Linux - SuperTuxKart 0.7 has been released
by Andrew on 31/12/2010 2:45:58 PM
It's been over a year, though 0.7 has been released in time for Christmas and New Years!! Lots of changes - read on for more!
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Linux - Warsow 0.6 Released
by Andrew on 31/12/2010 2:17:57 PM
Warsow 0.6 has been released for Christmas and the New Year! It's been a long time since the last update (16 months) so there's obviously plenty of new things to check out!
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Linux - Warsow 0.5 Released
by Andrew on 4/10/2009 9:59:59 AM
After a very long time (nearly 18 months!) Warsow 0.5 has been released. Three additional gametypes have been added as well as new maps and tweaks. Don't let the '0.5' version number fool you, Warsow is very polished and well worth a download.
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Linux - Nexuiz 2.5.2 Released
by Andrew on 3/10/2009 4:48:37 PM
With no updates since May, Nexuiz fans can rejoice with Nexuiz 2.5.2 being released! A new gamemode, a few extra maps and plenty of tweaks have made there way into this point release.
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Linux - Ubuntu – Unwanted Poster-boy?
by Andrew on 21/08/2009 8:43:59 PM
When you're listing popular Linux distributions, you've got to include Ubuntu somewhere at the top. Similarly, when you're listing Linux distributions that are disliked by the hardcore Linux community, Ubuntu is again somewhere at the top.
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Linux - PS3 Slim - No more Linux? Ahh, but for how long...
by Andrew on 20/08/2009 9:20:06 PM
Apart from the exciting new stats (33% smaller, 34% less power, US$299/AUD$499/€299/£249/¥29980) there was the news that it would no longer support other operating systems. Considering that some companies actually sell the PS3 pre-loaded with Linux and some rely on the PS3 for cluster duties, this must be upsetting news. But fear not...
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Linux - Review: Eeebuntu 3.0.1 NBR
by Andrew on 12/08/2009 10:13:08 PM
One of the downsides with the 70x and 90x EeePCs was that a modified version of Xandros Linux (loaded as the default) was a little too restrictive. The problem being that many Windows users didn't appreciate the change (nothing new there I know) of the custom Xandros and many Linux users wanted a distro that they had more control over.
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Linux - Nexuiz 2.5 has been released
by Andrew on 16/04/2009 10:32:09 PM
After nearly 12 months, we have a new version to play with! This is by no means a small release, there's plenty new and exciting.
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Linux - Glest 3.2.1 has been released
by Andrew on 15/02/2009 11:44:18 AM
Glest 3.2.0 was only recently released (8th of Feb) and now a minor update has been released to fix a few additional bugs.
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Linux - SuperTuxKart 0.6 has been released
by Andrew on 27/01/2009 9:06:58 PM
The next version of SuperTuxKart has been released, with much improved handling, new tracks, nitro instead of wheelies and a host of other changes.
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Linux - Review: Linux Mint 6 'Felicia'
by Andrew on 25/01/2009 4:06:29 PM
Based on Ubuntu 8.10, you might pass Linux Mint off as being yet another Ubuntu spin-off, though Mint has been around now for while (first release was on the 27th of August, 2006) and it's still a popular distribution, sitting in the number 3 spot on the Distrowatch page hit ranks.
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Linux - Review: Fedora 10
by Andrew on 19/01/2009 11:30:49 PM
I've previously reviewed Fedora 10 Beta and I liked what I saw, though was a bit jaded by the difficulties in setting up proprietary drivers. Much time has passed and Fedora 10 (final) was released on the 25th of November, 2008 – more than enough time for polish to be added and a hundred or so updates to fix the more obvious bugs.
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Linux - Review: OpenSUSE 11.1
by Andrew on 17/01/2009 10:50:35 PM
OpenSUSE (in various forms) has been around for quite some time and has been quite popular with developers and business users. It currently holds Distrowatch's number 2 spot on the page hit ranking and has a thriving community of users. Each release has seen the distro improve, though it's still not a distro that jumps to mind when most people think of Linux.
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Linux - How to enable Nvidia drivers in OpenSUSE 11.1
by Andrew on 17/01/2009 1:54:44 PM
OpenSUSE, unlike Ubuntu and Mandriva, doesn't automate the installation and configuration of the proprietary Nvidia drivers though by following a few simple steps you can have your Nvidia hardware pumping.
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Linux - How to overclock Nvidia cards in Ubuntu/Kubuntu 8.10 and 9.04
by Andrew on 9/01/2009 12:15:30 AM
This is a first for www.HeadshotGamer.com, though after searching the web for this information I thought it would be best to write up a quick 'HowTo' guide so that anyone else searching the interwibble for answers can quickly get their Nvidia cards overclocked.
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Linux - TORCS Version 1.3.1 Released
by Andrew on 20/12/2008 10:50:06 PM
For all you car racing nuts out there, "The Open Racing Car Simulator" 1.3.1 has been released and is available for download.
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Linux - Ubuntu 9.04 'Jaunty Jackalope' – What to expect
by Andrew on 23/11/2008 11:25:42 AM
It seems only yesterday that 8.10 was released and now the 9.04 “Jaunty Jackalope” release cycle has fired into life. Truth be told, I wasn't very happy with Ubuntu 8.10. Yes, I did give it an honest go though for me it wasn't different enough from Hardy to justify replacing existing 8.04 installs and there were a number of known issues with getting the Nvidia proprietary drivers working.
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Linux - Review: Ubuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex' – Missed the mark?
by Andrew on 22/11/2008 10:22:31 PM
As some people have gathered reading my previous distro reviews, I'm an Ubuntu user, so I was waiting with high hopes that the final release of 8.10 would serve as a meaningful upgrade. I've previously reviewed Alpha 2 (not really usable) and Alpha 4 (this was usable) and I was thinking it was going to win against arch rivals Mandriva and Fedora. Well, I was wrong.
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Linux - Gaming and Linux software RAID – Your path to pwnage
by Andrew on 3/11/2008 3:28:23 PM
Hard drives are often forgotten as there isn't a huge amount you can do, apart from buy a Western Digital VelociRaptor. There is one more option though, using two (or more) inexpensive drives and RAID them together to increase the speed dramatically. This way you can get to high speed nirvana without destroying your budget.
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Linux - OpenArena 0.8.1 released
by Andrew on 3/11/2008 1:13:25 AM
One of the best free first person shooters has just had a point release
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Linux - Nvidia Linux drivers 177.80
by Andrew on 8/10/2008 10:32:06 PM
Just been released and adds compatibility with the GTX260, GTX280, 9800GTX+, 9800GT and 9500GT cards.
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Linux - Gaming on Linux – What are your options?
by Andrew on 6/10/2008 5:40:24 PM
I'm a gamer and I'm a Linux user. Yes, this puts me in a very small group of people in the world. The mass majority of gamers are either consolers (Wii, PS2/3, Xbox 360) or Windows gamers. My friends often ask “What games can you play on Linux? Isn't it just a command prompt?”
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Linux - Review: Fedora 10 Beta (Gnome)
by Andrew on 4/10/2008 8:24:51 PM
These days Fedora has matured and is arguably one of the top 5 distributions. It's RPM based (similar to Mandriva and OpenSuse) and has a vocal and passionate community. It's also been ear-marked by me as one of the possible distros to upgrade to, so long as it ticks all the gaming boxes and doesn't play up too much!
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Linux - Review: Simply MEPIS 8.0 Beta 2
by Andrew on 1/10/2008 7:35:56 PM
SimplyMEPIS 8.0 Beta 2 is backed by the Debian Lenny core and is packing kernel 2.6.26, OpenOffice 3.0 RC2 and KDE 3.5.9. Sounds good and stable (the other main distros have already switched to 2.6.27rcX and KDE 4.1.x). After my experiences with KDE 4 I'm actually relieved to see KDE 3.5 again. Yes it now looks a tad dated but it does feel like home. Things work, the style is consistent and navigation is easy.
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Linux - Review: SuperTux 0.1.3
by Andrew on 29/09/2008 9:23:59 PM
SuperTux is a Super Mario Bros clone, and it's a very good one. All the old Super Mario traits are there though with a few spins to keep the copy write police at bay. You play as a penguin (read: Mario), initially small though finding and grabbing an egg (read: mushroom) you'll grow.
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Linux - Review: Tuxpuck 0.8.2
by Andrew on 29/09/2008 2:51:56 PM
Gameplay wise, it's not an easy game. Playing against Tux is suicide (in the airhockey sense) as it's extremely difficult to get a shot past him. Playing Arcana is easier, though it's still a difficult game. She also has a special serve where the puck spins in a circle and the launches to either your left of right corner.
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Linux - Review: Mandriva Linux 2009 Release Candidate 2 (Gnome)
by Andrew on 27/09/2008 9:49:21 PM
I've previously reviewed Mandriva Linux 2009 Beta 1 using KDE 4.1 as the window manager. I didn't like what I saw. I do believe this wasn't Mandriva's fault, as my gripes were the same for Kubuntu 8.10 Alpha 6 (using KDE 4.1.1). This time, it's the Gnome window manager and this is the last development release before the final version hit the download mirrors on the 9th of October 2008. Hopefully they've got everything right and there won't be many changes between this version and the final one.
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Linux - Review: Xubuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex' Alpha 6
by Andrew on 21/09/2008 4:20:03 PM
This is the first time I've seriously looked at Xubuntu as a gaming distro and it could turn out to be a good choice, as the Xfce desktop manager is lightweight (well, it's lightweight compared to Gnome or KDE).
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Linux - Review: Kubuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex' Alpha 6
by Andrew on 20/09/2008 10:36:25 PM
I've previously looked at Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 2, Mandriva 2009 Beta 1 (KDE4.1) and Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 4 and Kubuntu 8.10 Alpha 4. Now, just weeks away from the beta, I'm again looking at the Ubuntu family, starting with Kubuntu 8.10 Alpha 6. This might seem that I'm flogging the 'buntu's for all they're worth, though an OpenSuse, Fedora and another Mandriva revisit will be published soon. Enough about that, let's see what just over a months worth of updates has brought us.
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Linux - Review: Kubuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex' Alpha 4
by Andrew on 24/08/2008 9:15:57 PM
You're probably wondering why I'm reviewing Kubuntu 8.10 Alpha 4, when I've already reviewed Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 4 – both of these distributions are looking at the same 'Intrepid Ibex' repositories and therefore have access to exactly the same kernels, proprietary drivers and games. The answer is simple; it's using KDE and not Gnome, and I don't believe Kubuntu gets the attention that they deserve.
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Linux - Review: Ubuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex' Alpha 4
by Andrew on 15/08/2008 10:16:51 PM
I've previously looked at Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 2 and Mandriva 2009 Beta 1 to see what we should expect once the final versions have been released. After finding that Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 2 was just a bit too alpha for gaming, I've decided to have another look to see if things are starting to become a bit more stable.
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Linux - Review: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (ET:QW)
by Andrew on 13/08/2008 9:07:32 PM
When it comes to games you can buy 'off the shelf' at your local game store, the list of ones that can be installed natively (without wine) on Linux is very short. The list gets extremely short if you only want to include newer games. Thankfully, companies like id Software openly support Linux and provide not only installers for Linux, but have also open sourced some of their earlier engines. They continue this support with their latest game; Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (ET:QW).
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Linux - Review: OpenArena 0.8.0
by Andrew on 10/08/2008 8:17:53 PM
I've previously reviewed version 0.7.7, which itself was a minor update of 0.7.6. Now that 0.8.0 has been released (on the auspicious date of 08/08/08) I think it deserves another look.
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Linux - Review: Powermanga 0.90
by Andrew on 10/08/2008 5:05:15 PM
To cut to the chase, Powermanga is a 2D scrolling shoot-em-up that has nothing to do with Japanese cartoon characters abusing steroids. Version 0.90 was released in September 2007, so it looks like development has either ground to a halt or is very very slow.
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Linux - Review: Mandriva Linux 2009 Beta 1 (KDE4.1)
by Andrew on 31/07/2008 5:36:06 PM
Hot off the press, I downloaded the KD4 combo live/install CD for x86-32. I would have much preferred to check out the 64bit version, but alas, this wasn't
available in a Live CD format. This is the first of two planned betas before the two release candidates with the final public release date being the 9th of October 2008. This is some time away so rather than
wait to see if this will be any good as a gaming distro, I'm jumping in now to try it out.
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Linux - Review: Ubuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex' Alpha 2
by Andrew on 13/07/2008 4:55:45 PM
It seems like only last week that Ubuntu 8.04 (and family) was released and already news of the next version is filling Linux sites. Ubuntu 8.04 LTS was a
great release and will have desktop support for the next 3 years. This sounds like great news, though you're only covered for security updates, you won't be getting the latest version of Nexuiz, OpenArena
or your other favourite 'apt-gettable' game when you next apply the patches. Luckily for you these should be available in Ubuntu 8.10, though by the time this ships on the 31st of October they may soon be
outdated.
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Linux - Review: OpenArena 0.7.7
by Andrew on 2/07/2008 11:59:37 AM
OpenArena is a remake of Quake 3 Arena, using the open sourced Quake 3 engine that Id software lovingly gave to the open source community (major, major props
go to Id). Though OpenArena is still in development, the game itself is very complete and extremely fun to play. Version 0.7.7 was released on the 29th of May 2008 and contained a host of bug fixes so I
thought I'd jump in a review the game – it's long overdue.
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Linux - PlaneShift 0.4.01 has been released
by Andrew on 30/06/2008 11:01:11 PM
After a long wait, the new version of PlaneShift is out. This new version uses version 1.4 of the Crystal Space 3D Engine and has a host of changes and bug
fixes.
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Linux - Review: linuX-gamers Live DVD 0.9.3
by Andrew on 29/06/2008 10:17:59 PM
Based on Arch Linux, the linuX-gamers Live DVD (bit of a mouthful) first came about as a way to show gaming on linux to the uninitiated. I get the feeling your
average PC gamer (read: Windows gamer) wouldn't accidentally stumble across this DVD unless it was either bundled with a computer magazine or a Linux gamer introduced it to them, though if they did it would
definitely dispel the myth that you can't play games on Linux.
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Linux - Nexuiz 2.4.2 has been released
by Andrew on 12/05/2008 6:17:58 PM
From the looks of it, Nexuiz has followed in the footsteps of UT2004 by making a node based game type where node ownership equals victory. Onslaught was
extremely popular on the UT2004 servers (and still is, though mostly the demo maps 'Primeval' and 'Torlan') and with this inclusion Nexuiz has something else to offer the FPS gamer.
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Linux - Review: Nexuiz 2.4
by Andrew on 26/04/2008 10:19:33 PM
Nexuiz has been around since 2002 and has a strong following. It utilises the Darkplaces engine, which is based on the open sourced Quake 1 engine though the
graphic effects are more akin to Quake 4 than to Quake 1. This has also affected the performance of the game as an old PC that can play Quake 1 smoothly might not be able to run Nexuiz at a playable rate of
frames.
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Linux - Review: Warsow 0.42
by Andrew on 25/04/2008 3:34:31 PM
Warsow is a FPS with graphics in the thick outline style similar to Team Fortress 2, though the gameplay is more your traditional FPS with a few new twists,
such as a dedicated 'special' button which allows you to dash and to jump off walls. The graphics in the game are supurb and the 'comical' feel to the players and levels really add to the gameplay. The
3D engine is based on Qfusion, which is in turn based on the open sourced Quake 2 engine.
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Linux - Review: The Open Racing Cars Simulator (TORCS) 1.3
by Andrew on 24/04/2008 10:39:00 PM
I'll say it right from the start: TORCS isn't complete. Even though the 1.x version number usually denotes a program that has stepped out from testing and
has emerged (gentoo pun) as a complete application. TORCS visually ok, though there are far too many rough edges and I experienced a number of crashes while playing the game.
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Linux - Review: SuperTuxKart 0.4
by Andrew on 24/04/2008 9:15:09 PM
Super Tux Kart 0.4 was released on March the 4th 2008 and is available for all the major distros through their repositories, making this game easy to get a
hold of. The version I tested was 0.4 running on Ubuntu 8.04 (64bit).
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Linux - Review: Progress Quest 6.2
by Andrew on 24/04/2008 6:14:17 PM
This is a bizarre one folks. You see, Progress Quest isn't really a game, as you don't really play Progress Quest – you merely let Progress Quest play
itself. Confused? Join the club, we don't have t-shirts as yet.
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Linux - Review: Glest 3.0.0
by Andrew on 22/04/2008 10:28:42 PM
Glest is a brilliant RTS for Linux. In fact, I'm saying it's the best native RTS for Linux hands down. A big statement, but in all honesty they're not up
against much competition.
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Linux - Review: FreedroidRPG 0.10.3-3
by Andrew on 22/04/2008 5:59:40 PM
FreedroidRPG is one of those games that if you didn't know it existed, the chances of you stumbling upon it would be slim to none. Unless you're like me and
go through the games listing in Ubuntu, madly adding games just to try them out.
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Linux - Unreal Tournament 3 (UT3) Linux Client, where art thou?
by Andrew on 1/04/2008 10:13:48 PM
Unreal Tournament has always been a favorite of mine. UT2004 still gets a good workout on my main machine, which until recently was running Kubuntu 7.04 (it's
now running Ubuntu 8.04 beta if you have to know). I've been waiting for UT3 for years with the knowledge that it should be natively installable on Linux. I'm still waiting.
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