What Linux Distribution is the Best for Games? 178
CodeGeekGuy asks: "I've been thinking of doing the big switcheroo from Windows to Linux. I have, in the past, had various levels of success using Linux, but I generally have to give up as soon as I feel like playing a game. I've done dual booting before, but find it a pain if you're waiting for something to finish and just want a quick game of Half Life 2 or WoW.
I'm willing to give this another shot (as I hear that Cedega plays HL2 and WoW quite nicely). I've used Mandrake and Fedora Core and even Redhat, is there another distribution out there that is the best distro to use to get Cedega (and ultimately games) to work well? "
Regardless of the Dist you use (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Regardless of the Dist you use (Score:2)
Re:Regardless of the Dist you use (Score:1)
Re:Regardless of the Dist you use (Score:4, Informative)
That's completely untrue. Many games (like ut2004, doom3, and enemy territory) have native linux ports. Tons of older games also have linux ports. Older SCI and SCUMM based adventure games will run and modern native VMs. Here's the list of FPSs that gentoo packages: http://gentoo-portage.com/s?search=category%3Dgam
Re:Regardless of the Dist you use (Score:2)
Gentoo (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Gentoo (Score:3, Interesting)
I've had Cedega running with Steam for CS quite well. It only took 2 tries and 32 wtf's. Also, for games that run in linux when a patch is properly applied, you can emerge them. but you need the cd's or images as the emerge only comes with the patch. but it does the install for ya. Gentoo is teh slick... I just wish the
Gentoo's manual install is arguably a -good- thing (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Gentoo's manual install is arguably a -good- th (Score:2)
Re:Gentoo's manual install is arguably a -good- th (Score:1, Funny)
The guy who wrote that is a freakin genius.
Re:Gentoo's manual install is arguably a -good- th (Score:1)
Uh, an automated install would just set up your system for you. The compiling part ("shit scroll by for hours") is all automated already.
Gentoo's "manual" install is basically paritioning and mounting the partitions you want to use and then extracting a giant tarball onto that structure. You then need to configure your fstab, network settings, compile a kernel, and install a bootloader.
Once you're done with that, then you move on to the automated part. The entire point to portage is to automate the c
Re:Gentoo's manual install is arguably a -good- th (Score:3, Insightful)
But partitioning and formatting your HDs manually, building your own
Re:Gentoo (Score:2)
Agreed. Porthole [sourceforge.net] is a step in the right direction, but its pretty buggy still.
Re:Gentoo (Score:2)
If you have the patience to set it up intially, I think Gentoo might be your best bet, as the flexibility of Gentoo and it's packaging system is second to none.
You, sir, have never used apt.
Regardless, you did nothing to answer the OP's question, which is what distribution would be best for gaming. The real answer is that any distribution will be equally good for gaming (within a reasonable margin) since Cedega is the part that makes Windows games run.
The only factors the distribution contribute are: a
Re:Gentoo (Score:2)
Vidalinux is basically Gentoo without the painful install. In addition to its easy graphical installer it has knoppix style hardware detection. I've installed it on two machines already (including a relatively low end Thinkpad T22) . I will probably install it over this stock gentoo machine sooner or later. With it you get the latest gnome desktop and a good selection of packages. It uses the standard gentoo portage. And switching to KDE is just an emerge away if you prefer KDE. Id recom
Re:Gentoo (Score:5, Informative)
You know, I am one of the Games developers for Gentoo, and I can tell you that we aren't anything special when it comes to non-native gaming. We might do a little better on the open source games than most people, but when it comes to commercial games, it really is all the same. Either cedega or WINE is really doing the work, if you're playing Windows games.
MOD UP (Score:2)
IMHO (Score:2)
Kleedrac
Re:IMHO (Score:2)
Re:IMHO (Score:2)
The most something like that could accomplish would be tweaks to fix things that the distro may have broken.
The closest you will get right now is the Unofficial Transgaming Wiki page [digital-conquest.ath.cx] which mentions which version work better with what games and what tweaks maybe needed to get it to work.
Gentoo (Score:2, Informative)
There is no best Linux for games (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:There is no best Linux for games (Score:1, Interesting)
Some people experience better FPS through Linux/Cedega than they do on Windows XP. I'm not sure why, to be honest, but it can happen.
You can
Re:There is no best Linux for games (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:There is no best Linux for games (Score:2)
In windows my average fps hover around 50 - 60 when soloing somewhere, and 35 - 45 when in a populated area. On Linux with Cedega however it hovers around 15 - 20 when solo and drops to an u
Re:There is no best Linux for games (Score:2)
Re:There is no best Linux for games (Score:2)
I second that (Score:2)
- shazow
Re:I second that (Score:2)
I lived through the hell of the VIA KT-133 chipset...not a god damn thing worked right, EXCEPT in Linux.
Re:I second that (Score:2)
Re:I second that (Score:2)
When a lot of those games came out, NT systems didn't have things like...DirectX.
Thus, the programmers would read the OS descriptor string saying NT, and abort() because "this can't provide the APIs we need" While this logic did indeed work at the time it was occurring, it's not valid any more.
Re:There is no best Linux for games (Score:2)
Why are you considering Linux? (Score:5, Insightful)
You are buying a vehicle. You want something fun, fast and sporty. You go and buy a 3/4 ton pickup. Mistake!
Select your OS based on what you want to run. If what you are running is "Windows Games", examine the first word -- Windows -- and run them on that platform. If you want to run Linux, go and buy VMWARE, and run Linux on the same box. No big sweat, and no particular problem.
Or, use the money you would spend on VMWARE, and buy another box for Linux.
I am sure that you will get a lot of "Red Hat sucks", "Gentoo rules", "SuSe rules", "Mandrake is the schiznit" answers.
Ignore them. Again, pick a REASON as to why you want to use Linux -- is it a hobby? if so, Gentoo or "Linux from Scratch" may be suitable. Do you want to do real work? Red Hat/Fedora Core or SuSe. Whatever, its your choice.
If you *do* explore VMWARE, you may want to pick a VMWARE supported system.
Anyway, the OS is a commodity (at least in the Linux world, with Microsoft, it tends to be forced on you based on applications -- it's the platform). So don't sweat it.
Ratboy.
Re:Why are you considering Linux? (Score:2)
Re:Why are you considering Linux? (Score:2)
Ratboy.
Re:Why are you considering Linux? (Score:2)
KVM switch (Score:2, Interesting)
SOOOOOO
I recommend a KVM switch. Run lin on one box and win on the other.
AND ATI suck as it is THERE fault they have crappy support (if you can find any) for linux.
I feel like a jilted lover. 5 years ago I swore by ATI but now I only allow myself to have one ATI card at a time so I can use linux on the other pcs.
Re:Why are you considering Linux? (Score:2)
games are one of the things that are still weak in linux...but i rarely game, so it does not bug me.
linux is very strong as far as support for software development tools of any kind, server applications, even a good range of office productivity apps. I am able to find native programs to fit most of my needs.
I've even found plenty of native games to satisfy me, like tuxracer, defendguin, puzzlepirates. Found a lot more for$$$ games that surprised me, like SimCity3000, Civilization, Descent, Doom
Everytime you use Cedega... (Score:3, Funny)
See: 10 Points to Consider Before Buying Cedega [curmudgeongamer.com].
Heh.
Gentoo is a possibility (Score:3, Informative)
i run Gentoo and had no trouble getting Cedega working.
that said, i also use Con Kolivas' kernel patchset. initially i had problems, but we came up with a nice list of audio tips [kolivas.org] to help get things working right.
i'm waiting right now for some work Ingo Molnar has indicated he's going to do that could help Wine out dramatically. be prepared to recompile your kernel several times in the near future.
3 letter answer (Score:5, Insightful)
Just get a KVM switch and hook it up to a linux box and a windows box. Problem solved.
Re:3 letter answer (Score:1)
The more capable switches are trying to do more than simply connecting to the target machines. In general, the "dumber" the switch is, the better it should perform as a "game toggle."
-- Dr. Bob
STL (DuBourg, STLSFS, Rivendell, The Shire, Archon, Fontbonne)
CA (Planet 10, Realty Fault)
zen linux (Score:2, Informative)
SuSE (Score:4, Informative)
One click enabling of direct rendering (3d acceleration) is something that I think would be a godsend to most new users.
Also SuSE's exellent documentation cannot be ignored.
On the cedega front I suggest you do try this! It plays Counter Strike via Steam perfectly here, though I can't comment on WOW or anything like that.
I've heard Half Life 2 support is pretty good, and there are a lot of revies on the net that show it's working pretty well. In fact its cedega that's tempting me to go and buy HL2 - an interesting fact since I don't own a windows pc
The best thing to do is to just *try* all these things. SuSE isn't free, but there is an FTP install that should cover everything you need for gaming (the commercial extensions wont help you here and the drivers for nvidia are downloaded at install time or during a later online update).
The only problem with SuSE is a lack of a good package manager, but the installation of Apt For SuSE (http://linux01.gwdg.de/apt4rpm/) solves any problems here.
As for stability I'd recommend SuSE over Mandrake, in usablilty i'd recommend it over just about everything, and I'd recommend it for gamers over the other distros.
I'm happy to answer any questions.
(I recommend other distros for other things (eg slackware or debian for servers) but thats not the point. For home users its SuSE all the way)
Re:SuSE (Score:2)
Re:SuSE (Score:2)
i wouldn't recommend it for a business environment, though. maybe xandros for that
I think you must be using a very old and pre-novell version, since 9.2 comes with kernel 2.6 installed by default.
i haven't experienced any of those problems, and i am on some *very* weird hardware
Since Fedora Core 1 came with a 2.6 kernel (tell me if i'm wrong, it might have been fedora core 2) its a bit unfair to compare a ve
Re:SuSE (Score:2)
Re:SuSE (Score:2)
I am not a corporate user, so I tend to take very simple approaches where I don't have to worry about compatibility, etc
however, now Novell are at the helm of SuSE things have changed quite a bit in that respect.
its also all LSB, so things should be fine as far as manually configuring stuff
I don't really know, though, i'm usually happy just to use Yast which i think is a good tool, although for a lot of things (antivir, ntp, apt, etc) i do it by hand
Re:SuSE (Score:2)
Actually you can get Suse for free now too w/o the pain of an FTP install.
http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=02238 [distrowatch.com]
Enjoy!
Get a console (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Get a console (Score:2)
the only reason i can even remotely see for buying an XBox is Halo and Halo 2. but i simply can't justify buying a $150 console for two $70 games that require a $35 addon and a $50/mo service, and then plug all tat shit into a $100 TV i don't yet own.
you can keep your XBox. but keep it away from me.
Re:Get a console (Score:2)
I have been thinking that I was missing out on all of this great gaming going on on consoles since I don't have a xbox or ps2. Let me tell you last night I played halo2 on xbox at an after-work tourney, and the week before played around with GTA San Andreas on a PS2. What a disappointment. I found the graphics seriously lacking (what is it, half the resolution of the shittiest 640x480 monitor?), the little game controllers sucked ass and the low scan rate of the TV gave me a headache. Consoles
Re:Get a console (Score:2)
Re:Get a console (Score:2)
how does it feel to be wrong?
lots of love,
dave
Re:Get a console (Score:2)
There is a version of Unreal called Unreal Championship for the Xbox. The sequel UC 2 is coming out in a couple of months.
Your point about no mods is absolutely valid. Some games are supposedly going to try to fix this, but I can't see it having anywhere near the flexibility of PC modding. Maybe new maps, but no total conversions. The Xbox HD is only 8 gigs after all.
There is freeware for the Xbox! Unfortunately it is also illegal since it hasn't been licensed. And of course to run it you
Comment removed (Score:3, Funny)
They'll all great (Score:2)
just one user's opinion (Score:4, Informative)
Go Native! (Score:2, Interesting)
Ubuntu (Score:2, Interesting)
As I see it (Score:2)
Vidalinux or Ubuntu (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm a Gentoo guy, but I totally understand why people wouldn't want to go through the long install process. This is why VidaLinux [vidalinux.com] exists. VidaLinux is essentially a precompiled Gentoo (with Gnome 2.8, etc), installed with Redhat's Anaconda Installer. works amazingly well Full working Gentoo distribution up and running in under an hour.
don't want to compile future packages? that's allright. just check out Project Chinstrap [alternating.net], which has precompiled packages for Gentoo. Easy as pie.
Ubuntu has its share of issues, but overall, it's a top-notch choice as well. both should work amazingly well for games.
Doing the big switcheroo (Score:2, Interesting)
If you're really thinking about dumping Windows, have you considered OS X? While there aren't anywhere near as many games on OS X as there are for Windows, the ones we do get are quality titles with native support, like World of WarCraft, Halo, The Sims, etc. You can find a pretty good list of games at Apple's web site. [apple.com] You can easily dip your toes into the water by ordering a Mac mini.
Re:Doing the big switcheroo (Score:2)
That being said, there are a bunch of great games available on the Mac if you look past that top 5.
You have:
Call of Duty (and expansion)
Battlefield 1942 (and expansions)
Unreal Tournament 2004
Neverwinter Nights
Rise of Nations
Age of Mythology
World of Warcraft
Civilization 3
Dungeon Siege
Halo
Medal of Honor
Jedi Knight 2 and Jedi Academy
and many more. Still many less
Swappable Hard Drives (Score:2)
Its superior to dual booting to my mind, each OS is completely separate and cannot possibly affect the other one, and its relatively painless to switch them around. At the same time while I am in Linux, I am not tempted to fire up a game as a distraction
Best Linux distro? (Score:2)
I use Xandros myself, but I don't play games much -- I don't have a good graphics card -- and the libs get old real quick -- hard to update. =
Re:Best Linux distro? (Score:2)
The best Unix for games (Score:2)
Don't forget the UNIX games either.
Windows 98 is fairly good for older games too, but for new games that aren't OS X or Linux friendly you often just have to bite the bullet and boot into XP -- firewall it heavily and run Wind
Debian Unstable vs Gentoo (Score:2)
For the first type, any pretty reasonably recent distro will work. The two main package formats are RPM and DEB. RPM used to be it for the most part, but these days you can usually find a DEB if there is an RPM to be had.
RPM's do somewhat of a "dirty" install in that they often put files in non-standard locations and they have dependency issues. DEB packages don't really have any major flaws except perhaps that they ar
I'm confused . . . (Score:3, Insightful)
The only thing Cedega does is to dissuade publishers from making real Linux games and actually porting to something other than Windows.
Transgaming is almost as bad for open source as Microsoft is by itself.
Re:None... (Score:3, Informative)
It doesn't emulate. It's a wrapper - it translates the calls to the appropriate API, rather than drawing it in software with occasional help from your hardware(as would be emulation).
But, you do have a point in that using them doesn't push devs to develope cross-platform. But, neither does the small market share making noise.
Re:None... (Score:2)
Windex82 never said it did. Note her scare quotes around "emulation".
rather than drawing it in software with occasional help from your hardware(as would be emulation).
That sentence demonstrates that you don't know the definition of "emulation". If you'd like to learn it, you could either check a dictionary, or read about other emulation projects such as UltraHLE [ultrahle.com] (Ask yourself if that one does all its drawing in software)
Re:None... (Score:1, Troll)
But he doesn't. It's a bad argument, and it always was.
So, since Win95 is backwards-compatible with Win 3.1 then why would anyone write a Win95 application? Since Windows XP is backwards-compatible with Win95, why would anyone write a Win XP application?
The problem is not that compatibility takes away incentive. The problem is that there is no incentive to begin
Re:None... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:None... (Score:2)
Who said market share isn't part of what makes a platform 'good'?
Second, no it isn't. There is a lack of drivers, there is a lack of good APIs. If OpenGL was good enough, everyone would already be using it on Windows. It's not. The main reason is DirectX has quite a lot of other stuff which is simply not available on Linux and the alternatives like SDL are nowhere near it i
Re:None... (Score:2)
I say we support the emulation efforts. Through the support of a strong community, the emulation quality and performan
Re:None... (Score:1)
Re:None... (Score:3, Insightful)
I've been a subscriber for over 21 months and support their work, as it does NOT make companies not want to port to Linux. That is a decision usually made long before the product hits the shelves, ideally in the planning stage before any code is written.
Those that say company A won't port game B to Linux because it runs fine with Cedega are delusional and use that as an excuse. Transgaming is looked dow
Re:None... (Score:2)
Re:None... (Score:2)
Also, Transgaming's own CVS [transgaming.com]. Although they are a little weird about it. See the Gentoo ebuild for winex-cvs for the following:
Re:None... (Score:1)
Maybe one of you can answer this slightly off-topic question I've had for quite some time.
Games
Re:None... (Score:2)
Other than those considerations, the only other reason I can think of is lack of interest on the game developer's part. They see $"cost to do QA testing on Linux version" > $"los
Re:None... (Score:1)
I have no idea. But it just seems to me that working with an engine thats already cross platform would require very very little effort to make your game also cross platform. Was just
Re:None... (Score:2)
The porters have no idea what the others do to the code and it could take years for a simple rewrite
Re:None... (Score:2)
For desktop integration, go with the Freedesktop.org menu spec [freedesktop.org].
And for package management, there's RPM, standardized by all LSB-compliant [linuxbase.org] distributions.
Re:None... (Score:1)
Because God knows we developers are leaping at the chance to develop for an OS with a small marketshare and may of whose users have a disdain for commercial software.
Re:None... (Score:2)
If I'm happy with it, why should I *CARE* if it's native or not?
Re:None... (Score:1)
Re:None... (Score:1)
Re:None... (Score:1)
Re:None... (Score:1)
Re:None... (Score:1)
Perhaps if you want the publishers to realize they ARE infact loosing sales by not supporting an en
Re:None... (Score:1)
Re:None... (Score:2)
Here ya go [icculus.org]
Re:None... (Score:2)
Full Icculus Game List [icculus.org]
Re:Cygwin on Windows XP Pro (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Cygwin on Windows XP Pro (Score:2)
Re:Cygwin on Windows XP Pro (Score:2)
Don't blame Linux; blame the game devs.
Re:SUSE Linux Rocks (Score:2)
Re:OSS games (Score:2)
Maybe while open source is appealing to a lot of coder geeks, it isn't so much for people doing game related graphic design, interface design, 3D modeling, sound and music etc. Most people doing these for free are doing it in the Windows mod community.
I guess building on an existing engine is much easier than rolling your own.