ubuntu-gaming team mailing list archive

[sakuramboo <sakuramboo@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ingo Ruhnke wrote:
> 2009/5/24 sakuramboo <sakuramboo@xxxxxxxxx>:
>   
> > And commercial games don't cost?
> >     
>
> Older ones easily cost a tiny fraction of a Windows XP license.
> Anyway, the real issue is that people care about games, they might not
> really care about wasting money on Windows, so an alternative solution
> to run those games is more then welcome and Linux with Wine such one.
> And there is always the dual-booting issue that is annoying enough on
> its own.
>   
But we are not talking about someone just wanting to play one game. We 
are talking about many games. The total cost of the many games far out 
weighs the cost of the OS. And why bother dual booting? If someone is 
going to spend most of their time in Windows to play some games, they 
will be using Windows solely.
> > Oh really? Zero hassle? Get Final Fantasy 11 to work. Oh, that's right, you
> > can't! Use configuration tools all you want, they don't always work. To
> > claim that they are a god send is just plain wrong.
> >     
>
> The point isn't that Linux can run all games, its that it can run a
> lot of games and information and automation on how to install those
> that work should be promoted.
>   
I do agree with that. There does need to be more documentation.
> > As I was hinting at with my last email,
> > my hardware may be different from yours, driver version may be different and
> > because of that, my usage of Wine may yield totally different results than
> > you.
> >     
>
> That argument doesn't make any sense. Wine is using OpenGL and other
> hardware abstraction layers just as a native game would. If you have a
> graphics card that doesn't support this or that feature that the game
> needs, you are out of luck, no matter what.
>   
It makes perfect sense. Take, for example, ATI vs. Nvidia. Wine with 
Nvidia works a million times better than Wine and ATI. That is because 
not only does the hardware work differently, but the drivers also work 
differently. One game might work amazingly well on Nvidia but on ATI, 
the graphics might be all messed up. And not to mention the blunder that 
is Intel's integrated graphics.
> > This is why Wine is not the answer. Native game ports are.
> >     
>
> Native ports just don't exist and never will for 99% of the games out
> there. And even those that do aren't always that great, as they are
> often incomplete (lacking level editor and other moding tools) or
> break over time (old Loki games on current day Linux doesn't mix well,
> Wine would often be easier alternative).
>   
Oh really? I have a whole bunch of Linux native titles working on my 
desktop that works the same as if I were running Windows. Id, Epic, 
everything offered by LGP, as well as the single titles like Regnum, 
Vedetta Online and Savage 2 all work flawless natively.
> > However, even though Wine has matured, it is no where near ready,
> >     
>
> If you want to wait till Wine has a 100% compatibility you can wait
> for a long long while, even Windows isn't always compatible to itself.
> The point is that there are plenty of games that run perfectly,
> promote those and don't claim that Wine is somehow a perfect
> replacement for all Windows gaming needs, but simply that its a decent
> one for some.
>   
I agree with that. Mention that Wine is available, BUT also mention that 
Wine may not work and if they truly need game XYZ to work, they better 
be ready to either forget about that game and seek entertainment 
elsewhere or to forget Linux and stick with Windows.
> > What in particular would this attempt offer that the others didn't?
> >     
>
> Well, doing a completely separate distro would certainly be a failure
> and a waste of time, as solving problems in the Linux world with yet
> another distro only makes matters worse. However Ubuntu derived
> distros (Edubuntu, Ubuntustudio, etc.) really aren't separate distros,
> they are just package collections that can be installed on any normal
> Ubuntu via a simple apt-get. So they are more a means to promote
> certain applications then a replacement for your already existing
> Ubuntu installation and it really couldn't hurt to have such one for
> gaming.
>   
So, basically, an off shoot of Ubuntu, but with something like 
playdeb.net repos enabled by default. Gamebuntu. :)