Going The Cedega Way

Are there really 300 Direct3D games ready to run on Linux?

While gaming on Linux is contingent on OpenGL, alternatives exist so that gamers don't have to wait for game developers to invest in OpenGL support for Direct3D. Canada-based TransGaming can do the Direct3D to OpenGL translation for you, using a product well-known to the Linux gaming community: Cedega. Originally called WineX, TransGaming's marketing copy claims that Cedega allows "Windows games to seamlessly and transparently run under Linux, out-of-the-box, with outstanding performance and equivalent game-play." More than 300 Direct3D games run with Cedega now, the company says, including Battlefield Vietnam, Eidos' Hitman: Contracts and LucasArts' Star WarsGalaxies.

So you just buy the software and get your favorite games to run on your SuSe platform at work just like they do at home with Windows XP. Unfortunately, not all games work with Cedega equally well. Again, while we do not offer benchmarks, the installation process, loading time and other factors can be an issue. In sum, the solution is far from perfect. Stay tuned for more on this.

Conclusion

The harsh truth is that you are not going to get the same adrenaline-charged, bust-them-up, shimmering lake and billowing smoke performance with Linux that you get on WindowsXP. Games like Halo and Half-Life 2 aren't there yet, so if you want the best of the best with NVIDIA's or ATi's latest for new blockbuster games, you need to stick to Microsoft.

In the case of OpenGL Doom III, you might not notice the difference - at least, not too much. "I have, for example, a laptop with a Mobility 9800 and I'm getting up to 100, and playable frame rates. The difference between frame rate per second counts don't make much difference for the gaming experience of the general user," Tippett says. "But the enthusiast is going to care."