Gaming on Linux [howtos / hints and tips]

[80maxwell08]

Maxwell, did you get it working? If not open the disc in Windows and check to make sure it has a list of folders on it and not just an .iso file. If there is only an .iso file you burned the disc incorrectly (it won't be bootable). If you are using Windows 7 you can right click on an image file and select the option to "Burn Disc Image" which will properly burn it to the the DVD.

Well at least it burned right this time (though that burn disc image icon never came up so I just extracted the file into the disc). At least now I can launch something that says it will boot from disc then never does.

Since I'm not going to spend another 3 hours wasting my time here's exactly what happens. I click on the D: drive where the dvd is and up comes a menu with 3 options, demo and full installation, install inside windows, and learn more. I click on demo and full installation and it tells me I need to reboot. I hit the dot that says Reboot Now and it reboots then goes to windows like every other time.

Also I managed to do that exact same method with my dad's ubuntu disc with no problems whatsoever. Well aside from it just booting into lines of code with no hint of what the hell to do.

 

[freakie1one]

Ok, so I ran into a few issues during my Linux Mint 14 installation. First issue was during the install process it gave me a fatal error saying it couldn't install GRUB (into any of the partitions on either of my hard drives). I simply chose the "skip bootloader install" option and then modified the Windows boot loader to show Linux as a boot option. This option I figured was the best choice since if I choose to (at a later date) reinstall Windows I don't have to worry about GRUB being overwritten in the MBR by Windows.

The second problem I encountered was getting the Cinnamon desktop to load. After typing my user name and PW into the login screen it would make the sound that it's logging into the Cinnamon GUI and then (after a few seconds) take me back to the login screen (I'm assuming that the X server was crashing). So I selected the Gnome desktop and it successfully loaded into the desktop GUI. I remembered people saying that Cinnamon required graphics accleration so I went into the package manager and changed my graphics driver to the proprietary Nvidia driver instead of using the Noveau driver (selected by default). Logged out to restart the X server and again selected the Cinnamon desktop option and now it seems to be running flawlessly. It's good to be using a real OS again

Oh yeah, and thanks for the Netflix link, Gilrond! Your original links to the Logitech pages gave me enough incentive to go ahead and install Linux again. Now that I can use Netflix too all the issues preventing me from using Linux are gone!

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Good to hear! Welcome back to the Linux world

 

[Corylea.723]

My husband uses Linux by preference; he boots Windows only when he really, really has to.

I heard about a platformer called Trine that's supposed to be available for Linux, but when I went to Amazon, it was only listed for the PC. Are Linux games sold in some special Linux-only place?

Thanks!

 

[volsung]

Hi Corylea,

I found this retailer listed at Trine's website, and it supposedly sells the game for Linux DRM-Free.

http://gameolith.com/game/trine/

I can personally recommend this game, it is fun and visually stimulating, although the story and setting are very standard fairytale. Puzzles are physics-based, which is both open ended and entertaining. Trine 2 is equally good, except longer and with stunning visuals. It should come out for Linux soon if it isn't out already.

I'm a heavy Linux user but use Windows as my game system. I'd LOVE to play all my games in Linux though!

 

[Corylea.723]

Thanks, Volsung! You're wonderfully helpful as always.

 

[volsung]

Corylea, WAIT!

This looks like a much better option, directly from Frozenbyte's website:

http://frozenbyte.com/games_trine.php

http://frozenbyte.com/games_trine-2.php#humble

Buying through the Humble Store, DRM-Free, for Linux!

 

[Corylea.723]

Corylea, WAIT!

This looks like a much better option, directly from Frozenbyte's website:

http://frozenbyte.com/games_trine.php

http://frozenbyte.com/games_trine-2.php#humble

Buying through the Humble Store, DRM-Free, for Linux!

Thank you, Volsung! I would have bought it from the other place already, but they were having a problem processing payments and told me to come back later.

I actually started at Frozenbyte's website, but they said the game was available for PC or Mac, and since I didn't see Linux explicitly listed, I thought they didn't have it there. It turns out if you buy it for the PC, they give you the option of downloading it for Windows or Linux. Since I've never bought anything for Linux before, I didn't realize that was the way things were handled.

Thanks for your help! And I'm sure my husband would thank you if it weren't a secret until December 25th.

 

[volsung]

Thank you, Volsung! I would have bought it from the other place already, but they were having a problem processing payments and told me to come back later. />

I actually started at Frozenbyte's website, but they said the game was available for PC or Mac, and since I didn't see Linux explicitly listed, I thought they didn't have it there. It turns out if you buy it for the PC, they give you the option of downloading it for Windows or Linux. Since I've never bought anything for Linux before, I didn't realize that was the way things were handled.

Thanks for your help! And I'm sure my husband would thank you if it weren't a secret until December 25th. />

You are welcome, I am glad I could help you and a fellow Linux user!

Keep an eye on the Humble Bundles. They usually feature truly multiplatform (Linux + Mac + Win) indie PC games at a fantastic price, with soundtracks, and DRM-Free! They have a guy working full time porting games to Linux. The last Humble Bundle included Win, Mac, Linux AND Android!

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Desura is also a good distributor which ships many Linux games without DRM:

Check this out:

http://www.desura.com/games/trine
http://www.desura.com/games/trine-2

I really wish GOG would start supporting Linux already.

 

[volsung]

Desura is also a good distributor which ships many Linux games without DRM:

Check this out:

http://www.desura.com/games/trine
http://www.desura.com/games/trine-2

I really wish GOG would start supporting Linux already.

I found the Desura versions but I've never used it and don't know what to think of it. Is it reliable?

I do agree entirely with your last sentence though. Why isn't GOG supporting Linux?

OK I do know why: GOG offers a "comprehensive" service by selling games that are guaranteed to work. As of now, people still believe Linux is more problematic than Windows (yeah right... Windows breaks EASILY all the time). Still, they say they need to have a support team for Linux, and they THINK they need a support team for different distributions. Don't they understand what GNU/Linux is? As Torvalds says, Linux is Linux. Actually any POSIX-compliant operating system operates in basically the same way, regardless of kernel design and system calls implementation. There is also a filesystem hierarchy standard. Just stick to that.

What GOG fails to see is that GNU/Linux is what it is today thanks to COMMUNITY support. They could release Linux versions of games initially without any warranty, and people would still support other people and help them run and install these programs, because that is how we work. After a while, someone would maintain a wiki of GOG for Linux and people will find FAQs in case their games, for some strange reason, don't work right out of the box. If GOG wants, at this point they could have their technicians read these wiki's and support Linux games as well.

But for now, seriously, it's not a big deal. Simply make games like Machinarium and Trine available as Linux downloads. I want to redeem my Project Eternity with GOG, but I also want to have it available for Linux.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Right now there was another problem reported. New Windows installer from GOG started failing in Wine for big files.

I just got Trine on Desura, and installed it on my Debian testing x86_64 from their client (they also offer to download it as .run file straight). It works, and launches from their client as well as outside of their client. However when installed through the client it didn't create .desktop file for my KDE menu, so I added it manually to ~/.local/share/applications (with minor path tweaks) since I really don't like running any clients just to launch the game (it's useful for updates of course). Sample .desktop file is provided in the game installation dir, but it's not deployed anywhere it seems. A bit messy, but the game itself worked just fine.

Thanks to Corylea for pointing out this game! I've never heard of it before. It looks pretty nice and has a good soundtrack. Plus it runs on Linux

 

[volsung]

Right now there was another problem reported. New Windows installer from GOG started failing in Wine for big files.

I just got Trine on Desura, and installed it on my Debian testing x86_64 from their client (they also offer to download it as .run file straight). It works, and launches from their client as well as outside of their client. However when installed through the client it didn't create .desktop file for my KDE menu, so I added it manually to ~/.local/share/applications (with minor path tweaks) since I really don't like running any clients just to launch the game (it's useful for updates of course). Sample .desktop file is provided in the game installation dir, but it's not deployed anywhere it seems. A bit messy, but the game itself worked just fine.

Thanks to Corylea for pointing out this game! I've never heard of it before. It looks pretty nice and has a good soundtrack. Plus it runs on Linux />

You could have also bought it directly from the developers, Frozenbyte, DRM-free for Linux

I played the first Trine years ago and Trine 2 earlier this year. Both are pretty good, fun puzzle/platformers with very a nice visual style. Both of them have been featured on different Humble Bundles. You do know about these Bundles, right?

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

I started following Humbe Bundles some time ago, but probably didn't catch Trine there which appeared prior to that. Buying from distributor has some benefit of collecting many sources into one channel (otherwise you'll need to go to each developers site for updates which is even more messy). I.e. distributor is a store with many shelves, but of course you can go straight to the developer if it's cheaper or there are other benefits in that. In this case I just tested Desura as well - never used them before but heard that they were decent. Using the client for updates is neat, in comparison with manual downloads. But if client goes beyond that (as in Steam's case) that's already bad and I avoid such stuff.

 

[Pangaea666]

Desura is also a good distributor which ships many Linux games without DRM:

Check this out:

http://www.desura.com/games/trine
http://www.desura.com/games/trine-2

I really wish GOG would start supporting Linux already.

Wanted to try the Trine demo. Downloaded and installed. Apparently this was yet another fucking container application, as I was now asked to log into Desura. Tried offline, but now I just got a question to search my harddisk for Desura stuff.

Fuck you. Uninstall.

Have I mentioned I hate this fucking SHIT?

 

[volsung]

Wanted to try the Trine demo. Downloaded and installed. Apparently this was yet another fucking container application, as I was now asked to log into Desura. Tried offline, but now I just got a question to search my harddisk for Desura stuff.

Fuck you. Uninstall. />

Have I mentioned I hate this fucking SHIT?

I figured it wasn't very different from Steam.
Get the demos and the games directly from Frozenbyte, using the humble store which is probably even better than GOG

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Not sure about demos - I agree that it's stupid to require registration to try them. But full versions come without DRM from Desura and you don't need to run the client to play the game (this is already not like Steam). In comparison though, does GOG for example offer demos without being logged in?

 

[Pangaea666]

It's a demo ffs. In the days when the internet didn't suck donkeyballs and privacy was still something that existed outside of the realms of a dictionary, we could download demos and play them without logging in, or sending our left nut to a corporate headquarter.

Okay, the latter is an exaggeration, but not by much.

These days games rarely come with demos at all, because that would destroy the glorious picture "reviews" (sic) paint. Why take that risk, when people pre-order most games anyway, like good subordinate sheep?

Not sure if GOG offers demos at all, whether logged in or not, but they should. At least for the 1 in a thousand game that actually have the honesty to release a demo at all. It's not exactly the norm any more.

 

[volsung]

It's a demo ffs. In the days when the internet didn't suck donkeyballs and privacy was still something that existed outside of the realms of a dictionary, we could download demos and play them without logging in, or sending our left nut to a corporate headquarter.

Okay, the latter is an exaggeration, but not by much.

These days games rarely come with demos at all, because that would destroy the glorious picture "reviews" (sic) paint. Why take that risk, when people pre-order most games anyway, like good subordinate sheep?

Not sure if GOG offers demos at all, whether logged in or not, but they should. At least for the 1 in a thousand game that actually have the honesty to release a demo at all. It's not exactly the norm any more.

Yes, many companies do not release demos anymore. I know you don't like it, but Steam still has many game demos that are very easy to install. You can often download demos from the official webpages of each respective game or company, such as Torchlight 2, or from third party websites. I just "googled" "download trine demo" and got a bunch of results.

 

[Pangaea666]

I don't even have Shite installed, so that's out of the question

No big deal though. Just wanted to have a quick look at the game, but then had to rant since they were very much like Shite in how they approached it with container application and crap like that.

Besides, I'm playing old games for the most part, and get them from GOG for practically nothing. Last week or the one before they had a ridiculous offer, so I paid $10 for 5 great indie games, one of them being To The Moon. Could have gotten Torchlight (1), but it didn't look very fun to me. Just hack n hack n hack, and from the game videos I saw, practically all enemies died in 1 or 2 hits. Not quite my type of game I think.

I'm really not kidding when I say I greatly prefer these old/indie games over whatever is popular of modern games right now. Better and cheaper (and no DRM). What's not to love?