Old Games
I’ve got a Linux machine in the living room hooked to the TV, and I’m slowly installing some older games on it. The computer itself is still no slouch, even though it’s over 6 years old. Ubuntu + Wine opens up a very wide spectrum of excellent classic titles. The latest is Carmageddon 2. It was no more problematic to install on Linux than Windows XP and it runs great.
For those deprived of Carmageddon 2, the setup is very simple: a handful of drivers enter a location populated with little people milling around and the drivers try to kill eachother. Killing pedestrians earns extra points, and various powerups are scattered around for collection. That’s it. The simpler games are usually the better ones. I remember Joe and I used to play this game for hours when it came out in 1998. A single player game of course, but we’d switch back and forth and cause mayhem.
I have an Xbox 360, but the controllers I have are wireless. I dohave the wireless USB dongle so they can work in a Windows environment, but the trick is getting it to work in Linux. It’s not a huge deal, and I may just get a wired Xbox 360 controller and be done with it. The best scenario would be if I can use the controller in place of a mouse for games like Baldur’s Gate. There’s practically no keyboard interaction there, and I hate having a keyboard on my lap and mouse at my side while sitting on the couch. I want to lean back and relax with a controller in my hand and enjoy the game.
The time will come.
What?! How’d you get in here?
- Molahey, Baldur’s Gate