Recommended Torque compatible Linux distros?
by Musashi · in Technical Issues · 09/02/2006 (8:00 am) · 7 replies
I am looking to download my first Linux distro, so I've had no experience with them, I've looked at Ubunutu, after doing a GG search I've found people have had issues running torque if they have an ATI Radeon GFX card (Which I do) I've looked at the three shown on the TGE page, Redhat, Debian and the other one, two having a price and well I'm not 100% on Debian although being a free one. So I am asking for people's recommendations. It would be much appreciated.
#2
There is no real "recommended torque" distro -- Torque works on any distro, just compile it -- if necessary, install any pre-reqs.
Jon's suggestions are simply personal preference -- both Ubuntu and Fedora are "desktop friendly" and "easy to use" (compared to some distros).
I would suggest that you just simply review the differences between distro's, and take into consideration what, if any, experience you have with Linux -- if you have none, I would suggest something simple, as Jon did, otherwise, just determine your needs based on your wants and find a distro that satisfies all those wants and needs.
11/25/2006 (10:16 pm)
@Musashi,There is no real "recommended torque" distro -- Torque works on any distro, just compile it -- if necessary, install any pre-reqs.
Jon's suggestions are simply personal preference -- both Ubuntu and Fedora are "desktop friendly" and "easy to use" (compared to some distros).
I would suggest that you just simply review the differences between distro's, and take into consideration what, if any, experience you have with Linux -- if you have none, I would suggest something simple, as Jon did, otherwise, just determine your needs based on your wants and find a distro that satisfies all those wants and needs.
#3
11/26/2006 (12:07 pm)
I have tested a lot of distributions , the only one which worked at the first install was : ubuntu
#4
12/05/2006 (6:27 am)
Yep it's also good to know what GG Employees and Associates use. I for one tried 3 other distros and Ubuntu. I end up in Ubuntu not just because it almost feels its workable out of the box but I just found out that TGE Linux users who contribute back for Linux related fixes mostly use Ubuntu.
#5
12/06/2006 (10:58 pm)
I'm using Ubuntu also, and the ATI drivers from the site work like a charm even on my Dell lappy. I've had no problem with it so far. 
#6
I use is very easy in this and Debian. I've sadly had too many problems compiling in RedHat to recommend
it for development, but among the Fedora variants is a community supported enterprise version that comes
with damn near everything you need on a DVD.
SUSE..well, things have happened that worry me. I'm avoiding it, even with a pair of fresh DVDs sent
to me by them on my desk.
I think RedHat and Ubuntu are the lowest common denominators - people who aren't exceedingly technical
will find these easiest to install if they need to do it themselves. With so many corporate desktops going for
either of those, casual games should be tested against at least these two :)
If you're uncertain about what will work in other distros than what you have, there are several options:
1.Virtual machine. Simply install a minimal text-only distro in a VMWare Player machine or something.
2.Compile in libraries statically.
3.Ship with a launcher that preloads the libraries you include (SDL, OpenAL) in case their distro has an old
and broken version. Or you're actually using a custom version of either, like I do.
Hardware support is getting better for graphics cards. The latest Creative cards are probably a problem still,
but they seem aimed at people with more money than sense ;)
12/12/2006 (7:47 am)
I've settled for Ubuntu, and I'm very happy with it. Installing the massive number of development toolsI use is very easy in this and Debian. I've sadly had too many problems compiling in RedHat to recommend
it for development, but among the Fedora variants is a community supported enterprise version that comes
with damn near everything you need on a DVD.
SUSE..well, things have happened that worry me. I'm avoiding it, even with a pair of fresh DVDs sent
to me by them on my desk.
I think RedHat and Ubuntu are the lowest common denominators - people who aren't exceedingly technical
will find these easiest to install if they need to do it themselves. With so many corporate desktops going for
either of those, casual games should be tested against at least these two :)
If you're uncertain about what will work in other distros than what you have, there are several options:
1.Virtual machine. Simply install a minimal text-only distro in a VMWare Player machine or something.
2.Compile in libraries statically.
3.Ship with a launcher that preloads the libraries you include (SDL, OpenAL) in case their distro has an old
and broken version. Or you're actually using a custom version of either, like I do.
Hardware support is getting better for graphics cards. The latest Creative cards are probably a problem still,
but they seem aimed at people with more money than sense ;)
#7
You can even get Ubuntu pre-installed on a Dell. But for some stupid reason a PC with Ubuntu ( free software ) preinstalled was several hundred dollars more than the same PC with Windows ( $200-$1000 software ) preinstalled. Can you guess who Dell supports? ;)
11/14/2007 (6:50 pm)
Right now, I'm very happy with Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy. No bugs at all. :D The later versions ( Feisty, for example ) were testing some "experimental" features and are not as stable. It's free. It works. It can even run WoW. What more could you ask for? :PYou can even get Ubuntu pre-installed on a Dell. But for some stupid reason a PC with Ubuntu ( free software ) preinstalled was several hundred dollars more than the same PC with Windows ( $200-$1000 software ) preinstalled. Can you guess who Dell supports? ;)
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