Why I'm not around much anymore

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#1

Hi everyone (and particularly those who remember me )

I’m just posting to say that I’m not going to be around here much anymore. I’ve been looking over the forums from time-to-time and have posted occasionally, but I removed Windows completely from my hard disk about a month ago and intend never to use it (or any other Microsoft product) again.

So I was wondering if anyone else has tried running any English bishoujo games (old and new) under various programs such as WINE or WineX (or other means which don’t involve paying money to Microsoft)? I never did finish making my bishoujo gaming website, but I hope to continue it over the christmas holidays, and I am hoping to provide some more reviews and a compatibility listing for running these games under the Linux OS, much like those found for “regular” games at the TransGaming website. In addition, it would help greatly if someone could tell me which games can be made to work under Linux, since I really do not want to buy games that will not work under my Operating System. So far I have managed to get Critical Point running perfectly, but nothing else (Someone mentioned also that Snow Drop can be made to work, but I haven’t managed to get it running yet).

Also, does anyone know if it is worth subscribing to TransGaming’s WineX for playing bishoujo games? I know there are quite a few games that do make use of DirectX but there are quite a lot that only use the generic Windows API’s instead. I was wondering if it was much better than the regular WINE for running bishoujo games?

I never did manage to get more than one ending in Kana Imouto and it would be particularly great to get this game working again.

Cheers,
Martin

#2
quote:
Originally posted by TurricaN:
but I removed Windows completely from my hard disk about a month ago and intend never to use it (or any other Microsoft product) again.

Why? I think MS is evil and all, but its software is needed sometimes.

How about using a cheap pentium 2 PC for B-games? after I replace my current pc, I plan touse it for that purpose and win 95/8 compatibility too

#3

All Hail King Bill!!!

#4
quote:
Originally posted by Gurvon:
All Hail King Bill!!!

King Bill? You mean, Billy Boy, right? [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/tongue.gif[/img]

#5
quote:
Originally posted by TurricaN:
Hi everyone (and particularly those who remember me [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img])

Don't worry, we didn't forget you! [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

quote:

I'm just posting to say that I'm not going to be around here much anymore. I've been looking over the forums from time-to-time and have posted occasionally, but I removed Windows completely from my hard disk about a month ago and intend never to use it (or any other Microsoft product) again.

I'm sorry to hear that. I do hope you'll still keep in touch whenever you can.

#6
quote:
Originally posted by Asutaru:
Why? I think MS is evil and all, but its software is needed sometimes.

How about using a cheap pentium 2 PC for B-games? after I replace my current pc, I plan touse it for that purpose and win 95/8 compatibility too

That's the point. It's not about MS being evil or anything like that. This is about my freedom, and the superiority of alternative software over what Microsoft is offering. I do not need Microsoft software for anything. Maybe other software such as games need Microsoft's software in order to run, but I do not need Microsoft's software.

As for the idea of putting it Windows on an old machine, I already used my old computer as a Linux-based firewall. I'm a little paranoid about my security. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Besides, if I were to start using Windows again now, it would be like giving up. I mean, look at Mac OS, it's only slightly more used on the desktop than what Linux is (3.1% compared to 2.7%), and they are already getting native ports of bishoujo games (Transfer Student). I see no reason why Linux shouldn't also start getting native ports if it's popularity continues to increase.

#7

No offense to you Turrican, but it will never make sense to me why people will just outright ban MS products. Sure MS products are inferior in many ways to other systems out there, have many security loopholes, and hell I believe Microsoft is spying on me with windows XP. But I want to enjoy the time I spend on my computer and unfortunately that means loading Windows so I can play 99% of the games out there whenever I choose to. If Linux or Mac become mainstream and the games I want to play are on those OS’ then I will switch. But with the ease of dual OS’ it makes little sense in my mind to not have a version on Windows installed for gaming, unless of course you are not into gaming in which this whole post would not be relevant.

#8

I did dual-boot for about 6 months until I felt comfortable with Linux. You’ve got to realise though that Linux is not like anything that has ever been before. Linux is not like Mac OS. Linux is gaining ground fast. I’m not going to stand around and accept that I should pay for poor quality and expensive software such as Windows just to play games, and neither should you or anyone else for that matter. It makes more sense in the long run to demand that developers take cross platform into consideration. Practically anything written in Linux can be easily ported to just about any other OS, so why write things specifically for Windows? Especially with all of the open API’s and standards such as SDL, OpenGL, OpenAL etc. Portability is a good thing and it amazes me that there are still developers who insist on using proprietry crap like DirectX.

In the end, the games will either come to the OS that I choose or I simply won’t play them. WINE and WineX are nice work-arounds for some games but they are not the ultimate answer. I’m more than happy to play ZSNES and MAME while I wait for games developers to catch up.

#9
quote:
Originally posted by TurricaN:
I did dual-boot for about 6 months until I felt comfortable with Linux. You've got to realise though that Linux is not like anything that has ever been before. Linux is not like Mac OS. Linux is gaining ground fast. I'm not going to stand around and accept that I should pay for poor quality and expensive software such as Windows just to play games, and neither should you or anyone else for that matter. It makes more sense in the long run to demand that developers take cross platform into consideration. Practically anything written in Linux can be easily ported to just about any other OS, so why write things specifically for Windows? Especially with all of the open API's and standards such as SDL, OpenGL, OpenAL etc. Portability is a good thing and it amazes me that there are still developers who insist on using proprietry crap like DirectX.

In the end, the games will either come to the OS that I choose or I simply won't play them. WINE and WineX are nice work-arounds for some games but they are not the ultimate answer. I'm more than happy to play ZSNES and MAME while I wait for games developers to catch up.

TurricaN: I think you are in a way foolish, and I admire you at the same time. It is a good thing that you have strong enough convictions on the subject that you are willing to make a stand on the issue, in spite of the extremely huge pressures of practical reality that mean that you are isolated from (among others) the bishoujo world you obviously care about enough to be here.

Kick ass. Continue to do as your conscience says--that is one of the most important things you can do.

#10

i admire your stand, turrican, and wish you the best cross-OS support in your future i have my own little convictions too that some people think are dumb, but i still feel justified in standing by them…

for example, i refuse to buy an X-box…i am not overly pleased with Microsoft’s near-monopoly on PC OS’s, but not angered enough to boycott it altogether…but i strongly believe that they should have stayed out of the console market, so therefore i don’t care what games they come out with, i will never buy an x-box…EVER…i hate to say it, but even if bishoujo games went exclusively x-box (i know it won’t happen, just making a point) i STILL wouldn’t buy one…i’d have to learn to live without bishoujo games

so you have my full understanding and support…may Linux someday be peppered with good games and lots of bishoujo!

#11

I wouldn’t say that I’m isolated from the bishoujo world. Out of 5 games that I’ve tried running on my system, Critical Point works perfectly, and XChange and Transfer Student both looked promising if I could get them to recognise that the CD was in the drive (Heh, a legal use for a CD crack? ). Someone has reported that Snow Drop works, which makes sense since it runs on the same engine as Critical Point, but I wasn’t able to get it working. And finally, Tokimeki Check-in simply didn’t work after some graphical corruption.

As you can see, not everything currently works, but the situation is only going to get better.

And I haven’t even tried WineX yet. WineX is far better for running Windows games than what WINE is, particularly those that use DirectX, but WineX requires an nVidia card to work, which I won’t be getting until christmas. It has about 40-50% compatibility with existing Windows games.

I really don’t think removing Windows is a foolish thing. In my eyes, those who have continuouly paid for each new version of Windows without even considering any alternatives are foolish. I’m sure people will one day learn, although it will take time.

#12

Just a minor correction. This isn’t one graphics card, but rather, one series of chipsets (The GeForces) from a particular manufacturer.

I agree that it seems kind of stupid, but I’m guessing that it may be that they only “support” that particular chipset. In other words, other cards may work, but they won’t support users who may have problems with them. The developers of Unreal Tournament 2003 say that they only support nVidia cards under Linux, but I know people have had the game running on ATI Radeon cards.

It’s much the same as how Peach Princess only supports running their games on Windows, even though it is possible to get some of them working in Linux. They wouldn’t support a user who has a problem running a game if they are not running it in Windows, and Transgaming would not support someone who is not using a nVidia card. I think the reason is because nVidia is just about the only company who are serious about developing decent Linux drivers for their products. Other graphics cards rely on open source drivers developed by the hacker community.

#13
quote:
Originally posted by ladyphoenix:
i admire your stand, turrican, and wish you the best cross-OS support in your future [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img] i have my own little convictions too that some people think are dumb, but i still feel justified in standing by them....

for example, i refuse to buy an X-box....i am not overly pleased with Microsoft's near-monopoly on PC OS's, but not angered enough to boycott it altogether...but i strongly believe that they should have stayed out of the console market, so therefore i don't care what games they come out with, i will never buy an x-box...EVER....i hate to say it, but even if bishoujo games went exclusively x-box (i know it won't happen, just making a point) i STILL wouldn't buy one...i'd have to learn to live without bishoujo games

so you have my full understanding and support....may Linux someday be peppered with good games and lots of bishoujo!

1) I agree with you one hundred percent.

2) This is EXACTLY why you should buy an Xbox. Or multiple Xboxes. Hell, buy as many of the damn things as you can. Microsoft actually takes a loss off of each one.

#14
quote:
Originally posted by TurricaN:
Just a minor correction. This isn't one graphics card, but rather, one series of chipsets (The GeForces) from a particular manufacturer.

I agree that it seems kind of stupid, but I'm guessing that it may be that they only "support" that particular chipset. In other words, other cards may work, but they won't support users who may have problems with them. The developers of Unreal Tournament 2003 say that they only support nVidia cards under Linux, but I know people have had the game running on ATI Radeon cards.

It's much the same as how Peach Princess only supports running their games on Windows, even though it is possible to get some of them working in Linux. They wouldn't support a user who has a problem running a game if they are not running it in Windows, and Transgaming would not support someone who is not using a nVidia card. I think the reason is because nVidia is just about the only company who are serious about developing decent Linux drivers for their products. Other graphics cards rely on open source drivers developed by the hacker community.


Speaking as someone who currently IS a cog in a corporate behemoth, I have an observation that will probably be useful. Even though it is "a corporation" that does or does not support something, somewhere along the line someone has to actually be able to *do* it, and they have to be good enough that they can help other people fix it. They have to actually *pay* this person to do this work.

So, for instance, there's no Linux support for Peach Princess titles even though some of them can in fact be made to work. If someone wanted to volunteer to see about Linux support for Peach Princess games and was willing to spend several hours a day plugging away at it, they could probably come up with something. And then Peach Princess could say--yes, we support Linux for these titles. But until then it's not going to happen.

#15