Linux... The gaming OS?

kyPixel · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 117

I'm pretty much your standard windows user... with advanced knowledged on the most basic things.. at work i basicly install Windows XP/2000 for a living...

But I really want to use linux... for gaming.. I know it's a longshot... but i've bene reading up on things like Cedega that allow you to run alot of windows based games.. I want this machine to go where no machine has gone before...

I'm in need of tips, advice and any documentation that may help me along my journey... sure.. using windows would be best.. and alot more less frustrating... but theres no fun in having a simple OS if you ask me...

Just for reference.. my systems is:
MOBO: ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe
CPU: Intel p4 2.8 OC'd to 3.6
Memory: 1 GB pc3500 DDR-RAM
Video Card: Nividia FX 5200
Sound Card: SB Audigy LS
HDD: Maxtor 80 GB 7200 RPM

gatiba · Guru Joined: 01 Sep 2002 Posts: 434

You are in the wrong section, probably...
Post your request on "Gamers & Players"!

ian! · Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 1:07 pm Post subject:

Moved from 'Documentation, Tips & Tricks'.
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wolf31o2 · Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 1:58 pm Post subject:

You're not going to be satisfied with the gaming performance of Linux. If you run Linux native games, you'll find that they tend to perform better under Linux. However, with Windows games under Cedega, the performance is usually not nearly as good as running them native under Windows. Add to that the complexity of getting games to work under Cedega, and you've essentially set yourself up for a short-lived jaunt into Linux followed by a quick run back to Windows with your tail tucked between your legs.

If you're really serious about gaming, then stick with Windows. If playing games is something you do occasionally and you don't mind not being able to run the same games as everyone else, then Linux works just fine.

Linux is not a gaming platform. While it has made strides in gaming support, it is still quite lacking. Cedega doesn't help the situation, as it gives game developers and out for not porting to Linux natively.
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The Mountain Man · l33t Joined: 03 Sep 2003 Posts: 643

kyPixel · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 117

I am serious about his, I want to be able to.. or atleast try my best to get some of my games t owork on it, I know most of hte ones i am using are playable under the right settings, And if not... it won't discourage me.

Dais · l33t Joined: 05 Aug 2004 Posts: 977 Location: Québec

You can have an advantage in playing linux games: you can play them without having a desktop shell launched in background :arrow:

more ressources for your game

But yeah, most of the time, games run better in the platform they were created for.
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BlackEdder · Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 5:23 pm Post subject:

If you're serious about it then the next question is are you willing to spent quite some time on the installation of linux itself, or do you want to have linux installed quickly and spent the time on tinkering with the games. If you don't have the time then you're probably best of with a distribution like fedora core or mandrake. If you want to spent quite some time tinkering on the system (and it sounds like you do) then I suggest gentoo ofcourz. Follow the installation guides on the website.

Then install xorg-x11 (follow the desktop guides) and probably a lightweigth window manager (to save some system resources) like openbox/fluxbox/fvwm. Get your nvidea drivers to work and start installing your games.

For the linux games there are often ebuilds available, the windows only games you can try wine or cedega. There is some good documentation for wine here: http://frankscorner.org/index.php and http://www.linux-gamers.net/modules/wfsection/

kyPixel · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 117

Also, I'm in the process of upgrading my video card... from what it looks like in these forums.. ATI is the way to go... is this correct?

miscz · Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 5:45 pm Post subject:

moomin-papa · Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 5:56 pm Post subject:

Not to start an ATI vs NVidia argument, but I would like to point out that the recent ATI drviers have been very good, and have worked great for me. As far as I know any recent Radeon card (9200 and up) are supported by these drivers.

I do admit that NVidia have been better to the linux community in the past, but ATI has caught up by a significant margin with the latest driver release, so I wouldnt purely base the decision to buy a graphics card for linux on the driver issue anymore.

Jim
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float- · Apprentice Joined: 31 Aug 2003 Posts: 174

it depends; if you want as many games as possible running under GNU/Linux I suggest you buy a nvidia card. If you want a more price worthy card, maybe you should consider a ATI card.

wolf31o2 · Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 6:09 pm Post subject:

While the ATI driver have gotten better, they are still nowhere near on-par with their Windows counterparts in terms of speed. Also take into account that to ATI, Linux support is merely a checkbox on their supported features. For Nvidia, it is a vital part of their organization, and they treat it as such.

Back on to the topic at hand.

You are correct. There is nothing technical making Linux unsuitable for gaming. In fact, Linux is quite suitable for gaming, as most of my ebuilds in the portage tree show. However, you cannot expect to be able to build a Linux box and run every Windows game you wish. It takes lots of work. In many cases it requires completely incompatable cedega/wine configurations, making it even harder.

I simply would not recommend to anyone that is planning on playing Windows games to even bother wasting time on running them under Linux. The games are designed to run on a Windows platform, so run them there. If you want to run Linux only, then ditch the games from developers and production companies that refuse to support your platform. Windows emulation is a crutch that is definitely contributing to the lack of Linux-native games. After all, why spend all of the time and resources to port a game to Linux when "gamers" will be happy running the game at 75% performance with graphical glitches and artifacts using a proprietary piece of pay software that they don't have to pony up to code?
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float- · Apprentice Joined: 31 Aug 2003 Posts: 174

The Mountain Man · l33t Joined: 03 Sep 2003 Posts: 643

deadstar · Guru Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 319 Location: England

feld · Guru Joined: 29 Aug 2004 Posts: 593 Location: WI, USA

if Linux isnt a gaming platform, then who wrote the guidlines on what a gaming platform IS?

Linux:
1. Speed
2. Stability
3. Great resource handling
4. Bleeding Edge as far as power over hardware
5. Suitable for both server and client!

Windows:
1. Slow
2. Instable alone, worse thanks to crappy security that allows viruses and spyware to run free.
3. Handles resouces about as well as ... well... does Windows even handle resources? :lol:

4. Could this OS make it any harder to get power out of your PC?
5. Not really suitable for both. Only reason client is there is because the OS is a monopoly. With the influence and amount of computer gamers, if all makers went OpenGL and Linux / Mac only, Windows would be done for outside of business in 6 months of great releases.

What more do videogame makers want?

WE'RE OVER HERE! YEAAH! THE GOOOOOD SIDE!!!!

NOOO

WAAAIT!

COME BAAAAAAAAACKK.....

*sigh*
:cry:

-Feld
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sir_tez · n00b Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 69

Games I currently play (or have had installed/played) in Linux (hence why it's MY gaming platform of choice -- install windows if you want to)

Native:
Neverwinter Nights
Quake 3
Unreal Tournament 2003
Unreal Tournament 2004
Savage
Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns
Doom 3
Eric's Ultimate Solitaire
Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Non-Native:
World of Warcraft
Half-Life 2
Warcraft III: Frozen Throne
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Ghost Recon (because someone copied their windows install for me -- I own the game and expansions though :-)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Jedi Knight II

Also, the free WINE project is making leaps and bounds in supporting games. Plus, linux has tons of free/open source games as well as independently produced games.

Come in, the water's fine!

Current Specs:

Athlon 2700+ XP w/1GB PC3200 RAM
MSI's NX 6600GT (Nvidia GeForce FX 6600GT)
2.6.11-rc2-nitro0
Cedega for the non-native games.... will need to fully experiment with Wine in the future.

sir_tez · n00b Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 69

As far as paying for Cedega? I originally started because of a Warcraft III addiction and being fed up with dual booting. If wine overtakes cedega in DirectX 9 support (word is they have Pirates! running) then who'll keep paying for Cedega? I'll keep buying native games as they come but sadly they seem to be few and far between and not many "big" titles outside of the FPS world.

Thanks to icculus for his work on ut2k4 and TTimo for Doom 3 running natively

kyPixel · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 117

Thanks for all the suggestions.. I guess ill keep the card i have now and buy some more memory first....

Nicom · Guru Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 380

kyPixel · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 117

Watchoo · Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 3:51 pm Post subject:

kyPixel · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 117

Nicom · Guru Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 380