The Linux Gamers' HOWTO
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12. Websites And Resources

12.1. Meta gaming websites

These are some resources for Linux gamers no matter what kind of game you enjoy to play.

The Linux Game Tome: http://www.happypenguin.org: About the games themselves.
Linuxgames: Linux gaming news
http://www.holarse.net: Linux meta gaming site for German speaking folk.
Mobygames: A database of all known computer games. It's very complete and is one of my favorite sites.

12.2. Commercial Linux Game Resources

12.2.1. Where to buy commercial games

ebgames <http://www.ebgames.com> no longer officially sells Linux software. They stopped selling Linux games and distributions at around the same time Loki Software declared bankruptcy, which is a shame because they had the lowest prices on Linux games I've ever seen. However, occasionally, they'll have things like Code Warrior or Redhat Linux on sale.

Tux Games: http://www.tuxgames.com: Your one stop shop for buying any commercial Linux game (software vendors like Tribsoft and Loki have online shops at their websites too).

12.2.2. Who Used To Release Games For Linux

These are companies that used to release games for Linux but for whatever reasons aren't actively involved in Linux games anymore.

Loki Software: http://www.lokigames.com: As the company that brought CTP and Quake3 to Linux, Loki was the father of Linux gaming. They were one of the first and had, by far, the most titles (I own ALL of them). Loki ported games to Linux, mostly using the SDL library. Loki's death in January 2002 was the biggest setback Linux has ever had in its attempt to capture the general desktop market. Linuxgames.com has a nice Loki timeline at http://www.linuxgames.com/articles/lokitimeline
Tribsoft: http://www.tribsoft.com: Tribsoft released Jagged Alliance 2, an excellent rpg/strat which claimed 2+ weeks of my life. There were slated to release Europai Universalis, Majesty and Unfinished Business. However, as of 3Jan01, Mathieu Pinard of Tribsoft said that he was taking a break and Tribsoft would no longer release games for awhile. He'll still support JA2 but don't expect patches or updates.
MP Entertainment: http://www.hopkinsfbi.com: MP Entertainment released Hopkins FBI, my favorite game ever released for Linux. More violent than Quake. More nudity than Hustler. More camp than Liberace. It's a comic book on your monitor. They were slated to release Hopkins FBI II and a few other titles, but it's been a few years since the announcements with no sign that the games are coming. They've ignored all my attempts at finding out more information, so I have to conclude that MP Entertainment is in the same status as Tribsoft. You can still purchase or download a demo of Hopkins FBI from their website. If anyone has more information on this company or the author of Hopkins FBI, please contact me.
Phantom EFX: http://www.phantomefx.com: They offer Reel Deal Slots, which is very nicely done! I'm not much for card/gambling games, but this game is impressive! Because their Linux guy quit the company, Reel Deal Slots is their first, and so far, last release for Linux.

12.3. Other Resources

This section has URL's that should be mentioned but didn't have a separate section within the howto, so I list them here as a kind of appendix.

Linux Game Publishing: http://www.linuxgamepublishing.com: Linux Publishing doesn't sell directly to the public, but provides professional game publishing to authors of publishing. I think this means disk copying, packaging and selling to retailers.
XFree86 Homesite: http://www.xfree86.org: XFree86 home page
Linux Game Development Center: http://lgdc.sunsite.dk/index.html: This is the canonical website for people who want to program games under Linux. It's a clearing house of information that contains well written articles on all aspects of game programming (not necessarily Linux specific), links to important game programming resources, interviews, reviews, polls and lots of other stuff. It's hard to imagine a better website on the subject.
Linux Gamers' FAQ: http://www.icculus.org/lgfaq/: Despite the astounding fact that the Linux Gamers' FAQ doesn't mention the Linux Gamers' HOWTO as a resource anywhere in their text, I regard the FAQ as a good companion to this HOWTO. I've tried to keep game specific information in this HOWTO at a minimum. The FAQ takes the opposite approach; they mainly focus on the games themselves, including game specific problems and where to get Linux games in the first place. The FAQ and HOWTO are complementary in this regard, and I've tried to not reproduce their content. Despite the authors being a bit surly, their effort with the FAQ is very good. If you want a general source of information on game specific questions, the FAQ is a fantastic place to start with. In addition, the FAQ keeps a fairly large database of Linux Games.
Linux Audio Quality HOWTO: http://www.linuxdj.com/audio/quality/: This HOWTO is mainly of interest to musicians who want professional or semi professional sound cards for the recording and making of music on a computer. The information is very detailed, and perhaps overkill for gamers.

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