They simply saw a potential for cash, and they stepped in. That's all this is. What if Microsoft changes their architecture so much that Wine and WineX are rendered useless with new software? They have to start all over... And what will become of those "hardcore gamer" Linux users? They'll crawl back to Windows on their knees. And if you don't agree that one of these scenarios will happen, then you can't deny that it will hurt or kill LGP. Linux users are NOT loyal to Linux - ask what was Tribsoft or someone from Hyperion, two companies who stopped porting to Linux because so-called Linux users are too fucking cheap to buy native games, and they'd rather buy the 20-discount bin Windows versions and then use WineX or dual-boot. At least Amiga and Mac users are loyal to their operating system. They don't buy Windows software at all. They buy software for their platform. Hell, the majority of Linux users don't even pay for their distro. Hyperion has a deal now, but if they will port to Linux remains to be seen.

The future of Linux gaming is NOT bright when you keep getting bombarded with emails and comments about WineX and playing Windows games in Linux.

When we can run Windows games on Linux, there is no need for native ports. It's a sad, sad day. I'm very glad I bought a Playstation, because I can't see Linux gaming surviving much longer.

DOOM 3

[SeaPig]

John Carmack said there will be a linux version of DOOM 3. That's all I care about. ;-)

Orbz 2.0 for Linux will be out any minute now

[Dave_21-6]

21-6 Productions [21-6.com] is one of the studios developing games with the Torque Game Engine offered by GarageGames [garagegames.com]. It's a bit of a shameless plug, but today is the launch day for our title Orbz 2.0 [garagegames.com], which is being released for Linux, Mac, and Windows simultaneously, along with a demo for each platform.

We really believe in developing fun and interesting games for both the Linux and Mac platforms. We don't just believe in doing so just because it's "the right thing", but also because there is money to be made. The article mentions Marble Blast, another TGE-powered title, and the Mac and Linux sales have been substantial. Certainly nothing for a small, independently-financed game studio such as ours to turn our noses up at.

Re:Satisfied?

[friedmud]

WTF are talking about?

NWN runs BETTER in linux than it does in windows. Maybe you are using some POS videocard - but there is no reason at all for 20fps.

I have a fairly standard rig and it runs fine:

1.2 Ghz Athlon
512MB RAM
Geforce4 Ti4200

NWN is great! Since the linux client has come out it has totally taken all of my time (yes the built in modules aren't that great - but the user created content that is out there is INCREDIBLE).

Derek

Re:BZZT! Wrong

[gatesh8r]

There are some of us too that don't want to pony up the $200 for a half-decent Windoze XP Pro -- that just for the upgrade, or in my case, $300 because I dumped Windoze a few years ago and since I don't have 98, ME, or 2000, I'm not eligable for the upgrade. XP Home just doesn't cut it. There are those that don't want Windoze because of the privacy concerns, the security concerns, etc. For what I'd have to pay in Windoze software to help guard my system, plus the cost of the licence (which if I don't upgrade when MS wants, I pay for dearly) I can get a hell of a lot more hardware!

One thing's for sure: TG has the balls to come out and make their product for those who would much prefer not to deal with a MS product for whatever reason. I've seen MS give the shaft to a lot of people and business in my professional carrer, and they rightfully deserve the "M$" monkier. Give TG time, and issues with it will hammer out. They've expanded the Linux gaming library quite a bit more than Loki has, along with icculus.

Tzar

[StarTux]

"A while ago, Hyperion Entertainment ported both Sin and Shogo: Mobile Armor Division to Linux. While they haven't ported any games to Linux recently, they were considering porting Tzar, but Linux gamers rejected that idea. That is sad, because Linux doesn't have an overabundance of real-time strategy games at the moment. I think that we shouldn't be so choosy when it comes to what we get ported, as we are a very small market as it is. I would have liked to buy Tzar, or any RTS game for that matter. I hope that Hyperion find something to port in the near future, as well as a publisher willing to support them. The more games we get, the better!"

Shogo had clipping issues, pretty large ones....Tzar was rejected because we're getting Disciples 2, wehich is similer but much better. Tzar didn't really offer anything unique.

StarTux

Re:Mostly FUD

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't this going against history? Now, MS probably won't target WineX perse, but they will throw a monkey wrench every once in a while to keep people from running MS apps on non MS OS (even before I learned of Linux, I was so suspicious about the stupidity of just about all MS save formats -- huge, bloated, error prone, and of course incompatible with everything else. Oh, and it didn't seem like incompetence, since as far as I could tell this kept getting worse not better).

Incompatibility is about the only thing MS knows how to do -- I guess I have to disagree and say (just as always in the past) that it's just a matter of time.

Unless this really catches on, and it will then probably be legislated, not just made difficult with obfuscated Word/Excel/Whatever formats.

They are coming down the pipe!

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm holding out for Java3D games like Magicosm [magicosm.net]. Windows, Linux, Mac gamers unite!

New stuff from Hyperion

[An Ominous Cow Erred]

Hyperion just completed an agreement [hyperion-e...inment.com] with IncaGold to bring their games to Amiga, MacOS, and Linux, the first title being Midnight Racing. Here's to giving Linux another shot. ::raises glass::

Unreal 2 for linux

[Nurgled]

Since UT2003 is available for linux, the engine has already been ported so Unreal 2 should be an easy port. The only reason why they may not publish it for linux is due to an estimated lack of demand making it not financially worthwhile, but I suspect that even then it should be possible to just borrow the engine from UT2003 and use the Unreal 2 data and game code to play the game, since the developers seem to write everything in UnrealScript these days.

All uninformed speculation, of course.

reverse porting?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wouldn't it be most logical/cost effective to take a look at companies like Aspyr? They port Windows games to OS X, and to judge by the (relative) ease with which I can run Linux or other Unixes' software on my Mac - tools like Fink and X11 lending a helping hand - it surely wouldn't be too hard to do the same thing in the opposite direction, licenses permitting.

Must be better than converting Windows to *nix twice over, surely. And the Mac gaming scene has far more titles than the Linux one (currently), so you'd get a higher release rate.