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Games Entertainment

Descent 3 for Linux Announced 69

Posted by Hemos from the rolling-rolling-rolling dept.
GehRehmee writes: "Heresay's been floating about for some time now, but Loki has officially announced its intent to release the Linux version of Descent 3 "By July 2000". Quotables: "We're excited to see the Linux market growing and we're very happy to be a part of it," said Matt Toschlog, president of Outrage. Jeff Slutter, who programmed the Linux version for Outrage, said, "We originally released a dedicated server version of Descent 3 for Linux and are very pleased that Loki will now bring to market the full client version." "
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Descent 3 for Linux Announced More

Descent 3 for Linux Announced

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  • Can't help with descent, but here [mr.net] is an ASCII front end to quake. Now you can play over telnet. Enjoy.

  • They try to get us free software hackers to waste all of our time shooting down Humunculi as they sit back and laugh, watching the kernel fall apart.

    heh, they don't need to see the games themselves run on Linux to accomplish that, they just need to have you keep Windows on the same machine.

    Now if you really wanted to cause some damage to software development, make them run on BSD. (Oh wait, XFree 4.0 is out and it runs on BSD... too late!)

  • Anyone else around here listen to KMFDM? Oh, and have you seen KMFMS [kmfms.com]?
  • I don't know about your experiances, but when I played D3 I never had any trouble with bugs whatsoever. Not one.

    Must be your hardware.

  • Haiku (Score:2)

    by 575 ( 195442 )
    Floating in a maze
    Twisty chasms of mayhem
    Blast haywire robots
  • HOORAY! HOORAY! Descent is my favorite game! I love D2X and lDescent and all those because they let me play DESCENT on MY computer. HOORAY! I can play descent 3! Hooray!
    • I love to sit and write code

    • When I get in a programming mode
      Compile and run
      It is so much fun
  • Actually, you should be able to play almost anything in text mode using GGI, as long as it can use GGI, svgalib, or X for output.

    What ever became of GGI? I haven't heard a peep about it or Berlin in ages.
    --

  • Half-Life runs under WINE. Counter-Strike is playable at 512x384 on a dual PII 350.
  • I agree, I've seen Myth II run on a linux box, and it's really smooth... The framerate is barely sacraficed, although in some games, framerate is essential
  • Lots of people don't want games ported to Linux or desktop apps in general. They think it will "dumb down the OS. However there is a purely selfish and logical reason to demand, request and even encourage these things. Here is the chain of reasoning.

    1. The biggest problem facing the experienced Linux user is limited choice of hardware. You walk into a shop and of 20 devices for a particular use, anywhere from 5 to 18 don't support Linux.

    2. Manufacturers don't bundle Linux drivers or contribute them to the Kernel simply because they don't think there are enough users to make money off.

    3. The more applications run on a platform the more users it will attract. There is simply no way the person who bought a computer to play a particular game or run a specific program will use an OS that doesn't support that.

    Therefore, by increasing the pool of applications we increase the userbase and by increasing the userbase we increase hardware choice. Already It has got the stage where I have not seen a new SCSI or Network card that doesn't support Linux ( with Linux specific instructions and/or drivers in the box ) for over a year now. Port more games and the same will be true for video cards, sound hardware and controllers.

    As for Decent specifically. I didn't play it much before and probably won't start now. However there are people playing the old version on Windows who will at least experiment with the New version under Linux.
  • If you had read the announcment, you would have known that Loki is targeting $30USD for D3. I will pay that to have it running under Linux.

    Loki is not just porting games at random, they are targeting games that are already successful and that appeal to the existing Linux community. They have already developed some very useful porting tools that make the task easier with each additional game they port. I think they did an outstanding job with Heavy Gear II; especially when you consider it started as a D3D native game and their port included converting the engine to OpenGL. Not a trivial task, but they did it well.

    I think Loki has a couple of interesting areas to branch into depending on how the game companies view and embrace Linux. If they start developing Linux ports in-house, then Loki can license their porting tools and/or do consulting when the companies need help.

    An anti-example to your original point is Unreal Tournament. I do really enjoy the game, but I only play it under Windows. The reason? Their Linux version is not stable or particularly speedy on my nVidia based card. Heavy Gear II on the other hand runs very well under Linux. Ditto for Quake3A. Epic had GreenMarine inhouse doing the initial Linux port and updates, but now he has left for 3DRealms to work on Duke Nukem Forever. OpenUT has a developer with NDA access to the UT source, but he is on vacation now and we don't know when we will see ver 4.20 for Linux. Having a commited third party could make much more sense for game companies wanting to port to and support Linux. Continuing support can be as critical as the original development if you have problems.
  • Just a correction: The OpenUT developer (Daniel Vogel) is -NOT- on vacation, per se. He WORKS for Loki, now.

    I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to see the irony in all this.

    --ryan. (icculus@loki.nospam.games.com)

  • > kernel-accellerated VooDoo3

    adding gfx drivers into the kernel is exactly what made windows as unstable as it is.
    i hope that linus wont allow same thing happening in linux.
  • Actually.... there is the distinct possibility that a Microsoft space sim will be ported:

    http://www.linuxgames.com/followup/23 08.shtml [linuxgames.com]
  • Hey I was at Comdex in Vancouver about 5 years ago and I saw a demo of 3d glasses for the original descent. Does anyone out there know of 3d hardware and drivers that would make descent 3 playable (or Quake or UT, for that matter) in 3d?

    I just love 3d.

    Thanks
    .
  • Loki has been announcing the creation of ports for more and more games, which is awesome. At this rate Loki will need a lot more programmers to handle all of their projects.

    However, Linux gaming will never have a chance against Windows until they are released at about the same time. Descent 3, Civ: CTP, and other Loki games are out all well after the Windows version. I think it's unreasonable to expect Linux gamers who really want to get into a game to have to buy the Windows version and then repurchase the game for Linux (this is my understanding of what must be done). According to The Official Descent 3 Page [interplay.com], Descent 3 has been out since June 11, 1999. In other words, I can't imagine the market for this game being very high, considering most of the people who really wanted this game already have it. I know if I did I wouldn't be inclined to buy it again just to keep from rebooting.
  • ... so please, Volition, port FreeSpace 2, the finest space sim *EVER*. If that single game gets ported, my Windows partition can kiss goodbye.
  • Descent 3 [tuxgames.com] is now available for pre-order from Tux Games [tuxgames.com] for $25.

  • Anyone know how many boxes Loki games have been selling ? I certainly hope they do well. Hell, I might just buy one to show my support ( probably a strategy game since my TNT doesn't seem that well supported )

    Bzzzztt. Wrong!

    Support for the TNT/Geforce family has taken a big turn for the better with the current beta drivers from Nvidia for Xfree84 4.0. While the drivers are closed sourced for Intellectual Property reasons (supposedly to do with SGI technology), they almost on a par with the Windows drivers. Given that Xfree86 4.0 is still pretty new and that these aren't even v1.0 NVidia drivers yet, this is pretty encouraging and we may in the future see Linux drivers showing a few % improvement over the Windows drivers.

    So anything you would consider playing under Windows on your TNT is probably playable on Linux now at similar performance levels. And since Loki distribute demos, you can try before you buy.

    Cheers,

    Toby Haynes

  • What bothered me was on level two, where the guide bot would lead you into a chemical-plant room and then give you no help whatsoever. Usually, tho, I don't even use the GB. Nice to see that they put the gowingnut cheat from D2 as part of the game.

    ---------------------------------
  • how long ago was descent 3 released? I got a copy of it with my sblive card I bought as long ago as I can remember.

    Is Descent3 even still selling in the retail market? Don't suppose anybody has numbers on that?

    When a single game, that's very old, and probably nobody in the PC world even cares about it anymore, when a single game like that makes news that it's being ported so long after the windows version, it's really a sign of how desparate the Linux world is.

    The worst part is, since the game is so old now, it's not likely to sell terribly well, and the "powers that be" will take it, incorrectly, as another sign that people don't want games on linux.

    I was one of the people who bought windows quake3 to play on linux just because there wasn't a single store in my town that sold the linux version, and I don't buy off the internet. (I'm more of a linux fanatic now, and I'd probably drive the 120 miles to buy it retail if it came out now)

    what can we do? Is it really a good idea to buy these outdated, more expensive than windows (which are now probably in the $5 bin) games, simply to support the platform we love? Or do we sit back and wait, as linux grows, it's inevitable that games will be ported to linux in a more timely and more convenient fashion.

    I'm sure the answer is somewhere in the middle, but it's very frustrating that we can't get more games to Linux faster without showing the interest is there, and the interest isn't really going to be there until more games come out on linux faster...

    ________
    1995: Microsoft - "Resistance is futile"

  • ELSA makes 3d glasses that plug into a 16MB TNT, and others for later cards (i think). They run around 100 bucks. I dunno if they work under Linux.

    ---------------------------------
  • Actually, D3 stunk on the market despite being an Editor's Choice in almost every magazine in existance. The linux market might bring them the sales they need.

    On a related note, anybody know if there's going to be a Linux version of Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force? It uses the Q3 engine.

    ---------------------------------

  • Jack Porter is on vacation, not me ;-)

    --
    Daniel Vogel
    Programmer
    Loki Entertainment Software
  • Haven't touched windoze in 3 years. You'll always have a customer here. Enjoying civ:ctp, myth2 and q3 immensely!
  • its great to see these big corporations finally deciding the develop products for linux. the most common reasons my friends have given me for not switching over is the lack of games.

    i do hope half life will be ported soon..
  • Descent 1 and 2 are open source. Check freshmeat.

    Old Sierra games can be played with FreeSCI and Sarien (again, check freshmeat).

    --ryan.
    (The guy who's working on Descent 3: icculus@spamsux.lokigames.com)
  • Did Loki or Id ever say anything about the separate binary strategy they pursued for QIII? IIRC, they said that they were going to package the two versions separately so that they could get a better idea of what the size of the market was for Linux games. But that was months ago, and I never heard hide nor hair about the actual results of that experiment. Does anyone who follows games or Loki more closely know what happened? My gut feeling is that if we haven't heard by now, it is a bad sign, but maybe I'm just paranoid. Anyone? Anyone?

  • Yay.. now i have a reason to put a nic in my linux box and also recompile for the soundcard.. So i can totally oblitherate everyone in descent 3.

    I used to play descent 1 like crazy on an old 14.4 modem 75mhz processor. I gave up playing after my sound card/modem combo blew up and i had no more sound card for 3 months (till i got money to buy a modem and sound card separately) by then i found irc.

    I used to destroy the best of them using the nick SERPENT! which was pretty unique since you couldnt type a ! in the player thing on descent. I renamed the player files to get the ! in there.

    DRACO-

  • I own Myth II. Can't stand the game, but am just amazed by the quality of the port.

    There are some other companies, but currently Loki is really the only company porting games to Linux on such a large scale. If they ever go public, it'll be a gold mine, I feel.

    Also, they seem to be porting more and more games. Dare I hope that Starcraft or Diablo could be coming soon. That is, of course, if we're not stupid and spam Blizzard again....
  • Consider this: They did the separate binaries test, then they released Outrage. I think that this can be read as a really positive answer.

    It's not really a big shock. Things likq Q3 work best on hot-shot high-end geekster systems. People who own those things are also the most likely to have tried (and learned to love :-o) Linux.

  • Descent 3! Nice!

    You know what would be REALLY cool? Port some of the oldies! The original Descent, maybe Warcraft, the old Sierra games like Quest for Glory. I don't think the companies would mind--hell, more revenue for free never hurts, huh?

    If I could properly waste my time in X as well as I do in windows, then screw Billy Gates! :o)

    -S

    http://students.washington.edu/steve0/ [washington.edu]
    steve0@u.washington.edu
  • half life will not be ported. ever.
    The company involved (sierra or valve) has specicially stated they will not port it because they are worried that the port will be of inferior quality (and that this will reflect badly on the company?)

    it is unfortunate, as myself and many of the people I know are playing counter strike [counter-strike.net] a lot and it will not be possible to play this under linux.
    Descent 3 is a great game, I already own the windows version, but sadly I rarely play it, as it requires booting to windows. I'd love to be able to play it under Linux
    --------

  • I know this may sound strange but even though Descent on Unix is great and all, I would just like to see other games ported to Linux/Unix like my favorite, "Age of Empires". Admittedly, this is a microsoft product but it is definetly a great game. Microsoft could start another surge of game sales and unload a tonne of these games if they would just port it to Linux. I would definetly buy it for $49.99 or whatever the going price might be.

    Linux has made great progress but it still has a long way to go to get into the gaming market. Come on developers... come to your senses!


    Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
    NPS Internet Solutions, LLC
    www.npsis.com [npsis.com]
  • It depends, if Loki are doing it on a contract basis from Outrage then I recon that it could be seen as a "patch". However if Loki are the ones distributing the new version then I recon they'll do it as a new product (as the original poster suggested). AFAIK from Civ:CTP and such it's more of the latter case.

    I recon you could compare it with how companies license the Quake/Lith/Unreal engine. In this case
    they also get the original game data.

    IMHO it would suck a bit if you already own the Win32 version, particularly if there's nothing new besides a Linux executable.

    Not that Loki aren't doing a great job porting and all, but perhaps they should make an upgrade offer or something for current owners?
  • Whoops, my bad. I was reading through the OpenUT maillist last night and read that he was on vacation, so no news on 4.20 just yet. Guess I can't believe everything I read.

    On the other hand, I am glad to know that he is working for Loki now. Maybe things will get better for OpenUT. Hope, hope.

  • Games are a Bad Thing (Score:3)

    by ekmo ( 128842 ) on Friday June 02, 2000 @10:22PM (#1028602)
    A nameless evil company (read: Microsoft) is behind a huge conspiracy to produce games for Linux-based operating systems. They try to get us free software hackers to waste all of our time shooting down Humunculi [interplay.com] as they sit back and laugh, watching the kernel fall apart. Do not fall in to this pernicious trap!
  • There's something weird about that though...

    Recently one of my friends had a LAN party, and we were playing halflife on it, and every time we started the LAN game it'd say something like:

    gamedll_linux: dlls/hl_i386.so

    Now, I have no idea why it says that, especially if there's no Linux port. Maybe someone else can shed some light onto this?

    ~~~

  • Work on a Linux port for the old Sierra games (actually, the SCI interpreter that drives them) is in progress. Check out The FreeSCI Project [linuxgames.com] (of which I am a proud member :-)
  • there is a linux dedicated server. It's a good thing, but a far cry from a client implementation.

    It's quite possible that some framework was there to implement the linux client, but it never got further than that.
    --------

  • Last Friday, Outrage released a brand new patch to the Win32 version (v1.4), which might fix your problems. I'm integrating this code into the Linux version in another window as I type this.

    If you find yourself using the Linux version, and these bugs still exist, please report them in http://fenris.lokigames.com/, and I'll look into fixing them.

    --ryan. (icculus@dontspamonme.lokigames.com)

  • Re:support... (Score:3)

    by netfunk ( 32040 ) <icculus@ic c u l us.org> on Saturday June 03, 2000 @02:44AM (#1028607) Homepage

    The client (the graphical-fly-around-with-a-joystick-and-sound-and -motion-sickness) version is what Loki will be releasing. It even supports a gaming chair (The RockNRide [rocknride.com]).

    I've got it all running here.

    Screenshots are here. [lokigames.com]

    My big white ass on the RockNRide. [lokigames.com]

    --ryan. (icculus@lokiSPAMSUXgames.com)

  • Linux Linux Linux... and what about BSD? :) i'd like to know if this is gonna available on BSD... i mean, if it will actually work well cuz i hate fuc*ing around to set up some linux things on my bsd box... anyways, im out, peace
  • (From story poster)
    Actually, Outrage did alot of the work on the client. After having a playable version of it, they found themselves too busy to put together the finishing touches, and handed it off to Loki.
    No word yet on whether it will be downloadable/upgradable/etc...
  • So anything you would consider playing under Windows on your TNT is probably playable on Linux now at similar performance levels. And since Loki distribute demos, you can try before you buy.

    Well that's assuming you can set the stupid drivers up properly in the first place ! I'm just about tearing my hair out trying to get Quake II to work. And there's SFA documentation out there.

  • Just got confirmation from Loki via E-Mail... Descent 3 for Linux will be an independant product, with no plans for rebates/discounts for existing Win-Linux owners.
  • I think it would be wise for Outrage/Loki to do something special to add value to the Linux port... to help convince people who have already bought the windows version to get the linux one too. An extra ship, and some extra levels (only available by a linux version purchase, kinda like the missionary pack) would be a good place to start. I hope the mission builder comes out for Linux too because I can't get to even start without crashing on my Windows partition.

  • so, i read just about this entire discussion and i cant find anything construtive anywhere in it!
    (okay, maybe the graphics in the kernel stuff)
    what's with that?

    anyway, heres the deal:

    i will buy any game that is ported to linux by loki that i already own for windows just for the sake of commercial linux support, but i can safely say i will never pay for anything else to do with linux.
    DISCUSS.

    ==
    It's bush league psyche-out stuff, man.
    Laughable, man.
  • Actually, it's a lot of fun. :)

    http://www.lokigames.com/~icculus/rnr/

  • Eyes play tricks, probably not funny (Score:3)

    by Bosconian ( 158140 ) on Friday June 02, 2000 @10:28PM (#1028615) Journal
    What it said:

    Quotables: "We're excited to see the Linux market growing and we're very happy to be a part of it," said Matt Toschlog, President of Outrage.

    What I read:

    Quotables: "We're excited to see the Linux market growing and we're very happy to be a *port* of it," said Matt Toschlog, President of Outrage.
  • I might be alone here, but I got D3 for xmas and I thought it was ass. The new engine is a nice idea but still ridiculous. The "glass ceiling" is not amusing. And the guide-bot has a habit of telling you "Go in there!" ...and so you shoot every switch you can find and the damn force field still won't open.

    I might be alone in thinking that it shouldn't take more than ten minutes to find a switch, but I rather doubt it.

  • Actually one of the things I have liked about the Descent series, right from the start, is the odd puzzles that pop up. Blasting enemy alien robots is fun, but the little puzzles stop the action and give the game a better sense, being the pilot. Then you think you've got it and some bloody cruncher bot comes screaming around the corner..
  • The market for Linux games may still be new, but with OpenGL, kernel 2.4 and XFree86 4.0 all the technology required has been built. Tweaking still needs doing, but the hard work has been done. I look forward to running D3 on my kernel-accellerated VooDoo3.

    Speaking of coming to your senses, the idea of Microsoft porting one of their games is absurd.
  • And as for Warcraft, the entire engine has already been cloned and is playable today.

    http://www.freecraft.org/

    You need the original Warcraft CD for the graphics, or can use a free graphics set already in development [though in need of a little help]. Any graphic artists out there want to lend a hand?

    Download at http://fgp.cjb.net/

  • Linux Games Market (Score:3)

    by 1337d00d ( 177978 ) on Friday June 02, 2000 @10:52PM (#1028620)
    I think that this may be one of the key points in the new, developing Linux games market. Three dimensions and 360 movement (the combination of the two) has been missing from the Linux games market, and now this means the introduction of a quality, modern product that has everything needed to move Linux gaming into the twenty first century.

    It's also great that more companies are joining in on the Linux gaming market. I think that with the additional stability and power provided by Linux, gaming can become an even more enthrilling experiance. Soon I hope to be able to never again see a BSOD while playing Half-Life or Tiberian Sun.

    I think that this is one of the many steps that the new Linux gaming market is taking toward Linux becoming an equal competitor with Windows as a gaming platform. When that happens, what will you need Windows for again? This could be the final blow that crushes Microsoft once and for all. Except that Microsoft isn't paying attention. While Microsoft is tied up in the antitrust hearings, the Linux community may have finally achieved total superiority over Windows in all aspects. Or very near to it. This is a very exciting time. We may be ready to actualize the prophecy and take over the world.
  • Its already here. My NVidia drivers are installed...

    [root@caffeine /root]# lsmod
    Module Size Used by
    nls_iso8859-1 2020 1 (autoclean)
    nls_cp437 3548 1 (autoclean)
    vfat 9180 1 (autoclean)
    fat 30464 1 (autoclean) [vfat]
    joy-sidewinder 4308 0
    joystick 7076 0 [joy-sidewinder]
    emu10k1-joy 2808 0 (unused)
    emu10k1 45956 0
    soundcore 2372 4 [emu10k1]
    NVdriver 431584 7 (autoclean)
    nfsd 144060 8 (autoclean)
    lockd 30984 0 (autoclean) [nfsd]
    sunrpc 52516 0 (autoclean) [nfsd lockd]
    tulip 25252 1 (autoclean)

    siri

  • We've got Sim City 3000 Unlimited. It just went beta.

    (*shrug*)

    --ryan. (icculus@lokinospampleasegames.com)

  • Descent 3's Linux port has been under development for quite some time now. I stopped following it awhile ago, at which point it was about at the point of just not having sound or joystick support implemented.
  • I'm thrilled to death with the D3 port to Linux. The only game I've ever played is the Descent series, and that wasn't enough to keep Winless9x around.

    I'm wondering, though, how efficient Linux is or isn't in regards to outright speed and resource utilization vs. the same game on a Win32 platform. Is it faster or slower? Does it use more or less CPU/RAM? How about framerates and resolutions? How about SMP?
  • Now all I have to do is contact Uncle Bill and ask him kindly to supply a Linux driver for my MS Force Feedback Joystick.
  • There are a lot of factors in why Linux games come out after the Windows versions. The primary one is lack of internal support and Q/A for Linux at the major gaming companies. Linux games will come out on Linux first. Windows games will come out on Windows first.

    That said, we at Loki have near simultaneous release of titles very high on our priority list. :)

    --Sam
  • Anyone know how many boxes Loki games have been selling ? I certainly hope they do well. Hell, I might just buy one to show my support ( probably a strategy game since my TNT doesn't seem that well supported )

  • Secondly, once gaming under linux becomes a sizable market, companies will do their own port, like what they are doing for mac and consoles.

    Yeah, but will they ? If the developers from Loki can do the port cheaper, faster, and more effectively, then why would they want to do it internally ? I mean, if company (X)'s developers have never used Linux before, then would it be cheaper for them to port say a Direct3D game, or would they hire the experts ? And Loki are certainly making a name for themselves as experts when it comes to porting games.

  • your ethier a windows supportor or you don't know what your talking about. nice msg there, though i wouldn't count it as right, I understand what your point is, but windows isn't the master, and we aren't the dogs, come up with some better metaphor. I personally don't feel like linux users are the dogs, the less ones, and although desecent 3 may not be the best of the best in the gaming area, it's part of the path towards becomeing a major gameing platform, personally i say read the article about linux gaming at gamespot.com, great news for the linux gaming community, and proof that soon, were get much more then just the scraps, and i'm out "-YOU HAVE TO CHOSE TO LIVE LIFE, AND THEN LIVE!"
  • ...or are you just so stupid that you don't get it that Microsoft doesn't like Linux? Microsoft porting a game to anything besides a Mac (they have various contracts with Apple to keep the Mac alive) would signal that we should be watching the core temperature of the Earth (read: Hell freezes over). Microsoft porting a game would be the same as them working with an open standard. They just won't do it, to force you to buy Windows. And DirectX. And you can register via Internet Explorer. And it gets the data files off of MSN. Etc. Microsoft products are all one big happy family. You have to get them all to get one. That is why Microsoft is so evil and manipulative. (Aside from all those bad things that they're getting sued for now, like pushing competitors and distributors around)

  • What if I already own D3 for Win? (Score:3)

    by N8F8 ( 4562 ) on Friday June 02, 2000 @11:07PM (#1028631)
    Do I get to just download the Linux version?
  • Games are a good waste of time but you should remember not all people play games 24/7 they have jobs and other things to do that are more important such as tweaking the kernel.
  • I'm not so sure about them being doomed because of companies doing their own port. If Loki establish themselves as "the company with the know-how" then there will still be work - if you look at games that come out on multiple platforms, you will usually see that the different versions are written by different companies anyway.

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