[KLUG Members] Re: TransGaming Releases WineX 2.0

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Thu, 2002-04-18 at 13:19, Adam Williams6 wrote:
> Anyone want to do a presentation on OpenGL/SDL?

I was considering showing off some basic software development using
C++/Pything using the ParaGUI toolkit on Windows and Linux.  ParaGUI is
a toolkit that allows you to develop regular apps as well as full-screen
apps using SDL/OpenGL.

> I have to say, when I first craked open a Loki box, I thought "Games on 
> Linux... pHhhhwwww".  But I was flat out shocked at the quality and 
> performance,  they were top notch stuff.  They would run on hardware I 
> wouldn't even consider game-worthy.

OpenGL has always been the "do everything" 3D geometry model.  There is
basically nothing you can't do Direct3D that you can't do via OpenGL,
even when it is done in software.  The opposite is not true, because
Direct3D is a collection of vendor hacks that take forever to document
and get into software (if they ever do).

Until DirectX 8, even if your video card supported transformation and
lighting, an _elementary_geometry_ concept (although it was expensive in
video cards until nVidia made it commodity), you couldn't use it.  And
even with DirectX _today_, there is a *NO* software implementation yet!
OpenGL uses it _natively_ and supports it in software by default (if the
card doesn't).

[ Side note:  Yes, there "vendor extensions" to OpenGL too, but they can
always be reduced to common OpenGL functions.  And most of them are
equivalents to DirectX, vendor-specific "tricks" for driver
considerations. ]

> From what I know I attribute their failure to completely inept
> management.

Nope.  That's the common "scapegoat."  The fact of the matter is that
computer gaming is just a "razor thin" margin market, even on Windows. 
I know all about Daeker and how he's being "demonized."  The fact of the
matter is that some people didn't realize they should have not put their
own, _personal_ money under their _own_name_ into a company.  Daeker
lost a lot, just like other people.  But as an owner, he had certain
credit protections so he doesn't have to pay back all he borrowed.

> Failure to realize they were in a currently low-volume niche, and they 
> completely flumoxed the distribution side.

Issues with non-Windows software distribution is a nightmare that some
cannot even talk about without going nuts.

> It took me *months* to purchase a Loki product, one place took the
> order and was on backorder forever, canceled that, another place "Oh
> my! We don't have any in stock", etc... It was insane.  Meanwhile
> there are piles of Loki product in warehouses (according to the
> creditors).  Crazy.

That was EB and others screwing up.  So it was your screw up for trying
to buy it from EB and the others.  Buying from Loki was best.  Not only
because they had it in stock, but you paid the money directly to Loki
(meaning they saw about 10x as much as they did otherwise).  Loki
_should_ have stayed an on-line only vendor.  Going the
distributor-retail route killed any chance at profitability (although
that was arguable anyway).

I mean, when you can get the Linux version of a game at half the price
of the Windows version which sells 100x more copies, and the latter
barely manages to "stay in the black" -- it's all basic math dude. 
_Everybody_ lost money _big_time_ at Loki.  Some people just sacrificed
more than others, but _no_one_ made any money!

-- Bryan

-- 
If consumers are liable to "correctly" license someone's IP, why aren't
IP holders held liable when they unjustly force the same consumers to
license the same IP more than once?  "Piracy" is a double-edged sword.
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Bryan J. Smith, SmithConcepts, Inc            mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org
Engineers and IT Professionals             http://www.SmithConcepts.com