Is Linux good for games?

[the lemming]

Being new to the world of Linux could I ask what sort of games can be played?

I'm not a big gamer but I do like to tinker. Being new to all this could somebody please point me in the right direction of where to get a game or two.

Cheers

[Tux0r]

ID software FPS games works native
All games from Valve can be played through WINE www.winehq.org :)

[silent1643]

hard to say, just depends.. i would recomend you install ubuntu on a seperate partition then try installing and running your fav games in ubuntu by either using wine (http://www.winehq.com/) or cedega (http://cedega.com/)

also read the sticky post under this forum.. some good info there :D

[MonkeyBoy]

A very simple way to try some games is to look here:

http://www.getdeb.net/

There are a lot of .debs which are all ready to load with no hassle at all. Many of the games there are worth a look. I can recommend Advanced Armegatron (not sure about the spelling) as a good start.

The site is good for a lot of other apps too.

[mech7]

linux is not for games.. windows is for games

[Death_Sargent]

yes and no

its great for games as it does not hog resources

it is not so great as most games are ot actually compatible and have to be used via api programs like wine and cedega.

9/10 games will work just fine but really if all you do is game then windows is best

[Tomosaur]

If you're not a big gamer, then there are tons of free Linux games to entertain you. Many of them a really, really good, just don't expect top of the range graphics etc - the developers generally do it for free and don't have the time or budget to spend ages creating CGI, pixel-perfect graphics, jillion-pixel 3d models etc.

[MonkeyBoy]

linux is not for games.. windows is for games

I beg to differ old chap. Linux is good for linux gamers...just not necessarily for windows gamers. I used to be a big windows gamer but now I just use Ubuntu for my PC gaming fix, and there are very few things I miss. I was mostly into FPS anyway so TCE, Urban Terror, etc meet my needs nicely. All I really need is a FPS with vehicles before I am completely satisfied.

[mrazster]

Ubuntu Gamers Arena (http://gaming.gwos.org/news.php) might help you a bit.

[noerrorsfound]

All I really need is a FPS with vehicles before I am completely satisfied.
Unreal Tournament 2004 has vehicles but it's not free.

[willskills]

In short; games developers generally use DirectX to create games quickly, and this really is why windows is better for gaming, WINE only emulates up to Direct X 9.0? (correct me if I'm wrong)

A lot of games can be played under linux, but generally, you'll get a higher FPS and generally smoother performance playing it on a windows install :/

[slimdog360]

Frets on fire rocks, its a guitar hero clone. Then there is enemy territory and its various mods which are all very cool.

[houstonbofh]

I was a big Windows Gamer, but now avoid Windows like the Plague! I still have a Windows partition, but rarely use it. Start with http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=427205 And be surprised what can run native. My short list of current time wasters; Beyond the Red Line, RTCW:ET, World of Padman, Globulation, and anxiously awaiting Quake Wars.

[GhostZrydA]

Doom 3 runs real well on Ubuntu, once you have finished the single player game, their are hundreds of user made maps/levels to install for free.

GhostZrydA

[der_joachim]

As other people already stated, FPS players have a wide array of games available, both free and commercial. A good native (but non-free) RPG is Neverwinter Nights. Unfortunately, there are few commercial games for Linux. Linux is good fer gaming (see the rest of this thread), but gaming is not especially good for Linux...

Having said that, I am not saying tnat there aren't any good free games, but in order for a wider gaming population to accept Linux, there should be more commercial linux games.

[dilb]

I find there's enough to keep me satisfied. I wasn't a huge gamer, but liked to 'tinker' as you put it!
I find FPS are quite well supported. Unreal Tournament 2004, Quake 3 and 4 as well as Doom 3 all run natively very well, which generally keep me entertained, much to the despair of my long suffering girlfriend.
There are also loads of free games, including the Tux Super Mario Brothers clone which is cool.
As for getting Windows games running, I've had limited success with Wine. Generally speaking the older the game, the more likely it will run ok with wine. If I have got a game running, I don't notice any performance issues. You could try Cedega, but it's subscription-based, and I find I don't play enough games to really make it worthwhile.
As for games by Valve, I've not been able to get them working because of the dreaded Steam, but I've not tried it with Cedega.

I'd say there's enough to keep you going if you're only tinkering. UT2004 would be a good place to start as it has vehicles, but make sure you pick up a copy distributed by atari, not the later one by Midway as this doesn't support linux.

[Cre-ve]

I have to agree with the comment that Linux isn't for games. I play counterstrike like its my 2nd life..and if you are good at counterstrike and have gotten used to playing it on windows, you will get VERY annoyed playing it in Linux. It does not work very well at all with wine. The resolutions that i got where very choppy and the movements were rather strange aswell. I know that even the slightest difference in mouse movement can make a HUGE difference between winning and losing in the game...so from that sense ubuntu does not work for FPS games.

if you are playing games like starcraft...ubuntu is good for that i would say. graphics are good and everything else is alright.

i'm still new to ubuntu..so what i do is..have a dual boot system. when i play games like counterstrike i switch into the windows mode. when i'm working on other things other than games i use ubuntu.

maybe when i stop laying CS i'll use linux on a periminant basis.

[ebichu]

I'd say, that Linux is for games. For some reason, when I use/used Windows, I almost didn't play any games at all, but now, when i'm only using Linux, I find myself playing Openarena more, than I played Q3 in Windows. That also goes for other games too.
Linux handles most of my games just perfectly, and since I'm not that passionate gamer, a few stutters in CS don't bother me. : D

[B0rsuk]

Being new to the world of Linux could I ask what sort of games can be played?

I'm not a big gamer but I do like to tinker. Being new to all this could somebody please point me in the right direction of where to get a game or two.

Cheers


There are plenty of good FPS games, mostly. All games by ID Software, anything from Doom to Enemy Territory:Quake Wars (not yet announced).
Many games based on ID Software engines are also very easily emulated, for example Prey.
Epic (Unreal serries) often releases games with Linux version right on the cd.
There are some very good puzzle games: Fish Fillets - NG and DROD. sudo apt-get install fillets-ng fillets-ng-data
Neverwinter Nights 1 is the best RPG available for linux, but it's quite old now.
There are some very nice strategy games. Dominions3, Wesnoth(free) and some others, but very little RTS games.
Most of Blizzard games can be emulated without too much trouble.


Summary: large amount of high quality FPS games. Good choice of puzzle games. Some good turn based strategy games. Very few RPG games. Very few RTS games.
==========
Good place to look for commercial games:
http://tuxgames.com/

Good place to look for free games:
http://happypenguin.org
==============

[jorgerosa]

... new to the world of Linux could I ask what sort of games can be played? ... point me in the right direction of where to get a game or two.
Ok, you asked for it! Here goes: click here at your own risk (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=427205) ;)

[AndrewRiedi]

In short; games developers generally use DirectX to create games quickly, and this really is why windows is better for gaming, WINE only emulates up to Direct X 9.0? (correct me if I'm wrong)

A lot of games can be played under linux, but generally, you'll get a higher FPS and generally smoother performance playing it on a windows install :/

Wine supports up to 9.0c. There are a few rarely used things that are missing though that still need to be implemented. D3D10 will be begin being implemented this summer. There is a guy working on DSound.

[houstonbofh]

Ok, you asked for it! Here goes: click here at your own risk (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=427205) ;)

Dude... I linked to that yesterday!

And to CRE VE, Ubuntu is not good for CS. I is good for First Person Shooters, just not CF. RTCW:ET is better on Linux than Windows. This could have something to do with not having to run a virusscannerfirewallspywareblockerwindowsupdater in the background of every game...

Selection is poor at the moment, but that will change. I am looking forward to Quake Wars for two reasons. First, it will rock! :) But also it will be the first major game released with a native linux version since Ubuntu took off with new users. Even Maximum PC did an article on Ubuntu last month, so the market is very different since the last time this happened. I think the hits on the ID servers will show a demand that will shock the game producing community. Perhaps enough to make a few more look at it.