How do you get it to run properly? Last time I tried it was 20fps slideshow vs same machine pegged at 59fps on windows. Using fglrx.
There are a lot of variables, but LINUX and Wine have recently advanced to the point where it's practical, even on tired, old, marginal hardware. Today, for some testing, I used an old laptop computer that I bought, used, for U.S. $275.00 about 4 months ago. It's a Lenovo T61 "Thinkpad" with nVidia Quadro NVS 140m video graphics and a 2.4Ghz Core 2 duo Intel processor and 2GB of RAM. (I always use nVidia graphics with Linux.) That's not a lot of computer for today's Aces High, whether using Windoze or Linux.
I used the current version of PcLinuxOS, updated to the latest version of the "Wine" windows emulator (V1.4-1).
I installed "Wine" directly from the PcLinuxOs repository, more-or-less as described in this (slightly outdated) tutorial:
http://www.askmisterwizard.com/LINUX/PcLinuxOs2008Minime/SwitchingToPcLinuxOs2008Page04Full.htmInstallation of Aces High was absolutely routine; I ran "wine" at its defaults with no special tweaks at all.
I ran at 1024x768 resolution, with 1024 textures. For my first set of testing I was using the well-known "ndisles" terrain, which displays an attractive overcast of clouds.
My favorite old version of Aces High is Version 2.12.4. I like that version because it supports LAN "H2H" mode which I use in my home when visited by my grandsons. It's also the best version for offline missions, because the "bots" fly more aggressive, more inspired combat. Using that version, I get framerates between 30 and 60 FPS with the graphic set at mid-range and with Ground Detail Range maxed out. The framerate always maxes out at 59 or 60 whenever I climb above 4,000 feet or so. The general feeling is "bright", lightweight, smooth, and responsive.
With the current version of Aces High (V2.27.6) that same machine yields framerates between 29 and 55, only if I diminish graphic detail (Object Detail and Ground Detail Range) all the way down. I have to disable all of the following: Detailed Water, Detailed Terrain, Object Self Shadow, Shadow on Others, Buildings Cast Shadows, Bump Map Buildings, Bump Map My Vehicle or Plane, Bump Map Others Vehicle or Plane. Sitting in the tower at ndisles, I am getting 29 to 32 FPS, depending on the position of the offline bot "drones" flying within view. While flying with graphics diminished to that level, the framerates never dip down to a level that compromises game play or the feeling of flight. It just barely manages to stay above the levels at which I begin to worry, even down very low over airfields with several other nearby aircraft. Combat above 5000 feet is perfectly smooth, with framerates maxed out at 59 or 60.
Using a different terrain that doesn't have any clouds, those framerates increase by about 15%.
The most advanced thing I've done is a recent development. It required a lot of study and patience, but I've managed to create a "Boot DVD" (and also, most recently, a "Boot Flash thumb drive") that will bootstrap almost any modern computer to a version of LINUX that fully supports Aces High 1, Aces High 2, YsFlight, and TeamSpeak. It's very cool, and I carry those tools with me all the time so I can easily evaluate any used computers I'm tempted to buy.
Anyway, I hope this information helps others that want to migrate to Linux. It's a great adventure. In general, I find LINUX far easier to understand, install, and support than Microsoft Windows. The performance of Aces High II yields, perhaps, 60% to 70% of the framerate I would be getting with a native Windows environment. In my experience, almost any PC or laptop built during the past 4 or 5 years has adequate power if equipped with nVidia graphics. According to the PcLinuxOs documentation, this should also work with ATi graphics, but I've found those graphics cards are a lot harder to get working reliably with Linux.
