[plug] Loki no longer! :(

[Theodor Gutmann]

The company that started the ball rolling, however was id. Before Loki
came along id gave the platform  major credibility by releasing Linux
versions of the whole Quake series. With Quake 3 Arena the standard
benchmarking tool, this is an ideal opportunity to pay homage yo idand
compare the same game native to each platform. And it appears Linux has
quite a kick in it.

Given that NVIDIA Linux drivers don't have anywhere near the the amount
of of human power thrown at them as Windows drivers, these are
impressive results. Some Hackers need to turn their already over clocked
cards into molten slag to squeeze an extra 5fps at 1600x1200 in max
detail.,
It is also worth noting that Linux was running a number of default
services including Web, FTP, security and file services while Windows XP
on the other hand was post AXPOG, optimised and nary an unnecessary
service to be seen.
But the average difference of 5 fps is not necessarily a compelling
reason to get a crash course in Linux just so you can squeeze a few
extra fps out of Quake. But it certainly should make us wonder -what
would be possible if NVIDIA invested as much effort into its Linux
drivers as it clearly spends with its Windows line-up??

CPU benchmarks show clearly that Linux is more efficient, and this
directly translates to frames in games- it can also be seen that the fps
gap between the two platforms grow as the resolution increases: higher
resolutions require more power: Though Quake 3 Arena is not
representative of all games, benchmarks do show the potential of Linux
as a gaming platform, capable of pumping the frames slightly higher than
its commercial competitor.

But it does not mean that much anymore. Windows lays claim to the title
as the standard platform for gaming and there is no point reinventing
the wheel.

When games are released they are released for windows, because that is
where the market is.

-----Original Message-----
From: Grahame Bowland [mailto:grahame at ucs.uwa.edu.au] 
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 4:20 PM
To: plug at plug.linux.org.au
Subject: RE: [plug] Loki no longer! :(

On Fri, 2002-01-25 at 15:19, Theodor Gutmann wrote:
> First the obvious question: are there any games for Linux??
> Yes!!..........lots.
> Many are ports of popular Windows games such as the Quake series,
> Civilisation: CTP, Myth, Soldier of fortune, Descent 3, Unreal
> Tournament and Tribes 2 to name a few- and they install and run  just
> the same, if not better ( there are benchmarks scores available ).
There
> is but one problem with games under Linux- NOBODY BUYS THEM!.
> 
> Whether it is because Linux geeks are short on cash, or they are so
used
> to open source philosophy that buying software is a major hurdle, who
> knows, but Linux game company Loki filed for bankruptcy protection.
Loki
> was the crowning glory of games for Linux, consisting of a group of
> talented programmers with a solid service to SELL - they'd port
Windows
> games to Linux in return for a share of the profits of the ported
game.
> All the game company needs to do is hand over the source to Loki and
> then wait for the cash from the sales to roll in.
> But the sales DID NOT roll in, Loki ran out of investment capital.

I don't think it's any of this stuff. The fact is that:
 - most Linux people have access to a Windows box
 - it's so much easier to buy Windows games than Linux games
 - they're only ports of existing Windows games, without any special 
   added features and with introduced bugs/the occasional missing 
   feature
 - some of the games couldn't multiplayer with the Windows versions 
   of themselve

So when confronted with the choice of getting the easy-to-install,
easy-to-buy Windows game or the Linux version that might not work
completely, most people just opt for the easiest and buy Windows. You
can't blame people for that. People want stuff to work, people don't (in
general) care that Linux is free, open, good or right. And Loki's
software wasn't an embodiment of those principals anyway.

Perhaps Loki would have sold more games to Linux people if they'd
actually developed cool new games - then this whole easier option
wouldn't have existed. Given that RedHat x.x is so easy to find these
days you might have found people installing it just to try the latest
Loki demo CD.

They had nothing to make people want to switch to Linux and buy their
product, and their was no particular reason someone dual-booting would
buy the Linux program.

It might have been more sensible to be a consulting company at first,
contracting to existing games houses who already have their own
distribution channels. Given the price of pressing a CD, you might even
have found a Windows and a Linux version in some boxes. Although perhaps
that is wishful thinking.

Have fun
Grahame

-- 
Grahame Bowland                       Email: grahame at ucs.uwa.edu.au
University Communications Services    Phone: +61 8 9380 1175
The University of Western Australia     Fax: +61 8 9380 1109
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