Run WoW, Steam games on Linux
by Kyle Orland 
{ Jan 29th 2007 at 12:15PM }
Having a working Linux box is a point of pride for computer hackers everywhere, but when it comes to gaming on a computer, freeware Linux offerings like Tux Racer don't really hold up to Windows favorites like World of Warcraft and Half-Life 2. A new version of Codeweavers' CrossOver Linux solves this problem by letting Linux users easily run some popular games and other Windows applications from a Linux box.
Running Windows games on Linux has long been possible with free programs like Wine, but the process of getting your favorite game up and running was not always simple. For $40 ($70 for the professional version), CrossOver Linux promises to let you seamlessly run programs "exactly as you would in Windows, but with the full freedom of Linux." A review on Linux.com confirms that demo versions of World Of Warcraft, Half Life, Heroes of Annihilated Empires, and Medieval II Total War worked in Linux without any problems.
Will other games work with the setup? Codeweavers' compatibility list shows most games as untested, but a few big names like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Civilization III are confirmed not to work. Knowing the open source movement, though, it's only a matter of time before a new release lets Linux gamers join their Windows brethren in the hallowed halls of gaming nirvana.
[Thanks Dolores]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ymmv @ Jan 29th 2007 12:52PM
"Knowing the open source movement, though, it's only a matter of time before a new release lets Linux gamers join their Windows brethren in the hallowed halls of gaming nirvana."
I doubt CrossOver Linux is open source, otherwise they wouldn't be able to sell the program for $40. I also question the "it's only a question of time" bit, since Linux programmers have been working for many, many years to get Windows programs and games to run on Linux. Although the compatability of Wine has made impressive strides in the last ten years, there's still lots of stuff that doesn't work. If you want to play Windows games, install Windows.
Slaziman @ Jan 29th 2007 12:31PM
Does this mean WoW on the PS3? :OOOOOOOOO
Arglor @ Jan 29th 2007 12:33PM
So now if,
- I upload linux on my ps3.
- install the above progy to play wow.
I could theoretically play WoW on my home television.
Now if someone would just make a mod for the Wii-mote to be picked up by Ps3's wireless connection, then i could play WoW on my home TV with my Wii-Mote.
That may or may not be fun. May just stick with my wireless mouse and keyboard.
andyakadum @ Jan 29th 2007 1:21PM
You cant run crossover office on PS3!
It requires an X86 or compatible proc.
The PS3 is powerpc based.
jgreath @ Jan 29th 2007 12:40PM
This does not mean that you can run WoW on your PS3. CrossOver Linux REQUIRES an x86 architecture, and the PS3 is definitely not x86.
From CodeWeavers CrossOver Linux requirements:
# x86 compatible PC system, 200 MHz or higher
(400 MHz+ recommended for QuickTime)
# Linux x86 distribution
...
Mindflayer @ Jan 29th 2007 12:42PM
The only problem with the Linux on PS3 thing is that Sony has restricted the GPU from being accessed by Linux at all.
There is no way to make most modern 3D games to work on just the CPU power of a machine with no GPU access (even the Cell isn't THAT powerful).
droptop GP @ Jan 29th 2007 1:58PM
i've got linux installed on me toaster n' toilet.
Mythin @ Jan 29th 2007 1:23PM
Open Source doesn't need to mean free, it just means the source code is available. You can charge whatever you want for your programs as long as you also release the source code.
XGM @ Jan 29th 2007 1:00PM
OMG IDIOTS !!!
This is a rip off of Wine for Linux. Its free opened source. I dont know how crossover works, but wine DOES NOT emulate, but instead it runs the dll's from any windows application. I was able to play WoW, BF2 and CS:S no problem on Linux with Wine.
MC @ Jan 29th 2007 1:19PM
Sorry, this is an unsupported way to run the game software titles, and perhaps you are even breaking the games' terms of agreements. As a Linux user, isn't it against your interests to help fund Windows game development by buying Windows games and buying into Codeweavers' scheme? You compare the seven-year-old TuxRacer with World of Warcraft and Half-Life 2, but there are lots more modern commercial games that actually support Linux operating systems.
Crono @ Jan 29th 2007 12:59PM
Doesn't Civ3 already play on Wine?
What would be great is if games start coming with the linux build on the disk, ala UT and UT2004.
UT2004 runs SO much better on Linux than on Windows.
Phillip @ Jan 29th 2007 1:11PM
Ummm... so is it just that nobody here knows about Cedega?
$5 per month (min. of 3 months) for a subscription...
CVS version (lacking nice interface) is free...
Has implementations for DirectX 9...
Works with WoW and Steam (I've played hl2dm on it)...
WoW booted a bunch of people because they detected Cedega as a hack...
Ringing any bells?
So is there a real difference?
Buckshot @ Jan 29th 2007 1:15PM
Paying for Linux (or Linux apps) kind of negates the whole concept.
Crono @ Jan 29th 2007 1:25PM
anybody got a list of commercial games that will work with linux without any 3rd party emulater/wrapper?
Kunikos @ Jan 29th 2007 2:14PM
You guys are definitely missing the fact that you could run WoW and HL2 in Linux for a LONG TIME NOW via Cedega.
http://www.cedega.com
Their new Cider porting library for Mac OS X will also bring a lot more games to Linux as well, as it is built using the same type of technology as Cedega.
MC @ Jan 29th 2007 2:32PM
Mac users, you can thank the Linux users buying Cedega for the Macrovision SafeDisk copy-protection scheme TransGaming is about to unleash on you. Linux users, you're next.
http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/01/04/safedisc/index.php
Loque @ Jan 29th 2007 3:43PM
Remember, that anyone running an ATI card will see a 40% decrease in performance, as the ATI drivers suck... (self-tested with an x1900 xt)
ALSO, I hope you like OpenGL, because directX is still buggy as hell...
also, no crossfire support at all...
In other words, while the idea is really cool, and I wished it worked, it doesn't add up to a competent gaming machine, even with a really good computer like mine.
Loque @ Jan 29th 2007 6:17PM
Oh, correction. Not a 40% decrease. It's worse than that. My WoW frame rate dropped from 100 fps to 40 fps, same settings.
That's a 60% decrease.
I'd hate to see that on anything other than a brand-new rig, as ATI themselves have confirmed that their drivers are approx. 1/4 as powerful under linux as under windows.
obo @ Jan 29th 2007 6:04PM
Wine's worked out-of-the-box with WoW in Ubuntu for a while now.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WorldofWarcraft
Most distros have pretty detailed HOWTOs if you just Google it. I got WoW running on Wine with a bare minimum of meddling - no compiling or anything - more than a year ago. The only things I remember not working were the patcher and the downloader.
AndrewNeo @ Jan 29th 2007 6:55PM
Steam was pretty easy for me to run on WINE...
1. Install WINE
2. Copy a font over
3. Install Steam
4. Play HL2!
MC @ Jan 29th 2007 8:26PM
Ugh!!! I just realized this was a cut-and-paste from an article on Linux.com
I hate that. Never heard of quotation and citation, Mr. Orland?
Randavance @ Jan 29th 2007 11:46PM
Uh, Linux users have been playing WoW for a while now, along with many other Windows games via Cedega. Cedega is something like $5 a month, and then again anyone who uses Linux is more than savy enought to get it for free. Windows users really don't have much on Linux users, in theory we can actually run some games better because of light weight window managers and settings, not to mention the ease of configuring the OS to run seemlessly with the PC.
I will admit Windows users have one thing up on us Linux users. MS Paint. I love that program, and it has never been properly reproduced for Linux and no one has extracted it from Windows to run in WINE. I think that will be a project if mine, GL Paint...
DrXym @ Jan 30th 2007 5:25AM
It's true that Wine requires x86 Linux, however x86 emulators are available. I believe there was an effort at one point to port Wine to Mac OS X - "Darwine" which slapped the x86 emulation into the stack. Don't know how far it got, but it would be possible to pick the work up.
The biggest problem for the PS3 is that the graphics are frame buffer which means slow 3D. However, if someone accelerated Mesa (OpenGL) with some SPUs cranking out transforms and textures, the performance might be quite acceptable. It might even be possible to hook up another SPU or two to help with x86 emulation, e.g. doing JIT compilation.
GameBoy57 @ Jan 30th 2007 2:39PM
Have you guys ever heard of Cedega?
http://www.cedega.com
Works great and is more game focused than Wine and Crossover.
SuspendedChaos @ Jan 30th 2007 5:52PM
Cedega and Crossover are both implementations of Wine, guys. There's no sense bashing each of them since they're all effectively the same thing.
XGM: Without a copy of Windows being accessed to be used in Wine, I'm afraid it's still just emulating. Try next time.