Linux

[Mister Earl]

I'd like to switch to a linux environment, but I do a ton of PC gaming. Is there a linux platform that'll let me play them still? I know next to nothing about linux.

 

[commandlinegamer]

As far as commercial PC games go, there are some that can be played using WINE [1] or its dedicated gaming offshoot, Cedega [2]. Both should work on the majority of Linux distros out there. There have been some titles which have been ported to Linux directly. But I think it's seen as a miniscule segment of the market with Linux users viewed rightly or wrongly as unlikely to shell out for games.

Of course there are tons of non-commercial games written for Linux and other Unix-like platforms.


[1] - http://www.winehq.org/

[2] - http://www.transgaming.com/

 

[Bram Kaandorp]

As far as commercial PC games go, there are some that can be played using WINE [1] or its dedicated gaming offshoot, Cedega [2]. Both should work on the majority of Linux distros out there. There have been some titles which have been ported to Linux directly. But I think it's seen as a miniscule segment of the market with Linux users viewed rightly or wrongly as unlikely to shell out for games.

Of course there are tons of non-commercial games written for Linux and other Unix-like platforms.


[1] - http://www.winehq.org/

[2] - http://www.transgaming.com/

Then there are those games which have an official Linux Installer available, games such as Quake Wars.

Cheers

 

[Alan]

Has anybody else tried elementary?

I'm installing it on a partition now. Its default theme and its set of default wallpapers make it the best looking GNOME distro when you boot it up for the first time.

It also has the messaging indicator and memenu so that's another big plus. It also comes with a lot fewer things installed, so they don't have some things that I normally just uninstall. It's closer to Ubuntu than Mint is.

They (THEM AGAIN!?) have made it so it is harder to reconfigure things. Want to change the wallpaper? You can't right click on the desktop to do this. You have to go to System -> Preferences -> Appearance. They took away the Docky configuration icon and right-clicking on the dock doesn't give the option to configure it either. And right-clicking on the panel doesn't give me an add to panel option.

And the scroll bars are terrible. Too thin. I don't mind the lack of buttons for them.

 

[Bram Kaandorp]

They (THEM AGAIN!?) have made it so it is harder to reconfigure things. Want to change the wallpaper? You can't right click on the desktop to do this. You have to go to System -> Preferences -> Appearance. They took away the Docky configuration icon and right-clicking on the dock doesn't give the option to configure it either. And right-clicking on the panel doesn't give me an add to panel option.

And the scroll bars are terrible. Too thin. I don't mind the lack of buttons for them.

Are you referring to elementary, Ubuntu or both?

 

[Alan]

Elementary.

EDIT: It doesn't even let me put something on the desktop. There's the option to send to the desktop when you right-click on an icon, but it doesn't actually send it to the desktop. It puts it in the home directory among the folders for videos and downloads. And dragging and dropping doesn't work either.

And I can't open up Docky's settings to at least put it on autohide or window dodge or to stop it acting like a panel. If I maximise a window, there are two big rectangles of my wallpaper on the bottom since the window won't go lower than the top of the dock that covers only a third of the space.

I recommend people avoid Elementary OS. My first impressions of it were very good so I installed it on a partition but beyond those first impressions, it's a big disappointment.

 

[alphahelix]

I don't have a linux Os for personal everyday use. I have a few distros that I use for specific purposes

Gentoo - PXE boot with NSF fileserver Fluxbox Wine for Windows virus/*ware/recovery
Freebsd - Fluxbox Mencoder Dvdauthor Transcode for video conversion/frame dumping

And then there is a Redhat 7.2 Server at a customer site we're responsible for (we didn't install it, we just have to maintain until they are comfortable enough for us to bring them up to a current linux OS)

I gave Debian a try their package system reminded me too much of BSD
Fedora I like, but it feels to bloated for my taste so did Mandrake hadn't fooled with it in a while.

I used Slackware for a while but when I got the courage up to attempt the Gentoo install, and learned how to use the emerge system I fell in love.

Never tried Ubuntu or Suse really don't have opinions on them

And Played a lil with Open Solarius it just didn't give me the warm fuzzy I wanted from an OS

 

[mikeyx]

As far as commercial PC games go, there are some that can be played using WINE [1] or its dedicated gaming offshoot, Cedega [2]. Both should work on the majority of Linux distros out there. There have been some titles which have been ported to Linux directly. But I think it's seen as a miniscule segment of the market with Linux users viewed rightly or wrongly as unlikely to shell out for games.

Of course there are tons of non-commercial games written for Linux and other Unix-like platforms.


[1] - http://www.winehq.org/

[2] - http://www.transgaming.com/

Havent gamed on linux for a while but at one point half Life and UnReal Tournbament played very well under wine as did some others, one game however blew the hell out of my x server, so hopefully things have improved since then.

 

[mikeyx]

I stated this before, my current linuxy interest is tinycore, it gives you just the bare bones and then you add what you want/need, and dont have anything ya don't. It seems a fairly low maintenance so far.

 

[Bram Kaandorp]

Elementary.

EDIT: It doesn't even let me put something on the desktop. There's the option to send to the desktop when you right-click on an icon, but it doesn't actually send it to the desktop. It puts it in the home directory among the folders for videos and downloads. And dragging and dropping doesn't work either.

And I can't open up Docky's settings to at least put it on autohide or window dodge or to stop it acting like a panel. If I maximise a window, there are two big rectangles of my wallpaper on the bottom since the window won't go lower than the top of the dock that covers only a third of the space.

I recommend people avoid Elementary OS. My first impressions of it were very good so I installed it on a partition but beyond those first impressions, it's a big disappointment.

Wow, it's a miracle that anyone even wanted to MAKE this distro, let alone use it.

Even in Windows you can change the place of the menu bar (whatever it's named).

Thanks for the description.

 

[Lord Emsworth]

I'd like to switch to a linux environment, but I do a ton of PC gaming. Is there a linux platform that'll let me play them still? I know next to nothing about linux.

You can always dual-boot and/or run a virtualized Win.

 

[tuoni]

I'd like to switch to a linux environment, but I do a ton of PC gaming. Is there a linux platform that'll let me play them still? I know next to nothing about linux.

I run back|track 4 R2 - have a look at PlayOnLinux - it's basically a wrapper for WINE which allows you to install Windows software into "bottles" (basically atomic "windows installations", for want of a better description) which allow you to customise each bottle to suit the software installed - it allows you to, for instance, seamlessly install and choose a WINE version (including the beta builds and no longer supported builds) for each without disrupting the main system WINE version. I've currently got Steam with a few games including Portal and Killing Floor running A-OK with full DirectX9 (ironically, Killing Floor actually runs far better under WINE than it did under Windows 7!)

The other beauty is that PlayOnLinux gives you several automated installers for games and Windows software which will set up all the dependencies and "tweaks" in the background, allowing you to run many things "out of the box", as it were... and if you mess it up, you can delete the bottle and start again, knowing that you haven't messed up your WINE installation, causing other things to break. If it doesn't have the installer, you can install stuff anyway and just cross your fingers it will work. Most things do, now - WINE has come on a looooong way since I last used it.

 

[Alan]

Wow, it's a miracle that anyone even wanted to MAKE this distro, let alone use it.

Even in Windows you can change the place of the menu bar (whatever it's named).

Thanks for the description.

I read a comment by one of the main people behind it, saying that there are already things you can customise and he wants to make something that just works in the best way, and if you want customisability then go for a different one. The problem is, he left out key functions.

It's possible to uninstall the dock and install a different dock like AWN. I tried to install the normal panel window buttons but those didn't work for me.

I'll install Kubuntu 11.04 beta 1 over it.

 

[Bram Kaandorp]

I read a comment by one of the main people behind it, saying that there are already things you can customise and he wants to make something that just works in the best way, and if you want customisability then go for a different one. The problem is, he left out key functions.

They left out customisability, in my eyes that's the main driving force behind Linux in general.

It's also one of the reasons I will leave Ubuntu when they make Unity the default. (I think I'd rather try my luck with Gnome Shell)

But I'm guessing that's not the feature(s) you were talking about. I'm curious.

Cheers

 

[Alan]

The lack of customisability was my initial major problem with it. That post was looking at it from the perspective of the aims of the project, and that they failed on that basis too.

I don't have a problem with some distros trying to be less customisable because that is one way of offering greater freedom. There could be situations where a person could want that.

 

[Bram Kaandorp]

The lack of customisability was my initial major problem with it. That post was looking at it from the perspective of the aims of the project, and that they failed on that basis too.

I don't have a problem with some distros trying to be less customisable because that is one way of offering greater freedom. There could be situations where a person could want that.

Absolutely true. I really could see the advantages. However (I hate it when I can't avoid that word), I think there should be an easy way (though not necessarily easy to get to) way of unlocking, if only so that, if someone has a maintenance person, it would be easy to change things where needed.

Cheers

 

[psionl0]

I stated this before, my current linuxy interest is tinycore, it gives you just the bare bones and then you add what you want/need, and dont have anything ya don't. It seems a fairly low maintenance so far.

If you just want to boot off a CD without installing linux then tinycore is an excellent candidate (though you will need to save some files to hard disk if you add any software to it).

If you want to boot off a CD but not do any extra installation then Puppy Linux seems to be one of the better distros.

For a more comprehensive distro, Salix (a slackware offshoot) can also be run solely from a CD.

 

[AgeGap]

I didn't like OpenSUSE 11.4 very much... but I forget why.

I'm satisfied with Ubuntu 10.10. It's more comfy.

I'm thinking that I might even stick with 10.10 after 11.04 comes out but I'll see after some betas and the final come out. I'll probably upgrade and then switch between DEs on the login screen as desired.

What do people think of Unity's progress?

Just run the live CD of OpenSuse 11.4 and it it has a gorgeous desktop background. A real work of art.

Natty Narwhal with Unity: Worst Ubuntu beta ever

If you have a windows machine and want to give linux a go you can download LiLi USB creator. This will get a distro on one of your USB sticks. Worth doing even for that odd system crash.

Just read about Bodhi Linux. A stripped down version of Ubuntu with enlightenment desktop. May give that a go soon.

 

[Alan]

I really liked the OpenSUSE 11.4's wallpaper. That wallpaper is a green version of some other KDE wallpaper I've seen, with the logo and name added. I tend to dislike branding on my wallpaper but that one didn't bother me.

I think that the big annoyances in 11.04 can be removed in time. Oh dear, it's already 11.04. Hmmmm....

GNOME 3 is just two days away (suggestions of it being delayed appear to be untrue) so that's exciting.

 

[Lord Emsworth]

Just run the live CD of OpenSuse 11.4 and it it has a gorgeous desktop background. A real work of art.

I really liked the OpenSUSE 11.4's wallpaper. That wallpaper is a green version of some other KDE wallpaper I've seen, with the logo and name added. I tend to dislike branding on my wallpaper but that one didn't bother me.

It is not just the background of the desktop, it is also the background of the virtual console tty1, i.e what you get when you hit Crtl+Alt+F1. A verbose boot looks ... sexy.