2008: Year of Linux?

MaximumPC is touting 2008 as the year of Linux as most people are just sick of Windows.

Fortunately for open-source addicts, there are several signs that the coming year could bring a sea-change among end users, making 2008 the year of the Linux desktop.

There's nothing bold about pointing out that modern Linux distros have made leaps and bounds in usability in the past couple of years.

However, there is one catch: Linux sucks for gaming.

For me, the real hitch in the switch is gaming. While Wine and other Windows compatibility utilities do a great job of running productivity apps, they have less success with the hottest new gaming titles. And as long as Windows retains its utter domination of the PC gaming scene, gamers will always need Windows PCs.

Now that I have some Linux experience under my belt, I can admit that being able to get up and running for free is great. Constantly searching for information to accomplish basic tasks is not. Linux is a double-sided sword; stable and secure, but clunky and diversified amongst a thousand distributions with a thousand different ways to make things work.

Linux does have inroads into gaming. Linux is by far the preferred hosting solution for multi-player shooters like Counterstrike. Having helped foot the bill for a few servers in the past, I can attest to that fact. This is Linux's main boon to gaming.

However, having a knowledgeable Linux guru is where the real savings are at. The second a server renter/owner has to sign up for a "support plan", is the second Linux servers begin draining Mr. Piggybank.

Also, World of Warcraft runs easily on Linux. It sets a standard that other developers should follow. Good things happen for games that support Linux.

NOTE: I don't want to be misquoted here. World of Warcraft does not have a native Linux client, but Blizzard's adhearance to standards makes it very easy for their games to be run through Linux applications like WINE or Cedega.

World of Warcraft, Shadowbane, etc.

I am a gamer. A gamer plays games. I will now be gallivanting around in several worlds on a purely casual basis.

Yes, I am back in World of Warcraft. No, I still do not have The Burning Crusade, or plans to pick it up.

I am also back playing Shadowbane, well, because it's free.

On top of this, I am still trudging through Neverwinter Nights 2 single-player campaign and plan to finish it.

PS. I have a new laptop, which just might let me play games when I am out of town. Shhh... don't tell my wife.

World of Warcraft Loot

Wolfgang raises a good point over on his blog, Wolfgang Chronicles, about World of Warcraft's loot.

I would just like to say thank you to Blizzard for designing a PVE loot system that encourages drama and player frustration while simultaneously designing a PVP loot system that allows players to gain epics by AFK honor farming.

In World of Warcraft's current PvP implementation, player's set a goal to get a certain PvP reward, they grind, and they achieve. Just as player's pick a quest, see the possible rewards, and then determine if it is really worth their trouble. However, this breaks down when it comes to randomly dropped equipment in dungeons. A player could be lucky and get it the first time through, while another player could do several runs before even having a chance at the item in question.

Now, players know all of this before picking what equipment goals they want to chase. It is no surprise that a lot of players choose PvP. I don't believe this is because these players love PvP. There are a couple reasons hiding behind these players.

First off, PvP gear attainment, for the most part, can be done solo. A player can join a random pick up group (PUG) and still end up with a decent amount of advancement towards their goal. In PvE dungeons, a PUG is a 50/50 chance at frustration vs. success. Combine that with random drops and you have an inferior system to the PvP rewards.

Secondly, PvP has a metric, honor points, that tells a player how far they are from their set goal. It is only a matter of time before it will be achieved. A player can average their honor point gains for a week and determine approximately how long it will take them to get to the end. Compared to the PvE random loot, this is a far superior method.

So, what is the solution? As I've talked about before, dungeons need to focus more on quests. This way, players can look at what quest leads to what gear and plan appropriately. At most, a player would be forced to run the dungeon a few times to complete the various tiers of the quest. Then it is a simple trip back to the quest giver for a reward. After all, this is about REWARDING players.

In the end, as players become more geared, the more they will be drawn towards participating in the end game raiding scene. While I don't agree with raid dungeons being the end-game, I can't hide the fact that Blizzard believes they are. Blizzard's job should be to make sure player's have a clear and identifiable path to get there. If there is no path for the general populous; Blizzard is just wasting development time on the wrong crowd.

World of Warcraft: Climbing Again

Rollie has posted his June concurrency numbers for World of Warcraft over at WarcraftRealms.com. The numbers indicate that the drop in activity in May has ended with a turnaround in June. June player activity is up sharply and WoW is still maintaining a higher player activity level than prior to The Burning Crusade's launch. All positive signs that TBC is being played more often and by more players than the original game.

The numbers are based off data collected via the CensusPlus UI mod and thousands of users across nearly every WoW server. Rollie has been dealing with WoW population numbers since the game launched, so his data and analysis is fairly useful.

Without confirmation directly from Blizzard, the noted trend is speculation. However, given a couple more months of data collection and analysis we should be getting a relatively reliable pattern. Rollie already has two years worth of back-logged data to work with.

It will be interesting to see who picks this month's information up and compares it to the May numbers. A lot of naysayers were jumping head first onto the "TBC killed WoW" bandwagon, but another month has come and the numbers have evidenced against their claims.

A Note On Positive Thinking

Did you know that people are ten times more likely to share a negative thought with you than a positive? Need an example? Look at this blog. I am a fairly negative blogger. Even when I am playing a game I enjoy, I am negative. Fortunately, or unfortunately, my negativity is common place in the real and virtual world.

However, my real life does not parallel this negativity. I am a fairly positive and upbeat guy. I am usually the person telling others to be less negative. Optimism is my middle name, honestly, I gave an award winning speech about it when I was younger. I can't even count the times I've caught myself telling my wife to be more positive.

This all really hit home here on this blog when my Internet bud, Grimwell, left a comment on my Pirates of the Burning Seas will be Published by SOE post. I thought I was actually being fairly polite considering my normal plight for SOE, but thinking on it more, Grimwell is right. I do need to get some new tinfoil.

This does not mean I am going to simply drop my jaded gamerness overnight. I am still going to stick to my guns in relation to RMT and in-game advertising. I will not play any game that has officially sanctioned RMT servers. I will not play games that have in-game ads without some sort of discount for the players looking at them.

Gone are the days of blacklisting companies. Hell, if Grimwell can work for SOE, I suppose they aren't all that evil. Grimwell is quite the epitome of positive thinking in my book; after all he gave me a chance.

Stay tuned! There are some things working in the pipeline for me and I will be positively happy to share them with you.