At This Rate, Don't Be Surprised If You See Steam Soon

[devius]

Wine Is Not an Emulator.

And Macs Are Not PCs...

[aliendude5300]

And Macs Are Not PCs...

Macs are PCs, by definition. Wine is not an emulator, it is just a software compatibility layer, no different than other libraries.

[devius]

Wine is not an emulator, it is just a software compatibility layer, no different than other libraries.

Oh... ok then.

I'm off to play some games on my NES software compatibility layer.

[aliendude5300]

Oh... ok then.

I'm off to play some games on my NES software compatibility layer.

That would be an actual emulator, as it emulates the actual hardware to allow the NES game code to run. There is a huge difference.

[Svartalf]

By the way... who needs a sucking steam client when there is Desura. Requires just the Linux client but they have it planed for once the client itself is stable.

I'll believe when I see it. However, having said this, if ModDB's done what they're claiming, it'll be nice if they get around to a Linux client.

[Svartalf]

Not an emulator in the way a console emulator works. It though still hooks itself between the application and the OS providing wrappers for non-supported OS parts. It "emulates" windows as far as is required (including registry and libraries) to make the application work. I don't care what wine devs write on their software, an emulator stays an emulator no matter if it is a wrapper or all the way up to a full virtual machine.

Heh... Beat me to it, you did.

Folks, he's telling you the straight skinny there.

WINE, the library, is true to it's eponymous acronym.

WINE, the environment is NOT true to it's name. It is a framework to fake a Windows application out, thinking it's running against Windows. By definition, a virtual environment, and therefore emulation at several differing levels. Virtual machines like with VMWare or VirtualBox are high-performing emulations- but still emulations all the same. You're not native there, though you're close. The same goes for WINE. You're close in many ways, but you're still not native (Some things run faster under it, and others, nowhere near as fast, if at all...)- and you're at the whims of the vendor of your title as they don't officially support WINE (Except for a few notable exceptions like Eve Online...they just don't...not even Blizzard.) and they can apply a fix to some perceived problem and break your usage of the title under WINE- and then not shed a single tear for you. (Witness what happened with WoW and some of their "bot" prevention measures- if it wasn't for the massive uproar that ensued, they'd have written you off, guys...).

In the end, you're sending a message. You're not interested in Linux gaming- and you're emulating things while doing it.

[Svartalf]

Doubt this as Desura is up for the cake too. And in is more open than Steam and thus caters better for the Indie titles which are on Linux more important at the time being (not in the future hopefully). Especially since Indie titles have a higher chance of getting a Linux client. Steam by itself is useless since the games you get on Steam nowadays are mostly all without a Linux client.

Heh... I'd rather work with Greenhouse or someone like them than Valve, I know that much. I'm keen on seeing the AAA crowd begin to wise up here, but this stuff's not anywhere near as big a deal as what Wolfire's pulling as a PR stunt with the Humble Indie Bundle deal.

[Svartalf]

That would be an actual emulator, as it emulates the actual hardware to allow the NES game code to run. There is a huge difference.

Only in class. Even a Virtualization Environment (the first word should be a BIG hint...) has emulation pieces of hardware edges and WINE does similar things with it's stuff.

Again...WINE the library, you're right on the money; WINE the application loader, you're not being honest by calling it an abstraction layer.

[Dragonlord]

I'll believe when I see it. However, having said this, if ModDB's done what they're claiming, it'll be nice if they get around to a Linux client.

You mean now Desura itself or the client? I've been on the early public test phase when it had been still rough around the edges and it improved since then. Of course it's still beta and has some issues left so it's not officially released yet but you can download the client and login with your ModDB account. It has stuff like auto-detection to locate games which is a nice idea. Especially it doesn't lock your games into DRM-caged disk files which I appreciate a lot. Talked with Scott also about the Linux client. He's clear he wants it to have one but they don't want to do it before the app itself is officially released. In my opinion it's definitely a step in the right direction away from DRM riddled systems under the strict control of one deity.

[devius]

That would be an actual emulator, as it emulates the actual hardware to allow the NES game code to run. There is a huge difference.

Actualy the difference isn't so big. A hardware emulator such as a NES or SNES or whatever emulator doesn't emulate the harware at all. That would be very difficult to do (impossible?). It only returns to the software the results (don't know how to call it) that the software would get if it was running on the real hardware. This isn't so different from what wine does, as it also returns what the software was expecting to get if it was running on windows. I could be completely wrong here, because I don't know that much about emulators though.