Gaming on Linux

As the original "hobby" operating system, some Linux users have all their fun just tweaking the OS and their applications. Others need more traditional entertainments. SUSE Linux is fully equipped with assorted options for the gamer in you.

Very few shrink-wrapped commercial PC games are produced for Linux. For the most part, games are developed these days for Windows PCs using the Direct3D graphics engine. The cross-platform OpenGL engine is used for many popular games (like Doom III), but there's a perception that OpenGL is not as muscular.

Tip

TransGaming Technologies has an engine, Cedega, that converts Direct3D games to OpenGL. This enables Linux users to play as many as 300 Windows and online games, including multiplayer role-playing games such as Everquest and Star Wars Galaxies. View the supported games database, with some player ratings, at http://transgaming.org/gamesdb/.

You must subscribe to TransGaming's service, at $5 per month, to get Cedega. Depending on what you play and how often you play it, this might be worth it. See http://www.transgaming.com/ for more information.

Many dedicated fans have worked on open-source clones of some classic games, like PacMan, Tetris, and SimCity (called LinCity). And it wouldn't really be a computer without a solitaire game, would it (see Figure 10.5)?

Figure 10.5. Patience is just one solitaire game in SUSE Linux.

SUSE Linux gives you two solitaire games, KPatience for KDE and PySol the latter is written in Python. KPatience is installed by default with the KDE-Games package. It has 14 standard games for your amusement. One nice feature is that it will automatically play aces and other scoring cards.

PySol is much flashier, with musical accompaniment (yes, you can turn that off), dozens of games and card sets (sorted by type), and gobs of statistics. It is endlessly configurable to stave off boredom.

KDE Games

KDE comes with 27 games in five categories: Arcade (with 8 games, including adapted classics such as Asteroids and Tron), Board (another 8 choices including chess and backgammon), Card (just three: Poker, Patience, and Skat), Strategy and Tactics (seven games that make you think), and Kids (only one not called "Edutainment": Ktuberling, a Mr. Potato Head editor).

Use the KDE Kicker menu to start any game. Sometimes there will be a configuration screen on first-time use, but most times you can play these right away.

GNOME Games

The package of games that comes with GNOME is smaller than the KDE collection (just 17), but equally challenging. There's also some overlap, with the usual Tetris clones, disk-flipping, and solitaire games.

One standout is the Yahtzee clone, Tali. This game has great graphics, and you play against five computer opponents by default. This is, of course, configurable. The five dice roll automatically. You click the dice you want to roll (which turn into pumpkins) and click Roll to try to improve your score. After your third roll, you click the category you want to count your score.

GNOME also has a blackjack table for your gambling pleasure. Learn to double-down, split your hand, and other tricks of the trade without risking any real cash. The dealer plays under any of four sets of rules, called Vegas Strip, Vegas Downtown, Atlantic City, or Ameristar. This is set in the game's Preferences.

To play games, go to the GNOME menu, and click Games. All your choices will come up; they are not organized by type.

Freeciv: A Free Strategy Game

Sid Meier's Civilization is one of the most popular games ever. The chance to build a society from scratch, fight wars, and get to space is irresistible for some. Naturally, some game players run Linux for more serious pursuits. What is interesting is that for some of those players, one of their serious pursuits became creating the game.

The Freeciv project was born in November 1995, about a year after the release of Civilization 1. Freeciv 1.0 came out six weeks later, though a flurry of updates produced v1.0f three weeks later. By the time Civilization III came out in October 2001, Freeciv was up to v1.12, and v2.0 was released in May 2005. SUSE Linux 10 includes v2.04.

You can play by yourself with the computer as your opponent(s), play with friends across a local area network, or use the Freeciv metaserver to play with other folks across the Internet. If you have played the commercial version, you'll be impressed with the similarities, although the quality of the graphics may vary depending on your video card. New players should not be intimidated, because there is a fair amount of help available, both in the game itself and at the Freeciv website (http://www.freeciv.org).

In Freeciv, you are the absolute ruler of your race. You marshal and manage resources to build cities. As in other city-simulation games, you must keep your citizens happy while getting them to produce more wealth, which you then can tax. Meanwhile, you try to increase your scientific and military capacity as you aim to either achieve world domination or build the first rocket to Alpha Centauri.

Most games have just one executable to run; Freeciv has two. To play on your own machine, you first need to run the server application, which contains the maps and most game details. You create AI opponents on the server as well to give you some competition if you're playing alone or with just one or two friends.

New players (especially those who haven't played Civilization) should read the online manuals at the Freeciv website to get a feel for how things work. There are three manuals: more technical, command-oriented manuals for the client and server and a game-playing manual that describes the forces and conditions of the game. The manuals are not complete (especially the client manual), but give you enough of a start to keep going.