[Wine] Re: Tell me the truth about WINE

[Daniel Skorka]

Ham Pastrami <nomail at dot.com> wrote:
> I'm an avid gamer, I play all kinds of games and a wide variety of specific
> titles, be they on the A-list or B-list. How realistic would it be for a
> person like me to rely solely on WINE for PC gaming? I understand that the
> pace with which WINE can catch up is relatively quick (a few months), but a
> few months is still a long time to wait if I'm itching to get started on a
> new release. I know there are ways to hedge the bet, like keeping a dual
> boot option for Windows, but this to me is self-defeating since my entire
> purpose is to get rid of and avoid having to use Windows in the first place.
> I'm also just not a big fan of having two operating systems, since one could
> really do all the stuff that I need. The only question is if Linux/WINE can
> be that OS. The way I see it is this: for all things outside of gaming,
> Linux can serve my needs. So can Windows. But when it comes to gaming, only
> Windows seems to be functionally complete. If I have to install Windows
> *anyway*, I might as well use it for everything instead of having to reboot
> every time I feel like playing a game. Realistically, can Linux/WINE replace
> Windows for a gamer?
> 
> The question is especially poignant here and now, with Vista on the horizon
> and DX10 compatibility forcing Windows users to upgrade (for the record, I'm
> still on 2k by choice, and have no desire to continue using Windows as it
> becomes more invasive with regard to WGA, DRM, product activation and the
> like.) I would like an honest assessment of what gaming would be like if I
> made the jump to Linux (or rather, didn't make the jump to Vista) when DX10
> games start rolling around. Is WINE robust enough that it would make a dual
> boot of Vista unnecessary?

Well, this can be summoned up quite nicely:
If you expect any game at all to just run on wine, you will not be happy
with it. If there however is a specific list of games that you expect to
run beforehand, you can check appdb.winehq.org on whether or not this
one works.

Daniel

P.S. To tell you the truth, you seem awfully intent on gaming, to the
point where it seems to be dominating your life. But that's just me...