View Full Version : possible port of orange box?
gord allott
04-19-2008, 12:31 PM
Today something strange happened in an irc channel i frequent, thought i would share it:
http://gordallott.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/big-games-devloper-valve-porting-huge-game-series-half-life-2-orange-box-to-linux-possibly/
any thoughts? i mean to me it sounds ligitimate but im not sure... the irc person on his own isn't much but with the job description and the fact that the irc guy was around for 3 mins or so with no trolling just giving out an email and the link to the job description..
If I remember correctly, I have visited the link to Valve's job page a few months ago and there was only something about "porting applications to other platforms", but nothing as clear as "Port Windows-based games to the Linux platform."
If this is true, then Valve once again shows that it's definitly one of the best game developer companies there is. Hopefully they (in case they will) port the older games (HL2/CSS, maybe even HL1) to Linux aswell.
Thetargos
04-23-2008, 02:15 AM
Actually in the original posts about this job announcement there was the mention of porting not only apps, but games too.
From http://www.omgpcgames.com/content/view/45/37/ :
This interview with Vince Desi, the CEO for Running With Scissors, seems to further confirm steam & source are coming to linux....
" As a developer the most important element of an engine is stability. The Valve Source engine provides stability, for single player and multiplayer, also they provide excellent support. As POSTAL III is its own unique game, we are doing a lot of custom coding, so it’s better for us to know what we have to work with from the start. And STEAM is a major plus. "
OMG! PC Games: What systems will Postal III be released on?
Vince Desi: "Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Mac and Linux."
I have a sneaking suspicion that valve was holding back ut3 so that it can release ut3, orange box and pennyarcade with the steam client linux launch....
Malikith
05-06-2008, 01:32 AM
I have a sneaking suspicion that valve was holding back ut3 so that it can release ut3, orange box and pennyarcade with the steam client linux launch....
Well if thats the truth that would be HUGE. Those releases alone would be the huge stepping stones needed to really put Linux where we have always hoped it to be as a gaming platform. Of course I will not hold my breath but I already own a copy of The Orange Box, so playing Team Fortress 2 in Linux natively would be very very cool.
Well if thats the truth that would be HUGE. Those releases alone would be the huge stepping stones needed to really put Linux where we have always hoped it to be as a gaming platform. Of course I will not hold my breath but I already own a copy of The Orange Box, so playing Team Fortress 2 in Linux natively would be very very cool.
well penny arcade has definitely been confirmed for linux http://www.hotheadgames.com/pa.php ... and its advertised on steam....
but it will also be distributed for linux via greenhouse http://www.playgreenhouse.com/ ....
xav1r
05-06-2008, 02:53 AM
Damn Valve, holding back linux ut3. >P
Awesome news @hmmm, if your theory is truth then we've got the most important gaming platform under Linux!
Michael
05-06-2008, 09:29 AM
Awesome news @hmmm, if your theory is truth
I can tell you right now it's not theory but fact... I'll have a news posting once I can get double confirmation on it.
I can tell you right now it's not theory but fact... I'll have a news posting once I can get double confirmation on it.
Holy *censored* *beep* *censored* shit :D
wt....noad thats awesome :)
hope this doesn't hit wine development hard though.
I also hope we don't have an additional charge for games previously purchased (to use the linux ports).
incidentally icculus hinted at the weighted companion cube (source) ages ago in an older finger http://icculus.org/cgi-bin/finger/finger.pl?user=icculus&date=2007-12-18&time=13-17-00
judgn by postal 3 n pennyarcade, it might jst be tht steam is coming 2 mac as well...
marakaid
05-06-2008, 11:24 AM
Michael, what do you need to confirm:
1. Steam with UT3 and Orange Box? or
2. Steam with UT3 only?
marakaid
05-06-2008, 12:36 PM
wt....noad thats awesome :)
hope this doesn't hit wine development hard though.
I also hope we don't have an additional charge for games previously purchased (to use the linux ports).
incidentally icculus hinted at the weighted companion cube (source) ages ago in an older finger http://icculus.org/cgi-bin/finger/finger.pl?user=icculus&date=2007-12-18&time=13-17-00
judgn by postal 3 n pennyarcade, it might jst be tht steam is coming 2 mac as well...
I think it could be beneficial to Wine project, not needing to fix things to get Steam working because there is a native client, is a time and effort saving.
well I'm thinking that development might slow - Steam is the MOST VOTED application on crossover (with Orange Box #9) http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/toplists/ .... I'm still treating this as speculation until Michael/Valve/Icculus/Epic (pick one) give us an official confirmation (hopefully accompanied by an apology for delaying ut3 n keeping us in the dark) :D
ZedDB
05-06-2008, 01:01 PM
I can't wait! :D
Malikith
05-06-2008, 06:19 PM
Wow, uh.. Yeah thats all pretty awesome. I would highly doubt Valve would charge us for a Linux version of the Orange box if we already own the Orange Box though. I think when you would load up Steam on Linux you would probably just get a list of the games that are available under Linux and it might just grey out the others that aren't on Linux yet you have them for Windows.
Who knows, all I know is if this all pans out the way we hope, Valve will probably become my new favorite game development company. Plus with Steam we'll finally have some real statistics on who is running Linux.
deanjo
05-06-2008, 06:38 PM
It would in effect pretty much kill crossover's game version of their product.
Of course if everything started coming out in a native client I can't say I would shed a tear to see Wine die a quick death.
etymxris
05-06-2008, 08:29 PM
Team Fortress 2 works pretty well under Wine already. A native client is always nice, but if DirectX 9 support in Wine matures it'd almost not be needed.
well savage 2 has just been released on steam adding more fuel 2 the fire...
Malikith
05-07-2008, 02:14 AM
Team Fortress 2 works pretty well under Wine already. A native client is always nice, but if DirectX 9 support in Wine matures it'd almost not be needed.
Yeah but if Wine's Directx 9 support matures, then we can pretty much kiss any chances of alot of ports to Linux bye bye. They'll just tell us "Go use Wine, stop bothering us." when we ask them for a port. So basically, Wine would potentially kill gaming on Linux. Then when some new Directx comes out, guess what, you won't be able to play the latest games because then you'll have to watch for Wine to catch up. Oh wait, Wine is always playing catch up.
I like Wine, but you can't depend on it dude.
Thetargos
05-07-2008, 02:42 AM
It would in effect pretty much kill crossover's game version of their product.
Of course if everything started coming out in a native client I can't say I would shed a tear to see Wine die a quick death.
I don't know. There are a LOT of people that use wine for things other than gaming (though that seems to be its greater use). Plus there's the immense number of older games that aren't and won't be available through Steam, that use DirectX 9 and 10, other applications (modeling software, visualization software, etc) that also rely on DirectX technology to function properly, etc. Wine could actually GROW once and for all and stop playing catch up with the games, and instead focusing in more important parts (like proper GDI+ implementation, Aero implementation [for when an application requires it, and map that to AIGLX and Compiz, for instance], and many many more compatibility fixes, etc.).
Steam on Linux (with a nice share of games) would also mean one crucial thing: Linux is a viable alternative to Windows, and may even benefit more console porting than Windows. OpenGL development for the games would instantly mean virtually insignificant effort to port to Mac, small effort to port to Wii and PS3, and even Windows ports. Microsoft-centric development, even if the platform supports OpenGL, has been focused on DirectX, which only translates into Xbox portability. OpenGL actually opens up a broader audience, and can even cater the most widely used OS in the market: Windows, which needless to say, if I were a gaming company manager, would be a no brainer to migrate development and training. The investments made to migrate the underlying API of the games, most likely will be made up for if it is available on more platforms than two.
Please don't forget that fglrx/Catalyst + wine = major failure. Don't even try to play recent games with it (or CSS with DX8/DX9 render).
etymxris
05-07-2008, 05:44 AM
Yeah but if Wine's Directx 9 support matures, then we can pretty much kiss any chances of alot of ports to Linux bye bye. They'll just tell us "Go use Wine, stop bothering us." when we ask them for a port. So basically, Wine would potentially kill gaming on Linux.
I don't think that's true. If they actually said that, then wine would become a supported platform for running their game. And that would bring most of the advantages of having a native client.
Also, there are a few things that will never be supported under wine, such as punkbuster. It's just not possible right now to play on punkbuster servers for many games, such as call of duty 4.
Finally, a native opengl app is always going to be faster than one that goes through wine's directx translation layer. So there will still be reasons to bring native clients to linux.
xav1r
05-11-2008, 01:27 AM
I don't think that's true. If they actually said that, then wine would become a supported platform for running their game. And that would bring most of the advantages of having a native client.
Also, there are a few things that will never be supported under wine, such as punkbuster. It's just not possible right now to play on punkbuster servers for many games, such as call of duty 4.
Finally, a native opengl app is always going to be faster than one that goes through wine's directx translation layer. So there will still be reasons to bring native clients to linux.
And that is why i dont like punkbuster.
vBulletin® v3.8.4, Copyright ©2000-2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.