This is a follow up thread as I saw some posts regarding games being used on Linux such as ports from Loki.
Was it a rarity to get say, DOOM on a Linux compatible disk? Surely the floppy disk version would’ve worked as normal no?
There was also DosEmu which seems like an ancestor to DOSBOX to play all your face dos games in a redhat or Slackware box.
I understand that getting things to work in order was a mess, but was it that difficult to find a Linux compatible game CD or floppy disk? Was there some form of piracy to acquire a converted windows copy on a BBS?
TLDR : I just wanna know if 90s linux gaming there for you guys since firms like Loki existed, hell there was a port of Quake on the funni penguin OS.
All the ID Software stuff worked ( eg. DOOM, Quake ) but outside of them and Loki, not a lot of commercial stuff. And I don’t think the Loki catalogue was very current or extensive.
There were lots of Linux native games but they were much more primitive ( though not necessarily less fun ) like Tux Racer and Pingus. There were also adventure games.
There was also a thriving game engine “clone” scene, especially for Blizzard stuff. Not all of it ever really got there in terms of features or quality. These were designed to work with the “assets” from actual commercial games. There was Stargus for Warcraft and StarCraft for example. There is DevilutionX for Diablo which is great. Often there were fully open source games built off these same engines ( BosWars? ).
By the standards of today, the Linux gaming scene would have seemed pretty shitty. You were not playing the same AAA titles as your Windows friends. However, if you were a Linux enthusiast, there were plenty of really fun options to keep you entertained.
I think Linux has always been a bit better off than Mac with regards to gaming.
[ Edit: Memory correction - DevilutionX is way more recent. Even Stargus did not appear until 1998 as did Pingus. Tux Racer was not until 2000. Loki was a 1999 thing too. So, my comments above are perhaps more valid for 1998 - 2005 than 1991 - 1998. DOOM was 1994 at least and Quake was 1996. ]
90’s Linux gaming was a lot of Freeciv, Doom, Quake 3, and Tux Racer.
Wine really didn’t work for shit for AT LEAST another decade, and even then, didn’t really really work for a further decade after that. It took a very very long time for Wine to get to where it is now with Proton and playing basically everything that doesn’t need a rootkit to run.
As for finding Linux games, I could just go to Microcenter. They had a whole shelf full of Linux software ranging from distros, to games, to commercial office suites, to just random shit that looked like it was boxed up in some guy’s garage and contained just… stuff. I miss being able to buy software in big shiny boxes, though :(
Not an American but, other than the odd actual Linux distribution ( like Red Hat ), I do not think I ever saw boxed Linux software for sale. That sounds amazing.
I mean, you could order things like WordPerfect I guess. But I never saw it on a shelf.
Only a select few games where made available for Linux. Loki helped a lot, but it was no where near the options we have today.
Agreed there were native linux games written for linux, but remind me because I forgot - I believe Doom had been ported or something. Because I remember running it both at home in linux and I remember people running it in the computer labs off the Unix mainframe.
