All this began to change with the introduction of Steam for Mac, which brought a huge repository of titles and the credibility to make developers stand up and take notice. This was then followed by the Mac App Store and subsequent porting of iOS favourites like Angry Birds and Flight Control.

Read on to take a closer look at the current options for gaming on a Mac…

System Requirements

With Apple’s efforts to keep their product line simple, it can be unclear whether your Mac is powerful enough to meet various games system requirements. Though your Mac may be perfectly suitable for most other tasks, many of the early Intel Mac’s were shipped with underpowered and obsolete graphics cards. In order to find out your system’s specs, navigate to your “Menu -> About This Mac -> More Info -> System Report (OS X Lion only) and take a look next to Graphics/Displays to see which graphics card your Mac contains.

Though there are certainly exceptions, to put it very broadly; if you’ve got a recent Intel-powered Mac running Snow Leopard, 2GB RAM and enough hard drive space to spare, you should find a selection of modern games which run natively on your Mac.

Boot Camp

If your Mac is lacking specs-wise, an alternative option to gaming within OS X is to partition your hard drive and install Windows just for gaming. As most games are optimized for Windows, even a modestly powered Mac can produce surprising results. OS X’s Boot Camp Assistant makes the process easier, but it can still be a daunting task to setup, so here’s a brief guide to getting your Mac running Windows alongside your OS X install:

Before beginning, make sure your Mac is fully updated and backed up and you have a copy of Windows XP, 7 or Vista at hand.

Using Spotlight, launch “Boot Camp Assistant” located in your Utilities folder. This will bring up the introduction window. Once you’ve read the text, hit “Continue” and, depending on which version of OS X you’re running, you may have to install some additional software via download.

Now you need to choose how much space to allot Windows and it’s important to pick the right amount of space as Windows will not allow later resizing. The default amount is 5GB but that isn’t really going to cut it for gaming, so I chose to give Windows 80GB from my 500GB hard drive.

How much space you give to Windows is up to you but a good baseline amount for none-serious gaming is probably around 80GB, though you can get by with a lot less in a pinch and I have previously ran such partitions at just 10GB without issues for the occasional older game.

Once these steps are completed, your Mac will restart and begin to install Windows normally, just complete the installation process as you always would. Once Windows is installed and you’re booted into the operating system, it is very important to insert your OS X installation disc so that the correct drivers can be installed.

With this done, your Mac is ready for Windows gaming!

Steam

It’s hardly an exaggeration to state that Steam changed the state of Mac gaming overnight. Long a staple of PC games, developers Valve come with a large catalogue of games which can be bought on one computer, then shared via your unique Steam account on other computers you own, syncing data such as saves along the way too. This obviously means a big win for customers, but also for developers too as Steam’s fair pricing method and quick delivery ensures that piracy is kept to a minimum.

To get started with Steam, head over to the website here and click on the green button titled “Install Steam Now” to download the small installer file. This done, mount the Steam disc image and drag into your Mac’s Applications folder. Steam will then download approximately 37MB of additional data.

The next step is to create a free Steam account, the sign-up process is simple and does not require a credit card, just an email address and user name. Once Steam is installed, you can browse the store for the latest titles, free games and demos – make sure to keep an eye out for the great deals which come up regularly.

The Mac App Store

Though the Mac App Store will probably need little introduction by now to most Make Tech Easier readers, it is still worth taking a moment to remark upon the excellent games which can be found within. iOS favorites such as Angry Birds, Flight Control, World Of Goo – all relatively lightweight games which should run on most Macs running Snow Leopard and all available to Mac users. The Mac App Store is not limited to such lightweight puzzle games though and also features more immersive titles, such as; Rome Total War, Civilization V, Bioshock and Call Of Duty.

Final Thoughts

I hope that the above guide has helped to highlight just how far Mac’s have come for playing games. While a standard Mac notebook may not outperform a custom-spec PC gaming machine, it does at least offer much choice and value for money, with a minimum effort and time spent setting up. Though Leopard is the minimum required OS for Steam and Snow Leopard for the Mac App Store, even older Macs still have some great old games available to them by employing Boot Camp and Windows.

Note: The exact step-by-step procedure can vary from one OS to another. Whenever possible we will include details enough to work everywhere, but it’s possible your system may not behave exactly as indicated here. Additionally, Minecraft is still in development and is currently in Beta 1.4. Some of this information may change over time.

Basic Server Startup

While there is a Windows-format .exe file to run the server, all platforms can use the .jar file identically, therefor this guide will cover the .jar method. You will of course need a working Java installation on the machine which will be running Minecraft. For best performance and stability, Linux users are encouraged to use the official Java runtime instead of an open alternative.

If Java is installed and the .jar file is downloaded to an appropriate location, open up your command prompt/terminal to the location where you saved the .jar file. You’ll want to make sure the file is in its own directory, as it will generate several other files and directories the first time it is run.

To launch the server, enter the following command (all OSes):

#The -X options are recommended memory settings for improved performance
java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraft_server.jar nogui
#The "nogui" option can be omitted if you'd like a GUI,

At this point, the server will generate the needed config files as well as a base world for players to join.

Configuring the Server

You may be tempted to load up the client and play right away, but at this point, nothing is configured. Shut down the server and take a look at the .jar file’s directory again, and you’ll see several new files.

Most are pretty self-descriptive. But for the sake of being thorough, here’s a summary:

• world – Directory containing map data
• banned-ips.txt – List of IP addresses specifically banned from connection
• ops.txt – List of Operator (admin) names
• server.properties – Main server configuration file
• banned-players.txt – List of banned players by name
• server.log – Server’s log file
• white-list.txt – List of players specifically allowed via whitelisting

The one we’re most concerned with is server.properties. This file holds pretty much all the configuration options the server allows. The default one looks something like this, but with comments added for clarity.

#Changing this will generate a new world folder with this name
level-name=world
#Toggles whether or not The Nether is active on this server
hellworld=false
#Enable or disable mob spawning at night
spawn-monsters=true
#Whether or not to verify logins.  Better security if left to 'true'
online-mode=true
#Enable or disable cows, pigs, etc
spawn-animals=true
#Maximum number of concurrent players
max-players=20
#Bind to particular IP.  It is STRONGLY recommended this be left blank in most circumstances
server-ip=
#Whether or not to allow players to harm eachother
pvp=true
#If you want to be able to reproduce your level, you can specify a seed number
level-seed=
#Which port to bind the server.  Take note of this, you'll likely need it later.  
server-port=25565
#Whether or not to enable whitelisting.  See link in section above for details on whitelisting.  
white-list=false

External Access

If you’re attempting to run this on a home broadband connection, you likely have a few extra steps you’ll need to take before anyone but you can access your server. First, you’ll need to know if you need port forwarding. In short, anything running as a server on your computer binds itself to a certain port number. That way, any data coming into that computer labeled with that port number will be routed to the correct program. If you’re behind a home router, the router must be made aware that you’re running a server so that all incoming data on that port goes to the right computer.

Still with me? Port forwarding can be tricky but here’s a summary of how to get the job done. If it’s not enough, here’s a great site devoted entirely to helping with this task.

For starters, we’ll need to know the IP address of the Minecraft server. There are a dozen ways to do that graphically depending on your OS, so here are two ways that’ll work on any major OS from the command line:

#Windows
ipconfig
#Linux/OSX/Any UNIX-type
ifconfig

On home networks, it’ll likely start with 192.168.x.x. Take note of this as the server’s IP. Your router’s IP is likely very similar, but replace the final number in the set with a 1. For example, if ifconfig showed you 192.168.1.50, your router’s IP is likely to be 192.168.1.1.

Now that we’ve got the server IP and a good guess at the router’s IP, open a new tab in your web browser and enter the router’s IP into the address bar (once again, likely 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1). Chances are you’ll face a login screen. If you don’t know the password, try using the factory login.

Once you’ve got logged into your router, look around for NAT, Virtual Server, or Port Forward settings and enter the IP and port of your server as required.

Once again I highly recommend PortForward.com if you run into any trouble.

Dynamic DNS

Most home broadband users have a dynamic IP address, meaning it changes every so often. For people to be able to easily access your server, you’ll need to have a good name they can always access instead of an ever-changing IP. That’s where dynamic DNS comes in. When you sign up with a (often free) dynamic DNS provider, they give you a name like myserver.dyndnsprovider.com. You run a small client program on your server that connects to the provider every so often and informs them of any changes to your IP. Whenever someone accesses the name, they forward the request to your current IP.

There are several such providers out there, but this author has always had good luck with No-IP.com. Signup is quick and free and they provide client software for every major OS.

Additionally, some routers and modems have built-in support for many popular dynamic DNS providers. It may be worthwhile to check your device before trying to install local client software, as it could save you a lot of headache.

Conclusion

It may have taken a little bit of time, but hopefully at this point you’ve got a solid server up and running. Setting up any server can be a hassle. This one, at least, is all but guaranteed to keep you and your friends entertained for quite some time.

Steel Storm: Episode I is available for free download for Linux, Mac, and Windows. Episode II is still in beta, but those who pre-order at a reduced price can play the beta version now. This review will cover Episode I.

Visual Presentation

Steel Storm is very pleasing to the eyes. Do not let the words “top down” fool you. Although it functions like a 2D top-down shooter, the game is actually rendered in 3D, giving you the full depth of each level, ship, and obstacle. Weapons fire and explosions are as bright and colorful as you would expect from a modern 3D shooter.

Steel Storm includes advanced graphics features like dynamic lighting and anti-aliasing, which make the game look stunning, compared to others in its genre. With moderate graphics settings, it worked well on both my 2.6Ghz quad core desktop and my Intel Atom/Nvidia Ion-based netbook.

You can choose different camera positions for your ship, which is particularly useful if you prefer a slightly angular view rather than straight top down.

Features

The Linux version of the game came with both 32-bit and 64-bit executables, making it easy to install and run. To begin the game, you create a player profile and are immediately given options to start the action. The game supports multiple graphics resolutions and fit my 1440×900 precisely.

Episode I includes single-player campaigns, where the player must fight enemies, collect power-ups, and complete specified mission objectives. It also has the type of multi-player functionality you would expect in a first-person shooter, with death match and cooperative play. You can join currently running servers or host your own public or private death matches or campaigns. Do not expect to find a lot people in active matches, but that may change over time.

For even more extensibility, Steel Storm also has a level editor, allowing you to create your own campaigns and death matches. The editor is easy to use and builds upon already established level designs.

Gameplay

The default control scheme uses the mouse and keyboard, but the control system is customizable and supports the use of a gamepad. I found the gamepad to be more appropriate for this type of game, using one analog stick to control movement, and the other to aim.

The average enemy ship is pretty easy to defeat, although it will still require dodging and hiding behind safe objects. Stationary guns also pose a threat, particularly if ships are also attacking at the same time. Some larger ships are more intelligent and require a bit more strategy, but you should not have much trouble defeating them one-on-one. The real challenge is taking on multiple ships at once. The most enjoyable weaponry are the missiles, and once you have them, you will definitely want to make use of them to quickly take out nearby enemies with one clustered shot.

Unlike some retro top-down shooters, Steel Storm actually requires you to do other things besides just shooting. You must find ways to open force fields, destroy enemy installations, and escape certain areas within a given amount of time. All of this adds a little more thought to the game, which is good if you like that type of gameplay and bad if you only wanted to blow things up.

Finding your way through a level to complete tasks can be confusing at times, but fortunately, there is a map to help you figure out where you have been and where you need to go.

Overall Impressions

Steel Storm is fun, and the added features make it a game you could potentially enjoy for hours. For multi-player fun, you may need to schedule matches with friends, but it should be easy to pick up, even for casual gamers. Considering it is free of charge, you get quite a lot, including the source code. Steel Storm’s gaming engine is licensed under the GNU General Public License, meaning you could conceivably create your own maps and enemies for it.

This game will not revolutionize shooters, and the strategy will not keep you up at night, but the gameplay is addictive enough to warrant the purchase. I give Steel Storm a perfect 5 out of 5.

1. Grappling Hook

License: Commercial
Price: $14.95

A highly addictive game, Grappling Hook has you taken prisoner by some sort of “big brother” alien organization that likes to study humans like rats in a maze. Along the same lines as the hit game Portal, Grappling Hook is probably best described as a puzzle platform game. Each level requires you to simply find a way to the end while avoiding obstacles that will lead to your untimely demise. One of the unique tools at your disposal is the grappling hook itself. If attached to a green wall, the hook can pull you across a room, lift you over a dangerous pit, or even save you from a dangerous fall in mid air.

Grappling Hook is a commercial game available for Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. You can download the demo for free, which is just enough to get you hooked. Add in a level creation tool, and Grappling Hook is sure to distract you from work for hours.

2. What Makes You Tick: A Stitch in Time

License: Commercial
Price: $15.00

A sequel to the point and click adventure, What Makes You Tick?, A Stitch in Time is filled with puzzles, mini games, and a text-based story that develops as you progress. Players will be impressed by the artwork of this game and will be reminded of the many great point and click adventures of the past.

With clues to find, puzzles to solve, inventory items to use, and multiple characters to engage, A Stitch in Time offers hours upon hours of game play and is sure to pull you away from work and maybe even keep you up at night. It includes 7,500 lines of story dialogue, so you had better get out your reading glasses.

In the story, you play a young man named Nigel Trelawney, summoned to Ravenhollow to settle his deceased father’s estate. Nigel soon learns, however, that not all is well in Ravenhollow, and the adventure begins.

A Stitch in Time is an Adobe AIR game that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

3. Caster

License: Commercial
Price: $4.99

A fast-paced third-person shooter, Caster throws you into wide-open dangerous terrain, sometimes requiring you to blast your way through, while other times requiring a little more strategy. Each triumph earns you money that you can use to get new power-ups that give you really cool abilities, including ultra high speed, cannons that can raise or lower the ground, a shield generator, and much more.

Looking like he might be Mega Man’s younger brother, the protagonist in Caster is as adorable as he is deadly. Once you build up your abilities and can speed through levels, blasting anything in sight, you will surely be addicted. The price is dynamite for Caster, and includes free updates. It is available for Linux, Mac, Windows, iPad, and iPhone.

4. Vera Blanc

License: Commercial
Price: $14.56

With comic style art, text-based dialog, and an intriguing mystery to solve, Vera Blanc: Full Moon and Vera Blanc: Ghost in the Castle, are games that will remind you of your childhood and Carmen Sandiego days. And just like those bygone adventures, you will find yourself quickly engrossed in the storyline, successfully avoiding the work sitting on your desk.

Vera Blanc is the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the world, and after a surgery that cures her of brain cancer, she gains mental abilities, both an exception memory and the ability to read minds. The mind-reading involves a hangman-like mini game, adding challenge to the clue-finding and general sleuthing. Other mini games are scattered throughout the story, giving you well-timed breaks from the reading and clicking. One misstep can truly result in your demise, just like any good text-based adventure would.

The Vera Blanc games are available for Linux, Mac, Windows, iPhone, and iPad.

Not enough?

If the above are not enough for you, check out the following:

4 Linux Games You Probably Have Not Played

Free Mega Games Pack For Linux

5 More Linux Games You Probably Haven’t Played

Linux Game Review: Sun Blast

PlayOnLinux

Of the multiple approaches to running Windows software on Linux, PlayOnLinux is without a doubt the best choice for Sims 3. This is not because it’s any more “capable’ of running the program, but because PlayOnLinux provides an install script specifically for this game which makes the process FAR simpler than it would be on Cedega or Wine alone.

I recommend that you do not use the PlayOnLinux package provided by your distribution. In testing for this article, I found the pre-packaged versions to be much less functional and reliable than those provided by the PlayOnLinux website. They have up-to-date packages for nearly every major distribution available here.

Beginning Installation

When ready, click the Install button at the top of the PlayOnLinux window. You’ll be given a list of known applications, and you’ll find The Sims 3 near the bottom on the Games section. When selected, you’ll get a bit of additional information about the game and its compatibility.

For the record, I believe they are incorrect about Shop Mode not working, as I had no trouble building and furnishing a house.

When ready to begin, click Apply.

A Note About Prefixes

PlayOnLinux uses prefixes to isolate game installations. When you install a game such as The Sims, you get the equivalent of a new instance of Windows for that game. If you then install a different game such as Spore, PlayOnLinux will create a NEW instance of Windows (a new prefix) for Spore to run. This prevents your files and settings for one game from interfering with another.

Dependencies

This is where PlayOnLinux really shines for Sims 3. On plain Wine or Cedega, you’d have to manually install several packages into your prefix before you can even begin the actual Sims install. Fortunately for us, PlayOnLinux takes care of all that. Before Sims begins, you’ll be prompted to install packages such as Gecko, the Microsoft C++ Runtime Library, and Mono. Allow each of these to complete before moving forward to the next step.

You’ll be given a choice as to whether you’d like to install through the DVD or the downloaded package. Either should work with PlayOnLinux, but the remainder of this guide will be using the DVD edition.

Sims Install

When the dependencies have completed, you’ll be asked to insert your media. CD/DVD drives should be detected automatically, but if you have trouble, you can specify a location by choosing Other. Pick the drive and move to the next step.

STOP. At this point it should have launched the Sims 3 Installer from your DVD. If that didn’t happen, go back and verify that you’ve selected the proper location of your installer.

If you DID get the Sims installer, then proceed exactly as you would in Windows.

If asked about the Download Manager, I’d recommend that you not install it. While it’s possible it may work on your setup, it has caused nothing but trouble on the tests I’ve done. Game patches can be applied manually (discussed in more detail at the end of this guide).

When the Sims 3 Installer window is finished and closed, proceed to the next PlayOnLinux screen. You’ll be asked a little bit of basic information about your video card and if you’d like to create shortcuts.

Important – Before You Play

In the opening paragraph, I hinted that one of the problems with getting Sims 3 to run was because of the copy protection. In order to work around this problem you’ve got to replace the “TS3.exe” file with one that does not contain this copy protection. Unfortunately MakeTechEasier cannot provide such “cracks” or even links to them. You should have no problem obtaining more information from big brother G.

For Sims 3 to run, you’ll have to find a modified TS3.exe on your own, and use it to replace the one in your Sims 3 installation. This will likely be found in “~/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/TheSims3/drive_c/Program Files/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Game/Bin“.

Once that’s done, you’re ready to play!

Extra – Getting Updates

Earlier I recommended that you skip installing the EA Download Manager. This leaves us with no updates to the game, and Sims 3 is certainly not without its glitches. Fortunately PlayOnLinux has a Patches category which includes a script to install Sims 3 updates manually.

That’s it. Enjoy!

As most already know, it is possible to play some Windows games in Linux using Wine. Additionally, there are two prominent commercial spin-offs of Wine that are both designed specifically for gaming: Cedega and CrossOver Games. At one time, there was little difference between the three, other than the graphical configuration interfaces. But over time, each has developed its own feature set and, in some cases, support for Windows functionality that the others do not possess.

Wine is completely free, and most Linux distributions make it easy for users to install it. Cedega is available for $25 for a 6-month subscription. CrossOver Games sells for a one-time fee of $39.95. Wine and CrossOver Games are also available for Mac OS X. The makers of Cedega sell a similar product called Cider for Mac users.

Wine

Wine is a compatibility layer for Linux that allows users to run Windows applications. Unlike an emulator, which must also emulate hardware and the operating system, Wine accesses the Windows libraries and makes them work within Linux. This makes Wine faster than emulators and virtual machines.

There are a large number of games supported by Wine, and the project’s website hosts a substantial database of supported and unsupported games, often including details about how to get the games working.

Wine’s graphical configuration tool is called “winecfg” (Wine Configuration), and it includes tools for specifying drivers, configuring media, graphics settings, and desktop integration. By default, there is no graphical frontend for installing or running games, but there are free third-party programs that can act as frontends.

Wine runs OpenGL games very well and will also run many DirectX games. Some games require the installation of additional DirectX libraries that are readily available online. Windows .NET is not easy to install in Wine, but games that require it seem to run fairly well. Users can install many other additional packages, such as MS Core Fonts, using a handy tool called winetricks.

CrossOver Games

Developed by a company called Codeweavers, which also makes CrossOver Office, CrossOver Games is designed to be specifically for Linux gaming. Everything is controlled from a graphical interface where users can create “bottles” to hold multiple Wine configurations. This gives you with the flexibility to have drastically different configurations for your games.

CrossOver Games has a graphical installation tool for games and for additional libraries, including DirectX and .Net. All additional packages install easily, which usually makes installing games faster than with Wine. For configuration, it uses the same utility found in Wine.

Similar to Wine, CrossOver Games has a database of working titles, but the database is far from complete. Users would be better served to use Wine’s database to determine if a game will work in CrossOver.

Cedega

Developed by Transgaming, Cedega has a robust graphical interface with many features for tweaking graphics, sound, and more. It is based on an older version of Wine and has significantly deviated from Wine’s original code. In some cases, this has given it greater support for pixel shaders and other technology. In other cases, it means that some games will work in Wine but not in Cedega.

Cedega supports OpenGL and DirectX games and has added some DirectX compatibility beyond Wine and CrossOver. One significantly absent feature is .Net support. It seems to be impossible to install .Net in Cedega, making it unlikely that games requiring it will run.

Cedega’s website includes a large database of games, available to members only. In most cases, however, the database will only say if a game works or not, providing little other information about it. New games are not usually added immediately, as they often are with Wine. Users can upgrade Cedega as long as they maintain their subscriptions. After a subscription expires, the application continues to work on its own.

The Winner

Unfortunately, there is no clear winner. I have tested games in all three applications and found inconsistency across the board. A game that works in one may not work in the others. Therefore, the only way to get the maximum number of Windows games working in Linux is to have all three.

Wine’s community database has a significant advantage over the others, since it is the only way to know if a game that is not officially supported works. CrossOver has the best support for installing additional packages. Cedega’s strongest point is the graphics configuration utility and support for advanced shaders. Users can start Wine and CrossOver games from the user menu, whereas Cedega games must be started from within Cedega.

Compatibility with Windows games will never be perfect in Linux, but these three solutions all have their positive attributes, and a user who wants to play a limited number of Windows games on Linux will not be disappointed with any of them.

Setup Overview

It’s important to note that there are four pieces involved in a running game of DAoC:

Server: The game server (in this case, Dawn of Light) which accepts logins and coordinates all game activity. This includes combat, weather, AI, and virtually all other game actions.

Database: All the actual content, from players to equipment to quests, is stored in the database. It’s very important to realize the difference between the server software (Dawn of Light) and the database it reads from. When you need to change an aspect of the game, you change it here. Just about everything you will need to edit will be found here, such as XP rate and NPC locations.

Client: Presuming you intend to actually play on your server, you need the actual Dark Age of Camelot game. Fortunately this is a free download at DarkAgeofCamelot.com. You do not need the 14-day trial account, you can skip registration and download the client only.

Portal: When you launch the Camelot game, it would normally attempt to connect to the official servers. Clearly this isn’t what we want. DOL’s developers include a Portal with the package, it’s a small desktop program that lets you manage and launch custom servers.

Configuring the Server and Standard Database

The Dawn of Light server software includes a database that does not live up to the official servers, but provides enough data for an enjoyable game. Alternate databases will be discussed in the next section. The server and db can be downloaded together (or individually) here.

Before launching your server, you’ll want to run the DOLConfig application (as Administrator, if necessary) to set some basic server setup done.

You’ll want to pay particular attention to Game Type and IP. Your game type will determine if and how various RvR settings will be implemented, such as the keeps and towers in the frontiers. Your IP is the address the server is monitoring for connections.

IMPORTANT: If you set this to your localhost address (127.0.0.1), your local client will connect fine, but other computers will not. Make sure you use a real IP (like 192.168.1.10, or whatever yours might be).

On the Database tab, you’ll probably want to set the type to MySQL, with settings similar to the screenshot below. I should note that if you downloaded the all-in-one DOL package, the connection test might fail, as MySQL is not launched until you start the server. If you simply cannot get SQL connection working, you can try using XML as your database, though you may encounter performance and configuration problems.

Configuring the Client

Download: As noted above, the client can be freely downloaded from DarkAgeofCamelot.com. Expect the download to take a while. A long while.

Rollback: Normally, you’d be able to install the client, launch the portal (coming up next) and you’re ready to go. The only problem is that the current release of Dawn of Light does not support the latest release of the client software. This means there’s one extra step – the rollback. We’ve got to downgrade the client a little bit to make it fully compatible. The DOL forums keep up on rollbacks and the current thread on the topic is here.

Dawn of Light Portal

To launch your game to a custom server, you’ll need the Portal. It’s a small Windows application and its purpose is to let you find, manage, and connect to custom servers. It can be downloaded here, and installs much like any Windows application.

To set up connection to your local server, click the Custom Shardsr button. Next, right click any of the blank white space and add a new custom server.

If the dot is red, that means that either the server software is not running (launch Dawn of Light as Administrator) or that the portal has incorrect server settings. If the dot is green, you can create any username and password you wish, and log in. The server will save that information for future logins. If you want your friends to be able to connect, make you you forward port 10300 to your game server.

Alternate Databases and Advanced Config

If the builtin database is not enough for you, there are a few alternates. A few projects have sprung up dedicated solely to growing a massive DOL database. A quick search of SourceForge.net will bring up several examples, such as this and this.

If you want more server options than DOLConfig provides, there is a table in the database that holds several values for user adjustment. Install any SQL client you wish (SourceForge is a friend here as well) and open the DOL database to the server properties table. Each item will provide a description of the setting and a default value.

Conclusion

DAoC is a little bit dated by current MMO standards, but it’s still a whole lot of fun for those who know the game. DOL still has a way to go before it’s fully live-like, but even the standard built-in database is enough for an enjoyable game among friends. With Dawn of Light, you can once again begin breaking down towers and lasting that nasty Lurikeen who keeps stabbing you from behind.

Oh and for all you old-schoolers:
Currin, 50 Scout Alb/Guin/Divinity

Game Booster v2 is another great software by IOBit (the same developer as the IOBit toolbox) and it is designed to help you optimize your PC for smoother, more responsive game-play.

Usage

The usage is extremely simple. Download and install the game booster software.

Launch the Game Booster application. You should see a big button that encourages you to “Slide to boost”. If you are not computer savvy, sliding the button is all (almost) you need to optimize your PC. As simple as that.

What this “Boost slider” does is to stop the services that are not essential to the operating of the system. At the bottom of the window, you can actually view the detail of the services that are going to be stopped.

Game Driver

If you are playing the latest 3D games in the market, more often than not, you will need the latest driver for your hardware (mainly graphics card and soundcard). Game Boosters came with a Game Driver feature that will scan your current hardware and see if the driver is up to date. If not, it provides you with options to download and install the latest driver.

Game Essential

There are some components/software that are important (or useful) to a gameplay, like the DirectX. The Game Essential section checks the web for updates and update your system accordingly.

Game Defrag

While you have heard a lot about defragging your computer, few have heard about the needs to defrag your games. The concept is similar. Game booster will scan the particular game for all its files location and determine if they are scattered all over the place.If yes, it will defrag your game and bring all the files together. Theoretically, when all the files are together, the system has an easier way locating them, and hence the less seek time is required.

System Tweaks

As the name implies, the System Tweaks deal with tweaks that optimize the System settings. There are two options: Default and Top Performance. Unlike the main section where it shows you a detail of the tweaks that it performs, there is no way to know what it going to do to your system, until after the tweaks are performed. Furthermore, the tweaks require you to reboot your system.

Game Tools

The Game tools section contains a series of shortcut links to the various hardware option page, like Mouse, Keyboard, Game controllers, etc.

Conclusion

In terms of usability and simplicity, Game Booster v2 is top notch. However, there is just so much that it can optimize your system. if your hardware is not up to the mark, no amount of software optimization can help you improve your gaming performance.

The permeation of high-speed broadband internet in the last decade has allowed the growth of games such as the blockbuster massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft. Most MMORPG’s have fairly robust servers that allow millions of people around the world to play games simultaneously. However, there are a number of older games, such as the perennial Counter-Strike, which have become increasingly difficult to play on-line.

Firstly, it is difficult to find other like-minded individuals to play these games with. Secondly, stemming from the first reason, you may end up playing with hosts that are far away from where you are playing, leading to slow “laggy” game play.

This is where Garena (short for Global Arena) comes in.

Launched in 2003, Garena is an online gaming platform which supports a number of “LAN Games” including popular titles such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Warcraft III: Frozen Throne and Counter-Strike, with new games being added frequently. Garena works by connecting the user to other gamers around the world through a virtual local area network. The connection is also optimised to ensure that the game is “lag” free.

At first Garena can be a little overwhelming, so this guide aims to streamline the process of quickly starting a multiplayer game.

After installation you will have to register a new account.

After creating your account, choose a server (default Garena Server 1) and click Login. Note: After the first launch Garena may require an update.

The main Garena page appears extremely busy and can be difficult to navigate. To keep things simple I have outlined the basic method of launching a game.

First, click on Game on the right hand side of the screen. This will launch the LAN Game list.

Next, select the game you would like to play (for example COD4:MW – Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare).

This will launch the room select screen. Here, you must “Select a Region” you want to play in. Choosing a region close to where you live ensures that your connection is more reliable (I live in Singapore, hence I like playing games in Malaysia). Next, from the middle panel, select a Room you would like to join. Here, I tend to pick a room that has more people. As you can see 1.7 Malaysia Room 01 has 186 persons (out of a maximum 225). Choosing a room with more people ensures that there are actually people for you to play with!

Once the room opens you will notice the standard chat box and a large “Start Game” button. Just above the “Start Game” button there is a “Settings” button. Click on this button to configure your game options.

The Game Settings window allows you to manage the specific settings for all your games. Here, click on the magnifying glass next to the Executable Settings dialog.

In the next window, navigate to where the executable for your game is and click “Open”. Since this particular game was Call of Duty, I navigated to “C:\Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 4 – Modern Warfare\iw3mp.exe”.

Ensure that the path to your game executable is correctly inputted in the “Executable Settings” dialog and select “Update”.

Finally, select “OK”.

Once you are ready to launch the game select “Start Game”. Your game of choice should now launch.

Remember Garena emulates a local area network, so ensure that you change your multiplayer settings to “Local” (and not “Internet”).

Hit “Refresh” and a list of servers should start appearing.

Garena has a multitude of other features, so let us know if there are any exciting ways you use Garena. Enjoy!

There are three situations where it might be necessary to map keyboard/mouse movements to your gamepad:

1. A native Linux game that does not yet support joystick input.
2. A wine/cedega game that, for whatever reason, does not recognize your gamepad.
3. You just want to use your joystick to control your desktop, multimedia application, etc.

With Qjoypad, you can have all three and even create separate profiles for each game/application. It is a free and open source QT-based application that “takes input from a gamepad or joystick and translates it into key strokes or mouse actions, letting you control any XWindows program with your game controller.”

It comes with a convenient system tray icon so that you can keep it running and access it to change profiles or create new ones. It supports multiple joysticks and axes, has color-coded highlighting to identify buttons on different joysticks, supports throttle controls, rapid fire, and mouse movement and clicking.

Download and Installation

Currently, there are no binary packages for Qjoypad. To install, you will need to download the source package and build it. Because it is based on QT4, you will need the development packages for QT installed. For KDE users, these may already be installed. It also requires that your joystick be supported by the Linux kernel, which most are to varying degrees.

1. Download the source package http://qjoypad.sourceforge.net/#download

2. Extract the contents:

tar -xzvf qjoypad-4.1.0.tar.gz  #replace the 4.1.0 with the actual version number, if different

3. Configure, make, and make install (hopefully without errors)

./config
make
make install

Once installed, press Alt-F2 (or other shortcut for your command launcher) and type “qjoypad“. It should appear in your system tray. Click on the icon shaped like a game controller. It does not come with any default layouts, so you will need to create one. It should have automatically detected your joysticks, and you must select the one you want you want to configure. Then, follow these steps.

1. Click the “Add” button to create a new profile.

2. Enter the name for your profile.

At any time, the “Update” button will save your configuration to disk. “Remove” will completely delete the profile, and “Clear” will erase the current settings from it. “Revert” will roll back the settings to the last update. Be careful not to accidentally click any of these buttons when you are mapping your controls.

3. To set a joystick axis, move the joystick in the direction you want. The axis number that you move will be highlighted. Moving it in the opposite direction should also highlight the same one.

4. Click the Axis button to configure.

5. You will see two adjacent boxes, and if you move your joystick in the previously discovered directions, the boxes will fill. If you are using an analog stick, the boxes will fill according to the degree of motion.

6. Select the type of movement you want: keyboard, mouse vert., or mouse horiz. (If you are selecting a mouse movement or using a game that requires analog precision, you might want to check the “Gradient” box).

7. To assign a key to a direction, click the box underneath that should say [NO KEY].

8. Once clicked, it will wait for your next input and assign that key. For example, if you press the up arrow key, your joystick will now control it.

9. When you are finished, click Okay.

You can assign buttons in a similar manner, although instead of gradient and input method settings, you will see “Sticky” and “Rapid Fire”. Sticky will act as a toggle and simulate holding down a button. Rapid Fire will repeat the keystroke in rapid succession.

When you are finished mapping the keystrokes and/or mouse movements, be sure to click the “Update” button to save. You might even want to click it frequently throughout the process in case something interrupts you.

Your system will not respond to your mapped joystick movements until you click “Close Dialog“. To select the profile you want, right click on the system tray icon and select the one you just created. When you no longer want to use it, right click again and select [NO LAYOUT]. You can leave it running in this mode in your system tray without it affecting any controls.

With Qjoypad, you can now have full control over your gamepad. You can map as much or as little as you like, which is useful if a game only has a few controls. On my Logitech Rumblepad, it allows me to map the directional pad, both analog sticks, and all 12 buttons. Hopefully, you will have just as much success. Having fun gaming!

(Update: The site was up and running when this post was published, but now it seems that it is down for unknown reason.)

(Update: The site is up and running again.)

For those who always feel that gaming is not suitable in Linux OS and it is always an hassle to install and get games to run in Linux platform, then DJL will definitely change the way you think.

Djl is an open-source (GPL licensed) game manager written in Python 2.5 for the GNU/Linux Operating Systems. In short, it is an application that allows you to install/uninstall/manage your games easily. With Djl, you can browse through its repository of 100+ games and install the game you want with a simple click. No longer do you need to worry about game dependencies and all the command lines.

Installation

Download djl installer script. Extract it to your Home folder.

Open a terminal, Install the dependencies

sudo apt-get install python-qt4

Change the file permission

chmod +x ~/djl/djl.sh

Run the scripts

sh ~/djl/djl.sh

Configuration

At the first run, the configuration window will appear. Here is where you can configure the settings such as the installation directory, default browser etc.

Once you are done with the configuration, click Save and it will bring you to the main screen of DJL.

Running DJL

Once you are at the main screen, this is where the fun comes in. In the Repository tab, you can find all the games available in the DJL repository. There are currently about 120 games in the repository and new games are added regularly.

One thing that I like about the interface is that it is well organized. You can even filter the games by the game types and game license.

When you have found the game you like, simply click Install and DJL will take care of the rest.

As soon as the installation is completed, you will find an entry in the Game tab where you can click to start playing.

Plugins

Even though it is a simple game manager, DJL allows its users to install plugins to increase its functionality. While I have no use for most of the plugins, it is good to know that such stuffs exist. Plugins such as the Unreal Tournament 2004 stats could be useful for Unreal fans.

If you are not a gamer, or that you are contented with just playing with Gnometrics, then this is not for you. Other than that, this is really an awesome piece of software.

Previously, I have talked about the way to play playstation game in Ubuntu. For those who are a fanboy of Super Nintendo (SNES), I didn’t forget about you too. Here is how you can play SNES game in Ubuntu Hardy.

There are several popular SNES emulators for Linux, namely: ZSNES, SNES9X, BSNES, SNEmul. We will be using ZSNES because it is the best among the rest and works great in Ubuntu.

In your terminal, type

sudo apt-get install zsnes

Once done, go to any of the SNES ROM download sites and download your favorite SNES game (Once again, it is illegal to own the ROMs if you do not own the cartridges, download at your own risk). The game will be in .zip format. There is no need to extract the files.

Open your ZSNES emulator (Applications->Games->ZSNES Emulator).

Select Load from the menubar and navigate to the file path where you have downloaded the zipped ROM.

Select the file and click Load to power up the game.

At any point of time, you can press the Escape button on your keyboard to activate the menubar.

Some options that you can configure in the menubar include loading a previously saved game, saving the current game state, configure your input devices, video and sound options and also connect to the Internet for multiplayer gameplay.

Enjoy!

Image credit: Chris.JP

Kongregate is a social gaming site that allows users to upload and share flash-based games. Aiming to be the gaming version of ‘YouTube‘, it also allows users to rate, tags, add comments and pitch their skills against each other. The games that are highly rated by users are featured in the front page.

Currently, there are more than 3,000 games in the database and some of them are truly addictive and can hook you in for hours. Personally, I have not try all the games, but based on what I have played over the past few days, here are some games that I highly recommended.

1) Desktop Tower Defense

A simple strategy game. The battle scene is set on an office desktop. You can buy towers and place them in strategic position so to kill waves and waves of creeps crawling across the desktop.

2) Pillage the village

An interesting game where you have to drag the villagers and throw them in the air (so as to kill them) so that you can loot their money. There are different characters where you have to react accordingly, such as villagers with parachute that can resist your throw and the camouflage thief that is always trying to steal your money.

3) Boxhead: 2Play Rooms

This is a simplified version of the PsX‘s Resident Evil. You have to eliminate wave and wave of zombies. As you progress, you will be equipped with more powerful weapons, but that also means the enemies are getting stronger. Most of the time, you will be surrounded by swarm of zombies and you have to fight your way out, or suffer a horrible death.

4) Filler

Filler is a brainless game that is suitable for everyone. If you don’t like strategy or fighting game, then this game is suitable for you. What you need to do is to fill up balls so that they occupy 2/3 of the game screen. While you are filling up balls, there are bouncing balls that bounce around the screen to burst your ball. Everytime your ball is burst, you lost a live.

5) Monster’s Den

This is like the Dungeons and Dragons game in the past. You form a team of four and fight monsters throughout the dungeon (monster’s den). You can equip your characters with more powerful weapons, armors, potion, scroll and also gain experience point when their level is increased.

6) Tactical Assassin

A sniper game where you have to kill off different targets in different mission. Seemingly easy game, but when all the characters are matchstick figure and look alike, you are going to have a hard time locating the right target.

7) Fancy pants: Adventure world

This is easily one of the best flash game around. Great interactivity between the game and the player. Expect swift movement, high projectile and all sort of jumping styles. The game is in 2D simple comic style and the goal is to kick the snailshell into the hole.

8) Onslaught2

This game is similar to Desktop Tower Defense, but is also different in its own way. The objective is to prevent enemies from reaching the Area 51 camp. You can buy cannons and plant them in strategic position to kill the wave and wave of enemies. There are different maps, each with different route of advance. You will have to plan strategically for each map.

9) Super Crazy Guitar Maniac Deluxe 2

If you like tap tap revolution, then you will like this game too. Grab a guitar and press the key when the note arrive at the baseline. A simple game that will keep you occupied for a while.

10) Thing-thing 4

This is not the best, yet was highly featured by Kongregate. Basically, the main aim of the game is to kill, kill and kill. If you like killing game, bloody scene, ugly childish monster like graphics, then you will be fascinated by this game.

Have fun!

I suppose to use that as the title for this post, but I decided to change it. The reason being, whether you like it or not, Windows Vista is here to stay and will eventually replace Windows XP. Rather than discussing whether Windows Vista is suitable for gaming, it would be more worthwhile discussing why Vista is going to replace WinXP and become the next gaming platform.

Taking a look at the multi billion gaming industry, it is not hard to see that 90% of the games are designed to play in Windows. It is obvious that Microsoft benefits the most out of this. As such, it would be foolish of Microsoft if they were to make their latest generation of OS unsuitable for gaming.

If you ever study Vista in details, it is easy to see that Vista is really built with gaming in mind. Here’s why:

1. DirectX 10

Without a doubt, Vista’s latest DirectX 10 technology is changing how the game is designed in the future. Microsoft discarded its DirectX 9 architecture and rebuilt DirectX 10 from the ground up. Its newer shader model allows game designers to create game with higher graphical quality.

In addition, DX10 also has more rigidly defined specifications, which means more consistency among the various hardware. Rather than worrying about the compatibility of the hardware, game designers can now focus more on the features they want to implement.

As compare to DX9, DX10 also has a better resources management and load balancing between the CPU and GPU. More graphical calculation are now offloaded to the GPU, which means faster gaming performance without increasing the CPU load.

2. Game Explorer

Windows users should be very familiar with the Windows Explorer where you can manage your file and data easily. There is also the Internet Explorer that Microsoft incorporate in its OS since Win98. In Vista, Microsoft includes a Game Explorer to enable the users to easily manage their games. Players can now install, organize, launch, and remove all of their games all in the Game Explorer. Plus, game-related information such as publisher, developer, website addresses, and game ratings can also be shown on the Game Explorer.

3. ‘Game For Windows’ (GFW) Branding

Since the launch of Vista, Microsoft has been actively promoting the ‘Game For Windows‘ brand. All game has to meet the following standard in order to receive the GFW tag:

• Quality. Games have to pass Microsoft performance and reliability standards.
• Compatibility. Games must be able to run on both XP and Vista, including both 32 and 64 bit editions. Other compatibility includes Microsoft XBOX 360 controller for Windows, including the Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows, widescreen resolutions and more.
• Safety features. Game must be able to support the Vista parental control features, which gives parents more control over the type of game their children play.
• Easy to Play. Games must be easy to install, find, remove and most importantly, incorporate into Game Explorer

4. Games for Windows LIVE

This GFW LIVE is an extension of the Xbox 360 LIVE. What it does is to provide interoperability between the Xbox 360 and Windows Vista platforms. This means that Vista gamers can now play against Xbox 360 gamers in real time.

5. Native Support for Xbox 360 Controller

Vista includes the native support for Xbox 360 controller, which means users can now have a larger choices of gaming controller. Simply plug in the Xbox 360 controller to your Windows Vista PC’s USB connector, and you’re ready to go. New accessories include the Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows. This allows you to connect the Xbox 360 wireless controller, wireless headset, and wireless racing wheel to your PC.

Conclusion

When Vista first launched, there was not a single DX 10 graphics card and game around. This explains why there is a lot of uncertainty and argument of using Vista as a gaming platform. With the launch of DX10 graphics card by Nvidia and ATI, along with the newer generation of DX10 game (Crysis, Company of Heroes), gaming in Vista has only just started.

In case you are wondering what choices of game you have in Linux (Ubuntu), here are my top 10 list.

1. America’s Army

This is one of the most popular First Person Shooting (FPS) game in Linux. In America’s Army, the player must first go through basic training which include rifle marksmanship, obstacle course, US weapons training, and fighting in urban terrain. After the trainings, the player can then participate in the online mode. The game relies heavily on teamwork and team killing will cause you to lose points, eventually banning you from the game.

Download America’s Army

2. SuperTux

Clone of the popular Nintendo “super mario” game, except that the character is changed to Penguin Tux. SuperTux is a simple game that going to provide you with hours of entertainment.

To install, open up terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install supertux

3. Flight Gear

Linux version of MS Flight Simulator. Flight Gear is a fun, feature packed flight simulation package that is really worth taking a look at. Not only can you choose from a variety of aircrafts, from time to time, there is also new update of extra aircraft choices, ranging from large airliners to military aircraft and helicopters.

To install flight gear, open up terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install flightgear

4. Enemy Territory

Formerly an expansion pack to Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Enemy Territory is now a stand-alone multiplayer FPS game supporting as many as 32 players. In this game, two teams battle each other through a series of missions that make up a single campaign. Each player picks a character class, such as engineer, soldier, field ops, or covert ops. During combat players gain experience and skill, and through battlefield promotions are awarded additional abilities that remain persistent across an entire campaign. Strong teamwork and advanced strategies are extremely important to win the game.

Download Enemy Territory

5. Glest

Glest is a 3D Real Time Strategy (RTS) game with beautiful graphics. The game takes place in a context which could be compared to that of the pre-renaissance Europe, with the licence that magic forces exist in the environment and can be controlled. For gamers who like RTS, this can be a very fun game to play.

Download Glest-Data Glest (Install in that order)

6. Alien Arena 2007 (AA2k7)

AA2K7 is the latest version of a freeware online deathmatch game that was first introduced to the public in October, 2004. With 37 levels, five modes of play, six mutators, built-in bots, 10 player characters, 8 weapons(with alt-fire modes), the game has an endless supply of replayability. With so many new features, AA2K7 is nearly an entirely new game when held in comparison to it’s predecessor.

Download Alien Arena 2007

7. Globulation 2

Globulation 2 is a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game which reduces micro-management by automatically assigning tasks to units. The player chooses the number of units he wants to assign to various tasks, and the units will do their best to satisfy the requests. This allows the user to manage more units and focus on strategies rather than individual units jobs. There are three types of units: workers, warriors, and explorers.

Download Globulation 2

8. Warzone 2100

Warzone 2100 is a RTS based on a future earth. Upon entering the game, you land from your transport and establish your base. Here you conduct research, design and manufacture vehicles, build new structures and prepare your plans of global conquest. If the game goes badly you’ll end up fighting last ditch battles here to defend your base from enemy attacks.

Download Warzone 2100

9. ManiaDrive

ManiaDrive is an arcade car game on acrobatic tracks, with a quick and nervous gameplay (tracks almost never exceed one minute). Most of the time, you’ll be bumping along at break-neck speeds and flying off the track with an incredible ease reminiscent of Stunt-Trak Racer. It’s both incredibly hard to stay on track and to complete the race in under the allotted time, but that’s what make it fun, isn’t it?

Download Mania Drive

10. Vegastrike

Vega Strike is an action space simulator designed to bring 3D space combat to a whole new level of graphics, gameplay, and customizability. What makes it so difference from other space simulator game is that Vegastrike has a strong story line and allow you to make virtual money to upgrade your space ship.

To install, open up terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install vegastrike

Happy gaming!