WineHQ
World Wine News

World Wine News

All the news that fits, we print.
6/13/2003
by Brian Vincent
Issue: 174

XML source
More Issues...

This is the 174th release of the Wine's kernel cousin publication. Its main goal is to be thankful for scripts that let you complete an issue before bedtime. It also serves inform you of what's going on around Wine (the Un*x Windows emulator).


This week, 212 posts consumed 731 K. There were 72 different contributors. 45 (62%) posted more than once. 30 (41%) posted last week too.

The top 5 posters of the week were:

  1. 21 posts in 48K by Lionel Ulmer
  2. 16 posts in 66K by Raphael Junqueira
  3. 15 posts in 35K by Sylvain Petreolle
  4. 11 posts in 30K by Mike Hearn
  5. 10 posts in 22K by Eric Pouech

News: SuSE Linux Desktop 07 Jun 2003 Archive
News <mention></mention> <mention>Microsoft</mention> <mention>Mono</mention> <mention>News</mention> <mention>CodeWeavers</mention>

SuSE announced their "Linux Desktop" product this week. CodeWeavers CrossOver Office 2.0.1 is integrated into it:

SuSE Linux Desktop gives users the choice between deploying Linux or Windows productivity tools. The product comes bundled with Sun Microsystems' StarOffice 6.0 and OpenOffice.org 1.0.2, but users can also install Microsoft Office -- ensuring familiarity, flexibility and interoperability, while still taking advantage of the stability and scalability that Linux delivers. The migration of Microsoft Windows installations to SuSE Linux Desktop is just as efficient and inexpensive as the extension of existing Windows infrastructures with SuSE Linux Desktop.

CodeWeavers CrossOver Office 2.0.1 enables the seamless utilization of Word, Excel and PowerPoint from MS Office 97/2000/XP as well as MS Outlook, Visio 2000 and other Microsoft applications. IBM Lotus Notes can also be utilized on the SuSE Linux Desktop.

Agfa Monotype fonts ensure true format printing and display of Microsoft documents.

Mad Penguin put up a review and gave it high marks . Over at vnunet.com you can find some speculation on SuSE's strategy.

For the most part it's been a slow week. Alexandre is still on vacation; patches have trickled down to almost nothing. He did a CVS commit earlier in the week to help mitigate the backlog, but there's still a lot piled up.


Game Compatibility List 07 Jun 2003 Archive
Testing <mention>Max</mention> <mention></mention>

Carlos Lozano posted a list of games he tested with Wine:

Games compatibility list

Date: 20030608
Total games tested: 34
Games installed: 23/34
Games playable: 11/34

Games tested with

  • Clean fake windows. (a for every game)
  • Winedefault.reg registry.
  • The games are spanish versions.
  • Tested only the fastest way to get in gameplay. (Do not buggy me if the second level, or the "league" option, or the configure menu don't work ;)

Games

Rogue Squadron. [20030605] *

    Status: Unplayable.
    Problems: Completely broken sound, intro very slow, and stops in selecting player screen.

Grim Fandago. [20030605]

    Status: Playable.
    Problems: No sound during intro.

Superbikes demo. [20030605]

    Status: Playable
    Problems: No transparent background in some textures.

Gta3. [20030605]

    Status: Unplayable.
    Problems: Unable to install. (Unhandled exception) (Better with stdole32.tlb, but anyway no install)

Swat3. [20030605]

    Status: Unplayable.
    Problems: Unable to install. (fixme:winmm:MMDRV_Exit Closing while ll-driver open)

Railroad Tycoon 2. [20030605]

    Status: Playable.
    Problems: For install, you need "cd" to cdrom directory. Need a patched EXE, the original is protected. The mouse's pointer disappears sometimes, you need move to the bottom of the screen to see it again.

NBA Live98. [20030605]

    Status: Playable.
    Problems: None.

DeusEx. [20030605]

    Status: Playable.
    Problems: None. Only in software mode?

Resident Evil 2. [20030605]

    Status: Unplayable.
    Problems: Need unmanaged in install. Stops during intro with "error. Opendriver"

Fifa 99. [20030605]

    Status: Playable.
    Problems: None. You need "cd" to cdrom directory.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. [20030605]

    Status: Unplayable.
    Problems: Worked the 2 first times (but with mouse/keyboard problems) the next times what ran the game, it didn't start giving the error: Unhandled exception: divide by zero in 32-bit code... (Only software mode?)

7th Legion. [20030605] *

    Status: Playable
    Problems: None.

Max Payne. [20030605] *

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Not install. It says, install module does not found.

The Sims. [20030605]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Does not start to install.

Fallout. [20030605]

    Status: Playable
    Problems: None.

Civilization Call to Power. [20030605]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Click "Play", and it says "profile.txt not found in asset tree". "Unable to init the ProfileDB".

Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2. [20030605]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Need unmanaged to install. (Exception with managed) Stop when you run the game with saying: "Debugger detected, please remove the debugger, and try again". (Safedisc V2)

Gta2. [20030607]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Tested with a patched EXE. Shows 2 screens, and then stop.

Star Wars: Rebellion. [20030607]

    Status: Playable
    Problems: Needed the native file (d3drm.dll) to run. The intro movie had a lot of pauses. In gameplay there is some text what has incorrect color, what does it complex to read. The info windows are painted sometimes in incorrect order.

Star Wars: Starfighter. [20030607]

    Status: Unplayable.
    Problems: Unable to install. (Unhandled exception) (Better with stdole32.tlb, but anyway no install)

Age of Mythologhy. [20030607]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Unable to install. (stop in 5%) (Need mfc42.dll to start to install)

Trickstyle. [20030607]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Show the first tittle screen and after stops with an unhandled exception.

Touring Car Championship. [20030607]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Stops during install, with the error: "Error installing files".

Revolt. [20030607]

    Status: Playable
    Problems: Sound completely broken (except effects in gameplay). Missing some intro screens. Poly problems in select screens. Very slow loading levels (and start of the game). More poly problems in gameplay

Theme Hospital. [20030607]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Continues pauses in the intro video. Problems in graphics during videos (garbage squares). The mouse moves only to right or down, and it starts in the center of the screen, so you cannot start to play because can't select the option ;)

Braveheart. [20030607]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Intro movie is not visible (but you can hear it). The tittle screen has completely incorrect colors, and the mouse doesn't work.

Anno1602. [20030607]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Unable to install (need managed=N the first screen). Stops during install with "Unhandled exception". "0x40a1233d (StrRetToStrNW+0xf1 [shellstring.c:109] in shell32.dll.so): movw $0x0,0xfffffffe(%edx,%eax,2)"

Midtown Madness. [20030607]

    Status: Uplayable
    Problems: Unable to install. (Unhandled exception)

Driver. [20030607]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Using a patched EXE due to protection. Unhandled exception running the game, with the message: "Unhandled exception: inexact float result in 32-bit code (0x408ebeda). "0x408ebeda (WineEngCreateFontInstance+0x592 [freetype.c:492] in gdi32.dll.so): fldcw 0xffffff72(%ebp)"

Rainbow Six. [20030607]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Using a patched EXE due to protection. When you run the game, it stops with the error: "An internal error occurred, reboot the computer or reinstall the game"

Imperium. [20030607]

    Status: Playable
    Problems: The letters are not visible in the installer. No sound during gameplay.

Populous 3. [20030607]

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Stops when execute the game.

Need for speed: Special Edition.

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: Unable to install. (Unhandled exception)

Fifa 2002.

    Status: Unplayable
    Problems: For install, you need "cd" to cdrom directory. Unable to install. "Error installing ikernel.exe" (Using stdole32.tlb)

That should give the DirectX guys something to chew on for a while.


Direct3D To Do List 10 Jun 2003 Archive
Multimedia <mention>Max</mention> <mention></mention>

Raphael Junqueira posted a to do list for Direct3D work:

only a little "reminder" of what is done, and what we need. I sugest having a global todo for all directx (dinput,dplay,dsound,dmusic,ddraw,d3d[1..9],dshow/quartz) ;)

DONE (since last TODO list)

  • Performance
  • Get more of the SDK samples to work with it
  • Try to get a game working with it: War3, MaxPayne, UT2003, mafia, GTA3, ...
  • Checking for opengl extensions before using certain functions
  • Use max values from opengl rather than hardcoded values
  • Buffer support (GetFrontBuffer, GetBackBuffer)
  • TexturePalettes (not really tested as i don't have gta3)
  • Gamma Ramp
  • MultiplyTransform
  • Mipmap support
  • Dirty Areas
  • CubeMap support
  • Raster states
  • Better debug/cleaner debug channels

NEED MORE WORK:

  • Device interface:
    • CreateRenderTarger / GetRenderTarget support (Optimisation, MemoryManager)
    • CreateAdditionalSwapChain/Swap Chains (Optimisation, MemoryManager)
    • Get/CreateDepthStencilSurface (Optimisation, MemoryManager)
    • Pixel and Vertex shaders support:
      • merge of the hw support patch in my shader tree
      • support of pixel shader
      • ps2.0
      • vs3.0
    • Tex Op: really use of caps
  • Surfaces/Textures interfaces
    • Better Textures management:
      • unlock always reload all surface (really slow for cube maps used after a Render to surface)
      • see if when a texture is used as render surfaces the apps must use SetTexture after that for using it (and this way restoring the new texture to cg mem)
    • CopyRect:
      • don't lock/Unlock when not really needed
      • use glTexSubImage2d for optimisation when possible
    • Lock/Unlock:
      • only restore or copy when needed (exemple no save renders when WRITE_ONLY flags was used)
    • Preload function for textures
  • DirectX interface:
    • Better Caps code (must be detected at DirectX8 init, only once)
    • Check* functions
    • Window sizes / fullscreen support is awful - its a real hack at the moment

TODO

  • More Performance (many users complains about that)
  • Get the last SDK samples (principally blending and bump) to work
  • D3D9 support (easy but need a lot of d3d8 cleanup/ and the d3dcore split)
  • A Memory Manager singleton who manage allocation and life cycle of cg object (vertex buffers, surfaces, textures, ... as directx have) better for performances and easy management of cg memory

Missing Functionalities:

  • General
    • Private Data (Get/Set) support
    • Priority Levels (Should be reasonably easy as opengl has this functionality) o LOD support
  • Device interface
    • nPatchs (Rect,Tri)
    • GetInfo (need a Better Caps code)
    • Reset (need Memory Manager)
    • ResrceMgrDiscard (need Memory Manager)
    • Cursor functions (already begin but almost a stub)
    • UpdateTexture (already begin but almost a stub)
    • TestCoop support
    • ValidateDevice (need a Better Caps code)


Quartz Revisited - New Ideas 09 May 2003 Archive
Multimedia <mention></mention> <mention>Hidenori Takeshima</mention> <mention>Gav State</mention> <mention>Mark</mention>

Anyone remember the little bit of drama surrounding the removal of the quartz dll? To refresh your memory, go back to issue #122 . Hidenori Takeshima did an extensive amount of work on making Wine capable of implementing DirectShow and ActiveMovie API's. However, he asked for all that code to be removed. Since then there has been no replacement. This week Lionel Ulmer posted a patch and explained:

Instead to let these auto-generated stubs rot in one of my development trees, let's submit them for inclusion in the tree (it cannot be worse than what was there before).

This could be useful for people to start to look at what would need implementing to get some games to play something and to fill the holes :-)

These are all the classes needed to have some tracing in System Shock 2.

PS: before anyone sends me mails, we know that WineX's QUARTZ DLL is LGPL'ed

That got some folks thinking, and Mike Hearn posted an idea:

I've been thinking (waits for the applause to die down). DirectShow is similar in style and architecture to GStreamer right? They both use graphs of connected elements. Would it be possible to use GStreamer to implement Quartz?

Pros:

  • Saves potentially a lot of work, depending on how big DirectShow is.
  • GStreamer is written in C, under the LGPL (though licenses of codecs vary)
  • Get lots of codecs for free.

Cons:

  • Are they too different? Would it be like trying to map comctrl onto Tk?
  • Adds an extra dependency on GStreamer. Still, all distros with gnome2.2 (ie all of them) ship with it on the CDs.
  • I don't know what I'm talking about, so I could be being dumb.

Raphael Junqueira had a similar idea:

i had the same idea, while looking xine code ;)

And better, we can add a wine -> gstreamer plugin who can use windows codecs (using wine infra to use it) mplayer have already a code for that using a little of wine code.

Lionel thought there were some other architectural concerns to consider:

Tom, add Mike as the new Quartz maintainer :-)

Actually, we may use this solution, but I really never looked at it to see if it's doable. It could be, but on the other hand, one could say 'Win32 GUI is similar in style to GTK+, you have buttons and sliders and widgets, so let's use GTK+ to do Win32 GUI elements' :-)

Moreover, when you see this :

    trace:quartz:Graphbuilder_RenderFile(0x403c3680/0x403c3680)->(L"r:\\sshock2\\cutscenes\\cs1.avi" (0x40682a80), (null) ((nil))): stub !!!
    trace:quartz:Graphbuilder_FindFilterByName (0x403c3680/0x403c3680)->(L"LG Video Renderer" (0x4068294c), 0x4068262c): stub !!!

You see that the application expects to have their own renderer to be used... So it complicates a bit all the stuff if GStreamer chooses one for us which is not the one the application expects.

Finally, the hard part is not (I think) how to implement it, but how DShow works (there are hundreds of COM interfaces / objects and most is constructed 'automagically' by 'Graphbuilder_RenderFile'). Once we have the logic in place to build this graph the same way Windows applcations expects us to build it, then we will have done most of the work I think and the rest is only code stealing :-)

As far as WineX using Hidenori's original Quartz work, Mark Hannessen wondered if it would be possible to, just shift maintainer / copyright holder / whatever to a new person that does believe it is legal and is willing to take that risk. Gav State wrote back to mention:

Just to clarify - we've been talking on and off with Hidenori about something like this for some time. He seems rather busy though, and I have no further news to report at this time.


All Kernel Cousin issues and summaries are copyright their original authors, and distributed under the terms of the
GNU General Public License, version 2.0.