Linux Corner

[MandelSoft 2,775]

Well, I still run my SimCity 4 on Windows because various reasons (PC is more powerful, needs to be reliable to run certain programs like 3D Studio Max and FL Studio, I need it for my university work, etc.), but I use Ubuntu on my laptop to familiarise myself with the operating system. Seeing what Microsoft pulls off with Windows 8 (or 8.1) right now (I've shut down OS updates because the last one corrupted my PC), seriously makes me reconsider what OS to take for my next system. In that regard, Ubuntu with Gnome Classic seems to be a viable option...

So yeah, I'm running on two different systems now and I try to master them both. Both have their pros and cons and I'm going to see which one suits me better in the end...

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

I think that as long as you are doing BAT work that should stay on the PC/Windows.  I am having a lot of trouble running gmax under wine because of some operating library problems.

 

On the other hand, a familiarity cruise with Linux is a good thing.  For programming work, I think you'll like it if you use a big IDE like Eclipse.  Even Code::Blocks has its advantages.  The main thing with Linux is that you become more aware of portability issues.

 

If you get a new system, just defeat MS's UEFI locks, and dual boot both operating systems.  I did that for a while earlier, but it is trickier now.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Two things of note:

 

I can now run in hardware rendering mode.  Something finally gave: wine-1.7.6 on Ubuntu 13.10 with graphics driver Gallium 0.4 on AMD RS780.

 

Testing has shown that the SC4 system will run multiple processors without a problem on my machine.  Nice surprise, so the single cpu parameter has been removed from my scripts.  Apparently there is/was something wrong with the processor dispatcher in the O/S.

[MandelSoft 2,775]

That sounds nice. Have you noticed a performance improvement with the CPU limit removed?

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Yes.  My biggest city (300,000) is now playable without the staggering lag.  However, there are still some frogs with the hardware render of some puzzle pieces during placement, noticeably FLUPs.  Had to revert to software rendering to place them, then returned to hardware for speed.

 

There are warts on this with new pieces being rendered with diagonal striping until the final pass of the renderer.  But it is nice to play with hardware rendering when before it would degenerate into colour patches after about 10 minutes.  There are so many variables involved here that it is hard to say which fix from the distributor was responsible for the improvement.  I have new versions of the Linux kernel as well as an update to wine 1.7, and the default driver for X-org was changed as well.  I think a lot less of AMD who stopped supporting my chip set.

[Alejandro24 575]

Linux Mint 16 "Petra" released, with both now classic desktops in LM: MATE and Cinnamon.

In the new features is presented Cinnamon 2.0, MDM 1.4, a new tool for USB format (finally!!!), better EFI support, and others.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Played today in both hardware (half an hour) and software (about the same) rendering with no processor restrictions and frequent saves.  No noticeable difference with hardware or software rendering.  Software is better because of the odd patterning with highlighted pieces and lots in hardware mode.  With dual cores allowed, the system is much faster switching between underground and surface modes.  Larger cities, above 300,000 Sims run much better now without the single core option.

 

Ubuntu 13.10 with Gallium Xorg driver 0.4 on wine 1.7.6.  All current updates applied.

[MandelSoft 2,775]

So, two days ago, I got my first program working by means of Wine: FL Studio 11, which is one of my favourite programs.

Ubuntu seems to become more and more a viable alternative for Windows...

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Wine is getting better.  Have you tried the latest beta? (1.7.8 at the moment).

 

And, of course, the native mode applications are just as user friendly or better than the ones on Windows.  It becomes a matter of accommodation.  It really isn't all that much of a leap from Photosuite to the GIMP.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Tried setting my wine decor to Windows 8.  Played for an hour and a quarter but had two CTDs during that time.  Setting my decor back to Windows 7.  The interval between crashes seems to be shorter (around 25 minutes) with W8 as opposed to W7 which seems to be somewhat longer.  Internal saves prevents crashes in most cases anyway.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Tech. Note

 

Today I built a new user level account in my system and did the following:

 

1. Created a new, default wine prefix.  It came in as Windows XP decor.
2. Installed the digital download version of SC4Deluxe.  With no plugins runs without a hitch and no additional libraries.
3. Installed NAM 32 excluding RHW and GLR and friends.  Game still runs with no additional libraries.
4. JRE comes basic with a new user account on this version of Ubuntu, so I was able to run TSCT from a terminal, no sweat.
5. Java compiler is not installed in the wine prefix, and therefore I got a fail on the controller compiler.  An issue still to be resolved.
6. Cleanitol ran like a charm.
7. The only fly in the ointment is that the custom install of the NAM was a little shaky without the windows controls installed.  Runs OK, but you have to backtrack on some options when you select them.

Opened the Fairview region and one of the cities.  Runs fine, but I missed all my custom content.

 

The point of this exercise is that a user on Linux will probably have a similar experience.  I am on Ubuntu 13.10 64-bit with wine-1.7.11 (as of yesterday).

 

So what this means is that any user on Linux can run SC4 with no fooling around with winetricks to set up libraries.  I didn't even load DirectX 9.  This whole thing ran as a non-privileged user, with only permissions to yank stuff across from my Downloads directory in my main account (saves download time).  No fuss, no feathers.

 

Users might get a better deal by installing the two flex-grid controls from winetricks to improve the NAM installation, but that's it.  To run TSCT you need this script:

 

#/bin/bash
cd ".wine/drive_c/Program Files (x86)"
cd Traff*
java -jar TSCT.jar
 

This runs TSCT at the Linux level and not within wine, which is not at all necessary.

 

I am hoping to be able to run the NAM controller compiler in a similar manner, but haven't got that sorted out as yet.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Further to my last, some progress has been made but not enough for my system.

 

If you can get Java to install properly on your wine prefix, you can run the NAM controller compiler without a problem, otherwise you get the default monster.  This does not prevent the game from running nor the NAM from working.

 

By some adroit manipulation and back and forth with the NAM team, I was able to cut down the size of my controller, but the method is not ready for ordinary joes.  It is a rather computer-rat solution, and I don't feel it should be passed on because it has to do with my specific hardware.

 

Several wine updates have occurred.  Current is now wine-1.7.15
 

[eugenio1982 6]

hi all ,

it's been 4 years now that i start play SC4 again , this year i ran it on Linux

wanna share with you linux players my conf in order to find a final configuration without glitches ,

 

usually i use 2 type of configuration ,

 

a)

 

-direct3d----->DirectDrawRender  = opengl

                    >Multisampling           =enabled

                    >UseGLSL                   =enable

                    >VideoMemorySize       =1024

 

Plus i use Sc4 Luncher and i set it to " opengl " & cpu count : 2 ( game doesn't crash )

 

results : better visuals FX due to the full colours (32bit) but the game run slower

 

b)

 

-direct3d----->DirectDrawRender  = gdi

                    >Multisampling           =enabled

                    >UseGLSL                   =enable

                    >VideoMemorySize       =1024

 

in Sc4 Luncher  i set it to "software " & cpu count : 2 ( game doesn't crash )

 

results  : 16 bit graphic visuals  but the game run faster and with less refreshing glitches problems ,

 

 

anyway...........

both ways leads to the refresh problem related to scroll, ...

i noticed that sc4 luncher got a specific option to workaround the bug which is present in windows too but less intense.

 

another note : Compare performance by setting the string

 

"HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Wine/Direct3D/OffscreenRenderingMode"

 

to "fbo" , "backbuffer", or "pbuffer"

will give some intersting result in OPENGL mode troubleshooting

 

hit me back

regards ,

 

Eugenio

BEST conf tested; ( i run the game with i5 , 8 gb RAM and Nvidia NVS5200 ( gtx based) ) + ubuntu 12.04 LTS gnome

 

regedit ( under wine ) ;

 

direct3d----- >DirectDrawRender             = opengl

                    >Multisampling                    = enabled

                    >UseGLSL                           = enabled

                    >VideoMemorySize             =1024

                    >OffscreenRenderingMode =fbo

 

sc4launcher: -directx -16bit -hardware -cpucount:2

 

the issue here is the" 32bit mode" along with "directx" tha slow incredibly down the game

 

while use 16 bit avoid completly the refresh problems , some effect are missing (e.g: can't see the water shot of the fireengine)

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Now which registry keys are you referencing?  That post is a bit ambiguous and needs to be more explicit indeed for good explanation.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

This was in my e-mail today:
 

Hi,

We are writing to you to notify you that we will be shutting down the
Ubuntu One file services, effective 1 June 2014. This email gives
information about the closure and what you should expect during the
shutdown process.

As of today, it will no longer be possible to purchase storage or music
from the Ubuntu One store. The Ubuntu One file services apps in the Ubuntu,
Google, and Apple stores will be updated appropriately.

As always, your content belongs to you. You can simply download your files
onto your PC or an external hard drive. While the service will stop as of
1 June, you will have an additional two months (until 31 July 2014) to
collect all of your content. After that date, all remaining content will
be deleted.

If you have an active annual subscription, the unused portion of your fees
will be refunded. The refund amount will be calculated from today's
announcement.

We know you have come to rely on Ubuntu One, and we apologise for the
inconvenience this closure may cause. We've always been inspired by the
support, feedback and enthusiasm of our users and want to thank you for
the support you've shown for Ubuntu One. We hope that you'll continue to
support us as together we bring a revolutionary experience to new devices.

The Ubuntu One team

I never put anything on this cloud and I really hope no-one else did either.  It was clearly a shot in the dark, and I gather from this that it won't be on Ubuntu 14.04 when it is released later this month.  Cloud computing is not for me, and I heartily unrecommend it to any and all.  I do occasionally use dropbox.

[eugenio1982 6]

Now which registry keys are you referencing?  That post is a bit ambiguous and needs to be more explicit indeed for good explanation.

ok , maybe you right : look at the screenshot below

 

caricare immagini

 

 

anyone using wine can access the windows registry used by wine by typing : "regedit"

as u can see is structured pretty much as the windows original one.

 

Under the" direct3d" folder u can see several strings usefull to tweak how wine handle opengl and gdi .

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Much better thank you.  Most users don't play with the registry, but if you do, save it both before and after.  You'll need the after image for any new wine prefixes you might make.  At the moment I have three different wine prefixes.

[Alejandro24 575]

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Trusty Tahr has been released.

 

http://releases.ubuntu.com/14.04/

http://www.muylinux.com/2014/04/17/ubuntu-14-04-lts-trusty-tahr-2

 

Only left to wait for Linux Mint 17.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Thanks, Alejandro.  I haven't got that notice from the distro yet.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Now running Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.  The web site says that this release will be supported for five years.

 

Got it on an overnight upgrade that took about four hours while I slept.  Everything looks OK except a couple of games I like are broken at the moment (missing libraries, I think).  Issued two bug reports on this.

 

Surprise, surprise, the gmax material editor appears to be fixed now, which means that something happened deep in the system's guts.  Not sure about this as I need to make a complete test.  Both gmax and the BAT come up and do run, but I haven't really exercised them.

 

Unless you are heavily into social networking and/or have a touch screen, this release is pretty unremarkable.  A lot of stuff was added for this, but since I don't social network nor have a touch screen, it doesn't affect me.  There are now more control options on the dash to cut down the scope of any searches it does.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

wine-1.7.18 received today from the distro. 

 

SC4 Deluxe runs better now on hardware rendering than on software. 

 

Some glitch causes a scrolling run away on software rendering.  Tried turning off edge scrolling but no soap.  This does not happen in hardware mode.  Still a few problems in hardware mode, but the insane confusion caused by buffering seems to have been fixed.  Now only dimmed out things appear to be striped rather than dimmed.

[jmsepe 2,040]

Hey guys. I know a lot you in this forum use Linux. I just want to know what are are the advantages of using Linux over Windows?

[MandelSoft 2,775]

For me, the pros are:

- It's quite fast and light-weight. Start-up times (completely fresh) are equal (maybe a bit longer) to Windows 8's start-up from hibernation (tested on a machine with both OSes installed).

- The system is updated quite often. You can automatically install your updates and it's quite clear what gets updated.

- There's a lot of freeware available for Linux systems substituting paid alternative.

- The interface is highly customiseable to your preferences. I'm quite a fan of Gnome Classic. The interface feels quite intuitive.

- Lot of support on the internet when you encounter problems. Just Google your problem and you'll be sure you get a hit.

However, the cons for me are:

- You quickly are forced to go into the console/kernel/command-line environment when you encounter problems.

- Linux installation might be a problem on Windows 8 PCs due to UEFI secure boot settings in the BIOS. Technical know-how is recommended when installing Linux.

- Not everything works on Linux. There are emulators like WINE to counter that, but they do have their limitations.

- Often, the interface of the free alternative programs (like LibreOffice or GIMP) is a bit clunky and functionality may be limited.

Overall, in my situation I still use both systems for different purposes. I still use Windows for most of my stuff, but for "light-weight" work, I'm quite fond about Ubuntu 12 LTS.

Best,

Maarten

[jmsepe 2,040]

I see you compared Windows 8. I am using Windows 7 now. Is it advisable to change to Linux? 

[riiga 234]

Here's a good write-up on why/why not to use Linux.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Seems like a reasonable summary.

 

Linux has several decors from various distributors.  I have used: Debian, Red Hat, Linux Mint, and finally settled on Ubuntu.

 

Currently, I am using Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (five years support) with wine-1.7.18 for regular Windows executables and Mono JIT compiler version 3.2.8 (Debian 3.2.8+dfsg-4ubuntu1) for .net executables.  I've been on Linux since Vista was announced and it wouldn't fit on my machine at that time.

 

One of the nice things about Ubuntu is that you can download the desktop version, burn it on to a DVD, then execute it as a trial without impacting your machine.  New machines may require you to disable Microsoft's invidious UEFI settings that prevent alternate boots.

 

If you are happy with the trial, you can decide whether to take one of three options:

 

1. Format your machine and install Ubuntu (only).
2. Create a partition and install Ubuntu in parallel to whatever else you are running.
3. Install Ubuntu in the same partition as your existing O/S parallel to your existing system.

 

Options 2 & 3 will also install the GRand Unified Bootloader (GRUB) which gives you the choice of which operating system to load when you do a bootload of your system.

 

As mentioned, you have a large choice of desktop decors, but the default one is Unity.  Look here for a summary.  This is the one I finally settled on, but I do hide the launcher (that bar on the left), and I have turned on the general menu which I use in place of the dash (the button at the top of the launcher), but that's me, and I suit myself.

 

Currently, I run SC4 Deluxe 1,1,641 quite handily with less than 1 minute to load the program (about 1GB of carefully selected plugins).

 

It is true that you have to be somewhat technically aware to run any Linux system.  However, this is not mandatory unless you want to personalize some functions or some application that doesn't have a GUI, of which there are several.  I have a script that allows me to make any non-GUI script callable from an icon.  There are sometimes reasons to use a script from a console.

 

If you have a dual boot, Windows file system (NTFS) can be read and written by the Linux file system (gvfs) along with about two dozen other file system formats.  This means that your windows files can be attached directly to the Linux file system.  One thing you will immediately notice is that there are no "drive letters" in this file system except under wine, and these are virtual.

[jmsepe 2,040]

Thanks for that info Riiga. 

[Ocram's Razr 964]

OK, this is getting really annoying! Linux is absolutely NOT user friendly! I have been trying to install a driver for my Wi-Fi card (my laptop is a Dell Inspion 1545 and it uses a Broadcom WiFi card) for the past 2 hours. I managed to download everything I need from the Broadcom website and to un-tar (decompress) it but trying to install it in the terminal either gives me no result or 3 errors. I am using Linux Mint 17 (Quiana).

 

--Ocram

[MandelSoft 2,775]

From my experience, Ubuntu is a bit more flexible than Mint. For me, it just made the difference of being able to handle an UEFI boot mechanism or not, which is a small, but pretty essential difference

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

I backed out of Mint to Ubuntu because i prefer dealing with the front end of the horse.  Debian is just a little to plain-Jane for me.

 

I'd be surprised if Ubuntu didn't have a default driver for all your hardware.  It does for mine.