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Old 09-30-2004, 05:12 PM   #1
blackflare
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Registered: Sep 2004
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Interested in switching to linux, some questions.


I'm currently running my desktop with windows xp and for many reasons im considering switching to linux. I really don't like microsoft or it's business practices and I would rather support linux (every man counts eh?)

Anyways, i have some questions regarding compatibility with games on linux. Will I be able to run things like final fantasy 11, or half life / half life mods ? And what about starcraft or warcraft 3, or doom 3? Basically, what am i going to have to adjust to if i switch, and what types of programs likely won't be usable on linux?

I'm not too interested in a dual boot, so this would be a one way trip i think. So any possible information would be useful, thanks.
 
Old 09-30-2004, 05:24 PM   #2
penguin4
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blackflare; advice & reccommend (strongly) read any & all u are able to on linux before committing. there are some games do not know any (not into)
but lots of application abound even on packaged cd direct from linux (mandrake-linux)(RedHat) to name a few. ? in past have u dealt with dos in any shape or form. know a little of programming( not that u have to be whiz) would help but dont let that scare u off. i dont but still learning everything to gain confidence &
knowledge about linux. it is challenging but fun,enjoyable & fulfilling. just hang in there it will get easier,promise!
 
Old 09-30-2004, 05:28 PM   #3
Electronkz
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hi blackflare,
First you have to choose a Linux Distribution: http://distrowatch.com/ is a great place, you will find a lot of usefull information.
Some distributions are very easy to install, like Mandrake, Fedora, ....
About games, you have to know that 99% of the games are developed for windows; but you can run them using: http://www.transgaming.com/products_linux.php
or maybe wine, http://www.winehq.org/
And yes, you can dual boot between Linux and Windows using Grub or Lilo,
but most probably youŽll end up not using windows anymore,
Give Linux a try!, you wont regret it.
 
Old 09-30-2004, 05:29 PM   #4
Kronux
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This possibly could help with your question:
http://www.winehq.com/

I don't use this but if your thinking about gaming on linux this will help. You might not even need this, some of these are already ported over and some will take time due to legal issues. Althought people have develop some similar warez of that of windoze. Some of those warez I think are better than it original.

-kX
 
Old 09-30-2004, 05:34 PM   #5
CroMagnon
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Quote:
(every man counts eh?)
Absolutely! One more gamer bugging developers for native Linux games is always good. As soon as there is a reasonable market for commercial linux games, we will see more developers doing the multi-platform thing.

Quote:
I'm not too interested in a dual boot, so this would be a one way trip i think.
I would strongly advise against the one way trip if you want to play games. The only way to make Windows games run under Linux is with Wine, and this is not guaranteed to work. Also, Wine often needs files from your Windows install to function properly.
There is always some smartass on a forum somewhere who says "game X works perfectly in Wine!". This guy is usually either a genius or a liar. Be prepared for many of your games to fail. You may eventually get them working after hours of tinkering, but when you want to play game X NOW, that's not much of an option. On the plus side, once you have a game working (as long as you don't touch or upgrade anything) it will usually keep working.
Dual boot is not hard, and is often a life saver when you come across one of those Linux blind spots where the only software for a particular task is still in the alpha stage, or non-existent.

Having said that, if you do go ahead with Linux, please support the developers making native Linux games. Doom 3 will have one shortly if it does not already. Neverwinter Nights did, and I presume the sequel will too. Loki did some good work porting games, but it seems they have closed down You might still be able to purchase some of their ported games (check lokigames.com for a list of retailers)
 
Old 09-30-2004, 06:37 PM   #6
blackflare
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thanks for the info, i was afraid of that =/

I think ill need to spend some time thinking it over. I'm not very happy with windows, but it's compatible with basically everything, which is the main thing holding me back.
 
Old 10-01-2004, 02:44 AM   #7
TigerOC
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Well do like most of us do - have both. Linux for most things and Windblows for games.
 
Old 10-01-2004, 05:21 AM   #8
MS-outLINUX-in!
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I recommend you to use redhat, caues it is easy to install. And after that you can try out slackware - is good for gaining knowledge about Linux structure, configuration basics and so on.
 
Old 10-01-2004, 05:36 AM   #9
liquidtenmilion
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Quote:
Originally posted by blackflare
thanks for the info, i was afraid of that =/

I think ill need to spend some time thinking it over. I'm not very happy with windows, but it's compatible with basically everything, which is the main thing holding me back.
You can still dual boot windows and linux by making the windows partition smaller, and installing linux on the other one. Mandrake Linux will do that automatically, but i don't think mandrake is the fastest or most stable distro.

When you dual boot, all you have to do is restart your computer and then you have a choice to start windows or linux. Just pick windows when you need a game, or linux whenever you don't.
 
Old 10-01-2004, 09:56 AM   #10
justin_p
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winex and cedega seem to be good alternatives to run games in linux. But if you set up the dual boot (there are tons of tutorials online) it will give you skills you need to run your linux partition better.
 
Old 10-01-2004, 10:11 AM   #11
morrolan
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I also recommend giving Knoppix a try (www.knoppix.org) - this is a liveCD version of linux which runs completely from the CD and RAM, it doesn't touch your hard drive at all, you can see what's on it but not make any changes - all nice and safe!

This may well get you started, and after tinkering with it for a while, you will probably end up with some questions that your good old uncle Google (www.google.com/linux) may be able to answer. If not, well that's why we're here!
 
  


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