Topic: Descent 3 new Linux port

[Hunter]

Apparently the original developer/s for the Loki build decided to return and make a new port for Descent 3.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/project-descent-33611585

That certainly was a surprise.. 

I'll be checking this out next week and seeing how it compares to playing under WINE.

[TechPro]

I'm going to have to check this out!

[Hunter]

I had a tinker. It's pretty cool, but the only thing it really does is add 1920x1080 to the resolution menu, and displays the menu/maps/etc properly without any switching back and forth between resolutions. And the movies are also upscaled to OGG or something similar. But the game itself is using OpenGL, which while is certainly the most stable on Linux, it's probably the ugliest of the original renderers. There doesn't seem to be any other graphical enhancements (FOV remains fixed) and unfortunately, it still suffers from the original problem of being unable to load custom mods, which means you can only play the original Outrage maps.

[VANGUARD]

Descent 3, Loki; Linux again? Miss the game, especially online.

[Thunderbird]

I gave this a whirl, after getting Steam installed on my Linux boot (I recently swapped out my original HDD setup on my laptop for a SSD/bigger HDD combo). It works fairly well, though the insistence on switching back into fullscreen mode every time I go in and out of the automap is obnoxious.

it still suffers from the original problem of being unable to load custom mods, which means you can only play the original Outrage maps.

I don't think there's any way around this, since the scripting for levels/mods is platform specific.

As an aside, it looks like this also provides a new Mac version, which would be a boon for anyone who had that, since the original Mac port required Classic.

[Hunter]

At one point you could compile level scripts for Linux.  Seems like information that has been lost to the ravages of time though..

[VANGUARD]

Can I just download this game or is it streamed online? I never used steam.

[Hunter]

D3? It's available on GOG, but the new Linux port hasn't been added there yet. The GOG version (and Steam) are pre-patched with fixes to run on modern systems + they include Mercenary, so it's probably the better choice over the CD version (despite some claiming otherwise). The only thing I would recommend adding is the 1.5 patch, it has a few additional fixes such as fixed 32-bit rendering when selected, some bug fixes and better terrain rendering.

[Thunderbird]

The Linux version crashes on loading a saved game for me for some reason. I tried to run it from the terminal to see if I could get an output, but it wouldn't start there (said it couldn't find one of the SDL libraries).

[VANGUARD]

I don't see Descent 3 linux on gog or steam.

[Thunderbird]

It's not a separate entry on the Steam store. If you have the Windows version on Steam already, you can install it under Linux or Mac and that version will download. I'm looking at the Steam store page for D3, and it has the Windows, Mac and Linux icons on it.

[VANGUARD]

I have the linux version of steam. I didn't see a Linux icon by Descent 3 though, just a steam icon. It said "steam+Linux" so I installed it.

Took me back a ways. wow. To play Descent 3 again. Been ages.

thanks!

[Hunter]

Unfortunately the Linux port needs a lot of work. Savegames don't work properly (try playing any level for 10-15 mins then saving and loading it), no co-op support, a few bugs in the campaign. And custom levels aren't supported since they need to re-compiled with new Linux scripts, which can't be done without a new SDK pack.