The Witcher 2 gets another step closer to a Linux launch via Steam

[SangeetKhatri]

Now, if you also have a Steam account, you will know that the dev is also listed with its game on the platform. Starting today, users of Steam who already had the game purchased for another platform, like Windows or Mac OS X, might have noticed that it can now be downloaded, with a small caveat.

 

The binary files needed to run the The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings haven't been uploaded yet and the game can't be started, but you get to download a little over 18GB. The launch can't be too far away into the future and we'll keep you apprised if something changes.

 

Thought the game is still unplayable yet because of some missing binaries, but yes, now we know one thing for sure that it does indicate that it is officially coming to Linux pretty soon.

As a Linux gamer I cannot be more happy that this.

Source 1 : http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Witcher-2-Assassins-of-Kings-Is-Now-Downloading-on-Steam-for-Linux-433253.shtml

Source 2 : http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2014/03/witcher-2-coming-linux-steam

[YouRezz]

cool, i'd love to get away from windows, but as there is zero game support for it besidess casual indie games i cannot make the transition

[SangeetKhatri]

cool, i'd love to get away from windows, but as there is zero game support for it besidess casual indie games i cannot make the transition

With the rig that you have, you should be able to run most of the Windows games under Wine smoothly but yes setting them up is a bit of a hassle. I am currently playing GTA III (Got the whole GTA Pack in Steam deal for 10 bucks!) using my Intel's Integrated graphics and it needs some workarounds to run, so yes, it is not recommended for someone who is used to Windows.

[YouRezz]

With the rig that you have, you should be able to run most of the Windows games under Wine smoothly but yes setting them up is a bit of a hassle. I am currently playing GTA III (Got the whole GTA Pack in Steam deal for 10 bucks!) using my Intel's Integrated graphics and it needs some workarounds to run, so yes, it is not recommended for someone who is used to Windows.

i've heard of wine, but does it perform like it would on windows? I like my 120+fps... also linux is a massive hassle to do anything and i have experience with linux as my gameserver runs it.. im waiting to see what steam os brings to the table when its done.. i dont mind debian so it could work for me, but as of now it looks like something you put on your htpc

[SangeetKhatri]

Edit : Holy Balls! This post turned out to be quite long. Anyways it contains some good information, so it is probably a good read.

 

1. Linux is not a hassle, you have experience with server and setting up Linux server is bit of a hassle for the newer users, but once you get the idea of how to use servers then it is much more efficient than Windows server.

 

2. Give something like Ubuntu a try. It is so well streamlined and intuitive that in fact it is easier to use than a Mac. People are just afraid to give Ubuntu a try.

 

3. Well.. if you want something like 120+ FPS, then running games under wine is probably not for you. A good rule of thumb is that Wine gives almost 60%-70% FPS when compared to Windows because it is running inside a wrapper, so don't expect the best performance out of Wine. Also it is either a hit or a miss. Linux was not made to run Windows software anyways so it would of course be never as easy smooth as when running natively on Windows the exact same way that running Linux software on Windows (by emulation) would not give optimum performance like it did on Linux.

 

4. As for HTPC, have you heard about XBMC? It is a great HTPC software available for Linux. It even has it's own distro. It works just like a HTPC should, without hassle. Though XBMC does not do gaming but it handles Media exceptionally well. There is no reason to spend money on buying something like Windows when you can get something like XBMC which is much better for no additional cost.

 

5. Debian, while being a nice distro is not the best for Linux beginners. That crown goes to Ubuntu or Linux Mint. I personally started off with Linux Mint and after constantly learning and learning, finally I am using something like Puppy Linux (which I hated when I was a beginner), but now I can even game on Puppy Linux and do everything without any problems. The more you use Linux the more you learn about it.


If you are starting with Linux then I suggest the upcoming Ubuntu 14.04 LTS or the upcoming Linux Mint 17 LTS. Just buy a cheap 250GB hard drive for like 30 bucks and give it a try. I don't know how much does it matter for non-geeks. But as a geek myself, Linux is amazing because it has a lot of hidden potential to unlock and you can have the complete control over it. I am so glad that I used Linux. I haven't used Windows from like 2-3 years and I don't regret it a single bit. I still have an XP on another hard drive only for a single game which was unable to run in Wine. The game is "Seaworld Adventure Park Tycoon" . I played it in my childhood and I love it till this day also. 

[Fhqwhgads]

Edit : Holy Balls! This post turned out to be quite long. Anyways it contains some good information, so it is probably a good read.

 

1. Linux is not a hassle, you have experience with server and setting up Linux server is bit of a hassle for the newer users, but once you get the idea of how to use servers then it is much more efficient than Windows server.

 

2. Give something like Ubuntu a try. It is so well streamlined and intuitive that in fact it is easier to use than a Mac. People are just afraid to give Ubuntu a try.

 

3. Well.. if you want something like 120+ FPS, then running games under wine is probably not for you. A good rule of thumb is that Wine gives almost 60%-70% FPS when compared to Windows because it is running inside a wrapper, so don't expect the best performance out of Wine. Also it is either a hit or a miss. Linux was not made to run Windows software anyways so it would of course be never as easy smooth as when running natively on Windows the exact same way that running Linux software on Windows (by emulation) would not give optimum performance like it did on Linux.

 

4. As for HTPC, have you heard about XBMC? It is a great HTPC software available for Linux. It even has it's own distro. It works just like a HTPC should, without hassle. Though XBMC does not do gaming but it handles Media exceptionally well. There is no reason to spend money on buying something like Windows when you can get something like XBMC which is much better for no additional cost.

 

5. Debian, while being a nice distro is not the best for Linux beginners. That crown goes to Ubuntu or Linux Mint. I personally started off with Linux Mint and after constantly learning and learning, finally I am using something like Puppy Linux (which I hated when I was a beginner), but now I can even game on Puppy Linux and do everything without any problems. The more you use Linux the more you learn about it.

If you are starting with Linux then I suggest the upcoming Ubuntu 14.04 LTS or the upcoming Linux Mint 17 LTS. Just buy a cheap 250GB hard drive for like 30 bucks and give it a try. I don't know how much does it matter for non-geeks. But as a geek myself, Linux is amazing because it has a lot of hidden potential to unlock and you can have the complete control over it. I am so glad that I used Linux. I haven't used Windows from like 2-3 years and I don't regret it a single bit. I still have an XP on another hard drive only for a single game which was unable to run in Wine. The game is "Seaworld Adventure Park Tycoon" . I played it in my childhood and I love it till this day also. 

 

Throw in my vote for Ubuntu. Very clean UI, more stable than any Windows install I've ever had, and super simple to setup and get going.

 

Kudos to CD Projekt RED for the upcoming port! Witcher 2 is a fabulous game and Linux support shows that they are, once again, willing to go the extra mile.