Games Based Linux Distro
Author
Hi, I thought I''d post this to try and generate some interest, and get some opinions.
To cut a long story short, a bunch of people think that a games based linux ditro on a live cd (eg put it in and it boots linux, without screwing up your windows install) would be a killer way to promote linux, and provide a standard for linux based gaming (no more dependancy hell) so that game developers have an easier time developing for linux. Obviously this cd would need to have at least one killer game on it... and an exclusive one if at all possible.
Anybody feel like contributing?
heres the story that started it all:
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/44081.htm
and the ensuing slashdot discussion:
http://games.slashdot.org/games/04/03/15/194203.shtml?tid=106&tid=127&tid=185&tid=186
and finally the site of the project itself:
www.gbld.net
bear in mind the project''s just started and is in the very early talking stages - which is great if you''d like to be involved as its easy to get people to listen, but bad if you just wanna play it now!
Where exactly would you install the game?
I''m more in favor of using ZipSlack or some other UMSDOS based distro, so that you can simply install it on a Windows partition.
I''m more in favor of using ZipSlack or some other UMSDOS based distro, so that you can simply install it on a Windows partition.
quote:Original post by Promit
Where exactly would you install the game?
you wouldn''t install the game. the game would be pre-loaded on the CD i''d imagine. or you''d have multiple CDs with games on them. the idea being that the original cd boots you to a linux desktop and lets you muck around on your machine as if it had a full linux install. it''s just a decent marketing approach to gettin you to try linux because the incentive is high -> play some cool games, and the cost is low -> you don''t have to do a linux install before you play the games.
-me
sounds like a great idea. bring on the linux gaming !
ps. groklaw.net started it all
[edited by - clayasaurus on March 19, 2004 10:32:43 PM]
[edited by - clayasaurus on March 19, 2004 10:33:44 PM]
ps. groklaw.net started it all
[edited by - clayasaurus on March 19, 2004 10:32:43 PM]
[edited by - clayasaurus on March 19, 2004 10:33:44 PM]
A games-based distro would be neat, and a good marketing platform.
I''m curious, as I''ve not experienced this personally, what dependency hell?
quote:Original post by mrbastard
and provide a standard for linux based gaming (no more dependancy hell)
I''m curious, as I''ve not experienced this personally, what dependency hell?
linux uses the unix principle of distibuted work. this means you don''t include all the code and functionalty into your app. you''ve got for example libraries dealing with jpegs, drawing, opengl and so forth. so for even the most simplistic task you''ve got some library doing the job.
unfortunatly this forces the user/distro to watch for those dependencies on libraries and make them available (and you have to look for the correct version of the lib and so on).
dependency hell is if you want to install an app and you can''t run it cause you miss a library or you have it in another version.
you will know this if you once installed an LFS on your machine and have compiled/installed the entire system from ground up
unfortunatly this forces the user/distro to watch for those dependencies on libraries and make them available (and you have to look for the correct version of the lib and so on).
dependency hell is if you want to install an app and you can''t run it cause you miss a library or you have it in another version.
you will know this if you once installed an LFS on your machine and have compiled/installed the entire system from ground up
I thought something like this was done, called Knoppix 
(wasn''t exactly based on games though, but has the functionality for it)
(wasn''t exactly based on games though, but has the functionality for it)
So to play a game you''d need to reboot your computer? And then to get back to work, you''d need to reboot again? Interrupting all those background processes and services? What a waste.
(This is the model that used to be employed by consoles. A reset was a reboot, and the game cart was part of the system. Even consoles have basic OSes built in these days, though, with the game being executed via a loader. Why would you choose an anachronism like this?)
Linux is not desktop-ready. If it was, you wouldn''t need such absurd promotional schemes.
(This is the model that used to be employed by consoles. A reset was a reboot, and the game cart was part of the system. Even consoles have basic OSes built in these days, though, with the game being executed via a loader. Why would you choose an anachronism like this?)
Linux is not desktop-ready. If it was, you wouldn''t need such absurd promotional schemes.
This sort of system could be used to make and opengl game console kinda like the xbox. Sounds like an awsom idea
What the problem with rebooting a computer to play a game? A properly configured Linux system will boot in 5-10 seconds, your game would load immeadiately after that a. You could save data to a USB stick or ZIP Drive. Your effectively turning a PC into a console. Internet kisosks and multimedia kiosks already do this. you could build a very powerful arcade machine this way.
I recently gave up on Windows all together, because I got sick of XP not being able to do anything usful. A distro like SuSE or Mandrake is desktop ready and a breeze to configure.
[edited by - pkelly83 on March 21, 2004 4:32:01 AM]
I recently gave up on Windows all together, because I got sick of XP not being able to do anything usful. A distro like SuSE or Mandrake is desktop ready and a breeze to configure.
[edited by - pkelly83 on March 21, 2004 4:32:01 AM]
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