bonjour, and welcome to the introduction of me

[Tyrel]

As is often the case, I wondered where to put such a thing as an introduction. However, as I have a question to ask, I figured it would be ok to put here, and that perhaps if I am in the wrong for creating this thread here, the authorities might show mercy and forgive a simple newb.


Ok, here's the thing. I grew up on Mac, and used them easily most of the time throughout highschool. However, I have only ever owned PC's and I am admittedly a fan of Windows. I am used to getting computer things for free one way or another. I'm not particularly computer savy at all, but somehow I always managed to get free stuff. I suppose I was just at the right times and right places. For example the win98 PC with monitor keyboard and laptop that my highschool decided I was cool enough to have, but gave it to me in secret for no reason other than because some people knew me. Also, my first laptop was an HP running XP pro which I much enjoyed. It was second hand and was being thrown out. It lasted me just over a year. Then I got a really old Laptop running Win ME, which is the worst computer experience I've ever had.


About a year ago, I got my Dell laptop, and actually spent money on it {though I got an amazing deal through the company I worked for over the summer}. Now, my problem was that I really wanted Word2003. Then somebody mentioned something about Openoffice, and I was thrown into the world of Opensource. Recently, a friend has left me with a tower, probably a year or two behind the times by now. However, I just got 1 gig of ram for it {and a friend is offering to trade my 1 gig for his 2 gigs.. which is a long story}, and two harddrives for free, one 80 gigs, and the other 40 gigs.

The Idea here is the emphasis on free. I am a fan of free, and I am a fan of Open source philosophy. However, I am really not a knowledgeable user at all. I can't build a computer from scratch, nor do I know enough about Computers.


Now, recently, with this new computer, a friend talked me into checking out LInux, which I was sort of sceptical of, but thought it was worth checking out at least. I youtubed it and my jaw hit the floor. I have been trying to learn as much as I can, but it's a little difficult because I'm not in any way a techy, and I am not even really computer literate.

So, here's the thing; with my Dell laptop, I got addicted to the world of gaming. Far Cry, Fear, Warcraft III, and others.

I have a load of questions about LInux, but my first, is concerning something I heard most recently, and can't seem to be able to find. I searched through your forums, and found only two threads, which weren't very clear.

Is there a way to run games such as far cry, on a linux, for free? I mean, for example, does Virtualbox require you to have windows?

basically, I'm looking for a way to be sure I can play games such as far cry, and fear, for free. I have heard about windows emulators, which are supposedly open source. My goal it to obtain a free and legal emulator which will allow me to simply play games, all while having LInux.

I know this was long and I apologize for that. Please, can somebody give me a real and comprehensive answer, or redirect me?

[matonb]

Most of the game titles you mention are for windows and no they won't work on Linux nativley. You could proably get them to run using wine or some other windows emulator, but I doubt they would run very well.

As for the free part, No you'd still have to buy the games.

[Tyrel]

No, I think you missed the point. I want a free emulator. I know it won't run natively on Windows. That's why I'm asking for an emulator, and wondering which ones are available, and which are the best.

Please, be clear, concise, and actually read what I wrote before responding

[Cabhan]

Even if matonb missed some of the specific details of your question, he was trying to help, which you might keep in mind before replying somewhat harshly.

In any event, there are several options. The most common Windows emulator is called WINE (stands for "WINE Is Not an Emulator"). It attempts to provide the Windows libraries, allowing for Windows applications to run on Linux. It is far from flawless, though if an application works through WINE, it tends to run fairly well. The WINE homepage is at:
Wine HQ

They also have a database of applications reported to work with WINE at:
Wine Application DB - Wine Application Database

The second major option is called Cedega. It is an early fork of the WINE project that focuses particularly on gaming. It is subscription-based ($5/month), though all that the subscription allows for is the downloading of the program and receipt of updates. This means that even if you stop your subscription, you can still use Cedega, it just doesn't get updated.

Anyway, because Cedega charges money, they have been able to provide support for CD copy protection, and some other things that WINE has had to hack through. Also, Cedega has been somewhat more successful at the implementation of DirectX (the Windows graphics libraries). Finally, because they charge, many popular games are particularly supported, meaning that Cedega is guaranteed to work with those games.

The Cedega homepage is at:
Cedega.com - Home of TransGaming's Cedega - Play Windows games on Linux

Cedega also has a Games Database, viewable at:
Cedega Games Database


A final reminder is that these are NOT flawless. If you are a hardcore gamer, you might consider dual-booting (where Linux and Windows are installed on the same computer), so that you can play your games natively.

[Tyrel]

Thank you kindly for your reply. It is informative.

I'd also like to take a second and apologize to matonb if my reply was harsh or insulting. I do appreciate the help. oh, and the second part of that my previous post, which I should have made clear, was not directed at matonb in particular, but to everyone reading. It does come out sounding very harsh though. Much more than I intended. Oh well, matonb; I'm sorry.

I would like to know more about running both Linux and Windows at the same time. Which operating system provides the interface? Is there a way to choose? Are there pros and cons to choosing one interface over another?


Also, I'd like to ask if there are any other emulators out there. Also, I'd still like to know if virtual box acts as an emulator, or if it requires you to have windows.

Thanks for all of the info thus far.

[techieMoe]

I would like to know more about running both Linux and Windows at the same time. Which operating system provides the interface? Is there a way to choose? Are there pros and cons to choosing one interface over another?

The process by which you install both Linux and MS Windows on one machine is called dual-booting. Neither operating system has to be aware of the other. You choose which operating system you want when you boot your computer and it runs that one. To change OSes, you reboot and choose the other.

This is not the same as running one OS inside of the other like with an emulator. Both operating systems run natively, by themselves, and you cannot run them at the same time.

Also, I'd like to ask if there are any other emulators out there. Also, I'd still like to know if virtual box acts as an emulator, or if it requires you to have windows.

First of all you need to realize there's a difference between WINE (the suggestion made by Cabhan) and an emulator. WINE translates the Microsoft Windows Executable code into something Linux can use, and it does it real-time. You do not need or use any installation of the Microsoft Window OS.

An emulator creates a virtual machine with virtual hardware and an installation of Microsoft Windows that runs inside of it. This MS Windows then runs your software.

The upside to running a dual-boot machine is that all your games in MS Windows will run exactly the same as if you were running only Windows. There is no performance difference since your computer isn't really aware that another OS exists on your harddrive so MS Windows will chug along just fine.

The downside is that in order to swap between Linux and MS Windows you will need to reboot. This is not an issue with emulators or WINE. However WINE and especially emulation software will not run 3D games like you listed very well. Virtual machine software will not run 3D games at all, and WINE is kind of hit or miss. Some will work, some won't.

My suggestion is that you set up a dual-boot machine and boot into Microsoft Windows when you want to play your games, and boot into Linux for everything else.

[Tyrel]

Hmm.. I suppose that would be best. The point here, more than anything else, is to get a completely free computer to help others see what they can basically get for free.

If I were splurging money on this, I would go for dual-OS. For me, it's simply that I now have a fully functional computer ready to go, and wanted to load Linux, and in so doing, present it to others so that they can understand that free doesn't mean low quality. I already know about live.linux-gamers.net

However, I was hoping I could make a point by playing known games which aren't poor quality. Or at least which people are familiar with.

Thanks for all your help so far.

[Freston]

Well, games often cost money. Ya can play WoW on Linux
, but you'll need the (Windows) game to do so.

Otherwise, you can try games like Sauerbraten, Urban Terror or FlightGear, these are all free.

[Cabhan]

Right. Well even something like VirtualBox requires that you own Windows. What products such as VirtualBox or VMWare do is to essentially abstract all of your hardware, allowing the program to make a "new" computer. You would then install Windows on this "new" computer, which runs inside the existing computer and operating system. As techieMoe said, this does involve a performance hit (as the guest OS is running through resources that are already supporting the original OS and all of its programs).

It really does depend on which games you want to play. I have successfully played Warcraft III, Diablo II, Starcraft, World of Warcraft, and several other MMORPGs through a combination of Cedega and WINE. However, Evil Genius, for example, does not work at all.

The basic rule is this: if you want to run Linux, but would like to have access to a few Windows programs, then WINE may work great for you. If you need to run Windows programs, there is no better solution than Windows. I wish that it was all free and usable from Linux, but with the exception of a few games (Doom 3, Neverwinter Nights, Savage, EVE Online, ...), most commercial games simply are not designed with Linux in mind.

[Tyrel]

Well, that's fair enough. I just wonder if playing Far Cry, Fear, or Oblivion will work with either emulators mentioned thus far. If not, it's no great loss, as I have this computer.