Kerrle on 11/2/2007 at 22:35
Quote Posted by mazzortock
Anyway, i can play all the 3D games from ID software, but i still can't play Thief2 :-(
As I said in my post, I don't think the ATI driver supports 16-bit video modes, which Dark Engine games require. I just read the updates for the past year since I dropped ATI, and it doesn't look like the driver has really improved any in that time.
OrbWeaver on 12/2/2007 at 13:11
Quote Posted by Kerrle
I just read the updates for the past year since I dropped ATI, and it doesn't look like the driver has really improved any in that time.
Agreed. The updates to the driver just about keep pace with kernel and X.org development ("New feature: Supports X.org 7.1") and occasionally have time to fix a particularly egregious bug (like the one that crashed your PC if you ever switched into console mode from X), but nothing more than that. The piss-poor performance and dodgy feature support show little sign of improving anytime soon.
If you want 3D support on Linux the verdict is pretty much unanimous: purchase nVidia.
New Horizon on 12/2/2007 at 16:17
Quote Posted by mazzortock
I confirm: on Linux, Doom3 run better than Windows (on the same machine), with about 20 fps more.
:cheeky:
Yup, before I bought my new 6800 card, I was only running a 5200FX, and the difference between windows and linux doom 3 was astounding. :) Felt like a totally different game. It's a damn shame that Thief 3 wasn't developed on the doom 3 engine...it could have been great.
Kerrle on 12/2/2007 at 19:13
Quote Posted by OrbWeaver
If you want 3D support on Linux the verdict is pretty much unanimous: purchase nVidia.
Well, Intel has some good support for some of their chips, too, and has recently promised to open source their graphics drivers. Of course, right now they're only targeting the low-end of the market, but that looks like it might be changing.
I'm hopeful that the AMD's purchase will change ATI's driver support in Linux for the better; AMD has never been adverse to open source drivers for their products, and usually has decent linux support.
As of right now, though - you're right. Just get an Nvidia if you need 3D support in linux. Or, on a laptop, either NVidia or integrated intel, depending on budget.
mazzortock on 13/2/2007 at 01:05
Quote Posted by Kerrle
I'm hopeful that the AMD's purchase will change ATI's driver support in Linux for the better; AMD has never been adverse to open source drivers for their products, and usually has decent linux support.
I totally agree.
Quote:
As of right now, though - you're right. Just get an Nvidia if you need 3D support in linux. Or, on a laptop, either NVidia or integrated intel, depending on budget.
Yes, for now it's the best choice.
************************************
Quote New Horizon:
Quote:
It's a damn shame that Thief 3 wasn't developed on the doom 3 engine...it could have been great.
You (all the team) will do better with TDM! :-D :-D :-D
Quote Posted by Kerrle
As I said in my post, I don't think the ATI driver supports 16-bit video modes, which Dark Engine games require. I just read the updates for the past year since I dropped ATI, and it doesn't look like the driver has really improved any in that time.
Thanks for the explanation!
Now i understand why i can/t play it on my Ati. Maybe i'll try with a GeForce the next week :-D
Istvan Varga on 13/2/2007 at 14:47
Actually, the last time I checked, the Dark Engine games did run in 32 bit mode, although in the case of Thief 2, this resulted in no dithering, which made it look like Thief 1. I do have an nVidia card, though, so you may not necessarily have success when using an ATI one. I currently have WINE 0.9.24.
Kerrle on 14/2/2007 at 01:35
Nope. Dark Engine is 16-bit only, regardless of platform.
Istvan Varga on 14/2/2007 at 11:26
Well, as I said, it does run on my machine (save for the lack of dithering in Thief 2), even though I started X with -depth 24. Perhaps WINE can emulate the "16 bit" display, even when not running on one.
Vigil on 14/2/2007 at 14:20
<del>A game with a 16-bit renderer doesn't start rendering in 32-bit colour just because your desktop is set to 32-bit colour depth.</del>
Windows-centric perspective ahoy!
Kerrle on 14/2/2007 at 15:00
Quote Posted by Istvan Varga
Perhaps WINE can emulate the "16 bit" display, even when not running on one.
Sadly, no. I wish that were true, as it'd make playing on ATI much easier. But no, a 16-bit window can run on a 24-bit X server. Sorta like how a game can run in 16-bit mode in fullscreen in Windows even if your desktop is set to 24 or 32-bit.
Now, there is a possible solution to this, though. The new compositing desktop managers might be able to map a 16-bit window to a 24-bit managed desktop window, since all the windows are essentially pixmaps anyway. It might still be driver dependent, though, to get the initial 16-bit source; I'm not really sure.
