#gaming linux

[erboss88]

(via Come installare Lutris: la piattaforma Open Gaming per GUN/Linux)

[linuxgamenews]

Steam and gaming in Linux Mint

By Clement Lefebvre Gaming is booming and is one of the most inspiring, exciting and innovative form of art in the IT industry. 2012 was an impressive year. With a global market of $67 billion gaming studios hire the most talented developers, artists, writers, and professionals and provide a huge selection of quality games. The budget and production are so high it’s becoming easier to choose a good game than to find a good movie these days… but most of them work on Windows, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. Just as “killer-apps”, games are among the top reasons which prevent people from switching completely to Linux. In 2012, 15 games were scored 90% or higher on Metacritic. None of them were released on Linux. A couple of things happened though and the future might look a little brighter for Linux gamers. 2012 was a big year for “Indie gaming”. Independent developers challenged major studios with games like Minecraft, The Walking Dead and Journey. The fact that a few developers could achieve so much, without resources, changed the perception of many. Then came the Humble Bundles which sent two strong signals: Linux users want games and they’re ready to pay for them. At the end of last year, Valve and Canonical announced they were working together to bring Steam (which is estimated to have a 70% share of the digital distribution market for video games) to Linux. Their efforts paid off and the Steam client is now available and working fine in most distributions. The screenshot below shows Steam running on Linux Mint 14:

Valve is planning a new gaming console in 2013 based on Linux and the company is currently promoting its Linux client, even to its Windows users. Gaming media, blogs and magazines are covering the news and some of the major studios are considering porting their games to Linux. If you like strategy games for instance, you’ll be happy to know Paradox Interactive already ported Crusader Kings II.

Crusader Kings II was given a 8/10 by IGN and Gamespot and a 9/10 by Destructoid. It is one of the very good strategy games of 2012. Other popular games are likely to follow; some old ones like Counter Strike 1.6 or Half Life, or brand new ones like “The Cave”. If you’re into gaming and you’d like to play on Linux Mint, don’t hesitate to get involved and to send Valve your feedback:

Browse the Steam Linux catalog online at http://store.steampowered.com/browse/linux/

Install Steam in Linux Mint with this .deb or add this repository: http://repo.steampowered.com/steam/

Get involved in the Linux Steam community at http://steamcommunity.com/linux

Send issues and ideas at https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues

We’d also like to hear from you on how you’d like us to improve or facilitate things for you in regards to gaming on Linux Mint. Note: Most popular games are commercial and developed by major studios, so if they come to Linux they’re likely to become available through Steam. However, if you’re interested in HTML5 or online gaming or if you have ideas on how to further promote Indie gaming and Free Software games, please let us know. Many Windows games also run quite well using Wine. We like for things to work out of the box, but maybe we can help here as well. Don’t hesitate to comment if you’ve some experience to share with Wine or wine-related software.

[linuxgamenews]

Relics of Annorath : Upcoming MMORPG For GNU/Linux

Relics of Annorath is an upcoming MMORPG in Alpha-testing stage which takes place in a medieval/post-modern setting features a complex economic system. It’s being developed by a Swiss company “Quantum Bytes” and uses the beautiful GNU/Linux friendly Unigine engine. Even at this early stage of the development they provide a native GNU/Linux support (for the Alpha testers). Sadly currently most of their website contains info in German with very little English (so maybe the Swiss/German readers could give us more info about the game as google translate is unable to translate https websites – so it seems). The game is looking great at the Alpha stage but I assume that it would take some time till the open beta. Also it seems that they are using the excellent foss program Blender for this game.

Links: Relics of Annorath native GNU/Linux support Quantum Bytes Unigine Blender

[linuxgamenews]

The Advantages of Using Linux

This article started out as a reply for the article, "Disadvantages of Using Linux." from DarDuck; By Lisa Hann. The full story is here. * No Standard Edition - MS Windows has basic, home, premium, ultimate. While Linux has more varieties of names and approaches, it is all the same. The differences with, for example, Opensuse, Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian are minor. The package management, the default set up and programs/tools. And of course the Desktop Environments or Window Managers. It is all the same though. It is like owning/buying a vehicle. Some come with Cd players, others with mp3 players. Some cars come fully loaded while others are just the basics. Some are four wheel drives, some rear wheel, some front wheel drive. When buying that vehicle you would want to either research it or ask a professional. Same goes for Linux. Research it or ask a professional. * Learning Curve - While there is a learning curve with Linux, Linux is NOT harder to learn then Windows, (Which if you think Linux is hard, then you are going to love Windows 8 when it comes out. Talk about a learning curve.) There are different approaches distro's use that make it VERY easy for the average user and new people trying Linux. Linux Mint is by far the best and easiest. Mint is more or less tied with Ubuntu in that area. I recommend Linux Mint for anyone new. But it is basically the same as Ubuntu, with a slightly different approach. Linux Mint website and Ubuntu website. * Non-Compatible Software - While this is true in some ways. You make it sound like a horrible idea to even try and use a Linux software alternative. I am guessing you never really tried Linux? Sounds like you are just parroting what you hear others saying. Virtualbox, VMware Player and CrossOver or Wine can run a lot of these programs if people really need the MS Windows version. Virtualbox and VMware can run legally owned copies of MS Windows, then the programs that are needed can be installed that way. The Major names in Linux all are as easy as pointing and clicking these days, unless you choose to go further with it. If pointing and clicking is hard for a person, then they may want to stay away from computers and pull out the crayons and coloring books. * Unsupported Hardware - Hardware manufacturers make drivers for MS Windows. The open source community are the ones who get the hardware to work with Linux, in most cases. Though a growing number of hardware manufacturers are starting to pay attention to Linux. While in part you are correct, your words are very misleading and leave things out. Even on MS Windows some hardware isn't supported on certain versions of MS Windows. And with that, since it is all closed sources, you are just out of luck. With Linux, there is a good chance someone is or has been working on a driver that will make it work. Linux is great for old AND new computers/hardware. * Tech Support - If someone wants to pay for support, as they would with MS Windows, then they have that option in Linux as well. I recommend checking out the payment plans, if that Linux Distro has any, as well as how long the subscription coverage lasts. MS Windows likes to charge per incident, while Ubuntu, (for example,) charges a flat fee, check it out for more information. Of course there are more to those plans and it varies from company to company. But over all it is much cheaper. If you choose not to pay for tech support with MS Windows, which can really start to cost the average person, then you are stuck with searching the internet, asking at MS Windows forums or if you are lucky and know a family member or friend who can help. And security wasn't even mentioned. I hear from others that it is not an issue with MS Windows anymore. However if that was the case then virus's, Trojans, spyware would not infect MS Windows. These are issue you don't have with Linux in general. Not to mention the security risks that pop up in MS Windows. Sometimes that can take months for them to patch or even acknowledge. MS Windows is closed source, that is to be expected. With Linux, which is open source, you have many people around the world who jump at security risks and they get patched/fixed fast. Installing and using Linux is really easy these days. For anyone interested I suggest you use Linux Mint for laptops and desktop PC's. If you have a netbook or mobile device, use Ubuntu. Also both Linux Mint and Ubuntu have free forums you can go to with newbie help sections. There is also a forum called Linuxquestions.org that has newbie help and specific sections for varies problems and Distro's. Linuxquestions.org is also a great place to tell people what you want and what they recommend for a Linux Distro. There is also Distrowatch which can give you a list of the most downloaded Linux Distro's, I recommend focusing only on the top ten to start. Distrowatch is a great place for some information and research. And keep in mind, like Ubuntu, there are some paid options for those who are not tech minded or don't have the time. One other thing I should really point out. The one weakness Linux has is gaming. While Linux has some great games, currently it lags behind MS Windows. Only because software manufacturers where not making games for Linux, (this is slowly changing and we are starting to see more great games for Linux.) There are games, many games, that run on Linux natively or games you can get to work with wine. Here a few examples of some free and paid for games. Savage 2, Regnum, Planet Shift, Vendetta, World of Warcraft (runs on wine,) World of Goo and many more. For more information on games for Linux check out Wine Head Quarters Data Base of MS Windows based games that work or don't work with Wine on Linux, If working with wine does not appeal to you then check out Codeweavers CrossOver Games. Also check out these three links for Linux games, the Linux game tome - Penguspy and Linux Games.

[linuxgamenews]

How to Start Your Own Minecraft Server

Everything’s better with friends. We’ll show you how to get your own Minecraft server up and running.

The following was reprinted with permission from PC World. For more of PC World's gaming coverage, be sure to check out their gaming hub. Minecraft isn't a very hardware-intensive game, but if you're hoping to run your own server, there are some key points to take into account. The first bottleneck you're likely to encounter is RAM: You'll generally need about 1GB of RAM for every four to five players who'll be hanging out on your server. Your primary roadblock will be your Internet connection. Your first stop: CanIHostaMinecraftServer.com. Enter your connection speed and the amount of RAM inside your prospective server machine, and this website will let you know how many players you can expect to support simultaneously. If that number is a bit low, consider renting space on a dedicated Minecraft server--or having fewer friends. There are many, many server hosts to choose from. A quick Google search will get you started. But before you choose one, you should have a clear idea of how many players you're likely to have on your server, and how much money you're willing to spend. If you'll be hosting only a few friends, you can run a Minecraft server on your own hardware; the process is fairly simple. If you plan to install your server on a Windows machine, head over to the Minecraft downloads page and grab the executable. If you plan to run the server on a Mac or Linux machine, download the server .jar file on the same page.

Whether you're running on Windows or Mac/Linux, dump the file you've downloaded into its own folder, as it creates a few configuration files of its own when running. In Windows, double-click the executable. It'll immediately set to work creating a world and populating it with critters. The Mac/Linux option requires a bit more legwork. On either platform, first make sure that you have the latest version of Java installed. Macs will handle that task via software update. On Linux, go to Java's download page and grab the appropriate version for your distribution. Once you've installed the latest version of Java, you'll need to tell the Minecraft server how much memory to allocate to the server. Feel free to skip to the section of this how-to that's appropriate for your system; Windows users can jump straight to "Getting Your Friends In." Linux Users In Linux, open the terminal. Instructions may vary by distribution, but you'll probably find it in the Applications menu, under Accessories. Navigate to your Minecraft server folder (cd NAME OF YOUR FOLDER), and type the following command: java -Xms1024M -Xmx1024M -jar minecraft_server.jar nogui This will assign 1GB of RAM to your server. If you're using the 32-bit version of Java, 1GB is your limit. If you're using a 64-bit version of Java, you can replace '1024M' with however many megabytes of memory you'd like to assign. For example, specify 2048M to allocate 2GB, 4096M to allocate 4GB, and so on.

Mac Users If you're on a Mac, open the TextEdit application, and type (or copy and paste) the following lines of code. #!/bin/bash cd "$(dirname "$0")" exec java -Xmx1G -Xms1G -jar minecraft_server.jar Allocate as much memory as you'd like by changing '1G' to the number of gigabytes you'd like to set aside (2G for 2GB, 4G for 4GB, and so on). In the Format Menu, select Make Plain Text, save the file as start.command, and move it into your server folder. Your next stop is the Terminal: type chmod a+x, and drag the 'start.command' file directly into the Terminal; this will give the file the appropriate permissions. Finally, double-click start.command, and your server will start up. Getting Your Friends In Everyone who wants to participate must select the Multiplayer option on Minecraft's main menu. From there, players can choose Direct Connect (for a temporary visit) or Add Server (to instruct Minecraft to remember the details). If everyone's on the same network, they can connect simply by typing localhost into the server address bar. If friends want to connect remotely, you'll need to figure out your external IP address. Point your browser over to MyWANIP, a single-serving site that will show you your IP address. Sharing Your Single-Player World With Friends In your Minecraft server folder, look for the file named 'server.properties' and open it with your favorite text editor. The Minecraft wiki has an exhaustive guide for configuring your server. We'll focus here on getting a world you've been playing on by yourself onto the server you've just created. The first step is to find the world you created while playing solo. In Windows, click the Start button, and type " %appdata% " (without quotation marks but with spaces fore and aft) and press Enter. The '.minecraft' folder should be right at the top. Your world will be in the Saves folder; copy that folder into the folder that contains your Minecraft server. In the 'server.properties' file, look for the line that reads 'levelname=world' and change 'world' to the name of your own world. The next time you fire your server up, your creation will be there for everyone who has access to your server to play on. Now you're all set! If your friends have no clue what to do, make sure they check out the guide to playing Minecraft. If you're looking to spruce up your server a bit, be sure to read the guide to installing mods.

[linuxgamenews]

Devs tempted to hit the source at appMobi's free bar

Celebration or desperation from cloudy crowd? Mobile developers with an AJAX leaning can now get free access to the source for appMobi's development toolkit, allowing them to incorporate bits of appMobi tech into their own apps. AppMobi provides wrappers around the already open-source PhoneGap toolkit, enabling AJAX apps to access native APIs. The cloudy mobile tools vendor is also opening up its enhanced version of the HTML 5 Canvas for web-based gaming, but it is the open-sourcing of the mobiUs browser – which provides access to those APIs on iOS – which will likely attract most interest. The code is all being shared under the "MIT X11" licence, and the company suggests that an iOS developer might, for example, drop the social sharing capability of mobiUs into an existing application to provide instant Facebook integration. As well as the browser iOS developers can get hold of the source code for the company's HTML 5 Game Acceleration pack, featuring faster canvas rendering and improved sound APIs for 2D games development in JavaScript. The idea is that one develops games, or other applications, using JavaScript and associated technologies, and then bundles them together into a what looks (to Apple) like a native application. Such applications are already populating the iTunes store, and provide the promise of cross-platform development. For the moment Android fans will have to content themselves with the source code to the PhoneGap wrapper (called "Bridge"); the other components won't be available for Google's platform until next year. AppMobi doesn't charge for access to its tools, in source or binary form, as it makes money offering a cloud-based service with which users then integrate. Such integration isn't mandatory, and appMobi is betting that once you've used it you'll want to pay, so the tools themselves aren't considered an important revenue stream. The source is available under the "MIT X11" licence, which permits the downloader to "use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sub-license, and/or sell copies of the software" as long as the licence is distributed, but even if the code itself isn't lifted for inclusion, it's probably worth looking at to see how they do what they do. ®

[linuxgamenews]

Android Game Development

After iPhone, Android market is the second most developing market catching up recently. The Android games are the latest points of attraction for young audience. The Android developers too have now overcome the challenges of complexity to deliver the robust Android games development.

The most salient features of the Android games development are as: - Comparatively low development cost, Android being an open source platform - Higher degree of customization, as the applications are using Linux as core part - Equal development standards as iPhone - Easier 3rd party integrations, in the custom code - Rapid and easier development - Enhanced gaming experience - Powerful 2D & 3D graphics, along with SQ Lite database - Performance of the Android phones in the market

[linuxgamenews]

It's Already Time For A New Humble Indie Bundle

Unigine OilRush isn't the only Linux gaming news today, but the Humble Indie Bundle crew has already announced another bundle. It was only one week ago that the Humble Voxatron bundle ended with less than a million dollar (USD), but the crew has already launched another bundle. This time around it's "The Humble Introversion Bundle." Included as part of this offering is the Uplink, Darwinia, DEFCON, and Multiwinia games. If contributing more than the average purchase price (currently at $3.50 USD at the time of publishing) you will also get Aquaria and Crayon Physics Deluxe. At least this time around there's multiple games to get going. Per the usual Humble Indie Bundles, there's 14 days to set your own price and buy this collection of multi-platform DRM-free games. As of publishing The Humble Introversion Bundle has already raked in $182,569.39 USD from 50,363 purchases. Impressive. To participate visit HumbleBundle.com. There's also a video for the Introversion bundle embedded below.