Gog.com Now Supports Linux • Hacker News Board

Re: Gog.com Now Supports Linux

#31

Post by pdpi » Thu, Jul 24, 2014, 1:55 PM UTC

grimgrin wrote: post #29

ekianjo wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Am I the only one who just gave up because of video and sound driver issues? No issues here. I guess you may be running AMD hardware hence the video drivers issues, but I haven't had sound issues in games for years.

Nvidia. Installed System Shock 2 (through Steam) on my Linux machine at work. Ran it, cool, left the game and resolution was stuck at a really weird one (on 1 of 2 monitors) and I had to fix a problem. Same game on Windows, likely no problem to fix. Issues for sure still happen with Linux gaming. Many games are fine though, of course.

To be fair, dual screen setups and games have a history of trouble (even on Windows)

Re: Gog.com Now Supports Linux

#32

Post by pdpi » Thu, Jul 24, 2014, 1:55 PM UTC

grimgrin wrote: post #29

ekianjo wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Am I the only one who just gave up because of video and sound driver issues? No issues here. I guess you may be running AMD hardware hence the video drivers issues, but I haven't had sound issues in games for years.

Nvidia. Installed System Shock 2 (through Steam) on my Linux machine at work. Ran it, cool, left the game and resolution was stuck at a really weird one (on 1 of 2 monitors) and I had to fix a problem. Same game on Windows, likely no problem to fix. Issues for sure still happen with Linux gaming. Many games are fine though, of course.

To be fair, dual screen setups and games have a history of trouble (even on Windows)

Re: Gog.com Now Supports Linux

#33

Post by jenscow » Thu, Jul 24, 2014, 2:16 PM UTC

aktau wrote: post #21

Oh man, there goes my time. I remember FlatOut 1 fondly from when I was a kid and was still using Windows (great soundtrack too, I remember sending No Connection an e-mail and they even replied). Now I couldn't resist buying FlatOut 2, even if just to show my support. I read on the forums they're wine wrappers though (officially supported, but still). Native ports would be the best, of course.

The DOS games I've seen are DOSBox wrappers.

I wonder if they've made the games work (if they didn't already) by hacking DOSBox, rather than the game.

Re: Gog.com Now Supports Linux

#34

Post by jenscow » Thu, Jul 24, 2014, 2:18 PM UTC

pervycreeper wrote: post #18

Not to minimize the accomplishment, but most of those "first time on Linux!" titles were previously playable via Dosbox, or free software source ports. That said, can't wait for Rollercoaster Tycoon.

I don't think it's the technical accomplishment that's significant - more the fact that producers are increasingly recognising Linux as an emerging gaming platform.

Re: Gog.com Now Supports Linux

#35

Post by tormeh » Thu, Jul 24, 2014, 2:27 PM UTC

ekianjo wrote: post #25

endgame wrote: post #6

I'm surprised that Papers Please is missing, given that the game has already been released on GNU/Linux release through the developer's website. I wouldn't be surprised if there is other such low-hanging fruit in their catalogue.

There are many others. First, many games that can run on DOsBox on Linux (probably several hundreds from their catalog) and many other indie ones. And Witcher 2 (however the port/wrapper used was horrible).

It had low performance, but once I figured out that the keybindings were all empty and you had to restore them to default everything kinda worked ok. Low FPS, but playable on my Nvidia GTX760M laptop.

Re: Gog.com Now Supports Linux

#36

Post by tormeh » Thu, Jul 24, 2014, 2:31 PM UTC

What's the state of AMD Radeon cards for gaming on Linux right now? I think I'll soon upgrade my desktop computer's graphics card, and I wonder if I'll have to restrict myself to Nvidia only. (Intel's not an option because of performance)

Re: Gog.com Now Supports Linux

#37

Post by mladenkovacevic » Thu, Jul 24, 2014, 2:32 PM UTC

I would recommend Normality as an oldie but a goodie. Quirky story and an amazing atmosphere. This was also one of the first games where it didn't feel like it consisted of static sets or levels where you had to solve a puzzle then move onto the next one but you were more or less freely roaming like a Grand Theft Auto game and having to solve puzzles within a larger environment.

Re: Gog.com Now Supports Linux

#38

Post by laumars » Thu, Jul 24, 2014, 2:32 PM UTC

clarry wrote: post #16

What hardware platforms are supported? Give it one, three, five, ten or fifteen years. When will these proprietary binaries stop working? I look forward (probably in vain) to the day when game developers want their games to be playable by anyone on any system, any time, even long after release. Played by everyone. I mean, who wouldn't want his work to be loved by everyone and forever? Why? Freeing the code is a first…

A lot of the games on GOG are DOS games that have been ported to DOSbox, so they'll continue to run on any platform DOSbox has been ported to and for as long as DOSbox is maintained (which, hopefully, will be many years to come)

Re: Gog.com Now Supports Linux

#39

Post by pachydermic » Thu, Jul 24, 2014, 2:36 PM UTC

wink wrote: post #4

I've been using Linux for work for years (software developer) but my main machine at home is still running Windows 7 because for me, the state of gaming is still kind of horrible on Linux. Am I the only one who just gave up because of video and sound driver issues? That's for 3d, of course - as stated above, everything in a window manager usually works just fine. That said, this is awesome news, maybe I'll come aroun…

You're not alone. Things are getting better, though. Drivers are definitely still an issue, but I think because of Steam's movement in the Linux market a lot of progress is going to be made... of course, maybe all this SteamOS stuff is just a hedge against Windows (to dissuade a move to a 100% app-store model on desktop).

Laptops and wireless are still definitely a big issue. I think desktops have a much better chance of working. Whether they work as well as Windows or not is a different question.

Re: Gog.com Now Supports Linux

#40

Post by clarry » Thu, Jul 24, 2014, 2:41 PM UTC

laumars wrote: post #38

clarry wrote: post #16

What hardware platforms are supported? Give it one, three, five, ten or fifteen years. When will these proprietary binaries stop working? I look forward (probably in vain) to the day when game developers want their games to be playable by anyone on any system, any time, even long after release. Played by everyone. I mean, who wouldn't want his work to be loved by everyone and forever? Why? Freeing the code is a first…

A lot of the games on GOG are DOS games that have been ported to DOSbox, so they'll continue to run on any platform DOSbox has been ported to and for as long as DOSbox is maintained (which, hopefully, will be many years to come)

Yup, and that's very nice. It still would be better to get the source and native ports with enhancements that make the games more accessible, less buggy, prettier, etc. Also, performance matters. Emulating a bunch of hardware is not cheap.