In response to Valve’s intent to release Linux games via Steam, Richard Stallman posted Nonfree DRM’d Games on GNU/Linux: Good or Bad?. Stallman predicts that “the direct good effect will be bigger than the direct harm” but that it will “augment [the] effect of … teach[ing] users that the point is not freedom.”
’nuff said:
A blog by the Valve Linux Team: Steam’d Penguins:
For some time, Gabe has been interested in the possibility of moving Steam and the Source game engine to Linux. At the time, the company was already using Linux by supporting Linux-based servers for Source-based games and also by maintaining several internal servers (running a 64-bit version of Ubuntu server) for various projects. In 2011, based on the success of those efforts and conversations in the hallway, we decided to take the next step and form a new team. At that time, the team only consisted of a few people whose main purpose was investigating the possibility of moving the Steam client and Left 4 Dead 2 over to Ubuntu.
Why Ubuntu? There are a couple of reasons for that. First, we’re just starting development and working with a single distribution is critical when you are experimenting, as we are. It reduces the variability of the testing space and makes early iteration easier and faster. Secondly, Ubuntu is a popular distribution and has recognition with the general gaming and developer communities. This doesn’t mean that Ubuntu will be the only distribution we support. Based on the success of our efforts around Ubuntu, we will look at supporting other distributions in the future.
After successfully porting L4D2 to Ubuntu, interest grew within Valve and, as a result, the team and projects we were working on also grew. Currently, our focus is on the following projects:
getting the Steam client onto Linux with full functionality
optimizing a version of L4D2 running at a high frame rate with OpenGL
porting additional Valve titles
A new development version of Wine was released recently. New features in this release include:
Download: [ Wine 1.5.8 ]
Alien Arena: Reloaded Edition has been released. Revitalized…and, well, reloaded!
This is a major release of this game, with many new features, and a veritable truckload of new high quality content. Every aspect of the game has been improved upon and expanded, from the engine, to the game code, weaponry, and overall gameplay.
Some of the new features for this release include:
Alien Arena is a freeware deathmatch game that has been around for some time, and steadily evolved into what we feel is a leader among a crowded fps field. With it’s smooth gameplay, balanced weapons, and rich, immersive arenas, the game is an artisticly cohesive tour de force in the genre. Alien Arena is free to download, free to play, and the code is open sourced, and that will never change.
Trailer:
This post was submitted by irritant.