Top 25 Linux 3D Games

[KC9ECI]

Top 25 Linux 3D Games (http://freeonlinefun.blogspot.com/2007/12/top-25-linux-3d-games.html)


I think I'm going to be playing some games later!

[k4avl]

Yes, there are quite a few games for Linux and some ports to Linux of Windows games as well. Some of these (as you mention the term "3D") require you to have a hardware card capable of graphics acceleration. Most Linux distros support 2d and VGA,etc., displays out of the box, but often you may need to install drivers to get true 3D, such as the Direct-X type performance Windows provides. The very first 3D card supported in Linux back in the earlier days (I believe) was the Voodoo cards (3dfx drivers), and then came the NVidia drivers, but many distros do not include that by default, you have to get the driver from NVidia, yet again some distros do have that in their "non-free" areas if you have a source selection for pulling in binaries. I used to play around with this stuff a lot more than I do now, so I may be a bit out of date. The Radeon cards & Radeon Mobility were more of a latecomer to the game, but I do believe they have newer & better 3d drivers for Linux now, supplied as a shell script (as with NVidia), but you may need to compile them against your kernel, thus need your kernel headers installed, etc.
For Sis, Intel onboard, and other generic video chips that come on your motherboard already, you may not be so lucky.

As far as games go, your link is a good one, and there are more.
Games like Doom and 2 or 3 others which escape me (I'm not much of a gamer) have Linux ports.

If you do have 3d enabled on your box, the place the go is transgaming.com, you can get a new version of their app "Cedega" and it's a gamers version of WINE, which will allow you to install windows games from CD, and it's only like $30 for a 6 month membership, but you can run any versions you download during that time forever, they won't expire if you keep a backup.

[kf6rdn]

Damn I broke my windows partition trying to make more space on my linux partition!
DOH!

[W1GUH]

The Battlestar Galactica looked inviting....here's the requirements:

System Requirements for Linux:
Operating System: Linux x86 compatible
CPU: Pentium 1 GHz or AMD Athlon 800 MHz processor
Memory: 512 MB RAM, 1 GB recommended
Graphics Card: 64 MB NVIDIA GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon with closed source drivers, Mesa 6 or better with S3TC extension available for open source drivers
Input Device: Mouse and keyboard
Installation: 750 MB free HD space

I've got that, except for WTF?

Memory: 512 MB RAM, 1 GB recommended
Graphics Card: 64 MB NVIDIA GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon with closed source drivers,

What does "closed source drivers" mean? Does that apply to both the NVIDIA and the ATI? If I attempt to run this game, how long should I expect to spend on the 'net finding out why it doesn't work?

[k4avl]

Closed source drivers are provided (by the hardware manufacturers NVidia/ATI) in binary form, usually as a shell script, and actually perform quite well, a lot easier to install than the mesa/glide drivers, and more up to date.
They do not offer the source code, and usually are not included in any distro, but they are offered at no cost and need to be installed manually. Often, you will still need to have at least the kernel headers installed to use these.