Linux or Windows?

[Thrillem]

As I am buying a new computer I would appreciate if someone could tell me what OS is better for playing ROL. Until now I have been playing on Windows Vista but as someone told me that Linux was better for this game I thought I better ask it in this forum.

[roonwick]

you could go dual boot, and install both. since I only play on linux, I cant say much to compare performance of RO. If you're buying a new computer, I wouldnt just let RO determine the OS.

[Kyrottimus]

Linux may not generate the raw FPS of windows (due to Direct X vs OpenGL), however it's more stable, less herky-jerky (smoother) and far more efficient with RAM.

And for me, I'd never even heard of RO until I made the switch to Linux and started looking for linux-native games.

I've tried playing on windows but the controls and spell-triggering seems to have a greater delay (more sluggish) and while the windows client may have looked slighting prettier to the eye (maybe better for sceenshots) with the right graphics card and drivers Linux RO runs great and looks great too. Plus the totally random crashes and freezes I've experienced with the windows version convinced me to stay playing it on my linux boot.

[Kitsuni]

Originally Posted by Kyrottimus

Linux may not generate the raw FPS of windows (due to Direct X vs OpenGL), however it's more stable, less herky-jerky (smoother) and far more efficient with RAM.

And for me, I'd never even heard of RO until I made the switch to Linux and started looking for linux-native games.

I've tried playing on windows but the controls and spell-triggering seems to have a greater delay (more sluggish) and while the windows client may have looked slighting prettier to the eye (maybe better for sceenshots) with the right graphics card and drivers Linux RO runs great and looks great too. Plus the totally random crashes and freezes I've experienced with the windows version convinced me to stay playing it on my linux boot.

This was my experience on Windows; the game had a far higher frame rate (about double), but the input latency was horrilbe.

Anything that involved the keyboard and mouse was like playing in a pit of tar.

[Thrillem]

So basically almost everyone is using Linux as OS?

[Eyfura]

If you have actually no interest in linux, I'd say go with windows. It will be most likely the easiest way. I don't think just RO is reason enough for linux as it works well on windows also. Also if you seriously would like linux, pay attention of your new computer's gpu. Nvidia used to be better for linux, not sure though if that is the case anymore as I haven't been following.

I personally use linux, and have been using for last years as main system. I can say I'm happy with it. RO works well, not much complaints.

[NotScias]

Originally Posted by Eyfura

If you have actually no interest in linux, I'd say go with windows. It will be most likely the easiest way.

This.

Linux will require you to learn new things and change some old habits and your understanding of the system (which sadly most of people is totally unwilling to do).
If you aren't ready for it and only consider it as a free Windows, if you play mainstream games, use some professional video/image/sound editing or Microsoft programs (Photoshop, Office...), or you're just happy in your current environment, programs and don't want to bother with new things, just stay on Windows really.

RO might or might not perform better on Linux (in most of cases it won't), but it's not worth investing so much effort switching just for it.

And I say this as a happy Linux user since 6 years.

[DuoMaxwell]

Originally Posted by Shining-Scias

This.

Linux will require you to learn new things and change some old habits and your understanding of the system (which sadly most of people is totally unwilling to do).
If you aren't ready for it and only consider it as a free Windows, if you play mainstream games, use some professional video/image/sound editing or Microsoft programs (Photoshop, Office...), or you're just happy in your current environment, programs and don't want to bother with new things, just stay on Windows really.

RO might or might not perform better on Linux (in most of cases it won't), but it's not worth investing so much effort switching just for it.

And I say this as a happy Linux user since 6 years.

Hence the beauty of live CDs and dual boots. Linux costs nothing to try, if Thrillem has used multiple OSs the shock isn't that bad.

Also hardware support isn't that bad, it's only the random wireless card, printer or scanner, whatever the brand spanking new-just came out mobos and GPUs or oddball "high end" sound card or NIC that gives trouble.

The brand new stuff usually gets sorted out by the next update cycle which is every 6 months for the popular distros like Ubuntu, Fedora and Mint.

Also, Valve has also found that their games get about a 20-25% increase in performance moving from DirectX on Windows to OpenGL on Linux without months of tweaking to make it work: http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/1...dsrc=popbyskid

[NotScias]

Originally Posted by DuoMaxwell

Hence the beauty of live CDs and dual boots. Linux costs nothing to try, if Thrillem has used multiple OSs the shock isn't that bad.

Yes but LiveCDs don't answer mid/long-term questions like : Will I be able to play the latest <insert_latest_aaa_game> ? Will my new <printer/soundcard/gpu...> work fine without configuration ? Will I be able to read and edit perfectly my <insert_proprietary_format> without headaches ?

I'm not saying it's not worth it to try it, but the user needs to have an interest doing it, needs to be curious and willing to learn new ways, change old habits about how to use an OS because Linux is totally different, no matter how mainstream distros try to make it easier for newcomers.
Same thing about Dualboot, you won't waste hours and several gigabytes just for the sake of running one crossplatform program or messing with Compiz's wobbly windows animation effect. It needs an interest, (real) curiosity being the first. If the user just doesn't care and expects a virus-free Windows he will just ends disappointed and become a genuine anti-linux troll afterwards.

Also, Valve has also found that their games get about a 20-25% increase in performance moving from DirectX on Windows to OpenGL on Linux without months of tweaking to make it work: http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/1...dsrc=popbyskid

I know about it. But that's on a specific hardware (NVIDIA I guess), on an engine that has been deeply optimized for OpenGL (who knows it could have been room left to enhance their D3D backend) while closely working with GPU companies that optimized their drivers for that engine. No matter there's progress.
But besides that, the current Linux's graphical stack is terrible. Horribly complex, slow and outdated especially when we talk about X11 and Mesa.
About GPU drivers : Besides NVIDIA's proprietary ones that are decent enough but totally non-integrated with Linux's standards, the rest is between mediocre and broken. Proprietary ATI drivers are bugged, underperforming, lack many features, and support only recent GPUs. Older ATIs need to use open-source ones that are very underperforming, lack most of features and especially dynamic power-management.
So we have Intel left, and even if their open-source driver is the most complete one, Intel GPUs aren't fit for heavy 3D games at all.

Yes I don't deny there has been progress (yay I can finally play a video with a compositor running !), and will be, thanks to Valve urging ATI/NVIDIA to fix their blobs, but saying that gaming on Linux outperforms Windows is a lie in most of cases. Actually like many other say and I join them, RO performs worse on Linux, mainly because the OpenGL renderer of it isn't on par with the D3D one, but for people with badly supported GPUs using half-backed drivers like I mentioned above it will be even worse.

[Kyrottimus]

Originally Posted by Shining-Scias

...but saying that gaming on Linux outperforms Windows is a lie in most of cases. Actually like many other say and I join them, RO performs worse on Linux, mainly because the OpenGL renderer of it isn't on par with the D3D one, but for people with badly supported GPUs using half-backed drivers like I mentioned above it will be even worse.

"Performs" is a very broad term. If you're talking raw FPS, that's one thing, though anything past 65 or 70fps usually goes beyond the refresh rate of the monitor (and the human eye) and I doubt anyone will notice anything past that.

While RO is obviously optimized for D3D, there are some benefits to playing in linux. For one, the input (controls) are far more responsive than on windows. Also, for systems with marginal RAM resources, the game will have an easier time managing ram if the OS isn't hogging a bunch of it.

This is obviously just an opinion, and different PCs, operating systems and software settings/drivers will change the performance dramatically.

For me, I'll sacrifice FPS for a more responsive game (keyboard/mouse inputs having less delay). And on my current computer, having tried windows (several times) vs linux, I only see about a 5-10fps increase and IMO the sluggishness of the controls on windows (and the random crashes) just simply isn't worth it.