Sunday, May 30, 2010

Installing Myst Uru Live Using Wine and PlayOnLinux

1.To fix(almost) sound issue, configure wine: Configure this Application->Configure Wine->Audio->change 41000 to 48000 and check both ALSA and OSS.
2.In URU, use default graphics, remove Anisotropic Filtering, and un-check Vertical Sync, then change resolution according to your monitor.
3.Minimize sound effects, and remove ambient sound. You may also disable voice chat if it's not working. Use OSS instead of ALSA.

Note: The mouse cursor is not supposed to be, showing only a white box, and stuttering sound effects.

Good news is, they're going to open source URU Live, so please support them.

For more info, go to www.urulive.com

That's it!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Playing Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne in Linux

I've never thought this is possible in Linux: play Windows only games. If you haven't much heard of Wine, it is a Windows compatibility layer for Linux but is not an emulator. Before, installing Wine and installing applications in Wine is rather difficult. But now, it has never been easier on Ubuntu's newest version 10.04. Just click on Applications->Ubuntu Software Center and install PlayOnLinux. It will install both Wine and PlayOnLinux.

To install Warcraft 3, Just run PlayOnLinux and select Install, insert the CD and it will install required patches for it. After installation, Go to Applications->Wine->Programs->Warcraft III.

That's it!

Battle.net (you have to apply the patch) and single player works well. The only thing I've noticed is that there are no movie trailers unlike playing on Windows. But, you can watch the movies in this directory:

/home//.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/WarcraftIII/drive_c/Program Files/Warcraft III/Movies.

Humble Indie Bundle: Games For Charity and Linux

I'm into games recently and as gaming in Linux is not that good compared to Windows. But now that Steam has announced to bring their games to Linux, this might change. I've read about Wolfire's promotion regarding donating to charity and developers by giving six quality games: Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru, World of Goo, Penumbra, Overture, and Samorost 2.

Aquaria is a 2D underwater adventure game, which has good graphics and rich story, which I like despite it has been created only by two developers for two years.

Gish on the other hand is a blob of tar with unique abilities that can climb walls, slide through narrow tunnels and jump with difficulty (at first), and will make you laugh.

Lugaru is a kung-fu, ars-kicking, action-packed rabbit that at first make you wonder until the story will turn to be serious. It has high-definition graphics and will be sparring with speed.

World of Goo is a creative and very unique game, which at first try will make you think it's a game for children but it is also enjoyable and fun for teenagers and adults too.

Penumbra: Overture is really creepy. When I first tried the demo years ago, I didn't have the guts to play it because it's that scary. It has very good graphics and a unique gameplay which is not only click-and-point but you must also drag the mouse to interact with the items around you.

Samorost 2 is a flash-based game that is very creative and imaginative. The game is point-and-click but it has puzzles which is out of this world. Very enjoyable, and I recommend you to buy their latest game Machinarium.

Humble Indie Bundle is going open source, but you might still want to donate at any amount to charity and help promote cross-platform games for Linux, Windows and Mac. This promotion has limited time only.

(Update) It has only one more day left!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Restoring Boot Splash Having Nvidia Driver In Ubuntu 10.04

I found another bug. When switching users, the screen will dim when using the default driver. To fix this, you have to install nvidia's driver using
System->Administration->Hardware Drivers. The only problem with this is that your boot splash will be distorted and ugly. A workaround is to comment out #GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=" splash vga=x" in /etc/default/grub.

Yup, still ugly. :)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Vista Cannot Detect Other Windows Partition After Installing Ubuntu 10.04

This problem is caused by Ubuntu 10.04 when upgrading the grub boot loader installed in Windows partition where the MBR resides. To fix this, you have to restore Windows' boot loader by using your Windows installation DVD:

1. Boot using the Windows installation DVD.

2. Click repair Windows.

3. It will show you where your Windows is installed. If not, you may have to load drivers.

4. Click Next.

5. Choose MSDOS prompt.

6. At the prompt, type in:

bootrec /fixmbr then press enter.
bootrec /fixboot then press enter.

7. Click Finish then Restart.

Your grub will now be erased and Windows boot loader is restored. When you log-in, Windows will detect other partitions.

Now, how about Ubuntu?
You can restore grub on a different partition other than where your Windows is installed. It is recommended to install grub on your Ubuntu partition. You may search on how to restore grub using your live CD.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Ubuntu 10.04 is Finally Here!

On launch day, I immediately downloaded the Live CD, before finding out that Ubuntu missed a bug that would not detect other OS if you dual-boot from Windows and Ubuntu. Fortunately, they have fixed the problem as soon as possible, so I downloaded it again today.

If you have a previous installation of prior versions, it is recommended that you clean-install rather than upgrading using the Update Manager tool since I tried it and had some bugs like no title bars in administrator account, the grub 2 installation did not install it in my first hard drive (since I dual-boot), but at upgrade, it asks for partitions to install grub to (you must not miss this). Of course, it is recommended to backup all your precious data before being adventurous.

What I did was, burn to a CDR, then using USB Disk Creator, install a Live Ubuntu on a USB drive without persistence (because it takes time to boot), then reboot. In your BIOS, choose to boot from the live USB drive, then from there, install to your partition you want. Remember to check the disk to write the bootloader (grub) to in the final step before installation by clicking the Advanced button, and choose the partition. After that, everything looks good from here.

Let's thank all the people who contributed in this great software!

enjoy.