Viewing topic Discussion about featuring classic games that can be run on Linux

Title: Discussion about featuring classic games that can be run on Linux

km3k 1 Dec 2016

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GOL has a number of articles on open source game engines that can run classic games on Linux and there's a wiki article listing some of these game engines. However, I wonder if there would be interest in a series of articles (or wiki articles) about getting specific games running in these open source engines. The focus would be on the game using the open source engine, rather than just the engine itself. Would you be interested in such a thing?

I maintain a [guide to running Zork games on modern operating systems (including Linux)](https://www.thezorklibrary.com/installguides) at [the Zork Library](https://www.thezorklibrary.com), so I have some experience with this idea. I'm imagining each article features a classic game and shows screenshots of the game on Linux as well as instructions on running it in an open source engine. It would then conclude with more info about the open source engine, its authors and how people can contribute to that engine. Does this sound like a good idea? Maybe it could be a recurring series of articles on GOL.

I have experience with running Zork games on ScummVM and Gargoyle, Heroes of Might and Magic III on VCMI, numerous games on ScummVM, and Grim Fandango on ResidualVM, among others. However, it might be most useful to focus on games that aren't otherwise available on Linux, so I probably wouldn't do one for Grim Fandango.

Thoughts?

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starsaboveus 1 Dec 2016

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As someone who doesn't take interest in most games that are released these days (barring the indie titles that are always popping up, of course), I'd love to see coverage for more games released in the 90s-to-mid-naughties that can be played on Linux, but I don't mind games from any era, honestly. It's always cool just to read stories about old games from people who played them when they were more "relevant" in their respective eras. :D

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badber 1 Dec 2016

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Yeah, I'd be interested in this. It would be nice if this covered things like how to get the best audio whether it is MT-32 or general MIDI or just plain Adlib and what is the version that has the best graphics (this isn't always the one that uses the most advanced standard, I'd argue for the EGA version of Loom being the best for example) and other features.

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Liam Dawe 1 Dec 2016

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I would welcome such articles :)

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tuubi 1 Dec 2016

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Good idea. Please go for it.

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km3k 1 Dec 2016

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Quoting: badberIt would be nice if this covered things like how to get the best audio whether it is MT-32 or general MIDI or just plain Adlib and what is the version that has the best graphics (this isn't always the one that uses the most advanced standard, I'd argue for the EGA version of Loom being the best for example) and other features.

That's a good idea. The articles could cover how each well version of the game is supported, the differences between versions and which version is considered best.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I think I'll try to stick to games that are still purchasable (like on GOG) since those would be of most use to readers that don't already own the game. The article could go over how to extract files from the GOG installer without Wine.

Quoting: liamdaweI would welcome such articles :)

Great! I was hoping to get your ok on this. :)

I think I'll get started with Zork Grand Inquisitor and Heroes of Might and Magic III since I know those the best. Return to Zork would be a good one since there's a number of versions and the best (and rarest) version actually isn't playable anywhere these days, so I could have a call to action in there. Beyond that, I think I'd like to cover a mix of some lesser known games supported by ScummVM (but Loom is a good pick too and I still need to finish it) and some of the other game engines listed in the GOL wiki. ScummVM supports so much, so I won't run out of games for it anytime soon!

Any thoughts on a title for the series of articles?

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tuubi 1 Dec 2016

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Quoting: km3kAny thoughts on a title for the series of articles?

GOLden oldies?

I'll show myself out.

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km3k 1 Dec 2016

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Maybe I should take a look at Neverwinter Nights first given that it's free at GOG right now. I'll see if I can get it working tonight.

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Redface 1 Dec 2016

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Quoting: km3kMaybe I should take a look at Neverwinter Nights first given that it's free at GOG right now. I'll see if I can get it working tonight.

That would be awesome, thanks for that in advance

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slaapliedje 2 Dec 2016

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I have bought so many copies of NwN.... already have both on GoG, sadly lost my save game that I had been working on for years... but yes, getting it running right was quite a chore, though it is easy in Arch, since some kind soul created a PKGBUILD file for aur. I need to start over and play through the campaign finally... GoL server? Ha!

Also if you end up writing an article about that, maybe include some mention of the mods, which make that game epic. So sad NwN 2 was never ported, we should see if we can get Obsidian to do it, since they did port KOTOR 2...

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oldrocker99 2 Dec 2016

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OpenMW works like a charm for me; it found my Morrowind installation and runs just fine. It's fun to get back into the game which some aficionados consider the best of the Elder Scrolls games.

As far as Neverwinter Nights :wub: goes, I've been playing the native Linux client for eight years ;) , and I still occasionally play it. Runs like a charm; you do have to lower-case all the HAK :><: files except the official ones. Of course, it's a closed-source client.

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km3k 8 Dec 2016

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I'm not going to get a chance to take the time to dive into Neverwinter as it deserves, so I'll start with something else instead.

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Ray54 8 Dec 2016

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I like to play many older games that I originally bought for Windows 95/98 on Linux, but some of my collection I have never got working under 64bit Linux, so I would like to see your articles. However, to provide information on getting games working that are not covered by existing well-known web sites, like the ScummVM site and the Play on Linux site, will be difficult. One particular aspect I think you could cover is that many existing solutions seem to be for 32bit Linux, but as per Liam's recent stats almost all the people on this site now use 64bit Linux.

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km3k 8 Dec 2016

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My initial articles will likely be "well-known" solutions. The aim of the articles is more to feature combinations of games and solutions people might not be aware of. I want these articles to use solutions that are cross-distribution and cross-architecture as much as possible, as well as not being overly cumbersome to use. One of the reasons I'm holding off on Neverwinter Nights for now is that most of the solutions are Debian/Ubuntu-specific. Could I get it working elsewhere? Yep. But I'm not interested in inventing my own solutions at this point. I'd like the articles to get some momentum first. That said, I will cover potential pitfalls and previous difficulties that are faced with these games where applicable.

Edit: If anyone has suggestions for games to feature, I can consider them for future articles.

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