I bowed into a bit of pressure from some guys at work the other day, and decided to give Counter Strike: Condition Zero a go. I’ve been having so much fun playing Enemy Territory with the LUGRadio guys, but sometimes it’s nice to try something new. (I’m also checking out True Combat:Elite, which is a CS-like mod for Enemy Territory).
Now, I know what you’re thinking. (Actually, I don’t. I’m not psychic, nor can I see into the future, it’s just a literary construct, really. In fact, you’re probably _not_ thinking what I ‘know’ you’re thinking, but you’re just going to have to put up with it). You’re thinking “mrBen has gone over to the dark side”. Perhaps you’re remembering my previous post on Half Life 2 not running under Linux. But I haven’t. I’m using ‘Cedega’ (aka WineX), which provides a compatibility layer to allow Windows games to run under Linux. And, I have to say, I’m impressed. The install was flawless, and it runs perfectly, with very little hassle. I’m intending to try out some other games too – there’s a huge support database over on Transgamings website.
However….. I have to admit a certain reluctance about using Cedega. I would much rather companies took the time to develop proper, native Linux ports, than just rely on people using software like Cedega. I have some (not complete) sympathy with the guys who suggest that we should boycott Cedega, suggesting that it is slowing the development of Linux games (among other reasons).
So here is my resolution: I do not intend to purchase any new games to play with Cedega, but may well play some of my older games (in particular Tomb Raider 4, which was an anniversary present from my wife _ages_ ago, and has never been played) using it. Actually, it’s not that hard a resolution to come by, given that I don’t purchase many games any way, and I have become used to, over in time, sacrificing some of the less important things in computing for the overwhelming advantage of running Linux.
mrBen