Getting Gamers on Linux
Continuing on with my series of posts from my articles in Full Circle Magazine. The next article is about how we can get gamers on to Linux, this is taken from Issue 22.
Linux is great! We all know that, but there are two major things I believe need resolving before we can say Linux is ready for the mainstream. The first is video editing and the second is gaming. Gaming is a very important part of the success of Linux, so there is much work to do before we can safely say that Linux is the platform of choice for gaming. In order to achieve this, I believe there are three key areas that need addressing: games, distribution, and services. Each of these areas is important for gamers, especially PC gamers.
The number and quality of games available for Linux is probably the most important area. Although it has many great games, it needs more games from major developers, such as EA or Activision. The big PC games need to be ported to Linux, such as World of Warcraft, Counter Strike, Battlefield, and Call of Duty. These are the games that all the gamers are playing. There is no point in trying to move gamers to Linux if they can not play the games they love. Linux does have ways to make it easier for people to switch from Windows to Linux, thanks to great work from the Wine team. Games like Counter Strike do work in Linux. However, the support is not perfect. I much prefer native games to games played using Wine. It's important that we try to convince developers to develop games for Linux, and to port games to Linux. Hopefully, as OpenGL gets better, it will be easier for developers to do this. We may be able to help, by making the transfer from DirectX to OpenGL as easy as possible.
So, you may be thinking, now that we have these major games for Linux, how will we get our hands on them? The best solution for Linux is digital distribution. I do not see Linux games ever being in shops. It would be far better to have a website or online store from which we can download Linux games. I believe a service like Steam is the best solution to getting games onto Linux. This solution is looking likely to happen, since Steam is apparently coming to Linux!
The final area is the services. There are many services which PC gamers use on Windows. These mainly consist of communication methods. The two major services are the gaming networks and the VOIP services. The gaming network is heavily used by gamers for talking to friends, joining games with each other, and for clans/guilds. The biggest network is Xfire, with over twelve-million users. It is important that this service is accessible for gamers on Linux. Luckily, there is a plugin for Pidgin, called Gfire (gfire.sf.net). The second major network is fairly new: Steam. This online store now provides a social networking side for gaming, which is used in a similar way to Xfire. Sadly, there is no way to use the Steam community feature yet, unless you use Wine. The VOIP services are very important for clans/guilds to use during a match. The whole team needs to be in a VOIP channel to be able to talk about tactics during a match. The two main services are Teamspeak and Ventrilo. Teamspeak has a native Linux client, but Ventrilo does not. However, Ventrilo does work very well in Wine.
If we are able to achieve success in all these areas, then we'll have a platform for Windows gamers to move to. I believe it is possible to achieve the last two areas, because we can develop these services within the Linux community. The difficult part is getting the developers on board. Apple is having a hard time trying to get the developers on board with their platform, so it is likely that Linux will have a bigger challenge.
Full Circle Magazine Podcast Episode 10
Our 10th episode of Full Circle Magazine Podcast is now online! Special Guest, Editor of Full Circle, Ronnie Tucker! Ubuntu news covered, interview with Amber Graner on Ubuntu Women.
Full Circle Magazine Podcast Episode 9
Our 9th episode of Full Circle Magazine Podcast is now online! Ubuntu news covered, Linux gaming, interview with Lubuntu Lead, and opinion section; Gnome Shell vs Unity!
Defcon Review
Struggling to find anything to write about, so I will continue with my series of posts from my articles in Full Circle Magazine. The next article is a review of Defcon taken from Issue 21. Also, just updated to WordPress 3.0! First post written with the landmark release of WordPress.
This month, I am reviewing one of my favourite PC games. Defcon is a cross platform RTS from UK developers, Introversion Software. The game is based around nuclear warfare. You select a nation, and fight in a nuclear war with up to 6 nations. The game is based on the film War Games. The game features both single players and multiplayers, but they are the same - except you will face AI-controlled nations, or real people controlling the nations. The game is not free: the full game costs £10/$19.50. However, the demo gives you a good idea what the game is about.
As soon as you start the game, you get a sense of bad times. The vector graphics represent a 1980's military computer, and the music of people slowly dying. As I have already said you have the choice of a single or multiplayer match. They are both the same, but in single player you can have from 2 to 5 bots in your match, whereas in multiplayer you can have up to 6 players. You select a "nation", which includes Europe, North America, South America, USSR, Asia, and Africa. A match takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete, but there are also several game types, such as Speed Defcon (15 min. match), Office mode (6 hour match) and Diplomacy mode (everyone is in the same alliance, until someone attacks). However, in the demo you can play only standard Defcon.
In a match, you are presented with a world map showing all the nations and cities within. The match is separated into 5 parts. In Defcon 5 & 4, you begin by placing your units. You have 3 types of buildings, and 3 types of units to place, during this time. The buildings are Radar (to see where missiles and other units are), Silos (to defend and attack nations), and Airfield (for launching fighters and bombers). The units are Submarines (for launching missiles), battleships (for destroying other ships), and Aircraft carriers (for launching fighters and bombers). Once all your units are placed, you can move your units into position. When you reach Defcon 3 & 2 you can now start naval and air attacks. Finally, you will reach the best part of the game, Defcon 1, Nuclear warfare. Select your silos for attack, move subs into position, and launch your nukes at the cities in the enemy's nation.
It may seem simple enough, but it's all about chance, and where and when your enemies will launch their nukes. You may lose your entire fleet before Defcon 1, which can have a bad effect during Defcon 1. You may launch your nukes too soon, then you're wide open for attacks. When your silos are launching their nukes, they can not defend at the same time. You may launch your nukes too late, when your enemy's defences are strong, or you may run out of time. You may even be attacked by people in your own alliance. Anything could happen. No game is the same. This means there is no winning strategy which works every time. There are no winners in nuclear warfare; Defcon follows this belief. In order to "win", it's not about how many people you killed, it's about losing the least.
Defcon is an excellent RTS, best played online. It is simple and easy to pick up, but can be hard to find ways to win. Once you think you have cracked it, you probably haven't. The style and look of the game is everything, but it is worth trying the demo. The demo is a good way to experience both offline and online matches. The game is for Linux, but also Windows and Mac. All three operating systems can play together, so get your Windows and Mac friends to play. You can download Defcon from www.introversion.co.uk/defcon. The file is a .tar.gz file, but it's just a few lib files and a shell script which you run in the terminal -- no need to install. Defcon works perfectly on Ubuntu 7.10, 8.04 and 8.10 (haven't tried it on any other Ubuntu versions).
Full Circle Magazine Podcast Episode 8
Our 8th episode of Full Circle Magazine Podcast is now online! Ubuntu news covered, Linux gaming, interview with Lubuntu Lead, and two opinion sections; Ubuntu One and Lubuntu
Full Circle Magazine Issue 37
FCM Issue 37 is now out, with a ton of great Ubuntu articles and news. My section, Ubuntu Games, is in again this month. This issue, I have reviewed Osmos! Plus, it makes the front cover 
Full Circle Magazine Podcast Episode 7
Our 7th episode of Full Circle Magazine Podcast is now online! Ubuntu news covered, Linux gaming, interviews, and we have a chat with our guest host, Alan Pope, about bug reporting!
BYG Foot Review
To continue with my series of posts from my articles in Full Circle Magazine. The next article is a review of BYG Foot taken from Issue 20.
The soccer season is in full swing in England, with Liverpool riding high. So, this month I have decided to review an open- source soccer management game. BYGFoot is a well developed management game which features 1000s of players from all around the world. You can manage in 25 countries, as well as lead your nation to victory in the World Cup.
BYGFoot is like any other soccer management game: choose your team, select the best players and lead them to glory. The game has all the basic features to manage your team. You select your team and formation; however, it can be hard to move your players around. You choose your formation by typing in a 3 digit number that adds up to 10 (442, 443, 119). Transfers and loaning players is standard. Choosing the right offer and offering the right contract is done well. Managing finances is done very well, however it is hard to keep in the green after buying a player in your first year.
BYGFoot also has some unique features that I have not seen in other management games. You can decide how big your stadium is and how secure it is and save memorable matches. However, it is still lacking in features, which often can be seen during a match. It also doesn't have real player names, but you cannot complain too much about this, since the project will need licenses. However, you can rename the players if you wanted to.
When match day comes, you have your best team ready and your tactics perfect. The let down is that during a match, you get a basic text commentary and basic stats, but it's hard to get a real understanding of how your players are performing. There is not enough information to understand what tactics to switch to, if you're losing 2-0 at half time. Usually, I would sub two players if their fitness was low, for example.
BYGFoot is an excellent attempt to bring a soccer management game to Linux, and for the most part, it delivers. It has features that allow a manager to choose his or her team and lead them to success. However, it lacks in a few advanced features, such as player licenses and information during matches. It still offers an excellent soccer management experience on Linux. This is definitely a game that any soccer fan needs to check out. Version 2.0.1 can be found in the Ubuntu repositories.
Full Circle Magazine Podcast Episode 6
Our 6th episode of Full Circle Magazine Podcast is now online! Ubuntu news covered, Linux gaming and our topic of discussion, review of Ubuntu 10.04!
Full Circle Magazine Issue 36
FCM Issue 36 is now out, with a ton of great Ubuntu articles and news. My section, Ubuntu Games, is in again this month. This issue, I have reviewed Doom 3! Download it now for Free!
Me!
Ed Hewitt, 19, Studying @ Derby Uni, Blogger, Ubuntu user, Columnist & Podcaster for FCM, Gamer, Admin on Gfire.- Spotify is saved. Usa by the end of the year!
- Back home from work. 2:30am, time for IT crowd!
- Half way through my shift. Time for a double expesso.
