Re: Swiching to Linux and need help

Post #164,255 by tjsinclair 7/13/04 3:56:03 PM Reply	Re: Swiching to Linux and need help I'll get things started, I guess. RE: Games You've got a couple of options here: - native: Several popular commercial titles are available for Linux, like UT2004. I'm not sure what games you're currently playing but you may wish to check to see if they have a Linux client. (Peter knows more in this area, so I hope he chimes in at some point.) Of course, there are a lot of free, open-source games available on just about any Linux distribution. - non-native: Many Windows games can be played natively on Linux using products from [link\|http://www.transgaming.com\|Transgaming]. They've souped up Wine (a fOSS Win32 API for Linux) by tweaking it for gaming support. Please check out their site and in particular [link\|http://www.transgaming.com/searchgame.php\|their database of supported games] to see if your titles are there. There are, I understand, still some issues with drivers for the latest and greatest video cards (although certainly things are MUCH better than they once were) but someone else would be better able to address that. Tom Sinclair "While I'm still confused and uncertain, it's on a much higher plane, d'you see, and at least I know I'm bewildered about the really fundamental and important facts of the universe." Treatle nodded. "I hadn't looked at it like that," he said, "But you're absolutely right. He's really pushed back the boundaries of ignorance." -- Discworld scientists at work (Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites)
Post #164,299 by JvlivsCaesar 7/13/04 7:47:33 PM Reply	Re: Swiching to Linux and need help Thank you for you replise and the information you have provided so for (keep it comin') After extensive resaerch ive came accross TransGaming and it looks like the company has alot of potential. My real question is WineX is trying to emulate DirectX from what I understand because MS holds the right to it their is unlikely to be a native vertion of it but shouldnt OpenGL games have less problems with Linux or is that also not suported natively? In my experiens most games are eather able to run GL or Direct3D so if Linux suports OpenGL their should be a way to get it working. I also uderstand the driver situation, after visiting some hardware forums. And ATi, my video card of choise is laking badly in that department but resent rumors sujests they are geting a wholle new team to develop Linux drivers (I am an optimist I know) The basic question is "is it doable?"
Post #164,303 by inthane-chan 7/13/04 7:55:26 PM Reply	The problem isn't OpenGL... ...which Linux does support. The problem is that compiled binaries (and this is a vast oversimplification) are targeted to one OS: Windows or Linux - and need to be recompiled to run under the other system. So even if I write a game that uses "OpenGL" as the rendering engine, if I write it for Windows, I'm likely to use Windows-specific calls. If I want the game to run under Linux, I either need to recompile the application for Linux (impossible if I don't have the source) or run it via an emulation layer. WANTED: Precognitive Telepath for adventuring Partnership. You know where to apply.
Post #164,312 by JvlivsCaesar 7/13/04 8:16:38 PM Reply	Re: The problem isn't OpenGL... Thank you for clearing that up for me. And I asume thats exacly what the developer do when they port their games to Linux right? Some one said some thing about HL2 is it known if it will have linux client?
Post #164,341 by inthane-chan 7/14/04 12:21:24 AM Reply	Well... [image\|http://www.oz.net/~inthane/emotes/google.gif\|\|\|\|] [link\|http://groups.google.com/groups?q=half-life+2+linux+client&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=37D2D173.5BFD88F%40bellsouth.net&rnum=1\|http://groups.google...lsouth.net&rnum=1] According to the above link, Team Fortress 2 won't have a Linux client. That probably extends to Half-Life 2, given that they utilize the same engine. WANTED: Precognitive Telepath for adventuring Partnership. You know where to apply.
Post #164,345 by JvlivsCaesar 7/14/04 1:12:13 AM Reply	Re: Well... Thanx for the link. I did noticed that the artcle is 5 years old and alot had changed sice then. First HL2 wosent even anaunced to the public and the TF2 screens from that time resemble nothing of HL2 state today. From what I understand for some time TF2 was supose to be a stand alone sequal but later was scraped in fawor of HL2 and porting every thing to the Source engien. So IMO their is still hope left. If Doom 3 has Linux client (wich knowing iD their is a good chanse of that)Valve wouldnt whant to miss out on that market it self. Also alot of home/dedecated servers for HL and CS use Linux it would only make sence their are also Client users who would by the game as well. Dose are just my observations.
Post #164,492 by JvlivsCaesar 7/14/04 9:53:11 PM Reply	Re: Well... Well good news after a bit trolling I faund out that DOOM3 will have a client vertion for Linux. Not surprising considering iD usually makes their games avalible on all platforms(remember Quake2 and 3).

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