New to Linux gaming

[Whatthehello]

I am really new to linux gaming, so would someone explain to me what cedega and wine is? and where to get it?

[23meg]

http://www.winehq.com/site/docs/wine-faq/index#WHAT-IS-WINE-AND-WHAT-IS-IT-SUPPOSED-TO

http://www.transgaming.com/products_linux.php

[Whatthehello]

hmmm. so which one is better for playing games?

[Whatthehello]

oh.. cedega is pay to use?

[23meg]

Yes, it's pay software, and lets you run more games than wine alone does.

[Whatthehello]

oh. that sucks

[uberlinux]

oh. that sucks
Cedega is like $5, and you are helping advance the state of gaming in Linux.

[KingBahamut]

5 bux a month for X number of months is a small price to pay, though Ive donated more than 5 dollars to that cause from time to time.

[apoclypse]

Well I don't know if you are helping the state of gaming on linux if you are basically trying to hack a game to run on your system because its not native to it. The ideal advancement in gaming foe linux would be a popular game that came out exclusively to linux first and other platforms second.

[uberlinux]

Well I don't know if you are helping the state of gaming on linux if you are basically trying to hack a game to run on your system because its not native to it. The ideal advancement in gaming foe linux would be a popular game that came out exclusively to linux first and other platforms second.
which is happening on a small scale already, but I think it is more important in the short term to provide access to gameplay in linux immediatly for people testing the waters of linux. Here in 2005

[aminalshmu]

Cedega is like $5, and you are helping advance the state of gaming in Linux.

i strongly disagree. paying for cedega is giving companies more incentive to not make native linux ports of their games, because people will still buy the windows version if there is no native linux port and then the game producer won't even have to support them - they can say, "sorry, we don't support linux."

the best way, in my opinion, to currently support the state of gaming on linux is to only buy games from companies who care about supporting their linux-using customers, such as id software and epic games. hopefully in the next few years more native linux games will be released as producers realize there is a decent market developing... paying for cedega will effectively hide this.

[uberlinux]

the best way, in my opinion, to currently support the state of gaming on linux is to only buy games from companies who care about supporting their linux-using customers, such as id software and epic games. hopefully in the next few years more native linux games will be released as producers realize there is a decent market developing... paying for cedega will effectively hide this.
yeah well in reality, here in 2005, without Cedega, you arent playing many games, and video card support still sucks...

Cedega helps people adopt Linux.

[Biased turkey]

Cedega is like $5, and you are helping advance the state of gaming in Linux.

I'm not sure about that.
The only way to help advance the state of gaming in Linux is to force the developers to release a Linux version
Cedega is the obvious proof of the gaming failure in Linux.

[uberlinux]

The only way to help advance the state of gaming in Linux is to force the developers to release a Linux version ..yeah, this is gonna happen... wake me up in six years to check on that:rolleyes: maybe by then 3D will install itself too:razz:
so what are you going to force them with? a 4% market share, a quarter of which might care about games?

[slux]

I used to think Cedega is a bad thing for Linux gaming but while it could be said that there is no incentive for a company to do a port if something works with Cedega, it does probably bring more Linux users and those users are eventually going to be a significant buying force. If, at that point, Cedega works so well that the majority of those people have nothing to complain about, there's no real need for native ports anyway. If it doesn't work nearly as well as having a native port (ask any Cedega user and I think you'll find that they agree here) then there will be a demand for native ports.

Well, I actually stand undecided on this issue, it could go both ways and people should still favor native ports right now to support those companies that are supporting us but Cedega might not be such a bad thing.

[Harbinger]

Does anyone know if COH or COV is runaable on either system??

Thanks

Harb

[extarbags]

I used to think Cedega is a bad thing for Linux gaming but while it could be said that there is no incentive for a company to do a port if something works with Cedega, it does probably bring more Linux users and those users are eventually going to be a significant buying force. If, at that point, Cedega works so well that the majority of those people have nothing to complain about, there's no real need for native ports anyway. If it doesn't work nearly as well as having a native port (ask any Cedega user and I think you'll find that they agree here) then there will be a demand for native ports.

Well, I actually stand undecided on this issue, it could go both ways and people should still favor native ports right now to support those companies that are supporting us but Cedega might not be such a bad thing.

Hey, native ports would be great! I totally favor them.

But guess what guys: whether or not a game works in Cedega, there's not sufficient demand for people to make native ports of linux games. Only a tiny number of people use linux, and most of them understand that it just isn't made for games. When I switched to Ubuntu, I did so knowing that it was the next step in my drift away from PC gaming and towards consoles. But I do use Cedega, and I think it works pretty well for what little PC gaming I do (mostly WoW at this point). Regardless, it's really the only way.

Put another way: if you want to play games on linux, you have two real options: use Cedega or cross your fingers that the game you want to play is going to be one of the extremely few that gets a linux port. I know which one I'm going with.

[Kyral]

Or play games like PlanetPenguin Racer (Formally TuxRacer) and Frozen-Bubble :D

[slux]

Hey, native ports would be great! I totally favor them.

But guess what guys: whether or not a game works in Cedega, there's not sufficient demand for people to make native ports of linux games. Only a tiny number of people use linux, and most of them understand that it just isn't made for games. When I switched to Ubuntu, I did so knowing that it was the next step in my drift away from PC gaming and towards consoles. But I do use Cedega, and I think it works pretty well for what little PC gaming I do (mostly WoW at this point). Regardless, it's really the only way.


Sure it is made for games, the problem is availability. Linux is made for pretty much anything at this point. :)

And there is demand, it's just so small that companies like LGP have to forget about porting the big titles like Half-Life 2 and WOW or other Blizzard games. Those games cost a lot to license so they aim for less well known and slightly older but still really good games. ID is a different story since they've ported long before even this small demand existed. It's growing though and I'm hoping Cedega is helping that growth.


Put another way: if you want to play games on linux, you have two real options: use Cedega or cross your fingers that the game you want to play is going to be one of the extremely few that gets a linux port. I know which one I'm going with.

We need to also support the native ports by actually buying them instead of (well, "in addition to" also works) whatever's the latest and greatest you read off of PC Gamer's pages or the situation's never gonna change. I don't think totally sticking to Cedega is going to work. Next time you feel an itch for some RTS action coming, don't go straight to C&C, check if there's a good one you've never heard of already ported.

I've also heard piracy is just as bad for native Linux as it is in the Windows world, so if people are really serious about sticking with Linux they should think twice before doing the easy thing and downloading because no-one's getting rich from the ports currently.

[teevee]

Does anyone know if COH or COV is runaable on either system??

Thanks

Harb
City of Heroes is officially supported by Transgaming (the Cedega developers):
http://transgaming.org/gamesdb/games/view.mhtml?game_id=3321

COV seems to work fine too:
http://transgaming.org/gamesdb/games/view.mhtml?game_id=3956

Issues are described in the Wiki:
http://cedegawiki.sweetleafstudios.com/wiki/City_of_Heroes
http://cedegawiki.sweetleafstudios.com/wiki/City_of_Villains

[extarbags]

We need to also support the native ports by actually buying them instead of (well, "in addition to" also works) whatever's the latest and greatest you read off of PC Gamer's pages or the situation's never gonna change. I don't think totally sticking to Cedega is going to work. Next time you feel an itch for some RTS action coming, don't go straight to C&C, check if there's a good one you've never heard of already ported.


So if I want to play C&C, I should just not, and instead I should play some old RTS, no matter what it is, that has a native linux port? Even if the game I want to play works fine under Cedega? Sorry, but that's just ridiculous.

Look man, when you switch to linux, you do so with the knowledge that there just plain are not a lot of native games available. It's not like they spring that on you afterwards. It's not like the Ubuntu installer says "every new PC game also has a linux version!" at the beginning, and at the end it says "just kidding there are no games and also we've fixed it so you can never uninstall this OS!"

Linux is just plain not the OS for people who want to play a lot of PC games, period. Whatever few native version there are, great. Whatever you can get to work in Cedega, great. But when you install linux, you know it's not the OS of choice for games. Complaining about it afterwards is like buying a motorcycle and then complaining that you get wet when it rains, because it doesn't have a roof.

I applaud the efforts of the companies that port games to linux, and if they release a game I want, I'll buy it. If they only release games I don't want though, I won't buy them. Because I want to play the games I want to play. If it isn't available for linux or on a console, I'll try to get it to work in Cedega. If it doesn't work in Cedega, I probably won't play it. And if I really, really want to play it, well, I guess I'll install Windows. What I'm definitely not going to do is pass on F.E.A.R. because someone has already made a port of Postal 2, and I should support their efforts.

[teevee]

Without Cedega, Windows Gamers won't switch to Ubuntu, or keep a separate Windows partition for gaming (which can't really be Ubuntu's goal). No gamers, no increasing demand for native Linux ports. If the market share of Desktop Linux increases, game developers will naturally start to support it, that shouldn't be a fear. Cedega is an interim solution, kind of a "bridge" from Windows Land to Linux Land. ;-)

[slux]

What I was saying is that you should give the less known games that are actually available natively a chance instead of blindly purchasing only what has the largest marketing budget. That and a game is still good even if it hasn't been released yesterday, especially when it comes to RTSes where graphics certainly aren't everything.

I agree that Linux isn't for someone who needs to get their hands on each and every new game that gets released, but for the casual gamer there are enough games.

<edit> I guess that my original thoughts on Cedega do mean that even gamers that only stick to playing with it may eventually help bring in ports. That's assuming that Linux really will some day get the kind of market share that catches the game developers' attention though. Macs are pretty much exactly in the same situation we are and have been for a long, long time although they do get a few more ports. </edit>

[blu.gecko]

cedega is by far the best application on the market for gaming windows games on a linux platform, I understand peoples thoughts when they dont want to pay 5 dollars a month for the application tho........check out limewire, may find something there that will soot your needs. not suggesting anything, but.................:rolleyes:

[slux]

Do remember that the more paid copies equals more resources for Transgaming which in turn will more or less directly make Cedega a better product and new games to get supported faster.

[Harbinger]

Thanks Teevee for the quick response and information.

Harb

[uberlinux]

So if I want to play C&C, I should just not, and instead I should play some old RTS, no matter what it is, that has a native linux port? Even if the game I want to play works fine under Cedega? Sorry, but that's just ridiculous.

Look man, when you switch to linux, you do so with the knowledge that there just plain are not a lot of native games available. It's not like they spring that on you afterwards. It's not like the Ubuntu installer says "every new PC game also has a linux version!" at the beginning, and at the end it says "just kidding there are no games and also we've fixed it so you can never uninstall this OS!"

Linux is just plain not the OS for people who want to play a lot of PC games, period. Whatever few native version there are, great. Whatever you can get to work in Cedega, great. But when you install linux, you know it's not the OS of choice for games. Complaining about it afterwards is like buying a motorcycle and then complaining that you get wet when it rains, because it doesn't have a roof.

I applaud the efforts of the companies that port games to linux, and if they release a game I want, I'll buy it. If they only release games I don't want though, I won't buy them. Because I want to play the games I want to play. If it isn't available for linux or on a console, I'll try to get it to work in Cedega. If it doesn't work in Cedega, I probably won't play it. And if I really, really want to play it, well, I guess I'll install Windows. What I'm definitely not going to do is pass on F.E.A.R. because someone has already made a port of Postal 2, and I should support their efforts.
Finally!!
Someone that 'gets it'
Yeah, native ports are great, but there arent many yet.

[Biased turkey]

cedega is by far the best application on the market for gaming windows games on a linux platform, I understand peoples thoughts when they dont want to pay 5 dollars a month for the application tho........check out limewire, may find something there that will soot your needs. not suggesting anything, but.................:rolleyes:

I tried cedega ( 6 months ) and it ... sucks. NONE of my 5 windows games works with Cedega.
So if it's for paying ,I'd rather pay Bill Gates knowing that my games will work instead of wasting my money with Cedega.
Of course, if F1 Challenge or Richard Burns Rally had a native Linux port , I would be ready to pay an extra 50 % premium.

[william_nbg]

There are some pessimistic people here. Linux is growing quite rapidly at the moment, in the last year alone it rose from 2% of the desktop world to 6% - and it's the first time it has MS worried. Linux has, for the first time some really big backers, not to mention our hero Mark S.

I guess I'm lucky because long before I switched to Linux I was an IDsoftware fan. A week or two ago Quake4 was released for windows, and a day later it was released for Linux - Nobody can complain there. Q4 runs damn good on my computer.

I bought Cedega last year and subscribed for about a half a year. I still use it to run a few old windows games, which run fine, but I'd never buy another game that's not ported for Linux. And I have written several game companies email that I'd buy that particular game if it were ported for Linux.

XP is quickly becoming an archaic OS - 6 years is pretty old for an OS. If anyone here plans on buying MS Vista, either you don't know anything about what's in store for the next MS release, or are not interested in Linux for the freedom it offers.

Linux is developing faster than ever as a desktop OS. You just need a little patients and don't buy games that aren't ported for Linux.

[slux]

There are some pessimistic people here. Linux is growing quite rapidly at the moment, in the last year alone it rose from 2% of the desktop world to 6% - and it's the first time it has MS worried. Linux has, for the first time some really big backers, not to mention our hero Mark S.


Eh, where did you pull those stats from? I've never heard of GNU/Linux being at 6%, let alone rising to that from 2% in a single year. In fact, even 2% seems much if you think of the Google access stats that used to be available that listed Linux at 1%. Granted, they aren't likely to accurately represent the OS market shares and were pulled because of some controversy surrounding them, but nothing does. None of the big web stats websites have reported anything better for Linux either. Then there's of course The Linux Counter (http://counter.li.org) where you all should register. ;) But the numbers over there aren't very impressive and the guess is just a guess (although last time I checked they were guessing eighteen million so they've upped it considerably)

[william_nbg]

I honestly didn't just pull those stats out of thin air. I picked them up in an article I read recently. They are very optimistic stats, I admit, and the main plug of the article was that Linux had passed up Mac on the desktop for the first time – but I can't remember where I read it.. True there are a lot of different stats out there and it's literally impossible to make accurate stats on this subject.

For the first time ever, Big vendors are selling Linux boxes: IBM, Compact, Wal-Mart to name a few, but that's no measuring stick either, for how many people would go to Wal-Mart and buy a Linux box for a hundred bucks cheaper knowing there big brother has a flexible copy of XP.

But there are a few facts we can be optimistic about:


XP is aging quickly and can no longer be updated without registering with MS.

Vista is on the horizon – the scariest totalitarian OS ever conceived, from what I've read.

There is faster development and innovation being implemented into the open source OS world at the moment than any other competitor.

I'm one of those idiots that family and friends call when the system comes crashes down. “My Internet stop working.” “I can't boot!!” etc ... But I've found a solution and have saved a little of my precious free time. I simply tell them, “I no longer service windows computers, but if you'd like I can come by and install something new and fresh on your computer, and so on. Some people, as aspected, are afraid of something new, or are to lazy to learn something new. But in the last six months I've infected 4 or 5 friends with a bad case of Ubuntitus. :D