Ubuntu

[Bizman]

yeah too bad for some of us ubuntu wont work.

Have you tried other Linux distributions? The Debian based Ubuntu is not the only one, their marketing dept. only has done a good job. I've been told that certain hardware works better with Fedora than Debian and vice versa. IIRC HP and IBM had their favourite distros, for which they also had paid support.

Look at this DistroWatch list of top ten distros with short reviews with pros and cons of the editions and their suggested alternatives. Look for those with a Live-CD for testing purposes, so you don't have to install or alter anything yet.

[deadstikmac]

So if not "Ubuntu" try a few other distro's I like....

Pinguy
RIPLinux
Redhat

[W7LPNRICK]

Ubuntu Lime 13 cinnamon went in really easy....video & ethernet drivers were auto updated. 

[save]

Like MrRipley ,I prefer the light ubuntu version, but on servers I like CentOS , much like Slackware , you have options to go text mode or GUI way.
Started out my Linux career with Slackware 1.2 on diskettes 

[bbosen]

I've had good experiences with Fedora, Ubuntu, and PcLinuxOS.

I find PcLinuxOS the easiest for beginners. It just "feels" like Windows in a good way (and if you have an nVidia graphics card, Aces High runs pretty well with it, using the "wine" emulator that is free and easily available from their repository).

[ebfd11]

Ok here is a seriously stupid question and excuse me if I ask this. (Actually multi part)

1 what is Ubuntu and how easy is to install and run?

2 is this OS compatible with most components or do I need to run an emulation program on the side too?

3 how does this improve the game or do I take a hit on framerates due to system usage??

I may have more stupid questions to follow.

LawnDart

[guncrasher]

lawndart it will be a hassle to play aces high using Ubuntu..  I have been trying for over a year and I cant even install it on my system.  I guess there's a conflict somewhere  but if you want a challenge when you get bored with upgrading your puter then I guess you could try it.


semp

[Bizman]

As for questions 1 and 2:
1) Ubuntu is a Linux distribution which usually is quite easy to install and run. There are several versions of it for different purposes and machines.
2) Ubuntu has quite a good compatibility with most components. Gaming quality GPU drivers may be the biggest problem.

As semp said, playing AH on any Linux would be a hassle. It can be done with an emulator, but as you can guess, it hits the framerate.

I've got a dual booting system which I created with Wubi. It installs Ubuntu from within Windows and puts an uninstall link into Control Panel's Programs and Features utility.

Another interesting tool I read about recently is the LinuxLive USB creator, a program that lets you choose from a myriad of Linux distros and runs from within an USB stick, even inside Windows on a virtual machine!

As for question 3) It doesn't improve your gameplay concerning AH, but it might improve your security in other Internet related tasks as well as give you access to many kinds of tools to express yourself.

[bbosen]

This thread has been hitting all around one of my favorite subjects: LINUX gaming and LINUX with Aces High. I do it all the time! I published detailed instructions here:

http://askmisterwizard.com/LINUX/LinuxTheEasyWay2012/LinuxTheEasyWayPage01Full.htm

Those instructions start out VERY basic, but if you continue to the last page of video clips, you will see how I use it with Aces High. The framerates I get with LINUX are about 70% of what I get under Windows. With a modern PC and nVidia graphics card, I find the performance to be entirely acceptable.

One other point: Bizman mentioned using a bootable USB key to carry LINUX around with you. That's also a good option and I have published detailed instructions for it too. Look here:

http://askmisterwizard.com/LINUX/LinuxOnUsbFlashMediaPage01Full.html

I made up a set of bootable USB flash media devices containing LINUX and Aces High, which I carry around with me wherever I go. I use them to determine whether or not I'm interested in buying a used computer. Great compatibility test.
 

[gpwurzel]

BBosen, did you find a native linux video driver perchance?. I'm carrying out a test of wine/linux mint for AH at home, frame rates aren't bad (constant 40fps - not really a good test tho, old laptop, old card etc etc). I'm grabbing a ssd in a couple of weeks, so before I even think of going down the windows route (only reason I use windows as for AH), I'll do a full blown test on my main machine (i7 chip @2.80ghz, 12gb Ram, crossfired 5770's, 2TB HD etc).

Wurz

[bbosen]

Yes, gpwurzel. PcLinuxOS automatically detects nVidia graphics hardware when it's present, and automagically loads the optimized, LINUX driver for it. No worries with PcLinuxOS. I can't remember whether Ubuntu does that automatically or not. I know that Fedora does NOT do it automatically. I've never tried LINUX Mint.

(In all cases with LINUX and Aces High, I've had better luck with nVidia graphics cards than with Radeon cards. About 3 years ago I had a Radeon rig running well with Aces High 2, but I remember it took a lot of tweaking and hammering to get it smooth. I've had several disappointing episodes trying it again since then. Never had those problems with nVidia graphics cards and LINUX.)
 

[WWhiskey]

I've used Ubuntu for years, ran AH on it years ago threw WINE, my game computer is a win7 , I just got it out of the shop again, for the 3rd time in 4 years, my Ubuntu computer is the one I had before I got this one 4 and a half years ago, it was  an XP computer that I ran AH on till I crashed it. For safe secure browsing of all things Internet , there is nothing better than an old computer filled with Linux / Ubuntu , I haven't tried to run AH on one in a long time, but once I can, windows will be gone for good!
My sister brought me an old laptop, I say old, it might have been a year old, it was crashed, and had all of her books on it, my friend who got me hooked up with Linux loaded Ubuntu on it, and within 2 hours had everything off the laptop and onto a disk for her,  she still uses that computer to this day, she also hands it to whoever is in the office and needs to "look something up" without fear of them damaging it!
If you have a second computer, or and older " trashed" one, load Ubuntu up on it, you won't regret it!

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Yes, gpwurzel. PcLinuxOS automatically detects nVidia graphics hardware when it's present, and automagically loads the optimized, LINUX driver for it. No worries with PcLinuxOS. I can't remember whether Ubuntu does that automatically or not. I know that Fedora does NOT do it automatically. I've never tried LINUX Mint.

(In all cases with LINUX and Aces High, I've had better luck with nVidia graphics cards than with Radeon cards. About 3 years ago I had a Radeon rig running well with Aces High 2, but I remember it took a lot of tweaking and hammering to get it smooth. I've had several disappointing episodes trying it again since then. Never had those problems with nVidia graphics cards and LINUX.)
 

Ubuntu offers proprietary drivers for both AMD and Nvidia cards after the first login to desktop.

[gpwurzel]

Thanks MrRip, useful info.

Wurz

[gpwurzel]

Something that might be useful for linux users in the near future, came across a thread about using TIR in linux.
Found it here (page 60 or so of a conversation etc http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?showtopic=38828&st=610 - will keep an eye on it for future updates, but looks v. promising so far.

Wurz

edit - working my way to the end of the conversation to see if there is a precompiled version for testing purposes my end.

2nd edit - using trackir via wine http://code.google.com/p/linuxtrack-wine/
Final edit http://code.google.com/p/linux-track/wiki/LinuxtrackSetup  so, now to dual boot my current system with linux mint, and see where I go from there - if you guys dont see me for a while, it's gone horribly wrong lol...