XP or Linux?

**BobTheSane** · 10-18-07, 02:32 PM

What about populating it with bots? Or does it have to be actual connections?

**...bigdog...** · 10-18-07, 02:33 PM

bots use a lot more CPU than players, and no network bandwidth.

**MotoZ** · 10-18-07, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by ...bigdog...

. . . but eventually......we hit a wall that the linux community wasn't fixing.

I had to laugh at that one. Why does it seem that professional *nix gurus are so cantankerous? During my software life I never met one that was a joy to be around. The hobbyists were fun, but the guys that did it for a living - they were scary angry.

**BobTheSane** · 10-18-07, 02:39 PM

I was thinking of where the actual problems lie, in the programming vs. the core kernel vs. the network stack etc.

**BobTheSane** · 10-18-07, 02:40 PM

Bacon,

I used to work with one of the Debian maintainers. You ain't kiddin', man. The dude was an insatiable pole-smoking narwhal phallus.

**a weakling spaz** · 10-18-07, 02:57 PM

There's some good discussion in this thread, and I'm sure some of the linux guys' curiosity has been piqued.

Source on linux is far from ideal. Valve's support isn't quite up to par with a company like id, which has historically released linux binaries for the dedicated server before the windows binaries. You also have to consider that their games were not built on DirectX and were designed to run as a client on linux as well, while source is the opposite.

I can verify the ridiculous memory leakage of CS:S on linux. I don't accept that the issue cannot be fixed with some tweaking, because I have done it before. Of course that's purely anecdotal as well, and I'm not claiming I'd bust up in here and fix the problems TTP experienced on linux, with ease. I also agree that Windows is the best platform for Source, considering linux support is basically an afterthought and an appeasement to the community.

Game server providers use Windows for a reason, and it's not because linux doesn't work as well for the platform. It's because while they may pay some licensing costs, the money they save from the lesser amount of time setting up the windows servers outweighs the money they would save by not buying Windows licenses and using linux. Even something as "simple" as changing the tickrate is a pain on linux as you are required to recompile the kernel. For some of us linux is old hat, and not black magic and voodoo, but I imagine the average technician supporting these servers is not near as experienced.

Bottom line, If you're running your own servers and you're willing to put in the time and deal with some frustration for the sake of saving some money and using your preferred platform, then linux is a good choice. When you want to get it working quickly, with little to no frustration, and you don't mind spending more money you go with windows.

**...bigdog...** · 10-18-07, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by a weakling spaz

Source on linux is far from ideal. Valve's support isn't quite up to par with a company like id, which has historically released linux binaries for the dedicated server before the windows binaries. You also have to consider that their games were not built on DirectX and were designed to run as a client on linux as well, while source is the opposite.

Emphasis on the word HISTORICALLY. Since Doom III, things have changed. And I guarantee quake wars is a windows majority. As will their updates be, as well as third parties updating their software to work with quake wars (motherboards, graphics cards, etc).

Bottom line, If you're running your own servers and you're willing to put in the time and deal with some frustration for the sake of saving some money and using your preferred platform, then linux is a good choice. When you want to get it working quickly, with little to no frustration, and you don't mind spending more money you go with windows.

wrong, wrong, and wrong.

You don't get to own servers if the companies that make the games don't issue patches for your OS in a timely manner. You also don't own servers that have inferior RAM and CPU usage, due to the OS, and not the game.

The situation has changed, and the hippies no longer run the host companies.

**...bigdog...** · 10-18-07, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by a weakling spaz

I can verify the ridiculous memory leakage of CS:S on linux. I don't accept that the issue cannot be fixed with some tweaking, because I have done it before.

Then by all means, you need to go read up in the steam linux forum, and explain to those people they are all lazy and stupid, and you could figure it out in time.

of course....they've been doing it for 3 years now....still no change.

the problem isn't linux. The problem is the way source is coded, and how it doesn't work out on linux, either by Valve's choice, or by whatever other reason.