PlaneShift
Support => Linux Specific Issues => Topic started by: Morla Phlint on October 13, 2007, 02:48:29 pm
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Hello!
I have been away from Planeshift for quite a while and now I want to return. However I have to start from scratch now. I mean I'm waiting for my brand-new notebook to be delivered to me in the next days and then I want to install Linux on it. Yeah \\o// I have finally decided to get rid of Windows :flowers:!
So my question actually is what Linux distro to choose? I haven't tried Linux before. The laptop I have chosen is HP 6715s(it comes with Free-DOS) (I don't have enough money at the moment in order to buy a better one, just a poor student ::)) and I want to get the best out of that notebook in order to be able to play Planeshift.
What do you say? Which one to choose?
greetings
morla
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If as you say you haven't tried linux before, then i'd probably have to recommend one of the Ubuntu flavours, easy enough to set up, pretty easy to install standard software. There are always plenty of alternative distros, and each has it's own particular strengths and weaknesses, Ubuntu, ( and Kubuntu, Xubuntu, etc), has a decent balance of features, designed with new users in mind, it's not what I use, but it's what i recommend for a first-time user.
However as with everything linux there are a few major differences to get to grips with, it can be a steep learning curve at first, i'd prehaps suggest a dual boot configuration, as that way you can still access a familiar OS until you are ready to move to linux full time.
As it's a laptop you may find some issues with graphics drivers, however the forums here are pretty good if you know your graphics chipset :)
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Thank you for the fast reply, evil scotsman!
I was thinking whether I should choose Ubuntu (&co) or OpenSuse for example... I have read they are beginner-friendly but what are actually the differences and especually the pluses and minuses?
Which distro are you using by the way?
I think I'll accept the challenge and do it without dual boot. I'm mad enough for it ;D
I don't have a Windows copy here and don't have the slightest willingness to buy it. So when I have said I turn my back at Windows, I won't go back. I have postponed this enough and I really enjoy leaving the cheeky Microsoft. Even if I would have a bit problems with Linux later :P
greetings
morla
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:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Morla................I miss you.......please hurry back...........love Sanxx
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use this page to help you:
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/
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you could always try freespire to, it's very easy to get into if your mostly used to windows like me :whistling: i almost emidietly found stuff that i needed to use tho... i hav't yet used version 2.03 as for some odd reason it refuses to run on the computer i have the older version 1.0.13 on heh
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Thank you!
@miadon I know the site and have used it for first orientation. It's really very good. But I want also to know which distro Planeshift runs well on.
@Elvi Thanks, I'll think/read about it a bit more :thumbup:
greetings
morla
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Hi,
Breifly, the ubuntu(kubuntu for a windows like environment, but that doesn't matter) is a good choice for start.
I suggest you, if you want to get more comfortable to read about linux system itself (some basis like changing dir etc)
Why Ubuntu:
- Realy stable distro
- Easy up to date and well maintened.
- A good user community (check out the ubuntu forum, i guess all your problems, if you have some, will be already listed)
Now, on my personnal comp i just have some "troubles" with ATI drivers (it's just a matter of choice in fact, no game but a fancy display: Beryl).
Note: I have no share in the Ubuntu project, neither on linux.
Note(bis): I suggest you also making at list a dedicated partition for /home dir and maybe for /usr
And install the game in /usr/local/game if it exist, and if you share your comp, or in your home dir
Regards.
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Thank you!
Now the question is Kubuntu or Freespire? :lol: I just can't wait for my laptop to start testing.
I think the Linux-client will be ready for downloading by then so I will have the new Planeshift as well :)
greetings
morla
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Go for OpenSuse 10.3. It is BY FAR the best SuSE distro to date. All of the problems I've had in the past have been fixed. It is blazing fast compared to other installs I've tried. Now I have never tried gentoo or slack so I can't say it is the fastest. OpenOffice opens as soon as you press the button. Press and BAM, there it is. \\o// The only problem I had with the install was the ati driver (I also have a box with an nvidia card which had no problems). It tries to install the latest ati driver (which is only for HD cards) and of course that won't work (unless you have an HD card). A quick google search will reveal the howto fix the driver issue. Everything else, installed out of the box, including the biometric scanner.
There are two cds to download now (only one is needed) and the rest is installed via the online repositories. The updater is extremely quick (compared to previous releases) but not nearly as quick as the updater in ubuntu (which is insanely awesome).
Ubuntu, Kunbuntu would be my second choice.
Araye
Here is my lspci so you know the hardware I have installed.
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/PM/GMS, 943/940GML and 945GT Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/PM/GMS, 943/940GML and 945GT Express PCI Express Root Port (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) IDE Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA AHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc M52 [Mobility Radeon X1300]
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82573L Gigabit Ethernet Controller
03:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection (rev 02)
15:00.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI1510 PC card Cardbus Controller
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i vote for (k)ubuntu. APT is a great installer/whatever and the new release will make it much easier to work with X.
if you are going to use ubuntu, you could wait a few more days when gutsy 7.10 officially comes out, so then you can download it, or order a cd (takes 6-10 weeks, but is free)
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Actually I use Zenwalk mostly, a slackware based distro I first discovered when I was hunting for one that was small, fast, and worked with my wi-fi card, zenwalk worked with minimum fuss, so i stayed with it, it isn't the most beginner friendly distro, but I know it well enough now, but I can't honestly recommend it for everyone :)
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My first distro was Mepis (http://mepis.org). Laptop and wireless support is second to none.
I now use Sidux (http://sidux.com) since , at the time, Mepis went to an Ubuntu-base and I had compiling issues.
You can use Distrowatch (http://distrowatch.com) to check out other distros.
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One decision you need to make apart from the distribution you are going to use is which desktop you will be more comfortable with. You can choose a GNOME desktop or a KDE desktop or an also-ran such as XFCE, Fluxbox or whatnot. The two most widely used are Gnome and KDE, the others tend to have a lighter load on your resources and less features. Ubuntu has a Gnome desktop and Kubuntu is the same distribution with a KDE desktop. You can run applications interchangeably but issues can crop up. I prefer KDE, Gnome hides too much of the configuration in XML files for my liking, or so it seems to me anyway.
As far as ease of installation and use goes, all the majors have their own quirks as well as their own package management systems. SuSE has Yast, Mandriva has Urpmi, Fedora has Yum, all using RPM packages generally, Ubuntu has Aptitude or Synaptic using DEB packages. Those are the GUI package managers, there are command line ones and some of these can be used on the command line as well. Actually I do not think Yum is graphical, Fedora has a script that uses Yum in the background, I usually use the command line with yum.
I tend to like Mandriva although currently I am in windows and Fedora is my most completely configured linux on this machine. I have a Mandriva on it too but am using the Fedora as it was what I had on hand when my hard drive died. It got configured (mail and newsgroups mostly)first and I did not really feel like duplicating the effort when I installed the latest Mandriva. I think I have an orphan Slackware partition on one of my drives too.
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I would suggest opensuse 10.3 too if you check these forums a lot of people have had issues running ps with Ubuntu
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Ok, I'll keep reading at the forums and in the internet until my laptop is delivered and see what comes out. :detective:
Thank you all for your responses :flowers:
@TheBlunderbuss: Awesome site, thank you! :)
greetings
morla
EDIT: And what about Freespire? It says it's based on Ubuntu. Does this mean that I would likely have problems with it running Planeshift ??? ?
It seems that the greates problem will be the ATI drivers...
EDIT 2: I see now it's actually based on Debian...
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personally for a newcomer I suggest sticking to Suse, Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS or Mandriva with my vote going firmly on openSuse
I have installed openSuse on more than a dozen laptops now with no real problems
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The ones I know best are Mandriva and Ubuntu.
Difficult to say which one is more userfriendly.
If you want a good preselection of software on just one cdrom then go for Ubuntu. Ubuntu also has a very good and vast user community and an extensive wiki where you can easily find help. I also prefer debs in combination with apt-get/synpatic for installation to rpms/urpmi.
Mandriva has a nice control panel though where you can easily configure (almost) everything you want. When coming from Windows I think that is a bit more intuitive than Ubuntu with the tools a bit more scattered.
Also I think that the sudo concept of Ubuntu is a bit more Windows like (and of course clearly OS X like) than the usualy Linux way of using root.
Also I prefer Gnome but would not be able to really recommend it over KDE because it is much too much personal liking than anything else. Gnome is a bit less cluttered with Features than KDE, something I prefer, but Gnome also tends to give you less - sometimes basic - configuration options even if you want to. I still use Gnome though.
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Thank you all!
I think I will give OpenSUSE a go. ;) But my laptop still hasn't arrived (weekend in Germany is really holiday ;D), so I have time to keep thinking. I have already burnt two CDs: one for Kubuntu and now one for OpenSUSE and don't feel like burning a third one... :whistling: I have downloaded Kubuntu, OpenSUSE and Freespire, installed InfraRecorder and BitComet today just in order to get my Linux ready for the laptop :lol: I'm crazy!
greetings
morla
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you could always use cd-rw's to test, that don't waste any extra cd's :)
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Another thing you might want to do is download various distributions live cds and try them out before you decide anything. A live cd is a bootable operating system on a cd. It does not need to touch your hard drive at all and many of them let you install on the hard drive from the live desktop.
Freespire is the freeware version that was grudgingly allowed by Linspire which began life as Lindows on the Walmart cheapo computers. They were sued by Microsoft over the name Lindows and only allowed the free version because of pressure from the Linux community and a threat of litigation for violating the GPL under which most of the software is licensed. The have made a lot of licensing deals for software and drivers and you can expect the hard sell from their package management system as they (Linspire) really want you to buy their stuff. I looked at it once and never again. I think they used some odd file system too but do not recall very well.
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My own Opinion is, if you are a lazy Person you should stay at Windows.
Linux is only for People which like to spend time for their Computers.
I am personally using Debian, and like it very much,
but i am interested technically and do all things for my Laptop by my self.
bye Bert
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Go for Gentoo, it's easily the most newbie friendly.
*runs off snickering*
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I am having a problem with opensuse because the Suse display configurator Sax2 does not want to play with the nvidia proprietary driver and vice versa. consequently the game would chug to a halt. It may be I did not know what I was doing but I have dealt with this kind of thing for some years with other systems and should have been able to figure it out.
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did you install the nvidia drivers using yast/zypper? I did and have no probs with 10.2 perhaps this link (http://en.opensuse.org/NVIDIA) will help
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I agree, (K)ubuntu is propably the best system for beginners. Even if their attitude is, in my eyes, doubtable.
Suse.. hm, to me its the Windows among Linux-distros. Suse I gave a try in version 8.2 and those days it was a pain. But this was some years ago.
Nowadays there is only one valid distribution to me: Sidux (http://www.sidux.com). Pure Debian Unstable! Its everything, other than unstable and user-unfriendly. Great community, always willing to help you out when in need.
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yes I did the easy way, guess I'll have to try the hard way if I ever seem to care, I only really need one working os per machine, this one has at least three the other has at least two. Oddly enough every time I loaded the game in that suse I got the message bar that performance is better in 16 or 24 bit color so maybe I just needed to tweak the xorg.conf file some more. Part of the problem could have been I did all the updates as part of the install before I got to the desktop and enabling 3d acceleration, it defaults to the open source driver, I think. Anyway by the time I got to futzing with the x driver my kernel had changed. I'll probably have to compile it from the drivers on the nvidia site. Strange that Suse has drivers packaged by nvidia and I had more trouble with it than the other distros where all I had to do was install a third party repository. I have had trouble with those before though so it is likely one of those things where you need to find the right time window or you will have a problem.
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Suse.. hm, to me its the Windows among Linux-distros. Suse I gave a try in version 8.2 and those days it was a pain. But this was some years ago.
Despite your qualification it is a trifle unfair to base your opinion of suse on a release 8 versions ago a bit like comparing Win3.11 and Vista
@Bilbous
Honestly all I did after installing opensuse with the default nvidia drivers was add ftp://download.nvidia.com/opensuse/10.2/ into yast as an installation source and run yast software update it configured 3d and everything didn't have to touch sax2 at all
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Well as you might suppose I haven't spent a lot of time on it, and the problem I am having might be 10.3 specific as the easy way said click this link which was suppose to add the nvidia specific source, they had a different set of instructions for 10.2 and older.