Sebastian Cachia | 13 Nov 15:47

Calling All Uni Students

Hi all,

As I mentioned last week, I was thinking of trying to band together a team of Uni students, principally with the aim of helping ideas brought forward during MLUG meetings materialise.

I have had some feedback from students, and I am sure that there are others on this list who could be of help. Should anyone else be interesting in joining in, please reply here on the list, or send me an email at sebcachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org.

I propose next Wednesday 19th Nov at 12:00. Venue will depend on how many people tell me that they will be turning up. If anyone would like to attend but has a problem with the Date/Time please contact me and propose an alternative.

It would be helpful if those attending came prepared, so have a look at MLUG's wiki (http://linux.org.mt/node/40) for some projects we had started work on.



Seb

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Shawn Cassar | 13 Nov 19:03
Favicon

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Sebastian, hello first of all, finally got to posting :P
 
As for the meeting, I suggest Thursday 20th in that free slot we have between the OS lecture and the SE lecture, or those 2 hours after the SE lecture and before the OS lecture (confusing...I know).
 
Main reason (besides I can't attend on Wednesday) is that most students don't have anything to do during those 2 hours but they still don't go home cause of time issues.  So maybe we can have a few students who help us out just cause they find something useful to spend those 2 hours.

As for Venue we could ask KSU about the common room, we find a nice corner in there, plus the chairs are comfy...
 
See you at uni, if you need help just tell me.
 
Shawn


Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:49:53 +0100
From: sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
Subject: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students

Hi all,

As I mentioned last week, I was thinking of trying to band together a team of Uni students, principally with the aim of helping ideas brought forward during MLUG meetings materialise.

I have had some feedback from students, and I am sure that there are others on this list who could be of help. Should anyone else be interesting in joining in, please reply here on the list, or send me an email at sebcachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org.

I propose next Wednesday 19th Nov at 12:00. Venue will depend on how many people tell me that they will be turning up. If anyone would like to attend but has a problem with the Date/Time please contact me and propose an alternative.

It would be helpful if those attending came prepared, so have a look at MLUG's wiki (http://linux.org.mt/node/40) for some projects we had started work on.



Seb


Connect to the next generation of MSN Messenger  Get it now!
_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Favicon

Re: Calling All Uni Students

You could also ask ITSA or CSC to book a lab for you if you need computers around.

On Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 7:03 PM, Shawn Cassar <shawncas-PkbjNfxxIARBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org> wrote:
Sebastian, hello first of all, finally got to posting :P
 
As for the meeting, I suggest Thursday 20th in that free slot we have between the OS lecture and the SE lecture, or those 2 hours after the SE lecture and before the OS lecture (confusing...I know).
 
Main reason (besides I can't attend on Wednesday) is that most students don't have anything to do during those 2 hours but they still don't go home cause of time issues.  So maybe we can have a few students who help us out just cause they find something useful to spend those 2 hours.

As for Venue we could ask KSU about the common room, we find a nice corner in there, plus the chairs are comfy...
 
See you at uni, if you need help just tell me.
 
Shawn


Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:49:53 +0100
From: sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
Subject: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students


Hi all,

As I mentioned last week, I was thinking of trying to band together a team of Uni students, principally with the aim of helping ideas brought forward during MLUG meetings materialise.

I have had some feedback from students, and I am sure that there are others on this list who could be of help. Should anyone else be interesting in joining in, please reply here on the list, or send me an email at sebcachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org.

I propose next Wednesday 19th Nov at 12:00. Venue will depend on how many people tell me that they will be turning up. If anyone would like to attend but has a problem with the Date/Time please contact me and propose an alternative.

It would be helpful if those attending came prepared, so have a look at MLUG's wiki (http://linux.org.mt/node/40) for some projects we had started work on.



Seb


Connect to the next generation of MSN Messenger  Get it now!

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list


_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Sebastian Cachia | 13 Nov 21:08

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Hey Shaun! Welcome to the interactive side of the list :P

The idea behind meeting on Wed is because it has been left free for Degree+, so a lot of students should be free. If those interested in attending are free at any of the times mentioned for Thurs, or any other time, everyone can agree on, it is fine by me (i.e. people interested in attending don't be shy and speak up!).

There is a CIS credit during the 2 hours between our SE and OS credit, so any CIS students and CSA with CIS subsidiary students will be unable to attend.

Regarding having computers present, I suppose the first meeting will be more about setting up some sort of structure and goals. Afterwards I am sure that many will be able to bring a laptop along, and as there is WiFi available in many areas of Uni, it shouldn't be a problem to find a place.

Seb

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Jean Azzopardi | 13 Nov 23:07

Re: Calling All Uni Students

I take it you guys are second years like me then? I like the idea of it 
being after the SE lecture on Thursday, but I don't have any problems 
with Wednesday at 12 either.

Sebastian Cachia wrote:
> Hey Shaun! Welcome to the interactive side of the list :P
>
> The idea behind meeting on Wed is because it has been left free for 
> Degree+, so a lot of students should be free. If those interested in 
> attending are free at any of the times mentioned for Thurs, or any 
> other time, everyone can agree on, it is fine by me (i.e. people 
> interested in attending don't be shy and speak up!).
>
> There is a CIS credit during the 2 hours between our SE and OS credit, 
> so any CIS students and CSA with CIS subsidiary students will be 
> unable to attend.
>
> Regarding having computers present, I suppose the first meeting will 
> be more about setting up some sort of structure and goals. Afterwards 
> I am sure that many will be able to bring a laptop along, and as there 
> is WiFi available in many areas of Uni, it shouldn't be a problem to 
> find a place.
>
> Seb
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list@...
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>   
Sebastian Cachia | 13 Nov 23:47

Re: Calling All Uni Students

For the benefit of anyone interested in joining in, who isn't in our course, the Thurs slot we are discussing is from 12:00 - 13:00.

And yeah Jean, the 3 of us (You, Shaun and I) have a number of common credits.

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Jean Azzopardi | 13 Nov 23:54

Re: Calling All Uni Students

And of course, I have no idea who you 2 are.. *facepalm*
Speaking of which, perhaps we could do it next Thursday during the OS 
lecture, since he is likely to be abroad.

Sebastian Cachia wrote:
> For the benefit of anyone interested in joining in, who isn't in our 
> course, the Thurs slot we are discussing is from 12:00 - 13:00.
>
> And yeah Jean, the 3 of us (You, Shaun and I) have a number of common 
> credits.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list@...
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>   
Sebastian Cachia | 14 Nov 00:03

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that (already).

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Shawn Cassar | 14 Nov 06:31
Favicon

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
 
Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd) there is the ITSA Lan Fest.  Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers (and SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA committe guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we can do a linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
 
Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of gamers and kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems.  Maybe if we could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something with a 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few games (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and "show off" gaming on linux.
 
I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
 
Shawn



Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
From: sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students

Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that (already).


Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Marc Tanti | 14 Nov 07:35

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Hello Shawn...

2008/11/14 Shawn Cassar <shawncas@...>:
> Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
>
> Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd) there is the
> ITSA Lan Fest.  Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers (and SuSE gamers
> as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA committe guys (in theory I'm
> part of the admin committe) so that we can do a linux install fest/linux
> gaming during the lan fest.
>
> Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of gamers and kind of
> games they would rather see on *nix systems.  Maybe if we could get an
> average gaming rig (nothing big, even something with a 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX
> agp) and put linux on it, install a few games (such as ET, COD2,
> Unreal which run natively on linux) and "show off" gaming on linux.
>
> I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
>
> Shawn
>
>
> ________________________________
> Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
> From: sebastiancachia@...
> To: mlug-list@...
> Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
>
> Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that (already).
>
>
> ________________________________
> Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live
> Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list@...
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>
>
Jean Azzopardi | 14 Nov 08:08

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't likely to 
impress  users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the myth that Linux 
cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a weakpoint in Linux, 
or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)

Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux, which is a 
good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an MMORPG or 
too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself though.

Shawn Cassar wrote:
> Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
>  
> Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd) there is 
> the ITSA Lan Fest.  Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers (and 
> SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA committe 
> guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we can do a 
> linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
>  
> Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of gamers and 
> kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems.  Maybe if we 
> could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something with a 
> 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few games 
> (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and "show off" 
> gaming on linux.
>  
> I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
>  
> Shawn
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
> From: sebastiancachia@...
> To: mlug-list@...
> Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
>
> Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that (already).
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live 
> Spaces. It's easy! Try it! 
> <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us> 
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list@...
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>   
Shawn Cassar | 14 Nov 21:10
Favicon

Re: Calling All Uni Students

First of all the games I mentioned aren't old games.
 
In the company I work I'm one of the "heads" of our online gaming department.  We have 3 servers (running CentOS Linux) specifically for COD2 players and till today we were discussing to add another virtual machine since we aren't even keeping up with the demand.
 
Games like ET and COD2 have regular updates, and are highly sought after.  My idea with the LAN Party is that - maltese gamers mostly play COD2 and ET.  Foreign players tend to go more towards ET and Counter Strike and Unreal.  And all these run native on Linux.
 
Games like Doom and to a lesser extent Quake have lost their heat, but it shouldn't be a problem getting those working.
 
As for MMORPG I know many people who run WoW and Star Wars Galaxies via WINE, and EVE-Online has pseudo-native support through Cadega.
 
The real hard part is getting a linux gaming rig in time for the LAN Fest, assuming that ITSA executive committe members (not lan admin committe like me, cause we are more or less helps) don't mind...but I see Mr Marc Tanti is here so he could guide us :P
 
In true madness spirit I sacrificed my Solaris Server (which I use at home for self-learning mostly) and took out the HDD.  So, if you want this PC has 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM, 2.66GHz Quad Core CPU and an ATI HD 25xx something gfx.  If maybe during the lan party we could get a > 160GB hdd we could even do a demo install of linux and a particular FPS.
 
We will further this discussion and other ideas at University on Thursday hopefully, cause I don't want to trash the mailing list (sorry :P  )
 
Shawn

> Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:14 +0100
> From: aragorn-UKzjlUiH/9ZqaDWv6m70ww@public.gmane.org
> To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
>
> Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't likely to
> impress users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the myth that Linux
> cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a weakpoint in Linux,
> or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)
>
> Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux, which is a
> good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an MMORPG or
> too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself though.
>
> Shawn Cassar wrote:
> > Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
> >
> > Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd) there is
> > the ITSA Lan Fest. Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers (and
> > SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA committe
> > guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we can do a
> > linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
> >
> > Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of gamers and
> > kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems. Maybe if we
> > could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something with a
> > 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few games
> > (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and "show off"
> > gaming on linux.
> >
> > I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
> >
> > Shawn
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
> > From: sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
> > To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
> >
> > Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that (already).
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live
> > Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
> > <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > MLUG-list mailing list
> > MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list


Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Jean Azzopardi | 14 Nov 21:28

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Forgive my mistake then. I don't play multi much -- except for Quake 3 :D

Shawn Cassar wrote:
> First of all the games I mentioned aren't old games.
>  
> In the company I work I'm one of the "heads" of our online gaming 
> department.  We have 3 servers (running CentOS Linux) specifically for 
> COD2 players and till today we were discussing to add another virtual 
> machine since we aren't even keeping up with the demand.
>  
> Games like ET and COD2 have regular updates, and are highly sought 
> after.  My idea with the LAN Party is that - maltese gamers mostly 
> play COD2 and ET.  Foreign players tend to go more towards ET and 
> Counter Strike and Unreal.  And all these run native on Linux.
>  
> Games like Doom and to a lesser extent Quake have lost their heat, but 
> it shouldn't be a problem getting those working.
>  
> As for MMORPG I know many people who run WoW and Star Wars Galaxies 
> via WINE, and EVE-Online has pseudo-native support through Cadega.
>  
> The real hard part is getting a linux gaming rig in time for the LAN 
> Fest, assuming that ITSA executive committe members (not lan admin 
> committe like me, cause we are more or less helps) don't mind...but I 
> see Mr Marc Tanti is here so he could guide us :P
>  
> In true madness spirit I sacrificed my Solaris Server (which I use at 
> home for self-learning mostly) and took out the HDD.  So, if you want 
> this PC has 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM, 2.66GHz Quad Core CPU and an 
> ATI HD 25xx something gfx.  If maybe during the lan party we could get 
> a > 160GB hdd we could even do a demo install of linux and a 
> particular FPS.
>  
> We will further this discussion and other ideas at University on 
> Thursday hopefully, cause I don't want to trash the mailing list 
> (sorry :P  )
>  
> Shawn
>
> > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:14 +0100
> > From: aragorn@...
> > To: mlug-list@...
> > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
> >
> > Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't likely to
> > impress users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the myth that Linux
> > cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a weakpoint in 
> Linux,
> > or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)
> >
> > Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux, which is a
> > good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an MMORPG or
> > too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself though.
> >
> > Shawn Cassar wrote:
> > > Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
> > >
> > > Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd) there is
> > > the ITSA Lan Fest. Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers (and
> > > SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA committe
> > > guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we can do a
> > > linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
> > >
> > > Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of gamers and
> > > kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems. Maybe if we
> > > could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something with a
> > > 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few games
> > > (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and "show off"
> > > gaming on linux.
> > >
> > > I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
> > >
> > > Shawn
> > >
> > >
> > > 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
> > > From: sebastiancachia@...
> > > To: mlug-list@...
> > > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
> > >
> > > Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that 
> (already).
> > >
> > >
> > > 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live
> > > Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
> > > 
> <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us> 
>
> > >
> > > 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > MLUG-list mailing list
> > > MLUG-list@...
> > > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
> > >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > MLUG-list mailing list
> > MLUG-list@...
> > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live 
> Spaces. It's easy! Try it! 
> <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us> 
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list@...
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>   
Anton Xuereb | 14 Nov 22:41

Re: Calling All Uni Students

I know im gonna sound like a real spoil-sport but i feel that i need to intervene as probably the most avid gamer on this list..


YOU ARE WRONG.

I know that sounds harsh but im fed up with optimists trying to make linux appear what it's not. It is completely pointless marketing Linux as a gaming platform when graphics card drivers (both AMD/ATI and Nvidia) are still so much lower in performance when compared to their windows counter-parts. What you are running are cod2 and ET servers which are of no interest to any gamer in Malta or anywhere. Games like ET and CoD2 do NOT receive regular updates. ET hasn't received anything for over a year and a half and the game is practically dead in Malta except for a few stragglers who dont have enough cash to upgrade their PCs. Don't get me wrong, I love both CoD2 and ET however the fact remains that the games are neither taxing on the hardware or recent. 

Secondly, only two of the games you mentioned has native linux binaries which means we will have to run them through an abstractions layer like Cedega or worse WINE. If you have tried running any sort of game through wine you'll know that performance is never as good as it's windows counter part and is no winning point in the argument of why gamers should change over to Linux. 

Let me make a list:

ET: Old and dying, none of the remaining tournaments are giving the game much importance and too few clans are signing up, killing the game even more. However this remains a good game that runs natively on linux. 
CoD2: No linux binaries and has to be run through an abstraction layer resulting in lower performance and more problems (tried running cod2 original with teh cd check on anyone ?) Dead abroad, still alive in malta. ( Time to move on, CoD5 has been released :O )
Counter strike: I guess you mean 1.6 here which is very old (although still one of the most played games around the world) however it has no native linux binaries and steam support on linux has been sketchy at teh very best (I would know I installed it) 
Unreal: Which one ? I'm guessing you mean UT2K4 here which does have Linux binaries but runs with lower performance than it's windows counterpart (probably due to lack of good gfx drivers) Of course you might mean UT3 for which we were promised native linux binaries but were never released due to "legal issues" Also both games have really no value in Malta and abroad. 
Doom and Quake 1/2/3 and to an extent 4: they all share some version of the same engine (a very old precursor in q1/2/3) and a more recent one in q4 and doom3. Good games but dead in Malta. 

WoW: It's funny, I installed WoW on my Linux and ran it.. It ran, for around 30 seconds during which the game was slow and most if not all of my graphics settings were reduced to a minimum. Try to target a mob and it crashes. Love it

So here I am, True Linux believer, evangelist and pure breed of Xion (sorry scratch the last part)  but also a hardcore gamer, Manager of Project Eversio (http://www.eversio.info/about_us.php) and organiser and Server Administrator of several prominent LAN parties in Malta telling you that trying to show off gaming on Linux right now is a very bad idea. I should be at CampusLAN with my pc running Arch Linux (If i get xserver to run well again :O ) and I do have ET installed ( and i can get painkiller running also ) and we can test some of my points if you wish. Accept Linux for what it is, a great desktop system, but not a gaming OS; Not until we get proper up to scratch drivers that run well on Linux, and good sup port from game producers for OpenGL with native Linux binaries will we be able to show off Linux as a gaming platform. 

I rest my case and return to leveling my 71 orc Shaman.


Mewt


P.S. Sorry if I came out a bit strong, but i was stuck in a queue to get into WoW and that's guaranteed to piss anyone off...

On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 9:10 PM, Shawn Cassar <shawncas-PkbjNfxxIARBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org> wrote:
First of all the games I mentioned aren't old games.
 
In the company I work I'm one of the "heads" of our online gaming department.  We have 3 servers (running CentOS Linux) specifically for COD2 players and till today we were discussing to add another virtual machine since we aren't even keeping up with the demand.
 
Games like ET and COD2 have regular updates, and are highly sought after.  My idea with the LAN Party is that - maltese gamers mostly play COD2 and ET.  Foreign players tend to go more towards ET and Counter Strike and Unreal.  And all these run native on Linux.
 
Games like Doom and to a lesser extent Quake have lost their heat, but it shouldn't be a problem getting those working.
  ho run WoW and S
As for MMORPG I know many people wtar Wars Galaxies via WINE, and EVE-Online has pseudo-native support through Cadega.
 
The real hard part is getting a linux gaming rig in time for the LAN Fest, assuming that ITSA executive committe members (not lan admin committe like me, cause we are more or less helps) don't mind...but I see Mr Marc Tanti is here so he could guide us :P
 
In true madness spirit I sacrificed my Solaris Server (which I use at home for self-learning mostly) and took out the HDD.  So, if you want this PC has 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM, 2.66GHz Quad Core CPU and an ATI HD 25xx something gfx.  If maybe during the lan party we could get a > 160GB hdd we could even do a demo install of linux and a particular FPS.
 
We will further this discussion and other ideas at University on Thursday hopefully, cause I don't want to trash the mailing list (sorry :P  )
 
Shawn

> Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:14 +0100
> From: aragorn-UKzjlUiH/9ZqaDWv6m70ww@public.gmane.org

> To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
>
> Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't likely to
> impress users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the myth that Linux
> cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a weakpoint in Linux,
> or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)
>
> Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux, which is a
> good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an MMORPG or
> too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself though.
>
> Shawn Cassar wrote:
> > Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
> >
> > Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd) there is
> > the ITSA Lan Fest. Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers (and
> > SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA committe
> > guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we can do a
> > linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
> >
> > Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of gamers and
> > kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems. Maybe if we
> > could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something with a
> > 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few games
> > (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and "show off"
> > gaming on linux.
> >
> > I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
> >
> > Shawn
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
> > From: sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
> > To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
> >
> > Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that (already).
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live
> > Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
> > <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > MLUG-list mailing list
> > MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list


Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list


_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Keith Vassallo | 14 Nov 22:42
Favicon

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Amen.

Keith

On 14 Nov 2008, at 22:41, Anton Xuereb wrote:

I know im gonna sound like a real spoil-sport but i feel that i need to intervene as probably the most avid gamer on this list..

YOU ARE WRONG.

I know that sounds harsh but im fed up with optimists trying to make linux appear what it's not. It is completely pointless marketing Linux as a gaming platform when graphics card drivers (both AMD/ATI and Nvidia) are still so much lower in performance when compared to their windows counter-parts. What you are running are cod2 and ET servers which are of no interest to any gamer in Malta or anywhere. Games like ET and CoD2 do NOT receive regular updates. ET hasn't received anything for over a year and a half and the game is practically dead in Malta except for a few stragglers who dont have enough cash to upgrade their PCs. Don't get me wrong, I love both CoD2 and ET however the fact remains that the games are neither taxing on the hardware or recent. 

Secondly, only two of the games you mentioned has native linux binaries which means we will have to run them through an abstractions layer like Cedega or worse WINE. If you have tried running any sort of game through wine you'll know that performance is never as good as it's windows counter part and is no winning point in the argument of why gamers should change over to Linux. 

Let me make a list:

ET: Old and dying, none of the remaining tournaments are giving the game much importance and too few clans are signing up, killing the game even more. However this remains a good game that runs natively on linux. 
CoD2: No linux binaries and has to be run through an abstraction layer resulting in lower performance and more problems (tried running cod2 original with teh cd check on anyone ?) Dead abroad, still alive in malta. ( Time to move on, CoD5 has been released :O )
Counter strike: I guess you mean 1.6 here which is very old (although still one of the most played games around the world) however it has no native linux binaries and steam support on linux has been sketchy at teh very best (I would know I installed it) 
Unreal: Which one ? I'm guessing you mean UT2K4 here which does have Linux binaries but runs with lower performance than it's windows counterpart (probably due to lack of good gfx drivers) Of course you might mean UT3 for which we were promised native linux binaries but were never released due to "legal issues" Also both games have really no value in Malta and abroad. 
Doom and Quake 1/2/3 and to an extent 4: they all share some version of the same engine (a very old precursor in q1/2/3) and a more recent one in q4 and doom3. Good games but dead in Malta. 

WoW: It's funny, I installed WoW on my Linux and ran it.. It ran, for around 30 seconds during which the game was slow and most if not all of my graphics settings were reduced to a minimum. Try to target a mob and it crashes. Love it

So here I am, True Linux believer, evangelist and pure breed of Xion (sorry scratch the last part)  but also a hardcore gamer, Manager of Project Eversio (http://www.eversio.info/about_us.php) and organiser and Server Administrator of several prominent LAN parties in Malta telling you that trying to show off gaming on Linux right now is a very bad idea. I should be at CampusLAN with my pc running Arch Linux (If i get xserver to run well again :O ) and I do have ET installed ( and i can get painkiller running also ) and we can test some of my points if you wish. Accept Linux for what it is, a great desktop system, but not a gaming OS; Not until we get proper up to scratch drivers that run well on Linux, and good support from game producers for OpenGL with native Linux binaries will we be able to show off Linux as a gaming platform. 

I rest my case and return to leveling my 71 orc Shaman.


Mewt


P.S. Sorry if I came out a bit strong, but i was stuck in a queue to get into WoW and that's guaranteed to piss anyone off...

On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 9:10 PM, Shawn Cassar <shawncas-PkbjNfxxIARBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org> wrote:
First of all the games I mentioned aren't old games.
 
In the company I work I'm one of the "heads" of our online gaming department.  We have 3 servers (running CentOS Linux) specifically for COD2 players and till today we were discussing to add another virtual machine since we aren't even keeping up with the demand.
 
Games like ET and COD2 have regular updates, and are highly sought after.  My idea with the LAN Party is that - maltese gamers mostly play COD2 and ET.  Foreign players tend to go more towards ET and Counter Strike and Unreal.  And all these run native on Linux.
 
Games like Doom and to a lesser extent Quake have lost their heat, but it shouldn't be a problem getting those working.
  ho run WoW and S
As for MMORPG I know many people wtar Wars Galaxies via WINE, and EVE-Online has pseudo-native support through Cadega.
 
The real hard part is getting a linux gaming rig in time for the LAN Fest, assuming that ITSA executive committe members (not lan admin committe like me, cause we are more or less helps) don't mind...but I see Mr Marc Tanti is here so he could guide us :P
 
In true madness spirit I sacrificed my Solaris Server (which I use at home for self-learning mostly) and took out the HDD.  So, if you want this PC has 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM, 2.66GHz Quad Core CPU and an ATI HD 25xx something gfx.  If maybe during the lan party we could get a > 160GB hdd we could even do a demo install of linux and a particular FPS.
 
We will further this discussion and other ideas at University on Thursday hopefully, cause I don't want to trash the mailing list (sorry :P  )
 
Shawn

> Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:14 +0100
> From: aragorn-UKzjlUiH/9ZqaDWv6m70ww@public.gmane.org

> To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
>
> Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't likely to
> impress users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the myth that Linux
> cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a weakpoint in Linux,
> or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)
>
> Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux, which is a
> good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an MMORPG or
> too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself though.
>
> Shawn Cassar wrote:
> > Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
> >
> > Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd) there is
> > the ITSA Lan Fest. Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers (and
> > SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA committe
> > guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we can do a
> > linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
> >
> > Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of gamers and
> > kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems. Maybe if we
> > could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something with a
> > 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few games
> > (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and "show off"
> > gaming on linux.
> >
> > I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
> >
> > Shawn
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
> > From: sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
> > To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
> >
> > Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that (already).
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live
> > Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
> > <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > MLUG-list mailing list
> > MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list


Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list


_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Jean Azzopardi | 15 Nov 09:30

Re: Calling All Uni Students

In the interests of avoiding a potential flame war on the MLUG list, 
what benefits do you all think we should highlight for students?

Speed & performance? -- very valid, especially when compared with Vista 
- at least in my experience on a 2GB laptop with 1.66 ghz Core 2 Duo. 
Vista runs pretty slowly, while on Linux I can run XP in a virtual 
machine, give it 600 MB of RAM to play with and use the system normally 
without much performance issues.

Apart from that, I'm not really sure what can entice someone over to 
Linux - I tried it out 5 years ago for a challenge, really, but I ended 
up liking it a lot, so I stayed with it. Nowadays, my only exposure to 
Windows was a brief stint with Vista to try it out, and I ended up 
testing a few games on it - half of them didn't work right, too old 
games, and I use XP in a Vbox for the MCTS course.

The ideology? While I do like the ideology & philosophy behind open 
source, I often do use proprietary software, especially when it's way 
better than the open source equivalent - Nvidia drivers, for instance. 
And sure, all the code is available...but does that mean anything to the 
average student, especially those who aren't taking IT related courses?

Cost? Is this an issue? Is there 1 single student out there who is so 
honest that he's never pirated a piece of software in his life? I 
frankly doubt it. And Windows comes preinstalled on 99% of laptops, anyway.

Better applications? Again, most of the flagship OSS applications run 
very well on Windows, sometimes better -- points at Firefox. Then 
there's the whole gaming thing that we've already talked about, and 
development, again, pretty much all the tools I use are either already 
available on Windows -- or clones of Windows programs, or running under 
wine in some cases.

Security -- Ok, fine thing to point out, and Linux does have a clear 
advantage over Windows - at least you don't have to run antivirus 
software all the time, but there still is the possibility of downloading 
malicious scripts from the internet. During my brief stint as moderator 
on the Ubuntu forums, we caught and banned plenty of users who posted 
scripts claiming to solve problems like installing codecs, or other 
things, and were actually rather destructive. Sure, some of us are 
capable of reading them and seeing if they are malicious, but how many 
newbies are capable of doing that?

So here is the clincher... what can we do to entice users to simply even 
try out Linux?  How do we overcome that inertia? Personally, my approach 
has been to recommend Linux only when somebody has problems with 
Windows, or when somebody is eager to try out new things.  I wouldn't 
want to foist Linux on someone who is already quite happy with Windows - 
these people do exist, you know? ;)

Sorry for the long post, you caught me at an introspective moment ;)

Keith Vassallo wrote:
> Amen.
>
> Keith
>
> On 14 Nov 2008, at 22:41, Anton Xuereb wrote:
>
>> I know im gonna sound like a real spoil-sport but i feel that i need 
>> to intervene as probably the most avid gamer on this list..
>>
>> YOU ARE WRONG.
>>
>> I know that sounds harsh but im fed up with optimists trying to make 
>> linux appear what it's not. It is completely pointless marketing 
>> Linux as a gaming platform when graphics card drivers (both AMD/ATI 
>> and Nvidia) are still so much lower in performance when compared to 
>> their windows counter-parts. What you are running are cod2 and ET 
>> servers which are of no interest to any gamer in Malta or anywhere. 
>> Games like ET and CoD2 do NOT receive regular updates. ET hasn't 
>> received anything for over a year and a half and the game is 
>> practically dead in Malta except for a few stragglers who dont have 
>> enough cash to upgrade their PCs. Don't get me wrong, I love both 
>> CoD2 and ET however the fact remains that the games are neither 
>> taxing on the hardware or recent. 
>>
>> Secondly, only two of the games you mentioned has native linux 
>> binaries which means we will have to run them through an abstractions 
>> layer like Cedega or worse WINE. If you have tried running any sort 
>> of game through wine you'll know that performance is never as good as 
>> it's windows counter part and is no winning point in the argument of 
>> why gamers should change over to Linux. 
>>
>> Let me make a list:
>>
>> ET: Old and dying, none of the remaining tournaments are giving the 
>> game much importance and too few clans are signing up, killing the 
>> game even more. However this remains a good game that runs natively 
>> on linux. 
>> CoD2: No linux binaries and has to be run through an abstraction 
>> layer resulting in lower performance and more problems (tried running 
>> cod2 original with teh cd check on anyone ?) Dead abroad, still alive 
>> in malta. ( Time to move on, CoD5 has been released :O )
>> Counter strike: I guess you mean 1.6 here which is very old (although 
>> still one of the most played games around the world) however it has 
>> no native linux binaries and steam support on linux has been sketchy 
>> at teh very best (I would know I installed it) 
>> Unreal: Which one ? I'm guessing you mean UT2K4 here which does have 
>> Linux binaries but runs with lower performance than it's windows 
>> counterpart (probably due to lack of good gfx drivers) Of course you 
>> might mean UT3 for which we were promised native linux binaries but 
>> were never released due to "legal issues" Also both games have really 
>> no value in Malta and abroad. 
>> Doom and Quake 1/2/3 and to an extent 4: they all share some version 
>> of the same engine (a very old precursor in q1/2/3) and a more recent 
>> one in q4 and doom3. Good games but dead in Malta. 
>>
>> WoW: It's funny, I installed WoW on my Linux and ran it.. It ran, for 
>> around 30 seconds during which the game was slow and most if not all 
>> of my graphics settings were reduced to a minimum. Try to target a 
>> mob and it crashes. Love it
>>
>> So here I am, True Linux believer, evangelist and pure breed of Xion 
>> (sorry scratch the last part)  but also a hardcore gamer, Manager of 
>> Project Eversio (http://www.eversio.info/about_us.php) and organiser 
>> and Server Administrator of several prominent LAN parties in Malta 
>> telling you that trying to show off gaming on Linux right now is a 
>> very bad idea. I should be at CampusLAN with my pc running Arch Linux 
>> (If i get xserver to run well again :O ) and I do have ET installed ( 
>> and i can get painkiller running also ) and we can test some of my 
>> points if you wish. Accept Linux for what it is, a great desktop 
>> system, but not a gaming OS; Not until we get proper up to scratch 
>> drivers that run well on Linux, and good support from game producers 
>> for OpenGL with native Linux binaries will we be able to show off 
>> Linux as a gaming platform. 
>>
>> I rest my case and return to leveling my 71 orc Shaman.
>>
>>
>> Mewt
>>
>>
>> P.S. Sorry if I came out a bit strong, but i was stuck in a queue to 
>> get into WoW and that's guaranteed to piss anyone off...
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 9:10 PM, Shawn Cassar <shawncas@... 
>> <mailto:shawncas@...>> wrote:
>>
>>     First of all the games I mentioned aren't old games.
>>      
>>     In the company I work I'm one of the "heads" of our online gaming
>>     department.  We have 3 servers (running CentOS Linux)
>>     specifically for COD2 players and till today we were discussing
>>     to add another virtual machine since we aren't even keeping up
>>     with the demand.
>>      
>>     Games like ET and COD2 have regular updates, and are highly
>>     sought after.  My idea with the LAN Party is that - maltese
>>     gamers mostly play COD2 and ET.  Foreign players tend to go more
>>     towards ET and Counter Strike and Unreal.  And all these run
>>     native on Linux.
>>      
>>     Games like Doom and to a lesser extent Quake have lost their
>>     heat, but it shouldn't be a problem getting those working.
>>       ho run WoW and S
>>     As for MMORPG I know many people wtar Wars Galaxies via WINE, and
>>     EVE-Online has pseudo-native support through Cadega.
>>      
>>     The real hard part is getting a linux gaming rig in time for the
>>     LAN Fest, assuming that ITSA executive committe members (not lan
>>     admin committe like me, cause we are more or less helps) don't
>>     mind...but I see Mr Marc Tanti is here so he could guide us :P
>>      
>>     In true madness spirit I sacrificed my Solaris Server (which I
>>     use at home for self-learning mostly) and took out the HDD.  So,
>>     if you want this PC has 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM, 2.66GHz Quad
>>     Core CPU and an ATI HD 25xx something gfx.  If maybe during the
>>     lan party we could get a > 160GB hdd we could even do a demo
>>     install of linux and a particular FPS.
>>      
>>     We will further this discussion and other ideas at University on
>>     Thursday hopefully, cause I don't want to trash the mailing list
>>     (sorry :P  )
>>      
>>     Shawn
>>
>>     > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:14 +0100
>>     > From: aragorn@... <mailto:aragorn@...>
>>
>>     > To: mlug-list@... <mailto:mlug-list@...>
>>     > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT <http://LINUX.ORG.MT>] Calling All
>>     Uni Students
>>     >
>>     > Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't likely to
>>     > impress users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the myth that
>>     Linux
>>     > cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a weakpoint
>>     in Linux,
>>     > or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)
>>     >
>>     > Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux,
>>     which is a
>>     > good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an
>>     MMORPG or
>>     > too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself though.
>>     >
>>     > Shawn Cassar wrote:
>>     > > Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
>>     > >
>>     > > Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd)
>>     there is
>>     > > the ITSA Lan Fest. Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers
>>     (and
>>     > > SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA
>>     committe
>>     > > guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we
>>     can do a
>>     > > linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
>>     > >
>>     > > Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of
>>     gamers and
>>     > > kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems. Maybe if we
>>     > > could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something
>>     with a
>>     > > 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few
>>     games
>>     > > (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and
>>     "show off"
>>     > > gaming on linux.
>>     > >
>>     > > I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
>>     > >
>>     > > Shawn
>>     > >
>>     > >
>>     > >
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>     > >
>>     > > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
>>     > > From: sebastiancachia@...
>>     <mailto:sebastiancachia@...>
>>     > > To: mlug-list@... <mailto:mlug-list@...>
>>     > > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT <http://LINUX.ORG.MT>] Calling All
>>     Uni Students
>>     > >
>>     > > Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about
>>     that (already).
>>     > >
>>     > >
>>     > >
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>     > > Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with
>>     Windows Live
>>     > > Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
>>     > >
>>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us
>>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>>
>>
>>     > >
>>     > >
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>     > >
>>     > > _______________________________________________
>>     > > MLUG-list mailing list
>>     > > MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>>     > > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>>     > >
>>     >
>>     > _______________________________________________
>>     > MLUG-list mailing list
>>     > MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>>     > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>>
>>
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>     Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows
>>     Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
>>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     MLUG-list mailing list
>>     MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>>     http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> MLUG-list mailing list
>> MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list@...
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>   
Rodrick Borg | 15 Nov 10:59

Re: Calling All Uni Students

nice post Jean really perfect... But I don`t agree with you wrt "recommend Linux only when somebody has problems with Windows". Windows does have problems especially when it comes to the long term speed ... I had a PC that my sister uses mainly for word processing, and the usual internet stuff ... I used to have to format it every now and then because the performance become so crappy... I told her to try Ubuntu for a week and if she found problems I would insall again her XP.. Its been 6 months now and she found no problems wiht ubuntu... I think the empahsis should be on how to  get all the things installed the for the first time. i.e promotion of tutorial like howtoforge tutorial (the perfect desktop) or maybe the creation of such tutorial more tareted at what students mig ht need ...

On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 9:30 AM, Jean Azzopardi <aragorn-UKzjlUiH/9ZqaDWv6m70ww@public.gmane.org> wrote:
In the interests of avoiding a potential flame war on the MLUG list,
what benefits do you all think we should highlight for students?

Speed & performance? -- very valid, especially when compared with Vista
- at least in my experience on a 2GB laptop with 1.66 ghz Core 2 Duo.
Vista runs pretty slowly, while on Linux I can run XP in a virtual
machine, give it 600 MB of RAM to play with and use the system normally
without much performance issues.

Apart from that, I'm not really sure what can entice someone over to
Linux - I tried it out 5 years ago for a challenge, really, but I ended
up liking it a lot, so I stayed with it. Nowadays, my only exposure to
Windows was a brief stint with Vista to try it out, and I ended up
testing a few games on it - half of them didn't work right, too old
games, and I use XP in a Vbox for the MCTS course.

The ideology? While I do like the ideology & philosophy behind open
source, I often do use proprietary software, especially when it's way
better than the open source equivalent - Nvidia drivers, for instance.
And sure, all the code is available...but does that mean anything to the
average student, especially those who aren't taking IT related courses?

Cost? Is this an issue? Is there 1 single student out there who is so
honest that he's never pirated a piece of software in his life? I
frankly doubt it. And Windows comes preinstalled on 99% of laptops, anyway.

Better applications? Again, most of the flagship OSS applications run
very well on Windows, sometimes better -- points at Firefox. Then
there's the whole gaming thing that we've already talked about, and
development, again, pretty much all the tools I use are either already
available on Windows -- or clones of Windows programs, or running under
wine in some cases.

Security -- Ok, fine thing to point out, and Linux does have a clear
advantage over Windows - at least you don't have to run antivirus
software all the time, but there still is the possibility of downloading
malicious scripts from the internet. During my brief stint as moderator
on the Ubuntu forums, we caught and banned plenty of users who posted
scripts claiming to solve problems like installing codecs, or other
things, and were actually rather destructive. Sure, some of us are
capable of reading them and seeing if they are malicious, but how many
newbies are capable of doing that?


So here is the clincher... what can we do to entice users to simply even
try out Linux?  How do we overcome that inertia? Personally, my approach
has been to recommend Linux only when somebody has problems with
Windows, or when somebody is eager to try out new things.  I wouldn't
want to foist Linux on someone who is already quite happy with Windows -
these people do exist, you know? ;)

Sorry for the long post, you caught me at an introspective moment ;)


Keith Vassallo wrote:
> Amen.
>
> Keith
>
> On 14 Nov 2008, at 22:41, Anton Xuereb wrote:
>
>> I know im gonna sound like a real spoil-sport but i feel that i need
>> to intervene as probably the most avid gamer on this list..
>>
>> YOU ARE WRONG.
>>
>> I know that sounds harsh but im fed up with optimists trying to make
>> linux appear what it's not. It is completely pointless marketing
>> Linux as a gaming platform when graphics card drivers (both AMD/ATI
>> and Nvidia) are still so much lower in performance when compared to
>> their windows counter-parts. What you are running are cod2 and ET
>> servers which are of no interest to any gamer in Malta or anywhere.
>> Games like ET and CoD2 do NOT receive regular updates. ET hasn't
>> received anything for over a year and a half and the game is
>> practically dead in Malta except for a few stragglers who dont have
>> enough cash to upgrade their PCs. Don't get me wrong, I love both
>> CoD2 and ET however the fact remains that the games are neither
>> taxing on the hardware or recent.
>>
>> Secondly, only two of the games you mentioned has native linux
>> binaries which means we will have to run them through an abstractions
>> layer like Cedega or worse WINE. If you have tried running any sort
>> of game through wine you'll know that performance is never as good as
>> it's windows counter part and is no winning point in the argument of
>> why gamers should change over to Linux.
>>
>> Let me make a list:
>>
>> ET: Old and dying, none of the remaining tournaments are giving the
>> game much importance and too few clans are signing up, killing the
>> game even more. However this remains a good game that runs natively
>> on linux.
>> CoD2: No linux binaries and has to be run through an abstraction
>> layer resulting in lower performance and more problems (tried running
>> cod2 original with teh cd check on anyone ?) Dead abroad, still alive
>> in malta. ( Time to move on, CoD5 has been released :O )
>> Counter strike: I guess you mean 1.6 here which is very old (although
>> still one of the most played games around the world) however it has
>> no native linux binaries and steam support on linux has been sketchy
>> at teh very best (I would know I installed it)
>> Unreal: Which one ? I'm guessing you mean UT2K4 here which does have
>> Linux binaries but runs with lower performance than it's windows
>> counterpart (probably due to lack of good gfx drivers) Of course you
>> might mean UT3 for which we were promised native linux binaries but
>> were never released due to "legal issues" Also both games have really
>> no value in Malta and abroad.
>> Doom and Quake 1/2/3 and to an extent 4: they all share some version
>> of the same engine (a very old precursor in q1/2/3) and a more recent
>> one in q4 and doom3. Good games but dead in Malta.
>>
>> WoW: It's funny, I installed WoW on my Linux and ran it.. It ran, for
>> around 30 seconds during which the game was slow and most if not all
>> of my graphics settings were reduced to a minimum. Try to target a
>> mob and it crashes. Love it
>>
>> So here I am, True Linux believer, evangelist and pure breed of Xion
>> (sorry scratch the last part)  but also a hardcore gamer, Manager of
>> Project Eversio (http://www.eversio.info/about_us.php) and organiser
>> and Server Administrator of several prominent LAN parties in Malta
>> telling you that trying to show off gaming on Linux right now is a
>> very bad idea. I should be at CampusLAN with my pc running Arch Linux
>> (If i get xserver to run well again :O ) and I do have ET installed (
>> and i can get painkiller running also ) and we can test some of my
>> points if you wish. Accept Linux for what it is, a great desktop
>> system, but not a gaming OS; Not until we get proper up to scratch
>> drivers that run well on Linux, and good support from game producers
>> for OpenGL with native Linux binaries will we be able to show off
>> Linux as a gaming platform.
>>
>> I rest my case and return to leveling my 71 orc Shaman.
>>
>>
>> Mewt
>>
>>
>> P.S. Sorry if I came out a bit strong, but i was stuck in a queue to
>> get into WoW and that's guaranteed to piss anyone off...
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 9:10 PM, Shawn Cassar <shawncas-PkbjNfxxIARBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org
>> <mailto:shawncas-PkbjNfxxIARBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org>> wrote:
>>
>>     First of all the games I mentioned aren't old games.
>>
>>     In the company I work I'm one of the "heads" of our online gaming
>>     department.  We have 3 servers (running CentOS Linux)
>>     specifically for COD2 players and till today we were discussing
>>     to add another virtual machine since we aren't even keeping up
>>     with the demand.
>>
>>     Games like ET and COD2 have regular updates, and are highly
>>     sought after.  My idea with the LAN Party is that - maltese
>>     gamers mostly play COD2 and ET.  Foreign players tend to go more
>>     towards ET and Counter Strike and Unreal.  And all these run
>>     native on Linux.
>>
>>     Games like Doom and to a lesser extent Quake have lost their
>>     heat, but it shouldn't be a problem getting those working.
>>       ho run WoW and S
>>     As for MMORPG I know many people wtar Wars Galaxies via WINE, and
>>     EVE-Online has pseudo-native support through Cadega.
>>
>>     The real hard part is getting a linux gaming rig in time for the
>>     LAN Fest, assuming that ITSA executive committe members (not lan
>>     admin committe like me, cause we are more or less helps) don't
>>     mind...but I see Mr Marc Tanti is here so he could guide us :P
>>
>>     In true madness spirit I sacrificed my Solaris Server (which I
>>     use at home for self-learning mostly) and took out the HDD.  So,
>>     if you want this PC has 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM, 2.66GHz Quad
>>     Core CPU and an ATI HD 25xx something gfx.  If maybe during the
>>     lan party we could get a > 160GB hdd we could even do a demo
>>     install of linux and a particular FPS.
>>
>>     We will further this discussion and other ideas at University on
>>     Thursday hopefully, cause I don't want to trash the mailing list
>>     (sorry :P  )
>>
>>     Shawn
>>
>>     > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:14 +0100
>>     > From: aragorn-UKzjlUiH/9ZqaDWv6m70ww@public.gmane.org <mailto:aragorn-UKzjlUiH/9ZqaDWv6m70ww@public.gmane.org>
>>
>>     > To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org <mailto:mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org>
>>     > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT <http://LINUX.ORG.MT>] Calling All
>>     Uni Students
>>     >
>>     > Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't likely to
>>     > impress users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the myth that
>>     Linux
>>     > cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a weakpoint
>>     in Linux,
>>     > or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)
>>     >
>>     > Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux,
>>     which is a
>>     > good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an
>>     MMORPG or
>>     > too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself though.
>>     >
>>     > Shawn Cassar wrote:
>>     > > Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
>>     > >
>>     > > Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd)
>>     there is
>>     > > the ITSA Lan Fest. Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers
>>     (and
>>     > > SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA
>>     committe
>>     > > guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we
>>     can do a
>>     > > linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
>>     > >
>>     > > Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of
>>     gamers and
>>     > > kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems. Maybe if we
>>     > > could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something
>>     with a
>>     > > 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few
>>     games
>>     > > (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and
>>     "show off"
>>     > > gaming on linux.
>>     > >
>>     > > I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
>>     > >
>>     > > Shawn
>>     > >
>>     > >
>>     > >
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>     > >
>>     > > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
>>     > > From: sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
>>     <mailto:sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>
>>     > > To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org <mailto:mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org>
>>     > > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT <http://LINUX.ORG.MT>] Calling All
>>     Uni Students
>>     > >
>>     > > Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about
>>     that (already).
>>     > >
>>     > >
>>     > >
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>     > > Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with
>>     Windows Live
>>     > > Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
>>     > >
>>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us
>>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>>
>>
>>     > >
>>     > >
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>     > >
>>     > > _______________________________________________
>>     > > MLUG-list mailing list
>>     > > MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org <mailto:MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org>
>>     > > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>>     > >
>>     >
>>     > _______________________________________________
>>     > MLUG-list mailing list
>>     > MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org <mailto:MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org>
>>     > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>>
>>
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>     Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows
>>     Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
>>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     MLUG-list mailing list
>>     MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org <mailto:MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org>
>>     http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> MLUG-list mailing list
>> MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org <mailto:MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org>
>> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Jean Azzopardi | 15 Nov 11:21

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Aren't we saying the same things here, Rodrick? Your sister found 
problems with Windows, so you recommended and installed Linux - same as 
what I did with my family.

But if she wasn't experiencing any real problems with Windows, would she 
want to change OS? Of course, for word processing and usual internet 
stuff, there isn't much of a hit, since Open Office is quite capable in 
its own regard, and Linux has Firefox and flash support.

However, there are people for whom Windows doesn't present much 
problems, especially if they don't install much adware/malware  etc. Or 
the problems might exist but are tolerable. In these cases, recommending 
Linux won't have much effect, at least in my experience in 6th form. If 
they're happy with Windows, why make the switch? What killer 
applications does Linux have that can make people switch?

I agree with you on giving a good tutorial, such a thing would be pretty 
useful. Ubuntuguide.org is one such example of what I'm looking for.

Rodrick Borg wrote:
> nice post Jean really perfect... But I don`t agree with you wrt 
> "recommend Linux only when somebody has problems with Windows". 
> Windows does have problems especially when it comes to the long term 
> speed ... I had a PC that my sister uses mainly for word processing, 
> and the usual internet stuff ... I used to have to format it every now 
> and then because the performance become so crappy... I told her to try 
> Ubuntu for a week and if she found problems I would insall again her 
> XP.. Its been 6 months now and she found no problems wiht ubuntu... I 
> think the empahsis should be on how to  get all the things installed 
> the for the first time. i.e promotion of tutorial like howtoforge 
> tutorial (the perfect desktop) or maybe the creation of such tutorial 
> more tareted at what students might need ...
>
> On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 9:30 AM, Jean Azzopardi 
> <aragorn@...
<mailto:aragorn@...>> wrote:
>
>     In the interests of avoiding a potential flame war on the MLUG list,
>     what benefits do you all think we should highlight for students?
>
>     Speed & performance? -- very valid, especially when compared with
>     Vista
>     - at least in my experience on a 2GB laptop with 1.66 ghz Core 2 Duo.
>     Vista runs pretty slowly, while on Linux I can run XP in a virtual
>     machine, give it 600 MB of RAM to play with and use the system
>     normally
>     without much performance issues.
>
>     Apart from that, I'm not really sure what can entice someone over to
>     Linux - I tried it out 5 years ago for a challenge, really, but I
>     ended
>     up liking it a lot, so I stayed with it. Nowadays, my only exposure to
>     Windows was a brief stint with Vista to try it out, and I ended up
>     testing a few games on it - half of them didn't work right, too old
>     games, and I use XP in a Vbox for the MCTS course.
>
>     The ideology? While I do like the ideology & philosophy behind open
>     source, I often do use proprietary software, especially when it's way
>     better than the open source equivalent - Nvidia drivers, for instance.
>     And sure, all the code is available...but does that mean anything
>     to the
>     average student, especially those who aren't taking IT related
>     courses?
>
>     Cost? Is this an issue? Is there 1 single student out there who is so
>     honest that he's never pirated a piece of software in his life? I
>     frankly doubt it. And Windows comes preinstalled on 99% of
>     laptops, anyway.
>
>     Better applications? Again, most of the flagship OSS applications run
>     very well on Windows, sometimes better -- points at Firefox. Then
>     there's the whole gaming thing that we've already talked about, and
>     development, again, pretty much all the tools I use are either already
>     available on Windows -- or clones of Windows programs, or running
>     under
>     wine in some cases.
>
>     Security -- Ok, fine thing to point out, and Linux does have a clear
>     advantage over Windows - at least you don't have to run antivirus
>     software all the time, but there still is the possibility of
>     downloading
>     malicious scripts from the internet. During my brief stint as
>     moderator
>     on the Ubuntu forums, we caught and banned plenty of users who posted
>     scripts claiming to solve problems like installing codecs, or other
>     things, and were actually rather destructive. Sure, some of us are
>     capable of reading them and seeing if they are malicious, but how many
>     newbies are capable of doing that?
>
>
>     So here is the clincher... what can we do to entice users to
>     simply even
>     try out Linux?  How do we overcome that inertia? Personally, my
>     approach
>     has been to recommend Linux only when somebody has problems with
>     Windows, or when somebody is eager to try out new things.  I wouldn't
>     want to foist Linux on someone who is already quite happy with
>     Windows -
>     these people do exist, you know? ;)
>
>     Sorry for the long post, you caught me at an introspective moment ;)
>
>
>     Keith Vassallo wrote:
>     > Amen.
>     >
>     > Keith
>     >
>     > On 14 Nov 2008, at 22:41, Anton Xuereb wrote:
>     >
>     >> I know im gonna sound like a real spoil-sport but i feel that i
>     need
>     >> to intervene as probably the most avid gamer on this list..
>     >>
>     >> YOU ARE WRONG.
>     >>
>     >> I know that sounds harsh but im fed up with optimists trying to
>     make
>     >> linux appear what it's not. It is completely pointless marketing
>     >> Linux as a gaming platform when graphics card drivers (both AMD/ATI
>     >> and Nvidia) are still so much lower in performance when compared to
>     >> their windows counter-parts. What you are running are cod2 and ET
>     >> servers which are of no interest to any gamer in Malta or anywhere.
>     >> Games like ET and CoD2 do NOT receive regular updates. ET hasn't
>     >> received anything for over a year and a half and the game is
>     >> practically dead in Malta except for a few stragglers who dont have
>     >> enough cash to upgrade their PCs. Don't get me wrong, I love both
>     >> CoD2 and ET however the fact remains that the games are neither
>     >> taxing on the hardware or recent.
>     >>
>     >> Secondly, only two of the games you mentioned has native linux
>     >> binaries which means we will have to run them through an
>     abstractions
>     >> layer like Cedega or worse WINE. If you have tried running any sort
>     >> of game through wine you'll know that performance is never as
>     good as
>     >> it's windows counter part and is no winning point in the
>     argument of
>     >> why gamers should change over to Linux.
>     >>
>     >> Let me make a list:
>     >>
>     >> ET: Old and dying, none of the remaining tournaments are giving the
>     >> game much importance and too few clans are signing up, killing the
>     >> game even more. However this remains a good game that runs natively
>     >> on linux.
>     >> CoD2: No linux binaries and has to be run through an abstraction
>     >> layer resulting in lower performance and more problems (tried
>     running
>     >> cod2 original with teh cd check on anyone ?) Dead abroad, still
>     alive
>     >> in malta. ( Time to move on, CoD5 has been released :O )
>     >> Counter strike: I guess you mean 1.6 here which is very old
>     (although
>     >> still one of the most played games around the world) however it has
>     >> no native linux binaries and steam support on linux has been
>     sketchy
>     >> at teh very best (I would know I installed it)
>     >> Unreal: Which one ? I'm guessing you mean UT2K4 here which does
>     have
>     >> Linux binaries but runs with lower performance than it's windows
>     >> counterpart (probably due to lack of good gfx drivers) Of
>     course you
>     >> might mean UT3 for which we were promised native linux binaries but
>     >> were never released due to "legal issues" Also both games have
>     really
>     >> no value in Malta and abroad.
>     >> Doom and Quake 1/2/3 and to an extent 4: they all share some
>     version
>     >> of the same engine (a very old precursor in q1/2/3) and a more
>     recent
>     >> one in q4 and doom3. Good games but dead in Malta.
>     >>
>     >> WoW: It's funny, I installed WoW on my Linux and ran it.. It
>     ran, for
>     >> around 30 seconds during which the game was slow and most if
>     not all
>     >> of my graphics settings were reduced to a minimum. Try to target a
>     >> mob and it crashes. Love it
>     >>
>     >> So here I am, True Linux believer, evangelist and pure breed of
>     Xion
>     >> (sorry scratch the last part)  but also a hardcore gamer,
>     Manager of
>     >> Project Eversio (http://www.eversio.info/about_us.php) and
>     organiser
>     >> and Server Administrator of several prominent LAN parties in Malta
>     >> telling you that trying to show off gaming on Linux right now is a
>     >> very bad idea. I should be at CampusLAN with my pc running Arch
>     Linux
>     >> (If i get xserver to run well again :O ) and I do have ET
>     installed (
>     >> and i can get painkiller running also ) and we can test some of my
>     >> points if you wish. Accept Linux for what it is, a great desktop
>     >> system, but not a gaming OS; Not until we get proper up to scratch
>     >> drivers that run well on Linux, and good support from game
>     producers
>     >> for OpenGL with native Linux binaries will we be able to show off
>     >> Linux as a gaming platform.
>     >>
>     >> I rest my case and return to leveling my 71 orc Shaman.
>     >>
>     >>
>     >> Mewt
>     >>
>     >>
>     >> P.S. Sorry if I came out a bit strong, but i was stuck in a
>     queue to
>     >> get into WoW and that's guaranteed to piss anyone off...
>     >>
>     >> On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 9:10 PM, Shawn Cassar
>     <shawncas@... <mailto:shawncas@...>
>     >> <mailto:shawncas@...
<mailto:shawncas@...>>> wrote:
>     >>
>     >>     First of all the games I mentioned aren't old games.
>     >>
>     >>     In the company I work I'm one of the "heads" of our online
>     gaming
>     >>     department.  We have 3 servers (running CentOS Linux)
>     >>     specifically for COD2 players and till today we were discussing
>     >>     to add another virtual machine since we aren't even keeping up
>     >>     with the demand.
>     >>
>     >>     Games like ET and COD2 have regular updates, and are highly
>     >>     sought after.  My idea with the LAN Party is that - maltese
>     >>     gamers mostly play COD2 and ET.  Foreign players tend to go
>     more
>     >>     towards ET and Counter Strike and Unreal.  And all these run
>     >>     native on Linux.
>     >>
>     >>     Games like Doom and to a lesser extent Quake have lost their
>     >>     heat, but it shouldn't be a problem getting those working.
>     >>       ho run WoW and S
>     >>     As for MMORPG I know many people wtar Wars Galaxies via
>     WINE, and
>     >>     EVE-Online has pseudo-native support through Cadega.
>     >>
>     >>     The real hard part is getting a linux gaming rig in time
>     for the
>     >>     LAN Fest, assuming that ITSA executive committe members
>     (not lan
>     >>     admin committe like me, cause we are more or less helps) don't
>     >>     mind...but I see Mr Marc Tanti is here so he could guide us :P
>     >>
>     >>     In true madness spirit I sacrificed my Solaris Server (which I
>     >>     use at home for self-learning mostly) and took out the HDD.
>      So,
>     >>     if you want this PC has 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM, 2.66GHz Quad
>     >>     Core CPU and an ATI HD 25xx something gfx.  If maybe during the
>     >>     lan party we could get a > 160GB hdd we could even do a demo
>     >>     install of linux and a particular FPS.
>     >>
>     >>     We will further this discussion and other ideas at
>     University on
>     >>     Thursday hopefully, cause I don't want to trash the mailing
>     list
>     >>     (sorry :P  )
>     >>
>     >>     Shawn
>     >>
>     >>     > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:14 +0100
>     >>     > From: aragorn@...
>     <mailto:aragorn@...> <mailto:aragorn@...
>     <mailto:aragorn@...>>
>     >>
>     >>     > To: mlug-list@...
>     <mailto:mlug-list@...> <mailto:mlug-list@...
>     <mailto:mlug-list@...>>
>     >>     > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT <http://LINUX.ORG.MT>
>     <http://LINUX.ORG.MT>] Calling All
>     >>     Uni Students
>     >>     >
>     >>     > Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't
>     likely to
>     >>     > impress users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the
>     myth that
>     >>     Linux
>     >>     > cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a
>     weakpoint
>     >>     in Linux,
>     >>     > or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)
>     >>     >
>     >>     > Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux,
>     >>     which is a
>     >>     > good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an
>     >>     MMORPG or
>     >>     > too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself
>     though.
>     >>     >
>     >>     > Shawn Cassar wrote:
>     >>     > > Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
>     >>     > >
>     >>     > > Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st -
>     23rd)
>     >>     there is
>     >>     > > the ITSA Lan Fest. Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu
>     gamers
>     >>     (and
>     >>     > > SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA
>     >>     committe
>     >>     > > guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we
>     >>     can do a
>     >>     > > linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
>     >>     > >
>     >>     > > Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of
>     >>     gamers and
>     >>     > > kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems.
>     Maybe if we
>     >>     > > could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even
>     something
>     >>     with a
>     >>     > > 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install
>     a few
>     >>     games
>     >>     > > (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and
>     >>     "show off"
>     >>     > > gaming on linux.
>     >>     > >
>     >>     > > I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
>     >>     > >
>     >>     > > Shawn
>     >>     > >
>     >>     > >
>     >>     > >
>     >>    
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     >>     > >
>     >>     > > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
>     >>     > > From: sebastiancachia@...
>     <mailto:sebastiancachia@...>
>     >>     <mailto:sebastiancachia@...
>     <mailto:sebastiancachia@...>>
>     >>     > > To: mlug-list@...
>     <mailto:mlug-list@...> <mailto:mlug-list@...
>     <mailto:mlug-list@...>>
>     >>     > > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT <http://LINUX.ORG.MT>
>     <http://LINUX.ORG.MT>] Calling All
>     >>     Uni Students
>     >>     > >
>     >>     > > Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about
>     >>     that (already).
>     >>     > >
>     >>     > >
>     >>     > >
>     >>    
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     >>     > > Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with
>     >>     Windows Live
>     >>     > > Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
>     >>     > >
>     >>    
>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us
>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>
>     >>    
>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us
>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>>>
>     >>
>     >>     > >
>     >>     > >
>     >>    
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     >>     > >
>     >>     > > _______________________________________________
>     >>     > > MLUG-list mailing list
>     >>     > > MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>     <mailto:MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>>
>     >>     > > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>     >>     > >
>     >>     >
>     >>     > _______________________________________________
>     >>     > MLUG-list mailing list
>     >>     > MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>     <mailto:MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>>
>     >>     > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>     >>
>     >>
>     >>    
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     >>     Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with
>     Windows
>     >>     Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
>     >>    
>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us
>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>>
>     >>
>     >>     _______________________________________________
>     >>     MLUG-list mailing list
>     >>     MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>     <mailto:MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>>
>     >>     http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>     >>
>     >>
>     >> _______________________________________________
>     >> MLUG-list mailing list
>     >> MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>     <mailto:MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>>
>     >> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>     >
>     >
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     >
>     > _______________________________________________
>     > MLUG-list mailing list
>     > MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>     > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>     >
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     MLUG-list mailing list
>     MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>     http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list@...
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>   
Sebastian Cachia | 15 Nov 12:37

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Hey all,

First of all, correct me if I am wrong, but this was your first post on the mailing list Rodrick, so welcome to the community!

I definitely wouldn't market Linux for it's gaming attributes (except to someone who is into the "miniclip" type of fun simple gameplay oriented games for which there are loads of great games available). Rather I would promote the fact that Linux believes so much in freedom of choice that it even helps you install Linux and Windows side by side by dual booting.

Something that should definitely appeal to any normal technology student is the customizability and learning experience provided by Linux. Both of these are a product of the ideology behind Linux.

Some sort of "step by step" tutorial for setting up common software in Linux would be a great idea. I don't know if we should do this by making use of sites like ubuntuguide mentioned by Jean, and perhaps other existing sites for other distros, or re-invent the wheel and put together a site of our own, allowing us to target content to our specific situation. I suppose it will depend alot on the level of commitment the community is willing to get into.

Also, something interesting to work on would be a "why use Linux list". There are loads of them available on the internet so finding items to list shouldn't be a problem. I think that we should however aim to make it as nice and shiny as possible, the sort of thing apple would do.

Infact I would like to re-awaken the idea mentioned over summer of having a slightly more exciting site for recruitment purposes. A nice shiny theme, some sort of cms like drupal currently in use, or wordpress on joomla, and lots of content, especially the visual kind.

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Marc Tanti | 15 Nov 13:11

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Since you're all talking about pros and cons of Ubuntu, here's a
testimony of a typical Ubuntu user. I use Ubuntu exclusively on my pc
and I'm not very happy with it.

It does not do very well with multi media. For example my videos
always have a blue hue to them and I have to fix it in the settings (I
tried all video viewers which I found in Synaptic and I searched every
possible solution), plus in the previous version FireFox used to close
on its own overnight, every friggin night, using the previous version
of Ubuntu. Now with 10.8 it doesn't close but instead videos on
youtube will play without sound for the first 2 seconds only, after a
night, and no sound at all will play anywhere and then when I launch
RythmBox it crashes. So I have to restart my computer every day.

Also, I didn't check this in the latest version, but I cannot
hibernate my pc because I increased my RAM and it's bigger than my
swap space (which I assume that I will have to format in order to
increase).

Finally I have a tv tuner and a playstation-joystick-to-pc-usb-adapter
which I cannot find drivers to and therefore I have bought for
nothing, unless I continue using xp.

I'm still a noob with Ubuntu so if anyone can give personalized help
on these issues, you will ensure the permanent stay of another Maltese
Linux User.

2008/11/15 Sebastian Cachia <sebastiancachia@...>:
> Hey all,
>
> First of all, correct me if I am wrong, but this was your first post on the
> mailing list Rodrick, so welcome to the community!
>
> I definitely wouldn't market Linux for it's gaming attributes (except to
> someone who is into the "miniclip" type of fun simple gameplay oriented
> games for which there are loads of great games available). Rather I would
> promote the fact that Linux believes so much in freedom of choice that it
> even helps you install Linux and Windows side by side by dual booting.
>
> Something that should definitely appeal to any normal technology student is
> the customizability and learning experience provided by Linux. Both of these
> are a product of the ideology behind Linux.
>
> Some sort of "step by step" tutorial for setting up common software in Linux
> would be a great idea. I don't know if we should do this by making use of
> sites like ubuntuguide mentioned by Jean, and perhaps other existing sites
> for other distros, or re-invent the wheel and put together a site of our
> own, allowing us to target content to our specific situation. I suppose it
> will depend alot on the level of commitment the community is willing to get
> into.
>
> Also, something interesting to work on would be a "why use Linux list".
> There are loads of them available on the internet so finding items to list
> shouldn't be a problem. I think that we should however aim to make it as
> nice and shiny as possible, the sort of thing apple would do.
>
> Infact I would like to re-awaken the idea mentioned over summer of having a
> slightly more exciting site for recruitment purposes. A nice shiny theme,
> some sort of cms like drupal currently in use, or wordpress on joomla, and
> lots of content, especially the visual kind.
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list@...
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>
>
Jean Azzopardi | 15 Nov 13:39

Re: Calling All Uni Students

For the blue hue : 
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/totem/+question/7373 might help

Regarding the sound issues, I'm thinking it's due to pulseaudio, not too 
sure, as I don't use Ubuntu myself.

Regarding the swap space, what you have to do is resize the partition. 
This can be done by using a live cd -- (the Ubuntu live cd can be used 
here) or the gparted live cd.
Resizing is done like this : 
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/larry/resize/resizing.htm. You can 
probably resize from both sides of a partition. This process will take 
some time though, as gparted spends a lot of time doing consistency 
checks - still, make sure to back up your data.

About the hardware, sorry I can't help there. Drivers on Linux can be a 
problem.

Have you tried ubuntuforums.org?

Marc Tanti wrote:
> Since you're all talking about pros and cons of Ubuntu, here's a
> testimony of a typical Ubuntu user. I use Ubuntu exclusively on my pc
> and I'm not very happy with it.
>
> It does not do very well with multi media. For example my videos
> always have a blue hue to them and I have to fix it in the settings (I
> tried all video viewers which I found in Synaptic and I searched every
> possible solution), plus in the previous version FireFox used to close
> on its own overnight, every friggin night, using the previous version
> of Ubuntu. Now with 10.8 it doesn't close but instead videos on
> youtube will play without sound for the first 2 seconds only, after a
> night, and no sound at all will play anywhere and then when I launch
> RythmBox it crashes. So I have to restart my computer every day.
>
> Also, I didn't check this in the latest version, but I cannot
> hibernate my pc because I increased my RAM and it's bigger than my
> swap space (which I assume that I will have to format in order to
> increase).
>
> Finally I have a tv tuner and a playstation-joystick-to-pc-usb-adapter
> which I cannot find drivers to and therefore I have bought for
> nothing, unless I continue using xp.
>
> I'm still a noob with Ubuntu so if anyone can give personalized help
> on these issues, you will ensure the permanent stay of another Maltese
> Linux User.
>
> 2008/11/15 Sebastian Cachia <sebastiancachia@...>:
>   
>> Hey all,
>>
>> First of all, correct me if I am wrong, but this was your first post on the
>> mailing list Rodrick, so welcome to the community!
>>
>> I definitely wouldn't market Linux for it's gaming attributes (except to
>> someone who is into the "miniclip" type of fun simple gameplay oriented
>> games for which there are loads of great games available). Rather I would
>> promote the fact that Linux believes so much in freedom of choice that it
>> even helps you install Linux and Windows side by side by dual booting.
>>
>> Something that should definitely appeal to any normal technology student is
>> the customizability and learning experience provided by Linux. Both of these
>> are a product of the ideology behind Linux.
>>
>> Some sort of "step by step" tutorial for setting up common software in Linux
>> would be a great idea. I don't know if we should do this by making use of
>> sites like ubuntuguide mentioned by Jean, and perhaps other existing sites
>> for other distros, or re-invent the wheel and put together a site of our
>> own, allowing us to target content to our specific situation. I suppose it
>> will depend alot on the level of commitment the community is willing to get
>> into.
>>
>> Also, something interesting to work on would be a "why use Linux list".
>> There are loads of them available on the internet so finding items to list
>> shouldn't be a problem. I think that we should however aim to make it as
>> nice and shiny as possible, the sort of thing apple would do.
>>
>> Infact I would like to re-awaken the idea mentioned over summer of having a
>> slightly more exciting site for recruitment purposes. A nice shiny theme,
>> some sort of cms like drupal currently in use, or wordpress on joomla, and
>> lots of content, especially the visual kind.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> MLUG-list mailing list
>> MLUG-list@...
>> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>>
>>
>>     
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list@...
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>
>   
Favicon

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Marc,

What I can tell you is that every version keeps on improving. Multimedia used to be a very big sore point of Linux. Nowadays I believe it is past this. I find smplayer and VLC to be one of the best and maybe also most polished players available. I would suggest you give them a try. I found Flash stability to depend on the orientation of the stars and moons since Adobe often release good versions but sometimes screw up everthing too. Not much you can do there but try different versions of the plugin. I am currently using the version 10.0 and its not acting up (yet) for a couple of weeks now.

Also, if a particular distribution does not detect your hardware correctly or you find the installation cumbersome, do not stop there and try other popular distributions like OpenSUSE and Fedora which are worth the download for sure.

Another interesting thing to take into consideration is what happened today at the insallfest. Alan installed the latest Ubuntu 8.10 over his previous 8.04. He had working wireless and after the installation the wireless networks available were empty. It turned out that all we had to do was fetch the latest updates for 8.10 (75 updates!!) which contained various fixes including this one related to the wireless.

Regards,
Raphael

On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 1:11 PM, Marc Tanti <marctanti-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote:
Since you're all talking about pros and cons of Ubuntu, here's a
testimony of a typical Ubuntu user. I use Ubuntu exclusively on my pc
and I'm not very happy with it.

It does not do very well with multi media. For example my videos
always have a blue hue to them and I have to fix it in the settings (I
tried all video viewers which I found in Synaptic and I searched every
possible solution), plus in the previous version FireFox used to close
on its own overnight, every friggin night, using the previous version
of Ubuntu. Now with 10.8 it doesn't close but instead videos on
youtube will play without sound for the first 2 seconds only, after a
night, and no sound at all will play anywhere and then when I launch
RythmBox it crashes. So I have to restart my computer every day.

Also, I didn't check this in the latest version, but I cannot
hibernate my pc because I increased my RAM and it's bigger than my
swap space (which I assume that I will have to format in order to
increase).

Finally I have a tv tuner and a playstation-joystick-to-pc-usb-adapter
which I cannot find drivers to and therefore I have bought for
nothing, unless I continue using xp.

I'm still a noob with Ubuntu so if anyone can give personalized help
on these issues, you will ensure the permanent stay of another Maltese
Linux User.

2008/11/15 Sebastian Cachia <sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>:
> Hey all,
>
> First of all, correct me if I am wrong, but this was your first post on the
> mailing list Rodrick, so welcome to the community!
>
> I definitely wouldn't market Linux for it's gaming attributes (except to
> someone who is into the "miniclip" type of fun simple gameplay oriented
> games for which there are loads of great games available). Rather I would
> promote the fact that Linux believes so much in freedom of choice that it
> even helps you install Linux and Windows side by side by dual booting.
>
> Something that should definitely appeal to any normal technology student is
> the customizability and learning experience provided by Linux. Both of these
> are a product of the ideology behind Linux.
>
> Some sort of "step by step" tutorial for setting up common software in Linux
> would be a great idea. I don't know if we should do this by making use of
> sites like ubuntuguide mentioned by Jean, and perhaps other existing sites
> for other distros, or re-invent the wheel and put together a site of our
> own, allowing us to target content to our specific situation. I suppose it
> will depend alot on the level of commitment the community is willing to get
> into.
>
> Also, something interesting to work on would be a "why use Linux list".
> There are loads of them available on the internet so finding items to list
> shouldn't be a problem. I think that we should however aim to make it as
> nice and shiny as possible, the sort of thing apple would do.
>
> Infact I would like to re-awaken the idea mentioned over summer of having a
> slightly more exciting site for recruitment purposes. A nice shiny theme,
> some sort of cms like drupal currently in use, or wordpress on joomla, and
> lots of content, especially the visual kind.
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>
>
_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Shawn Cassar | 15 Nov 13:47
Favicon

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Guess I have to intervene as well, cause if you really think you are the most avid gamer on the list, I'm sure you'd realise that most of what YOU have written is wrong.
 
But, there is no point in me trying to correct you on several fronts, cause you thinking you are some kind of gamer god will make no difference.
 
Suddenly I realise why I stopped using this mailing list a very long time ago.  Unfortunately with people with atitudes of yours will still keep seeing "us" as lesser mortals.
 
Its time for me to unsubscribe once and for all now, and continue to enjoy playing many many games running NATIVELY on my linux rig (games which were described as dying/dead by you and also quite a few non-FPS games that are highly sought after) and also happily leveling my characters in various MMOs which according to you should crash in under 30 seconds via WINE.


 

Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:41:08 +0100
From: mewt.reaper-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students

I know im gonna sound like a real spoil-sport but i feel that i need to intervene as probably the most avid gamer on this list..

YOU ARE WRONG.

I know that sounds harsh but im fed up with optimists trying to make linux appear what it's not. It is completely pointless marketing Linux as a gaming platform when graphics card drivers (both AMD/ATI and Nvidia) are still so much lower in performance when compared to their windows counter-parts. What you are running are cod2 and ET servers which are of no interest to any gamer in Malta or anywhere. Games like ET and CoD2 do NOT receive regular updates. ET hasn't received anything for over a year and a half and the game is practically dead in Malta except for a few stragglers who dont have enough cash to upgrade their PCs. Don't get me wrong, I love both CoD2 and ET however the fact remains that the games are neither taxing on the hardware or recent. 

Secondly, only two of the games you mentioned has native linux binaries which means we will have to run them through an abstractions layer like Cedega or worse WINE. If you have tried running any sort of game through wine you'll know that performance is never as good as it's windows counter part and is no winning point in the argument of why gamers should change over to Linux. 

Let me make a list:

ET: Old and dying, none of the remaining tournaments are giving the game much importance and too few clans are signing up, killing the game even more. However this remains a good game that runs natively on linux. 
CoD2: No linux binaries and has to be run through an abstraction layer resulting in lower performance and more problems (tried running cod2 original with teh cd check on anyone ?) Dead abroad, still alive in malta. ( Time to move on, CoD5 has been released :O )
Counter strike: I guess you mean 1.6 here which is very old (although still one of the most played games around the world) however it has no native linux binaries and steam support on linux has been sketchy at teh very best (I would know I installed it) 
Unreal: Which one ? I'm guessing you mean UT2K4 here which does have Linux binaries but runs with lower performance than it's windows counterpart (probably due to lack of good gfx drivers) Of course you might mean UT3 for which we were promised native linux binaries but were never released due to "legal issues" Also both games have really no value in Malta and abroad. 
Doom and Quake 1/2/3 and to an extent 4: they all share some version of the same engine (a very old precursor in q1/2/3) and a more recent one in q4 and doom3. Good games but dead in Malta. 

WoW: It's funny, I installed WoW on my Linux and ran it.. It ran, for around 30 seconds during which the game was slow and most if not all of my graphics settings were reduced to a minimum. Try to target a mob and it crashes. Love it

So here I am, True Linux believer, evangelist and pure breed of Xion (sorry scratch the last part)  but also a hardcore gamer, Manager of Project Eversio (http://www.eversio.info/about_us.php) and organiser and Server Administrator of several prominent LAN parties in Malta telling you that trying to show off gaming on Linux right now is a very bad idea. I should be at CampusLAN with my pc running Arch Linux (If i get xserver to run well again :O ) and I do have ET installed ( and i can get painkiller running also ) and we can test some of my points if you wish. Accept Linux for what it is, a great desktop system, but not a gaming OS; Not until we get proper up to scratch drivers that run well on Linux, and good support from game producers for OpenGL with native Linux binaries will we be able to show off Linux as a gaming platform. 

I rest my case and return to leveling my 71 orc Shaman.


Mewt


P.S. Sorry if I came out a bit strong, but i was stuck in a queue to get into WoW and that's guaranteed to piss anyone off...

On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 9:10 PM, Shawn Cassar <shawncas <at> hotmail.com> wrote:
First of all the games I mentioned aren't old games.
 
In the company I work I'm one of the "heads" of our online gaming department.  We have 3 servers (running CentOS Linux) specifically for COD2 players and till today we were discussing to add another virtual machine since we aren't even keeping up with the demand.
 
Games like ET and COD2 have regular updates, and are highly sought after.  My idea with the LAN Party is that - maltese gamers mostly play COD2 and ET.  Foreign players tend to go more towards ET and Counter Strike and Unreal.  And all these run native on Linux.
 
Games like Doom and to a lesser extent Quake have lost their heat, but it shouldn't be a problem getting those working.
  ho run WoW and S
As for MMORPG I know many people wtar Wars Galaxies via WINE, and EVE-Online has pseudo-native support through Cadega.
 
The real hard part is getting a linux gaming rig in time for the LAN Fest, assuming that ITSA executive committe members (not lan admin committe like me, cause we are more or less helps) don't mind...but I see Mr Marc Tanti is here so he could guide us :P
 
In true madness spirit I sacrificed my Solaris Server (which I use at home for self-learning mostly) and took out the HDD.  So, if you want this PC has 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM, 2.66GHz Quad Core CPU and an ATI HD 25xx something gfx.  If maybe during the lan party we could get a > 160GB hdd we could even do a demo install of linux and a particular FPS.
 
We will further this discussion and other ideas at University on Thursday hopefully, cause I don't want to trash the mailing list (sorry :P  )
 
Shawn

> Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:14 +0100
> From: aragorn-UKzjlUiH/9ZqaDWv6m70ww@public.gmane.org

> To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
>
> Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't likely to
> impress users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the myth that Linux
> cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a weakpoint in Linux,
> or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)
>
> Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux, which is a
> good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an MMORPG or
> too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself though.
>
> Shawn Cassar wrote:
> > Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
> >
> > Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd) there is
> > the ITSA Lan Fest. Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers (and
> > SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA committe
> > guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we can do a
> > linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
> >
> > Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of gamers and
> > kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems. Maybe if we
> > could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something with a
> > 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few games
> > (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and "show off"
> > gaming on linux.
> >
> > I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
> >
> > Shawn
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
> > From: sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
> > To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
> >
> > Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that (already).
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live
> > Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
> > <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > MLUG-list mailing list
> > MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list


Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list



Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Favicon

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Don't worry Shawn,

I learnt to take Anton with a pinch of salt. Ehh meta ha tikber Anton ah ?!?

On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 1:47 PM, Shawn Cassar <shawncas-PkbjNfxxIARBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org> wrote:
Guess I have to intervene as well, cause if you really think you are the most avid gamer on the list, I'm sure you'd realise that most of what YOU have written is wrong.
 
But, there is no point in me trying to correct you on several fronts, cause you thinking you are some kind of gamer god will make no difference.
 
Suddenly I realise why I stopped using this mailing list a very long time ago.  Unfortunately with people with atitudes of yours will still keep seeing "us" as lesser mortals.
 
Its time for me to unsubscribe once and for all now, and continue to enjoy playing many many games running NATIVELY on my linux rig (games which were described as dying/dead by you and also quite a few non-FPS games that are highly sought after) and also happily leveling my characters in various MMOs which according to you should crash in under 30 seconds via WINE.


 

Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:41:08 +0100
From: mewt.reaper-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org

To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students

I know im gonna sound like a real spoil-sport but i feel that i need to intervene as probably the most avid gamer on this list..

YOU ARE WRONG.

I know that sounds harsh but im fed up with optimists trying to make linux appear what it's not. It is completely pointless marketing Linux as a gaming platform when graphics card drivers (both AMD/ATI and Nvidia) are still so much lower in performance when compared to their windows counter-parts. What you are running are cod2 and ET servers which are of no interest to any gamer in Malta or anywhere. Games like ET and CoD2 do NOT receive regular updates. ET hasn't received anything for over a year and a half and the game is practically dead in Malta except for a few stragglers who dont have enough cash to upgrade their PCs. Don't get me wrong, I love both CoD2 and ET however the fact remains that the games are neither taxing on the hardware or recent. 

Secondly, only two of the games you mentioned has native linux binaries which means we will have to run them through an abstractions layer like Cedega or worse WINE. If you have tried running any sort of game through wine you'll know that performance is never as good as it's windows counter part and is no winning point in the argument of why gamers should change over to Linux. 

Let me make a list:

ET: Old and dying, none of the remaining tournaments are giving the game much importance and too few clans are signing up, killing the game even more. However this remains a good game that runs natively on linux. 
CoD2: No linux binaries and has to be run through an abstraction layer resulting in lower performance and more problems (tried running cod2 original with teh cd check on anyone ?) Dead abroad, still alive in malta. ( Time to move on, CoD5 has been released :O )
Counter strike: I guess you mean 1.6 here which is very old (although still one of the most played games around the world) however it has no native linux binaries and steam support on linux has been sketchy at teh very best (I would know I installed it) 
Unreal: Which one ? I'm guessing you mean UT2K4 here which does have Linux binaries but runs with lower performance than it's windows counterpart (probably due to lack of good gfx drivers) Of course you might mean UT3 for which we were promised native linux binaries but were never released due to "legal issues" Also both games have really no value in Malta and abroad. 
Doom and Quake 1/2/3 and to an extent 4: they all share some version of the same engine (a very old precursor in q1/2/3) and a more recent one in q4 and doom3. Good games but dead in Malta. 

WoW: It's funny, I installed WoW on my Linux and ran it.. It ran, for around 30 seconds during which the game was slow and most if not all of my graphics settings were reduced to a minimum. Try to target a mob and it crashes. Love it

So here I am, True Linux believer, evangelist and pure breed of Xion (sorry scratch the last part)  but also a hardcore gamer, Manager of Project Eversio (http://www.eversio.info/about_us.php) and organiser and Server Administrator of several prominent LAN parties in Malta telling you that trying to show off gaming on Linux right now is a very bad idea. I should be at CampusLAN with my pc running Arch Linux (If i get xserver to run well again :O ) and I do have ET installed ( and i can get painkiller running also ) and we can test some of my points if you wish. Accept Linux for what it is, a great desktop system, but not a gaming OS; Not until we get proper up to scratch drivers that run well on Linux, and good su pport from game producers for OpenGL with native Linux binaries will we be able to show off Linux as a gaming platform. 

I rest my case and return to leveling my 71 orc Shaman.


Mewt


P.S. Sorry if I came out a bit strong, but i was stuck in a queue to get into WoW and that's guaranteed to piss anyone off...

On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 9:10 PM, Shawn Cassar <shawncas-PkbjNfxxIARBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org> wrote:
First of all the games I mentioned aren't old games.
 
In the company I work I'm one of the "heads" of our online gaming department.  We have 3 servers (running CentOS Linux) specifically for COD2 players and till today we were discussing to add another virtual machine since we aren't even keeping up with the demand.
 
Games like ET and COD2 have regular updates, and are highly sought after.  My idea with the LAN Party is that - maltese gamers mostly play COD2 and ET.  Foreign players tend to go more towards ET and Counter Strike and Unreal.  And all these run native on Linux.
 
Games like Doom and to a lesser extent Quake have lost their heat, but it shouldn't be a problem getting those working.
  ho run WoW and S
As for MMORPG I know many people wtar Wars Galaxies via WINE, and EVE-Online has pseudo-native support through Cadega.
 
The real hard part is getting a linux gaming rig in time for the LAN Fest, assuming that ITSA executive committe members (not lan admin committe like me, cause we are more or less helps) don't mind...but I see Mr Marc Tanti is here so he could guide us :P
 
In true madness spirit I sacrificed my Solaris Server (which I use at home for self-learning mostly) and took out the HDD.  So, if you want this PC has 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM, 2.66GHz Quad Core CPU and an ATI HD 25xx something gfx.  If maybe during the lan party we could get a > 160GB hdd we could even do a demo install of linux and a particular FPS.
 
We will further this discussion and other ideas at University on Thursday hopefully, cause I don't want to trash the mailing list (sorry :P  )
 
Shawn

> Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:14 +0100
> From: aragorn-UKzjlUiH/9ZqaDWv6m70ww@public.gmane.org

> To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
>
> Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't likely to
> impress users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the myth that Linux
> cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a weakpoint in Linux,
> or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)
>
> Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux, which is a
> good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an MMORPG or
> too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself though.
>
> Shawn Cassar wrote:
> > Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
> >
> > Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd) there is
> > the ITSA Lan Fest. Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers (and
> > SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA committe
> > guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we can do a
> > linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
> >
> > Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of gamers and
> > kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems. Maybe if we
> > could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something with a
> > 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few games
> > (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and "show off"
> > gaming on linux.
> >
> > I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
> >
> > Shawn
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
> > From: sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
> > To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
> >
> > Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that (already).
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live
> > Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
> > <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > MLUG-list mailing list
> > MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list


Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list



Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list


_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Jean Azzopardi | 15 Nov 14:21

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Can we all rein in our egos a lil` bit, and try and cooperate here? Both 
of you are making valid points. If the games are not dead, then they're 
certainly outdated - no one can deny that. Just because Anton has 
problems with WoW doesn't mean WoW is problematic for every one.

Shawn Cassar wrote:
> Guess I have to intervene as well, cause if you really think you are 
> the most avid gamer on the list, I'm sure you'd realise that most of 
> what YOU have written is wrong.
>  
> But, there is no point in me trying to correct you on several fronts, 
> cause you thinking you are some kind of gamer god will make no difference.
>  
> Suddenly I realise why I stopped using this mailing list a very long 
> time ago.  Unfortunately with people with atitudes of yours will still 
> keep seeing "us" as lesser mortals.
>  
> Its time for me to unsubscribe once and for all now, and continue to 
> enjoy playing many many games running NATIVELY on my linux rig (games 
> which were described as dying/dead by you and also quite a few non-FPS 
> games that are highly sought after) and also happily leveling my 
> characters in various MMOs which according to you should crash in 
> under 30 seconds via WINE.
>
>
>  
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:41:08 +0100
> From: mewt.reaper@...
> To: mlug-list@...
> Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
>
> I know im gonna sound like a real spoil-sport but i feel that i need 
> to intervene as probably the most avid gamer on this list..
>
> YOU ARE WRONG.
>
> I know that sounds harsh but im fed up with optimists trying to make 
> linux appear what it's not. It is completely pointless marketing Linux 
> as a gaming platform when graphics card drivers (both AMD/ATI and 
> Nvidia) are still so much lower in performance when compared to their 
> windows counter-parts. What you are running are cod2 and ET servers 
> which are of no interest to any gamer in Malta or anywhere. Games like 
> ET and CoD2 do NOT receive regular updates. ET hasn't received 
> anything for over a year and a half and the game is practically dead 
> in Malta except for a few stragglers who dont have enough cash to 
> upgrade their PCs. Don't get me wrong, I love both CoD2 and ET however 
> the fact remains that the games are neither taxing on the hardware or 
> recent. 
>
> Secondly, only two of the games you mentioned has native linux 
> binaries which means we will have to run them through an abstractions 
> layer like Cedega or worse WINE. If you have tried running any sort of 
> game through wine you'll know that performance is never as good as 
> it's windows counter part and is no winning point in the argument of 
> why gamers should change over to Linux. 
>
> Let me make a list:
>
> ET: Old and dying, none of the remaining tournaments are giving the 
> game much importance and too few clans are signing up, killing the 
> game even more. However this remains a good game that runs natively on 
> linux. 
> CoD2: No linux binaries and has to be run through an abstraction layer 
> resulting in lower performance and more problems (tried running cod2 
> original with teh cd check on anyone ?) Dead abroad, still alive in 
> malta. ( Time to move on, CoD5 has been released :O )
> Counter strike: I guess you mean 1.6 here which is very old (although 
> still one of the most played games around the world) however it has no 
> native linux binaries and steam support on linux has been sketchy at 
> teh very best (I would know I installed it) 
> Unreal: Which one ? I'm guessing you mean UT2K4 here which does have 
> Linux binaries but runs with lower performance than it's windows 
> counterpart (probably due to lack of good gfx drivers) Of course you 
> might mean UT3 for which we were promised native linux binaries but 
> were never released due to "legal issues" Also both games have really 
> no value in Malta and abroad. 
> Doom and Quake 1/2/3 and to an extent 4: they all share some version 
> of the same engine (a very old precursor in q1/2/3) and a more recent 
> one in q4 and doom3. Good games but dead in Malta. 
>
> WoW: It's funny, I installed WoW on my Linux and ran it.. It ran, for 
> around 30 seconds during which the game was slow and most if not all 
> of my graphics settings were reduced to a minimum. Try to target a mob 
> and it crashes. Love it
>
> So here I am, True Linux believer, evangelist and pure breed of Xion 
> (sorry scratch the last part)  but also a hardcore gamer, Manager of 
> Project Eversio (http://www.eversio.info/about_us.php) and organiser 
> and Server Administrator of several prominent LAN parties in Malta 
> telling you that trying to show off gaming on Linux right now is a 
> very bad idea. I should be at CampusLAN with my pc running Arch Linux 
> (If i get xserver to run well again :O ) and I do have ET installed ( 
> and i can get painkiller running also ) and we can test some of my 
> points if you wish. Accept Linux for what it is, a great desktop 
> system, but not a gaming OS; Not until we get proper up to scratch 
> drivers that run well on Linux, and good support from game producers 
> for OpenGL with native Linux binaries will we be able to show off 
> Linux as a gaming platform. 
>
> I rest my case and return to leveling my 71 orc Shaman.
>
>
> Mewt
>
>
> P.S. Sorry if I came out a bit strong, but i was stuck in a queue to 
> get into WoW and that's guaranteed to piss anyone off...
>
> On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 9:10 PM, Shawn Cassar <shawncas@... 
> <mailto:shawncas@...>> wrote:
>
>     First of all the games I mentioned aren't old games.
>      
>     In the company I work I'm one of the "heads" of our online gaming
>     department.  We have 3 servers (running CentOS Linux) specifically
>     for COD2 players and till today we were discussing to add another
>     virtual machine since we aren't even keeping up with the demand.
>      
>     Games like ET and COD2 have regular updates, and are highly sought
>     after.  My idea with the LAN Party is that - maltese gamers mostly
>     play COD2 and ET.  Foreign players tend to go more towards ET and
>     Counter Strike and Unreal.  And all these run native on Linux.
>      
>     Games like Doom and to a lesser extent Quake have lost their heat,
>     but it shouldn't be a problem getting those working.
>       ho run WoW and S
>     As for MMORPG I know many people wtar Wars Galaxies via WINE, and
>     EVE-Online has pseudo-native support through Cadega.
>      
>     The real hard part is getting a linux gaming rig in time for the
>     LAN Fest, assuming that ITSA executive committe members (not lan
>     admin committe like me, cause we are more or less helps) don't
>     mind...but I see Mr Marc Tanti is here so he could guide us :P
>      
>     In true madness spirit I sacrificed my Solaris Server (which I use
>     at home for self-learning mostly) and took out the HDD.  So, if
>     you want this PC has 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM, 2.66GHz Quad Core
>     CPU and an ATI HD 25xx something gfx.  If maybe during the lan
>     party we could get a > 160GB hdd we could even do a demo install
>     of linux and a particular FPS.
>      
>     We will further this discussion and other ideas at University on
>     Thursday hopefully, cause I don't want to trash the mailing list
>     (sorry :P  )
>      
>     Shawn
>
>     > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:14 +0100
>     > From: aragorn@... <mailto:aragorn@...>
>
>     > To: mlug-list@... <mailto:mlug-list@...>
>     > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT <http://linux.org.mt/>] Calling All
>     Uni Students
>     >
>     > Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't likely to
>     > impress users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the myth that
>     Linux
>     > cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a weakpoint
>     in Linux,
>     > or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)
>     >
>     > Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux,
>     which is a
>     > good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an
>     MMORPG or
>     > too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself though.
>     >
>     > Shawn Cassar wrote:
>     > > Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
>     > >
>     > > Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd)
>     there is
>     > > the ITSA Lan Fest. Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers
>     (and
>     > > SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA
>     committe
>     > > guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we can
>     do a
>     > > linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
>     > >
>     > > Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of gamers
>     and
>     > > kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems. Maybe if we
>     > > could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something
>     with a
>     > > 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few
>     games
>     > > (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and
>     "show off"
>     > > gaming on linux.
>     > >
>     > > I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
>     > >
>     > > Shawn
>     > >
>     > >
>     > >
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     > >
>     > > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
>     > > From: sebastiancachia@... <mailto:sebastiancachia@...>
>     > > To: mlug-list@... <mailto:mlug-list@...>
>     > > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT <http://linux.org.mt/>] Calling All
>     Uni Students
>     > >
>     > > Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that
>     (already).
>     > >
>     > >
>     > >
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     > > Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with
>     Windows Live
>     > > Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
>     > >
>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us
>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>>
>
>     > >
>     > >
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     > >
>     > > _______________________________________________
>     > > MLUG-list mailing list
>     > > MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>     > > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>     > >
>     >
>     > _______________________________________________
>     > MLUG-list mailing list
>     > MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>     > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows
>     Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     MLUG-list mailing list
>     MLUG-list@... <mailto:MLUG-list@...>
>     http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live 
> Spaces. It's easy! Try it! 
> <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us> 
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list@...
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>   
Anton Xuereb | 15 Nov 14:44

Re: Calling All Uni Students

I'll admit i came over a bit too strongly however all my points are valid and true none the less. You must consider yourself also some sort of gamer god cos you'r proud enough to not answer my points.

You talked about showing off linux's gaming capabilities when you would be running most if not all of your games through wine or cedega. I dont know what your involvement in the maltese gaming community is but I think i'm quite aware of what games that are currently being played. Take the games being played at campuslan next week and tell me which will run natively on linux. q3 and ut2k4, will run natively but they are both old and done with now...you'll go to the lan and see ppl sharing their images on the network in order to install the games (except maybe for gi an :P) since nearly no one plays them anymore.

I really cant see were i treated you as a lesser mortal, however I'v been using linux for more than 5 years now and have been into gaming for even longer and have tried endless combinations in order to get gaming on linux. Bottom line was always me keeping a windows installation just to play games. You can't have your game crashing or slowing down during a tournament match.

Mewt

On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 2:21 PM, Jean Azzopardi <aragorn-UKzjlUiH/9ZqaDWv6m70ww@public.gmane.org> wrote:
Can we all rein in our egos a lil` bit, and try and cooperate here? Both
of you are making valid points. If the games are not dead, then they're
certainly outdated - no one can deny that. Just because Anton has
problems with WoW doesn't mean WoW is problematic for every one.

Shawn Cassar wrote:
> Guess I have to intervene as well, cause if you really think you are
> the most avid gamer on the list, I'm sure you'd realise that most of
> what YOU have written is wrong.
>
> But, there is no point in me trying to correct you on several fronts,
> cause you thinking you are some kind of gamer god will make no difference.
>
> Suddenly I realise why I stopped using this mailing list a very long
> time ago.  Unfortunately with people with atitudes of yours will still
> keep seeing "us" as lesser mortals.
>
> Its time for me to unsubscribe once and for all now, and continue to
> enjoy playing many many games running NATIVELY on my linux rig (games
> which were described as dying/dead by you and also quite a few non-FPS
> games that are highly sought after) and also happily leveling my
> characters in various MMOs which according to you should crash in
> under 30 seconds via WINE.
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:41:08 +0100
> From: mewt.reaper-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
> To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
>
> I know im gonna sound like a real spoil-sport but i feel that i need
> to intervene as probably the most avid gamer on this list..
>
> YOU ARE WRONG.
>
> I know that sounds harsh but im fed up with optimists trying to make
> linux appear what it's not. It is completely pointless marketing Linux
> as a gaming platform when graphics card drivers (both AMD/ATI and
> Nvidia) are still so much lower in performance when compared to their
> windows counter-parts. What you are running are cod2 and ET servers
> which are of no interest to any gamer in Malta or anywhere. Games like
> ET and CoD2 do NOT receive regular updates. ET hasn't received
> anything for over a year and a half and the game is practically dead
> in Malta except for a few stragglers who dont have enough cash to
> upgrade their PCs. Don't get me wrong, I love both CoD2 and ET however
> the fact remains that the games are neither taxing on the hardware or
> recent.
>
> Secondly, only two of the games you mentioned has native linux
> binaries which means we will have to run them through an abstractions
> layer like Cedega or worse WINE. If you have tried running any sort of
> game through wine you'll know that performance is never as good as
> it's windows counter part and is no winning point in the argument of
> why gamers should change over to Linux.
>
> Let me make a list:
>
> ET: Old and dying, none of the remaining tournaments are giving the
> game much importance and too few clans are signing up, killing the
> game even more. However this remains a good game that runs natively on
> linux.
> CoD2: No linux binaries and has to be run through an abstraction layer
> resulting in lower performance and more problems (tried running cod2
> original with teh cd check on anyone ?) Dead abroad, still alive in
> malta. ( Time to move on, CoD5 has been released :O )
> Counter strike: I guess you mean 1.6 here which is very old (although
> still one of the most played games around the world) however it has no
> native linux binaries and steam support on linux has been sketchy at
> teh very best (I would know I installed it)
> Unreal: Which one ? I'm guessing you mean UT2K4 here which does have
> Linux binaries but runs with lower performance than it's windows
> counterpart (probably due to lack of good gfx drivers) Of course you
> might mean UT3 for which we were promised native linux binaries but
> were never released due to "legal issues" Also both games have really
> no value in Malta and abroad.
> Doom and Quake 1/2/3 and to an extent 4: they all share some version
> of the same engine (a very old precursor in q1/2/3) and a more recent
> one in q4 and doom3. Good games but dead in Malta.
>
> WoW: It's funny, I installed WoW on my Linux and ran it.. It ran, for
> around 30 seconds during which the game was slow and most if not all
> of my graphics settings were reduced to a minimum. Try to target a mob
> and it crashes. Love it
>
> So here I am, True Linux believer, evangelist and pure breed of Xion
> (sorry scratch the last part)  but also a hardcore gamer, Manager of
> Project Eversio (http://www.eversio.info/about_us.php) and organiser
> and Server Administrator of several prominent LAN parties in Malta
> telling you that trying to show off gaming on Linux right now is a
> very bad idea. I should be at CampusLAN with my pc running Arch Linux
> (If i get xserver to run well again :O ) and I do have ET installed (
> and i can get painkiller running also ) and we can test some of my
> points if you wish. Accept Linux for what it is, a great desktop
> system, but not a gaming OS; Not until we get proper up to scratch
> drivers that run well on Linux, and good support from game producers
> for OpenGL with native Linux binaries will we be able to show off
> Linux as a gaming platform.
>
> I rest my case and return to leveling my 71 orc Shaman.
>
>
> Mewt
>
>
> P.S. Sorry if I came out a bit strong, but i was stuck in a queue to
> get into WoW and that's guaranteed to piss anyone off...
>
> On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 9:10 PM, Shawn Cassar <shawncas-PkbjNfxxIARBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org
> <mailto:shawncas-PkbjNfxxIARBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org>> wrote:
>
>     First of all the games I mentioned aren't old games.
>
>     In the company I work I'm one of the "heads" of our online gaming
>     department.  We have 3 servers (running CentOS Linux) specifically
>     for COD2 players and till today we were discussing to add another
>     virtual machine since we aren't even keeping up with the demand.
>
>     Games like ET and COD2 have regular updates, and are highly sought
>     after.  My idea with the LAN Party is that - maltese gamers mostly
>     play COD2 and ET.  Foreign players tend to go more towards ET and
>     Counter Strike and Unreal.  And all these run native on Linux.
>
>     Games like Doom and to a lesser extent Quake have lost their heat,
>     but it shouldn't be a problem getting those working.
>       ho run WoW and S
>     As for MMORPG I know many people wtar Wars Galaxies via WINE, and
>     EVE-Online has pseudo-native support through Cadega.
>
>     The real hard part is getting a linux gaming rig in time for the
>     LAN Fest, assuming that ITSA executive committe members (not lan
>     admin committe like me, cause we are more or less helps) don't
>     mind...but I see Mr Marc Tanti is here so he could guide us :P
>
>     In true madness spirit I sacrificed my Solaris Server (which I use
>     at home for self-learning mostly) and took out the HDD.  So, if
>     you want this PC has 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM, 2.66GHz Quad Core
>     CPU and an ATI HD 25xx something gfx.  If maybe during the lan
>     party we could get a > 160GB hdd we could even do a demo install
>     of linux and a particular FPS.
>
>     We will further this discussion and other ideas at University on
>     Thursday hopefully, cause I don't want to trash the mailing list
>     (sorry :P  )
>
>     Shawn
>
>     > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:14 +0100
>     > From: aragorn-UKzjlUiH/9ZqaDWv6m70ww@public.gmane.org <mailto:aragorn-UKzjlUiH/9ZqaDWv6m70ww@public.gmane.org>
>
>     > To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org <mailto:mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org>
>     > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT <http://linux.org.mt/>] Calling All
>     Uni Students
>     >
>     > Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't likely to
>     > impress users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the myth that
>     Linux
>     > cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a weakpoint
>     in Linux,
>     > or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)
>     >
>     > Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux,
>     which is a
>     > good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an
>     MMORPG or
>     > too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself though.
>     >
>     > Shawn Cassar wrote:
>     > > Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
>     > >
>     > > Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd)
>     there is
>     > > the ITSA Lan Fest. Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers
>     (and
>     > > SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA
>     committe
>     > > guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we can
>     do a
>     > > linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
>     > >
>     > > Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of gamers
>     and
>     > > kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems. Maybe if we
>     > > could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something
>     with a
>     > > 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few
>     games
>     > > (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and
>     "show off"
>     > > gaming on linux.
>     > >
>     > > I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
>     > >
>     > > Shawn
>     > >
>     > >
>     > >
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     > >
>     > > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
>     > > From: sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org <mailto:sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>
>     > > To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org <mailto:mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org>
>     > > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT <http://linux.org.mt/>] Calling All
>     Uni Students
>     > >
>     > > Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that
>     (already).
>     > >
>     > >
>     > >
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     > > Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with
>     Windows Live
>     > > Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
>     > >
>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us
>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>>
>
>     > >
>     > >
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     > >
>     > > _______________________________________________
>     > > MLUG-list mailing list
>     > > MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org <mailto:MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org>
>     > > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>     > >
>     >
>     > _______________________________________________
>     > MLUG-list mailing list
>     > MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org <mailto:MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org>
>     > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows
>     Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
>     <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     MLUG-list mailing list
>     MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org <mailto:MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org>
>     http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live
> Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
> <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Sebastian Cachia | 15 Nov 14:39

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Marc, we are discussing the advantages and disadvantages of Linux as a whole, and not just Ubuntu. Having said that, if you find that a particular distro isn't working for you, you can always just try a different one. The possibilities are practically endless, but you could have a look at openSuse, Mandiva, Fedora, Slackware etc.. There is something for everyone.

I never really had a problem with multimedia in Linux, except for a few clashes caused by Compiz, so you could always try to check how things work with that turned off...

Regarding the flash sound problem, I agree with Jean that it is a pulseaudio problem. You could either google the subject and try and play around with things a little, or else just tell Ubuntu to revert back to ALSA for handling sound.

Again, as Jean said, GParted (or QtParted if youre into KDE) is the way to go. GParted provides an excelent live cd which is certainly something every IT person should have in their software collection.

And as Raphael and Jean said, don't take things so personally Shawn. It is true with all communities, but particularly with our sort of community, that there lots of opinions floating about, and some of us are vocal about them, and others not. Let's all try to keep things calm and focused on the point, promoting Linux!

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Anton Xuereb | 15 Nov 14:41

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Haven't read your fulll post marc but from what they guys are mentioning you need to install libflashsupport if it isn't installed. Should work wonders with pa and flash sound.

sudo apt-get install libflashsupport (if i recall correctly, dont use ubuntu much anymore)

On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 2:39 PM, Sebastian Cachia <sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote:
Marc, we are discussing the advantages and disadvantages of Linux as a whole, and not just Ubuntu. Having said that, if you find that a particular distro isn't working for you, you can always just try a different one. The possibilities are practically endless, but you could have a look at openSuse, Mandiva, Fedora, Slackware etc.. There is something for everyone.

I never really had a problem with multimedia in Linux, except for a few clashes caused by Compiz, so you could always try to check how things work with that turned off...

Regarding the flash sound problem, I agree with Jean that it is a pulseaudio problem. You could either google the subject and try and play around with things a little, or else just tell Ubuntu to revert back to ALSA for handling sound.

Again, as Jean said, GParted (or QtParted if youre into KDE) is the way to go. GParted provides an excelent live cd which is certainly something every IT person should have in their software collection.

And as Raphael and Jean said, don't take things so personally Shawn. It is true with all communities, but particularly with our sort of community, that there lots of opinions floating about, and some of us are vocal about them, and others not. Let's all try to keep things calm and focused on the point, promoting Linux!

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list


_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Keith Vassallo | 15 Nov 15:09
Favicon

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Gees,

He was only trying to make a point mate.

You CLEARLY have yet to meet anton face to face. I am 100% sure it was no personal insult.

Do remember the academic context in which Linux exists.

K

On 15 Nov 2008, at 13:47, Shawn Cassar <shawncas-PkbjNfxxIARBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org> wrote:

Guess I have to intervene as well, cause if you really think you are the most avid gamer on the list, I'm sure you'd realise that most of what YOU have written is wrong.
 
But, there is no point in me trying to correct you on several fronts, cause you thinking you are some kind of gamer god will make no difference.
 
Suddenly I realise why I stopped using this mailing list a very long time ago.  Unfortunately with people with atitudes of yours will still keep seeing "us" as lesser mortals.
 
Its time for me to unsubscribe once and for all now, and continue to enjoy playing many many games running NATIVELY on my linux rig (games which were described as dying/dead by you and also quite a few non-FPS games that are highly sought after) and also happily leveling my characters in various MMOs which according to you should crash in under 30 seconds via WINE.


 

Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:41:08 +0100
From: mewt.reaper-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students

I know im gonna sound like a real spoil-sport but i feel that i need to intervene as probably the most avid gamer on this list..

YOU ARE WRONG.

I know that sounds harsh but im fed up with optimists trying to make linux appear what it's not. It is completely pointless marketing Linux as a gaming platform when graphics card drivers (both AMD/ATI and Nvidia) are still so much lower in performance when compared to their windows counter-parts. What you are running are cod2 and ET servers which are of no interest to any gamer in Malta or anywhere. Games like ET and CoD2 do NOT receive regular updates. ET hasn't received anything for over a year and a half and the game is practically dead in Malta except for a few stragglers who dont have enough cash to upgrade their PCs. Don't get me wrong, I love both CoD2 and ET however the fact remains that the games are neither taxing on the hardware or recent. 

Secondly, only two of the games you mentioned has native linux binaries which means we will have to run them through an abstractions layer like Cedega or worse WINE. If you have tried running any sort of game through wine you'll know that performance is never as good as it's windows counter part and is no winning point in the argument of why gamers should change over to Linux. 

Let me make a list:

ET: Old and dying, none of the remaining tournaments are giving the game much importance and too few clans are signing up, killing the game even more. However this remains a good game that runs natively on linux. 
CoD2: No linux binaries and has to be run through an abstraction layer resulting in lower performance and more problems (tried running cod2 original with teh cd check on anyone ?) Dead abroad, still alive in malta. ( Time to move on, CoD5 has been released :O )
Counter strike: I guess you mean 1.6 here which is very old (although still one of the most played games around the world) however it has no native linux binaries and steam support on linux has been sketchy at teh very best (I would know I installed it) 
Unreal: Which one ? I'm guessing you mean UT2K4 here which does have Linux binaries but runs with lower performance than it's windows counterpart (probably due to lack of good gfx drivers) Of course you might mean UT3 for which we were promised native linux binaries but were never released due to "legal issues" Also both games have really no value in Malta and abroad. 
Doom and Quake 1/2/3 and to an extent 4: they all share some version of the same engine (a very old precursor in q1/2/3) and a more recent one in q4 and doom3. Good games but dead in Malta. 

WoW: It's funny, I installed WoW on my Linux and ran it.. It ran, for around 30 seconds during which the game was slow and most if not all of my graphics settings were reduced to a minimum. Try to target a mob and it crashes. Love it

So here I am, True Linux believer, evangelist and pure breed of Xion (sorry scratch the last part)  but also a hardcore gamer, Manager of Project Eversio (http://www.eversio.info/about_us.php) and organiser and Server Administrator of several prominent LAN parties in Malta telling you that trying to show off gaming on Linux right now is a very bad idea. I should be at CampusLAN with my pc running Arch Linux (If i get xserver to run well again :O ) and I do have ET installed ( and i can get painkiller running also ) and we can test some of my points if you wish. Accept Linux for what it is, a great desktop system, but not a gaming OS; Not until we get proper up to scratch drivers that run well on Linux, and good support from game producers for OpenGL with native Linux binaries will we be able to show off Linux as a gaming platform. 

I rest my case and return to leveling my 71 orc Shaman.


Mewt


P.S. Sorry if I came out a bit strong, but i was stuck in a queue to get into WoW and that's guaranteed to piss anyone off...

On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 9:10 PM, Shawn Cassar <shawncas-PkbjNfxxIARBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org> wrote:
First of all the games I mentioned aren't old games.
 
In the company I work I'm one of the "heads" of our online gaming department.  We have 3 servers (running CentOS Linux) specifically for COD2 players and till today we were discussing to add another virtual machine since we aren't even keeping up with the demand.
 
Games like ET and COD2 have regular updates, and are highly sought after.  My idea with the LAN Party is that - maltese gamers mostly play COD2 and ET.  Foreign players tend to go more towards ET and Counter Strike and Unreal.  And all these run native on Linux.
 
Games like Doom and to a lesser extent Quake have lost their heat, but it shouldn't be a problem getting those working.
  ho run WoW and S
As for MMORPG I know many people wtar Wars Galaxies via WINE, and EVE-Online has pseudo-native support through Cadega.
 
The real hard part is getting a linux gaming rig in time for the LAN Fest, assuming that ITSA executive committe members (not lan admin committe like me, cause we are more or less helps) don't mind...but I see Mr Marc Tanti is here so he could guide us :P
 
In true madness spirit I sacrificed my Solaris Server (which I use at home for self-learning mostly) and took out the HDD.  So, if you want this PC has 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM, 2.66GHz Quad Core CPU and an ATI HD 25xx something gfx.  If maybe during the lan party we could get a > 160GB hdd we could even do a demo install of linux and a particular FPS.
 
We will further this discussion and other ideas at University on Thursday hopefully, cause I don't want to trash the mailing list (sorry :P  )
 
Shawn

> Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:14 +0100
> From: aragorn-UKzjlUiH/9ZqaDWv6m70ww@public.gmane.org

> To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
>
> Problem is...that "showing off" old games really isn't likely to
> impress users, isn't it? Sure, it's a rebuttal to the myth that Linux
> cannot play any games at all, but it still exposes a weakpoint in Linux,
> or a lack of quality - as you prefer ;)
>
> Still, at least you can still get your gaming fix on Linux, which is a
> good thing. I also suggest Doom 3, Quake 4, Quake 3, maybe an MMORPG or
> too..WoW should also run on wine - never tried it myself though.
>
> Shawn Cassar wrote:
> > Yep, agree on that, excellent idea.
> >
> > Also, it just struck me, the following weekend (21st - 23rd) there is
> > the ITSA Lan Fest. Basically taking the idea of Ubuntu gamers (and
> > SuSE gamers as well :P ) maybe we can ask some of the ITSA committe
> > guys (in theory I'm part of the admin committe) so that we can do a
> > linux install fest/linux gaming during the lan fest.
> >
> > Would be a great opportunity to actually get an idea of gamers and
> > kind of games they would rather see on *nix systems. Maybe if we
> > could get an average gaming rig (nothing big, even something with a
> > 1.6GHz and a 7200 GFX agp) and put linux on it, install a few games
> > (such as ET, COD2, Unreal which run natively on linux) and "show off"
> > gaming on linux.
> >
> > I'll try to bring it up during the meeting.
> >
> > Shawn
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:03:19 +0100
> > From: sebastiancachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org
> > To: mlug-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> > Subject: Re: [LINUX.ORG.MT] Calling All Uni Students
> >
> > Yep that would also be a good possibility, I forgot about that (already).
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live
> > Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
> > <http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us>
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > MLUG-list mailing list
> > MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list


Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list



Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!
_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list-Xh+NVF5n0LJfAicPTznUKg@public.gmane.org
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Sebastian Cachia | 19 Nov 00:05

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Hi all,

Back to the original reason behind this thread,

Next Thur, 20th Nov 2008, at 12:00 I will be waiting outside of the Library. At 12:10 I will be leaving together with whoever turns up. Depending on the amount of students who turn up (i.e. if somehow my expectations are wrong and a number of students turn up) and depending on weather conditions, we will either be going up to the group area of the library and try and get ourselves a few armchairs or a piece of carpet, or alternatively find an area outdoors close by.

I would appreciate some sort of indication if anybody intends to attend. Either use sebcachia-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org, or in the spirit of openness, make use of this list.

Thanks, and hope to see a good handful of students tomorrow (as its currently just past midnight)

Seb

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Sebastian Cachia | 19 Nov 11:46

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Hi all,
Update: The time has been changed to 2pm. Anyone interested in joining in please contact me.

_______________________________________________
MLUG-list mailing list
MLUG-list@...
http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
Jean Azzopardi | 19 Nov 15:25

Re: Calling All Uni Students

Hi Seb, I'll probably come along, with my laptop this time.

Sebastian Cachia wrote:
> Hi all,
> Update: The time has been changed to 2pm. Anyone interested in joining 
> in please contact me.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> MLUG-list mailing list
> MLUG-list@...
> http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
>   

Gmane